Nicole

20 minutes AMRAP

400 minutes

Max Pullups

Gym will be Closed Tomorrow August 1

No pictures today because the main computer is farked up.

I wanted to bring to your attention something today that is not intense or constantly varied but it is functional. Ocean rowing is something of a small past time at my alma mater, and some of my friends are attempting to do the next Woodvale Atlantic race. What they intend to do is take four people and cross the Atlantic in a small boat carrying all their food, survival supplies and whatever else they'll need. They're also trying to break the women's record of 51 days. Their team is called Rowing for the Environment check 'em out. They're looking for corporate sponsors, buying days of food and they'll be selling t-shirts soon. Individually they'll consume between 6 and 8,000 calories a day, time four and that's alot of food. Ashley and Erika are great people and if y'all choose to support them your money would go to a great cause. Every little bit helps. Pass the website on to anyone you think would interested. Let's help these women out!

T-shirt poll is up!!! The poll is on the left of the page. Make sure to put down your vote for the next t-shirt quote, because this is your chance to make the t-shirt you want. The poll will be open for a week from today. Once the quote is decided upon we will be putting out t-shirts within 2 weeks. Thanks in advance for your votes and all that you give to CrossFit Sandy Springs.

Last thing, good luck to everyone competing tomorrow and everyone else going to show their support. You guys are going to do awesome.

CFHQ

Rest day

or

Make-up a 

WOD

or

"Paul's Day O' Pain"

(You have to show up to find out.)

Cobrinha making handstand push-ups look easy.

Diego and our newb Eric having fun with plyometrics. It's great to have you with us Eric.

Make sure you are checking back regularly because, we will be posting a lot of announcements on the blog in the next few weeks. 

How was the run yesterday for those of you who did not make it in? Did you do a 5K or 10K? What was your time? We want to know, so post it to the comments for today.

 I hope everyone is ready for this weekend and going down to the Cobb Galeria to participate in the challenge. Nate and Paul will be down there volunteering throughout the day, so make sure to hook up with them about arrival times. Also, tomorrow there will be a voting link on the blog for the t-shirt quote. So, if you have any last minute ideas make sure to post them to the comments on the site by tonight. 

Last thing is just a reminder that Saturday classes will be cancelled in light of the challenge. Even if you do not plan on participating in the workout make sure you head down there at least for an hour to show support for your CrossFit community and of course all those competing from our gym. Sunday we will be open for one hour as usual. That hour will be announced on Saturday's blog.

10K(6.2mi.) Run

Come in to the gym and run the mile route if you like or head down to columns dr. and run the 5k loop by the river.

Gym route

Right on roswell rd.

Right on Hammond

Right on Sandy Springs Cr.

Right on Hilderbrand

Repeat three times

Columns dr.

To get to Columns from the gym:

Left on Roswell rd.

Left on Johnsferry rd.

After you cross over the river, Columns dr. is on your left. Drive all the way to the dead end and park in the gravel lot. The route starts at the parking lot continues all the way down to the opposite parking lot and back down the other side of the trails. Post your times to the comments.

4,5 and 6 p.m. classes will meet Chace at Columns Drive. We will start every run no later than 30 min. after the hour. Chace will also have a cooler full of water, but you will need to bring $3 cash for parking. If you're unable to go to Columns text Chace (or leave a note in comments), Nate and I will be in the gym at the normal times, so if you need to run at the gym we will be available. Also, if you have a stop watch, find your favorite running route and clock yourself. Post your times to the comments.

Today is the last day for T-shirt suggestions, we're gonna vote tomorrow!

Nothing we do in here is easy, olympic lifts in particular are hard compound functional movements and we saw a bit of frustration yesterday. None of you, absolutely none of you, should ever feel bad about having trouble with a lift, a workout or anything else in here. It happens, sometimes the gravity's higher or your legs refuse to move fast enough. That's okay. It isn't life or death in here, have fun: relax, stop thinking and just move the bar or do the next rep. The very nature of Crossfit makes it hard enough, it takes the strongest men and women and shows us were they're weak. It does the same thing to everyone else. Getting down on yourself won't help at all. We are all united in fighting our weaknesses whether you're a firebreather whose been at it for months or a newbie fresh off your first workout. Enjoy the fight.

Clean and Jerk Ladder

135 lbs.

Do 1 Clean and Jerk the first minute, 2 the second minute and so on until you can't complete the prescribed number of reps in the minute.

You should all be going to the Georgia Fitness Challenge. Seriously, the gym will be closed. Where else are you going to get a workout?

Let's take about Hip Function. We always discuss hip function as a terms of being open but do you really understand what that means? I was giving an anatomical cue that has worked for me that I'd like to pass on. If you can contract and actively fire your glutes and hamstrings when you are standing up than your hips are open ( When I say contract I mean pinch together). Try this: Drop down into a 1/4 squat. Try and engage your glutes as you stand up, you wont be able to. Come up in a little bit at a time and try and fire your glutes, note when you are able to. Now do a full squat and actively fire at the top. That is what we mean when we say open your hips.

"Cindy"

20 min. AMRAP of:

5 Pull-ups

10 Push-ups

15 Squats

or

"Mary"

20 min. AMRAP of:

5 Handstand Push-ups 

10 Pistol Squats, alternating legs

15 Pull-ups

CFHQ rest day

CFSS

rest day

20 min. AMRAP of:

10 Wall Ball, 20 lbs.

10 GHD Sit-ups

10 Hip Extensions 

Today's classes will be 8, 9, and 10. With 10 o'clock with 8 o'clock being a skills class. 

"Lynne"

5 Rounds of:
Max reps body weight bench press

Max pull-ups

or

try this

CFSS

Shoulder Press

3-3-3-3-3

then

10 min. AMRAP

200m. Run

Max Pull-ups

"D.T."

155 lbs. Deadlift, 12 reps

155 lbs. Hang Power Clean, 9 reps
155 lbs. Push Jerk, 6 reps

5 Rounds for time

I've gotten a few questions about drag setting on the rowers. I'm going to take some time now to give a brief overview of what it is, what it's supposed to simulate and what that means to you. I'll put a long winded explanation below this but the rough recommendation is:

Short Piece = Higher Damper Setting

Long Piece = Lower Damper setting

These rules are guidelines and with more experience you'll know where you feel comfortable.

The Concept2 rowing ergometer measures raw power (in meters, watts or time) through the revolutions of a flywheel, the flywheel acts as a turbine and the more air the fan gets the faster it will slow down. the damper on the side controls the amount of air the flywheel can get, and how quickly it will slow down. 1 damper lets in very little air and accordingly the wheel can spin for longer. 10 damper let's in a lot of air and the fly wheel spins down quicker this corresponds to two things: boat feel and muscle stimilus.

In a shell we refer to something called "run". When a crew is working in co-ordination and with good form and power, the boat feels light and effortless. This corresponds to a one damper. If the crew has no co-ordanition, technique or power we call this a heavy boat or novice year. This is a ten damper. What is more important for those of you who haven't stepped in a shell and don't intend on doing so, is that a 1 damper will fell more aerobic . A 10 damper will stimulate more anaerobic processes. For more basic information check out Concept2 basic's page. For a more advanced look at it check out this page on damper setting for your next 2k.

Ron pulling 395 from the floor, with a crowd of envious onlookers

Carol at 108.

CFHQ

Rest Day

CFSS

Make-up a missed WOD

or try this

20-15-10 of:

Pistol Squatss
Pull-ups

GHD Sit-ups

Announcements:

Saturday's Skill Class at 8 "The Press progression"

Normal classes at 9 and 10 a.m.

Post your T-shirt ideas to comments or on the sheet in the gym. Sign-up sheets will also be up.

Who's going to the georgia fitness challenge? Saturday August 1, all day. The Gym will be closed that day so if you want to work out then you will have to come see us.

I want to cover a few aspects of programming here. Crossfit works on a cycle of 3 on/1 off. This last cycle examplifies the constantly varied aspect of what we do in here. We had Filthy Fifty, 5k run and 7x1 deadlifts and then a rest day. We hit metabolic endurance, anaerobic exertion and aerobic exertion. Every pathway was covered from Phosphagenic to Oxidative.

However due to time constraints of life not many of us can train on the 3 on/1 off that crossfit programs. I try and do a 5 on/2 off program. Nate and Chace have all adapted the programming to fit they're own adaptation and time constraints. This means that given a various week we can pick and choose. I know today I'll probably hit the deadlifts instead of doing the 5k row. Ideally I'd do something aerobic for friday, but we'll see. My point in all this self-discussion is that we want to get a mix of everything. If you tend to miss the heavy lifting that is a weakness in your programming, if you tend to skip the long distance that is also a weakness. And you are the weaker and slower for having missed either one.You need to be addressing this in your general fitness. To ignore any of the domains is a weakness that does nothing to increase your work capacity or overall health. So I'm going to challenge you to do something might not like to do, like run or lift heavy.

1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Deadlifts

"The deadlift is more functional in that it's very hard to imagine a more useful application of strength than picking heavy stuff off the ground"

-Coach Mark Rippetoe (edited for langauge)

Crossfit T-shirts are so freaking cool. I try and collect one from every affliate I visit (2 so far). They are the best advertisement we have. It's a great way to brag about what you do in the gym and to represent us to the world at large. Chace is gearing up for another run of t-shirts and we're running a competition of sorts. Here's the deal:

We're looking for t-shirt suggestions: Post slogan, quotes, or whatever else you'd like to see on there to comments. One week from today we'll vote on the best one. So if you've got a suggestion, you've got a week to get it in. We'll accept submissions up to 6 a.m. next Tuesday.

There's going to be a sign-up sheet in the gym for sizes as well.

5K(3.2mi.) Run

Come in to the gym and run the mile route if you like or head down to columns dr. and run the 5k loop by the river.

Route at the gym:

Right on roswell rd.

Right on Hammond

Right on Sandy Springs Cr.

Right on Hilderbrand

Repeat three times

Columns dr.

To get to Columns from the gym:

Left on Roswell rd.

Left on Johnsferry rd.

After you cross over the river, Columns dr. is on your left. Drive all the way to the dead end and park in the gravel lot. The route starts at the parking lot continues all the way down to the opposite parking lot and back down the other side of the trails. Post your times to the comments.

4,5 and 6 p.m. classes will meet Chace at Columns Drive. We will start every run no later than 30 min. after the hour. Chace will also have a cooler full of water, but you will need to bring $3 cash for parking. Gear up guys, this is coming to become a new tradition. If you're unable to go to Columns text Chace (or leave a note in comments), Nate and I will be in the gym at the normal times, so if you need to run at the gym we will be available.

You may have seen the poster's hanging around about the Georgia Fitness Challenge, check 'em out here. It's all day August 1st. Nate and I will be down there representing Crossfit Sandy Springs to perspective members and answering questions. What we want out of you is to come do a workout. We're looking to show off the fitness you've built in here. You should never be afraid of any competition.

Competition is an integral part of what we do in here. Whether it is against yourself, against the person next to you, or against the clock we are always fighting something. This is what gives our fitness and training intensity. Everyone, everytime they come in here should be ready to be aggressive and fight for weight on the bar, to fight for seconds, to fight to beat the person next to you. Regardless of your level of fitness we always look for this level of internal motivation. And much like everything else in here you have to cultivate it. You may not be a naturally aggresive person, but in this gym we want to see fight and fire. A public challenge like the georgia fitness challenge is a good way to show off that aggression you're building in here.

"Filthy Fifty"

50 Box Jumps, 24in.

50 Jumping Pull-ups

50 Kettlebell Swings, 35lbs.

50 Walking Lunges 

50 Knees to Elbows

50 Push Press, 45lbs.

50 Hip Extension

50 Wall Ball, 20lbs.

50 Burpees

50 Double Unders

CFHQ

Rest Day

CFSS

Make-up Day

or

Try this

15 min. AMRAP of:

115lb. Push jerks, 5 reps

7 Knees to Elbow

9 Walking Lunges

A Joke:
An old whiskery, wise fish is swimming by three young fish and goes "How's the water this morning, boys?" the three young fish look at each other and go "What the hell's water?"

Check out yesterday's late post and post thought's to comments.

Comments can be accessed at the bottom of any post, Post your workout's, questions you might have, or just general observations. If you've got anything you want to see on the blog post it there and you might see it later in the week.

Sunday's class will be at 11:00.

30 Muscle-ups

for time

Announcements:

There will be no skills class on Saturday. We will hold the regular hours of 8, 9, and 10.


Sorry for the late post, everyone. I'm going to post an article from Jon Gilson at Again Faster.
When I broke my knee Cap, I went from active college athlete to completely sedentary and heavily medicate in a second. When I started feeling down on myself and not sure whether I'd be able to do what I loved again, I'd read this and realize what I had wasn't so bad. And no matter what happened when I got out of the brace, I'd do what I could. Check out the rest of the Articles through the link above.

You'll Be Fine

Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 12:00PM

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.

Hang Power Clean 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Recovery is another part of the puzzle we call performance here. Recovery is a multifaceted concept which encompasses quite a few things. Sleep we've talked about, nutrition has been covered. What else can you be doing to enhance recovery?
Fish Oil- I like the Costco brand, but you want to find anything high in Omega-3's and low in Omega-6 and 9. It helps lower inflammation from exercise and is very good for your heart. Chace knows much more about this than me and he's the one to talk to.
Cold- Ice baths are great, if you can find that much ice. Another option is contrast hydrotherapy. This is the alternating use of really cold water and really hot water. It's easiest to do in the shower, which you should be doing anyways. It's pretty simple: go as cold as you can for around 30 seconds (or as long as you can stand it), than go hot til you regain feeling. Repeat that cycle around 4-6 times. If I had a particularly brutal workout I'll hyrdotherapy that night and see decreased soreness the next morning.

Time Off- If you've been hitting it really hard and you've got some nagging injuries or just feeling generally wore down. Take a day off, take a week off. If you're not sure ask us. If you're not prepared to go fully off Crossfit, we can do a week of lighter intensity, less loading, more skill work.

"Nancy"

400 meter run

15 overhead squats (95lbs.)

(5 rounds for time)

Time for a Paleo check in! One week is just a few days away, have you stuck to you goals? I'm going to use my soapbox here and ask you a question: Do you think all broccoli is equal? Which will taste better the stuff flash frozen in California, trucked or shipped across the nation to end up in your local supermarket or the broccoli grown down the road, bought from the farmer who grew it? If you haven't had the chance to try delicious local agriculture I suggest you do. I for one never really knew what broccoli tasted like and then a few weeks ago, we (my parents and I) got a local organic head of broccoli in our Community Supported Agriculture box. It was an amazing revelation, that such taste and life could come from something I've always hated. we pay $30 a week to pick up a bag of produce, we're never sure what we're gonna get because it's dictated by the growing season, but it's always fresh and local, and if not local then organic. It's enough for our family of 3 and has expanded what we cook and eat. It's more nutritious, tasty and earth friendly than what'll you'll pick up at Kroger, Publix's or Whole Foods.

For more resources check out Georgia Organics for Local Produce. And check out Eat Wild: Georgia for grass fed beef, organic eggs, chickens and raw milk. This I haven't done yet, but I intend on picking up some grass fed beef to let you all know what's up.

If you'd like to read more about the organic movement and why you should be eating this way look at either of Michael Pollen's books "The Omnivore's Dilemma" or "In Defense of Food" and Eric Schlosser "Fast Food Nation". If you'd like to go way back to the beginning of the whole slow food and organic movement in the U.S. check out Wendell Berry's "The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays".

CFHQ Rest Day

CFSS

200 meter run

20 Sumo dead high pull

10 burpees

(3 rounds for time)

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.”
George Bernard Shaw

Sleep is one of the most important parts of any workout regime (right next to diet). We should aim for 7-9 hours in a completely dark room. And when I say dark, I mean like cave-dark, "can't see hand in front of face" dark. In the most extreme cases this means getting blackout curtains and covering all the windows, removing all sources of lights including alarm clocks, smoke detectors and other LED's. This is, of course, the extreme end of things, what we'd settle for is 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep, in a quiet dark room. Most people assume that it's the length of sleep that matters, but the environment you're in also matters. If you're not getting those 7 good hours, try it for a week and see what happens. You might have to record your favorite shows, make breakfast the night before or find options that are quicker in the morning. More sleep is in the long run going to be better for you and better for your performance

Crossfit has had a tumultous relationship with the media, but the coverage is getting better. Here's an excellent piece on the crossfit games for a more mainstream media source.
Men's Fitness has run an interesting expirement. They had an intern do Crossfit for a month. Start here for his cocky introduction and check the archives for the rest of his story. I'm going to say that he drank the kool-aid.

Learn from his story, challenge your friends to try it for a month, even if they've already got a good program going for them. What have they got to lose?

Thrusters 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

What shoes are you wearing today? Think about going barefoot today instead of wearing your cross-trainers. Let me know how it feels.

How's your diet going? One meal a day might seem pretty easy, or pretty hard, just keeping trying new foods and writing them down. Also try and write down how you feel after your meals. This information may not seem relevant now, eventually it will become more important, especially when we start doing more meals Paleo or Zone.

Most of the stuff I've covered on here has been pretty basic, I'm going to try and get advanced with you all today. What we look for in a movement is perfection, essentially a movement that conforms to all the standards we give you. When we go heavy however, form will start to break down. So here the problem: If you're going heavy enough you wont have perfect form, if you have perfect form chances are you're not going heavy enough. For us trainers its a constant battle to minimize the amount of degradation in form yet still get the appropriate physiological response. Where you all come in is that fight for perfect form. You have to be the one initiating it, we can't hold your elbows up in a front squat or help you drop down into the whole in a clean. If you're not sure what you should be doing, stop us, ask us were your elbows should be, were my feet should be, etc. 'Cause it really all starts and ends with you.

CFHQ

3 Weighted Pull-ups, 45lbs.

5 Strict Pull-ups

7 Kipping Pull-ups

CFSS

3rds. of:

20" Box Jumps, 21 reps

135/95lb. Deadlifts, 15 reps

200m. Waiter's Carry, 45/25lbs.

Sunday class will be at 12:00a.m.

Sorry about the late post today folks. The family and I headed down to Seagrove beach and I didn't have a chance to post before we hit the road. Chace (or N8) will be posting the workout and pictures first thing in the morning and I'm going to come back in later in the day or morning and fill in with content. So that should give you more chances to check out the blog, and leave some love in the comments.
What do you think about the crossfit tenant that suggests that we should "learn and play new sports"? Is this too much to ask of busy professionals? It's hard enought to fit in an hour long workout, let alone a full basketball game, round of golf or triathlon. What, if anything, is stopping you from using all this new strength and fitness in competitive arenas'?
We have several athletes whose main sport isn't Crossfit, I'd like to know if training for general physical preparedness has effected your sport specific performance? Is there anything we could do to tailor our workouts for your sport? If you have a sport you'd like to get into, let us know so we can help you figure it out.

Burpee pullups are fun
Cobrinha, pulling the rings to his chest getting ready to head butt through

10 K2E's

20 Box Jump's (20")

(2 rounds)

then

10 Burpee Pullups

20 Hip Extensions

(2 rounds)

For time

Attention: 8 a.m. Skill classes, normal classes at 9,10, and 11 a.m.

ALL CLASSES WILL START ON THE HOUR, IF YOU ARE MORE THAN 5 MINUTES LATE YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT CLASS. Plan ahead, get here early and change quickly.

Today I want you to go check out this:http://games2009.crossfit.com/. These are some of the fittest people on earth battling in some of the toughest competitions on earth. And when I say earth I mean it, Crossfit is an international phenomena with Hotspots in Australia, South Africa and quite a few South American countries. Individual competition doesn't start until tomorrow, today is the affliate competition. People have tried to predict a winner but that is almost impossible to do; chances are very good there is a dark horse out there in some basement, doing the same WODs you are, who's going to blow away the competition. And he's (or she) is in Aromas, California getting ready to throw down. Can you see yourself (or a group of you) here next year?

Remember what we talked about yesterday: Pick a meal and make it Paleo, shop ahead if you need and if you find a really tasty recipe post it in the comments. You might help someone stuck for something to make.

Do you subscribe to the Crossfit Journal? Do you read the crossfit message boards? What else have you read and done to make yourself a more knowledgable Crossfitter? We need to not only be improving our bodies and selves, we need to improve our minds as well.

Crossfit: Start 'em young.
Curtis in the middle of "Nate" with good form on the HSPU's

400m Run

50 Squats

4 rounds for time

Today's a repost from Kelly Starrett of San Fransisco Crossfit. He's a Doctor of Physical Therapy and crossfit's guru of rehabilitation. Their blog is an excellent resources for smart stretching, philosophy of crossfit and other such things. He write's about wrists in this one:

"Hey Kelly,I injured my wrist at the bottom of a squat clean, and wonder if that's something common enough to warrant a blog post...I know a lot of people who've had trouble with the same kind of thing. What's the best bet for building up (or regaining) wrist strength/flexibility, etc.? My wrists are definitely the weak link for me in several exercises.Thanks again,-BK

It's true. The receiving position of full clean can be brutal on your wrists, not to mention front squats and the worst of all, thrusters. It's not uncommon that athletes end up with some sort of wrist tweak from one of these movements from time to time.There are a few things that you can do to PREVENT significant wrist hurtage.

1) Warm up your wrists! These poor boys are the linkage between your 400lb front squat and your hips. Be cool and show them some serious love before you start red-lining. Think of your wrists as conduits for some very high tension wires. Most of the time for wrist neutral activities, you can count on your wrists not needing much care and feeding, but as soon as you even start thinking about some high speed wrist extension some alarms should start sounding.

-Be sure your core temperature is up. If you have a sweat going, chances are you're wrists are warm enough too. Cold tendons, confined tendon boxes (wrists), and at high speed is uncool. Very un-dude.

-Start your wrists slowly (not dynamically) into the position of emphasis. You'll probably notice that just getting into a front squat rack position is a little tough on your wrists. So don't go jamming them into a challenging position with an additional speed insult. Doode, be cool.

-Give your wrists some slack. Make sure your thoracic spine is mobile enough that you don't challenge your wrist positioning unnecessarily.

-Be sure to release any hook grip you may employing. That hook grip wonder is really expensive when you use it at the receiving position.

-Make sure your other soft tissues support a more wrist neutral position. So, stretch arm flexion limiting structures like your triceps and lats.

-Move your grip a little wider out. Too many people use too narrow a grip. This narrow grip reduces your shoulder positioning options and makes for a tougher wrist position. Widen your grip and let your elbows come out to at least a 45 degree angle from your body if you are tall or if you are a little wrist compromised.

-Try wrapping your wrists (check for an old post about homemade wraps) or using a more serious wrist wrap from http://www.prowriststraps.com/.

-Do you work on strengthening your grip? It's obvious, but under-untilized. At the end of every work out work on your grip. Ask your coach how or google "grip strength" and "milo".

-In light movements that don't require a perfect rack like the thruster, drop your elbows down a little, just be sure not to drive them into your legs when you are at full compression at the bottom of your squat. Elbow-knee contact will break your wrist so if you are going to be risky, don't be that guy.

-Practice receiving the bar at the shoulder rack position while changing the position the bar rests in your hands. You may have to fingertip it, but either way, one centimeter in your palm either way can have a significant effect on yourwrist position. Cleaning is a high skill activity, there are some small details to which you will have to start paying attention.

-If your wrists are manky, clean just the bar at least 30 times before you even dream of putting weight on that thing.

-I know a bunch of people that use a more dangerous open grip in situations like the press and thrusters to unload the wrist. This is more dangerous, but it works. Heck there is recent video of bench pressing beast Dave Tate using the open bench press grip. (And he's no ass-sponge)Do you have a wrist tweak? Don't talk to me until you've started icing that thing at least a couple of times a day. And, if you do have wrist issues, choose your extreme wrist extensions wisely. Handstands and push-ups might be need to be done in a neutral position on dumbells or paralleletts. Your wrists might only tolerate so much silly bull-shite in one day. If you are having a continued problem, go see a good physio.

Above all. Be nice. You will miss your wrists when they are gone.

Kstar "

Wise words from Kelly, See y'all at the gym.

Congrats to Jason on his first muscle up! Here he is mid hadstand pushup.

Remember: This Saturday:

Skills Class "The Squat" at 8

Normal Classes at 9,10 and 11 a.m.

"Nate"

2 Muscle ups

4 Handstand Push ups
8 Dumbbell Swings 70 lbs.

As many rounds as possible in 20 mins

First a joke:

Q: How do you eat an elephant?

A: One bite at a time

Y'all have heard us say "Small reps, Short rest" but in the middle of a workout when you're hypoxic it might as well be Russian. What I mean is that in a workout I want you to do reps that are below your max and I want you to take shorter breaks. In essence I want you to game your workouts.

Reps below your max: Going into a workout you should have some idea of how many reps. of a given movement you can do. Take Angie for example. I know I can do 15 kipping pullups as my max, I'll have that and do 10 pullups for 10 sets to get to my hundred. For squats maybe I can do 30 as my max before stopping to shake out. I'll do 25 for 4 sets.

Shorter Breaks: I don't know anyone who can do 100 pullups unbroken. You're going to have to stop. By not going to exhaustation on my reps, I wont be as gassed when I do stop. This means I won't need to recover as long, my energy banks aren't as depleted. I also give myself some limit on my rest, I'll count 5 deep breaths or I'll count down in my head "3,2,1..go" and then I'll go. Another thing to realize is that that short rest may not be necessary. It may feel necessary at the time, but it's probably not. At times it will be neccesary, during yesterday's front squat you may not have had any left in you or your wrist were bothering you, then it's time to rack it. it's just your body freaking out at the intensity. Another Thing I try and do is not walk away from whatever apparatus I'm using. During Randy, I never left the barbell. Maybe a step back but no more. That corner of the gym isn't going to be anymore restful than where you need to be. Keep moving, don't walk away.

Aquinas battling through a press

21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of:

185 (130) lbs. Front Squat

GHD Sit-ups

Today we're gonna talk about shoes. I have seen to many people step under a heavy squat or deadlift with trainers on and their form and lifts have suffered because of it. Why when your trying to pull 300 lbs. off the ground would you have a half inch of foam under your foot? What happens is that foam deforms under load causing your foor to twist, turn and shift. You're losing pounds off of all your lifts and seconds on your times.

So what's best?

Barefoot is ideal for deadlifting and pressing. You don't need any padding between your feet and the floor, plus it will make it much easier to really sense when your heels on the floor. This is the most natural and functional option. It's free and you always have 'em with you. You can wear socks if you'd like.

Next up are Chuck Taylor's, these are your do all shoe in the gym for running and lifting to box jumps. Ultimately Chuck's are cheap, practically indestructable and ideally suited for what we do in here. You can do all the lifts in them, run, row and anything else you can think of . Racing flats are also good. Jonathon made a good point in the comments; to paraphrase, "Wean yourself slowly off of cushioned soles" and "Dont go directly to Chuck's" He recommends Adidas Adizero Pro and Adizero XT as an interim or final shoe. They have a little cushion but are sufficently low in the heel as to be a good for most everything. Check out the comments for more.
I use the AdiZero Pro's and really like 'em. I use them because I already have lifting shoes. Olympic (or squat) shoes such as these have a hard sole with a elevated heel (about 3/4" on these D0-wins). The elevated hell makes the deep squat of the olympic lifts easier by allowing the knees to track properly and not limited by ankle flexibility. Some of you may have squatted with plates under your heels. This is much the same idea, except you wear them. The metatarsal straps helps keep the foot from sliding around. This becomes particularly important in the split jerk. If you start getting into the olympic or slow lifts these shoes are a necessary investment. I'll wear them for todays workout, anything were there's no running and a weighlifting movement then I'll wear 'em. They range anywhere from $50-$150 for a custom pair. I won't lift heavy in anything else.

The majority of running shoe technology is created to aleviate the pain from heel striking, heel striking occurs when the leading foot lands heel first ahead of the center of gravity. To get a picture of this imagine someone riding a unicycle and then they put a foot down in front. No wonder you have to have all that padding. But there's a healthier way: instead of getting a brace for the problem, fix the problem itself. Land on the ball of your foot behind your center of gravity. Not only does all that heel padding become superfluous but you'll find your efficency improves. Fix the problem don't work around it.

So next time we go heavy, go barefoot, wear Chuck's but don't let me catch you in running shoes!

One of our old school homies, Tim, doing some deadlifts at CrossFit Sandy Springs West. Brook and Tim moved to Auburn a little while ago and took with them an addiction to CrossFit. Seeing as there is no CrossFit gym in Auburn, they started the first one in their garage.

The Brown Sisters. Karin showing some vicious extension against the ground to create elevation on the barbell. That's what we call hip extension! Krissi landing in a very solid position in the background.

CFHQ

Rest Day

-or-

Norcal Qualifier

500m row

30 burpees

165lbs Overhead, Anyhow 10 reps.

for time

-or-

Make up Saturday 7/4 or Sunday 7/5

Do you remember your first Crossfit session? I remember mine, it was a 45 minute sufferfest with little instruction and my Starting Strength cycle had done nothing to prepare me for that little piece of hell. But I knew as a lay curled in a fetal position, panting and maybe weeping a little that this was for me. I'm willing to wager that many of you had the same experience.

In the next couple of months things in the gym are going to change, Evolution Personal Training will become Crossfit Sandy Springs on August 1 as the last of the isolation machines make their way out the door. The sign's already gone. We're hoping to see a jump in membership as well. That means new faces and bigger classes. The first thing that struck me about CFSS is that there was such a strong sense of community and a very high level of coaching. We'll maintain the high level of coaching, if you guys work on the community. Introduce yourself to new people, shout encouragement, share advice (as long as it's helpful). CFSS is growing, let's grow the family with it. Bring in your friends, your family, co-workers and neighbors. You (all of you, even Jared) are our most valuable marketing tool. I believe that everyone should try it once.

Shoulder Press 1-1-1-1-1

Push Press 3-3-3-3-3

Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5

Gym is closed today. Enjoy your Sun. off and we will see Mon.

"Badger"

(3 rounds)

95 lbs. Squat Clean, 30 reps

30 Pullups

Run 800 meters

Some of the 6 p.m. regulars (L to R) Karin, Krissi, Diego Quinn developing excellent General Physical Preparedness that will serve him well in any venue of athletics.

Randy

75 Power Snatches

75 lbs.

Classes for Saturday July 4th are only at 9 and 10 a.m. Remember to avoid parade routes.

"When you snatch you're doing something profoundly important, which is breaking from the common herd. One of the most important lessons I can impart to you is that since most people are only mediocre at any given skill, the path to greatness is found in opposition. Put simply, if you seek greatness, look at what most people do, and then do the opposite. And I mean that quite literally by the way." -Charles Stately

Quick post about nutrition, its gonna be quick because I have very little experience with dieting in general. When I rowed I believed I needed between 5 and 7,000 calories a day to survive, I was constantly hungry and still fat. I never made the connection that it might be what I was eating and that I could survive with healthy choices and still succeed athletically (well, relative success but I won't get into that here). I admit I tried Zoning and Paleo for a few weeks, but eventually disgarded it in favor of another ethos entirely. That is something I'll cover om Monday's post.

So, I'm gonna pass the buck and recommend you go somewhere else besides our nice little blog world here. First, go visit Melissa Byers at http://www.byersgetsdiesel.com/ . She is one of the best crossfit bloggers bar none. She's currently running a "Paleo Month of Tough Love" cyber contest. Tons of links and ideas as well as more general Crossfit stuff as well.

Second, go check out robb wolf at http://robbwolf.com/ . He gets a little more science-y than Byers does as his Background is in Nutritional Science and he worked for years as a fat researcher: that is a researcher who studies fat, instead of a chunky scientist. Excellent posts about just about anything related to crossfit nutrution. He covers gluten free, paleo, zone, Intermittent Fasting and every other avenue.

Vilas-first CrossFit with a smile....

CrossFit (Webstar) Chuck Carswell wreckin it "date with 95"

First off a big welcome to Micheal, Nick, Eric, Elijah, and Vilas. Hope to be seeing more of you fellas around here!

CFSS

"Gelatin"

250 row

10 wall ball 2o lbs. (14 lbs)

10 sit-up slam ball (same weight)

3 rounds for time

To those of you running in the Peachtree Road Race, Make sure to where your Crossfit Sandy Springs shirt. Those shirts are the best free advertising we have.

Bring your race shirts the next time you come in and will put you on here

Handcare: We all love the calluses we get in here, they're evident proof of the work we're putting in. However they can also become a detriment to your performance when they tear during a workout, like round two of Eva.

We don't want to remove calluses completely, a layer of supple dead skin on your hands will provide plenty of protection. I recommend two steps to get this: moisturize your hands every night and trim your calluses with a pumice stone every time you shower. I like Palmer's Cocoa Butter and Vitamin E oil becaue I used it on my scar after surgery and it's what I have around. Anything will work, you could probably use olive oil if you were so inclined. Pumice stones are cheap and if you keep it in the shower there's no excuse. Always try and moisturize after you use the pumice stone. I really believe it is that simple to have healthy hands that function in Crossfit and in the real world.

Another problem could be too much chalk. Chalk dries out the hands and makes it easier to grip some things, however drying out some calluses can cause them to tear more readily. If your hands are sweaty from a run, a little bit of chalk won't hurt, but try it without and see what happens. Let's make July a blister and callus tear free month!

Another bit of homework for the holiday weekend: Identify and write down in your notebook your "Goat", and tell us so we can work on it with you.

Run 10K

R on Roswell Road

R on Hammond
R on Sandy Springs Circle

R on Hildebrand
6 rounds

-or-

Columns Drive 5k course twice

post time to comments

CFSS workout

6x400m

rest as needed

Quick post today as there is much demand for the computer. I wanted to tell you a story about a man and his jump rope. Every afternoon Jeff comes in about 20 minutes early and hits the jump rope to work on the double under. Some days are better than others and he is steadily increasing his number. He shows two things by doing this: preservance and a commitment to technique. You'd be wise to follow his example.

There is nothing we do in Crossfit that is not heavily dependent on technique and form. Sometimes extraordinarily complex technique and forms. Even running can be improved by form correction, adjusting landing position, the pull off the ground, etc. This is to say nothing of the clean and jerk and the snatch, two of the hardest weighlifting movements we'll do in here. It takes practice to make it work. And time. So pick something that is hard for you*, something you hate seeing come up in WODs and come in early (if you can) and work on it. Even 10 minutes a day, spent on form will pay large dividends in the end.

*The colloquil term for this is a "Goat". As in a movement that gets your goat. Identify yours and get to work!