"Tabata Something Else" (05.01.2009)

"Tabata Something Else" (05.01.2009)
Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are pull-ups, the second 8 are push-ups, the third 8 intervals are sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are squats. There is no rest between exercises

Post total reps to comments.

Stable News
I. First we want to welcome Nick back into our little family, he came by today and jumped right into the mix with our crew. Great to have you back, just in time to get a few more Garage WODs in before the big move...

II.Yesterday we signed the lease for the Millspace located on Commercial street in Manchester (right next to UNH Manchester's building and the park). Jefe, Mike, and I met with the landlord and building manager yesterday so that they could break ground and begin the renovations we asked for. Things are moving fast and it's getting more exciting by the day, and you can expect me to keep everyone up to speed on the whole process as it happens. This has never been about me or my partners, it's about the family we have here so this move is yours more than it is ours and we love that everyone is chomping at the bit to get involved. More to come soon.

III. CrossFit New Hampshire joined the ranks of the CrossFit RRG by buying stock in the company, which will in turn provide us with the type of insurance necessary for our unique requirements as a training facility. I wanted our community to know that we are always looking for new ways to grow and develop what we've got going on up here in New Hampshire, protecting ourselves and our athletes is just one way we can keep things going in the right direction. Below is a link to the CrossFit RRG website where our name is proudly nestled between the hundreds of other contributors that have joined up from around the country, feel free to check it out and read up on what an RRG is.
CrossFit Risk Retention Group

Operation Enduring CrossFit Blog
Check out Mr. Fogle's new blog, he has clearly lost his mind after separation anxiety from the Stable set in. Go support him, he needs you now more than ever... umm, pull your socks up high where he can see with his webcam.
Fogle's Operation Enduring CrossFit Blog

"Elizabeth" (04.30.2009)

"Elizabeth" (04.30.2009)
21-15-9 reps for time of
Clean (135lbs)
Ring Dips

Post Scores to Comments

Today brings us one of the 6 Classic Benchmark WODs CrossFit uses as a consistent baseline measure of capacity. You should all be familiar with at least a couple of the Named WODs by now, "Elizabeth" is one of the benchmarks because she combines two potent movements and a WOD format that are ideal for showing capacity across certain domains of fitness. If you take "Elizabeth" and add the five other benchmarks you have a well rounded method for measuring overall fitness progress.
Below are three links to demo videos from CrossFit HQ that show proper execution of the WOD as well as the individual movements.
Note: Please let me know if there are other resources or ideas anyone has in regards to how I can better prepare everyone for the daily WOD. This format is still new for us and the creative feedback is always encouraged.

Elizabeth Rx'd WOD Demo

Clean Demo by Coach B and Sage

CrossFit Ring Dip Demo

Rest Day (04.29.2009)

Soak up your Rest Day, little Savages, you earned it.
Now that we are on a nice little posting schedule around here (thanks to everyone for the help in posting scores) I can get back into the habit of providing articles and resources on Rest Days. There is some truly fascinating science and theory behind all the things we do in our efforts to attain the next level of elite human performance. Below is an article by Dr. Thomas C. Neylan on the topic of "General Adaptation Syndrome" and the man behind it's original inception: Hans Selye. Hans Selye's actual experiment with rats starts in the second column, and that should be some truly thought provoking content. I hope everyone likes the article as it should provide some insight into why we use intensity and then recovery to repeatedly reap exponential rates of improvement in performance. 

Post your thoughts, questions, or requests for further resources in the comments section.

Hans Selye & General Adaptation Syndrome

It feels great to be back in the Stable, I definitely missed the daily metabolic slug-fest our athlete's endure.  The extra days of rest over the weekend were perfectly timed, everyone came back and attacked the SDHP x Ring Dip met con at a new level of intensity.

I hope you all enjoy reading the Adaptation article while blowing off your day jobs, get that Rest and be ready for whatever hell is lurking ahead...

"The Bear Complex" (04.28.2009)

Jared: The Stable and all it's Savages will miss the hell out of you and your terrible trance play lists. Stay safe and keep us posted so we can get you some gear over there once you get your boots on the ground. It's been a privilege watching you excel from day one through your last Deadlift WOD (with pull a PR of 385 lbs) keep hitting it hard... 

by the time you get back you'll have more than just a "Stable" to train in and everyone will go "Socks Up" to welcome home.

"Bear Complex" WOD (04.28.2009)

Performing the sequence in order is considered a single rep of the "Bear Complex".  Perform 7 reps of the Bear Complex in a row without letting the bar touch the floor (except on Power Cleans to reset).  There are 5 total rounds in this WOD and you may take as long to rest as you wish between attempts.  Watch the video linked below to see what counts as a "failure".

Today there will be a charge of 5 burpees per failure during the WOD, the total number of burpees will be tacked onto the last round and must be started as soon as round #5 has been completed.  Make sure and finish all 5 Rounds, regardless of how many burpees you are being taxed.  Adjust weight up or down just like a normal MEBB day.  Rest smart and go heavy.

The Sequence:

1 x Power Clean

1 x Front Squat

1 x Push Press

1 x Back Squat

1 x Push Press

This WOD is a mutation of the Max Effort Black Box style days we see come up once in a while.

I am linking a video below that shows the WOD being executed so you have a grasp of what your objectives are if this is new to you.  We've had a few of our veteran Savages try this out awhile ago and it was a slayer.  Looking forward to keeping this new format going for you guys, make sure you do your best to post scores (loads in lbs) and notes on how the WOD went,etc. Treat this like Mike treats his locket-diary of training.

Link 1: "Bear Complex Video"
The next link is for those that don't have barbells and want to try out Mike Rutherford's cruel Bear Complex ideas with dumbbells.

Link 2: "The Dumbbell Bear"

"Big Brother Fitness Is Watching You"

"Choose Wisely" WOD I (04.27.2009)
Complete 5 Rounds for time of
21 x SDHP's (95lbs)
21 x Ring Dips

"Choose Wisely" WOD II(04.27.2009)
Complete Three Rounds of 15-12-9 reps for time with
DB 1-arm Snatch
DB 1-arm Snatch
Chest to bar Pull-ups

"Choose Wisely" WOD III (04.27.2009)
Complete 5 Round for time of
DB Deadlift x 5
DB Hang Clean x 5
DB Push Press x 5
DB Plank Row x 5

After you make your selection you should go outside and pick a spot, just remember to warm-up and prime yourself for performance.  Get creative with your gear if you have to, sometimes that makes for a truly awesome training WOD.  

You are free to pick any WOD you want from the three above, whatever you select is what you are going to hit hard on Monday. 

Post your scores when completed and any notes you can think of.  I will show everyone how to use the website as a virtual log this week, first we really need everyone to get used to using the comments.  We will see how everyone does.

CrossFit: A Modern Heretic

CrossFit continues to set the performance standard when it comes to advancing the human organism across all realms of fitness capacity.  We have athletes making daily strides in elite human performance, the methods eliciting such gains were painstakingly sifted through with time, effort, and attention to the correlatives we judge fitness on at times.  CrossFit is potent, that much is for sure.  CrossFit makes you Fit.  CrossFit is hard as hell and it can kill you...but if you do it the right way, the smart way, you might be on track to one day realize the very limit of your genetics.  It's hard to fathom.

 

Coach and his family/staff are relentless in their pursuit to discover the underlying catalysts of all this observed metabolic and phsyiological success CrossFitters are having.  The mainstream fitness industry is where the problem lies, they like to bicker about the validity of scores and times.  They will argue that we have no definitive measure of fitness in the first place...  I'm not going to even go any further for right now, just think about that last sentence for a day and tell me what you think when I see you this week, don't forget... Big Brother is Watching Your Workout.

I missed updating the site but we had very little free time to do anything while I was in Texas for the CrossFit Science of Exercise Certification.  I really want to express how amazing these lectures and discussions were, we didn't even know Coach Glassman and Coach Rippetoe would be there until they wandered in on Saturday.  The line-up of Intellectual Deviants was awe inspiring, these are the CrossFit Celebrities we read and watch videos of.  Everyone I consider a role model in their representative field came in to teach us.  I have never experienced an environment as conducive to the rapid acquisition and assimilation of new concepts as this, every topic of study was something I felt like I could really sink my little fangs into. The atmosphere ended up being a very open forum where our Instructors teach while holding a continual dialogue with the CrossFitters.  This instant new knowledge paired with it's application was a noticeable factor in learning difficulty.  Before I get too carried away I need to post this up, you will get more material once my notes are typed up.

Notes: Thank you to all the CrossFitters that I met, it was nice to see some old friends as well. Meeting Coach Glassman and the rest of the Professors was an honor, it's amazing what kind of knowledge you can pick up just from being around these guys.

Sunday's European Regional Qualifier Challenge WOD

This past Sunday was an absolute blast as we gathered our full complement of athletes in the Stable to take on a special training evolution. Joe Venuti came up from CrossFit MASS and helped administer a tough met.con. that recently appeared as a WOD during the European Regional Qualifier Events (for the CrossFit Games). The little weekend gatherings that we host on Sunday's are always exciting regardless of the particular doom WOD we lay out for our Savages to try their fangs on, but this was a special event for several reasons.  Europe's top CrossFitters took on the WOD listed below in one of several battles for athletic supremacy...those left standing at the front of the pack were awarded competitive rights for the Official CrossFit Games (the qualifiers are one step removed from determining the fittest humans on earth).  Getting mentally up to train this intense isn't something any of our CrossFitters usually struggle with, they are used to the daily struggle for survival each crucible of a WOD forces them to endure. Sunday was exceptional before we even gave the 3-2-1-go, as motivation levels grew exponentially once the "pride factor" became involved (writing the first place European Score on the Whiteboard probably helped a bit as well).

Joe and I also weren't going to be conducting this WOD in the traditional group training format our crazies were used to.  Instead, we manipulated every variable we could to replicate the environment our Northeast Regional Qualifier Challengers would most likely encounter during their Events.   The athletes gathered in the warm sun and rotated through the WOD in heats of 3, each CrossFitter would be flanked by two judges.  These two judges had the combined responsibilities of tallying reps, keeping time, and holding their CrossFitter to the strict standards of  human bio-mechanics associated with each movement.  Adherence to such stringent criteria have come to define the legitimacy of any athlete's score. This is a difficult application of standards for both the Coach and the CrossFitter as we have come to set the precedent that Standards precede Effort... No matter how hard you try to push something overhead, no matter how many feet of intestines you leave on the ground, if you don't punch that head through and lock our your arms with active shoulders your rep does not count.  It does not exist.  Telling someone that might temporarily break your heard, but you are forging theirs ten times as hard in the process.

Everyone gets gassed, everyone gets tired, and everyone loses the potent efficiency of habit in their movements during the course of a horridly difficult WOD.  This, however, is what we train for: the ability to persevere and continue to make headway regardless of the perceived level of duress a human mind might experience.  There were lots of lessons taken away from Sunday, some learned during the WOD, some learned administering the WOD.

At the end of the day the combined performances were glorious to experience, everyone took this thing on in one way or another allowing our little family to grow a little bit closer...

Anticipation in the Stable is growing by the day as the Northeast winds up for it's Regional Qualifier Events and the murmurs are getting impatient as we all plan out our trip down to Albany: Mike, Wes, and Dennis can expect some intense support from our pocket of freaks in the crowd.

Thanks again to Joe V. for helping us enjoy another awesome Sunday, the next one will be on May 10th, at CrossFit MASS' garage facility. Everyone is already chomping at the bit.  Thank you to our homegrown Joe as well for taking awesome pictures as usual, email me if anyone wants some of the original image files for personal use.

Details Surrounding the Weekend of May 22-24: 

Jefe, Kevin O'malley (Congratulations on getting getting Vagabond CrossFit affiliated, dude!), Melissa Byers, and I will all be volunteering to help out and judge during the Qualifiers... we are still crossing our fingers in the hopes that Joe Venuti might make it as well. Madness will reign supreme if things go as planned, more details to come on where Mike C. and I are going to be setting up camp, go ahead and call us stingy for not getting a hotel but you will thank us when we spend that money on CrossFit Gear during our move. We are willing to gamble our ability to shower as we've got three of our guys in the competition to mooch off of... if the judges' odor is too grundleicious and impedes athlete performance don't expect the blame to be laid at our feet. Provide us with running water and I promise a lavender scented beard.

Sunday's Challenge WOD (04.19.2009)

Complete 3 Rounds for time, reps of 15-12-9 each for

-Power Clean and Anyway Overhead (135lbs)

-Handstand Push-ups

Power Clean and AWOH Standards: Power clean from contact with ground, when moving weight overhead arms must lock out and ears must be visible forward of arms at the top position. Athlete must stand and be in control at the top apex of each Overhead movement.

HSPU Standards:  Skull must make contact with floor, maintain vertical position while pressing up and reach full lockout for each rep to count. Arms must be maximum of 90 degree angle at the bottom of each rep, ie. super wide hand position is not allowed.

Judging: There were two judges per athlete executing the WOD, one controlled time and the other counted reps. Both Judges were providing constant feedback and encouragement for the validity of each movement.

Scores

Mike L. 20:24 Rx'd

Wes 12:31 Rx'd

Mike M. 11:21 Rx'd*

Mike C. 21:11 Rx'd

Frank 18:43 Rx'd

Chalupa 14:40 135lbs, HSPU mod

Fogle 12:46 135lbs, HSPU mod

RJ 7:07 95lbs, HSPU mod

Jen 11:47 75lbs, HSPU mod

Kristie 12:24 65lbs, HSPU mod

Jill 9:40 65lbs, HSPU mod

*More Scores Added Tomorrow

"The Dirty 30" WOD (04.18.2009)

State of the Stable Report: The "Dirty Thirty" was a nice little Chipper WOD I felt would benefit our athlete's a little bit more because of my prior knowledge of the onslaught waiting for them on Sunday. A CrossFit "Chipper" style WOD is aptly named based on the task priority you are presented with: Haul a$$ straight through every movement listed and execute the prescribed number of repetitions before moving onto the next challenge. This isn't nearly as tough as the "Filthy 50", an official CrossFit Named Suck-fest, however, it was brutal enough to provide the mental and physical hardship we expect our athletes to persevere through daily. I looked at this WOD as an opportunity for everyone to come in, hit something hard and fast, work on occasionally neglected skills, and still keep fresh for the CrossFit Games Style WOD we have prepared for Sunday. As we see day in and day out there was an excellent performance standard established across the board, but Frank in particular crushed this little pearl of a WOD (well, once he figured out that Double-unders require a "jump"). Tomorrow will be phenomenal and I can't wait to see all our Savages tilling the fields of athletic potential.

"Dirty Thirty" WOD (04.18.2009)

Complete the following for time:

30 x Box Jumps (20'')

30 x L-sit Pull-ups

30 x KB Swings (16kg)

30 x Walking Lunges

30 x Knees-2-Elbows

30 x Shoulder Presses (45lbs)

30 x Abmat Sit-ups

30 x Burpees

30m Suicide Sprint

30 x Deadlift (65/95lbs)

30 x Double Unders

Scores

Mike L. 16:31

Kristie 17:17

Mike C. 15:14

Frank 12:45*

RJ 19:33

Joe 18:03

Jill 15:10

"Danny", "Frelen" & Misc. WODs

I. Sunday's Regional Qualifier Special Prep WOD
Get yourselves prepped for some delicious sado-masochism on Sunday. Joe Venuti and I will be in here prepping for everyone around 2:00pm and are planning to kick off the madness by 3:00. I hope all you guys can make it, Joe is an talented CrossFit Instructor and everyone would benefit greatly from his coaching. The WOD we have planned will replace whatever the mainsite WOD is for that day so everyone is encouraged to take this beast on, experience level is a moot point as we will scale to the individual as necessary which allows every athlete we have here to participate in a CrossFit Games style training evolution. I am truly looking forward to this special congregation from all our athletes all over the state as well as all of our guests coming up from CrossFit MASS. We might even get a few crazies up here from CrossFit Center Mass, so cross your fingers... I've also got to get on the horn and see if Byers wants to come down and help judge, good practice for both her and those looking to excel in the regional qualifiers. This should be one hell of a show, hopefully the streets of good ol Manchester will be littered with the exhausted and euphoric post-WOD bodies of CrossFitters. I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday... can you? Don't lie. 

See everyone tomorrow.

II. The Big Move Updates: We are trying to keep everyone as informed as possible about the developments at our new facility... this is something you should all be proud to take part in as we get ready to relocate our family to a new home where our athletes will truly thrive. I am frothing at the mouth thinking about the possibilities of newly tapped potential that will be coming down for you Savages, it should be an amazing experience. There are some other big ideas we have in the works that will be unveiled shortly after our Opening Day as we aggressively move on developing them...surprises you are all going to love and benefit greatly from. CrossFit New Hampshire is doing everything it can to give back to this great community that helped us forge a home for CrossFitters out of the dirt in a one car garage. Dream big, you infants of athletic potential you, the time is nearly upon us and you have barely scratched the surface in your potential to attain elite levels of fitness.

III. House-keeping: I just wanted to let everyone know that we owe Frank a big thank you for coming over and helping us fix the floor, which was crushed after the last few heavy met.cons... (DT was insane as all hell).  Now we are in tip top shape to continue world class strength and conditioning training in the Stable facility we have all come to love, enjoy the hell out of it while you can before we head to larger, crazier, and hellishly beautiful new premises in the Manchester Waumbec Mills.

Hero WOD "Danny" (04.16.2009)

Oakland SWAT Sergeant Daniel Sakai, age 35, was killed on March 21, 2009 in the line of duty along with fellow officers Sergeant Ervin Romans, Sergeant Mark Dunakin, and Officer John Hege. Daniel is survived by wife Jenni and daughter Jojiye.
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
24 inch Box Jump, 30 reps
115 pound Push Press, 20 reps
30 Pull-ups

Scores

Mike C. 3 Rnds +30/16

Matt C. 3 Rnds +18

Jefe 4 Rnds +27

Fogle 3Rnds +17

Jess 3 Rnds +30/10

Katie 3 Rnds +12

RSR WOD (04.16.2009)

Complete the following for time:

Run 400m

100 x Air Squats

Run 400m

75 x Air Squats

Run 400m

50 x Air Squats

Run 400m

25 x Air Squats

Scores

Chalupa 13:54*

Chalupa's hands look like the Joker's face after Batman axe kicked him into a vat of acid, so he gallantly took on this stem-crusher and did very well... I'm starting to think the best part of my day is watching Chalupa collapse like a sack of boneless flesh after every WOD.  That is the product of all out intensity, and his times reflect the mental fortitude to continually perform at that level.  We'll talk later about a particular photo that may give a little insight into Chalupa the man, not the Taco Bell Totalitarian.

Muscle-up/Snatch Balance/Power Snatch Max Effort Training

Wes and Dennis came down to hang out and visit with the family around here while we ran them through the Danny Hero WOD.  Both guys are going to hopefully crush some competition in the Albany Regional Qualifiers just over 30 days out, and came in today wanting to refine their muscle-up and Power Snatch skill sets.  We went right to work and by the end of the day both guys Snatch Balanced a max of 135lbs (and they could have gone much much heavier).  Dennis made 135lbs look light for the Power Snatch and Wes was about an inch away from the solid base necessary to hold the weight overhead.  If he was fresh it would have been a different story, even though he beats himself up over it anyway.  Both athletes made some awesome gains and their confidence in movements they previously questioned should have increased tremendously as they have the capacity and athleticism to execute the movements well.  Minor tweaks here and there with something as simple as a PVC pipe is all that is necessary for them to bring the lumber should a 135lb snatch based WOD present itself during the Albany Qualifiers.

Dennis also hit up his first Muscle-up, and actually figured it out so well he banged out about 8 immediately after without much difficulty at all.  We wrapped things up by covering some basics on the rower and I feel both guys left with a much better mental disposition than when they came in.  I know they were hungry for the WOD, but this close to the qualifiers is refinement time not hammer yourself into mush time.  I had an excellent time working with both athletes, and it was great for Jess to be able to watch and practice with us as well to get some insight on one of the Olympic Lifts and the skill sequences involved in training it.  We are definitely looking forward to having these guys down this weekend, they always come ready to work.

"Frelen" WOD (04.15.2009)

Complete 4 Rounds for time of:

400m Run

15 x Kettlebell Swings (1-pood)

15 x Pull-ups

Scores

Kristie 15:01

Mike L. 15:21

Chalupa 13:29

Fogle 13:48

Katie 13:15

Jess 13:56

Jefe 10:33*

Jill 12:00

Mike C. 12:04

Kent 14:17

Joe 13:27

RJ 15:39