So, as you all know, we have no mirrors in our gym.  This is on purpose.  If you are staring at yourself in the mirror, your form is WRONG.  There are zero exercises that we do that require you to make eye contact with yourself as part of a perfect setup.  Let your coaches be your eyes.  We'll cue you if there is something that needs improvement.  It's kind of like blind people who have amazing hearing - we want you to develop how it "feels" to do the movement properly, not to be able to see it correctly.  Back squat is a VERY good example of that.  In order to coach this movement, we'll stand off to the side, and to the front of the lifter.  This angle is impossible to achieve using mirrors.  We look for the angles of the back, the path of the bar, and the path of your knees.  Trust me.  You're sexy...you don't need a mirror.

The workout yesterday was 5 x 5 backsquat.  I wasn't able to be there, but Bill says everyone did a great job!  It's great to come to the Fort and see everyone's PR's written on the board! 

I also want to point out that Bill has started the nutrition blog!  Check out his blog for helpful information.  Diet is a HUGE part of helping you reach your goals, and Bill is da man when it comes to nutrition. 

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Last night we worked on our hang squat cleans and push ups. Armed with my new teaching progressions that I learned at the Level 2 cert, I think we got everyone feeling relatively comfortable with the movement.  The clean is one of the hardest and most complicated lifts we do, so don't feel sad if you didn't master it in one night.  We had 3 people who were relatively new to the movement, and everyone did great! 

5 rounds for time of:

15 hang squat cleans (60/40kg)
30 clapping push-ups 

Season, great job on your cleans!  I know I was pretty relentless with my cueing and coaching, so I hope you're not mad at me. You did a really great job, and you even started squatting to full depth at the end!  ATTA GIRL! 

One thing I want to stress about the clean, is that it's important that you initiate the movement with a proper dip.  I know it seems trivial...."But Jennie, it's just a stupid dip".  NO, it's NOT.  When you dip, focus on moving your knees straight, and dipping straight down.  Your butt will have to come back slightly in order to keep the weight through your heels. Your upper body can lean slightly over the bar, and your dip should be about 1/4 of a squat.  Anything deeper than that, and you're going to end up with a wonky bar path.  Do the dip, practice the dip, LOVE the dip. 

ANYONE GOING TO STREET SCENES THIS WEEKEND? Zach and I will be performing on stage in the 800 hallway in the alumni show.  Our show is titled "Locate a date; man's dilemma".  Come find us, but don't come empty handed.  There's a martini lounge just down the hall....no need to let the performers go thirsty, right? 

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Welcome to our nutrition blog. We know this has been long overdue, but hopefully worth everyone's wait. We have a lot of good info to share and hope everyone can find something useful in our ramblings. We are not doctors though so please don't take anything we post on here as medical advice. This is simply a place for us to express our opinions and viewpoints. We welcome you to challenge us if you don't agree. We would much rather have a bunch of critical thinkers hanging out here rather than blind followers. Besides, it won't be any fun if we never get to debate anything.

We understand that not everyone has the time or the desire to make nutrition a passion of theirs. That is why our plan is to share what we have learned through extensive reading, studying, analyzing, interpreting, and practicing. We want this to be a valuable resource for those of you who are trying to improve your health and/or performance through nutrition. Please let us know if there is ever anything we can do to improve the usefulness of this blog.

And with that being said, Let It Begin!

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I forgot to mention yesterday that our buddy Johnathan from Atlanta stopped by.  It's always good to see you!  GREAT job on the workout....make sure you keep working at that deadlift form! 

Ok, so the dirty dozen is a lie.  We did the Filthy Fifty last night.  This workout is one of the most feared and respected workouts in the CrossFit community.  Just do 50 of everything you can imagine, and try not to die ok?  3...2...1...GO!

50 Box jumps (24/20)
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings (16/12)
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press (20kg/15kg)
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots (20#/14#)
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

 In all seriousness, everyone did wonderful!  It's a mentally exhausting workout because the reps are so high.  The burpees are always what I dread the most.  Bill came over with the stop watch to see how many burpees I had left because I'm sure it looked like I was ready to pass out...I had 42 left.  Which part of the filthy fifty do you dread the most?  Post to comments with your response.

Look how high Kelli jumps for her burpees!

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I want to thank all the ladies who came last night to our very first "ladies only" class!  I think I speak for everyone when I say we had a great time.  Guys, we talked about boobs and listened to Britney Spears the whole time...you wouldn't have wanted to be there anyways. 

Some people went to great lengths to attend the "ladies only" class.  Matt rolled his ankle on a box jump and had to stay and supervise the ladies only class.  (lucky guy!)

The meat of the workout yesterday was 5 x 5 deadlifts.  It was great to see everyone really pushing and reaching new PR's on their deadlifts.  I think almost everyone set a PR!  Great job you guys!

After the deadlifts, Bill threw a sub 10 minute workout at us.  It was 3 rounds for time of:

Row 400 meters
10 box jumps
5 clapping push-ups

This workout was fantastic!  Everyone pushed hard to finish in under 10 minutes.  I want to thank Brian for really pushing me during this workout.  I would've totally wussed out during the 3rd round if you weren't so close to beating me.

Matt elevating his ankle and supervising the ladies

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Everyone take a look at this........

Can anyone tell what's special about that picture?  If you guessed "Gee Jennie, it looks like Amber's rowing with one foot in a walking cast" then you'd be correct!  Amber hurt her foot playing volleyball, but chose to come to the Fort and see what we could figure out.  Believe it or not, an injury is rarely an excuse for not working out.  I personally had to do "no arms" workouts for about 2 weeks, and now Amber has to do "no feet" workouts until her foot heals.  We are not big meanies!  If you have an injury, we'll figure out a way for you to stay active while you recover.

The workout yesterday was a monster.  Bill reminded me that it was Will's last workout with us before he moved down to Chicago.  (sniff...sniff) We miss you Will!  

The workout was 5 rounds for time of:

Run 400 meters
30 box jumps (24"/20")
30 wallball shots  (14#/20#)

Believe me....it's a lot harder than it sounds.  Most people finished this bad boy in just over 30 minutes, and ended up soaking wet by the time they were done.  It was unseasonably warm, and we actually had some rain during our evening classes!  See? I told you guys you wouldn't melt. 

Congrats to everyone for toughing through this workout.  Kelli graduated to the 14# ball for her wallball shots.  Relative to her size, that's a big jump in weight!  GREAT GREAT job sweetie.  <HUG>

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Good afternoon ladies!  I know there are quite a few ladies out there lurking on our website.  You check the website a few times a week, but haven't gotten up the courage to come give CrossFit a try.  NOW IS YOUR CHANCE!  Starting this week, we will have a Ladies Only class at 6PM on Tuesday and Thursday.  That's right!  It's all about the ladies for one full hour at the Fort!  Both of these classes will be taught by me, and we'll even have our own ladies playlist!

Girls, there's no question that you're just as tough as the men.  You girls RULE!  We are test driving the idea of a Ladies Only class to see if we can coax some of the timid ladies out of the woodwork and into the Fort.  

To all my lurkers: It's ok to be a little nervous to come try CrossFit.  I'll admit that the workouts are intimidating...we were all nervous our first time trying CrossFit.  YOU ARE NOT A HAMPSTER, SO GET OFF THAT TREADMILL. Give your body the boost it needs to get in the best shape of your life.  Come workout with women who sweat, not just glisten!  

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