Tuesday 090811

Upcoming Seminars at Potomac Crossfit:

Nutrition Seminar with Siddharth Sawkar, 16 August 2009, 1:30-4:30 pm

Recovery Seminar with Tes Salb, 22 August 2009, 1:30-4:30 pm

Running and Endurance Seminar with Jon Matzner, 23 August 2009, 1:30-4:30 pm

For Time:
Run 400m
20 Overhead Press, 1/2BW
Run 400m
20 Push Press, 1/2BW
Run 400m
20 Push Jerk, 1/2BW
Post time and weights to comments.

108 comments for this entry:
  1. Alison

    Hear ye, hear ye: There is food for sale at Potomac CrossFit. It is damn hot, and a slurp of delicious gazpacho is just what the doctor ordered!

    I won’t spam the boards every day, but here’s a quick summary of what’s going down:

    A la carte meals, snacks, and other tasty items will be available for purchase throughout the day. Grab whatever you like — be it breakfast on the way to work, dinner on the way home, or a post-WOD snack. Pay (via cash or check), and go.

    A list of the day’s offerings and their prices will be posted on the refrigerated case at the back of the box each day.

    In a few weeks, you’ll be able to see the day’s offerings online — plus order from a much bigger range of snacks, meals, and meal plans. Stay tuned.

    My goal in this is to provide high-quality, seasonal, and well-chosen food options for busy PCFers (who are themselves a high-quality bunch. Thanks again to those who took the survey and gave us feedback!). We’re still sorting out the nuts and bolts of this program, so please email me if you’ve got any questions — alison@humblegourmand.com.

  2. Beth

    Has anyone ever had any problems with forearm pain when doing some of the olympic lifts? Is it my positioning that’s wrong, or just that my forearms are weak? The pain is usually on the palm side of my arm and halfway up my forearm. After the WOD on Sunday with the hang snatches I was hurting. Any suggestions? Thanks!

  3. Mike H

    BW=215 (1/2BW=107.5)

    For Time: as Rx’d
    Run 400m
    20 Press, 1/2BW
    Run 400m
    20 Push Press, 1/2BW
    Run 400m
    20 Push Jerk, 1/2BW

    RX’d + 27.5#: 10:00

  4. Rich S.

    8:45 as Rx’d (95 #)

    Crazy good time Mike H with the 135#…although I am not so sure that is far off 1/2 your BW…just saying Big Boy.

    On a side note, a little bird told me about an interesting article they read in Cosmo…needless to say, I thought Scott Q might be interested.

    “Issue: He wears fugly man jewelry.

    Cosmo Says: “Next time he wears his flair, enlist a girlfriend to poke fun at him.” If that doesn’t work, have another friend tease him, because he’s more likely to take fashion advice from women besides you. “Plus, you get the point across without having to be the bad guy.””

    Scott Q – do you get the point yet?

  5. Emma

    Beth,

    I would guess that, if your forearm muscles are sore, then it’s just because you’re not used to working those muscles and they will certainly be sore for a while! However, if something feels “tweaked,” I would say that it’s either a flexibility issue that will resolve itself over time, or you’re doing something funny (which will also probably resolve itself over time…but you should have a coach watch your movements in the meantime).

    Hope that helps! I was sore AND inflexible for a long time….

  6. Dave C

    11:16 quasi rx’d

    I subbed a 400m row (the bottom of my left foot started getting tight yesterday after those damn thrusters) and did 85 lbs which is 50% of what my bwt probably should be.

    On another note, the breathing technique Aaron taught is in the power lifting seminar really helped on the press! Although I’m sure part of the credit should go to his lovely assistant Erika! :)

  7. Vaughn

    Alison,
    Great idea! Will the meals be broken down into zone block sizes or have the zone info on them?

  8. Alison

    Vaughn — yes indeed

  9. Bruce

    10:03, 80#, Rx’d

  10. Vaughn

    Alison, you are the shizzzpaa!!! I am not sure what that is, but you are it!!! :)

  11. Mary J

    10:45 w/35# bar.

    Alison-I LOVED the breakfast burritos.

    Rich S. & Scott Q., Cosmo is the gospel ;)

  12. Bill C

    11:08 Rx’d

  13. Brian PCF

    Beth – where you using the hook grip? That could be one part of the issue. The other could be what I see with a lot of beginners, which is trying to “yank” the bar off the ground versus pressing the legs through the ground. Check out:

    http://web.mac.com/benn.ok/BWV/Slow_Motion.html

    You’ll see Ben’s upperbody has zero slack in it as he begins his lifts. A lot of folks will have a little slack in their arms or upperback which causes the arms to snap tight at the beginning of the lift. This can obviously cause a lot of stress in the arms and shoulders.

    So make sure to use a hook grip and to keep the arms and upper back tight before you begin the lift.

  14. Vegas Mike

    Vaughn, you are so dedicated to the cause, I know you secretly desire beer and chicken wings… DO you hear Vegas bars calling you????

  15. Brian PCF

    Took a look at the Crossfit Rest Day item today, pretty interesting stuff:

    http://www.crossfit.com/mt-archive2/004866.html

  16. Lisa D

    10:29 rx’d

  17. Alison

    Vaughn, I don’t know either, but I’ll take it!

    Mary J, so glad you enjoyed.

    Posted my photos of the L1 cert — click the link in my name. Bunch of the Fran ones are blurry due to inept photographer and way too much going on at once, but look for the PCF boys being the first ones back to the 2nd set of thrusters… they were all alone for a while, it was very cool. Also in there are some pictures of Kristine gutting it out in Fran and Emma doing handstands everywhere!

  18. Alison

    Vaughn — I’ll take it!

    Mary — so glad you enjoyed

    Posted my photos of the L1 cert — click my name for the album. A lot of the Fran ones are blurry due to an inept photographer (me) and a LOT going on in the room. Look for the PCF boys being the first ones to move onto the second round of thrusters — they were alone for a while; it was pretty cool. There’s also Kristine gutting it out in Fran and Emma doing handstands everywhere!

  19. Emma

    After pondering this thought during a well-deserved break from my busy morning at work, I’ve decided that it’s important for me to have a nickname. “Seattle” seemed a logical conclusion for me…much better than a “Disease Free (DF) Emma,” or “Emma Snickers.” I mean…I am from there, I love all things Seattle, and even have the skyline tattooed on my back. Can you please make this happen for me? I feel my performance will improve much more rapidly with this commonsense adjustment.

    Thanks,
    Seattle?

  20. Carly A

    First WOD in over a month and the start to what will become routine (T/TH at first then working my way up to MWF, then hopefully 3 on 1 off).

    13:25 with the light bar (i forget the weight) and 20lbs added.

    Thanks to Brian for coming up and introducing himself and putting me on the spot for where your grip should be for the presses.

    Another thanks to Mary J for coming up to me, makes it a lot easier to come back when you at least know a face or two!

    I hope to meet some more of you 6:30ers, but already love the vibe in the morning!

  21. Kassi

    Emma,

    It is not allowed for you to create your own nickname. It is a name that must be earned and given by another person. Sorry, those are the rules. Your time will come… probably faster if you come out to a HH since that’s where most nicknames are generated. Maybe on Saturday?

  22. Lynette

    Ahem… “Cosmo ain’t got nothin’ to do with [our] selection”. – Sir Mixalot

  23. Kevin

    Is anyone else really sore from the workout yesterday? I tried to ice last night, not sure it helped enough. I hear Aaron uses the ‘ice bath’, anyone else? Just wondering how that works. How long do you sit in it? I don’t know if I could do it. It just seems so terrible.

    Also Emma, are you trying to make up your own nickname? I’m not sure that’s ok.

  24. Sally

    Kas, I completely agree. Sorry Emma! :)

    I also agree with a HH on saturday evening after the one year party.

  25. Dave

    Kassi is correct, nicknames cannot be assigned to oneself by one’s self. Otherwise we would live in a world filled with people nicknamed Hammer.

  26. Emma

    I KNOW THE RULES BUT I’M SEEKING AN EXCEPTION!!!!!

    Anyway, I went to like the first 5 happy hours we had, and ever since then they’ve been when I’m not around…LIKE THIS WEEKEND. I will be in Illinois. Boo.
    But I will see the cool kids at the 6 pm WOD tonight.

  27. Kassi

    Exception to policy denied.

  28. Aaron - PCF

    I’m just going to start eating T-Bone steaks at the gym and let people discover my nickname organically (thank you George Costanza). Of course, tattooing your nickname on your back serves kind of the same purpose.

    Carly, glad you have a plan! All I will say is that the more you come in, the faster you will learn the movements. If the intensity of a 3-1 schedule is more than your body can handle right now (very understandable) you should still consider coming in 4-5 days a week, listening to your body, and designating some of those days as “form practice.” This would give you the benefit of constant exposure to the movements without beating you up so badly you can’t workout the next day. And actually, those slow days, moving through a good range of motion, will help you recover faster.

  29. Kyle L

    Kevin, I used to take ice baths for football. They definitely help. If you can’t handle the shock of jumping in water at 40 degrees, get in the water first and then add the ice. It will be less of a shock.

    5 – 10 mins should be sufficient.

  30. Vaughn

    Kevin,
    I don’t ice bath (since I don’t have a bath) but I have been using ice a lot more since I went completely off of motrin. I just put it in a baggie covered by a t shirt or old pillow case and rest in on the sore areas for about 15 mins. Kelly Starret has a good video about ice in the CF journal. My fridge isn’t big enough to hold a styrofoam cup or I would try that as well. Either way, I have become a big fan of ice, both for muscles and joints.

  31. Mike H

    Rich S- Don’t make me start going to work late so I can beat your ass daily at the 6:30 AM WOD. It might be embarrassing to have a Big Boy to beat you daily instead of only weekly!!!

  32. Pat

    Great article linked to my name – if you can make it to end you’ll be rewarded with this gem:

    “In short, it’s what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that matters more in losing weight. You should exercise to improve your health, but be warned: fiery spurts of vigorous exercise could lead to weight gain. I love how exercise makes me feel, but tomorrow I might skip the VersaClimber — and skip the blueberry bar that is my usual postexercise reward.”

    Coaches, you may want to begin drafting a letter to Mr. Cloud. Maybe you could get him to leave his versaclimber and “body wedge” class for a few weeks for a different approach…

  33. Pat

    Also, huge loss in cool points for Emma by her attempt at a self-given nickname…I thought you were better than that.

  34. Rich S.

    Mike H – I am not sure it is possible to deem this morning an “ass-beating”…you = higher than BW weight, slower time, me = BW weight, faster time…

    Can we get a mathematician out here please to determine which one of us is more of a man (and we need more than a ruler..too crude?)? That is all.

  35. Bruce

    RE: Pat’s article, in the ABCnews.com version of this story, they specifically blame exercise for depleting our bodies’ “natural reserves of self-control”.

    I am not joking:
    “The article, “Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin” by John Cloud, argued that in the real world, exercising vigorously may just increase a person’s appetite and use up their natural reserves of self-control.”

    Of all the vitalist-sounding unscientific BS I have read recently, the notion of a “natural” reservoir of self-control is the only one that made me spit out my coffee.

    abcnews.com article linked to my name.

  36. Brian PCF

    Agree with vox populi – no nickname. At first I was tempted to give you a really shitty nickname for asking for a nickname, but even that would be to generous…

    As to diet and exercise being tied together…uh, yes. Energy In and Energy Out are completely tied together with an increase or decrease of one absolutely affecting the other (see Taubes video at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4362041487661765149 for more info).

    And you can absolutely lose weight w/o exercising, but you won’t really have any shape as your muscular definition is wholly tied by the resistances you put up against those muscles – frequently and intensely.

    But we have said this numerous times, 80-90% of what most people want with respect to aesthetics are achieved by diet – because most people come to us looking to lose weight.

    Go watch Taubes, Taubes good.

  37. Liz K

    12:12 Rx’d (45#)

  38. Emma

    Not to worry Pat, I had no cool points to lose. I am, in fact, one of the most uncool people I know. Perhaps this was just my way of seeking attention, as I already knew the response I would get. I’m so ashamed….

  39. Keanne

    8:42 Rx
    Great job, 9:30 crew!

  40. Lynette

    I still heart u, Emma.

    PCF Coaches, keep the awesome seminars coming! Looks like I’m missing some good ones, next week, so I’m hoping to see some repeats in the Fall.

  41. Aaron - PCF

    A few things we will say upfront that we all say from the beginning.

    The best way to lose weight is to change how you eat toward a whole foods, low starch, low sugar diet.

    This will get you 80% or more toward your ideal body comp. The other 20 will come with resistance and load bearing exercises done at high intensity.

    The mechanism for how this works is unrelated or only secondarily related to how much you eat. Calories eaten/calories burned is not how you determine if you are eating well or exercising well.

    NO ONE SHOULD EVER ASK ME AGAIN AFTER A WOD HOW MANY CALORIES I THINK IT BURNED!!!!!!!!

    That said, I believe exercise CAN help you lose fat, just not the way most people think (burning calories). What Eades and Taubes and now Cloude are actually saying is that the mechanism of weight loss that people theorize comes from burning calories is wrong. You do not lose weight (consistently) by burning calories. Even if you do for a little while you balance out as the increase expenditure of calories results in you being hungry and you can only control hunger for so long.

    Proper exercise can help you lose weight because it effects your hormones. Not surprisingly, this is also how eating right helps you lose weight, not by restricting your calorie intake. One of the reasons CF workouts are short and intense is because short intense bursts of exercise boost growth hormone, regulate blood sugar, and tend to make you more insulin resistant without making you starving. This positive hormonal environment primes your metabolism to use what calories you eat to build lean body mass, burn fat, and it suppresses hunger. Slow long workouts cause the release of cortisol which primes your body to store store fat and eat muscle … and makes you hungry.

  42. Vegas Mike

    Ok Aaron, how many calories did we lose?????

  43. Vegas Mike

    Sorry couldnt resist, real strange day at the office,

  44. Vaughn

    I think I lost more calories on my 5 mile post wod jog though….

  45. Ken V.

    Hey guys-

    If anyone who’s currently scheduled for the Oly Lift cert w/ Coach Burgener in Oct needs to back out, please keep me in mind. I’ll take your slot.

  46. Danielle

    10:15 (with 42% body weight)

  47. Carly A

    Aaron-Thanks for the tip..I’m hoping that T/TH only lasts about two weeks, MWF last another week or so by the beginning of September I’m up for coming in 4-5 days a week. I was a nice bright red this morning so I def want to ease into it..maybe I’ll get a pvc pipe to practice with at home…I def need practice with my form.

    So I did pretty good on the zone back in June, July was just a disaster for both food and exercise, but I still find myself wanting rice/potato and candy. I’m a celiac (ie allergic to wheat,barley,rye) so bread and pasta are special treats since they are 6-8 bucks for a pop for g/f versions.

    I already started converting my candy into fruits (baby steps), but haven’t found anything to curb my rice/potato must have for dinner..any suggestions?

  48. Erika - PCF

    Carly,

    As much as it sucks at first, the best way to get the craving out of your system is really to go cold turkey for a couple weeks. A recovering potato addict myself (I swear, I could eat pounds of mashed potatoes in a sitting), I never thought I’d be able to break myself of the habit. However, after you go really strict for a couple weeks and allow your body to reset, it becomes so much easier. You get used to (and enjoy) all those veggies, and don’t really even crave the starchy carbs anymore. Mashed cauliflower is a decent sub for mashed potatoes if you just really can’t bear the thought of living without it. Use the opportunity to get creative with your cooking. Your energy levels will thank you.

  49. Andrew (the Intern)

    Hey Emma- I say go for it with making up your own nickname. Arnold Schwarzenegger made up his own nickname (The Austrian Ox) and he’s done alright for himself.

  50. Laura G

    12:02 Rx’d (45#)

    Forgot how much I like the AM WODs. I’m recommitting to getting my butt out of bed!

  51. Erin B.

    I was so glad to hear Siddharths voice in my head from the nutrition seminar… when he said “We don’t count calories…..

    When I went to order food on Sunday night while in the Bronx (watching the Yankees sweep the Sox :) I noticed that they have the calories listed next to each food. Come on people!! The one place you don’t want to know anything thing about the food you are eating is at a baseball game.

    That being said… the hamburger was grass fed beef!

  52. Bryce

    10:40 RX’d whole workout outdoors. The heat was Brutal

  53. Kevin

    Kyle/Vaughn- Thanks for the feedback.

    Kyle- how much ice is needed? I figured just a regular bag from the store would do it. Would I need more?

  54. Kassi

    Kevin-check out this article about ice baths. It answers your question about why regular ice packs aren’t cutting it for you. (click name)

  55. Brian PCF

    Kevin – re: ice baths, you need A LOT of ice. On the two times I’ve done this (Saturday night after the Regional Qualifiers and about two weeks ago) I used 5 bags and they were completely melted 10 minutes in.

    And it is pretty “bracing” getting into that water. I wouldn’t use the word “painful” (except for your niblets) but it’s a real shock to the system.

  56. Alison

    Vaughn — shizzpaa, i’ll take it

    Mary J — so glad you enjoyed!

    Erika — amen, sister. Carly, I didn’t think I’d ever eat pasta less than a few times a week. Now I save it for special occasions, when it’s freshly made and worth it… Give it a try. It will be difficult at first, then smooth sailing. You won’t miss it as much as you think.

  57. Lynette

    Hmmm. I must be doing it wrong. I’ve gained 9 lbs. since starting CF.

  58. Alison

    Andrew — I missed what you said on your way out of the box — Chad had to fill me in. I was totally sidetracked. Sorry about that, and thanks!

  59. Mary J

    Alison, excellent gazpacho too!

  60. Kevin

    Thanks for the info! I might have to give this a try tonight unless today’s WOD somehow takes away all this soreness.

  61. Chad

    8:15 w/ rx’d weight and sketchy ROM on the push jerks – 90lbs.

    Erika, excellent point on the carb cravings. A couple strict weeks and they’re not nearly as bad. Also, Alison makes a KILLER cauliflower puree w/ roasted garlic and olive oil, which has saved me from a few potato binges.

  62. B Wilkins

    My wife is a competitive marathoner and swears by the ice baths. It drastically helps her recovery from tough workouts where lactic acid builds up. One thing she’s learned is that her toes do experience quite a bit of pain. I would suggest looking online or going to EMS or REI to find neoprene toe covers. They’re like a miny wetsuit for your toes and really help cut the burn.

  63. Steven S

    Hi. I’m a mathematician. I’m tempted to invoke some Birkhoff’s ergodic theorem and claim Brian is more manly because of his musical preferences, but …

    Mike H did about 24% more work (making several wild assumptions about arm length, stride length etc.).

    If you want to break out a ruler, you’ll have to find an engineer.

  64. Zack

    Kevin, are you taking fish oil? I’m not sure how much it helps but think it has an effect on inflammation in general. Plus I’ve felt like recovery has been way less of an issue since I started eating paleo/zone. Not sure if we’re talking about the same exact thing but if you’re not doing either, those could help.

  65. Kyle

    11:25 Rx’d. 80#

  66. Mike H

    24% more work equals Rich got it worse this morning than Andy Dufrene in “Shawshank Redemption”

  67. Kari

    10:57 rx’d (40#)

  68. Melanie

    13:26 rx’d (55#, a mini bit more than rx’d) :)

  69. Mike C

    7:09 Rx’d

  70. Rick B

    13:55 Rx’d

    Good to be back.

  71. Mike C

    7:09 Rx’d, 95#

  72. MikePCF / Boston Mike

    6:58 as RX’D

    Great job to the 5pm. Lots of great effort!

  73. Chris Wiz

    13:20 @ 0.4 BW (95 lb)

  74. Brian PCF

    Fuck bodyweight based WODs…

    12:42 Rxd @ 110#

    On the plus side, my shin splints seem to have died down a little, which means I can go back to my running/sprint work every week….YEAH! [he said sarcastically].

    On the flip side I hope to debauch myself to record proportions on Saturday at the 1 Year Anniversary, so might have a rest week coming up.

  75. Adam S.

    8:25 Rx’d @ 85#

  76. Steven S

    9:43, rx’d.

  77. Paul

    7:33 as RX’ed (increased the weight to 95# which is about 15 #s over 50% of my body weight)

    And that is the extent of my entire math ability

  78. kristin

    11:45 @ 55#

  79. B Wilkins

    9:10 rx’d at 100#’s

  80. Guch

    Long live the bodyweight WODs.

    9:17 rx’d at 85#

  81. Chris M

    9:28 rx’d at 80lbs

  82. Abi

    12:40 @ 55#

    Quads were still tweaky from yesterday’s Thrusters..

  83. Ken V.

    9:56 rx’d at 85#
    Came out the gate super fast. But after being drinking and eating like absolute shit in the Bahamas, I seriously thought I was gonna pass out halfway during the 3rd round run. Good times!

  84. JeremyB

    9:38 RX’d at 95#.

  85. Jen R

    11:27 @ 42lbs slightly under rx’d

  86. Jen R

    9:12 rx’d @ 115lbs

  87. Kyle L

    Last post by jen was me

  88. Zack

    13:10 Rx’d at 85#

  89. Vaughn

    11:47 rx’d at 105 lbs. Normally I would agree with Brian’s sentiment on body weight wods, but this one wasn’t too bad and burned a lot of calories….. :)

  90. Dave

    9:43 at 85 lbs which is about 47% body weight.

    Subbed Double Unders for running as post WOD activity was rugby practice.

  91. Erin B.

    11:24 rx’d

  92. Brendan

    12:32 as rx’d

  93. Brendan

    12:32 as rx’d at 95lbs

  94. Andre

    12:50 rx’d at 85#. This was way rough for me.

  95. Lynette

    11:25 RXd

    Note to self: don’t set up at the very back of the gym during running WODs. I think my runs were more like 420m =)

  96. Tuesday 090811 WOD « Brian PCF

    [...] PCF WOD 090811 For Time: Run 400m 20 Overhead Press, 1/2BW Run 400m 20 Push Press, 1/2BW Run 400m 20 Push Jerk, 1/2BW Post time and weights to comments. Time: 12:42 @ 110 lbs [...]

  97. Carolyn

    11:something, Rxd at 45 lbs

  98. Kevin

    12:10 at 95#, not Rx’d.

  99. Andrew W

    8:55 @ .35 BW

  100. BryanR

    10:20 rx’d @ 85#

  101. Jay

    7:51 Rx’d

    Finally on the leaderboard, I think. At least I am in my dreams. It’s nice to be a lightweight sometimes (160lbs of muscle baby).

  102. Keith

    For Time:
    Row 500m
    20 Overhead Press, 80 lbs
    Row 500m
    20 Push Press, 80 lbs
    Row 500m
    20 Push Jerk, 80 lbs
    at gym
    14:46

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