Today’s WOD on CrossFit.com:
10 rounds for time of:
Deadlift, 3 reps
1 Back tuck (backflip)

“Back Tuck Progressions” with Laurie Galassi, CrossFit Journal video [wmv] [mov] [HD mov]

WOD Demo with CrossFit Santa Cruz - video [wmv] [mov] [HD mov]

Thoughts? Would you come in to the WOD if that were programmed at our gym?

Musana Pictures
Matt Strong was the photographer on our team’s trip to Uganda. Please take a look at what we had the opportunity to do. Pictures are so much better than words in describing what we did over there…you helped make this happen! Musana Pictures

Workout of the Day
For total time:
Run 1600 meters (sidewalk route and up hill)
Rest 3 minutes
Run 1200 meters (to light and back)
Rest 2 minutes
Run 800 meters
Rest 1 minute
Run 400 meters

CF1
Modify to ability level

Don’t forget, get a picture of yourself doing the WOD in your costume today and automatically get 20 points added to your score!

Workout of the Day
Seated box jumps, 15 sets of 2
Just like a barbell lift, you will work up to your best set at the end. Break it into 5 different heights, for example:
Sets 1-3 @ 32″
Sets 4-6 @ 36″
Sets 7-9 @ 40″
Sets 10-12 @ 42″

then
Tabata-ween
1. Wall ball shots
2. Sumo deadlift high pull
3. Box jumps 24/20
4. Push press 75/55
5. Row for calories

You must complete 8 rounds at a station before moving to the next. The Tabata interval is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 intervals. Tabata score is the least number of reps performed in any of the eight intervals. Wod score is the combined total of all Tabata scores. Rest 1 minute between each station.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:00pm-1:00pm

The MBS CrossFit On Ramp class will meet 3 days a week for 4 weeks (12 sessions). It meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12:00-1:00 pm. It is designed for the generally active, injury free individual who wants ultimately to excel in our ongoing group CrossFit classes. In this class we will expose new CrossFitters to our movement curriculum in a group format. Movement techniques will be drilled as well as a progressive introduction to the intensity levels that are inherent in our group classes. After completion of the 12 classes, you will have the confidence to complete MBS CrossFit WOD classes, know the proper way to scale for your skill level, how to stretch after intense workouts and a how to take the leap into proper nutrition… in turn exceeding your goals faster than you thought possible!

SIGN UP HERE!

MBS/Musana Team Returns

After a 10-day trip in Uganda Africa, our team returned last week. For everyone that helped make this trip happen, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. All of us gained a tremendous amount of appreciation for what we have here in the United States. You may know that Uganda and the area that we visited is very poor with an extremely high population of children. The MBS team had the awesome opportunity of meeting 200 of the children at Musana and sharing our love of fitness. However, it wasn’t your typical “3,2,1 - Go” sort of workouts…we found that the children didn’t need it to be structured to be fun. In fact, they were just happy to squat, pushup, cartwheel, and play games nearly all day. There were many points where I really began to question whether or not I was really in “shape” at all because I had to take numerous water breaks while the kids kept going and going.

The MBS team did get to put their muscles to work. We helped build a fence with 200 lb. concrete fence posts. We shoveled cement, dug holes, bagged corn, carried bags of sand 800 meters through jungle (Ok, maybe not jungle. But, it was pretty heavy duty vegetation.), and lifted 40-90 lb. kids for thousands of repetitions in the beating sun.

We played basketball, volleyball, soccer, Frisbee, duck duck goose, tag, and some other games that we never quite figured out. For many of the games, they had their own rules (prison rules of sorts) that we weren’t familiar with, so we had to improvise. There was a basketball game that lasted 8 hours (or so it seemed) in 100 degree heat…we had to switch our team members 2-3 times for water breaks while the kids kept going.

The children were a reflection of the people in Uganda. Probably the biggest takeaway I had personally is how kind, generous, and loving the people were. Everywhere we went, we were met with smiles, dancing, and songs. As we walked through the town, we were greeted with “knuckles” from the kids (some crazy greeting where the kids run up and bump their knuckles on yours). In all of our meetings with the local staff at Musana and other workers in the community, we were accepted like family and always taken care of.

I can’t speak for everyone on the trip, but personally I was going into the trip expecting to see poor, broken, and likely unhappy people. But, it was actually just the opposite. I saw men, women, and children that had overcome difficulties and were stronger because of it. They were empowered by the adversity they had faced. It reminded me of the struggles we face and overcome in CrossFit.

We got to see and do some cool things on our trip. We visited the beginning of the Nile river where we saw a monkey and thought we saw a crocodile. Also, we put our lives on the line by riding a motorcycle cab through the countryside. Except for our one stop on the first day to purchase “meat on a stick” we went absolutely the opposite of paleo and ate 100% carbs for 8 days…I hope to never do that again! We did some touristy stuff like shopping and witnessing a mob on the street. Lastly, we met a bunch of great people that had inspiring stories that we can share now.

Thanks again to all of you that supported our trip. Thanks to Flatirons Church and the folks behind putting the trip together. Thanks to Andrea, Leah, and Sally, the girls that started Musana and had the vision to make a poor situation better.

You can get more thoughts on the trip through Leah’s blog HERE. We will be posting some more pictures as they come available.

Workout of the Day
Clean, 5×5 no heavier than 185/125 lbs. Work on technique.

2 Rounds for time:
40 Double unders
30 Calorie row
20 Burpees
10 Cleans

For the cleans, go for 80% of 1RM or HEAVY…whatever language gets the point across that I want this to slow you down!

Halloween costumes this Wednesday
Want to get some more mileage on this year’s Halloween costume? Wear your costume to the workout Wednesday…best pics will be put on the blog!

Workout of the Day
Split Jerk
2-2-2-2-2-2-2

then

12 min AMRAP:
10 Push Press - 115/75 lbs
20 Jumping lunges
30 Abmat situps

The push press is an excellent movement for building strength in the jerk when done correctly. Try to work on 1. doing push press vs. jerks, 2. Getting full lockout at the top on each rep, and 3. find a sweet spot in the “dip/drive” portion of the movement where you are being as efficient as possible.

CF1
12 min AMRAP:
10 Push Press - 95/65
12 Lunge steps
14 Situps

Photos by Ken Apodaca

If you want to see more great pics from the gym and the Masters Championship check out Ken Apodaca’s Face Book page. Ken has been kind enough to share a lot of the action he’s captured of us “doing work.”
Thanks Ken.
http://www.facebook.com/ken.apodaca?ref=ts&fref=ts

Workout

With a partner complete:
100 Double Unders
20 DB Burpee Deadlifts
40 Jumping Squats to box - 8”
50 Pull ups
60 Kettlebell Swings - 53/35”
100 Double Unders
60 Kettlebell Swings
50 Pull ups
40 Jumping Squats to box - 8”
20 DB Burpee Deadlifts
100 Double Unders

An MBS Sunset

Regular classes tomorrow at MBS
Saturday schedule:
9:00 am - WOD
10:00 am - WOD and Free Intro Class. If you’ve been trying to get a friend or family member to give MBS a try, this is the class to do it. You get them here, we’ll do the rest!
Sign up for Free Intro here.

Workout
20 minutes:
Work on jumping skills (double unders, dot drills, knee jumps, double/triple jumps, precision jumps, or whatever else comes up)

then…

3 Rounds for time:
21 Box Jump overs - 24/20”
15 Toes to Bar
9 Thrusters

Have you noticed the new faces around the gym? Allow us an introduction….

Kane Austin joins us as a Level 1 Certified CrossFit coach. He’s done a great job fitting into our team and helping out where ever he can to keep the gym running smoothly.

From Kane:
What’s going on!! I’m from Brockport, NY. I played college baseball and was in the Air force for a while. What brought me to Crossfit? I love the everyday grind of seeing what my body can handle and pushing it’s limits. My goals as a coach are to give the athletes the piece of mind that they are not only better physically and mentally but also a better person. Whether that be getting more in-tune with their body or perfecting the movements asked of them with perfect practice. I will never be a master of CrossFit. Everyday something new can be learned and/or a movement can be perfected.

You know Amanda Russell as the athlete beside you. Look for her shadowing our coaches as she’s recently attained her Level 1 CrossFit certification.

From Amanda:
I grew up in an extremely inactive family, never playing sports or doing anything physically challenging. I didn’t realize this was a problem until the year my dad was diagnosed with type two diabetes and had gastric bypass surgery! I was suddenly more aware of my body and the things I put in it. CrossFit has changed my life. I learned how to push myself harder then I ever imagined. As a coach my goals are to help people see what they are capable of doing with their bodies. I want to be a part of the positive life changes that take place in the CrossFit community, just like my coaches did for me. I have served in the Navy as an air traffic controller, I am a Mom and I am currently studying nutrition at Metro State College.

Emilee Brent
-MBS’ new office manager
-CrossFit Level I Certification
-CrossFit Nutrition Seminar
-CrossFit Endurance Certification

Emilee comes to us from Eugene CrossFit in Oregon. Although she has always been active, having played numerous sports in high school, she had never experienced anything quite like CF. When asked what she loves most about being a coach, she beams with pride and exclaims “The people; showing up every day and watching people do something they couldn’t do the day before or something they never even imagined inspires me.” On a side note, if you come to her class, you will most certainly witness how CrossFit helps improve your dancing skills.

In her free time, Emilee loves to run half marathons or volunteer. She is also the Director of two events that she pioneered: The 5&10k Love (www.fiveklove.com) and the Honey Badger Half Marathon & 6k.

Jared Johnson
-CrossFit level 1 certified
-2010 CrossFit sectionals
-2010 CrossFit regionals

Many of you remember Jared from his last “tour” at MBS. He left early 2011 to take a glamorous job in the oil industry. Thank the CrossFit God’s Jared is back, bringing with him a wealth of CF knowledge and experience and a great laid back coaching style.

From Jared:
I starting crossfitting in December 2008 during my 2nd tour with Army Infantry in Baghdad at a garage gym with cement cans for weights and dust and dirt on the ground. My first workout was Angie and I’ve been hooked on CrossFit ever since. I got my Level 1 Certification immediately upon my return to the states and began coaching at MBS in 2010. I took a hiatus to work in the oil fields and I’m happy to be back home at MBS. I am currently working on my prerequisites for PA school, which I am going to be apply for next spring. Just a forewarning for those of you that haven’t met me yet: I am loud and obnoxious, I like “angry” music, and I am not afraid of making an ass of myself all in the name of having a good time and hopefully learning something.

Workout

12 min Clock:
Run 1200 meters (loop)
then..
AMRAP:
10 Squat Cleans - 135/95 lbs
10 Pull ups

* Chest to bar if you have them
** 5 Muscle ups if you have them

CF1
10 min clock:
Run 800 meters
then AMRAP,
10 Hang Cleans
10 Pull ups

Josh, resetting for another deadlift

Happy Resting
By Shirley Vitrella

I was recently doing some reading for my other job. Without boring you too much it was something about a new drug in trials and the minimum effective dose, blah blah blah. Then I got to thinking about the term minimum effective dose (MED) applied to exercise and it sounds a lot like the methodology behind CrossFit.

In CrossFit, we get a warm up, one hell of a workout and often times a cool down all in one hour. CrossFit promotes maximum work in less time. This is a proven method to increase work capacity. Coach Glassman explains that durations of intense exercise below 20 minutes is ideal for eliciting a response from all 3 of our metabolic energy pathways which is, in short, responsible for determining our metabolic conditioning.

Who remembers spending 2 and a half hours at the Globo Gym just on back, biceps and triceps? If the MED to see improvements in muscle strength or cardio-respiratory capacity is only 8 minutes of 80% exertion or 20 minutes of 60% exertion why would we work longer and harder and risk injury or over training?

CrossFit tends to attract very driven, motivated people who will put in the hard work to see results. Make no mistake; skipping rest days does not equal larger and more expedient gains. Scheduled rest days need just as much thoughtful planning as your workout programing and your dietary needs.

Are you getting this? Rest. Is. Important.

Most of us know that CrossFit works based on our own experience with strength gain and weight loss. But for you new guys, the CrossFit method is backed by scientific principles and it’s legitimacy has been established through the testimony of athletes, soldiers, cops and others whose lives or livelihoods depend on their fitness. Take note that CrossFit Headquarters schedules regular rest days. So should we.

Happy WODding and Happy resting!

Workout

“McGhee”
Complete as many rounds in 30 minutes as you can of:
5 Deadlift, 275/185 lbs
13 Push-ups
9 Box jumps, 24/20”

Congrats Tiff on your first Muscle up. Photo by Ken Apodaca.

Turkey Challenge Judges and Volunteers

With the 2012 Turkey Challenge right around the corner, we are busy putting together the final details for this years event. Our goal is to offer competitors and spectators a top level CrossFit competition. This year we are hosting over 300 competitors in six different divisions, plus all of their friends and families. In addition to that, we are expanding the weekend to a two day competition.

In order for us to pull off a great event, we need the help of our community. Over the course of the weekend we will need over 60 volunteers, including 24 judges to make the Turkey Challenge a successful event.

For those of you not competing, we encourage you to get involved and help out. You don’t have to commit to the whole weekend. We will have shifts and specific jobs that you can sign up for. To become volunteer go to turkeychallenge.com and register as a judge or volunteer. We thank you in advance for your time and hard work to make this event happen.

Don’t forget…
Yoga for CrossFitters with Lexi will be this morning at 9:00 am. Bring your own yoga mat, towel, and $5.

Workout

Overhead Squats
5-5-3-3-3 reps

* use OHS to warm up for snatch

then…

Snatch
1-1-1-1-1 rep

CF1

Hang Power Snatch - technique and practice

Team MBS at Musana

Musana

The Musana team from Flatirons Community Church, which includes Pat, Leah, Matty (Hoss), Matt (Strong), and Scott, have been in Uganda for a week now and have been busy worshiping, teaching, working, and playing with the kids. Pat has reported that he has “slept good every night from shear exhaustion.” Good job kids of Musana!!!

If you’d like to catch up on the teams daily activities, you can check out their daily updates here.

Workout

Bench Press
5-5-3-3-1-1-1-1-1
* 2 min interval

then…

With a partner, 4 rounds each for time and reps:

Row 400 meters
Max reps Floor Press - 50% of 1RM

* While partner 1 is rowing, partner 2 is floor pressing. When P1 is done rowing they switch. Round 1 is over when P2 is done rowing.

CF1

5 Rounds for time:
5 Hang Power Cleans
10 Ring Rows
15 Push ups

Jessica Ridgeway
January 23rd, 2002 - October 5th, 2012

Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Workout

Yesterday, all large part of the Colorado CrossFit Community participated in the Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Workout. The workout is an opportunity to not only remember a young life, but to help out a family in need in our community.

We are asking our MBS community to pull together this morning to support something that has shaken the community we live in to the core. Donations are suggested, but not required. There is no set amount to participate. Feel free to come and workout as normal and donate however much you’d like. We are only accepting cash or check today, so that funds can be delivered to the Ridgeway family at the end of the weekend. 100% of proceeds will be given to the family.

To find out more about Jessica, please visit jessicaridgeway.com

Workout

10 Rounds for time:
1 Rope Climb / 15 Jumping Pull ups on Rope or Towel
23 Hand Release Push ups
2 Bear Complex - 115/75 lbs

* Because we have taken most of our ropes down, please share the ropes and mix in jumping pull ups to your workout.

** 1 reps of the Bear Complex is a power clean, front squat, push press, back squat, and push press

MOD 1 - bear complex - 95/65 lbs
MOD 2 - plate push ups, mod bear and weight
* mod bear is hang power clean, front squat, push press

Morning class showing off their functional strength!

Normal class schedule tomorrow at MBS.
9:00 am - WOD
10:00 am - WOD and Free Intro Class

Workout

Back Squat to box
5-5-3-3-3-3-3

*Focus is on sitting hips back and driving knees out. Work on controlled descent and speed on the “up” portion. Take 15 minutes to reach a heavy 3.

5 Rounds for time:
10 Thursters - 115/75
50 Double unders

Hoss setting up his transition into the top of his Muscle up

Muscle ups

In today’s classes, we will be working on the gymnastic pieces required to put together a muscle up. For beginners of this movement, a big chest to bar or even belly button to bar pull up, and a ring dip from a very low position on the rings are the first steps needed to work our way towards the muscle up. If you don’t have these two movements, they need to be priority number one.

For those of you who have good chest to bar pulls and rings dips, we can start thinking about the transition piece of the muscle up. How do we get from below the rings to above them? In short, we want to violently contract our core (think of an explosive sit up) at the top of the pull up into a support position at the bottom of the dip.

If you notice the position Hoss is in, in the picture above; you can see that he has kipped his body into a position that is parallel to the ceiling. Hoss has set himself up for the transition, or an explosive sit up. Your sit up should be so explosive, that your head and chest are facing down towards the floor at the end of the transition.

Here are a few drills from Carl Paoli that will help you practice the muscle up transition:
http://gymnasticswod.com/content/muscle-transition-progression-pt1
http://gymnasticswod.com/content/no-false-grip-muscle-progression-pt3

Once you can put the transition piece of the muscle up together, all that’s left is practice, practice, practice!

Workout

For Time:
5 Muscle-ups
45 Ring dips
25 Pull-up(strict:aka no kipping)
55 Push-ups
5 Muscle-ups

CF1

For time:
50 Pullups or ring row
50 Pushups
50 Hollow rocks

Complete in any order.

Tire Flippen Day - Coach Bender giving the tire hell!

Musana and T-Shirts

Team MBS is off safely to Africa, where they will be visiting the Musana Orphanage House in Uganda. Their hope is to bring “A Ray of Light” to the children they will be visiting. The team would like to thank everyone for their support and donations to help make this trip possible.

If we owe you a Musana or Project Jacked T-shirt, they are in and ready for pick up. Please ask a coach before or after class for your shirt.

Workout

Tire Flips - Technique and practice

then…

Working with a partner, 20 Min AMRAP:
4 High box jumps
2 Tire flips
40 Double unders
20 Situps

* Alternate rounds with your partner. Take advantage of your rest and go fast when its your turn!