5/22/13
Strength:
20:00 AMRAP
2 deadlifts
2 Press
2 Weighted Chin-Ups
2 Front Squats

Does this look familiar? I betcha it does! That's because we did this little beauty last week as well. The WODFather is cycling us through an endurance period, and nothing is being left out - including strength. This strength/WOD, as you know, is all about strength endurance. The weights start out light-ish, considering they're your 6 rep max numbers, but that weight gets heavy somewhere around the 11:00 mark.

Reminder guys - Saturday is Brady's birthday party. The invitation is on the events board at the Fort if you'd like to join us!

Also - if you're participating in the Skinny Jeans Dreams challenge, make sure you get your week 3 weight recorded at some point! This is the tough part guys...hang in there and push through the cravings!

5/21/13
Strength
7 sets of
1 Power Snatch + 1 Hang Snatch

WOD
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Power Snatches (35/25kg)
Sit-ups

Oh man, if you like snatching, then today is like going to Snatch Disney Land! Or Snatch Great America! We are starting with some 2 position snatch strength, and then going through a fast little WOD. I heard we had people in the morning classes finishing this under 4:00!! Let's see if the evening classes can find their snatch-a-potomus and beat the GYG's times!

If you haven't seen the invitation hanging at the Fort, Brady's 2nd birthday party is this Saturday at 3PM at our house. All our CrossForters and their families are welcome! We'll be cooking some pulled pork and relaxing on the deck, so feel free to stop by whenever!

Also - we have had a few more people jump in on the Skinny Jeans Dreams Challenge this week! Remember, you can start this challenge at ANY TIME! Jump in whenever you're ready!

For those of you that don't know, CrossFit Fire will be doing the Hero WOD "Murph" on Sunday May 26th at 11:00 am. We will be doing this Hero WOD in honor of the Memorial Day Murph event. For more information visit: http://mdmfundraiser.com/.
One of our members, Isaiah, contacted me and told me that his brother is in the military, deployed overseas and was having a hard time with this deployment. Isaiah told me that his brother owned a Crossfit Affiliate in Montana and asked if I could bring in a t-shirt and have everyone sign it and write a special something. I got a Memorial Day Murph t-shirt that I will leave out during the WOD so please take the time to sign it. I will also leave a care package box out for if anyone wants to give a little something to Isaiah's brother. Some examples as to what to get are beef jerky, any kind of powder drink mix, power bars, baby wipes and any other snacks you could think of.

So in honor of Michael Murphy and Isaiah's brother we will be doing "Murph"

While wearing a 20 lb vest:

1 Mile run to start
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 Mile run to finish

* Pull-ups, push-ups and squats can be broken up in any way.

I have to apologize for the short notice and the short post but I'm writing this while I'm on the road to Virginia for another class.

With all WOD's there will be many scaling options available for those that don't think they can do the WOD as prescribed. You can do a half Murph or the WOD can be custom tailored for each individual. This event is free and open to all (non-Crossfiters are more than welcome to attend), if you are a Crossfit Fire member please sign up for this event and if you are not a member just show up. If you wanted to register and donate for the Official Memorial Day Murph event please visit their site ($35.00 t-shirt included). This Hero WOD will be held on Sunday the 26th at 11:00 am. Come out and help me celebrate the life of Michael Murphy and show our support to Isaiah's brother.

You came, you saw, you conquered! Our own version of the NFL combine was a ton of fun. Next year we plan on having all the events set up simultaneously so that you can complete them as quickly as you like instead of having to wait for everyone to finish. Live and learn, right?

Here's what you've all been waiting for - the results!

Men:
1st  - Clark Dendinger
2nd  - Kelly "Mad Dog" Madigan
3rd - Mike Chalmers

Ladies:
1st -  Sammi Miller
2nd - Jamie Michelau
3rd - Sarah Artz

Kids:
1st - Ethan
2nd - Aiden
3rd - Xavier

A complete set of results can be found here. Thank you to everyone for coming out and participating, spectating and volunteering! We sure had another great time!

5/16/13
Strength
EMOM for 20:00
Odd - (5) 1-1/4 Front Squats (40-50% of 1RM)
Even - 5 weighted pull-ups

WOD:
7:00 AMRAP
3 burpees
6 toes to bar
9 kettlebell swings (24/16kg)

If you're scratching your head at the strength work, don't worry. This isn't something we do all that often. 1-1/4 squats are a great way to train strength at the bottom of your squat. This transfers over nicely to the receiving position for the clean, as well as your upward driving force in your squats. The idea is that you'll squat to the bottom, recover to just above parallel, and then descend back down to the bottom, and come all the way up. If you haven't guessed yet, you're going to need a little bit of ass awareness in order to do these. (Too bad there isn't a butt depth finder, eh?) Yes, these are tough - which is why the weight should be light.

If your legs are crying after all the hard work they've put in this week, definitely find yourself a foam roller at the Fort. Roll back and forth and most importantly, left to right, over all your sore bits. It's more of a smooshing motion than a back and forth motion.

5/15/13
Strength
20:00 AMRAP (all weights at your 6 rep max)
2 Deadlift
2 Press
2 weighted chin-ups
2 front squats

WOD
off

Cash Out
Partner Karen
You and a partner complete 150 wall ball shots (20/14lbs)

So remember last week when we all did that awesome 6 rep max day? Well turns out the WODFather had big plans for those numbers. They're coming back up in this little workout. It's technically listed as "strength", but let's be very clear....this is going to be a great cardio workout too!

Our Skinny Jeans Challenge participants are through their first week, and we already have some people creeping up on double digit weight loss! YAY for you guys! If you are interested in jumping in, it's not too late. You can sign up for this challenge at any time and get the extra motivation you need to look SEXY on the beach this summer.

Photo caption contest! What do you suppose was going through Scott's head in this picture??

5/13/13
WOD
Part 1:
4 rounds of
400m run
50 squats

Part 2:
w/a partner, each complete:
40 Sandbag Half Moon 

Let me just remind you guys that scaling is your friend. It's not meant to be something you have to feel bad about, or something that's SHAMEFUL in any way. We did this workout back in August of 2009 and I can remember quite a few people walking away from it with SUPER sore legs. If you're one of those people that was completely wrecked after doing tabata squats or Karen, you might want to consider scaling. After all....it is only Monday and we have a whole week of great workouts for you guys! Scale, and live to WOD another day!

OMG - how much fun was the combine on Saturday!? It was a little chilly out, but that didn't stop us from having a great time. There have been a lot of recipe requests for the wings and blue cheese dressing that I made, so I'll be posting that to the blog shortly. We are also finalizing our winners, so that will go up as its own post. Stay tuned!