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.