The Whole Life Challenge concludes tomorrow, so come on down at noon and check out the people re-testing their results! Good luck to all those that are doing the re-test tomorrow! And congrats on completing the challenge! 

Secondly, one of my clients Gabriel Correa whose been with us for a year and a half now works in the film industry. He’s currently pumping a Web Series that he has created called “The Ambassador.” The trailer looks pretty cool! The more views he gets, the more chance he’ll get financed, so check it out. I’d watch it

It can be follow on Twitter @TheAmbassadorTV and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheAmbassadorSeries

Saturday!

Warm-up: 2 Rounds
– Rock and Roll Drill – 5 hollow rocks transition to belly for 5 arch rocks (use length of mat) then complete 10 Goblet Squats & 10 Swings.

Strength

5×4 back squats(50,65,75,75%)

5×5 barbell glute ham raise

Workout: 20 min Team AMRAP – 1 person completes the following at one time (Gauntlet Style)
270m run
then partner goes
20 burpee box jump overs
then partner
30 russian kb swings
then partner
20 Sack kb twists (reverse lunge and twist over front leg)
& repeat

No surf? No problem.

No friends? Sure ya do, now.
No ride? We’ll help figure it out.
Busy May long? Good thing it’s the weekend after.
That’s 3 nights at Jaime’s for $289.

You may have briefly glazed at the odd poster flapping around the school. Commitment to anything these days is task for the majority of the population; however, you guys are a special, enriched, powerful, and open community. Enjoy hanging out together, you don’t even have to surf. Take sometime to release, decompress, chill out, or soak up some rays. Dial in your tubular nature join me and the rest of the crew in Tofino. 

The Surf Trip
We all know that this community sets us up for a better life. We are fitter, healthier, happier, and more prepared for FUN than the average Joe. Plus, we MadLabbers are always up for something new…3 nights at Jaime’s for $289

This is a 3-night, 4-day Tofino Extravaganza
Patty has negotiated a sweet deal with Jaime’s Rainforest Inn, Long Beach Surf Shop, and Surf Sister Surf School. We have packages for Veteran Surfers (aka have their own gear) and Rookies (need gear, little to no clue how to surf).

You may have seen the posters, but we’ve tweaked the deal. Click through to our event details HERE.

3 nights at Jaime’s for $289 (per person, double occupancy)
Board, wetsuit & bootie rental, with a 2-hour surf lesson for $60
Entrance to the Saturday Night “Soul Surfer” Party at Jaime’s Lounge

Upgrades to King, Deluxe King, and Super Deluxe King rooms available
Pet-friendly rooms
Local child-minding and baby-sitting connections on request
**7% Early Bird Discount for bookings by March 13th**

Early bird discount ends today! Get after it!

Chesty

Friday Lesson Plan

CrossFit Open Workout 15.3

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 14 minutes of:
7 muscle-ups
50 wall-ball shots
100 double-unders

I apologize to the morning crew, who get to hear me rant about this on a weekly basis! 

KNOW YOUR NUMBERS!!!

I wrote a story in the CrossFit Journal a while ago about this. I posted about it on Facebook, but in case you missed it – Check it out here. Or read my Coles Notes version below:

Why is it important to know your numbers?

It’s not because I give a shit if you’re the strongest person in the gym or if you topped the leaderboard. In fact, I don’t care what your number is at all!

As coaches, we’re on you to know your numbers so YOU can get the most out of your session and because it helps the coach run the class more smoothly.

Here’s an example of what can go right and what can go wrong: 

We’re doing a workout that involves 45-250 lb. deadlifts and lots of burpees. The workout is designed to be in the 7-10 minute time domain.

If you know your 1RM deadlift is 175 lb., you’re intrinsically going to know that you’re not going to lift 250 lb. 45 times in this workout. You can easily ask the coach what you should lift, and since the coach knows your best single deadlift is 175 lb., it’s very easy for him or her to give you an appropriate load for the 45 reps in the workout that will allow you to complete the workout safely in under the time cap. Because the thing about a time cap is that we put them there more as a guideline for how long the workout should take you rather than a “time limit” (more on this in an upcoming post).

If everyone in the class knows where he’s at, bars are loaded with appropriate weights. The workout starts on time and finishes on time because everyone gets finished within 7 to 10 minutes. And to top it off, because everyone was loaded correctly, everyone completed the workout in a way that will maximize the gains they’ll get out of it. And they do it safely!

Conversely, imagine a situation where nobody has a clue how much he can lift. Some people load the bar too lightly and others put too much weight in the bar. Others still ask the coach what they should be doing. Maybe the coach has never coached a few of these athletes before and he literally can’t give them good advice. The coach is running around frantically trying to help everyone get ready, and the workout starts late. All hell breaks loose! Some people bust through the deadlifts so fast they leave feeling like they didn’t accomplish much. Others are forced to remove weight partway through the workout because the bar is too damn heavy and they can tell their form is starting to turn to shit. The workout finishes late, the next class starts late and the cycle continues. And to top it off, nobody gets as much out of the workout as they would have had they been loaded properly. 

Help yourself, help us, and help those around you and keep track of what you do with us each day. Whether you use our log tracker (ask your coach about it if you haven’t tried it yet), or you’re an old-fashioned pen and paper person, find a way to keep track of what you do that works for you.

-Eunice

Thursday

Warm-up
(3 rounds – 8mins) 6/6 single arm KB Swing, 6/6 KB RDL, 6/6 suitcase box step-up

Strength
6×3 power clean
Split Clean Work (6×1)

Workout: 12 minute EMOM – complete in rotation;
20 hollow rocks
40 sec handstand walk and midfloor hold practice *
try wall supported hand teaters (or hand releases)

Sometimes it’s worth a repost. This still speaks to the Chesty philosophy. 

The Bigger Picture

I wish you saw the bigger picture

This is a marathon of a process; I’m talking physical and mental development. Many opportunities arise for us to make an easy advance; however, the transition can feel rushed, and our desire often dominates our capability. You see the handstand push up, the muscle up, and the huge lifts. Fun is in our interaction and patience with progression. Blown attempts, blind adherence, and rushed movement, will leave you lying in chalk. Knowing it takes 8 years to Mastery, why would you attempt to get there in 8 weeks?

Wednesday Lesson Plan

Warm-up

With partners complete 300 row & 12 burpees each switching back and forth (3 rounds)

Strength
5×5 back squats (50,65,75,90,100%)

Workout – “Wendy”
21,15,12,9,6,3 reps of:
Press, Back Squat, Pullup & Sit-up (95/55)
- 25 min limit – no racks

“Willpower” is a best-selling novel written by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney. In it, they explain willpower in a different way: To them, it’s a finite resource, meaning your supply of willpower is essentially limited. Essentially, they turn will power into a science.

Does this mean if you put all your willpower into eating well or exercising, you’ll lack willpower in other areas of your life? 

It’s an interesting concept. What do you think? 

Check out this CrossFit Journal article that talks about the book. It’s worth a read.

Tuesday

Warm-up
200m Run & 12 floor angels
12/12 side laying windmill
12 push back push ups
12 squat to stand

Strength

4 Sets of 5reps Press (65,75,90,100%)

 Workout “Doozie T0ozie”

Complete 2 WOD’s for time of:
First (3 rounds) of:
-10 Toes to Bar and
-40/40m Upside-Down Single Arm KB Carry (sub bdell on end).
Then complete:
- 75cal row and 75 wallballs (break up as you see fit)

The Upside-Down Single Arm Carry – AKA – Bottoms Up Carry
(Thanks to http://www.mooselupgym.com/?p=175889969)

The bottoms-up carry creates an additional challenge to your core & hip muscles for several reasons. First, you need a strong grip on the kettlebell to prevent it from flipping back, & stiffening your core helps achieve that. Second, additional control & balance is required to hold the kettlebell upside down. Finally, the asymmetrical position requires the opposite side lateral core muscles & the same-side lateral hip muscles to work together more effectively & efficiently to prevent the pelvis from dipping down when you walk creating an “energy-leak” (not as bad as a nuclear-energy leak, yet why take chances).

This has an immediate carry-over to all athletic & daily activities when you need single-leg support & core stability to control your intended movement (e.g., running, cutting, kicking). This crucial integration isn’t developed by conventional lifting & pulling exercises performed with both feet symmetrically on the ground.

This topic has come up a bit lately, and here’s the latest on what I’ve been reading.  Plus a great pdf resource you should have handy at the end.

There’s a few reasons why you will want to avoid certain fats and oils for cooking, and many of them seed oils.

1st.  Saturated fats are more stable than unsaturated fats.

The chemical structure of saturated fats will not be easily damaged by things that will easily damage and oxidize unsaturated fats, namely: heat, light and air.

Ever wonder why a lot of olive oils are in a dark green glass?  It’s keeps light from damaging the oil.  Ever wonder why coconut oil doesn’t go off or smell rancid from sitting out on the counter without the lid? – but vegetable oils like corn or soybean oil will?  Air oxidizes those oils and makes them rancid.  That is, damaged beyond the point they were when first bottled.

What separates the saturated fats from the unsaturated fats is the presence of a hydrogen bond at every instance of a carbon in the chemical structure of the fat.  When there is a double bond in the chain of carbons, it creates a more unstable structure, which you can see when a fat is liquid at room temperature.  So…
    – The group of unstable fats together form a liquid   vs.
    – The group of stable fats together which form a solid or semi-solid.

2nd.  Seed oils are extremely high in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) at varying ratios, all of which are prone to oxidation, PUFAs most significantly (Check these out in the chart below).

So – you wouldn’t cook with fish oil, right?  Why would you want to cook with other oils that are very high in PUFAs?  Even beyond PUFAs, MUFAs are pretty easy to damage as well (olive oil is very high in MUFAs).

Canola and other seed oils all made by expeller and chemical extraction methods are already rancid once they’re bottled.  Dr. Mary Enig author of, Know Your Fats, puts the process of getting oil from seeds, again different from oil from fruits:

“Fats or oils from some seeds, such as sunflower, are extracted fresh from the seed by grinding of the seeds, followed by expeller pressing with or without a solvent such as hexane. Some seeds require pre-cooking before the grinding and the pressing. Rapeseed (Canola) is such a seed. Mechanical extraction is considered to be a safe method, but because the recovery of oil by this method is less than the industry desires, most oils are extracted using a solvent… In this case, the oils are pressed from the seeds without the use of solvents, and without increased yield. These oils are usually more costly in the marketplace. The steps in commercial processing from the seed to the oil include crushing, extracting (by mechanical means or by use of solvents), degumming, neutralization, dewaxing, bleaching, filtration, and deodorization. Oils are frequently referred to as RBD, which stands for “refined, bleached and deodorized.”

The process explained above does not apply to fruit oils such as olive, palm and coconut.  Extracting oil from fruits doesn’t require as convoluted of a process and also doesn’t involve chemical solvents.  Hence leaving us with a healthier oil. We could probably make these oils in our own kitchens if we had some simple tools and patience. We couldn’t, however, do the same from rapeseeds and make canola oil (check that process on youtube).  So hopefully you understand the basics of how fats and oils are named and made, consider those that your using/heating/consuming and go with the better one’s. 

3rd.  Buyer Beware – Many refined seed oils are marketed as having a high smoke point, therefore making them “ideal” choices for cooking.  Whole story?  Nope.  A higher smoke point is valid only if the fat or oil is fairly stable to begin with.  Simply using the smoke point is ineffective if you already have a rancid oil (most likely, due to how it was initially processed) and one that you’ll possibly damage further with the high heat of your stove top.

4th.  Remember that man made trans-fats are never healthy to eat.   Crisco’s, Margarine, Country Crock, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and blends of coconut and soybean oil spreads   … yeah, don’t touch em. 

So here’s this chart put together by Diane Sanfilippo – It’s inside her book, Practical Paleo.

Friday’s W/U:

Coach’s Choice   

Friday’s Skill:

A. Reverse Tabata  hold 2 inches from the bottom of a Push Up

B. Reverse Tabata hold @ the top of a ring dip (rings turned out if possible)

Friday’s WOD:

“Mary”

- 5 HSPU
- 10 Pistols
- 15 Pullups

Rounds in 20min

Saturday’s W/U:

Coach’s Choice – Include Hand Cuff Press  

Saturday’s Skill:

Jerk Dip (pause @ the bottom 3 sec) + Split Jerk, 3 reps, 4 working sets

 Workout:

- 10 Jerk (115/85lbs)
- 10 V-Snap

5 Rounds 

Starting October 16th, this classic tournament will be open to 30 competitors.  Sign up fast as this is an experience you’ll never forget in team comradery and good old fashioned competition between you and your friends.

The tourney is open to all students in classes, with the approval of your coach.

You will have first access to the pre-release of the  MADlab Pocket coach (free) to establish your fitness level score.  The fitness rating for this tournament will be based on 7 scores: 400m ball run, max pull-ups, max pushups, tabata squats, push press, deadlift, 1 mile run.

We will designate 10 captains then we will have a draft based on these scores and the captains intuition.

There is potential for 10 teams of 3, of which each team will contain at least 1 female.

The competition will be held  Wednesday evenings at 7pm, have 4 round robin rounds, a semi final and final.

The sign-up sheet is up NOW.

The competition will be hosted by the original founders of The  Madlab Tournament……..Patty and TBear.

Cost is $30 per person

Come out and compete, and share in the glory with all those legends who have had their names hoisted up to the rafters!!!

Patty  

CrossFit has changed exponentially in the last 8 years, In 2007 the first CrossFit Games work was a 1000m row followed by 5 rounds of 25 pull ups coupled with 7 push jerks (135/85). This workout was repeated this year at the Games and the fastest time posted was 8:33 for men and 9:48 for women. In 2007 the winning times were 13:07 for men and 16:25 for women. My point here is that the level of elite CrossFitters has increased drastically and is continuing to rise. In 2007 CrossFit was all about wrecking yourself to the point of vomit and nausea, CrossFit via 2013 is about sustainable volume and power output. The winners of this years games looked fresh at every point through out the weekend, every workout was gamed, strategized and paced accordingly just enough to beat others without pushing themselves to their limits or red lining their bodies, which we all know is very difficult to recover from mid workout.

Now I’m not implying that CrossFit is about the Games or about beating everyone else in the gym, but it is about knowing what you are capable of on any given day. Games athletes have much more experience and are more in tuned with their bodies then the average CrossFitter, that doesn’t mean you can take some of the same approaches in your training.

Emily and Kermit recently programmed a month based on the ability to pace a workout, I hope some of you realized how much easier a workout can be with a realistic game plan.

What I want people to be aware of here is that is very little reward in pain. Pain, not discomfort. Being uncomfortable in a workout should happen, you should be breathing heavy and your heart rate should increase, you should want to step away from the bar a time or two and you often will take 10 seconds of rest when you only planned on taking 5. All of these things are fine, but fighting for ugly reps, working till exhaustion or going hard out the gate on Cindy for the first two mins and moving at a snails pace for the last 18 are all signs that the workout isn’t going your way.

I hear a a lot of people around the gym talk about Juggernaut these days (we recently did a Juggernaut squat cycle, remember all those pause squats?), its simply another website full or great training tips, useful articles and solid information. The latest submission to catch my eye talks about this idea exactly. There is no progress in pain.

Have a read and post your thoughts to comments.

Oh and remember to do your homework!

http://www.jtstrong.com/articles/2013/07/23/pain-doesnt-equal-productivity/

Tom

Lesson Plan for Tuesday, August 6th:

Warm-up: Grab a 25 lb, 15 lb or 10 lb plate and complete the following

30 Ground to overhead
30 Plate Squats (as you squat down extend your arms out in front of you, reverse for way up)
30 Hip to over shoulder (take from left hip to overhead over right shoulder and vice versa, 15 per side)

Mix and match as you please to get it done.

Strength: 3 RM Deadlift

Take as many sets as necessary to work up to a 3 rep max (with good form!)

Workout: Diane

21-15-9

Deadlift (225/155)
Hand Stand Push Up

Warm-up

– Coaches Choice

Technique

– Workout movements

WORKOUT

13.4

MEN – 
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
135 pound Clean and jerk, 3 reps
3 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 6 reps
6 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 9 reps
9 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 12 reps
12 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 15 reps
15 Toes-to-bar
135 pound Clean and jerk, 18 reps
18 Toes-to-bar…
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

Women – 95lbs

This workout begins from the standing position with the barbell on the floor and the Athlete standing tall. Every rep counts in this workout. You will enter your score as the total number of reps. See the Scorecard for assistance in calculating the rep total.

Equipment

To complete this workout you will need:
• A barbell that is loaded to the appropriate weight for your division
• A pull-up bar

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body.

Obviously, its important for strong bones and teeth. But its also essential for muscular contraction. It helps regulate your heartbeat. Its needed for efficient nerve transmission. It aids in cell division and blood clotting. It can help down regulate adrenalin. And if taken before bed, calcium can help with a restful sleep.

In order to maximize calcium absorption you’ll need to consume adequate amounts of Vitamin A and C, Vitamin D, magnesium, protein and fat.

But I’m a level 5 Paleo Grand Wizard, you say, and I don’t eat dairy. How can I get enough calcium to perform and recover like a champ?

Bone broth is an option, but you can also find really high levels of bio-available calcium in eggshells (along with trace amounts of a whole bunch of other minerals).

Check out this video, and the recipe below from EastWest Healing and Performance

Ingredients:

12 large eggshells-organic, free-range, pastured raised.

How to:
1. Rinse the eggshells with water to remove any membrane that may be left in the shells.
2. Place the eggshells in a large pot and cover with water, bring to a quick boil , remove from heat and strain.
3. Place them on a cookie sheet and into a 250 F degree oven for 10 minutes until dry, but not brown.
4. Place dried eggshells in a coffee grinder or a Vitamix and pulse several times to a fine powder.
5. Store powdered eggshells in a covered glass jar or container, and keep it in a dry place, like the kitchen cupboard.
6. You can make calcium citrate by adding a few drops of lemon juice to 1 tsp. of eggshell powder in a bowl and let it stand in room temperature for 6 hours or more, but never longer than 12 hours since it will go bad. This helps break the shells down even further.

1 tsp= 700-800 mg. (some authors say 1000-1200) absorbable calcium.

Best way to get it down, is to shovel 1/3 of a teaspoon into your mouth and quickly follow with a cup of water. It tastes like sand. 1, 2 or 3 times a day.

A

Wednesday’s Technique

• Goose Neck Pull-ups
• Chest to Bar Pull-ups (CTB Pull-ups – focus on range of motion)
• Thrusters (5,3,1,1,1,1)

 Workout – “Fran Re Awakened”

Complete the workout with a partner – 1 person working at a time.  7 Work Intervals of 2 minutes will be followed by 1 min of rest for a 20 minute time cap.

75 pound Thruster, 21 reps
3 Chest to bar Pull-ups
95 pound Thruster, 18 reps
6 Chest to bar Pull-ups
115 pound Thruster, 15 reps
9 Chest to bar Pull-ups
135 pound Thruster, 12 reps
12 Chest to bar Pull-ups
155 pound Thruster, 9 reps
15 Chest to bar Pull-ups
175 pound Thruster, 6 reps
18 Chest to bar Pull-ups
195 pound Thruster, 3 reps
21 Chest to bar Pull-ups

(Ladies – 55,65,75,85,95,105, 115)

Post WOD
Foam Roll (myofascial release), read about rolfing, and smash your tight meaty muscle tissue with a lacrosse ball or barbbell.

Get ready for the Open 10.4 workout.

It may have some of the moves above (hinting that Graham Holmberg will take on Chris Spealler in a showdown on dot.com reaks of a Double Fran or WOD derivative) or potentially none….so we’ll be ready to adjust the Thursdays & Friday WOD’s accordingly.  Try the sponges on the pull-ups (don’t knock em till you try em) and STOP the big pull-ups if you feel your hands and calluses giving up.

Clean and Jerks could be substituted today for those that went rogue Monday – chat with a coach if your hands and legs are messed.

TBear