Entries Tagged as 'CrossFit'
December 24th, 2011, by Jennie · 4 Comments
Boy, talk about a fun Friday! We started our day off with a great WOD and a HUGE 9AM class! 18 of us all crammed into the Fort to do this little WOD:
8 Rounds for max Reps:
:30 Russian KB Swings (24/16)
:30 Rest
:30 DB Push Press
:30 Rest
Every year the number of holiday visitors grows and grows. This is a true testament to how great the Fort is....people come from all over the country to spend time with family and while they're here they can feel right at home working out with the amazing people at the Fort. Big thanks to all our members for being so welcoming, and to our visitors for coming and spending time with us! Hope to see you again next year!
The Friday WOD was fun, but not NEARLY as fun as the Friday evening festivities! We warmed up our singing voices, practiced our dance moves and headed out to Karaoke at the Last Chance Saloon. We had an even bigger turnout this time and it was amazing! The highlight of the night was definitely o
ur new friend Pam. She was a stunning performer who left us all speechless and giggling. These events aren't just for people who sing - they're for everyone to come out and have fun! I'm going to try and find a place that has Karaoke on Saturday nights for our January outing.
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December 23rd, 2011, by Jennie · Comments Off
I want to thank the 7PM class for being my sanity break. Yesterday all I heard for 6 hours was "wa, wa, wa!". Brady has been working on 3 new teeth in the last week, and I was going out of my mind. Thank you guys for letting me tell you about my amazingly hard day with the baby - you guys were either TRAPPED and forced to listen because we were warming up, or you all REALLY DO care. 
I'd like to believe it's the latter.
The workout yesterday was tiny bit intimidating on the whiteboard:
1000m row
then
5 rounds
5 power cleans (60/40kg)
10 box jumps (30/24")
then
800m run
The scaling options didn't help much either - the A's were still rowing and running the same distances, but their rounds of power cleans and box jumps were cut back to 3. Hmm.....800m run? 1000m row? Those things scare people, but it was great to see everyone pushing themselves and going through it! Sometimes in the gym there comes a time when you just have to suck it up and do the stuff that scares you!
Just in case you think Nicole's rowing workouts are only making her better at rowing, you're dead wrong. Believe it or not, Nicole had the fastest prescribed time of the day yesterday for the ladies AND the men! She has been rowing 20-30,000 meters a week and that has given her endurance that is enviable. Great work yesterday everyone!
Big shout goes out to Kat, Jeanine and Chelsea who all finished ramp-up yesterday. Glad to have you as part of the Fort family! Keep your eyes peeled for Ms. Kat....she can already do unassisted pull-ups!
HAPPY DAY! The new sweatshirts have arrived!!! Also, if you'd like to join us, we are going out to do a little karaoke tonight. Dinner at the Vine in Grayslake at 7PM followed by Karaoke at The Last Chance Saloon at 9PM. Karaoke starts at 9PM, but I made a reservation for a group of tables under my name at 8:30PM. Hope to see you, and your singing voices, there!
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December 22nd, 2011, by Jennie · 1 Comment
In life, there are times to use a kleenex, and times to blow your nose on your sleeve....a time for talking quietly and a time for shouting....a time for strict sit-ups, and a time for anchoring your feet! Yesterday was one of those times. (that didn't make much sense, did it?)
4 Rounds of:
3 Snatches (85% of 1RM)
15 Pull-ups
30 Anchored Sit-ups
Why do we like anchored sit-ups? Well, they change the movement just slightly. With your feet weighted down, it allows you to "pull" on the dumbbells with the tops of your feet. This makes the sit-ups a little less abs heavy and a little more hip flexor heavy. Why do we care about hip flexors? Simply put, because they are the boss of EVERYTHING. Your hip flexors help you jump, run, sit criss-cross-apple-sauce, and even swing a kettle bell. Trust me....you WANT strong and explosive hip flexors!
I heard some exciting news - Nick Elkin got his first muscle-up! WOO HOO! If you've met Nick, then you can appreciate how hard a bodyweight movement like this would be for him. Nick's a badass and he's super strong....like on his own planet strong. I can remember when Nick first started at the Fort. He was a self proclaimed "power lifter" and he told me he needed to get in better shape. He could move lots of weight....once or twice.....but he couldn't do pull-ups and his engine was severely lacking. These days he's doing prescribed workouts, dominating pull-ups, and now my little guy is all grown up and has a muscle-up! Sniff.....sniff.....they grow up so fast!
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December 21st, 2011, by Jennie · Comments Off
Yep, "more fitter"...that's how you say it. I would know, I own a GYM. DUH!
We repeated a WOD from early October and the improvements were pretty amazing!
3 Sets for Max Reps/Calories of:
1:00 Row (calories)
:20 Rest
1:00 Burpees
:20 Rest
1:00 Push Press (40/30)
3:20 Rest
With a workout like this, the work periods are short enough so that you can work continuously throughout the entire time. Let's be honest, the 20 second rest is just enough so that you can rotate to the next station.
I worked at the same station with Heather and I have to say she did AMAZING! With the CrossFit Open right around the corner, I'd watch out for her to do some impressive things!
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December 20th, 2011, by Steph Larkins · 1 Comment
Yesterday during the strength we played around with incorporating some skill with double-under practice. I overheard that Coral and Bad Tiff are getting pretty good at their double-unders. There is even rumor that they’re thinking about shaking up the record board. Get after it ladies! 
The WOD was:
5 Rounds for Max Reps of Ring Dips
With a 1:00 clock:
10 Burpees
AMrAP Ring Dips
1:00 Rest
YAY burpees! I know that’s EVERYONE’S response when they see burpees in the WOD. I’m pretty sure Paul (he’s been out of ramp-up for about 2 weeks now) told me the other day that he HATES burpees. So much so that he he’d probably turn right around and walk out of the Fort if he saw them on the whiteboard again. But hey, what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger! 
And that’s exactly what we do at CFF, make YOU stronger! Way to push through those hated burpees and give it your all everyone!
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December 19th, 2011, by Jennie · 2 Comments
I don't know why it took me so long to get this recipe up on the blog, but here it is....my world famous paleo chili! You'll love it's delicious bacon flavor and its' filling, meaty goodness. Enjoy!
1lb ground pork sausage
12 pieces of bacon (bite size pieces)
3 stalks celery (chopped)
1 medium red onion (chopped)
5 cloves garlic (minced)
3T chili powder
1T ground cumin
1T ancho chili powder
2tsp Italian seasoning
1T smoked paprika
1c beef broth
29oz petite diced tomatoes (drained)
29oz tomato sauce
1 poblano pepper (chopped, remove seeds to desired level of spiciness)
In large pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until lightly crisp, stirring occasionally. Once the bacon is browned, add the garlic, onions, pepper, chili powder, cumin, chipotle chili powder, italian seasoning, and smoked paprika and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the vegetables are tender and seasonings are aromatic.
Add the beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. Once beef is broken up and beginning to brown, add the pork. Break up with wooden spoon like the beef, and brown, until no longer pink, roughly 4 minutes. Stir in the beef broth. Toss together, then add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Transfer to crock pot, and cook for many, many hours until delicious. You can crack the lid slightly to let the chili thicken. Salt and pepper to taste.
(if you don't have a pan big enough, I'll brown the meat separate from the veggies and bacon, and then just throw it all in the crock pot together.)
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December 18th, 2011, by Jennie · 1 Comment
Ryan the Lion and Nick were our Saturday champions again, but this time they went for a more traditional picture. Personally, I liked the overhead squatting picture a LOT. Maybe Nick didn't want to rip his jeans or something....:-)
Thanks to everyone who came out and had fun on Saturday morning with us! The workout was done in teams of 2:
1500m Row
50 Power Cleans (60/40)
100 Pull-ups
200 Partner Anchored Sit-ups
1500m Row
Everyone did GREAT on this workout and our 2nd place team was less than a minute behind Nick and Ryan! Scott, I'm sorry you have the world's longest range of motion for sit-ups....seriously. It takes a lot of force to move a torso that long!
Thanks to everyone who came out for our Little Flames class! We had 10 kids come and play with coach Sammi and me. As a reminder, all our Little Flames classes are free for the month of December. If your kids are having fun, get them registered for the 8 week session starting in January! We'll need at least 4 registered participants.
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Boy, talk about a fun Friday! We started our day off with a great WOD and a HUGE 9AM class! 18 of us all crammed into the Fort to do this little WOD:
