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1340 East 3rd Ave.
Vancouver, BC
604.253.1261 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
TESTIMONIAL
CrossFit is an incredibly creative and effective program. I thought I knew what variety was until I found CrossFit. I was mistaken. One of my favourite quotes from the CrossFit philosophy is "strive to blur distinctions between "cardio" and strength training. Nature has no regard for this distinction." If you're in this gym (Crossfit Vancouver) you're in the right place.
So, make sure to trim down those calluses before tomorrow we don't want to see bloody hands with all the pull-ups everyone will be doing. Also, if the weight on the push press is too much then scale down as needed.
Time for the partner workout of the week, the Avengers!
The Avengers, John Steed and Emma Peel, respectively were quite the dynamic duo.
Each partner will complete the following pyramid 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 of the following couplet double wallballs (12lbs/20lbs) and KB swings (red/black).
Here's the catch only one partner works at a time while the other partner rests. For example, John Steed would complete 1 double wallball and 1 KB swing, then Emma Peel would complete 1 double wallball and 1 KB swing and so on. So, the longer it takes you to complete your reps the more rest your partner gets, but the longer your time will be.
Time for our weekly dose of strength. I believe this is week 3 or possibly 4 of the widow makers. We are going to change things ever so slightly. Don't worry you still get to put in your 20 continuous reps, but we are pairing it with some shoulder work as well. So, today's workout is...
OK Lets get this going right away. The Crossfit games are in July, sectionals are in late march, regionals are in Mid May.
Anyone who is interested in competing in the individual or team competition is invited to come to this meeting. We are going to develop a personalized program for each of you and develop some strategy for our team as a whole.
Alright, time for the second girl workout of the week. It was brought to my attention this evening that this is one we haven't done for a loooong time. So without further ado...
"Zoe"
(just in case you are wondering the name of this Muppet is in fact Zoe)
30 muscle-ups for time
If you are not quite there with your muscle up yet then work with the most challenging progression you can handle. Coaches be sure to go through the different progressions. If you are using lowered rings and pulling yourself through the transition phase then use a 2:1 ratio (i.e. for every rep you do two progressive reps) and when in doubt the classic conversion is 3:1 pull-ups and ring dips.
Now since it is gymnastics day here is a link to a site that I found through Robb Wolf's blog. It is a website designed for helping to train gymnasts, or at least people who would like to be gymnasts. We may have to try out a few of their workouts on future gymnastics days.
After nearly a dozen client meetings and hours of furious debate here are the improvements that we will be making to improve the quality of fitness for all our members in our beloved Barn.
After pouring over all the feedback and data we realized that it is impossible to make everyone 100% happy. For example some people felt very strongly about having WAY harder warmups, other felt the warm up should be easy and the focus put on the WOD. We realized that for us to accommodate everyone's wishes completely, we would need a business model that focused on personal training for each client, fees of $1,000 per month and so on. Of course the feeling of camaraderie, competition and sense of community would also be lost under such a system, so we quickly abandoned the notion.
Here is what we came up with to get each of you, fit, happy and prepared for what life throws your way each and every day. In no particular order.
"Personal best" board, "Time to beat today" board and improvement in the leaderboard site (We have 3 very talented people working on it right now)
More coaches per class: Apprentice help in class (We intend to double the amount of coaches for each class, we will put out a full list of apprentices and their class schedule) and Tandem Coaching (for larger classes such as Monday's, sheppy and I will be co coaching), Goal for each coach is to give each student a min of 2-3 corrections per class regardless of experience level.
Student mentorship program (veteran students take new students under their wing and show them the ropes as they enter the larger community of group classes)
Programming: 1-2 standard WOD's per week, 1 long grinder per week, More Technical warmups, 4-6 week programming themes, min 1 team WOD per week, stretching captain and more stretching after class,
Weakness Meeting: A large part of our fitness is improving our weaknesses. For those who want a little more than just the wods we have come up with an idea. Address weaknesses, develop a program and find study buddies to work on like weaknesses. We are going to have a meeting and have each coach come up with a program for each area of weakness. (Shep: Running/sprinting, Monk: o-lifting/stretching, Tbear: Gymnastics (Non tech and tech), Patty & Charlie (Strength)
New equipment: GH machines, girl bars, skipping ropes, weights (all on order), new sinks that we can fit water bottles underneath (getting quotes this week)
Athlete Profiles; In progress, great way to get to know more about the fine people in the community
Newsletter: Bathroom Graffitti - Emily will have one every month (I though the first one was hilarious)
Injury prevention: ( Thanks to bulldog and the Friendly Giant) We have enlisted the help of UBC Medical Physio Terry Lynn Fraser to help us with education, prevention and treatment. She will be giving lecture throughout the year and is available if you need some rehab.
More Classes on Weekend: We will not be cancelling anymore classes because of Certification in the box and Tbear has added another Sunday class.
One on One availability of Coaches: Many of you want extra help after you have entered classes. Personally I think it is a great idea and have been doing this with many clients over the years. We have lowered our 1 on 1 rate for monthly members to $65 per hour ($10 less than the best 10 session rate). Call or e-mail your coach for availability.
Center for excellence/Madlab: The code for elite fitness is to do 4-6 wod's per week, work on weaknesses, nutrition, rest, sleep and intense competition. We are going to develop a unique program for each person who wants to compete at the Crossfit games (or use it toward another sport). MADLAB weekly tournaments will be on Thursday nights (we agree Monday was too busy) starting February 4th.
Athlete ratings/rankings: After much debate with Tony leyland and our coaches we have come up with 12 WOD's (many were in the super seven) and another 4 short measurements to determine each person's fitness level across broad time and modal domains. We think this new system will be crucial for keeping veterans enthusiastic about their own personal fitness. Much like a handicap in golf it will trend the ups and downs in our lives and give us a much broader view of the role of fitness in the quality of our lives. These WODS will be interspersed into our daily workouts.
Monthly Medal: Much like a private golf course, we will start having more events for our members. Baxie (head pro at such a golf course) has suggested we have the "Monthly Medal" on the first Tuesday of each month. It will feature one of the 12 WODS from the fitness rankings. The winner will have a personal parking space for the next month, his/her name on the Banner and a spot in the yearly final. (no one can win it twice in the same year)
Social Events: We are going to organize poker nights, wine and cheeze potlucks, Movie nights in the lounge and of course we will throw one of our big bash parties every 4-6 months (One student had a thought......single's party....you have to bring at least one friend who is single to get in???)
Client meetings: We will be having them every 6 months. Thanks for all your great feedback. My mentor Greg Glassman always told me "Patty don't worry, your clients will tell you what you should be doing"
So over the next Month we will be implementing all these improvements. Life is good.......See you in The Barn
Finally......Andy's Dad Richard sent me this photo.
As you may know, Canada has some six Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) operating in the Pangwaii District of Kandahar Province. Andy's Platoon (12 Platoon) was manning A-10. This has been renamed FOB NUTTS. His Platoon has erected a sign on the main house in the FOB.
"And now for something completely different..." Anybody know all the words to the Lumberjack song?
Anyway, onto the workout; to score this workout keep track of your total repetitions. One minute at each station, repeat 3 times
Burpees
Knees to elbows
KB Bear Crawl - every 10 m counts for 1 rep (red/black)
Block jumps - not box jumps, start at the top of the box, jump down and immediately rebound back to top of the box. Rest, if needed, is taken at the top of the box. (20 inch/24 inch)
V-sits
1 minute rest between rounds
Coaches will have to stagger their athletes accordingly. Make sure there are enough KBs for the bear crawl, if not substitute 35 lbs/ 55 lbs dumbbells.
Now here is an interesting site worth a look. There are some interesting tutorials on some body weight movements including handstands and muscle-ups.
Time for another classic workout. See if you can get a new personal best. It's time for...
Elizabeth
21, 15, 9
Cleans - full squat cleans (85 lbs/135 lbs)
Ring dips
Scale as necessary.
Now, I don't know if anyone else has seen these new television ads from Taco Bell claiming the "Drive Thru Diet"
I am not quite sure what to make of this but I certainly never would have put fast food and weight loss together in the same sentence. Here is an open letter from Mark Sisson regarding the "Drive thru Diet".
As some of you may already know Crossfit Squamish will be hosting the British Columbia Sectional Qualifier for the 2010 CrossFit Games.
We intend to make this a great event and have begun preparations to meet this goal. All the info regarding both our event and
the games themselves can be found at:
-the BC Sectional will take place on March 27th-28th in the gymnasium at Quest University in Squamish
-all athletes, spectators, guest, and volunteers must be registered via the link above; a closing date for registration has not yet been set
-we are hoping to see not just the very best CrossFitters that our province has to offer but any solid CrossFitters interested in competing
-best bet for accommodations in Squamish is the Mountain Retreat Hotel (604-815-0883); rooms vary in price from $99-$145 (say your with CrossFit for this discount), I'd recommend booking sooner than later
-all money received by us will be put towards the Sectional, we have no intention of turning a profit and are only hoping to host a great event and pay back to the CrossFit community a little of what we have gotten out of it
-an event like this leans heavily on the good will of volunteers (notably very good judges). If you would like to judge or volunteer please register as such, and send me an email stating that. Preference will be given to experienced level 1 and 2 coaches.
-we are also hoping to lean on some local gyms for equipment. We'll be looking for all your standard CrossFit gear. If you could help out with this, please send me an email and we'll be in touch.
-from the Sectional Qualifier 15 men and 15 women will continue on to compete at the Regional level in Calgary (May 29th-30th)
-from the Regionals 6 men and 6 women will move on to compete in California this summer
-in the next month the games site should have the ability for us to post updates and important information regarding our event. stay tuned.
If you have any questions or comments please contact me. We look forward to seeing you in Squamish on March 27th-28th
Jesse Bifano .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
604-848-8897
For those of you who did not know The Lumber Jack and Bradleah got engaged in December.
They are not sure where and when the wedding is but they are leaning towards having the ceremony in the men's change room.
Bradleah has requested that Lumber sport his regular plumber bum in his tux. Lumber wants Patty to be the Maiden of Honour (Personally, I'd like to see Patty in that dress).
Congratulations you two. I see many happy years together for both of you.
Sunday's Workout:
Warm Up: Do a really good pre-warm up then everyone complete the 100m shuttle run (20m x 5) twice.
Workout: Wedding Bells
20 Wall Balls (20/12 lbs)
10 Turkish Get Ups (35/20 lbs - Use a Red KettleBell if you run out of 35 lbers)
400 m Run
X 5 For Time
Up and down counts as 1 TGU.
Remember there are classes at 10:30 am AND 2:30 pm on Sundays.
The lost and found will be donated to charity after Monday. Please have a rummage through for anything that might be yours.
