Monthly Archives: October 2009

I think by looking at the picture you can tell what Chuck did for the first time tonight. Nice job Chuck!

A ring pull-up isn’t so hard. It’s the next couple dozen that get difficult. Unlike a pull-up bar, the rings move all over the place. If the kip is difficult for you on the bar the rings make it darn near impossible. Watching someone flop all over the place and completely out of control is quite frankly hilarious. The same ROM standard applies to the pull-up on the ring as it does on a bar, or a tree branch, or a door jam or whatever. Fully extended shoulders at the bottom, chin over plane of your hands at the top. Just imagine there is a bar connecting your hands, you get the picture. Then again maybe not, Tina gave me a “C” for my illustration last night.

Gena gets up over her hands and makes a statement. Fighting words for sure!

We are decorating the gym with flags.  Sign up to purchase a 3×5 flag representing your school whether it be the school you graduated from, the school you cheer for or where you paid four year’s of tuition.  So far we have UW, WSU, Penn State, BYU, Iowa, Montana, West Point, Miami (Ohio), Western and probably some I forgot.  I’m expecting a Nebraska, Gonzaga…  I’ll put up the US flag, thanks to those who offered though.

I few links to flag sites online.  If you would like to have your least favorite team represented by a puke bucket, here you go.

7 x 3 Push Press

Row 1000m

Kham develops video games and sandbags his deadlift; at least until last night. Now he develops video games. We were looking for 1 rep DL lifts and Kham (who kept telling us 60 kilos was his max) somehow managed to pull 105kg all while wearing a Lode Runner t-shirt and making us laugh with his antics. In all seriousness, if the definition of CrossFit success is increased work capacity, we should all study Kham’s last few months. Kham isn’t less tired at the end of his WODs, but he sure gets a lot more done, his WOD journal is proof.

Great work Kham

5 Rounds
-10 Deadlifts, 225
-10 Shuttle runs (50 feet down and back touching the “line” or whatever you are marking with)

Either I have bad timing or Cara looks more comfortable upside down. I’ll let you all answer that for yourselves.

Being upside down is uncomfortable enough let alone doing what amounts to a body weight press. Before attempting a Handstand Push-up (HSPU) it a good idea to be well warmed up and do some good active stretching. Push-ups, shoulder passes, pull-ups, maybe some shoulder/push presses are all good ways to prepare for going upside down. Once you are against the wall (don’t get your hands too far away) concentrate on keeping the midline tightly controlled. It’s not uncommon to fatigue and have a sore back the day after HSPUs because you end up well over extended, kind of like when you shoulder press with poor form. The goal of the HSPU is for your nose to touch the floor and then to press back up to locked out and active shoulders. In a Diane type WOD I prefer forehead to ground for the simple reason that if you lose control your forehead is less likely than your nose to bleed. Take my word for that.

Can’t push up from that position? While full range of motion is always the goal, I’m thrilled by how many of our athletes can do a HSPU to one or even two AbMats. While the range of motion is shorter, I don’t see any reliable substitute for being upside down, controlling your body and exerting yourself with all you have. Elevating your feet on a box is an OK sub and I have seen people strung up with rubber bands, I like the incremental approach best. If you sub, make sure to note that in your journal, both partial ROM and varying pushing positions are important to note.

Various HSPU pictures. In the NEW gym.

Here are a few pics of the place…

First WOD is Saturday at 8am and then 9am. See you there.

We are moving! Mark Saturday October 10th on your calendar. On that date we will hold our first classes (and all future classes) in our new home.

NEW ADDRESS
743 159th PL NE
Redmond, WA 98052

We are located right around the corner from Redmond Town Center and a block off the Sammamish River Trail on Redmond’s. You know where all the car shops are on your way from Town Center to Kentucky Fried Chicken? That’s the street.

Again. Your WOD is moving on October 10th. That’s this Saturday. In the new digs.