An article in The Independent  describes a new book by anthropologist Peter McAllister, entitled Manthropology, in which he asserts that by almost any standard modern man is a total wimp compared to any of his predecessors. The book begins with the inauspicious statement “If you’re reading this then you – or the male you have bought it for – are the worst man in history.” You name it – speed? Usain Bolt ain’t got nothin’ on the ancient aborigines who could, according to analysis of fossil records, chase an animal in the mud up to 37 km/h. Jumping, throwing, strength, endurance? All of our greatest modern achievements would have been easily matched or outdone by the most common of our furry forebears.

Our specialty is in NOT specializing.” “Preparation for the unknown and the unknowable.” “Fitness requires an ability to perform well at all tasks, even unfamiliar tasks, tasks combined in infinitely varying combinations. In practice this encourages the athlete to disinvest in any set notions of sets, rest periods, reps, exercises, order, of exercises, routines, periodization, etc. Nature frequently provides largely unforeseeable challenges; train for that by striving to keep the training stimulus broad and constantly varied.”

Luz swinging her kettlebell like there's no tomorrow.

Sometimes I imagine, that to our friends, CrossFit must appear to be a Quixotic adventure. They don’t see the “giants” we see. Why must we do hundreds of things? Why must we lift so much, so fast, so often? To that I say, because I can, because I want to, because it is there. And maybe, because as a kid I imagined myself a superhero, and now for an hour a day, I get to be one. I get to lift heavy things, leap on boxes, and do things that to my friends seem inhuman. If I picture my cape flying behind me, maybe I can even run faster.

So, let us be a legion of Don Quixotes, tilting at windmills and being superheroes. Let us go out into the world inspired and big. Let reason and logic remain for the small.

Johana, Erica, and Hector

 I wrote these to put some handles on training at Walnut CrossFit. What do you think? Did we miss anything?

1. Do not think you can master CrossFit or achieve elite fitness in a day. It will take an entire lifetime to learn. Keep showing up. Be consistent, even when you don’t feel like it. That is the key.

2. Arrive early and stay late. Anything less is to cheat yourself of the experience, and to rob others of the gift of your presence and support as part of the community.

3. Virtuosity is defined as performing the common, uncommonly well. Master your body and the mechanics of movement. Practice the fundamentals. Then add speed and intensity.

4. Accidents and injuries usually come as a result of impatience. Don’t be greedy. Slow down. Ask questions. Ask for help. Check your ego at the door.

5. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Clean up after yourself. Wipe down and put away all equipment, clean up sweat, spit, blood, chalk, dirt, and handprints after every workout.

6. Empty barbells were not designed to be dropped. Neither were dumbbells or kettlebells.

7. Chalk is useful, even necessary. It is also messy. Use as much as you need, but keep the excess inside the chalk bucket.

8. Grunting, screaming, cussing and otherwise making noise are all welcome and encouraged during a workout. Also remember that there can be such a thing as too loud, crass, gross or rude – be respectful.

Please be careful with your weights. Control the weights on their descent

I know that many of us, myself included, started working out not to become a better athlete necessarily, but just to get in better shape. The more I do this, though, the more I feel that inner athlete yearning to get out. What we do is a sport, and one of the most exciting ways to participate in sports is to test yourself. Of course we do this each time we work out – but did you ever want to get out and see what you could do outside of our walls? Go try a 5k, Mud Run, mini Tri-Athalon, or join a Basketball or Volleyball league or Martial Arts.
“Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction.”
- William James, American psychologist and philosopher

You hear a lot of people in CrossFit talking about training their weaknesses, and while this is great in practice (who, after all, really wants to have “chinks” in their armor) it’s really fun and exciting to work on the skills at which you naturally excel, love doing, and consider to be your strengths. I for one love when a workout comes up that hits all my strengths, and while this may not do as much for me in terms of training my weaknesses, damn it’s fun – and also usually really hard! Remember that training strengths is how specialists become the best in the world – they find the one thing that they’re great at, and do nothing but train in those areas that will make them better at that one skill or sport (Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt, etc).

Since there are so many areas that go into making an elite level CrossFitter, you will naturally have strengths in certain areas. Have you identified them? Have you set a goal? Are you training in those areas? And are you seeing progress?

Some one had a good workout. The left their sweat ghost behind..lol

What inspires you? What makes you work harder and think bigger when it comes to CrossFit? For me – I’m reminded to think big by the brand new students. It’s SCARY to walk in this place. Maybe you have never seen this kind of equipment before. Maybe you have never done Olympic lifts. Where are the mirrors? Where are the machines? For people to step outside their comfort zone, walk into a gym like none they’ve ever seen, walk into group of strangers and do something that requires, at its core, NOT looking good — that is a big and courageous step. I am constantly re-inspired by the new students that walk in the door and take on CrossFit. Despite any trepidation, they know that something bigger is out there on the horizon for them. For us all!

For those of you that did Nancy yesterday.

 Why are you always hearing those words when you squat, “Hips back! Hips back!” Well, using the overhead squat as an example, the plane of the bar should bisect the body. Meaning, if you were split in two by the bar, half your weight should be in front of it and half behind it. In order to accomplish this, you need to push your hips back behind you. This engages the muscles in the backs of your legs, plants your weight in your heels, and positions your weight evenly underneath the bar.

In the photos below, you can see on the left what happens when you do NOT push your hips back. Your weight ends up in your toes, your quads are working overtime, and your knees are pushed far out in front. Most of your weight is in front of the bar. This is a precarious and unstable position.

The photo on the right is much closer to a proper overhead squat. The knees and hips are back and the shoulders are much more open. Although, to achieve a more solid connection between the heels and the ground, a good pair of weight lifting shoes would help get the squat form even closer to perfect!

If you’re anything like me, you don’t stretch enough. It’s not glamorous. It’s nothing like picking up a barbell, doing “Fran” or running a 5k. Stretching is something you do for a few minutes to warm up your joints, swinging your leg, and arms,  or rolling your neck.

But what about performance? If I told you that by stretching, and gaining an improved range of motion that was “already there”, low lying fruit that by taking five minutes before a workout, you would capture, and subsequently increase your back squat or deadlift by 30+ lbs, increase the load you could hold overhead in the bottom of a snatch, or improve your “Fran” time by 30 seconds. Would you do it?  For me, that answer is YES. No, it’s HELL YES. What about you?

Marcela

Some of you have already had the pleasure of working out with Marcela. For those of you that have not….here she is. Marcela has been with us for a few weeks now and is adapting to CrossFit pretty well. Marcela is a Nurse Practitioner, wife and mother of 2 children. When she is not CrossFitting, she likes to Skydive and Bunjee jump. Marcela also shared that she is a very competitive and very dedicated individual…..Two traits that work well with CrossFit. Welcome Marcela!