- Thursday, March 17th, 2011
- by neil
We will be running the first workout for the CrossFit Games Open Sectional as our WOD tomorrow. Everyone who comes in will get to experience the same workout 15,000+ athletes all over the world are doing, trying to make it to the next round of qualifying. It will be a lot of fun to see how we all stack up over the next 6 weeks.
If you have registered to be a competitor, you will need to have a judge on hand for your workout. This means...
You must let us know when you are planning to come in on Friday! Otherwise, you may not have a judge, which means we can't validate your score! Let us know by the end of today when you are planning to come in. If you are not a member of CrossFit Blacksburg, you can still come in and do the workout, we just need to know when you are coming.
It is not too late to register for the event. If you do register, or if you already have, sign up as part of the CrossFit Blacksburg Team. They have been having trouble with the site, so be patient and keep trying. Support all of our athletes - it would be great to send someone to the next level of qualifying!
Stephen in the box jump groove
- Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
- by neil
Sometimes I get out of the routine of making The CrossFit Journal one of my regular stops while I'm online. Then I'll go back, and get drawn in. The Journal is an incredible resource available to everyone, for only $25 per year. There's a lot of material we as coaches use to advance our knowledge and techniques. There are articles and videos focused on kids, nutrition, leadership, exercising while pregnant...and the list goes on. Yesterday, a 45 minute video focusing on Coach Glassman, the founder of CrossFit was posted - a great watch, but not work/family safe. Bottom line is The Journal will not only help your CrossFitting, it will also entertain and educate you. Subscribe here.
If you're signing up for the CrossFit Open Sectionals, make sure you also join the CrossFit Blacksburg Team. We will be doing the Open Workouts on Fridays.
Marsha coaching Carol through 20 back squats
- Tuesday, March 15th, 2011
- by neil
As the weather gets nicer, it also means a return to running! As we get out, or if you go on your own, remember that running is a skill - and is something most people do incorrectly! Even some elite athletes have not mastered the skill. Check this article on ESPN, Dr. Nicholas Romanov, the founder of the POSE method, examines the different styles of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade from the NBA - and how their different styles could affect their careers. While none of us are ever going to play in the NBA, we still run, so we may as well do it correctly. Look for some drills to start coming up during our warmups on proper techniques. Like with any new skill, there will be a learning curve, but once you get it dialed in performance will increase, while risk of injury will decrease!
I think I can...
- Monday, March 14th, 2011
- by amy
What's the point of competition? Do you compete? Why?
I was reminded of something pertaining to competition yesterday while speaking with a friend at the grocery store. Watching others compete can really inspire you, and make you realize you can do more than you thought you could. While you may never attain the level of skill/fitness/strength/whatever to compete at the CrossFit Games, their performance can push you. The majority of us, no matter where we fall on the skill/fitness/strength/whatever scale, are not the top. There is (almost) always someone better than you. So why compete? To see how you stack up. To assess your level of skill/fitness/strength/whatever.
So throw your hat in the ring. If everyone who competed in anything they were sure of winning, those competitions would be sparsely attended. No one from our little box is going to win the CrossFit Games. But who cares? I just want to see what my little old body can do against others. Delusions of grandeur? Definitely not. Seeing how well I can do ... that's where it's at!
If you are ready to see how you stack up, register for the CrossFit Open. We'll be doing the workouts each Friday during regular class times. If you're competing, please let us know by Wednesday when you'll be working out so we have enough coaches on hand for judging. Also, keep in mind that you might be wrangled in to judging yourself. Just shoot us an email and let us know your plans.
Teresa with a beautiful overhead squat!
- Friday, March 11th, 2011
- by Carol
No 10am class today!
Here is a recipe that I found on Paleo Plan that combines just a few items to make this awesome dish. I doubled the recipe and massaged it with a can of full-fat coconut milk since we use a lot of it in our house. Coconut milk contains super-healthy fat that adds so much flavor to curry dishes. I also added garlic, coriander, salt and pepper. Just slop it all together and slow-cook it for about 3 1/2 hours in a Dutch oven on 200 degrees. Kind of a "fix it and forget it" meal...perfect for the weekend! Once out of the oven, I topped it with chopped cooked bacon...the photo below is pre-bake...
Chicken Curry with Apple:
2 T. olive oil
1 C. chopped onion
1 C. chopped peeled apple
1 can (16 oz.) stewed tomatoes with their own juice
1 C. chicken broth
1 t. lemon juice
1 T. curry powder (or more, to taste)
4 C. chopped cooked chicken
garnishes: toasted coconut, mandarin oranges, raisins, crumbled cooked bacon, mango chutney, chopped onion
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- Thursday, March 10th, 2011
- by neil
The 2011 CrossFit Games get kicked off next week with the start of the Open Sectionals. It's a different format than they used last year when the sectionals were held in different locations. This round of qualifying runs for 6 weeks, with a different workout each week. You can either do the workout on your own and send in a video, or come in and do it with us every Friday. Here is the complete description of how the open qualifying works. If you are interested in trying to qualify, you must register. It only costs $10, and you just might make it to the next level - or at least have fun trying!
We will be doing the qualifying workout as the Workout Of The Day on Fridays. So even if you aren't actually competing, you will be able to compare your score to some of the fittest athletes in the world. We have several athletes at CrossFit Blacksburg who have a chance to qualify for regionals. Follow along for the next six weeks - it should be fun!
3x20 back squat...nice work Emily!
- Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
- by amy
So, 2011 is 68 days old now. Have you accomplished any of your goals (remember, there are short term and long term goals.)? Personally, I had goals associated to SuperFit, and I happily surpassed those goals. The next step is adjusting future goals for the next time frame.
Do you have any goals? Do you adjust them because of various issues (crushing a workout, minor injuries)? We all need, regardless of competitive spirit, a carrot placed out in front of us. Set that carrot out, and move it as necessary. That's why we keep score, and why you have your journals! Make sure you put lots of infomation in your journal, because that information is crucial for future workouts.
PS - Happy birthday to my brah Johhhn.
Great extension Pam...
- Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
- by amy
Jesse's post yesterday about CrossFit being too extreme, in some people's eyes, made me think of this video. Now this is extreme!! While it's obvious that this guy's coordination, agility, balance, stamina, accuracy are top notch, I wonder if they could be better with CrossFit.
VCA 2010 RACE RUN from changoman on Vimeo.
- Monday, March 7th, 2011
- by Jesse
There’s a common misconception that what we do at CrossFit is “too extreme for me” and it is very common for us to hear “I need to get in shape first before I start your program”. Our aim at CrossFit Blacksburg is to produce a fitness that is “broad, general, and INCLUSIVE”, not exclusive. We have no problem helping the ex-athlete re-kindle their inner competitor, but in all honesty we as coaches feel more satisfaction helping the father of two improve his back health enough to play with his kids on a Sunday afternoon or building up grandma’s work capacity enough so that it doesn’t take her 5 days to recover form an outing with the grandchildren. As Coach Glassman says “The needs of the elderly and professional athletes vary by degree, not kind. Where one needs functional competency to maintain independence, the other needs functional mastery to maintain dominance. Improved hip capacity will help a pro ball player’s throw to first; it will also reduce the chances of grandpa falling in the tub. The squat is the perfect tool for both.”
One often misunderstood component of CrossFit is “scaling”. This is an aspect of our program that is difficult to convey during our “what is CrossFit” discussion. The infinite scalability of our program is what allows us to train our cadet preparing for Special Operations right next to our Super Mom (CrossFit’s badass version of a soccer mom) preparing for life (or just attempting to escape from it for an hour). Keep this in mind on future WODs and remember that all training is complementary.
Steph- Preparing for life or taking a break from it?
- Friday, March 4th, 2011
- by Carol
We've been playing around with many different spices lately at our house. Amy and Neil gave us an awesome assortment from Penzey's over the holidays. Our favorite has to be the Bavarian Spice combination made up of crushed brown mustard, rosemary, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and sage. This spice is great on everything, including eggs, which can get a little dull each morning without a little kick. You can also use it as a rub for meats that you're going to grill or slow cook. Taking these combination spices and adding them to veggies and meats keeps things interesting - eating paleo certainly shouldn't be boring!
Eggs Bavarian-style!
