We had a super fun double AMRAP WOD yesterday!

6:00 AMRAP
15 ball slams (30/20lb)
7 overhead squats (40/30kg)
3:00 rest
3:00 AMRAP
12 pull-ups
7 ring dips

It's great to see that you guys are getting more comfortable with your overhead squats. It's probably the most humbling movement we learn at the Fort. I have seen big, strong men struggle with an empty training bar in ramp-up, only to become super rock stars within a month or two! If OHS make you groan, then my guess is you need to be working on your shoulder flexibility. Getting your arms locked and loaded behind your ears is an essential part of this movement. With out the proper range of motion in your upper back/shoulders, it's nearly impossible to OHS successfully. This isn't something I can spoon-feed you though. You'll have to work pass-throughs, roll on lacrosse balls, and get in your stretching at home AND at the Fort in order to see any improvement.

Mom thought she'd get herself in a precarious situation yesterday while trying to get out of her pull-up bands. While Kirsten and KTUCK rushed to her aid, Hannah starts telling me, TAKE A PICTURE, TAKE A PICTURE!

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So, you guys know we would never do a workout that would ACTUALLY kill you, right? I hope you know by now that you are all FAR too important for me to let that happen! The workout yesterday was "Death by Box jumps". Each round lasts only 30 seconds. In the first round you get 1 box jump, 2 the 2nd, 3 the 3rd until you can no longer complete the necessary box jumps within that 30 second window.

Alex was our box jump champion yesterday, completing 20 full rounds, plus 16!! WOWZA!

Boys, you'll have to step away from the blog for a moment so I can share something with the ladies. Women sometimes have issues with peeing a little bit during workouts(Ok, sometimes more than a little). For some of us, the thought of doing double unders, box jumps, PVC jumps or even running can send us running to the bathroom to empty our bladders. I recently found a link to an article about how to strengthen pelvic floor muscles to help with this issue. And it's not the standard "kegel your brains out" answer, and it's definitely worth your time to read. Maybe it's time for all of us to play around with the GHD at the Fort! Hopefully that helps!

Ok boys, you're safe now.

Just as a quick update, there is new information about the Chicago Indoor Rowing Championships on the events page. The new info includes age brackets and a tentative schedule. Bill is going to start emailing our team that is on the whiteboard with important information, so if you'd like to row with us, please make sure your name is on the board. There will be no Saturday classes, since the rowing competitions starts at 9AM. If you'd like to join our team for a row, or just come down and watch, we'd love to have you there!

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I have to tell my late January ramp-up that I am sincerely sorry for the confusion. I had conflicting days on the website for your last ramp-up, and then I made it even worse by AGAIN telling you the wrong day in my email. Sigh. Only 4 more months of the dumbs, right?

As for the not-dumb side of the Yundt family, Bill programmed in a doozy of a WOD for you kids yesterday. It's just too bad that so many of you were too sore to make it to the Fort and participate! Our evening classes were pretty light yesterday, particularly that 5PM class. Sheesh. Is it because I have the dumbs!? I'M SORRY!

15 pull-ups
25 DB push press (45% body weight)
35 ball slams (30/20lb)
45 push-ups
35 ball slams
25 DB push press
15 pull-ups

Our buddy, Chris Sutter, stopped into the 5PM class specifically because attendance was going to be so light. It's always great to see him, and he is making amazing progress! Despite the fact that he has scar tissue on the tendon in his hand which causes him pain, he was ROCKING his unassisted pull-ups last night. Good work, Chris!

Ok ladies, let's take a quick poll. Does Rosie officially have F-A-B-U arms? Hopefully you all know the acronym I'm referring to so that I'm not forced to SWEAR on my blog.

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Sigh. How many times do I have to tell Bill that the more rhyme-ey and fun we can name things, the better?! There wasn't any strength work yesterday, and in its place there was a mega metcon. Wouldn't a mega metcon have been better on a Monday though? I mean, really.

5 rounds of
2:30 AMRAP
5 hang cleans (60/40kg) (full squat)
10 burpees
2:30 rest

In an ideal world, you'd be able to piece your hang clean and full squat together in one fluid motion. This isn't something that comes naturally, so it's good to practice. Charlie, your power cleans to a front squat were looking a LOT more fluid yesterday!  Oh, and Tommy, sweet butt crack. Thanks for, um, sharing so much of yourself.

Tim pointed out a new workout related hazard - his shirt. As he crouched down to do a burpee, his sweat soaked shirt covered his mouth and temporarily gave him the sensation of being suffocated! Hey, all the more reason to WOD shirtless, right?

On a separate note, how many of you are keeping personal blogs? I try and read as many blogs as possible each day, and yesterday one blog had me ROLLING with laughter. Alicia's post was called "CrossFit? Or Cult?", and it was very well written. Here was my favorite part:

If CrossFit is a cult, and Bill and Jennie are David Koresh and his hot, pregnant wife, then I'm drinking what they're drinking.

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3:00 row for calories
1:30 rest
2:00 thrusters (60/40kg)
1:30 rest
1:00 toes to bar

I love you guys, and how scared you get of new movements. Toes to bar is not something that shows up on the whiteboard very often, so it caused a bit of a stir yesterday. "but, what if I can't get my toes all the way up to the bar?" Well, silly, you just get them as high as you can! Did you think I was going to tell you that you couldn't workout? Nonsense! Everything we do is scalable!

George shows off his middle-finger pull-ups. Now THAT'S some strong fingers! Imagine the force behind his "bird" if you piss him off in traffic!

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If you want to be the most popular person EVER, you'll need to start bringing these to every social function you attend. I made this recipe for our family back on Thanksgiving, and they were a HUGE hit. (shhh! Don't tell them it was paleo!) I'd include a picture, but they disappeared so fast that I never managed to take one! If you want to make them in advance, I would recommend waiting until the last minute to blend in the avocado, as it may turn dark. (not very appetizing) Oh, and if someone happens to make these, could you snap a picture and email it to me? I'd LOVE to be able to throw your picture on the blog to make this recipe complete!

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled nice and small
1 avocado, diced
3 tablespoons paleo friendly mayonnaise (recipe below)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (optional garnish)
Salt to taste

Cut eggs in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out yolks. Mash yolks with a fork. Stir in diced avocados, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, bacon and salt to taste. Fill egg whites with yolk mixture and place on a serving plate. Sprinkle with cayenne lightly, or sprinkle with the fresh chopped parsley.

To make 1 cup of Paleo Mayo (recipe is from EverydayPaleo.com)
1 egg
1-1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
pinch of sea salt
few shakes of cayenne pepper
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 cup olive oil

In a food processor process for 5 seconds the egg, vinegar, mustard, cayenne pepper, and sea salt.  For another 5 seconds of blending slowly add the olive oil until it makes mayo.

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Some time ago, you walked into the Fort for the first time. You stared wide-eyed at the people working out shirtless. They were sweating, grunting, and they appeared to be in great pain. For a moment, you considered turning around and leaving.

"I could never do what they're doing. This looks WAY too hard. I'm not in shape enough to be here."

But you stayed. You took a deep breath, filled out the waiver, and started the most amazing journey of your life. This isn't the type of journey with a map and GPS. This journey can take twists and turns that you were never expecting!

Do you remember you back then? I do. I remember each and every one of you when you first walked through the door at my gym. I can remember how nervous and shy you were. Do you remember working out under the loft, kind of tucked around the corner because you thought people would be staring at you? Do you remember feeling embarrassed the first time you tried to get in and out of a pull-up band? Can you remember the absolute terror you felt when you had to sign up for your first "real class" outside of ramp-up?

You remember, right? Of course you do. Know what else I remember about you? I remember all the things you told me that you'd never be able to do. You'd never get that first pull-up. You'd never be able to do a whole workout as prescribed. You'd never be able to lift weights like everyone else. You'd never feel good enough about yourself that you could do a workout without a shirt in front of other people.

And look at you today. Look how far you have come since you first walked through my door. You have gotten stronger, faster and healthier. Your self confidence is higher than it has ever been. Perhaps you even use a picture of you working out as your Facebook profile picture. And maybe, just maybe, you can't stop telling everyone you know about this little thing called "CrossFit" that has completely changed your life.

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