Started as a maverick gym in Santa Cruz, CrossFit has spread worldwide, becoming the principal strength & conditioning program for police academies and tactical op's teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, & hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide. Why? Because CrossFit works...FAST.
CrossFit delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. CrossFit's specialty is not specializing. Daily life, like many sports and professions, (and even combat) requires broad levels of fitness. CrossFit's program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. The needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree not kind.
Click Here and Here for two great articles if you think CrossFit is too hard for you or beyond your ability.
To find out more about the principles and belief behind CrossFit, click here.
+++FREE MUAY THAI WORKSHOP TODAY AT 430 PM! COME DOWN AND TRY IT OUT+++
Mountain, Tami, Emily and Julie all suffer under Sarah's (standing) tutelage.
Workout:
Strict press to failure
Push press to failure
Push jerk to failure
Use 135, 95, 65 or any weight at or near your 3 rep strict press max. Increase weight each round if needed. Rest between sets as needed. Do not rest the weight on the racks between exercises.
3 rounds. Post weight and reps for each round to comments.
Videos:
Greg Amundson demonstrates the Press, Push Press, and Push Jerk:
Five rounds for time of:
Deadlift, 15 reps (135lb, 95lb)
Hang power clean, 12 reps (135lb, 95lb)
Front Squat, 9 reps (135lb, 95lb)
Push Jerk, 6 reps (135lb, 95lb)
The Duke researchers asked obese females ages 9 to 13 who were already in a comprehensive weight loss program to read an age-appropriate novel called Lake Rescue (Beacon Street Press). It was carefully crafted with the help of pediatric experts to include specific healthy lifestyle and weight management guidance, as well as positive messages and strong role models.
Six months later, the Duke researchers found the 31 girls who read Lake Rescue experienced a significant decrease in their BMI scores (-.71%) when compared to a control group of 14 girls who hadn't (+.05%), explained Alexandra C. Russell, MD, a fourth-year medical student at Duke who led the study and presented the findings at the Obesity Society's annual scientific meeting. . .
From left to right: Brian Nesmith, Jeremy Jones, Jax Jones (being held), and the great Dan John at the 2008 Highland Games in Pleasanton.
Dan imparting some wisdom upon Jax and I:
And this is me enjoying some Haggis:
Workout: "Manual Labor"
Perform as many rounds as possible in 30 minutes of:
100m Farmer Carry (45lb dumbbells for men, 25lb dbs for women)
20 Sledge Hammer swings (16lb sledge for men, 10lb sledge for women)
20 Virtual Shoveling over 1' barrier (45lb bar +45lb plate for men, 25lb plate for women)
50m tire flip (men - large tire, women - smaller tire)
50m sled drag (tire sled on asphalt, men - 53lb, women - 35lb)
Post rounds and fractions of rounds completed to comments.
"Disturbing a woman's instinctive attraction to genetically different men could result in difficulties when trying to conceive, an increased risk of miscarriage and long intervals between pregnancies. Passing on a lack of diverse genes to a child could also weaken their immune system. . ."
"After reviewing 30 studies carried out worldwide over periods ranging from one to 60 years, the Dutch professor said the effects of happiness on longevity were "comparable to that of smoking or not".
That special flair for feeling good, he said, could lengthen life by between 7.5 and 10 years. . ."
"More research is needed to determine the causes of early obesity including "information on family history and the dietary and exercise habits in infancy,"
Exercise habits in infancy!? That is just ridiculous. How about the dietary habits of the parents! -jj
Omega-3 fatty acids — found in salmon, walnuts and kiwi fruit — provide many benefits, including improving learning and memory and helping to fight against such mental disorders as depression and mood disorders, schizophrenia, and dementia, said Gómez-Pinilla, a member of UCLA's Brain Research Institute and Brain Injury Research Center. . .
"Dietary deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in humans has been associated with increased risk of several mental disorders, including attention-deficit disorder, dyslexia, dementia, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia," he said. "A deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in rodents results in impaired learning and memory.". . .
Preliminary results from a study in England show that school performance improved among a group of students receiving omega-3 fatty acids. In an Australian study, 396 children between the ages 6 and 12 who were given a drink with omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients (iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamins A, B6, B12 and C) showed higher scores on tests measuring verbal intelligence and learning and memory after six months and one year than a control group of students who did not receive the nutritional drink. This study was also conducted with 394 children in Indonesia. . .
A long-term study that included more than 100 years of birth, death, health and genealogical records for 300 Swedish families in an isolated village showed that an individual's risk for diabetes and early death increased if his or her paternal grandparents grew up in times of food abundance rather than food shortage.
"Evidence indicates that what you eat can affect your grandchildren's brain molecules and synapses," Gómez-Pinilla said. "We are trying to find the molecular basis to explain this."
Controlled meal-skipping or intermittent caloric restriction might provide health benefits, he said.
Excess calories can reduce the flexibility of synapses and increase the vulnerability of cells to damage by causing the formation of free radicals. Moderate caloric restriction could protect the brain by reducing oxidative damage to cellular proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, Gómez-Pinilla said. . .
In patients with major depression and schizophrenia, levels of a signaling molecule known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, are reduced. Antidepressants elevate BDNF levels, and most treatments for depression and schizophrenia stimulate BDNF. Here, too, omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial, as is the curry spice curcumin, which has been shown to reduce memory deficits in animal models of Alzheimer's disease and brain trauma. BDNF is most abundant in the hippocampus and the hypothalamus — brain areas associated with cognitive and metabolic regulation.
The high consumption of curcumin in India may contribute to the low prevalence of Alzheimer's disease on the subcontinent. . .
At DCF we do feel that natural foods are the best way to go, and any supplementation is ancillary with few exceptions. One of them is Fish Oil, or more specifically Omega-3 Fatty Acids.
Why are our diets so lacking? First of all, if you eat wild tuna, mackerel, sardines and salmon regularly (almost every day) you probably aren't lacking. These fish are full of 'fish oil' (hence the name). But if you also eat wild game meat (Buffalo, Elk, Deer, etc) you are probably in the clear as well. Grass fed beef also is a winner when it comes to Omega-3s. These meats are are not fed with grain or corn, therefore their meat is has about the same amount of Omega-3s as the fish!
You read that correctly. Grass fed beef and wild game meat is full of the best type of fat, and is probably as healthy as eating fish. So if you aren't a big fish fan, start ordering buffalo instead, and get to Trader Joe's for some pretty decent grass fed beef. Coincidentally, our hunter-gatherer (see genetic) ancestors only had access to wild fish and game, therefore their diets were chock full of these good fats.
All that being said, fish and grass fed beef are hard to get every day. And if you don't cook and eat grass fed beef right away it can take on that "gamey" flavor everyone hates. That is where Fish Oil Pills come in. Go out, buy some fish oil pills and take a few with every meal. Reap the rewards without dealing with "fishiness" or "gameyness".
Today's articles focus on Omega-3s and brain function, but the benefits don't stop there. Look through the archives for a ton of more articles on Fish Oil and Omega-3s.
Kicking ass and taking names: Yesterday's Fight Gone Bad.
Workout:
"Linda"
10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 rep rounds of the following lifts for time:
Squat Clean (75% of your bodyweight)
Bench Press (100% of your bodyweight)
Deadlift (150% of your bodyweight)
If you can't handle the weights as prescribed, scale back the weights accordingly. "Rep rounds" means do 10 reps of each exercise, then 9 reps, then 8 reps. . . down to one.
"Middle-aged women who suffered physical or sexual abuse as children spend up to one-third more than average in health-care costs, according to a long-term study of more than 3,000 women. Even decades after the abuse ended, these women used health services at significantly higher rates than did non-abused women, the research found."
"Women who had no history of abuse spent an average of $2,413 a year (in 2004 dollars) on health care costs. Women who were sexually abused only paid an average of $382 a year more, those who were physically abused spent $502 more, and women who suffered both types of abuse spent $790 a year in additional health care costs."
Watch this video until the end. (I don't know where Ross gets this stuff!)
Next time you are starting a workout, don't hope to get a good time. Just do your very best, every workout, and you will dominate. Don't let your mind defeat you before you have started.
"Children watching 2 to 4 hours of TV had 2.5 times the odds of hypertension compared with children watching 0 to <2 hours. The odds of hypertension for children watching 4 or more hours of TV were 3.3 times greater than for children watching 0 to <2 hours of TV. "
"The authors found that respondents who had more exposure to violent video games held more pro-violent attitudes, had more hostile personalities, were less forgiving, believed violence to be more typical, and behaved more aggressively in their everyday lives."
"It found that children who played more violent video games early in the school year changed to see the world in a more aggressive way, and became more verbally and physically aggressive later in the school year -- even after controlling for how aggressive they were at the beginning of the study. Higher aggression and lower pro-social behavior were in turn related to those children being more rejected by their peers"
"Half of all the Hispanic and African-American kids born in 2000 and one-third of Caucasian kids will have diabetes in their lifetime, many before they graduate college"
". . . They're "basically making money off our children's health and their future," she says. "I'm just so pissed off."
Carbs, Protein, Fat balance arguments aside (she promotes the FDA high carb, low fat pyramid - which is the shape most people become if they follow those guidelines), this woman is definitely forcing some steps in the right direction. -jj
The US is in a "Baby Boomlet"
Is there a direct correlation to the increased births and the propagation of CrossFit? . . . (and does everyone else hate the word "boomlet" as much as I do?) -jj
Jorgy shows the proper squat. Feet flat. Chest up and out. Abs tight. Lower back taught and arched. Use a Dynamax ball to guage your depth if needed. And, extend your hips and stand up at the top! We are watching. (20lb weight vest optional).
UPDATE: LUCA'S MUY THAI BOXING AT 6:30 TONIGHT. ALL ARE WELCOME!!
Girls Of The Day
The Dreaded "Fran"
There is no workout as simple and fast that causes more "wod dread" than Fran...
Three rounds, 21-15- and 9 reps, for time of:
95 pound Thruster
Pull-ups
Jackie
1000 Meter Row
50 Thrusters 45#
30 Pull-Ups
I am going to declare today "Breast Day" here at DCF with three articles related to breast FEEDING (I don't know what the rest of you were thinking about . . . you bunch of gutter minded . . . ) -jj
wOD With Luca 08:00
Even if Rick was late he still came, I like the idea of arriving on time for class I still like the fact
that he came after work, I had started my Linda by then, but in between my huffing and puffing I was able to dispense his W.O.D., good reason to rest eheh
5 Rounds for time of:
15DL(135#)
400m Run
We had some fun see you on Tuesday Morning
Our "Team 6" Firebreathers midway through the "Elevation" workout (Rick got a nice rip doing pull ups and bar muscle ups).
Workout:
"Elevation"
In 20 minutes, try to accumulate as many feet of "Elevation" as possible using the following exercises. Next to each exercise is the number we used for distance at the SHED. If you are doing this at on your own, you may change the values to what you have to work with. We also gave two different scores based upon height (over 6 foot is on the left, under 6 foot is on the right).
Rope Climb: 6 foot and up = 12 / 6 foot and under = 11
Muscle Up (bar or rings): 5 / 4
Pull Up: 2.5 / 2
Ring Dip: 2 / 1.5
Box Jump (same for both heights): big box = 3, med box = 2, small box = 1
Step ups (same for both heights): big box = 1.5, med box = 1, small box = 0.5
Tally up your reps for each movement and add it all up for a total score.
From left to right, showing their horns, DCF'rs Jon, Sarah & Mike E. at JJ's fight night. Check out JJ's comeback story on the CrossFit Affliliate page.
In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute.The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. On call of "rotate", the athletes must move to next station immediately for best score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.
Without failure, the more studies that involve fish oil, the more good results we find out about. If you aren't eating fish every day, you should be TAKING YOUR FISH OIL. I recommend Kirkland Brand from Costco (the "Enteric" kind). They are cheap and doesn't give me the 'fish burps' if I take more than a few.
Personally I take 15 capsules a day because I eat a lot of other fats and it is good to balance the 'bad fats' with the 'good fats' (each Kirkland brand cap has 440mg Omega-3 fatty acids - 200 DHA and 240 EPA). But if you just take a few a day you will notice the results. -jj
This morning I thought I was going to be all by myself, than, as they say" better later than never", Jon, Sarah and Josh showed up, so to make them pay for their tardiness I put them through
20 MINUTES OF TABATA HELL:
75lb Thrusters
Push Ups
K-S 20kg
Pull-Ups
Tabata style with one minute rest between rounds.
We also had a Newbie Archie, thanks Craig for helping him while we did our WOD.
Cortisol is the enemy. Sleep is the key to decreasing cortisol. I do find it interesting how society stresses the importance of diet and sleep for teens, but does not place the same importance for the parents. -jj
Now I am not a fan of the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a hard fast rule, I do believe it can help 'flag' kids as having potential weight problems.
While some people believe that putting the score on the report card is a little tough, I tend to disagree. If a child is failing math, he/she (with the help of their parents) has to do something about it. The BMI is not nearly as clean cut as math problems, but the adequate action by the parents is: Find out if your child is at risk (either overweight OR underweight). If the BMI doesn't apply to them because of their body type (athletic/muscular people can show up as 'overweight', as can very tall thin people), disregard the information and congratulate your child for being special.
It is time for us to leave behind the "don't hurt the child's feelings" ideas, and start preparing them for the REAL WORLD. Obesity, heart disease and insulin resistance (Type II diabetes) are where our children are headed. These (and many more health issues) are the price that children will pay for a 'good body image' at the risk of being healthy. They are the prices we will all pay in health care costs. It is the job of our educators and parents to protect our children and to teach them that ultimately THEY will be responsible for their health, not the government, not the advertisers, not the food itself.
As far as eating disorders go. . . these stem from ignorance and lack of education. Kids develop eating disorders from bad body image when they lack the knowledge and tools to understand their body and what healthy options are available to them. Educators and parents have to step it up and get themselves educated and be ready to step in before the child gets to the point of developing an eating disorder.
We tried the 'sheltering' thing with the "everybody is special and important". The "No Child Left Behind" thing is lowering standards and hurting the kids that would excel. This stuff is not working. It is time for adults to start 'preparing' kids for adulthood with all of it's challenges and tribulations. We need to teach them that 'responsibility' and 'hard work' are not just essay topics from a Ernest Hemingway short story.
As many times as you can, complete the following couplet:
50m "Spartan" tire flips* with 100lb tire
21 pull ups
Post number of complete and partial rounds to comments.(* "Spartans": flip tire, jump to center, jump out forward, run around and flip again). Substitute the tire flips for 40 - 95lb power cleans and 50m of lateral feet together hops.
++ No Class Tonight (Tues) - Next Class Wed AM & Thu PM - See Schedule ++
Need exercise ideas for your kids? Check out CrossFit Kids for a wod scaled for age/experience.
In my 25 years of toiling at exercise, I know the secret to improved fitness and weight management: exertion and variety! I have witnessed many, many fat people (even obese) train for and run 10k's and marathons, apathetically grind away on treadmills and elipticals, and lift weights for hours at a time - all with little result. Doctors and trainers alike discourage exercise that elevates the heart rate to maximum levels. "If you feel feint..." you know the rest. Frankly, if I feel feint, I know my effort was meaningful enough to provoke results (see: What is Fitness, by Greg Glassman).
CrossFit has confirmed this "exertion principle" for me. Fortunately, CF also helped me understand that powerful exertion need only occur for short periods (bursts) to be effective. It appears the same may be true for children, as the article below indicates.
More on this subject from me later. In the meantime, read on about how to help your children:
The secret to slim kids: 15 minutes spurts of activity.
Short bursts of intense play most helpful, experts say!
Just 15 minutes a day of kicking around a ball or swimming might be enough to keep children from becoming obese, British and U.S. researchers said on Monday.
A study of 5,500 children who agreed to wear a motion sensor device showed that those who exercised more were less likely to be obese — and that short bursts of intense activity seemed to be the most helpful.
Secret to slim kids: 15 minutes of activity
Short bursts of intense play most helpful, researchers say
Reuters
Updated: 9:43 p.m. PT March 19, 2007
Just 15 minutes a day of kicking around a ball or swimming might be enough to keep children from becoming obese, British and U.S. researchers said on Monday.
A study of 5,500 children who agreed to wear a motion sensor device showed that those who exercised more were less likely to be obese — and that short bursts of intense activity seemed to be the most helpful.
Children who did 15 minutes a day of moderate exercise — equivalent to a brisk walk — were 50 percent less likely than inactive children to be obese, the researchers reported in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine.
“Our data suggest that higher intensity physical activity may be more important than total activity,” Andy Ness of the University of Bristol and colleagues wrote.
“This study provides some of the first robust evidence on the link between physical activity and obesity in children,” Chris Riddoch of Britain’s Bath University, who worked on the study, said in a statement.
“We know that diet is important, but what this research tells us is that we mustn’t forget about activity. It’s been really surprising to us how even small amounts of exercise appear to have dramatic results.”
A growing problem
Obesity is on the rise in many countries, including the United States, where 60 percent of the population is overweight or obese, Britain and elsewhere in Europe.
It is clearly a matter of people eating more calories than they burn off, but experts cannot agree whether diet or exercise is more important — and which kind of exercise might be best.
Ness’ team studied 5,500 children, with an average age of 12, who with their mothers have been taking part in a larger, long-term study of health.
The children agreed to wear a device called an accelerometer, which measures total activity, and they had X-ray scans for body fat. The researchers rated the children with the top 10 percent levels of fat mass as obese.
The less the children exercised, the more likely they were to be obese, the study found.
“These associations suggest even a modest increase of 15 minutes moderate and vigorous physical activity might result in an important reduction in the prevalence of overweight and obesity,” the researchers wrote.
Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
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Our own 'black boxes'!
The first person to post the source of the quote "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate" or "Abandon all hope, you who enter here" gets a free sticker!
Chemicals are chemicals people. Just because something is "organic" or "all natural" it doesn't mean it is good for you. That being said, I wonder if there is a relation to the earlier female puberty onset that we have been noticing in the last few decades as well as the 'de-masculination' of our society and these hormone altering substances. -jj
Kevin figured out it was the inscription was from Dante's Inferno. Who (other than Kevin) can tell me where it was in that 'Divine Comedy'?
(there is another sticker available)
The contest is still On! Email me the answer at jjones@diablocrossfit.com.
