Matt, Doug, and Greg working through Todd's Favorite Workout on Monday.

Kyle overhead squatting his catch on vacation in Hawaii.

A Few Q's about Project Jacked!

I do not have enough time for this. The timing is just not right. I'm about to start school and don't know where I'll be in a couple months…

I learned a long time ago that I cannot save everyone. I can only help those that want to help themselves. If you want to be healthier, you have to want it and you have to make the time. Aside from logging your meals for 4 weeks, there is little additional time involved with doing Project Jacked! In addition, we understand that you have obligations that may take you away from the gym and out of the competition. But, that doesn't mean you can't make an attempt, or do what you can while you can. We accept attempts.

I am already doing paleo, or something very close to paleo. Do I have to give up my post-workout protien shakes..?

Ok, this one is a little tricky to explain. I attempted to explain this in the 30 vs. 60 discussion on the PJ! page. For many of you that are already doing paleo, we are not requiring a full lockdown. We only want to see where you are and give you some feedback. In the process, we will take before and after photos and see if there was any progress.

So, if you have been playing around with a Goal-Based Modification such as a post-workout protien (PWO) shake and have been seeing some progress, keep it in effect. Make sure to note what non-paleo food you are taking in your log and keep going. On the flip side, if you have not been seeing success with a goal-based modification, or have been taking something “off the list” and want to make some adjustments, we are going to suggest that you eliminate that content from your diet. Examples that come to mind are individuals that are trying to lose weight and are taking PWO shakes, high consumption of caffiene, or milk and cheese.

I don't know where to begin with paleo? What exactly is involved..?

This is weak-sauce. Refer to the first question. I cannot help you if you won't help yourself. On our website we have everything you need to know to get started. Google “paleo diet” and start figuring it out. We are not expecting you to know everything. Heck, I've been doing paleo for over 2 years and am still figuring out how to adjust it to my lifestyle. We are here to help you and answer any questions you have with the diet.

As far as Project Jacked!, grab a partner and get the following done:

1. Before and after photos (refer to photo requirements)

2. 4 Weeks total of logbooks (Monday - Friday)

3. Before and after skills checklist (dates still to be announced)

 “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” - Wayne Gretzky

The crew after the FGB workout Saturday morning.

Really awesome job this weekend. Everyone came together and raised over $2,300 for the Wounded Warrior Project, LIVESTRONG, and the CrossFit Foundation. It may not seem like much, but our contribution along with 2,000 other CrossFit affiliates across the world have raised almost 1.5 million dollars toward the cause. I am grateful to be apart of a community that does this every year.

Top score shout outs to Sean for his impressive 423 and Shannon L. for 311 on the FGB workout. Matt J. should also get an honorable mention for getting 400, a new PR. Many other PR's were done this weekend. Again, make sure to keep track of your scores in your logbooks because we will be doing this benchmark again soon.

User Submissions

A couple weeks back we asked you guys to post some workout ideas to the comments. The goal was to get an idea of what exercise combinations you liked and how long it would last. It was neat to see the creativity that you had for the workouts. It was also very hard to choose a winner because there were so many good ones. In the end, we chose Todd's workout because it was what the trainers wanted to do last Friday. Check out  a few that were top contenders:

From Jay (1 of 8)

5 Rounds for time of:

3 Suicides (5, 10, 15 yards)

5 Deadlifts at 80% 1RM

From Scott

Choose Your Own Adventure Chipper

For time:

5 Rope climbs

100 Double unders

25 GHD situps

800 Meter run

“Grace” at 95 lb./65 lb.

From Anya

2 Rounds for time and max reps:

Run 1 mile

1 minute of max situps

From Michelle

2 Rounds for time of:

800 meter run

10 Power cleans

20 Wall balls

30 Burpees

20 Toes to bar

10 Tire flips

From Jeremy

3 Rounds for time of:

40 Box jumps

30 Kettlebell snatch, 15 each arm

200 meter run

10 Handstand pushups

Fight Gone Bad 5 is finally here. If you haven't signed up and donated any money, we will be collecting donations today at the gym. Every little bit counts! Workout is at 10:00 AM, but the gym will be open at 9:30 if you want to work on anything earlier. It looks like we will have around 40 athletes, so plan on the workout taking just over an hour. See you at the gym!

Jon husting to get his weight to the top of the hill.

Fight Gone Bad Tomorrow

The gym will be open tomorrow at 9:30 AM for any skills and warm-up you want to do prior to our group warm-up at 10:00. We will be running several heats with Rx'd and scaled divisions of the workout. Just in case you don't remmeber, or haven't done the workout, here it is:

In this workout you spend one minute at each of five stations, resulting in a a five-minute round after which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. This event calls for three rounds. The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of ‘rotate,’ the athletes must move to the next station immediately. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower, where each calorie is one point.

The stations:

1. Wall-ball, 10 ft target (Reps)

2. Sumo deadlift high-pull (Reps)

3. Box jump (Reps)

4. Push-press (Reps)

5. Row (Calories)

Today is Forrest's Birthday. To tell you the truth, I'm glad to see him getting older. Not that I think he will be acting more mature, but because it's a step closer to slowing his crazy self down. Ever since we were kids, Forrest has always been a little bit crazier than me. I taught him how to ride his bike, do wheelies, and jump off ramps. Then, he went and learned how to do backflips on his bike. The same thing happened on the trampoline. I taught him the front and back flip, then he had to show me up with a double backflip with a 180! Last month I did 15 straight muscle ups and he came in the next day and did 16 straight. Seriously! He is the real-life one-upper.

I am probably the one to blame for his no fear attitude. It could've been the times that I dared him to jump out of the tree onto the tramp, or when suited him up with layers of coats and used him as a human punching bag, or maybe even the times I would drag him behind my motorcycle in a sled and try to throw him off into the snow. There are at least another dozen things I can think of that led him down his path of destruction, but I'm glad he is who he is. He has always been here to help out at the gym and be a positive part of our community, and I am proud to have him as a brother. Make sure to give Forrest 24 spankin's today when he comes in to workout.

Awesome job from everyone yesterday. Lot's of high-flying action coupled with back squat PR's from the strength classes.

Jeremy doing a triple can-can over the stick…

and Lisa getting work done…

and James finishing our day off with an impressive 45″ leap of faith.

Fight Gone Bad 5 is this Saturday at 10:00 AM. We have almost 30 people signed up and $1,600 raised by our gym. Can we hit $2000?!

Project Jacked! info has been posted to the link to the right. Dates and times for the pre-challenge nutrition talk and skills tests will be posted later this week.

A big shout out to Katie and Michael for getting their CrossFit Level I certifications this weekend. Both Katie and Michael were members of our gym for a long time and loved doing CrossFit so much, they decided to go get certified. Have you ever thought about getting CrossFit Certified? You can check for upcoming Level I certifications at www.crossfit.com . If you have any interest in doing the course, let us know. We would be glad to help.

Janelle and I are back on schedule. We are excited to be back at the gym to see all your freindly faces. Our next On Ramp program is starting today. We have 6:30 AM, Noon, and 6:00 PM classes that will be running Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next 4 weeks. If you or someone you know would be interested in joining MBS CrossFit, this is your chance. Contact Janelle for more info.

I can't remember what the workout was, but we got a cool picture afterward.

This Week

Fight Gone Bad is this weekend. This is going to be a big and nasty workout for a great cause. We hope you are planning on joining us. You must register by this Wednesday. If you raise $150 or more, you get a FGB t-shirt. Donations towards awards must be received by October 1. For more info and to sign up, visit www.fgb5.org.

I am putting together the info for Project Jacked! 2011. For those of you on the fence about doing the competition, do it. Honestly, the reason we do these nutrition challenges and competitions is because we have seen great things come from them. We are not out to make your life miserable and we wouldn't challenge you to something that was impossible and had no benefit. I am not going to guarantee that doing this challenge will change your life, but I will promise you that if you participate with a good effort to stick to the rules and follow the recommendations of your coaches, you will get something out of it. Project Jacked! will be starting October 4th and going through November 19th. Mark your calendar and clean out your fridge!

The Tactical Strength Challenge is being held this morning. This is the only workout option today. Anyone can do this workout. However, be prepared for the workout to last up to 2 hours.

Weigh-ins (only if you are lifting in a division) are at 9:00

Lifting begins at 9:30

You ever get owned by a workout? Do you write it up as a loss, or keep trucking forward? It's true, if you do CrossFit long enough (and hard enough), you are going to end up getting owned more than once. We all have bad days, days that we don't feel good, and days that we don't feel 100%. The one thing you can't do though, is think of ANY workout as a waste, or total loss. Whether or not you had your best performance, the fact is that you were there and you did your best. Think of bad days as mental conditioning versus physical conditioning, and keep trucking!

Zach getting owned on Fight Gone Bad several weeks ago. Rinse and repeat.

Tactical Strength Challenge is only workout tomorrow

Tactical Strength Challenge is on tomorrow. This is a fun workout that everyone can do. Due to the nature of the events, this will be the only workout option this Saturday. Come at 9, get weighed in, and begin lifting at 9:30. Expect the workout to last until 11:30. Check the link to the right for more info.

Mouse Workout…count how many times he does it!

Some sweet-looking workouts were submitted yesterday in response to my question of what you thought would make up a kick-ass workout. There were some heavy cardio workouts, some teamwork and game type of workouts, and even a double “Murph” (4 miles of running, 200 pullups, 400 pushups, and 600 squats). Check out yesterday's comments and submit your own workout idea.

Happening this week

Tactical Strength Challenge is on Saturday. This is a fun workout that everyone can do. Due to the nature of the events, this will be the only workout option this Saturday. Come at 9, get weighed in, and begin lifting at 9:30. Expect the workout to last until 11:30. Check the link to the right for more info.

I need to hear from everyone that wants to do Project Jacked. This is a nutrition/benchmark challenge that we did last year. But, we want to make a couple changes and need to know how many people are going to do this round. Post your interest to comments.

Fight Gone Bad 5 is just a couple weeks away. This is an awesome workout and a great cause. If you haven't signed up, do so ASAP. Go to www.fgb5.org and create your fundraising page.

Wicked pic courtesy of CF Hq

Check this out!

I love saying that. And, for those of you that have been training with me, you know that something really cool is about to come out of my mouth after that phrase. So, check this out!  I want to hear some workout ideas from you guys. Not that I'm running short on ideas, but I want to know what workout you think would kick a$%? What exercises would it include, and how long would it take to complete? Again, I have my idea of a “fun” workout, but I've been doing this thing for awhile and I sometimes get lost in my own idea of “fun”. I'd like to see a little bit of action on the comments on this one (comments have been slacking lately, but thats another story). I'll give you until the end of the week to post your workout idea. To make things a bit more fun, we will vote for the best workout and we will put all our trainers through it…maybe you'll get some revenge for all those resisted sprints? Come on, we know you guys can take it, but can you dish it out? Let's hear it!

Coming UP Sept - Oct

Tactical Strength Challenge - this Saturday we are hosting the Tactical Strength Challenge (TSC). This is an open competition that everyone can do. It is a strength event consisting of three events: a three-attempt max deadlift (1 rep max), a max dead-hang pullup test, and a 5:00 minute Kettlebell snatch test. There are men's and women's elite, open, masters, and novice divisions. Results from participating gyms are collected from across the globe and posted at www.tacticalstrengthchallenge.com. However, regardless of your skill level, you can still do the competition as a benchmark workout to track your progress. We do this competition twice each year and it has been cool watching people go from no division, to novice, and then to open divisions as their skill and strength progressed. Weigh-in's start at 9:00 and comp starts at 9:30. Just shoot me an email to sign up.

Fight Gone Bad - FGB 5 is coming up on Saturday, September 25th. Every year that we do this workout, we have 30+ people doing it in heats and it is a blast. The energy in the air is crazy, and everyone is yelling at each other to push harder - it's madness the whole time!  We encourage everyone to come check it out and bring a freind. We are suggesting a $20 donation if you have not raised any money. The money collected will go to Wounded Warriors Foundation, LIVESTRONG, and the CrossFit Foundation.

Project Jacked! - check yesterday's post about the upcoming PJ challenge. It will be a good opportunity to dial in on your nutrition and have some fun at the same time. More info will be coming soon. I still need everyone to post their interest to comments.

Mike and Shannon on honeymoon in the Dominican Republic.

Project Jacked! 60-Day Challenge

Its that time of year again. Time to clean out the cupboards of your leftover picnic foods and dial in on your diet. Project Jacked! will encompass your adherance to the paleo diet in addition to healthy lifestyle and exercise habits. For those of you that participated in last year's PJ challenge, you are going to see a few changes to the challenge. More details will be forthcoming. If you are interested in doing the challenge, please let us know in comments. We have a few ideas for the challenge and need to get an idea how many people will be participating.

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