Attention "Real" CrossFitters

If you've ever started to wonder when you'll be able to classify yourself as an honest-to-goodness CrossFitter...

CrossFit Works answers the question "What is a Real CrossFitter?": Read.

CFWU: DIPS

Last but not least, 3 sets of 10-15 dips on a dip bar. Ensure you complete that good full range of motion by sinking down all the way at the bottom. Keep your head and chest up as you press your bodyweight back up until your arms are locked out at the top.



You can modify these by doing bench dips if you can't find any dip bars. Close-hand push ups are also a great substitute if you don't have a good dip yet.

CFWU: PULL UPS

Start with an overhand (pull ups) or underhand (chin ups) grip. Extend your arms fully at the bottom of every rep. Pull yourself up completely until your chin is over the bar. That full-range of motion counts as one rep.

Start with partner-assisted or use the pull up bands as you work to get strong enough for your first pull up. Jumping pull ups are also a good substitute. Static holds at the top (chin over the bar), the middle (elbows at 90 degrees) and at the bottom will rapidly improve your strength.

CFWU: BACK EXTENSIONS

Back extensions are done by simply lying down on the ground on your belly, placing your hands somewhere near behind your head. Keeping your elbows pulled back, arch your back and lift your chest up as high as you can. 3 sets of 10-15 reps will get your spine warmed up in no time.

You can also do these in the elusive GHD bench.

CFWU: SIT UPS

Just do 3 sets of 10-15 regular military sit ups. Don't worry about interlacing your fingers behind your head. At least come up to where your elbows hit your knees. Simple.

Try the advanced version if you can find a Glute-Ham Developer (GHD) bench. Lock your legs in there and lay back until your hand touches the ground behind you and sit all the way up and touch your toes. These are extremely difficult.

CFWU: SAMSON STRETCH

The second movement is basically a deep lunge stretch combined with a good upper back and shoulder stretch. Make sure your front foot is far enough forward that it isn't riding out over your foot. Your front knee should be at a 90 degree angle. Sink down onto your back knee and place that leg as far back as you can comfortably get it. Sink down at the hips and feel a great stretch in the front hamstrings and glutes and the back quadriceps. Interlace your fingers and push your palms to the sky. Really work the stretch in the upper back and shoulders. Complete 10-15 seconds on each side.

CFWU: OVERHEAD SQUAT

Start with 3 sets of 10 reps of whatever squat you can handle. When that gets easier, work up to 3 sets of 15 reps. When you can safely handle that, move up to a more difficult version of the squat and start over with 3 sets of 10 working up to 15s again. When that gets easier, grab a bar and do overhead squats as part of your warm up, increasing the amount of weight you put on the bar as you become able to handle 3 sets of 15 reps at each new weight.

A dynamic warm up is crucial to getting your body prepared for whatever task lies ahead. Static stretching does not do that and may increase your liklihood of getting injured if done before your workouts. A complete, dynamic warm up that gets progressively harder every time is one of the things I love about CrossFit. Find your weaknesses and make them your @#$%^&*...


The perfect place to start is the good'ole Air Squat. Feet wider than shoulder width. Toes pointed out at least 30 degrees. Back arched, chest and head are up. Raising your arms will improve the flexibility in your upper back and shoulders. Sink your butt back and down until the crease of your hip is below the knee cap. Parallel. This ensures the hamstrings and glutes are doing most of the work and helps keep the knee joint safe from dangerous half-squats...

If you don't have a bar or broomstick handy, you can do prisoner squats with your hands behind your head. Don't forget to push your elbows back as far as they will go to really work the flexiblity around your shoulder joint and upper back.

Once you have mastered those two versions of the squat, it's time to move on to the grand-daddy of warm up exercises and the best "ab" exercise EVER. Grab a broomstick or unweighted bar when you are finally ready will work your arms, shoulders, back, and abs like nobody's business. Getting good depth on the squat will improve your hip flexibility and increase the amount of power you can generate with your hips which is crucial to almost all athletic performance. Good luck...!!!

Lil' Runny Angie

MONDAY 090406

CFWU
3x10

Little Runny Angie

Run 400m
50 Squats
Run 400m
50 Push ups
Run 400m
50 Sit ups
Run 400m
50 Pull ups

Doc Baker - 15:52 (as Rx'd)
Trigg - 14:45
Jae - 15:57
Birdsong - 16:02
Kyeong - 17:55
Ryan - 19:09
CrazyHusband - 19:40
LT Tomsik - 20:35
Renee - 20:37
Randolph - 22:50
Henry - 23:00
CPT Tomsik - 23:55

Phil - 17:20 (ANGIE)
100 pull ups
100 push ups
100 sit ups
100 squats


Warming up with some pull ups, Samson stretch and push ups...


Did I mention we warm up everyday with lots of pull ups...???


Sit ups and back extensions are also part of the warm up... Our warm up is probably harder than your workout...


Randolph perfecting his form on the squats during the warm up. Getting through this movement with a full range of motion will increase flexibility throughout the hips and hamstrings which translates to improved athletic performance. It also ensures that you will be able to use the bathroom yourself to a ripe old age.


Jae perfecting his form on the "CrossFit" push up. Notice his head is turned so he can go all the way to the ground and let his hips, chest and cheek touch the ground at the same time at the bottom of a full-range of motion push up. Strong work Jae!!!


Doc Baker showing off that full range of motion on his sit ups. Shortening your reps may make it easier or faster, but you are only cheating yourself when you do half-reps of any exercise. Nice job Doc!!!


If CrossFit teaches you anything, it's how to do work or complete an exercise while under "metabolic distress". Push ups are not hard until you try and do 50 in a row right after sprinting 400 meters. And running fast is not difficult until you try to sprint 400 meters right after 50 air squats.

Learning to push through those tough spots when your mind is begging you to stop and take a break will make you mentally stronger.

Can your workout say the same thing?


Birdsong working the strict pull ups with proper chin-over-the-bar technique...


Kyeong pulling for all she's worth at the end of a very tough workout...


Everyone trying to get through all 50 of those @#$%^&* pull ups...


Kyeong showing off her new CrossFit tshirt...


Some ripped up hands due to massive amounts of pull ups. Ripped calluses have become a CrossFitters "badge of honor". Taking care of your hands and keeping your calluses trimmed is as important as taking care of your feet for runners...

EVIL SATURDAY

Today we got to try a good barbell workout since there is a smaller group of hardcores on Saturdays. At one point we had 4 barbells going at the same time. Sorry Globo-gymers, we tried to stay out of the way of your bicep curls...

Lots of hard work was had by all. Great job guys. And a great welcome to Strength and Power gym here in Seoul with Terry and his boys stopping by to get in on the action.

EVIL

5 rounds for time:

10 Deadlifts (95/45 pounds)
10 Hang Power Cleans
10 Push press
10 Front Squats

This one lived up to it's name...


Phil maintaining pretty good form on his deadlifts. It's a little more difficult without full-sized bumper plates but that weight is going to track directly underneath your scapula, which is effectively supporting that weight with help from your shoulder girdle and arms.

I'd like to see a wee bit more curve in his lower back so I know it's locked in and safely supporting all that weight. I'd also like to see his head turned down just slightly, to take that tension out of his cervical spine. Proper technique ensures safe lifts every time.


Ryan working hard to keep that weight moving. He's been getting stronger and dropping weight like crazy just this last week since he started cleaning up his diet. Remember it's simple, but it takes work. Meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little startch no sugar. Period. Great job Ryan!!!


Why does Randolph always look sooo tired at these workouts. Could it be that CrossFit is designed to kick your butt!?!?!!! I know he is always working hard. Great job Randolph!!!

Maintaining that intensity is the key to reaching all of your fitness goals. Intensity is the one correlate that is most closely associated with increasing muscle mass, decreasing body fat, improving your HDL and LDL levels, lowering your heart rate, lowering your cholesterol, basically anything you can measure, gets the most boost from increasing the intensity of your workouts.

A slow, lazy 5K run every weekend can't promise you the same thing. Think about it...


Kyeong looking strong in her Front Squats, now we can start adding some weight and she can start getting... smaller (?!?!!?!!!). You thought I was going to say bigger or more "buffed" didn't you??? Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. You would have to be on a specially designed HEAVY weightlifting program with a kick butt diet and work for years to get into bodybuilder or fitness model shape.

CrossFit doesn't target your muscles specifically for hypertrophy (getting bigger) just for the sake of looks or "buffed-ness". It targets your weaknesses in FUNCTIONAL fitness, finds the "chinks in your fitness armor" and makes your stronger overall. As you get stronger you build more muscle and burn more fat and since a pound of muscle is much smaller than a pound of fat, your dress size starts to drop or your old jeans start to fit again.

Don't worry ladies, CrossFit won't give you scary muscles, it will only make you scary-strong!!! Come join us and start doing more pull ups than your boyfriend/husband/significant other...


Our mother-daughter team doing bench dips so fast we couldn't pick them up on film... Great job ladies!!!


The boys from Strength and Power didn't have any trouble powering through this workout. There was alot of sweating and a little yelling so I know they got in a great workout. Good job guys!!!


Newcomer Renee is back for more "punishment" and looking strong at the top of her push presses. We will be adding weight to her workouts very soon!!! Great job Renee!!! I know Walt will rub any sore muscles we may have caused...

DEATH BY TABATA

FRIDAY 090403

Death by Tabata

Tabata Intervals ( 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated 6 times) is applied in turn to the Handstand, Hollow Rocks, Wall Balls, Sit-ups, and Push-ups with a one minute rotation break between exercises. Each exercise is scored by the weakest number of reps in each of the six intervals. During the one minute rotation time allowed the clock is not stopped but kept running. The score is the total of the scores from the five stations. We only scored the Wall Balls, Sit ups and Push ups.

Henry - 12 WB, 9 SU, 6 PU
Andy - 3 WB, 7 SU, 1 PU
Paul - 9 WB, 9 SU, 9 PU
Tomsik - 8 WB, 10 SU, 6 PU
Birdsong - 6 WB, 9 SU, 11 PU
Ryan - 9 WB, 9 SU, 10 PU
Julia - 9 WB, 12 SU, 6 PU
**Phil (rain check)

Great job everyone!!! Henry got his first handstand in a long time and he was able to muscle through all 6 rounds. Good job Henry!!! Andy and Julia did a great job for their first CF workout with us. We'll see you guys again...

WOD from CF Sparta

WEDNESDAY 090401

Thanks King of Sparta for giving this one. Everyone loved it. CrazyWife got them started and they hit this one on their own. CrazyWife and I had to head out for the South Korea vs. North Korea soccer match.

5 rounds for time of:
10 Burpees
10 push ups
10 Turkish get ups
2-min jump rope

Randolph
Tomsik
Ryan
Renee
Birdsong