CrossFit Watertown

Hot Off the Presses (Soon)

What do The New York Times and Muscle & Fitness have in common? They're both intrigued by CrossFit. (And, to those of you who answered "ladies' underwear" -- that is not a correct answer.)

Seriously, the Grey Lady did her piece and now the muscleheads over at M&F gave CrossFit a whirl and liked it. The issue comes out next week -- but, until then, you can take a glance at Andy Petranek and the CF Los Angeles boys tackling the "Filthy 50" in this M&F promo. Very nice . . .

Our Friend Fran

It's time for "Fran" again! And we don't mean Fran Drescher  . . . or Hurricane Fran . . . or even this scary "Fantasy Fran" from cyberspace. (Check out her manicure: think that costs extra?)

No. We mean "Fran" -- as in 21-15-9 Thrusters and Pull-ups. Yum yum. Watch two of the CF Elites (Greg Amundson and Annie Sakamoto) blast through Fran in unbelievable times. Look's easy, doesn't it?

Hittin' The Pipe

Kathrine, Ben, and Sue run with the slosh pipe during our A.F.U. Team version of Ninja's Mile. (And, yes, K. swears that she took her turn with the pipe too.)

Melissa chose to run with a medicine ball (but first demo'd the coming months) while Kirk enjoyed the Rucksack of Pain.

And, Chris S. runs with the heavy bag solo and still comes in with the lowest time!

For your reading pleasure in the nutrition field, an article from the L.A. Times: Do Portion Control Products Work?

Truth or Sarcasm? Our New Game

I believe absolutely everything ever written. Uh-huh. You betcha. So, of course I took to heart what Gawker wrote about CrossFit: I have met some people who do CrossFit, and they are scarily in shape and also not at all fun to be around. Wow. Hit the nail on the head. Not fun at all. None of us. Stay away. It's like the freakin' Bataan Death March here. Don't join us. Grim and horrible people. We even have photos to prove it.

And we're cruel too, because this video amuses us. These dogs were probably forced to practice for hours against their will, and then fed only treats for rewards. They probably even have to sleep on the floor and pee outside. Ba**ards! May God have mercy on our souls.

Friday in CT

A few "Helen" photos to enjoy:

Becky uses her hips to power through the Kettlebell Swing.

Sue digs deep when the going gets rough in Round 3.

Kathrine took one look at the board with "Helen" written on it and said, "It looks bad because I know the truth."

Helen of Troy, by the pre-Raphaelite painter Frederick Sandys. (She looks really unhappy, doesn't she?)

Helen of Troy, after she found CrossFit: buff, beautiful, fulfilled. (Now, we can understand that whole Trojan War thing a little better.)

And, because it's Friday, here's a clip that shows why you shouldn't use a bouncing ball for slamball:

Intensity and Your CrossFit Training

Did you hear the story about the guy who died doing CrossFit? It's true. He didn't go hard enough on "Helen" so his trainer killed him.

All joking aside, CrossFit is one intense MoFo. Usually, your trainer is motivating you to work harder, faster, and stronger and, usually, she/he is right. As CrossFit trainers, intensity is one of our obsessions, along with pull-ups, squats, thrusters, and any of ten thousand other ways to inflict pain help you to achieve your fitness goals. (Although, like the wonderful t-shirt over at Training Anarchy reminds us: "Obsession is what lazy people call dedication.") We push you to go harder because the simple fact of life is that most people don't go hard enough. Yet we also understand health, recovery, and the human body; so we know that, despite all our clamoring and exhortations, you simply cannot CrossFit at the same intensity each day, no more so than you can breathe the exact same number of breaths each day. (And we've tried counting, believe us. Although it wasn't exactly a full day. We had to get some pull-ups in. And we're really not that obsessive-compulsive.)

Testosterone on the Rise!

The He-Man count is climbing at CrossFit Watertown: Welcome to new members Chris and Nate! We're glad to have you both on board!

You can spot another one of our men in the back of this photo -- that's Rich about to jerk amidst a crowd of CFW She-Ra's!

And here we have Kirk hammering out some KB Swings during this morning's "Helen" while his wife Melissa, having already finished, waits around for him. (Ok, we're lying. She actually finished behind him, but you know she has to keep her heartrate low because of that whole baby-thing that Kirk caused.)

Also, for some manly "Helen" inspiration, here's the fabulous OPT from CrossFit Calgary and his world-record 6:59 blast-o-rama!

And, one last video, since it's "Man Day" at CFW we have to post some Clint Eastwood! Here's an always amusing clip from Two Mules for Sister Sara (possibly the worst-titled Clint movie of all time):

Barbara, K, and Cupcakes

Rich, Mary, and Sue tackled "Barbara" (Lite) last night, along with Mystery Woman, who is, as always, just out of the picture frame . . .

In other news, Kathrine is back and off the Bad Girl list! (Oh, well, maybe she's still on that list but, truthfully, we kind of like her that way.)

Anyhow, she had a new t-shirt to share with us and a new 73 lb PR on the Clean-and-Jerk! Nice work, K!

Unfortunately, we did catch her later trying to cover her Cupcake of the Month photo with Sue's. Shame, shame!

March Cupcake of the Month

It had to happen. Somebody was bound to earn the rather dubious title of March Cupcake of Month. For a brief moment last night, as I chased a seriously fatigued Becky on the agility ladder, I thought it might be her. In some odd CrossFit version of "An Officer and a Gentleman," I found myself bellowing like a drill sergeant, "Are you a Cupcake? I think you're a Cupcake! I smell Cupcake!" but Becky dug deep and redoubled her efforts, all the while yelling back, "I am not a Cupcake!" And then, of course, we had a good laugh and carried Debra Winger out of the paper factory. But I digress.

Announcing our inaugural CrossFit Watertown Cupcake of the Month: Kathrine (who failed to show up for the 6am class this morning and left poor, pregnant Melissa to slog through "Barbara" on her own.) Hmmm. COM. And I don't even think you get a reserved parking spot for this one. But, don't worry, we'll save you a place at the "toning" class at the nearest globo-gym . . .

CrossFit: Preparing for Imagined Moments of Heroism

Let’s hope that Virginia Heffernan is right and we’re wrong. Let’s hope, like she writes in her New York Times article (God's Workout), that we CrossFitters are preparing for "an imagined moment of heroism that may never come." May all of our efforts at achieving a fighting level of General Physical Preparedness (GPP) just be the result of succumbing to ridiculous hyperbole designed to make us buy into Greg Glassman’s crazy dream of bringing people home alive. Let’s hope (outside of the military, fire, and law enforcement personnel among us) that we civilians and desk jockeys never once have to use physical strength to survive in this world.

That’s a big hope.

Olympic Lifting

We're going to be focusing on the snatch and the clean-and-jerk this week, so you might as well do a little studying!

Facts: Weightlifting was included in the first modern Olympic games in the 1896 Summer Olympic Games. Women were allowed to participate for the first time in 2000. Initially, Olympic weightlifting was comprised of three disciplines – press, snatch and clean-and-jerk. But in 1972, the press was abolished, leaving the snatch and clean and jerk as the two events for the Olympic competition.

Before declaring weightlifting results, each lifter can have a maximum of three lifts, regardless of whether lifts are successful or not. The lifter who lifted the heaviest weight is declared as winner by a panel of three judges. The competitors are separated into categories according to their body weight. They have to weigh in before the event. (Source: you can also find the current Olympic records for men and women here.)

Let's Go to the Videotape:

CrossFit and the Easter Bunny

Happy Easter!

Over at the New York Times, television/media critic Virginia Heffernan penned an article on CrossFit: God's Workout. Read and evaluate for yourself.

But, if you want to know our opinion, it seems that Heffernan tried to write a good article but her ego got in the way of her really understanding CrossFit. She wants to be one of us but she feels lacking. Instead of acknowledging her own limitations and using that information to better herself, she finds fault with that which exposed her weakness: CrossFit. She would benefit from reading the sign at CrossFit One World: "Check your ego at the door." And her writing would benefit from a little more research: she obviously had no clue about the Hero Workouts and/or the notion of self-sacrifice and service to something other than herself. But, that's just us . . .

Fight Gone Bad

Earlier this week, Mary and Sue tackled "Fight Gone Bad" in the main room while Melissa battled it out in the vault.

It was Rich's first "FGB" but he loved it!

And, Capitol Region CrossFit got very creative with our latest CFW article and came up with this rather ingenious CrossFit Mad Lib.

Friday in CT

On the official first day of Spring, we had our first runs. And then it snowed. No kidding. Here, Jenny looks exhilarated by her 400m sprint. (Okay, maybe exhilarated is not the right word. Refreshed?)

Nate joined us again and he smoked on the rower! First though, we tried to wear him down on the new agility ladder (and Janice too!)

And, we're going to let you decide which activity we should engage in next week at CrossFit Watertown: human jump rope or wheelbarrow racing. Check out both clips (and watch the second team in the race) and place your vote in Comments!

Conquering Your Fear of the Box Jump

At 64" tall, with a 28" inseam, you might think that I would be scared of a 20" box jump: that's a big height for a small gal. But I'm not. I have no fear of the box jump. Never have. I don't know why. Maybe it was all those years of basketball practice and those jumping drills, when they tried desperately to improve my vertical leap but, it seemed at the time, to no avail. I remained a power forward's heart in a point guard's body: the story of my life. Still.

Anyway, I may not have a fear of the box jump but I know that most of my clients do. Usually, they tell me outright but, with a few, I can see it in their faces as they stand, hesitating, before the box, looking, edging forward, backing away a bit, seemingly waiting for courage to stand up and take their hands.

I can understand. Most of us don't jump as adults.

Is CrossFit a Cult?

This question comes up with surprising semi-regularity: Is CrossFit a cult? I could haul out the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary and prove that CrossFit doesn’t meet the first four definitions for cult, but then there’s the tricky fifth definition: "a: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially: such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b: the object of such devotion c: a usually small group of people characterized by such a devotion."

Whoops. Busted. Maybe we are a cult.

Two Scoops of That, Please!

Janice, Rich, and Mary enjoy some of the 4500 meters of rowing in yesterday's WOD -- but all in tasty "bite-size" morsels of 500m, sprinkled with some delicious Box Jumps, mouth-watering Wallball, and scintillating Kettlebell Swings. Yum yum. Just like Ben and Jerry's ice cream. But maybe it wasn't exactly  "Chunky Monkey" -- maybe more like "Heated Pain." Oh, but I bet that wouldn't be a best-seller. Something that sounds nicer, perhaps, like "Chocolate Chip Puke Fest." No, maybe not. Let's go with the always popular, "It's Tough But It Will Make My Butt Smaller" -- there, I think we have a winner!

And, in other news, find out if you're leading from the front and how to use your leadership skills to be more effective at work and in life: take this leadership quiz.

Tomorrow: Overcoming Your Fear of the Box Jump

Lovin' the Deadlift

Here at CrossFit Watertown, we love the deadlift. We love it so much we even have it tattooed on our arms. (Um, not really, we're kind of scared of needles. But enough of  that. Back to the deadlift.) The point is that the deadlift, when performed properly, is one of the most effective tools to dramatically increase strength throughout your entire body. Mary recently "dialed in" her deadlift technique and is now eager to tackle it whenever she can.

For explanation of the importance of the deadlift and some good examples of how to do it (maintain your lumbar curve, shoulders over the bar, arms are straps, drag the bar along your legs, etc.) check out this CF video:

An Irish Prayer . . .

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here, we see Ben and Jen (hey, that sounds cute,doesn't it?) prepare for Irish Jigging. (Oh, okay, we made that up too. They were actually doing Burpees and none too happy about it either.)

Finally, Angela Hart teaches us about some common rowing mistakes:

Weekend Fun

Kathrine stands around, waiting for the pull-up bar to levitate her.

Sue improves the Snatch.

Ben might be exhausted but Mr. Happy Face still smiles at him.

And, some good advice from the CrossFit Vancouver folks: Eat to Get Strong, Fast, Powerful, and Lean.

Chasing the CrossFit Dragon

Here is where I leave it all on the floor. Here, at CrossFit Watertown, I sweat, toil, and labor my way through WODs named for heroes and WODs named for beautiful women and WODs that have names like “10 Rounds of Garbage” and “That F**king One" only because I gave them those names.  Here is where I swear like a longshoreman, sweat and shake in delirium, and beat myself into the ground with each thruster rep and each horribly inadequate pull-up. It’s penance or punishment. Or more like purgatory. But I need it. I crave it. CrossFit is a drug, like they say. If I was cut off from it, I really don’t know what I would do. At this point, I am willing to throw rocks through car windows and steal spare change in order to feed my habit. I am an addict. Ragged calluses are my track marks.

Top 10 Rejected Slogans for CrossFit Watertown

As promised, here are the ones that got away. (And, to the nuns at St. John's School, who tried so hard to teach me to be a good girl: look away. Save yourself the agony.)

Top 10 Rejected Slogans for CFW

10.) You say "Puke" like it's a bad thing . . .

9.) When you cough up blood, you know you're doing it right.

8.) Now you're really f***ed.

7.) Turkish Get-up? Let me show you the Turkish "Get-Down!"

6.) That pole's not just for pull-ups, honey.

5.) Laugh and the world laughs with you. Puke and we'll laugh at you.

4.) Thruster? I barely know her!

3.) CrossFit Watertown . . . we put the "ow" in rowing.

2.) CrossFit Watertown . . . because the only "Bi Curls" we want to see involve . . . oh, never mind.

And the #1 Rejected Slogan . . .

1.) CrossFit Watertown. Hard. Fast. And No Cuddling Afterwards.

(Any complaints can be directed to the angry kitty below.)

Oops!

Oops! The previously announced Cupcake Alert is hereby cancelled. Please alert all proper authorities and shut down the command posts. Our missing CFW member is accounted for and authorized a short leave of absence.

Cupcake Alert!

We don't want to blow the alarm yet but we're dangerously close to having our first Cupcake of the Month posting . . . Becky's been missing from our classes this week and we're wondering where, o where, could our little lamb be?

In other news, Kathrine so enjoyed "Michael" this morning that she decided to take a little nap afterwards.

And, because the day wouldn't be complete without a video, here's what your hip extension should look like. Notice (on the second rep) how she curls her body upward (lower back, mid-back, head) and then reverses the process coming down. Very nice.

Tomorrow: Top 10 Rejected Slogans for CrossFit Watertown!

Trying and Dreaming and Sinning

Often, you get to the point in a workout where you're so tired but there's still lots more work to be done and you're thinking, "Oh God, please just let me finish this without falling on my face." In this photo, Sue is at that point during "Kettlebell Cards" while Mary and Rich (The Energizer Bunny Couple) just keep going and going and going . . .

And we were thrilled to have Nathan (from the CrossFit Central CT Saturday morning crew) join us for the WOD last night! We hope to see Nathan more frequently, although, if we read his mind in the photo below, he's somewhere singing that last chorus to R.E.M.'s Losing My Religion: "But that was just a dream
Try, cry, why try?
That was just a dream
Just a dream, just a dream
Dream."

And, as if we all didn't have enough things already to worry about, there's news from the Vatican that they've doubled the deadly sin list: Seven More Sins.

Free CrossFit Watertown T-shirts!

We're giving away 3 free CFW t-shirts this week. All you have to do is shoot us an e-mail at info@crossfitwatertown.com to enter the pool. No strings attached. No future e-mails from us with desperate pleadings or lonely love letters. Really, they're just free because we're nice people.

Welcome Back!

Look who's back! Jenny swings the kettlebell high in her second workout since returning from a long vacation (while Melissa swings it low.) And, if you're wondering how it feels to resume CrossFit after a month off, we'll let Jenny's words speak for themselves . . . except that most of them started with the letters "F" or "S" and were four letters long and can't be repeated in the company of small children, religious personnel, or your mother. Hmmm. Maybe we'll just leave that part to your imagination!

And, if you think today's kettlebell workout is rough, there is the option to take it outside like this guy . . .

CrossFit Crossword Puzzle

Think you know your CrossFit trivia? Give our Crossword Puzzle a try! We're also giving away3 free CrossFit Watertown T-shirts this week! All you have to do is e-mail info@crossfitwatertown.com and we'll put ya in the pool! Drawing will be held this Friday at noon: winners will be contacted by e-mail for addresses. (U.S. entries only -- sorry!)

(If you can't read the clues in your browser, click here to link to the puzzle site.)

For the Love of the Game

Becky gets down with the pushups.

Jon Gilson, over at AgainFaster, writes some good stuff. This is from one of our favorites:

Last night, as we were pulling up to the Facility, Sam articulated a thought that I’d taken for granted. Sitting in the chalk-stained interior of her car, surrounded by old sneakers and discarded espresso cups, and she told me she loved Crossfit.  “Unlike anything else,” she said, “I’ve never regretted coming here.”

Read the rest of For the Love of the Game.

And, for some more inspiration, watch the incredible Nicole Carroll in her quest for 15 bodyweight Overhead Squats:

Just Breathe . . .

A group medicine ball warm-up adds a little fun (and of course some work!) for the Friday night crew before they tackle "Diane."

Ever try belly breathing? Read Dr. George Sheehan's article Clearing the Air and then give it a try. Once you've mastered it, try it when you're running . . .

Friday Funnies

Here's Kathrine, looking really happy during her workout . . . or maybe she was just reacting to last week's Friday Funnies and hoping that we don't post any more videos of dogs rapping. Okay, we promise.

Instead, we bring you this incredibly stupid really great video of the Rejected Auditions for the new American Gladiators show: