I hope that none of you have gotten complacent of late with the attention here slightly straying away from topico numero uno (crosses fingers that not only does Shakira read this blog, she’s impressed by my international flair) – the impending attack.  Let us not forget why we toil and sweat so hard folks.  How many of you can now, more easily carry a 95-pound body, for a mile, while on a team with three other survivors?  Is the big picture getting clearer?!

From our faithful Zombie Survival Guide:
“Studies have show that, given the trauma of battle, the closer a human is to a zombie, the wilder his/her shooting will be (this however, is not applicable to Su – the closer zombies get the more accurate her headshots are).  When practicing with your firearms, establish a maximum range for repeated accuracy.  Practice against moving targets in ideal (stress-free) conditions.  Once that range is fixed, divide it by half.  This will be your effective kill zone during an actual attack.  Make sure the undead do not move closer than this zone, as your accuracy will erode.  If engaging a group, make sure to hit those that enter the zone first before dispatching the others.  Do not discount this advice no matter what your previous experience has been.  Street-hardened police officers, decorated combat veterans, even “cold-blooded” murderers have ended up as well-chewed meat because they believed in their “nerves” and not their training.”

Today’s Workout:
1-1-1-1-1-1-1 Hang Power Snatch to Overhead Squat
Followed by AMRAP 3 Min (From the Last OPT Challenge)
3 Pull Ups
3 Burpees

In case you’ve missed all of our reminders, this is the last one!  The POSE Running seminar is going to be this Saturday from 1pm – 5pm right here at our very own CrossFit Pacific Coast. Sign up HERE.  If you are on the fence about whether to take this or not, I cannot stress highly enough how important it is to have good running form.  We do a lot of running in CrossFit and will be doing even more once this rain subsides.  Having proper form while running is not only the best way to run more quickly and efficiently (leaving you extra energy to do whatever else it is that awaits you after your runs), it also substantially cuts down on your chances of injury.  Injuries are bad.  POSE Running is good.  Sign up now.

 Today’s Workout:
With a Partner, Perform 3 Rounds for Time of:
400 M Run
Max Push Press (95#/65#)
While one partner runs, the other presses.  Each partner will be responsible for 3 400’s and 3 Rounds of presses.

Where do you go for sound nutritional advice, humor, recipes and the occasional nutritional challenge?  Personally I head over Sweet Cheeks Head Quarters, LINK where the kitchen is always humming and ideas are a flowin’.  Run by CrossFitters extraordinaire Shirley Brown and frequent CPC visitor Alyssa “A-Train” Dazet, Sweet Cheeks HQ is an awesome blog run by people in the same boat that we are.  Alyssa combines Traditional Chinese Nutrition, Western Nutrition along with recipes that she and Shirley have grown up with. They work, train, go to school and lead busy lives, so you know that the recipes are going to be fast and easy.  If they make a mistake cooking something, they write about it.  If they decided halfway through a recipe to stop and do handstand pushups, they photograph it.  Even if you don’t like to cook, there’s no shortage of laughter from reading of their exploits.  Fueled by mass giggles, a deadlifting prowess that would put most of us to shame and of course, their famous “cheeks”, Sweet Cheeks HQ is here to stay and taking the world by storm.  Check them out!! 

Today’s Workout:
5-5-5 Front Squat
Followed by 3 Rounds for Time:
10 Burpees
15 KB Swings
20 Med Ball V-Twists

Mark your calendars folks! April 10, 2010 is this year’s Warrior Dash.  Click here for LINK  We’re hoping to get as many of you (and your family and friends that are interested) to head down to Lake Elsinore for the 3.8 Mile crawl through the mud!  I know that CrossFit Culver City is sending a crew down and I think that this looks like a blast.  What better way to test the fitness that you’ve worked so hard for then a full day of trudging over obstacles and crawling through mud (Ybarra’s we’re registering you both immediately).  We should all pick the same start time and go after this thing together.  If you think that you’d be interested, post to comments and we’ll get it organized. 

 

Right before the beginning of the year, Eric and I sat down and had a big meeting about all of the awesome things that we plan to accomplish this year at CrossFit Pacific Coast.  In addition to the paintball day, adventure races other mayhem we have planned, we each decided to each chose a local community organization to work with as a way to give back to the city that has welcomed us so warmly. 
Eric chose Team in Training, an organization that raises money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society while coaching everyday people on the benefits of fitness, nutrition and injury prevention.  What could be better?
I chose The Toastmaster Soldiers and Los Prietos Boys Camp.  The Toastmaster Soldiers is an organization founded by my good friend and fellow Toastmaster Billi Jo Starr, that works with troubled boys at Los Prietos Boys Camp, teaching them the value of expressing themselves, of teamwork, goal setting and so much more, all through the medium of public speaking.  These are great kids with unlimited potential – all they need is a little bit of help finding their voice.
You all know that Eric and I are going to continue to challenge you this year, both in the gym and outside of it.  We are going to be working together with these two organizations closely and invite you all to join us.   Team In Training + Toastmaster Soldiers + CPC = The super duper uber awesome.

 Today’s Workout:
400 M Run
10 Power Cleans (135#/95#)
400 M Run
15 Jerks (135#/95#)
400 M Run
20 Front Squats (135#/95#)
400 M Run

Helen and the Claw just can’t seem to get to see each other.  We schedule 6am breakfast meetings, noontime lunches, coffee at 5:30 and dinner at 6:30, but alas, they just don’t seem to be in town on the same days.  Although the Beckster is more than the Claw could ever want, we’d hate for Jim to keep missing out on experiences with the Frans, the Nicoles, and the Helens of the world.  Borrowing from a very popular tradition that our great friends at CrossFit Ventura started a while back, we are now turning the last Saturday of every month into Benchmark Make Up Day.  Did you miss getting to do Murph during the month?  Now it’s not a problem.  Did you do Murph yesterday but still have the overwhelming desire to do it again because your name is Fielding? No biggie.  January 30^th will be the first opportunity to make up any Benchmark workout that you’ve missed or want to repeat for this month.  What better way to start the day before the POSE seminar!

Today’s Workout:
50 Double Unders
15 Overhead Squats (95#/65#)
2 Minute Plank Hold
15 Overhead Squats
2 Minute Plank Hold
50 Double Unders

Whoa!  Thank you to KJ for finding this gem and forwarding it to us care of www.paleomama.com.  We felt that it deserved its very own blog post it was so encapsulating of all things awesome.  What could possibly be even more awesome than deadlifting you ask?  Well frankly, deadlifting, and then going home and double fisting forkfuls of this sweet pile of uber deliciousness into our faces would sure be up there!  Have a recipe that you think can top this one?  Please post it to comments.  (Note - recipes without bacon will be immediately sent to the bottom of the list, per the laws of nature.) 

Ingredients:
2 Medium greenish bananas
8 Strips of Bacon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 420 degrees
Peel down one strip of banana.  Cut down the length of the banana with a table knife.  Finish peeling the banana.
Wrap each half of banana with 2 strips of bacon.
Lay 4 wrapped halves of banana on a broiler pan and bake for 20 minutes.
Dipping this concotion in nutbutter is also highly recommended.
Enjoy!

Today’s Workout:
“Christine”
3 Rounds for Time of:
500 M Row
12 Deadlifts (Bodyweight)
21 Box Jumps

Want to go get a front row seat to one of the coolest competitions that you’ll ever see?  I spoke to Andy Petranek today from CFLA and he said that they still could use volunteers for the competition on March 12th, 13th and 14th.  If you can only make one of those days they don’t mind, they just need more bodies!  You don’t have to have any certifications or CrossFit experience to be a part of this event.  Please email Jennifer Shoskes at jennifer@crossfitla.com  if you think that this is something that you’d like to be right down in the thick of.  Do it.  Do it now.

Today’s Workout:
3-3-3-3-3 Backsquats

Here’s Jim with a great idea on how to make our workouts more audibley enjoyable: 

Stimulating music makes for good workouts; good, hard, fast, loud, rock to be precise. Rock music goes with Crossfit like thrusters go with pull-ups.
A unique workout needs a unique music mix. So, after a lot of thought to the music I want to listen to at CPC, I decided to program my very own playlist, which can be played through a Blackberry, iPhone, or other smart phone.   What I would like though is your help in contributing songs to seed my CPC Workout Mix.
In the comment section, please list the songs (with artists) that you would like to hear while training.  It only takes a few minutes for me to input them into my Ipod, and then we’re ready!

Today’s Workout:
1-1-1-1-1 Weighted Pull ups
Followed by:
Fight Gone Tabata

What do red booty shorts; clapping handstand push ups and working out with a helmet on have in common?  Sounds like a typical day at a CrossFit Affiliate Competition if you ask me.  (Nothing to see here folks, move along.)  For those of you that couldn’t make it down to Ventura this weekend, we had a day steeped in the awesomeness.  Eight of your CrossFit Pacific Coast teammates took the plunge, stepped way outside of their comfort zones and competed.  Crossley, Amber, Christina, Jim, Jeff, Fielding , Lisa and Kate all spent the day thrustering, pull up-ing, running, carrying a 95 pound bar for a mile and coordinating a great team effort of handstand push ups, muscle ups and air squats.
Watching all of you compete and do more than hold your own against CrossFitters who have far more experience than you do was amazing.   Eric and I hope that you are as proud of yourselves for what you accomplished this weekend as we are.  We believe that the true character of CPC shown through on Saturday with the efforts that were put forth in the workouts, the teamwork and camaraderie that was displayed all day long and of course the willingness to express that which is ridiculous!  It was a long day, and a great day.  Congratulations to the eight of you that competed, and thank you to everyone else that came down to cheer and support.

Todays’ Workout:
21-15-9 Reps of:
Squat Cleans (135#/#95)
Burpees