XRe Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 To add to the CrossFit excitement this week... I was over at the Level II Cert CrossFit Central was hosting the past two days today playing guinea pig for the Level II candidates. 4 hours of being coached on Push Press, Push Jerk, Med Ball Clean, Deadlift, Front Squat, Overhead Squat, SDLHP... Homie is a little sore... Good stuff, though - got a couple of interesting, and key things cleaned up in my press form that should help a lot moving forward.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topmaul Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I would suggest using Russian Kettlebells, because in KB training you train your entire body with simple and brutally effective exersices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 CF does utilize some of the KB stuff, but largely, you are limited in the amount of fitness you can attain with it simply because you can't generate power as effectively as some of the other functional movements. As supplemental exercises though, they are fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTOSHootr Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I would suggest using Russian Kettlebells, because in KB training you train your entire body with simple and brutally effective exersices. Crossfit incorporates a lot of kettlebell excerises, it is just a part of it though. If you go to the Crossfit site there is a section of some of the best KB demos on the net by their kettlebell guy, Jeff Martone. Jeff was among the first RKC's under Pavel. He's known for developing the hand-to-hand kettlebell moves. I'm not a Crossfitter myself, I train at a gym that is predominately kettlebell under another one of the early RKCs, Anthony Deluglio. He wrote an accompanying workbook to Pavel's ETK. We use tons of bodyweight and barbell work as tools as well. Anyway, look at Crossfit and many of the kettlebell sites and you'll see a lot of overlap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 An interesting point behind that...I remember Tony Budding telling a story at my cert about when Coach has Jeff Martone and Greg Amundson do a few wods. The first one was a KB specific wod, and Jeff beat Greg by a little bit. They did others after that, and Greg absolutely crushed Jeff in just about anything that wasn't KB specific. Kind of reinforces the point about work capacity across broad time and modal domains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTOSHootr Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I've seen some of Greg's videos. I saw a link somewhere of him doing Heavy Fran as an example of how squats thrusters activate your abs. I get your point though, yet seeing Greg, it seems like he would crush many many people in WODs. I'm surprised Jeff got him even on the KB one. For me, KBs are like an entry drug for getting fit, now I'm looking around at what else I can add. The PerformanceMenu group is coming near by for a O-lift seminar in May that I'm thinking about trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Awesome...Greg Everett and crew definitely know their shit. I wanna hit one of Burgener's O-Lifting certs real bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badchad Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 I wanna hit one of Burgener's O-Lifting certs real bad. Mike Burgener's involved with crossfit? That's interesting, he and my weightlifting coach were close friends. He and his team used to come to NAU all the time for weightlifting meets. He's a damn good strength coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Yessir, he handles the O-lifting certifications....and does a damn good job from what I'm told and videos I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badchad Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 That’s pretty cool. I still have a Mike’s Gym t-shirt. On the back it says “God made weight machines to keep geeks off barbells.” At the time his gym was in his two car garage and my coach said he was training Olympic athletes out of it. I’m sure his class will be top notch. If you take the class you should ask if he still has the shirts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 He still has that gym, and his son Casey was an alternate on the olympic team last year. Now he favors the shirt, "Nothing feels quite like a good snatch." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PINMAN44 Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 what guy doesn't like a "good snatch" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 http://www.mikesgym.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badchad Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 He still has that gym, and his son Casey was an alternate on the olympic team last year. What's funny is Casey was a skinny kid when I saw him last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTOSHootr Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I was reading articles on the Crossfit.com page and scrolling down I noticed that last Thursday the photo featured was credited to Xre. That's pretty cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I was reading articles on the Crossfit.com page and scrolling down I noticed that last Thursday the photo featured was credited to Xre. That's pretty cool! My website took 20,000 hits from that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Conley Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 (edited) Here's a good long read. The truth about crossfit. I actually found the link on the Lightfighter Forum. No need to start any wars with the comments it's just one guys perspective. http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_articl..._about_crossfit Chris C. Edited February 27, 2009 by Chris Conley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Here's a good long read. The truth about crossfit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I read that article a while ago. While I think it's one of the most fair articles written on CF, I don't think he understands CF as well as he thinks he does. Overall - really not that bad of an article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Conley Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 I read that article a while ago. While I think it's one of the most fair articles written on CF, I don't think he understands CF as well as he thinks he does.Overall - really not that bad of an article. I would agree. Chris C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTOSHootr Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 This interview with Greg Everett responded to that article and beyond. It is pretty long, so I don't remember everything but I think his general opinion was in line with Jake too. He was interesting to listen to. He had some funny ways of putting things, without trying to be funny. http://sandbagfitnesssystems.blogspot.com/...ontroversy.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegirl Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I've been lurking on this thread for over a year now, reading, absorbing, but never feeling comfortable enough to actually post. I joined Crossfit Plano here in Texas about a year ago after struggling with various diets and other forms of exercise for years. I'm done, the search is over, I have found my calling. Below is the blog post I wrote as my one-year report on Crossfit, I thought I'd share: "You want me to do WHAT?" Over the last year I have either thought or said those words out loud countless times. I have collapsed in a sweat-soaked heap on the floor wondering if I was going to puke, die, or both. I have stumbled to my car with my legs barely responding to my instructions. I have gone back to work red-faced and shaking so badly that I scared my coworkers. And I love it. Welcome to Crossfit. A co-worker sent me a link to Crossfit Plano (www.crossfitplano.com) – he told me to check out the crazy people and their workouts. I had heard of Crossfit from a shooter’s forum (http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=59221) and it sounded interesting, so I contacted them to see how to get started. On Saturday, February 16th 2008 I showed up at 8am for their Elements class to get familiar with the fundamentals, then I was invited to stay for the Suffer on Saturday class to see what Crossfit was all about. Here is the posted workout from that day: Suffer on Saturday: "Resentment" - Have to rename this "The Deceiver" as it was much harder than it looked. No one started the second round today! 2 Rounds for time of: Row 500m 1 Rope Climb (3 climbs from the Ground) 25 Box Jumps - 24" 25 Ball Slams - 20 lb 25 Kettlebell Russian Swings - 32kg 25 Pull Ups 25 Push Press - 65 lb 25 Wall Ball Shots - 20 lb 25 Knees to Elbows 25 Overhead Squats - 65 lb 25 Thrusters - 65 lb 25 Burpees Muscle Ups - 5 (Sub 25 Pull Ups and Dips) 25 Hang Dumbell Squat Clean - 35 lb 50 Foot Walking Lunge Staying true to the name, I suffered. A lot. I thought it would never end. I had no idea what I was doing (and of course everything was scaled for me), but one of the trainers stayed right there with me to help and to keep me going. I left the gym, went home and slept for 3 hours. Days later I was still walking like a drunken Frankenstein and couldn’t raise my arms above my head. Two weeks later I joined Crossfit Plano. Years of mainstream gyms, aerobics classes, kickboxing and entire collections of workout DVDs that I could recite word for word bored the hell out of me. Almost 5 years of indoor soccer was really fun, but earned me an ambulance ride to the emergency room and a large collection of medical braces and bruises. Only one year of Crossfit, plus a gradual change in eating habits (www.zonediet.com), and an introduction to ZHealth performance training (www.zhealth.net) has done what years of traditional exercise and dieting failed to do. I feel better, look better and have made a permanent change in my life that I can live with. No more yo-yo diets and gaining another 10 pounds while my sprained ankle heals. No more feeling deprived or guilty for eating (and, very important to me as a beer connoisseur, drinking) the things I enjoy. No more dreading the boredom of the same old workout. I believe this is what they call a life-changing experience. Besides the touchy-feely stuff above, here are the facts. I have lost 30 pounds over the last year, which translates into a total loss of about 14 inches measured over 8 points along my arms, legs and torso. A year ago I couldn’t do a single regular push-up – now I can do 15+ in a row. A year ago I couldn’t do a single pull-up – now I can do 3+ kipping pull-ups (http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFi...ng1-Concept.wmv) in a row without an assisting band. (Guys, I can hear your eyes rolling already – bite me, I’m a girl, this is much harder for us, as much as I hate to admit it). I didn’t even know what a deadlift was a year ago – I hit my PR (personal record) on the deadlift of 200 pounds last month. I can back squat and front squat my body weight. I’ve almost mastered the intricacies of the snatch (http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/cfj-nov-05/snatch.wmv), and in the last year I have done more handstands, cartwheels and tumbling than I have since 5th grade. Being out of your element, out of your comfort zone, isn’t a bad thing, really – you never know when life will surprise you and that will come in handy. Crossfit isn’t about mastering a single lift or exercise, it is about being competent and efficient across a wide range of physical skills. From the main Crossfit site: "[Crossfit] delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist”. This is Crossfit. And I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Suffer on Saturday: "Resentment" - Have to rename this "The Deceiver" as it was much harder than it looked. No one started the second round today! Ok... that workout is just psychotic... I have lost 30 pounds over the last year, which translates into a total loss of about 14 inches measured over 8 points along my arms, legs and torso. A year ago I couldn't do a single regular push-up – now I can do 15+ in a row. A year ago I couldn't do a single pull-up – now I can do 3+ kipping pull-ups (http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFi...ng1-Concept.wmv) in a row without an assisting band. (Guys, I can hear your eyes rolling already – bite me, I'm a girl, this is much harder for us, as much as I hate to admit it). I didn't even know what a deadlift was a year ago – I hit my PR (personal record) on the deadlift of 200 pounds last month. I can back squat and front squat my body weight. Two words. Bad. Ass. !!!! I couldn't do pullups when I showed up, either. I know exactly where you're coming from. Now, here's something interesting to try... see if you can do a 30# weighted pullup, now... (that's you, at your old body weight...) Amazing how losing some pounds makes pullups a little easier I've almost mastered the intricacies of the snatch (http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/cfj-nov-05/snatch.wmv), Ok, look... you really have to stop giving Derrick this kind of ammunition... Great post, Rhonda In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled on the CrossFit Journal.... something's in the works... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegirl Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Yeah, I have never been back on a Saturday since then - most of the SoS workouts are insane like that, those people are truly nuts! I'm pretty sure pull-ups of any variety with a weight vest are not in my immediate future, but if I get a wild hair one day I'll give it a try... I've already been chastised by the boys because I talk about snatch too much, they're threatening me with an intervention if I don't cease and desist. Ooo, I'll definitely be watching the Journal - I have tried to explain what we do on the range to the trainers, have shown them vids of Max and Travis, and have even told them about you and your successes as well, but a tie-in between the two would be really cool (I assume that's what you're planning...). See you guys in a couple of weeks, I'll be working stage 1 at the DTC - hopefully all the crappy weather we're having now means it will be gorgeous by then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHIPW Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I love crossfit and crossfit endurance. I used to train for and race Iron distance triathlon. After a few months of crossfit I feel much stronger and healthier. I Know I wouldnt PR an ironman but i bet I havent lost any fitness for sprint distance triathlons. I think its an all around good system. Has anyone tried any of the Gym Jones workouts? http://www.gymjones.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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