tonights class

Did my ladies only class tonight-introduced the girls to the joy of 150 burpees
Paula 14.17
Caroline 15.04
Vicky 16.05
Good work by all-this is not a user friendly workout-and the hard work and effort was obvious. Well done.

Tonights wod at the Sidney Walters

150 Burpees for time

10.22 Mickey
11.38 Larry
13.26 Emma
13.50 Steve
14.21 Simon
15.30 John
nice work all!

Today's wod

21-15-9
Lunges (each leg)
Ring dips
Hang clean (50kg)

Premises, premises.

I picked up the keys to the new premises, and work began yesterday and will carry on all through the week to get our new home ship shape. Its not exactly enormous but will allow us to all that we need to do. Its also one of the only Crossfit gyms in the country!

Covering old ground

Today I used components from yesterdays blog-we had a change of location for this mornings Wod so it needed to be portable and "effective"

20 kettlebell swings

40 pressups

60 squats

repeated 3 times

Best time was Emma with 13.59 (Emma kindly volunteered to do the workout in the new premises-the photo of John was taken in the covered area of the Half Brick on worthing seafront)

Todays Wod

Today's Wod
20 push press (20kg bar)
40 press ups
60 squats
x3
best time 10.24

Picked up the keys

Picked up the keys to the new premises today-needs a lot of work but will be great-twice the space we had before-but with a loo and electricity too! Traveling up to crossfit manchester to pick up the floor, already had a squat rack donated and a punch bag is on the way too..

Last night at Sidney Walters

Our class started with more tech work as two of the class gad never used a kettlebell for a clean and press, so taught the importance of the shrug to elevate the kettlebell and the need for aggressiveness at the press stage of the motion, also demonstrated the difference between standard pressups and the pressups done on rings. Then it as down to business:
21-15-9
Clean and press (both arms)
Ring jumps
Pressups
Swings
best time christine 9.05!

Finding weaknesses in your strengths

Simon is a client who I train on a personal trainer basis as well as a participant on my tuesday night classes at the Sidney Walters.

Last week my class performed a filthy fifty based workout, I noticed Simon did 40 pressups without any real effort-so I thought I would design a new challenge for him-using our Elite rings from Tyler Hass. (Tyler Hass demonstrates the archer in the second photo, http://ringtraining.com/)

10 standard ring push-ups-feet on a low box

10 ring push-ups on one leg, then the other

10 archer push-ups (one arm extends out to the side from base position, then you push back up extending the close arm. (both sides of course)

10 doubles-one arm extending out to the side, then returning followed by the opposite arm doing the same. Both sides done then pressup from this position

10 arm out to the side then arcing so the arm is extended up near the ear, then a press-up, again both sides.

Simon described this as "challenging"

This kind of workout shows the versatility of the equipment we use in Crossfit and also the amazing core strength provided by the work we do.

This is of course a workout for a more advanced client but also scalable by adjusting the length of the ring straps to make it easier for those not so advanced.

Well done Simon!

Evidence based fitness

Part of what of we do and the way we train is to measure our fitness against time, repeating identical workouts and assessing improved performace by the time elapsed. This is impiracle evidence, and helps us to chart results and improvements.

I've been training D since late September-covering all aspects of Crossfit training, today we repeated a workout first encountered in December.

The Workout

run 400m

21 kettlebell swings with an 8kg

12 pressups

repeated 3 times.

The workout is very similar to "Helen" but switching pressups for pullups. The first time this was attempted D covered this in 15.09 mins-running the 400m is the most challenging part for D, but today the same workout was performed in 11.24 mins!

15.09

11.24 -

=3.45

So we can see that D cut 3 mins and 45 secs off her previous time-which is fantastic work-keep it up-well done

Supply and demand

I've ordered more kit so we can keep improving-more kettlebells from London Kettlebells and more Elite Gymnastic rings from Tyler Hass.

Tonight my ladies did
tabata something...
20 secs work 10 secs rest x8
pressups
squats
situps
good mornings
thanks well done all.

Todays wod

Have a couple of new guys coming to the saturday morning class so it was technique time. James, John and Paul all learnt how to deadlift-not just because we use this in Crossfit but also because of its practical applications in everyday life.
Then we did a newby version of Helen substituting pressups for chinups

so it was
Run 400m
21 swings
12 pressups
this was repeated three times
best time Paul 9.07 great work!!

Nike-No Excuses

Perhaps you would like to watch this video-be sure to watch it all.

Must read!

I thought this such great piece, that I wanted to share it with you all, it distinctly sums up the crucial mix of form and intensity. Miles
The Non-Negotiability of Perfection.
January 12th, 2008 ·

Written by Jon Gilson of Again Faster www.againfaster.com
CrossFit is the pursuit of athletic perfection—performing difficult workouts with technical mastery under conditions of duress. We’re looking for flawless form with a jackhammering heart, bursting lungs, and battery acid-filled veins.
When this is accomplished with unyielding intensity, the result is nothing short of beautiful. When we fall short of the mark, the result is horrifying at best.
Athletes often set up a false dichotomy between perfect form and intensity, assuming that as one increases the other must necessarily fall. This idea is a thinly disguised excuse for athletic complacency. Rather than revisit proper technique through low-intensity, low-excitement skill work, the athlete chooses to pursue personal records with diminished form. The unstated reason for this choice: it’s easy on the ego to put up “good” WOD times. Taking a hit to your “Fran” time in order to perform perfect thrusters is not going to move you up the records board—at least not right away—and the blow to the ego is too much to bear.
In reality, form and intensity are not mutually exclusive, but the non-linearity of their relationship leads novice athletes to the wrong conclusion. For the novice, maintaining form becomes a cruel joke as intensity increases, leading to the erroneous conclusion that the two cannot coexist. Advanced athletes believe the opposite. These athletes recognize that continuous high-intensity work is nearly impossible without strict attention to form. The advanced athlete knows that perfect form is perfect for a reason: it imparts structural advantages that poor form does not.
Take the thruster as an example. Performed poorly, the movement relies on the small muscles of the anterior shoulder to support the weight at lockout. These muscles fatigue extremely quickly, leaving the athlete with reduced capacity in short order. When the thruster is performed well, the weight is supported by the large, hard-to-fatigue muscles of the posterior chain, allowing the form-conscious athlete to continue at peak power long after his sloppy brethren have stopped to rest.
The advantages of good form are not isolated to the thruster. Clear structural advantages can be had in the majority of our movements if one chooses to pursue perfect form. Most of these advantages are based on the physics of power transmission, specifically the fact that it is easier to send power through a rigid structure than through a limp one.
Squatting provides a wonderful illustration. The squat utilizes power from the hip to propel the torso through a complete range of motion. If the spine is rounded and the torso is loose, power is lost and the torso becomes difficult to move. If the spine is kept in a neutral or arched alignment and the torso is rigid, as proper form dictates, power flows freely and the load is easy to move. Nonetheless, we’ll often see novices blasting through flaccid, rounded-back squats, heedless of the power-draining effect of their substandard form.
Condoning bad form for the resulting intensity ignores the big picture. In doing so, we rob our athletes of their long-term potential, artificially capping their progress in the name of immediate gratification. An athlete with poor form and an ugly three-minute “Fran” will always have an ugly three-minute “Fran”, while a similar athlete with good form will soon find himself pushing the limits of possibility, utilizing the structural advantages of the perfect thruster to close in on two minutes.
For the CrossFitter, perfection should be non-negotiable, regardless of the near-term outcome. Progressing to the elite level—heart jackhammering, lungs bursting, and records falling—depends on it.

Last nights class at the sidney walters centre

Filthy fifty

50 Box Jumps

50 Press ups

50 Kettlebell swings

50 Burpees

50 Lunges

50 Jumping chin ups

50 Sumo dead lift hi-pulls

best time 19.41

Deadlifts with Donna

Form and technique are just as important in fitness training as the intensity we favour-Donna demonstrates great form using a gerard trap bar for her lifts

21-15-9

Deadlift 34kg

Kettlebell swings 8kg

Thruster 14kg

a solid time of 12.52-well done!

Todays Wod

Trained my ladies this evening
21-15-9
overhead squats-with training bar
press-ups
kettlebell swings
run 300 metres
the above exercises were repeated in reps of 15, followed by a 200 metre run, then as a set of 9 with a 100 metre run
C 11.08
V 12.26
Y 13.52
Good work by all-C reports she is zoning all the way-enjoying watching her progress too!

Todays Wod

Had two new guys for my 10 o'clock class-both learnt tech work very quickly and showed very natural form for the squats and swings.
then they did.
21-sprint-15-sprint-9-sprint (the sprint being 80m)
Press ups
Box Jumps (20 inch box)
Burpees
Swings

Times
M 14.13
P 14.35
J 14.49
E 16.54

The new guys commented on how different CrossFit is, and as it consists of task based exercises, constant variation, all performed for best time-they'd never done anything like it! Welcome to CrossFit guys-Good Work!

Todays Wod

CrossFit total
Shoulder press
Back squat
Deadlift

SL's first attempt at the CrossFit total-its a very good way to ascertain an overall strength measurement. This being SL's first total so all lifts are his personal bests!
Shoulder press 39 kg
Back squat 74kg
Deadlift 69kg

Sl also in addition to the work above learnt then performed his first front squat and worked up to a total of 49kg-a very good session indeed.

I managed a front squat of 76kg-a new PB
followed by my CrossFit total of
Shoulder press 50kg
Back squat 104kg
Deadlift 105kg

Looking forward to my 10am class tomorrow at I have three newcomers to CrossFit-so they'll get technique work followed by either micheal or possibly cindy.

Todays wod

This evenings class was
100 sit ups
100 press ups
100 swings
100 sumo deadlift high pulls
100 squats

Swings and sumo's were done with 8kg kettlebell-6kg for Y
I scaled this workout for one of my older clients and dropped her numbers to 80-fantastic work from Y. C has deceided to fully embrace the zone diet-she is already training hard and I'm looking forward to seeing the gains the diet will bring.

I did
21 15 9
bodyweigtht deadlift
1/2 bw thrusters
burpees
1 pood kettlebell swings 13.22

H did the same as me but again scaled to her size-great work! 19.47

Last nights Wod at Sidney Walters centre

A good start to the new year and good to see people that can't make it to my saturday class
the Wod was
100 swings
100 sit ups
100 sumo legged deadlift hi pulls (sumo's)
100 lunges
100 ring jumps

best time was 25.51 by EL and SD who finished together. Special mention for J as it was his first ever CrossFit class-good work!
my time 18.54

Todays Wod

DC scored 304 in her first tabata this morning-really impressed how her fitness has developed since her introduction to Crossfit training.
Front squats I scored 75kg for my heaviest, still nowhere near Davie Easton (120kg), CF managed forty-her pr as she has never done these before.
First class of the new year at the Sidney Walters tonight, will squeeze a Cindy in before then.

Cindy
rounds for time
5 chin ups
10 press ups
15 squats
as many rounds in twenty minutes as poss.

Todays Wod

Technique day
Double under practice
Handstand press ups practice
for range of movement in handstand place soft objects (yellow pages)under the head area and aim to touch the top of the head on them. As we progress remove objects.

I do a private cf class at a dance studio in Worthing and tonight my ladies did tabata pressups, sit up and squats followed by a 400 metre run-all performed excellently-welcome back ladies!

Todays Wod

Tabata something else
20 seconds work followed by 10 seconds rest
8 sets of each
chin ups
press ups
sit ups
squats
work is scored by lowest count in each 20 second period, no break between different exercises.

best score LT 31

Todays Wod

21-15-9
performed by DC
deadlift
single arm squat (both sides)
press up
sit up
burpee

DC's time 21.34

Todays WOD

21-15-9

chin-ups
single arm bench (both sides obviously)
burpees
knees to elbows
one arm over head squat (both sides again)

time to beat 23.03

todays WOD

400 skips
21 kettlebell swings
12 Chin ups
300 skips
21 kettlebell swings
12 chin ups
200 skips
21 kettlebell swings
12 chin ups

best time 17.06