A camera shy photography student?!

Who had fun down at the Affiliate Challenge at CrossFit Ventura last month?  Feel like you’d like compete as a team again?  A big part of the CrossFit Games this summer is the Affiliate Cup in which each box can send 6 members (3 men, 3 women) to compete against teams from other CrossFits.  Interested?  Let us know and we’ll start putting together a team!  The first competition will be May 8^th and 9^th down in Orange County.  Below are details from HQ on the event:

Affiliate Cup Team Registration opens on Monday, February 1st at 1200 PST.
The team registration is for the Regional competitions in May. Teams register first come, first served at the Regionals (athletes hoping to compete in the Individual competition have to qualify). There will be a cap at each event, after which a waitlist will be created. Our hope and intention is to allow every team that wants to compete an opportunity, so we will be looking for ways to accommodate the waitlisted teams if/when that happens.
Teams are comprised of four to six athletes, with an optional non-competing coach. There must be at least two men and two women competing on each team.
For registration purposes, a single team “captain” will register the team. The cost is $300 per team. When the team is successfully registered, a confirmation email will be sent to the team captain with a link that he or she will send to the rest of the team. Each team member will need to access the registration website with that unique link. Each person must enter their own data and fulfill the electronic waiver and signature.
All team members must train at the same physical gym (or garage for that matter). No virtual gyms are allowed. The gym does not need to be an official CrossFit affiliate. Each team member will also be given the opportunity to name a “guest” to receive a free spectator pass.
Register your team as soon as possible. You can add specific team members as you know them. There will also be a window of opportunity in late April to make official changes to your team if needed. There can be no last minute changes after the final deadline (which will be announced later).
For teams the qualify for Aromas, the roster of athletes that competes at the Regionals does not need to be the identical roster competing in Aromas. The number of teams that qualify at each regional is equal to the number of individuals that qualify at the regional (men plus women).
The affiliate team competition is among the best of what we do. The word is out and teams are fired up. The competition will be fierce!

Today’s Workout:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Deadlifts (#275/#165)
Weighted Sit ups

Is it time to eat? Is it time to poop? Is it time to sleep? Is it time to play? That's all I got.

Every motivational book that I have ever read says something along the lines that human beings have about 10,000 thoughts per day (Riv has 4).  The problem is that for the most part we have the SAME 10,000 thoughts today that we had yesterday.  So this begs the question, what are you thinking about?  What is the dialogue that you’re having with yourself, and most importantly, what is the dialogue that you are having with yourself right before, and during your workout?  Are you telling yourself beforehand that you are strong, fast, and capable of accomplishing anything?  Or are you telling yourself that it’s going to be hard, it’s going to hurt and hopefully, by the grace of god you’ll manage to get through it somehow?  Be very, very vigilant about the thought patterns that you are running before leaving your house to come to CPC, in the car on the way to CPC, and then especially right before and during a workout.  The brain can only hold one thought at a time, so having a default thought of “I CAN DO IT” is a great way to make sure that nothing negative or self-sabotaging is creeping in.  Anyone have a trick to share on this subject?  Please post to comments.

Today’s Workout:
3-3-3-3-3 Press

Followed by:
2 Min Max Double Unders
30 Ring Dips
2 Min Max Double Unders
30 Toes to Bar

Team In Training Kick off Party at CPC!!

Congratulations to all of Team in Training’s newest crop of runners!  Team in Training came by over the weekend and had their kick off BBQ right here at CPC.  The afternoon was filled with games, emotional stories and a whole lot of camaraderie.  For those of you that are interested in supporting this great organization there are a few things that you can do.  You can always find a team in training athlete (through our very own Courtney Dietz) and donate to their race page http://www.teamintraining.org/.  Since we often train the Team in Training coaches there will also be ample opportunities to volunteer your time and energy with us.  Team in Training is a fantastic organization that raises money for Leukemia and Lymphoma research and we’re extremely honored to be able to work with them.

Today’s Workout:
10 Rounds for Time of:
5 DB Burpee Squat Clean Thrusters (aka “Goodlands”)
8 Kettlebell Swings

Katie G and The Claw - Saturday morning tire flipping races are on!

Ladies, please forgive us.  Despite the best efforts of our older sisters and past girlfriends, your CPC management was left uneducated in one last area.  (Guys write this down – women wear their own special form of t-shirts.  I know, I know, its ok; we were in the dark about this one too.)  So, allowing our own ignorance to hold us back no longer, Eric and I decided to take our education into our own hands.  After months of exhaustive research on fabrics, ovaries, inks, these odd feelings called “emotions”, color patterns, hours upon hours spent watching Project Runway, reading the Feminine Mystique, studying Sex and The City and the Vagina Monologues  – we have been enlightened.
CrossFit Pacific Coast is proud to announce that our first batch of super sexy, form fitting, curve accentuating, Tank Tops and Fitted T-shirts are now available!  What better to wear while strutting your fine selves around Santa Barbara (POW!) or perhaps also while picking up heavy shit?

Today’s Workout:
8 X 100 M Row Sprints

Ethan hard at work training for Kickball season!

Part of my self defined “Year of Awesomeness” includes the reading of 12 different books this year in an effort to curb myself off of TV shows like The First 48 and Fight Science.  My last read was a great book entitled “Deep Survival” (a copy is available in the CPC Library/bathroom) in which the author, Laurence Gonzales analyzes a host of true life survival situations from plane crashes to lost hikers to serious falls in an attempt to find a common thread among those that actually do survive. This is an interesting quote that he included in the 12 characteristics of those who actually did survive. Does any of it sound like something that you have to do on a daily basis here at CPC? Please post thoughts to comments.

“#12. Never give up (let nothing break your spirit). There is always one more thing that you can do. Survivors are not easily frustrated. They are not discouraged by setbacks. They accept that the environment (or the business climate or their health) is constantly changing. They pick themselves up and start the entire process over again, breaking it down into manageable bits. Survivors always have a clear reason for going on. They keep their spirits up by developing an alternate world made up of rich memories to which they can escape (find a happy place! – tb). They mine their memory for whatever will keep them occupied. They come to embrace the world in which they find themselves and see opportunity in adversity. In the aftermath, survivors learn from and are grateful for the experiences that they’ve had.”

Today’s Workout:
Find your 1 Rep Max Clean and Jerk
Followed by:
1 Minute Max Pull ups
1 Minute Rest
1 Minute Max Jump Lunges
1 Minute Rest
1 Minute Max Pull ups

Chuck - a man on a mission!

On Monday we did 100 Overhead Squats for time.  As many of you quickly found, the Overhead Squat is a very challenging movement as there probably weren’t many times prior to performing his lift that you’ve had to ask your shoulders and upper body girdle to push upward while you yourself moved downward – this one is unique. One of the best tips that we can give for the OHS is to actively push the bar upward throughout the entire movement.   Your arms and shoulders aren’t just holding the weight still and in place, but rather they are pushing the bar towards the ceiling while at the same time trying to pull the bar apart.  Master this upper aspect of the OHS and the rest of the lift will become much easier to perform.  I promise. 

Today’s Workout:
Take any weight that you’d like from the ground to overhead.
Men = total moved weight must equal 7,000 lbs
Women = total moved weight must equal 4,500 lbs
River = stay sexy

CrossFit Ventura Affiliate Team Challenge from Faith Reynado on Vimeo.

Did you miss the CrossFit Ventura Challenge a few weekends back?  Not to worry, Faith did an amazing job putting this video together for everyone to enjoy.  (The awesomeness is strong with little Faith).  For those of you that are on the fence about whether to compete in any future challenges, this is what you are missing – great fun, great workouts, awesome people and a day of shared experiences like no other. Be sure to check out the part of the video with the guy in the red shorts around the 2 and a half minute mark!

Today’s Workout:
Back Squats 3-3-3
Followed by AMRAP 15
10 KB Snatches (Alternate Right and Left Per Round)
10 Box Jumps
200 M Sprint

Anyone who has difficulty believing in the power of the kip to generate power and explosiveness, please watch this video repeatedly.  Here our very own Cill Adams (7 and a half months pregnant) is not only proving that strength and conditioning are achievable for anyone in any physical condition, but also that there are few things hotter than a pregnant CrossFitter doing pull ups.  Oh my!

Today’s Workout:
“Barbara” 5 Rounds For Time With a 3 Minute Break in Between Rounds of:
20 Pull Ups
30 Push Ups
40 Sit Ups
50 Squats

Preggo Pull ups from Crossfit Pacific Coast on Vimeo.

Annie demonstrating undeniable triple extension. Ankles, knees and hips all open.

What is Triple Extension and why is it so important to you as an athlete?  Great question.  Most of you have probably heard Eric or I use the term “full extension” or “come to full extension” with regards to your Olympic lifts.  Coming to full extension or achieving triple extension is very simple. Triple Extension Movements involve three major joints: hip, knee, and ankle. These three joints, when moved from the flexed (bent) to extended (straight) position, create the explosiveness needed to perform the majority of power moves in sport.  This movement isn’t just limited to Olympic Weightlifting either.  Think of jumping up to spike a volleyball or to block one of Sandy’s shots in a game of basketball, popping up from lying to standing when catching a wave surfing, throwing someone behind you in wrestling, coming off of a jump on ski’s or a snowboard etc.  Explosively achieving triple extension will make a massive difference in the amount of weight that you can lift in CrossFit and will carry over to every sport that you play in life. 

Today’s Workout:
3-2-1-1-1-1 Cleans
Followed by 4 Rounds of Suicides

Ivy Russell pioneering women's strength training in the early 1900's!

Ivy Elizabeth Russel was born in 1907 in Croydon (England). When Ivy was 12, she became a member of a local gymnastic club. At 14 she had serious pulmonary problems and asthma. Russel later she showed an interest to physical culture, started training with weights and became one of the most famous strongwomen of the decade of 1930s. She worked in strength demonstrations, like lifting and maintaining several persons… Later, she opened a small gym in Croydon, England. Just before the World War II she married a doctor Londoner, crossed the Channel and relocated to England. In the article of the magazine “Pearson’ s Weekly” for October 9, 1937, it was said that her biceps were of the same size that ones of the German boxer Max Schmeling, heavyweight world champion. Her physical parameters were higher than ones of that strong man: her calf size exceeded his by more than one centimeter, the circumference of her thighs – by two and a half centimeters. Owing to her incredible physical strength Ivy became a great wrestler. In 1934 she started attending the “Victory Ladies Wrestling Club” for training in wrestling, and in a year she managed to gain the champion title in the female wrestling championship defeating all her opponents. Once a man visiting the wrestling class learned that Ivy was training in wrestling and started mocking her. Other men in the class retorted him that any woman should know how to wrestle. Being deeply touched by this incident Ivy invited the man to her gym and there grabbed him into her arms and kept squeezing strongly until he asked for mercy and begged to release him. 

Today’s Workout:
100 Overhead Squats for Time (95#/65#)