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Fill the barrel

pictured: new guy Stephen just moved here from Detroit working for that company named after a piece of fruit.


Couple of announcements, the website is being updated so those of you who have bookmarked the blogspot will need to update your url to www.crossfitsj.com once the new site is launched...should be sometime this weekend.

Also don't forget to bring your donations for the barrel, let's fill them up!






WOD
amrap in 15 min
10 1 arm Db snatch 20/30#
10 1 arm kbs 35/53#
10 hand release pushups


Holiday Potluck December 10th at 6:30pm

pictured: Nick Becerra modeling RockTape at our gym


WOD
amrap in 15 min
10 1 arm Db snatch 20/30#
10 1 arm kbs 35/53#
10 hand release pushups




Mark your calendar! December 10th Holiday potluck at the gym. Details to follow.

pictured: Holly Nguyen, in high school, says she is alot stronger then most of her peers...umm I wonder why???? :-)

WOD

10-20-40-20-10
Burpees
K2E
GHD Situps

Robin working her kip

WOD

500M Row
21 thrusters
21 pullups
750m row
15 thrusters
15 pullups
1000m row
9 thrusters
9 pullups

14:25 Andre 16:46 Tim 17:00 Ricky 18:28 Julie 23:05 Grace

I noticed alot of you rasing your head up while doing thrusters, when you do that you lose thorasic position and spinal stability.

Watch KStarr explain why that isn't good

Isabel

pictured: Niraj who just became a Daddy this past friday night to baby Troy 8lbs 3oz, congratulations Niraj and Grace!

WOD

"Isabel"
30 snatches for time

3:43 Coach V and Cullen, 4:03 Matt, 5:09 Scott 6:15 Mike A.


If only............

WOD

21-18-15-12-9-6-3
Front Squat 1/2 bw
D Ball slams 14/20#


Check out this blog post from Crossfit West...Papa Mike is featured
http://www.crossfitwest.com/?p=10049#

Athlete Spotlight - Danny Barrett

Today we are spotlighting Danny Barrett, CFSJ's former owner of many years.

"I grew up in the Bronx playing baseball and football like most kids, but my lifelong love has always been the martial arts. I have a 25 year history of practicing and teaching various arts. I'm formally ranked in 3 systems and cross trained in a few others which also includes knife, gun and club defenses. I hold a 4th degree black belt in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu from the Pacific Jujitsu Alliance, a Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Claudio Franca and Yellow belt in Krav Maga under Darren Levine. In my life I've trained with martial arts legends and UFC fighters as well as having taught self defense to people from all walks of life including Law Enforcement personnel.

Why I do Crossfit and CFSJ

My first instructor taught me early on that in order to be a well rounded marital artist you have to push yourself physically, mentally and emotionally to achieve the higher levels of the arts. He also taught me that it must be fun and you have to enjoy training or you won't do it for your entire life. Crossfit has similar elements in that it challenges me physically in the WODs, mentally in fighting the voice inside my head telling me to quit and emotionally when I push through and find that I have so much more to give. I also have a lot of fun doing it.

CFSJ is my home. I was lucky enough to be an owner for a few years and fortunate enough to transfer the box to a group of people who have kept the name and the spirit while taking the place to the next level. I really do feel a sense of community and family at CFSJ where I can be myself, get a great workout and be surrounded by people who I love, respect and enjoy.

My Favorite WOD

My favorite WOD is Cindy. As a martial artist I believe the the only "gym" that I need and the only "weight" that I need that is with me all of the time is my own body. Cindy works the whole body, builds strength and endurance and requires you to recover quickly between rounds. Having chronic back issues and various injuries it is one of the few WODs I can do full out without fear of injury and I always feel euphoric when I'm finished. My best Cindy performance to date is 18 rounds.

My Day Job

I've been running Technical Support Organizations in the Valley for the past 20 years. Today I am at Dell Force10 and my last three positions have been Senior Director of Global Technical Support for Brocade, Silver Spring Networks and Force10 Networks. "

What an inspiring athlete Danny is, we are very lucky to have him in our CFSJ family.

Harj and Vadim sharing a laugh...CFSJ is a fun place for sure


Don't forget - Movie night tonight, bring a chair and maybe a blanket. Movie will start at 8pm so get there early to get your spot










WOD

3 Manmakers 20 Wallballs 200m Sprint
5 Manmakers 20 Wallballs 200m Sprint
7 Manmakers 20 Wallballs 200m Sprint
5 Manmakers 20 Wallballs 200m Sprint
3 Manmakers 20 Wallballs 200m Sprint

WOD
30 sec work 15 sec rest for 8 rounds of:

Kb swings
situps (abmat or regular)
pullups/chinups

Events coming up
Movie night 730pm Nov11
GNO at Title Nine Nov 17th 7:30pm

Movie night this friday 7:30pm

Even if you are injured come to the gym and our trainers will modify a workout for you


WOD
5 deadlifts
20 star jumps
7 deads
18 starjumps
9 deads
16 starjumps
11 deads 14 starjumps

Happy Belated Birthday Phil!

Phil with teletubby friend Mark C.

WOD - Phil's birthday WOD

100 dbl unders
100 pullups
100 dbl unders
100 situps
100 dbl unders
100 pushups
100 dbl unders

New Things

The boxes have been unloaded, we hope you guys like your new "toys"

Couple of announcements - we will have a movie night down at the gym for our members and families November 11th time TBA
And there is a Girls Night Out hosted by Los Gatos Title Nine November 17th from 7:30pm - 10pm

WOD

2 min of thrusters
3 muscle ups
6 cleans
12 burpee star jumps
2 min thruster

Dball day

Danny always looks sooooo happy when he works out, it is a nice pain face :-)

WOD

100m Dball run to the fence
20 ball slams
10 burpee over ball

7 rounds

pictured: 6am class warming up.
Look at all the room this class has, consider switching to morning classes if you want a bit more attention












WOD

8 min of:

10 SDLHP
10 Overhead llunges
5 Sumo back Squats

135/95 for all movements

It's a chipper!

WOD

3 rope climbs anywhere in the WOD

25 walking lunges

30 D ball

30 jump squats

10 burpees

50 box jumps

30 leg lifts

20 back ext

20 D ball

30 dbl unders

Yea! toes to bar

Pictured: Jim Tracy and in the background Ann and Holly Nguyen

WOD

Amrap in 15 minutes of:

4 handstand pushups

8 toes to bar

6 ring dips

100m run every 5 min

The CrossFit Total

pictured: Papa Mike Aro scored 920 in total yesterday, pretty awesome for an "old guy"!!!!!

WOD

1RM of:

Back Squat

Shoulder Press

Deadlift

By Mark Rippetoe

The CrossFit Total reflects an athlete's functional strength capacity more accurately than any other test, writes Mark Rippetoe, author of Starting Strength and owner of The Wichita Falls Athletic Club/CrossFit Wichita Falls.

The CrossFit Total is the sum of the best of three attempts at the squat, the press, and the deadlift. All three lifts are done while standing on the floor. They require minimal and inexpensive equipment. They are not technique- dependent to the extent of the Olympic lifts, yet they require technical proficiency beyond mere passing familiarity. They are safe when performed correctly, since they can all be performed without spotters—alone in a garage if necessary.

There is no time limit for each lift or for the length of the session in which they are all performed, but they must all be performed during one session—i.e., you cannot leave the area to rest or perform other activities between the three lifts.

Anyone in a position to attempt a legitimate CrossFit Total should be familiar enough with their capabilities on the lifts to have a fairly good idea of just what might be possible for a one-rep max (1RM). This number is what you warm up intending to do. A meet situation will involve three attempts, and this is a good way to determine a true 1RM.

The first attempt would be a weight you know you can do for a heavy set of three. The second attempt would be a weight you know without any doubt that you could do for a single, having just done the first attempt. And the third attempt is the weight you want to do, based on your performance on the previous two attempts.

Happy Halloween!!!

pictured: Crossfitters in disguise

WOD

3 rounds of:

10 Power Snatches (95/65)

100m sprint

thoughts on running

pictured: Big Jim Murphy repping out his pullups

WOD

20 min Amrap of:

400m run

max rep pullups

For those of you who hate running you will not love doing this WOD. You may even ask why do we have you run so much when you can do it on your time away from the gym. The answer is running these 400m intervals will make you an overall faster runner and if you don't care about being a faster runner then the intensity of these intervals will increase your fitness levels - that is why you come to CrossFit right? The challenge is to keep each of your runs within 3-5 seconds of each other.

OHS

pictured: Jill Hoffman at the saturday strength class. Everyone is welcome!

WOD

4 rounds of

15 ring dips

15 knee to elbow

Nancy

Jennifer makes sure she gets her chin over the bar!

WOD

"Nancy"

5 rounds for time:

15 OHS (95/65)

400m run

Crossfit is fun!

Grace having fun with ball slams

WOD

5 rounds for time:

5 Deadlift 275/185

10 Burpees

turkish getups

Pictured: Sid pressing it out

Strength

TGU 5X5 (L/R)

WOD

7 minute AMRAP

6 pistols

1 rope climb

reminder: Harj-o-ween this friday!!!! Signups at the gym.

Jackie

pictured: 5pm class does Jackie

WOD

"Jackie"

1000m row

50 thrusters 45#

30 pullups

C

Db thruster laader

pictured: Andre

WOD

11 - 30

Db thruster ladder

New Deadlift PR for CFSJ women

pictured: Aulii Ellis lifting 305lbs yesterday on a whim after regular class. What is amazing is I am pretty sure she doesn't do any specific strength training!

WOD

AMRAP in 7 minutes

Max Reps Ground to Overhead 135/95#

Team Murph

pictured: Sheila and WOD her partner, the new girl. Justin Kress - don't know what he is doing, maybe dancing for joy after doing his first muscle-up? Way to go!!!!!

WOD

Team Murph

400X4 (whole team must do 1st 400m together)

100 pullups

200 pushups

300 squats

400m X 4 (whole team must do last 400m together)

2 person team - 1 work at a time and is rx

3 person team - 2 work at a time

.com

pictured: Mike Davis doing a nice high pull

WOD

".COM"

5 rounds for time:

7 Squat Clean 155/105

14 KB American swing 1.5/1 pood

How did you compared to - Jason Khalipa 4:44, Neal Maddox 4:51, Josh Everett 5:50, Peter Egyed6:04, Karianne Dickson 6:19 (105lb clean, 35lb KB)?

WOD demo - mov

Having a workout buddy makes everything easier

I don't know the new girl's name but she sure has some skills!

WOD

Team tag Annie

50-40-30-20-10
Double unders
situps

Snatch balance

pictured: Daren showing us his great form

20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2

Kb swings
deck squats
iron mikes
body row











For those of you who missed Coach V's instruction on monday, or need a review on how to do a snatch balance listen to Coach Burgener.......again

Athlete Spotlight - Julie Morici

Julie has been at Crossfit for close to 5 years. "I first became aware of CF when Tim Lyon's nephew was coming out to California from Ohio to train for MMA and Tim's brother, Mike told us to check out Crossfit SJ and we did--my first workout was fight gone bad and I was hooked...go figure!!! Feared the white board--Zombie,Linda, Mike, Rex, and Ray challenged like non other and I grew to look forward to their zest!!! Worked out side by side with Cain Velasquez, current UFC heavy weight champion of the world--favorite memory was doing star jumps with him...didn't realize who was pushing me!
Athletic history--my joy is trail running---nothing better than the freedom of running down hill!
Prior to Crossfit, I was trained by the Reebok champion aerobics instructor who was way ahead of her time in terms of weight lifting and core workouts...didn't know it at the time!
I had a major setback a couple of years ago--had a dissected carotid in my brain--lucky to be back and gaining health, so I appreciate my workout all the more!" Julie favorite saying from one of the coaches is " an athlete is someone who never gives up trying"


WOD

21-18-15-12-9-6-3
Ball Slam (20/16)
Box Jump (24/18)

Nate

pictured: Shawn Gerth climbing the rope during the re-opening WOD

WOD

"Nate" with rope climbs instead of muscle ups

complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

2 rope climbs

4 HSPU

8 kettlebell swings

CrossFit is for everyone!

pictured: our newest member swinging the 9lb


1. CrossFit emphasizes intensity, and intensity is what creates results:
Intensity, of course, is relative, allowing everyone to train at a level appropriate to their own physical and psychological limitations. Most traditional exercise programs promote low to moderate intensity. Ever heard the myth that, to burn more fat you need to workout at a lower intensity?... this is horribly misguided information that continues to be spread even while current scientific research has found that shorter duration, higher intensity exercise is in fact better for you. Intensity is not something to be afraid of. It is the magic. It's the secret ingredient that will change your life.

2. CrossFit creates ATHLETES, not bodybuilders:
Through the emphasis of high power functional movements over low power isolation ones, you'll be training your body not to just look better, but to WORK better. The irony about that is, when you take the focus off of vanity and put it on performance, your physique responds like never before. CrossFit promotes functional exercises by emphasizing the movements which create better core strength, stamina, coordination, agility, and balance to name a few. You'll begin to focus less on trying to "look fit", and more on ACTUALLY becoming fit.

3. CrossFit workouts are competitive events:
This friendly competition motivates people like nothing else. Whether you're competing with your own previous score, or competing with a friend in class, you will be shocked how much more fun this makes working out. This is especially true if you're a former athlete who thinks he or she has lost that competitive drive. CrossFit will awaken something inside of you, and the feeling is addictive and amazing.

4. CrossFit is the new definition of fitness:
Decades, and billions of dollars later, and not one "leader" of the fitness industry has been able to define fitness, until now. CrossFit has defined fitness as "an increase in work capacity across broad time and modal domains". What this means is that the fittest people on earth should be great in everything, but specialize in nothing.

5. CrossFit is not just fitness, it's a community:
Sure, it may seem intimidating at first, but you'll quickly realize how supportive the CrossFit community is and how this is just part of the thread that binds it together. You will never have to workout alone again. Not only will you benefit from expert coaching and a huge online community to discover and share stories with, but you'll also develop relationships in the gym that truly make training fun. This encourages consistency, which is extremely difficult to find in other programs. The people in your affiliate become your teammates, and you're likely to bond quickly with anyone you meet at the bank wearing a CrossFit tee shirt. People are passionate about this for a reason, it's up to you to find out what that is.

6. CrossFit produces MEASURABLE results:
Unlike most other fitness programs, when you do CrossFit, you will have measurable and repeatable data to prove you are getting fitter. Intensity equals POWER. And power is generated by moving a load quickly. This means you can score a workout and repeat it at a later time to measure the work produced. Not only will you see and feel improvements physically, your score will demonstrate it.

7. CrossFit prepares you for ANYTHING:
CrossFit trains multiple metabolic systems, as opposed to just one like in most sports. There are three metabolic pathways that produce the energy to perform any activity: the phosphagen, glycolytic, and the oxidative systems. Most programs focus on one or two of the systems making you a specialist, but weak in the others. CrossFit trains you to become a well rounded athlete, spending time in all three time domains and improving your work capacity in any activity that you do. Soooo... the next time you encounter a bear you'll have a choice. You could either take the bear down in one swooping lash, wrestle with it until it is too fatigued to fight back, or run away from it for hours on end... phosphagen, glycolytic, oxidative.

8. CrossFit promotes long term health:
Functional movements are named as such for a reason. They make us more functional. They help us move more efficiently and prevent injuries in our everyday lives. Combined with a diet that promotes longevity and performance, you will feel better, perform better, and have more energy even as you get older. This truly is the closest thing to a fountain of youth that we have.

9. Your weaknesses can not hide from CrossFit:
The workouts will keep you honest and force you to attack your weaknesses, making you a better all around athlete. This is something that nearly everyone avoids when training on their own, which severely limits progress. In other words, don't be afraid of your weaknesses, or exercises that you "hate", face them head on with relentless determination and you will get results you never thought possible.

10. CrossFit is life-changing:
The results you see from Crossfit transfer over to other aspects of life. The confidence that it delivers will allow you to perform activities you never thought possible. Not only will you feel better physically, but most people notice changes in their performance at work, at home, and in their relationships.

Re-printed from CF Cadence



WOD

AMRAMP in 7 minutes:

2 Muscle Ups
3 Bear Complex
4 TKGU

Burpees over Bar

pictured: Katie O'Connor

WOD

7 rounds with a 12 minute cutoff

10 power snatch (75/45)

20 dbl unders

10 burpee over bar

How did those burpees go? Burpees over the bar not only guzzle energy, they also guzzle additional time in your workouts- especially since you aren't supposed to land facing the bar (ie spin in midair). Minimizing your height over the bar can save energy, and a fast turning second hop can help save time.

Catch some air!

Pictured: Coach V

WOD

"FGB"

Wall-ball, 8 ft target (Reps)
Deadlift high-pull (Reps)
Box jump (Reps)
Push-press (Reps)
Row (Calories)

Compare and contrast your Fight Gone Bad scores from the 2009 Games competitors. The average score among males is 392. Pat Barber, who took fourth 2008, has the top score with 463. Chris Spealler is right on his tail with 459.

On the female side, the average is 334. In this category, the top scores belong to Games newcomers, including Christy Phillips with 445, and Sarah Dunsmore with 415.

WOD

"Grace"

30 Clean and Jerks for time

Wanna a stronger back? Do deadlifts!

Pictured: Boris Fridlib

Make sure you record your time on beyond the whiteboard or in your workout log for progress tracking

WOD

"Diane"

21-15-9

Deadlift 225/155

HSPU

Dumbell Push Press

WOD

21-18-15-12-9-6

Dumbell push press

pushups with a row

(25/15)

Wall Balls

Pictured: Can't 'cha tell? Scott Hogan and Frank Von Rassler

WOD

"Karen"

150 wallballs for time

9 minute cut off

Happy Birthday Sherry!

A review of the wall ball technique

weighted pushups

or how about

Strength

10 X 10 weighted pushups

WOD

5 rounds of

10 dball half moons

10 dball tuck jumps

10 dball oh lunges

do not drop ball

Start 'em young!

A future CrossFitter, Luke Neff

WOD

12 minutes of:

50 Double Unders

30 sec plank

50 dbl unders

30 sec superman hold

Air Force Para Rescue test

CFSJ's former owner Mike Malloy is a PJ. His picture shows up on the main site every once-in-a-while in full gear in an airplane.

WOD

1.5 mile run

max strict pullups in 1 minute

max situps in 2 min

max pushups in 2 minutes

max 4-count flutter kicks in 2 minutes

note - there is a swim in the test that we obviously can't do

Bosu Squats and Push Jerk

An old but awesome tutorial on the Push Jerk performed by Sage Burgener

WOD

1 minute of each for 4 rounds:

BOSU squats

Push Jerk

Band Assistance

Harj says "Why use the bands?"

when you can do a strict?

Band assistance is great but to get stronger you may need to do additional work. Bands help you at the bottom of the position but you have to do most of the work at the top. Try doing negatives to work on going from the top down. Do as many un-assisted pullups as you can every day, even if it is only one! For example:

Start with 10 sets of 1 Pull-up. Take as much rest between sets as you can. When 10x1 gets easy, switch to 10x2. Continue until you can do 10 sets of 5 Pull-ups.

• 10 sets of 1 Pull-up
• 10 sets of 2 Pull-ups
• 10 sets of 3 Pull-ups
• 10 sets of 4 Pull-ups
• 10 sets of 5 Pull-ups

Once you can do 10x5 Pull-ups, you'll be able to do 10 Pull-ups on your 1st set when going all out. Remember: if you can't do 1 Pull-up, do Chin-ups using the same approach.

WOD

50 Box jumps, 10 windshield wipers 1 rope climb (65/96 every touch is one on wipers)

40 Box jumps, 20 windshield wipers 1 rope climb

30 Box jumps, 30 windshield wipers 1 rope climb

20 Box jumps, 40 windshield wipers 1 rope climb

10 Box jumps, 50 windshield wipers 1 rope climb

Intensity!!

 Boris repping out some heavy OHS.  I would have a video of Sid repping out some heavy Back Squats, but he didn't get to them until nearly 8pm.  You know Sid, he takes an hour just to warm up!!

I saw some great efforts and intensity tonight.  Keep it up and continue to push yourselves hard.  More likely than not, your limitations are in your mind.  Even though it's hard as hell, becoming comfortable with feeling uncomfortable will take you to the next levels.  Whether that's a faster Fran time, or a new DL PR...continue to push yourselves and continually set new goals.  

Today's WOD: 

40-25-15 reps

Pull Ups

Dumbbell Power Cleans (45/25)

Sit Ups

Trail Head run after each round.  

Athlete Spotlight - Kenny Baker

Kenny has been with CFSJ for 3 years. His previous athletic experience was all mountain biking and BMX. Kenny did not do any high school or college sports because that would take away from his obsession with the bike! When asked what his favorite WOD was I was amazed how people walking by wanted to answer for him. I suspect it is because he is a very popular guy who people love to tease because he takes it so well. His favorite WOD is FGB and least favorite is Murph. When he started CrossFit his Fran time was 11:00, now it is a very respectable 5:00. Kenny says CrossFit has definitely improved his biking in all ways. Kenny works for Easton-Bell in Scotts Valley as a Product Engineer for their Motorcycle division. Kenny also hosts a fun horseshoe event called the Eastbay Horseshoe Summer Series.

WOD

Partner carry to the trailhead and back (switch at trailhead)
Partner being carried must do 5 burpees everytime you are dropped by your partner.

Nice Goblet Squat Vince!

WOD

3 rounds of:

7 DBalls

7 SDLHP

7 Cleans

7 Push Press

7 Back Squat

7 HSPU

100m Sprint