Any time you see something on the board and it looks "simple", you should just automatically assume that it will involve a lot of suck factor.

1000m row
50 box jumps (24/20")

I tried warning our evening classes about those first few box jumps after the row, but I don't think they took me seriously. I'm not kidding, after you row 1,000m's your legs will feel like they are full of concrete for your first 10 box jumps!

I have some exciting news - next week our Games team finally gets to set some new one rep max's! Wahoo!! I am really, really excited to see how you all do. The Games team has been training 5 days a week and busting their butts to get fit and strong so that we can qualify a team for the 2011 Games! I'm hoping to see some old PR SMASHING! The fun is going to start Monday with a session of the CrossFit Total. This is the sum of your one rep max on deadlift, press and back squat.

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Did Sam set the balance of the universe on its' ear by coming last night instead of yesterday morning? Yeesh, was it an accident prone evening at the Fort. We have coaches smashing their faces with barbells, people slipping in the parking lot, and barbells bumping into each other mid-air. I'm just glad nobody lost a limb. Or an eye.

The workout yesterday was

5:00 AMRAP
5 power snatches (50/35kg's)
5 overhead squats
2:00 rest
3:00 AMrAP
Kettlebell swings (24/16kg's)

For anyone who participated in Team Saturday last weekend, the KB swings brought back some fond memories of sore lower backs. For the rest of us, we anxiously awaited our turn to swing that heavy kettlebell for 3 minutes! Our top "swinger" of the day was Lori! She rocked her KB's world for all 3 minutes and got 93 reps! Atta girl!

Let's talk next about this little thing I like to call "The CrossFit Games". Have you guys heard of it? Not only do they allow for individuals to compete, they also have a special division for teams. Know who I think would make a great team? US. We have the good fortune of having a metric ton worth of amazing athletes at the Fort! If you are interested in qualifying for the Games, there will be a series of 6 workouts performed as an individual that everyone hoping to compete MUST complete. I don't know the WODs, what time it will be, or any of that good stuff. All I know is that we're going to have a kick-ass group of men and women competing for only 6 spots on our affiliate team. Let's take our team TO THE GAMES!!!

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Has this whole "winter" thing started to get a little old yet? I know I'm not alone when I say that I am ready for warm weather, sunshine, and having the big door OPEN. We might have one person (CHRIS) that likes the cold...but the rest of us are ready for WARMTH.

The workout yesterday was

3 rounds of:
14 ball slams (30/20lb)
7 broad jumps (7'/5')
2:00 rest
3 rounds of:
14 wall balls (20/14lb)
7 strict knees to elbows

"But Jennie, what's a strict knees to elbows?"

Good question. No Drew, a strict knees to elbows isn't when I yell at you and be extra stern. A strict knees to elbows is performed without any kipping motion, hence making it more difficult. Kilo wanted to know why we took all the time learning how to kip if we were going to have you do strict!? No, it's not because we're jerks. Strict K2E's have a place in WODs just like dead-hang pull-ups. Doing them w/o the kip will make you stronger!

We saw some excellent snatch PR's yesterday! Hero Mike (81.5kg's), Jeremy (80kg's), Kristy (36.5kg's), Heather, Tara & Taryn (40kg's), Catherine (25kg's), MVDB (56k's), George (48kg's), John M (54kg's), Trish (33kg's), Tom & Paul (55kg's). Very well done!

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We had a huge day at the Fort yesterday - 80 people came through our group classes! Despite having some big classes, it didn't feel over crowded...just full and happy.

The metcon yesterday was

3 rounds of:
7 pull-ups
14 burpees
21 sit-ups

There were more than a few people who asked before the workout, "this workout is harder than it seems, isn't it?" Is that really a question? It's ALWAYS harder than it seems. I don't fear the great big long workouts, I fear the short and dirty ones! I want to congratulate Trish for doing this WHOLE WORKOUT without a band! Atta girl!

Our strength work yesterday was deadlift. Our Games team has been working hard to get stronger over these last few months (well, everyone has), and I'm super glad to see it paying off! We have more than a few people who are deadlifting their old single rep max+ for multiple reps! Our General programming also deadlifted yesterday, and a few people took advantage of having our their bars, so THEY tried a new one rep max too. Despite how awesome everyone did, let's not forget that next week is one rep max week, and we want to save all the excitement for then!

Just to run down a few new deadlift PR's, we have Hannah (112kg's x 6!!), Steph (104.5kg's x 4), Charlie (200kg's), Kim & Amanda (112kg's), Kristy, Jamie & Heather (100.6kg's), Taryn (95kg's), Carrie (72k's), Kirsten (94kg's x 4), and Bri (70kg's). Great job you guys! You're all doing AMAZING! I know Brad PR'd too....but he didn't write his numbers on the board. Silly Brad!

Just a quick reminder that this Saturday is the Paleo breakfast! Due to the fun-ness of the breakfast, we will not be having a free intro class. We could use a few more people to sign up to bring some bacon cooked in advance. Bacon is ALWAYS a big hit! There is a google document linked through the events page where you can sign up to bring something. I hope you can all make it! OH, and if you don't want to sit on the floor, please feel free to bring in a lawn chair. THANKS GUYS! Love you all to pieces!

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I was just exchanging a few text messages with my buddy Steph, and we both agree: yesterday's WOD left our legs S-O-R-E! I would love to share some pictures with you of our AMAZING 18 person 6PM class, but I forgot the camera. Thank you to everyone for being so efficient with our space. More space is coming....just hang in there!

12:00 AMRAP
15 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (35/25kg)
15 push-ups

Wowza. This was a fantastic workout, and I'm definitely feeling it's lingering effects as the day wears on. Sumo Deadlift High pulls (or, slightly dangerous, highly painfuls) have this knack for making your inner thighs feel pretty amazing.

So guys, I know our classes say they're full, but you should still be coming anyways. We will never turn anyone away, because we love you too much to do that. Even if the class is full, you should still come. That's always been the rule, and still is. Bill and I have been getting creative to squeeze everyone in. We'll accommodate everyone who comes in our door! The more the merrier, right?

Some clarification on the Fogo De Chao sign ups - there are two places to RSVP. One is on the whiteboard at the Fort. Your name on that board means that you want to ride the bus down to the city. The other RSVP location is here, on the website. The website RSVP should be the TOTAL number of people attending, and I'll use this number for our reservation. The bus is no longer a fancy limo bus, because there are too many of us. Instead we will be rockin' a sweet school bus. Fear not, we can still bring adult beverages, or lime La Croix onboard. The bus will leave the Fort at 4PM, and depart from Chicago at 11PM instead of midnight.

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I don't like to be a negative person, but every now and then a situation comes along when my eternally optimistic side has to take a break. With my optimism shoved aside a different side of me gets to come out and play. This is the side of me that yells at airplane passengers seated in the emergency aisle when they ask for help getting their luggage in an overhead bin. This is also the side of me that is sick of CrossFit getting a bad reputation from people who have hardly scratched the surface of what it's TRULY like.

There was recently an article published in Slate Magazine titled "Workout so hard you vomit". Um, I'm sorry....are you talking about CrossFit? I'm pretty sure if you do ANYTHING at high enough intensity you could vomit. Due to the rise in popularity of P90X and this atrocious article, I am left with no choice but to give you the:

TOP 10 REASONS WHY CROSSFIT IS BETTER THAN P90X

1. The group setting - Everything is more fun with OTHER PEOPLE. Well, maybe this guy doesn't think so, but the rest of the world likes to do things together.

2. CrossFit Forces you to socialize - Ah yes, the dreaded socialization. As adults, how many activities do you do that DON'T involve going to the bar, or drinking in your best friend's garage? Hmmm....not many, eh? CrossFit Fire provides a healthy outlet for adults to socialize. Yes, we have outings and we drink. But the majority of our time is spent together celebrating each other's success in the gym.

3. It's lifelong, not just 90 days - CrossFit promotes a lifelong health and wellness regime. The same cannot be said about P90X. The very nature of P90X is that it is meant to be done for 90 days at a time. Then what???

4. You get to lift heavy stuff - Be a man, pick up something heavy! Good....now do it again.

5. Coaching- I know that you feel like you are doing everything EXACTLY like the overly tanned instructor in your video, but how can you tell if you're doing it right? Who do you go to if you get hurt? What if you have a pre-existing injury that prevents you from doing one or more of the movements and you need a substitution?

6. Accountability - If you were really THAT self motivating, would we be in this predicament to begin with??

7. The t-shirts - Yeah, I know it sounds corny, but the t-shirts are pretty damn cool.

8. CrossFit is a sport, not just a way to find your abs in 90 days - With any sport comes friendly competition. Friendly competition is what pushes people to find the limits of what they used to think possible!

9. Functionality - All that fitness from the comfort of your family room? Really? Sound too good to be true. CrossFit prepares your body for movements you use in everyday life.

10. You get to be loud - Your wife hates to hear you gruntng from the basement. Separate yourself from your family environment and enter The Zone. Spend that car ride transitioning from Dad to athlete, and then back to super Dad. Besides, nobody ever sets a 20kg deadlift PR listening to their kids fight, and figuring out whose turn it is to hold the remote.

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Don't you love choices? I know that I LOVE choices. Well, this past team Saturday was full of choices!

In teams of 4, complete as many reps/calories as possible of

rowing
kettle bell swings
box jumps
wall ball shots

The workout was broken into 4:00, 3:00, 2:00, 1:00 segments, and each team had to devise the strategy that would allow them to maximize their points. Each team member had to do each movement once. In other words, teams had to decide who got the immeasurable pleasure of doing kettlebell swings for 4:00.

Our winning team included the Captain of our rowing team, Nicole! I'd like to point out that prior to team Saturday, Nicole rowed a new Fort record for the ladies in the 2000 meters. Her time was a BLAZING fast 40 seconds faster than the old leader, and  her time was 7:33.3!!! If you follow rowing at all, you'll know that there are worldwide rankings. If you compare Nicole's time to the worldwide women's rankings, she is 80th out of 1,090!!!! IN.THE.WORLD.

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