Tommy Mo sent me a text message yesterday and it said "Snowy Greetings!" I thought that was clever, so I'm stealing it for today's blog post.

The workout yesterday was:
5 rounds of
5 power cleans (70/50kg)
10 burpees

This was a heavy workout, and it was great to see so many of you pushing to go heavy! I have to give a shout out to Catherine for this workout. She hates burpees more than anyone else I know, and yet she kept pushing to finish this workout with a smile on her face! Nice work Catherine!

Another shout out goes to all the January ramp-up-ers! After yesterday morning they have all successfully completed their 6 sessions, and now will be joining group classes! We're excited to have you as part of our family.

In case you were curious, yes we had group classes last night despite the snow. I think the worse the weather forecast, the more driven Bill is to get to the Fort for classes. It's like a challenge or something.

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Well my Chickadees, we have a very busy Fort these next few weekends. As you are well aware, the War of the WODs is next Sunday, the 29th. I hung volunteer sign up sheets on the board at the Fort and I need LOTS of help. I'm looking for people to help with the following:

• Judging - I could use 3-4 more people. There is a judge training meeting this Sunday at 11:00AM. Be there!
• Event setup/tear down - We'll be setting up the tents and other stuff on Saturday the 28th after Team Saturday. Stick around if you can help. Tear down will be around 5PM on Sunday after the event.
• Paleo treats - we will have a concession stand selling chili and paleo treats. If you could volunteer to bring a paleo treat that would be super duper. Cookies, chocolate thingies, bananas, apples, trail mix etc. Drop them off at the Fort by Thursday the 27th so I can baggie them and price them.
• Equipment switchers - I need 2-3 people to help switch equipment between WODs, and even between heats for event #2.

Any help is appreciated, even if you can only stay for an hour or two. This event is going to be AMAZE-BALLS! We had a few people drop out, so there are now a few open spots if you'd like to sign up.

AND THEN. The January Hero WOD is this Sunday at 9AM. Yes, these workouts are hard, but they are supposed to be symbolic of the sacrifice made by the great men and women that they honor. Hope to see you there!

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I know you like to set PR's. Heck, who DOESN'T like to get better at something? Truth of the matter is, we all do. What you have to realize is that not every day is a PR day. There's a famous story about me that goes way back. I was all excited about one rep max day for deadlifts. Looked forward to it all week. When the day finally arrived I woke up like a kid on Christmas morning! Dashed off to the Fort, laced up my shoes and got ready to be EPIC and set a new PR. Only, I didn't PR. Matter of fact, I couldn't even pull my old PR off the ground. Not once.

AND THEN. I kicked the chalk bucket. Back in the old days it was just an old black bucket that sat on the floor. And while I spent the next hour vacuuming up that mess I got to reflect on my actions.

You see, there are a lot of factors that go into your PR's. Have you been sleeping enough? Eating right? Spending enough time on Heather's massage table? Maybe we had a particularly hard week for your hamstrings. Maybe it was a week with a TON of pull-ups. Any of those things could easily affect your strength. And know what? That's OK. It's OK to NOT PR every time you touch a barbell. Know why? Because there's always next time!

Yesterday we repeated WOD 11.2 from the 2011 CrossFit Open.

15:00 AMRAP
9 deadlifts
12 push-ups
15 box jumps

I wish I could say there were a bunch of PR's in this workout, but there really weren't all that many. Our strength work was floor presses and heavy kettlebell swings, and that will definitely take some of the wind out of your sails when it comes time to deadlift and jump on something really high. Despite the lack of PR's, you guys did great! We saw lots of good form and amazing determination! I'm proud of you guys!

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I'm LOVING the fact that I get to coach the morning classes a couple times a week! Not that Josh and Bill weren't doing a good job, but I just feel like you guys were missing some silliness and dance party warm-ups.

The workout yesterday was

10:00 AMRAP
10 toes to bar
10 burpees

Man oh man, I don't think I've ever seen so many conflicted faces. On the one hand, burpees are hard. On the other hand, the toes to bar got even HARDER. So while you wanted to work fast and get the T2B over with, that only meant that you had some burpees waiting for you. Oof. Tough choices. It's like having to choose between burning the roof of your mouth on pizza, or getting poked in the eye with a fork. (that's an old Coach Rip quote....man I love that guy)

I am super excited for the January ramp-up-ers that are finishing up! We have a big 9 person ramp-up and they're all really fun people. I mean...they laugh at all my jokes and everything! Those ramp-up-ers will be finishing up in the next day or two, so look for some new faces around the Fort!

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Not that the rest of the WOD yesterday wasn't HARD....but the double unders were the part that really mattered. Your score was the total number of burpees you managed to get:

5 rounds for max double unders
With 1:30 on the clock
20 KB swings (24/16kg)
max double unders
3:00 rest

Can't do double unders? No worries. You could substitute single unders. It was funny to watch people's reactions to the GYG scores. I heard at least 4 people say, "Wow, Bob got 307!?" Why yes....yes he did. You guys might not know this, but Bob is a phenomenal jump roper! I think he mentioned something about training with Muhammad Ali in a past life or something...

In case you're wondering, the handsome fella in today's picture is Paul. He started with us about a month ago and he's already down 15lbs! I just had to give you some props Paul, because you're doing GREAT! Always smiling, always trying super hard, and always HATING burpees.

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Nicole forwarded me a quote the other day and it has really stuck with me. You can read it in the image attached to this post. (this is the part where you read it.Good. Now read it again, but slower)

I don't think this has ever been more true than right now in my life. The Fort has really become a big happy family and I am so grateful for you guys.

We share each other's lives both in and outside of the Fort and that speaks volumes about what we do on a daily basis. I would be lying if I said the Fort was just about a good WOD or moving heavy weights. The Fort is about the Fort Family and that's what makes it the best place on Earth.

We celebrate birthdays, help each other move, welcome new babies, and bring meals to each other when we are in need. We dance at each other's weddings, watch each other's kids blow out their birthday candles, and even help plan big top secret Christmas surprises.

I have never experienced anything like the Fort Family. You are not my blood but I would do anything to see you smile.

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Let's be honest. This recipe isn't all that complicated, but it's DELICIOUS. I like to enjoy this recipe with 1/2 of a baked potato with mountains of butter, salt and pepper. The blue cheese comes across nicely with the avocado and bacon, but if you're not a blue cheese fan then you might want to substitute a fine parmesan instead.

Ingredients
8 oz 80/20 ground beef
1 slice (17g) of danish blue cheese
2 slices bacon
1 oz onion
1 oz avocado
1 large lettuce leaf

Directions
Fry bacon slices. Crumble, divide into thirds, and set aside, but leave warm bacon grease in pan.

Form two 4oz patties with ground beef. Place the slice of blue cheese and 1/3 of the crumbled bacon in between the two hamburger patties. Pinch the edges together to seal in the cheese and bacon. Season the outside with salt and pepper.

Grill over high heat for 3 or 4 minutes per side, flipping once. While burger is cooking, saute onions in reserved bacon grease. Remove burger from grill and place on large lettuce leaf. Top with sauted onions, sliced avocado, and crumbled bacon.

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