Clara S

Since we are all built differently sometimes a particular approach or method tends to 1.) “fit” us with better leverage, or 2.) challenge us out of our normal execution. The sumo deadlift is no different.

For those with longer limbs the conventional deadlift seems to be good for most. Those with shorter limb lengths might find that the sumo deadlift is actually faster for lockout.

ARTICLES

+ 12 Ways to Maximize Your Rest Day – BarBend

CrossFit WOD for Deload Thursday 1/19

establish a heavy 5-rep sumo deadlift in 15 minutes, then

6 rounds, each for time:
3 box jumps
6 hang power cleans
3 thruster

Fitness = 24/20″ box & 52/38kg, Performance = 32/24″ box & 70/50kg

Post fastest time to whiteboard!

HellaFit WOD

DEATH VALLEY

Descending rep ladder 12-1:
KBS
box jumps/step-ups

Ascending rep ladder 1-12:
front squats
push presses

Mark G, Jeff P, Tony L, Cheryl C

How many people will skip CrossFit class today because they’re scared of rowing? Believe me, you don’t hate it, you don’t suck at it, you’re just scared.

If you were thinking about not coming, I double dog dare you to show up and kick a C2’s ass.

ARTICLES

+ 4 Tips to Improve Your Rowing Technique – Box Life Magazine

CrossFit WOD for Deload Wednesday 1/18

NOT Double Pyramid HELEN

for time*:
1500m row
63 wall ball, 20/14#
36 pullups
1000m row
42 wall ball, 20/14#
24 c2b pullups
500m row
21 wall ball, 20/14#
12 strict pullups

If you feel pretty damn good today, feel free to go for it. If your body needs some recovery just go through this list bit by bit with plenty of rest in between. Short sets. There is no time limit so you can mosey on through as you’d like.

Post time (or just attendance) to whiteboard.

Olympic Weightlifting WOD – w4d2

front squat, clean + front squat + jerk complex, behind-the-neck push press

Kettlebell WOD

GFE
Planks/Armbars
Skills: Snatch
Strength Day #5: 8 swings per arm every minute for 10 minutes

Did you know: Registration for the 2017 CrossFit Games Open is now live!

To be honest, in its form right now, The Games website sucks. You’d have to wonder why they changed it from last year. Anyway…

You can be eligible for a $20 credit towwards your April membership dues with the following:

a.) Register for the CGO and join Team Foundation CrossFit. (We can check this on the CGO leaderboard)
b.) Send in your 2017 Online Judges Course Certificate to info@fcf
c.) Complete all 5 workouts and submit scores online. (We can validate completion at the end of the CGO)

That essentially means that the Open is free for you as long as you commit to seeing it through. Other benefits to YOU by registering to play:

1.) Have a benchmark for your fitness. For yourself, for 2017, for where you stand region-wide, country-wide, worldwide, etc
2.) You’ll be eligible to participate in our 2017 FCF Intramural Open! See if your team can win the Golden Hammer. There will be two chances.
3.) BE ACCOUNTABLE for your work. You do it day and day out- might as well see if you can commit to seeing it through, watching the announcements live with us, geeking out with the community as a whole about strategies, and throwing down! PR CITY!

ARTICLES

+ Multiple Oregon Players Hospitalized As a Result of Team Conditioning Workouts – The Score

CrossFit WOD for Tuesday 1/17

EMOM for 10 minutes: 2 power clean + 3 front squats

AMRAP in 7 minutes:
7 shoulder-to-overhead, 70/50kg
14 pistols

Use a s2o load that allows you to finish the set in no less than 2 sets.

Post results to comments!

HellaFit WOD

E(VIL)MOM

10 minutes each:

EMOM #1
– 5 air squats
– 4 lunges
– 3 pushups
– 2 burpees
– plank during left over time

EMOM #2
– 5 bent over rows
– 4 RDL
– 3 squats
– 2 push presses
– 1 thruster

EMOM #3
a. 40-sec KBS
b. 40-sec banded walk


Getting the bamboo bar set.

If the godfather of powerlifting says it’s good, do it. In normal bench pressing you can get away with incorrect bar paths. It is not the same with a bamboo bar setup- the stabilizers (or lack thereof) are challenged to the max.

ARTICLES

Am I Deficient In Vitamin D? – Vitamin D Council

CrossFit WOD for Deload Monday 1/16 – 38 Days until the 2017 CrossFit Games Open

bench press 5x3x75%, then

4 rounds for maximum effort:
– 40sec burpees
– 40sec plank on rings
– 40sec knees-to-elbows
– 40sec hollow rock
– 40sec jumping lunges
– 40sec back bridge

The bench triples should have a tempo of control-bounce-explode. Build the best movement and muscle with full power at the right time.

The goal of the four-rounder is to work dynamically as quickly as possible in a decently long work cycle- how many reps can you achieve? Then we immediately move onto a “prove-it” static position to see if the joints have what it takes to remain strong in a full range-of-motion.

Post score to whiteboard!

Olympic Weightlifting WOD – W4D1

back squat, snatch + OHS, snatch high pull, abs & back

Kettlebell WOD

 

Mika T

In the CrossFit world of barbell you’ll hear the term “cycling” used in regards to how well you can string your reps together. Today we get to focus on cycling the 3 cleans three times every round.

The CrossFit high-cycling methods have slight differences from traditional Olympic Weightlifting. These include (but aren’t limited to) stance, grip, foot movement, finish positions, and breathing technique. Watch the video of Sam Briggs and Annie Thorisdottir go at it with snatches. See if you can spot some of the differences in their techniques.

ARTICLES

The Evolution of Fitness Fashion – Men’s Health

CrossFit WOD for Volume Sunday 1/15

6 sets of the following complex:
high hang clean + hang clean + touch-and-go clean + push press
high hang clean + hang clean + touch-and-go clean + push jerk
high hang clean + hang clean + touch-and-go clean + split jerk

One set consists of all 12 reps. Try not to drop the bar during the entire set; if you must drop after the overhead movements, it’s allowed – just be quick to get back on the bar.

Rest as needed between sets and try to increase weight after each set.

HellaFit WOD

We end our Volume Week tomorrow (Sunday) and our Deload Week begins on MLK Jr Day where we will run a full schedule of classes.

In our deload weeks we focus more on mobility for warmups to take care of anything from the week prior, take longer in our skills sessions to get movement right and memorized, and use more of the funky movements not often seen in popular CrossFit workouts such as back bridges, slam ball, and sotts presses.

Community CrossFit WOD

EVERYONE, MEMBERS OR NOT, ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US AT 12pm!

CrossFit WOD for Saturday 1/15

Fitness

5 rounds of
200 running skips
20 pullups
30 push jerk, 20/15kg
50 lunges

Performance

5 rounds of:
50 double unders
10 hspu
20 pullups
30 weighted pistols, 20/14#

Competition CrossFit

“BRENTON”, kettlebell fixation drills, 3-part AMRAP, Big Clean Complex

Flashback Friday: Colin B doing HSPU back at FCF 3.0

Some random things:
– Tomorrow we are hosting a FREE COMMUNITY WORKOUT at 12pm SHARP. Bring anyone you want! Just show up!
– Not this coming Saturday, but NEXT Saturday is our Holiday Party at Optimism Brewery.
– Registration for the 2017 CrossFit Games Open is up! This year will be like last year at FCF w/ the Intramural Open starting with VERSUS X and ending with VERSUS XI!
– Apparently if you purchase a pair of the new Reebok CrossFit Nano 7’s then you get a free 2017 CrossFit Games Open registration!

Also: I already registered myself AND Team Foundation CrossFit:

ARTICLES

+ China Facing Weightlifting Ban as IOC Sanctions More Athletes Over Doping – BBC Sports

CrossFit WOD for Skills Friday 1/13

Fitness

5 rounds for time:
9 Z-press, 20/15kg
9 pushups
9 dips

Performance

5 rounds for time:
9 hspu
9 pushups
9 ring dips

Olympic Weightlifting WOD

overhead squat, snatch + snatch balance, 2 cleans + 1 jerk

This is a repost of an email sent to all of our current athletes on January 11, 2017.


We have had an incredible year of growth and improvement as we complete our 7th year of service to the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Foundation CrossFit continues to cement itself as the leader in fitness and exercise, with a strong emphasis on community, virtuosity, and technical skill. This year has seen a welcome growth in the classes we offer, numbering more than any other gym in the neighborhood. We now offer over 85 classes per week, in multiple class types:

  • We offer CrossFit strength & conditioning classes 7 days a week, what we consider our cornerstone fitness program, including a Competitive CrossFit class (formerly Level 2).
  • We added a Olympic Weightlifting program focusing on skill/power/strength development and technical training.
  • We have multiple Fitness classes including HellaFit, Kettlebell, and Mobility, with more to come (Gymnastics perhaps?).

We strive to be a successful fitness program for our athletes by continuing to evolve. We pride ourselves not on how many athletes fill a class at once, but on how long our athletes have been training with us. The tenure of our athletes range from the most recent Foundations Program graduates in the past year to 5-, 6-, and even 7-year veterans of Foundation CrossFit. It is incredibly rewarding to provide an ever evolving fitness and performance program that meets the changing needs of our community.

Our current policy is as follows:

+ RSVP is required for all classes.

+ If you do not plan to attend a class, you may remove your RSVP before class starts.

+ Any no-shows are counted against your monthly allotment of classes.

We have received feedback regarding the situations when classes fill up and there are no more spots available. With our lenient RSVP policy, we have seen that some athletes reserve multiple class spots even though they may not be able to attend, as they are willing to lose the class out of their monthly membership. It is unfortunate for us two-fold: if Athlete A does not show up, their class spot is not only lost to them, but that unused reservation also prevents Athlete B from registering if the class is full.

Our updated RSVP policy is as follows:

+ RSVP is required for all classes.

+ If you do not plan to attend a class, you must remove your RSVP at least 2 hours before class starts.

+ Any no-shows are counted against your monthly allotment of classes. If your RSVP is for a spot in a FULL class and you do not attend, you have essentially taken a class away from another athlete and you will be charged a $10 RSVP fee.

This implementation will allow our athletes to plan their day around their fitness and health, and will reduce the confusion we see when classes fill up. Ultimately, we hope to not charge anyone, and we won’t need to as long as everyone respects the rules.

The Zenplanner interface has been updated with the 2-hour cancellation limit. These RSVP policies, including implementation of the $10 RSVP fee will be enforced as of February 1, 2017.

As always contact us if you have any other questions, comments, or concerns.

 

RSVP Policy FAQ

We have received feedback from athletes who are not able to attend class due to the RSVP being full, and we find that a handful of athletes do not show up after reserving a spot. Requiring a release of the RSVP allows more athletes to attend their preferred class time.

We are implementing a requirement to remove your RSVP at least 2 hours before a class starts. We chose this timeframe because it generally provides an athlete enough time to decide if they can attend a class. It also provides another athlete ample time to be add take that open spot. A $10 RSVP fee for no-shows to a full class will also be implemented.

This is simply an enforcement of the rule. We have considered and tried multiple options, and so far none have worked very well.

If you are currently following the RSVP policy, you are asked to remove your RSVP for a class that you do not attend. This new policy requires you to remove your RSVP two hours before class begins. Furthermore, the RSVP fee will only apply in the situation where we have a class fill to capacity and your reserved spot has prevented someone else from attending the class.

We will be happy to make some exceptions for situations that arise from emergencies or illness. Please send us an email.

No. We actually do not intend for this to be a revenue generator. We have raised our rates just 2 times in the 7 years we have been in business on Capitol Hill (compare this to how many times your local coffee shops and restaurants have raised prices). Even as our costs continue to increase every year, we review our prices annually and do our best to maintain our pricing structure, while continuing to improve our coaches education, classes offered, facility improvements, and equipment.

 

All sports require different amounts of muscle synchronization, balance, flexibility, and coordination as well as strength, speed, power, and metabolic development. Olympic weightlifting provides development in all these areas. While training for maximal strength can have a positive effect on performance, it also can have a “negative effect on movement speed and the ability of a muscle to display explosive effort” (Wenzel & Perfetto 1992). However, this does not mean that strength gains do not happen through training at high speeds. Wenzel and Perfetto characterized strength gains from high-speed training as adaptations “due to an increase in the number of fibers recruited or a more synchronous firing of motor neurons” (Wenzel & Perfetto 1992).

—Philip Sabatini, February 2011 interview with elitefts.net.


Jesse T

ARTICLES

+ Hips, Meet Bar: Bar-Body Contact in the Extension of the Snatch and Clean – Catalyst Athletics
+ Fully Move Every Joint Every Day – The Movement Fix

CrossFit WOD for Thursday 1/12

ab work, then

Fitness

21-15-9 reps for time:
snatch, 52/38kg
toes-to-bar

Performance

21-15-9 reps for time:
snatch, 61/43kg
knees-through-elbows

HellaFit WOD

THREE-TWO-ONE

10 min AMRAP:
– 10 burpee box jumps
– 10 weighted step-ups
– 10 bent over rows

8 min AMRAP:
– 5 front squats
– 3 push presses

12 min EMOM:
– 30-sec max effort KBS

I believe the tools we use to live our lives can improve how efficient we are and sometimes how much we enjoy doing those things. Read more about all the cool tools out there we can use in the fitness world.

Note: It doesn’t add to your price, but I may get a commission off of using some of these links.


Round 2. Let’s begin…

1. FOOTWEAR: NOT-SO-OBVIOUS TRAINING SHOES

This should’ve been the first thing I wrote about (because it’s always the first thing I write about). The only real purchase to make (other than a gym membership) is for a dedicated pair of shoes for our type of work: running, jumping, lifting, gymnastics, etc. When you go bowling you wear bowling shoes. When you go bouldering you wear bouldering shoes. When you play basketball you wear basketball shoes. Following? People start coming in to CrossFit gyms and learning how to lift barbells. Then they go lifting in running shoes. See a disconnect here? We need footwear that fits our needs. The CrossFit community on Reddit have their agreements and disagreements about their importance.

Preferably we at FCF ask that people try to wear a lower-profile shoes. The powerlifting community was in love with the Converse Chuck Taylor for the longest time because they fit a certain need and criteria: flat, stable, durable, looks good, and accessible to most people. They don’t wear them as much now with the growth of weightlifting activities and specified shoes*. I bet you already have some shoes that fit that description: skate shoes (my preference before all these companies jumped onto the CrossFit train), Chuck Taylors (high, low, CT1, CT2), Adidas Sambas, Onitsuka Tigers, Inov-8s, Vibram Five Fingers, VIVOBAREFOOTs, New Balance MinimusAsics MetConvictions, etc.

* The issue of blowing shoes out is an issue when most powerlifters use a lot of external rotation of the hip. The strength of their external rotation is so strong that their foot on the pinky toe side would bust open from all the pressure exerted by the lifter.

2. SUPPLIES: ATHLETIC TAPE

In high school Sports Medicine I found that Johnson & Johnson’s athletic tape is the best athletic tape in the world. Or at least that’s why Mr. Peck instilled in me.

Goat Tape is becoming my new favorite premium athletic tape. Over the past year focusing on my olympic weightlifting this has become my preferred tape that I wrap my thumbs with. The stick of the tape is amazing.

We also sell a CrossFit-branded version at the gym!

3. SUPPLEMENTS: PROTEIN POWDERS

Optimum Nutrition is the best quality + price + accessible protein on the planet IMO. I use other proteins too, but always come back to the Vanilla Ice Cream one. I see many athletes buy into Progenex, but really social media got those people- sponsored athletes always love their sponsors! In reality Progenex is some of the most overrated things on the market- I should know, I’ve inherited both Cocoon (their version of Casein + tryptophan) and More Muscle. Both super sweet (couldn’t do their recommended doses it feel like spoonfuls of sugar) and ineffective. I found that I went through it way too quickly- not a great note when you look at their prices.

For those lactose-intolerant folk you should look into Isolates. It’s not an end-all answer, but some people find they don’t have issues with this supplement because whey protein isolate undergoes another filtration process. The extra process removes the protein from fat, cholesterol and lactose meaning an end product of “purer protein”. It ends up a being a bit more expensive since you’re getting purer product. Still does the same job as the general whey proteins.

For those with hunger issues (or who have trouble keeping muscle on) try some Caesin protein an hour out from sleeping. For athletes who take their training seriously supplementing with Caesin can prevent heavy catabolism (breaking down of muscle tissue) when sleeping.

4. CLOTHING: SOCKS

For me socks play an important part in my comfort. I’m on my feet all day and even if you love your shoes the right kind of sock can upgrade the experience and nullify those little annoyances you might find.

I go to REI frequently just to see what’s new on the market. Smart Wool makes some great performance products, as does Swiftwick. I avoid most “higher-tech” socks because those synthetics used feel like my foot still get sweaty (Strideline and Nike- I’m looking at you!)

That all being said my stance on socks is.. Stance! Starting as a straight skate brand, they’ve noticed that their combination of materials, fit, strategic reinforcements, and of course, their many awesome designs have become my go-to sock brand of choice. Available for men, women, kids, and BABIES! Best believe our little girl is rocking some Stance socks (thanks to Victor, Courtney, and Baby O!)

Not to mention they’re trying to get into the underwear game, but we’ll save my thoughts on that for another time.