Here's Dane getting ready for his next Vball practice session!

My goal for this post is to provide you will some basic “Skill Transfer” or practice exercises that will assist in your development of the two Olympic lifts. These exercises are designed to speed up and assist in the learning of the Olympic lifts.

This is acomplished in several ways:

1. They improve and develop the appropriate movement patterns.
2. Increase flexibility at the active joint.
3. Develop strength in the same planes of movement as the Olympic lifts.
4. Builds confidence by working less technical lifts in a success-orientated environment. (how many of you are timid about putting weight over your head?)

Remy overcomes this fear by getting angry...

At the professional weightlifting level, a coach wont allow their athlete to even attempt the competition lifts (Clean & Jerk and Snatch) without mastering their Skill Transfer exercises for the day. Now if we sat there and made you do nothing but skill transfer work for a whole hour no one would be having any fun, nor getting any real work done. However, we do want you to concentrate on your technique to both avoid injury and develop to new levels of fitness.

Rather then go into a lengthy explanation of each skill transfer exercise and create both the worlds longest and least read post, I’m going to list them out. Forrest will be programming them into our WOD’s for the next couple of weeks. The goal is to fine tune three of the most technically challenging movements that are performed at our little box. The outcome will be two fold- 1. arm you will an arsenal of specific movement preparation drills for the days we do max Olympic lifts/WOD’s with Olympic movements in them, 2. challenge you in new ways, taking your fitness levels to new heights.

The skill transfers are performed in the same order that the United States Weightlifting organization recommends that an athlete learn their Olympic lifts, variation can be applied here based on the individuals weaknesses/strengths:

Skill Transfers for the Snatch:

1. Overhead Squat
2. Pressing Snatch Balance
3. Heaving/Pressing Snatch Balance
4. Snatch Balance

Skill Transfer Exercises for the Jerk:

1. Push Press (Behind Neck)
2. Power Jerk (Behind Neck)
3. Push Press (Proper)
4. Power Jerk (Proper)

Why behind the neck? Three reasons 1. Your 15-30% strong when performing movements from behind the neck 2. its easier for a lifter to get the bar off a rack and safer to execute the movement. A Bulgarian Weightlifter actually perfected the technique of cleaning the bar to the behind the neck position check it out here. Here is a article on the Eliko website about the same guy, and the debate that continues on about its legality in the world of Weightlifting…

Skill Transfer Exercises for the Clean:

1. Front Squat
2. Power Clean from Bid-Thigh
3. Power Clean from Knee-Height
4. Power Clean from Below-Knee
5. Power Clean
6. Clean

Now some of you might be looking at this wondering how someone does all this and a workout? Here is a little sample of how a weightlifters workout is structures compared to ours: Pretty different huh?

Workout of the Day 7/30/2010

A. Straight Leg Deadlift 3-3-3

B. 8 Rounds

10 Overhead Walking Lunges (45/25 plate)

10 Unbroken Wall-Ball (20/16)

*The overhead walking lunges count for 1 when you have stepped with each leg. The wallballs must be performed unbroken to be Rx. If you have to break up the wallball start over from one in that given round

I first moved to the South Bay 9 years ago because I didn’t really want to grow up after graduating from UCSB. The South Bay was this magical place where tons of other young up and comers flocked to like the salmon of Capistrano. Fun bars, amazing beaches, intramural sports and plenty of social activities. In many ways it was just like college sans the midterms.

For those of you who have never experienced 6-man, the above video is from the team I was on last year.

I soon let go of the Peter Pan philosophy of never wanting to grow up, and took up the sport of beach volleyball. I was terrible, probably worse than Dane, but I loved it and did everything I could to get better. Every year Manhattan Beach puts on the International Surf Festival AKA the Charlie Saikley Volleyball Tournament AKA the 6-Man.

Crossfit South Bay is Kinda Good from Kinda Good on Vimeo.

The 6-man tournament is a paradoxical display of athleticism and tomfoolery, competition and shenanigans, sport and balderdash. It’s one of my favorite events of the year in the South Bay. The 6-man lasts for two days where the first day is generally a shit show of one good team pummeling 5 other mediocre teams in their pool. The second day is when the competitive volleyball starts. We will be center court on court 2. Luckily this year, CrossFit South Bay decided to sponsor a good team…well, kinda good team consisting of:

• The Matsa – Wilt Chamberlain gave him his nickname
• Billy Allen – AVP Pro, 3rd place this season, played at Northridge
• Nils Nielsen – former National Team member, played at Northridge
• Randy Sapoznik- founder of the USYVL (United States Youth Volleyball League)
• Braidy Halverson – AVP Pro, 3rd place this year, would be a CrossFit beast
• Dan Madden – AKA Danny Kinda, 5’11 5/8”, Crossfitter, see his recruit video
• Andrew Fuller – 6’10″ giraffe, will be seen wearing a full bear costume while playing, AVP Pro
• Lindsey Breeden – Dan’s boss
• Paul Bocage – Dan’s friend from HS, played at Stanford, can touch +12′ in the sand
• John Wankner – Crossfitter, Cal Poly
• John Mayer – AVP CHAMPION, our best player, won a national championship at Pepperdine, singer songwriter
• Hans Stolfus – former AVP Pro, current VB Beat Writer, our Man on the Mic
• Kevin Barnett – Former Olympic Team MVP in 2000 and 2004, now can barely walk, played at Pepp
• Ty Tramblie – AVP Pro, best defensive player alive, played at Northridge, looks like a hairy blonde troll
• Corey Glave – our coach, a lawyer, FIVB and AVP coach
• Beau Daniels – Personal Trainer and Chiro, trains Billy and Mayer, former All-American at Pepperdine
• Sean Allstot – loves love, has qualified for AVP a bunch
• Kevin Gregan – his son will be our mascot, after a decade of trying, FINALLY qualified for AVP this season
• Ryan Cronin – Dan’s roommate, has been CF’ing since the 300 Workout
• Kevin Lynch – Cal Poly, has high shoulders

Our team will be outfitted in CrossFit South Bay boardies and inked up with a ton of CFSB temporary tattoos. The shorts are for sale by special order only and are $45. Tattoos will be free and there are plenty to go around since I ordered 1000 of them.

Some of our CrossFitting Air Force guys will be throwing a 6-man eve party on Friday night at 1419 Manhattan Ave in Hermosa. The party will be sponsored by Nu-Era Fitness which is an equipment site for CrossFitters. What better way to win over their clientele, than with free drinks?

Finally Remy and I have been taking some beach volleyball lessons from one of our CrossFitters, Dave Fulton. Remy, who is an expert in CrossFit lingo, wanted to know more about volleyball lingo. The best way to memorize the lingo is through song, just like Sesame Street. Here is Danny Kinda giving us a lesson in volleyball lingo.

Danny Kinda’s Inbox: The Volleyball Alphabet Song from Kinda Good on Vimeo.

Workout of the Day 7/29/2010

A. “Isabel”
30 Power snatches for time (135/85-75)

*You can do this untimed or just work on technique. Only do this timed if you are feeling fresh. Watch Josh Everett do it here.

B. 21-15-9
Kettlebell Swings (2pd/1.5)
Burpees

Wes, dominating a pistol with a 2-pood

There are some types of lingo I speak which I love and other types I have not relished having to use.

Hawaiian pidgin: love. “Ho brah, I like foh take my slippah off and heetchu ovah da head.” (Translation: Oh man would I like to take my flip-flop off and slap you upside the head).

Corporate speak: dislike. “I think our status deck for design phase passes the sniff-test, but wanted to make our scope slide more robust per our team pow-wow yesterday. Ping me so we can noodle on this one further and reach out the right stakeholders before COB Fri.” (Translation: some bullsh*t).

CrossFit being a lifestyle to some degree for most, we naturally develop our own culture, slang, expressions and stories that go with. We throw around terms that are loaded with shared experiences. If you were to take the average person off the street and have them listen in to a class or even an On-Ramp discussion, they might be confused. Rightly so, several people have asked to see a post on acronyms and CF lingo.

My favorite are the verbs we use to describe how we feel before/during/after a WOD such as “My legs are smoked” and the personification we give to our bodies/body parts such as, “That last round of dips my shoulders were like, ‘F*** this.”‘

Another of my favorites because of how loaded a term it is — ‘globo-gym’. Many of us have heard or read Forrest share a version of his thoughts on 24-hour ‘Fitness’ or what kind of fitness we’re working on. ‘Globo-gym’ is a pejorative that pops up that conjures our shared memories of crowded, dirty ‘fitness’ facilities (Gold’s/Bally’s/24Hr) full of isolation and cardio machines, rubbing shoulders with Cosmo-mag and MuscleMilk-toting body builders and skinny-fat people with barely a sweat stain on them, and finally finding our way to a CrossFit and a ‘box’ to call our own.

I compiled a Google Docs list here of common terms and abbreviations used in conversation, on the whiteboard, and elsewhere compiled from some affiliate sites (Crossfit.com, Snoridge, Ipswich, Connection). This list is mostly pertaining to the exercises, not nutrition, but I’ll add to it over time.

I also found some funny CrossFit phrases in my blog post researching process that I thought I’d share here. Post to comments other lingo you like or funny quotes you’ve heard from crossfitters.

You know you’re a CrossFitter when…

• You tell a woman after the workout, “You’re a freaking beast!”, and she wholeheartly says “Thank you!”
• Your wedding registry includes bumper plates.
• You don’t own a tractor but you own tractor tires.
• Helping people move homes turns into a metcon WOD.
• You pick your cubicle at work because of its hand-stand practice potential.

And my favorite form of comedy, the satire. Always good to be able to laugh at yourself!

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Don’t forget to sign up for the Nutrition 101 seminar Sat 8/7 11a-2p, brunch included. Learn all the basics and how to support and amplify all the work you do in the gym with your fuel. Class is capped at 20. If you can’t sign up online, contact Remy.

Workout of the Day 7/28/2010

A.      2 total minutes of perfect parallette L-sit hold.

*Parallete hold should be a 90 degree angle between torso and legs with legs slightly above parallel with ground. See photo.

*Break up however you want. You can do sets of 5 second holds or 30 second holds. Make sure the form is perfect and rest as needed.

B.      150 Box Jumps for time (24/18)

7 Toes to bar on the minute

Bob levitates as he snatches

One of my favorite conversations to have with people when I’m 5/8 drunk is: If you had one super power to choose, what would it be and why? Most people who have never thought about it usually say that they would like to fly or be invisible. I’ve put some serious thought into this and I am on the fence between two different powers. The first power is the power to stop time. This power would allow me to walk into a bank and take some spending cash, never have to stand in line again, never be late, take naps whenever I was sleepy and get a 7 second Fran time. The second power would be the power of mind reading and mind control. This power is different than being able to Jedi mind trick someone. It’s more like being able to control their thoughts. You would be able to get anyone anywhere to do anything you wanted. The Catch-22 is that you would never know what was genuine anymore and you may end up reading thoughts that you didn’t want to know. The super power conundrum is one of my favorite conversations.

Brooks just starting CrossFit at 16. How many of us wish we would have started CrossFit at his age?

This is like how we go about CrossFit. We have different natural abilities. Some of us are extremely coordinated but lack strength whereas others have endurance but no speed. There are super powers within CrossFit that we can affect. If you had to choose one power in CrossFit what would it be? The true CrossFitter would answer, “All of them”. Well congratulations you selfish bastard, you’re correct. Luckily, we can train to move toward attaining all 10 tenets of CrossFit. Pick some of the areas and systematically begin to get better at them. Work toward getting better at those areas where you are most deficient. If you aren’t flexible, make it a point stretch every day and set up goals for yourself. If you don’t have endurance, start supplementing some of your workouts with some CrossFit Endurance style workouts.

It’s more likely that you will be able to achieve these goals way before I am able to stop time or control minds. Get after your CrossFit super power today.

Workout of the Day 7/27/2010

A. Front Squat 4-4-4

B. 3 Rounds
25 Clusters (clean to a thruster) (95/65)
25 Slam Ball
650M Run (around the block)

*This is a happy birthday WOD for Clint. Not sure if he actually likes these things but I thought it would be tough nonetheless. Happy Birthday Clint!

Trishy showing off her demeanor

The split jerk is similar to the push jerk, but the catch occurs with the legs splitting (one goes forward, the other goes backwards) into a modified lunge. The split allows your body to get even deeper than the push jerk catch. This means the bar has to travel less distance, and you are able to lift slightly more weight. The starting position (http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2010/06/impressive/), dip and drive are exactly the same as the push jerk (http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2010/07/the-jerk-store-called/) and the push press (http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2010/07/push-press/).

The Catch

• Drive your body down under the bar
• Arms lock out
• Feet split
  • Dominate foot moves forward – See Note 1
    • Knee stays behind toe
    • Weight on heel
  • Non-dominate foot moves back
    • Weight on toe
    • Slight bend in knee
    • Heel should be off of the ground and pointed backwards
• Knees bend about ½ way down into a lunge
• Weight is distributed evenly between front and back feet
• Feet should be on train tracks, not on a tight rope – base width is crucial
• Hips face forward
• No arching of the back
• Eyes forward
• Ears should be visible in front of arms

Timing

• Arms lock out at the moment the feet land in the split
• Nail the lift – do not cushion with arms or legs

Recovery

• Bring front foot ½ way back to rear foot (to body’s center) – See Note 2
• Bring back foot forward to match front foot
• Bar stays locked out overhead until feet are even and body is in standing position
• Finish in the ending position

Breathing

• Take a deep breath and bear down from the inside out when you are in the starting position
• Do not release your air until you have completed the recovery and lowered (or dumped) the weight.

Note 1:  Your dominate foot can be found by the “trust me” method. Have a coach or friend stand in facing you with their hands on your shoulders. Lean into their hands. Without letting you know when, they should quickly remove their hands from your shoulders allowing you to start falling forward. This will cause you to take a step in order to catch yourself. Which ever foot you step with is your dominate foot. For CrossFit I recommend you work on balancing both sides of your body. At lighter weights practice the lift moving your dominate foot forward to understand the technique. Once you have it down, try moving your non-dominate foot forward. At heavier weights, especially your 1 rep max, I recommend you stick with your dominate foot.

The front to back distance between feet should be about that of the lunge position. Have your coach help you adjust your split to best suit your body style. A shortened foot position will rob you of your depth. If your feet are too wide, however, you may jam your back knee on the floor or get stuck at the bottom of the catch making the recovery more difficult.

Note 2: The foot movement order during the recovery is non-negotiable. Front foot moves back first. Back foot moves forward second. If you move your back foot forward first, the bar will start to come forward instead of staying directly over your center. This will cause arching or shoulder injury at heavier weights, or very often result in a missed lift.

If flexibility allows, start with the bar on your shoulders. Just as with the push press and push jerk the power transfer from your hips to your shoulders is much stronger than the power transfer from your hips to your arms set some distance away from your body. Your arms will literally absorb power.

Make sure you nail the catch before starting the recovery. Hastening the recovery will lead to unsteadiness and a higher chance of a missed lift. If you do become off balance, dump the weight forward. If you nail the lift and complete recovery (congrats!), either dump the weight or use the lower and cushion technique described in the Press post (http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2010/07/press/).

Speed and power complete the proper technique. A powerful drive to move the weight up and an extremely fast drive of the body down is necessary to reach your max lift.  Remember there is no cushioning during the dip, drive, catch or recovery.

Nail every jerk!

Workout of the Day 7/26/2010

A. Snatch 1-1-1-1-1

B. “Cindy”
AMRAP 20
5 Pull-Ups
10 Push-ups
15 Air Squats

Overreaching vs. Overtraining:

It’s safe to say that each day we enter the gym with a pretty specific goal in mind. To push ourselves just a little harder then we did the time before? Agreed, we all have those days where we walk in and say “ahh $hit ring dips” as I happen to do earlier in the week…

This “drive” to reach toward new heights, faster times, and greater loads is what makes us unique as a CrossFit community. Belive it or not strength coaches have put a name to this phenominon: Overreaching.

Overeaching is the intermediate between going to the gym sitting down on a recumbent bike and reading your favorite magazine and overtraining to the point of detriment. Overreaching is the point where we see favorable adaptations in: strength, metabolic conditioning, skill development, etc.

As common as this favorable charateristic is in us CrossFitters, there is a negative one that comes along with it: Overtraining

Overtraining is when the body has been pushed to a point where it can no longer repair itself. The body is too fatuigued to rebuild…

Here is a graph of how it the body is suposed to rebuild, defined by the principle of supercompensation:

Your workout causes damage, your body responds by getting stronger and compensating...

This graphic shows what happens when you push yourself beyond overreaching:

So, why do we want to avoid over training? This table below highlights some of the more common problems associated with over training:

Here are a few common reasons that cause overtraining:

• Rapid increases in training volume and intensity of training
• Extended schedules of high-volume
• Inadequate recovery and rest.

The number one cure for overtraining is REST! A friend of mine Max Mormont from So Cal Strength and Conditioning/Crossfit Balboa aways used to joke saying, “There’s no such thing as overtraining, just under recovery”.

Here are my top 5 ways to keep pushing for PR’s and avoid overtraining:

1. Get plenty of rest and sleep (7 hours min)
2. Consider your environmental workload as well (if your job has you stressed out, it can contribute to your phsical stress amplifing it)
3. Record Keeping – Make sure you are recording your times, reps and sets for all WOD’s. This will help keep you keep that balance between overreaching and overtraining.
4. Thoughtful programming – Don’t worry, Forrest has that part covered for you.
5. Proper Nutrition – make sure you are planning your meals (especially pre/post workout calorie consumption)

Workout of the Day 7/23/2010

A. 400M sprints x 4 2 min rest

B. “Greg”
21-15-9
Wall Ball
Kettlebell Swing
Burpees
Double Unders

CrossFit is more than just a fitness program, it’s a community of people. We work hard to make sure that as CFSB grows, we still keep that small community feel. We rarely ask you to do things outside the gym, but we feel that these things are important.

1. Comment on the blog posts – We spend a lot of time writing the blog posts each day. Our only validation of what we are writing is useful, is your feedback. Don’t worry, it’s not like an evite where you have to come up with a witty comment, just a quick 2 cents would be great. Help our egos a little bit.
2. Take before/progress pictures – Nobody like to be reminded of the parts of their body that they don’t like, but it’s a great motivator to take before and progress pictures along the way. Aesthetics are not an indicator of fitness, but they are a motivator. You do CrossFit and your body will change. Take the time and take pictures every 4-6 weeks.
3. Write us testimonials – If you’re happy with what we’ve been doing for you, write us and let us know. If you’re unhappy, write us and let us know. Hell, just write us something. We love to hear from you, so don’t be shy and give us some sugar.
4. Sign up for the seminars – We plan the seminars for your benefit. We want you to learn the basics of the Paleo diet and mobility. If you don’t go, we won’t have them. The seminars are meant to help you along the path of fitness. Don’t sell yourself short, sign up for our seminars.
5. Come to social events – Most of you don’t have any problems coming to social events. There are some of you who have yet to come to one. The social events are a lot of fun and it’s nice to meet some of the people outside of a sweaty breathless hour in a cement box.

Workout of the Day 7/22/2010

A. Snatch Balance 2-2-2-2

B. 5 Rounds
10 Deadlifts (225/155)
40M Sprint (to the end of the parking lot and back)
20 Push-ups (chest to deck)
40M Sprint

2 Cool 2 Cowpool

CrossFit boxes across the world are communities where people seek to help each other attain fitness goals. As they evolve, fitness goals tend to become reliant upon more than just training. We flourish partly due to relationships with members as a form of motivation and fun. If you’re progressing, you’re flourishing more also thanks to your evolving relationship with other inputs such as nutrition.

Many CrossFit boxes have programs where a bunch of members go in on a purchase of an animal or half an animal from a local farm which supplies them with a variety of meat cuts and parts to eat (and learn about) over the course of a few months. Buying a whole animal (a pig, or bison, for example) from a local farm is very affordable and the process quite transparent. Many boxes also have CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) produce drop-offs.

I’ll be organizing the purchase of hopefully a pig and part of a bison soon. If you’re interested in learning more about these, email me!

Also, Sat. August 7^th post-WOD will be the next Nutrition Seminar - sign up here. Check out Mariessa’s review of the first and ask around to those who have been to find out just how useful (and tasty) people have found past seminars. Cost: $35, includes brunch.

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Why don’t I eat Vons grade-A t-bone steaks, Costco value-pak New York strip or farmed salmon? Well, that one’s easy. Aside from these meats looking very little like what they do/did in nature, the lack of sanitation and food safety measures in place in the meat packing industry (similar to the standards in place for the oil industry) alone would be enough to turn me away. Then consider that the actual content of the meat (hormones, antibiotics, pesticide), and lack thereof (protein and micronutrients) is pretty abysmal. Next, the fatty acid profile of the fat in the meat is far from one we ought to be eating (about 6:1 omega-6 to omega-3 in the fat of conventionally grown meat). Add to that the environmental and social hazards of the way 99% of meat is now produced, and that the alternative is affordable, and there’s no reason to eat conventionally produced meat.

Cody wants in on a bison bad, do you?

Check out these essential articles to understand some more.

• The Problems with Conventionally Raised Beef (MDA)
• Changes in Cattle Husbandry and Feeding Practices since the Industrial Revolution (Cordain)
• Another reason to eat grass-fed beef (Eades)
• Affording Organics (MDA)
• Salmon: Factory Farm vs. Wild (MDA)

CSA’s and Farmer’s Markets

Short of growing your own produce (for another post – here’s one from MDA) and meat, farmer’s markets and CSAs are the best sources of meats and produce since they are seasonal and are produced via methods that yield among the most highest micronutrient content. Conventionally grown meat and produce, even aside from potentially harmful contaminants such as hormones, antibiotics and pesticide, have micronutrient (vitamin and mineral) content that is comparatively much poorer than those grown on smaller farms and using methods standard for those that produce for farmer’s markets and CSA’s.

Farmer’s markets in LA are abundant and offer enough meat and produce to keep the paleo eater happy and experimenting year-round. Farmer’s markets allow small local farmers to bring product directly to customers without a middleman which results often in lower prices. The fact that the produce is seasonal and local means the produce is riper when picked and has reduced transportation time, both of which result in higher micronutrient content (not to mention the lower impact of reduced transport, avoiding the major social/environmental costs of giant grocery chains and their waste while supporting local agriculture). Check out this MDA post and video on how to shop a farmer’s market.

Baxter, my puppy crush/desktop picture. I wouldn't eat you Baxter, no I wouldn't, nuh-uh.

CSAs are organized buying groups that purchase from a few local farms (usually more ‘local’ than some farms at a farmer’s market). The closest pick-up CSA that I’m aware of benefits and is organized by Madison & Lincoln School CSA which sources from Tanaka Farms in Irvine which I recently tried out. For $25 I got enough produce for three people for about a week. The only drawback is that you get whatever is delivered, no choice in content and is loaded in summer months with stuff I don’t eat in large quantity (tomatoes, corn, eggplant). There are other CSAs in our area as well as a veggie delivery company called L.O.V.E.

As meat goes, our local farmers markets vary in their meat supply. The Torrance farmers market sells perhaps the largest variety of grass-fed meat including bison from Lindner Bison which is near Six Flags Magic Mountain (I smell a field trip… buffalo and roller coasters). Redondo/Hermosa/Manhattan Beach farmer’s markets have fish-sellers, but grass-fed meats are supplied only by one seller – Gourmets On Wheels which you must order from via email on Sunday nights. There’s always Whole Foods, but the seasonality, locality, and freshness compared is a little more variable.

Check out the Nutrition Resources page for a list of farmers markets near us with their times and locations. Go here for a complete list for LA.

Easy-bake Busy Night Bison

“Yes, caveman really did eat that much meat” I find myself saying pretty often to people. Check out an easy to read one from MDA. And here’s a recipe I often resort to when pressed for time.Preheat oven to 350 and let bison come to room temperature. Pour 1/2c citrus juice into a large casserole dish. Place 1.5 lbs bison sliced 1/2″ thick in dish, prick with knife several times. Sprinkle liberally: garlic powder, parsley, lemon pepper. A little less liberally, but still a good amount: oregano, cinnamon, all spice, coriander. Much less liberally: cayenne pepper. Bake 25 min uncovered or until internal temp is 155, cover and let stand for 5 min.

Grace by Arbel + Shira from Arbel Meidav on Vimeo.

Workout of the Day 7/21/2010

A. Split Jerk 1-1-1-1-1

B. AMRAP 12
3 Bar muscle ups
9 Jumping backsquats (65/45)
15 Weighted sit-ups (10/25)

*Scale the muscle ups with the bands if you don’t have a bar muscle up. If you don’t have pull-ups without the band yet, sub 3 pull-ups and 3 push-ups for each muscle up. For the weighted sit-ups use an abmat and a plate.

It was a crisp sunny afternoon last january and Mariessa and were between classes. We see this guy looking around the parking lot like he was lost. Matt Prosser swaggers up to us, all 6’7” of him, and asks us about CFSB. He asks us the standard questions like he’s evaluating if we know our stuff and our general philosophy on CrossFit. We continue to chat and find out that he’s a professional beach volleyball player and has been doing CrossFit for a while with our friends at CrossFit Marina.

Prosser started working out with us and we immediately realized that he knew his stuff. He started killing a lot of the WODs so we decided to take it to the sand. We developed a conditioning program that would simulate the time domains and physical demands of a beach volleyball match. We started with simulating a block using medicine balls. Think of cleaning a 20 lbs. medball and then jumping it up and placing it up and over an 8 foot target in soft sand then dropping off the net and doing burpees. Next we had Prosser drag a 45 lbs. plate about 60’ forward and backward and then do box jumps. Our final set comprised of throwing the medballs straight in the air to simulate an approach in volleyball. Each set was timed and Prosser was allowed a 30 second rest between. He killed the workout every single time and we held him to some pretty strict standards.

This past weekend was the Hermosa Beach Open AVP tournament. There were tons of great teams competing for the tournament title. Prosser and his partner, Johnny Mayer (not to be confused with the singer/songwriter) were a 13th seed and finished 2nd after losing to Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers in the finals. The second place finish was Prosser’s best finish in the AVP. He beat out big favorites likes Rosie/Gibb and Wachfogel/Strickland. It was great seeing him on ESPN2 play in his final match and hearing the announcer talk about how CrossFit must be working for him.

Pross, we all know you’re on a huge upswing. We expect great things out of you. The Manhattan Beach open is right around the corner and we know you’re going to get after it. You’re like a much more athletic, taller and better looking brother from another mother to me. I’m so proud of how well you and Johnny did in Hermosa. We expect you to be the first ones to beat team boring this year.

Workout of the Day 7/20/2010

A. Pistol work 5-5-5 (each leg) – scale as necessary

B. “Prosser”
10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Power Snatch (95/65)
Slam Ball
Burpees

Chris and Brad filmed their Red Bull Flugtag workout video at CFSB. What jerks.

The most powerful of the 3 vertical (in reference to the human body’s position, not the traveling plane of the weight) presses is the jerk. The jerk allows you to lift roughly 30% more than the push press and 60% more than the press. The jerk contains the same explosive jump or hip extension to drive the weight vertically, but there is one more step to the jerk that makes it so powerful. After the hip extension we immediately drive our bodies back down under the weight with a slight closing of the hips and a slight bending of the knee. Essentially, we are driving our body’s down, so the weight doesn’t have to travel as far. Once our arms reach lockout, we stabilize and right ourselves to a standing or fully extended position. Your core movement follows a similar plane to that of a free throw: a dip, a jump (drive), and then a catch at the end. The timing and mechanics of the jerk, however, are very different.

The following is a step by step outline of the jerk. We will build on our knowledge of the shoulder press and the push press. Also, assume the correct starting and ending positions.

The Dip

• Heals are firmly planted on the ground
• Hips are rotated back to give you a lumbar curve
  • Stick your butt out
  • Do not allow your hips to rotate forward – this will cause you to come up on your toes
• Keep your torso upright – Do not allow your torso to angle forward
• Descend only as deep as the correct posture will allow

The Drive

• Violently open your hips (full extension) to drive the weight vertically
• Drive through your heals
• Pull your chin back to allow the weight to travel in a straight line
• Do not allow your back to arch
• Keep your abs tight

The Catch

• Violently re-close your hips and knees to the bottom of your original dip
• Feet will come off the floor slightly
• Arms lock out at the instance your feet hit the ground at the bottom position
• Land on your heals, NOT your toes
• Nail the catch – do NOT cushion the catch
• Ears should be visible in front of your arms – shove your head through the window

The Finish

• Stand up to finish in the correct ending position
• The lift is not complete until arms and legs are straight

Starting position – Dip – Drive – Catch – Ending position

The jerk is the most efficient movement to get the weight overhead from the rack (shoulder) position. The lift is fast and extremely powerful. Once the lift is finished continue to follow one of the two methods for lowering the weight: dump it or lower and cushion.

This opening and closing of the hips is crucial to all the Olympic lifts. You will need the extension as well as the downward drive of the body for the clean, jerk and snatch. The explosiveness and timing are also key elements of all the O-lifts.

Squishy shoes have no place in the weight lifting world. If you can feel you shoes giving underneath the weight, take them off. Not only are they introducing shock absorption which sucks up valuable power that you need for the bar, their instability can cause improper posture putting you at risk for injury. If weight lifting shoes are out of the question, get a pair of shoes that don’t give. See Matt’s post on shoes.

Again, I will mention the importance of the bar starting on your shoulders. Transferring the power of your hips through a solid body to the bar is much more efficient than trying to drive through your arms that are positioned a few inches away from your centerline. Be efficient! Be powerful!!

Workout of the Day 7/19/2010

A. Clean 2-2-2

B. For Time:

600M Run

21-15-9
Clean (95/65)
Ring dip
Knees to elbows

600M Run

*Cleans will be full squat cleans.