And So It Begins

IMG_0717
Jennifer during her first week of classes

My first CrossFit workout was over eight years ago. A friend of my mom's son was a coach at CrossFit and offered to give me a taste of what he was up to. I was a division one college water polo player looking for some conditioning between seasons. Matt Mast made me do five rounds of 400 meter row and 15 pull ups on a gravitron. I thought I was fit, why wouldn't I, I was a bad ass water polo player. I was crippled in the best way by the workout and fell in love with CrossFit pretty soon after. Since then I have learned so much, built a career and built more confidence in my capabilities than I ever imagined.

Do you remember your first CrossFit workout?

___________________

Workout:

Perform one snatch and two overhead squats on the minute for 10 minutes. Use a weight that you can move quickly.

And So It Begins

IMG_0717
Jennifer during her first week of classes

My first CrossFit workout was over eight years ago. A friend of my mom's son was a coach at CrossFit and offered to give me a taste of what he was up to. I was a division one college water polo player looking for some conditioning between seasons. Matt Mast made me do five rounds of 400 meter row and 15 pull ups on a gravitron. I thought I was fit, why wouldn't I, I was a bad ass water polo player. I was crippled in the best way by the workout and fell in love with CrossFit pretty soon after. Since then I have learned so much, built a career and built more confidence in my capabilities than I ever imagined.

Do you remember your first CrossFit workout?

___________________

Workout:

Perform one snatch and two overhead squats on the minute for 10 minutes. Use a weight that you can move quickly.

Stronger

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Lucas working his squat.

Weightlifting and Powerlifting are both sports that focus the moving barbells.  Weightlifting is often referred as the fast lifts, while Powerlifting are considered the slow lifts.  This distinction is often misleading.  The slow lifts are not meant to be done slow, they are just so heavy that moving them any faster is a real challenge.

We are having Mark Bell come on August 27th to provide a clinic on Powerlifting.  The squat and the deadlift will be the focus, as well as instruction on proper warm ups and good programming.  Don't miss your opportunity to learn the importance of lifting heavy.

_________________

Workout:

Practice Handstands for 30 minutes.

This will be a coached not for time or reps workout.  All skill levels will be able to participate. 

Stronger

IMG_0720
Lucas working his squat.

Weightlifting and Powerlifting are both sports that focus the moving barbells.  Weightlifting is often referred as the fast lifts, while Powerlifting are considered the slow lifts.  This distinction is often misleading.  The slow lifts are not meant to be done slow, they are just so heavy that moving them any faster is a real challenge.

We are having Mark Bell come on August 27th to provide a clinic on Powerlifting.  The squat and the deadlift will be the focus, as well as instruction on proper warm ups and good programming.  Don't miss your opportunity to learn the importance of lifting heavy.

_________________

Workout:

Practice Handstands for 30 minutes.

This will be a coached not for time or reps workout.  All skill levels will be able to participate. 

For The Mind

IMG_0727
Matt...nuff said. 

One of my favorite contemporary movies is Fight Club. Not because of the testosterone laden hooliganism which overwhelms the plot, but because of its underlying theme: how a man learns to reject his boring and monotonous lifestyle. You don't have to go off the rail like Edward Norton's character did in the film - by creating an alter ego - to infuse some variety into your life. Simply by partaking in CrossFit you are already breaking that mold.
 
    CrossFit is important because it offers a reprieve, in a small way, from the daily routines which dominate our lives: work, school, finances, family. Part of CrossFit is preparing for the unknown and unknowable, right? How cool is that? This concept stands in stark contradiction to what most of our lives actually are: adherence to some mundane schedule imposed on us by someone or something else. I often shake my head as I walk by the fogged windows of these packed globo gyms. What I see staring back at me is a sad expression of people prolonging their dull lives through their same old boring workout routines.
 
    No matter how minuscule the act, try something new everyday. Break out of your comfort zone. It's good to exercise not just the body, but also the mind.
 

 
- Dahlberg

__________________

Workout:
3 rounds for time of:
50 Hip Extensions
100 Double Unders 

For The Mind

IMG_0727
Matt...nuff said. 

One of my favorite contemporary movies is Fight Club. Not because of the testosterone laden hooliganism which overwhelms the plot, but because of its underlying theme: how a man learns to reject his boring and monotonous lifestyle. You don't have to go off the rail like Edward Norton's character did in the film - by creating an alter ego - to infuse some variety into your life. Simply by partaking in CrossFit you are already breaking that mold.
 
    CrossFit is important because it offers a reprieve, in a small way, from the daily routines which dominate our lives: work, school, finances, family. Part of CrossFit is preparing for the unknown and unknowable, right? How cool is that? This concept stands in stark contradiction to what most of our lives actually are: adherence to some mundane schedule imposed on us by someone or something else. I often shake my head as I walk by the fogged windows of these packed globo gyms. What I see staring back at me is a sad expression of people prolonging their dull lives through their same old boring workout routines.
 
    No matter how minuscule the act, try something new everyday. Break out of your comfort zone. It's good to exercise not just the body, but also the mind.
 

 
- Dahlberg

__________________

Workout:
3 rounds for time of:
50 Hip Extensions
100 Double Unders 

Learn From The Best

IMG_0711Laurie and her gymnasts.

Saturday Laurie coached her first ever CrossFit Santa Cruz handstand clinic. Word on the street is both sessions were a big success and that people did things they never had done before. People took their first steps on their hands, did pirouettes, and gained new confidence at being inverted. Thanks Laurie... we look forward to learning more from you in the future.

____________________

Workout:

"Barbara"
Five rounds, each for time of:
20 Pull-ups
30 Push-ups
40 Sit-ups
50 Squats

Rest precisely three minutes between each round.

Learn From The Best

IMG_0711Laurie and her gymnasts.

Saturday Laurie coached her first ever CrossFit Santa Cruz handstand clinic. Word on the street is both sessions were a big success and that people did things they never had done before. People took their first steps on their hands, did pirouettes, and gained new confidence at being inverted. Thanks Laurie... we look forward to learning more from you in the future.

____________________

Workout:

"Barbara"
Five rounds, each for time of:
20 Pull-ups
30 Push-ups
40 Sit-ups
50 Squats

Rest precisely three minutes between each round.