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November
Another Dynamic Stretching Video
Here's another nice video of a dynamic warm-up being done by Greg Everett of Catalyst Athletics:
This one is longer than the one we posted last week, and these are the type of mobility exercises you should be doing every day you come in to work out. The good ol' 15-second repertoire of neck circles and arm-waving just doesn't cut it.
Watch the video and incorporate these exercises into your daily warm-up, if you haven't already done so.
Are there other dynamic warm-up movements you include in your warm-up?
Prather Ranch Beef Delivery Day!
Prather Ranch Meat available at the Ferry Building SF, Lake Merritt Farmer's Market (Sat), and Temescal Farmer's Market (Sun).
Beef posse take note: the Prather beef will be available for pick-up at Crossfit Oakland from 6:00PM to 7:30PM on Friday,December 5th. Scott will have marrow and knuckle bones available to purchase a la carte.
Bon apetit!
On Prather Ranch from Food and Wine magazine:
At Prather, animals are allowed to mature for 16 months or more—almost twice as long as typical beef cattle. In their final weeks, they’re fed a fine-tuned mixture of grains, all of them organic, none of them corn (which can play havoc with bovine digestion). read more:
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/a-carnivores-cookout-at-prather-ranch
Props to Scott V. for making the cow purchase possible!
Team Workouts
In the spirit of the CrossFit Games, we're ushering in the holiday season with a team workout for tomorrow's rest day. This will be the first of what we hope will be many team workouts.
Team workouts are a great way to engage in a little friendly competition. And just like with our standard CF workouts, they offer plenty of variety. They run the gamut in terms of how many athletes per team, the length of workout, the exercises used, etc.
Tomorrow's workout places a strong emphasis on near-peak power output. In other words, this is a fairly high-load, short-duration workout.
Tomorrow's Team Workout:
3 Rounds for Time:
3 back squats
6 thrusters
9 burpees
The workout will be done in relay fashion, using two-person teams. So teammate 1 starts off, goes through all 3 squats, all 6 thrusters, and all 9 burpees. The moment teammate 1 finishes the ninth burpee, teammate 2 then jumps in and goes through the same sequence (thus allowing teammate 1 to recover a bit, resting until teammate 2 is done with his round). After teammate 2 finishes his ninth burpee, it's back to teammate 1. This sequence continues until both teammates have finished 3 rounds each.
For those of you who are looking for a good show, MJJ and Manwell have challenged Brandon and Connor to this workout. They'll be going during the 10am class tomorrow and the weights they'll be using are 275# for the back squats and 175# for the thrusters.
Any betting types out there? Any prognosticators? Let us hear it in comments.
And who else will join in on the Team Workout fun? Pick a weight that's challenging and get to it!
The Berkeley Fire Department Academy
The recruits just after Fight Gone Bad
Rowing for Calories
CrossFit Oakland is proud to be a part this year's Berkeley Fire Department Academy in which eleven recruits have undergone rigorous physical training, comprehensive classroom work, as well as manipulative training with hoses, ladders, water supply, hazardous materials, wildland firefighting, emergency medical services, confined space operations, auto extrication, live fire training, rope rescue and Berkeley geography. The current Academy has trained for 11 weeks, and will graduate mid-December!
The new firefighter-paramedics remain on probation for 24 months before they become permanent employees of the City of Berkeley. During probation, the fire fighters must complete a 6-month, 12-month and 18-month examination.
Congrats to the 2008 BFD Academy to comments.
Bobby Hutton Memorial Benefit Nov 29-Dec 6
I wanted to draw some attention to two of our CFOers who are also artists: Nicole and Sham.
Both will be showing their work at the Luggage Store Gallery from November 29 through December 6, as part of the Bobby Hutton Memorial Benefit.
The opening reception is this Saturday, Nov 29 from 8pm to 10pm. It would be great to see a lot of CFOers there supporting our in-house artists, as well as the other artists who are showing their work (there are a ton of them!). If you can't make the opening reception, fear not, the gallery is open Wed-Sat from 12pm to 5pm.
For more information on the Bobby Hutton Memorial Benefit, go here:
***UPDATE ON ANGELA'S CLEAN CLINIC DEC 13***
So far we have the following people registered for Angela's clinic on Saturday, Dec 13: Sherrill, Michael G, and Leigh. Three spots are still available.
Dynamic Stretching
Prevailing wisdom among coaches and kinesiology researches these days posits dynamic stretching as the superior way to prepare the body for rigorous athletic movement. The Scorpion, bear crawls, straight leg marches, and handwalks are a few of the dynamic stretches we use at CFO that send what researchers call “an excitatory message to perform†to the muscles in your body.
A good CrossFit warm-up will do a few things: loosen muscles and tendons to increase the range of motion of various joints, utilize movement patterns that mirror those used in the WOD, and warm the core temperature of your body. The static warm-up stretches we were taught in grade school (touching your toes for 20-30 seconds) as young athletes may actually hinder our athletic performance, and according to current research, make us weaker!
Dynamic Stretching Routine from Catalyst Athletics:
http://www.cathletics.com/exercises/videos/dromsDemo.mov
PLEASE NOTE: WE WILL BE CLOSED ON THANKSGIVING DAY!
Post your favorite dynamic stretch to comments.
CFO Olympic Lifting Sunday Sessions
Just a reminder on the heels of today's clean-and-jerk workout, if you're looking for slightly more instruction than Dimas's coach was giving him in the video clip above, remember that every Sunday we have an Olympic lifting session from 1:30pm to 3:30pm, led by our USA Weightlifting club coach, Angela Lim.
The cost to drop in on a session is $20.
And just for the record, that's a 468-lb clean-and-jerk.
Cow Share
The wheels are in motion for our group cow-share! The ETA for our 40lb boxes of beef is Friday, December 5th. Scott, from Prather Ranch, will bring knuckle and marrow bones for those of you who want to buy them a la carte ($3.50/lb) on the same day the boxes are delivered.
Please note that we will be CLOSED on Thanksgiving Day!
Post a Thanksgiving WOD that requires no equipment to comments.
Davey's Finisher
We captured Davey messing around last weekend, and showing us various pulling- and climbing-related skills, as he went through his post-WOD finisher. Watch as he traverses the room without ever touching the ground!
Next time, throw in the bachar ladder, though, Davey. You goin' soft on us or something?
Props to Davey and his creative finisher in comments. Also, let's suggest how he might top it (hip pullovers?) in version two.
THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS HERE!!!!
CFO Upcoming Events and Schedule Changes
F.U.E.L. (Feeding U Energy for Life) SEMINAR: SATURDAY December 6th, 2008 from 11am-1pm
As much as it pains us to admit, even with the world's greatest training program at CFO, you won't see changes in body composition, health or performance without addressing how you eat. The majority of our top performers follow various forms of "clean eating" - ask around!
Our F.U.E.L. seminar will cover everything from the science of food (the why) to what you should eat for your individual body type (the how).
Cost = $100/person or $150/family (Lunch is provided). To R.S.V.P. call (510) 595-9348 or email us at www.info@crossfitoakland.comor sign up on the Community Board (by the jump ropes)!
CLEAN CLINIC with Angela Lim
Sunday, December 13th from 1:30pm - 3:30pm
Angela will focus solely on the Clean, one of the two Olympic Lifts. The clinic will include one or two models who have placed in recent local and national Olympic Weightlifting competitions. Besides performing the lift itself, participants will be taken through a series of specific warm-up and stretching exercises in addition to being provided with videotape analysis and feedback. Please come prepared to provide totals for your max front squat, max dead lift and max hang squat clean.
Cost = $75 per/participant. Participation will be limited to the first 6 participants to provide a check, cash, or online payment to CFO. Please also sign up on the Community Board near the jump ropes. We will confirm entry into the class by posting the names of the participants on the CFO website the week of the Clinic.
TRANSBAY HOLIDAY WORKOUT & PARTY! Wednesday, December 17th, Starting @ 6pm with a special Holiday WOD. Crossfit San Francisco will be hosting a Holiday Workout and Party at the Sports Basement located at 610 Old Mason St in the Presidio, San Francisco. This is a wonderful opportunity to schmooze with like-minded crossfitters and check out the CFSF facility and clientele. RSVP to Mike or Nicole.
CFO HOLIDAY COCKTAIL PARTY! Saturday, December 20th @ 6pm
The Okumus will be hosting the CFO Holiday Party at their Oakland home. This elegant soiree will be catered by our very own Lance V. Come by and raise a glass of Holiday cheer and celebrate the season in style.
HOLIDAY SCHEDULE CHANGES!!
THANKSGIVING DAY- CLOSED
DAY After Thankgiving - Weekend Schedule (9am, 10am, 4pm ONLY)
CHRISTMAS DAY - CLOSED
DAY After Christmas - Weekend Schedule (9am, 10am, 4pm ONLY)
NEW YEAR'S EVE - Regular AM classes, 4pm class replaces 5pm, 6pm & 7pm (no evening classes)
NEW YEAR'S DAY - CLOSED
DAY After NEW YEAR'S - Weekend Schedule (9am, 10am, 4pm ONLY)
Fitness in Three Moves
Thought experiment for you:
If you could pick three and only three exercises that best represent a broad and general fitness (and also, as a result, give you the greatest likelihood of acquiring that broad and general level of fitness), what would they be?
Consider the ability to use these exercises across broad time and modal domains (in other words, you should be able to use them for development of peak power or strength, as well as for metabolic conditioning).
Give your exercises and their reason for inclusion.
More Ross!
Ross Enamait comes up in most of our meandering conversations about intensity, strength and general jaw-dropping training techniques. Needless to say, he is muse and inspiration to many of us! Ross is an athlete, author, and trainer. He operates a strength and conditioning business in his home state of Connecticut and works primarily with athletes from combat sporting events such as boxing and the mixed martial arts.
For more from Ross: http://www.rosstraining.com/blog/
Who inspires your athleticism? Tell us about your fitness muse in comments.
Breaking the Fast
Breakfast has long been hailed as the most important meal of the day. After a long night of fasting it's important to refuel your body with a big, hearty meal first thing in the morning. While you've been snoozing all night, your body's busy performing maintenance and repairs. So, although you may not feel hungry, you shouldn't deprive yourself of this opportunity to start your day off right. Think about it, when else do you go for a period of 8-12 hours without eating? A healthy, balanced meal in the morning helps to stabilize blood sugar and provides your body with the nutrients it needs to function optimally. And if that's not enough motivation, eating breakfast has been shown to prevent overeating at later meals. CrossFitters beware that skipping out on breakfast can cause your body to break down your own hard-earned muscle for energy in a process called "gluconeogenesis." So, do your body good by eating within an hour of waking. A good, solid breakfast should include a balance of protein, healthy fat, and carbs (preferably from nutrient-rich vegetables and fruit).
Check out this NY Times piece on the importance of eating breakfast to stave off weight gain.
Here are a few ideas for getting your morning off to a good start.
Here's what I had for breakfast today:
2 WHOLE eggs (including yolk; please don't miss out on the most nutritious part of the egg...more on this in a later post!)
3 slices of bacon (a little indulgence on my part, not recommended for daily consumption)
3 cups asparagus
1/2 a yellow onion
1 small serving of jicama and raspberry salad
[In a large frying pan, combine the onion, asparagus and eggs, in this order until fully cooked.]
No time to cook? Try a smoothie, they are quick, easy and delicious! You can get really creative with the flavors by mixing in different types of fruits, nuts or greens.
Here is one of my favorite smoothie recipes:
1 cup goat's milk Kefir
1/2 cup frozen berries
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp brewers yeast
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp ground Flaxseed
2 tbsp chocolate flavored whey protein powder
This vitamin-packed smoothie is loaded with all the right fixings and the best part is it tastes more like dessert than breakfast!
Post your breakfast recipes to comments.
Good Food, Good Times
Thanks to all who showed up for tonight's Zone Support dinner. It was great fun, even if the conversation occasionally drifted toward discussion of Oprah and women's fashion.
Food for thought:
Which factor is more important in one's diet: insulin management or protein intake?
Zone Support Group Dinner: Tomorrow Night @ 6p.m.
COME AND EAT!
We will be gathering together once again to enjoy the yummy culinary creations of fellow CrossFitters interested in nutritious Zone-inspired dishes. Sam has graciously offered his house as the venue for the next potluck. Please bring a dish to share along with copies of the recipe (10-15).
Sam's Address:
2701 Park Blvd. Oakland, CA 94606
Cross Street is Spruce, kitty-corner from Dave's Liquor
6p.m.
What are you bringing to share? Post to comments.
COW SHARE UPDATE: PLEASE READ!
Note: We will front the money, but I need EVERYONES money by 11/21. Make checks payable to CrossFit Oakland. $220/person
From Scott V of Prather Ranch:
Hey Nicole, wow what a great surprise. I'm going to try to do everything I can to be sure that this process is as clear and easy as possible for everyone involved.
So, first of all, your message said that 12 people are interested in 40 lbs. of meat each. That makes 480 lbs. total. That amount is a whole beef and brings you to a nicely discounted price of $5.50/lb. bringing the total price for the beef to $2640. That means each person in the group is into it for $220. Now I know that everyone is already sold on the idea, but I think it's worth mentioning that this is a pretty smokin' deal given that our ground beef ordinarily sells for $5.99/lb. and our ribeyes are $19.99/lb. so that's pretty cool. What does 40 pounds of meat look like? Everyone should expect to get one cardboard box that measures 28" long, 16" wide, and 10" deep chock full of meat. this is not a quantity of meat that should require the purchase of a chest freezer, but it is an amount that will probably fill the ordinary kitchen freezer. The stats on the beef are that it will be a certified organic beef, certified humanely raised and handled, and dry aged for 21 days, yummy. Regarding the knuckle and marrow bones, I will have those with me when I deliver the beef and people can buy them "a la carte" at a 15% discount off the retail price which is $3.99/lb.
I have 12 people Total on the list (Angela, Leigh, Brian, Lance, Mike M, Mike G, Joe, Kim, Stas, Sabrina, Joe, Nicole). Please let me know if you don't want to take part ASAP!
In WOD We Trust
Tomorrow's WOD, courtesy of CrossFit
Over the past several months, we've been extremely heartened to see the fitness level of so many of our members increase. Along the way, though, we've too often neglected the genius, and lack of bias, of the main-site WOD programming, which in the past has been the quickest path to the broad-based level of fitness to which we aspire.
To be honest, we've done this because it's been so exciting to see you all strut your stuff and show us what you're made of. But everyone has blind spots and weaknesses. And it's only through tackling the main-site WODs that you get a clear sense of what you're made of, and what you aren't.
As such, we're recommitting to give the main-site WODs their just due.
Beginning Monday, everyone will be doing the main-site WOD as written in group classes, with the following exceptions:
* The Fundamentals workout will remain in place, posted right alongside the WOD every day.
* Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (only!) will still be reserved for you to train the strength lifts and Olympic lifts.
* Main-site rest days will still be relatively free-form and the perfect opportunity for you to scratch any fitness-related itch you may have.
* Substitutions and alternatives will be provided if you're incapable of performing any of the moves of the workout, due to injury or physical limitation. The time domain of the WOD will remain intact, however.
In addition, we'll be piloting an open-gym hour in late 2008 or early 2009, so stay tuned.
Post your thoughts to comments.
Steer for Sale!
We are wondering if any among you are interested in cost sharing a steer (~$2,400). Not to ride or lasso, to eat! We have found an excellent farm that will slaughter, cut, and package an entire Steer. That's a lot of meat, so be sure you have the freezer space!
Let us know if your interested, here: info@crossfitoakland.com
Post your opinion of a group steer share to comments.
Body Fat Testing November 18
Just a quick reminder: we'll be having the folks from Body Fat Test at our gym next Tuesday, Nov 18 from 12pm to 8pm.
If you want to sign up for the body fat test, talk to Mike or Nicole. The cost is $49.
***Day 3 of the Double-Under Challenge is tomorrow!***
Kilimanjaro Anyone?
Kilimanjaro with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is an inactive stratovolcano in north-eastern Tanzania rising 4,600 m (15,100 ft) from its base, and is additionally the highest peak in Africa at 5,895 meters (19,340 ft), providing a dramatic view of the surrounding plains.
This is an initial query to see if any of you CrossFitters are interested in doing a Kilimanjaro climb in December 2009. A year will give all those interested in going a chance to save the money and mentally (and physically) prepare for the climb! The plan is to go for about 10 days, spending a week on the mountain and a few days post-climb on safari at Masai Mara game park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masai_Mara).
Post if you're interested to comments.
More on the Double-Under Challenge
There have been a few questions, suggestions, and comments since we made our post on the 30-day double-under challenge yesterday.
Here are some clarifications:
* A double-under is considered consecutive when no single jumps are performed in between doubles.
* You have as many attempts during the day as you want or need to hit your target number of consecutive double-unders.
* There are three levels of challenge:
- Fundamental: You're able to do one legitimate double-under at the end of the thirty days.
- Intermediate: You're able to do ten consecutive double-unders at the end of the thirty days.
- Advanced: You're able to do thirty consecutive double-unders at the end of the thirty days.
And for the super advanced out there, simply perform some multiple of the target double-unders for that day. For example, a 5x or 6x multiple would be really challenging even for the staunchest of double-under fiends. A 5x multiple would mean that you do 5 double-unders on the first day, 10 on the second day, 15 on the third day, etc.
Most of all, remember that this challenge is really about diligent practice of a skill. It doesn't take much time to get some solid skill practice in during the day. And the more time you spend practicing something, the better you get (with a few exceptions, I'm sure).
And that's the real lesson here.
30 Day Double-Under Challenge!
We are going to begin our Double-Under Challenge on Monday, November 10th. We will do one double-under on day one and add one each day until we get to 30 consecutive double-unders on the 30th day!
Here are the Challenge Rules:
1. All of your double-unders should be completed consecutively.
2. If you miss a day, you have to make up all the missed double unders the following day.
3. If you don't start the challenge with us on Monday, you can "buy-in" at any time by doing ALL the missed day's double unders on your first day.
4. Any double-unders you complete during your regular workout or warm-up will not count towards the day's Challenge.
Prizes go to the CFO athletes who complete 30 consecutive double-unders on the 30th day!
Who's in? Post to comments.
An Education in Shoulder Function
A few photos from Kelly's shoulder (formerly shoulder and hip) seminar tonight.
Just want to send a big thank you to Kelly for coming over to our side of the bay and giving an outstanding seminar on shoulder function, health, and therapy. I think movement prep will become a key word around our gym for everyone who participated in the seminar tonight.
We wanted to have Kelly cover shoulder and hips tonight, but we simply didn't have enough time to get to hips. We will have Kelly back again in early December to cover hip function and therapy. In the meantime, hit Kelly up if you're having issues around your hips (hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes). He can be reached at kelly@stoneclinic.com. Make sure to reference CrossFit Oakland in the subject line.
***FIGHT GONE BAD T-SHIRTS***
We received everyone's Fight Gone Bad t-shirts. Please come pick up yours as soon as possible. Talk to Mike, Nicole, or one of the other trainers so that we can get you your shirt.
Shoulder and Hip Health: Tomorrow, Wednesday, November 5th!
November 5th, 6p.m. to 7:30p.m.
THERE WILL BE NO 6PM CLASS! HOWEVER, WE WILL MAKE TIME FOR A SHORT 30 MINUTE CLASS AT 7:30!! WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT EVERYONE TRY TO MAKE THIS SEMINAR!!
Once again, we will be hosting a seminar on hip and shoulder health with Kelly Starrett of San Fransisco CrossFit and the Stone Clinic. Kelly will be discussing:
Anatomy for Jocks
Hip Extension and Shoulder Stability: What is it and how to train for it.
Recurring Problems: Possible culprits and cures
Going Heavy and Moving Ballistically: Technique Tips
Kelly is one of the original CrossFit affiliate owners, a brilliant trainer, and a doctor of physical therapy. Kelly's own background as an athlete and coach includes paddling whitewater slalom canoe on the U.S. Canoe and Kayak Team and paddling as a member of the U.S. Whitewater Rafting Team, where he won two national titles and competed in two world championships. Kelly is the founder and director of Liquid Camp, a week-long whitewater kayaking camp for teens living with HIV/AIDS.
This seminar is FREE to all CrossFit Oakland members. Don't miss it!
Post questions for Kelly to comments.
Even the NY Times Gets it Right Once in a While
For careful readers of our CFO blog comments, you'll notice that Papa Brad already stole my thunder, but be that as it may, the NY Times had a nice article over the weekend (surprisingly enough) about the benefits of dynamic movement prior to a workout, and saving the static stretches for post-workout (which many of you need to do, by the way!).
There are exercise descriptions as well as a video in the full article, titled "Stretching The Truth." Many of the movements, if not all, will be familiar to any of you who've hung around CFO for a bit.
Read the article!
***PROPS TO TAMI: QUEEN KONG WORKOUT UNVEILED FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION***
In case you haven't already seen, Tami got some major exposure tonight on the CF main site for her Queen Kong performance. Check out the video and give some props to Tami!
Welcome Shannon and Tony!
We always like to hear about how people found CrossFit and CrossFit Oakland in particular. Tony told us that the seed was planted many years ago when as a child he would watch his mother devoutly follow Jack LaLanne's fitness program on T.V.. Year's later, he read an article about the opening of LaLanne Fitness in San Fransisco and begin his hunt for an affiliate closer to home. Lucky for us he found CFO! Tony said that despite a delayed response on our part, he persevered and now, like his mother, is devoutly following the WOD's with his partner Shannon!
Shannon and Tony are also the owners a About Face and Body on College Avenue--check them out for a post WOD clean up!
http://www.aboutfaceandbody.net/welcome.html
How did you find CFO? What was your first experience like? Post to comments.
