CrossFit is based extensively, if not exclusively, on functional movements. As daunting as learning to Snatch, Clean, Overhead Squat, Jerk, and Muscle-up, may be, especially never having heard of them, they, like the rest of the movements we perform, are movements that largely mimic and reproduce natural efforts like standing, throwing, lifting, pulling, pushing, climbing, and running. There is no circumstance of age, gender, stature, weight, or fitness level that reduces the need to be able to perform functional movements. This is not the same as saying that everyone should do Muscle-ups. When Muscle-ups are impossible, substituting Pull-ups and Ring Dips preserves the intended training stimulus and helps to prepare for the Muscle-up. Any weightlifting movement can be practiced and performed with a PVC pipe. It is our ability to modify and scale any movement that allows us to train the grandmother of three right beside our Navy SEAL candidate. The natural movements that we teach can be rapidly learned and performed by even the most novice student. It is important to remember this as you begin and continue your path towards a higher level of fitness.
The Jackie Finals on Saturday was a lot of fun, and there were some blisteringly fast times.
Congratulations to the winners:
Jialeou fastest and most improved woman - 8:28
Ben Lehmer fastest male - 6:50
Stephen G. most improved male RX - 10.36%
Boon most improved male Int. - 23.08%
Ish most improved male Beg - 16.37%
Daron 2nd most improved male RX - 9.68%
Along with the fast times and awesome improvements, there were some disappointing performances. Many participants could not uphold the movement standards, which proved very frustrating for them. Some athletes' times increased due to the strict movement standards.
The take-away from this experience is to make sure that you are moving through a full range of motion. Take the coaching you get in the box, and make the necessary changes to your movement. Sometimes that means taking a deep breath and exaggerating the range of motion, and other times it means reducing the weight. Do what it takes to meet the requirements.
Mobility Homework: Here's the page - do this before your training today if at all possible.
1 head cauliflower, cored and cut into 1-1/2" florets
1/4 tsp sea salt (optional)
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup tahini (find it fresh at Annie Kay's or Eats...)
3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced into a paste
juice of 1 lemon
1/8 tsp paprika
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Toss cauliflower, olive oil, cumin, sea salt (if desired) and black pepper together in a large bowl.
3. Transfer mixture to rimmed baking sheet and spread out evenly.
4. Bake until cauliflower is browned and tender, 25 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Combine tahini, garlic, lemon juice and roasted cauliflower in a food processor. Blend until a smooth paste forms (add additional olive oil if desired).
6. Season with sea salt (if desired) and sprinkle paprika on top.
Just a reminder that this Saturday is the Jackie Finals from 8 to 10. There will be no regular classes (neither 8 nor 9 AM), and you must be registered in the Jackie Challenge to participate in the Finals. If you completed the Jackie preliminaries in January, you can still buy in to the Challenge. The cost is $30.
We will be sending out the heat schedule later today. If you have any special request (need to go early, need to go late), please let us know ASAP.
Also, the CrossFit Games Open starts this week! If you are interested in finding out how you stack up against the rest of the world, register at the games site. We are an official location, meaning we can verify scores. The Open lasts 5 weeks, and we will be doing that weeks workout on Fridays. Bring your Burpee best tomorrow!
More running info/data. Scientists explore the injury rates between various running styles. Thanks to CrossFit Surf City for the lead on this!
Abstract
Purpose: This retrospective study tests if runners who habitually forefoot strike have different rates of injury than runners who habitually rearfoot strike.
Methods: We measured the strike characteristics of middle and long distance runners from a collegiate cross country team and quantified their history of injury, including the incidence and rate of specific injuries, the severity of each injury, and the rate of mild, moderate and severe injuries per mile run.
Results: Of the 52 runners studied, 36 (59%) primarily used a rearfoot strike and 16 (31%) primarily used a forefoot strike. Approximately 74% of runners experienced a moderate or severe injury each year, but those who habitually rearfoot strike had approximately twice the rate of repetitive stress injuries than individuals who habitually forefoot strike. Traumatic injury rates were not significantly different between the two groups. A generalized linear model showed that strike type, sex, race distance, and average miles per week each correlate significantly (p<0.01) with repetitive injury rates.
Conclusions: Competitive cross country runners on a college team incur high injury rates, but runners who habitually rearfoot strike have significantly higher rates of repetitive stress injury than those who mostly forefoot strike. This study does not test the causal bases for this general difference. One hypothesis, which requires further research, is that the absence of a marked impact peak in the ground reaction force during a forefoot strike compared to a rearfoot strike may contribute to lower rates of injuries in habitual forefoot strikers.
At CrossFit Blacksburg we are very passionate about helping EVERYONE improve their lives through physical fitness. We are very fortunate to have a great community of hard-working, fun, passionate people who love to not only improve their lives, but the lives of those around them. Most of our new students hear about our "school of fitness" through friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, etc. Some of them see the physical, emotional, and spiritual improvements of their friends and say "I want some of that!" Others reluctantly find their way into the gym at their friends' encouragement. For those of you wanting to spread the word about what we do, here are a few reminders:
-Our typical student is seen by his/her friends, acquaintances, and family members as, quite frankly, a freak- a fitness freak, but still a freak. Your endorsement may not carry the weight you would hope or think it would.
- Your retching in the bushes after our workouts may not hold the attraction for your wife that it does for you.
-When you tell your de-conditioned Sergeant that our workouts will bring him to his knees in five minutes, you may have just then vaccinated him for life against ever wanting to even try our program.
-Your "legendary fitness status" may render you bizarrely unqualified for lending advice to your mortal friends.
-Our program develops fitness in a way that is contrary to popular practice and is, therefore, for most people, scary. Nearly every aspect of our program is at odds with fitness magazines and the routines you see in commercial facilities. For a vast majority of people there is no greater fear than being out of step with the rest of the community.
Being a student at CrossFit Blacksburg makes you a leader in the fitness community. Be patient with your friends, co-workers, family, and fellow athletes. Those who are willing will come, when they're ready.
Monday 5:30 & 6:30 AM classes are cancelled. Sleep in and stay safe!
Congratulations to all the Team Grit competitors! It was a long weekend, and I'm sure there are a lot of sore bodies, but you all did great.
The Wonder Twins, Amy & Jesse, finished on the podium in third place. Lee and Dave brought the house down on Friday, finishing their combined 75 pull ups just under the time limit. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for more stories and pictures as we get them.
Check here regularly for updates and scores from Team Grit this weekend. We're sending 5-1/2 teams: Amanda Schultz/Jonathan Corns, Amy Crawford/Jesse Hilmandolar, Forrest Seaman/Ben LaFon, Dave Schmale/Lee Williams, Daron Williams/Steve Gourley,and Ben Lehmer's partnering with a buddy of his. Check it out!!
This side dish requires only 7 simple ingredients and they are pretty easy to find - the Blacksburg Farmer's Market probably has all of them this time of year. The seasoning that I used comes from Penzey's Spices...We served it alongside some slow-cooked beef and roasted spaghetti squash...
Cook bacon in a saute pan and reserve the fat. Put all veggies and spice into a roasting pan and add some of the fat - toss well and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the veggies and toss with bacon and sherry.
Does it? We have it on the back of some our T-shirts, with the added tag line of " it should!". But how often do you find that the nervousness that precedes is worse than the actual event? Becca Borawski, formally of CrossFit LA and now managing editor of breaking muscle.com, recently posted this blog. Dig into to her writing, there's a lot of good stuff there.
"Sometimes the pain leading up to something is worse than the actual something. Getting up the nerve to call a girl and ask her on a date. Waiting for the meeting with your boss. Picking the right time to have a "talk" with your significant other.
...or waiting to do Fran, or Cindy, or Murph.
You know it's probably not going to be as bad as you think. In fact afterwards you might feel a sense of relief, a release of pressure, and maybe even joy at an unexpected positive result.
Often the torture we inflict on ourselves is far worse than the actual event. Maybe you do this in anticipation of coming to class. Has class ever really been that bad? Or is it the story in your head that's horrible, long and drawn out, and hard to endure. The story you're concocting is the real suffering. That suffering lasts all day leading up to class. Class is actually pretty short. The workout even shorter.
We've been posting lately about scaling and intensity. Today is a perfect workout to put into practice what we've been talking about. Scale weight or reps as needed - there is not supposed to be lots of rest during this workout. Talk to your coach, then go all out and work on intensity.
My weight has yo-yo'd between 200 and 230 for the last 10 years or so. Translation: between 20 pounds overweight and "Damn, you're fat." With moderately high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels, my doctor tried to get me on medications for both - while I was in my 20's! Enter CrossFit Blacksburg. I started out training twice a week for six months and noticed some solids gains in my strength and conditioning. When 2011 rolled in, I decided to challenge myself to come in even more frequently, and my times have continued to come down and my lifts keep getting heavier. When I actually began to eat somewhat "paleo," my weight started to come down too - I'm at about 190 right now, and I haven't heard another peep out of the doctor about those pills! At 32 years old, I'm as fit as I've been since high school, WAY stronger, and I'm still improving each week.
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