Shanna's scene

Gymnastics Bar Skills

2009-08-31T12:41:00.004-04:00

This was taken on Saturday and is my first time completing the skill. I first attempted it the night before. The next video is on the same day putting the Chinese sit-up into a sequence with a kip and front hip circle. Evidently this is a level 8 skill. If only I had learned to keep my room clean as a child, right Mom? :) No regrets. It's far more fun as an adult. Just need to get those legs straightened out and toes pointed!

I've been doing a little deadlifting too. Here is a video of my previous 1 rep max (225lbs) coming off the ground twice. The set not caught on tape before this was the same weight x 3.

Merger and Branding

2009-04-12T22:04:00.006-04:00

If you have stopped by the Stay Active CrossFit site recently you may have noticed we have united with CrossFit Asheville. This went into effect the first week of April and thus far the merger has been terrific! I can not speak enough for the magic a community atmosphere brings to CrossFit training. This community feel was very challenging to cultivate when first starting off. How do you give that community feel with only a few individuals in the gym at once?? We also ran into some problems with our space so rather than looking for a new location we sat down with Randy and combined forces. CrossFit Asheville has also benefited from the addition of coaches as they were bordering that critical mass in some of their classes.

Also, I came across this short post today and thought it was interesting: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/08/13/marketing-affects-how-children-perceive-food/
No wonder kids don't like to eat their veggies!

Biltmore Trek

2009-03-26T14:56:00.006-04:00

Corey and I were given tickets to visit the Biltmore House. This past Sunday was a beautiful day so we slept in a bit and then headed out for "America's largest house". On our way there we realized we only had $6 cash and were unsure if it would cost to park. Since the weather was so nice we decided it would be no big deal to park at the Biltmore shopping plaza and walk.

We approached the first little entry way and asked the guy working if it was alright to walk to the house. He replied, "Sure, but do so at your own risk as there are no sidewalks."

About a half mile later we approached another entry where you purchase tickets. They asked if we were getting picked up by someone and when we told them that we were walking in they then kind of chuckled and said, "You know it's 3.5 miles from here, right?" We acted as though we were already well aware and carried on.

I don't believe that it was 3.5 miles as we made it in just over an hour. Regardless, it was my favorite part. If only the dogs could have come.

The house was certainly very impressive in size and detail, but it was oh so crowded. Not to mention I just have little appreciation for large tapestries/wall carpets and old expensive stuff. Nor do I appreciate being herded through the place like a bunch of cattle.

The best part about the place was the grounds. Evidently the gardens are amazing, but they were not quite in bloom yet. This probably explains why it was considered the off-season as well as why our free tickets expired at the end of the month. They sell season passes and people like to go walk the trails, I'm sure it's nice but we'll opt for the free trails this year!

The dogwood trees have just started blooming and are all over Asheville. You can also see the entry way into the main garden area with many tulips and other flowers waiting to bloom.

Rock Band

2009-03-17T08:24:00.004-04:00

After the misty day hike we finished off the weekend rocking out on some plastic instruments with Rock Band. It was clear that none of us missed a calling in the music industry but always amusing to try. As you can see Lloyd does not appear to be entertained and Hoka spent much of the time making sure the kitchen floor stayed clean of any food droppings. Thanks to Adam for bringing over his toys to share and to Laura for capturing the moments.

Rainy Weekend

2009-03-16T06:41:00.003-04:00

The weather looked unfavorable for hiking, but we certainly overdressed for our hike on Sunday. This was the view from the top. "It felt like we were in 17th century Scotland." Or so James said.

"Little Thief"

2009-03-12T16:11:00.006-04:00

I had never been around a ferret before Corey. In fact, even as an animal lover I had never even given them much thought. But before Corey and I ever started dating one of the few things I knew about him from overhearing conversations in class was that he was hoping to get a ferret. With this little fact I would often use it as much as possible to make conversation. He played along well as he told me about the cage he was going to make and how he wanted a ferret since he couldn't have a dog where he was living at the time. He had determined that ferrets were cool animals after watching videos of their behavior on YouTube. Well, they certainly are interesting little guys as you can see from my own homemade video of our ferret, Silas, in action.

Silas wasn't the first ferret. Corey got Piper about two months before we started dating. While we unfortunately don't' have any photos of her she looked exactly like the photo of the brown ferret at the top. She was a tiny little lady who for whatever reason would frequently get sick and was unable to pull through about a year ago.

Ferret actually means "little thief" in latin and that is certainly true. Silas had a thing about stealing the dogs' food dishes. On a daily basis when we would let him out of his cage he would come into the kitchen and either drag those things into the laundry room, under the couch or even under the bathroom sink. Yes, the bathroom sink. He had mastered the ability to open one of the bottom drawers in the bathroom cabinet which then allowed him to crawl under the sink and open the larger hinged doors where he liked to bring various items to hide.

Silas didn't make the move to Asheville, as my sister and I convinced my mom to let Silas stay in Ohio with Lauren. (At least for the time being.) You see, we didn't yet have a place to live upon leaving for Asheville and being that we already have two larger dogs we didn't want to complicate matters by having a third pet. Especially a somewhat destructive little ferret. So, Silas is in Ohio entertaining my nephew Hunter who is quite fond of him and from the sound of things my mom is growing attached as well. Thanks for looking after him Mom and Lauren!

Blue Steel

2009-03-12T15:52:00.005-04:00

Meet "Blue Steel" our jungle gym of sorts.

Dawn's Spread

2009-03-12T15:36:00.003-04:00

Dawn is the best and certainly knows me well!

Dawn calls me the day before the opening during which I was slightly frantic driving around running errands in prepartion for the opening trying to find my exit and she says to me, "What's your schedule for tomorrow?"

I was completely thrown off by the question. Thoughts start running through my head, "What is she talking about? Is she in town? What IS my schedule for tomorrow? Which exit is it? Oh, that one!" Rather than simply answering her question I say, "What?!? Can I call you back? I think I'm lost."

I figured out my whereabouts, got my thoughts together and returned her call.

Dawn proceeds to tell me that she had considered sending me flowers when she realized that I would appreciate food far more! Bless you Dawn! :) (However, now Corey only has more support to feel he doesn't need to buy me flowers. haha)

Here she had checked out the website for the gym and saw that it is in Asheville's River Arts District where there is a great little cafe called Clingman Cafe. (Another place we frequented during that first week.) She wanted to know how many we were expecting for the opening and had set up the delivery of various wraps, salad, coffee and tea. All of which was delicious! Only about half of those who stopped by opted for food so it also fed Corey and until about Wednesday. Yum!

Thank You Dawn!! You're the best! I miss you!

Cold Days of Business

2009-03-12T14:56:00.004-04:00

I took this photo randomly one day in one of Asheville's great coffeehouses, Dripolator, just playing around with the settings. However, I ended up liking it and it serves as a reminder of some rough times early on in business. While we are certainly still a very young business the following are some of our early experiences.

Our landlord for our gym mentioned that the heat hadn't been on in the space for over a month but he failed to bring to light the little fact that it had been completely disconnected. We opened the first day we took over the lease. Meaning our landloard was still there the morning of our "Grand Opening" sweeping the floor (there was a woodshop there before us and trust me, I am STILL sweeping) while we moved in our eqipment, hung the white boards and prepared for our first session at 1:00pm. Yes, it was rather ambitious of us. The opening went well considering and a handful of our clients have stuck with us since, but it was FAR from grand.

That 1st week in Feb was the coldest it has been since arriving in Asheville. There were a few mornings in the single digits with highs in the teens! On Monday the 2nd we found out that it would take a few days after submitting paperwork and a deposit before the heat would be on. Argh. It was a miserable time. Here we are trying to welcome people to our new gym and either need to dress in so many layers that I can barely move to demonstrate anything to clients (not to mention I must have looked about 20lbs heavier in all those clothes) or risk standing there body shaking and teetch chattering while taking potential clients through work-outs. It wasn't bad for those showing up to work-out as we just got them moving right away to stay warm, but to be there from 5:30am until 8pm was miserable. We are closed during the day from 10am til 4pm and would go to local coffeehouses to warm up and use their internet, as we were also waiting on internet access in the gym and at our apartment.

The coffee mugs featured in the photo are from a gas station called the "Hot Spot" which we pass everyday on our way to work. They have this offer where you buy one of their $2.99 travel mugs and can get refills for 27 cents. The Hot Spot's little coffee counter even has steamed milk, cinnamon and whipped cream which I doctored my coffee with regularly. I'm pretty sure most places charge 50 cents just to add whip cream to most coffee drinks. Sure, we could have made our own at home but we opted to leave our coffeemaker with our old roommates in NY with the idea that we were going to stop drinking coffee once here in Asheville. Well, when the alarm goes off at 4:40am and being that I grew a strong appreciation for coffee while in chiropractic college it just wasn't happening. Instead, I looked forward to handing over my pocket of change for a deliciously warm beverage during those dark, cold mornings.

Mystery Giveaway

2009-03-12T14:36:00.004-04:00

While I frequent various blogs of distant family, friends and fellow CrossFitters I am the worst with updating my own blog. I'm sure there are a limited number of you out there even visiting on a regular basis. Nonetheless, I found the following "Mystery Giveaway" posted on Emily (Mars) Raymond's blog today. If you know the Mars Family AT ALL you know they are all very creative people and the idea of a random mystery gift seemed like fun. This will also force me to get creative as well. The directions are below. Good luck.

The first 5 people to comment on this post will receive something made by me. But there is a catch...Here are the rules:

1. It's my choice what to make... and you won't know what it will be until you get it!

2. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make, but I hope you do!

3. What I create will be just for you.

4. It will be done this year.

The catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same giveaway to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

In the news...

2009-01-22T08:06:00.005-05:00

(Image from: http://www.mediabistro.com/)

I was reading the blog "Mark's Daily Apple" this morning and came across this not so fun fact...

"So what are the big winners in the grocery aisles these days? Totino’s frozen pizza, Yoplait yogurt, Progresso soup, and Betty Crocker dessert mixes. (Moment of awkward silence.) Want more news (that probably doesn’t feel like news)? Only two Dow Jones stocks had a positive upturn last year, and McDonalds was one of them. Pardon us, but we don’t know whether to laugh or cry."

It came from his post titled "Recession Diet". To read more visit: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/recession-diet/

In other news living in the south has been quite amusing regarding any "winter weather alerts". The local schools here were cancelled two days in a row (the first day by midnight the night before) without even an inch of accumulation. Now, I can recall a few times from my youth when school was cancelled due to unreasonably cold weather or extremely icy conditions but neither of those situations apply here. People drive 25mph on the highway if there is even a few snowflakes falling from the sky. Corey and I almost choked on our dinners watching the local news Monday night as the weather reporter was "on the scene" discussing that "some areas received upwards of two inches of snow". However, the location where he was had green grass in the background. It was ridiculous! But amusing nonetheless.

Lastly, Stay Active CrossFit is an official CrossFit affiliate and opening weekend is a week from this Saturday. There is still plenty to do, but the website is ready to go for the moment. If you haven't checked it out since yesterday please go visit: http://www.stayactivecrossfit.com/ as she had a bit of a face lift yesterday and is looking much better! Mr. Boggs did a great job with the final title.

Getting Down to Business

2009-01-10T15:57:00.009-05:00

Above is our logo for the clinic. Thanks to Corey's buddy, Cody Boggs, for doing such a great job! He should be done with the CF logo by the end of the weekend. The clinic website is close to done and I have been working away on the website for our CrossFit affiliate. Cody is doing the lay out for me this weekend (I'm a computer dummy as you can probably tell by the quality of my blogs) after which I will finish the content and hopefully have it going early next week. I've added the links to the blog here. Presently the link for the gym just takes you to the clinic's page, but it will be it's own site soon!

In other news we are presently in Asheville, NC. We arrived on Monday Dec. 29th and our days have been filled since arriving. The weather is beautiful and the people are great! While we have found a place to live we are not yet moved in and our current residence is a Days Inn about 20 minutes from downtown Asheville. The move-in date was expected to be this coming Monday the 12th, but looks as though there is a complication with getting the water and electric hooked up. Not too much of a problem as they are covering the cost of the hotel, but I'm REALLY wanting to unpack that van already. I'm tired of feeling like a hobo (as Kathy called us haha).

In other news we secured a location for our gym and office combo. It's in a 2000 sq ft studio of the River Arts District in downtown. It's a great space and I'm extremely excited to get started there. We ordered olympic bars and bumper plates last week. We still need to get a few more pairs of olympic gymnastic rings and the rest of our equipment will be homemade or purchased after we have some members secured. We will be making plyo boxes, medicine balls and parallettes and on the shopping list for another day are some C2 rowers and GHD machines.

The last major thing we need to do before opening is the construction of a pull-up station. A few nights ago I was up late searching other CrossFit affliate blogs and checking out their pictures for various different set ups. The problem with the space we have is that we are unable to secure the pull-up system to the ceiling and the floor units are more than doable but not quite as common. Our landlord is going to put us in contact with a good welder as his family is in the construction business. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

I took photos of our move including the packed to the max van, but those will have to wait. The connector cord to upload is hidden somewhere in the depths of the van. And yes I still plan on beginning a blog to include Corey. But the gym site is priority at the moment.

In the meantime here are a few photos from me and Corey in action during kipping pull-ups. While in Ohio we went to the CrossFit affiliate in Barberton to see how they run things and get a work-out in. The best part was that one of the girls I trained at school in NY is from Canton and was able to bring her dad to Barberton and meet us for the work-out. It was a lot of fun and great to see her and her dad getting after it!

Below is a photo from CrossFit Balboa as they have a new pull-up station that would be ideal. Cost and design is going to be our limiting factors. The ladder like bars you see are for plyometric pull-ups which are incredibly fun. Probably as close as I'll ever get to being a gymnast on the uneven bars.

Happy New Year!

Moving on...

2008-12-16T16:27:00.008-05:00

First, I apologize for my ridiculously long absence. To summarize the last 5 months of my life...

Corey and I were married October 11th.

Finished up the last section of the national boards and I'm left until Dec 26th to find out the results.
Finished up clinic the last week in November.

Packed all of our belongings (after I gave the majority of my wardrobe and random belongings to Goodwill) plus myself, Corey, two dogs (one 90lb dane mix and one 55lb husky mix) plus a ferret in cage in our hand-me-down 96' minivan and left Seneca Falls.

Went to my in-laws in St. Lawrence county of the actual upstate NY for Thanksgiving.

Graduated Dec. 6th.

Spent more time at the in-laws.

Arrived in Ohio yesterday where we will stay until just after Christmas.

From there....Asheville, NC!

I also have the idea of saving this blogspot for my personal rantings and am mentally in the process of contemplating starting a new blog to update you on family events. Now that I am a married woman and all. haha

If there are any followers of this blog still around look for additional updates and the new blog by the first of the year.

In the meantime above you will find a few wedding photos and a couple from Seneca Falls. One is of the trail which Corey and I walked many times from our place on Lower Lake Rd up to take the tunnel under the Rt 89 to school and/or clinic. The other is the view we had across the street of Lake Cayuga. I can't take credit for that photo either as I stole it from my neighbor Julie's facebook page. Thankfully someone remembered to take some great photos of the beautiful place I called home for just over 3 years.

Oh and I almost forgot...

Here is something I took from one of the blogs I like to visit www.modernforager.com

Here are ten things to remember as you embark on your health journey.
1. Junk food doesn’t exist; there is junk and there is food.
2. Similarly, real food has no nutrition label. Food products have nutrition labels.
3. If a label tells you how healthful the product inside is, it’s probably not. Don’t be deceived by marketing.
4. Sugar is detrimental to your body in more ways than you can count.
5. Organic/natural junk is still junk. Thirty grams of sugar from honey is not more healthful than 30g of sugar from other sources.
6. If you are wondering if you should eat more vegetables, the answer is yes. I don’t care how many you eat, you should probably eat more.
7. Similarly, you should probably sleep more. Turn off the TV and go to bed. Given the quality of most TV programming, you aren’t going to miss anything of importance.
8. Don’t let “I can’t afford organic” keep you from eating enough produce. Organic vegetables are best. However, eating conventional is better than not eating produce at all.
9. You’re human and you will eat something too sugary and too carby. Don’t stress; just get back on the wagon.
10. And finally: health is a lifelong journey, not a quick-fix. Find something you can stick with.

Anybody have any to add?

Happy Holiday!

A little creativity & no excuses...

2008-07-25T11:31:00.006-04:00

This image was copied from the Crossfit Santa Cruz website (http://www.crossfitsantacruz.com/) where I saw a new idea for those interested in training, but without adequate resources be it time or funding. I can buy lack of time to go to a gym, but there is no excuse for not enough time around the house to work-out. Anyone who has trained with me can tell you that it takes less than four minutes of any perceivably simple unweighted exercise to leave you sore for days. Plus there is no longer the excuse of lack of funds to purchase any fancy equipment, as it's not needed. There are endless variations of work-outs to do utilizing only your body weight, but with just a little creativity you can add some variety with inexpensive home-made equipment.

Body-weight exercises: squats, pistols (one-legged squats), push-ups, handstand holds with progression to handstand push-ups, bear crawl, burpees, lunges, planks hold both side/front, jumping squats, vertical jumps, jump for distance, etc.

Equipment made easy...

In this photo is a 5 gallon water jug filled with water which is being used for overhead press. I am not aware of the weight of the jug, but that can obviously be altered. Filling milk cartons with water or sand would also work. Note the proper overhead position of the ear being visualized from the side perspective and fully extended shoulder with emphasis on presses all the way through towards the ceiling. This full range allows for proper lateral rotation of the scapula which is often lost due to under use as people age. You would probably be surprised how many twenty-somethings who appear young and healthy struggle to achieve this full range of motion. Try it yourself. Can you get your arms fully extended behind your ears while reaching up for the sky like the guy in this photo? If not, you're setting yourself up for a number of potential injuries in the future. The lack of a full range of motion leads to altered movements within the shoulder girdle (or any joint complex) which can be the cause of that famous "arthritis" term you hear many of your parents and grandparents complain of. Other than "arthritis" you are also at higher risk for damage in the event of trauma to the area if there is already disguised instability.

Other great and inexpensive equipment includes a jump rope, home-made medicine balls by filling old/cheap walmart brand basketball or soccer balls with sand. Just cut about a two inch slit in the top, break the bladder and fill with dry sand. Ensure the sand is DRY before putting it into the ball. Either dry the sand in the over on baking sheets or put it on baking sheets out in the sun and funnel bit by bit. Finish up by duct taping it shut covering the ball in all directions. Athletic tape also works well over the duct tape to prevent the ball from slipping. One you've made a med ball it is great to utilize for deadlifts, cleans, overhead press, med ball toss, wall balls, front squats, thrusters, even overhead squats. Even if the weight isn't as heavy as you may use in a gym, the awkward shape makes it more challenging. (See www.crossfit.com for video examples of above mentioned exercises.)

More great ideas to come.

Work-out of the day: "Jeremy" 21-15-9 65lb overhead squats and burpees time: 8:57

100lb Overhead Squat!

2008-06-16T15:21:00.003-04:00

The overhead squat is the ultimate core exercise, the heart of the snatch, and peerless in developing effective athletic movement.
This functional gem trains for efficient transfer of energy from large to small body parts � the essence of sport movement. For this reason it is an indispensable tool for developing speed and power.
The overhead squat also demands and develops functional flexibility, and similarly develops the squat by amplifying and cruelly punishing faults in squat posture, movement, and stability.
The overhead squat is to midline control, stability, and balance what the clean and snatch are to power � unsurpassed.
- From The Overhead Squat CrossFit Journal Issue 36

I know I'm way behind in posting anything. However, I just wanted to post last night's workout.

The WOD was:

Overhead squat 1-1-1-1-1 reps

Front squat 1-1-1-1-1 reps

Back squat 1-1-1-1-1 reps
Try to increase the load on each of the fifteen sets.

Results:

Overhead squat 65-70-75-85-90-95-100 (10lb p.r.!)-105F

Front squat: 105-110-115-120-125F (120 is my present p.r.)

Back squat: 125-135-140-145-150(another 10lb p.r.!)-155F

More updates later. And maybe one of these days I'll use my digital camera to post some of my own pics.

Arizona Family Life

2008-05-23T15:31:00.007-04:00

I wanted to share a few stories from my week in Arizona with Jen and her family. First, I can't express enough how great it was to spend some quality time with Jen for literally the first time since high school. We see each other a couple times per year at most if we are lucky enough to be in Ohio visiting family at the same time. However, during those few hours we spend trying to catch up sharing stories of recent tales & plans for the future or laughing over old memories I always say good-bye with so much left unsaid. So, to be able to share a week with Jen and her family was greatly appreciated and rare.

One afternoon I had the opportunity to go back to 3rd grade and sit in on Jen's 3rd grade classroom. Although Jen (Mrs. Morgan) had told her class how we knew each other we still got the, "Are you sisters?" comment that we've received periodically since we were in grade school together. It was crazy to sit and observe these young children holding back the excitement that builds as summer vacation approaches and try to remember what Jen and I were like as 3rd graders, as we were in the same 3rd grade class back in Brimfield, OH. I wish I would have counted how many times I heard Mrs. Morgan say, "Now boys & girls...", "Boy and girls lets think about what kind of choices we're making." "Boys & girls please put away your personal choices and get out..." Why is it never "Girls & boys??" haha

The Mrs. Morgan role and mother role is surely hard for Jen to turn off. I didn't point this out to her until my last evening there, but every time during the week that I would just mention, "I'm going to stop in the restroom." or "I'm going to go outside and walk while I make a phone call." Jen would always reply, "That's fine." At the beginning of the week I didn't quite understand where the response was stemming from. However, my first hour of 3rd grade quickly revealed my answer. Anytime one of her students asked permission to do something Mrs. Morgan often replies, "That's fine." Obviously, if it's fine. Except there was one boy who approached Jen just after lunch and recess who asked to go to the bathroom with which his reply was something along the lines of, "You had your whole lunch and recess time to make personal choices and use the restroom. Please wait until 1:00 and then you can go." Wow. I forgot what it was like to ask permission to perform the most everyday and necessary tasks of life.

I don't intend to make Jen out to be some sort of strict teacher, as she surely is not. In fact, it is quite apparent just how fond her students and classroom moms are of her. I was there during teacher appreciation week and Jen brought home a new gift every night! Including a gift from each student on the last day each with a clever little note attached. For example, the box of tea bags which Jen sent home with me had a tag attached that said, "Thanks for being such a great TEAcher!" Clever little 3rd graders.

So, the last night there as we all shared some delicious Coldstone ice cream (Seneca Falls isn't blessed with such divine ice cream establishments) and I mentioned I was going inside to use the restroom Jen gave me the, "That's fine" response. So, I had to confront her with the fact that she had been saying that to me all week. We laughed about it and I also told her, "I keep wondering if you're going to refuse my request or tell me to wait until a certain time."

That same night at Coldstone: Evidently the last time the Morgan family was there for ice cream was for a special birthday celebration of the company during which everyone's ice cream came with a birthday candle. Well, Andrew didn't forget and requested a candle. While his parents tried to explain why his didn't come with a candle this time, the workers must have overheard as Andrew ended up with a candle in his ice cream. (Obviously they don't have children of their own.) Kyle and I are mid conversation after our ice cream was long gone and Andrew was still working on finishing his while Jen changed Emily's rather smelly diaper. Kyle made a comment to Andrew not to lick the candle too much and our conversation continued. The next thing I know Andrew is leaning over me and spitting something solid into my empty ice cream dish. It was a piece of candle. I was caught off guard and Kyle remarks, "Andrew, I told you not to eat the candle." It wasn't a big deal. Kyle and I kind of laughed a little over it as Andrew continued to spit out candle residue. A few moments later Andrew remarks, "Daddy, I don't want to die." Me, not having much motherly instinct, failed to initially connect why he had a sudden concern of death. Yet, Kyle quickly assured Andrew as Andrew ran over to his side biting his bottom lip that eating the wax would not hurt him and that he would have to eat a very large amount of candle wax to cause harm. About this time Jen and Emily came back to the table and Kyle explained to Jen what happened. Meanwhile Andrew continued to stand there with the most concerned look I've ever seen from a 3 year old, and then he states, "I don't want to go down there" as he points to the ground. All the adults exchange looks not really knowing what to say. Needless to say it was an eye-opening evening into the world of a 3 year olds understanding of death. Thankfully, candle wax from Coldstone wasn't detrimental to Andew's world.

Attached are photos from the evening that which I stole from Jen's blogpage.

Getting in the Groove

2008-05-23T13:59:00.006-04:00

Well, my bags are STILL not unpacked from AZ, but I've had a busy two weeks back in overcast central NY. Clinic is in full blast and going well. It works out well that my head clinician is a runner himself and so I am frequently called up from the basement, "Shanna, we need an athlete to treat an athlete". Sometimes I am annoyed for my other classmates, but it works out well in my favor seeing how athletes are most frequently the most compliant and proactive patients.

I'm busy in the gym a few early mornings and almost every evening presently challenging 13 trainees 2-5x/wk with CrossFit style workouts. Training and watching people progress through work-outs and learn new skills has become a real passion of mine. This week many worked on the clean and had some great success with this fairly complex skill when done properly. I keep forgetting to bring my camera to the gym for some action shots.

My own work-outs have been going well. I have been sticking to the work-outs on the main page (www.crossfit.com) and adding in some running drills and strides a few times per week while I'm out walking the dogs at the park. With the exception of one treadmill tabata interval I have not been successful with having enough time or adequate recovery to start adding in the workouts from the crossfit endurance page. Sleep is my biggest obstacle. Last semester I was great at falling asleep by 10 or midnight at the latest, but now I'm still wide awake after midnight. Jen claimed that the adjustment from AZ to home was the easy part, but my body seems to still think it's 9PM when it's midnight! Perhaps leaving the gym around 9 for a late dinner is less than helpful. So, excuses, excuses but I'm slowly working into the run specific work. I'm running a local 5k on Sunday to get an idea of where my running presently is so that will surely be a good motivator to get running!

My last 2 weeks of work-outs:
Saturday May 11th at the certification:
4 rounds for time of
400m run
50 air squats
time: 11:29

Sunday May 12th
running drills work
walked desert trails for ~hr. Can't imagine running here mid-day!

Monday May 12th after flying back on a red-eye with minimal sleep
Subbed 60 ring dips and 90 full range pull-ups (pulling to chest) for 30 muscle-ups
broke them up into multiple rounds! This is the first time I've done pull-ups in at least 2 weeks!
Hmm..failed to record exact time, but I remember it took at least 40 minutes.

Tuesday May 13th
Overhead Squats 7 sets of 3 all at 75 pounds. Still quite fatigued, but I'll take it. Probably should have moved up in weight as I didn't fail on any of the sets, but still getting back into moving weight again.
Running drills and strides

Wednesday May 14th
Deadlift 7 sets of 1
175, 175, 175, 175, 175, 180, 185
Running drills and a couple short strides

Thursday May 15th (Happy Birthday Kathy!!)
"Cindy" Max rounds in 20 minutes of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups (chest to floor), 15 air squats
15 rounds + 1 pull-up!
Blister ripped on my hand with 5 minutes to go. It was a quick rip b/c I didn't even noticed until I saw blood on the tile during my push-ups (ick!). I disinfected the pull-up bar and floor after.
My work-out journal says that I did 20 rounds of this work-out last summer when I had only been crossfitting for a couple months. However, now that I'm more experienced I surely question my full range of motion with chest to ground on push-ups and full hanging extension with pull-ups. I know my squat depth has improved since as well. Oh well, I'll get back there again this time with correct full-range form! It always humors me in the gym to watch these big meat-head type guys hang from the bar and do like 3-5 pull-ups only lowering their heads like 2-3 inches below the bar. When I start training new people a lot of the guys are always shocked at much harder simple movements can be when executed through a full range. It's no surprise why most of my patients can't even fully raise their arms over their head!

Friday May 16th
"Michael" 3 rounds of 800m run, 50 back extensions, 50 GHD sit-ups reach to floor for time:
27:55
800s were done on treadmill and an average of 20 seconds slower when I did this one last fall this time starting at 3:18 and cutting down to 3:10 last round. However, the rate of the other components increased as I wasn't far off my old P.R. (26:27) and would have come extremely close had the treadmill not been turned off going into my last round. (The gym was about to close.)

Saturday May 17th
Active Rest Day
Running drills and 30seconds-2 min strides with tempo trainer for pacing

Snatch practice with single rep loads of: 38, 42, 45, 50, 55, 60F, 60, 65F, 65F, 65! It was ugly. I'm getting it over head easily, but slow to drop under the weight. I've struggled to get over 60 lbs for months now! I need to start working on snatch drills to get more comfortable dropping under faster. Snatching is by far my favorite lift. Probably because it requires just pure explosiveness to move the weight from the ground to overhead in one quick movement. But on an off day it's extremely frustrating when I continuously fail at a weight I've hit in the past. Regardless I'll take a new snatch PR on a "rest day"!

Sunday May 18th
Max rounds in 20 minutes of
15 65lb clean and jerk (did power cleans)
400m run (ran on treadmill started at 90secs and cut down to 87)
4 rounds + 1 C&J
Finished 2 rounds in 10 minutes so I picked it up a bit the last 1/2. The 4th was done in 19:35 and then I did a death jog back into the weight room to attempt some C&Js. I can't wait to be able to have the bar right next to the treadmill OR better yet outside so I don't have to run on a treadmill! Then, again the walk b/w rooms gives me a few seconds to catch my breath

Monday May 19th
For time:
75 push-ups (4:50)
50 65lb sumo deadlift high-pulls(SDLHPs) (12:55)
50 ring dips (32:07...this part KILLED my time never able to get more than 1 at a time!)
30 10lb weighted pull-ups (40:12)
25 handstand push-ups (kipping style against a wall)
Total time: 50:07 ugh!

Running drills and a couple strides

Tuesday May 20th
25 burpees
1000m row
50 burpees
750m row
75 burpees
500m row
for time: 27:39

Wednesday May 21st
CrossFit Main page rest day
Tabata treadmill set the treadmill at 12% grade and a pace 30 seconds slower than present 10k time ( I have NO idea but figured safe to say 7 min pace) so I set it at 8.0 or 7:30 pace.
Tabata interval is simply a 4 minute interval with 8 parts being 30 seconds each. For the first 20 seconds you run or perform squats or any activity you choose, rest the remaining 10 seconds (jump off the sides of the treadmill & try to breathe or feel your legs near the end) and start the next interval at the start of the next 30 seconds. Sounds simple enough but tabatas are bruttle. Brain says the treadmill pace is perfect if you feel like you want to stop after the first 2 minutes. I thought I was being conservative but I was ready to stop after 4 rounds. At the end of 6 I accidently hit the emergency stop button located on the handles as I was exitting the belt. (Corey claims this was intentional, obviously he hasn't attempted this work-out yet) That rest period probably approached 30-40 seconds by the time I got the belt back up to speed. I did a 9th interval to try and compensate, but it surely wasn't the same as I was hurting more after the 6th than the 9th. I'll maintain this pace for my next attempt to ensure I can finish!

Thursday May 22nd
5 rounds of 3 rep deadlifts immediately followed by max reps of handstand push-ups. Full recovery between rounds (3-5 minutes) and record deadlift loads and reps.
Round Deadlift weight Handstand push-up reps (kipping up from tripod against wall)
1) 3x175 9
2) 3x175 7
3) 3x175 8
4) 3x175 10
5) 3x180 12

Friday May 23
Gym closed early for long holiday weekend. So, we went to the local playground and modified greatly.
3 rounds of
50 25lb one arm dumbbell swings (25 each arm)
25 GHD syle sit-ups on wooden playset bench
25 back extensions off wooden bench
25 knees to elbows (there's a pull-up bar there!)
Time: 28:39

Note: Demonstration of all mentioned exercises can be viewed at http://www.blogger.com/www.crossfit.com/cf-info/excercise.html

CrossFit Running/Endurance Cert Day 2

2008-05-14T15:12:00.000-04:00

The video can also be found at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1109961304770876897&hl=en
Compare day one's video to the second and you can see that everyone's form improved! Everyone has changed over to striking ball of foot allowing decreased ground time. In fact, when we analyzed the video frame by frame everyone had reduced the time they spent on the ground. The goal is to spend more time in the air than on the ground or at the very least equal time in both phases. I went from 6 frames on the ground and 5 frames in the air on day one to 5 frames on the ground and 5 in the air. There are still flaws as expected after changing technique and performing only a day of drills. The major issues are reaching out in front of general center of mass (GCM) and not pulling enough.
To critique myself, (wearing hat and pink tank top at 35 seconds and 2:11 into the film) I am not reaching as much and am now landing closer to under my GCM. Problems include not pulling or leaning/"falling" enough. The lack of pull is also described as having a "lazy pull". This refers to the point in stride in which the focus is to pull the foot off the ground and towards the butt rather than pushing off the ground as many are taught. If the video is paused you can see that the pull of my foot towards my butt is quite lax. It should be noted that a lower pull is typical with slower running and may explain why mine ended up this way. I was putting forth much concentration to not reach forward that I was not moving rather slow. One of my biggest obstacles is to learn to have that slight forward lean or fall (not from the torso though...maintain solid core) and allow gravity to bring me forward. I spent many years as a heel-striker with extremely upright running posture to the point that some photos appear to have a backwards lean. (I'll see if I can find any of these photos to post.) Talk about wasting energy!

Here's a slow-motion where you can see excellent running mechanics and get an idea for what a proper pull looks like at fast speeds.

Check out the CrossFit Endurance site for excellent work-outs and info regarding endurance training. http://www.crossfitendurance.com
Here is an interesting aricle posted on the CrossFit Endurance site today: http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/features/health_doping_slowtwitch2.html

Crossfit Running and Endurance Cert

2008-05-12T17:43:00.000-04:00

If the video doesn't work you may have better luck viewing it at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7975567075741588431&hl=en
Here is the initial video at the first day of the cert this past weekend. You can spot me in the white tank and black shorts about 38 seconds into the video and then the slow motion version at around 2:10. Most people can be seen heel striking during their stride. The big misnomer within the running world especially with distance running is that this is the acceptable way to run far. However, this form of running would never be possible without the cushioning protection provided by shoes. Take your shoes off and run across a grassy field. Do you heel strike? Probably not. And believe it or not human beings had already been running for hundreds and thousands of years prior to the explosion of Nike or your choice of athletic equipment. Think about many of the African countries where runners train for years and years without shoes and more than likely less injuries than runners of industrialized worlds. Why? Proper mechanics allowing for proper distribution of forces. Heel striking or striking with a stride that reaches out in front of your GCM (general center of mass) causes injuries for two main reasons: 1) stopping a movement. In slow motion it is easy to identify that the runner is essentially breaking with every step by striking with the heel or striking in front of the GCM. 2)Creating leverage. Since the breaks are unintentionally being put on with every stride this causes energy to be placed in the opposite direction of the direction the athlete is trying to move. These two issues are the main reasons for a multitude of common running injuries including shin splints, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, achilles tendon problems, IT Band syndrome, etc. I switched over to striking on the ball of my foot during the summer of 2006, but have been struggling with injuries (mainly plantar fasciitis with periodic shin or gastroc/soleus pain) because I was reaching out in front of my GCM and not relaxed enough in the lower leg to take advantage of the elastic recoil of our muscles rather than absorbing all of that ground reaction force through my joints.

Google any video of Haile Gebreselassie to watch him land on the ball of his foot under his GCM, his heel grazes the ground due to his relaxed lower leg and he has a slight forward lean (not from the hips but from the ankles) to allow a gravity assist to propel himself forward.
Stay tuned for the second video of the certification weekend and more thoughts on running technique.