Blog Archive

Well Folks! The numbers are all in and we have our winners!

Congratulations to everyone that participated we saw some outstanding results as usual!
The individual winner was JORDY! Who lost a whopping 37% off his initial pinch total. Followed closely by Moe who is down 32%. Awesome work you guys!

The teams were close – and the winners Hallie, Richy and Jenni had a group loss of 25% followed closely by Easy E, Ben and Jordy with 22% average group loss.

We are going to be hosting a Paleo Challenge Wrap Up on Sunday  November 17th at 1pm.

It is potluck style so bring something to share, whether it is paleo or not is up to you We will have the prizes for the winners and a few others to give out.  Everyone is invited.  Come chat, share your advise and get some if you’ve been curious but have never done the challenge.

Tbear and Myself will be there to discuss nutrition and we hope that Alana “ShowPony” Shaw can also make it to talk to you  guys about food sensitivity testing and other things.

Congratulations again to everyone who participated! See you Sunday.
Dash & TBear

Tuesdays Workout:

Warm Up: 8 T spine bridge/8 wall angels/8 knees to chest jumping squat

Elbow prep

800 m Row

Mix all this up in whatever order works

Tech: Warm up your snatch. Warm up your muscle up.

Workout: Isabel and Zoe

30 Snatch (135/95 lbs)
30 Muscle Ups

Mix them up any way you like.

Warm Down:  Banded shoulder stretch

Post times to the Leaderboard

Mucho Amore,

House of Shepherd

Audrey Tannant Business Development Manager Crossfit Vancouver / Madlab School of Fitness

Hey Ya’ll!  Great session this week.

For those of you that missed it, I did an impromptu survey of what drills so far have been helping people understand running technique the best – your answers were (1) foot pull drill with your back to the wall (2) partner lean drill (3) charlie’s angels and cop drill

Those are your drills for this week.  If you don’t have a partner – use the wall and lean/pull then turn and run it out.

After your drills I want you all to hit some cadence technique.  Pick a loop or straightaway about 30-45 s long and do 4 quick tempo intervals at 92, 96, 100, and 104 cadence.

The workout on saturday was a 1 mile time trial, so if you missed it – hit the gym route and try to knock down a personal best.  We had a lot of great times this week.

I talked to you all a bit about the psychology of running a mile on our gym course… go out at a good pace and work hard the first half, focus on your cadence and keep the cadence up on the gradual hill to the turnaround.  At the turnaround is where the mile on this course really starts.  Your legs will be fatigued from the long gradual uphill, but there is a long downhill to follow.  Work the downhill with a good lean and pull those feet underneath you fast – your legs will recover.  The mile is won and lost on this part of the run.  If you’re going for a PB then working this section will help you finish strong.  If you racing someone else, then working this section will make them think that they can’t keep up with you.  At the turn off the sidewalk you’re nearly there!  Focus on the next 100 m to the corner of 4th ave.  Now refocus on the next 100 m to the corner of 3rd.  It’s all gravy from there – a downhill and a couple of turns and your home with a PB.  If someone is in front of you turn on the after burners and take ‘em down!

Love, Afghan

When a Canadian enlists, they are promised that if they are injured or killed in service, then Canada will take care of them and their loved ones.  This social contract is our sacred obligation to those who serve.  We Canadians must defend it.

In 1917, Prime Minster Robert Borden made that commitment as Canadians soldiers were about to attack Vimy Ridge.  It has been repeatedly confirmed for almost a century.  But today, our Government is denying the existence of this social contract, declaring it is not bound by commitments made by previous governments, and refusing the responsibility we owe to those who put their lives on the line for us.

Our Government has severely reduced the amount of financial support given to disabled veterans, putting many wounded veterans in dire financial situations.  Before 2006, disabled veterans were given a pension to that would support them throughout their lives. Today, they are given a lump sum for their pain and the Canadian Government wipes their hands of them. For a severely disabled veteran, this can mean 40% less than what they would have received under the old pension plan, or even up to 90% less than what other Canadian workers would receive for the same injuries.*

A group of veterans are suing the Canadian Government over the lump-sum disability payment (see http://equitassociety.ca/ ). In defence, Government lawyers have argued that Canada has no obligation to veterans or serving members of the Canadian Forces or RCMP, beyond that owed to an average citizen.

We Citizens know better. We know the social contract exists and that we are morally, ethically, socially, and legally obligated to care for veterans and their survivors.

Please sign this petition and tell our Government that we must take care of those who have served.

SIGN THE PETITION

We all have different and similar experiences with this time of year. To some, it may not even hit as hard to the heart as others. It is not just about paying our respects; it is about the strength of community and what that can accomplish. We remember, we honour, and we damn well celebrate anyone that has given, past, present, and future. Let us honour in more more ways than one. Silence, community, and a good old fashion throw down. For the Dude and Dudes, we salute.

Monday’s Workout:  Andy Nutts Partner Workout

For Time.  Teams of 2.  One person working at a time.

25 Hand Stand Push Ups
30 Deadlift (250/165lbs)
50 Box Jump (30/24”)
100 Pull Up
150 WallBall (20/14 lbs)
300 Double Unders
400 meter run with a 45 lb. plate (both of you run sharing the plate)

Remember.

House of Shepherd

As a CrossFit athlete and coach, I know its hard to master all the things that come along with CrossFit. Classes are awesome, they build community like no other fitness regime out there, plus they are a great way to get fit as hell too.

I’ve been on both sides of the fence (being an athlete and coach) and I do know that at times there is a lot to get through in a one hour class. I also  know that sometimes the opportunity to practice the things I struggle with is very minimal during a class.

Which has led to us coaches at MadLab to begin to talk about how to tailor to the needs and wants of the client with out taking away from the camaraderie of the classes. I think that I have come up with a solution.

The best CrossFitters out there are obviously extremely strong and conditioned, they are also highly skilled though. I’m not suggesting folks become obsessed with the ability of  professionals or Games athletes, but the same training approach can be taken.

The goal of this program is not to stop clients from attending class, but rather to give the time and coaching needed to allow them to perform better inside of the daily workouts. 2-3 classes per week, plus weakness training or specialty training is the recipe for long term success in my eyes.

Weakness 101

What?

12 week program where students can receive coaching on a specific skill or weakness twice a week.

A specific program is assigned to each student depending on their individual needs or goals.

A coach is on the floor helping people with their program, teaching and helping them with progressions and/or honing in on certain movements.

Cost?

 $360.00

1 hour one on one consultation discussing and evaluating the individual weaknesses or goals of each student (i.e. muscle ups, Handstand push-ups, or whatever you want to work on) ($75.00 value)

Specific weakness program tailored to each individual needs with proper progressions and skill transfer exercises or schemes ($100.00 value)

48 hours of available gym time and coached hours (each hour ends up costing $3.85) ($7.70 per two hour session)

When?

Two sessions, a morning and an evening. The morning session has yet to be determined, but it appears it will either be Wednesdays from 6-8 a.m., or Fridays from 6-8 a.m. The evening session will be Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m.

Once registered for either the evening or morning time slot, you are only allowed to attend that time slot.

There will be a second session that both groups are allowed to attend on Sundays from 3-5 p.m.

I’d would like start Wednesday January 8th and run until Wednesday April 2nd.

I also plan on running this program three times per year, winter, spring and fall. Dates to be determined.

How?

Students will register via email to [email protected]

The first 12 students to register for each group will be given…

1. A consultation session where their weaknesses are discussed as well as their goals.

2. The ability to come at any point during the two hour time slot they registered for. This is much different than a regular class setting. There is window rather than a start time, folks can come at any time during their window.

3. Students will be assigned drills, progressions or schemes depending on their needs/wants.

Why?

To address the need of individual students.

To avoid students from taking up space and self programming during peak class hours.

Allow students guidance: having a coach on the floor to help students through a given assignment or task.

The two hour block allows for more freedom with peoples schedules.

If anyone has any questions or thoughts about Weakness 101 please email me at [email protected], or if you see me around the gym I would love to chat and tell you all about how stoked I am to help you guys turn your weaknesses into strengths!

Tom

Did you know that worldwide there are 4 births every second and 2 deaths every second?

The over population problem is real and serious.  We have quadrupled in the last 100 years.  We now number of 7 billion people on this planet.

The documentary film Prophets of Doom discusses over population as one of the most serious problems facing humanity.

Check out this Real Time Simulation of World Births and Deaths.  It’s amazing to just sit there and watch this map.  Interesting how few births there are in North America.  I watch this for 5 minutes and there wasn’t one birth in Canada.

Hans Rosling has some amazing Ted talks on this subject.  Have a look here.

Just some little, light and interesting bits of information for your long weekend.  I find this stuff fascinating.

Sheppy

Saturday’s Workout:

Warm Up: 4 Lengths Samson Lunge/Hip opening/Dead bugs

Skill/Tech: Back Squat 3 reps x 3 sets

Workout: For time

1000 m row
30 Bodyweight back squats

Post scores to the Leaderboard.

The House of Shepherd