Walnut Crossfit

Look what I found…..another great Olympic Weightlifting video.This video just makes you wanna go out hit a new PR(Personal Record) on a Snatch or Clean & Jerk, huh?

In a bicep curl, the bar may move four to six inches. In a Clean and Jerk, the bar moves from the floor to overhead, upwards of seven and a half feet! Every muscle in the body is used, including all the support system. A tough set of Snatches leaves the lifter heaving for breath, sweating in streams, and the heart racing. All this without even having to go the track!

Second, the human body is built in one piece. By lifting the bar from the ground to overhead, the entire body is called into act. As one begins the slow process of adding weights to the Olympic Lifts, the entire body compensates by getting bigger and stronger.

One of the first areas most novices to Olympic Lifting discover is the whole chain of muscles from the gluteus and the spinal erectors to the trapezius. Shirts begin to fit funny as the muscles of the upper back grow to accommodate the pulling movements. What muscles do the Olympic Lifts build? ALL OF THEM!

Third, it is difficult to overtrain or go too heavy on the Olympic Lifts. Certainly, it is possible, but because of the movement from floor to overhead, there is little room for forced reps, overload techniques, or any form of cheating. There is no bench, no rack, no supports. A lifting partner can’t stick his hand on the bar and make you squeeze out an extra rep.

Olympic Lifting demands discipline in choosing weights within your abilities. But, the payoff is worth it. The feeling of hoisting bodyweight from floor to overhead for the first time remains a treasured memory years later.

Fourth, Olympic Lifting workouts don’t take very long. A solid workout of 5-4-3-2-1 or twenty singles can take less than half an hour. Working the entire body, as well as the cardiovascular system, the Olympic Lifts are very taxing. It would be hard to imagine ten sets of ten with bodyweight in the Olympic Lifts. It is hard to imagine one set.

The CrossFit games are here. In a few months we will be crowning the fittest man & woman on the planet. There aren’t any NFL, NBA, Tri-Athletes, MMA Fighters, etc.. that can even come close to holding this title. The fittest man & woman will not come out of a Globo Gym(Bally’s, 24hr Fitness, LA Fitness). If you think you’re fit, prove it! Register for the CrossFit Games and compete. See how you stack against the WORLD.

Marty and Andrew will be competing today at 2pm. Come cheer them on if possible.

Many years of research suggest that there are 4 keys to successful diets:

Psychology (motivation)
Exercise (compounding effect)
Sociology/Family (support mechanisms)
Physiology (eating the right things)
If you don’t address the human needs in each of these areas, you’re unlikely to succeed (consistently) over the long term (persistently). Like most things in life, there aren’t many shortcuts or guarantees.

Suprisingly, most people only focus on 1 or 2 of these key areas.

1) First, “Buddy Week” is here. If you have a friend or family member, who would like to try CrossFit for FREE, bring them in this week. They can train all week for FREE.

2) Above is another video of John & Rosie cooking up one of their favorite dishes. John just left the gym this morning and shared that he is now over 60lbs in total pounds lost. The chicken they made in this video is extremely easy to make and can be used on top of a salad or eaten by itself with some salsa and fruit or vegetables.

We talk about it a lot – getting your chest all the way to the ground during a push up… but it’s pretty rare in a random sampling of athletes during a workout to actually see chests coming all the way to the deck. To do this properly, it is essential that you maintain a neutral or slightly posteriorly rotated pelvis (hollow) so that as you lower yourself, your stomach hips and/or thighs stay off the ground while your chest comes down to touch. You also have to keep your head tucked in so that your nose doesn’t hit the deck before your chest.

While push-ups are probably the movement that requires the least amount of explanation, they are also the movement that is done correctly least often. How’s your push up? If you’re not getting your chest to the deck, and your chest/nose aren’t the first things to touch the ground, simultaneously, you’re only cheating yourself. (Oh and by the way, the proper push up position can be maintained from the knees too!)

The new schedule for “Bring a Buddy Week” is up. You will notice that I added more 5 p.m. and  7 p.m. classes. Also, remember that if you are bringing a buddy, get here early so that your buddy can fill out a waiver. If you and your buddy are late, you will not be allowed to workout or will need to wait for the next class, if there is one. If you would like me to e-mail you a waiver so that your buddy can fill it out before hand, email me at

robert@walnutcrossfit.com

The video above shows Daniel doing a muscle up. The muscle up is one of the most difficult movements we do in CrossFit. Daniel has wanted to do a Muscle Up for quite some time. The sense of accomplishment he felt that day was amazing. It was written all over his face. He left here on cloud 9.
Is there a movement you want to be able to do? What do you think you need to do to be able to accomplish that movement? Will it take lots of practice?

I find CrossFitters can become a very superstitious bunch when it comes to their workouts. The weights need to match, the shoes need to be a specific pair, the chalk needs to be in a certain place, and sometimes a very specific sequence of actions need to take place before a workout can begin. I know for me, I have specific bumper plates I use for certain workouts, depending on the exercises. Whether or not it is real, in my head, it somehow makes a difference. Do you have superstitions about your workouts? What sort of things do you have to have or need to do before you can begin a workout?

I injured my shoulder last week. So pressing anything overhead or pulling anything from the ground is painful at the moment. I can choose not to work out the next couple of weeks while it heals or I can work around it. There are numerous movements that I can still do that will not aggravate it.(air squats, sit ups, running, rowing, double-unders, box jumps, etc…) Andrew is a perfect example of this. Last week his shoulder was also bothering him. So he came in and asked if he could substitute movements because of his injured shoulder. I, of course, said “no problem”. So next time you have an injury, know that you can still CrossFit!

Here is one of three cooking videos I shot of John and Rosie, showing us how they eat and prepare their meals for the week. You guys have heard me preach how preparation is key when trying to eating healthy. John and Rosie are perfect examples of this. As you already know, John has lost an estimated 60 pounds, Rosie about 20, and their daughter Natasha about 11, since they’ve been here.

I personally made these Turkey Patties about 1 week ago and enjoyed them. I am already getting ready to make them again, but with my own little twist to it. If you don’t have a George Foreman grill, then throw them in a pan with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I will be adding this video to the Nutrition section of this website for future reference. Enjoy!