WOD, 3/10/10:

FIRST:

3 x 3 Back Squat @ 85% of your one rep max

THEN:

“WOD 4 TN/MS/AL Sectional”

MEN
As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:
5 Handstand Push-ups
95 pound Squat snatch, 7 reps
20″ Box jumps, 10 reps

WOMEN
As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:
3 Handstand Push-ups
55 pound Squat snatch, 7 reps
20″ Box jumps, 10 reps

I am not sure if I’ve ever posted this article before, but even if I did, it deserves a re-posting.  It was written by John Gilson of Again Faster and certainly gives one something to think about:

You have no right to bitch.  Your sore hamstrings and screaming core are artifacts of high intensity compound movement, enabled by firm contact with Mother Earth and the primate’s gift of an opposable thumb.  The very fact that your arms feel like lead and your legs like the business end of a propane torch is a gift of inclusion, given only because you have legs and arms to hurt.

The men of the Warrior Transition Battalion at Brooke Army Medical Center don’t know your pain.  They brought guns to a bomb fight, and came home with fewer limbs than they packed, blown apart by the cowardice of other men. 

Their pain is worse, one of exclusion, borne of wheelchairs and ramps, endless hours of physical therapy and prosthetic fittings, hobbled by the incessant need for painkillers.  You will never know the agony that they’ve endured, first physically mangled, and then pitied, seen as victims of a botched War.

Luckily, they don’t share the viewpoint.  An even twenty, enabled by the efforts of a young Lieutenant, are pursuing rehabilitation with revenge. 

These men came to Alamo CrossFit to learn the tenets of CrossFit, supported by a crackerjack crew of trainers and an unrelenting need to go beyond the bounds of traditional recovery. 

Placed in an environment where pity was gone and intensity was the only goal, I watched men do handstand pushups, femurs balanced against their wheelchairs, no feet weighing them down.  I watched a Marine pull himself up a gymnastics ring, ripping as hard as he could while an unwieldy leg brace fought his every effort.  I watched a man with no patella tendon sit into a full-depth squat, and a man with no legs clean a medicine ball from the ground.

These men, broken in body, were impossible to stop.  The pain that we could inflict—jackhammering hearts, mental torment, and burning muscles—paled in comparison to the months of adversity that led them to our doorstep.  They deadlifted and squatted, ran and pressed, displaying a fortitude far beyond our capacity to keep up. 

Every moment hammered home a single point:  You’ll be fine.

Remember that the pain is a gift, and men have overcome far worse.  When your training results in injury, remember that there are those whose injuries dwarf yours by degrees of magnitude, men who would kill for the right to feel a strained Achilles or a jammed thumb.  They will not quit regardless of the odds, and you will not disgrace their example. 

The next time your muscles protest or you feel a callus give way, be thankful for the feeling, and the comparative ease with which you train every day.  Be thankful for the gift that is your body, and the pain that it brings.

In Northern Texas, there are twenty men battling to reclaim lost capacity, showing the world that injury is not an endpoint, that sacrifice does not end in martyrdom.  Their courage is physical and mental, and their lesson is one that will serve far beyond their lifetimes. 

Their pain is unimaginable, but their message is easily understood:  the struggle to become a better human being ends only in death.  Don’t let them down.

Kyle Maynard coaches Josh through a muscle-up attempt at Alamo CrossFit.  Picture courtesy of The Napping Poet.

Chris Cap going hard during today's WOD.

Lee pushing some big weight during today's WOD

Welcome Rachel to SCF!

Welcome Ben to SCF!

Nothin' like some 4:30 skill work in the spring air!

We used almost every barbell during the 4:30 pm class this evening. Great work!

Uh-oh Mark Testa, you may have some competition for the best workout face! Great work today, Colin!

 
WOD, 3/09/10:

“SoCal Sectional WOD 1″

For time:

Run 400m
10 Squat Clean to Overhead (135/95lbs)
10 Pullups (kipping or strict, chin clearly over the bar, full arm extension at bottom, no butterfly)
Three rounds for time.
20 minute time limit.

If you haven’t recorded your weekly points for the Paleo challenge, please do so tomorrow.  We have a lot of PERFECT scores this week!

I almost hate to program a WOD with over head squats in it.  For some individuals, it almost seems as if the movement comes naturally.  They pick up the 45 lb bar and look perfect: shoulders active, elbows locked out, bar bisecting the head, crease of hip below parallel, knees tracking toes, weight in their heels.  But for most, this is NOT the case.  It is a difficult movement involving strength, stability, flexibility, and a tremendous amount of balance.  

The reasoning behind why I hate to program this movement, is because I hate to see you struggle. For most, it is a humbling, ego-shattering lift.  Today, I saw some individuals who can front squat well over 200 lbs for reps be reduced to the 45 lb barbell. I want to commend those of you who were not ashamed, or angry when you were required to do this.  Always remember, FORM OVER WEIGHT.  We would much rather see you moving properly with light weight, than pull heavy loads with terrible form.  I always say, “you’ve got to learn to dress yourself appropriately before you can even think about accessorizing” (an analogy that may be lost on some of our male clients).  It applies to lifting weights too.  I ‘d rather watch you perfect your air squat, or do an overhead squat with a pvc pipe, than load of the weights and lose form.

So, I continue to program overhead squats (and snatches…the OHS’ more explosive brother) because, as much as I hate to see you struggle, I LOVE TO SEE YOU IMPROVE AND SUCCEED.  With practice, will come better form, and therefore, heavier lifts. 

Kudos to all my athletes who put their egos aside today for the sake of good form and becoming a better athlete.  

WOD, 3/8/10:

FIRST:
For 10 minutes work on gymnastics skills:

• Handstand holds
• L-sits (bar & rings)
• Skin the cats
• Handstand push ups
• Kipping swing
• Kipping push-ups

THEN:

“The Burner”
5 rounds for time
95/65 pound Overhead Squat, 15 reps
Burpees, 10 reps

Kevin Miller found this GREAT article on The CrossFit Journal about taming your “inner voice” before, during, and after WODs.  Here is a short excerpt:

“If everything that passed through your head was said out loud to another CrossFitter, would you be considered a good coach or a bad coach, a motivating coach or a demoralizing coach?

This question is important, because your self-talk is really your own personal coach.”

This article provides CONCRETE strategies to teach you to be more positive and increase productivity in your WODs.  It is worth the time you’ll take to read it.  Read it at:

http://journal.crossfit.com/2009/11/performance-psychology-taming-the-inner-voice.tpl

PLEASE BE SURE TO DOCUMENT YOUR POINTS FOR WEEK ONE OF THE PALEO CHALLENGE ON THE WHITEBOARD NEAR THE RESTROOM (37 max points).

If you haven’t noticed, we have added a 10:30 am class to our Saturday schedule.

Check out these pics from the past few WODS: