CROSSFIT VENTURA

New Website!

We have a new website for West Coast Strength & Conditioning, home of the CrossFit Ventura Community.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!!!

All new information and blog posts will be on our new website so come on over!

 

...see you there! :P

Cuban Pressing

Tierney working on developing scapular balance and rotator cuff strength with the Cuban Press.

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"Avoiding a Bench Press Blow-Out" - by Mike Westerdal

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Strength & Conditioning

Running Technique Work
+
5x
5/5 Partner Leg-Pull Drill
100m Sprint @ 95%
+
Row 750m @ 1K PR Pace
rest 5 minutes
Row 750m @ 1K PR Pace

Post notes to comments. 

Faith's Answered Questions #3: Why am I Sticking a Lacrosse Ball in My Butt?

written by Faith Reynado

FAQ #4: Why am I sticking a lacrosse ball in my back/calf/pec/butt/shoulder blade/etc…?

I’m sure it may seem a bit absurd to some of you that in order to alleviate pain, particularly in the form of a foam roller/lacrosse ball jammed into our body at some specific point, we often inflict greater pain. But it actually works, no? Why the heck is that?

Every time you use the lacrosse ball for mobility work (in all those tight spots that make you wince and softly whimper in class), you are addressing the pain, muscle tension, diminished blood flow, and local inflammation caused by the restriction of your fascia. Fascia is basically a 3-dimensional web of connective tissue across your body that supports and protects most of your structures, including muscle.

Here’s what happens: When you apply constant pressure to a tissue, this tension stimulate muscle spindles to relax the targeted muscle. This reflex relaxation release adhesions formed in your fascia, and as a result you relax contracted muscles, increase circulation, and stimulate the stretch reflex of muscles and overlying fascia. Essentially, you’re working to restore pain-free movement.

This is an amazing technique that, as many of you know, we use often at WCSC. But don’t forget that with every symptom there is a deeper issue at hand. Here, it would be valuable to examine why you might be tight to begin with? Are you giving enough care and attention to your form in each and every exercise? How’s your posture throughout the day? Just food for thought for your next installation of lacrosse ball awesomeness!

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We will soon have Lacrosse Balls available for sale at West Coast Strength & Conditioning. No Excuses! :)

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Strength & Conditoning

Handstand Development
+
3X
within 2 minutes:
10 unbroken Power Snatches
amrap Box Jumps @ 24"/20" (stand tall, step down)
rest 2 minutes between sets 

rest a lil' bit more

3X
within 2 minutes:
15 Kettlebell Swings
amrap Burpee Broad Jumps (for distance)
rest 2 minutes between sets

Post notes to comments. 

Goal Setting Seminar Postponed

"The Goal Seminar was recently adopted as a CrossFit Course. The new name will be the CrossFit Mindset Course. Due to work and military obligations, I will not be able to launch the new course until the August - September time frame. Unfortunately, I will need to cancel the current Goal Seminar we have planned in July at your box. As soon as the new course gets on-line, I will give you priority for scheduling."
-Greg Amundson

Sorry for the news you guys, I know many of you were looking forward to this seminar on July 23rd. We promise to try and have Greg come as soon as he is available! 

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We will still be hosting Carl Paoli's Gymnastics Seminar on Sunday, July 24th. Reserve your spot here!

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Strength & Conditioning

Find your 1RM Bench @ 16"

* Set 1 – 50% of possible 1-RM x 3 reps
* Set 2 – 75% of possible 1-RM x 2 reps
* Set 3 – 85% of possible 1-RM x 1 rep
* Set 4 – 90-95% of possible 1-RM x 1 rep
* Set 5 – Test 1-RM
* Set 6 (optional) – Exceed Set 5 weight

+

4 rounds for time:

Row 250m

50m KB Rack Walk

Post notes to comments.

A Reason for Everything

written by Colin Jenkins

The most critical aspect of developing a sound training regimen is that one must have a reason for everything they do. Too often I see athletes and coaches struggle with this basic concept and just choose to do things because it "sounds fun", "look cool", or "looks tough".

I've observed and tracked data from plenty of athletes who frequently choose workouts without good reasons for what they are doing, and it leads to far slower progress, and eventually after a year or so, an overall decrease in fitness. Sometimes the athlete is blinded by this effect, because improvements made in their technique still allows them get an occasional PR.

One must have a reason for everything they do if they
1) want to improve as quickly as possible
2) want to keep improving for a long long time
3) want to avoid injury and overtraining

At West Coast Strength & Conditioning, we always have reasons for what we do. Sure, sometimes we'll throw a workout in just for fun, but it is planned for and specifically incorporated into the weekly, monthly, and yearly plan.

Even within 1 training session, everything done must have a specific purpose. Here is a case study of one of our training days from a recent CrossFit Ventura Group Class:

 part of the training session was
A. Cuban Press @ 4010; 10 reps x 3 sets; rest 1 min
Beg) B. Bench Press; 3, 3, 3, 3; rest 3 min b/t sets
I/A) B. Bench Press @ 60% 1RM; 3 reps x 8; rest 1 min b/t sets

Let's look at some of what we did for this session:
-Row 2 minutes. Why Row instead of run? Because rowing warms up the upper body more than running and we are prepping for an upper-body workout.

-Lacrosse Ball Mobility on the Pec Minor. Loosening these suckers up before going into our stretch, really helps what we can get out of it, because they often can be the limiters to the range of motion we thrive to develop for our clients.

-Partner Internal Rotation Shoulder Stretch. We love this one, painful as it is. Lifting weights in compromised positions with shoulders translated forward in a "douche-bad position" is NOT COOL. We have noticed great results with this stretch.

-Cuban Press. Here's a quick rule that we like to follow. Do mobility then develop stability. The Cuban Press takes us with some weight through that new range of motion of the shoulder we just developed. With tools like this, we may actually have complete control of our newly found mobility some day!! This movement also develops some specific shoulder external rotation strength with is a great way to balance out the pressing work we are about to do.

-Bench Press. The meat of this workout. With some mobility and stability work out the way, we are set and ready to lift some weights and get stronger!  We can get into the why of the differences between the Beginner and Intermediate/Advanced protocols for this session, but that could be another post of it's own...

-For a cool down stretch, we revisited again the focus on shoulder internal rotation by finishing off with a band assisted "bully stretch". 

A thought process as detailed as this goes into each and every workout we do in the CrossFit Ventura Group Classes (which is why programming is TOUGH work). Yes, sometimes the warm-ups are silly, and sometimes you may not quite grasp the reasons behind some of what we do...but trust that is has a purpose. I promise you there is a reason behind everything we do!

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"Bro, Your Internal Rotation is Lacking" by Kelly Starrett

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Strength & Conditioning

Find your Max Distance Broad Jump
+
"Fran"
21-15-9:
Thrusters @ 95lbs/65lbs
Pull-ups

Post max broad jump, time, and experiences to comments. 

1RM Front Squat

Strength & Conditioning

Find your 1RM Front Squat

* Set 1 – 50% of possible 1-RM x 3 reps
* Set 2 – 75% of possible 1-RM x 2 reps
* Set 3 – 85% of possible 1-RM x 1 rep
* Set 4 – 90-95% of possible 1-RM x 1 rep
* Set 5 – Test 1-RM
* Set 6 (optional) – Exceed Set 5 weight

+

Death by "Cluster"

Min 1 - 1 Cluster @ 65% New 1RM Front Squat

Min 2 - 2 Cluster @ 65% New 1RM Front Squat

etc..

Post 1RM and number of minutes completed to comments.

The Weekly Recap

New in the Community:
Welcome our newest members of West Coast Strength & Conditioning: Beverly Horvath, Tara Murphy, and Bill Diener! 

Exceptional Performance of the Week:
Congratulations to "Team Cindy + Craig" on Thursday's team workout. Not only did this odd couple get the fastest time, but they also got the most amount of reps accumulated. Cindy also benched 90lbs this week! It was also her birthday on Wednesday! I think someone is having a killer week!!

Time Capsule:

"Post-WOD Notes: How Do You Talk About Yourself?" by Jaala Thibault - June 2010
    How you talk about yourself is important, and your progress can be influenced by the words you choose to write in your post-wod notes.

"Body Feedback: Standing Tall" by Colin Jenkins - June 2009
    Teach yourself to stand tall and stay tough through taxing workouts.

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Strength & Conditioning

Rope Climb Technique
+
5X
within 3 minutes:
Run 200m
Rope Climb x 1 or 2
amrap Double Unders

rest 3 min between sets 

Post total number of double unders and notes to comments.