Event two is complete. The first event was fast and furious. This one started with a 2K row which just sets the tone. Athletes had to complete the 2K with enough leg strength and gas for quite a bit more work. After the row comes 50 pistols. These were performed on a squishy mat which complicated the balance. Many athletes were seen bobbling around and hopping to prevent falling over. Then on to the 30 heavy hang cleans.
Amanda started with a solid row. Her goal was to maintain a sub 2:1o pace for the 2K. She was able to do this and walked onto the pistols a bit back in her pack but in good standing. The pistols gained her some ground. With a nice steady pace and not a hitch she showed that solid balance and strong raised leg control is a huge benefit on this movement. Moving to the cleans she powered out a strong first set, then dropped down to 2 and 3 per set from then on. On the return from the rack to hang on one of the later reps the heat of the day and bar knurling got the best of her thumb. A large rip is now going to be with her for the rest of the weekend. She finished the cleans, and ran to the finish (after a short pause due to misunderstanding the finish procedure) for a time of 16:25. Another personal best.
Jill started the row solid. Using brute force to keep pace with the other athletes we knew that she would be behind after the row. Her height limiting her rowing speed placed her near the end of the pack leaving the rowers (but not last). Walking to the pistols she, like Amanda, showed her gymnastics background and just kept moving through the 50 reps. On to the cleans, which exceed her bodyweight. We knew this was going to be another hard piece for her. One rep at a time she worked her way through 15 of the 30 needed reps to finish with a time of 17:15. Also a personal best.
Your athletes start tomorrow morning with the DB Snatch, run workout, followed by the Squat, pull up, shoulder to overhead monstrosity. Keep tuned for more updates.
Event one is complete for the teams and women. Men’s heat are going on right now. Amanda and Jill both performed well.
Amanda was 2 reps shy of completing Dianne when the 9 minute cap was hit giving her a final time of 9:02. She did a fantastic job with this personal best effort. She had 3 no rep HSPU attempts. One because she locked out but was not touching the wall, two for not being able to lock it out. This finish puts her in 30th.
Jill completed the workout in 3:41 with strict HSPU. Finishing well ahead of most of the other competitors in her heat putting her in 9th place after event 1. She also had a no rep called for locking out, but not touching the wall. This is a Cave staple at CF competitions apparently.
Best time of the day for women was Annie Sakamoto with 2:05, just a touch slower than world record holder Kristin Clever’s 1:54 effort. Good day so far. More to come.
So our two lovely lady-dragons are off to regionals today. They’ve been preparing for and dissecting the workouts for months now, and finally the day is here. There are actually 33 girls total competing going “individual” because many of the other lady CrossFitters have opted to compete on the regional teams, but those are 33 of the fittest women in the whole of Northern California including several former CrossFit Games Finals athletes. Some of these athletes have the luxury of being able to dedicate significant time and resources to their training, but both Amanda and Jill have had their plates full for quite some time. Amanda not only coaches, but is now part-owner of The Cave, co-runs the gymnastics program, works part time for the state park service, and is going to school to better prepare herself for a career in health care. (Will she be a doctor? nurse? paramedic? physician’s assistant? Yet to be determined.) Jill is only a full time attorney, wife, mother of two young boys, 43 years old, and in the middle of moving. How they both find the time and energy to train the way they do is difficult to comprehend. Both of our ladies have relatively modest expectations, mainly because they are humble girls, but my predictions are that Jill will establish herself solidly in the top 10 during the first workout if not in the top 5 and then she’ll be fighting for one of the top slots, surprised to find herself easily in the top 18 in workout #6. Amanda will have solid performances in the first few workouts, meeting her goals of finishing under the time cap and then she’ll get to crush workout #5. (Sorry, I can’t help myself- I like making predictions. It’s fun!) No matter how they place though, our ladies are bound to have a wonderful experience, meet great people and make new friendships and we are very, very proud of them. Here is the CrossFit Games page with the event times for each day: http://games.crossfit.com/region/northern-california You have to scroll down and click on “Regional Event Details” for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday to see the start times for each event. There will be two workouts a day for three days for a total of six brutal regional workouts. Roger and Bryan will be down at the Santa Clara fairgrounds today coaching our ladies and keeping us up to date. Be sure to wish these incredible girls luck in their Games’ endeavors!
That's our little Jill Sprague on the right with Terri at the 2010 Nor-Cal 40's. This is what a fire-breathing lady dragon looks like.
August of 2009... back when Amanda was a baby-Crossfitter at the ripe old age of... 23?
These are the WOD’s that Amanda & Jill will be facing over the next 3 days. They should have a blast!
As many of you know, I am off to Regionals tomorrow. I’m excited, a little nervous, but mostly at ease. I’m relieved the day has finally come.
Rich put it well, when he told me a few weeks ago, that he found the competition was now. The competition is training every day. The competition is being really sore and tired, but having the will to pick yourself up anyway to complete that third workout of the day. He was right. The hard part is over.
I’ve done the training. I’ve felt the pain.
It hasn’t been an easy journey for me. I’ve been preoccupied with school, side projects, other jobs, etc. etc. I have not slept well and I have not done all training I wanted to. I’ve had highs and lows. I’ve been self-conscious, and I’ve been cocky. After getting over myself (my ego and my self pity), putting all the pish posh aside, I truly feel that I am as ready as I am going to be. I am my own worst critic. And I often place too much pressure and responsibility on my plate. This is a character defect, I know. But I have to think that it makes me stronger at the end of the day.
The discussion of having “heart” has floated around the gym for a few weeks now. Though sometimes funny and used as a dig at people, its been a fundamental piece of this process for me. My heart has been in it. I came in at 10 pm to do workouts if I didn’t fit them in earlier in the day. I trained alone, a lot. I kept going.
BUT. I couldn’t have held my heart in this if it weren’t for all of you. From the brainstorming of my personal programming, to staying late to watch me workout. From secret packages in my locker, to donating toward this trip. From video taping my 1 arm snatches, to daily check-ins. From the amazing shoulder stretches to suffering right beside me. I thank you all. I am honored to be part of such a community of people. You have all been so helpful, supportive, and encouraging.
Its an amazing feeling to know what a team I have behind me. I hope that through this process, some of you have learned things about yourselves. Realizations of physical neglect, desires for increased intensity, goals of higher standards. We are all capable of a lot more than we think. Sometimes, it comes down to a decision. Do you want it, or don’t you? We all want “it”. We wouldn’t be at The Cave if we didn’t. So as a team, help each other get there, as you have helped me.
My goals? Well going to The Games would be great, but I am not counting on it. I want to finish these workouts under the time caps. Diane: possible, Workout 2: definaltey possible. Day 2 will be a challenge for me. My goals on day 2 are to keep going, and break the benchmarks I have already set. Day 3 will be about strengh, both mental and physical.
My game plan? Stay relaxed, and have fun. That’s all I can do.
And go to the Reebok tent!
Do you ever come across a recipe that you find yourself making every other day? This began innocently enough as a side to grilled salmon (see Moroccon Salmon). Quickly, though, its versatility with other meats became evident. Soon I began spiraling out of control tossing it into salads as an alternative to dressing, cavalierly spooning it onto steamed kale, and yes, eventually just eating it straight from the bowl. Sad but true. Admitting I have a problem hasn’t helped. So instead, I’ll share it. But know you’ve been warned!
Ingredients
ripe mango (Kent variety is great if you want to avoid stringy mangoes)
firm avocado
1/4 red onion
1 to 2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
juice of one lime
juice of half a lemon
Peel and dice the mango and avocado. Place in a medium bowl with chopped cilantro. Finely chop the onion. Place in a sieve. Hold over sink and slowly pour boiled water over the chopped onion. This takes the edge off of them while preserving a delightful crunch. Add to rest of ingredients in bowl along with lemon and lime juice. Mix well and chill. Serve on anything you can imagine this being good with because it is!
This month, our challenge is to try another class. This is a difficult thing for a lot of you because of time commitments and what not. All three other disciplines are ruled out for you if you can only come to the morning CrossFit classes. But an important part of your overall fitness– a part that is often overlooked– is regularly trying new things. It’s important to give yourself something to do with your fitness, as well as to help you discover potential holes in your training.
It's not like there's a lack of options....
Some of you regularly participate or compete in another sport, but many others do virtually nothing but CrossFit. Trying parkour, gymnastics, or judo at The Cave is something we eventually want you to do. But, if the timing doesn’t work for you, you should really consider participating in some of the extra classes, seminars, and events we have coming up.
We have some other stuff in the works for the future, and we’ll put out dates and details as they become available. We’re planning a self-defense seminar for late June, along with the next session of Tough Mudder Training. We also are hoping to do a couple of pool and/or beach swimming workouts, and are in the process of setting up a Summertime “Epic” event, for those of you who enjoy the Epic Bridge Run on the 1st of the year….
Stay tuned for more. And suggestions for classes, workshops and events are welcome. What new things do you want to do?
The other day Marcia T. approached me with a fantastic report from her doc. After the discussion I asked her to write us a testimonial about it, and what I got back was so much more. So in her words….
“Report from the field, by Marcia Trainer
After I shared my recent medical experience with him, Roger asked me if I would write a little blog piece about it. I call it Aging With Cross Fit (!).
If you’re reading this blog, you’re into fitness in a serious way. Cross Fit is thought of as extreme fitness. We’re all motivated for different reasons, but I will say that my personal motivation, at age 65, is to aggressively hold ground and not sink into the inevitable debilities of old age. I can mark exactly the moment of my commitment.
It was at CVS almost 2 years ago when the pharmacist directed me to the section of the store where they kept a particular bandage for my increasingly sensitive skin. Rounding the corner per his directions, I saw an entire area of walkers, canes, high potty seats with handles and a wall full of diapers, but also my special bandages, Tegaderm Film. I walked away and pledged to myself, “Cross Fit for life!” I then started going 4 times a week and have passed my 2-year mark.
What results can I show for this? If we commit to our workouts, we all see the results of our efforts: more stamina, more extremity and core strength, and a generally increased muscularity. If we pursue the paleo diet or some version of it, we begin to see even more: steady slimming and trimming off those extra pounds, and an increased sense of well-being. My recent medical experience, though, acknowledged all of these anecdotal signs and added some clear evidence-based data to Cross Fit’s benefits.
Medicare likes its new members to have baseline physicals. Then we know where we are and can measure where we go from there. I can safely say, it doesn’t take much imagination to guess which direction that “going” takes! My new primary care physician ordered full blood tests and told me we would discuss the results when we met for my physical. I chose her as my PCP because her own bio described a physically active person who had been a personal trainer, mountaineer, diver, and she had done flying clinics in remote areas of Australia and New Zealand. At my appointment she began by remarking at my fitness. She told me she knew about Cross Fit, and had friends who were Cross Fitters. She was thrilled with my blood results generally, and remarked several times that I clearly appeared to be a “very physically fit and athletic” woman who showed excellent eating and exercise habits.
We are all unique. Her one area of concern was that my GFR – glomerular filtration rate – was just under the low normal. She urged me to do 2 things: hydrate-Hydrate-Hydrate (This is something we all should remember!) And avoid eating the red meat that places extra demands on my kidneys, staying with chicken and fish as my meat protein sources. That said though, she told me I had actually made her day by showing her what is possible at 65. She then looked at me and remarked, “I think your arms are better than mine, and I’m on a masters swim team!”
Random folks at zero-g. Will have recognizable photos/video soon.
Saturday May 12th I was given the opportunity to go on a zero G flight. I’ve actually had difficulty scheduling this so it has been available to me for over a year and a half. Let me tell you I’ve been pretty excited about this flight.
The only way to achieve true weightlessness without going into space is to be in a container that is following a parabolic arc actively overcoming air resistance. It is following the path that an object would take if you launched it into the air in a vacuum. So to do this with a plane you basically fly a series of parabolic curves which inside you experience as periods of low or zero gravity followed by periods of increased gravity.
Our flight consisted of 16 parabolas. The first parabola was simulated martian gravity, then we had two parabolas at lunar gravity, then the remaining 13 were zero gravity. The plane is a modified 727. It has a set of typical airline seats in the very back because FAA take off and landing procedures still have to be followed. The rest of the cabin is an open padded tube for room to play. Each parabola yields about 30 seconds of reduced gravity.
At martian gravity you weigh 1/3 your normal weight. Note it is not 1/3 your mass so inertia is exactly the same as here on earth, just gravity is reduced. Something to keep in mind when you do things on this plane. At martian gravity push ups are a joke. To the point where I could just shove off the floor and stand up without bending anything. Planch push ups can be performed without too much trouble. This was our first cycle so I wasn’t able to do too much due to getting acclimated to the reduced gravity as well as our lead restricting activity a bit.
At lunar gravity you weigh 1/6 your normal weight. At this weight I could do a cody (a trampoline move) from lying prone on the floor. Start lying on the floor, shove off with your arms, then perform a back flip to land on your feet, so basically a 1 1/4 back flip from a push up using only your arms. At this gravity movement does become a bit strange due to the gravity/inertia ratio. You have to be quite careful about movement because if you do jump you will slam into the ceiling with considerable force.
Now our third parabola was supposed to be zero g. This did not occur as planned. The plane accelerated a little too much downward. So all of you physics geeks out there think through what would happen if a plane with a compartment full of passengers who are now floating in the cabin accelerated a little bit faster than its passengers. Inside the cabin the effect was that the rear of the plane was now “down” and we all started falling back toward the rear of the plane. This was a really bizarre experience. Some people were close enough to the walls to grab ropes so now they are hanging on the side of the plane. I shifted and basically took the rafting “feet downstream” position and landed on a pile of people at the end of the plane, then started catching other passengers as they landed on the pile. The visual was slowly raining people. The fall wasn’t full earth gravity so there were no significant injuries, but it was a little disconcerting to me, and downright freaky to many. The plane leveled out and we all made our way back to our assigned positions.
For the next 12 cycles the behavior was relatively predictable and we had a lot of opportunity to play. It was a bit frantic because there was a lot I wanted to try, and our lead was also giving us ideas, and 30 seconds is quite a bit of time, but not enough to really settle in and repeat movements much. Approaching the end of each weightless cycle we got the command “Coming out, feet down”. Which means wherever you are reorient your feet to the bottom of the plane because you are about to fall. There were a few incidents of people landing on their heads because it was hard to hear this command on some cycles. I spotted one guy because he was in “death scorpion” position as they issued this command and I happened to be floating by. My coaching hat took over.
There were a couple cycles where I toned down the activity quite a bit. This plan was dubbed by NASA astronauts as the “vomit comet” for good reason. The cycles between low gravity and high gravity do a number on your equilibrium. Around cycle 12 I was feeling it a little. In cycle 13 I got hit by a sudden wave of nausea. Yeah, I almost lost it. There is quite a bit of information and direction on how to limit this, but if you have any tendency toward motion sickness you will want to prepare well for the flight. They have ginger gum on the flight, which helps a ton.
Returning to normal gravity was also odd. Just walking normally just felt off for a while. All in all this was a phenomenal experience and one I highly recommend. The cost normally is quite high. Operating a plane in this fashion is expensive, and the cost has to be distributed over relatively few passengers, but if it is within your means (or you get lucky in some way) take the opportunity.
I will have more media soon. I had a chest mounted camera through the flight, and the crew did a lot of video and photo work as well. Much editing and review is necessary, but I will post soon.
With the premier of American Ninja Warrior
one week and one day away, I’m going to make the case for why this show is good
for the country. I have friends in the
parkour community who are weary of participating in the show, partly because
they claim (perhaps rightfully so) that it is a bit gimmicky, that it isn’t a
parkour competition at all and warps the training of serious traceurs towards
the very particular Ninja Warrior obstacles.
I also know those who kind of snub down
the whole thing, or at least my interest in it, so I’ve decided to write about
some of the reasons I like it and why I think it is good for us and the country
as a whole.
First off, what is
American Ninja Warrior, anyways?
It’s a TV show made
from an obstacle course competition. The
obstacles are completely artificial, often hard, tricky, or down-right
sinister. NBC just bought the rights to American
Ninja Warrior’s predecessor, “Ninja Warrior”, from a Japanese company that ran
the show for 27 seasons in Japan. Ninja
Warrior has largely been considered the hardest obstacle course in the world,
with only three men out of thousands ever beating the course in 27 seasons, one
of them twice.
What kind of athlete
competes in Ninja Warrior?
Any and every kind of
athlete competes in Ninja Warrior. That’s
one of the great parts about it. Olympic
gymnasts, decathletes, track stars, football, basketball, baseball players, martial
artists, traceurs, rock-climbers, dancers, yoga instructors, and personal
trainers. There are even people who don’t
specialize in any type of sport except Ninja Warrior and make replicas of the obstacles
in their homes so they can practice on them.
The top 30 athletes from American Ninja Warrior 2
What kind of athlete
has the biggest advantage in the competition?
In my opinion traceurs
(or parkour practitioners) have the biggest advantage in the first stage of the
competition while rock climbers and gymnasts have the biggest advantage in
stages 2 & 3. Stage four is usually
one long (really long) rope climb, so climbers and gymnasts still have a big
advantage, but it requires a certain amount of metabolic stamina not usually found
in either. Nevertheless any type of
sport or physical activity will in some way train you or improve your chances
for the course. Dancing will improve
your footwork, ball sports help your coordination, aerial silks improve your
upper body strength, Olympic Lifting helps explosiveness, slack lining will
help your balance, fitness programs help your stamina, etc. This is one of the main reasons why I think
the event is so cool. Any type of
athlete will have some advantages and disadvantages depending on what they
specialize in.
So why is the show good
for our country?
American Ninja Warrior
will ultimately promote ALL SPORTS AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES- ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING! There are some activities that will be
highlighted more (such as parkour, rock climbing, and gymnastics) but
ultimately it promotes having an overall active lifestyle. In the U.S. we need people to be more active,
learn new things, care more about their health, and physical capacities all the
while having fun and enjoying the experience.
Since the background os the athletes are so diverse, there will be a lot
of inter-disciplinary crossover. All
these adventurous athletes will have their weaknesses exposed and see how other
athletes from different disciplines fair better in what they’re not terribly
proficient at and will end up taking an interest in practicing new skills. This is spectacular for furthering people’s
physical education and over the years everyone will get to watch certain
specialists evolve and branch out into other disciplines. The incredible exposure that this show is
going to have on broadcast television will help promote these skills and
activities throughout the country. This
new sport (if it can be called that, since obstacle courses have been around
for a long time!) will ultimately encourage us to have more active lifestyles.
What is the schedule
for American Ninja Warrior 4?
ANW 4 will start airing Sunday and Monday
nights on G4 and NBC with new episodes each night from 9 to 11 PM. Here is the projected schedule:
Sunday, May 20: 9
p.m.-11pm ET on G4 – Southwest Regional
Monday, May 21: 9
p.m.-11p.m. ET on NBC – Finals of Southwest Sunday, May 27 9 p.m.-11 p.m. ET on
G4 – Midwest Regional
Monday, May 28: 9
p.m.-10 p.m. ET on NBC – Finals of Midwest Regional
Sunday, June 3: 9
p.m.-11p.m. ET on G4 – Northeast Regional
Monday, June 4: 9
p.m.-10 p.m. ET on NBC – Finals of Northeast Regional
Sunday, June 10: 9
p.m.-11 p.m. ET on G4 – Northwest Regional
Monday, June 11: 9
p.m.-10 p.m. ET on NBC – Finals of Northwest Regional
Sunday, June 17: 9
p.m.-11 p.m. ET on G4 – Midsouth Regional (also called South-Central)
Monday, June 18: 9
p.m.-11 p.m. ET on NBC – Finals of Midsouth Regional
Sunday, June 24: 9
p.m.-11 p.m. ET on G4 – Southeast Regional
Monday, June 25: 10
p.m. -11p.m. ET on NBC – Finals of Southeast Regional
Sunday, July 8: 9
p.m. -12 a.m. ET on G4 – Not really sure what this 3 hour block on G4 is
for…maybe special setting the table for Vegas finals, or a marathon of the
semis that aired on NBC?
Monday, July 9: 9
p.m.-10 p.m. ET on NBC – Vegas finals
Monday, July 16 9
p.m. -10 p.m. ET on NBC – Vegas finals
Monday, July 23 9
p.m.-10 p.m. ET on NBC – Vegas finals
When will the episode air where our athletes from The Cave are competing?
(Can you spot Tom Hutchman or JB Douglass in the following video? )
The Cavers will be seen
during the Northwest Regional on Sunday June 10th and possibly the
finals of the Northwest Regional on the 11th if any of them make it
that far. Should they manage to do well
there, they may even be featured in the Vegas finals on NBC on July 9th.
Will there be a viewing party?
We may have a viewing party in June if there is enough interest, on the 10th or 11th.
Please post any thoughts,
musings or rude remarks to comments.
Hey guys, check out this video from our friends up north at Parkour Visions, Seattle:
Justin Sweeney competed with us at American Ninja Warrior 4 ’s North West Regionals at Venice Beach, Ca back in Early March 2012. Look for him as well as your friendly neighborhood Cavers when it airs at 9pm (Pacific) on G-4 on June 9th, 2012. The semi-finals for the region should be on NBC on June 10th, 2012 at 9pm.
Can you name any of the moves that they do? If any are of note, name or describe them and post the time on the video to comments. I will answer questions or comment on the move/trick.
of you know, I am off to Regionals tomorrow. I’m excited, a little nervous, but mostly at ease. I’m relieved the day has finally come.
Do you ever come across a recipe that you find yourself making every other day? This began innocently enough as a side to grilled salmon (see 
