Danelle, getting ready to PR in her deadlift!! Congrats Danelle!

After yesterday’s post we had a few people ask exactly what we meant by “an open source gym”.  My apologies for not making that clearer, especially to any member that happens to have a smaller,  less awesome dog than River.  An “open source gym” to Eric and I means that we prioritize the information we get firstly by how effective it is and lastly, by who said it.  If CrossFit HQ sends out a memo stating that all squats should be done with toes pointed in and we find that not to be very effective, we won’t do it.  If some no-name student at a gym in North Dakota shows us a way to deadlift more effectively than we have in the past, we’ll adopt it.  From the first Intro that you’ve all done to the day-to-day teaching, you’ve heard us preach “performance first” over and over again.  The same thing applies to the information that crosses our desk. “ Will it safely enhance the performance or wellness of our athletes?” is the first and most important that we ask with any and all ideas that we come across.  That is what we mean by an “open source gym”. 

Today’s Workout:
5-3-2-2-1-1-1
Split Jerks

Lynette getting ready for a heavy pull!

Before moving forward with the awesome responsibility of preparing ourselves for the inevitable, it is clear to me that we need to establish everyone’s baseline.  Confession time…I only have a 65% of surviving the attack, but probably only due to my lack of access to guns and the like.  (Fritz, we may need you on this one).  Please take the following quiz and report your score to the comments section.  This is serious!

Click to see your future

Today’s Workout:
“Cindy”
AMRAP 20 Minutes:
5 Pull ups
10 Push ups
15 Squats

Great locked out position from Fielding!

When learning any Olympic Lift, it is critical that emphasis is placed on learning proper, explosive technique by using light weights. Most of the time, athletes employ the ‘more is better’ philosophy, thinking they will see greater benefits by using as much weight as possible. This will only lead to injury. Our goal is to increase power output and that comes from moving the weight quickly. If the weight is heavy, the weight will move slowly, the athletes’ technique will suffer and injury potential is increased. Mastery of technique must be emphasized in order to reap the full benefits of these exercises.  Remember, your safety is the most important factor in your strength and power training!

Today’s Workout:
1-1-1-1-1-1
Power Cleans
Followed by 1 Round of Max Push ups.

The root of most back problems...the Psoas!

Here’s a great article that I came across about back pain folks!

The biggest factor in hip and back pain is the psoas muscle.  The number of problems caused by the psoas is quite astonishing. These include: low back pain, sacroiliac pain, sciatica, disc problems, spondylolysis, scoliosis, hip degeneration, knee pain, menstruation pain, infertility, and digestive problems. The list can also include biomechanical problems like pelvic tilt, leg length discrepancies, kyphosis, and lumbar lordosis.
What is the psoas?
The psoas (pronounced “so – oz”) primarily flexes the hip and the spinal column. At about 16 inches long on the average, it is one of the largest and thickest muscles of the body (in animals it’s known as the tenderloin). This powerful muscle runs down the lower mid spine beginning at the 12th thoracic vertebrae connecting to all the vertebral bodies, discs and transverse processes of all the lumbar vertebrae down across the pelvis to attach on the inside of the top of the leg at the lesser trochanter. The lower portion of the psoas combines with fibers from the iliacus muscle, which sits inside the surface of the pelvis and sacrum, to become the Iliopsoas muscle as it curves over the pubic bone and inserts on the lesser trochanter.
What is the function of the psoas?
The psoas has a number of diverse functions making it a key factor in health. The psoas as a hip and thigh flexor is the major walking muscle. If the legs are stationary the action of the psoas is a bend the spine forward; if sitting it stabilizes and balances the trunk. The lower psoas brings the lumbar vertebrae forward and downward to create pelvic tilt.
When we think of smooth, elegant and graceful movement in dancers and athletes we are looking at the psoas functioning at it optimum. It requires that the psoas maintain the pelvis in a dynamically neutral orientation that can move easily and retain structural integrity. This creates positions of the spine that require the least muscular effort.
What are the common pain symptoms of the psoas?
When the psoas muscle becomes contracted due to injuries, poor posture, prolonged sitting, or stress, it can alter the biomechanics of the pelvis and the lumbar, thoracic and even cervical vertebrae. Typically a dysfunctional psoas is responsible for referred pain down the front of the thigh and vertically along the lower to mid spinal column. Trigger points are found above the path of the psoas on the abdomen. Frequently the quadratus lumborum muscles develop trigger point, as well as the piriformis, gluteals, hamstrings, and erector spinae.
The psoas can torque your spine to the right or left, pull it forward and twist the pelvis into various distortions. Frequently one psoas will shorten and pull the spine and/or pelvis to our dominant side. The distortions of the spine and pelvis can also show up as a short or long leg. This all results in scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis, trigger points, and spasms in back muscles trying to resist the pulling of the psoas.
The psoas can pull the spine downward, compressing the facet joints and the intervertebral discs of the lumbar spine. The pressure can cause the discs to degenerate, becoming thinner and less flexible. This degeneration makes the discs more susceptible to bulging or tearing, especially with twisting and bending movements.
What keeps the psoas in contraction?
The psoas will stay contracted because of postural habits and trauma. The way we stand, walk and sit can distort the psoas. If we walk or stand with our chin in an overly forward position the muscle will tighten. Sitting through much of the day the psoas shortens to keep us bio mechanically balanced in our chairs. Over time we develop a “normal” way of holding the psoas that is dysfunctional.
Unresolved trauma can keep the psoas short and reactive. The psoas is a primary muscle in flight, fight, freeze or fear responses to danger. When survival is at stake, the psoas propels the body to hit the ground running. When startled, it ignites preparation of the extensor muscles to reach out (grab hold) or run. Until the psoas is released the muscle may stay contracted and go into further shortening and spasm very easily. 

Author’s Bio
Barry Krost is the co-founder of Natural Reflex Therapy, a Licensed Massage Therapist and Massage Instructor in San Antonio, Texas. He has been a professional Massage Therapist and Bodyworker for 24 years. He works with psoas pain and dysfunction in his practice. More information is available at http://www.naturalreflexes.com

Today’s Workout:
“Fight Gone Bad”
3 x 5 – 1 Minute Rounds of:
Rowing (for calorie count)
Wall Balls
Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (75#/55#)
Box Jumps (20″)
Push Press (75#/55#

Raise that hand up high champ!! Congrats Phil!!

Wow, what a night!  Saturday night, Eric and I headed down to Oxnard to watch our very own Phil “The Vanilla Gorilla” Palmer do battle in “The Guns and Hoses” charity boxing match.  The night was filled with knock outs, flurries of excited punches, a drunk fat lady behind us obnoxiously screaming, “upper right, upper right” for some unknown reason, and a few unfortunate ring girls that must have had to give all of their food money to their plastic surgeons. Well folks, Phil was awesome!!  He came out swinging and for 3 solid rounds rained leather down on his poor opponent.  The Gorilla ate a solid punch in the second round, brushed it off, and was clearly the more dominant fighter evidenced by the fact that he was awarded a unanimous decision by the judges!
Needless to say, we’re very proud of you Phil.  It takes a lot of courage to put your butt on the line and get in the ring for any reason.  It takes even more to keep your head and emotions in check for 8 weeks in order to be able train and prepare for such an event.  Congratulations on great preparation and a great win! 

Today’s Workout:
AMRAP 15 Min:
10 Push Press (95#/65#)
10 Knees to Elbows

Alex going for the handstand record!

Neil Strauss is an expert.  He has to be, he written books that are for sale on Amazon.com.  That’s pretty experty in my opinion.  Best known for his years spent living with and chronicling the lives of pick-up artists, rock stars and adult film actresses, Neil Strauss wrote an even better book about survival called “Emergency”.  For the purposes of writing Emergency, he spent two years preparing for the apocalypse – not the real apocalypse that we are training for against the living dead, but a lesser apocalypse in which society in the U.S. has basically fallen apart.  The book is a great read, easy to follow and fascinating, including how to get a passport and set up residency in another country, how to survive in an urban environment with no electricity or food and so on.  After two years of investigating and living with survivalists and other people that live completely off of the grid, Strauss made a list of the 10 most important things to do to “Live Longer”.  Yes, there is a point to this post and this list is it!  Here you go, from an expert.

“How to Live Longer”
1. Sleep between six and seven hours a night.
2. Don’t smoke.
3. Get a pet.
4. See a doctor for an advanced cholesterol test and alter your diet accordingly.
5. Get closer to family members and loved ones.
6. Have an active sex life!
7. Be optimistic.
8. Reduce stress and avoid getting angry.
9. Have a purpose in life and take on new challenges.
10. Reduce your caloric intake, avoid processed food, eat more nuts, and consume fruits, vegetables, red wine (moderately), and other sources of antioxidants daily.
11. Perform daily physical activities that you enjoy.
12. Surround yourself with people who practice the previous eleven steps. 

Today’s Workout:
5-5-5-5-5 Front Squats
Followed by 4 x 100 M Sprints w/ 90 seconds rest between them.

The Posterior Chain.

In CrossFit, one of our favorite concepts to throw around is that of training the “posterior chain”.  We talk about it with regards to most of the power and Oly lifts as well as the majority of lower body movements that we do.  What exactly, you may ask, is the posterior chain?  The posterior chain is the group of muscles that runs from your lower back down behind your legs, hence the name, posterior. These muscles include the erector spinae (low back), the glutes (butt), the hamstrings, and also the calves.  These muscles are ignored in most people’s gym training because they can’t be seen in a mirror without turning yourself around and who has time for that when the water fountain or pec deck might be free!  Now you know.
(By the way, the muscles that comprise the anterior chain are often referred to as the beach muscles. These include the chest, abs, and quads.  We don’t need to worry about those until it starts to get warmer out.)

 Today’s Workout:
“Jackie”
1,000 M Row
50 Thrusters (45#/33#)
30 Pull ups

Name That Mystery Back Part 2!

I’ve just gotten off of the phone with Micheal Collins, and he’s over his flu bug and ready to head up to CrossFit Pacific Coast and deliver his awesome POSE Running Seminar.  The new date and time?  Saturday January 30th from 1pm – 5pm.  If you didn’t sign up for this last time, I can’t recommend it strongly enough.  You’ve all read the posts about how many runners a year get injured (80%) and know how much running is involved in CrossFit.  Michael Collins runs an amazing seminar that is well worth attending.  Mark your calendars, JANUARY 30TH!

Today’s Workout:
Press 3-3-3
Followed by Tabata Rounds of:
Rowing
Squats
Pull ups
Push ups

I'm "this much" stronger than you!

Due to some of the less than stellar scores on the last Zombie Survival Quiz (with yours truly coming in with a strong D-), the educating must continue.  Per the Zombie Survival Guide, here’s just one more tip to keep you all alive.
”Cold, hard figures have show that when battling the living dead, nothing has saved more victims than basic, tight clothing and closely cropped hair.  The simple fact is that ghouls attack by reaching out to grab their victims, pulling them in, then biting.  Logic dictates that the less material a person offers up for grabs, the better his or her chances will be (duh).  Baggy clothing, complete with pockets, straps or anything that might hang freely, will be a convenient handle for grasping zombie claws.  Anyone who has worked in factories or with some heavy machinery will tell you the importance of never letting anything hang loose.  Tight clothing, obviously within comfort limits, will help to eliminate this danger.  Hair can be a similar hazard.  Many times, victims have been seized and even dragged by their hair to a gruesome end.   Tying one’s hair back before a conflict may work temporarily.  However, a short haircut, one inch or shorter, is idea for hand-to-hand combat.”
Since we care as much as we do, Eric and I now have clippers available here at the gym and are more than willing to selflessly exchange haircuts for baked goods.  (cough…Lisa…cough) 

Today’s Workout:
5-3-2-1-1-1 Reps of Power Snatches
Followed by 1 Round of Tabata Jump Lunges

"BUT I REALLY NEED TO USE MORE CHALK!!"

That is all.

Today’s Workout:
1-1-1-1-1-1 Deadlifts
Followed by 1 Round of Max Push Ups.