April 2011 TITLE AUTHOR(S)

The Fire Inside Smith

Dot-Com While Deployed Fuhr

Don’t Worry, Be Happy Sweet Cheeks Headquarters

The Extraordinary Vijai Raj O’Brien

Fight Gone CrossFit Goodson

World of WODs No. 3: Vancouver, B.C. Beers

Tips and Tricks: The Squat Martin

Every Man Dies, but Not Every Man Really Deadlifts Bell

Improving the Jerk Starr

Forging Elite Leadership Amundson

Lil’ Nuggets Sweet Cheeks Headquarters

One Kid at a Time Liberati/Knight

CrossFit Field Trip Melillo

Munchkin Munchies Sweet Cheeks Headquarters

Perspectives for a Successful CrossFit Kids Affiliate Borawski

Dead On Mason

Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com The Fire Inside How do intangibles like passion and belief in self fit into a community driven by data? Web Smith explains.

By Web Smith SICFIT April 2011 Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit

Determination, faith and the value of conquering the “fear of failure” may fall outside the CrossFit pursuit of data-driven performance, but it’s apparent these factors existed for Matt Chan and Chris Spealler in the 2010 CrossFit Games.

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Just as the variables of CrossFit competition are unknown, In our interview with Chan, he reflected on 2009’s so too are the depths of athletes’ hearts, minds and faith. 7.1-kilometer trail run and discussed it with considerable The intensity of their focus, faith and resolve may very disappointment. Finishing 58th out of all male athletes, he well rival the actual intensity of their remarkable power contends that he submitted to the workout. output, and perhaps these intangible factors are at least “The minute you say, ‘Uh,’ and submit, it’s over. … (If you partly responsible for the performances of these athletes. think), ‘I need to keep up with so and so,’ it’s over,” he said. We cannot prove this, so we tend to avoid discussing the validity of these concepts. But can we dismiss them? Mental Games: Spealler and Chan Prior to the 2010 CrossFit Games, logic would have it that Chris Spealler would be absent from the podium. Matt Chan’s CrossFit Games Record It only made sense that after a fourth-place finish at the 2008—8th 2007 CrossFit Games, a 10th-place finish in 2008, and a 26th-place finish in 2009, this maturing athlete would see 2009 —18th a continuing degradation of skill, strength and endurance. 2010—4th That was simply not the case, and Spealler reached the podium at the CrossFit Games in 2010, finishing third. A lot changed for Spealler between the 2009 and 2010 Games. With fatherhood came greater signs of a deeper investment in his own spiritual and emotional maturity and beliefs. He became more comfortable with his Consider how far each athlete has improved his perfor- commitment to the sport of fitness. mance. In 2007, Chan was clean and jerking 225 lb. and snatching 135 lb. At the 2009 Games, Spealler deadlifted “You have to put yourself in a position where you believe 375 lb., an impressive lift for him but not nearly enough you can win,” Spealler said in a recent interview. “You have to compete in a max-effort deadlift event. Indeed, Speal to compete to win. If you go out there to not lose, you’re finished the event tied for 71st out of 74 competitors, and not going to perform to the best of your ability.” the poor Event 2 performance was one of the reasons the Utah athlete did not advance to the second day of competition. If you’ve seen either Spealler or Chan perform lately, you’ll Chris Spealler’s CrossFit Games Record notice that both have made incredible strides in the past years, and the greatest improvements seem to have been 2007—4th made between 2009 and 2010. 2008—10th 2009—26th 2010—3rd “If you go out there to not lose, you’re not going to perform to the best of Matt Chan, then unknown, finished eighth at the 2008 your ability.” Games, two spots ahead of Spealler. In 2009, with much stiffer competition and programming than years prior, —Chris Spealler the 32-year-old EMT finished 18th. One year later, in 2010, Chan also finished with his best CrossFit performance to date: a fourth-place finish, one spot behind Spealler.

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In Event 1 at the 2010 CrossFit Games, Chris Spealler was faced with multiple snatches near his body weight. He won the event by 17 seconds. Spealler, for instance, finished eighth in one of the heavier math and you’ll realize Chan snatched more than he events at the 2010 Games, the 7-minute AMRAP deadlift/ could clean and jerk in 2007, and he clean and jerked well double-under/pistol workout, where he had to combine over 300 lb. 7 deadlifts at 315 lb. with double-unders and pistols. Later The data says each athlete improved, and both of the in the year, he totaled 200 kg in the Olympic-lifting half of athletes say that much of their improvements were due to the CrossFit-USAW Open on his way to winning the triplet intangible factors that aren’t easily measured or quantified. and posting the top combined score of any athlete at the competition in any weight class. Observing Spealler and Chan over the past several months, I’ve had the privilege of understanding those For Chan, the USAW event was also a time to shine. ethereal factors that have helped them emerge as two of Competing at home in Colorado, he won the 94-kg class the sport’s most elite males. with a snatch of 113 and a clean and jerk of 144. Do the

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Being Honest With Oneself For Chan, he also had to alter his thinking. There is a distinct sense of irony when comparing these “I’m not going to be like, ‘Oh, this isn’t fair. It’s gymnastics two athletes. One is uncharacteristically large (for the sport), movements. I’m a big guy. Where’s the big weights? and the other is a bit smaller than the average male in both Where’s the one-rep max?’” he said. height and weight. With these physical differences come differing approaches to achieving victory at a competition With so many obvious strengths, Spealler and Chan have where athletes must amplify their strengths, address their spent a fair amount of time analyzing the areas they would weaknesses and minimize any and all deficiencies. consider weaknesses. As CrossFitters, we understand the demands of the sport, but does understanding necessarily For Spealler, a smaller athlete with unparalleled capacity at lead to action steps? Not all the time. The ability to identify body-weight movements, overall strength was a challenge. one’s own weaknesses and accept the vulnerability Spealler addressed his weakness by working hard to bring associated with fixing those deficiencies is rare. It’s more up his strength, but he also made a mental change. common to avoid weaknesses, amplify strengths and “I remember in the middle of my workout, I walked up hope the programming happens to favor your specialties. to my barbell and said, ‘So what,’” Spealler recalled. “I just Chan and Spealler chose a different path, and it’s a path remember saying in my head, ‘So what. I don’t care if it’s that requires a great deal of courage and mental strength. 275 lb. It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m going to own it.’” It takes an honest and committed athlete to look in the mirror and say, “I need to improve this area—a lot.” Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit

Chris Spealler, always a master of body-weight movements, altered his mindset and decided heavy weights would never stand in his way again.

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“I needed to be in the right spot,” he reflected in the CrossFit Journal in 2009. ”I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy workout. I gave it everything I had, but I knew the “I’m not going to be like, chances of me being the first one done were probably ‘Oh, this isn’t fair. It’s pretty slim.” gymnastics movements.’” Both gentlemen competed as collegiate athletes at the highest levels. Both experienced competition, —Matt Chan disappointment, and then success after recommitting themselves to their training and their sport. Both report being driven by a “fear of failure” that was replaced by self- Despite their differences, Chan and Spealler revealed esteem and a drive to prepare. remarkably similar motivations and mental-training Goals and Faith techniques in independent interviews. The more I listened to each athlete, the more I began to view his ability to As noted above, Chan was able to clean and jerk 225 and perform from a mental perspective. Are the lack of ego, the snatch 135 in 2007. In the interview, Jeremy Thiel pointed awareness of self and the recognition of one’s soul—intan- out, “You didn’t have the strength, and three years later gible parts of the psychic apparatus—shared by CrossFit’s you’re one of the best of the best.” This question led Chan elite athletes? to reveal an experience he used in his journey as a CrossFit athlete, and an experience that developed into his passion Chan and Spealler have demonstrated that to be one for preparation. of the very best, an athlete has to be comfortable with setting aside his ego and working past mental and physical weaknesses. It seems as though this is what separates Chan and Spealler from a worthy pack of also-rans. CrossFit helped each athlete achieve great success on the CrossFit Games’ international stage but to take full advantage of CrossFit’s potent training methodology, athletes have to be willing to be coachable and willing to address weaknesses. That takes guts. In our interviews, both athletes shared parts of their past, perhaps shedding some light on the things that might be at least partially responsible for their successes. After quitting swimming in high school, Chan developed a deep-seated resentment for starting something and not finishing. Not content with his decision, he went on to play water polo at Western Illinois University with success. Spealler, always competitive but always lacking peace of mind earlier in life, sought out Christian faith after his experience with Young Life, a nationally renowned

Christian outreach program. He now cites his faith as his Staff/CrossFit Journal source of peace. Famously, Spealler chose some mellow Christian music by Jars of Clay as his soundtrack for the final event of the 2008 Games, a heavy event that threatened to knock him from the top spot and dash his hopes for an overall win. The 2009 Games were a low point for Spealler, who then refocused and finished on the podium for the first time in 2010.

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Matt Chan decided it wasn’t enough to wait for favorable events to come up, so he trained to be good at everything.

“I heard Josh Everett say that he warmed up to a 335-lb. Chan discussed removing emotion from skill assessment clean and jerk,” Chan said. “I wasn’t happy until I got it.” and remedial preparation. Strength was a weakness for the former collegiate water- “I’ve taken the emotion away from not being able to do polo athlete. But his acquired ability to set aside ego, things. The 2009-2010 year was a big eye-opener when it maintain motivation and see his goals to completion have comes to that stuff (performing new movements),” he said. helped him take full advantage of CrossFit programming For Spealler, being at peace with his progress was also a in ways that many haven’t, can’t or won’t. new development in 2010. The mental aspect of preparation and competition simply “You can get caught up with who you are and what you cannot be measured, but what’s clear from Chan and do. That happened to me in ’09 at the Games,” he said. Spealler is that it takes an element of emotional fervor to remain committed to the rigors of CrossFit. Specifically, Spealler went even further and touched on faith and spiritu- top athletes have to be comfortable with experiencing ality, things not often talked about in CrossFit, an intensely short-term failure to achieve long-term success. And physical pursuit. While spirituality is not measurable, while certain programming or training might contribute there is evidence that suggests it can play a role in sports, to success, it’s certain that the mental aspect of training whether it’s a player crossing himself before stepping up to contributes something as well. the plate or pointing to the sky after a touchdown.

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Spealler, like Chan, finds strength in his ability to fully More Than Muscle? prepare, and he trains at such a high level that his For these athletes, competition is a way of life. They both preparedness becomes gratifying. He believes that when had distinguished NCAA careers, but neither has seen he trains his hardest and gives his best effort, he is at as much individual athletic success as in recent times. peace—win or lose. What happened between the 2009 and the 2010 Games “For me, where I am—and to each their own—I’m a to develop such a holistic approach? What helped them Christian. I’m a believer,” Spealler said. “As that, I have make impressive gains that might not be explained only to constantly remind myself that I’m defined by my by a training journal filled with times, loads and reps? relationship with Christ.” Perhaps the answer can be found in Coach Glassman’s As such, Spealler’s faith helped him to see a greater purpose now-famous quote: “The greatest adaption to CrossFit is in his daily training. He talked about the relationship between the ears.” between faith and training in the article Spirituality and Training for the CrossFit Games is incredibly difficult. Year CrossFit, published in mid-January 2011 on the CrossFit in and year out, competition improves, and so does the Games website. level of skill required to get to the Games and excel. There In one of the most defining moments of the SICFIT is nothing more beneficial for an athlete’s success than interview with Spealler, Thiel further defines Spealler’s proper training, coaching and nutrition. But who’s to say faith-based approach: “Your gratification was coming from an athlete’s faith and internal drive aren’t also important? your work ethic. Winning was like a cherry on top.” Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit

How do you define the balance between the mental and physical aspects of CrossFit?

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Everyone who competes at that level is mentally strong, and perseverance is a common trait, so perhaps it’s worth looking at the mental and spiritual as well as the physical. If we do, we might begin to see how these immeasurable variables can play an integral role for athletes in the sport. After watching two extraordinary athletes improve so greatly in only one year, it might be time to begin discussing the validity of emotional and spiritual triggers that allow athletes to reach their fullest potential. Courtesy of WebCourtesy Smith Companion Videos For the complete interviews with these two athletes, please watch the companion videos. The Spealler interview, he takes us through the reflection and perspectives that helped him finally achieve his podium finish in 2010. What you will see is an athlete with laser focus and unparalleled humility. A Christian About the Author from an early age, Spealler discusses how this past year Web Smith works alongside Jeremy Thiel and a great team he was finally able to be at peace with his ability. At the as the president and COO of SICFIT, a lifestyle brand, CrossFit CrossFit-USAW Open, I was able to closely observe his video-production team and hub for the enthusiasts of the pre-competitive ritual, and that inner peace was apparent. CrossFit sport. Web proudly competed as a member of CrossFit There was no adrenaline boost or an outward showing Central’s sixth-place Affiliate Cup team in 2010. He and his of emotion. Rather, he glanced at his wife and newborn, wife, two-time Games competitor Lindsey Smith, are raising smiled and carried on. Consistently, they were reminders a smart, beautiful three-year-old named Alexis Leigh Smith, of his peace. And just as consistently, Spealler got the who is already the second fittest of the Smith family of three. weight overhead. Chris Spealler interview: Part 1 Part 2 In Chan’s interview, he discusses his previous failures and how they affect him today. Driven by a strong sense of mental awareness and selflessness characteristic of first responders, Chan discusses how his breadth of experience as an athlete and an EMT have affected his ability to see goals through to the end. “You have to let your guard down a little bit,” he says. By removing his ego, being at peace and letting go of emotion, he believes he has accomplished more as an athlete. For the Matt Chan interview, click here.

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Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at http://journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com Dot-Com While Deployed Dan Fuhr recounts years of deployment with one constant: CrossFit main-site workouts.

By Dan Fuhr April 2011 All images courtesy of Dan Fuhr

I turn 35 in January, and I’ve been following CrossFit main-site programming regularly since January 2007. I am also in the U.S. Army, and since January 2007 I have been deployed for 28 months. I’ve spent another six months away for training. Surprisingly, I’m still single.

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For a soldier, a well-equipped gym like this isn’t always available.

With the exception of being fortunate enough to spend my visit. For the next couple of months, I would randomly two months training weekends in Austin’s premier CrossFit do Fran one or two times a month and think I was doing facility, CrossFit Austin, with Wes Kimball, Chad Vaughn, CrossFit. My form on pull-ups was ridiculous. My chin Boone Putney, Miguel Garza and Tristy Stephens, I have would move from about two inches below the bar to almost solely been working out on my own, outside a box, about an inch above the bar. However, I couldn’t complete following main-site programming while on deployments. the workout in less than five minutes, and I was a puddle of mud at the end. I returned from my last deployment at the end of January 2010. I went on leave for the month of February. The A couple of months later, another friend told me about weekend of March 12-13, I finished fifth in the Southern another WOD, Linda. He said something like, “You got to Texas and Louisiana Sectional. At the beginning of May 2010, check out CrossFit. It uses weights to develop cardio.” I I drove cross-country to California for my next assignment replied, “I know. I’m doing CrossFit once or twice a month in the army. On the weekend of May 28-29, I flew to Dallas already.” After the conversation, I then added Linda to my and finished 10th in the South Central Regional. routine and thought, “Now I’m really doing CrossFit.” About a year after first visiting CrossFit.com, I revisited the site and I was introduced to CrossFit and have regularly followed realized it was so much more than just two WODs. main-site programming even while deployed. I do not think my experiences or results are that unique. I’m just a guy who worked out as hard and as regularly as the situation allowed once I fully embraced CrossFit. About a year after first CrossFit: More Than Fran visiting CrossFit.com, I first heard about CrossFit from a friend back in the fall I revisited the site and of 2005. The idea of functional fitness performed at high intensity sounded like something more real and less realized it was so much faddish than the other silliness on functional fitness being more than just two WODs. promoted by people like Matt Fury. I went to CrossFit’s website and just glanced. Fran was the WOD on the day of

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I ordered a bar and bumper plates, a squat rack, and has approximately 130,000 residents. Essential services gymnastic rings, and I built a platform. I got everything set such as electricity, water and sewage reach fewer than 50 up in my garage and was so proud of my first gym. Every percent of the population. The island is also home to the Saturday morning, some friends would come over and we world’s longest insurgency. This is where I spent the next would hit a workout from the main site. However, other six-and-a-half months. than the Saturday workout that came off the main site, my A lot of guys when they deploy set goals outside of work training was still random. to keep the time passing. I made it one of my goals to WODs at War follow main-site programming as closely as possible while At the beginning of January 2007, I was deployed to I was on this deployment. However, on deployment a lot the “lesser-known War on Terror”: Operation Enduring of times work prevents the pursuit of other goals. On this Freedom—Philippines (OEF-P). A couple of days later, deployment, I was fortunate. With the exception of a few we landed in Zamboanga, Philippines. The next day, we sleepless nights, conditions were great, considering I was got on a boat. I remember the boat was this flat-bottom overseas. My living conditions were good, and for the most transport that had been in service since World War II. After part I could find time to exercise. fighting seasickness for over 18 hours, we finally stepped For my first five months in country, I lived on the island’s onto Jolo Island the following morning. main camp. We had about a three-quarter-mile loop we Jolo Island is part of the Autonomous Region of Muslim could run. Besides everyone burning their trash in the Mindanao (ARMM). It is one of the poorest and most morning and the 90-plus degrees and 90-plus-percent undeveloped parts of the Philippines. The island doesn’t humidity that can be expected every day in the southern even have a Jolly Bee or Chow King. If you have been to Philippines, it was good for training. There was a gym with the Philippines, this will help bring perspective. The island bars, plates and a squat rack. A basketball filled with dirt subbed as a medicine ball. I brought a set of rings with me.

Some overseas facilities boast a good collection of gear, but sometimes a soldier has to get pretty creative.

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We had pull-up bars built outside our house and marked to build a school as part of a humanitarian mission. In 400-meter and 800-meter turnaround points. It was a addition to the school, they built us a lifting platform, and good set-up. The set-up got even better when a new unit we could continue with more CrossFit WODs. I was only at came in with a commander who was a CrossFit super stud. this house for a month before my team and I got moved to Soon we all got C2 rowers. another outstation. My diet was also good. Every week, we would pool After moving to our new location, I went back to the States our money and purchase groceries. Mangos, bananas, for a two -week R&R. I came back to the new house in August avocadoes for (5 cents apiece), ridiculously big cucumbers 2007 and remained there until I finished the deployment at to offset the ridiculously small onions, tomatoes, as well the end of January 2008. This house had a half-mile running as lansones, mangosteens and a whole bunch of other loop and a small gym that we kept expanding as the time tropical fruits I’ve never heard of before were plentiful. went on. We ordered a Dynamax ball and built a backboard Leafy greens were something I never saw, and salad was for wall-ball shots on our water tower. Besides a squat rack, something I missed more and more as the time went on. we had everything to complete most WODs. Unfortunately, salad can’t be put in a care package and mailed out. When the locals found out we ate seafood—the guys we had replaced did not—every day someone would come to our house with fish. About once a month, we’d splurge and get lobster. Chicken and eggs were also common. Beef and pork were less frequent. Every day, I or one of the guys I lived with would cook dinner. Leftovers would be lunch the following day. Breakfast was usually a meal-replacement shake and oatmeal. I ordered from BodyBuilding.com on all three deployments, and they have always provided great service. For the most part, work was moderate and allowed time to get into a three- days on, one-day-off exercise routine from the main site. I know I was really fortunate to have this situation. I have other friends who have spent months living under a tarp in Afghanistan. I asked one if he worked out. I got the “are-you-crazy look” and was told, “No, we were too busy fighting.” I saw their pictures. They had dropped 20 lb. of body weight from exposure to the elements and a couple of months of eating nothing but MREs, and they had big, wild beards from relaxed grooming standards. My buddy more looked like a burned-up prospector you’d find stumbling around the desert than a U.S. soldier. Relocation and Creative WODs I lived on the island’s main camp for my first five months. Then I was moved to one of the outstations. The three-quarter-mile loop was replaced by a volcanic lake, and the number of Americans went down to me and my team. There was nowhere to run. We were on a hill, and everything was covered in mud. We did have a small gym. Soon after arriving, Navy SeaBees came out to our location Bolting a backboard to a water tower made wall-balls an option in the Philippines.

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This was my happiest time on the deployment. Every groceries. My diet shifted. Breakfast remained the same night, the whole house would get together and hit the with a meal-replacement shake and oatmeal, but almost WOD of the day from the main site. These guys became every night, dinner became boiled chicken spiced up with my best friends and are still some of my best friends today. something from a care package. Lunch became a can of People started referring to our house as Fuhr Fitness. I kept tuna with white crackers, and snacks were usually protein saying, “No, this is CrossFit Jolo,” but Fuhr Fitness stuck and powder and more white crackers. Eggs were also always has continued to stick, I guess now by my choice. present. Every week, we would buy seven flats of 30 eggs. Due to the spoiling of produce in the weekly groceries, I A buddy in another house didn’t have Internet access. really began neglecting fruits and vegetables. Again, salad Every day, we would text him the WOD over the radio so was what I missed the most. his house could keep up with the training. Despite some interruptions from work, we followed the main site for the last several months of the deployment. We all reached significantly higher levels of fitness over the course of the deployment. I went from doing 25 kipping pull-ups Every night, the whole house to 45 kipping pull-ups. My time on Fran went from over would get together and hit 4 minutes to 3:07. My score for Cindy at the start was 18 rounds. By the end I could do 27. In the beginning, my form the WOD of the day from was not too legit. I had to cheat to get through a lot of the the main site. These guys workouts. By the end, I was getting full range of motion. became my best friends My diet did get worse living off the main camp. Still, and are still some of every week we would pool our money, but instead of the daily fish guy coming to our house, we would give the my best friends today. weekly pool of cash to a local who would buy our week’s

While deployed, a soldier’s diet also experiences some changes, some good, some bad.

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I deployed to Iraq at the beginning of February 2009. NTC was good training for Iraq. The first three months of Iraq felt really similar to NTC, except it didn’t go on for 2 weeks; it went on for three months. My blood pressure went up to around 140 over 90 and would remain at that level for the rest of the deployment. The doctor told me it was because of genetics and aging. I asked, “Are you sure? Are you sure it’s not the job?” Before I deployed and after I returned, my blood pressure was/is around 115 over 55. During the first three months, I worked out about once a week, and the extent of the workout was limited to stopping by the gym on my way to dinner, taking off my jacket and throwing some weight before throwing down chow and getting back to the office. Surprisingly, I made strength gains. I thought they might have been putting steroids in our food as part of some sort of sick experiment like in the movie Jacob’s Ladder. The strength gains, high blood pressure and mood swings were there, but definitely no increase in libido! Flying home to the U.S. After three months, we started falling into a rhythm and got to sleep in Sunday. Every day, except Sunday, started I finished that deployment and returned to the States at with a 0800 brief. I was usually in the office till around 2330. the end of January 2008. All the guys on my team that I I tried to get out before midnight because my attitude got worked out with every day for the last couple of months even worse. I know some people worked significantly went back to their wives and children. I was hooked on more. I remember being in meetings at 2300 and guys the three days on, one day off and continued training from would have two cans of Rip It, a generic form of Red Bull, the main site on my own. I continued training and coming in front of them. I remember thinking, “These guys aren’t up with substitutions when I went away to schools. I went going to go to bed until 2 or 3 in the morning.” That is how back to OEF-P for a short three-month deployment. Living it was for some. They really wouldn’t go to bed till 0200 conditions and diet were good and training continued. or 0300 and would be back up at 0600. I think a lot of people were trying to play a game to see who could work Rough Times Ahead themselves to death first. I was trying to lose. I returned in September 2008 and walked into an The diet for my first seven months was bad. We were not opportunity to go to Iraq as a staff primary for a Brigade on one of the large bases with contracted dining. We had Combat Team. As part of the train-up for Iraq, I went to army cooks who tried to do the best they could. Meals were the National Training Center (NTC) in Fort Irwin, Calif. NTC heavily processed forms of meat and starch. Fresh fruits is a miserable experience. It is a month of sucking for the and vegetables were very limited, but there was always sake of sucking. I never went to bed before midnight, and enough to eat. I know some of the further outstations I never woke up after 0600 for the month I was there. were living off MREs, cereal, “loser sandwiches” of one slice Once we got in the box, I would usually get back around of baloney, and some form of generic hot pocket when 0130, conduct personal hygiene and get to bed by 0200. they were lucky. About once a week we would all contract I know other people work significantly more during NTC, some sort of abdominal difficulty. I think it was because the and some pretty much go ironman for the two weeks in bacterial levels in the food would reach dangerous levels. the box. Diet was throwing down an MRE or army chow Add in chemical toilets and a lack of effective plumbing in as fast as possible so you could get back to work for more the shower and latrine units (SLUs), and the situation was sucking. There was no time for a dedicated workout. But even worse. I did find time to duck behind a tent and knock out 8 rounds of Tabata squats or Tabata push-ups almost daily.

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When things settled down after my first three months, I The work routine continued. Every morning started at was able to fall into a regular workout routine. Unofficial 0800 except sleep-in Sunday, and every night I’d be in the free time became from 1700 to 1900. I began leaving the office till around 2330. 1700 to 1900 remained unofficial office at 1700, working out, throwing down dinner and personal time, which allowed me to get a workout, get then getting back in the office by 1900, where I would stay dinner, and get back in the office. The last three months in till around 2330. country I began teaching the Brazilian jiu-jitsu club twice a week. I’d teach from 2000 to 2130. After I finished teaching, Also around three months in, we started having chapel I got back in the office and stayed till 2330. I think I only service on Sunday and didn’t have to be in the office watched two movies that year and maybe read four books till after lunch. On Sundays I would sleep in a little later outside of work. and then go to church. After lunch, the day became the same as every other. Reports, meetings and preparing for Despite the less-than-ideal conditions, I finished off the meetings would go on till 2330. year with significant improvement in my WOD scores. I don’t want to say “significant physical improvements” because I think the poor diet for my first seven months in-country and the stress from work took years off my life, but following the main-site programming led to signif- Despite the less-than- icant gains in my WOD scores. I finished off the year with ideal conditions, I a 1075 CrossFit total (425-lb. squat, 195-lb. shoulder press, 455-lb. deadlift). This was the most weight I had lifted since finished off the year college, but I had significantly more endurance. I ran 2 with significant miles in 11:35. My Fran time was 2:37. My Helen time was improvement in 7:37. I could do 30 rounds of Cindy. my WOD scores. I took these times to the Southern Texas and Louisiana Sectionals about a month after getting back from Iraq and placed fifth. I continued following main-site programming leading up to the regional competition while still having to do unit physical training (PT) every morning. I have been in I can’t communicate how miserable that deployment the Army for over 11 years, and I have successfully avoided to Iraq was. The only thing that would have made the unit PT since December 2002. deployment more miserable for me is if I had been forced to put a rock in my shoe and walk around like that for the rest of my time in country. I remember we had a 3-hour mission analysis meeting on the Fourth of July. During that meeting, I kept hoping we would get mortared just so the meeting would end. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, there were no fireworks that year. For my last five months of the deployment, I moved to Taji. Taji is one of the larger bases over there. It has a huge contracted dining hall with all the amenities. There was a rotisserie chicken bar, carving station, sandwich bar, pasta bar, huge salad bar, fresh-fruit carving station, dessert bar with Baskin Robbins. Every week there would be seafood night with lobster and king crab. It’s no wonder how fat some people get on deployment. For me, my diet significantly improved with the healthier choices of protein and large salad and fresh fruit bars. Despite the conditions of his deployment, Fuhr still placed fifth at sectionals and earned a spot in the regional competition.

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Unit PT typically consists of a less-than-half-assed exercise program revolving around push-ups, sit-ups, and 2-4 mile runs done between 0630 and 0730 every morning. One person is assigned to lead the exercise program, and that person is almost always more concerned about developing his ego than in developing fitness—hoo-ah bullshit at its worst. It is extremely rare for physical improvements to be made from unit PT. Unit PT may prevent soldiers from becoming complete fatasses, but based on the butterballs I saw waddling around the brigade, I’m not so sure. Unit PT is an evil of the conventional army. My luck for avoiding unit PT ran out when I became a BCT staff primary. About a month before the regional competition, I finally got orders to my next assignment in the army and moved to California. I followed the main site the best I could during About the Author the cross-country drive and as I got settled into a new place. I ended up finishing 10th in the South Central Regional. I did Dan Fuhr currently resides in Monterey, Calif., where he is not get selected to go to the Games. Only the top four got pursuing a master’s degree in defense analysis. In 2010, he a slot. What more can I say? The competitions were great finished fifth in the Southern Texas and Louisiana Sectional experiences, and the journey over the last couple of years and 10th in the South Central Regional. He recently started his was an experience in itself. own box, CrossFit Fuhr Fitness. If you are in the Monterey area, please send Dan a line to hit a workout. Making Do, Staying Fit—Always In this article, I wanted to write about my experience with getting introduced to CrossFit and my experiences doing CrossFit and main-site programming while deployed. As I said, I don’t think my experiences are unique. I’m certain a lot of other guys have stumbled into CrossFit, fell in love with it and continued doing CrossFit in spite of their environments. Several years ago I heard a quote by Theodore Roosevelt: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” I have been trying to live around this quote. I know there are many others in the CrossFit community who are doing the same. I’m glad to be a part of it!

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Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at http://journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY by Sweet Cheeks Headquarters overview You are what you eat, so why not eat something smiley? Have the kids help you prepare this one by asking them what color they want the hair to be. Yellow can be spaghetti squash, and for orange use butternut squash. A request of blue? Then load up on blueberries (why not?). Purple hair can be made from eggplant. There are endless ways you can prepare this healthy happy face for dinner over and over again. Makes 1 hamburger happy face blocks 3 carbohydrate blocks 3 protein blocks 3 fat blocks Sweet Cheeks Headquarters Cheeks Sweet

ingredients directions 4.5 oz. ground beef 1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. 2½ cups broccoli 2. Shape the beef into a thin, round patty, making sure to have a flat face surface. Cook in the skillet until done. 6 asparagus spears 3. As the patty is cooking, steam the broccoli and asparagus. 1 red-pepper bottom When done, let the veggies and the patty cool for about 5 2 black olives minutes. 1 dollop of mustard 4. Take the bottom of the red pepper and cut in half. Then trim a small semicircle out of the cut flat side of the pepper 1 tsp. olive oil to make a smile. 5. Place the patty on a plate. Top with broccoli and asparagus for hair. Add the olives for eyes and the red pepper for a mouth. Finish the face with a dollop of mustard for the nose.

Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at http://journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com The Extraordinary Vijai Raj At Sri Ram Ashram, a CrossFitting teen leads by example. Jesse O’Brien reports.

By Jesse O’Brien Westlake CrossFit April 2011 Rashmi Cole Rashmi

This January I was fortunate enough to travel to India for 10 days. The trip was sponsored by my gym,Westlake CrossFit in Austin, Texas, through fundraising, donations and the efforts of Leadership as Rx’D, an organization that promotes leadership through fitness. It was the journey of a lifetime

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I joined three members of CrossFit Calgary, including 2007 CrossFit Games second-place finisher Brett Marshall; Yasmin Dean, associate professor of social work at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alta.; and Amy Lafleche, As they got deeper into an entrepreneur. CrossFit, the young orphans We were on a CrossFit mission laden with Dynamax medicine balls, a supply of chalk, lacrosse balls for mobility, began to believe in themselves. clips for barbells—and even a GHD machine that CrossFit And there was a trickle- Calgary disassembled into multiple pieces, crammed into down effect to the younger three luggage bags weighing in at 72 lb. and checked on an international flight to New Delhi. children through what I call But the purpose of this article is not to focus on the camara- “second-hand CrossFit.” derie and support of my affiliate that sent me on this trip or the incredible, organically grown CrossFit affiliate that is CrossFit Sri Ram Ashram in Hardiwar, India. The focus is rather on an extraordinary individual named Vijai Raj. Meeting Vijai Raj When I first started CrossFit, I remember reading one of my first CrossFit Journal articles. The article resonated so much with me that I still have the original printout beside me as I’m writing this. It was about Sri Ram Ashram in India and a woman by the name of Rashmi Cole, who every year dedicates 10 months of her life to the Sri Ram Ashram orphanage, which also houses a school and a medical clinic. Halfway around the world, she was running a grass- roots CrossFit facility that has developed so much more than the young residents’ physical fitness. The older kids who opted to participate in CrossFit WODs with Rashmi began to deepen their relationships, a new camaraderie developed among the group, the kids learned how to navigate the Internet in search of the WOD, and they also became more confident in speaking English to guests of the ashram. As they got deeper into CrossFit, the young orphans began to believe in themselves. And there was a trickle- down effect to the younger children through what I call “second-hand CrossFit.” When I arrived in Hardiwar, I instantly recognized Vijai from that initial article and could tell after talking with Rashmi and a few of the young residents that Vijai had something special. He was a fitness fanatic. But more than that, he had a spark: a fierce determination; strong, genuine character; and a kind soul. Rashmi Cole Rashmi

Brett Marshall shows Raj the finer points of scaling a rope.

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On our first full day at the ashram, Brett started teaching drove home the age-old wisdom that nothing trumps the kids about rope climbs. Of course, Vijai was one of the hard work, a passionate attitude and determination. first kids there and was front-and-center attentive to every Vijai inherently possesses all of these qualities in relation detail that came out of Brett’s mouth. I would later find to CrossFit. out that Vijai was actually past primary school—he’s 19 As a CrossFitter myself, it is easy to get wrapped up in the years old—and had moved several hours away to attend latest trend—suiting up in your $100 Skins compression college on scholarship because of his superior cricket skills. pants, followed by your trendy Inov-8 shoes, with wrist- For Vijai and his peers at the ashram, CrossFit athletes like bands to match and fashion accoutrements. It’s easy to Brett Marshall are like LeBron James or Michael Jordan. think some product or service will take you to the next Chris Spealler, Jason Khalipa and Mikko Salo are universally level. No amount of specialized training, supplements, revered at the ashram. recovery gimmicks or optimized nutrition will ever replace The kids who participate intimately know the athletes’ the hungry and humble like Vijai. He has a 32-round Cindy CrossFit statistics, and they idealize their CrossFit heroes and a 220-lb. clean and jerk at a bodyweight of 135 lb. and eagerly work each day to try to become the next CrossFit superstar. It was clear to me after the first day that Vijai possessed this quality in spades. He had an intimate understanding of and curiosity about physical movement, he would stay later to help the others understand the movements, and he was happy doing it. The second day I was at the ashram, Brett put the older, more advanced boys through a pretty grueling 5-round WOD that included 10 handstand push-ups. I was amazed at Vijai as he seamlessly worked his way through the workout, resting only briefly before he kicked up against the wall in the vacant carport that was the go-to area for handstand push-ups. He cruised through the workout at a pace none of the other boys could match, and it was at this moment that I had a revelation. If Vijai, halfway around the world from the States, could develop such an impressive level of fitness with hardly any of the support many CrossFitters have, he could do anything. It really

If Vijai, halfway around the world from the States, could develop such an impressive level of fitness with hardly any of the support many CrossFitters have, he Rashmi Cole could do anything.

Raj’s character is impressive, but so is his fitness.

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Vijai taught me an important lesson that I will try to live up to as he pushed his body to the limit of the workout Brett programmed: if Vijai can develop his fitness on a vegetarian diet in the middle of remote northern India, Calgary to India coming from a broken past, then what is holding me back Amy Lafleche of CrossFit Calgary was one of the people not only in CrossFit but in the rest of my life? Why do I allow who was with Jesse O’Brien at Sri Ram Ashram. What myself excuses? There is no doubt in my mind that Vijai follows is a short excerpt from an article she wrote will be a superstar. Whether he becomes a Games-level about the experience. You can read the full text at athlete, a CrossFit coach or even a Bollywood star, he will AmyLafleche.com. be somebody. We arrived at the Sri Ram Ashram orphanage at night, completely exhausted but somehow filled with joy and energy. Surrounded by over 60 excited kids, how could you not be? We immediately No amount of specialized headed over to the gym—which is more of a storage room. The ashram is blessed to have their real gym training, supplements, outside—a few bars, a rope in a tree, and a ton of recovery gimmicks or wide-open space. Quite honestly, if I didn’t live in Canada, it would be my dream gym! We pulled out optimized nutrition will the med-balls and the GHD. The kids were excited, ever replace the hungry more about the med-balls than the pieces of metal and humble like Vijai. that didn’t really look like much of anything yet.

Beyond CrossFit Surprisingly, Vijai’s CrossFit abilities are trumped by his life outside of the box. While talking with Rashmi one afternoon, it was brought to my attention that Vijai was also on scholarship for cricket. She told me how he attempted to walk onto the cricket team when he went to college his first year. Because he had never been formally coached, played competitively or even seen a stadium before, it was a huge surprise that he not only made the team but was also the only freshman to do so. During his second year, he received a scholarship merely based on his athletic abilities. This was an achievement in its own right, but what I heard next aston- ished me: cricket is the football of India. People follow it religiously and are immersed in the sport. It’s a national Rashmi Cole pastime, and as you meander through the congested highways of India, you will often see people playing for the sheer love of the game in open fields, abandoned lots and even dirt tracts with obstructions. It seems the whole country is cricket crazy. Calgary to India continued ...

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When Rashmi told me Vijai did not continue his cricket career because he felt his teammates didn’t work hard enough, I really came to respect him. Vijai said each Calgary to India continued ... teammate would bat a few pitches, hang out with his teammates, field a few runs over the course of a few It was late and bedtime for most of the kids so hours and call it a day. After two years of CrossFit under we got settled in our rooms and drank chai while his belt, Vijai wanted to work toward excellence, and he Rashmi gave us the rundown of the ashram. knew pursuing cricket was not going to fulfill that desire. Unfortunately, there is no CrossFit box or a weightlifting The rest of the week was a whirlwind of CrossFit gym conducive to CrossFitting, but rather than stopping classes. Sri Ram Ashram has classes for each age there and giving up, Vijai started pursuing Olympic group, and so instruction ranged from the more weightlifting and recently completed a 100-kilogram complex movements and exercises to CrossFit clean and jerk in the 61-kilogram weight class. This placed baseball and leap frog races. What I saw in these him second in the Chandigarh State under-20 weight- kids was truly incredible. Their dedication to perfect lifting championships. Considering his background, this is form, the effort and the leadership that comes a stellar achievement. through these kids was unmatched to anything I’ve ever seen. It is my belief that when such noble behavior is recognized in life, it should become a model for others to follow. That The week went by way too fast and before we knew is why I would love to see Vijai supported in his CrossFit it, we had one full day left. pursuits. Vijai would love to be a CrossFit coach, but with the —Amy Lafleche small CrossFit market in India, that goal might be difficult, if not impossible. Recently, Rashmi has been working on getting Vijai a passport, which is a huge bureaucratic effort F in India. Surprisingly enough, he was recently issued a passport. Now CrossFit Calgary and the Leadership as Rx’D Team are sponsoring Vijai, pending his visa application, to attend the Level 1 CrossFit course, as well as a 10-day tour in and around Canada visiting other CrossFit gyms. Vijai deserves this. I feel like the entire CrossFit community can learn a great deal from how he has developed not only his CrossFitting but also his powerful influence on the environment at the ashram. What started as a small group of Indian orphans— following in the footsteps of Rashmi and learning from her CrossFit knowledge—has mushroomed into a trans- formative community. “Ashram,” which can be interpreted as “home” in Hindi, is what members of the Leadership as Rx’D team really noticed when we were there. The children all seemed to be happy. They were always playing games around the ashram and hanging out in large groups. There never seemed to be too much unsupervised time. It was like a hotel resort for children who had overcome visceral

hardships. They took care of and genuinely expressed Rashmi Cole empathy for one another. They were confident. They spoke English to foreigners. There was camaraderie and high morale among their group, and there seemed to be no age barriers. Every child was kind and friendly to each of his or her “brothers” and “sisters.”

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About the Author Jesse O’Brien is a Level 1 CrossFit trainer at Westlake

CrossFit in Austin, Texas. He of Jesse O’Brien Courtesty also is founder of ActiveATX. com, which promotes an active and healthy lifestyle through advertising Austin fitness events, wholesome Austin venues, and other activities and arenas that promote the physical well-being of Austin residents. Jesse is a 2009 graduate of the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Rashmi Cole Rashmi

Brett Marshall: dance star?

On our last night there, we were bestowed the highest honor that the ashram could give. It was a night filled with bittersweet emotions and highlighted by a choreo- graphed ensemble of dances accompanied by ceremonial music. It was a night I will never forget, and at the end it turned into a raucous, exotic dance party under the Indian moonlight punctuated by Indian techno beats. Vijai and one of his peers had planned the entire production.

I feel like the entire CrossFit community can learn a great deal from how Vijai has developed not only his CrossFitting but also his powerful influence on the environment at the ashram.

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By Jack Goodson April 2011 Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit

Fight Gone Bad—famed mixed martial artist B.J. Penn named it. CrossFitters both love and fear it.

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The workout, a benchmark in the CrossFit community, A Shared Philosophy was designed to match the metabolic demands of an The similarities—they start with a common axiom. organized MMA fight. Five minutes on, 1 minute off for 3-5 rounds. Sounds simple enough. John Hackleman literally needs no introduction. The long-time trainer of Ultimate Fighting Championship Sure. Words such as “brutal” or “savage”—and assorted (UFC) Hall of Fame fighter Chuck Liddell, Hackleman has others—come to mind when describing just how taxing been reshaping the MMA landscape for more than two this workout is. Penn, when quizzed on how it compared decades at The Pit, his very own slice of MMA and condi- to an actual bout in the cage, commented that it was akin tioning heaven now located in Arroyo Grande, Calif. to a fight gone bad. The rest, as they say, is history. Hackleman stresses physical conditioning, power and CrossFit has grown exponentially since CrossFit founder discipline. Very CrossFit. and CEO Greg Glassman teamed with Penn to name this monster at the turn of the millennium. As of 2011, the In fact, Hackleman—The Pit Master, as he is known around number of affiliate gyms has increased from 18 in 2005 town—began living a CrossFit-esque lifestyle long before to over 2,400. Astounding. Perhaps the only comparable CrossFit was actually CrossFit. realm to experience a similar growth in popularity over the “I was doing similar stuff to CrossFit in the early 1980s,” past decade or so is, of course, mixed martial arts. Hackleman said while in Las Vegas prepping Pit fight team These two disciplines have been linked for several years, member Antonio Banuelos for his pay-per-view debut at even prior to Penn’s foray into Glassman’s world of UFC 126. functional fitness. They appear, at least on the surface, to “Then I met Glassman and we really hit it off. I fell in love be vastly different. However, the parallels between the two with what he was doing and started training up in Santa reach far deeper than many likely would expect. Cruz. We kind of combined forces.” Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit

MMA legend John Hackleman has been using CrossFit principles for years at The Pit in California.

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Hackleman began implementing CrossFit into his MMA “The thing about CrossFit is that it’s an elite fitness regimen. And vice versa. The fusion of the two styles, experience,” said Lafreniere, a disciple of MMA legend and fittingly known as CrossPit, has been a staple of his training pioneer Royce Gracie. sessions ever since. “It doesn’t claim to be the master of one specific sport,” he It was a practical move forward. Practicality—another said. “What it does is help produce an all-around athlete by shared thread between CrossFit and mixed martial arts. doing various functional movements at a high intensity. It’s a great philosophy.” “More than the moves or techniques, it’s the philosophy,” Hackleman said. “Functional. Practical. Use what works, Lafreniere is seasoned in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having studied disregard the rest. That parallels with the martial arts. the art since 1997. He has been teaching the discipline for Together the two make for a good combination.” about a decade, first at a small club inside the Alexandria, Va., elementary school at which he taught. The seven years since have seen the 37-year-old brown belt’s classroom expand dramatically; his network in the Washington, D.C., area now features three Capital MMA locations—all CrossFit “What (CrossFit) does is affiliates. They’re home to some 1,000 active students. help produce an all-around Gracie, like Liddell, is a UFC Hall of Famer. He won two of athlete by doing various the first three UFC tournaments. Lafreniere, like Hackleman, functional movements at believes CrossFit and the martial arts enjoy a mirrored a high intensity. It’s a great perspective with regard to fitness. “Fitness is 100 percent the backbone of MMA. You have to philosophy.” be fit to fight,” Lafreniere said. “The movements in CrossFit —Jeremy Lafreniere teach fighters how to be ballistic, how to move their body quickly—basic agility components. All of this transfers seamlessly into the world of mixed martial arts.” Jason MacDonald’s world is mixed martial arts. The Jeremy Lafreniere, owner of Capital Mixed Martial Arts & 35-year-old Canadian, currently a member of the UFC Elite Fitness, is in agreement. roster, has won 24 of 38 professional fights, including three of his past four. Courtesy Lafreniere of Jeremy

“Regularly learn and play new sports.”

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“CrossFit does the same thing. It pulls from the most functional skills and techniques in all areas of fitness— Olympic lifting, gymnastics, sprinting and endurance training, just to name a few.” Variation in Programming CrossFit and mixed martial arts find themselves sharing common paths. Said paths, however, aren’t likely to feature similar terrain. Hackleman is blunt. He is adamant when he says that fighters should not engage in strict CrossFit. He repeats that the CrossFit philosophy is indeed the best philosophy. However, for martial artists, he says, the program must be changed and adapted for their benefit. Sport-specific programming is vital. “Fighters should always be working toward their goal: working toward being better martial artists, not CrossFitters,” Hackleman said. “CrossFit athletes train for overall fitness, the Games. We train to knock people out. The psychological aspect is the same, but the endgame is very different.” This is where, for Hackleman, CrossPit bridges the gap. CrossPit, like CrossFit, is simple in its design: a multidisci- plinary approach that takes what works and discards what Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit doesn’t. Obviously, what works is what succeeds in the Hackleman might be working, or he might be working out. cage. The main difference between CrossFit and CrossPit Same thing, really. is that, while fitness itself is the goal of CrossFit, the goal of CrossPit is to transform novice fighters into good fighters And, yes, he’s a dedicated CrossFitter. and good fighters into great ones. Sure, stamina and MacDonald first realized the impact CrossFit could play in strength are imperative to a fight, but both are useless his life during a trip to one of Randy Couture’s early gyms in without the ability to effectively translate them into strikes. Portland, Ore., around 2001. They both engaged in a WOD that included squats, presses, cleans and high pulls mixed with high-intensity plyometrics. Couture completed 6 rounds, MacDonald only 1. “We have our own version, It was a wake-up call. Since, MacDonald has visited the Holy Land—CrossFit Santa Cruz—earned his CrossFit trainer Pit Fran. We just add designation and opened his own gym, PURE Fitness and components that include MMA, in Red Deer, Alta. MMA moves.” He can’t say enough about how the two arenas intertwine. —John Hackleman “There are a ton of similarities between MMA and CrossFit,” MacDonald said. “I think they both forge all the best skills and techniques in their respective areas. MMA takes all the best techniques from all the respective martial arts and mixes them together to produce a highly effective combat sport.

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Striking, after all, is a big part of mixed martial arts.

“I love Fran, but it’s not exactly framed for what we do,” “MMA training should obviously be the most important Hackleman said. “So we have our own version, Pit Fran. aspect of your training, but a strength and conditioning We just add components that include MMA moves. program like CrossFit can appropriately fill the gaps,” Minton Sometimes we’ll remove thrusters and replace them with said. “That being said, I think it’s good to program specific bag slams. Stuff like that. Same but different.” intensities on specific days. For instance, if an athlete has a heavy sparring day the same day each week, it would be Overtraining is another variable that must be confronted. wise to program conditioning work accordingly.” Tyler Minton is a promising young mixed martial artist. He just so happens to also be a CrossFit trainer at CrossFit Johnson City in Northeast Tennessee. Minton, 23, has steadily risen to notoriety in diehard “MMA training should MMA circles over the past three years. He was 8-1 as obviously be the most an amateur—a former XFN U.S. Southeast and U.S. important aspect of your Middleweight champion—and recently dominated his professional debut against former professional boxer Karl training, but a strength and Willis. conditioning program like Overtraining is his primary concern when it comes to CrossFit can appropriately strength and conditioning. That’s not to say CrossFit isn’t fill the gaps.” beneficial, however. Far from it, he says, as long as you understand how to tailor the program for your benefit. —Tyler Minton

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Lafreniere takes a similar view. MacDonald, meanwhile, is currently in the middle of a fight cycle. He will be making his long-awaited comeback— “We don’t want them overtraining. How do you manage it, after being absent from the mainstream for nearly a year then?” he asks. “Well, you start by removing the constantly because of various injuries—at UFC 129 against Ryan varied component of CrossFit. You break it down and Jensen on April 30 in Toronto. create workouts with a heavy emphasis on MMA.” How has he been preparing for the homecoming? With A student at Capital not in a fight cycle does CrossFit a solid dose of sport-specific training. And a sprinkle of three to four days per week in addition to MMA training. CrossFit, of course. Lafreniere notes that CrossFit is “perfect” for someone not currently in a fight cycle. MacDonald, like Lafreniere, prioritizes his training. Sport- specific preparation takes over in camp, with CrossFit An athlete preparing for an upcoming fight, however, becoming more of a complement than a focus. He cuts his is subjected to a more MMA-intensive docket. The CrossFit workouts to three to four times per week, mostly programming varies—twice a day three days per week, dependent on how his body is reacting and recovering. once a day twice per week, etc.—but the essence is the same: drill specific pieces of the game, such as escaping A typical training day for MacDonald includes 15 minutes guards, mounting; add two to three days of pre- and post- of running or biking sprints, a WOD (one usually lasting no training conditioning per week. Simple. longer than 15 minutes), sparring and technique work— any of boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu—with 2 “Not many people can get beat up in training then do hours of additional fight-specific drilling following later in some grappling work and then go out and do Murph,” the day. Hackleman said. “What people don’t realize is that grappling for 40 minutes is a cardio/power/strength workout. Sometimes that’s all you need.” Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit

Many MMA fighters believe CrossFit conditioning can give them an edge at the upper levels of their sport.

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“The rigors CrossFit puts my body through mentally and physically carry over into my fighting and my fight preparation,” MacDonald said. “It helps me stay healthy, to stay “As a CrossFitter, I’m fit year strong. It makes me confident. Conditioning is the one round and can hit the ground variable I can control going into a fight, meaning I have running when camp opens.” one less thing to concentrate on. “At the end of the day, everyone has their own system that —Jason MacDonald works, but I feel CrossFit has made me a better person, a better teacher and a better fighter.”

He also credits CrossFit with placing him ahead of the F curve when it comes time to hit the mat. “Many fighters spend that first month of their training camps just trying to get their fitness level back,” MacDonald said. “As a CrossFitter, I’m fit year round and can hit the ground running when camp opens. I can start in full blast, which is a massive boost. “Regardless of how fit I am, the constantly varying program keeps my body guessing, forcing me to focus and fight through regardless of how tired I am. This is important because it resembles a fight. The variables are always changing.” A Different Breed There are two types of MMA athletes, according to Courtesy of Jack Goodson Courtesy Lafreniere: there are the people who need a goal, a fight or the idea of a fight, to keep them motivated, or otherwise they will stop training altogether. Then there are the people who live the lifestyle. Fight or no fight, they are training with the goal of improving. Those who opt for CrossFit—in its sport-specific adaptation or no—and MMA are, it’s safe to say, the latter.

“Nobody is successful in a sport unless they are fit,” About the Author Lafreniere said. “Football players just don’t play football. A Jack Goodson, 29, is a professional journalist located sport requires conditioning your body well and beyond in Northeast Tennessee. A graduate of the University of normal demands. Mixed martial arts is no different. Richmond, Jack has been a member of the sports staff at the “MMA fighters must be ballistic. What better fitness Kingsport Times-News since 2004. Additionally, his musings approach to aid them than CrossFit? CrossFit develops about the English Premier League can be seen on a variety fighters over all modalities. You use your entire body so of national websites, including The Offside. Jack began his that you’re that much more prepared for your fight cycle CrossFit journey in June 2009 and has since been satisfying his when it surfaces.” addiction daily. Lafreniere is clearly one of the latter. So is Hackleman. MacDonald, too.

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World of WODs No. 3: Vancouver, B.C. Creative CrossFitters create new workouts every day. Emily Beers continues the search for signature workouts from around the world.

By Emily Beers CrossFit Vancouver April 2011 All photos: Emily Beers All photos:

“I could totally do a pull-up on that branch.”

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CrossFIt changed the way we view the world. Tree branches became pull-up bars, picnic tables turned into plyo boxes and swing sets seemed like great places to hang a set of rings. And that rock over there? You should probably overhead squat it. Indeed, all the world is a CrossFit gym with the right pair of eyes and a little creativity. This article is the third in a series where we’ll publish some of the best workouts from locales around the world, giving residents and travelers a chance to test their fitness outside the box. If you have a set of landmarks, natural features or outdoor “equipment” suited for a great WOD, please view the submission guidelines on the last page of this article— then send us your workout! Location: The Stairs of Wreck, Vancouver, B.C. Address: The top of the stairs are located along Marine Drive (where the road intersects with University Boulevard), across from Place Vanier residence hall at the University of British Columbia. There’s a dirt landing with a sign that says “Wreck Beach.” If you get to Thunderbird Stadium, you’ve gone too far south. There’s usually lots of parking along Marine Drive, especially in the fall and winter. For a map of the area, visit: www.yelp.ca/map/wreck-beach-vancouver. Brief: Whisper the words “Wreck Beach Stairs” to students at the University of British Columbia, and you might hear painful groans. Maybe they’ve walked up and down the 542 wooden steps to suntan naked on the 7.8 kilometers of endless sand at this Canadian nude beach. Maybe they’ve stumbled home after a late-night bonfire beach party. Or maybe they’re on the university’s varsity basketball team and regularly tackle the stairs during their pre-season workouts. The point is that the Wreck Beach Stairs are pretty much a graduation prerequisite at UBC. But it’s not just UBC students who dominate the stairs. The beach, which stretches from the Musqueam Reserve to Spanish Bank West, sees more than half a million visitors each year. It’s not hard to tell why it’s so popular. In the summertime, you can sprawl in the sand and look into the Pacific Ocean for miles and miles. Tucked away from the other city beaches, Wreck gives you the feeling of being in A total of 542 stairs lie between the road and the beach. complete wilderness. How fast can you climb them?

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The burpee log jump: chest to sand, jump over the timber.

And there’s only one way to get to the scenic beach: by Challenge yourself to make your second and third rounds taking on the massive flight of stairs that cuts through the as fast as your first. emerald-green forest. Those stairs happen to be perfect for Scaling suggestions: If a log back squat isn’t going to work a painful workout. for you, use air squats and consider adding some reps. For The workout starts and ends at the top of the stairs on added excitement, see if you can flip one of the big logs. Marine Drive and uses some of the various logs that are Estimated time: Each round will likely take 6-9 minutes. always found on the beach. You’ll run down the stairs to Running up and down the stairs once will take a pretty fit perform 20 burpees with lateral log jumps and 20 log CrossFitter 4-5 minutes. back squats, then run back up the stairs. You’ll have to find a creative way to get a log on your shoulders. Find one Post times to comments. that’s a manageable weight for you. You can clean and press it into position or use a Steinborn lift—or any other F technique. Be creative! New movement: Burpee with lateral log jump—Chest About the Author must touch the ground. When you stand up, jump laterally Emily Beers has a master’s off two legs over the log. degree in journalism and WOD: The Stairs of Wreck—Vancouver won the 2010 B.C. Sectional. Regionals were less kind to Three rounds of: her, but that’s only made her Run (or walk) down the stairs more determined to get to the CrossFit Games in 2011. of Emily Beers Courtesy 20 burpees with lateral log jumps On top of being an athlete 20 log back squats at CrossFit Vancouver, she’s also an apprentice coach Run (or walk) the flight of stairs all the way back to Marine and writer for the School Drive of Fitness. Rest 5 minutes at the top of the stairs between each round.

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Submission Guidelines Each submission must contain the following: Workouts should be set in prominent locations, and they 1. A map or a web link to a map. Due to copyright must be on public property that’s easily accessible. Please issues, we cannot publish someone else’s map. You use common sense and keep safety foremost in your mind. must include a hyperlink to a map or your own very Avoid high-traffic locations or very crowded areas where legible recreation. Precise directions to your location collisions, injuries, police intervention and angry security are essential. Include the exact address and any guards are likely. additional info someone will need to find the location. You cannot be too clear in giving directions. In terms of programming, make the WOD challenging but reasonable, and keep in mind the CrossFit tenet of 2. Hi-res photographs of the location as JPEG attach- scalability. We want these workouts to be as accessible as ments to your e-mail. Hi-res means above 1MB in size. possible for as many as possible. Include at least 5 photographs or as many as you need to make sure no one gets lost or misunderstands your Use CrossFit movements. Creativity is encouraged, but keep workout. Include the name of the photographer so in mind the principles of good CrossFit programming. For we can give him or her credit. more information, read the Level 1 Training Guide. Include brief descriptions of any new movements so others will 3. A brief introduction to your workout: 400 words understand how do to them safely and effectively. maximum. Feel free to note the historical significance of the location or any features of particular note. Also keep in mind that many people will not have gear with them. You can certainly recommend someone bring 4. Your workout. Use standard programming language. a kettlebell to the park, but make sure you have an option Write in Word and attach your document to the e-mail. for those who do not have access to any equipment. 5. A three-sentence about-the-author section and a Also remember that the log or heavy rock that was there hi-res photo of you. yesterday might not be there in a week. If you want to include your time, “par” or the current record, please do so.

Getting under a log for squats is half the fun or half the battle, depending on how you look at it.

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Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at http://journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com Tips and Tricks: The Squat Jeff Martin offers some strategies for preventing “sliding” and “see-sawing” in squats.

By Jeff MartinCrossFit Kids April 2011

One of the most common problems we see with the squat in our teen class is knees traveling forward too early and too far. We call this “sliding,” and it is exhibited in many ways. The most common occurrence is when the teen starts the squat by pushing his or her hips back at the beginning of the squat but fails to continue to send his hips back. Instead, he or she thrusts the knees forward and sends the hips straight down. Sliding can occur at the bottom of the squat as well. The squat starts out correctly, with the hips back and descending under control to the bottom, but once there everything goes wrong. At this point, the hamstrings relax and the knees shoot forward. This type of sliding has an ugly cousin we call “see-sawing,” in which the hamstrings reengage and pull the knees back as the child stands up. Now we could take the teen out of class and do squat therapy to fix this, but no teen wants to do that. They want to work out with their friends. That’s the “fun” for teens. Our job is to find a way to correct the problem within the class structure and while they are working Staff / CrossFitKids out. One simple fix that has proven to be 100 percent effective is to place a bench at the edge of the teen’s toes and tell him that this is where he will squat today. Placing a bench in front of a young athlete can correct problems With a bench at the edge of the toes, the teen is unable in the squat by reminding the athlete where the knees should be to let go and slide forward. After a couple of classes, the throughout the movement. bench can usually be removed and the kids will stay engaged throughout the entire movement.

Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com Every Man Dies, but Not Every Man Really Deadlifts Mark Bell takes a closer look at the deadlift to help you blow through your sticking points.

By Mark Bell Super Training April 2011

Courtesy of Mark Bell/Super Training Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit

Deadlifts are considered by many to the ultimate test of brute strength. The deadlift is simple, right? Just bend down and pick the damn thing up. If only it were that easy.

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There are many reasons for stalled deadlifts. Let’s examine how to troubleshoot your sticking points. Start off on the Right Foot One thing that will help fix all three sticking points (off the floor, knee level and lockout) is fixing your starting position. Deadlift with a staggered stance, have your right foot in front of your left with your legs slightly crossed, now bend over from the waist—OK, I’m kidding. You can stop trying to do this in your kitchen or, even worse, in the crapper while reading this on your smartphone.

Bring the violence. Deadlift with rage.

Starting with good positioning in the deadlift is crucial to how you pull. How you start is often how you finish. Often, a poor lockout or loss of grip is doomed from the start by a sloppy set-up. Everyone is different, but a few things remain the same about the set-up. These tips will give you the leverage you need to deadlift like a savage: • Grab the barbell firmly with an under-over grip. • Use the barbell to pull yourself into position. This allows you to produce torque before you actually start to pull. • Fill your belly up with air and push it out, like you just ate a huge pizza pie. I realize you CrossFit types have a much smaller, sexier waistline than me or many other powerlifters, but try this right now: bend at the

Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit waist like you’re going to touch your toe gloves (or whatever you call those strange shoes you wear). Do Wherever your sticking point, you can train hard to make it a memory. this with a rounded back. As you hang, take a deep breath of air into your belly. You will notice that your In powerlifting, a lot of hours are spent refining form and body moved up a few inches, away from your the floor. developing efficiency. Powerlifting, unfortunately, has Now, without pooping, push your belly out hard. That become a game of inches (and I’m not talking “Internet is how your stomach needs to feel when you deadlift, inches,” guys). How you set up will determine how you squat or bench—even while running (ask my homie, finish—or if you have a good chance to finish—the lift. B-Mack). Still not grasping what I’m saying? Just think Improving the deadlift is very difficult. Even the big pullers of bracing your stomach for a punch. have a hard time.

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• Get your lower, mid- and upper back straight. This is • Keep as much of your body behind the bar as possible. not Olympic lifting, so your back doesn’t need look If you have your head and shoulders in front of the stiff as a board. Actually, some great deadlifters and barbell, it will leave you out of position to pull big. people with longer arms may wish to keep their Also, my head weighs 97 lb., so I have to lift the weight upper back rounded just a bit. Having trouble getting on the bar plus my giant head. I try to use my head as your back straight? Try sitting on a parallel box with a counterbalance. At the start of the lift, get tight and your feet shoulder width apart. Lean forward with throw your head back hard, like you’re trying to flick your head down and back rounded as much as you a hat off your head. Throughout the lift, continue to can. Now reverse your action, but start by just pulling throw your head back. On this same note, you should your head up. Begin to arch your back while pulling be falling back. It should feel like you’re going to fall your shoulders back and your chest up. That is about backward once you start to pull. At my gym, we have how your back should feel when setting up to pull. a giant record board behind the deadlift platform. I yell at my lifters to fall backward into the record board • Drop your ass. You don’t need to rub it on the floor, as they pull. These cues help keep the body behind but you do need to drop your hips. A great way to the barbell. drop your hips is to grab the barbell and use it to pull yourself down into position by pulling your chest up • At this point, if you have everything together, you and straightening your back. You do not need or want should be providing enough torque to move 135 lb. to drop your hips lower than below parallel. That is not off the ground before you even start to pull. ideal for deadlifting. Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit

Use the bar to pull yourself down into position, then unleash the fury on the way up.

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Deadlifting requires technique, but it also requires the mindset of a savage beast.

• Bring the violence. It’s significant. Deadlift with rage. • Speed is king. Once you feel you have some solid Get mad! Think of all those people throughout your form, go as fast as you can. Force production will be life who did you wrong or told you you weren’t good a key factor in making sure that you don’t stall at any enough. Take all your insecurities and fears and ball point of the lift. Speed training for deadlifts is done them up into a crap-load of strength and fury to by using 60-75 percent of your one-rep max for 6-8 be unleashed on the barbell. You will find yourself sets of 1-3 reps. When doing reps, do not bounce the thanking your haters for adding pounds to your weight off the floor. Bring the weights down to the deadlift. I get so crazy before I deadlift that I talk to my floor under your control. brother Mike, who is no longer with us. That’s right, I speak to the dead. Nutty, huh? But it’s OK to lose yourself and show that barbell what’s up. Speed is king. Once you feel More Tips to Pull Like a Savage you have some solid form, Now that you’re an expert on setting up, here are a few go as fast as you can. more tips to making sure your pull doesn’t die out:

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• The lower back has tons of potential. Work on good Good mornings: 1 set of 5-8 reps at 135 lb. mornings to bring up lower-back strength. I suggest Pull-ups: 1x3 working up in weight to a heavy triple or doing good mornings as more of an assistance movement for 3-4 Good mornings: 1 set of 5-8 reps at 175 lb. sets of 5-8 reps. Pull-ups: 1x3 • Make sure you work your arms. Having strong pipes Glute-ham developer (aka GHR or GHD) can help you hold onto those big weights. Doing some simple barbell and hammer curls will do the 1 set of 10 trick, but go heavy and do 5-8 reps for 3 sets. This tip Pull-ups: 1x3 may sound odd, but when your biceps give out, your grip and hands will shut down to help prevent injury. GHR: 1x10 • Work your lats. Pull-ups are a great movement to Pull-ups: 1x3 strengthen the back and the arms. I suggest doing GHR: 1x10 them strict for our purposes. Keep your body tight and hang between each rep. If you can only do 2 or Pull-ups: 1x2 3 pull-ups in this fashion, do them once per week GHR: 1x10 throughout a full workout. Do 1 set between your other sets, after the main exercise. Pull-ups: 1x2 Here is an example of a pull-up routine during a deadlift Finish with side bends and walking weighted sled session: dragging. Rack deadlifts (work up to a heavy triple) At this point you have done 20 pull-ups. In the next workout, try to do a few more total reps. Maybe shoot Good mornings: 1 set of 5-8 reps at 95 lb. for 24. If you decrease by 2 reps during the workout, then Pull-ups: 1x3 discontinue the pull-ups. Courtesy of Mark Bell/Super Training

At some point, deadlifting will not help your deadlift and you’ll need to turn to assistance exercises.

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Direct Work “OK, Coach Bell. I hear what you’re saying. But I tried all • Box squats with a wide stance can be done on max- that stuff and I still miss my lockouts—and my buddy stalls or dynamic-effort days. The wide stance will build the halfway up.” hips like crazy. Remember to push the knees out hard. I understand. Here is some direct work to help bust Starting through sticking points. Keep in mind, there will be • Deficit pulls can help with all ranges of the deadlift some overlapping. due to the fact that they increase the range of motion Lockouts of the lift. • Sumo heavy and for reps that will build the glutes and • Speed builds force production, helping you kill hips. Ultra-wide sumo deads will really build up the weights off the floor. hips. I suggest 2-5 reps. • Do ab work. Weighted sit-ups, pull-down abs and side • Rack pulls are a great max-effort move done for 1-3 reps. bends are my favorites. • Do deficit pulls. Stand on a 1-to-4-inch mat or block • For box squats, I’d suggest using a box 2 inches below and perform a deadlift. parallel with a closed stance to really work the quads. This can be used as max effort or assistance. • Shrugs are an old-time movement that can help all your lifts: 3 sets of 10-20 reps work well. Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit

If you struggle with lockouts, sumo-stance deadlifts and rack lockouts are on your to-do list.

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Sumo-stance deadlifts are a great way to bring your glutes and hips up to speed.

Mid-Range Week 1 • Do pin pulls or block pulls from and around the areas Rack pulls (max single) where you feel yourself stall. Stay in the rack and do shrugs • Do hamstring work. Having strong hams will help you stay glued together during those big lifts when your GHR or band leg curls back gets rounded over. Pull-ups Weighted sit-ups Week 2 If deadlifts are the ultimate Deficit pulls (max double) test of strength, then you Reduce the weight and hit up some high-rep sumos for 3 need to step up and crush sets of 25 (make sure the weights are light) some personal records. Hammer curls: 3x10 Seated rows: 3x10 Heavy sled dragging Week 3 Putting It Into Practice CrossFitters have a lot to tackle, so I’d suggest heavy Speed pulls: 8x2 with 70 percent (bands or chains will deadlifting two or three times per month. Here is a quick make this exercise more effective. If you use bands or sample rotation: chains, drop the percentage by 10)

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Good-mornings: 3x5-8 reps Pull-ups Heavy backward sled-dragging for 20 minutes Side bends (I like to simply stand to the side of a bench and pick a heavy dumbbell up off the bench one side at a time, holding the weight at the top for 5 seconds) Courtesy of Mark Bell/Super TrainingCourtesy Week 4 Low box squats (max single) After you go heavy, reduce the weight and do 3 sets of 5 reps Good mornings: go as low as you can for 3 sets of 3 Heavy side bends: 3x10 Weighted sit-ups: 3x10 Week 5 About the Author Rack pulls (max triple) Mark Bell is the editor-at-extra-large of Power magazine, owner of Super Training Gym in Sacramento, Calif., and the Barbell shrugs inventor of the Sling Shot. He is a Westside Barbell certified Pull-ups: 2 sets to near failure coach and professional powerlifter. His best lifts are a 1025-lb. squat, an 854-lb. bench and a 755-lb. deadlift. Seated rows: 4x10 Pull-down abs: 3x12 Week 6 Wide-stance box squats (work up to a max triple) Speed deads: 10x1 at 70-75 percent of your max (if you use bands or chains, use 60 percent) Lat pull-downs: 4x10 Sled work: forward and backward dragging No Excuses Now you have no excuse not to deadlift less then double your bodyweight. If deadlifts are the ultimate test of strength, then you need to step up and crush some personal records. Keep in mind all the tips I outlined, but don’t lose sight of the fact that you just need to go bust your ass. It’s a deadlift. Just bend down and pick the damn thing up.

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By Bill Starr April 2011 Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit

In the last two decades, a large number of strength coaches and a smattering of personal trainers came to the conclusion that by inserting a high-skill lift in their athletes’ programs, the athletes became quicker, more coordinated and overall stronger than before. In addition, the newly acquired strength transferred directly to any sport.

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Those with a background in Olympic lifting already knew Racking the bar across your shoulders correctly is most this, and some of us had been urging athletes to include important for both the press and jerk and is somewhat at least one of those lifts in their routines for many years. different for both of those lifts. In both, the bar must rest The problem was, however, that the strength coaches and across your frontal deltoids and not be allowed to touch personal trainers didn’t know how to perform full snatches, your clavicles (collarbones). This can be accomplished full cleans or jerks, so they shied away from them in fear of simply by elevating your shoulder girdle by shrugging it doing more harm that good. That’s understandable, but at upward. That will create a nice pad of muscle on which to the same time they were neglecting their athletes. What set the bar. they needed to do was find someone who knew how to When you’re pressing, your elbows should be lower than do the Olympic movements and have that person teach when you jerk, about halfway between having them them how to do the lifts. straight down and parallel to the floor. I’ll explain further At the same time, I believe just about anyone can learn about the elbows for the jerk later on. Do all your pressing very quickly how to do a jerk. It’s a natural move, and I while standing, and you can either clean the weight first have taught youngsters how to do it correctly in a matter or take it from a rack. Oddly enough, it’s actually easier to of minutes. Youngsters and females are easy to teach press a weight after cleaning it than it is to take it off a rack, because they have excellent flexibility in their shoulders, but when teaching a beginner how to press, I have him something many older athletes do not have. Because of take it off the rack so he can pay closer attention to the this flexibility, they’re able to rack the weight properly small form points. across their shoulders at the start of the lift and drive it into the correct position overhead at the finish. Teaching someone the jerk is rather simple, but jerking a heavy weight is a different matter altogether. This is why I hold off on having an athlete do jerks until I’m sure that he has developed a sufficient amount of strength in his upper body to be able to jerk and hold a demanding poundage. After that, I put him or her on a steady diet of the quick lift. A Primer on Presses and Push Presses The exercise I use to strengthen the shoulder girdle is the overhead press. It’s perfect for establishing a solid foundation from which to move on to jerks. The presses help not only in the strength department, but they also enable the lifter to get the feel of the proper line of flight of the bar from his shoulders to lockout. A heavy overhead press utilizes the arms much more so than jerks, but making the muscles responsible for pressing considerably stronger will bring dividends for jerks once the weights start to get really heavy. In the press, your grip will be exactly the same as the one you will use for the jerk. Where you grip the bar depends to Staff/CrossFit Journal a large extent on shoulder width, so it may take a bit of trial and error before you find the one that fits you exactly. For most, however, this method of finding the right grip works best: extend your thumbs on an Olympic bar so that they barely touch the smooth center part of the bar. Before attempting to jerk weight, Bill Starr recommends you practice presses and push presses.

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Pressing starts with the feet. They should be shoulder until you have locked it out overhead. The position of the width apart and firmly planted on the floor. Take the bar at lockout should be on a line directly over the back of weight off the rack and step back, then set your feet. Every your head. Exhale and inhale at that point. Don’t merely muscle in your body has to be extremely tight throughout hold the bar overhead; exert pressure up against it. When the pressing movement, from your feet to your neck. Make you do this, you’ll feel the muscles in your entire back, hips, sure your wrists are locked and cannot flex at all during glutes and legs tighten up. That’s what you want. the execution of the lift. Lock your eyes straight ahead and keep them that way from start to finish. There is a tendency in beginners to follow the bar upward with their eyes, but this is a mistake because it forces them to lean backward, and you don’t want to do that because it can be stressful When you either inhale or to your lower back. exhale during any exercise, Take a deep breath, hold it and drive the bar upward off your diaphragm is forced to your shoulders. The bar needs to travel very close to your face—almost touching your nose—and as it passes the relax, and this diminishes top of your head, guide your head into the gap you’ve your power base. created. This will allow you to keep the bar over your power base. Continue to exert pressure on the moving bar Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit

Keeping the bar directly over your power base is critical in any overhead movement.

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Lower the bar back to your shoulders in a controlled manner with your knees locked. They will stay locked throughout the press. When you bend your knees during As soon as you drive the bar a press, it’s called a push press, which is a valuable exercise upward with the knee kick, for helping the jerk as well—just not in the formative stage. you cannot allow the bar to Make sure the bar is in the correct position on your frontal float even for a nanosecond. deltoids and every body part is once again tight before you do your next rep. Take another breath and press the You must follow through bar overhead again. Remember, you need to hold your immediately. breath during the press. When you either inhale or exhale during any exercise, your diaphragm is forced to relax, and this diminishes your power base. Five sets of 5 is the best formula at the beginning, then The most common mistakes beginners make in the press after form has improved and the strength base is more are as follows: following the flight of the bar with their solid, 2 sets of 5 followed by 3-6 sets of 3 works well. eyes, placing one foot in front of the other, and knee Next, I have the athlete do push presses so as to get the kicking the bar off their shoulders to get a stronger start. feel of bending the knees and learning how to vault the When pressing, your feet must be on a line and planted bar upward off his shoulders. Everything is the same as into the floor, not one ahead of the other. Many do this for military pressing: grip, locked wrists, foot positioning, because it makes it easier to maintain balance while the eye position—with all muscles taut and ready for action. bar is moving overhead, but it’s incorrect because it places The dip should not be exaggerated. If you dip too deeply, an uneven stress on your lower back and hips. say to a quarter squat, you will not have as much thrust as when you only take a short dip. The move out of that dip should be like a boxing punch: short and powerful. When the weights are light, you will be able to drive the bar from your shoulders all the way to lockout in one fast motion. But once they start to get heavy, you’re going to have to pay close attention to your follow-through. As soon as you drive the bar upward with the knee kick, you cannot allow the bar to float even for a nanosecond. You must follow through immediately, providing power right in behind the momentum you’ve created at the start. On a push press, once you drive the bar upward, lock your knees again. This forces you to use your arm and shoulder strength to finish the lift. This is what you want, because that added strength will enable you to handle more weight in the jerk. You should have to press it out the final 4 inches, then hold it overhead for a 4- or 5-second count. This is a great way to enhance overhead support strength, which you’re going to need a lot of in order to handle the heavy jerks. Do push presses in threes. I like the lower reps because when the bar is lowered to the shoulders, it always slips out of the ideal starting position just a tad. On reps 4 and Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit 5, the bar may have slipped down too far for you to drive Push presses can prepare you to generate the it upward in the correct line, so just stay with triples, or in power needed to lock out a heavy jerk. some cases doubles.

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In a push jerk or split jerk, athletes must work to keep the torso absolutely erect. Any forward inclination can send the bar out of the proper line.

The Jerk Once you’ve learned the push press, the push jerk is a snap. The advantage of the push jerk is you don’t have to move It’s the same motion as the push press, but now you want your feet. The disadvantage is that you do not have a way the bar to go from the start to complete lockout in one to control the bar if it’s a bit forward or backward. This fast motion. On the push jerk, you’ll bend your knees at means your line has to be absolutely perfect. On the split the start, relock at the conclusion of the drive, then rebend style a jerk can be saved if it’s only a little out of line, but this them as you dip under the bar. This, by the way, is a legal doesn’t happen with the push jerk, which makes the start jerk in Olympic competition, and some of the best in the even more critical for push jerks, although it’s also most world use this style of jerking. If you feel more comfortable important for the success of a split jerk. using the push jerk rather than the split jerk, by all means To make certain that the start is absolutely correct, you do so. must dip straight down. When weights get near max, At the ‘68 Olympics in Mexico City, I was riding in a bus from there is a tendency to lean forward, and this will result in the Olympic Village to the training center with the198-lb. the weight being driven out front. You should not lean at champion from Hungary, Arpad Nemessanyi. Through an all during the dip, but rather keep your torso rigidly erect. interpreter, I asked him why he used the push jerk instead This can only be achieved with practice, and often a great of the more conventional split style. His answer: “I can lift deal of it. more.” Made sense. He jerked 413 1/4, third highest in his class.

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In an earlier piece for CrossFit Journal, Mastering the Jerk in June of 2009, I went over the various form points for doing a split jerk, but I want to briefly review them in case the reader didn’t see that article. One of the best ways to After a couple of months of doing presses, push presses improve your jerk is to and push jerks, you should have the first part of the lift do a shitload of them. down pat. Now what you have to learn is how to move your feet, which so happens to be the most difficult part of that quick lift because it entails a quick switch of mental keys from driving the bar off your shoulders with 100 percent effort to moving one foot forward and the other Again, the jerks start with the feet. They must be shoulder backward in less time than it takes to blink. Not only must width and on a line. It’s not unusual to see an Olympic your feet move fast, but they also must end up planted lifter take a step or two as he comes out of a squat clean exactly where they need to be. to control the weight but then forget to take a moment to make sure his feet are on a line before he attempts to jerk Those who are trying to learn proper technique on the the weight. Invariably, this will cause him to miss the lift, split jerk figure out right away that this lift is not a matter especially if it’s close to his limit. of raw strength, such as a heavy squat or deadlift. Rather, it’s a matter of utilizing several athletic attributes simulta- It’s purely an individual matter as to which foot is selected neously: timing, coordination, speed and strength. This is to move forward and which one goes backward. It’s similar why it’s so difficult to jerk a heavy weight, and it’s the very to being left-handed or right-handed. Your brain will tell reason why this lift is so beneficial to athletes—it greatly you what you need to do, although I have seen some rare enhances those attributes. Become skilled in the jerk and animals who could use either leg with equal competency. you will be more proficient in all the other athletic activities Bill March was one of those specimens. you take part in. Choose what feels natural. Your front foot will only move forward about, well, a foot. In contrast, your rear foot will travel much further because that is your lever leg. One of the things you need to learn early on is to land your rear Timing is critical. When the foot on your toes and not plant flat on the floor or allow it bar is at its highest point, you to turn to one side or the other. This is a common mistake must move. Any hesitation of almost every beginner and needs to be corrected right away because eventually it will keep you from jerking and you will not be able to heavy poundages. finish the lift. Editor’s note: The following section contains technique tips that differ from those given at Mike Burgerner’s Olympic Lifting seminars. Athletes are advised to consider all expert opinions. When you dip and drive the bar upward off your shoulders, As I said, the front foot only moves a short distance. You you must climb high on your toes at the conclusion of the want to make sure your knee is out in front of your toes. If drive before you move your feet. This serves two functions: you shoot your front foot way out front so that your foot by involving your calves you can give the bar an extra jolt, leads your knee, you’re no longer in a stable position, and making it jump at the top of the drive, and you can move this also puts a huge amount of stress on the knee. When faster when you’re on your toes than you can when you’re you hit the bottom of the split, you should be in the same flat-footed. Timing is critical. When the bar is at its highest mechanical position as if you are doing a lunge, although point, you must move. Any hesitation and you will not be not quite as deep. Your lead leg is bent, but the trailing leg able to finish the lift. To add to this test of strength, your is straight. feet not only must move fast, but they must also hit exactly where you want them to hit.

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In addition, both feet have to hit the floor at the exact A note on upper-arm positioning for the jerk. Your elbows same time. If one hits before the other, it will have an need to be higher than they are for a press, at parallel or adverse affect on the lockout because your base is shaky. just below that. This is necessary because more weight is The only way to achieve this timing is to drill, drill and drill handled in the jerk and you want all of it to be on your some more. shoulders and not your arms. There’s more. Your front foot must move directly forward One of the best ways to improve your jerk is to do a shitload and not swing inward or outward at all. Same goes for the of them. To learn foot placement and foot speed, practice rear foot: straight back. Few can do this correctly in the shadow lifting with a light bar or broomstick. This you can beginning, so what I do is mark the two places where the do on non-lifting days or at night. You should eventually feet are going to end up at the bottom of the split with be able to hit your marks with your eyes closed. chalk, and after each split, I have the lifter check to see if he hit those marks before he finishes his recovery. Once you start to get the feel of where to plant your feet, you’ll hit those marks every time. How deep should the split be? No deeper than it has to be. One of the greatest jerkers I ever saw was a lifter I introduced to the sport of Olympic lifting, Rick Holbrook. He took a short dip, exploded the bar upward with such force that he only had to take a small split and the bar was locked out. That’s a tremendous advantage. Recovery from a small split is a hell of a lot easier than a very deep one. On the other hand, I’ve seen lifters split so low that they looked like they were doing a split snatch. They, too, were exceptions to the norm. One final remark about foot movement. The feet should slam into the floor as opposed to merely being placed on the floor. The two keys that Bob Bednarski used for his jerks were drive the bar off the shoulders as hard as possible and slam the front foot into the platform. If Barski cleaned a weight, you could bet your house that he would jerk it. There are different opinions concerning recovery from the deep split. Shallow ones, like Holbook did, are no problem. You just stand up. But when a max attempt has you pinned in that deep split, you need to know how to recover without losing the weight overhead. Your first move is with your back foot, not your front one. If you slide that front foot back, there’s no way for you to keep the bar Staff/CrossFit Journal from crashing forward. Ease your back foot forward a few inches, then do the same with your front foot, then a bit more with the back foot and so on and so forth until you have it under control. All the while you must be extending pressure up into the bar to keep it in the proper position as you stand up and get your feet back onto the same line. This is a requirement for the lift in competition. Recovering from a jerk gets harder when you go deeper.

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D.J. Wickham jerks big weight at the 2010 CrossFit Games.

Drill for Skill Now for some exercises to help you jerk more weight. When you can do these with power and are able to drive the bar in the correct line every time, your start is going Because the start is so important, the stronger you can to be stronger. However, all the mechanics have to be make it the better. Jerk starts are a way to overload the exact or these won’t do much good, so pay attention to muscles and attachments responsible for setting the bar your technique and gear up for them. They’re tough, but in motion off your shoulders. They’re done in the same nobody ever promised easy in strength training. way as push presses and push jerks, but the bar is only going to travel to the top of your head once you load up Getting considerably stronger in the split is also a huge the bar—and not even that high in some cases. Let’s say asset, so these two versions of the same exercise are most your best jerk is 300 lb. Begin the jerk starts with 275 and beneficial. Inside a power rack, set the pins at a place do 3 reps, then move to 300 and do another 3 reps, and slightly lower than you actually go in a deep split. Get in proceed on from there until you are handling close to 400 the split position with your arms locked out and stand or more. You will learn to put a charge in the bar to make up with the weight. Start out with moderate poundages it climb as high as possible and, when it reaches its apex, until you understand what muscles to contract and how you should attempt to hold it there for a brief moment, to move your feet in order to recover. Then keep adding then ease it back to your shoulders. Do your best not to let weight until you’re unable to get all the way up. Record it crash back onto your shoulders because you’ll be using how much you used and improve on that next time you a great deal more than what you usually rack across your do the exercise. frontal deltoids.

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The other version will allow you to handle a great deal Battle the Jerk—and Win more weight but is somewhat easier in that you’re not I believe jerks are one of the very best exercises in all of going to recover. The bar is in the same position as before. strength training. They’re most useful for anyone just If you could stand up with, say 350 lb., start this exercise wanting to stay in excellent shape and are essential to with at least 400. Get in a deep split and move the bar off those athletes who want to excel in their chosen sports. the pins and hold it for a 6-second count or more. Keep Strength coaches and personal trainers need to take the adding weight until the welder man enters the picture and time to learn how to do this high-skill exercise so they can the bar cannot be moved at all. teach it to their students. To give you an idea of how much can be used in these I always found jerks challenging, and whenever I won the exercises, there were several York lifters who could do battle, it was extremely satisfying. Make jerks a part of your 650 lb., all of them capable of jerking 400. When that final training program and you’ll be glad you did because they attempt to break the bar from the pins fails, stay with it and strengthen every part of your body from your feet to your turn it into an isometric hold for an 8-12 count. abs to your shoulders and arms. You can’t ask much more from an exercise.

I believe jerks are one of F the very best exercises in all of strength training.

Should your lockout be lagging behind, these will help: set the pins in the power rack way up high, about 2-3 inches below where you would be at the completion of a jerk. Lock your body extremely tight, bend your knees, break the weight off the pins, lock it out and hold it for a count. Keep adding weight until you fail and, once again, record that number and do more the next time around. Jody Forster Lastly, this exercise was done by many of the York lifters who had trouble locking out the bar far enough back so they could hold it as they recovered. I was one of them because About the Author my shoulders tended to tighten up during competition. Do Bill Starr coached at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, the 1970 jerks behind the neck. While I’m very much against behind Olympic Weightlifting World Championship in Columbus, the neck presses and behind-the-neck chins or pulldowns Ohio, and the 1975 World Powerlifting Championships in on a lat machine, behind-the-neck jerks are permissible Birmingham, England. He was selected as head coach of the for intermediate and advanced strength athletes. I do not 1969 team that competed in the Tournament of Americas in recommend them for beginners. There’s lots of other stuff Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, where the United States won the team they can do to improve their jerks. title, making him the first active lifter to be head coach of an What behind-the-neck jerks do is allow the lifter to handle international Olympic weightlifting team. Starr is the author more weight than in the regular jerk, and it teaches him of the books The Strongest Shall Survive: Strength Training to drive the bar up and slightly back. These, too, need to for Football and Defying Gravity, which can be found at be overloaded, so a 300-lb. jerker should think in terms of The Aasgaard Company Bookstore. handling 325 to 350.

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Forging Elite Leadership After surviving SEALFIT’s Kokoro Camp, Greg Amundson outlines a leadership model based on the physical modalities of CrossFit training.

By Greg Amundson CrossFit Amundson April 2011 Photos: Heber Cannon Photos:

“I’m leaving on a jet plane. Don’t know … .” Lying on our backs, covered in wet sand, our heads pointing towards the ocean in the middle of the night, a large wave crashed over Tommy Hackenbruck and me, pulling us deeper into the frigid Pacific waters. As soon as we resurfaced, Tommy and I re-locked arms and continued in harmony, “Don’t know when I’ll be back again!”

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Original firebreather Greg Amundson and some of the candidates getting ready for the challenges of Kokoro Camp.

I was freezing cold, hungry, tired, chafed from sand drills As the sun begin to set on Sunday evening and the course and incredibly sore, and I faced the dark truth that I had drew to a close, Coach Glassman briefed the instructors over 30 more hours of torment ahead of me. However, as and soldiers on the final workout. Josh and I had partici- Tommy and I sang our favorite John Denver song at the pated in each of the workouts, which at that point totaled top of our lungs, there was nowhere I would have rather around five. Because this was a military certification, Coach been than at Kokoro Camp No. 12. had upped the volume and duration of the classic CrossFit events. As a result, we had completed 5 rounds of Helen In the Presence of a Leader (run 400 meters, 21 kettlebell swings, 12 pull-ups) and what In December 2004, Coach Greg Glassman, Josh Everett, we called “big fat” versions of Fran and Elizabeth—21, 18, Kurtis Bowler and I traveled to Ft. Lewis, Wash., to conduct 15, 12, 9, 6 and 3 reps of the thruster/pull-up and barbell- a private three-day CrossFit seminar for members of the clean/ring-dip couplets. Needless to say, there was not a Army 1st Special Forces Group. In the early days of the lot of enthusiasm for the final workout of the day. CrossFit training program, a huge emphasis was placed upon what we termed “performance on demand,” as As we gathered around Coach, I noticed all the instructors attendees and instructors were called to perform upwards and soldiers looked extremely exhausted. We were dirty, of three grueling CrossFit workouts a day. sweaty and hungry. We had our hands on our knees to keep from falling over, and I had a hard time concentrating This particular seminar was very exciting for me. I had on the instructions for the workout. recently returned from Army Basic Combat Training and was two weeks away from beginning Officer Candidate Because I was about to embark upon an intense military School. I was honored to be in the presence of established leadership course, I had been paying particular attention leaders and warriors so I could apply the skills they would to the senior officer of the group. I wanted to see firsthand undoubtedly teach me to my upcoming training. Little what true leaders said and did to inspire and motivate did I know that one particular display of leadership would those people in their command. The officer in charge that leave a lasting impression upon me for the rest of my life. weekend was Capt. Perry. An extremely athletic individual, Capt. Perry was physically capable of setting an example

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for his men to follow. He eagerly participated in all the workouts during the weekend and consistently achieved some of the fastest times and highest scores in the events. Although he was very confident, I observed that he was also very humble, always putting the welfare of both the CrossFit instructors and his soldiers before himself. As we huddled together to receive Coach’s instructions, I was eager to see how Capt. Perry would raise the spirits of his soldiers to attack the final workout. When Coach finished the brief, he turned to the captain and said, “Sir, go ahead and choose five of your men to complete this workout.”

By his actions, Capt. Perry instilled in me what might be one of the most important leadership lessons there is: A leader must lead by example and from the front.

Capt. Perry looked into the eyes of his soldiers and took note of their physical and mental state. Realizing that his soldiers, as well as Josh and I, were well beyond our ability to perform athletically, Capt. Perry did what he always did best: He led by example and from the front. He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders back. In a firm voice filled with utter resolve he said, “It’s OK, men. I’ve got this one.” With that, he charged forward into the workout. The second he said those words and took his first step, there was an immediate change in the mental and physical composure of the group. A collective surge of energy filled the air, and we all enthusiastically charged after the captain. By his words and actions, Capt. Perry instilled in me what might be one of the most important leadership lessons there is: A leader must lead by example and from the front. I embraced the lesson he taught me that day and did my Under the stress of training, Kokoro candidates learned best to set a positive example in everything I did from that how teamwork is essential for success. moment on. Whether it was CrossFit, law enforcement or my military career, I wanted to lead like Capt. Perry in every aspect of my life.

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Sometimes leadership is less about ability and more about resolve and strength of will.

The Ultimate Challenge Nothing I had been through up to that point in my life In addition to the significance of being able to set a seemed even remotely as difficult or as challenging as physical example for others to follow, I was inspired by Kokoro would be. A few days after I agreed to attend Capt. Perry to consider how I could apply CrossFit to the the camp, I discovered that Rogue Competition Team more intangible qualities of being an effective leader. athletes Rob Orlando, Tommy Hackenbruck, Mikko Salo, Almost six years after my first glimpse at what it meant Kristan Clever and Caity Henniger were also going to be to truly lead others, I was presented with an opportunity in attendance. Knowing that other CrossFit athletes and to test everything I had learned in both leadership and friends were going to be part of the experience helped CrossFit against the ultimate proving ground of physical me overcome some of the anxiety and nervousness I felt and mental endurance: SEALFIT. as the days quickly ticked by to the start of the camp. In October 2010, my good friend Jimi Letchford, Chief The First Glimpse Marketing Officer of CrossFit, invited me to join him on The report time for Kokoro was Friday, Oct. 24, at noon. a 50-hour SEALFIT camp in Encinitas, Calif. SEALFIT was Due to the distance I had to travel, I decided to make the brainchild of our mutual friend Mark Divine, a senior the trip the day before and stay at local hotel in Encinitas. ranking Navy officer and a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy On Friday morning, I enjoyed a pre-packed Tupperware SEALs, as well as a long-time CrossFit affiliate owner. The Zone breakfast in my hotel room, then got dressed in the camp, called “Kokoro” (“heart” in Japanese), is designed to uniform for the camp: military-style woodland camouflage provide a complete immersion experience for prospective pants and a white T-shirt. After getting dressed, I walked future SEALs and other special-operations components of out of my room to the parking lot of the hotel. No sooner the United States military. The camp was created to test, had I stepped outside my room than a voice bellowed, evaluate and ultimately enhance a candidate’s mental “Hey, are you going to Kokoro?” I looked across the parking toughness, leadership and physical capacity to endure lot and saw a large and well-built guy approaching me extreme conditions. Kokoro utilized sleep deprivation, wearing the same outfit. intense physical training, arduous team exercises, ocean It turned out the guy had traveled from the East Coast exposure and leadership challenges in a chaotic, fast- and arrived early like me. After a brief conversation, he moving environment, and it was coached by combat- nervously admitted, “I hope I don’t quit this year. I did last proven Navy SEAL instructors. year, and it was so hard.” “What have I gotten myself into?” I thought.

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rate made breathing very hard, especially if you happened to inhale at the same time water was being poured into your mouth and nose. Sometime during this “welcoming ceremony,” I found myself doing flutter kicks next to the guy from the hotel. As an instructor stood over us spraying water into our faces, my acquaintance reached his maximum tolerance and shouted, “I can’t do it! I want to quit!” I had given this guy my word that I would help him get through the camp, so I rolled over next to him and said, “It’s OK, brother, you can do this.” The Navy SEAL instructor asked, “Does he want to quit?” And as the guy pleaded, “Yes,” I yelled, “No!”

As the hours wore on, I began to make a critical self-discovery: completion of Kokoro would be more Rob Orlando: bowed but unbroken. a testament to mental Feeding the Right Dog toughness than physical Based on Jimi’s and my previous leadership experience in capacity. the military, we were selected as class leaders and immediately tasked with organizing the arriving candidates into boat crews. At exactly 1 p.m. on Oct. 24, Jimi and I formed our class into four boat crews on the open cement slab called “The Grinder.” Shortly afterward, Mark addressed the As this was unfolding, I called for Tommy to help me candidates of Kokoro Camp No. 12 and asked a question motivate and encourage the guy to stay in the camp. he would frequently revisit over the next 50 hours: “Well, Together, we did all we could, to the point of physically what dog are you feeding right now?” restraining him and not allowing him to walk away from the evolution and quit. I was amazed at the strength in Mark explained that deep inside each of us lived two dogs, resolve this guy had. He had mentally decided he could and that each was hungry for food. One of the dogs repre- not complete the camp, and nothing Tommy or I could do sented courage, and the other fear. Unless we consciously would make him stay. Sometime during the chaos of the fed the dog of courage, the dog of fear would receive our beach evolution, he disappeared from the camp. unconscious energy and “food.” The key to being successful in Kokoro was to continually feed the dog of courage As the hours wore on, I began to make a critical self- regardless of the physical circumstances we would find discovery: completion of Kokoro would be more a ourselves in. testament to mental toughness than physical capacity. Although I had spent over nine years training in CrossFit After Mark’s opening remarks, a sea of Navy SEAL instructors and developing the 10 general physical skills (endurance, laid into us with a barrage of calisthenics. In addition to stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, the difficulty of the physical events, the instructors placed agility, balance and accuracy), my success in the camp well-aimed bursts of water into our faces from several would hinge upon my ability to translate those physical hoses. The combination of water and an increased heart skills into leadership traits and mental attributes.

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In addition, I had to come to terms with the fact I would MENTAL ATTRIBUTES OF ELITE LEADERSHIP not be able to literally “lead from the front” in all the physical events that would take place during the camp. It Endurance was at that deciding moment, for the first time in nearly Mental skill: The ability to maintain belief in self and others. six years, that I differentiated between “leading from the front” and “setting a positive example.” Up until that point, I Stamina had considered the two to be nearly inseparable. However, Mental skill: The ability to create and maintain intense over the course of Kokoro I realized that although a leader mental effort, focus and resilience. may reach a state where leading from the front is no Strength longer physically possible, maintaining a positive example for others to follow always is. Mental skill: The ability to maintain resolve of decision. An Attitude of Leadership Flexibility In my experiences in the military and law enforcement, Mental skill: (1) The ability to independently choose an being a “leader” was often associated with a position or emotional reaction to a wide range of external circum- title. During Kokoro, for example, Jimi and I were initially stances. (2) The ability to apply versatile methods to the appointed as “class leaders.” What I learned during the accomplishment of a fixed goal. camp, however, was that position and title had very little Power to do with an individual’s ability to lead. Instead, the camp solidified what I call a “Leader-Fit” style of influencing, Mental skill: (1) The ability to encourage self and inspiring and ultimately guiding self and others. others in the pursuit of a worthy goal. (2) The ability to immediately generate an intense state of motivation I observed during the camp that the candidates who and positive expectancy. were able to consistently rise above the difficulty of any challenge possessed certain mental and physical attri- Speed butes. In the early stages of the camp, and like many of the Mental skill: The ability to make immediate command previous challenges I had faced, I attempted to use only decisions in the face of opposition, challenge and my physical fitness to succeed. In Kokoro, however, I found uncertainty. that each of the 10 physical skills I would call upon had a mental component as well. It was this realization and Coordination my reliance upon these mental attributes that ultimately Mental skill: The ability to invoke the most productive made the difference in my ability to complete the camp. emotional response at a given time and place. When I made the realization that each of the 10 general Agility physical skills of CrossFit also pertained to a mental, Mental skill: (1) The ability to support the needs of emotional and “Leader-Fit” trait, it was extremely empow- others while ensuring personal goals and challenges ering. As my body began to wear down toward the end of are fulfilled. (2) The ability to respond to environment the camp, I had to turn inward and focus on the intangible and circumstance with deliberate attitudes and beliefs qualities of my fitness and leadership ability. Although I so as to achieve a desired end state. may have lacked the physical capacity to produce power, I maintained the mental attribute of power, through a Balance conscious choice, to encourage myself and others in Mental skill: (1) The ability to maintain individual the pursuit of the completion of the camp. My physical physical, mental and emotional wellness. (2) The ability stamina and endurance, along with every other general to maintain a state of mind or attitude regardless of physical skill, were to be tested to their limit and beyond. external stimuli. Accuracy Mental skill: (1) The ability to set and achieve specific and concise goals. (2) The ability to listen and correctly identify internal thoughts, emotions and energies.

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Micro-Goal—One Step at a Time With less than 10 hours remaining in the camp, the candidates were divided into two groups: an assault element and a support group. Mark told the candidates this was the time for an honest self-assessment of physical ability: only those candidates who believed they were able to athletically perform at a relatively high level were advised to volunteer for the assault element. Mikko, Tommy and I were among the CrossFit athletes SEALFIT who volunteered for the assault element, along with five future Navy SEALs. After a brief warning order by Mark, our assault element left the Kokoro compound and ran to the beach. Once there, we continued at a blistering pace south The rock represents his will, so Greg chose a big one. through the soft sand toward a distant lifeguard tower. Our direction from Mark was to “take the tower,” which meant represented our “will” and return to the other side. We every candidate on the assault element needed to climb cautiously swam across the river and each selected a rock. onto the tower—without using the ladder. Not knowing what we would do with the rock once we reached the other side, we chose rocks that were imposing in weight and shape yet manageable in the event we were tasked with carrying them any significant distance. I would Long after CrossFit athletes estimate that each of our rocks was in the neighborhood of 35 to 40 lb. begin to lose optimum On the return side of the river, we were told to follow Mark capacity in the 10 general and the instructors, while carrying our rocks, on a run north physical skills, we retain our through the soft sand. Because the rocks represented our mental ability to draw upon “will,” we could not drop or otherwise allow our rock to touch the ground. As we started our run, I immediately these same skills and apply fell to the back of the group. Physically, I had reached my them to personal leadership, limit—my ability to perform with any amount of intensity or competiveness was nearly gone. I had entered the motivation and ultimately stage of what Mark eloquently called the “micro-goal,” and the accomplishment of any I was forced to find landmarks in the near distance that I worthy goal. could achieve. “Just to the next staircase,” I would tell myself. Once there and when directed to climb the stairs, I would say, “Just to the top,” and then, “Just to the bottom.” This proved to be a very challenging task, as the tower was The accomplishment of each micro-goal had more to do over eight feet off the ground. To accomplish the assault, with my ability to utilize the mental attributes of athlet- we collectively hoisted one of the lighter candidates up icism than the physical. I had to remain flexible in my mind, onto the tower. We then took turns being lifted on each even though my body was rigid tight. I had to harness my other’s shoulders until we could grab the bottom railing of mental stamina and endurance even though physically I the lifeguard tower and clamber upward, being assisted by was nearly tripping over my own feet. As we climbed over those already on the landing. cement pillars while carrying our rocks, I called upon my After the assault of the tower, we continued our run south mental ability to be powerful, have balance, coordination to a fast-moving river that flowed into the ocean. Our brief and accuracy. Although running at the back of the pack, was simple and direct: cross the river, secure a rock that I retained speed in my mind, sprinting through positive

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Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at http://journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com Leadership ... (continued) self-talk and mantras. It was during this final evolution that I realized long after CrossFit athletes begin to lose optimum capacity in the 10 general physical skills of elite fitness, we retain our mental ability to draw upon these same skills and apply them to personal leadership, motivation and ultimately the accomplishment of any worthy goal or challenge. After non-stop movement for over an hour with our rocks, we raced down a steep hill to a clearing in the sand, where the support group was being tormented with ocean exposure and calisthenics. Mark told the assault element to take a knee in the sand while holding our rocks close to our heart. He then said the rock no longer represented our external will, because during the grueling evolution we had internalized our will—the experience was now forever part of our very essence. Mark said we could each put down the rock. Without saying a word or coordinating the event, we collectively laid our rocks down as a single unit, a team. Kokoro was drawing to a close. After-Action Report In 1999, I attended a California Reserve Law Enforcement Academy. One day during defensive-tactics training, the chief instructor asked how many repetitions of a technique a student needed to perform in order to achieve muscle memory. Our class collectively concluded at least 1,000 repetitions would be needed. With that, the instructor called for a “classroom huddle” and asked me to step inside the circle and close my eyes. Suddenly he shouted, “Open!” and when I opened my eyes, the instructor was standing in front of me with a training handgun pointed only inches from my face. Almost instinctively, I moved my head out of the line of fire, grabbed the muzzle of the threatening handgun while simultaneously drawing my own training handgun and “shot” the instructor. “Do you think he needs another 999 repetitions to remember what he just did?” the instructor asked. He then looked at me and said, “Greg, you just had an accelerated learning experience.”

Whatever your mind believes, you can achieve.

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With an iron will, you can overcome any obstacle.

When people ask for my impressions on the Kokoro Camp, About the Author the best I can say is that it was the most incredible accel- Referred to by his peers as the erated learning experience of my lifetime. When speaking “Original Firebreather,” Greg with friends I made during Kokoro, we agree two of the has been training CrossFit most rewarding lessons were the power of putting the for over nine years. He works needs of others before our own and the importance of in law enforcement while effective teamwork. It would simply be impossible to concurrently serving in the succeed in Kokoro as an individual. At one time or another, Army National Guard as an there came a time during the camp when each candidate Instructor of CrossFit and was in need of a word of encouragement, a warm embrace, leadership at the California a laugh or cheer or a shoulder to lean on. Army National Guard Officer Every time I felt overwhelmed by the totality of the Candidate School (OCS). looming hours ahead, the weight of a log on my shoulder or the bitter cold of the ocean, I was lifted up physically and emotionally by Rob, Mikko, Tommy, Kristan, Caity, Jimi and all the other great athletes of Kokoro Camp No. 12. Together, we triumphed by feeding the Dog of Courage one bite at a time.

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Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at http://journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com LIL’ NUGGETS by Sweet Cheeks Headquarters overview Chicken nuggets are one of the most popular kids foods. What kid doesn’t like breaded chicken that’s fried and then dipped in a favorite sauce? These nuggets are easy, and your kids can help shape the nuggets themselves. If your kids don’t like onions, just omit them. You can also add other vegetables such as red peppers or carrots in the mix and you’ve got rainbow chicken nuggets! Makes 8 servings of 2 nuggets each blocks 3 protein blocks 6.5 fat blocks Sweet Cheeks Headquarters Headquarters Cheeks Sweet

ingredients directions chicken nugget inners 1. Preheat frying pan with coconut oil on medium/high heat. 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts 2. Mix your almond meal, coconut flour and macaroon flour ¼ onion in a shallow dish and set aside. 1 tsp. salt 3. Beat your eggs in a shallow bowl and set aside. ½ tsp. chili powder 4. Cube chicken breast and put onion and chicken in a food 1 tsp. oregano processor. Process until smooth. 1 tsp. garlic granules 5. Make balls of 1 oz. Dredge in breading, then egg, then breading back in breading. 1/4 cup almond meal 6. Set the balls on a plate and flatten into chicken nuggets. 1/4 coconut flour 7. Cook in oil for 2-4 minutes on each side, just until golden 1/4 cup macaroon coconut brown. 2 eggs 8. Remove from pan and set on paper towel to drain excess oil. 1/4 cup coconut oil 9. Serve with your favorite vegetable, such as carrots, broccoli trees or asparagus trees. Notes (You will have a little extra breading. Discard after all the nuggets Serve with 2½ cups of broccoli and half an apple for 3 carbohy- are coated.) drate blocks.

Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com One Kid at a Time Steve Liberati and Lee Knight explain how you can use the Steve’s Club National Program to bring fitness to kids in your area.

By Steve Liberati with Lee Knight April 2011 All images courtesy of Steve’s Club All images courtesy of Steve’s

I work less than a mile from Camden—often touted as the most dangerous city in the country.

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Due to New Jersey’s budget cuts, Camden’s police department was recently slashed in half. Drug dealers are celebrating. Gang leaders are recruiting. There is blood in the streets. Our 3,000-square-foot facility is a safe haven from these dangers and home to four sister companies that work together to offer elite fitness and nutrition to those seeking refuge, stress relief and a healthier way of life. CrossFit Tribe and Steve’s Original are how I make my living. Steve’s Club and the new Steve’s Club National Program are how I live my life. A Change in Direction Less than four years ago while working for my family pest-control business, I traveled to Camden daily. I spent much time talking to young souls I met in apartments and on the streets, stuck in conditions they never asked for. Many were trying to control pests much bigger than roaches and rats. I wanted to carry each one out of hell and show each a different way. I was constantly plagued with one thought: “Could these children change their future if someone gave them a chance?” I grabbed my chance and unknowingly changed my own future by inviting one of these Camden kids to work out. Being a recent CrossFit convert and trainer, I was eager to share the Kool-Aid with anyone who would sip, and I was even more eager to use this discipline to change lives. Kids looking to escape the streets are warmly welcomed by Steve Liberati. I made the decision to leave the pest-control business and I was eager to share the open a CrossFit affiliate. Having paying customers would Kool-Aid with anyone who allow me to get the space and equipment I needed to properly train the kids. Steve’s Club Camden received an would sip, and I was even official 501c3 not-for-profit status late in 2007. CrossFit more eager to use this Tribe opened in early 2008 and is now 75 members strong discipline to change lives. and growing. The adults from CrossFit Tribe often tease me that training them is the way I fund my “little habit” of mentoring kids from Camden—that I live for 4 o’clock, when my gym is Before long I had 10, 15, 20 kids joining my little after-school filled with gifted unknown athletes who smell like teen club. We did WODs outside with equipment I purchased or spirit. I don’t confirm or deny this allegation, but I can made and hauled around in the back of my work truck. say that many Tribers volunteer their time with Steve’s When it got cold, we shared space with non-profit groups Clubbers, mentoring, coaching and competing. It seems as including the local Police Athletic League. We bounced if they have developed a wonderful little habit of their own around until it was clear that we needed dedicated space, to help support our program through their involvement better equipment and money to train more kids. It wasn’t and by purchasing PaleoKits, PaleoKrunch and other a question of who needed help; it was more like, “How are Steve’s Original products. we going to help all the kids in need?”

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Steve’s Original is the food company we created to offer delicious Paleo food packaged for people on the go. Becoming a Local Club Another offshoot of Steve’s Club, the products for Steve’s Interested in setting up a Local Steve’s Club at Original were born almost by accident. Looking for your CrossFit affiliate? Check out: Stevesclub.org/ healthy options to send to school with Steve’s Clubbers, local_clubs/start_a_club/. my wife Kristen and I vacuum-packed beef jerky, nuts and dried fruit, and our flagship product was born. We called Benefits of being a Local Club in the Steve’s Club them PaleoKits, and the kids ate them as fast as we could National Program: make them. We started selling them in our gym to fund • Share your passion for fitness with kids who Steve’s Club and later took them online to share the Paleo need a positive influence. goodness with the rest of the community. • Set up and manage your own non-profit without Three years later, we have 15 Steve’s Original products, the administrative hassle of doing it from including PaleoStix, PaleoKrunch, Just Jerky and Coconut scratch. PaleoKits. Proceeds from Steve’s Originals sales directly fund Steve’s Club Camden and Steve’s Club National • Have the appropriate legal and insurance Program. We are proud to say when you buy a kit, you help structures in place so you’re not putting yourself save a kid! at risk. When customers call about our food products and I • Save time by using our member answer the phone, it never fails to surprise them. I love resources (templates, form letters, best practices answering questions and being able to thank people for and promotional material) to help grow and their support. Without it, we would be unable to touch the market your program. lives that we do. • Accept tax-deductible donations and fundraise to support your program.

F With well over 2,000 CrossFit affiliates around the world, imagine what a stronger place our world would be if each opened its doors to just one class of six kids per day.

Nearly 100 kids are serviced through Steve’s Club annually. We are proud of our reach, but it’s really just a grain of sand in the 50-lb. bag our kids have learned to clean and jerk. As long as there are youths willing to receive guidance through the pursuit of elite fitness, I want to help and inspire others to do the same. With well over 2,000 CrossFit affiliates around the world, imagine what a stronger place our world would be if each opened its doors to just one class of six kids per day. Steve Liberati hopes others will join him in helping kids get fitter.

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Steve’s Club Beat the Streets Fudraiser Date: May 14-15, 2011 The Steve’s Club National Program is making great progress but still needs your help. Last year, over 15 affiliates raised close to $20,000 to help establish new Local Clubs across the country. This year the CrossFit affiliate community will team up again to Beat the Streets and “strengthen a nation one kid at a time.” On May 14-15, 2011, consider hosting this WOD (donations suggested) at your box, or join us in Camden, N.J., on May 14: • Team WOD (teams of three, with at least one female). • Social and Competitive (RX’d) divisions make it perfect for all levels—elite athletes and friends and family. • Suggested donation: $25—or any amount participants want to give. “Kids are discovering that a strong body equals a strong mind.” —Steve Liberati • Local and national prizes. Changing Lives Check out the WOD here. Anecdotal evidence can be provided, but it’s often hard to Every dollar raised gets a kid off the streets and quantify results driven by not-for-profits. CrossFit changes into CrossFit. this. There is measurable work to be done. It is work of the highest order and the highest discipline. Kids are walking around Camden now with their hearts set on having the F valor it takes to record a higher CrossFit Total or beat their previous Fran time. Their alternative pursuits have been As part of our network, Local Clubs have access to shared replaced with elite fitness. member resources, legal guidelines, insurance structures, In an effort to duplicate our model and share our learning accounting practices and, most importantly, the ability to with affiliates around the world, we have created the raise funds through our annual Beat the Streets Fundraiser Steve’s Club National Program. This not-for-profit entity (held this year May 14-15). works with affiliates to create similar youth fitness and Thanking the CrossFit community for all its support would be mentoring programs at their gyms. Establishing a Local impossible. Recruiting affiliates all around the country to share Steve’s Club is an easy and fulfilling way to make a their love of CrossFit with underprivileged youth is the best difference with kids in your city or community. way I can think of to offer my gratitude. It’s not work when you As part of the Steve’s Club National Program, Local Clubs are doing something you love each and every day. can use our national charter to gain 501c3 status and We are excited to say that Local Clubs are starting to pop up fundraise for their youth program. We make it easy for affil- around the country, and together we are sharing our love iates to start a Local Club and focus on the important work for fitness with underprivileged and inner-city youth. Kids of training kids without being bound by administrative are discovering that a strong body equals a strong mind and and legal red tape. that every choice made today affects potential for tomorrow.

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There are many ways to get involved with the Steve’s Club National Program. You can: 1. Start a Local Club. 2. Donate online. 3. Create a scholarship fund. 4. Take part in our Beat the Streets Fundraiser. 5. Continue to enjoy PaleoKits, PaleoKrunch and other Steve’s Original products. Lee Knight is the co-founder and program director of the I hope I can inspire others to join the cause and share their Steve’s Club National Program. Equipped with a strong passion for fitness with those less fortunate. For more infor- consulting and strategic-planning background, she has been mation, visit stevesclub.org. If you have any questions, call instrumental in expanding Steve’s Club nationwide and is me. I’ll answer as long as it is not between 4-5 p.m., when passionate about bringing fitness to at-risk kids across the I’m training Steve’s Club. That’s the hour that makes the country. Lee studied mechanical engineering at MIT, was a other 10 more meaningful. senior planning analyst for a multinational company and ran her own consulting/coaching firm. She is also a former gymnast and international-level rugby athlete, having repre- F sented the USA at the 2006 World Cup. Lee started CrossFit in 2008 and qualified for the CrossFit Games as an individual in About the Authors 2009 and with the CrossFit Fairfax affiliate team in 2010. E-mail her at [email protected].

Steve Liberati started the original Steve’s Club in Camden, N.J., in May 2007 to a make a difference in the lives of underprivileged kids in his community. Now as the executive director of the Steve’s Club National Program, Steve hopes to empower and support others as they take on the same rewarding challenge of starting a youth program in their own community. Steve studied economics at the University of Delaware and is grateful to be able to wake up every day as a social entrepreneur who does work that is meaningful and fulfilling. He is also the creator of PaleoKits (sold through Steve’s Original) and the owner of CrossFit Tribe (which shares its space with Steve’s Club). He placed 17th at the Northeast Regionals in 2010 and was a member of the CrossFit Tribe affiliate team that competed at the 2010 Games. Steve is married and has a two-year-old son Dominic and a baby girl due in May. E-mail him at [email protected].

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Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com CrossFit Field Trip After doing CrossFit for six months, Michael Melillo took time out of the holidays to visit affiliates near his parents’ home. He encountered several differences but always found the same supportive community.

By Michael Melillo CrossFit Santa Clara April 2011 All images courtesy of Michael Melillo

When I realized I would be visiting family for the holidays this year, I was excited for a few reasons. It would be the first time I would get to spend Christmas with my family in four years since moving to California. It also would be the first time I would have the opportunity to check out some CrossFit affiliates in New England. I love working out at CrossFit Santa Clara because of the great trainers and amazing community, but I wanted to know how others places got down.

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I remember watching the live stream of the CrossFit Games and hearing how often the announcers spoke the words “CrossFit New England,” whether in the affiliate competition, the women’s competition or the master’s competition. I told myself I needed to drop in at CFNE the next time I came home. Because I had a few months from the time I booked my flight until I would be visiting, I had a lot of time to plan my drop-ins. Over the course of that time I was able to research all the affiliates in the Connecticut and Massachusetts areas and figure out which ones I thought would be best to visit. One thing that is so great about the CrossFit community is how easy it is to connect with affiliates. Obviously all affiliates have websites with their daily WODs posted, but social-media sites like Facebook and Twitter give athletes another means of communicating. After doing my research and putting the data into a complex weighting algorithm based on location, trainer experience, drop-in fees, class schedule and how cool their T-shirts looked, I came away with my preliminary list of boxes to hit. In all honesty, the biggest take-away from this process was just how many options a CrossFitter has in New England. Living in California, I was used to the idea of having lots of affiliates nearby, but I didn’t know how much CrossFit had spread across the country.

Working on the deadlift at Elm City CrossFit.

One thing that is so I chose ECC because it was the closest box to my parents’ great about the CrossFit house—just 2.5 miles. It was the perfect location to bang out a workout in between last-minute Christmas errands. community is how easy it We try and squat twice a week at CrossFit Santa Clara, and is to connect with affiliates. I needed to get mine in. So 5-5-3 front squats was perfect. ECC is a good example of a CrossFit box that makes the most of what it has. It’s organized so well it could support much larger classes without needing to expand. Like many CrossFit boxes, efficiency is what makes for a killer layout. Phase 1: Connecticut I had a great workout with Vin Lindsley, Mike Eglinton and I grew up in New Haven, Conn.; my parents still live there. Tom Briggs. We all worked our way to 195 lb. on our last set So my search for my first box started with the Connecticut of squats and ended up on the ground after the workout. listing of affiliates on the main site. I had about a week in Three rounds for time of: Connecticut to get all my visits in, but it was the week of Christmas and I knew a lot of places would have limited 10 presses workouts. So without further ado, the first box: Elm City 10 plate burpees CrossFit. 10 toes to bar

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The next day was Christmas Eve, and things were pretty I chose CrossFit Milford because it finished 54th in the quiet around the house, so I had a little extra time for affiliate competition at the 2010 Games and hosts travel. I decided to go to an affiliate that I remembered seminars. I figured it had to be one of the top CrossFit watching in the affiliate competition of the 2010 Games: locations in Connecticut. The WOD seemed like a fun one. CrossFit Milford. WTF Two rounds for time of: ECC is a good example of 100 double-unders a CrossFit box that makes 50 overhead squats (I substituted hang power cleans the most of what it has. It’s because I had squatted a day earlier) organized so well it could 50 pull-ups support much larger classes 50 box jumps without needing to expand. 50 sledgehammer swings on a tire

CrossFit Milford’s collection of gear in Connecticut.

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Colin Geraghty of CrossFit Milford.

CrossFit Milford is a huge place. I don’t know exactly how competitions: the CrossFit-USAW Open and the Rogue vs. many affiliates out there have more square footage than Again Faster Throwdown in Tahoe. After watching some CrossFit Santa Clara, but I’d guess most don’t. CrossFit CrossFit Journal videos, I was impressed with everything Milford definitely does. It’s an amazing facility. I would have CFNE co-owner Ben Bergeron said. loved to come in on a normal day when the place was full The box had great athletes and coaches and a great WOD. of people, but even with a small class, Colin Geraghty kept the energy level high. Decepticon Phase 2: Massachusetts Seven rounds for time of: I had hoped to make it to three or four affiliates during my 10 front squats week in Connecticut, but Mother Nature threw a wrench into those plans with a blizzard that led most of the 10 L-pull-ups area affiliates to cancel classes. Because I had to drive to The facility is nice and big with locker rooms and amenities Massachusetts to visit my mother-in-law, I decided to leave above and beyond the average box. Despite all the snow, Connecticut behind and head north. a ton of people were at the gym, bringing a lot of energy The most anticipated drop-in I had of my trip was at CFNE. to the place. I introduced myself to Ben when I arrived, I was almost giddy and star-struck at the same time. I was took care of the waivers and headed to the locker room, so impressed with what the affiliate did at the 2010 Games where I saw HQ trainer Pat Sherwood. I warmed up a bit that I began to cheer for CFNE athletes at subsequent on the rower, and then Mel Ockerby led the class through the Burgener Warm-Up. Due to the sheer numbers of people, the workout was going to be done in two heats.

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Glassman remembers how he created the workout one day in his garage. You can add me to the list of people who will always remember their first. I don’t know how many From the moment I started, the encouragement was people are lucky enough to incredible, and as I went on it only increased. My partner be surrounded by some of the was hovering around the puke bucket, so Ben counted my reps. A few stations in front of me, Pat was doing his top athletes and coaches in set, and behind me Heather Bergeron was doing her set. our sport when they do Fran As they finished, they gathered around me and screamed for the first time, but I’d guess encouragement. I don’t know how many people are lucky enough to be surrounded by some of the top athletes and it doesn’t happen very often. coaches in our sport when they do Fran for the first time, but I’d guess it doesn’t happen very often. Next up was CrossFit Boston. It was the last box I visited. I could have picked any number of boxes and probably had a great experience, but in the end I picked CrossFit Boston We partnered up, gathered our weights and claimed some because of its location and its WOD that day. space on the pull-up bars. My partner was going first, and moments before the workout started, Mel shouted out, 3x5 deadlifts “You aren’t doing Decepticon, you are doing Fran. Ready? then: 3-2-1 … go!” Helen Rows a Boat I had been doing CrossFit for about six months but had never done Fran. I had a few minutes to prepare while my CrossFit Boston is a smaller-sized box with an awesome partner flew through it. I’m sure most people will tell you set-up—a running theme of my trip, for sure. But CrossFit they remember the first time they did Fran. Even Greg boxes know how to fit their equipment into small spaces

The whiteboard at CrossFit Boston. It’s blurry to replicate the hazy post-WOD condition of your vision.

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Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com Field Trip ... (continued) without feeling crowded. Jen Kelly ran the warm-ups, I had such a great experience with these drop-ins that I and while the class was going through it, she split us into am now looking forward to other opportunities to do it groups for each platform based on our max deadlifts. again. I have an upcoming trip to Austin, Texas, and plan This saved a lot of time and kept the weights for each set on dropping in at CrossFit Central. similar—a really good method for keeping a class moving. Do you have a business trip or vacation planned in 2011? Do a little research before you go and you might come back home with a few new T-shirts.

The community aspect of F CrossFit was showcased at each affiliate.

Helen is one of my favorite workouts, so I was looking forward to this variation on it. Much like every other box I visited, the energy was awesome, and everyone who finished the workout encouraged others to finish. I even found myself giving cues to a guy that was working on his kipping pull-up. Final Thoughts It was great to experience different trainers, different warm-up methods, different everything. We know the phrase “constantly varied” is a big part of the CrossFit definition, and experiencing the same or similar workouts in different environments with different members of the About the Author community felt like something that should almost be After spending the first 30 years of his life in New England, a requirement. Michael Melillo relocated to Silicon Valley, Calif., for a shiny The community aspect of CrossFit was showcased at each new job at Apple Inc. He was in and out of Globo Gyms since affiliate. Although the first two I visited had small classes high school but never could keep a routine. One Saturday he and the next two had larger classes, the spirit was the got up the courage to head down to CrossFit Santa Clara. He’s same at all of them: encouraging, welcoming, inspiring. been hooked ever since. He has a blog of progress, thoughts and other random things at www.perfectmike.com. These four affiliates—and really all affiliates I researched in the New England area—did a great job of being accessible. All of them quickly responded to e-mails about dropping in, they all have Facebook pages and responded to messages there as well, and their websites all had great information beyond WODs and directions.

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Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com MUNCHKIN MUNCHIES by Sweet Cheeks Headquarters overview “Daaad, I’m hungry! Mooom, when’s dinner ready?” How many times have you heard that? Satisfy their munchies with crunchies! A mouthful of carrot and coconut is a delightful combination and will take your little munchkins a while to chomp through. blocks 1 carbohydrate block 2 fat blocks Sweet Cheeks Headquarters Headquarters Cheeks Sweet

ingredients directions 1 cup chopped carrots 1. Place coconut in the center of the plate. Surround with carrot sticks. 1 tbs. shredded coconut Notes Serve with one rolled-up slice of turkey breast for 1 protein block.

Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com Perspectives for a Successful CrossFit Kids Affiliate Becca Borawski looks at the CrossFit Kids program from the perspectives of the participant and the parent.

By Becca Borawski CrossFit LA April 2011 Carlos Tapia-Grullon Carlos Unlike an adult program, one thing you need to consider when building your CrossFit Kids program is your actual potential client. It’s easy to assume your potential clients are the children. The people you are actually enrolling, however, are the parents.

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Kids’ Concerns vs. Parents’ Concerns I see most children’s programs as being somewhere on a sliding scale: on one side you have the group classes that are essentially babysitting combined with some basic gymnastics, and on the other you have the highly structured martial-arts programs requiring years of commitment. You want your CrossFit Kids program to be closer to the martial- arts schools than babysitting. You want to create a program where children get fit, learn good movement patterns and have fun. You want to establish good nutrition habits and build the lifestyle of fitness from an early age. To create a successful program, you need to be able to approach these goals from two different standpoints—the concerns of the children and the concerns of the parents.

Look at your CrossFit Kids program through the critical Carlos Tapia-Grullon eye of a parent.

Children may not care if you don’t have a nutrition Parents have concerns beyond those of their children. component to your classes, but their parents probably will. A child may not notice if you have a nutrition element in your program, but it is my experience most parents find Look at your CrossFit Kids program through the critical this very important. Parents will appreciate your support eye of a parent with the concerns listed above. How do of their child’s academic and sports goals, whereas a you answer those questions for the parents? Through child could easily have fun in class without that emphasis. your marketing, website and curriculum, you can create a When creating your program and speaking to parents, it’s school that addresses parents’ needs while providing a fun important to think about this bigger picture. learning environment for the children.

Child’s Concerns Parent’s Concerns

• Having fun • Boosting conﬁdence • Lifelong ﬁtness • Making friends • Succeeding in sports • Nutrition • Learning new things • Building good behavior • Safety • Being good at something • Opportunities for success • Clean environment • Winning prizes • Supporting academics • Schedule

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If your focus is just on the children, they may have fun, but their parents will not appreciate the potential value of the General Physical Skills Life Skills program, and it’s likely their membership will be shortlived They will move on to the next new thing. If, using CrossFit • Cardiovascular endurance • Conﬁdence Kids as a tool, you make a parent’s job easier and make the • Stamina • Self-discipline child feel like a superstar, you will have a family of clients for life. • Strength • Goal setting • Flexibility • Focus Life Skills vs. General Physical Skills • Power • Manners As adults who train in and coach CrossFit, we understand • Speed • Teamwork sometimes CrossFit can be the vehicle through which • Coordination • Leadership larger life lessons are learned. We have all had moments where commitment, integrity, consistency or some other • Accuracy • Sportsmanship aspect of our way of being was called to the forefront due • Agility • Academic achievement to our pursuit of our CrossFit goals. As coaches, we have • Balance • Communication worked clients through situations where life got in the way of the WOD, whether it was the client not showing up to the gym or the manner in which he or she did show up. out as a school, not merely an activity, is by addressing the With a children’s program, this scenario of CrossFit lesson list of life skills. as life lesson is magnified a thousand fold. One of the stumbling blocks you will encounter as you Recall the sliding scale between babysitting programs attempt to grow your CrossFit Kids program is push-back and martial-arts schools. There are many fitness or sports from parents and coaches. Parents worry children will be programs that address some aspect of the general physical overscheduled or will stop liking CrossFit. Coaches worry skills. Where you can differentiate yourself and truly stand you are trying to steal their athletes. Carlos Tapia-Grullon Carlos Emphasizing life skills as well as CrossFit skills is a way to keep parents and athletes engaged.

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If your CrossFit Kids program includes a focus on life skills vs. being solely about fitness, then you are not a threat but instead a source of support. If on top of the 10 general physical skills you are also teaching leadership, discipline, focus, confidence and listening skills, you are providing the tools for that child to achieve success in academics and sports. Such a contribution will be appreciated by parents and coaches alike.

If you were the cause of better grades and improved behavior, that parent will renew the child. If you help a coach create a winning team,

he will become your fan. Karen Leah Photography

If you were the cause of better grades and improved behavior, that parent will renew the child. If you help a coach create a winning team, he will become your fan. About the Author: Look at your program and consider the following Becca Borawski is CrossFit LA’s program director and the questions: What are the concerns parents have when given founder of their CrossFit Kids program. She has an MFA the choice to enroll their child? What are the concerns a in cinema-television production from USC, is a freelance football or basketball coach has when you approach him writer, and, with her business partners, produces amateur or her to train a team? How can you acknowledge these MMA shows in Southern California. The most fun she has all concerns and present yourself as a solution? week is teaching her Kids classes. Check out her website at Recently, a parent came to me after class. She told me she Nerdjockprincess.com. wished we had kids’ classes every day of the week. Since starting at CrossFit LA, her daughter is happier and better behaved. As a result, mom is a happier person too. Her daughter is also fitter and stronger, but what causes her to believe CrossFit Kids LA is the best thing she ever found are the things brought about by the emphasis on life skills. “My daughter is a different child on the days she does CrossFit,” she told me.

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Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at http://journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to [email protected] Visit CrossFit.com Dead On Chris Mason offers a program designed for CrossFitters who want to improve their deadlifts without compromising overall fitness.

By Chris Mason April 2011 All images Staff/CrossFit Journal All images Staff/CrossFit

Thus far, we have not seen too many competitive CrossFit athletes with a big pull. I firmly believe this relates to how CrossFitters normally attempt to integrate strength training with their CrossFit programming. The purpose of this article is to provide some new ideas to use in building your deadlift and improving your overall CrossFit performance.

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A.J. Roberts of Westside Barbell working on box squats with a safety squat bar.

I suppose one’s interpretation of a “big pull” can vary quite As stated above, until very recently many CrossFitters’ significantly. I come from a powerlifting background, but strength training (not counting clean and snatch variations; I am not expecting CrossFitters to become the record- they are a different form of strength training than what I am holding deadlifters in their respective weight classes. It’s referring to here) consisted primarily of pressing, deadlifting obviously not realistic to expect a good CrossFitter to pull and squatting following a linear-progression program. 800-plus lb., but I do think it’s realistic that we should see a CrossFit main-site programming, of course, does not lot more 550-plus-lb. pulls from the men and 350-plus-lb. follow that pattern, and athletes are not presented with pulls from the women. a linear program where they try to increase the weight Linear-Progression Folly on the lifts each session. But when many CrossFitters Linear progression and the idea of “just sticking with the start a supplementary or strength-bias program basics” (with respect to strength training) have been more or designed to increase their strength, they fall back on less ingrained into the CrossFit culture up until very recently. the old linear model. This is a recipe for mediocrity. Yes, With the addition of Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell to you can progress in each exercise on a linear plan, but the seminar team, that has started to change. My goal is said progression will not take the trainee beyond inter- to further promote the change and provide a manner in mediate strength levels (with a very, very few genetic- which CrossFitters can take Louie’s training methodologies freak exceptions). and integrate them with their CrossFit WODs.

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The Westside Solution A huge component of the efficacy of Louie Simmons’ Westside Barbell training methodology is its use of conjugate variety (CV). In the classic Westside template, CV is used primarily on maximum-effort (ME) training days and involves the rotation of compound exercises by body part weekly. The norm is four exercises (those the lifter finds are best for him or her) used for the rotation. Each four-week rotation thus becomes a mini-cycle, and at the completion of each mini-cycle, the process starts all over again the following week.

The weekly rotation of compound exercises helps prevent neural stagnation due to the unique effect each exercise has on the central nervous system.

CV addresses both of the major shortcomings of linear- Sometimes correcting very specific weaknesses requires progression systems noted above. The weekly rotation you to think outside the box. of compound exercises helps prevent neural stagnation due to the unique effect each exercise has on the central Linear progression is limited in the results it can provide nervous system (CNS). Even small variances in movement for two main reasons. The first is that most linear programs are perceived very differently by the CNS, thus stressing it promote the use of the same exercises over and over. in a unique way. Additionally, each exercise places greater Training any compound movement at a high intensity in emphasis on different body parts, thus helping address such a repetitive fashion leads to neural stagnation and individual weaknesses. possible regression. In other words, the nervous system gets overwhelmed and adaptation ceases, or the individual For example, if a trainee’s weakness in the squat is the lower literally goes backwards in his training. back, then the incorporation of both good mornings and deadlifts into the rotation addresses the problem by using The second main reason classic linear progression fails is exercises that more specifically target the weakness in tied to the first. Repetition of the same exercises is again the squat. the culprit. In this case, repeating the same compound movements never addresses individual weaknesses. Westside also utilizes dynamic-effort (DE) or speed Everyone has a relative weakness on every compound training. A separate day is allotted for this style of training. movement. Repeatedly performing the same movement The purpose of DE is to help build explosive strength, to does nothing to address said relative weakness but only allow for higher volume, and to function as a form of active improves the weak part in proportion to the strong recovery (it is much less taxing on the CNS than ME work). part. This ultimately—and usually in short order—limits absolute progress and might promote injury.

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The Routine Day 2 With the above basic preamble done, it’s time for the DE exercise: box squats with bands program. I have designed a 12-week template that incor- porates ME, DE and CV with a focus on the deadlift. The Accessory work: program also provides for three days per week of conven- Pull-through—2x20 tional WODs, thus allowing the trainee to experience no detraining effect relative to CrossFit fitness. Ab work—2x20 Day 1 below will always be ME day. Week 3 Day 1 Day 2 below will always be DE day. Days 1 and 2 should have at least 72 hours between them. ME exercise: good morning Sets and reps when applicable are listed in the following Accessory work: format: 2x15. This indicates 2 post-warm-up sets are to be Speed rack pull with bands—8x3 (from roughly 3 inches done for 15 repetitions each. Other than speed work, all below the knees) accessory sets listed in this format should be taken to the point where another rep cannot be completed without Hamstring curl with dumbbell held between feet—2x20 assistance. Ab work—2x20 Week 1 Day 2 Day 1 DE exercise: box squat with bands ME exercise: box squat with bands (video) Accessory work: Accessory work: Glute bridge—2x15 Speed pull from the floor—15x1 Glute-ham raise—2xAMRAP Hamstring curl with dumbbell held between feet—2x15-20 Ab work—2x20 Ab work—2x20 Week 4 Day 2 Day 1 DE exercise: box squat with bands (video) ME exercise: deadlift from floor Accessory work: Accessory work: Glute bridge—2x20 (video) Glute-ham raise—2xAMRAP Glute-ham raise—2xAMRAP (video) Sumo-stance good morning with a Jump Stretch Ab work—2x20 band—1x100 Week 2 Ab work—2x20 Day 1 Day 2 ME exercise: rack pull with bands (from roughly 3 inches DE exercise: box squat with bands below the knees) Accessory work: Accessory work: Glute bridge—2x15 Glute-ham raise—2xAMRAP Seated hamstring curl with Jump Stretch band—2xAMRAP Heavy sled pull—6x20 yards (do not run with the sled) Ab work – 2x20 Ab work—2x20 The mini-cycle is now complete. Repeat for 2 more cycles.

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Routine Tutorial The first two weeks will consist of 12 sets of 2 reps (after ME Work warm-up) with the third week being 10 sets of 2 reps. A major goal of speed work is to improve one’s rate of ME training involves the lifter warming up to a force production. To that end, each rep must be fast. The one-repetition-maximum (1RM) attempt. This style of negative or eccentric portion of the movement should training is the most effective means of increasing absolute be controlled (do not drop to the box) but fast, with the strength. To be clear, once the 1RM attempt is complete, concentric portion being as fast and explosive as possible the lifter is done with the movement for the day. (again, always under control). Minimize rest between sets, Example: but take enough that speed does not suffer. The last set should be as fast as the first. Deadlift from the floor Prior to commencing the second wave in Week 4, you 135x5 should retest your 1RM box squat. That can be done 185x5 prior to your ME deadlift for the day. If you have access to different bars (safety squat bar, cambered bar, etc.), use a 225x3 different bar for each test and subsequent wave. 275x1 315x1 335x1RM attempt Done! DE Work Two kinds of speed work are incorporated into this program. For the designated DE days, the speed work in this routine is performed with a box squat and Jump Stretch bands. In addition to the DE-day squats, speed pulls are used as an accessory movement on a couple of the ME days. Prior to commencing the program, you will have to test your 1RM box squat because DE squat training is a percentage-based system. It consists of 3-week waves using 60, 65 and 70 percent of your 1RM bar weight plus the bands. For the purposes of this routine, “strong” bands should be used for all DE training (you can find them at Westside Barbell). To illustrate a three-week wave, let’s assume you have a tested 1RM box squat of 300 lb. (no bands being used for the 1RM test). Your three-week wave will be as follows: Week 1—180 lb. bar weight + strong bands Week 2—195 lb. bar weight + strong bands

Week 3—210 lb. bar weight + strong bands Accessory work is designed to address the specific weaknesses that are holding you back.

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The Use of Bands Jump Stretch bands, commonly known as just “bands,” movement causes a significant portion of the ROM to be are an integral component of this program. Bands take essentially an unloading phase. With the addition of bands, standard barbell training to the next level by simultane- this inherent weakness is eliminated. As the movement ously increasing intensity and efficiency. would normally get easier, the bands are stretching and increasing the resistance, thus forcing the lifter to exert If you are unfamiliar with bands, they are essentially giant much greater effort throughout the ROM. versions of the common rubber band we are all familiar with. When they are secured on one end and attached to Bands can also serve to promote what Louie Simmons a barbell on the other, they change the resistance curve calls “overspeed eccentrics”—lowering the weight faster dramatically. This change forces the lifter to work harder than might otherwise be possible. While not necessarily throughout the range of motion (ROM) of the exercise. optimal for bodybuilding training, this style of training Think of the standard barbell squat. As you stand back up is quite beneficial for strength applications. The speed with the weight, the movement becomes progressively of descent very directly correlates with the speed of the easier due to improved leverage as the involved joint concentric (or positive) portion of the ROM. In other words, angles change. This phenomenon of the physics of the the faster you lower the bar the faster you lift it.

Bands play a big role in Westside training and completely change the dynamics of a movement.

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greater speed of movement. This leads to lifters who are able to maintain perfect form even at high speeds Sloppy form with big loads is (I am not speaking of the Olympic lifts here—they are a recipe for training disaster. another story). Bands can also provide another form of conjugate variety. You can do the exact same movement with varying band tension, resulting in exercise that is perceived by the nervous system quite differently. A point of caution: many less experienced lifters will try to employ this technique and end up hurting themselves. Here is a video demonstrating how to set up bands for The caveat with overspeed eccentrics is that the lifter must squatting: video. always remain in control. Sloppy form with big loads is a One note on band set-up: always be sure to use sufficient recipe for training disaster. I always recommend a lifter band tension at the bottom of the ROM such that the learn how to perform a given exercise using slow and bands never totally unload and get slack. controlled form first. It is only after they have mastered the basic technique that I have them begin to explore

Once your form is solid, work on moving the weight with explosive speed.

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Exercises Used This article contains video links to examples of some Give this program a try and let me see some more of the lesser-known exercises in the program. Proper competitive CrossFitters with 600-lb.-plus deadlifts! performance of each exercise is of extreme importance. Improper technique can lead to both short- and long-term F injury. Do not let your ego dictate your training. Do not sacrifice form for weight or speed. If you have any questions about exercises that do not have video links, or even for those that do, please ask them in the CrossFit Journal comments section for this article or on the CrossFit Message Board. I will do my best to answer any and all questions. WOD Incorporation and Training Timing CrossFit WODs are not my area of expertise. I am familiar with them and certainly understand the physiological machinations of the exercise form, but I feel it best to leave the choice of WODs to you, the experts. My only caveat is that some consideration is given to avoiding truly strength-focused WODs like King Kong. About the Author I do wish to address WOD timing relative to the ME Chris Mason is the owner of AtLarge Nutrition. Chris has been and DE days. ME and DE training sessions should be 72 involved with bodybuilding and powerlifting for over two hours apart. The days of the week are not of particular decades. He is an accomplished writer in the genre, having importance, but if you have your ME day at 5 p.m. on published articles in Athlete, Planet Muscle, Ironman Monday, your DE training should fall at 5 p.m. the following and Powerlifting USA magazines, as well as online. You Thursday. Optimal WOD timing would see a WOD follow can view several of his articles on his website WannaBeBig. both the ME and DE days, with the third WOD falling on com. Chris currently resides in Charlottesville, Va., and makes either Wednesday or Saturday following the Monday- monthly treks to Ohio to train at Westside Barbell with Louie Thursday/ME-DE training protocol used here. Simmons. He is also a member of Louie’s team for CrossFit Go Lift! Powerlifting Seminars. The stated goal of this program is to build your deadlift while simultaneously allowing you to improve your CrossFit WOD times. If followed as prescribed, it will do exactly that. As you build the absolute power of your posterior chain and continue to practice your CrossFit training, you will find there is a direct correlation between increased absolute strength and improved WOD performance. Regardless of other factors, as absolute strength increases, all loads become “lighter” or, more accurately, become a lower percentage of your 1RM (lower intensity). The lower the intensity, the longer you can continuously perform a given exercise. And in a CrossFit workout, if the load feels light, you can ramp the intensity back up by cranking up the speed.

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