The Inner Beauty

Tyler

The other day I experienced a few setbacks at work.  Nothing major, just a kink or two to get in the way of a smooth path towards our goals.  I felt a little deflated and needed some inspiration, so I googled "setbacks + quotations," and found, among others, the following quotation...

"I think exercise tests us in so many ways,our skills, our hearts, our ability to bounce back after setbacks. This is the inner beauty of sports and competition, and it can serve us all well as adult athletes."  Peggy Flemming

I thought of all of the CrossFit workouts (and there are many) during which I really felt like I might fail (not make the lift, not complete the reps or not even finish) and somehow still found the mental and physical fortitude to push through the pain, doubt and fear to succeed.  Sometimes the success came right away, and sometimes after many weeks of training and practice.  Without a doubt, my skill, heart and ability to bounce back continue to grow and improve as I train.  This has truly been a life lesson.  CrossFit has taught me that there is often more inside of me than I am aware of, that I can achieve more than I expect with extra effort, determination and perseverance, and in some ways, that anything is possible.  This is the inner beauty of CrossFit and it follows me everywhere.  It reminds me that not only am I stronger in my muscles, but I am also stronger in my heart - the kind that pumps my blood and the kind that pumps my resolve.   

-Heather Mac

Workout:

Rest Day

Growth

“Eversince I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential.”
-Bruce Lee

Yesterdays Workout:
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes of:
115 Pound Barbell Bear Complex, 7 reps
25 Pull ups

One repetition of the Bear Complex is:  Clean, Front Squat, Push Press, Back Squat, Push Jerk

Today's Workout: "Michael"

3 rounds for time of:

800 meter run

50 Hip extensions

50 glute ham sit ups

The Future

Brent strong and steady

Last February some 300 affialiate owners, HQ Staff and dignitaries met in Austin TX, at the FilFest '09.  The affiliate gathering involved two days of talks and lectures on topics pertinent to the future of CrossFit as a whole and individually as CrossFit trainers.  The CrossFit Risk Retention Group was a main topic. Since that date the RRG has raised the money and we have started an insurance company as a community.  The growth of CrossFit seems to have no end.  While in Texas we were shown a short video by CrossFit by Overload,

The Evolution,  ...[wmv][mov]

With the third year of the CrossFit Games approaching, it is hard to image what things will look like in another three years.

Post thoughts to comments

Workout:

The Unknown or  The Unknowable

Sleep Two

Training for the 2009 Games

Now that we know we are probably not getting adequate sleep to optimize performance, what can we do about it? 

1. Limit caffeine intake
2. Limit alcohol consumption
3. Sleep in a place with a  comfortable temperature and without noise interruptions. 
4. Sleep in a dark room.
5. Practice stress-releasing activities
6. Power down and hour before bed (no cell phones, computers or tv)
7. Try to keep a consistent sleep schedule, getting to bed and waking at roughly the same time every day
8. Don't let pets sleep in the bedroom as they can be disruptive of shut eye
9. Avoid napping
10. Keep a sleep journal

Some of these solutions may not be realistic for all of us, but just like individualizing a  nutrition plan, it's important to do your best and find out what works for you.  Sweet dreams.

-Hannah

Workout
Heavy Deadlift

Sleep

The noon crew.

We have all seen CrossFit's hierarchy of fitness. Nutrition sits on the bottom and sport is at the top. Theidea of this model is that you can not attain optimum performance at any of the levels unless you have dialed in all the levels below it.  I would like to add a level at the bottom of the pyramid called "sleep."  We've touched on it before in reference to a post by KStar  and I was just reminded of it after reading an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal.

There are two crucial phases of sleep.  REM is the phase in which our brain consolidates memories and processes things we learn.  It is key for improving and maintaining coordination, agility, balance and accuracy in our training (i.e. when all that handstand practice pays off). Slow wave sleep is the phase in which physical recovery occurs.  This is crucial for building strength, endurance, stamina and flexibility, or basic muscle recovery and growth.  Basically these phases of sleep are imperative for increasing power and speed.

Quality sleep is even more important than nutrition, because your body has a hard time staying on a nutrition plan and/or reaping the benefits of said plan if you are not getting enough sleep.  Chronic inadequate sleep impairs cognitive function, memory and the immune system. It changes the body's metabolism, making people eat more and feel less satisfied, and is associated with increased inuslin resistance.

Now for the scary part, many of us are not getting the quality sleep that we think we are.  Perception of time and memory is often distorted in the middle of the night, so you may be awake for long stretches of the night without realizing or remebering.  Do you pride yourself on being able to fall asleep anytime, anywhere?  That means your not getting enough sleep.  Do you have trouble waking up, or feel sleepy at anytime throughout the day?  That means you don't get enough good sleep! Do you have mood swings, a bad memory or a chronic need for caffeine?  Tsk, tsk, not enough sleep!

-Hannah

Workout:

Rest Day

How much is enough?

Hollis helping Alecia get more range.

Are your hamstrings, iliotibial bands, hip flexors, quads, lats, glutes, hips, calves and/or pecks getting in the way of your fitness? Are you limited in your movements? If the answer is yes, do you know what to do about it?

Well, if you hang out after most classes you will see a few dedicated athletes working on their flexibility, try asking them.  As with all things some techniques work better than others.  If you are not sure on what to do ask your coach.  The best way to get serious about your mobility and elite maintenance is to recruit your friends to help. 

Workout: CrossFit.com WoD

3 rounds for time:

Run 400 meters
21 KBS
12 HSPU

Operation Playground

Dave in Zambia

Dave's email:
I have been in Zambia for 4 days now and it has been a crazyexperience to actually see how real the poverty is here. Six of us on the Mosaic Playground team have been working on the playground since Monday. The photo is after day 1. The other 8 people of the mosaic team are here to train school teachers in the community.  I've heard from them that the concept of a playground is not even in the vocabulary of the children here! While working on the structure with my friends on the playground team, I will sometimes see the orphaned kids playing off in the distance, finding so many ways to entertain and amuse themselves with nothing but the clothes on their back and rolled up plastic or leather for soccer balls. Anthony and I saw a few of them having a blast climbing on a tree - one of them bouncing up and down on a branch.  We thought to ourselves - they haven't seen nothing yet! I don't know how the playground will look in the end but I do know that however it turns out (it should be big) it is going to blow their minds when they start seeing it come together!  I'm still doing my best to workout at 5:30am and eat well when I can so when I get back I will be able to compete with the team. I hope to keep you all updated in the coming days.

We are so proud of you Dave!  No doubt digging supports and pounding columns into the soil will be excellent preparation for the games!

Workout:

Jerk 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Kudos

Patrick teaching his  3:00 class.

Patrick has been working with CrossFit Headquarters at the level one certifications for some time now. This weekend he got his first opportunity to be a lecturer. He spoke to the group about performance based nutrition and the zone diet. We are happy for his success.

Keep up the good work Pat.

Tuesday's Workout:

15-12-9

95lb Squat Clean

Glute Ham Sit up

Kettle Bell Swing

Burpee

Wall Ball

Oh yes, back by popular demand we will be posting the workout ahead of time. Get prepared.

Affiliate Team Alternates

There are two more very important people who will be joining this years affiliate cup team as alternates.

Amy Power and Andrew Hopp will continue to train and eat and prepare right along with the rest of the team, just in case.

Every team in every sport has backups. Those people who get a little less playing time than the starting line but are no less important or deserving. We are counting on Amy and Andrew to be there all the way.

Sunday's Workout: "Jacky"
For time
1000 meter row
50 empty bar thrusters
30 pullups

Affiliate Team Member # 6

Dave Leys

...Enough Said

Saturday's Workout:

Overhead Squat 70%

3-3-3

Front Squat 75%

3-3-3

Back Squat 80%

3-3-3