Our condensed Friday evening schedule seems to be working out well. Both the 4 and 5PM classes were full to the max! We had a visitor on Friday, Nicole's brother Reid stopped in for his first CrossFit workout. Unfortunately for Reid, the workout was a sneaky hard one that didn't look all that hard on the board.

I've never seen so many people relieved to be doing burpees in my LIFE! Those toes to bar were a tough workout for your core especially after the barbell ab rollouts the other day!

Let's talk ring dip form for a second. You want to keep your palms facing your body at all times. As you lower yourself down, think "shoulder to top of ring". If you let your body drift too far forward of the rings, you're compromising your shoulder position which could lead to soreness or even injury.

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Let's take a vote. Who thinks that yesterday's workout will be the LAST running WOD of the year? (Bill, you're exempt from voting) I'm thinking the 65 degree weather was the very last "running worthy" day we'll see until 2012. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking.

4 rounds with 5:00 on the clock
500m row
400m run
max double unders
5:00 rest

This might look familiar. Well, that's because we did this back on 10/5. You might have noticed that we have 2 calculators hanging on the walls at the Fort these days. That's because math is VERY hard when you've just worked out. Right Andy? Ok, I have to tell the story. Andy finished the workout and was quite dismayed to learn that his score was lower than it was a month ago. Not one to be satisfied with this answer, he started double checking his numbers. I heard him say, "But that's impossible, because all my numbers were higher this time!" Fortunately Dolores was there to lend a helping hand. I hear she's quite daft when it comes to crunching numbers.

Reminders - Fishing Tournament is this Saturday - BE THERE FOR FUN-NESS! This event is open to everyone. I'm hoping some fellow CrossFitters will come out and play along with their families!

Our November Warrior Women Wednesday was a lot of fun! We had a small turnout, but I guess that's because I scared everyone with the talk of overhead squats. Well....while you ladies were at home, snug on your couches, Trish and Tiffany were CRUSHING their old overhead squat PR's! Trish's old PR was 29kg's and with a little coaching and a LOT of encouragement she got 40kg's last night! Tiffany's old PR was 40kg's and she got 45kg's last night! BOOM! I'm going to give the credit to the mobility work we put in right before our strength work. Oh and Nicki Minaj radio. That stuff was KEY!

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If there's one thing I can say about snatching, it's that you have to be "one" with the bar. Feel it's weight in your hands...connect yourself to the weight of the bar and drive all the force of your body into the bar. The bar is not separate from you, but rather an extension of your being.

Ok, maybe that's a little deep.

The WOD yesterday was
15-12-9
Hang Power Snatch (50/35kg)
pull-ups
burpees

I have to give props to Bad Tiffany for this workout. Her single rep max for snatch is 32kg's, and she used 25kg's for this entire workout! If I had to guess, I'd say it's time for a heavy snatch day...your single rep max is due for an overhaul!

In case you haven't noticed, I added an event for Girl's night In. I put this both on the blog and Facebook, so if you didn't get a facebook invitation, I apologize! This event is open to all current members of the Fort and it's always a total blast! Hope to see you there!

Coming up this Saturday at 5PM is our Fishing Tournament. I can assure you, there is NO skill required to play this game. It's a 4 minute game on the rower where you're trying not to get eaten by sharks. Come row with us while your kids run amok at the open gym that will be going on at the same time! I'll be making a giant batch of my world famous chili for us to enjoy. Bring the adult beverage of your choice or a dish to pass, and a good time will be had by all! (this will take place at the Fire House Gym in Spring Grove)

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Bri sent me a VERY excited text message last night saying that the workout was definitely pregnant lady approved!

3:00 max KB swings
3:00 rest
3:00 box jumps

Kettlebell swings are one of the movements that most of our round belly mommas can do throughout their entire pregnancy. KB swings and ball slams get substituted for a lot of the non-preggo friendly movements like burpees and double unders, so don't be surprised in a couple months when KTUCK and Bri are CRUSHING WODs using these movements!

Our strength work yesterday was 4-5 deadlifts, 2:00 rest, max pushups, 2:00 rest (5 rounds). Brad was in the same class as Drew, who is notoriously amazing at push-ups. Brad asked Drew, "So, do you just stop doing push-ups because you get bored?" Funny stuff you guys!

November Warrior Women Wednesday is tomorrow night at 7PM! This is a free class for all the ladies at the Fort, and we'll be doing an overhead squat clinic. Yes, we've already done this once, but I've had a lot of requests for it and I'm ALWAYS game for some overhead squats!

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Don't feel bad about failure....sometimes it's part of getting better! Our WOD yesterday was all about failing over and over!

12:00 AMrAP
max handstand push-ups
max ring dips
max push-ups

The idea was to do a many in a row without stopping, then move on to the next movement. Your score for this workout was your total number of reps. No need to feel bad about only getting 3-4 reps...there was plenty of time on the clock for more!

I have to compliment Mike B for his 2 press + 4 push press strength work yesterday. For his last set, he used his old single rep max rep for press, and did it for 2 reps! Nice work!

My other compliment goes out to Dean and his mustache. There are very few people I know who can grow a respectable amount of facial hair, and yours looked pretty solid. You could give Charlie a run for his money with that 'stache!

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Our strength work  yesterday was kind of a 2-for-one deal. The goal was to establish a one rep max for "snatch + hang snatch". Essentially, snatch the barbell from the floor, bring it to the hang, and then snatch it again AS HEAVY AS POSSIBLE. We saw some great PR's for people's snatches! Jamie, Kinsy and Kristen C all PR'd their snatch and then followed it up with a 2nd rep from the hang! Nice work ladies.

This was sneaky hard. Looking at it on the board it didn't appear to be a complete suck-fest, but it was tough. Props to Matt, EJ and Hero Mike for their balls-to-the-wall effort for all three rounds!

One of the rules that we have at the Fort is that kids NEED to stay in the front room. We have been letting this slide a little lately, but we need to start enforcing this again. When we're moving weights, your bambinos need to be safely tucked away inside the front room. Is it WAY cooler to hang out and play? For sure. But for their safety and the safety of our athletes let's keep them corralled. Anyone have toys they'd like to donate to the front room?

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