It is awesome to witness that indomitable spirit of those that shed sweat, blood and tears for something they feel so passionate about.  The Throwdown was an amazing example of this.  But in reality, I get to see that “will power” on a daily basis. I am so blessed to know that my job is to work with people who want more in life. To know that my entire job is based on the simple fact that “good enough” isn’t truly good enough; when it’s skinny vs. strong, strong always wins; when calluses, and tears are signs of hard work.

We say that every rep counts and your score is the time it took you to complete the workout, and while this is all fine and well. This doesn’t really matter, in fact I don’t care if you did “Fran” Rx or not , and regardless if you broke 300 on your “Fight Gone Bad”, none of these things truly matter.

What matters is the hard work that you push yourself above and beyond what you thought you could do. The impact of this hard work results in a better, more confident you. These things matter. If we can make that type of impact on everyone’s life that comes through that door, and breed that indomitable will in all our athletes, we are accomplishing what many tried to do before us.

Thank you for making this possible.

“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.” –William Allen White 

Get the best in CrossFit performance gear at the CrossFit Store.

Warm-Up:

Russian Gymnastics Warm-Up – Day 2

WOD:

I. “Annie”

For Time:

50 – 40 – 30 – 20 – 10

Double-Unders

AbMat Situps

II. Press

5 – 5 – 5 – 5

III. Accumulate 3 Minutes in an L-Sit

Scaling options for all ability levels will be provided for by your coach

It wasn’t a total fail day. The false grip ring pullups went better, but, I’m still several inches away from the right height. I just did 7×1, enough singles to rough up my wrist, so I look like a cutter.

Sweet, salty, and totally satisfying. Hope you enjoy

Love ya!
Jamby 
INGREDIENTS:

– 2-3lbs chicken cutlet (depending on how much you want to make– leftovers are great for lunch at work)
– purple grapes, halved
– sliced almonds and/or walnuts and/or pecans
– 3 stalks celery, washed and chopped
– Paleo Mayo (to taste)
– sea salt and/or garlic salt
– pepper
– olive oil

Step 1. On a skillet over medium-high heat, pour in olive oil. Begin to cook and season (with sea salt and pepper) your chicken cutlets thoroughly until no longer pink inside. Once cooked, tear chicken (yes, with your hands, cave-people!) into bite size pieces and place into a large mixing bowl. If you like cold chicken salad and/or don’t have a lot of time to make dinner, I would suggest doing this the night before.

Step 2. Next, add the grapes and nuts (whichever kind you chose). I usually add as much as I like, of both, so depending on what you like, do so accordingly. Next, add the celery. Mix.

Step 3. Finally, make or retreive your Paleo Mayo and mix it thoroughly in the salad (to taste– I personally like a lot). Add your pepper and garlic/sea salt to taste, as well. Mix!

As you can see, my original recipes do not have a “set” serving for spices and condiments. These are usually based on personal preference and you may do with it what you wish.

1. Are you f**king kidding: double unders, box jumps, overhead squats.

2. Dubious, but, will get eventually when safe: wallballs, handstand pushups, scaled box jumps.

3. Should happen when  pain-free. Odds are good: Muscle-up, Rx Grace, Rx Fran.

4. Likely to have ready for the CrossFit Open of 2012: Pullups, Pushups, Ring Dips, Rowing, Thrusters, Front Squats, Deadlifts, Push-Press, Press, “Cindy”,

5. Likely to have credible wod times and AMRAP scores: See “Are you f**king kidding”

I absolutely love seeing when new athletes at CrossFit crossover to a becoming a true believer and not a just someone trying to get a workout in. Most of you passed through On-Ramp, and subsequently sat through my lectures on “What is CrossFit”, “What is Fitness”, or “Technique vs Intensity”. Most of you have probably forgotten most of what was said…

I would like to make a call to action. I would like to see all of you become a little more virtuous in the world of CrossFit. We want you to know everything the coaching staff knows.  Most of you watch CrossFit videos on YouTube for entertainment, I would love to see you watch them for education purposes too!

Learn about Metabolic Pathways, read about Nutrition, ask about Programming…dig deeper into the Rabbit Hole. CrossFit is here to stay, and you are a part of the movement. Start by using our site and crossfit.com to the fullest. Pull the string, and see where it takes you.

“Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently.” –William Arthur Ward

Get the best in CrossFit performance gear at the CrossFit Store.

Warm-Up:

Russian Gymnastics Warm-Up – Day 1

WOD:

I. SUCK DAY!

*Today is your opportunity to focus on fine-tuning and work on your weaknesses.  It may be gymnastics, it may be Olympic lifting… whatever it is, it’s time to improve on it!

Scaling options for all ability levels will be provided for by your coach

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered that decaffeinated coffee may improve brain energy metabolism associated with type 2 diabetes. This brain dysfunction is a known risk factor for dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.

The research is published online inNutritional Neuroscience.

A research group led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology, and Psychiatry, at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, explored whether dietary supplementation with a standardized decaffeinated coffee preparation prior to diabetes onset might improve insulin resistance and glucose utilization in mice with diet-induced type 2 diabetes. The researchers administered the supplement for five months, and evaluated the brain’s genetic response in the mice. They found that the brain was able to more effectively metabolize glucose and use it for cellular energy in the brain. Glucose utilization in the brain is reduced in people with type 2 diabetes, which can often result in neurocognitive problems.

“Impaired energy metabolism in the brain is known to be tightly correlated with cognitive decline during aging and in subjects at high risk for developing neurodegenerative disorders,” said Dr. Pasinetti. “This is the first evidence showing the potential benefits of decaffeinated coffee preparations for both preventing and treating cognitive decline caused by type 2 diabetes, aging, and/or neurodegenerative disorders.”

Coffee intake is not recommended for everybody due to the fact that it is associated with cardiovascular health risks such as elevated blood cholesterol and blood pressure, both of which lead to an increased risk for heart disease, stroke, and premature death. These negative effects have primarily been attributed to the high caffeine content of coffee. Nonetheless, these novel findings are evidence that some of the non-caffeine components in coffee provide health benefits in mice. Dr. Pasinetti hopes to explore the preventive role of decaffeinated coffee delivered as a dietary supplement in humans.

“In light of recent evidence suggesting that cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related neurodegenerative disorders may be traced back to neuropathological conditions initiated several decades before disease onset, developing preventive treatments for such disorders is critical,” he said.

If you are registered for the open please go join our team “Albany CrossFit.” On your profile page, under Team, it should say “Join a Time” with a drop-down box, select “Albany CrossFit.” It is the only team we are creating for the 2012 Games. All should be registered on it. Every one of you counts.

There are so many ways to get warmed up and ready to hit your CrossFit WOD.

We program a Warm-Up every day.  For many of you it is plenty and it gets you ready to attack the WOD.  Others might not feel it’s adequate and need to add more.

There is time and space before every class to come in early and begin your warm-up on your own, and we have many people that do just that.  Whether it’s joint mobility, rowing, stretching, the CFWU, or anything else, this is entirely up to you.

While CrossFit is great because it’s one hour per day, the truth is, if you want to see yourself get to the next level it begins with adding some additional work, the warm-up is a great place to start.

If you need to improve your Squat Clean add some tall cleans.  If you don’t have pullups throw in a volume ladder.  If flexibility is an issue add some stretching.  Anything works, point is, do something.

You can vary it daily or stick with the same thing.  Remember, “if it’s important, do it every day.”

I encourage each and every one of you to find out what works best for both your mind and body.

Another topic is warming up for a heavy lift.

Step One – figure out what your goal weight to start is.

From there plan on 3-5 warm-up sets of equal distance apart.

For example, it is a 3 x 5 (3 sets of 5) Back Squat Day and you want to hit your first set at 185lbs.

Warm-Up Set 1 – Bar (45 lbs) x 5 (I might do this twice depending on how I felt)

Warm-Up Set 2 – 95lbs x 5

Warm-Up Set 3 – 115lbs x 3

Warm-Up Set 4 – 135lbs x 2

Warm-Up Set 5 – 165lbs x 1

Then hit your working sets.

This is just an example, but the point is not to tire yourself out warming up, it should warm you up for your “working sets.”

Hope this helps!  Happy Lifting!

“Spectacular achievement is always preceded by spectacular preparation.” –Robert H. Schuller

Get the best in CrossFit performance gear at the CrossFit Store.

Warm-Up:

Russian Gymnastics Warm-Up – Day 2

WOD:

I. Back Squat

5 – 3 – 1

Then…

1 Set for Max Reps at 55-65% of 1 Rep Max

II. Max Pullups in 10 Minutes

III. Tabata Rowing

Scaling options for all ability levels will be provided for by your coach