10.31.09

FOR TIME:

50-40-30-20-10 reps of
Air Squats
Sit-ups

GREAT JOB TO

Eric! We look forward to seeing you back again very soon!

SCHEDULE CHANGE

Don’t forget, starting next week we have added noon classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday!

TIME CHANGE

Fall back tonight/tomorrow at 2am!

October 31, 2009 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 2 Comments

10.30.09

5 ROUNDS FOR TIME OF:

1 Minute Max Reps Wall Ball Shots 20# / 14#
1 Minute Rest
1 Minute Max Kettlebell Swings 55# / 35#
1 Minute Rest

Total all WB reps and all KBS reps for your score.

FOR TIME:

100 Pull Ups

SCHEDULE CHANGE STARTS NEXT WEEK!

Starting next week we are adding noon classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Friday 10am has been cancelled…NEXT WEEK. This Friday at 10AM is still on.

BON VOYAGE

As most of you know, tonight is Ryan’s last night of training. We are so excited for this new opportunity for Ryan and know he is going to love the O.C.! Ryan has been an invaluable asset to CrossFit Peachtree as a member and a trainer…he’s been with us since the beginning (as a matter of fact, that picture was taken a year ago to the day). I know I speak for all of us when I say that you will be missed, Ryan! Best of luck and keep us posted on how life is on the West Coast .

October 30, 2009 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 41 Comments

10.29.09

ANNIE

50-40-30-20 and 10 rep rounds of:
Double-unders*
Sit-ups

* Sub in 4-1 single unders or 1-1 tuck jumps.

POST WOD REFUEL

Male:
above 12% – 30g prot/20g carb
8-12% – 30g prot/40g carb
below 8% – 30g prot/60g carb

Female:
above 16% – 20g prot/20 g carb
12-14% – 20g prot/35 g carb
below 12% – 20g prot/50 g carb

WELCOME TO…

Jordan (another Jordan!)…we are super excited to have you at CFPT and look forward to helping you get in the best shape of your life!

SCHEDULE CHANGE REMINDER

Starting next week, we will have noon classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The 10am class on Friday has been cancelled and replaced with the noon class.

TOSS YUR TURKEY TEAM WOD

Mark your calendars…the next Team WoD will be Saturday, December 5th at 10am. We are working out the details of the workout, but rest assured it will help you burn off that Turkey Day food!

October 29, 2009 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 58 Comments

10.28.09

BACK SQUATS

5-5-5-5-5 reps

Watch video. For these squats, I want you guys to focus on controlling the down movement, taking about 3-5 seconds; then exploding up. I talked about the air squat on yesterday’s post…any deficiencies you may have in your air squat will be carried over and multiplied once you add weight…so remember to warm up with those pretty air squats!!

FOUR ROUNDS FOR TIME

400M Run
50 Squats

ELITE WOD

DISCLAIMER FOR TODAY’S ELITE WOD! ONLY COME TO THIS CLASS IF YOU CAN RX THE WEIGHT…If you cannot RX this WOD, then plan to attend the regular classes or foundations.

KATRINA

3 Rounds for Time
10 Squat Cleans 135# / 95#
10 Pull Ups C2B (if you can)
10 Kettlebell Swings 55# / 35#
10 Overhead Squats 95# / 65#
10 Burpees

FOUNDATIONS CLASS

Tonight at 7pm is the Foundations Class! If you are newer to CrossFit or want to work on your form…this is the class for you!

GREAT JOB…

Camilla! We are looking forward to seeing you back again very soon!

NEW CLASS TIMES

Starting next week we are adding a noon class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We are canceling the 10am on Friday. Check out the updated schedule here.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE FIT

By Mark’s Daily Apple

fit-ness: The capacity of an organism to survive and transmit its genotype to reproductive offspring as compared to competing organisms. The ability to conduct oneself in physically demanding situations; to function effectively in emergencies; to display superior body composition and aptitude in matters of strength, cardiovascular capacity, power expression, reaction time, speed, agility, flexibility; to evince generally superior health and resistance to injury and disease

In Grok’s time, both definitions of fitness were inextricably linked. In fact, I’d argue a Paleolithic hominid organism’s reproductive fitness almost completely relied upon his physical fitness level, whereas today’s humans wield various currencies, both immaterial and tangible, that predict their reproductive fitness irrespective of their physical strength, stamina, or endurance. A person’s bank account, education, or employment status are all considered to be better predictors of reproductive fitness. The ability to whip out a debit card and pay for a cart full of groceries matters more than the ability to kill, butcher, and carry a deer. We pay monthly rent to a landlord rather than having to build a domicile out of heavy stones with our own two hands. With regard to reproductive fitness understand that evolution doesn’t so much care how strong you are or how fast you can run when all of your needs are met. Another way to illustrate this is to look at early examples of agrarian societies (e.g. Egyptians). You find that as soon as Homo sapiens had abundant sources of calories that were easy to cultivate and store (read grains) they became shorter, and exhibited bad teeth, decreased bone density and diseases that weren’t seen prior. The irony is that the cheap sources of calories that enabled us to easily reach reproductive age and eventually populate the world with billions upon billions of people is the root cause of modern man’s ill health and poor fitness. I could go on with examples, of course, but my main point is this: physical fitness no longer determines reproductive fitness. It has changed from requirement to elective. Being big, strong, fast, and agile is certainly beneficial to us (and even attractive to the opposite sex), but it isn’t necessary – let alone expected.

What, then, happens to our definition of physical fitness? If physical fitness is no longer a vital aspect of our essential humanness, what does it mean, exactly, to be fit?

I often talk about “functional fitness,” or fitness that enhances one’s ability to effectively function in a given environment. But that functionality is malleable, and the form it assumes is totally dependent on the environmental pressures being exerted. In other words, the required “functions” are always changing based on circumstance, and the “fitness” that allows these functions to be performed must change along with them.

I’ll give an example to illustrate my point. The body compositions of Roman gladiators were actually a far cry from those of the sub-10% BF, muscle-bound model-actors depicting them in movies; helped along by a diet high in barley and other grains, real Roman gladiators were sheathed in a substantial protective layer of visceral body fat. To us, they would have looked like your average CW-touting slob, but in reality, they possessed incredible functional fitness – it’s just that they existed in an extremely narrow environmental niche, wherein the right amount of adipose tissue protected against serious wounds without compromising one’s ability to swing a mace or thrust a trident. Thus, a functionally fit body composition, for the Roman gladiators, was pudgy, bulky, and dense. But were they fit, in the broader sense? They might survive the arena, but would they reach old age, or would the effects of a grain-based diet eventually catch up with them?

That opens up another can of worms: isn’t overall health an aspect of fitness? The gladiator example is an extreme one (heck, their entire fitness regimen was predicated upon the assumption that they would be bludgeoned, stabbed, and sliced on a regular basis; these guys weren’t exactly thinking about their long term health!), but the extreme endurance athlete might be more suitable and applicable. As you guys know, I used to be one of them, running a hundred miles a week and training for hours daily at my peak. And unlike the gladiators, I actually looked to be in great physical health. I had almost no body fat, an impeccable resting heart rate (38 bpm), a relatively high VO2 max and I qualified for the 1980 Olympic trials as a marathoner, but I wasn’t healthy. I was constantly sick, my joints ached, my feet hurt, and my body was inflamed from all the simple carbs I had to eat to support my training. For my environment niche (endurance training), yeah, I was fit, even functionally so. But in terms of that other, somewhat wider environmental niche, the one that encompasses health, happiness, longevity, physical strength, agility, power, and resistance to disease? I was a mess. I wasn’t fit at all. Grok would have kicked me out when he saw I couldn’t haul a hundred pounds of bison back to camp without wincing and complaining about my knees.

I think we have to include health in the definition of proper fitness, especially if we’re talking about Primal fitness. There’s no point to lifting twice your body weight, running a sub-6 minute mile, and doing twenty consecutive pull-ups if you aren’t going to live a long, full life. With that in mind, I think true physical fitness must be functional across a broad spectrum of environmental pressures – no highly specialized gladiators or marathoners allowed – while still promoting optimum health and longevity. And I’ll admit – I can’t think of a time period in which greater varieties of functional abilities were demanded than the thousands of years before agriculture. Grok and company were the ultimate practitioners of a type of functional fitness that encompassed most, if not all of the parameters laid out in the dictionary definition up above. Competent strength, power, speed, agility, balance, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance were essential attributes for our hunter-gatherer ancestors as they hunted, stalked, foraged, lifted, hauled, threw, climbed, and jumped. They were essential attributes for reproductive fitness and survival of the species.

Okay, but we don’t live in the Paleolithic anymore and, as I said earlier, we don’t have those same environmental pressures demanding we be able to jump high, run fast, and lift heavy things. How, then, has fitness changed from the theoretical past to the present?

Isn’t fitness, in an objective sense, entirely dependent on environment? If finances matter more than might, and education predicts success more often than does foot speed, does that render the old ideals of fitness irrelevant?

Or has the objectively ideal physical fitness remained the same? Just as our bodies do better when we eat, sleep, and mitigate stress like our Primal ancestors, do they also improve when we achieve Grok’s physical fitness? Is a balanced, measured, all-around competency suited for a wide range of environments and experiences the best marker for general fitness, regardless of financial status?

Is physical fitness truly necessary, or is it just another form of tourism?

I think you probably know my answers to all these questions. I’m eager to hear your thoughts, so hit me up with a comment. Thanks, everyone!

October 28, 2009 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 57 Comments

10.27.09

FIVE ROUNDS FOR TIME

3 Power Snatches 135# / 95#
5 Overhead Squats 135# / 95#
7 Handstand Push ups

POST WOD REFUEL

Male
above 12% – 40g prot/10g carb
8-12% – 40g prot/25g carb
below 8% – 40g prot/40g carb

Female
above 16% – 30g prot/10g carb
12-14% – 30g prot/20g carb
below 12% – 30g prot/30g carb

Eat a balanced meal 45-60 min after Post WOD Refuel!

SKILL WORK

25 slow and pretty air squats
25 OHS warm up with PVC pipe

Mastering the air squat is CRITICAL to CrossFit Movements. Even if you have been CrossFitting for a while now and feel comfortable with your squat, I would like all of you to watch the video link below. If your squat needs some work…then the warm up is the time to do it…do NOT avoid working on your squat! If you have any questions, please let one of us know and we’ll be happy to help you .

Air Squat Demo w/explanations…[wmv][mov]

GREAT JOB TO…

Scott, Molly and Brian! Awesome job last night! We hope to see all of you back again very soon.

MENTAL FORTITUDE

By CrossFit Gamer

I love finding new CrossFit blogs. This is from CrossFit Gamer, a CrossFitter who recently wrote an article for the Journal. I love his writing style (reminds me of Jon over at Again Faster) and love this article. While a lot of what we do in CrossFit is technical, I would say the majority of it is mental. Enjoy:

Do you have it? Can you turn it on? Can you turn it on at a seconds notice? Can you turn it on when life is throwing you curve balls, when work sucks, when your relationships are crumbling, when the world is caving in?

Do you have it when it matters?

A CrossFit WOD at our gym is a microcosm of your life. I can watch one workout and I will know everything about you.

I will know if you cheat under pressure, if you short reps or range of motion. I’ll know if you can push hard or if you quit when things get brutal. I can see if you blame others or take responsibility for your life. If you are honest with yourself you will see the truth too. I will be able to see your mental strength, your heart, and your commitment to yourself.

This can be a tremendous gift to those who are willing to look. Otherwise, it’s just painful and get’s repressed.

CrossFit teaches you how to hone your mind. It gives you the chance, again and again to come face to face with yourself. It allows you to harden your mind and your focus. Over time, 3…2…1…GO can be used as a trigger. A way to focus the mind regardless of what else is going on. Eventually you won’t even need a trigger. It will be you, you who control when it’s ON and when it’s OFF, you who control your focus, passion, and mental fortitude.

It’s just up to you. It always has been.

October 27, 2009 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 39 Comments

10.26.09

AMRAP IN 12 MINUTES OF:

7 Dumbbell Hang Cleans 50# / 35# (each hand)
7 Push Ups
250M Row / 200M Run

Run is half way to the 400M mark, past the kidnapper van near the indent in the fence. First come first served on rowers.

MICHAEL

Three rounds for time of:
Run 800M
50 Back Extensions
50 Sit-ups

If you choose to do Michael, you MUST run as the rowers are going to be used in the main WOD.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Kristy! Happy birthday to YOU!

BITTERSWEET…

We are sad to say, this is Ryan’s last week at CrossFit Peachtree. Ironically enough, Ryan took a job in Southern California, right by where we moved from (can you say jealous?!). This is an opportunity of a lifetime and we are SO excited for Ryan…but at the same time incredibly sad.

Ryan was one of the first members of CFPT and, over the year, it’s been amazing to see how somebody who was already such a strong athlete become even stronger. We are proud that he decided to become a trainer at CFPT and know that he will be missed, not only as a trainer, but as a friend.

Thanks for everything Ryan…you will be greatly missed…

JUST THE TIP BEATS OFF IN THE SHOWER!

HUH? Well, if you weren’t at the Team 500 Challenge, you have no idea what this is about. Team Just the Tip (Ray, Katie, Scott and Amy) took first place overall in just under one hour! Everybody beat (Team) “…Off in the Shower.”

Thanks so much for an awesome turn out, we had a great time and hope to do another team workout again!

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

It’s the season for swine flu…and seasonal flu. PLEASE, if you are feeling crappy…KEEP IT AT HOME! Working out this intense may make it worse for you and, while we appreciate sharing, we would rather you not share your germs with us.

We do our best to keep the gym sanitized, but please help us by using the Lysol towels to clean up your area when you are done. Also, please remember to put away your equipment, unless there are people lined up to use it after you. Thanks!

PYMWYMI CHECK IN!

We are well into the Put Your Money Where Your Month is Part Duex challenge…how is it going? Have you been sticking to Paleo? Are you avoiding the foods and beverages that you know are going to spike your insulin levels? Have you been to CFPT 4-6 days per week? Have you discovered any new tricks to help your transition into the Paleo lifestyle? Post to comments and share what you have been experiencing!

October 26, 2009 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 67 Comments

10.24.09

GET SPARTAN: TEAM 500 CHALLENGE

500 Pull ups
500 Push ups
500 Sit Ups
500 3 count Flutterkicks
500 Squats

Please arrive slightly before 10am to get warmed up and ready to go! Teams are already selected. This is the only WOD today…there is NO 11AM CLASS!