11.30.08

“Tabata Something Else”

Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are pull-ups, the second 8 are push-ups, the third 8 intervals are sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are squats. There is no rest between exercises.

THERE IS NO GROUP WORKOUT TODAY, ONLY THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED W.O.D AT 10AM!

Great job…

to Jeff! We hope to see you again soon!

November 30, 2008 | Filed Under W.O.D. | Leave a Comment

11.29.08

Deadlift

3-3-3-3-3 reps

November 29, 2008 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 4 Comments

11.28.08

CFHQ Rest Day

Just a reminder that we will be closed today, returning to our regular Saturday schedule tomorrow.

November 28, 2008 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 4 Comments

11.27.08

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just a reminder the gym will be closed today and tomorrow. Enjoy your holiday!

November 27, 2008 | Filed Under W.O.D. | Leave a Comment

11.26.08

“Mr. Joshua”

Five rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
30 Glute-ham sit-ups
250 pound Deadlift, 15 reps

Post time to comments.

Welcome to…

Josh and Jess! We are excited to have you (and two more “J” names) at CrossFit Peachtree!

Healthy Holiday Eating Tips for Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Turkey Day and many of us will be spending it doing some eating, and eating and even more eating. Add in drinking (and drinking and even more drinking)…then the drunken munchies from all the eating and drinking. Add all that up and the average Turkey Day calorie count is well over the 3000 mark. Don’t get me wrong, I do think that holidays are a time to lighten up on the diet a bit and have things that you may not normally have, however, don’t go crazy. Here are some tips to help you still enjoy Thanksgiving, but not go completely overboard…

If you are a guest of a Thanksgiving dinner:

Don’t go to the Thanksgiving dinner hungry! I think back to years past when I would starve myself all day long so I could eat the three Thanksgiving dinners at our families’ houses. What a nightmare for the metabolism and definitely not a bright idea. Eat your regular breakfast and snacks before the big dinner.
Thanksgiving dinner is not an all-you-can-eat buffet. Who likes that feeling of being so full your stomach feels like it’s going to blow up? Try to fill your plate half with vegetables, one quarter with a lean meat and the rest with a starch of your choice (opt for sweet potatoes without all the brown sugar and butter). Another tip…eat slowly and stop when you are full.
Go skinless. Eat lean turkey meat without the skin to cut back on fat and cholesterol.
Moderation is key. I never understood why Thanksgiving meals typically have about 7 different side dishes…and of course, we have to try them all, right? Keep your portions small if you want to try one of everything. Don’t go overboard!
Limit fat bombshells. High fat food items can be found in fried and creamy dishes as well as cheese-filled casseroles in a traditional Thanksgiving meal . For instance, mashed potatoes are usually made with butter and milk; green bean casseroles are often prepared with cream of mushroom soup, cheese and milk and topped with fried onions; candied yams are loaded with cream, sugar and marshmallows. If you cannot control the ingredients that go in to a dish, then limit yourself to a smaller helping size. Again moderation is the key.
Drink plenty of water! Alcohol and coffee can dehydrate your body and cause wonderful hangovers the next day. Drinking plenty of water helps to keep you hydrated and keep headaches at bay.

If you are the honorable chef of a Thanksgiving dinner:

Substitute high fat ingredients with lower-fat or fat-free ingredients.
Experiment with new recipes…there are plenty of healthier, yummy Thanksgiving recipes out there…start new traditions!
Don’t feel the need to keep the traditions. See above…many families have always had appetizers, 2 potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, salad, veggies, bread, turkey, 3 different desserts. Unless you are feeding a small army, it’s totally unnecessary. Make fewer, healthier dishes and start new, healthy Turkey Day traditions for your family.

Most importantly, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and come in Saturday to work it all off

November 26, 2008 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 10 Comments

11.25.08

“Lynne”

Five rounds for max reps of:
Body weight bench press
Pull-ups

Come in today for an alternate WOD

CLASS CANCELLATION!

We sincerely apologize, but have to cancel the 10am class today only. Evening classes will be the regular schedule.

The Non-Negotiability of Perfection

As a trainer, believe me, I know how incredibly annoying it can be to have somebody screaming at you to get your chest to the ground in push ups, butt lower in squats, chest higher in pull ups or legs higher in KTEs. If any of you have seen me workout and Ray training me, you’ve heard more than one “shut the *&$% up!” come from me. But, I can also assure you that I am mentally saying the same things to myself during my workouts. In CrossFit we are constantly at odds between performing at high intensity and performing with the best technique possible during that intensity. The temptation is always there to skirt form and put up a higher rep or faster time. But, who does that benefit other than your own ego? We are sticklers for form…we don’t expect you to be perfect 100% of the time, but we do expect you to give 100% to try to do it as best you can.

I found this article on Again Faster (if you haven’t noticed, I love that site)…those boys over there saved me some time again this morning with this article. Enjoy…

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.

November 25, 2008 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 19 Comments

11.24.08

Three rounds for time of:

21 Knees to elbows
21 Kettlebell swing (55# / 35#)
21 Push-ups
15 foot Rope climb, 3 ascents (sub in 21 rope pull ups)
21 Box jump 20″ box
21 Back extension
Walking lunge, 150 ft (two lengths of the gym, from red wall to red wall)

Post time to comments.

Turkey Day Hours

Just a reminder that we will be closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. We will be open for our regular schedule the Wednesday before and Saturday after. Expect some good pre- and post-holiday workouts to work off all that turkey and booze :)!

November 24, 2008 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 15 Comments