Read about MBS CrossFit in the NY Times!

*NEW AM CF1 CLASS starting on T/TH at 6:00am which means there will be no 6:30 WOD class on T/TH.

*Live Reveal of 13.5 Wednesday night at 6pm. Come and join us!

13.4 Recap
Nothing but neon colored dust remains of 13.1984. A big thank you to all of you who participated and dressed up on Saturday. The 80’s called and said we totally represented. Even our own Pat Burke sported a jean jacket and headband. Axl Rose better watch out! The 80’s spirit winner was: Erin Greenwood! Please see Emilee to get your prize!

Our athletes impressed us, like usual, and totally dismantled 13.4, which was a 7 minute ascending ladder, rep by rep. Many PR’d having never cleaned 95# or 135# before. Likewise, many had only done this weight overhead one time prior to The Open. As it was a couplet, some athletes found the weight not to be an issue but struggled with their toes to bar. Hey, it wouldn’t be CrossFit if it was easy.
In CrossFit-landia, seven minutes isn’t much time so strategy and game plans became obsolete. There wasn’t time to rest. We are curious to know, during a workout, when you feel like you can’t keep going, what do you tell yourself to get you through? Do you have a method to fight internal madness or do you rely on external support to motivate you?

As many of you know this week will be the last week of the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Open and we are ending it with a bang!!! The MBS 5 year Anniversary Party will be held on Saturday night!! This is going to be an event you do not want to miss so be sure to rsvp today!

Workout of the Day
A. Pick 4 warm up

B. Movement prep and modifications

C. “Cameron”
For time:
50 Walking lunge steps
25 Chest to bar pull-ups or jumping C2B
50 Box jumps, 24 inch box
25 Triple-unders
50 Back extensions
25 Dips
50 Knees to elbows
25 Wallball “2-fer-1s”, 20/14 lb. to 10/9′
50 Sit-ups
5 Rope climb or sled pull

Modify number of reps as needed. There is a 30 minute cap.

D. Finish with 3 sets of 8-10 pullup practice

Since its 13.”1984″ today, I thought this would set everybody off on the right foot!

Make sure you know the standards for 13.4.

Since the blog was down last Saturday, I feel like most people did not catch my soap box about judging. In case you missed it, here it is:

Attention Judges!! We have been harping on this since the beginning of the open but I wanted to get it in writing. It doesn’t matter what level of fitness you believe an athlete has, this is a serious competition. There are more than 140,000 athletes registered and there is a lot at stake. This means that standards matter! The same standards apply to everyone whether you are judging someone you just met, your best friend, training partner, your mom, your Sig-O, or Annie Thorisdottir. Please know the workout standards through and through so you can do your best as a judge. If you have any question about it whatsoever, please ask a coach before 3…2…1…GO! If a rep is “questionable” or “debatable” it is simply a “no rep.” There are no warnings, no telling the athlete to “get lower,” just don’t count the rep. You can tell them why if they don’t know but chances are, the athlete knows exactly why you didn’t count the rep. The coaches are walking around coaching but they are also making sure that standards are being met. They will let you know if reps look questionable and for sure tell you if something doesn’t count. Lets not get to that point. Everyone is accountable to maintain the integrity of MBS CrossFit! At the end of the day, we are all here because this is what we do for fun. Some people can’t believe that, but that is what makes CrossFitters special. We will all still be friends at the end of the day, even if you didn’t count 10 of my wallballs Soap box over! Lets keep the awesome energy today and through the remainder of the open!

Workout of the Day
CrossFit Games Open 13.4
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
3 Clean and jerk (135/95 lbs)
3 Toes-to-bar
6 Clean and jerk (135/95 lbs)
6 Toes-to-bar
9 Clean and jerk (135/95 lbs)
9 Toes-to-bar
12 Clean and jerk (135/95 lbs)
12 Toes-to-bar
15 Clean and jerk (135/95 lbs)
15 Toes-to-bar
18 Clean and jerk (135/95 lbs)
18 Toes-to-bar…
*This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

An old school video of the master, Mike Bergener, teaching Pat Barber the snatch. Notice the elements of instruction in the video - Stance, Grip, position of barbell in the finish, then the “Burgener warm up”. Watch and listen to the coaching cues of the Burgener warm up that begins at 5:00.

Don’t forget, 13.”1984″ is the theme at tomorrow’s 13.4 workout. We will have a group warm up that begins at 9:00 and 10:00 am. There will be two heats per hour. Come join us and cheer on the team for our second to last Open workout.

Workout of the Day
Snatch
Find your 1 rep max.
3-3-2-2-1-1-1-1-1

Yep, we are loving the barbells this week. Let’s keep the momentum going and pull under the bar for some more PR’s. On the 3′s and 2′s, work your touch and go reps. The singles should be working up to find a new 1RM.

13.4

We are now on the home stretch! 2 more WODs in the open. If you haven’t noticed yet, the open is also a test of mental endurance because it is a 5 week long competition! You’re almost there, hang in and keep the energy up for these next two weeks. If you need a little motivation, here’s a speech from Ray Lewis:

**Just like the past two weeks we will be running 2 heats per class. The general warmup will start at your regularly scheduled class time. Good luck everyone!!**

WORKOUT 13.4

MEN - includes Masters Men up to 54 years old
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
135 pound Clean and jerk, 3 reps
3 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 6 reps
6 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 9 reps
9 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 12 reps
12 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 15 reps
15 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 18 reps
18 Toes-to-bar…
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

WOMEN - includes Masters Women up to 54 years old
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
95 pound Clean and jerk, 3 reps
3 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 6 reps
6 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 9 reps
9 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 12 reps
12 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 15 reps
15 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 18 reps
18 Toes-to-bar…
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

Thunder Challenge… Tough is only the beginning.

MBS will be putting together a team for the 2013 Thunder Challenge. The military style obstacle course will be held August 10th at Eldora Ski Area.
Our very own Rusty Schellman, the CEO of Thunder Challenge, has kindly offered MBS members a discount on entry fees for 25% off the 10K race (discount code MBS) and 10% off the 5K race (discount code MBSlite).
And just because I know you CrossFitters, I should mention that there is also a competitive heat where there is prize money available! (Due to the prize money, no discount available on this entry.)

You can register here. Go ahead and get signed up! We’ll organize out team details after the dust settles from the Regional Games.

If you have any questions contact Shirley or Rusty.

Workout of the Day
A. Pick 4 warm up
then
B. Overhead squat, 5-5-5-5-5 up to 225/155 lb.
then
C. Complete as many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:
75 pound Shoulder press, 4 reps
75 pound Sumo deadlift high-pull, 8 reps
75 pound Front squat, 12 reps

Colorado Stars 99 Softball Team

MBS CrossFit and Coach Kane have been working with the Colorado Stars 99 Softball team for about 6 months now. The Stars are part of the Boulder Valley Girls Softball Association. They have 2 state championships under their belts and are going for it again this year. Their ultimate goal is to win the Disney Florida Softball Tournament. Coach Kane says… “It’s truly a privilege to be able to work with such a talented and motivated group of girls. In my opinion there’s not a better bunch out there, and I mean that.”

Workout of the Day
Clean & Jerk
Find your 1 rep max.
3-3-2-2-1-1-1-1-1

Yes, we just did snatch and clean and jerk last Monday. I just wanted to come back to this since I saw a lot of good things happening last week. On the 3’s and 2’s, work your touch and go reps. The singles should be working up to find a new 1RM.

Here are some good vids on the clean portion:

Joy H came back on Sunday to show wall balls who is boss! Nice work Joy

13.3 is officially in the books and we are yet again nothing short of proud of all of our athletes. There was no shortage of sweat, blood, and tears. Although we are used to repeat wods in CrossFit, the repeat of last year’s Open 12.4 wod caused an immediate knee jerk reaction for most. 150 wall balls…. double unders…and then for added flare, muscle ups…Did we mention a time cap of 12 minutes to complete all of this?

Despite the annoyance and/or anxiety this workout seemed to evoke people didn’t shy away which resulted in a TON of PR’s.

Ladies who have never touched a 14# wall ball were throwing it up with every bit of power they had…and were hitting the target!! When athletes got in their head, supportive teammates stepped up and cheered them on. Fatigued athletes walked to their ropes and looked ahead with sheer determination. For those that made it to the rings it was obvious they were exhausted but instead of quitting, they super sized their kips. As each arm locked out the crowd around them went wild. It’s not an easy task for anyone…at any level…but no one gave up. We had a few athletes walk away feeling defeated only to show up a second time and give it another shot. Our very own Pat Burke walked away from the wod on Friday feeling frustrated. Then on Saturday, he unexpectedly repeated 13.3 and improved by FOUR reps. That is what The Open is all about. Turning your frustration into determination. Whether you got 1 rep or 300, what matters most is that you give each workout your all.

So many times our minds want to tell us we could have done better, and maybe we could have…but some days we fail to take every aspect into consideration. Did you sleep well the night before, just getting over a cold, has an injury been hindering you? If you did the best you could in that moment, then try to make peace with it…then set a goal for next time and prepare yourself.

Again, well done athletes! We are soo very proud of you! This week will be 13.4 and our theme will be 13.1984—that’s right, we’re going to make it an 80’s them at our brown bag on Saturday so be sure to sport your best 80’s gear. There will be a small prize to the best dressed.

**Reminder to all CF1 athletes, Wednesdays class will be held at 6pm this week and next week

**Live reveal will be at 6pm on Wednesday 3/27

Workout of the Day
A. Gymnastics warm up

B. Deadlift, 3-3-3-3-3 up to 315/215 lb. Hit 5 box jumps 20-40″ after each set.

C. For time:
20 Deadlift 275/185 lb.
30 Kettlebell swings 72/53 lb.
40 Toes to bar
Row 500 meters

All out sprint on this one. Go FAST!!

Building up a strong false grip is important (I say KEY) in getting your first muscle up. Sometimes it’s the limiting factor. Watch and DO these progressions, even well before you’re even close to a muscle up, to build up stronger wrists, forearms and grip strength. Hey, and it certainly won’t hurt those of you that already have muscle ups. I know I still need the work!

http://gymnasticswod.com/content/false-grip-progressions-pt1

Skill of the day is: Muscle Ups

GWOD: Muscle up Adrian

Seven rounds for time of:
1 Muscle Up (or your choice of progression)
3 Forward rolls
5 Wall climbs
7 Toes to bar
9 Box jumps, 30″ box

Skill of the day is: Muscle Ups

13.3 will run today just like last Saturday. We will do an athlete/judge’s briefing at 9:00am and a large group general warmup. Heat sign ups will be on the whiteboard and will be on a first come, first served basis. So if you want to start early, get to the gym early. The general warmup will be a dynamic warmup with movement prep for 13.3. If you need additional mobility to get your body ready for this one, please come early. If you did the WOD on Thursday and your legs are still smoked and you do not want to repeat, we still urge you to come in and cheer on your fellow athletes! We would love if you could help judge as well. Check facebook for updates from Emilee about the Apres-WOD fun!

Attention Judges!! We have been harping on this since the beginning of the open but I wanted to get it in writing. It doesn’t matter what level of fitness you believe an athlete has, this is a serious competition. There are more than 140,000 athletes registered and there is a lot at stake. This means that standards matter! The same standards apply to everyone whether you are judging someone you just met, your best friend, training partner, your mom, your Sig-O, or Annie Thorisdottir. Please know the workout standards through and through so you can do your best as a judge. If you have any question about it whatsoever, please ask a coach before 3…2…1…GO! If a rep is “questionable” or “debatable” it is simply a “no rep.” There are no warnings, no telling the athlete to “get lower,” just don’t count the rep. You can tell them why if they don’t know but chances are, the athlete knows exactly why you didn’t count the rep. The coaches are walking around coaching but they are also making sure that standards are being met. They will let you know if reps look questionable and for sure tell you if something doesn’t count. Lets not get to that point. Everyone is accountable to maintain the integrity of MBS CrossFit! At the end of the day, we are all here because this is what we do for fun. Some people can’t believe that, but that is what makes CrossFitters special. We will all still be friends at the end of the day, even if you didn’t count 10 of my wallballs Soap box over! Lets keep the awesome energy today and through the remainder of the open!

Workout of the Day
CrossFit Games Open 13.3
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
150 Wall ball shots (20/14 lbs) (10’/9′)
90 Double-unders
30 Muscle-ups

Ropes are back!!! You might want to bring a pair of high socks for today’s WOD.

Rope climb techniques - check out the “fast rope” method that starts at 1:45. I call it the “j-hook” also, it is the fastest and best if you don’t want to get rope burns up your thighs.

Workout of the Day
A. Basic 5 warm up

B. Hang power clean, 3-3-3-3-3 up to 225/155 lb.

C. With a partner, AMRAP in 25 minutes:
1 Rope climb
10 Hang power clean
5 Burpees

One partner will start on the triplet, while the other partner will run 400 meters. Switch place every time the runner returns. The runner will pick up exactly where their partner left off. There will be only one final score.

13.3?

MBS had a good sized cheering section at the live reveal of 13.3 at CrossFit Roots! I was pretty impressed with HQ overall. It was very professionally run and they had BBQ…nuff said! Repeating the fourth open WOD from last year was a big surprise to everyone. There were no wall balls or wall ball targets showing prior to the announcement. They were hidden up until Dave Castro announced this week’s treat. The best part was obviously the main event: watching two top notch games athletes go head to head on 13.3! Both Kristan Clever and Talayna Fortunado delivered impressive performances but both athletes actually scored worse than they did in the open last year. The difference? 5280!! We are used to it, but this mountain thin air really takes its toll on an athlete’s lungs. Kristan said she’d definitely repeat the WOD at sea level while Talayna? One and done!

How’s your “Karen” time? 30 muscle ups for time? Why not combine them into a 12:00 AMRAP and separate the two with a few double unders?

This year’s twist? Tie breaker times after the wall balls, double unders, and 30 muscle ups if the athlete gets there. So go fast!

Here are Coach Pat Barber’s tips for 12.4 13.3.

**We will be running 2 heats for all classes today. No need to sign up for heats. Come in to your regularly scheduled classes and throw down!!**

WORKOUT 13.3

MEN - includes Masters Men up to 54 years old
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
150 Wall balls (20 lbs to 10′ target)
90 Double-unders
30 Muscle-ups

WOMEN - includes Masters Women up to 54 years old
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
150 Wall balls (14 lbs to 9′ target)
90 Double-unders
30 Muscle-ups

One and Done?

From Coach CJ:

I would like to start off by letting all of you know how proud I am that you have crushed the first two Open WODs. You’ve all come together to open a collective can-o-whoop ass and have done great service to MBS, your coaches, and most importantly, each other.

Now, on to my soapbox… I have seen a number of people making multiple attempts at these WODs and, while I think it’s great that we continue to strive to improve, I get concerned when we plan to have a second or third chance at them. This can be a very dangerous attitude to engage in from a competition standpoint. I realize there is no rule against re-tries, but we need to remember that when we move on to regionals, or even the games, there are no retakes. No second chances to do our best later on in the week. We get one chance to kick ass, and a key requirement for that is a proper mental attitude.

This is a lesson I have learned in both my military and police training. We train, we rehearse how we will execute, go over every detail meticulously until we get it right, and then go over it again just to be sure. All this training serves to prepare us, both mentally and physically, to execute the plan and complete the mission. Once the live rounds are loaded and you’re stacked up outside that room, you have one chance to get it right. There is no reset button, no do overs, no “Ill get it right next time”. Every time you blow that door open, it’s for real, lives are at stake, and the pressure is on.

I believe, from a competitive standpoint, we should approach these WODs in the same fashion. We can plan, train, and rehearse as to how best to attack them, but when it comes time to execute, we need to perform like it’s our only chance. If we come away thinking “I think I could do better” then did we really give it our best? Did we really earn that score? I think not.

My advice is simple: Understand the WOD, get your mind right, train, rehearse, and attack each time with passion and vigor, like it is your only opportunity to get it right. Make it count and fight for every point.

Workout of the Day
A. Pick 4 Warm Up
then
B. Overhead carry technique
TGU technique
then
C. 3 Rounds for time:
150 ft. KB overhead carry, right
150 ft. KB overhead carry, left
75 ft. KB overhead walking lunge, right
75 ft. KB overhead walking lunge, right
8 Turkish get ups

Prescribed is 53/35 lb., but ensure you can stabilize the weight safely overhead.

MBS CrossFit Youth Spring Break Camp 3/26-28

March 26th thru 28th.
Early registration discount still available until 3/20!

Keep your kids active and out of your hair over spring break! MBS is offering an all sports camp for 8th-12th graders. It will meet March 26th -28th from 10am-noon. Early Registration (Before 3/20)$99 or $150 for two siblings. After 3/20 $120 for individual and $185 for two siblings. Space is limited. For more information and to secure your spot contact Lisa Von Colln at lisa@mbscrossfit.com or call 720-446-8434.

Register here.

Workout of the Day
A. Deadlift, 3-3-3-3-3 up to 365/225 lb
Weighted pullup, 3-3-3-3-3

Alternate the two movements.
then
B. 3 Rounds for time:
8 Deadlift
Run 400

Use 80% of your 1RM deadlift or no higher than 315/205 lb.