So many of you know that the last few weeks have been pretty rough for me. We had to put my dog down, and then several days later my Grandmother passed away. Both of these events mustered up a quick flashback to my Level 1 Certification and the explanation of "functional fitness." In it, many of the instructors elaborated on the idea that you don't just go from being physically fit and functional to wheelchair-bound in a single day. Weakened joints and muscle breakdown occur gradually over time. When we talk about fuctional fitness vs. the B.S. that you do in a globogym isolating muscle groups, we are talking about dynamic movements that use multiple joints, create power in you daily activities, and most especially prevent injury.
My dog Zach was a 125# Yellow Lab. I liked to think of him as more of a brother than a possession. He and I had a choppy upbringing as he was constantly biting whenever food was around. He seemed misguided throughout much of his youth. It wasn't until I started bringing him pheasant hunting that he mellowed out. After this, he seemed to mature and look out for our family more. What didn't change was his rediculous infatuation with food- whole loaves of bread, a tub of my mother's german chocolate ice cream, sticks of butter... Oh yeah. Over time, Zach gained weight and surprisingly it wasn't his heart or lungs that took the toll- it was his joints. In the end, Zach couldn't even stand up on his own anymore. His heart, lungs, brain, and everything were totally fine. Unfortunately, he felt like he was doing something wrong with his immobility and was in quite a bit of distress constantly attempting to get up. So, our family made the difficult decision to let him rest.
With that in mind, I want each of you to think about your mobility and the importance of your major joints. Think about how they support you in your job and personal happiness. After doing so, think about what you will do to protect that amenity. Your efforts could include preventative dedication to CrossFit, technical proficiency, proper nutrition, etc. Just a thought. See you in the box...
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
WOD 053111
HOPE EVERYONE HAD AN AWESOME WEEKEND! I WANT TO THANK AND CONGRATULATE EVERYONE WHO PARTICPATED IN "MEMORIAL DAY MURPH" YESTERDAY. IT WAS A BLAST AND I CAN'T WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR. HERE IS THE WOD, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS WITH THE AMOUNT OF WEIGHT YOU USE. JOSH WILL BE THERE TO SUGGEST POUNDAGE AND CHRIS WILL BE THERE IN THE AFTERNOON. THIS WORKOUT IS EXTREMELY DECEPTIVE. MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING IMMACULATE FORM ON THE THRUSTERS BEFORE HAND. THANKS GUYS, HAVE FUN!
EVERY MIN ON THE MIN PERFORM 5 BURPEES
WITH THE REMAINING TIME, PERFORM THRUSTERS UNTIL YOU'VE REACHED 100 THRUSTERS.
RXD WEIGHT 135
INTERMEDIATE 95
BEGINNER 65 OR 20# DUMB BELLS
GOOD TIMES BY ALL! NOT IN THE PICTURE WAS KEITHA, WHO ALSO DID AWESOME.
EVERY MIN ON THE MIN PERFORM 5 BURPEES
WITH THE REMAINING TIME, PERFORM THRUSTERS UNTIL YOU'VE REACHED 100 THRUSTERS.
RXD WEIGHT 135
INTERMEDIATE 95
BEGINNER 65 OR 20# DUMB BELLS
GOOD TIMES BY ALL! NOT IN THE PICTURE WAS KEITHA, WHO ALSO DID AWESOME.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
closed memorial day
we will be closed memorial day except for the 1pm memorial day murph waves... regular classes will resume tuesday.
WOD 052911
HOPE EVERYONE IS ENJOYING THEIR WEEKEND... THE WEATHER ISN'T TURNING OUT QUITE THE WAY IT WAS SUPPOSED TO, BUT I HEAR NEXT WEEKEND IS GOING TO BE UNBELIEVABLE. JUST WANT TO REMIND EVERYBODY OF THE CROSSFIT GROTON ENDORSED EVENTS THAT ARE GOING ON:
MAY 30TH TOMORROW "BEARATHON 5K" MYSTIC YMCA 930A BENEFITS SHS SPORTS
MAY 30TH "MEMORIAL DAY MURPH" FREE TO WHOEVER... THIS IS A SPECIAL ONE FOR US AS WE WILL HAVE QUITE A FEW VETERANS AND ENLISTED NAVY RIPPING IT WITH US. WAVES WILL START AT 1 PM AND WON'T STOP UNTIL EVERYONE HAS HAD A CHANCE TO GO THROUGH.
JUNE 3RD BLUFF POINT TWIGHLIGHT RUN 5K OR 10K 600P BENEFITS THE WOMENS' CENTER OF SOUTHEASTERN CT
JUNE 4TH RUCKUS BOSTON- I THINK I'M THE ONLY ONE SIGNED UP FOR THIS BUT IF ANYONE IS GOING LEMME KNOW
JUNE 25TH AND JUNE 26TH RELAY FOR LIFE- FITCH HIGH- ALL DAY- I WON'T BE THERE THE WHOLE TIME BOTH DAYS, BUT HAVE A HANDFUL OF MEMBERS TO WALK A BIT AND SHOW SUPPORT. WE GOT INTO IT A LITTLE LATE IN THE GAME, BUT BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.
JUNE 26TH- WARRIOR DASH IN MA- BENEFITS WOUNDED WARRIORS- OUR KICKOFF TIME IS 130P
OCTOBER 23RD TOUGH MUDDER VA- LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE DOWN TO JOIN OUR TEAM- BE WARNED, THIS ONE IS NO JOKE
HOPE YOU SOME OF YOU GUYS CAN MAKE IT OUT TO THESE. THEY'RE GONNA BE A BLAST. I WANNA MAKE IT A PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF CROSSFIT GROTON TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
AND ONTO THE WOD...
"GOAT DAY"
I'M LEAVING IT UP TO YOU GUYS TODAY. COME INTO THE BOX, TELL ME OR CHRIS WHAT YOU GUYS WANNA WORK ON. BY NOW, I'M SURE THERE IS A MONKEY OR TWO RIDING YOU BACKS...
MAY 30TH TOMORROW "BEARATHON 5K" MYSTIC YMCA 930A BENEFITS SHS SPORTS
MAY 30TH "MEMORIAL DAY MURPH" FREE TO WHOEVER... THIS IS A SPECIAL ONE FOR US AS WE WILL HAVE QUITE A FEW VETERANS AND ENLISTED NAVY RIPPING IT WITH US. WAVES WILL START AT 1 PM AND WON'T STOP UNTIL EVERYONE HAS HAD A CHANCE TO GO THROUGH.
JUNE 3RD BLUFF POINT TWIGHLIGHT RUN 5K OR 10K 600P BENEFITS THE WOMENS' CENTER OF SOUTHEASTERN CT
JUNE 4TH RUCKUS BOSTON- I THINK I'M THE ONLY ONE SIGNED UP FOR THIS BUT IF ANYONE IS GOING LEMME KNOW
JUNE 25TH AND JUNE 26TH RELAY FOR LIFE- FITCH HIGH- ALL DAY- I WON'T BE THERE THE WHOLE TIME BOTH DAYS, BUT HAVE A HANDFUL OF MEMBERS TO WALK A BIT AND SHOW SUPPORT. WE GOT INTO IT A LITTLE LATE IN THE GAME, BUT BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.
JUNE 26TH- WARRIOR DASH IN MA- BENEFITS WOUNDED WARRIORS- OUR KICKOFF TIME IS 130P
OCTOBER 23RD TOUGH MUDDER VA- LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE DOWN TO JOIN OUR TEAM- BE WARNED, THIS ONE IS NO JOKE
HOPE YOU SOME OF YOU GUYS CAN MAKE IT OUT TO THESE. THEY'RE GONNA BE A BLAST. I WANNA MAKE IT A PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF CROSSFIT GROTON TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
AND ONTO THE WOD...
"GOAT DAY"
I'M LEAVING IT UP TO YOU GUYS TODAY. COME INTO THE BOX, TELL ME OR CHRIS WHAT YOU GUYS WANNA WORK ON. BY NOW, I'M SURE THERE IS A MONKEY OR TWO RIDING YOU BACKS...
Saturday, May 28, 2011
WOD 052811
SORRY FOR THE LATE POST GUYS, HAD SOME TECHNICAL ISSUE THIS AM... GOOD LITTLE WOD TODAY ON THE BOARD. JUST A REMINDER, MEMORIAL DAY MURPH WILL BE ON MEMORIAL DAY STARTING AT 1:00 P. I'LL BE AT THE BOX AS SOON AS I GET DONE RUNNING A 5K IN MYSTIC. FEEL FREE TO JOIN ME THERE TOO! ON A SEPARATE NOTE, I'M BEGGING ALL OF YOU TO BE SAFE THIS WEEKEND. REMEMBER WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT. THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF CARELESS WRECKS ON THE ROADS IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS. LETS NOT ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE A CASUALTY OF THE SAME... SEE YOU GUYS IN THE BOX AND HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND.
AMRAP 12 MINUTES:
1 FOUR CONE DRILL (LEFT)
1 FOUR CONE DRILL (RIGHT)
15 DOUBLE UNDERS
1 SQUAT CLEAN 135/95/65#
AMRAP 12 MINUTES:
1 FOUR CONE DRILL (LEFT)
1 FOUR CONE DRILL (RIGHT)
15 DOUBLE UNDERS
1 SQUAT CLEAN 135/95/65#
Thursday, May 26, 2011
WOD 052711
I DESIGNED THIS ONE TO TRAIN YOU GUYS HOW TO LIFT UNDER STRESS. BE AWARE THAT SPRINTING IS EXTREMELY DEMANDING ON YOUR POSTERIOR CHAIN. SO, WARMUP AND STRETCH PROPERLY AND BE MODEST WITH YOUR FIRST LIFT ATTEMPTS...
PERFORM:
10 40 YD SPRINTS WITH 20 SECONDS OF REST IN BETWEEN EACH ONE
THEN...
YOU HAVE 5 MIN TO ESTABLISH YOUR 1 REP BACK SQUAT
THEN...
8 40 YD SPRINTS WITH 20 SECONDS OF REST IN BETWEEN EACH ONE
THEN...
YOU HAVE 5 MIN TO ESTABLISH YOUR 1 REP PRESS
THEN...
6 40 YD SPRINTS WITH 20 SECONDS OF REST IN BETWEEN EACH ONE
THEN...
YOU HAVE 5 MIN TO ESTABLISH YOUR 1 REP DEADLIFT
POST YOUR TOTAL WEIGHT SUCCESSFULLY LIFTED AND TOTAL TIME TO THE BOARD.
PERFORM:
10 40 YD SPRINTS WITH 20 SECONDS OF REST IN BETWEEN EACH ONE
THEN...
YOU HAVE 5 MIN TO ESTABLISH YOUR 1 REP BACK SQUAT
THEN...
8 40 YD SPRINTS WITH 20 SECONDS OF REST IN BETWEEN EACH ONE
THEN...
YOU HAVE 5 MIN TO ESTABLISH YOUR 1 REP PRESS
THEN...
6 40 YD SPRINTS WITH 20 SECONDS OF REST IN BETWEEN EACH ONE
THEN...
YOU HAVE 5 MIN TO ESTABLISH YOUR 1 REP DEADLIFT
POST YOUR TOTAL WEIGHT SUCCESSFULLY LIFTED AND TOTAL TIME TO THE BOARD.
Devine Ranting 11.1
So the guys on my shift at the firehouse will be the first to tell you that when I've had too much coffee or too many things milling around my head, I tend to go on little rants about broad, general, and inclusive issues. I've decided to begin sharing these soapbox speeches with the lucky members of my box should they choose to read them.
So the topic for the day is the rapture that was supposed to take place several days ago. It shows you how much I actually work. I had no idea it was supposed to happen. In the aftermath of the craze I've decided to speak about human preparation for the unthinkable. Now, I know that CrossFit, nor any other physical preparation is going to spare the human race from any rapture that may occur. Nonetheless, it does bring to thought the idea of physcial preparation for the unthinkable.
During World War II, one of the only reasons our country and the other Ally Nations were able to reach victory was due to self-sustainance and independence. We grew our own food, we manufactured our own goods, and people just plan lived in a more simplistic fassion.
If you tighten that microscope to your personal life and apply those circumstances to modern day, how many of us do you think would be suited to survive. What if cell phones disappeared, the supermarkets closed, the food rotted, roads were closed, and there was no gas? I know, kind of a morbid mad max scenario.
The trouble in today's day and age is that we have be come dependent on other people socially, physically, and economically. Furthermore, this hasn't just occured with many individuals, it's happened as a society. In the manufacturing market, we depend on international labor forces to make most of our goods. Hundreds of thousands of obese Americans remain helpless and hopeless in their homes unable to move or perform even functional movements. Nursing homes are packed to the brim with elderly folks that depend on staff to perform the most essential human activities such as bathing and eating.
Many of these individuals are in a difficult situation were disability or disease has plagued them beyond the point of recovery. The depressing thing is that a far greater number of Americans pack classrooms and office spaces with body mass indexes double that of a healthy human. Furthermore, these same people couldn't tell you the difference between a carbohydrate and a protein. They choose to let work dictate their life to the point that they "don't have time" to eat healthy. They allow vices to consume their lives and act as dependencies.
So how does this all relate to CrossFit? I'm glad you've asked. One of my objectives to make those who come to me realize that your body is your most important and could, one day, be your only asset in this world. In the midst of our daily lives, we have gotten so entitled to our comforts that we've failed to realize that it would all be stripped from us tomorrow. The only task that those of us who can and will still help ourselves can do is prepare. Prepare yourself instinctually, intellectually, and physically as if tomorrow you depedencies were to be ripped from you and the only resort would be to digress to hunter/gatherer instinct and survival. I know, it's extreme. Nevertheless, taking things to the extreme is how we make daily activities seem so easy. CrossFit training in and of itself works at high intensities just to teach you to think under high stress, perform functional movements with ease, and keep you from having a heart attack when the stresses of life do hit you. Remember, the heart is a muscle and performing high intensity training within your target heart rate range will only make it more comfortable with stresses. It will also decrease cholesterol, increase good hormone distribution in the body, and help eliminate free radicals from the body. If you worried about having a heart attack during controlled exercise, imagine what will happen when you're faced with an unforseen emergency and an unconditioned cardiorespiratory system.
I leave you with this advice to conclude the first of my rants. Prepare yourself as if your body were your most important and only asset. Decide what it is worth to you because without it, you cease to exist. Don't be scared to tap into your primal instinct in the gym. Independence is the key to existence. One of the quotes that will forever resinate with me came out of the mouth of one of the FDNY survivors of Black Sunday. For those of you unfamiliar with the event, Black Sunday was a fire where 6 Firefighters had to jump out of a 5th floor apartment building after getting stuck in a fire with no water. One of the two survivors says in a video released by the FDNY to incoming recruits, "Be ready for the unthinkable, the unimaginable..." 11.2 will be out shortly.
So the topic for the day is the rapture that was supposed to take place several days ago. It shows you how much I actually work. I had no idea it was supposed to happen. In the aftermath of the craze I've decided to speak about human preparation for the unthinkable. Now, I know that CrossFit, nor any other physical preparation is going to spare the human race from any rapture that may occur. Nonetheless, it does bring to thought the idea of physcial preparation for the unthinkable.
During World War II, one of the only reasons our country and the other Ally Nations were able to reach victory was due to self-sustainance and independence. We grew our own food, we manufactured our own goods, and people just plan lived in a more simplistic fassion.
If you tighten that microscope to your personal life and apply those circumstances to modern day, how many of us do you think would be suited to survive. What if cell phones disappeared, the supermarkets closed, the food rotted, roads were closed, and there was no gas? I know, kind of a morbid mad max scenario.
The trouble in today's day and age is that we have be come dependent on other people socially, physically, and economically. Furthermore, this hasn't just occured with many individuals, it's happened as a society. In the manufacturing market, we depend on international labor forces to make most of our goods. Hundreds of thousands of obese Americans remain helpless and hopeless in their homes unable to move or perform even functional movements. Nursing homes are packed to the brim with elderly folks that depend on staff to perform the most essential human activities such as bathing and eating.
Many of these individuals are in a difficult situation were disability or disease has plagued them beyond the point of recovery. The depressing thing is that a far greater number of Americans pack classrooms and office spaces with body mass indexes double that of a healthy human. Furthermore, these same people couldn't tell you the difference between a carbohydrate and a protein. They choose to let work dictate their life to the point that they "don't have time" to eat healthy. They allow vices to consume their lives and act as dependencies.
So how does this all relate to CrossFit? I'm glad you've asked. One of my objectives to make those who come to me realize that your body is your most important and could, one day, be your only asset in this world. In the midst of our daily lives, we have gotten so entitled to our comforts that we've failed to realize that it would all be stripped from us tomorrow. The only task that those of us who can and will still help ourselves can do is prepare. Prepare yourself instinctually, intellectually, and physically as if tomorrow you depedencies were to be ripped from you and the only resort would be to digress to hunter/gatherer instinct and survival. I know, it's extreme. Nevertheless, taking things to the extreme is how we make daily activities seem so easy. CrossFit training in and of itself works at high intensities just to teach you to think under high stress, perform functional movements with ease, and keep you from having a heart attack when the stresses of life do hit you. Remember, the heart is a muscle and performing high intensity training within your target heart rate range will only make it more comfortable with stresses. It will also decrease cholesterol, increase good hormone distribution in the body, and help eliminate free radicals from the body. If you worried about having a heart attack during controlled exercise, imagine what will happen when you're faced with an unforseen emergency and an unconditioned cardiorespiratory system.
I leave you with this advice to conclude the first of my rants. Prepare yourself as if your body were your most important and only asset. Decide what it is worth to you because without it, you cease to exist. Don't be scared to tap into your primal instinct in the gym. Independence is the key to existence. One of the quotes that will forever resinate with me came out of the mouth of one of the FDNY survivors of Black Sunday. For those of you unfamiliar with the event, Black Sunday was a fire where 6 Firefighters had to jump out of a 5th floor apartment building after getting stuck in a fire with no water. One of the two survivors says in a video released by the FDNY to incoming recruits, "Be ready for the unthinkable, the unimaginable..." 11.2 will be out shortly.
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