Wednesday’s Workout:

Warm Up: Max Lsit in 5 Minutes

Tech: Front/Back Levers then Double Unders

Workout: 20 sets of 20 Unbroken Double Unders

This is a great workout. Do not worry if you don’t have awesome d/us. The point of it is to get you trying them. Fire enough bullets at a target and you will eventually hit it. There are many progressions to this wod. You could do 30 sets 10 d/us. Perhaps you are miles away from getting your d/us and just have to concentrate on skipping. Do 20 sets of high knee skips. Discuss the appropriate progression with your coach.

A little hint: Count to 22 when doing your sets. Some of us get a little excited when we are approaching the end and mess up. I think Big Baby hit 19 d/us four times once trying to get a single set.

Cut off is 30 minutes. Stretch those calves when you are done!

Cheers!

The Shepherd

Here they are! Our Mad Lab 5.0 winners and runner ups. Congratulations to all of you!

So why did Eunice’s team win and Pete K’s team loose? To consider all the variables and answer this question would be a complex and lengthy inquiry for certain. Lucky for us our Minister of Education Tony Leyland has taken on the task. Head to the Exercise Science section of our website and find out what makes the best CrossFitter.

TBear, Andy Sack and I designed the Mad Lab 5.0 workouts to test a team’s efficacy at The Sport of Fitness. There are 30-40 main movements we do in CrossFit. We tried to hit as many as we could. We tested all three metabolic pathways. We changed up the type of intensity with load and reps (sometimes we upped both). We tested a team’s ability strategize but also to communicate under fire. It was an honour and awesome learning experience.

Each team member brings something different to the table. Ultimately, a well balanced team should of come out the victors.

Emily chose a good team. Wendy Panda (now her legal surname) is developing as a good crossfitter. Especially considering she had a kid this year. Good met con and a steal will to work hard and improve will guide her to further successes. The way forward for her is to get those hspus and muscle ups dialled in. A definite separation point for all crossfitters. Going to be exciting to watch her develop. I’d bet she has both by summer.

Damian is a big dude and offered the team some great support with the weighted element of the workouts. He has also been working very hard at his nutrition which has leaned him out substantially. This was especially important as the semis came down to max pull ups in 2 minutes. An event which Damian won. I would bet being lighter definitely helped him to victory there. I know my gymnastics stuff is noticeably better even when I am 3-4 pounds lighter (are you reading this Sheik?).

Ana showed herself to be an integral part of her team’s success. Her muscle ups and hspus were a real deciding factor in the team’s victory during “Nate”. She only got her first m/u this summer! She has ever improving met con and impeccable technique. Easy to judge as the ends of her movements are crisp and clean. For her size her lifts are always improving as well. Definitely tied to her technique. Proud of you Fancy Pants.

Eunice is an all around good crossfitter. Her strengths lie in exactly that: her strength. The usual women’s weight for CF workouts does not pose a huge problem for her ergo she can usually dummy anything with a barbell in it. This CrossFit profile for women often comes with poor gymnastics. Not the case with Em. She has good hspus and her muscle up is always getting better (although I dislike her giant kip – especially after seeing Andy fall last week). Admittedly not a very good runner (even before her achilles injury) she makes up for it on the rower. Add to all this she shows up ready to chew concrete, the will to get in there and give it her all, to make herself really uncomfortable and you have CFV’s best female athlete.

So I was surprised when, in the semi final, her team threw the first event: A 1 mile team heavy bag, kettle bell and barbell run. She figured they could not beat Reto’s team at this event so they lollygaged the whole thing (except Donkey who finished 3 minutes ahead of his team). Granted there was strategy in what she was doing, and effective strategy at that, as they went on to win the next 2 events and take the semi. Hard to argue with a win that is for sure.

I’ve been around athletics my whole life and if there is one thing I have learned it is that, win or loose, there is always a qualitative element to your performance. Sportsmanship can go a long way. My two cents: I was disappointed that they tanked the run. I understand it was strategy. Nevertheless, very uninspiring.

And strategy is important as the finals illustrated. Each member of the four person team had to do a single workout and then do a big 4 person team workout together (5 workouts in total). Choosing the appropriate person to do the appropriate workout was key. We ran the workouts aggregate so a team could gain a time lead over the course of the workouts. A chase the rabbit kind of thing. Picking your best athlete for their best suited event and being aware of the match ups was a test for both teams for sure. Team Eunice built up a substantial lead after the four single events. The final was exciting and close but the lead was too big and the better more balanced team won.

Congratulations to all the competitors! A big thank you to all who came out to judge, spectate and enjoy the events. A special thanks to TBear and Sack for putting up with me while we designed and tested the workouts.

Tuesday’s Workout:

Warm Up: Window Wipers

Tech: Max Reps Thruster (135/95 lbs)

Workout: Fran

21, 15, 9

Thrusters
Pull Ups

As you all know we have done this workout every time The House of Sheppy programmed this year. My wish was for a more consistent exposure to that oh so special kind of intensity that only Fran can provide. Hopefully you all enjoyed it.

I’m open to suggestions for a repeating workout to do every time I program next year.

Enjoy!

Shep

Our Minister of Education Tony Leyland has written 2 exciting and interesting articles around the subject of what makes the best CrossFitter.

Is it a matter of range of motion? Or just the right mix of range and power? Body types vs body proportions? Does technique really matter?

The answers to these questions are amazingly complex and discussed below.

Although these articles were written for the CrossFit Journal last summer the discussion is always pertinent. Especially in the light of our in house Mad Lab tournaments.

CFJ CFG Winner1 Leyland – July 2011
CFJ CFG Winner 2 Leyland – July 2011

Cheers!

Shep

First and foremost!! Congratulations to Team Eunice for winning Mad Lab 5.0!!

Eunice, Fancy Pants, Donkey and Wendy Lb threw down hard Saturday afternoon to beat Pete K and his Angels in a 5 workout finale.

Pictures and video to come.

Here an interesting site developed by educational juggernaut The Environmental Working Group.

Its called Skin Deep.

As a community we spend so much time discussing the value of what we put into our bodies. Have you ever considered what you put on your body?

You can type in any beauty product and the site will score it on the overall health threat it poses to its users.

So I punched in my aftershave and deodorant. Turns out the former actually poses a moderate health risk. What surprised me was that the deodorant, which is marketed as all natural and good for you, also posed a moderate risk (although lower than the Nivea product).

Give it a whirl and find out how you may be harming yourself.

Monday’s Workout:

Tech: Deadlift – Do some oneses at a high weight but not your max. Strive for perfect form on up to 90% of your 1 rep max. We can call this a “safe max”

Workout: The Hawk

400 m Run
Max Reps Push Ups

For 20 minutes.

Score is the total amount of push ups you do.

You may pause/rest in the top plank position but if you seek relief by lifting your hips up then your push up set is over.

Mucho Amore,

Sheppy

The Mad Lab Final is this Saturday at noon. Come out and cheer on the top two teams, as they go head-to-head for bragging rights.

So far, it has been quite the ride, with a ton of challenging, body-mangling WODs, and some very exciting finishes.

There are two highlight moments that I want to mention.

The first was week during Week #2. The second workout of the night was a Hero WOD, where each team selected on person, a ‘Hero’ to compete.

The workout: Josh

21 OHS
42 Pull ups
15 OHS
30 Pull ups
9 OHS
18 Pull ups.

Usually, I’ll admit I find CrossFit boring to watch. Turns out, watching people workout isn’t THAT entertaining.

But this was thoroughly inspiring; the energy in the facility was bustling as five women – Dash, Kermit, Ana, Marylyn and Cindy – went head-to-head with their teams cheering them on.

It was one of the most intense and closest battles in Mad Lab history. Dash got to an early lead after the 21 OHS, but both Kermit and Ana gained some ground on the first set of pull-ups. Usually, people spread out on this WOD after the first round, but it remained tight until the bitter end. Ana was the fist one to get to the 18 pull-ups, but Dash, on the other side of the facility, was close on her heels.

Heads swiveled, back and forth, all eyes on Dash and Ana. They each had 8 pull ups left. Meanwhile, Kermit and Marylyn were gaining some ground, and suddenly there were four women had less than 12 pull ups remaining in the WOD.

With just two pull ups to go, grip and forearms shot, Dash gutted it out and hung on to for a final push, beating Ana by just a few seconds. Marylyn and Kermit were just a few seconds behind that.

It was a beautiful sight – four ladies sprawled on the ground, all having completed the WOD impressively, in under nine minutes.

The second highlight came last. It actually came after the workout.

The ‘Hero’ WOD was a max clean and jerk followed by two minutes of max pull ups. It was another nail biter. Both the Donkey and Hollywood recorded personal best 225-pound clean and jerks. It was going to come down to the pull ups.

A couple hours after Mad Lab, I received a text from the Donkey saying, ‘Two years ago it took me nine minutes to do 30 pull ups in a purple band.”

Last night, the old Donkey did 51 pull ups in two minutes, enough for the win.

That’s why it’s important to remember to record your scores. There’s nothing like the feeling of personal improvement!

Noon tomorrow – The Donkey Warshippers (Eunice, Ana and Wendy) battle Pete K’s Angels (Kermit, The Bus, and Nat ‘The Great’).

Saturday – 10 and 11am Classes

Technique

Overhead Squats- go light – perfect the movement.

(5,5,5,5)

Workout

“Team Josh”
- 50 OH Squats (95/65)
– 50 Pull-ups
– 35 OH Squats (95/65)
– 35 Pull-ups
– 20 OH Squats (95/65)
– 20 Pull-ups

Sunday
- make up day.

Confused?  No Kidding.

This chart can be blown up on Chris’s post below, but easily demonstrates that many, many factors influence obesity and metabolic derangement.

http://chriskresser.com/there-is-no-single-cause-of-or-treatment-for-obesity

So many are trying to pin point it to many carbs and fat, but depending upon your situation many things need to be considered.  I will post soon on insulin resistance and the ever growing dynamics of leptin (seems to be getting more attention lately in the blogosphere).

What I can say is this – Eat as clean as you can and educate yourself by visiting decent nutritional blogs like Chris’s.

Friday Workout

Warm-up with some good shoulder and hip mobility then start lifting.  Take at least 4 minutes between your 5 attempts.

“Barbell Complex III” – 5 Rounds

3 Shoulder Press
6 Push Press
9 Thrusters
100m sprint

Record weight and time to get through it.  Start round 1 at about 40% of your max shoulder press and move up to 70 or 75% and see if you can make it unbroken.  Post your highest weight that was completed without putting the bar down.

T-Bear

Remember MadLAB Semi-finals are Thursday at 6pm.

After a well rounded and hard fought competition between the 5 teams we are down to the last 3! For the first time we tried a new twist on MadLab with teams of 4 but 2 WODS. Each week 3 team members competed in the first WOD and the 2nd WOD was completed by the teams ‘Hero’ for that week. It was a great new style and we saw some of the best competition and strategizing within MadLab.
Soooooooooo………..Who will take out the semi!? Team Eunice competes against Team Reto in an elimination matchup to see who will meet Pete K and his Angels in the Saturday Noon Finale.  If you have some spare time to judge please post a little note here.  Three or four will be needed for each day.

Thursday’s Workout

Technique
Deadlift (3,3,3,3,3)

Workout

“Christine”
3 ROUNDS
12 body weight deadlifts
21 box jumps (20″)
500m Row
start earlier in the hour so you can get everyone through.

TBear

If you didn’t get your shuttle run in Tuesday – Hit that first.  Post your score to yesterdays leaderboard by switching the date back.

If you completed shuttle run…Practice Handstand Kick-ups and Handstand holds.

Technique
- Handstand pushups and progressions
– Pistols and kipping pull-up

Workout – “Mini Mary Tripped”
4min On – 2 min Rest – 3 rounds of:
-3 Handstand Push-ups
-6 Alt Pistols
-9 Pull-ups

Pick up where you left off from the last round.
Post Rounds and Reps to crossfitleaderboard.com

Tis the season to be Jolly!

Below are the hours that Crossfit Vancouver will be open over the festive season! Please make note of these times. Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone.

Tuesday Warm-up

100m shuttle runs.  Give yourself a generous warmup.  Get your legs, ankles and hammies warm before going for broke.  Hand and foot must cross the line.

This is a winter sub for our 100m Dash.  5 by 20m.  Use mats for the run out beyond the line.  2 can go at once. Big Dudes finish by the christmas tree. Lighter peeps by the meat fridge.

We’ll be getting times for everyone today and tomorrow in the first half hour of class.  Post your fastest to the leaderboard for Dec 13th.

At half Past the hour

Skill -Tech – Hang Squat Clean (get heavy and work up to 80 – 90%). Grip it tight and use hip extension along with a big shrug.

Workout

5 Rounds
-5 Hang Squat Cleans (105/155)
-50 Double-Unders
(20 minute time limit)
– Post your time and name to the front board.

T.