CROSSFIT VENTURA

Game Time!!!

 

The NorCal Qualifiers are finally here!!

The CrossFit community has grown tremendously in the past year and the level of competition has risen to a whole new level. The 5 top men and women from these NorCal Qualifiers will be sent back up north again in July to compete again in the 2009 CrossFit Games. These Games will consist of the 75 fittest men and women from all over the globe. All of whom will be competing for the undeniable title of "The World's Fittest Man" and "The World's Fittest Woman". It doesn't get any more exciting than this!!

Huff and I have been talking, planning, and training for this weekend over the past 10 months and it is finally almost here! I will be going up there to Aromas to compete and I am enormously grateful for all the support, encouragement, and inspiration you all have given me! I will do everything humanly possible this weekend to ensure CrossFit Ventura is represented in the 2009 CrossFit Games! Thank you all so very much!!!

We will post pictures and results from the event here on Monday.
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IMPORTANT: There will be no Friday afternoon class, Saturday class, or Sunday class this week.
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Workout of The Day
(compare to Thursday, January 29th, 2009)

"Fight Gone Bad!"

Three rounds of:
20 pounds Wall-Ball (women - 14 pounds)
75 pound Sumo Deadlift High-Pull (women - 53 pounds)
20" Box Jump
75 pound Push Press (women - 53 pounds)
Row (Calories)

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute.The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. On call of "rotate", the athletes must move to next station immediately for best score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

Add your points and post them to comments.

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Workout of The Day (Friday)

(compare to Monday, March 9th, 2009)

4 rounds for time of:
400m Run

Rest exactly 2 minutes between each round.

Post total time of all four rounds to comments.

Over-the-Top or Just Perfect?

What's your feeling on shirts like these? Do you think they are over-the-top and make CrossFitters look bad? Do you think shirts like these are awesome and reflect well upon the CrossFit community? Post thoughts to comments.
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REMINDER - CFV will be closed this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. One exception - the 6am class will still be running on Friday.

TODAY'S MUST SEE VIDEO - Pat Barber takes a shot at the WOD B for the NorCal Regional Qualifiers.
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Workout of The Day
(compare to Wednesday, January 7th, 2009)

Shoulder Press 3-3-3-3-3 reps

then,
3 rounds for time of:
5 Ring Dips
10 Pull-ups
15 Squats

Post loads and times to comments.

"The less strength you have, the more important it is to have more."
-Mark Rippetoe

New Video - "Ed's First Pull-ups!"

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Workout of The Day
(compare to Saturday, January 31st, 2009)

As many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
200m Run
10 Kettlebell Swings (m:53 lbs, w:35lbs)
6 Pull-ups

Post number of rounds completed to comments.

CrossFit for Athletic Development

John rising up from the bottom of a squat clean

Here's what we know about CrossFit, GPP*, sport training, and athletic development: (list courtesy of crossfit.com)

#1. GPP is the most underdeveloped and neglected aspect of athletic training, especially in elite athletes.

#2. CrossFit produces an unmatched GPP in novice, intermediate, and advanced athletes regardless of their prior training and sport.

#3. Every athlete we've worked with, from Olympic medalists, to UFC legends, has some glaring chink in his/her GPP, and it takes, at most two hours, two sessions, on average to find these chinks.

#4. Fixing these chinks, these deficiencies, has immediate benefit within your sport and very often in ways not quite obvious mechanically and perhaps metabolically. For instance, for pull-ups makes for better skiing and skiers. Upper body pushing-movements makes for better rowing and rowers. Anaerobic training is a boon to endurance athletes.

#5. There's greater margin for improving performance in elite athletes, where the margins of victory are very tight, improving GPP with CrossFit than can be garnered through additional sports training.

#6. "CrossFit produces a 'ready state' from which more advanced or sport specific training becomes very efficient." - Mark Twight

#7. CrossFit, will for many sports reduce total training volume, reduce training injuries, and allow more time for vital sport specific skills and drills.

#8. CrossFit is more fun and seems more athletic than does traditional GPP.

#9. CrossFit has athletes improving their fitness for years beyond, to levels significantly beyond, traditional GPP.

#10. Sport training and physiology are not so well understood that highly specialized strength and conditioning routines are optimally effective.

*GPP = General Physical Preparedness

TODAY'S MUST SEE VIDEO - Common flaws with technique on the rower.
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Workout of The Day

"NorCal Qualifier Workout A"
For time:
500m Row
30 Burpees
10 Shoulder-to-Overhead (m:165 lbs, w:95 lbs)

Post time to comments.

Love vs. Obsession

Brian Mackenzie speaks in front of a group at a recent CFE Running and Endurance Certification, talking about making the mental and lifestyle shift from LSD to high-intensity training protocols (courtesy of 100milemovie.com)

Yesterday, Brandon went and ran a 10k at the "Gaucho Gallop". He got a time of 42:22, which was a personal best by over 3 minutes! Congratulations Brandon!

TODAY'S MUST SEE SITE - The "100-mile Movie": a documentary following Brian Mackenzie and Carl Borg as they prepare for a 100-mile run while breaking all traditional endurance training protocols. Their diet: Zone/Paleo. Their training program: CrossFit!
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Workout of The Day

Pick one of the following benchmarks and crush it!

5 K Run
(compare to Wednesday, April 8th, 2009)

"Fran"
(compare to Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009)

"Nicole"
(compare to Friday, April 17th, 2009)

"Annie"
(compare to Tuesday, March 31st, 2009)

"Nancy"
(compare to Thursday, April 2nd, 2009)

Post workout and time to comments.

Schedule Update

Jenna does a handstand with assistance from Katie and Luke on the La Jolla Valley loop in Point Mugu.

As many of you know, this coming weekend, Huff and I (as well as the entire Mitchell family, Katie, and Faith) will be heading up north to Santa Cruz to take part in the NorCal Regional Qualifiers!

While there will still be a 6am class on Friday, May 1st, there will be no classes that afternoon or throughout that weekend. We will, however, be back on schedule for our normal class hours again on Monday, May 4th.

 
TODAY'S MUST SEE VIDEO - 2009 CrossFit Games Great Basin Regional Qualifier Women's Finals...this video rocks!!!
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Workout of The Day

3 rounds, 50-35-15 reps, for time of:
Wall-Balls (m:20 lbs, w:14 lbs)
Burpees

Post time to comments.

Danny

Oakland SWAT Sergeant Daniel Sakai, age 35, was killed on March 21, 2009 in the line of duty along with fellow officers Sergeant Ervin Romans, Sergeant Mark Dunakin, and Officer John Hege. Daniel is survived by wife Jenni and daughter Jojiye.

TODAY'S MUST SEE VIDEO - The Oakland Police Department Tribute Workout (which raised over $13,000 for the families of these four fallen police officers.)
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Workout of The Day

"Danny"
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
24 inch Box Jump, 30 reps
115 pound Push Press, 20 reps
30 Pull-ups

Post rounds and portions of rounds completed to comments.
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FYI - We will not be open the weekend of May 2nd-3rd. So if you are interested in attending or bringing some friends to a free Saturday class before Saturday, May 9th, tomorrow will be the last day to do so. We hope to see you there!!

Grinder

Is Jennifer a Grinder?  I think so!!

"A Grinder is someone that embodies and inspires the average joe who never gives up or surrenders to their evil weaker character who says "stop", but instead fights on for each rep and each second of reduced time off their WOD."
-courtesy of CrossFit Radio

Post someone at CFV that you think deserves to be called a "Grinder".

TODAY'S MUST SEE VIDEO - The impact learning the Pose method of running has on world-class triathletes.
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Workout of The Day
(compare to Monday, March 16th, 2009)

Deadlift 5-5-5 reps

then,
Bottom to Bottom Tabata Squats
& 1 Mile Run

Post loads, tabata score, and mile time to comments.

Embrace The Suck

Luke embraces the suck as he goes for the 12 ft. wall-ball target

We are huge fans of using high-intensity short-duration exercise. There is no doubt high-intensity training is great for increasing strength, speed, power, cardiovascular endurance, and stamina. But it has also been shown to greatly improve posture, joint health, sleep, flexibility, blood pressure, bone strength, and fat loss.

If it is so beneficial to do high-intensity exercise, why doesn't everyone do it? Because it is hard, uncomfortable, and brings to people the true meaning of suck! The ability to embrace the suck is what sets CrossFit athletes (we're all considered athletes here) apart from the rest!

Embrace the suck! Reap the rewards!

TODAY'S MUST SEE VIDEO - Greg Glassman on "Capacity Across Random Tasks."
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Workout of The Day
(compare to Friday, January 23rd, 2009)

"Fran"
3 rounds, 21-15-9 reps, for time of:
Thrusters (men:95 lbs, women:65 lbs)
Pull-ups

Post time to comments.

Setting Yourself Up for Success: The Zone/Paleo Diet

Miguel DeCoste hanging out with Nicole Carroll at the Southern California Qualifiers. Miguel's soon-to-be sister-in-law, Valerie Mackenzie, earned 2nd place at the event!

If there was only one piece of advice I could give to someone who wanted to thrive in CrossFit, I would say one word: Nutrition. Sound nutrition is absolutely essential for success in CrossFit. No matter how hard or often you workout, you'll never benefit optimally from our program without first dialing in a good food plan.

At CFV, we treat food like fuel, and it is no surprise that our fittest athletes weigh and measure their food. The effect the Zone Diet has in combination with CrossFit is not just substantial, it is scary! Performance shoots through the roof and body composition is altered dramatically!

Many CrossFitters have also found success following the Paleo diet, which is the following: Eat meats and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. This diet also does wonders for improving both your health and body composition. However, following the paleo diet will not have nearly the effect on your performance as following the zone.

So if you want to set yourself up for CrossFit success:

-Following a diet combining both the Zone (quantity) and Paleo (quality) will get you better health and greater performance than anything else out there!

-Following the Zone Diet alone will get you feeling great, healthy, and performing extremely well.

-Following the Paleo Diet alone will get you feeling great, and healthy.

-Following a diet high in carbs will get you sick, feeling like crap, and while you'll still slowly improve, you'll never truly thrive.

TODAY'S MUST READ- An extremely easy guide on how to implement the Zone Diet!

TODAY'S MUST SEE SITE - Zone Block Quick Reference Guide.
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Workout of The Day
(compare to Wednesday, December 17th, 2008)

Overhead Squat 3-3-3 reps

then,
5 rounds for time of:
1.5 pood Kettlebell Swings, 15 reps (women - 1 pood)
30 Double-unders

Post loads and time to comments.