This is what CrossFit is all about, and these are the kinds of people that make up the community of Foothills CrossFit. John came in on his rest day to do the 7 remaining kipping pullups needed for the June Challenge of completing 100. He did them with a tear in his hand wearing his Dickie's shorts. At the beginning of the month, he could not do one kipping pullup.

What did you accomplish this month?

Once again, Danielle shows how badass she is. After shoulder surgery and in a sling, she does one arm body rows at the playground. Somebody stop her!

We had a great turn out for the Pose Running Seminar this morning. We will be incorporating the drills that Nicole gave us in our daily warmups as a part of our 6-week homework assignment. At least we can do our homework together!

Red Ryder (yes, this is her name!) did her Basics Class at Foothills CrossFit and then was sent to Iraq. She is now doing her CrossFit WOD's with her group and emailed us to let us know that she has gone from jumping pullups to heavy bands; from the blue to the orange bands; and is now kipping! She also is at 205# on her deadlift! She looks forward to returning to us in August. (Red is the 7th gal from the left on the top row. The one with the red hair. Hmm.).

Amanda, Glenn and John all tackling Cindy and Angie!

John's quote says it all.."And What Has Your Workout Done For You Today?!"

Trish and Megan in the middle of the obstacle course, which was the warm-up BEFORE the WOD.

Murff literally has his knees to his elbows on his KTE's. Great form Murff.

Tony is showing some insane core strength as well.

Results for "The Chief". Amazing how hard a workout can be when a round only lasts 3 minutes. Oh yea, then you do it 5 times.........

Glenn, the newest member in the Foothills CrossFit community, showing great form in his air squats during "The Chief".

CrossFit Seattle has put together an Athletic Skill Level chart that we found interesting. Check it out and see what your skill level is and what areas of performance you want to practice on a regular basis in order to advance to the next level!

As athletes, we have learned that you you train hard, sometimes injuries happen. What do you do when you earn an injury? Do stop everything completely and rest? Do you continue to workout at a lighter load to keep range of motion? Do you switch to another sport for awhile? Do you ice a few times a day? Massage? What about eating better and taking more fish oil to reduce inflammation? Do you load up on ibuprofin or do you just push through the pain? What has worked best for you? In the videos Training Through Acute Injuries Part 1 and Part 2, Kelly Starret gives some great insight in how to remedy this situation.

Laura's 5 year old son Josh showing great form on his KB high pulls- elbows high and wide, core in tight.Tony Rx'ed his weight in the deadlift portion of "Christine".

Murff and Tony working on their core by throwing the wall ball backwards..

This weekend we installed 22 new 4'x6' mats and the space looks and feels enormous! We have also ordered more Dynamax balls. Climbing ropes are on the "must have" list and will be ordered this week.

Glenn, Scott, Murff and Mike beginning the rowing portion of "Tabata This".

Kettlebell Swings

Review of proper KB swings:

Danielle and her burpee broad jumps!

Tomorrow we are doing "Linda". Check out the video from HQ! And here is a video highlighting the skills we will be practicing......

Welcome Melissa to Foothills CrossFit! She had no experience with CrossFit before her Basics classes, came in the first day and knocked out kipping pullups like she had been doing them her whole life. What is that about?!

Dani and John both nailed their kipping pullups today!!!!! They have been coming to Foothills CrossFit for exactly one month. Great accomplishment you guys!

Overhead Squats

Working on OH squats this week! Overhead Squatting Safely...[wmv][mov]

Annie are you Ok?

Thrusters!

Today's WOD involves everyone's favorite... THRUSTERS!! Here are some tips taken from CrossFitwestsantacruz.com:

Ah, the thruster. It is such a simple movement. A front squat and a push press. So, why is it so damn hard? The thruster is the devil’s own creation. Something about it adds up to be so much harder than its parts.

There are, however, some tips that make the thruster a little more easy to manage. Here are some:

• Always try to match your breathing to the movement. With the thruster, this means one breath one entire movement. Inhale on the way down and exhale at the top of the press.
• After full lockout is reached at the top of the press, do not lower the bar to the racked position and then drop into the front squat. From the overhead lockout, immediately drop into the squat, so that the bar reaches your shoulders at the same time as the squat reaches its lowest depth.
• Try to relax your grip during the squat. Grip and forearm fatigue can be quite severe during a thruster workout such as Fran, where the opposing movement, pullups, is also grip centric.
• With the grip and wrists relaxed, try to snap the wrists forward and up at the top of the press, and then snap them back immediately to start the descent.
• Really try to keep your weight firmly on the heels and off the toes as you perform the front squat. Pushing the knees out is also key, as is keeping the elbows up. All three of these keys work in unison. Not only is this proper squat form in general, but it will speed up your thruster by making it truly a vertical movement. Too many people bring their weight forward onto their toes when in the hole of the squat. In order to then rise, they need to rock back onto their heels and then drive up. This horizontal forward and backwards movement at the bottom of the thruster not only makes the movement much slower, but it also speeds up fatigue by wasting energy rocking back and forth.
• Rest with the bar in the racked position, never overhead.
• If using dumbbells for the thrusters, hold the DBs so that your little finger is right up against the front part of the DB. This allows for more of the DB, and thus more weight, to rest farther back on your shoulders, and thus more towards your centerline. This makes the movement easier by reducing the amount of forward pull on your midline in the manner of a back squat vs a front squat.

Kipping pull ups

Kipping Pull-ups- that's our 100 challenge this month. Check out these three videos where Adrian (the Boz) teaches kipping pull ups: Adrian Teaches Kipping, Part I...[wmv][mov] Adrian Teaches Kipping, Part II...[wmv][mov] Adrian Teaches Kipping, Using the Hips...[wmv][mov]

Some of you have been experiencing what is known commonly as "Tennis Elbow" (a pain either on the inside or outside of the elbow). Some stretches and exercises for this condition are .............

Congrats Danielle!

Danielle traveled to Ft. Leavenworth for her CrossFit level1 Certification. Conratulations!

Tony, Amanda and Murff demonstrate some of the ways you can do core work with all our toys, plank on the balance board, plank on the balance board and on the ball, plank using frisbees. Fun Fun Fun!

Guess who has the funnest shoes?!

CrossFit ladies- read this!

Maybe It’s Not Your Jeans; It’s Your Perspective Written by Dani Dufrene http://www.crossfitinvictus.com/blog/2009/05/monday-june-1-2009/ A couple months ago I set out to accomplish a goal. I wanted to go from #109 to #120. I believed that with a little extra mass I would be able to lift heavier weights and recover better from my work outs. Although I have not yet hit #120, I did reach #116 and have felt a remarkable difference. That is not the point of this post, but important to note for the story to come. So that is 7lbs in approximately 8 weeks. Seven pounds may not seem like much for some, but my frame is rather small and all 7 of those pounds are very noticeable to me. They seem to have found a home in my quads, glutes and hamstrings. Not surprising given the CrossFit regimen. Now to my story… A few weeks ago I went shopping with a girlfriend. The primary goal was to find some jeans because I only had one pair of pants that fit me. What I came to discover on that shopping adventure is that my body has changed drastically. The cap sleeved, frilly shirts that once looked so cute now looked ridiculous. And locating a pair of jeans that fit both in my thighs and my waist was not possible. I was very grateful on that day for my amazing girlfriend who has a healthy perspective on her own body image and had been down this road before. After several failed attempts at finding a pair of jeans, she simply suggested that I find a pair that fit my thighs and have them altered to fit in the waist. As for the cap sleeved frilly shirt, well she said say goodbye and find a new style. Her point was simple, it wasn’t the jeans; it was my perspective. My body had changed and rather than fight it I needed to embrace it and adapt. So I did. I located shirts that didn’t make me feel like the Hulk or Linda Hamilton and I purged my closet of anything that no longer flattered my body in its current state. If I had gained 7lbs because I sat on the couch gorging myself, that would be a completely different story. Not the case. The jeans didn’t fit me because I had gained muscle mass in my legs and my booty. At that moment I had to make a decision, I could accept the fact that my body had changed and alter my attire or sacrifice my strength and muscle so I could fit into a certain pair of jeans or rock a frilly shirt. To me the choice is a no brainer. I understand that isn’t the case for many women, but I challenge you to challenge your perspective. I write this post because I know that women torture themselves on a daily basis about their bodies. If you are eating well, CrossFitting regularly and being active and your quads happen to get bigger or your booty grows, I challenge you to embrace it. Adapt your clothing, not your lifestyle. Don’t sacrifice your health and strength for vanity. You can have both. You can be strong and beautiful. You just have to change your perspective. Beautiful might look a little different than it once did.

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