Well wishes to Doug, Hilary, Amy, and 9 others on their Missionary Trip tomorrow. We will be thinking of you and the good you are doing. Stay strong!
I found that my daily lunchtime 3 mile run wasn’t doing enough to get me in shape. During the day at The Hurst Company (www.hurstco.com); “Time is Money”! My suits were fitting too tight and I knew I needed to change things up or I would have to buy a whole new wardrobe. That’s a horrendous thought for a penny pinching CPA!
I must admit I was apprehensive at first about trying CrossFit, but after only my first day… I was hooked. I absolutely love it and couldn’t imagine life without MY CrossFit “Sandbox” sessions.
I am fascinated at what seems to be such small changes in my exercise routine – have yielded so many results. For example: I could barely do a pull-up when I first started. Through Doug’s training…last week I did twenty in a row! I enjoy the CrossFit system of periodically checking my progress through “benchmark” workouts. These prove to me exactly how vast my improvement has been.
When I started the program I was primarily a one-on-one student – but have since introduced a couple of friends to CrossFit who also enjoy what they are seeing. Now, our time slot is working into a class of its own.
When travelling on business or vacations,
Results:
Waistline: 2 inches off!
5k Run time: 36 minutes down to 29 min
Fran time: Jan ‘08 - 1 pull up – the rest jumping and assisted – 65# thrusters
Most recent Fran - 9:04
FGB Score: Mar ’08 - 221 w/55#
FGB Jul ’08 – 256 w/75#
Helen - 11:45
Today's Grace - 6:36
Way to go Hank!
Doug has given me a healthy diet to follow and will even accompany me to the grocery store to help advise of the right foods to eat.
I strongly advise anyone, old or young, fit or out of shape, to give CrossFit a try. It is challenging, but the results are well worth the effort. My ten year daughter absolutely loves it, too. Coach Lane has given her workouts that have helped her excel in all of her sports. She even made the All-Star team this year thanks to his special work with her.
Ben racking a Push Press at FGB - 2009
Great photos Brooke! Thank You!
Marine Staff Sgt Daniel Hansen died February 14th in Farah Providence, Afghanistan when an IED he was working on detonated. Daniel is survived by his mother Sheryll, his father Delbert, his younger sister Katie, and his twin brother Matthew (also a Marine).
The CrossFit workout is ‘Fight Gone Bad.’ In this workout you spend one minute at each of five stations, resulting in a a five-minute round after which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. This event calls for three rounds. The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of ‘rotate,’ the athletes must move to the next station immediately. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower, where each calorie is one point. The stations are:
Warmup: 
REST DAY!! Yeah!
Get ready for Fight Gone Bad (FGB) Next Saturday with your Recovery Bubble:
FAQ from former USA Weightlifting Coach Harvey Newton:
Q: What’s the scoop on benefits and drawbacks of high reps vs. low reps, high load vs. low load when weight training?
A: There are no black and white answers, but plenty of shades of grey. Generally speaking, if you use low intensity (light resistance) and can perform more than 15 reps, you are working muscular endurance. Again, generally speaking, if you use heavier intensities and can only execute six or fewer reps, this protocol is considered the best for strength gains. It’s that area in-between, say eight-12 reps, where it is normally expected that one will have the greatest gains in muscular hypertrophy, or growth.
True enough, weightlifters and powerlifters, the most advanced strength/power athletes, tend to train with fewer than five reps. And bodybuilders, those seeking the most muscular growth, tend to work moderate reps in the eight-12 range. But, that’s not to say that the average person, likely to train in this moderate range, is likely to gain much muscular bulk. Too many other factors are involved.
It does suggest that those who train with light weights and higher repetitions are pretty far removed from the training that we think produces increased strength.
It’s been my experience that most females and a large percentage of endurance athletes (both genders) think that lifting heavier weights results in gains in muscular bulk (something they do not want). It’s an age-old myth, one not likely to change any time soon. The one known result of lifting heavier weights (assuming one has properly prepared for this challenge) is that strength levels tend to increase. Whether or not one gains significant muscular hypertrophy is probably more determined by genetics, diet, and training priorities.
Endurance athletes, for some odd reason, like to treat the weightroom as another endurance sport, keeping the heart rate high and not resting adequately between sets. As a result, they train cardio-respiratory fitness, the same as when they train for their event, but do not gain strength. In my opinion, most people should not seek cardio-respiratory benefits in the weightroom; this is a place to get stronger and gain power.
For most of us, training across the entire repetition continuum probably makes the most sense. There’s no reason to attempt heavy efforts if you’ve not established the proper muscular and nervous system integration needed for high-intensity work. So, the first year of training may include no high load, low volume training. Conversely, weightlifters and powerlifters do start off (sometimes a bit prematurely) with high intensity work when they should establish a more solid base through moderate training.
All repetition schemes have benefits and drawbacks. Creating and utilizing a sound periodized training program after an initial year of general training in moderate loads and volumes make the most sense for the typical lifter.
WOD:
'The morning crew wanted a little more today"......
Warmup: 
"Helen" - in the early days of CFAI
Welcome to our new Peeps: Laurie, Adam, and John (who really isn't new...)
the Mini-Mini - Tri
