CrossFit Generation

Muscle Damage and Soreness: An Overview

“Lots of us treat muscle soreness like the stereotypical mother-in-law,” writes Tony Webster, PhD, a CrossFitting exercise physiologist from Victoria, B.C . “You’re not really sure if you like her or not, but you know she’ll be back, and you better find a way to deal with her.”

The article explains that you need the pain, swelling, and shakiness of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) because it indicates that your muscles are adapting to your last workout by getting stronger. It discusses why some workouts hurt more than others (and massage and stretches don’t do much to minimize it), and strategies to manage DOMS over the long term.
Continue reading...

Workout of the Day

"Betty"
5 rounds for time:
12 Push Press (135)(95)
20 Box Jumps (24)(18)

Workout of the Day

For time:
50 Double Unders

then 4 rounds of:
15 Pullups
20 DB/KB Deadlifts (10L,10R)
Run 200m

end with 50 Double Unders

Great article on the benefits of sprinting:
The Glory of Sprinting

This week at CFG:

1) Monday morning classes are now at 7:00am, not 7:15am

2) Friday's WOD is team "Murph".  Make sure you ask a partner of the opposite sex to be your teammate.  However, you can tackle the whole workout on your own if you so choose :)

3) CFG will be closed on Saturday, July 4th

4) Why do you train?  I will be randomly asking members why they train via video interviews.  Ask yourself seriously why do you train?  Everyone has different reasons.  They don't need to be long answers, just a short phrase/sentence. You will see why we are asking you this towards the end of the summer.

Let's try this again

So "Kelly" did not work out so well last Saturday because of the weather, so it's time to try it again.  Also, a huge thanks to John and Jen Kenny for hosting a wonderful CrossFit gathering to watch "Every Second Counts".  We all had a great time and Jocelyn and I cannot thank our CFG family enough for all the camaraderie and community we share.

Workout of the Day

"Kelly"

5 rounds for time:
Run 400m
30 Wall Balls
30 Box Jumps

"Jackie" Results

Workout of the Day

Hang Power Clean
2,2,2,2,2,2,2

Any gymnastics movement you would like to work on:
Kipping Pullups
Handstand Pushups
Ring Dips
Muscle-Ups
Chest to floor pushups

Here are directions to the Kenny's house for the movie premier:
-Make a right onto York road from CFG.
-Follow York to Almshouse Road and make left (about 10 minutes)
-Make a right on Sand Trap Road.
-Address: 2215 Sand Trap

We are strong

Jenn R                                     Chuck

John                                       Ron aka "Rhino"

400m times from last night:

Jen K-1:15, Juan-1:28, Glen-1:19, Dan 1:10, Edmund-1:02

Michelle A-1:29, Sweta-1:21, Bernadette-1:45, Jenny-1:17

Pam-1:32, Patrick-1:11, Michelle K-1:35, John-1:04

Ian-1:06, Maureen-1:52

Workout of the Day

"Jackie"

For time:
Row 1000m
50 Thrusters (45)(35)
30 Pullups

Time to improve our 400's

We are at the Hatboro-Horsham High School track today for all the classes.  I know the weakness of many of you is your running capacity.  Well, today's workout is going to help your running endurance for sure.

Workout of the Day

400m time trial

recover

4 rounds:
Run 400m
Rest 2 minutes

Here is a video of one of my favorite track athletes, Jeremy Wariner, running for a gold medal in a track championship meet in 2007:

This Friday, June 26th, John and Jennifer Kenny have invited CFG athletes to their home for a viewing of CrossFit's movie "Every Second Counts." We will be going over there after the 5:30 class on Friday. They live in Jamison which is only 10 minutes up York Road. If you would like to attend, please email John, Jkenny@regionalinsurance.net or Barry. Please be sure to email either one of us so we know how many athletes will be in attendance.

Rest when needed...seriously

CrossFit really puts a wallop on your body and we put ourselves through these workouts to get into the best shape of our lives...ironically.  Going 100% during these workouts is imperative for success with CrossFit.  However, it is also just as important to take light intensity/rest weeks when needed.  If you are an unlimited member and come to CFG 4-5x per week, you should definitely consider taking a light intensity week once and a while to recover your body and regenerate yourself.  You will become an overall better athlete and will continually see improvements in all CrossFit Fitness Components with proper rest.

If you come 2-3x per week, you should be ok with not having to take light intensity weeks.  Although, light weeks are good for everyone once and a while.  From my own training experience with CrossFit for over 3 years, I have had times when I over-trained and did not take light intensity weeks to compliment the full intensity weeks.  I felt burnt out, irritable and not myself.  I started following this type of intensity schedule and it has worked wonders for me.  I have fallen off that a little bit in the past few months, but am starting it back up again.  Below is the workout schedule we recommend.   It is 3 months broken down into 12 weeks. 

Week 1: Full Intensity (FI)
Week 2: FI
Week 3: FI
Week 4: Light or 1/2 intensity (LI)
Week 5: FI
Week 6: FI
Week 7: FI
Week 8: LI
Week 9: FI
Week 10: FI
Week 11: FI
Week 12: OFF

Light intensity weeks are done by either scaling reps, rounds, or weight lifted.  If you are interested in learning more about incorporating light intensity weeks into your CrossFit Generation workouts, please ask us and we will help you plan accordingly. 

Workout of the Day

Jump Rope Intervals

Olympic Lift Warmup

Push/Split Jerk
2,2,2,2,2,2

Deadlift
3,3,3,3,3

Workout of the Day

"Helen"

3 rounds for time of:

Run 400m

21 Kettlebell Swings (55)(35)

12 Pullups

Steroid Testing at the CrossFit Games

The CrossFit Games is said to determine who is the "fittest person on the planet".  However, there has been much speculation of some of the elite CrossFit athletes that they used some type of performance enhancing substance to aid in their performance.  Finally, CrossFit Headquarters is stepping up and helping CrossFit to be recognized sport.  Here is a quote from the CrossFit Games Site:

"CrossFit will be conducting on-site steroid testing on all athletes competing at the 2009 CrossFit Games. Every competitor will be required to provide a urine specimen during the Games which will be tested for performance enhancing substances. A positive result on this test will negate any placings, and all awards will be rescinded."

Workout of the Day

"Kelly"

5 rounds for time:

Run 400m

30 Wall Balls

30 Box Jumps

if it rains:

"JSP"

21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:

Wall Balls

Swings

Burpees

Go Heavy or Go Home

CFG athletes definitely brought it yesterday for our max effort session of snatches and push presses.  Here are some snap shots. 

Workout of the Day

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
10 Knees to Elbows
20 Double Unders
30 Walking Lunge Steps

Don't Be Nice

No, I don't mean to others, I mean to the barbells.  When performing explosive lifts such as today's, you must be aggressive or else the bar will always win.  Don't let the bar control you, you control the bar.  The photo below is an old shot of Vince performing a clean.  I don't think he is being very nice at all.

Workout of the Day

Ladder

Power Snatch
3,3,3,3,3

Push Press
2,2,2,2,2,2

Happy Birthday to my best bud, Kev!  We are pretty big fans of Dumb and Dumber (aren't we all), so this one is for him:

Harry: What's her last name? I'll look it up.
Lloyd: You know, I don't really recall. Starts with an S! Let's see. Swim? Swammi? Slippy? Slappy? Swenson? Swanson?
Harry: Maybe it's on the briefcase.
Lloyd: Oh, yeah! It's right here.
Lloyd: Samsonite! I was way off!

Mile Times

Nice job everyone!

Josh-6:41
Danielle-9:10
Jenn R-8:14
Edmund-6:30
Mary-8:17
Sara-6:46
Dawn Bi-7:11
Chuck-6:50
Lauren-6:52
Carol-10:00
Gerry-9:57
Jenna-9:33
Vince-6:10
Pam-9:44
Bernadette-9:39
Glen-7:42
Andrea-7:20
Nick-6:45
Michelle A-8:35
Michelle K-9:49
Matt-5:47
Dawn Ba-7:31
Maureen-9:45
John-6:31
Jenny-7:39
Robin-9:22
Patrick-7:02
Sweta-7:34
Sonia-9:58
Ron-7:32
Fred-5:57
Jose-8:16
Angela-8:24
Genesis-8:55

Workout of the Day

"Tabata Something Else"

Pullups
Pushups
Situps
Squats

Perform 4 minutes (8 intervals) straight of each exercise for 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off work to rest ratio.  There is no rest between exercises.  It is 32 intervals straight.  Your score is your total amount of reps completed for each exercise.

Workout of the Day

1 Mile Run for time

5 rounds:
50yd suicide sprint
10 Jump-Ins
Rest 1 minute

Remember, we are at the track today

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Now I know my A,B,Cs....

What exactly is an A, B, and C day in our CFG workout programming template.  Some of you already know, but here it is for those of you who don't.

A- Max Effort: These days consist of heavy lifts done for a lower amount of reps for a max effort weight you can lift for the prescribed reps.  It also could be a max effort with muscular endurance as the goal.  This could be pushups, pullups, or thrusters with a prescribed weight.

B-MetCon(Metabolic Conditioning): These days involve higher reps and a longer time component.  These involve workouts such as AMRAP in 20 mins and 4-5 rounds of 3 exercises for time with running or rowing mixed in.

C-Benchmarks: These are the hardest of the workouts and involve classic CrossFit Benchmarks.  We also have made up our own through members' names.  These workouts can be anywhere from 3 minutes to 30 minutes in length.

Workout of the Day

Cone Drills

Olympic Lift Warmup

Clean
2,2,2,2,2,2

Overhead Squat
5,5,5,5,5

We will be at Hatboro-Horsham's track tomorrow for all the class times!

Fight Results

The heat was tough to bare, but everyone came and brought all they had.  It was a packed house and the benchmark workouts (esp FGB) always show a huge turnout.  Nice work everyone!

Workout of the Day

Jump Rope intervals

Olympic Lifting Warmup

*Hang Snatch
3,3,3,3,3

Front Squat
5,5,5,5,5

*Perform 10 Ring Dips after each set of snatches

Fight on Friday

Workout of the Day

"Fight Gone Bad"

3 x 5 minute rounds of:
Wall Ball (20)(14)
Sumo Deadlift High Pull (75)(55)
Box Jump (20)(18)
Push Press (75)(55)
Row

Score the amount of reps of each exercise for each round, except for rowing which is scored by calories.  When I say switch, you will immediately go to the next station and start working.  There is no rest between exercises.  There is a 1 minute rest between each round.

6/11 results

CrossFit...it's addicting

I think one of the best things about CrossFit is how addicting it is.  The rush of the workouts, the feeling of accomplishment/achievement, and the supportive environment in which we train.  I love when athletes want to increase the weekly frequency of their membership term because they feel that they need to come to CFG and train.  It becomes a part of who you are and when you don't do it for a little while, you feel different. 

Workout of the Day
3 rounds for time:
Run 800m
40 Pullups

New Additions to CFG

I am sure most of you have been seeing some new faces at CFG and we are excited to have so many new athletes with us.  Just as you always do, please welcome our new athletes with all the support and camaraderie you give everyone all the time.  With all these new athletes, we needed to add more to our gym.  So this week you will be seeing the following:

1. Another section added to the pullup bar.  Now we will have 7 spots instead of 5.
2. Concept 2 rower- now we have 3 total for more rowing workouts (I see you smiling)
3. 1 squat stand- we have 2, so now we will have less wait time when performing our heavy squats and presses with a 3rd stand.
4. 20lb and 14lb medballs- we will now have 4 wall ball stations instead of 3.
5. 18" and 24" plyoboxes- No more having to share them.

With all these additions, our efficiency during the workouts will be better than before.  Thank you for all your patronage as we continue to grow CFG together.

Workout of the Day

Ladder warmup

New Olympic Lifting warmup exercises

Power Clean
2,2,2,2,2,*2
*find your 2 rep max

Shoulder Press
3,3,3,3,*3
*find your 3 rep max

Perform 2 warmup sets with lighter loads before you start your work sets.

 

        Welcome, Ron                              "Karen" Results

Keystone Affiliate Challenge II

This past weekend, CrossFit King of Prussia hosted the second Keystone Affiliate Challenge.  Around 75 athletes competed in the event's WOD.  Congratulations to Aimee Lyons for putting on a solid event.  Here is a picture of some fellow PA affiliate owners from CrossFit's KOP, York, Delaware Valley, Platoon, and APEX.

Workout of the Day

"Karen"
150 Wall Ball Shots for time

Mark's Top 10 Fruits

This list is from Mark Sisson's (Marks Daily Apple) new book I am reading, The Primal Blueprint.  Incorporate these superior fruits into your daily eating lifestyle and reap all the great health benefits that they provide.

1. Blueberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, and Raspberries
2. Cherries
3. Prunes
4. Apples
5. Peaches
6. Pears
7. Figs
8. Grapefruit
9. Kiwis
10. Apricots

Workout of the Day
For time:
50 Box Jumps (24")(18")
30 Deadlifts (135)(95)
Run 400m
50 Swings (55)(35)
30 MB Situps (20)(14)
Run 400m
50 Renegade Rows (30)(15)
30 DB Hang Power Cleans (40)(20)
Run 400m

An excerpt from a conversation I had recently with some CF friends

"CFG workouts are made to train us they way we were made to train.  Along with proper eating and sleeping patterns, your body will take the shape it is meant to.  Seeing you ladies train hard at CFG is an amazing thing.  Conventional wisdom and modern day teachings show us that women are not supposed to lift heavy weights, sweat, train hard, bleed, grunt, and all the other attributes that CF entails.  Screw that!!!  You are more beautiful and confident because you train the way you do. You are never afraid to do anything because you have strength and confidence to know you can do it! Don't let ANYONE tell you differently.  They lack knowledge of what it truly means to be beautiful."

Workout of the Day

3 rounds for time:
Run 400m
35 Swings
35 Double-Unders

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Primal Lifestyle Part II: Exercise

We will not be having the workout at Hatboro-Horsham's track today.  The weather looks pretty bad all day.  See you at the garage.

Workout of the Day

Ladder Drill

Max Pushup Test

First Friday Team Workout
Its guys vs. gals in this relay workout
Each person in the group will complete the following:

5 rounds of:
200ft KB Farmers Walk (55)(35)
100ft Walking Lunges
5 Burpee Box Jumps

At 3-2-1 go, the first chosen member of your group will begin their first round.  Upon completion, they will tag the next person of their group.  This sequence will continue until each member of your team has completed all 5 rounds. 

 

Welcome, Danielle

Results

Top results for male and female from yesterday's max effort tests:

Tabata Squats

John Kenny- 21

Jenny Park- 22

Max Pullups

Nick Pace- 25

Robbin Seliga- 21

500m Row

Matt Giordano- 1:28.0

Robin Lindenbaum- 1:51.2

Box Jump Max Height

Steve Destaffano- 53"

Sweta Gairola- 37"

"Kari" Results

Workout of the Day

3 x 1 minute on/1 minute off of each exercise:
Double Unders (singles if needed)
Pledge Pushups, T-Pushups, Spiderman Pushups
KB Cross Chops
Weight Plate Planks

*Remain at the same exercise until all 3 rounds are completed.

This Friday's workout will be at Hatboro-Horsham's track.

Health Benefits of Fish Oil

The health benefits of fish oil are endless. It is said to aid in improving overall health in regards to heart disease, high cholesterol, weight loss, depression, anxiety, cancers, fertility, diabetes, inflammation, arthritis, joint pain, Alzheimer's disease, eye disorders, skin care and brain function. All of these health benefits can be attributed to the Omega 3 essential fatty acids, specifically DHA and EPA. It is best to buy fish oil that has been molecularly distilled- a process which removes toxins like mercury and PCBs from the oil. It is important to consult with someone before purchasing fish oil to be advised on the proper brand to ensure quality and purity and to determine proper dosage in order to reap the benefits. 

Workout of the Day

Max Effort Tests for the following:

500m row for time

Pullups for reps (3 sets will be done with a 2-3 minute rest between)

Tabata Squats

Box Jump for height

Athletes will spend the class time testing in all 4 of these exercises.  We will break up into groups depending on how many are in attendance.  Upon completion, athletes will log scores for all 4 tests into their CFG Training Logs.

Athlete Profile: Lauren Pace and Jen Kenny

Workout of the Day

"Kari"

3 rounds for time of:

Run 400m

15 Clean and Jerks (115)(75)

30 Burpees