Blog Archive

Last week, I caught a glimpse of a local Vancouver Island woman being interviewed by Global News who had been shortlisted to go to Mars!  Earlier last year, I had heard of a worldwide survey that was taken to see if there was any interest from the general public to participate in on one way missions to the planet.  I thought it was a hoax!   I didn’t realize they were actually in the process of selecting Astronauts!   According to the organizations website,   Mars One is a not-for-profit project that is attempting to establish a permanent human settlement on the Red Planet by 2025.   Their schedule over the next number of years looks a little something like this:

• In 2014, the selected candidates will begin their full time training which will continue until the expected launch in ten years later.   Throughout training, the candidates will be whittled down from a little over 1,000 to just 24.
• In 2018 a demonstration module will be sent to test some of the technologies that will be used for the human mission.  A communication satellite will also be sent to continually orbit the planet.
• In 2020 a rover and trailer will be sent to explore the terrain of Mars in search of the ideal location for the astronauts to call home.  The trailer will be used to transport future landers to the final outpost location.  A second communication satellite is also sent.
• In 2022, six separate modules will be sent to the planet to sustain human life.  This includes two living units, two life support units and two supply units.
• In 2023 the rover that was sent three years earlier assembles the six units into an outpost at the selected location.
• In 2024 the first Mars One team of four will be launched where they will become the first expected residents of the Red Planet in 2025 after a 210-day journey.
• By 2026 a second four person crew will be sent for residency. The organization’s goal is to send a new crew every two years after the successful landing of the initial crew….   if they get the funding they need…

What do you guys think?   Would you go?

Richy

WEDNESDAY -

Warm up:

coaches have at it…

Technique:

10 min emom

2 front squats with a 3 sec pause
5lbs more than last week

Workout:

18 min amrap

Average Joe

12 front rack lunges 95/65
12 t2b
40 double unders

Comp Team

12 front rack luneges 135/95
12 t2b
40 double unders

Some of you may have done a bit of goal setting heading into the New Year.  Typically I enjoy being so relaxed over the holidays that I usually set a new year’s resolution like: “DO LESS!”  … every year…      Unfortunately, I’m horrible at saying “no” which usually leads to me spreading myself a little too thin at times and burning out a few times a year.  But I’m slowly getting better  –  right Charlie? 

A few years ago, I took a quick evening seminar on procrastination that was all around the topic of staying on track, being productive, and getting out of a rut when you’re working on the not-so-enjoyable stuff in your life.

The presenter gave us a few good tips so that your time is used effectively and you can get on to the things that you actually want to fill your schedule with.  Like spending time with your friends and family, going for a walk, learning a new instrument, a Walking Dead marathon, or whatever floats your boat!

The biggest thing that I pulled away from the session is the importance of rewarding yourself.  He gave a great little life hack for work that I found to be really helpful.   Try this:

• Get yourself organized and be ready to tackle your big ugly task for 45 minutes with no distractions.  That’s it, that’s all.

• Get your phone (or use this) and set your timer to 15 minute intervals

• At the end of each interval (3), track your progress.  Use a tick mark or shade in a box on a scrap piece of paper that’s in front of you.  Or simpler yet, move your eraser a third of the way across your desk every 15 minutes.  Something visual.

• At the end of your 45 minutes, reward yourself!  Get up, stretch, shake your legs out, grab another cup of coffee or a doughnut from the lunch room cause you did it!

If you really struggle with procrastination, try it only twice a day.  I was amazed at what I was able to accomplish.  The presenter went on to explain the biochemistry of rewarding yourself and what it does to us neurologically as Dopamine production increases, but he lost me.  I’ll leave that one to the experts.

Above all, it’s important to be reasonable with your goals, make them quantifiable, keep them within your boundaries of time, and avoid immediately giving up – see it through!  You put it on your ‘New Years Resolution’ list for a reason!

All the best,

Richy

TUESDAY –

Warm up:

spend 2 min each side preparing your ankles and heel cords http://youtu.be/aLj_VkfQzJI?t=2m22s

then

10 kneeling jump squats http://youtu.be/W8XwSNt8P5A?t=1m5s
20 band pull aparts
20/20 banded lateral walks
10 kneeling jump squats

Technique:

Shoulder Press

8-8-8-8

Workout:

15 min time cap

5 rounds for time

Average Joe

12 box jumps 24/20
9 HSPU
6 Power cleans 135/95

Competition Team

12 box jumps 30/24
9 HSPU
6 Power Cleans 185/125

Recovery:

30 reverse grip dislocates
2 min each side lacrosse ball on pec and chest

The East Van Barbell Club is back in action tomorrow night @ 7pm.

We are starting a 12 week progressive strength program that will be based around the back squat. We will be doing our initial testing and establishing our baseline numbers on Tuesday and Saturday so if you’ve been thinking of of trying us out… now is the time!!

The cost is $50/month and we’re looking for a minimum 3 month commitment.

Contact Ben or Jordy for more info or just show up and jump in to one of our training sessions!!

By now the majority of us are probably heading back to work this week.  The holiday season has finally come to a close.  I  hope all of you had a relaxing vacation and had a chance to spend some time with your family and friends.

We took off to Silver Star for New Years and we lucked out with some fantastic weather.  The conditions were excellent and the snow was like nothing I’ve ever boarded in before.  The light, dry and fluffy powder made me wish I had asked Santa for a new snowboard this Christmas!

Welcome back everyone!  Looking forward to tackling 2014 with all of you!

Cheers,

Recharged Richy

Warm up:

2-6 dynamic lengths

20 tall muscle cleans
20 front squats
20 hang cleans
20/20 banded lateral walks

Technique:

3 position clean

high hang, hang, ground

spend 15 minutes working up to challenging weight

Workout:

14 min time cap

Average Joe:

30 deadlifts 135/95
then
9-6-3
shoulder to overhead 135/95
chest to bar pull ups

Competition Team:

30 deadlifts 155/115
then
9-6-3
shoulder to overhead 155/115
bar muscle ups

Recovery:

2 min each side – foam roll your lats
2 min ankle smash/ankle prep for tomorrow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMQL7_HNV_Y

Here’s why you should join Weakness 101

As an athlete my whole life – from playing NCAA basketball to varsity university rowing to competing in CrossFit – I have spent too much time working on the wrong things. Last year I wanted to improve my muscle up, so I spent hours upon hours practicing muscle ups, and I often found myself frustrated because they only got marginally better and I couldn’t figure out why. I remember cursing at Regionals after a burpee muscle up workout because I had devoted my year to muscle ups only to put forth a lackluster effort in the competition.

While muscle ups will probably never be the biggest strength for a 165-lb. girl like myself, I realized this year why they suck so bad. There were a few reasons, but one of the reasons was my lack of ability (or perhaps awareness) to engage my lats during not just muscle ups, but also strict pull-ups, and even power cleans. Other reasons were my slow transition, and my pathetic ability to get my hips high enough. Strangely enough, I spent all of last year thinking I just needed to improve my ring dip.

This year I have done significantly less muscle ups than last year, but they have gotten WAY, WAY better because I have been working on tons of transition drills, hips to bars drills, as well as lat engagement and strengthening exercises. Sure it has been boring from time to time, but when I repeated the burpee muscle workout just last week and crushed my score from last year’s Regionals, I was one happy girl!

The point is, sometimes we need another eye – a coach – to diagnose WHY something isn’t getting better. And from there, you’ll be able to effectively work on the RIGHT movements, and even the right parts of particular movements, in order for you to improve your weaknesses.

This is the concept behind Tom’s Weakness 101 Program. If you have a skill, or a couple of skills – be it gymnastics or Olympic weight lifting, or flexibility, or muscular endurance – help yourself improve by joining Weakness 101. You will be assessed and given a specific program that will help you reach whatever goal you have. On top of this, you will attend two sessions a week (Fridays from 7-9 am, Wednesdays from 7-9 pm and Sunday from 3-5 pm) where you will be coached on the skills you want to improve.

At this point, the evening session is almost full, but the Friday from 7-9 am session is wide open. Sundays are for both groups to attend. If you can only come from 7-8 am, or from 8-9 am on Friday am, that works too. The 2 hours will look more like an “open gym” session than an official class, so you might not need the full two hours anyway.

It begins this Wednesday night at 7 pm. The morning session begins this Friday at 7 am. Contact Tom ASAP if you’re interested: [email protected]

The cost is $360 for 12 weeks. Included in this are 24 sessions with a small group, as well as an individualized program, as well as a personal training/assessment hour with Tom. It’s well worth your money. I currently pay my personal coach $300 a month for an individualized program and it has made all the difference in the world!

Sign up below, or see Tom this Wednesday or Friday.

Workout:

- Saturday -

Warm up:

30 yoga push ups
30 mountain climbers
30 sec plank hold

Technique:

Leader-board on a Saturday!

3 rep max weighted sit up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq32HfrHMxk

Work in teams of three here to ensure safety. Have two spotters to help raise the weight to the start position on the first rep and lower the weight when the third rep has been completed.

Workout:

with a partner, one person working at a time complete

4 rounds

30 burpees
1 rope climb
30 kb swings 55/35

25 min time cap

If you want to tackle this solo perform 2 rounds for time rather than cutting the reps in half.

Recovery:

30 dislocates
50 (25/25 in each direction) trunk twists. Use a dowel instead of a barbell. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmVjjYBgiHw

Happy New Year Everyone!
We hope you have all had a wonderful festive season.

Note the class schedule is now back to normal and we also have a new 8am Wednesday Class now coached by Andy.

Also, if you have a photo you want to share as the Photo of the Day, please send it to [email protected] 

Your CFV CREW