Posts Tagged ‘OCC’

Accept the suck

November 3rd, 2010

Bigs headed under 300#

We found ten points to live by in the CrossFit community. Do you agree? Which is the most/least important?

1. Have fun – Whether it be in CrossFit or your favorite sport or shopping with grandma, make sure you try and have fun. Honestly, you can do CrossFit just about anywhere with anyone or by yourself. You choose to come to us for a reason, because we’re awesome.

2. Show up on time – Actually show up early and leave late. Foam roll, stretch and get rid of all that junk in your lower back and shoulders. Showing up late will only cheat you out of a sufficient warm-up. Without a good warm-up, your chance of injury increases exponentially. If you show up early you have two options, cheer on the class that is finishing or start warming up.

3. Don’t whine – It’s okay to cry, just make sure that we can’t see or hear you and remember to clean up your tears when you’re done. Maybe the song that comes on isn’t your favorite, in the immortal words of Josh Everett “If you need music to motivate you, go find something else to do”. Be careful of asking me to change the song, I might just put on Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA on repeat. I’m your coach, not Mix Master Mike. You have a task to accomplish, so do it. Yes I know that every workout is hard and I know that you hate running and I know that the bar hurts your delicate hands, but there comes a time when we have to nut up or shut up…or both. CrossFit is constantly varied, so the odds are that you will see some workouts you hate. That’s why it’s CrossFit and not alltheshityoulikeFit. When you come to CrossFit, be ready to work. Come prepared to face all those pains and things you hate head on. Accept the suck.

4. Give it all – More than strength, speed, flexibility or endurance, effort is what matters most. I don’t care if you’re Joe Thruster with a sub 3 minute Fran, if you half-ass a workout, you’re a poser. Grandma doing jumping pull-ups and thrusters with a PVC kicked your ass because she gave everything she had just short of a stroke. Times and weights matter, but they fail in comparison to effort. Keep pushing yourself to your most extreme limits. I don’t care if you have a 500 lbs or 50 lbs deadlift as long as you put forth the effort and don’t sandbag.

5. Listen to your coach – We are here to help you get more fit and accomplish your goals. When we say things like “you’re lifting with your back, use more hips” don’t act surprised when your lower back is sore. When we tell you that the foam roll and lacrosse ball works, we aren’t just being sadistic. We tell you to rest because you need rest, just as we tell you to get in the gym more because you need to be in the gym more. If you want to get better at something, you have to practice it. Plain and simple. Yes there are some of you who are naturally good at some things, but why not get better?

6. Fail sometimes – The unique thing about CrossFit is that the only way to achieve excellence is through failure. The strength portion of our workouts are designed to where you may fail at a set. If you don’t fail you aren’t trying hard enough! CrossFit is an environment where no one will laugh at you or put a permanent letter in your file for dumping an overhead squat. Don’t be afraid to fail, there’s always next time. Pushing yourself to fail is more of a mental thing than it is a physical thing. We have conditioned ourselves to think that failing is bad and therefore don’t push ourselves in fear of failure. Take that fear away and see what you can accomplish.

7. Eat good food – The short answer is eat Primal. If you don’t want to eat like that, just eat meat, some fruit, vegetables, little starch, no sugar, no grains. If you’re low on energy, then you’re not eating enough. I remember a lot of people starting off on Paleo complain of low energy then proceed to tell me that they didn’t eat anything all day because they didn’t know what to eat. Is it that hard to eat meat and vegetables these days?

8. Count it – Tracking your workouts matters.

9. Be nice – CrossFitters are notorious for making fun of people who go to globo gyms (present company included). People achieve their personal fitness goals in their own ways. Instead of pointing out their propensity for douchiness on the elliptical, try introducing them to CrossFit. You’ll get a better reaction and won’t come off like a jerk. You were once that guy on the squat machine or that girl on the elliptical. If someone made fun of you and then said CrossFit was the way to superior fitness, you would tell them to go F themselves.

10. Get involved – CrossFit is more than just an hour of working out. We are a family and you can get as involved as you like. Just like anything else, you get out what you put in.

WoD

Filthy Fifty

For time:
50 Box jump (24/20)
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings (yellow/white)
50 Walking Lunges
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, (45/35)
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, (20/14)
50 Burpees
50 Double unders


Range of Motion is Crucial

October 27th, 2010

Nooners!!

Range of motion is crucial in CrossFit. Who cares about your time if your doing half the workload of the guy/girl next to you. I see so many lame attempts in here lately that Monday I will be addressing a whole blog post to form ROM. For now this is what I expect.

Pullups are chin OVER the bar. Thats why there called a CHIN up and not a NOSE up.

Pushups: Chest touches the ground every rep on the bottom. Chest not belly touches ground. Elbows must lock out at the top.

Squats: The crease of the hip must pass the crease of the knee on each and every rep. I repeat the crease of the hip must pass the crease of the knee joint. Im tired of going over this one.

If you witness any less than this. Do everyone a favor and call that athlete out on their reps. You are only helping them to get better.

BTW you should always where a digital watch when you CrossFit. That way you can keep track of your own time and you can work on setting solid paces. It will make you a stronger CrossFitter I promise.

WoD

300 KB swings for time (53/35)

(At the top of every minute perform 5 burpees)

Thursday, October 21st

October 21st, 2010

Obesity causing $168 billion in costs annually to American taxpayers.

Some interesting ideas for not tearing on pullups.

Top 5 mens times from Rhiannon yesterday 1. Ron A. 702, 2. Rich 697, 3. Philip 543, 4. Walsh 463, 5. Ryan A. 416

Top 3 womens 1. Olga, 2. Piper 310, 3. Nicole 288

WoD

Sqt 80-64-50-32-16-8

KBS 40-32-25-16-8-4

Pullups 20-16-12-8-4-2


Battle Kings!

October 18th, 2010

The winning 30′ somethings…L-R Chris K, Carter, JMF, BiGGs, Rich

Top 3 individuals…L-R Carter, JMF, Matt B.

A. Floor-/Bench Press 5-5-5

B. “Ring Lynne”

Ring Push-ups and Pull-ups.

5  rounds for max reps.

Rest 3:00 bw rounds

October is rolling!

October 11th, 2010

Capo Valley HS Wrestling Team-getting some Olympic lifting work with Orange Coast CrossFit. It was a blast with these young studs. Good luck this year guys!

Fish Oil for your Life

These Omega-3 fatty acids have health benefits ranging from reducing the risk of heart attack and coronary heart disease to combating depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.  Here are THREE more reasons why you should take Fish Oil:

Inflammation

Omega-3 fatty acids are not only good for the heart; they also help to reduce inflammation. This is perhaps one of the most valuable benefits of the Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil, as inflammation is associated with many serious diseases. Heart disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases, psoriasis, and Alzheimer’s, for example, are characterized by increased levels of pro-inflammatory markers. Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil reduce inflammation by preventing production of pro-inflammatory signaling molecules. This may help to prevent serious illness associated with inflammation.  After regularly consuming fishoil, say goodbye to intense muscle soreness…

Arthritis

The ability of fish oil to reduce inflammation is not only good for preventing serious illnesses, such as heart disease and cancer. Fish oil is also effective in reducing the symptoms and pain of arthritis. Morning stiffness and joint tenderness was shown to decrease with regular intake of fish oil supplements. Fish oil does not act as a painkiller, and it takes regular use before a difference is noticed. However, fish oil is a viable, natural way to reduce the pain and symptoms associated with arthritis if one is dedicated to the long term outcome rather than focused on immediate cessation of symptoms.

Anti-aging

As if the benefits of fish oil on heart health and arthritis were not enough, it is believed that fish oil also helps with anti-aging as well. Omega-3 fatty acids slow the rate at which protective caps on the end of chromosomes shorten, thus increasing the lifespan of cells. The caps, or telomeres, are made from copied strands of DNA and prevent the chromosomes from becoming damaged. When a cell divides, its telomere gets shorter until it can get no shorter and the DNA becomes damaged. When the DNA is damaged the cell no longer divides. Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil slows the deterioration of the telomeres, resulting in longer life of cells.

Announcements:

  • Friday Night, 7pm be at the box for the 40 Something throwdown.  Watch the madness as Team Old Skool aka 40 Somethings vs. Team MisFits aka 30 Somethings vs. Team Domination aka 20 Somethings battle it out for bragging rights.  Drinks provided and we’ll be heading out afterwards for a good time.
  • Back to Basics was a BIG success!  Several people got their first kipping pull-ups and others ended up repping them out!  Stay tuned for the next series of movements…
  • Be sure to check out the announcements on the whiteboard there’s some good stuff up there for our members.
  • Remember the 9am class has been replaced with a MWF noon class.

WoD

1-15 Thrusters

Coach′s notes:  For this WOD you must perform 15 sets of thrusters and you must set the bar down between each set.  In other words, perform the first set, which is one thruster by picking the bar up from the ground, doing the thurster and then returning it to the ground.  For the second set perform 2 thrusters, again starting from the ground and ending the set by returning the bar to the ground.  Continue in this fashion through 3, 4, 5, etc. Guys use 95 lbs and gals 65 or scale the load as required.  Heads up, this is 120 reps.

Double Vision

October 11th, 2010

Steve is one of the 6am warriors who we have seen dedicate himself here at OCC.  He now does all his WoDs RX!  Awesome work!!

Friday Night Lights

Mark your calendars because the 40 something throw down is happening this Friday night at 7pm!  Come cheer on your 20, 30, and 40 something year olds from Orange Coast CrossFit as they go head to head in their Teams based on age group.  Grab a WoD at 6pm and get rowdy at 7pm…We’ll provide the drinks!  Afterwards we can live it up at the box or hit the town.  Anyone who has any great ideas on where we should head afterward, post to comments.

Team Old Skool

Andre (Team Captain), Josh, Don, Ron A., and Frank

Team MisFits

JMF (Team Captain), Rich, Justin V, Carter, BiGGs

Team Domination

Kos (Team Captain), Matt Banwart, Ryan A, Walsh, and a Mystery member

Other announcements:

  • NO 9am classesMonday, Wednesday, Friday there is now a 12 pm class. Just show up for the noon class this week.  We’ll let you know when you can register online for the noon classes.
  • Stronger Faster Healthier products are in!!  Do yourself a favor and grab a bottle of fish oil!  Fish oil is a natural anti-inflammatory and will help big time with muscle soreness.

WoD

“Double Vision”

30 wallball (20/14)

30 boxjump

20 pullups

20 hang squat cleans (95/65)

10 snatch (95/65)

10 curtis p’s (95/65)

10 snatch

20 hang squat cleans

20 pullups

30 boxjump

30 wallball

Friday, October 8th

October 8th, 2010

Two of the best at chins here at the box. Walsh and Andre, grinding em out.

Make sure to stick around for a post WoD beer “happy hour” after the 5 and 6pm workouts tonight. Beer is on us!

The SFH Fish Oil is here. Grab yourself a bottle before you head home this weekend.

WoD

A. Press 3-3-3

B. Push Press 5-5-5

C. “2010 Danish CrossFit Open Final WoD”

3 Rounds of:

500 m Row

21 Kb swing (red/yellow)

15 Burpees

Come WoD with us!

October 7th, 2010

Tuesdays 6 pm class, hanging out post WoD. Umm…none of you guys are flexing right?

Such great energy and vibes in the box, from everyone this month!!  It has made coaching a pleasure. Lets continue the great attendance and make sure we are coming at least 3x a week. 4 and 5x should be the goal.

We have added quite a few new athletes to the OCC Family in the past six weeks. If you see someone that is new introduce yourself! It’s never easy being the “New Guy.” Let’s make everyone feel at home here. If someone is obviously struggling with a movement or unsure of something, help them out! We are one big team here. Our goal is and has always been to make ORANGE COAST the most KICK ASS CrossFit box in the OC! Lets continue to set benchmark!

The CrossFit contest season is around the corner. We want to represent at the local competitions by having the most athletes entered, the best athletes in all divisions, and the most vocal and LOUD support crew in attendance. Who is interested in being a part of the OCC Competition Team? I want to start training together and scheduling other gyms to come up and compete with us. In joining the Team you will promise to commit to a 5x week schedule of HARDCORE training. No bitching. No whining. Team meetings, where we will share tips and pool our talent resources. Butterfly kips, HSPU kips, split jerk work, linking multiple muscle ups, making double unders look easy, etc.  Saturday workouts where we will all train together. Max effort  Oly days. Hill repeats in Crystal Cove. Many of the WoDs will be brutal. In return you will represent OCC with PRIDE at the comps and in our SoCal CrossFit community. Post with comments if you wish to be on the Team for 2011.

Thursday WILL NO LONGER BE A MAKE UP DAY. If you come and train on Thursday their will be a new WoD given. If you are on the Monday, tues, wed, on, thurs off, fri, sat on, sun off split then keep doing that. Thursday was just a bit sloppy with everyone doing a different workout. No longer will that be the case. Thursday will be just like any other training day, so come on in!

Reminder on our Back to Basics workshops.  They are FREE to our members.  The first workshop will be held this Saturday the 9th at 10am and we will work on kipping pull-ups or butterfly if you’ve got your kip , press, push press, push jerk, and for those of you who’ve got a solid push jerk, split jerk.  We will also offer another opportunity, slightly condensed, for you to work on your kipping pull-ups and jerks on Monday night at 6:30pm.  Regular classes will be held. No need to sign up, just show up.

SFH Whey Protein is now stocked in the Box. The Fish Oil should be here any day now.

New pics up in the gallery.

WoD

5 Rounds of:
20 ring dips
20 unbroken kb swings
20 GHD sit ups
20 wallballs
20 GHD extensions
rest 2 min b/t sets


Consistency pays off

October 3rd, 2010

Joe Maga, 44.5 years young, looking nice and lean. Here is an email Joe sent to us the other week:

“Justin – once again, I am left amazed by the CrossFit / Paleo combination. My first WOD at OCCF was June 25 and I had my BF measured at Fitness Wave shortly I started at OCCF – it was 13.4%. I figured a goal of dropping 3% BF in 3 months would be an aggressive goal. On Saturday, September 25 (3 months later) my BF was 8.6% and I had gained 5# of lean muscle. I was stunned. Feeling great. Thank you for all the coaching and guidance.”

We are stoked about Joe and his results with us but they are not uncommon for someone who comes 4-5 days a week and follows a Paleo diet. If we are not seeing you more than a few times a week, now is the time to commit to a consistent CrossFit schedule. Also if you have not yet had your body fat tested, DO IT NOW! This is an excellent tool to see how your progress is coming and/or where you are starting from.  See you at the box! Today is going to be a great week.

Todays workout was competed this past weekend in Colordado at the first annual CrossFit and USA Weightlifting Open. Watch footage of this weekends highlights here.

WoD

Snatch, 1 rep
Clean and jerk, 1 rep
As many rounds and reps as possible in ten minutes of:
55kg Squat clean, 6 reps
12 Pull-ups
24 Double-unders

Add together the best snatch (in kg), the best clean and jerk (in kg), and the total reps performed in the triplet for your final score. Post score to comments.

Thursday, September 30th

September 29th, 2010

Chip and Ron, two of the eight original members that moved over with me from the NAC when I first got established up here in Orange County. Two of the nicest guys you will ever meet and we are lucky to have them at our box. Click here to see Chip’s before and after CrossFit, and here to see Ron’s photo.

We’ll be holding a series of “Back to Basics” classes in October which will be free to our current members.  This will include a PULL UP WORKSHOP.  We recognize that many of you are so close and we want to give you that extra attention needed to get you off the band as soon as possible!  We’ll also break down some of the basic movements we use here in the box (Presses, Jerks, Cleans)  If you’re a pro, come on in and fine tune your technique… if you’re a newbie, here’s your opportunity to get a detailed refresher!  More details to follow.

Potential…

WoD

Rest day or make up one from earlier in the week.