Black Friday WOD 2011

Once again we opened up CrossFit Georgetown for a Black Friday workout. Our group was smaller this year but no less enthusiastic. The workout:

NUTTS x 2 (w/ a partner!)

20 HSPU

30 Deadlift

50 Box Jumps

100 Pull-Ups

200 Wall Balls

400 jump rope

400m slam ball relay

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One thing I always think is great is that our children LOVE to come to these group workouts and to participate. It's very cool!!

Here's Delaney doing her version of a wall ball throw. (a bit easier for her to take the wall aspect out of it because the ball kept bouncing off the wall and attacking her. haha)

Duncan knocking out some jump-ropes.

This year's group! Left to Right --> Delaney, Duncan, David, Bryan, Frankie, Stephanie, Mario and Melonie. AWESOME job! All the pics will be uploaded to our CrossFit Georgetown Facebook page. :)

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Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Free CFG T-Shirt anyone? One could be yours...

Today is Friday Favorite and your comment on this post could be the one that wins a Free CrossFit Georgetown T-Shirt. I've mentioned on Facebook and Twitter, among other places, how addicted I am to reusable grocery bags. They are not only cute and fun but useful and good for the environment. I mean, it's a WIN all the way around. I have a particular awesome one I got this summer at Food City in Dandridge, TN and seriously, the checkers and baggers at HEB are ga-ga over my bag! This bag has not failed to receive praise and adoration! So, for Karen Heine who wanted to see a picture, I'm using it for today's Friday Favorite.

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Where does the Free T-Shirt come into play? I'm so glad you asked. To make this bag apply to health, fitness, wellness, the gym, (etc.) ... I was going to list all the ways I could to connect this great tote to those items.

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Instead, I want you to! Let me show you this bag/tote, okay.

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This picture shows how flat this bag be. It folds into itself to be very compact and slim. The sides are stiff and pretty heavy duty. If it were flat, you could almost use it like a tray.

Inside the bag there's this firm fold down flap that nestles into the bottom of the tote to give it a sturdy bottom.

Here it is all opened up, long straps in addition to the short side handles. Pretty roomy too. You could easily fit 4 gallons of milk plus other stuff in here.

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I'll offer the most obvious reason this bag qualifies for health and wellness and that's the use of a reusable bag instead of using plastic. It saves money and is better for our environment. So, that's the 'gimmy'. Now it's up to you.

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In the comments, share any use you can think of that this tote would apply to CrossFit, fitness, health, wellness, etc. The more interesting, useful, unique comment will win a free CFG T-shirt. (If we don't have your size, you can gift one!) You don't have to live around us to participate. I'll even brave the post office to send a shirt if the winning comment isn't in driving distance. (Molly will make sure I really do get to the post office!)

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We will have a very select secret panel of judges. *GRIN* Make us laugh, surprise us. Get Creative! And have a WONDERFUL weekend!!!

Friday Favorite

This week's Friday Favorite is all about jump ropes, specifically jump ropes which make it easier to learn the advanced skill of double-unders. The hot purchase item lately at CFG are these awesome ropes from RX Jump Ropes.

(photo taken from Molly's Twitter -- follow her)

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Molly's rope has the Elite 2.6 cable in blue with the blue Hawaiian handles. There are MANY OPTIONS! You will want to go to their site to check out the guidelines (they even have a video) for measuring to get your perfect length and choosing the appropriate cable for your skill level. They even have a Rx Jump Ropes Facebook page for you to 'like'.

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Have a great weekend everyone!

Cool down time

Everyone has their own sort of 'cool down' time. This is a typical one for our dark-side class. :)

(Julie, Rick, Erin and Jason)

This picture really brings to mind the great community aspect of CrossFit. I love seeing people hang out before or after the workout. During the summer, many people traveled and the travel schedules varied so it wasn't until mid-August, when the kids returned to school, that the whole gang was together again. Someone commented that it felt like the first day of school and we all talked about what we did over summer break.

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What does the community of CrossFit mean to you?

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Friday's Favorite

Hi Gang. Today's Friday Favorite is a recipe for a great snack. It is my intention to have a recipe once a week. Today I'm making it a FF because it is so good it will become a favorite. This is Robin Newman's paleo trail mix which can also be treated like a granola or cereal. Take a close look at all that goodness pack in there.

You can choose any combination but here Robin used almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans, cranberries, raisons and I think I see an occasional coconut chunk. Just go to the bulk foods and choose all your favorite nuts and seeds (unflavored and unsalted of course!). Dump it all in a bowl and drizzle with honey and mix. Spread onto a pan and bake at 350 for about 30-ish minutes, tossing and turning every 10 minutes. NOTE: Put the cranberries in at the end or they'll dry out in the oven and sprinkle 'a bit' of kosher salt over mix if you wish.

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Sprouts will often have sales on their bulk foods. When they do, stock up and make a huge batch of this. What a great energy snack to take on the go and this would make a great homemade Christmas gift as well!

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Have a great weekend!

School lunch, or garbage on a tray?

From what I saw today, it's the latter and the kids think so too!

I joined my daughter for lunch today at school because it's her birthday. It had been a long time since I sat through a school lunch and really looked around at what kids were eating. What a saw was a total lack of color and nutrients on trays laden with processed garbage. And the sad thing was, the kids were all saying it was gross too, and the many tossed their entire lunch in the trash.

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I saw not a single vegetable. Not one! Nothing green, yellow or red. Wait, I did see one apple. The girl bit into it and spit it back out on her tray. It was mushy and bruised. On the rest of her tray … a bread stick, a giant roll, about 3 nasty-looking dried chicken nuggets, and mashed potatoes. The girl next to her picked some sort of 'ham' thing from the line. She dug around and finally unearthed a thin, floppy, greasy slice of ham. She ate it. I tried not to gag. Her little box did have a slice of cheese and now that I think about it, I saw some grapes alongside a hard breadstick. She ignored all of this. Down the row, I saw a girl eating a hotdog bun filled with shredded cheese. Are you grossed out yet?

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I know there are efforts to improve school lunches. Thank goodness! But we need to work harder. The obesity epidemic in our country is out of control and it breaks my hearts to see school age children having to battle this problem. And it isn't just the schools at fault. I know they sometimes have a salad option (even if it's nutritionally devoid iceberg!). But the kids choose nachos instead!

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Eating healthy should be the normal routine! And it shouldn't be too hard or too expensive to eat well. (I know sometimes it is and that's a whole other post.) The best thing you can do for your children is to teach them to love healthy food. To enjoy how it makes them feel energetic and strong. That's a gift that will benefit them their whole life!

Knock Knock --- Who's there? ---

We ARE!!

Hoooraaayy!!

Sorry for the inexcusably long absence. We always disperse a bit in the summer and we're just now getting back into our groove now that the kids are back in school. And, how about this cooler weather!! Can I hear a WoooHoo! I know mid-90's is not exactly 'cool' but hey, it's all relative, right?

Way to go you CFG warriors who battled the ferocious heat this summer.

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We are committed to getting this blog regular again. Our Facebook Page has daily action on it, usually the WOD is posted, but I'd like to do some special stuff here on the blog. I'm thinking of sharing our favorite items as they pertain to health and fitness. A person of the week. Maybe a PR day. I'd love to line up some guest bloggers. I'm brainstorming here and I hope to make the blog more informational and an extension of our fantastic family community we have at the gym.

I'll start off with Friday Favorites. On Fridays, I will post a 'favorite' item that someone will have submitted to me, along with a photo. We all find cool stuff we love, workout gear, jump ropes, wrist straps, Paleo and/or organic resources, websites … you get the idea. If you have a favorite, email me a picture, and link if that applies, what it is, why it's your favorite and any information on how to get it and I'll post in on a Favorite Friday.

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Friday's Favorite:

My new water bottle that I LOVE! We have a ton of water bottles in our house. And I love a lot of them but this is my newest favorite. It's 24 oz, BPA free, has an easy one-click open and shut lid, non-leak … the whole shebang! I really love the drink spout because I don't have to squeeze the bottle, pop a little spout up with my dirty gym fingers and it's not so wide that I splash more water down my shirt than I drink. :) Come on--I'm NOT the only who does this. Admit it!

Here's the coolest thing. See those numbers on the side? Every time you refill your bottle, and you should be refilling many times a day, you move the indicator. This helps you make sure you are getting at least 100 ounces of water a day!

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I got this one at Target for $9.99. I also saw it HEB for $9.00 in the back-to-school section.

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If you have a Friday Favorite, email it to: info@crossfitgeorgetown.com

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!

The aftermath …

A CrossFit workout has many stages. There's the show up, check out the white board and groan moment. There's the warm up and set up your area with your equipment stage. For some there is the pre-WOD 'potty break'. And commonly, we see this as the aftermath….

There is no question that they worked hard and gave it all they had in the tank. You have the choice every time you work out to push yourself to be better, be stronger, be faster … to give yourself the gift of doing your very best. And when you do, your body and your mind thank you!

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REMINDER: Monday we will have our annual Memorial Day group workout at 9:30 am. No other classes will be held that day. This is always so much fun and quite popular. It's a chance to bring your family and friends and show them the awesome workout you've been doing. It's a chance, if you've never done CrossFit, to come out and see what it's all about. It's open to any and all who want to have fun with the CrossFit Georgetown crew.

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Friday's WOD:

Running Bear

800 m

7 rounds of---using 45% of your body weight:

5 x Deadlift

5 x Hang Power Clean

5 x Thruster

800m

Have a GREAT weekend and hope to see you Monday!

Working on flexibiliy ...

We're nearly 1/2 done with our May challenges, one of which is using the front squat to specifically work and increase the flexibility in our shoulders, hips and ankles. How are you doing? Are you seeing improvement yet? Are you working your squat at home on your days off?

This is an old picture of Julie and she's already improved from this shot. She has great hip flexibility where her butt can just about touch the ground. She's still working on her shoulders.

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Your focus is on extreme depth so your hips are as low as possible while still maintaining good back extension, in addition to getting those elbows as high as possible so eventually they will be parallel to the floor.

Probably unfair to use Chad as an example but this is what you're working toward. :)

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Thursday WOD:

3 Rounds of---

AMRAP in 5 min:

9 Deadlift

6 HPC

3 Front Squat

*rest 1 minute between rounds

**Only completed rounds will count!

Summer temps = Paleo on the Grill!

We're over a week into our Paleo challenge and I'm loving all the recipes being shared in the gym and on our Facebook Page. The other night we had Paleo-Grillin' night. Remember, not just burgers and dogs are for the grill. One of our family's favorites is grilled-salad. In fact, Duncan requested this the other night.

Here are hear the hearts ready for the heat. *Split whole romaine hearts in half. Drizzle with olive oil and your choice of seasonings. I use a bit of kosher salt, cracked pepper, grill seasoning and what I call 'garlic crunchies' which I get in the bulk food section at HEB. (garlic minced is what I think they call it.)

Burgers done, salad and pineapple only need a few minutes at best. This was SO good!

Share some of YOUR recipes!

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Monday:

4 Rounds of:

400m

10 x OHS (95/65)

10 x Box jumps

Tuesday:

"Something Nasty"

Push Ups x 50-40-30-20-10

alternated with …

KB Swings (53lb/35lb) x 10-20-30-40-50

Wednesday:

REST DAY but don't forget your challenge squats and release push-ups! I'm already seeing improvements in everyone's ROM. Great work everyone!

Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso --

As we at CrossFit Georgetown embark on a new Paleo Challenge for May, I'd like to recommend a great cookbook to give you wonderful Paleo recipes and much more to help you during the month and then going forward. Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso was just released and is a fabulous resource for a healthy paleo lifestyle. Sarah also has a great Website/Blog that I personally follow for great ideas and tips.

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Also, check out the STORE on the site for a lot of other Paleo cookbooks! There are options out there for eating healthy.

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If any of you prepare a recipe from Sarah's cookbook or any other fantastic paleo dish, take a picture, do a write up about it and I'll post it to the blog. Let's share some great recipes this month. Eating healthy doesn't have to be a mystery. It's doable, fun, creative and simply what your body deserves!

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WOD for Monday:

5 Rounds--

25 KB Swings

20 Wall Balls

15 Box Jumps

Body Challenge for May:

5 x 3 (sets) of Front Squats--hold rock bottom position for 5-10 seconds

Focus on EXTREME depth!!

Release Push-Ups (or advance, full-range HSPU) Do the number that corresponds with the day of the month. If you miss a day or jump in late, you have to 'buy in' by playing catch up. :)

Are you allowing excuses to get in your way?

This week, Chad Vaughn of OlyAthlete shared his Monthly Motivational and I want to make sure you all read it. It will truly inspire you to step back and examine your thoughts and what you believe of your potential. I can't say it better, so link-through above and read for yourself. You'll be glad you did.

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Excuses are weak thoughts

Excuses are opportunities lost

Excuses are road blocks to your goals

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I challenge you to make excuses to REACH for your potential and ACHIEVE your goals!

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I mean it…list them out and put them in comments! I dare you!

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WOD:

Tuesday--

Press 1-1-1

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3 sets of 5 min AMRAPS with 3 minutes rest between:

1-

5 HSPU

15 Wall Balls

2-

5 ring dip

15 KB swing

3-

5 ring push up

15 box jump

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You don't need to be a superhero …

… to have Buns of Steel! You need to get your dead lift on! :)

Today we're going for our 1rm (one rep max) for the dead lift. In other words, a TON of weight will be lifted at CrossFit Georgetown today.

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On the subject of 'buns', let me throw out a tip, something I've learned first hand and witnessed over and over. If you want to lift, firm and shape your butt, you need to move heavy weight in the form of squats, dead lifts, snatches and clean & jerks.

Let's face it, everyone has a butt. The question is, does your sit nice and firm at the base of your spine or does in a slide down like a black diamond run into your thighs? If you don't like what yours is doing, CHANGE IT! Choice is yours! :)

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WOD:

Deadlift 1-1-1 (Find your 1rm)

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Mini-Mr. Joshua

5 rounds of:

200m

15 Sit-Ups

7 Deads (with 75% of your 1rm deadlift.)

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A late welcome to Kurt

Just realized I never formally welcomed Kurt. He's been with us for awhile and was quickly known for always giving that extra effort. He participates in our Olympic lifting classes and he's competing in the CF Open as well. We're glad you're part of the family, Kurt.

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Speaking of the open--the 3rd WOD should be announced this evening and should be our workout on Friday!!

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WODS:

Monday--

Today's WOD:
Deadlift 5-3-1@75%-85%-95%
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75 squat
50 push up
20 pull up
50 squat
35 push up
15 pull up
25 squat
20 push up
10 pull up

Tuesday--

Today's WOD:
5 rounds of
5 Power Clean
10 TTB
100m sprint

CASH OUT: Upper Body Foam Rolling

Are you rolling?

Here are a couple of shots from our recent free foam rolling clinic presented by Dr. Martin Jones of the Airrosti rehab clinic here in Georgetown. Dr. Jones taught us how to effectively roll out our entire bodies, top to bottom. Foam rolling is essential for muscle recovery, rehabilitation and ongoing maintenance for your body, especially for CrossFitters and what we demand of our bodies every day!

Thanks to our visitors who came from other CrossFit affiliates. It was great to either meet you or see you again. :)

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REST DAY!!

Congrats to JJ

Congratulations to JJ who completed his Level 1 certification last weekend. We are proud of you and so glad you're part of our CFG family!

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NOTE: Our classes are filling up. 5:15 am 'dark side' is now closed again as it's full to capacity. Swimsuit season is around the corner. Grab a spot in class and be ready for SUMMER! :)

WODs:

Tuesday--

21 OHS (95/65)

9 KB swings

400m
15 OHS

15 KB swings

400m
9 OHS

21 KB swings

400m

Wednesday--

Rest Day

Thursday--

Clean-Ladder (AKA: Death by Cleans)

1st min = 1 Clean (135/105)

2nd min = 2 Cleans

3rd min = 3 Cleans

---and so on until you can't complete the prescribed number of cleans in the course of the minute

CASH OUT: Hollow Rocks 3 x 10 *hold for 3 seconds each

Friday:

For time, as many REPS as possible in:

1st round: 60 seconds of box jumps followed by 60 seconds rest,

60 sec push press, 60 seconds rest

60 sec pull ups, 60 seconds rest

2nd round:

45 seconds of work and rest

3rd round:

30 seconds of work and rest

CASH OUT

2 x 1 min -- one leg wall squats, alternating every 10 seconds

Have a GREAT weekend!!!

CFG Welcomes Crystal...

Welcome to our CrossFit family, Crystal. Crystal brings a lot of energy and smiles into the gym, yes she smiles as she works hard. She wasn't sure CrossFit would work for her but she was hooked immediately. Who can blame her, right?

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Share your first CrossFit experience in the comments section. We'd love to hear how you become hooked!

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Monday:

Deadlift 3-3-3

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G.I. Jane

100 x burpee pull-ups

*10 minute cut off

Reminder: FREE Foam Rolling Clinic

A quick reminder that tomorrow (3/19/11) is the FREE FOAM ROLLING CLINIC at CFG given by Dr. Martin Jones of Airrosti: 11:00 am. Everyone is welcome.

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We will be there by 9:00 am to get a workout in. This will be an Open Gym, members and non-members are welcome.

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Hope to see you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Not only is Josh a die-hard Crossfitter, he's just pure AWESOMENESS! For St. Patty's day, he showed up in his kilt!!

HSPU (yes, thankfully, he was wearing 'protection' under his kilt)

KTE's

Look at his skirt catch the wind with his burpees! ;)

Throwing a 2 pood KB around is impressive...but doing it in a kilt is bad ass.

We HEART you, Josh!!

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Tuesday:

10 Rounds of--

10 x Box Jumps

10 x Sit Ups

10 x Push Ups

CASH OUT: 3 x 50m sprints

Thursday:

Press: 3-3-3 (70/80/90%)

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5 Rounds of-

3 HSPU

6 KTE

9 Burpee

12 KB Swing

Friday:

CrossFit Games Open WOD #1

AMRAP in 10 min:

30 DU's

15 Power Snatch @ 75 lbs

FREE: A Foam Rolling clinic...

CFG will host a FREE foam rolling clinic next Saturday, March 19th at 11 am. This class will be conducted by Dr. Martin Jones DC. Dr. Jones is an Airrosti practitioner who has been achieving some great results with several of our athletes. This class is free and open to anyone with an interest. It would be of particular benefit for parents of young athletes or anyone with the aches and pains that restrict their mobility.

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If you have any questions, please contact us at info@crossfitgeorgetown.com

NOTE: This clinic would also be a WONDERFUL opportunity to ask Dr. Jones anything about Airrosti, the treatments and what they can do to help you.

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Monday

WOD:

Back Squat 3-3-3 (70-80-90 %)

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7 Rounds of:

7 Pull-Ups

14 Goblet Squats (24/16 kg)