Crushing egos one workout at a time.

Hopper Challenge

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:46:41 -0400

Maybe we haven’t pushed this hard enough, or maybe you guys don’t get it - we want you all to sign up for the Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge. This is not only for our elite members, it is for everyone. The simple fact is that we ALL need something to train for. If your goal is just to be able to do anything that comes out of the hopper, & you are not even thinking about winning - that is great. If your goal is to win - that is great. If your goal is just to be able to see where you are & how you do in a competitive environment, even if you have to scale everything - that is great. This is something that we set up (with the boys at CrossFit BWI) for you, our members. We are not competing - it’s for you. We need you to stop making excuses & register. As of right now, CrossFit Fairfax - who has nothing to do with the challenge & has less members than we do - has more people signed up than we do. This, in my opinion, is unacceptable. Please, don’t worry about being able to do the exercises, we will be able to scale everything - just register & enjoy the event that we have set up for you. The link to register is in the “just a reminder” section below.

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ARTICLES:
-Buy your weightlifting shoes - NOW!
-What gymnasts eat.
-Still think you have an excuse?

JUST A REMINDER:
-Saturday, September 6th, 6pm: Arlington 9/11 Memorial 5K
-Saturday, October 11th, 8am: The Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge @ CrossFit BWI

TODAY’S EXERCISE EXCUSE EXORCISM:
“I can’t do Fran - I’ll poop my pants.”

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WOD 080819

Row 1K
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3 rounds of:
10 Push Jerk 135/95lbs
20 Pullups

For time.

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Advanced WOD 080819

AMRAP of:

15 Ring Dips
20 Row for Calories
25 Double Unders

In 20 minutes.

How You Know

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:08:02 -0400

There are a few sure signs that you have performed a workout with the requisite intensity. Here are some of them:

You shake violently for 4-6 hours. I’m not a scientist or anything, but I think the technical term for this is “like a crackheaditis” (it’s science, you guys wouldn’t understand). This condition is rare, but it does happen. If you experience this your first course of action should be to immediately tell all of your friends, “Dude, I worked out so hard I’m shaking!” Just so you know - they won’t care & will think you’re crazy.
You puke. This one happens infrequently, but we wish it would happen more. This is the gold standard for real exertion. If you chuck your breakfast it usually means that you: a) have a screw lose, b) certainly gave it everything you have (literally), & c) we love you - you instantly become one of our favorite people. We love you Dave.
You can’t sleep for a few days. This has also become known as “Rudy & Christy’s life”. This condition usually involves a lot of sweating, something that feels like restless leg syndrome, & an entire bottle of wine (or bottle of Nyquil). If you experience this & you are male, try to find one of the 38 cable stations that are playing “The Notebook”. If you are female try to find the NFL Network - better yet, try to find an auto auction that features muscle cars. These are the only known cures.
You start running around screaming, pumping your fist, or high-5ing people. This is known as PR syndrome. It usually happens when you haven’t done the workout in a really long time, & have actually been into the gym 3 to 5 days a week for a few months straight. This has also been known to happen when Javad isn’t talking.
You lay on the ground for 10 or more minutes, & begin to wonder why the hell you’re doing this. This is know as “post workout traumatic distress disorder” & is the most common of all intense exercise inducted syndromes. One of the best ways to tell if you will recover from this disorder is by measuring the size of your “sweat angel”. If it is more than 3 inches wider than your normal body width, you will be fine. If it is the same size or smaller than your normal body width, then you should get up & apologize to everyone in the room for acting like you worked out really hard.

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ARTICLES:
-Buy your weightlifting shoes - NOW!
-Think CrossFit is too hard?
-Yoga this & Pilates that.

JUST A REMINDER:
-Saturday, September 6th, 6pm: Arlington 9/11 Memorial 5K
-Saturday, October 11th, 8am: The Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge @ CrossFit BWI

TODAY’S EXERCISE EXCUSE EXORCISM:
“I bruised my foot.”

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WOD 080818

1RM (rep max) back squat

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Advanced WOD 080818

21-15-9 of:

OHS 135/95lbs
Weighted Pullups 40/20lbs

For time.

Saturday - Olympics, Day 2

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:19:07 -0400

Event 2 of the CrossFit Alexandria Olympics looks to be a little more of a, shall we say, keep you up the night before with fear event. Some of us used to revere this workout as if it were a religious experience. Now, after having done others that make it seem like a cupcake, we remember it fondly as feeling like a few minutes underwater - wrestling an alligator. The gym always seems a little more intense on these days, & the post workout laying on the floor always seems to last a little longer. Ladies & gentleman, say goodbye to a good nights sleep - Saturday morning we’ll be doing “Fran”.

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ARTICLES:
-Buy your weightlifting shoes - NOW!
-Farris sets 2 US records in weightlifting.
-Cressey Performance foam roller video.

JUST A REMINDER:
-Saturday, September 6th, 6pm: Arlington 9/11 Memorial 5K
-Saturday, October 11th, 8am: The Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge @ CrossFit BWI

TODAY’S EXERCISE EXCUSE EXORCISM:
“My arms hurt.”

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WOD 080815

Burpee Ladder

(Every minute on the minute do a burpee, adding one each minute until you can no longer complete the number).

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Advanced WOD 080815

“Braveheart”

9-6-3 of:

Thrusters 165/105lbs
KBS 40/24kgs
Tire Flips

For time.

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WOD 080816

“Fran”

21-15-9 of:

Thrusters 95/65lbs
Pullups

For time.

Fishing - For Time

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:21:06 -0400

I actually got to use the excuse “gone fishing” for the first time yesterday. It’s been something I’ve wanted to say my entire life, but since I don’t live in Mayberry it’s been kind of hard to get the opportunity. I had heard that you could actually ride out in a boat, throw a hook in the water, & catch fish that you could then eat. Me being a city boy, I just thought this was some sort of an urban myth that only happened on TV. Now, thanks to Tom Flynn, I know that the rumors are true, & it’s actually pretty fun.

Tom told me on Tuesday night he had a spot open for a charter trip he was taking Wednesday morning. He told me all you have to do is show up & the charter captain would do all the hard work (baiting, & finding the fish). The kicker was that we had to be there (past the bay bridge) at 6am. That was ok with me, I get up at 5am most days, so after clearing my schedule I told Tommy that I’d be there.

Tim Busch (one half of team TnT) took the other spot on the boat, & we sailed (sailed? engined? who knows) at around 6:15am. It was a beautiful morning, a nice boat, & we had a good captain. Once we were out for about 20 minutes the captain set the anchor, & gave us a little class on how to cast the rods. I, literally, have no idea how to fish, & after the captain explained it to us I still had no idea, but at least I knew where to point the rod.

In true CrossFit fashion, within about 15 seconds of casting my rod I had a fish on the hook. I stumbled & fumbled my way into reeling it in, & ended up with about a 28 inch rockfish as the first catch of the day. Many “fishing for time” jokes were made, & I announced that “I do everything for time”. We, again in true CrossFit fashion, caught our limit in about two hours & proceeded to hang out & make fun of each other for not wanting to bait the rods (I was the last one to do it) for the rest of the morning.

I know what you’re thinking - what the hell does this have to do with CrossFit? Well kids, as I was sitting there on the boat, I was thinking about a comment that I had heard Coach Glassman make about how he was always going to events that his clients would invite him to. He said that he had some wealthy clients who had a huge “personal staff” of lawyers, accountants, assistants, dietitians, etc., etc. He would go to the events & realize that he was the only one of the “personal staff” that was there, amongst the normal family & friends. I started thinking how grateful I was that Tommy had invited me to go fishing with him & Tim. Then I started to think how much I enjoy hanging out with each & every one of you, & how I wish there were more time in the day so we could all go fishing together (unless of course you hate fishing - I play golf too). Seriously, what makes this gym & our jobs so great is that we get to hang out with you guys. Don’t worry, we’re not being nice to you because you pay us - we like you, we really like you. Not to mention, we’re not really that nice anyway.

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ARTICLES:
-Buy your weightlifting shoes - NOW!
-Robb Wolf on (warning: anatomy nerd word) kyphosis.
-Calling BS on restaurant calorie counts.

JUST A REMINDER:
-Saturday, September 6th, 6pm: Arlington 9/11 Memorial 5K
-Saturday, October 11th, 8am: The Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge @ CrossFit BWI

TODAY’S EXERCISE EXCUSE EXORCISM:
“My arms hurt.”

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WOD 080814

300 Walking Lunges (150 ea. leg)
100 Situps
100 Pushups

For time.

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CrossFit Ouch WOD 080814

Make up Eva, or any workouts you missed during the week.

The Teams - Really

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:16:50 -0400

OK. I think we have everyone on a team. Please read the list & make sure that your name is on it. There have been a few trades since yesterday, so don’t freak out if your name is on another team. We will be giving your team captain your email address, so if you do not receive an email from them please shoot me one at rudy@crossfitalexandria.com & we will make sure they get your address. Thanks for your patience. Let the Games begin.

CFA Olympic Teams

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ARTICLES:
-Buy your weightlifting shoes - NOW!
-Robb Wolf on (warning: anatomy nerd word) kyphosis.
-Calling BS on restaurant calorie counts.

JUST A REMINDER:
-Saturday, September 6th, 6pm: Arlington 9/11 Memorial 5K
-Saturday, October 11th, 8am: The Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge @ CrossFit BWI

TODAY’S EXERCISE EXCUSE EXORCISM:
“I’m scared.”

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WOD 080813

With a continuously running clock, as many reps as possible of:

Box Jumps
Pullups
Row Calories
Burpees
Hang Clean 95/65

3 rounds of 1 minutes per station with 1 minute rest between rounds.

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CrossFit Ouch WOD 080813

“Eva”

Run 800m
30 KBS 32/24kg
30 Pullups

5 rounds for time.