Imagine all of these people coming together on a Saturday morning, just to meet you Riv!

My Junior High School guidance councelor said the above quote many years ago and although at the time I paid no attention to it – it rings very true.  Who would have thought that we could pack 35 bright, shiny people into a morning of tire flipping relays, an impromptu pull up clinic and 20 minutes of all-out action?   We had just enough rain to make it interesting and most importantly, an amazing group of you and your friends, all of  whom were willing to push themselves, support their teammates and have a great time.  Thank you all for coming to us full of energy; full of team spirit and with an open-minded sense of adventure. Eric and I had a blast meeting all of your friends and thank you for sharing something that we love so much with the people in your lives.

Today’s Workout:
400 M Run
1 Minute Rest
3 Minutes Max DB Thrusters
1 Minute Rest
2 Minutes Max Push Ups
1 Minute Rest
1 Minute Max Sit Ups
1 Minute Rest
400 M Run

Poker, pull ups and tire flipping make for a happy Claw!

Although we have all miraculously escaped the pandemic of Swine Flu, there has still been some nastiness floating around our little town.  This is a time of year when people are apt to get sick due to the changes in weather patterns and the question is often asked, “Should I train if I’m sick?”  It’s a legitimate question as sometimes people feel like if they come in and workout it will kick their cold out of them.  We’ve all done it.  I think that the first thing that we have to remember here is that working out with a cold is often a gamble that will often leave you feeling worse afterwards, especially with the intensity with which we do, well, just about everything.  Also it’s very important to remember that coming in and training when you are contagious is a good recipe for sharing whatever you may have with everyone else in the gym.  If you are sick, working lightly on your own may help your situation, but please be respectful of your other teammate’s health as well and take that extra day or two of rest at home, until you’re no longer symptomatic.  

Today’s Workout:
Overhead Squats 1-1-1-1-1
Front Squats 1-1-1-1-1
Back Squats 1-1-1-1-1

Katie G and her magical hands!

I hope that everyone has their calendar marked for this Saturday!  Remember 7 weeks ago coming in and doing your 1 Rep Max Back Squat and 10 minutes of Cindy?  Well the time has come again to see just how much improvement you’ve all made over the past 2 months.  This Saturday morning we are holding the finals of our challenge and are eagerly looking forward to watching everyone crush it that morning.  For those of you that have recently joined while the challenge had already begun, we welcome you to come in and be here to support your fellow CPC’ers in their efforts. 

Today’s Workout:
“The Filthy Fifty”
50 Box Jumps
50 Jumping Pull Ups
50 KB Swings
50 Walking Lunges
50 Knees to Elbows
50 Push Press (45#/33#)
50 GHD Back Extensions
50 Wall Balls
50 Burpees
50 Double Unders

Cill with her chin over the bar and soon to be a lot lighter!

Here’s Jeff and some thoughts on the experience of taking the CrossFit Level 1 Cert:

“When I started doing Crossfit it changed my life and how I perceived fitness and nutrition.  Seven and a half months later, I have been reinvigorated in both my passion and discipline for what we do.  Last weekend I went down to Crossfit Marina in Huntington Beach with some of our friends from CFV:  Faith Reynado, Matt Major and Jaala Thibault, for a Crossfit Level 1 Certification.  I went in not fully knowing what to expect, only that there were going to be people there who knew a hell of a lot more then I did about Crossfit and they were going to tell it to me in the span of two whole days.  Sounds kind of daunting, doesn’t it?
Well I’ve got to say that it was an amazing experience.  As soon as I walked in the door on day one and saw faces I had only seen on the Crossfit Main site:  Jason Khalipa, Pat Barber, Jolie Gentry, Josh Everett, Todd Widman and Stephane Rochet who were now standing there in the flesh, well you just knew something interesting was going to happen. The whole weekend was filled with good information and lots of laughs, everything from Stephane Rochet teaching me more about programming and structuring a WOD to Jason Khalipa telling me “Jeff you have got get your pecker back when you Push Jerk”.  Sounds helpful doesn’t it?
Along with all this new information came lots of valuable pointers about stuff I thought I was pretty familiar with, like the air squat, I know that since I joined up I feel as if I’ve done a billion air squats but I learned that I wasn’t perfect in my form and that translated into not being perfect in all the other movements too:  Push Jerk, Medicine Ball Clean, Overhead Squat, Snatch and all the others.  The one thing I’ll always remember Todd Widman saying is that these are movements that you’ll never achieve perfection in and that’s what makes them a challenge and worth doing.  Those words of wisdom along with many others will stay with me forever and drive me to the very edge in every WOD to achieve the unattainable.  It was an amazing weekend filled with cherished memories and amazing people.  I hope everyone at that cert took away from it the same lessons I did, because to be coached by the best of the best is a rare and privileged opportunity.”

Today’s Workout:
5 Rounds For Time:
30 Jump Squats
15 Pull ups
10 Ring Dips

A quick stretch before their first WOD!

  As I write this, Eric and I are both a little bit worn out.  Nope, we didn’t just finish a brutal WOD, or workout ourselves in any capacity.  We did however, just run 80 boys ranging from 12 – 17 through their very first CrossFit workout.  Working with Los Prietos Boys Camp and Academy was one of our community goals for the year, and I have to say that it was truly an awesome experience.  The look on the faces on the kids once they realized that no, their team didn’t get to divide the reps up, but they actually had to each do 100 Squats, 60 Push Ups and 30 Burpees was priceless.  Every time that we said the word “burpee” we heard a resounding “YAY BURPEE!!” in return.  If we didn’t hear it, or hear it loud enough, motivational consequences ensued in the form of said burpees.
   All in all it was a great morning.  The kids got to work in teams, encourage each other, push their bodies to the limit and feel a great sense of accomplishment.  We got to share our love of CrossFit with the future of Santa Barbara, a group of young men that have the same hopes and dreams that we all do but were dealt a very different set of cards than most of us – through no fault of their own.  At the end, the staff of the camp couldn’t have been happier to get a very exhausted class returned to them after only an hour with us.  My favorite line of the day had to be, “Sir, my legs feel kind of weird.” – music to my ears.
   This was a successful outing for everyone involved and it is not the last time that we will be heading up to Los Prietos.  Eric and I will be sure to let you know when we’re going up again and invite you all to get involved and join us for out next outing.

 Today’s Workout:
1-1-1-1-1-1-1
Deadlifts.

Sit ups = far more fun with a medicine ball and a partner!

Congratulations to all of you CPC’ers that came out on Saturday for our Cindy Challenge Finals.  We saw great efforts out of everyone there, and P.R’s across the board! Ryan, Natalie, Gigi, Hogans (who started her birthday off with a 15# increase in her back squat and 3 additional rounds of Cindy), KJ, Chris Dahl, Eric, Baker, The Claw and Fielding all put their butts on the line and went for it.  We’re proud of all of you!!  For those of you that didn’t participate in this challenge, worry not, we will be announcing our next one at the end of this week and expect EVERYONE to be a part of it.  Congrats again folks, you all kicked some serious ass! 

Today’s Workout:
Snatch Grip Push Press
5-5-3-3-3

Followed by:
3 Rounds for Time of:
15 Overhead Squats (95#/65#)
200 M Run

  Why is it that CrossFit is more effective than the traditional workout routine?  I get this question almost every time that someone new comes in to check out our gym.  In my opinion the greatest strength of CrossFit training, both in the gym and almost more importantly, outside of the gym is this – everyday we are going to make you step outside of your comfort zone. That’s it, plain and simple.  How often at 24 Hour Fitness or Spectrum do you really see people do this?  Do people there continually and on a regular basis do things that they’d never done before?  I’ll unequivocally say, “Not on your life.” 
   Here’s the rub though folks – every time that you step outside of your comfort zone, as painful as it’s going to be (and it will be just about every time), your comfort zone grows.  What you thought of as “difficult” or even “impossible” today will be a walk in the park tomorrow. How many of you now use your 3 Rep or even 1 Rep Max from a year ago as a warm up today?  How many of you regularly do something for work that the first time you tried it was terrifying?
   If you aren’t getting the results that you’d like to, either in the gym or in your personal/professional lives, take an honest look at just how often you are truly stepping outside of your comfort zone.  I’d be willing to bet that it’s not as often or as you could be.  As OPT loves to say, “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”   This holds true for CrossFit, for business, for academics and really any and all areas of your life.  Be great today. 

Today’s Workout:
”Karen”
150 Wallball Shots for Time

Augie, with no fear of heights!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”  - Marianne Williamson 

Today’s Workout:
Power Cleans
1-1-1-1-1
Followed by:
AMRAP 8 Minute:

Bear Complex (95#/65#)

Christina, elevating her game!

How many of you have come into the gym lately and thought to yourself, “Who’s the new student that looks like Hogans?”  The night that I came back with our new dumbbells I literally looked in the window and thought, “oh wow, who’s that?” and was relatively shocked that it was Christina! 
For those people that question whether CrossFit will make women bulky or works as an effective way to tone up, I present to you – The Rapidly Disappearing Hogans.  Christina is a living embodiment of the potential of what you can do when you set a goal, work your butt off (literally), have an active participation with your diet, work your butt off some more and embrace the spirit of a performance based program.
In the past 8 weeks Hogans has taken her Back Squat from 125 to 140, completed 3 additional rounds in her 10-minute Cindy, while adding a kipping pull up to her arsenal of awesomeness.  Ask her if these results just “showed up” in her life or if she had to work harder than she’s ever worked in her life and I’ll put money down on what her answer will be.
Christina, we thank you for raising the bar in our gym and giving our members a physical display for just how effective hard work and clean eating can be.  Your dedication to our program and a lifestyle based on health and wellness is an inspiration even to those of us that might have chosen to do this for a living.  Keep up the great work; we couldn’t be prouder of your accomplishments or of being able to call you one of our own.

Today’s Workout:
AMRAP 15
4 Handstand Push Ups
8 KB Swings
20 Sit ups

Amber, clearly excited about the Full Grace Challenge!

Who’s up for out next CrossFit Pacific Coast Challenge?!  We saw massive improvements in the 8 weeks between the trials and finals of the our 1 Rep Max Back Squat and 10 Minutes of Cindy last weekend and are looking forward to this upcoming challenge.  So what is it you ask?  It’s going to be one of our favorite ladies – Grace!!  However, this is going to be Full Grace, which means that it’s 30 SQUAT Cleans for time.  Yep, you’ll have to get the crease of your hip below your knee on every rep during the clean.  The RX weight for men is 135# and for the ladies it’s 95#.  The trials will commence on Saturday March 27^th during our normal Saturday morning classes.  If you can’t make the Saturday class, then it’s fine to do this on Friday the 26^th or Monday the 29^th.  We expect EVERYONE (especially people from England) to participate in this challenge! 

Today’s Workout:
5 Rounds for time:
200 M Sprint
10 Pull ups
10 Box Jump Burpees