CrossFit Connection - Burlington, Ontario

A Beautiful Day for a long CrossFit Workout

2010-03-18T14:02:47-04:00

WOD

Run 800 m

12 Hanging Squat Cleans 115 lbs/75 lbs

20 Burpees

Run 600 m

10 Hanging Squat Cleans

25 Burpees

Run 400 m

8 Hanging Squat Cleans

30 Burpees

Run 200 m

6 Hanging Squat Cleans

35 Burpees

This morning I was updating facebook when I came across a post from John Gleason at Crossfit Niagara. As you know I am always looking around for easy nutrition tips for our zoners and paleo eaters. I laughed when I read this because often I am here at the gym pretty early in the morning and breakfast sometimes consists of a turkey burger (minus the bun!) some nuts and a handful of blueberries. The burger kinda looks like a giant cookie because I usually don't bother heating it up.....needless to say I get lots of questions why I am eating giant cookies for breakfast.....anyway....this article goes along with that general theme.....

http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=270

Also, Rachel stopped by this morning and did the BIG 24 workout! I think the vacation and (maybe tequila) last week paid off because she did an awesome job and hit a max consecutive rep squat clean....it was sweet to watch!

Rachel...you always make things look so effortless

Wednesday at Burlington CrossFit Connection

2010-03-17T11:50:32-04:00

The back squat is one of the most important lifts for developing strength. This article was Published on the CrossFit One World Site a few days ago.....lots of good info
The squat is like religion. People will argue it and debate it forever. When lifting weights at One World there are two types of squats to consider: the low bar (powerlifting) squat and the high bar (Olympic weightlifting) squat.

The powerlifting squat:
Things to note: The wide stance. The bar is low on the back. The upper leg is parallel to the ground. Also, but hard to notice in photo, the upper body is tilted forward. The movement into the squat is initiated by the hips moving backward and then sinking into the squat.

The Olympic weightlifting squat:

Things to note: The stance width is the same stance you would catch a clean or snatch in. The bar is high on the shoulders. The butt is much lower to the ground. The torso is much more upright. The movement can be initiated by the knees moving first to keep the torso in a more upright position. (Knees first?!?! Oh my...it's CrossFit sacrilege!!!)

So which one is right? If you are an elite powerlifter or an elite Olympic weightlifter, then the lift to use is pretty obvious. But what should we regular folks be using? It doesn't matter! You can lift plenty of weight with either style. I think if you want to be more well rounded lifter, you might want to consider the Olympic style squat. I personally believe it translates better into the front squat, overhead squat, the clean, and the snatch, but that is totally my humble opinion. At One World, the choice is yours. Play around with both styles and determine which one works best for you. You may be pleasantly surprised if you try something new and it works better for you. I prefer the low bar method. My squat numbers increased dramatically when I switch from high bar to low bar. I am probably going to switch back and start playing around with high bar again since I plan on putting a little more emphasis on my Olympic weightlifting movements in my training. You may be pleasantly surprised if you try something new and it works better for you.

WOD

Strength : BACK SQUAT 3 sets of 5 at 80% 1 Rep Max

Metabolic Conditioning:

10 Power Cleans (165 lbs/115lbs)

10 Burpees

3 Rounds

CrossFit Games Qualifiers this Weekend

2010-03-16T14:46:26-04:00

This weekend in Toronto is the first step on the road to the CrossFit Games, which takes place in July in California. In order for an athlete to make it to California he or she must first go through a sectional qualifier followed by a regional event followed by the CrossFit Games. Saturday is the sectional event for all of Ontario in which the top 15 men and top 15 women will qualify for the Regional event in Calgary May 29-30. So if you are interested in watching this crazy event there is information on times and location etc. at www.crossfitcolosseum.com This event located at Moss Park Armoury, 130 Queen St E, Toronto, Ontario, M5A 1R9 and is being hosted by the 48th Highlanders of Canada, which is a Canadian Forces Infantry Reserve Unit.

In terms of our athletes from CrossFit Connection we will be represented 3 women who train here regularly and 4 or 5 guys. Also there will be a few CrossFit Connection athletes who will be helping with scoring, judging, etc......So if you have nothing better to do come on out and cheer everyone on and wear your CrossFit Connection colors ( yes are new shirts are in)

WOD

10 Deadlifts @ Bodyweight

10 Box Jumps

200 M Sprint

2 times

REST EXACTLY 3 MINUTES

4 Rounds

This should be Newsworthy

2010-03-15T14:06:17-04:00

Today we had CBC here filming our noon class for a piece they are doing on CrossFit...I think this is airing tonight at 5:30 for those of you who want to watch....I was aiming for a workout that had tons of action and lots of weights being thrown around with some variety of movement and.....most importantly....a whole lot of PAIN.....from the look on peoples faces....before, during, and after.....I think I was successful.

WOD

200 M Sprint

21-15-9 reps of

Thrusters 95 lbs/65 lbs

KB Swings 24 kg/ 16 kg

20 Pull ups

20 Toes to Bar

21-15-9 reps of

Sumo Deadlift High-pull 95 lbs/ 65 lbs

Push Press 95 lbs/ 65 lbs

200 M Sprint

Overhead Squat Max

2010-03-13T11:57:22-05:00

Two part workout again today.....strength and metabolic conditioning.

WOD

Strength

Take 20 minutes to find your 1 REP MAX in OVERHEAD SQUAT

Met Con

5 Overhead Squats @ 60 % 1 Rep Max

7 Burpees

12 Jumping Pull ups

3 x through this circuit

REST 2 MINUTES

3 ROUNDS

The Power of the Snatch

2010-03-12T10:38:47-05:00

Today is a two part workout with a strength component and a metabolic conditioning/skill workout incorporating the POWER SNATCH.

The power snatch is a close relative to the power clean and both are derived from the competitive Olympic lifts like the snatch and clean & jerk. Structurally, both exercises are similar to one another with one major difference: in the power clean you lift the bar from the ground to your shoulders; in the power snatch you lift the bar from the floor to over your head in one single movement.

Obviously, the power snatch requires a greater explosion because you must create more momentum for the bar to be successfully flung overhead. There’s also less room for arm and lower back pull in the power snatch. Sometimes an individual will execute a power clean that has much more in common with a reverse curl done with lots of cheating than to an explosive Olympic lift!

In the snatch, relying on arm pull and back hyper-extension will result in a missed lift most of the time. To be successful with the power snatch you really must emphasize hip and leg drive, which are more specific to most sports.

Here’s a diagram of power snatch sequence:

WOD

Strength : PUSH PRESS 3/2/2/2/1/1/1

Metabolic Conditioning:

Power Snatch 95 lbs/65 lbs

Wall Ball 20/12

reps of 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

15 Minutes of FUN

2010-03-11T05:00:00-05:00

WOD

5 Minutes of KB Swings 32 kg/ 24 kg

4 Minutes of Pull ups

3 Minutes of Push ups

2 Minutes of Sit ups

1 Minute of Thrusters 45 lbs/ 30 lbs

*score equals your total number of reps

Here are some pictures from our competition last Sunday

I lOVE BURPEES!!!!!

2010-03-10T05:00:00-05:00

This should be a fun one for everyone that loves BURPEES.........each round is 3 minutes long, within that 3 minutes you must complete 30 Double Unders and 10 Sumo Deadlift Highpulls, you then have the rest of the time to complete as many burpees as possible.....REST 2 minutes....Repeat 4 times...

WOD

3 Min Rounds

30 Double Unders

10 SDLHP 135 lbs/95 lbs

MAX NUMBER OF BURPEES

REST 2 MINUTES

4 Rounds

your score is the number of burpees you complete each round

A little story about Crossfit and a girl

2010-03-09T05:00:00-05:00

I usually leave the blogging to Jason but I had to throw this one up for all of you today. IF THERE WAS EVER ANY DOUBT IN ANYONE'S MIND ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CROSSFIT and its transfer into real life/other sports etc. here is a story for you.

About a month before Christmas this year, Kristen, our 17 year old daughter ( many of you have met her during WODS) announced to me that she wanted to run a half marathon. 21K is not a small undertaking for someone her age and especially for someone who had never run more than the odd 5k crossfit WOD that Jason would throw up on the whiteboard every so often. Kristen asked me if I would train her and train with her for the Chilly half marathon this past weekend. I was both excited for her and dreading the training. I hadn't run more than 10k since completing Ironman and really didn't have a big desire to run that far....but how could I say no?? The chance to see her acheive something this big at 17 would be priceless. So at Christmas I wrapped up her entrance form and put it under the tree for her along with some nice new running gear.....we were off.

Now I had to come up with a training plan. One that Kristen could live with and one that I could fit into my own training schedule which wouldn't totally wipe me out for my crossfit WODS. Kristen was already doing WODS 2-3 times a week so I knew she was tough enough to get through the run....but how else would I prepare her? Well the traditional running program would have us out there pounding the pavement at least 3x a week....this I just couldn't fathom.....so here was the plan....crossfit for Kristen 2-3x per week and one long run on the weekend just to feel the endurance piece. We practiced pose running during our long runs to make sure her joints wouldn't suffer the distance and she would stay injury free. We started at 5 k, worked up by 2k per week till we hit 17. We missed a few weeks of running due to illness/exams etc so never made it to 21 before the race. All in all we ran a GRAND TOTAL of 7 times before the race!!!! It was going to be a great experiment to see if only 7 distance runs since Christmas plus a whole lot of crossfit would get her to the 21k mark.

Well I have to be honest....the night before the race I was a little nervous......what if things fell apart after 17k? How would I get her over that finish line?? What would I tell her along the way to keep her motivated? Will she be able to dig deep? I knew she was tough and anyone witnessing her doing a WOD will attest to the intensity (lol).

Race morning was here....the weather was picture perfect....we were all set....our nutrition plan was bare minimum ....we shared one gel and a granola bar and a sip of eload every second water station...just enough to get us through.....we made it to 10k....our time was great......we made it to the turn around at Burloak.....I tried to get Kristen to stop for a minute for a photo opp with the police but she wouldn't ( bad sport).....we made it to 15k and then to 16k and then it started to fall apart....I was getting a little worried...it was a little windy so I told her to tuck in behind me and just follow my feet. We got that way to 20k....not too much being said between us ( unlike my Ironman experience where Jason will claim I had turrets syndrome....can't believe I said all those horrible things to him)....THEN I SAW THE 20K mark.....I said...Kristen...1K to go....you are going to do this!!!!! Thats when she got this huge adrenalin rush....she took off to the finish line...and yes....I am such a Sap ...I had tears in my eyes watching her finish.....

Soooooo the moral of the story?? Crossfit transfers over to anything you do in life. It makes you physically strong. It makes you mentally tough when the going gets tough. It allows you to take on life's challenges and WIN the battle.

WAY TO GO KRISTEN! YOU ROCKED IT!

WOD

In keeping with the theme of running.........today we do HELEN

400 m RUN

21 KB Swings 24 kg/16 kg

12 Pull ups

3 Rounds

Lucky 7's

2010-03-08T05:00:00-05:00

A big congratulations to everyone that competed in the first of 3 Affiliate Cup tryouts on Sunday.....you all did so well on some very very tough workouts, I really don't think that you will see anything too much harder at the regional or sectional level, not to mention all 3 workouts within just over 2 hours...Some truly inspiring moments both in terms of results and sheer effort and intensity.....I have never seen Ryan push that hard before and Ryan is more or less known for his ability to endure. We should have some pictures of the fun posted a little later today, thanks to Julie.

I would also like to thank everyone that came out to help support your fellow CrossFitters...whether it be cheering them on, taking video and pictures, or helping with judging and scoring. Thank you to everyone....without you, we could not make these things happen your help and support is appreciated by all.

On a house keeping note... Kevin, Terry and myself spent the day saturday installing (new to us) lockers and benches in our tiny change-room. So, from now on if we could keep our stuff nice and tidy in day lockers and off the floor, benches, etc that would be awesome. We also have some further renovations coming in the next few weeks?? that should make the change-room/washroom situation better for all......not to mention free up some much needed gym floor space for a few more pieces of equipment.

WOD

7 DEADLIFTS 225 lbs/155 lbs

7 RING DIPS

7 JUMP SQUATS

BURPEES.......7 the 1st round, 6 the 2nd, 5 the 3rd......to 1.