The Winter War of the WODs is coming quickly and we are going to need lots of volunteers to make it run smoothly! We are expecting over 50 athletes from around the area to come out and compete at this free event, and many more will come to watch.

I'll need volunteers for the following areas:

Parking
Judging
Media (pictures, video)
Set-up
Tear Down
Live Scoring Logistics

It is my hope that we get enough volunteers so that we can rotate people in and out throughout the day. If you would like to volunteer to be a judge, there will be judge training sessions that you will be required to attend. We want this event to be LEGIT and we are taking the judging standards very seriously.

In addition to needing volunteers, we'll also need to borrow some equipment for the day. Here's a short list of what I need in case any of you have access to this stuff:

small portable sections of bleachers (need 2)
stop watches (need about 6)
propane heater for 600 sq ft tent
clip boards

We are accepting volunteers from all area affiliates. If you would like to volunteer, please just reply in the comments with what you are interested in doing and you'll be added to the list of volunteers. Once the details of the event get hammered out, you will be contacted with more information. Let's make this a fun, smooth and professional event!

Yesterday during strength we worked up to a new single rep max on the power clean. If you ever see the word "power" in front of any of the oly lifts that just means you CANNOT catch the bar in a full squat. For some of you (Shaffer...cough cough) there really isn't a difference from your power clean and clean. Just teasing Shaffer! But seriously, next time you see cleans on the board make an effort to drop under the bar in a FULL squat and you'll feel the difference!

Last night I had the pleasure of witnessing SEVERAL power clean PR’s. I shared a celebratory high-five with EJ, Dolores, Nicole, Scott M, Katie, Shaffer, Jamie M, Ben, Good Tiffany, Kilo and Andy! It was exciting to see so much achievement at the fort yesterday! Way to go everyone who surpassed your old personal record. By the way, I predict Dolores will be setting another BIG PR in the near future. She finally got the timing of the shrug and pull and her power cleans really started to look strong!

After the cleans we moved on to this little treat:
7 Rounds (not for time) of:
3 Power Cleans (70-80% of today’s 1RM)
7 Ring Dips

That’s right boys and girls you read that correctly…NOT FOR TIME. No, the clock isn't broken. It’s just every once and a while the WOD Father likes to program a workout that isn't for time. Why do you wonder? Well, yesterday specifically we wanted you to focus on your form for the power cleans. 70-80% of your single rep max is pretty heavy and to use that weight in a WOD for time may result in some sloppy power cleans. So BRAVO for those of you that took your time and focused on impeccable form at a heavier weight! Also, not having a clock running yesterday gave a lot of you a chance to work on using less assistance for the ring dips. Way to push yourself by dropping down to a thinner band or for going unassisted for the first time!

Well, were you guys sick of the big "1 round for time" WODS? You had to know something like this was coming:

Good news! The new ladies "rack" shirts just arrived on my door step. If you ordered a shirt, please bring your $30 any time starting Friday morning to claim your prize. If you haven't claimed your shirt within a week don't sweat it, I'll just release it into the wild and make it available for anyone to purchase. I did order a teeny, tiny, small amount of extra shirts (like 4) so if you're DYING for a shirt, there's HOPE!

Gift Certificates always make great Christmas presents, so if you have any last minute shopping to do, get the ones you love the gift of better health!

The $40 silk screened sweatshirts are being ordered tomorrow morning, so make sure you get your order either written on the sheet on the whiteboard, or in my inbox!

One last thing - we have our Little Flames classes at 10AM every Saturday morning in December for FREE for kids ages 6-12. If you want to let your kiddos try these fun and amazing classes, this is your chance! We need at least 4 kids registered for the January session in order to make a go of it, so if your kids are having fun, get them registered!

Jennie mentioned it in an earlier post,  but I wanted to give y'all more info.

KTUCK is due next week!  Bri is due in January.  We have started a food delivery schedule for both of these ladies.  I found this great site called www.takethemameal.com.  For both of these ladies you can go to the site,  search under their last name.

For KTUCK the pin is 2939  for Bri, the pin is 2581

If you don't know their last names,  it will be written on the board at the Fort.

Food can be brought to the Fort and placed in the fridge if you don't want to go there yourself.  Jennie and I will help ferry things over there.  If you want to do crockpot items,  you can bring things over in a bag earlier in the week, and label what day its for.

Is anyone confused about what it means to "clap"? If there's any confusion, the internet (as always) is full of resources. There are videos and picture diagrams that are available at the click of a mouse if you need it. Heck, even babies know the proper way to clap. Why all this fuss about clapping? Our workout yesterday involved clapping push-ups and the morning classes had a heated debate over what constitutes a clap. Sam thought that simply knocking your thumbs together was enough, but Pete called B-S!

WOD:
1 round for time
30 Dumbbell shoulder to overhead (55/35lb DB's in each hand)
40 clapping push-ups
50 pull-ups

Know who's an up and coming beast? JACK. I think he's too modest to admit it, but he is TEARING-IT-UP at the Fort lately. Jack goes RX'd almost every day and he's consistently in the top 3 times for the day. Keep your eyes on him, because great things are coming!

"Rack" t-shirts should be arriving this Friday. Ladies if you ordered a shirt, you'll have a week to come in with the money and claim your order. After that, I'll be releasing any surplus shirts into the wild...where they are likely to be quickly claimed. Also, if you want one of the $40 CrossFit Fire Hoodies, make sure to get your name added to the sign-up sheet on the whiteboard. The order for those will be going in this Friday morning. We'll be collecting money for the hoodies upon their arrival.

Also, Catherine is organizing a meal schedule for both KTUCK and Bri so they can be well fed after they have their babies. There is a website called "Take them a meal" that we will be using to organize this. It would be great if we could get a couple weeks of meals taken care of for their families. Due to privacy concerns, I don't want to share the link on the blog, but you can find it at the Fort. If you want to make them a meal, but can't get to their houses, you can always drop it in the fridge at the Fort and I can take care of the delivery for you. KTUCK is due NEXT WEEK, so let's get her meals scheduled ASAP!

Umm…guys, don’t you know you shouldn’t ever upset the WOD Father? Unless you want this to happen:

1 Round of:
20 clusters (60/40)
50 burpees

Really?! Clusters AND burpees. Aaack!  You guys must have made the WOD Father really mad.

Clusters (clean + thruster) are a super sneaky movement. An oly lift is tough enough and then you add a thruster to it? That is a recipe for COMPLICATED. Remember, you want to have quick, high elbows on the squat clean and drive through your heels when you’re rising out of the squat into the press.

I’m SUPER proud of everyone who completed this WOD. It’s tough to keep moving through 50 burpees but you all did it…with excitement I’m sure!

Let’s be sure to kill the WOD Father with kindness and maybe he’ll be a little nicer in the future.