Yesterday we worked on finding a new power clean single rep max. Remember, a power clean is from the floor to the front rack position and the word power in front just means you CAN’T catch the bar below parallel. We had several newbies working with the power clean for the first time and I must say, you guys are starting to get the hang of it! Please keep in mind that professional Olympic weight lifters spend their ENTIRE careers perfecting their snatch and clean & jerk. Don’t get discouraged when you don’t get it the first time, or even the hundredth. Give it time and try to reflect on the positive progress you’re making with each attempt.

Heidi and Amy deserve a HUGE shout out for their efforts yesterday, I was so proud of their determination and perseverance during strength. They both walked up to their bars with positive mind sets and lifted more than they thought was possible! Way to go girls…YOU. ARE. STRONG! We had a bunch of PR’s yesterday including:  Kathy, Sammi, Steve, Ashley, Heather, Pam, Tiffany M, BofA Ryan, Mike B, Trish, Me, Scott M, Heidi, Amy, Shaffer, Ryan S, Phil, Sarah (17kg PR!!!) and Andy. Awesome guys, keep up the strong pulls! (If I missed anyone be sure to post your PR to the comments.)

The WOD yesterday was one of my FAVORITES, short n’ blasty!

5 rounds:
5 power cleans (60/40)
10 box jumps (24/20)

Ryan TheLion managed to finish this WOD rx’d in under three minutes. WOWZERS, that is lightening fast Ryan! George shared my love for this WOD and came back after attending the GYG to give it another go at the 6pm. George beat his first attempt by 9 seconds. Atta boy George! After Sarah completed the WOD she jumped up on the pull-up bar for some extra practice. After a couple of dead hangs on the purple band she decided to give an assisted pull-up a shot. And guess what? SHE GOT TWO!! Sarah, I am so proud of you, your hard work has paid off. Welcome to pull-up land!

Last night I had seven ramp-uppers join my 6pm class to conclude their training. They all did an AMAZING job! I’d like to welcome Joshua, Kelly, Jodi, Kass, Joe, Heidi, and Chris to our fort family. We all look forward to seeing your smiling faces in group classes! Check out the welcome board, we’ve posted their pictures so now you’ll know who the newcomers are!

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Yesterday we repeated the WOD we did back on December 8^th, 2011. All night I had THIS  song stuck in my head while watching you all workout!

3 rounds for total reps:
With a 3:00 clock:
500m row
Push press (50/35)
3:00 rest

A Huge SHOUT out goes to Kinsy and Nick for getting the top scores of the day. Nick totaled up 95 reps and Kinsy repped out 70 push presses! Can you say BEAST MODE? I think we need to get you guys these shirts!

I want to give some blog love to Jake. Jake is a recent graduate of ramp-up and has made a routine of coming to the evening classes. I spoke with Jake about his rowing technique during his rest and can I tell you, after our one minute chat his rows were looking pretty fantastic! Jake, I don’t think it’s too late to sign up for the Chicago Indoor Rowing Competition this weekend!

Alright my lovelies, you’re running out of time to register for the CrossFit Open! The first workout is announced on February 22^nd and if you’re not signed up you can’t be part of the awesomeness. Here’s a little more info about the Open…each Wednesday for five weeks, CrossFit HQ will publish that week's workout. During that time at the Fort, we will be giving you the option to complete the Open WOD or the regularly scheduled WOD Wednesday through Friday, or Saturday in place of Power Hour and Team Saturday. The programming is supposed to be very inclusive. I can't think of a single CFF athlete that shouldn't do this competition.  You get to do the workouts in your box, with your friends cheering you on.  Last year, we had many of our athletes compete for the first time and every one of them had a great experience. We even saw some PR’s set! Additionally, we’d love to be able to send an Affiliate team to Regionals. Each week of the Open, the top 3 female and male scores are recorded to rank our gym. If we finish in the top 20 of our Region we get to move on and compete as a team at Regionals! How sweet would that be?! Now c’mon…don’t you wanna sign up?

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Yesterday during the strength we worked on clusters, thrusters and chest to bar pullups. I think Sammi read the board incorrectly and thought we were trying to get  who-ha to bar pullups. She had a SUPER big pull last night that looked as if her lower lady parts were going to touch the bar! Silly Sammi. If you’ve got the height for C2B pullups but are lacking the ability to chest bump the bar try leaning back this will get your chest a little higher and closer to the bar. Some athletes have also found using a reverse grip allows them to pull their chest to the bar a little easier. Give it a try!

The WOD last night was:
5-10-15-20-25-30
KB swings (24/16)
Box jumps (24”/20”)

Our goal for the WOD was to keep you moving. How many of you made it all the way through your kettle bell swings unbroken? It was real tough to do in those last 2 sets, wasn’t it? Phew! Props to Stacy who used a 20kg bell and upped the box to a 24”. Her buddy Josh also did a great job last night flying through the workout earning the fastest time in the gym. You two are phenomenal, nicely done! Dolores also scaled up to a 16kg kettle bell for the WOD. Dolores, you're getting SO strong, lady! I am incredibly proud of you.

Bill has posted the rowing quads on the “sign-up” board at the fort for the CIRC. Be sure to check out who’s on your team. You might even want to get in a little transition practice before the competition, it’s a key factor in the relay.  You can also start planning what order you will be rowing in. Happy transitioning!

I will be posting a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for softball and or volleyball. I need to get an idea of how many people are interested in either activity. Please sign up and fill in the appropriate information so I can make a decision of what to sign us up for! Thanks, everyone.

Happy Valentine's Day! ♥

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Who ordered more burpees? The WOD Father must have a soft spot in his heart for them. Or maybe he thinks if we do more burpees our hate for them will fade? Hmmm...

Thursday night you had:
4 Rounds of:
3:00 AMRAP of:
3 Power Cleans (65/45)
6 Pistols (3 each leg, alternating)
9 Burpees
1:30 Rest

Was this your first time seeing pistols on the whiteboard? If you’re wondering, pistols are just a one legged squat. They’re a tricky little movement aren’t they? There are lots of different ways to scale these. If you’re not quite ready for unassisted pistols try hopping up on a box and use that height to help your balance or hip/hamstring tightness. You can even try just hanging on to something like a ledge, band, or even rings to help with balance or strength when coming out of the squat.

Have you met Heidi yet (the pretty little lady in pink)? She was in the January ramp-up and has been making her way into group classes in the evenings. Be sure to introduce yourself to her if you see her around, she’s super cool and a great addition to our fort family!

So I had heard around the gym that some of you might be interested in having a CFF volleyball team. We’re a pretty tall and athletic group; I bet we’d be UNSTOPPABLE! Who knows, maybe we’ll even bring home another championship. Could you please post to comments if you’re up for joining a team? Not sure if it’ll be indoor (possibly in Crystal Lake at the Sky High gym) or outdoor (Sideouts or JJ Twigs). I’ll provide more details once I get an idea of how many of you are interested.

SIGN UP FOR THE OPEN!!! C’mon…you know you want to. Just click here & register! The first workout will be released on February 22^nd. Don’t miss out!

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Monday night we took a break from strength to endure this triple 8:00 AMRAP:

8:00 AMRAP of:
10 Power Cleans (60/40)
5 Thrusters (60/40)
15 Pull-ups

4:00 Rest

8:00 AMRAP of:
20 KB Swings (24/16)
30 Steps Walking Lunges
40 Double-unders

4:00 Rest

8:00 AMRAP of:
10 Burpees
20 Push-ups
30 Anchored Sit-ups

I was incredibly impressed last night at the 6pm class. During the first AMRAP I looked up and saw ALL of my athletes on the pull-up bar kipping away with NO assistance! A whole class full of unassisted pull-uppers!! That’s just PHENOMENAL! I’d also like to give a shout out to the ladies who loaded their bar to 45kg for the first AMRAP. Way to push it and go heavier than Rx’d, girls!

The second AMRAP was a fun arrangement. Did anyone do all of their sets of KB swings unbroken? I know Sammi upped the weight and used a 20kg kettle bell. Atta girl. Looks like CrossFitting for a YEAR has made you stronger (Happy Fort Anniversary)!

The last AMRAP was a perfect ending to the Mega-METCON. Those push-ups were super tough. But kudos to Deena for getting 3 plus rounds in that last eight minutes! No sandbagging for Tiny Power! It’s like that last AMRAP was made for you Deena!

Have you signed up for the CrossFit Open yet? What are you waiting for? There are only 15 days left! So get online, sign up, and join our CrossFit Fire team!

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Raise your hand if you’ve been enjoying our new strength programming! They’ve been quite dynamic and far from just setting a SRM. Pretty exciting stuff! Yesterday we worked on just our “clean pull.” I don’t know about you but it was nice to break down the movement and just focus on the explosiveness of the movement. Once you made your way through the five rounds of strength we put you through this WOD:

5 Rounds of:
5 Power Cleans (75-80% of 1RM)
10 Pull-ups (Advanced: C2B)

What a nice little couplet! You guys all finished this workout in about five to ten minutes. Awesome work everyone! I want to give a shout out to Special J, Dolores, and Kim Teg. All three girls’ pull-ups looked particularly strong last night (they were SUPER advanced: B2B – belly to bar ). They definitely are ready to go down a band or TWO. Nice work ladies, your hard work is paying off!

Ummm, what the heck?…Next time you all decide to have a WOD party at the 5pm class you better invite me! I showed up to coach the 6pm and there were 18 of you out on the floor busting your butts! It looked like total chaos but completely amazing at the same time! It was fun to watch and cheer you all on. Thanks for the show!

How many of you have signed up to compete in the CrossFit Open? I know I have and can’t wait to battle side by side all of you at the Fort. Visit this site if you’re interested in learning more about the Open; or if you are ready to sign up today click here. Let’s show the world who CrossFit Fire is!

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Yesterday we had you practicing your doube-unders once you completed a set of deadlifts. Kristen C strung together the most she’s ever done yesterday. Way to go darlin’, you’ll be a double-under queen before you know it! Did any of you look at the board a little crooked when you read “record the number of times you trip up?” Using this method, we got to see the consistency of your double-unders. It was a little strange counting the number of times you messed up compared to counting reps wasn’t it?  Weird.

I am officially dubbing the WOD yesterday “the gripper ripper.”

3 rounds:
30 UNBROKEN kettlebell swings (24/16)
:15 rest
15 pullups
1:45 rest

Anyone else feel their forearms throbbing in the last round? Oh. My. Gosh. It took all I had to hang on to that kettlebell and keep my swings unbroken. My 5pm class asked what the punishment was going to be if they ended up breaking up their swings. My answer? A swift kick to the hiney! Really, there was no punishment but you should have chosen a bell or scaled the reps appropriately to find a combination that allowed for your swings to be unbroken. Major props to Sophie who actually underestimated herself before the WOD by overscaling. But, before she completed the first set of swings, she decided to scale UP! Sophie, I’m glad you pushed yourself yesterday. You really got to see what you were capable of. Atta girl!

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