Dutch Lowy

This months challenge will be Thrusters… Of course.

You will take the weight you use for Fran and perform as many thrusters as possible in one set. The bar must not go below the shoulders or your set is finished. There is no time component so take as long as you want. The bar can be rested in the front rack or overhead.

The thrusters must be squatted to full depth (hips crease below knee) and finished with elbow locked out fully over head.

Please post your results below.
If you are posting for a gym please post the total number of thrusters done by your gym and total number of people that participated. Also please give a per person number. See the rules post if you don’t understand.

You have until June 30 to post results.

My score was 46 @ 98 lbs.
Spencer got 40 @ 98. He might have gotten a couple more but we aren’t sure.
He also brought the bar down from his shoulders which we decided should be against the rules.
Good Luck!

A good friend of mine, CJ Martin of Crossfit Invictus, posted this last week. It is his summary of what a client should experience when they walk in the door of his gym. It is brilliant and very helpful for the clients to know exactly what to expect each day. Giving people a little structure can ease the transition into classes. He also gives people a little time to be social and talk about how much they love/hate crossfit.
Thank You CJ!

Go With the Flow – New Gym Routines and Procedures
Written by C.J. Martin

All gyms have a natural flow to them – a pattern by which members arrive, situate themselves and prepare to have a great workout. For some, it’s sprinting in and joining the already-in-progress group warm-up (ahem, “A”-Game), but for others it entails some pre-WOD mingling and catching up with friends. I love this, and heartily encourage it as our community is what makes CrossFit Invictus so different from other places. Nonetheless, I am proposing some new rules that will improve both your socializing and athletic performance. So next time you are in, go with the following flow of the gym:

1. Check-In at the Front Desk – This is not optional. You all have really cool little key fabs or membership cards. Please scan them when you arrive.
2. Gather with Friends at the Back of the Building and Roll – Some of the best tools in the gym are the black foam rollers and lacrosse balls (individual and those taped together). In my opinion, they are not being used nearly enough. Rolling some of your tight muscle groups helps get needed blood flow to them, loosens them so they will contract and relax better, and generally improves their functionality for the athletic endeavor you are about to embark upon. And the great thing is, you can roll and socialize at the same time. Yes, your conversation might be interrupted occasionally by a yelp, but that’s just good fun and provides for some comedic relief. So gather there and roll while you catch up with friends.
3. Dynamic, Skill-Based Warm-Up with Group – Once group session begins, your coach will put you through a dynamic warm-up. Recognize that this is not only a warm-up, but also an opportunity to put your body in ideal positions. Use this time to reinforce proper mechanics. For instance, when you lunge, think about how you lunge in a split jerk or split clean. Are you grooving that ideal pattern, or are you forward on the toe and too narrow? Make the most of this time and perform each movement perfectly.
4. Strength/Skill Work – No ego. Nobody is impressed when you deadlift 400 lbs. and herniate two discs in the process. Strive for virtuosity here. Move well and your numbers will progressively skyrocket. Move poorly and you might get some big numbers for a while, but you also run the risk of missing valuable training sessions because you are nursing injuries. This is your chance to perfect movements without a clock pressuring you to move quickly. Take the opportunity to be perfect. Once you have been consistently perfect, then begin to be consistently perfect with big weights.
5. Timed Workout – Go hard . . . and be damn-near perfect. I can accept slight deviations of form when you’re hitting it at high intensity, but you should be striving for perfection. (And if your coach’s interpretation of “slight deviation of form” is different from yours, you are the one who is wrong. Listen to your coach and slow down.)
6. Clean Up – Once you have completed your workout, please give us a hand by wiping down the bars and placing everything back where you found it. There is, however, one caveat: Be respectful of those who are still working out. It’s better to cheer someone on or relax than walk right in front of them with your barbell and weights. Nobody likes to be last, particularly when everyone else is cleaning up around them. Wipe down your bar and do a little static stretching while you cheer for others, then you can put your gear away and give them a hand with theirs.
7. Log Your Performance – If you don’t have a Performance Log, your coach will be chatting with you this week. They are essential to tracking your athletic progress. You will never know if what you are doing is effective unless you can track what you have been doing. This is the best $15 investment you will make in your fitness.
8. Post-WOD Recovery Work – If your coach puts you through a post-WOD recovery drill (stretching or additional skill work) please view it with the same respect you view the first portions of the workout. Recovery is instrumental to getting more fit. If you slack here, it will show. If your coach ran out of time, you’re not excused from stretching. Most of you know our protocols for post-WOD stretching, and even if you don’t, any stretching after your WOD is better than none. Get it done – your body will thank you.
9. GHD Machines – Almost as neglected as the foam rollers are our beautiful GHD machines. End your workout the way you began it, by socializing near the back wall. Jump on the GHD and knock out 10 sit-ups and 10 hip extensions. Then let a friend on to do the same. Switch on and off until you have done somewhere between 30-50 sit-ups and extensions.
10. Grab Your MMMM Good Meal or Invictus Shots – Invictus Shots help you recover quicker by replacing depleted glycogen stores in your muscles. Shoot one immediately after your workout and your muscles will start recovering quicker – which means you might not be as sore the next day. Grab a meal for later while you’re at it. They’re delicious, nutritionally balanced and inexpensive – plus, you didn’t have to cook it.

For those of you interested in the competition i posted about yesterday, check the tab at the top for an overview and rules.

What is your personality type?

If you don’t know let me be more specific. Which of the examples below do you identify with?

1)
Your classes start on time everyday and you have control of everything during each class. You have each class planned out and know how much time you have for each segment. The times are strictly adhered to. Class finishes with some organized stretching or cool down exercises. Your member info is highly organized and easily accessed. You spend hours everyday adjusting pictures and organizing your website. You make sure each and every post is perfect. You shower everyday and always wear underwear.

2)
Classes usually start a couple minutes late. They sometimes run over and are sometimes very short depending on the days workout. You are very creative with warmups and workouts. The class is usually followed with social time where you and your clients get to hang out and stretch but nothing organized. You just like to keep things low key. Your blog is fun to play with and you usually get a post up every couple days. The workout usually gets posted but if not no one panics. Showers are optional unless you worked out and didn’t go to the pool immediately afterwards. Shoes and underwear are also optional.

The above are two different training styles. Both are highly effective but drastically different. I think if you can identify which one you gravitate towards you can better identify how you can more effectively run your classes. Knowing yourself will really help give pick the format that best suites you.

Who would you rather train with? 1 or 2? Which one best describes your style? Thoughts?

I talk about doing fun stuff between affiliates in my seminar and have finally come up with a way to make it happen. Let me know if ya’ll would be interested in this.

I want to post an affiliate challenge/competition each month. It would be totally scalable and easily scored. The size of your affiliate would be taken into account with the scoring.
One workout or test a month will be posted in the first of the month. The results don’t need to be submitted until the last day of the month. This gives the affiliate owner or coach the opportunity to show their programming genius. It would also give your clients a bigger purpose and help bring them together as a team.
The winner each month will get a small prize to post on their site for the month. The prize will shift to the next winner at the end of each month.
There will be a dedicated page where affiliates can post their progress and thoughts throughout the month.
I will post my scores as well so there is something to shoot for.

I think i can make an individuals category so even the garage gym crossfitters can play. The winners will be featured on my blog.

Anyone interested?

I had an interesting conversation with Eric Barber of Next Generation Crossfit in Tulsa about yesterdays topic. He said he really stepped up his training for his qualifier. He also started zoning and was feeling good so he pushed harder each day sometimes doing 2 a days. He said that he really felt like he wanted to train and felt bad when he would take rest days. To me that is a red flag that you are teetering on the edge of under recovery. His head was telling him to train but he didn’t have a good handle on what his body was telling him. I have trained many people like this.

I can’t say that i know Eric as well as Jason Boag from CF OKC does but it seems he has that type A personality that compels him to train regardless what his body is telling him. This doesn’t mean it is a lost cause. If he takes a step back each day and evaluates how he is feeling both mentally and physically each day i bet his training would be more enjoyable and more productive. Why put yourself on a set schedule if you don’t have to? If your goal is to optimize performance you have to listen to your body.

I know it is time to train because i feel it in my chest. It is a weird energetic feel i get when i know i am going to hit it hard. Can you identify that feeling in yourself?

I had a conversation this weekend with Andy Petranek of Crossfit LA and obviously we got on the topic of the CF Games. Of course i was in the middle of making fun of him for being the oldest person to qualify when we got onto training for the games. I think Andy and myself are alike in many ways. He mentioned that immediately after his qualifier he took some time off then started training really hard, like harder than he usually does. He was tired and miserable. We started talking about how that is not why we do this and that we got into it originally, not to be competitive athletes but to have some fun and mix up our training.

Andy Mentioned something that i really liked. He said you can’t cram for a final exam (CF Games) that is 2 months away. We had a good laugh over that one but it really makes sense.

In training, as much as you want your overall fitness to be measurably better every day, when you are at Andy’s level its just not gonna happen. You have to be patient and spend time on what you know works and make sure that you recover. Andy mentioned that what he was doing after the qualifier was no where near what he did before. Obviously what he did before worked pretty well, so why change it? I feel the same way. My training hasn’t drastically changed either. Luckily i didn’t beat myself up before i realized this but it has certainly gone through my head that i should train more. I am on my second day off in a row and tomorrow is Memorial Day…

Before last weekend’s Football cert i spent a couple days in San Diego at Crossfit Invictus. They have to have one of the best collections of Crossfit trainers in the country. They also have an amazing blog and a fantastic gym.

One of their trainers has been providing more than just training for the past year. Michele Vieux, owner of MMMM Good Meals, has been cooking up some serious meals for the greater San Diego area. She is a phenominal coach and chef. I got the chance to sit down with her and pick her brain about her business and training for the games (she finished 5th at the SoCal regionals).

We will start with some background info:
My background is in Soccer and swimming. I used to compete in the butterfly.
I still like to swim but i make it more Crossfit friendly with some pool WODs at least once a week. I do crazy stuff like swim with dumbbells. Its really fun!

Since we are talking about training, what are you doing to get ready for the games?
I took a week off after the qualifiers and have since been on a pretty strict 3 on 1 off program. I have added in more strength and skill work as well as a 20 rep squat set once a week. I have been doing most of my WOD’s with the mens RX’d weights. In June i am getting together with the other SoCal qualifiers 3 times to train together. I have also been working with Sage and Kris (#1 finisher at SoCal). I am lucky to be surrounded by great coaches and can’t wait to see what the games have to offer!

Ok, so tell me a little about how MMMMGood came about.
A little over a year ago (March 08) i started bringing food to the gym for myself. The other trainers were always looking over my shoulder so i started to sell them the leftovers. It just grew from there. I quit my job a month later.

How is business now?
I started at 10 meals a day and now do between 60 and 80 meals a day! I provide Breakfast, Lunch, Diner and Snacks as well as Invictus shots. (Invictus shots are 2 block carbs for post workout glycogen repletion. They are fucking amazing!!)
I also cater certs as well as functions for clients.

What kinds of food do you provide?
I do strictly paleo zone with Dairy. There are also Non-Dairy options. I only provide 4 block meals and 2 block snacks.

Do you have any employees?
I have 3 part timers that help with cooking and delivery.

Any plans for the future?
I would really like to get out and do some cooking seminars and consulting. I have done a couple cooking classes that were great successes. I am working on a cookbook and would like to put out a DVD at some point. I am always looking for new ideas. I don’t have any loans so i can only grow from here. I am looking at getting into a commercial kitchen soon because my kitchen is too small to accomodate the amount of meals i have to cook.

What have you noticed about Nutrition in the Crossfit community?
I have seen a distinct shift from zone to paleo with less emphasis on zone proportions.

Why did you make the leap into running your own business?
Being happy is important to me. I knew that I didn’t want to sit at a desk my whole life so I decided to take the leap. I had friends that could help out if i needed it and it was something that people wanted. I am a good listener and knew i could make the people happy. You have to listen to what people are saying and give them what they want especially when it comes to food.

What is your background in cooking?
I have always loved cooking but i grew up in the midwest and didn’t have the healthiest diet. Since getting into Crossfit i have really tightened up my diet. I just love to cook so this is perfect.

Thank you Michele!

Michelle will have a booth set up at the games so go check out her meals. I can testify, they are top notch and so is Michelle.