Competitive Eating

The emails and comments I've received in response to my CrossFit Journal article have brought up a lot of good thoughts, and questions. They have made me realize that there is so much more to discuss. Over the next week or two, I'm going to touch on a few of the things you've brought up, regarding CrossFit, diet and food.

The first idea for discussion came from an email I received from Jeanette, in New Brunswick, Canada. She wrote, in part:

"I have a very low tolerance for Competitive Dieters: How many blocks are you eating? What are you eating? I don't eat that. Cheat meal this... sugar hangover that... extra fat here... less carbs there... JUST SHUT UP and LET ME EAT MY GODDAMN COOKIE!"

Amen, sister.

CrossFit is competitive, in lots of ways. We compare times, weights, workout results, body fat percentages. And yes, we are competitive in our eating as well. Not the kind of competitive eating that Gant Grimes used to do - was it hot dogs, or maybe chicken wings? And not necessarily the kind that Jeanette is referring to. Though she has a point about outside dietary pressures, I'll argue that the majority of our competitive eating is far more subtle. We weigh, measure, track and report our diets in a very public manner, on message boards and in blog posts, thereby opening ourselves up to perceived criticisms. We read about OTHER people's diets, and imagine a perceived pressure to also eat squeaky clean, to cut out grains - no, grains AND sugar - no, grains, sugar AND dairy. Note the word "perceived"... because I've never seen anyone outwardly, explicitly judge what I eat. No one has ever said to me, "You shouldn't eat that french toast", or "You eat too much protein", or "Do you really want that martini?" No, the sad truth of the matter is that no one is putting this pressure of "competitive eating" on me... but ME.

Most of the time, if someone DID say to me, "You sure you want that martini?" I would simply pop a blue cheese stuffed olive in my mouth and direct them to my Healthy/Fuck Off Scale. I am usually confident enough in my diet, my athletic performance and the level of balance I have achieved in my life to brush off any kind of dietary peer pressure. But there are certain times - usually when I'm feeling a little insecure about my CrossFit-ness - that I do fall into the competitive eating trap.

This was never more evident than when I attended the first Science of Exercise Certification back in January. See, I've been to plenty of certs. And when you're working out eight hours a day on Saturday AND Sunday, people tend to relax their diets a bit. It's all about getting food in when you can, and if that means a wrap, a bagel or a cheeseburger, so be it. But at the Science Exercise Cert, we weren't training. It was lecture, for two days straight. So people needed to eat, but there wasn't that added factor of needing to hoover whatever food you could fit in between workouts. And the caliber of people in that room left me feeling... well, kind of like nobody. I'm sitting next to Jeff Martone and Coach Rip, behind Matt Lalonde and Tucker, in front of Eva T and Coach Glassman. I'm in a room full of fire-breathers, affiliate owners, coaches and subject matter experts. Aaannd... me. So yes, I was feeling a little CrossFit insecure.

During the day, it was straight-up Paleo Gone Wild. The room was full of jerky, almonds, organic smoked turkey breast and fresh fruit. We'd go out for lunch and the chips and salsa they set on the table might as well have been a plate full of rattlesnakes, the way I thought I saw people recoiling. Every order was special - no bread, hold the cheese, can I get extra broccoli and no salad dressing? It was INSANE... or maybe that was just my perception of the situation. Because certainly no one was flaunting their Paleo or Zone. No one questioned what I was eating, no one probably even noticed. And there were plenty of people drinking beer and eating cornbread, having a good old time at dinner on Saturday night (which is the only time I relaxed on MY diet). But because I was kind of nervous anyway, and wanted to do my best to fit in with all these awesome CrossFit people, I became a super-Nazi about my food choices. Way more than I would have been, had it been a normal weekend. (I did NOT get my french toast that Sunday, which is a travesty.)

How often do we let competitive eating peer pressure get to us? And why do we do it? If our diets are clean, and we are happy with our performance, and our lives feel balanced, then why would we ever torture ourselves with trying to "keep up" with the next guy's diet? It makes no sense, and yet I suspect we all fall into that trap once in a while. So here's what I do to get myself back in check.

1. Find a NORMAL and HEALTHY diet role model, and talk to them on a regular basis. Dallas is my go-to for that - he eats squeaky clean most of the time, but he's also one of my Sunday morning french toast partners in crime. Gant Grimes is another one I turn to when I start to go off the diet deep end. Gant tries to set a Meat PR at least once a month, and thinks nothing of eating ice cream and drinking beer whenever he damn well pleases. His life is BALANCED, and his performance is continually improving, and most importantly, he is HAPPY. He brings me back to reality, and usually does the trick to snap me out of my diet madness.


2. Stand up for yourself if someone is overtly pressuring you to eat more/less/better/cleaner. You know whether there is a point to the pressure. Have you spent the last two weeks eating nothing but donuts and pizza? Maybe Peer Pressure Guy has a point. But if your diet has been solid, and you're excited about that chocolate chip cookie or that tall, frothy Guinness... stick up for yourself. Tell them to shove it, or point them to my H/FO Scale. Because as Jeanette says, "If ANYONE can afford to eat a piece of cake or drink a pint of beer, it's us CrossFitters, right?"
   

3. If you are feeling a lot of pressure, whether from the outside or internal, go cold turkey and take a break from CrossFit for 2-3 days. Take training rest days, eat whatever you like, take lots of naps, do fun stuff. And then get back into the gym, and TELL me that your performance isn't just as good - if not better - than it was the week before. See for yourself that a few dietary "transgressions" here and there aren't going to kill you. In fact, there's a good chance that the extra calories and rest is EXACTLY what your body has been craving.

CrossFit isn't for sissies. As the Black Box says, sometimes it's a Hostile Workout Environment. But that doesn't mean you need to bully yourself into health and fitness. Choose your course, find your balance, and be confident in your decisions. Don't allow competitive eating to become a part of your daily routine. And Jeanette - go ahead and eat that cookie, girl.

Gant's recovery meal from this weekend. In his own words, "8 oz. of steak, 8 oz. of chicken, and 8 oz. of sausage. That's 24 Zone blocks of protein. Not anywhere near a PR- just a good meal. Not pictured: olive oil and Texas ale."

The ultimate hip-hop deadlift track

First, I've received a ton of emails and comments about the Zone Gone Bad article, from both women and men. To those of you who shared your very personal stories with me - thank you. I can't tell you what it means to hear from others who have gone through similar experiences. I am especially touched to hear from so many men who are concerned about their wives/girlfriends diet behaviors. I am looking forward to "talking" with everyone who sent a note, so I'm writing back as fast as I can.

This topic deserves more time, and I have plenty of ideas for additional related posts. But I spent eight hours of training with Dallas on Sunday, and I swear, at least two hours were spent in the bottom position of an air squat, taking pictures for the 603 site. And that was BEFORE he taught me how to split jerk. So I'm too tired for anything other than a quick and dirty post this morning.

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These are last week's deadlifts, 3x3 at 165#. That's only 80% of my 1RM, but if you recall a few months ago, Dallas and I decided to rewind in a serious fashion and take my form back to perfect before adding more weight on the bar. The rules say I need a B+ or better (from Dallas) before I can move up in weight, and so far, so good. I hit this same workout at 165# two weeks ago and didn't even bother to send him the video. Because of all this practice, I've become pretty damn good at coaching deadlifts, and even I could tell that last week's form wasn't going to cut it. So I gave it another shot last Thursday.



I easily got my B+. In fact, I also got a push to start pushing the weight again, to the point where my form starts to degrade on my last set. Which means I'm dialed in enough to start purposefully and carefully sacrificing some form for the sake of moving heavy stuff. Note, I said SOME form... I still need a B+ across enough sets and repetitions before I'll be able to move up again. But still... SWEET.

Oh, and if it looks like I'm messing around between reps, it's because I'm working the hook grip for the very first time. It sometimes takes me a few to get that set - it's a totally new and not particularly comfortable hand position on the bar. That will tighten up quickly, though, and nobody is concerned about my reset time at this point.

Also, Struck gave me an A- on these. Which I totally appreciate. Video of the barbell TGU is coming, Struck. But I'm not even going to pretend to be at your windmill level anymore.

Eat.

This gorgeous piece of art was Dallas' birthday gift to me. It is the only thing hanging on a huge brick wall in my office, and I get to look at it all day, every day. I'm pretty good at following directions, and this little piece of communication from him to me is as clear and concise as it gets.



My "Zone Gone Bad" article was published in the CrossFit Journal today. In the article, I cop to some pretty serious confessions about me and food. To be honest, I can't believe that no one is talking about this - the link between women (and men) with a history of disordered eating habits, and how the rigidity and rules of the Zone diet can bring those habits right back out. I've seen it personally, and I've talked at least a handful of other women about this same issue.

In the article, I describe how I had a serious flashback to some of my messed up eating patterns when I first started to Zone more than a year ago. Luckily, I didn't travel too far down that path before I reigned it in and started eating for performance, as I should have been all along. Now food and I are tight. I still have my off days - when I get stressed or busy, meals are the first thing to fall to the wayside. But that doesn't happen often, and when it does, I make up for it by taking an extra rest day or two, and eating like an NFL linebacker for the rest of the week.

I've had a lot of requests from people to see exactly what I eat. I don't weigh, measure or track any more, but once in a while, I FitDay my food intake to make sure I'm still on the right path. I did that one day this week - and things are looking good. This is exactly what I eat in a typical day. (Like, very typical, considering I pretty much eat the same foods all the time.) A few key points to my diet...

1. I eat a lot. More than any other girl I know. More than a lot of dudes I know. And Justin Lascek STILL sends me an email every day telling me I need to eat more.
   
2. I eat a lot of fat. A LOT.
   
3. I eat a lot of protein. Probably more than I need, but I have to get my calories in somewhere and I'm still trying to put on muscle.
4. I don't eat a lot of carbs. And my energy is consistent, and my performance in the gym has never been better. This week, I hit a dead hang pull-up PR, took 3:00 off my Grace time and put 10# on my hang power clean. All on under 150g of carbs a day.
5. I am still not eating enough, because there still ARE days when I slack on my intake.

Now my situation is probably different than a lot of people. I'm TRYING to put weight on, and if I slack in my food intake for a single week, I lean out to the point where my performance suffers. That's probably not typical. So maybe don't think so much about how much I eat, but take from my diet that you probably can afford to eat more. And that fat is good. And that you judge how well your diet is going by how you are performing in the gym. Period.

If I'm a little obnoxious standing on this particular soapbox, it's only because I came from a pretty unhealthy view of food, health and body image. I don't want to see other women - and men - make the same mistakes I did - eating too little, training too hard, and experiencing the same frustration, discouragement and burnout that I did. I hope posting some of my food stuff helps, and please let me know what you thought of the article. Finally, I'm always available to answer diet questions - just email me, or post to comments.

Stomp the box

I bet that everyone has ONE CrossFit exercise that scares the crap out of them. Heavy snatches, maybe? Because violently throwing your body underneath a loaded barbell seems more than a little insane. Or handstands... that has always been my #1 fear, hands-down. I remember getting down to GSX and meeting Tucker for the first time. Within two minutes, he said, "Okay, let's see what we've got here. Just kick up real quick..." And I was like, "Ummmmm... no f***ing thank you". I don't think he realized how much we'd need to baby-step the process. I set him straight on that one.

And I know a lot of people find box jumps scary. The thought of having to jump up AND successfully land on something that comes up to your knees - or higher - can be downright paralyzing. My sister Kelly, bad-ass kettlebell chick and recent CrossFit convert, is one of the box jump people. They have always terrified her. We've worked on them before, using everything from a 12" Reebok step to a 16" giant tire. And she'll DO them, but she doesn't like them. And they mess with her head in a serious fashion. At least, they did until last night.

Kelly has been doing some training with Kevin Williams - AKA "Torch" - at CrossFit Brooklyn (holla!). So I told her to hit her box jumps with Torch next time she went over there. She attacked the assignment head on. In Kelly's own words:

"As you know, I’ve always been irrationally afraid of box jumps. Hesitance translated into several attempts over the years that resulted in shins scraping down the front of the box. OUCH. That is NOT what I consider positive reinforcement. I’d always been told two things about box jumps. First, don’t look at the box. Two, try to land softly. Both of which meant I was jumping blindly, and nowhere near aggressively enough.

Torch’s advice last night: Look directly at the box. And stomp the shit out of it. Amen. I did a bunch of sets of 5 on a TWENTY INCH BOX without a single moment of hyperventilating. I don’t think Torch really understood the years of fitness anxiety that he had undone in literally a matter of 60 seconds. But I knew you’d get it."

In summary, Me:Handstands:Tucker = Kelly:Box Jumps:Torch. And the impact these trainers have had on us by helping us overcome our fears is pretty remarkable. My newly cultivated upside-down confidence has translated into me trying all kinds of new activities... more on that this weekend. And I guarantee Kelly is going to be jumping up on whatever is handy in the coming days - a bar stool, the kitchen table, maybe even another actual box in her own gym. So nice job, Torch and CFBK. Thanks for taking such good care of my sister. And way to go, Cute, for taking the lunch money from those mean old box jumps.

What are you afraid of, what have you overcome, and how did you do it?

I (heart) handstands. Brooklyn, get a picture of my sister stomping the box for me, will you?

Vice President of Squat

Every once in a while, something totally random happens to make you believe that you really are on the right path. I had a really cool sign from the fitness universe this week while hanging out at my real job.

I had a meeting scheduled with a VP from another department - let's call her Mary. Mary and I don't work together often, and we don't really know each other much past a "hello" in the hallway. But she asked my team to do some reporting for her team, so we scheduled a meeting to discuss.

The meeting went fine - we got through the material quickly, and I was on my way out the door when she stopped me.

Mary: Hey, Melissa, can you hang back a minute? I have a question.

Me: Sure, about the reports?

Mary: Not exactly. So... I'm taking this boot camp class, and when we do squats, my knees really hurt. (At this point, Mary does this forward knee bending motion and winces like it hurts. Uh-huh.) Is there anything I can do to strengthen my knees?

Me: Okay. So, Mary, what you just did... is that how you actually squat in class?

Mary: Yep, pretty much.

Me: Okay. And when you sit down in a chair, or on a really low bench, do your knees hurt then?

Mary: Not really, no.

So at this point, I'm over the fact that one of our Vice Presidents is showing me her air squat in an open conference room, because I'm pretty sure I know exactly what the problem is. She's breaking at the knee way before she is sending her butt back, which is pushing her knees way forward. No wonder they hurt.

So I explain all of this to Mary, showing her the proper squat motion (as best as I could in 3" knee high boots), explaining the concept of a safe air squat, and asking her to duplicate the movement. She listens, and does a few, and nods her head, and says thank you. And then I go back to my office.

Today, I got an email from Mary, with a subject line of "Thank you..." I assume she's talking about the reports we sent her, but instead, it read this:

"I wanted to express my thanks again for the advise regarding squatting. We did plenty this morning at boot camp, and by leading with my bum, it really took the pressure off my knees. So much better and much more effective. Thanks again!"

I mean, you are WELCOME. This whole interaction pretty much made my week. The fact that this woman - whom I don't know very well socially or professionally - heard from someone that I was the person to ask about proper squat form is totally awesome. The fact that I'm getting requests for form corrections outside of the gym, and from people other than my clients is really exciting. And the fact that I pretty much FIXED her in under three minutes in a conference room is the very best part.

I know not all my "clients" are going to be this easy... but I'm taking this as a sign that I'm doing something right around here. Thanks, fitness universe.

Dallas and I, coaching. (At a recent gymnastics certification. We don't have any rings in my conference rooms.)

More on the barbell TGU

Last week, I discovered the barbell Turkish get-up, and immediately fell in love. I've been working them in as a warm-up drill, just a few on each side. They're getting better, but today they got WAY better, thanks to a great reminder from people posting to comments.

Katie from CrossFit Old Town works BBTGUs as part of Jerry Hill's programming. Katie said:

"I work out with Andrea (Seward) at CFOT. Jerry has had us work with BBTGU's in the past. I think they're awesome, but like you said, require you to really focus on the form of the TGU. IMHO, you really need to focus on keeping active shoulder and tightening your core to keep the bar from tipping back and forth. I think they're harder then KB or DB simply because of the added distance."

Now, I know you need an active shoulder and core tension to do a pretty TGU... but Katie's reminder triggered a really helpful cue. I think about it a little differently than she described, but the concept is the same. The barbell TGU is less "active shoulder", and more about keeping tension through the body as a UNIT. Think about your body as being one solid hunk of wood as you move through the progression. It's not active shoulder, and also a tight core... it's a solid continuation of tension from your hand right on down. Katie's reminder also triggered something else that Gant Grimes recommended:

"You're just used to stabilizing with your shoulder; these require shoulder wrist, and forearm stabilization, all effected through the trunk."

Gant reminded me to grip the crap out of that bar. That activates the wrist and forearm, which is necessary to keep the bar from tipping side to side and front to back. That also helps to promote whole-body tension from the top down.

Thinking about those cues today, keeping whole body tension and using my shoulder, wrist AND forearm to stabilize the bar, made my attempts with a 30# bar feel like cake compared to the 25# bar I was using last week. I'm ready to move up to the big boy bar... Or maybe just throw a couple of 5# plates on the shorter one. We'll see how things progress.

I had Jenn work these this morning, with a 10# training bar. Her kettlebell TGU is gorgeous, but the challenge of stabilizing something different overhead changed her form a bit. See how her arm is in front of her ear? The bar isn't centered over her mid-line. This is what we call "self-correcting"... had there been any weight on the bar, she would have lost it forward. Next time, I will have her focus on sticking each transition point for a few seconds, and making sure the bar is pulled right next to her ear, with an active shoulder.

Also note her wrist isn't active enough in this picture. I'll cue that wrist and forearm tension starting at the floor the next time through.



And finally, kettlebells and barbells aren't the ONLY thing you can TGU with. Check out my friend Davie Easton from Scotland, doing his "Wee Kid Get-Ups". This is my favorite video this week.

My apology to Hang Power Cleans

Dear Hang Power Cleans,

Sorry I gave you the finger and bad-mouthed you all over town last week. It's not your fault - it was just a communication mix-up, really. I know you were only trying to be helpful by demonstrating why my squat clean form is not, in fact, very good. I thought I saw you and your friend Push Jerk pointing and laughing at one point, and that made me REALLY mad. But it turns out you were just trying to make me see that jumping from my toes is really inefficient. And for all those reps that you withheld... well, I know now that pulling with my arms is downright insulting. So, sorry, Hang Power Clean. We're totally cool now. I've added you as my Facebook Friend and everything. (But your buddy Push Jerk can still suck it.)

xoxo
BYERS

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I was lucky enough to train with Dallas for a few hours on Sunday. He started out by fixing my press - and I didn't even know it was broken. More on that in a later post, but for now I'll just say that a slight tweak to form can make a formerly "heavy" weight feel LIGHT. Which is sweet.

We spent the most time working the hang power clean. We worked this move once about a year ago, but only using an empty bar, and only briefly. I've been teaching myself the full clean (from the floor) and thought I was doing okay. Turns out, I was not.

I tried power cleans from the hang on my own for the first time last week. It did not go well. In fact, it simply did not go - my reps at 75# were almost all fails. One look at last week's form on video and it was easy for him see my issues. Set-up position was all wrong, bar wasn't staying even CLOSE to my body on the way up and I was jumping off my toes and pulling with my arms. I mean, disaster. Which means my squat cleans are only successful because I'm strong enough to muscle 100# off the ground. Damn.

Dallas fixed me one step at a time - as much as he could before I got too tired to continue. He triaged my form, and we addressed the biggest issues for our first session. For the set-up, he used the cue of "covering the bar" with my chest. I was setting up with my shoulders way too far back, partially because my hips weren't back far enough. That made it impossible to keep the bar close and keep weight on the heels. He described the cue as "covering" the bar with shade from your chest for as long as possible as you open your hips.

We also fixed my arms - they were still bent at the hang, instead of being locked down with a slightly turned over wrist. That position helped a lot, but what helped the MOST was the introduction of the hook grip. It hurt, and the first few reps it was all I could think about... but when I finally got used to it, it made a big difference in how effective my pull felt.

We did a lot of pull drills, including some clean shrugs. This helped me get the hang of keeping the bar CLOSE - dragging it up my thighs and shirt. (We chalked the bar, so he could see it was leaving marks on my pants.) The shrug drills also helped me learn to keep my weight in my heels, something I have a hard time doing with a variety of movements.

Finally, we worked some fast elbow drills. This is my biggest problem - in a few of my fails today, it wasn't because the bar wasn't high enough. I'm pulling PLENTY high... but I wasn't getting my elbows around quick enough. That's something I have to keep working on. Dallas gave me a drill on a bar in the rack... basically mimicking a catch with REALLY fast elbows. Still a major work in progress.

Here's video from my day. I had done a crap-ton of reps at 65# and 75# before this, so I was pretty tired, but I was determined to get a few successful pulls at 85# (PR). If you're an Oly coach (EC!) feel free to drop some feedback, and if you're just an athlete working on their cleans like me, see if you can spot my continued form issues as described above. (I mean, I'm pretty sure you can see them from space...)

I'll be working these with Dallas (instead of the squat clean) for a few weeks going forward. My power clean PR is 100# from the floor - I'd like to get there from the hang pretty soon. The elbows are going to be the key.

The song in the video is Wyclef Jean covering CCR's "Fortunate Son".

Stalk me

I thought I was legit when CrossFit Headquarters welcomed me to their Affiliate family.

I KNEW I was legit when CrossFit NYC linked to the 603 web site.

But now, I realize I'm not truly legit... until Keith Wittenstein stalks me.

The RSS feed for CrossFit 603 is up and running. Thanks to Sampie and the others who helped me figure that out. Give it a test and keep up with CrossFit 603 workouts, events and other random musings.

Strongmen in lip gloss

Reminder: Saturday, from 12 PM - 3 PM, is North Shore CrossFit's Nutrition Seminar. If you're enrolled, shoot me an email so I can be sure to introduce myself in Beverly. And it's not too late to sign up, so check the link for details. Danny will be talking about everything from Paleo and Zone food choices to proportion and quantity to how your diet plays a role in recovery. I'll also be giving a brief summary of Intermittent Fasting (IF), and how to add this practice into your diet. (I'll basically be summarizing things I've learned from Mike O'Donnell, because he is the Man when it comes to IF.)

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My own workouts are all off-kilter this week, because my hip is still pissed off from our major squat session last weekend. I couldn't do the met-con that the 603 is doing today, because I cannot handle a busload of squat cleans. I decided to press instead (which I'm going to turn into tomorrow's 603 WOD)... but before that, I wanted to play around with some Turkish Get-Ups.

The TGUs with my 16K are feeling pretty easy these days - time to move up to the 20K and see how they go. But today, the gym was empty-ish, so I decided to try something different.

I did TGUs with a barbell. And Ashton Kutcher on a unicycle, that is a TOTALLY different movement.

I used a shorter barbell - the kind, I think, that you'd use for curls. I don't know the length, maybe 5'? It weighed 26# - I got on a scale with it to get an exact weight. So it was 10# lighter than the KB I was using, but man if that first one wasn't the slowest, most awkward TGU I've ever done. The barbell kept twisting, so the weight kept shifting, so I had to make sure each point of the movement was totally solid and balanced before I transitioned to the next step. It was tough, but I was starting to get the hang of it by the third set. I'm pretty sure my gym has never before witnessed a cute girl in lip gloss and an AssFit t-shirt doing Turkish get-ups with a barbell. I totally got a wink and a thumbs-up from the big dude bench pressing.

So why haven't I done these before?!?! Clearly, I have grown far too comfortable with my kettlebell. And this movement is just so BAD-ASS with a barbell. So as you might expect, these will be making a serious appearance in our buy-ins and cash-outs going forward. What's up, Constantly Varied?

If you have a TGU, but haven't done them with a barbell yet... try it. Let me know what you think. And if anyone wants to grow a handlebar mustache, don a leopard-print leotard and take video for me, I WILL POST THAT SHIT. (Davie Easton... I'm talking to you.)

603 = LEGIT

CrossFit 603 is now an official Affiliate. SWEET.

I have literally been working day and night on our web site. It's nowhere near done, both in format and content. Stupid Wordpress... I'm not great with CSS, and there is a LOT of trial and error happening these days.

As for Byers Gets Diesel, I'm keeping this a totally separate and distinct entity from the 603 site. This is my own personal microphone, and I'd like to keep it that way. Posts have been a little skimpy this week, but only because I've been busting tail getting 603 stuff set up. I plan to continue posting here at least a few times a week going forward.

On that note, go ahead... check us out at http://crossfit603.com. I'm going to start posting workouts over there going forward. And for now, my workouts are 603's workouts, until Dallas and I can get our programming straight. We'll be posting WODs seven days a week, to accommodate any schedule.

The site is still in major "draft" form. Take, for example, the "About CrossFit" page. Who knew how DIFFICULT it would be to explain CrossFit? Plus, we wanted to break it down in our own words, not just rehash the same old jargon. That page isn't final yet, but the flavor is all there, and so far, we're digging it. Not as much as the FAQ, though. I can't wait to add more fun questions to that page.

So having made all the necessary disclaimers, feel free to pass along your thoughts on anything from layout to readability to content to technical errors. (But please assume that content only partially filled in is simply because we haven't made it that far yet.) And check back often, because we're working on it every day. Literally. Every. Single. Day.

How the hell do affiliate owners have time to do ANYTHING?

The Coach Boz OHS Warm-Up

I've been working on my push-jerks since I learned proper form at the Level 1 Cert. That wasn't the first time I'd worked the jerk, though. Last May, I visited San Francisco CrossFit, and got the chance to work with Adrian Bozman, CFHQ Trainer and master of all kinds of circus-y tricks. He also happens to be a damn good coach. We were messing around with my overhead squats, and I mentioned I hadn't worked the push-jerk yet. He spent a few minutes going through the form with a piece of PVC, but quickly noticed that my shoulder flexibility was going to be a serious limiting factor.

He took me through a five minute warm-up drill that works your shoulder flexibility through the overhead squat. After working the drill, we went right back to the push-jerk. Damn if my form didn't improve immediately. My posture was better, I could get my arms back by my ears with a narrower grip and I no longer had that uncomfortable tightness in my right shoulder.

When I got home, I began incorporating this drill into almost all my warm-ups. My shoulder range of motion began to improve quickly. I found the drill so much more effective than the dislocates I'd been doing. I thought I'd pass this along, as lots of CrossFitters find flexibility to be the limiting factor in lots of overhead exercises, including the OHS, the jerk and even kipping pull-ups.

The Coach Boz OHS Warm-Up

1. Do a few sets of dislocates (or "pass-throughs"). If you don't know what those are, here's a video on YouTube. (This guy is doing them WAY too fast, though. Slow it down.) Take your hands really wide, shrug your shoulders hard and pass the bar up and over, until it touches your lower back. Keeping your arms straight, bring the bar back around to the front. Move your hands in a little bit closer after every 5-10 reps, until you reach the point where you can no longer keep your arms straight. (By the way, that point - as close as you can get your hands without a break in your elbows - is your overhead squat and snatch grip.) Make the circles with your arms BIG, and make them count - don't just whip through them. Try to hold at any sticking points, to get extra stretch.

2. Take your dowel/PVC and do a set of 10 OHS, as usual, as a warm-up (to the warm-up).

3. With the same normal OHS grip and normal foot position, squat down into the "hole" and hold it for a count of five. Focus on driving the shoulders UP towards your ears (active shoulders), and maintaining as much of a vertical torso/arm position as possible. Remember to push your knees OUT - don't let them drift in.

4. Stand up, move your hands in (towards each other) on the bar a few inches, and move your feet in the same distance. With this narrower stance, drop into the hole and hold for a count of five. You may notice you are leaning forward more here, and your arms are coming forward more. Focus on driving the shoulders UP (more UP than BACK - think "active") and keep your torso as upright as you can.

5. Repeat three or four more times, moving hands and feet in for each rep. During your last rep, hands and feet should be almost together. You may not get down very far at this point, and you may be leaning crazy forward. That position should improve with time and practice.

You end up doing 4-5 static holds in the bottom position of the OHS, each with a more narrow hand and foot position than the last. When you are done, do a few more dislocates, and see if you can move your arms in a bit closer now that you're more stretched out.

_____

I would have posted a picture of each portion of this drill, but my hip is still kind of tweaked from our high-bar session over the weekend. I'm not squatting again until next week, but I'll get something up soon. There's another shoulder opening wall stretch that I want to post as well, but my gym boyfriend wasn't around to take a picture this morning. And I wasn't about to ask a stranger... this pose is as close to "smut" as you'll ever see on this site. (That's a teaser, huh?)

BIG thank you to Adrian Bozman, who graciously allowed me to repost this warm-up drill. He said he probably can't even take the credit for it, since he probably learned it from someone else... but it'll always be the Coach Boz drill to me.

North Shore CrossFit Nutrition Seminar

This Saturday, the 603 is hitting the road for our first ever CrossFit Field Trip. I'll be running a crew down to see my boy Danny Vee at North Shore CrossFit, for a half-day nutrition seminar. Danny will be breaking down Paleo and Zone - the what, why, and how - in a manner that's easy to understand, and more importantly, easy to apply.

Danny and I have talked diet many times before. He and I are very much on the same page, which is why I'm excited to trot my soon-to-be CrossFitters down to hear what he has to say. He's a straight shooter, and he knows his subject matter. I'm excited to see how he's going to put all this information together for us.

_____

NUTRITION FOR OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE, RECOVERY, AND HEALTH
Hosted by Danny Vadala and North Shore CrossFit

"Want to eat well, but you're not sure what to believe? Want to perform better in the gym or in your sport? Want to recover faster from your workouts? Are you looking to achieve ideal health? Join us on Saturday, March 21st, from 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM as we discuss what it truly means to eat well for performance, recovery, and overall health. We'll debunk nutrition myths, provide a clear cut plan that is easy to follow, and educate you on how to enjoy eating well.

This is a chance for people to get a handle on why we need to balance our diets and what that actually means. A majority of the seminar will be dedicated to making a Paleo/Zone style of eating practical and easy to follow anywhere, anytime. We will also spend a good deal of time on meal planning and timing for optimum performance and recovery.

We'll be serving a two-block Paleo/Zone snack at the seminar, and you are all invited to stick around after the lecture for an optional WOD."
_____

There are still spots available, so visit their registration page to sign up for the seminar. If you have any specific questions about the seminar, subject material or North Shore CF, you can email Danny directly. And send me a note if you want to roll with us. There's room in the carpool, and I do love a good Field Trip.

The AM 603 WOD at Lakes Region Fitness

In anticipation of our official approval from CrossFit HQ, we're starting to set up "normal" training times at LRF. So far, I've got "classes" running at 6 AM on Tuesday, 6:30 PM on Thursday and Saturday mornings (pretty much all morning, starting as early as people want to show up). I'll be adding more days and times as we move along in the process, but for now, this is what we've got.

I trained two clients on Saturday - Rachel, a first-time CrossFit athlete, and Chad, who came back for another session after running through the Baseline the week before. This morning, my #1 Trainee Jenn came in to LRF for a lesson in "active shoulders" and a tough met-con.

Jenn's warm-up:

• Jump rope, 4:00
• 5 rounds of mini-Cindy: 5 ring rows, 5 push-ups, 5 air squats

Skill work - Active shoulder drills

• Press and overhead work (shrug)
• Static hang from pull-up bar (create space)
• Push-up plus position (push away)
• Ring support position (create space)
• KB swing (retract scapula)

Met-con

21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps, for time, of:

• KB swings (20K)
• Overhead walking lunge steps (30# bar/10# bar)
• Knee-ups from pull-up bar/butterfly sit-ups (mixed up to preserve grip)

15:38

Jenn totally rocked this one. This was the first time she did swings with the 20K, and that girl has some gorgeous form. She can be my swing demo girl any day. The OH walking lunges were more about reinforcing the active shoulder position than weight bearing, so as she fatigued, we dropped the weight of the bar. Grip was a limiting factor in knee-ups, so we alternated those with sit-ups.

Cash-out:

• Static hangs from pull-up bar
• Assigned homework for this, to improve grip strength

I was going to do presses today, but after yesterday's gymnastics-a-go-go, my shoulders were toast. I'm surprised that I was surprised at that... Dallas was like, "Duh". So I'll press again later in the week, to make up for the crappy showing today.

I did get to show Jenn my ring dip, though, and I showed her some circus tricks, because since the gymnastics cert, I CANNOT stop flipping around on my rings. Also, I don't know how Jenn looks like a supermodel in this picture, because this was taken just after her workout. She looks WAY to good to have just gone through a butt-kicking...

More arm-warmer love

I have a ton of stuff to cover this week, but spent all weekend messing around with CF 603 stuff, and didn't get to update my blog. Stay tuned this week for:

• My high bar back squat training with Dallas (live and in person training - finally)
• Client coaching during "Free-for-all Saturday" at LRF
• The Coach Boz OHS warm-up
• Nutrition Seminar hosted by Danny Vee and North Shore CF
• "Eat"

In the meantime, I bring you more pictures of CrossFitters in Arm-Warmers. I mean, go ahead and make, fun, because this is the most retarded series of postings in the history of this blog. I just can't resist... people keep sending me pictures, and it is my obligation to share them with the world.

First is Little Beaner Bee, daughter of Gabe and Kim Mendoza of CrossFit One Spirit in Herndon, VA. Kim was at my gymnastics cert at CF Potomac, and she and Gabe were more than happy to fashion their little one in some "Mexican arm warmers" (his term, not mine). I'm pretty sure they're just socks with holes, but when you're as cute as Beaner Bee, you can pull off absolutely anything.

For those of you who know me well... children aren't exactly my thing. But damn if I'm not considering getting knocked up now, just so I can dress the kid in some arm warmers and put it on a set of Olympic rings.



And on a totally different - so, SO different - note... here's my boy Davie Easton from Motherwell, Scotland, rocking HIS arm warmers. This picture pretty much made my week - the crazy hair, the ink, the stripes... Davie, that is some serious hotness.



I'll keep posting pictures as long as you keep sending them, but be warned... it's almost time to trade in the arm-warmers for my knee socks. I just picked up a sweet pair of pink and yellow argyles that are going to look GREAT with my new white Sambas.

Gymnastics

No squatting until Friday, as Dallas and I hit my high-bar hard over the weekend. My right quad/hip is a little pissed off, so I'm going to take the week to rest it up. Today was just bodyweight gymnastics stuff, although if I was supposed to be taking it "easy"... not so much.

Buy-in:

• 50 double unders
  

Gymnastics-y stuff:

• Handstand holds, a bunch of sets of 1:00 each. Playing with straddle negatives and shifting my weight around while upside-down. For the first time ever, all my handstands felt totally comfortable. No anxiety at all - I feel like I'm finally just as happy upside-down as I am right-side-up. Sweet. Time to start working the free-standing...
  
• Skin the cats, inversions, back lever work, pike holds, some L-sit stuff (even though I wasn't supposed to). Lots and lots of this stuff - like, 30 minutes worth.
• Ring dips. At least 10 singles, AND a set of two. These feel fantastic, plus I got to show D. over the weekend, and my form got a solid thumbs-up. Working on dragging the rings up my sides during the press up... I'm letting them come away from my body a little, which is inefficient.

Cash-out:

• Ring push-ups x 20. Rings just above floor, extended ROM (chest below hands), to full extension. I love these - the rings make the movement so much easier on my shoulder too. I need to hit these more often.

Buy-In, Cash Out

I've received a lot of emails and PMs lately, asking about the terms "buy-in" and "cash-out". I'm certainly not the first to use them in the context of a workout, but below is my explanation of what they mean, and how I use them.

The "buy-in" and "cash-out" are terms I use to note skills, mini met-cons or other drills performed before and after the primary WOD. They're separate from my warm-up, although I'm not always good about separating them out when I write up my workouts for the blog. I'll try to be better about that in the future. My warm-ups are pretty standard every day - I jump rope, work through Coach Boz's OHS warm-up (stay tuned for an explanation of that next week), and then maybe do some stretching, or a few repetitions of pull/push/squat/press movements. My warm-ups aren't long or involved, but the buy-in covers anything that my warm-up leaves out.

The buy-in is comprised of skill work that goes along in some fashion with the WOD. Consider it the price of admission for the workout. I include movements that either better prepare my body for the WOD, or help me work skills that will compliment the movements. I don't work them to the degree that they tax my muscles too much - I just want to get them firing. A few examples:

• Buy-in for deadlifts: TGUs, windmills, good mornings
  
• Buy-in for squat cleans: front squats, tall cleans, stripper stretch
  
• Buy-in for push-jerks: handstand holds, OHS with narrow grip, shoulder opening stretches
  
• Buy-in for Fight Gone Bad: stall, chalk my hands for no God-given reason, pray
  

The cash-out is usually something short but tough - a quick challenge I need to complete before I can "call it a day". I tend to include core-smoking drills here, things you wouldn't want to do pre-workout. Unlike the buy-in, these don't have to be related to the movements performed during the workout. A few examples:

• 50 KB swings or snatches
• Max plank holds
• Circus tricks on rings
• Renegade rows (one of my favorites)

So there you have it - the "buy-in" and "cash out" explained. If you start using these skill drills as a buy-in or cash-in during your workouts, let me know. I'm always looking for new moves or new ways to combine movements.

Renegade rows on double 16s, at LRF

The suitcase deadlift

I received a lot of questions about "suitcase deadlifts" yesterday, including where I was traveling and why I needed to pack so much stuff. I coincidentally shot some quick and dirty video of my DL session yesterday, so here is one of my sets of suitcase DLs.

Take away the barbell, and these should look exactly like your normal deadlift. Same set-up position, same lumbar curve, same shoulder/scapular retraction. Because these are unilateral, however, they add a new dimension to the pull. You can't allow your back to twist, and it's even more challenging not to let that shoulder drop into the weight. These work your core in a serious fashion - you have to maintain a ton of tension so the weight doesn't adjust your position throughout the movement.

Finally, while you can use a kettlebell or dumbbell for these, I prefer to use a standard barbell. For one, it looks bad-ass. More importantly, however, it provides yet another challenge, in that you have to manage the weight from the middle, and keep the barbell from tipping in either direction. This works my grip in a way that a kettlebell never could. In fact, I find grip to be my liming factor in this exercise, especially when performing them after a full set of normal deadlifts. By the fourth rep, I usually have to focus a lot of energy on just holding on to the bar.

Start adding these in as an assistance drill, or as a buy-in or cash-out durning your next deadlift day. And feel free to check off "constantly varied" that day.

No fun music or titles on this one - just a quick demo, with 75#. I cut the clip to show just one side, but obviously you want to do these both left and right. Also, I know it looks like I'm doing this little cheerleader shrug at the top, but I'm not. What I am doing is cranking down on my tricep and lat, to try to keep the bar from tipping forward or back.


.

The Origins of "AssFit"

I have received at least 72 emails from people asking about the AssFit shirt featured in a few of my prior posts. (I'm wearing one in my TGU/windmill video, and Dallas is wearing one in the pictures from our recent gymnastics cert.) Rather than respond individually, I thought it best if I addressed your questions in a public forum. So what is AssFit, and where did it come from?

It started last year, when Dallas (my trainer) and I started talking about meeting for an all-day training session. We don't get together as often as we'd like (we live 2.5 hours apart), so he had the idea to cram a bunch of training related material into a full day's session. It would involve some lecture on programming and exercise theory, some actual coaching on foundational movements and a "discussion" about my "diet" (translation: Dallas explains to me yet again why I'm not eating enough). We speculated, given the wide variety of topics we planned to cover, that our session would look kind of like a CrossFit Level 1 Certification.

And now, a quick point about Dallas... he's an Ass. Literally, that is my very special, very affectionate nickname for him. Ass. It's not just because he is ridiculously tough on me, although he is. It's more that he likes to makes fun of me, he refuses to let me get away with ANYTHING and he always has some smart-ass/punk-ass/jackass comment at the ready. So, I call him Ass. And when the idea of his "cert-style" training session started to take shape, I jokingly started referring to it as AssFit.

The title caught on, and we started making all kinds of plans for AssFit. We settled on one particular Sunday in May, starting at 8 AM, with a few hours of lecture and a full day of training. So while he was busy preparing course materials, programming ideas and nutrition guidelines, I started to make my OWN secret preparations. An idea had started to take shape, and my graphic design skills were about to come in handy.

When he showed up on Sunday morning, Dallas found me, coffee in hand, ready to begin our day… and proudly rockin' the official t-shirt of the AssFit Level I Certification.



It was one of the few times I genuinely surprised him - he finally stopped laughing long enough to ask if I brought one for him. I sported the shirt through all of AssFit, and even wore it through town later that day. The lady behind the counter of the natural food store was like, "Um, what's Diesel Fitness?" She was too polite to make a comment about the "Ass" part, and we weren't quite sure how to answer her anyway.

That shirt has become the favorite item in both of our closets. I wear mine to the gym all the time, and Dallas wears his every chance he gets – especially if there’s a photo opportunity. His is so worn out that I had to make him a new one this week – and I’m planning to order him a back-up, just so he doesn’t have to go a single day without one.

And on that note, now would be a good time to direct your attention to the Official AssFit FAQ. Please familiarize yourselves with these materials before posting a comment or sending me an email.

-----

Q: Are you making fun of CrossFit?
A: Not at all. I’m making fun of DALLAS.

Q: Does AssFit really make your butt look good?
A: While that was not the inspiration for the moniker, I suppose the answer is yes.

Q: Can I buy an AssFit t-shirt?
A: No, you can not.

Q: Will you send me an AssFit t-shirt?
A: No, I will not.

Q: Can I borrow your AssFit t-shirt?
A: Not a chance.

Q: Can I review the AssFit Certification materials?
A: Dallas says you have to register for his certification to gain access to the course materials.

Q: Can I register for an AssFit Certification?
A: No, you can not. Dallas created AssFit just for me, and I don’t share.

Q: If I see you and Dallas out in public somewhere, can I call him an Ass?
A: If you do, one of us will kick your ass. And it will not be him.

-----

And there you have it. I’m a little possessive of Dallas, he’s a little possessive of our special certifications and we’re both completely possessive of AssFit. So you'll have to admire our shirts from afar… but you can see one live and in person this weekend at Guerrilla Fitness in Montclair, NJ. Dallas is headed down for his CrossFit Level 1 Cert, and he’ll be proudly representing the 603 AND AssFit.


AssFit Level I Certification, May 2008. And Dallas, sporting HIS AssFit at the Gymnastics Cert.

Deadlifts

Buy-in

• Jump rope, 4:00
• TGU w/ 16K, 3L/3R
• Good morning stretch
• Wall shoulder stretch
  
• DL warm-up at 75#, 125#, 145#, 155#

DL, 3x3

• 3@165#
• 3@175# (F on last rep, took 30 seconds and re-pulled)
• 3@ 175#

I have two really good pulls. The third one is disproportionately hard. The first two reps of all sets would earn at least a B for form (I suspect... video going to Dallas tonight). The last rep of the 175# sets wouldn't pass. Dammit. Someone suggested it's all mental. If that's true, that pisses me off more.

Cash out

• 3x5 (L/R) suitcase DLs, 75# (barbell)

Rock and Row (and a bunch of dips)

I GOT MY FIRST RING DIP TODAY. Actually, I got like six.

Dips have been my arch enemy since day one. I've NEVER been able to do one, even on bars - not even close. And I haven't worked them in a while - since December 30th, to be exact. Although I've been doing lots of handstands, and practicing my circus tricks on rings, all of which help to strengthen those stabilizing muscles. The other day, on a whim, I got down into the bottom of a ring dip and came surprisingly close to being able to come back up. And that was after 30 minutes of ring work. I decided to hit them fresh today and see where I stood.

Here's a picture of my bottom position. It's a picture of a video, so it's fuzzy... but Dallas says that hotness is VALID (which is my only requirement for counting something as "good"). Shoulders below elbows, and every single one ended in full lock-out. Tucker's demo girls do NOT do half-assed ring dips.



I did six singles today, but can't yet pull off two in a row. Soon. This also opens the door to muscle-up work. And that is something I didn't think I'd be capable of for a LONG time. I haven't had a "first" in a while... it feels ridiculously good.

And it just goes to show you, yet again, the beauty of CrossFit... you can get better at X without doing X. Genius.
_____

Buy-in

• Handstand holds, straddle handstands, working negatives of straddle (in a very awkward fashion)
• Ring dips (unassisted), singles x 6

Rock and Row
(a gymnastics-y suck-fest, courtesy of Dallas)

For time:

• Row 500M
• 20 Hollow rocks
• 5 dead hang PUs
• Row 1000M
• 5 dead hang PUs
• 20 hollow rocks
• Row 500M

17:12

Upon first glance, this just looked retarded. The workout didn't make a ton of sense to me - but seeing as I just do what Dallas tells me, I got right on it. His evil genius became all too clear after the first row.

It is very hard to do hollow rocks when you cannot breathe. And it is very tiresome to do dead hang pull-ups after you row. And is it VERY hard to manage the "for time" component, when trying to balance breathing AND muscular exhaustion.

The rows went in 2:00/4:30/2:10. Considering the C2 in my gym is full of peanut butter, those are very good times for me. The hollow rocks were broken, and the last set of pull-ups went 2/1/1/1. Those took the longest by far - I've been hitting my pull-ups hard this week, and it was impossible to crank them out after the row.

Nice workout, D. This one goes on deck as an official CrossFit 603 WOD. Except maybe with more dead hang pull-ups.

Cash out

• Superman holds, to balance out the hollow rocks
• 
  

***Stay tuned tomorrow, when I finally explain the origins of "AssFit"!***

Spicy Goulash!

I got a really cool note from Petr of CrossFit Prague over the weekend. Last week, I discovered my Fran picture was on the front page of their web site, with the following title:



First of all... seeing my pic on CF Prague was flippin' COOL. However, my Czech is rusty, and I had no idea what that title said. I mean, I thought I got the general picture, but you never know. So I asked for help translating.

My friend Kristin ran it through a translator and came up with:

"Whoa rika , through CF wenches nemuzou quarter sexy..."

Um... I guess I'll take being called a quarter sexy, but that still didn't seem right. Then my sister Kelly (who first posted anonymously, then 'fessed up) suggested this:

"Spicy goulash! That sexy CF girl is wearing socks on her arms..."

I mean, she is seriously the funniest person I know. Nice one, Kelly, but I'm pretty sure that's not quite it. Finally this weekend, I received an email from Petr. His note said,

"Hi Melissa, I'm the one who runs CrossFit Prague. Crude translation of the title is 'Who says CrossFit girls can't be sexy...' As that was the very first thing I got on my mind when I saw your picture for the first time - damn sexy."

SWEET. Thanks for the post AND the shout-out, Petr. (And thanks to D. Otasek, who posted the same translation about a week ago. I must have missed it amongst the arm-warmer fun-making.)

_____

And on that note, allow me to share some of the best pictures from the Gymnastics Cert at CF Potomac - cute boys wearing MY arm warmers. Sure, they SAID it was just for fun, just to take a stupid picture. But just before this shot was taken, Struck mumbled something about how they make his arms feel sleek and powerful, and Dallas was fascinated with how the ultra-stretchy fabric molded to his guns. I mean, take a look at these shots... you be the judge.

One and one with Struck (I do NOT think they make your elbows look fat, Jason)... and Dallas wanted to wear them BOTH.



And finally, I'm starting to get some arm warmer photos from outside sources... check out Jason Terrance Whitaker striking a pose post-workout. Looking HOT, Jason! Keep 'em coming, people.

Low bar back squats

I need to find a better way to break out my "articles" from my own training posts. That should be easier when the new 603 web site is up and running. For now, I'm just going to double-post on training days.

Buy-in

• Jump rope, 4:00
• Down dog stretching
• Stripper stretching

Low bar BS, 5x3

• Warm-up @ 45#, 75#, 95#, 115#
• 5x3 @ 125# (+5# from last low bar session)

Interesting that my low bar and high bar weight are exactly the same right now... actually, probably not exactly. I'm not going to up the low bar weight any further until I get the green light from Dallas. We're going to work on my form on Friday (in person, yay) so I'll know then where I stand.

One thing I noticed - and Jack Bauer pointed out to me as well the last time I was in Brooklyn - I cheat my third rep. I barely make depth - it's like, I get ALMOST down there and then panic and come back up. Today, I watched myself do that two sets in a row on video. Then I got PISSED. Then I did my last set, and damn if it wasn't fantastic. NO question as to depth, and my form looked the best of any prior set.

LBM (Light Bulb Moment): Getting pissed works just as well for squats as it does for Oly lifts.

Cash out

• 25 KTEs

FUN-for-All Saturdays at LRF

Lakes Region Fitness saw some CrossFit in the house during the first ever Free-For-All Saturday.

We kicked the morning off with Chad, a new trainee from the next town over. I took him through our standard "Baseline" session for new trainees, consisting of some lecture, teaching and scaling four foundational movements, and a Baseline WOD.

The Baseline I'm using was developed, I believe, by Petranek Fitness in L.A. It's a standard workout designed to both help me evaluate the trainee's overall fitness, and give him or her their first taste of a "CrossFit" style workout. We can also use this same workout after a few weeks of regular training, to measure an improvement in strength and conditioning. I'd prefer to use a 500M row in our "Baseline", but until we get a C2, I'm subbing a sprint.

CrossFit 603 Baseline WOD
(one round, for time)

• Run 400M
• 40 air squats
• 30 sit-ups (unanchored)
• 20 push-ups
• 10 pull-ups

All exercises are scaled to the trainee's abilities - for example, many new clients start with knee push-ups and body rows.

Chad rocked through his workout, pushing himself hard and taking very little rest. I found myself using Maggie's cues to help him manage his rest periods - we'd count breaths, and I gave him a "Three, two, one, go". (Unlike Maggie, I use a three count. Maybe when I get as bad-ass as she is, I'll consider dropping the "three".) We finished up with some dynamic stretching drills - good stuff I learned from Jeff Martone. Great job, Chad... and welcome to CrossFit!

The next group came in at 10 AM - my friend Brandon, and new-to-CrossFit Dave. These guys roll BJJ, so they're in good shape. We went through a less-than-structured session, working on whatever they wanted to cover. We spent a lot of time on the KB swing, and then worked on some ring stabilization, press and thruster form and some stretching exercises for opening up the chest and shoulders.

Lessons learned from the weekend:

• I need to start working on a list of buy-ins and cash-outs for these non-structured (non-class) sessions. It's fine for me to make up my own drills on the spot when I train, but that doesn't always fly for a training session with a client.
  

• I need to bring materials with me to give to new trainees, instead of emailing them after the fact. (For example, I have a list of bodyweight workouts that incorporate the foundational movements we covered in the first session.) I should have that with me.
  

• I need to take pictures! Or ask someone else to take pictures. It would have been awesome to run some pics of the day here on the blog.

If anyone has thoughts or advice on any of the above, please post to comments, or send me an email. For example, when someone trains with you for the first time, do you send them home with any kind of information "packet"? Do you try to take pictures and video on a regular basis? Do you use the same warm-up drills every day, or do you change it based on the workout? Anything else you might want to share would be appreciated... I am lucky enough to have a lot of smart readers, and I'm happy to listen to any advice you have to offer.

On a personal note, I spent 30 minutes playing on my rings on Saturday. Which, Dallas reminded me, was not very "rest-y". Which is what I was SUPPOSED to be doing. But the gym was pretty empty, and the chance to work my new-and-improved skin the cats, L-sits, inversions and other circus tricks was too good to pass up. I am SOOO close to a ring dip - I think had I not worked them at the end of the session, I might have been able to get it up. And we're talking rings-in-armpits here - no half-assed ring dips for Tucker's demo girls.

So today, I rest, as I was instructed to get two days in a row. I may be a slow learner, but I DO LEARN.


Tucker and Dallas (rockin' his AssFit shirt) at the Gymnastics Cert, CrossFit Potomac

Free coaching in Tilton on Saturday

I think yesterday's post was the most commented in the history of Byers Gets Diesel. Never mind the fact that half of them were mine and Tucker's. Thanks to everyone who weighed in, especially the trainers and affiliate owners. I appreciate post comments, whether you agree with my stance or not. In fact, I like hearing from people who DON'T agree with me. I always learn something.

I am officially calling myself out for needing to take some more rest. Last week's travels took a lot out of me. I overtrained, I slept too little and ate even less. (Not to mention some of my food choices were purposefully, and happily, not exactly "Paleo".) I hoped Saturday and Sunday might count as "rest", but when I thought about it, I was on my feet coaching for eight hours a day, both days. Not super rest-y.

Wednesday's Bear was the last straw, apparently. The amount of "sore" I am still feeling is disproportionate to the work I did... and it was a lot of work. And today's front squat/high bar back squat/pull-up workout was sub-par. My form via video was sloppy, even light weights felt heavy and I appear to be missing a few pull-ups. Anyone seen 'em? So this weekend, and maybe even Monday, I REST. See, I'm getting really good at listening to my body, and I'm getting even better at differentiating between "kind of tired" and "sit the f*** down". Today, I'm hearing the latter, although the conversation with my brain is getting kind of contentious.

Brain: You should not BE this tired. You've had extra rest this week.

Me: Suck it, brain. Because I AM this tired, and "should" has nothing to do with it.

I may be a slow learner, but I do learn. So on that note - I'll be available for training tomorrow (Saturday) morning at Lakes Region Fitness in downtown Tilton, NH, any time between 9 AM and noon. Anyone who wants to come by and get some coaching - on anything - send me an email to arrange a time. It's a free-for-all (literally). I'll coach kettlebells, deadlifts, pull-ups or handstands. And if you're new to CrossFit and want to get a taste of what it's all about, tomorrow would be the perfect day to start with some foundational movement drills and a Baseline workout. (Note, this is not an official CrossFit event, as we are not yet legal. It's just a girl who knows some stuff offering to help out some people who want to learn some stuff.) Hope to see you tomorrow.

Buy-in

• Coach Boz OHS warm-up
• OHS w/ PVC
• Stripper stretch

Alternating front squat/high-bar back squat (low weight), plus pull-ups

• FS 5@45#, HBBS 5@45#, PU x 5
• FS 5@75#, HBBS 5@75#, PU x 4
• FS 3@95#, HBBS 3@95#, PU x 3
• FS 3@110#, HBBS 3@110#, PU x 3
• FS 3@110#, HBBS 3@110#, PU x 3

Thor and Brian D. recommended this drill a while back, so I thought I'd give it a shot at relatively light weight. Although it felt damn heavy today. No rest between the FS and BS, did pull-ups during my break between rounds. And thanks for your comment on the pull-up post, Jack Bauer. I was hoping to hear from you. So there's your requested (demanded?) Dead Hang x Five, although that set was hard fought. Fighter Pull-Ups, here I come.

Me and Evil Ninja Jack Bauer (Greg Casimir) at CrossFit Brooklyn. He looks so nice and cute in this picture. Don't be fooled. This picture is the only time I've been within three feet of him that I wasn't doing work.

Got Pull-Up?

A few weeks ago, I spotted a post on a blog that caught my attention. “CrossFit Girl gets her first pull-up! Watch the video here.” Given my love affair with pull-ups (remember the t-shirt?) I have a special place in my CrossFit heart for women who finally accomplish that goal. To this day, I still consider my first pull-up to be my proudest CrossFit moment ever. So I clicked on the video link, giddy with anticipation… and was immediately disappointed. Because CrossFit Girl’s first “pull-up” was a kipping pull-up. And in my gym, that simply does not count.

I am well aware that the official CrossFit pull-up is the kipping pull-up. I understand the benefit of the movement, and how it is used in our workouts. But a kipping pull-up is NOT a pull-up, just like a push-press is NOT a press. They are two separate and distinct movements, used for different purposes. For clarification, a "pull-up" starts from a dead hang (arms straight), and progresses without any swing or momentum until your chin comes over the bar. I don’t care which grip you use – overhand, underhand or mixed are all legit. But unless the above criteria is met, you have not done a pull-up.

It vexes me to no end when women work their kipping pull-ups before they have a single dead-hang. I think the drive to get a “pull-up” is so strong that women are willing to sacrifice true strength and even risk injury just to stake their claim to pull-up fame. But prioritizing your kipping ahead of a dead hang pull-up is bad business, for a few reasons.

First, kipping pull-ups require strength and stability in the shoulder girdle. The momentum generated by the open and closed positions of the swing is enough to seriously tax the muscles, joints and connective tissue, especially if there is not a basic level of strength in those areas. Putting someone on a pull-up bar and encouraging them to swing and pull before their bodies are physically up for the task is simply irresponsible, and risks injury. Tucker preaches this at every Gymnastics Cert – kipping pull-ups should not be introduced until the trainee demonstrates the controlled strength necessary for the movement. That demonstration comes in the form of a properly executed dead hang pull-up.

Second, the entire point of pull-ups is to build strength. While the kipping pull-up does improve strength to a degree, it is certainly not as valuable to strength gains as working dead hang pull-ups. It is entirely possible that a well coordinated trainee can achieve five or even ten consecutive kipping pull-ups and still not be able to perform a single dead hang. In that instance, the thing you’ve most improved is transferring the momentum from the swing into the movement. You certainly have not become as strong as you would be, had you worked to achieve even half number of dead hang pull-ups.

Finally, as a woman, I am pretty sensitive to some people’s reactions when I talk about the things I can do in the gym. While at a party this summer, I was talking about CrossFit, and mentioned to a new acquaintance that I do pull-ups every day. The guy I’m talking to looks at me with a smirk and says, “Yeah, right.” So when I jumped up on the ceiling beam and started cranking out gorgeous, no-momentum, dead hang to chin-over-beam pull-ups (in my party dress and 3" stilettos)… he shut up fast. That demonstration TRANSLATED. Now, if I had jumped up there and started swinging away, he probably would have been less than impressed. And arguing that “kipping is the official CrossFit pull-up” would only have come off as defensive. So if I'm going to run around town saying, "I'm a girl doing pull-ups"... I sure as hell better be able to back that up, without leaving ANY room for question as to my form or strength.

But Byers, you may say, there are benefits to working the kip! Are you saying to give it up altogether? Not necessarily. If I have a woman who is darn close to chin over bar, I may have her add some kipping work to help get her over the hump. And the swing portion of a kipping pull-up is a great shoulder opener, and can help you improve your stability, grip and timing when it comes time to start working the movement. So if a trainee has the basic strength to hang from the bar for a full minute, I may have her start working on just the swing. The point I am making is this – play it smart, play it safe, and play it strong. Keep working on your pull-ups, but make any kipping related work secondary to your dead hang efforts.

I do want to congratulate CrossFit Girl on her first kipping pull-up. It’s a tough movement, and she should be proud of herself. But for the CrossFitters training with us at the 603, I want you to be strong – and strong by ANY standard. So before you get up on that bar and start swinging away, you'd better show me a really pretty dead hang. You’re gonna have to earn that “Got Pull-Up” t-shirt.

Got Pull-Up? Part Two... Tips and Tricks

For those of you wanting to join the “Got Pull-Up” club, below are my best tips for achieving your first dead hang. These worked for me – in a matter of two months, I went from being able to move myself an inch on the bar to a legitimate pull-up.

GTG (Grease the Groove) is the way to go. The full article is linked here, but the basic premise is this - do a few pull-ups (no more than half your max effort), as often as possible throughout the day. The point of GTG is NOT to work to failure. However, as you don't yet HAVE a pull-up, technically you are working "to failure" every time you get on the bar. So to apply the GTG principle, if you're able to work these throughout the day, each GTG effort should include just ONE pull-up exercise or drill.

Attack the pull-up from as many angles as possible. Starting with what I found the MOST helpful:

• Partials from the top. JUMP or stand on a box to get your chin over the bar. (Don't stress your arms out here - just get to the top position the easiest way you can.) Lower yourself 1/4 of the way down, then pull back up. Each attempt, lower yourself a bit more before returning to chin-over-bar.

• Partials from the bottom. Starting from dead hang, pull yourself up as far as you can, slowly lower. This is how I learned to engage my back.

• Jumping pull-up. Starting from full extension, give yourself as small a boost as you need to get to chin-over-bar. Note, this is NOT a met-con-ish jumping PU where you're springing up and down like a jackrabbit. This is one focused attempt, jump small and pull hard.

• Static holds at the top and bottom. JUMP to chin-over-bar, hold as long as you can. Or from a dead hang (with active shoulders), engage your back and hold as long as you can.

• Negatives. JUMP to chin-over-bar, lower yourself slowly. Do these sparingly, they're tough on your muscles.

• Band-assisted dead hangs, if you've got 'em. Don't cheat the ROM... just let the band help to get you up over the bar.

• I don't put much stock in the Gravitron - it forces an unnatural movement pattern (unlike bands, which are totally flexible).

• Don't bother with lat pull-downs. They won't help much, if at all.

General tip. A chin-up grip with hands close together is "easiest".

General tip. Look up past the bar - in the direction you're trying to go - as you pull.

General tip. REST. You cannot practice these every day. Take at least two pull-up free days per week. Trying to do too much will only set you back.
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Craving even more pull-up inspiration? Check this link from the CrossFit Virtuosity archives! (I'd just skip over point #10, right?)