Wednesday

For Time:
50 Squats
40 Hand Release Push-Ups
30 Kettlebell Swings (53/35*)
20 Hollow Rocks
10 Pull-Ups
200 Meter Farmers Carry (AHAP)
10 Pull-Ups
20 Hollow Rocks
30 Kettlebell Swings
40 Hand Release Push-Ups
50 Squats

“You’ve got to train like your life depends on it, because it does.” 

– Greg Amundson

14-year-old aims to break U.S. weightlifting record

Tuesday

For 20min, alternate between the movements on a 2min interval:

   4 Push Press

   6 Turkish Getups (3L, 3 R)

            then...

MAX Double Unders in 2min.

Monday- Hero "Bell"

“Bell”

3 Rounds for TIME:
 21 Deadlift (185/125*)
 15 Pull-Ups
  9 Front Squat (185/125*)

Air Force Senior Airman Bryan R. Bell, 23, of Erie, Pennsylvania, assigned to 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, died January 5, 2012 at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. Today we will do a workout named after this Hero. We workout to honor his sacrifice. 

“CrossFit’s Hero WODs are challenging tests of fortitude—but they also represent something greater.”

Here is a little insight into where Hero WODs come from and why they are an important  part of the CrossFit community, as written by Russell Berger (click here for full CrossFit Journal article):

On June 28, 2005, four Navy SEALs on a reconnaissance mission in the Kunar province of Afghanistan were ambushed by an overwhelming Taliban force. Team leader Lt. Michael Murphy, unable to call for help from his location, walked into the center of enemy fire, where his satellite phone might work. He punched in the numbers to HQ and calmly requested reinforcements.

Even after being knocked to his knees from a gunshot wound to his back, Murphy calmly sat back up, steadied himself and continued the call, knowing that it was the only way he might save his men. Once the call for reinforcements had been completed, he returned to the fight with an MH-47 Chinook helicopter on the way.

Outrunning its escort of attack helicopters, the Chinook rushed into the battle for a daring daylight rescue. Attempting to set down in tremendously rugged terrain filled with hostile militia, the Chinook was hit by a rocket propelled grenade. The eight SEALs and eight Army Night Stalkers aboard were killed, leaving Murphy and his men to continue the fight. When the battle ended, Murphy and all but one of his men had been mortally wounded.

Murphy was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions that day. Among those killed in the rescue attempt were Petty Officer 1st Class Jeff Taylor and Lt. Michael McGreevy. Both SEALs were posthu- mously awarded Bronze Stars for Valor and Purple Hearts. These men were fathers, husbands and sons. They were brothers to their fellow SEALs. 

They were also CrossFitters. In their actions, these men embodied the values and spirit of true heroes, and to immortalize their courage, bravery and self-sacrifice, the CrossFit Hero workouts were created.

Lest We Forget

For those of us who undertake these physical tests, the psychological effects of performing a Hero workout are tremendous. It’s easy to treat these prescriptions as any workout of the day, but for those who take the time to learn about the heroes they honor, the WODs can become as spiritual and emotionally demanding as they are physically grueling.

When keeping the stories behind the real-life heroes in mind, slowing down during a Hero workout becomes harder to justify. When the pain of pushing harder becomes too great, I am reminded of the sacrifice these men made for my freedom, and my struggle becomes laughable. And when I compare my temporary suffering to the lifelong sorrow felt by the grieving families of these men, dropping the bar becomes an embarrassment to my country.

The Hero workout is more than a test of physical ability. It bridges the gap between the body and the mind, emotion and experience, and gives us the chance to do more than just remember our soldiers. It gives us the chance to sweat, bleed, suffer and grieve for our fallen heroes one rep at a time.

A helpful guide to Thanksgiving dining.

Happy Thanksgiving

If you already pay attention to what you eat and you workout constantly, staying as close to on track as possible won’t leave you with nearly as much damage control at the end of this time of year. You don’t need total restraint, a minor to moderate amount of restraint will still leave you in pretty good shape. Here are a few tips/ thoughts:

1. Don’t skip meals. Your body is a machine that must be fueled throughout the day. If you were driving a car and knew you were about to take it on a long haul, would you stop putting gas in it until that time? It needs to run to get you through all the minor trips along the way. So eat, throughout the day, just as you would any other day. Don’t show up to the family dinner starving because you wanted to “save” all your calories for the big meal. It doesn’t work like that.

2. Since you are going to eat throughout the day, the best things to eat are lean proteins. I think we all know that when we get to the party all we want to shove in our faces are all the sweet, delicious, scrumptious carbs. Which carbs? All of them. The alcoholic kind, the mashed kind, the baked kind. . . no one is walking to the dinner table wondering where that delicious side of lean chicken breast is, we want the dinner rolls. So focus on those wonderful protein choices earlier in the day. 

3. Drink plenty of water. In general many of us have a feeling of being hungry when in actuality it’s really us being dehydrated. It helps you feel full and helps with the hang over, so drink up.

4) It would be easy to say those cliche tips like, “keep your hands full so you won’t be able to grab food”, “stay an arm’s length away from munchies”, “eat before you get to the party”, “bring your own healthier food”. . . yada, yada, yada. But none of that is fun and the reason we work so hard to be healthy throughout the year is to allow room for fun. 

So have fun. . . but keep the fun to one meal a day. Or to one day of the week. Try to avoid the mindset of “screw it”. You work hard, don’t give up so easily. It’s only food. 

Now go forth and enjoy the holidays. Don't be "that" guy/girl…

Wednesday

TEAM WOD
We are starting at 1pm 
SHOW UP!

Life is a Competition

That business you work for? Someone’s trying to kill it. That job you like? Someone would love to replace you with a computer program. That girlfriend/boyfriend/high-paying job/Nobel Prize that you want? So does somebody else.

We’re all in competition, although we prefer not to realise it. Most achievements are notable only in relation to those of others. You swam more miles, or can dance better, or got more Facebook likes than the average. Well done.

It’s a painful thing to believe, of course, which is why we’re constantly assuring one another the opposite. “Just do your best,” we hear. “You’re in competition only with yourself.” The funny thing about platitudes like that is they’re designed to make you try harder anyway. If competition really didn’t matter, we’d tell struggling children to just give up.

Fortunately, we don’t live in a world in which everyone has to kill one another to prosper. The blessing of modern civilization is there’s abundant opportunities and enough for us all to get by, even if we don’t compete directly.

But never fall for the collective delusion that there’s not a competition going on. People dress up to win partners. They interview to win jobs. If you deny that competition exists, you’re just losing. Everything in demand is on a competitive scale. And the best is available only to those who are willing to truly fight for it. 

Read the full article here

Tuesday

AMRAP in 5min of:

  6 Power Cleans

  6 Thrusters

    rest exactly 5min, then...

AMRAP in 5min of:

  6 Front Rack Rev. Lunges

  6 Push Press

RX= 95/65*

Monday

AMRAP in 16min. of:
   200m Run
   10 Pull-Ups
   20 KB Swings (53/35*)

Female Cops Sue Department for ‘Discrimination’ After Failing Physical Fitness Test

I'm at a loss for words... NO I'M NOT.

Police officers take risks and suffer inconveniences to protect the lives, defend civil liberties, secure the safety of fellow citizens, and they endure such risks and tolerate such inconveniences on behalf of strangers. Consequently, police work is one of the more noble and selfless occupations in society. Making a difference in the quality of life is an opportunity that policing provides, and few other professions can offer.  The community, loved ones and fellow officers depend on you. If you're not in shape, you are a liability.  First Responders are held to a higher standard and rightfully so.