Kjersti making 65#'s look easy!

Three weeks ago, Danelle from CrossFit Ventura brought 4 of her co-workers by to try out our noon class and see if any of them wanted to become CrossFitters themselves.  Only one of them was brave enough to take the plunge and join us - Kjersti.   During that first workout we had all 4 women doing overhead squats using only PVC.  Kjersti did her best but it was a struggle.  Since that day, Kjersti has religiously shown up for our noon class and worked hard – harder than she’s ever worked before.  Is it paying off?  In the picture above you can see Kjersti at the bottom of a 65# Overhead squat 1 rep max!!  Not only that, she decided since we still had 10 minutes left in class, to give it another try – and do a 2 rep max with the same weight!!  PVC to 2 reps with 65# in only 3 weeks – yep I’d say that CrossFit works.  Congrats Kjersti on all of your hard work and dedication.  We look forward to seeing many more PR’s from you in the future.

Today’s Workout:
800 M Run
16 DB Squat Cleans
30 Push-ups
60 Sit-ups
400 M Run
8 DB Squat Cleans
15 Push-ups
30 Sit-ups
400 M Run
16 DB Squat Cleans
30 Push-ups
60 Sit-ups
800 M Run

Dawn constantly reaffirming that strong is beautiful!

After reading Colin’s White Powder Addition blog at CFV, it got me thinking.  Do we use chalk as crutch?  Do we use water as a crutch?  When I was at CFLA there was a very spirited discussion regarding whether water was needed for a workout that lasted under 20 minutes.  Some people said yes and quoted various sources, some people said no and quoted contradicting sources.  Personally, I don’t drink water during my actual workout, but Eric and I feel that it’s best to leave that decision up to our athletes.  However, ask yourself, “Am I stopping to re-chalk my hands or grab a drink because I absolutely need to – or am I using doing so as an opportunity to take a quick break?”  If your hands are slipping or you feel like you’re overheating – then by all means, grab some chalk or water.  However, if you’ve got 3 reps left in the entire workout, it’s probably best to hold out and just push on through.  Post thoughts to comments.

Today’s Workout:
3-3-3-2-2-1-1 Overhead Squats

So good a caveman would eat it.

Often when it comes to our diets, most CrossFitters have heard of the term Paleo.  What exactly does that mean though?  The Paleo diet refers to only eating the foods that were available during the Paleolithic times.  That’s right, not only do we run, squat, grunt and pick up heavy objects, now we want to eat like cave people too!  Fear not fair reader; there’re still plenty of good eats to be had.  Here’re the basics of the Paleo diet.
Eat none of the following:  Grains- including bread, pasta, or noodles. Beans- including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, snow-peas and peas. Potatoes, dairy products, sugar and salt.
Eat plenty of the following:  Meat, chicken and fish, eggs, fruit, vegetables (especially root vegetables, but definitely not including potatoes or sweet potatoes), nuts, eg. walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia, almond. (Do not eat peanuts (a bean) or cashews (a family of their own)). Eat berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.

Today’s Workout:  Fight Gone CPC
3 x 5 minute rounds with 1 minute at each of the following stations:
Row (each calorie is 1 pt)
45 # Thrusters
75# Sumo Deadlift Highpulls
Box Jumps
75# Push Press
1-minute rest in between 5 minute rounds.  Each movement repetition is worth 1 point.

Philly's finest, showing his squatting technique.

Do you ever wonder why we do so many squats or whether they’re good for people of all ages?  Two weekends ago I overheard a “trainer” in line at the hardware store telling the person in front of him that squats were really bad for the knees.  Fascinating.  Here’re Coach Glassman’s thoughts on the matter.
“Frequently, we encounter individuals whose doctor or chiropractor has told them not to squat. In nearly every instance this is pure ignorance on the part of the practitioner. When a doctor that doesn’t like the squat is asked, “by what method should your patient get off of the toilet?” they are at a loss for words.   In a similarly misinformed manner we have heard trainers and health care providers suggest that the knee should not be bent past 90 degrees. It’s entertaining to ask proponents of this view to sit on the ground with their legs out in front of them and then to stand without bending the legs more than 90 degrees. It can’t be done without some grotesque bit of contrived movement. The truth is that getting up off of the floor involves a force on at least one knee that is substantially greater than the squat.” Coach Glassman.

Today’s Workout:
“Helen”

3 Rounds of :
400 M Run
21 KB Swings
12 Pull-ups

Miguel and Brent doing the Goose carry!

Our heartfelt thanks to everyone that came out to celebrate CrossFit Pacific Coast’s Grand Opening on Saturday, we know a lot of you came from far away and it meant the world to us to have you here.  The day was filled with toasts, hugs, Top Gun high-fives and one hell of a team workout.  The CrossFit community is second to none, and this weekend was just further proof.  Some very special thank you’s go out to Jaala, Faith and Huff from CrossFit Ventura for helping out, to Sondra from CFLA for going the extra mile to get people to buy t-shirts, and to Dawn for the unbelievable red velvet cake (wheat and gluten free of course) and Alyssa for her toffee/brownie concoction of awesomeness, to Jim for running the grill, to Justin for supplying us with tables and chairs and to Miguel and Val for their clean up efforts.  Much like our gym, we never could have pulled off this event without all of your help and support.  Thank you, thank you, and thank you again!  Traver and Eric

Today’s Workout:
3-3-3-3-3 Power Cleans
Followed by –
100 Burpees for time.

Jeremiah doing a very non-Spectrum warm up!

What do you get when you put 50+ CrossFitters from around the state in the same gym?  Either an insanely fierce workout or a massive party – we’re hoping for both!  Tomorrow is our Grand Opening; we have CrossFitters, friends and family coming from up and down the coast to help us celebrate.  Please join us for what will definitely be a fantastic afternoon and evening of working out, food, drink and the inevitable mayhem that is sure to ensue.  Bring your running shoes, your appetite and your party hat – we’ll see you all tomorrow at 2!

Today’s Workout:
3 Rounds for Time of
400 M Run
15 Thrusters (95#/65#)
30 Sit- Ups

Jeff midway through attempting muscle up #2!

In addition to running Anacapa Dive Shop, Jeff Baker is now a CrossFitter.  After only a week and a half with us, in which he’s shown up almost every single day, Jeff blew us all away on Tuesday night by busting out three handstand pushups (we didn’t know Jeff could even do handstands period!).  How many kipping pull-ups did he do during his intro?  None.  How many did he do on Wednesday morning? 10 in a row!  To cap the morning off, Jeff did his first ever muscle up as well!  Not a bad way to start off the morning, nor a bad way to start off a career as a CrossFitter.  Jeff’s willingness to test his limits and do what he once thought was impossible is awesome.  Welcome to CrossFit Pacific Coast Jeff – we’re glad to have you and can’t wait to see what other surprises you have in store for us.

Today’s Workout:
20-2, 18-4, 16-6, 14-8, 12-10, 10-12, 8-14, 6-16, 4-18, 2-20
Reps of:
Wall Balls
Knees to Elbows

Our crew getting in a killer workout before heading up to the Games!

“Strength is Happiness. Strength is itself victory. In weakness and cowardice there is no happiness. When you wage a struggle, you might win or you might lose. But regardless of the short-term outcome, the very fact of your continuing to struggle is proof of your victory as a human being.” – Daisaku Ikeda

Today’s Workout:
5-5-5-5-5
Back Squats

Increased endurance, fewer colds and allergies = awesomeness.

Since we do live in Santa Barbara, let’s talk about an herb.  Astragalus (Milk-vetch root or Huang Qi) is one of the most widely used herbs in both western and eastern herbal medicine and has been found effective in treating variety of ailments.   Most commonly used as an immune booster, astragalus is also prescribed to patients presenting with the following conditions:

      -    A lack of appetite
      -    Uterine, rectal or stomach prolapse
      -    Frequent colds, and allergies
      -    Post-partum fever
      -    Recovery from severe blood loss

Why should you as a CrossFitter be interested in this herb?  Not only is it a great preventative for colds and flu’s and allergies – tests on mice have also shown a marked increase in their endurance after a three-week course of taking (well, probably not voluntarily) Astragalus.  Increased endurance?!  Yes please!

Today’s Workout:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Dumbbell Power Snatch Right Hand
Dumbbell Power Snatch Left Hand
Double – Unders

Matt, Miguel and Jeff beach speed skating.

How does strategy apply to doing WOD’s?  Last week’s 100 Up workout raised a lot of questions for people on where to push and where to back off.  Should they run hard or use it as active rest?  Should they try to do more overhead movements with the barbell as opposed to the dumbbells?  This is a great reason to keep an accurate journal.  Whether it’s the online journal on this site or the one in your success journals, having past workouts to reference or even the same workout to reference from the past – with accurate notes is a huge help.  Even though you might be exhausted at the end of your workout, take a few minutes and jot down as detailed notes as possible. This is a game where every second counts and we get to use the gym as the laboratory for our own personal fitness experiments.  If you’re going to suffer through a workout, reap every benefit possible that you can from it – both physical and intellectual.  Anyone have any other tips on how to remember the details of their workouts?  We’d love to hear them.

Today’s Workout:
“Cindy”

AMRAP 20
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats