First, congratulations to Steffen and Norm for joining John and I in the 2x bodyweight deadlift club! They both went on to lift, not only 2x bodyweight, but over 400# - a big milestone for a male CrossFitter. Great job guys!

With the new class format we've got much more time to focus on the basics, and we're starting by picking on the squat a bit more. In addition to performing the little extra drills and getting a little extra assistance getting into the right position, it's vital that you understand what a solid squat looks like.

Here's a little entertaining video from CrossFit.com that will help you with that:

What is CrossFit? How, exactly, would you answer that?

I've been told the importance of the "elevator speech" - explaining what you do in 15 seconds or less... but I have not pulled together a good one for CrossFit. "Constantly varied functional movements carried out at high intensity" just kind of leaves them with a "wish I hadn't asked" look on their face.

When you're at a party and someone is asking you about this "crazy" fitness program they heard you were on.... or they're curious about the results they see in you, what can you tell them?

Sorry, I've got nothing to offer you in that direction, unless you're near a computer and can show them this video. Hopefully this will help....

What is CrossFit? from Brendan Sonnichsen on Vimeo.

Thanks to Jennie Forman at CrossFit Fire for the video concept.

Congratulations to Erika! First of all, regarding this quote here which she sent me just over a month ago:

"By the way, I was pretty pumped about having done 53 actual push ups today on my toes!! I have lost another 3 lbs. – that’s 13 now in total but I am more excited about seeing the progress I am making. What an awesome feeling to know I am getting stronger!"

And the second reason to congratulate her is regarding her 19:00 improvement on the "Dirty Thirty" workout today! That's correct.... 3 months ago she did the Dirty Thirty in just over 33 minutes. Today she bagged it in less than 15!

Erika has a lot of great quotes. Earlier this week she heard someone say that they "can't" do something. She turned to me and said "Can't is such a relative term here." That's what this video is about. Some show it more than others, but many people in this video conquered their fear and learned more about their potential. The box jump is as much a measure of spirit as it is power and agility.

Also featured in this video:

• "Sunshine" shows how good coaching might unveil "hidden strength"
• Lee Ann shows off some handstand pushups
• Norm's twice bodyweight deadlift... unfortunately we were too late with the camera to see the lift... but we videotaped the bar!
• Cookie's (formerly known as "Klutz") latest pullup progress

Jump Around from Brendan Sonnichsen on Vimeo.

A few women at River City CrossFit have taken a lot of encouragement from this article written by Jon Gilson at Again Faster, so I thought I'd share it with everyone.

If I were feeling a little more lawless, I’d gather all the copies of Cosmo and Seventeen, douse them in kerosene, and strike a match. I’d throw in reams of print ads from Calvin Klein and watch with delight as Kate Moss’ stick-thin image was reduced to carbon. I’d add copies of Shape and Runner’s World until the flames reached toward the heavens, and then I’d crank call the editorial desk at Muscle and Fitness until they stopped publishing pictures of women on steroids.

Read the rest of the article at AgainFaster.com

When I asked Dr. Speirs to contribute some posts to my blog, the primary concern was educating you on how you can properly prepare your body for the vigorous demands of a high intensity program like CrossFit. What can we do to prevent injury?

Today's post is in three parts.

1. Some comments on injury prevention from myself
2. Some videos on Self Myofascial Release
3. A guest post from Dr. Speirs

Preparing for Intensity

The structure of our program currently provides every athlete with a lot of freedom for doing what they need to do to get ready for the workout. Just about everyone uses our "CrossFit Warmup" to get ready and this is a great framework. But what makes one athlete warm, will leave another relatively "cold" and another overly taxed. So, how do you determine what is appropriate for you?

Here are my personal objectives in my warm-up, and this should shed some light on the topic. I generally have a very short timeframe in which to get "warm", so I've come to learn exactly how much I need to get ready. Doing the minimum is not the goal, but achieving a proper warm-up is. If you don't feel like you have time to do both the warm-up and the workout, do the warm-up instead of the workout!

1. Get "Loose" (General Preparation)
My first objective is to feel "loose". If it is cold in the gym, then I will usually need to row or jump rope in a hoodie to get ready. JT at United Boxing Club recommends wearing a toque, sweatpants and a sweater to get the muscles warm as you start your activity.

When my body temperature is warm (ideally a little sweaty), I'll do some joint mobility and dynamic flexibility work such as Dr. Rob describes below. I'll note any trouble spots. Often, for me, I'll notice some tightness in the hips - remnants of 10 years of 16 hour days in front of a computer. So, I'll take care to spend extra time getting the hips mobile. This will usually include a heavier dose than average of squats, walking lunges, light kettlebell swings and compass lunges.

2. Get Better (Goal-specific Training)
When tight for time, this aspect of my warm-up is skipped. When I do have time to do it, I am doing progressions to get me closer to some of my performance goals. For example, one performance goal is 30 consecutive handstand pushups. So I will generally include pushups, ring dips and handstand pushups to train toward that goal.

Many of you are chasing down goals for pushups and pullups. Keep those as a regular part of your warm-up.

3. Get "Ready" (Specific Preparation)
Taking note of the demands of the workout of the day, I'll start to prepare specifically for those movements. Take, for example, the workout on Monday: Deadlifts, Situps and Tire step-ups. My warm-up was comprised of:

1. High rep, low weight deadlift - gradually increasing over 3 or 4 sets to the prescribed weight
2. Situps and back extensions to prepare the core muscles
3. Tire step-ups at gradually increasing tempo

4. Are you sure you are warm?
Do one last check for muscle tension and soreness.

If you still have some muscle tension, then do some foam rollling (see video below) and dynamic stretching to try to alleviate that.

If you are still sore, you should consider either taking more time to warm-up or taking it a little easier in the workout today.

On Monday morning, when I was preparing for the workout of the day I still had the sensation of a "knot" in my upper right hamstring. Spending about 2 minutes rolling on the foam roller and doing a bit more dynamic stretching was all I needed to loosen it up. Had I neglected to do this, my performance would have been poorer and I would have been exposed to higher risk of injury or unnecessary soreness after the workout.

Self Myofascial Release

This activity is highly recommended after the workout, especially on leg-intensive days. It's relaxing, and it feels so good to complete a session. On pullup intensive days you might also consider rolling your lats.

Jon Gilson at Again Faster has put together some good videos on SMR (or "rolling out" as it's commonly called at River City). Check these out:

Foam Rolling: Part I from Patrick Cummings on Vimeo.

Foam Rolling Part II from Jon Gilson on Vimeo.

Foam Rollers for Sale

I happen to have three extra foam rollers kicking around if you're interested. The cost to you is $30. The benefit is having some source of respite if muscles tend to tense up later in the day or you wake up on a rest day with a bit of muscle tension.

Guest Post: Dr. Rob Speirs on Flexibility

One thing that impressed me most while watching the 2008 Olympics was how flexible almost every participant was. Watching them challenge the limits of human athleticism while remaining flexible and supple is a sight to behold. Next time you watch an elite sporting event pay special attention to the range of motion available to these athletes, it’s something that really separates them from the average (or even above average) athlete.

We often overlook flexibility as part of out overall fitness. Sure, we give it lip service at the start of each session but how many of us actually work on it? How many of us actually understand how important it is in overall health and fitness?

Stretching works by forcing the elastic tissues around muscles (called fascia) to lengthen. The most obvious benefit of stretching is flexibility which allows the joints to move through their entire range of motion. There are other advantages to take into account; it improves balance and posture, increases agility and decreases the chance of injury. A lack of flexibility can contribute to stiffness, poor posture, pain and poor performance. (4)

There are two types of stretching that one should be aware of, dynamic and static. The current literature indicates that dynamic stretching is more useful for the healthy, athletic individual looking to maximize their performance. This does not mean that static stretching does not have its place in injury rehabilitation and retraining but for the purposes of this piece I will be focusing on dynamic stretching.

Dynamic stretching uses speed of movement, momentum and active muscular effort to bring about a stretch. Unlike static stretching the end position is not held. (1) Arms circles, exaggerating a kicking action and walking lunges (without weights) are examples of dynamic stretches. (2) The following is a good example of a dynamic stretch routine from the good people at James Madison University: (3)

http://orgs.jmu.edu/strength/JMU_Summer_2000_WebPage/JMU_Summer_2000_Sections/9_summer_dynamic_flexibilty.htm

Some good tips to maximize your stretching routine and gains:

1. Before starting stretching, perform a full body warm up to get blood flowing to the muscles. This will allow for a better stretch and better gains.
2. Pay close attention to your posture and technique. Poor stretching form can cause imbalances and injuries. Have Brendan check you out to make sure you’re doing it right.
3. Stretch before AND after your workout. Dynamic stretching before has been shown in some studies to reduce the chance of injury and improve performance. Static stretching after your workout will give you the greatest gains in overall flexibility.

Work hard at your flexibility and you’ll see greater gains in strength, speed, power and fewer injuries too. Like anything worth doing this will take time to see big results. Expect to see big gains in 8-12 weeks.

Dr. Speirs can be reached via email at rspeirs@gmail.com or via phone at (204)831-1122.

References
1) National Strength & Conditioning Association. Essentials of strength training & conditioning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 2000
2) Witvrouw, E., Danneels, L., Asselman, P., D'Have, T., Cambier, D. Muscle flexibility as a risk factor for developing muscle injuries in male professional soccer players. A prospective study. Am. J. Sports Med. Jan-Feb;31(1):41-6. 2003

3) http://orgs.jmu.edu Sept 26, 2008.

4) Phases Rehabilitation.

5) Rod Pope, 'Skip the warm-up,' New Scientist, 164(2214), p. 23

Take a break. Yes, I’m talking to you.

In an effort to get the most out of our training, each and every one of us will occasionally get into the trap of “if some is good, more is better”. We see the gains that we make by being at Crossfit three times a week and figure that we can see double the gains if we could only be there six times a week. Muscle up totals will hit double digits, your dead lift will hit the 300 range and you’ll be cut out of wood.

Sorry folks, no dice.

One of the hardest things to do when dealing with people who are serious about their health and training is to get them to be serious about their rest. Your body doesn’t grow while you are training, it doesn’t heal while you are training. Your body grows and heals at rest. When we train we cause micro-damage to the tissues we are working on. High intensity training like Crossfit is especially true to this; our body breaks down slightly in order to come back better than it was before.

So how do we make sure that we get enough rest to ensure optimum gains and avoid injury? We commit to it, both personally and publically. Get on a schedule that allows you to get 7-10 hours sleep. Sound crazy? Your body will thank you, even if it means you have to miss those 11pm Family Guy reruns on Peachtree TV. Secondly, let everyone know when you are going to rest. Tell Brendan or Turbo, tell anyone at Crossfit who will listen, and if they see you there on a scheduled rest day they’ll kick you out. This means that even when you miss and normally scheduled work day, you don’t get to make it up on a rest day; if you sleep in on Wednesday, you don’t get to train on Thursday. Thursday is a rest day. Again, your body will thank you.

Exercise is a form of stress and on its own can do as much damage as any other type of stress. Combined with proper rest and diet it becomes the key to developing power, strength, conditioning and overall health. As you make the incredible gains often associated with Crossfit you’ll need more and more rest to allow your body to recover from the incredible work loads you’ll put it under. Rest smart and match your gains go through the roof. Sometimes less is more!

Yours in health,

Rob

Dr. Speirs can be reached via email at rspeirs@gmail.com or via phone at (204)831-1122.

Here's a few random shots from River City CrossFit in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We're focusing on pulling movements in this video which also, once again, shows the broad spectrum of people training at River City and the scalability of CrossFit workouts.

Featured in this video:
Nicole's first pullups
LeeAnn's first pullup
Turbo gets 21 pullups
Zafar's first muscle-up
Joelle lifts 225 pounds!

Pulling on Stuff from Brendan Sonnichsen on Vimeo.

Why we do Deadlifts:

What's up with all that swing in the pullups?

On Monday, October 13 (Thanksgiving), River City CrossFit will be closed except for a 9:00 AM team workout. You must sign-up to participate. Contact Brendan if you're interested.

The following video features scenes from a workout that took place at River City CrossFit very recently. The name of the workout is "Baseline". We use it to measure our fitness progress.

The three women in this video have very different stories, but share a few traits common among members at River City CrossFit: tired of fitness programs that don't get results, motivated to achieve their goals, willing to work hard and learn.

All of them achieved exceptional scores on this workout compared to their last attempt about 12 weeks ago. That's not to mention the changes in energy, body composition, etc. about which they might be willing to talk your ear off.

Some are shy of the CrossFit idea of "competing" on workouts. Are these women competing? Only against themselves in the midst of an environment which encourages them to achieve their best.

Baseline from Brendan Sonnichsen on Vimeo.

The first guest posts on this blog will be from Dr. Rob Speirs (aka "Speirsy"). He's been a great help to those of us who have developed occupational or athletic injuries. I've asked him to provide us some information on how to prevent musculoskeletal injuries. But, for today I'll let him introduce himself.

First off I would like to take this chance to introduce myself to those who don’t know me. My name is Robert Speirs. I am a Chiropractor in Winnipeg and a member of River City Crossfit. Brendan has been nice enough to ask me to add to the website by writing a few articles regarding health and fitness that I think could help the membership reach their personal fitness goals. In the coming weeks I’ll be writing a large range of articles ranging from the importance of dynamic stretching to posture and rest. I’m also happy to answer any questions you may have either in person or via email. If you have a really good question that will help the whole group I may ask you to give me permission to answer it publically in an open forum. My contact details can be found at the end of each article.

My professional training is varied and a little different than many Chiropractors. I received a Bachelors of Physical Education from the University of Manitoba and worked for 3 years in the fitness industry before deciding to return to school and to pursue a degree in Chiropractic. I received my Masters of Chiropractic Sciences and my Doctorate of Chiropractic from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia in 2005. Following my graduation I remained in Australia in private practice until returning home in July 2007. I am now in practice in Winnipeg at Sturgeon Creek Chiropractic as well as Aberdeen Chiropractic.

My practice is built on an evidence based model, with a primary focus on injury correction and prevention. I also take a special interest in using Chiropractic as a part of an athlete’s training and optimizing their performance.

I look forward to working with any Crossfit member who is interested. My door is always open and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours in health,

Rob

Dr. Speirs can be reached via email at rspeirs@gmail.com or via phone at (204)831-1122.