Closer Look

Peter Deadlifting and Eric and Ben doing toes to bar at noon.

At first glance Peter's deadlift looks pretty good. His back is straight, his shins are nearly vertical and his butt is out. If you look a little closer, you can see his weight is shifted forward, his shoulders are getting pulled out of position and his head is not in line with the rest of his spine. The lift is safe, but if Peter were to activate his upper back, put his chin down and push his heels into the ground, he would be faster and he would lift more weight. Better technique will lead to better performance in the long run. I showed Peter the picture, we worked on it a little and he is ready to do better next time.

________________________

How did week one in the Zone go for everyone? We need reports.

Check out Kristy's Zone chili recipe on her blog

________________________

Workout:

Shouder Press

2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2

Closer Look

Peter Deadlifting and Eric and Ben doing toes to bar at noon.

At first glance Peter's deadlift looks pretty good. His back is straight, his shins are nearly vertical and his butt is out. If you look a little closer, you can see his weight is shifted forward, his shoulders are getting pulled out of position and his head is not in line with the rest of his spine. The lift is safe, but if Peter were to activate his upper back, put his chin down and push his heels into the ground, he would be faster and he would lift more weight. Better technique will lead to better performance in the long run. I showed Peter the picture, we worked on it a little and he is ready to do better next time.

________________________

How did week one in the Zone go for everyone? We need reports.

Check out Kristy's Zone chili recipe on her blog

________________________

Workout:

Shouder Press

2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2

Performer

Diana and her audience

Some of us do better when someone is watching, some like the camera on them. Others like the back row and to have no attention on them. Whether you get energized when people are watching or you get nervous and shy learning to find your own focused place to complete your task is valuable.

__________________________

The weekends can be a hard time to stay in the zone here is JD's food log to keep you motivated:

17 Block day. Snacks are at work so they're simple and transportable. I tend to favor meals that are fast and easy. Everything here takes ~5 minutes to make with no prep time. Rotisserie chickens are a staple of everything I eat. 1 chicken gives me at least 25-30g protein, if not more, which I can parcel out for use in any meal.

8:00 AM: 4 block breakfast. I sometimes sub the eggs + cheese for ¾ cup nonfat cottage cheese if I don't have a lot of time:1 cup 2% Milk (1p – 1c – 1f) 2 scrambled eggs with 1oz shredded cheese (3p – 0c ~ 1f) 1 slice toast with 1.5 tsp of jelly and a SMALL amount of butter on each half (0p – 3c ~ 2f).

10:30 AM: 2 block snack: 2 string cheese (skim if possible) (2p – 0c ~ 1f) 1 slice toast with a SMALL amount of butter (0p – 2c - ~1f)

1:30 PM: 5 block lunch, post-workout, easy chicken quesadilla: 2 corn tortillas (0p – 2c – 0f) 2 oz chicken (pulled from a Rotisserie chicken) (2p – 0c ~ 1f) 3 oz shredded cheese (3p – 0c ~1f) 3 tbsp guacamole (0p – 0c - 3f) 1 orange (0p – 2c – 0f) ½ cup grapes (0p – 1c – 0f)

4:00 PM: 2 block snack: 2 string cheese (skim if possible) (2p – 0c ~ 1f) 1 apple/pear/orange (medium size) (0p – 2c - 0f)

7:30 PM: 4 block dinner, chicken salad melt, sometimes I use Tuna instead: 3.5 oz chicken (pulled from a Rotisserie chicken) (3.5p – 0c ~ 1f) 3 tsp light mayonnaise (0p - 0c – 3f) 0.5 oz shredded cheese (0.5p – 0c – 0f) 1 slice bread (0p – 2c – 0f) 1 orange OR 1 cup grapes (0p – 2c - 0f)

Mix the chicken and mayo, throw on the bread, top with cheese, and toast until cheese is melted to perfection. If you want to mix it up, a little bit of spicy brown mustard on top is amazing. The oranges or 1 cup grapes make a tasty dessert.

Remember to stay happy!

____________________________

workout:

Three rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
155lb deadlift 30 reps
30 burpee

Performer

Diana and her audience

Some of us do better when someone is watching, some like the camera on them. Others like the back row and to have no attention on them. Whether you get energized when people are watching or you get nervous and shy learning to find your own focused place to complete your task is valuable.

__________________________

The weekends can be a hard time to stay in the zone here is JD's food log to keep you motivated:

17 Block day. Snacks are at work so they're simple and transportable. I tend to favor meals that are fast and easy. Everything here takes ~5 minutes to make with no prep time. Rotisserie chickens are a staple of everything I eat. 1 chicken gives me at least 25-30g protein, if not more, which I can parcel out for use in any meal.

8:00 AM: 4 block breakfast. I sometimes sub the eggs + cheese for ¾ cup nonfat cottage cheese if I don't have a lot of time:1 cup 2% Milk (1p – 1c – 1f) 2 scrambled eggs with 1oz shredded cheese (3p – 0c ~ 1f) 1 slice toast with 1.5 tsp of jelly and a SMALL amount of butter on each half (0p – 3c ~ 2f).

10:30 AM: 2 block snack: 2 string cheese (skim if possible) (2p – 0c ~ 1f) 1 slice toast with a SMALL amount of butter (0p – 2c - ~1f)

1:30 PM: 5 block lunch, post-workout, easy chicken quesadilla: 2 corn tortillas (0p – 2c – 0f) 2 oz chicken (pulled from a Rotisserie chicken) (2p – 0c ~ 1f) 3 oz shredded cheese (3p – 0c ~1f) 3 tbsp guacamole (0p – 0c - 3f) 1 orange (0p – 2c – 0f) ½ cup grapes (0p – 1c – 0f)

4:00 PM: 2 block snack: 2 string cheese (skim if possible) (2p – 0c ~ 1f) 1 apple/pear/orange (medium size) (0p – 2c - 0f)

7:30 PM: 4 block dinner, chicken salad melt, sometimes I use Tuna instead: 3.5 oz chicken (pulled from a Rotisserie chicken) (3.5p – 0c ~ 1f) 3 tsp light mayonnaise (0p - 0c – 3f) 0.5 oz shredded cheese (0.5p – 0c – 0f) 1 slice bread (0p – 2c – 0f) 1 orange OR 1 cup grapes (0p – 2c - 0f)

Mix the chicken and mayo, throw on the bread, top with cheese, and toast until cheese is melted to perfection. If you want to mix it up, a little bit of spicy brown mustard on top is amazing. The oranges or 1 cup grapes make a tasty dessert.

Remember to stay happy!

____________________________

workout:

Three rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
155lb deadlift 30 reps
30 burpee

Standards

Wes with hip clearly opening on the way off the box.

Twice this week a question has come up about why we make people adhere to certain standards for movements. Most of the time the tough standard have to do with achieving complete range of motion. Other times standards have to do with safety and lastly standards are used for judging purposes.

It is always great when people think critically about what we are doing and ask questions.  CrossFit is a thinking person fitness.  To be an athlete we need to understand how and why we are doing things.  And we need to understand how that affects our bodies and ultimately our health and fitness.

________________________

Today is day 7 of 14 days in the Zone and our Food Journal Comes from Kyle:

8:30: 4 oz cottage cheese (2p), 8 oz yogurt (2p + 2c), apple (2c), 12 cashews (4f)

12:00: 4 oz chicken (4p), large green salad (2c), dressing (4f), 6 dried apricots (2c)

1:00: latte (2p + 2c + 2f)

3:30: greek yogurt (2p + 2c), 6 cashews (2f)

7:30: carnitas (4p), 2 slices bread and butter (4c + 4f)

9:30: 2oz chicken (2p), small scoop ice cream (2c + 2f)

18 blocks. Did okay today, though I struggle with the fat. I probably had more than 4 blocks fat on my salad at noon, because that is a lot of lettuce! I've gone back and forth between 18 and 20 blocks this week, depending on how I feel. Trying for 18 blocks, but when we have a hard met-con workout it just isn't enough, so I have an extra snack.

___________________________

Workout:

Rest Day

Standards

Wes with hip clearly opening on the way off the box.

Twice this week a question has come up about why we make people adhere to certain standards for movements. Most of the time the tough standard have to do with achieving complete range of motion. Other times standards have to do with safety and lastly standards are used for judging purposes.

It is always great when people think critically about what we are doing and ask questions.  CrossFit is a thinking person fitness.  To be an athlete we need to understand how and why we are doing things.  And we need to understand how that affects our bodies and ultimately our health and fitness.

________________________

Today is day 7 of 14 days in the Zone and our Food Journal Comes from Kyle:

8:30: 4 oz cottage cheese (2p), 8 oz yogurt (2p + 2c), apple (2c), 12 cashews (4f)

12:00: 4 oz chicken (4p), large green salad (2c), dressing (4f), 6 dried apricots (2c)

1:00: latte (2p + 2c + 2f)

3:30: greek yogurt (2p + 2c), 6 cashews (2f)

7:30: carnitas (4p), 2 slices bread and butter (4c + 4f)

9:30: 2oz chicken (2p), small scoop ice cream (2c + 2f)

18 blocks. Did okay today, though I struggle with the fat. I probably had more than 4 blocks fat on my salad at noon, because that is a lot of lettuce! I've gone back and forth between 18 and 20 blocks this week, depending on how I feel. Trying for 18 blocks, but when we have a hard met-con workout it just isn't enough, so I have an extra snack.

___________________________

Workout:

Rest Day

Jessica

Jessica working some gymnastics and getting strong

"Hey Ski and Snowboard enthusiasts I am planning a Crossfit Santa Cruz ski/snowboard trip and the date just around the corner. This February 19 and 20th we'll take to the slopes of Kirkwood for some fun in the snow. If you are planning on attending please sign-up on the official roster now posted in the gym before January 31st. Please indicate if you plan on purchasing a lift ticket for the whole weekend or just a day. Thanks to Tyler (because his sister works at Kirkwood) we can get group discounts on lift tickets, but we need an accurate count for each day, and the more people the better the discount. Once we get a count we can workout carpooling and lodging strategies. Hope to see you all there!

If you have any questions you can contact me Sean Dilloughery at 831-535-9954 or seandill1@yahoo.com

Thanks

Sean D"

_________________________

Todays Zone Log comes from Nicole and Megan:

Meal one: 1 block: 1 hard boiled egg (1p +1f) 1 piece of Alvarado st flax seed bread (1c)

Meal two: 2 blocks: 1/2 c cottage cheese (2p), 1/2c blueberries + 1 Clementine (2c), 3 tsp slivered almonds (2f)

Meal three: 2 blocks: 2oz chicken (2p), 1/4c hummus (1c +1f), 1c carrots (1c), 3 almonds (1f)

Meal four: 1 block: 1 string cheese (1p + 1f), 1c green beans (1c)

Meal five: 4 blocks: "taco" salad- 6oz ground turkey (4p), 1c cabbage, 2c romaine lettuce, 1/2c carrots, 1/2c onions, 2 tomatoes, and 1/2c pico de gallo (for dressing)- (3c), 3 tbsp avocado (3f), 1 (70-80%) dark chocolate square (1f), and 1 (4oz) glass red wine (1c)

Days that I work out early, I'm usually hungrier, so I'll eat 2 blocks for my snacks and 3 for dinner. Nicole adds more fat to her day by adding in nut clusters with every meal. We also do a lot of left overs for the next few days, so we don't have to worry about our vege intake.

I also make a paleo frittata for breakfast sometimes.

___________________________

Workout:

Three rounds for time of:

75lb Squat snatch, 15 reps

30 Box jumps, 24" box

15 Toes to bar

Jessica

Jessica working some gymnastics and getting strong

"Hey Ski and Snowboard enthusiasts I am planning a Crossfit Santa Cruz ski/snowboard trip and the date just around the corner. This February 19 and 20th we'll take to the slopes of Kirkwood for some fun in the snow. If you are planning on attending please sign-up on the official roster now posted in the gym before January 31st. Please indicate if you plan on purchasing a lift ticket for the whole weekend or just a day. Thanks to Tyler (because his sister works at Kirkwood) we can get group discounts on lift tickets, but we need an accurate count for each day, and the more people the better the discount. Once we get a count we can workout carpooling and lodging strategies. Hope to see you all there!

If you have any questions you can contact me Sean Dilloughery at 831-535-9954 or seandill1@yahoo.com

Thanks

Sean D"

_________________________

Todays Zone Log comes from Nicole and Megan:

Meal one: 1 block: 1 hard boiled egg (1p +1f) 1 piece of Alvarado st flax seed bread (1c)

Meal two: 2 blocks: 1/2 c cottage cheese (2p), 1/2c blueberries + 1 Clementine (2c), 3 tsp slivered almonds (2f)

Meal three: 2 blocks: 2oz chicken (2p), 1/4c hummus (1c +1f), 1c carrots (1c), 3 almonds (1f)

Meal four: 1 block: 1 string cheese (1p + 1f), 1c green beans (1c)

Meal five: 4 blocks: "taco" salad- 6oz ground turkey (4p), 1c cabbage, 2c romaine lettuce, 1/2c carrots, 1/2c onions, 2 tomatoes, and 1/2c pico de gallo (for dressing)- (3c), 3 tbsp avocado (3f), 1 (70-80%) dark chocolate square (1f), and 1 (4oz) glass red wine (1c)

Days that I work out early, I'm usually hungrier, so I'll eat 2 blocks for my snacks and 3 for dinner. Nicole adds more fat to her day by adding in nut clusters with every meal. We also do a lot of left overs for the next few days, so we don't have to worry about our vege intake.

I also make a paleo frittata for breakfast sometimes.

___________________________

Workout:

Three rounds for time of:

75lb Squat snatch, 15 reps

30 Box jumps, 24" box

15 Toes to bar

Taking Over

Leif squeezing his butt.

Sometimes in work and in life we need to stop for a moment, take a step back and re-evaluate. If you are passionate about what you do or the relationships you belong to, reflection is a great skill. The even better skill is being able to follow through and make real change.

Today's food log comes from Mark:

5:15 AM half of a zone bar (1C+1P+1F)

7:15 AM post-workout protein shake (1C+3P)

8:30 AM 3 scrambled eggs, 1 piece of bacon (31/2P), 3 oz vanilla yogurt (2C+1/2P) with 1/2 cup frozen blackberries and 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (2C), 36 almonds Total: 4 blocks, 3x F

1:00 PM "Taco Salad with Chicken" large plate of lettuce, 1 1/3 tsp olive oil and vinegar (1C+4F) 4 oz. grilled chicken fried in olive oil with onions and bell peppers (4P+1C+1F) 2/3 cup black beans (2C) 1/4 cup guacamole (6F) Total: 4 blocks, 3x F

4:30 PM Salmon jerky (Fish Bros. from New Leaf) each 1 oz package=2P, 4 prunes=2C (I know, I'm old, but I like them and they are an easy way, compact, portable way to eat some healthy carbs), 18 almonds (6F) Total: 2 blocks, 3x F

8:00 PM 4 oz. grilled chicken (4P), 2 cups broccoli (2C), serving of kale salad (1C+1F), 2 prunes (1C), handful of cashews, 4 Fish Oil capsules Total: 4 blocks, 3x F

10:00 PM Zone Perfect Bar (2 blocks)

Total 17 blocks for the day plus the protein shake. This is a typical day for me when I'm home, when I am at work I eat four 4 block meals at 8:00 AM, 12:30 PM, 4:30 PM, and 8:00 PM, plus half a zone bar before a 6 AM workout.

_____________________

Workout:

Jerk
3-3-1-1-1-1

Taking Over

Leif squeezing his butt.

Sometimes in work and in life we need to stop for a moment, take a step back and re-evaluate. If you are passionate about what you do or the relationships you belong to, reflection is a great skill. The even better skill is being able to follow through and make real change.

Today's food log comes from Mark:

5:15 AM half of a zone bar (1C+1P+1F)

7:15 AM post-workout protein shake (1C+3P)

8:30 AM 3 scrambled eggs, 1 piece of bacon (31/2P), 3 oz vanilla yogurt (2C+1/2P) with 1/2 cup frozen blackberries and 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (2C), 36 almonds Total: 4 blocks, 3x F

1:00 PM "Taco Salad with Chicken" large plate of lettuce, 1 1/3 tsp olive oil and vinegar (1C+4F) 4 oz. grilled chicken fried in olive oil with onions and bell peppers (4P+1C+1F) 2/3 cup black beans (2C) 1/4 cup guacamole (6F) Total: 4 blocks, 3x F

4:30 PM Salmon jerky (Fish Bros. from New Leaf) each 1 oz package=2P, 4 prunes=2C (I know, I'm old, but I like them and they are an easy way, compact, portable way to eat some healthy carbs), 18 almonds (6F) Total: 2 blocks, 3x F

8:00 PM 4 oz. grilled chicken (4P), 2 cups broccoli (2C), serving of kale salad (1C+1F), 2 prunes (1C), handful of cashews, 4 Fish Oil capsules Total: 4 blocks, 3x F

10:00 PM Zone Perfect Bar (2 blocks)

Total 17 blocks for the day plus the protein shake. This is a typical day for me when I'm home, when I am at work I eat four 4 block meals at 8:00 AM, 12:30 PM, 4:30 PM, and 8:00 PM, plus half a zone bar before a 6 AM workout.

_____________________

Workout:

Jerk
3-3-1-1-1-1