"Abs"

Kasey - Med Ball Run (8 lbs.)

Workout of the Day:
For time:

400 meter Walking Lunge

*This is a classic CrossFit workout that I first seen on crossfit.com back in 2007. It has reappeared at least 3 other times since then that I can remember. You'll definitely need to use your "abs" for this one! Don't sleep on it even though it may look easy.

"Since the basic nature of correct ab function is isometric, the exercises in which the abs perform this function will provide exercises for the abs as well. This may seem childishly apparent, yet virtually every strength coach adds extra concentric/eccentric ab work to the program anyway. The thinking must be that just squatting, deadlifting, pressing, cleaning, snatching, chins, and barbell curls – all of which involve trunk stabilization as a critical performance component – do not provide sufficient ab work by themselves. I disagree."

Finish reading the above text titled "Abs", by Mark "Rip" Rippetoe, here.

What do you think about Ol' Rip's position on "abs"? Do you think he's on to something, or is he completely full of shit?

Isotonics & Isometrics

Rich Thayer - Steel Log training (Max reps in 1 minute @ 121 lbs.)

Workout of the Day:
3 rounds for time:

Run 600m
Bodyweight Bench Press, Max Reps

"In the early sixties, a new form of strength training burst on the scene and swept across the country like wildfire…Fast forward six years. Isometrics and also the combination of isotonics and isometrics had all but disappeared from strength training in sports…[but it is] information that every serious strength athlete and coach needs to have at his disposal, because there are only a handful of people still alive who know how to do the concept correctly."

Finish reading the above text titled "The Ultimate Exercise", by legendary strength coach Bill Starr, here.

I've been interested in isotonic and isometric contraction training every since I took up Jeet Kune Do back in 2000. Sigung Bruce Lee was a big proponent of using isometric contractions to train functional strength. While I myself have never used this type of training to get stronger, it was interesting to have a person with actual knowledge on the subject school us for a few minutes. Like Rip once said, "Bill Starr forgot more than I'll ever know about strength training."

2010 I.P.A. CT State Powerlifting Championships

Workout of the Day:
As many rounds as possible in 3 minutes of:

3 Pull-Ups
6 Push-Ups
9 Kettlebell Swings, 24Kg/32Kg
-Rest for 1 minute

*Repeat for 5 total rounds (15 minutes of work)

Saturday was the 2010 I.P.A. CT State Powerlifting Championships, which were held at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, CT. Last year, coincidentally, they were held in Norwich, CT (my home town). In March when I returned from the New England Revolution meet that was held in Johnston, RI, I encouraged Jeremy to train for this most recent meet with me. I ended up deciding not to participate at the last moment for a couple of different reasons, but we'll save that for another post. Here's Jeremy's story.

First of all, Jeremy has never been considered particularly "strong", although I would argue that he's always been stronger than people gave him credit for. he's been doing manual labor for a good portion of his life and that has provided him with a certain base level of "functional strength and power. When he started doing CrossFit with us in July of 2008, like most of us, his numbers on the Big Five lifts were rather dismal:

From then until March of this year he did CrossFit with some Strength Bias worked mixed in. Basically, whatever I threw at him and the 0600 crew. He got stronger and his numbers went up. At the end of March Jeremy decided to commit to training for this recent meet and got seriously strong in a rather short amount of time. Some lifts progressed faster than others, as should happen. See, Jeremy's a genetic "puller". He's really good at pulling heavy things off of the ground. His back Squat is pretty good too.

So Saturday finally came after four months of some pretty grueling, and at times mundane, training for Jeremy. We decided on Friday to be early for registration and weigh-ins. They started at 7:30am and at 7:55am I get the phone call from Jeremy saying that he is at the XL Center (across the city) and not the Convention Center like he's supposed to be. My bad. I thought they were the same venue. Nonetheless, he rushes back across the city and makes it in time to weigh-in at a solid 208 lbs.

We wait around awhile waiting for the venue staff to allow entry into the Convention Center's main room. This meet was being held in the larger context of the Europa Sport and Fitness Expo. The main room was filled with different vendors from a variety of supplement and fitness equipment companies, as well as other sporting events. Some of the other events included a bodybuilding competition, various martial arts demos, an arm wrestling competition, and a strongman competition hosted by World's Strongest Man elite athlete Derek Poundstone. It was an eclectic mix, to say the least.

We finally found the section of the room where the Powerlifting meet was to be held. back in the warm-up area the had two bench press stations, and two Monolift squat racks to warm-up on. We got the measurements for his rack height, which the announcer call out to the loaders when you approach the platform, and proceeded to get Jeremy acclimated on the Monolift. One thing I learned from my experience in March was to better time the warm-ups and it seemed to work pretty well this time around. Jay, as he'll be referred to from here on out, was 7th in the flight and we decided he'd take his last warm-up when the first lifter in the flight approached the platform.

We had about an hour to warm-up the squat and Jay listed his opener at 375 lbs. When the time came for his first attempt, I didn't cue him as much as I should have, figuring he'd kill it. Jay ended up getting it, but it was an ugly opener since his knees were flapping like sheets in the wind (he's really that white, too!) and his chest dropped. the second attempt at 405 lbs. went much better. However, on his third attempt for a PR lift of 415 lbs., he just didn't have it in him. Jay powered out of a deep bottom position, but stalled at 1/4 squat. Not today.

The organizers did a good job of separating the raw and equipped lifters into separate flights, so we decided to go for walk while the equipped lifters were finishing up. We had an hour to kill for lunch and didn't want to sit around the warm-up area. I think this venue proved to be too distracting and I much preferred the solitude of the gym where the meet was held in March. It kept you in "the zone" better. All Powerlifting, all day.

Jeremy went into the Bench Press with the mentality that it was just a "filler lift". The lift has been his nemesis for most of his life. He opened with a rough 200 lbs. and we agreed that he had to buckle down and nail his second attempt. he blasted through 205 lbs. for his second attempt for three white lights, but the third attempt didn't cut it. It was 215 lbs. and he drove it hard of his chest, but in doing so he raised his ass off of the bench. So much so that the announcer told a guy next to me see "could see daylight" under there. Red lights, no lift.

It was 3:40pm by the time we got to the deadlifts and Jay was feeling real good about. The first attempt at 440 lbs. went easy and he said it felt good. A recipe for success. We decided to go for 485 lbs. on the second attempt, which would be a PR lift for the kid. Jay called for 485 lbs., and 485 lbs. is what he pulled. Looked good, now it was time to do what he came to do. Four months of training culminated into this one lift. It's the only reason Jay showed up to lift. He called for 505 lbs. When they announced that he was "in the hole" (3rd person out), I could feel the intensity building inside him. He wanted this lift, and wanted bad. "Jeremy Armstrong is on deck". The hands get chalked and clapped, and the and emotions get calmed. Jay walks up, addresses the bar and sets his gaze. With a big breath he pulls and the bar starts to glide up his shins to his knees. Then, without warning, it comes crashing back to the floor. 505 lbs. and Mean Ol' Mr. Gravity won that day.

During the debriefing we assessed what wrong and what went right. They were things that both him (lifter) and I (coach) could, and would, have done differently, in hindsight. Jay admitted that it was one of the best experiences of his life, and that he would definitely do it again. For me, it was amazing to be able to help a friend get stronger than he ever thought he could, and see him use that new found strength in a competitive environment. Great going Jay! I hope you decide to keep getting stronger.

2010 CrossFit Games: Individual Event #5

SFC Lewis - True Push-Ups

Mike Starling - Double Under practice

Workout of the Day:
7 rounds for time:

205 lbs. Clean, 3 reps
Ring Handstand Push-Ups, 4 reps

*Cleans are full squat.

For many of you, Handstand Push-Ups on the rings will simply not be possible at this time. There are a number of ways to scale/modify this workout for your current ability level. We will help you find a suitable scaling method so that way you can actually complete the workout. Whatever method you choose, you'll definitely get some good practice on some version of the Handstand Push-up.

2010 CrossFit Games: Individual Event #3

Jeremy Armstrong - Powerlifting training

Jeremy Armstrong - Gymnastics practice

Workout of the Day:
As many rounds as possible in 7 minutes of:

7 reps Deadlift, 315 lbs.
Sprint 20m
14 reps One-legged squat
21 Double Unders
Sprint 20m

*Closed - Saturday, July 24th*

We will be closed this coming Saturday, July 24th. I will be coaching Jeremy at his first Powerlifting Competition at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, CT. The meet is the I.PA. CT Powerlifting Championships/Battle of the Champions. It is being held in conjunction with the Europa Health and Fitness Expo. It will be an exciting event and if you're interested in coming to watch, we'd appreciate the support.

2010 CrossFit Games: Event 2a &2b

Workout of the Day:
For time:

Run 1200m
63 reps KB Swing, 16Kg/24Kg
36 Pull-Ups
Run 800m
42 reps KB Swing, 16Kg/24Kg
21 Pull-Ups
Run 400m
21 reps KB Swing, 16Kg/24Kg
12 Pull-Ups

then, within 90 seconds of finishing the above workout:

Shoulder-to-Overhead, 1RM

This week we will be completing as many workouts as possible from the 2010 CrossFit Games that were held this past weekend at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. Some of the workouts can't quite be replicated in our facility, but we'll do the best we can. Like Rich said this morning, it's great to see another "no namer" come out of nowhere and take 1st place. There was a lot of speculation about who would be the overall winner of the CF Games this year, but it ended up going to Graham Holmberg (??) out of Rogue Fitness in Gahanna, OH.

We would also like to welcome Sam Axten to our CF 101 program and to the facility in general. He came to us with a solid set of skills already, so we know he'll do well if he stays consistent. He's young, healthy, motivated, and hungry to learn. All top qualities that we see among successful trainees. You'll always catch me saying things like "if I only had found something like this when I was your age", or "if I would've found this at your age who knows what would've happened." What would you have done had you found CrossFit earlier in your life? Do you think you would have pursued it, or stuck with the masses out of fear of being different? If you did pursue it early on, how much difference do you think it would have made in your life?

Push Press Ladder

SFC Lewis - Some people push hard

SFC Paul Hanlon - Power Clean practice (elbows up!)

Skill/Strength/Power Development:
Shoulder Press
5x3

WOD:
Push Press Ladder (55/75 lbs.)

The 1st minute perform 1 Push Press. The 2nd minute perform 2 Pus Presses. The 3rd minute perform 3 Push Presses....and so on until you cannot complete the required number of reps in the minute.

This workout came to me from SFC Lewis via CrossFit Calgary, home to James "OPT" Fitzgerald. It sounded interesting and is a way to help prepare us for the Fight Gone Bad V fundraiser at the end of September.