Diablo CrossFitters Pushing a Truck

We’re not the only crazy people who push trucks for a workout. Here are some folks from Diablo CrossFit pushing a box truck. Hey, who knows maybe we’ll put together a regional truck pushing competition.

Here are more photos from the folks at Diablo.

http://www.diablocrossfit.com/archives/103009_091031_saturday.html#more

Noah diligently stretching while Steph is just being her cool, sexy self.

Ok everybody, your 2-week & 2-month stretching goals are due.  Everybody has to go to the CFM forum, (That is, www.crossfitmarin.com, {which you’re already on}> discussion  {along the left side of the page} > {Register, etc.}  > “Goals & Progress” >Stretching goals. )  register if you haven’t already done so find the “Goals and Progress” section under the “CrossFit” theme and tell us what your goals are.  Remember to be ambitious yet realistic.  We want you to acheive something of significance that is well within your capabilities.  By the way, we’re adding another target to the list.  You also have to pick a 6-12 month goal.  It’s harder to predict what exactly would be a good goal to acheive for that time frame.  You can just post the first two for now and add the long-term one before the end of the year so that you get a better idea of what kind of progress you can make in the next couple of months and what would be reasonable for a 2010 goal, or if you already have a good idea of what you want to attain, go ahead and throw it out there and then you can ask us about it in the gym and we’ll tell you if you actually have a true shot at it or if it is too easy.  Remember, this is not optional and everyone is expected to follow through and update your progress every couple of weeks or so.  We told you that CFM was a school, so don’t be surprised when you get assignments every once in a while.  =P  hehe.

Dan S. Doing Broad Jumps in the Morning

Power is the ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to deliver maximum force in minimum time. This is what we chase in our workouts. Power requires both training and practice. Strength without coordination does not yield power. Agility without stamina falls short if an effort lasts more than a minute.

By looking at power output we’re able to get a pretty decent view of an athlete’s overall capacity. We can use power as a method to compare results of disparate workouts. We can measure progress without repeating the exact same tests repeatedly. It allows us to keep our training highly varied and still have a solid metric on improvement.

It is often stated that the second pull in the olympic snatch is the most powerful movement in all of sport. Numbers for high caliber lifters trend around 6,000 watts. This is an incredible amount of power. Get on the rowers and try to see how much power you can generate, even for 10 seconds or so to give you a perspective on this number. The take off in tumbling is an equally astronomical number. Analyzing powerful tumblers we get numbers around 7,500 watts. Weightlifters generate 6,000 watts over a longer time domain than gymnasts launching themselves from the floor. The mechanics are significantly different in that a weightlifter is generating the force predominantly through an active contraction, while gymnasts are utilizing almost entirely the stretch reflex and bouncing enabling a significantly higher power output, but little range of motion and exceedingly short timeframe.

Increased power output improves performance in virtually all sporting activity. It also increases effectiveness of an individual in any physical task. Focusing on maximizing power output for any given workout will help to optimize adaptive response. This is the purpose of our stopwatches and competition. It encourages the pursuit of power.

Luka Performing a Kong

Speed is the ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement . The ninth detail post on the 10 General Physical Skills. Speed is the first of the skills that requires both training and practice. You can train quite a lot, develop strength and stamina, but not have speed because the movements are not practiced. You can also practice the movements extensively but without the conditioning borne of training the movements may be programmed well, but will occur slowly.

The third pull in an olympic lift, dynamic gymnastics elements, the various parkour vaults and sprinting are all examples of movements requiring speed to excel at. Inducing speed is a major factor in training the way that we do. The typical gym workout will not make you fast. In fact many people get slower after training on fixed plane machines for long periods of time.

Are you fast? Could you be faster? How much would it help your lifts if you could get under the bar quicker? How much is a ring swing improved by a rapid turn over? How much more distance could you clear on your vaults if you were moving faster? Speed is an exceedingly important component in our activities. Work toward getting faster.

Mark and Cam Juggling

Coordination is the eighth physical skill we are detailing. Coordination is the ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement. One who is highly coordinated will be more efficient in all movement because they are able to apply force in the right direction at the right time.

Coordination requires practice. This is one of the reasons we teach you to juggle. Learning to juggle improves coordination and peripheral awareness. Learning any skill which requires distinct movements with different body parts will improve coordination. When initially learning these skills you will feel completely inadequate to do them. It will seem that acquiring the skill is simply out of reach, but know that with practice you will learn, and that learning will have cross over benefit to other movements.

Coordination is the difference between a movement looking effortless and a movement simply not working. When learning a new skill that requires a high degree of coordination you will feel like the strength required is immense, and that the skill may be impossible to obtain. Once the skill is well learned you will wonder why it was ever difficult. Many of our gymnastics elements are this way. Discipline is required to work to a point of competency but the rewards are well worth it.