CrossFit Chicago

Never forget.

Choose (split,share,scale) a Hero Workout.

This time last year… Bryce announced the 2012 Co-ed Paleo Challenge.

***Reminder***
Sacrifice T-shirts
We will be donating the proceeds collected from our Sacrifice Shirt following Memorial Day weekend. The two charities that will be receiving the proceeds are Honor Flight (http://www.honorflight.org/) and Operation Support Our Troops Illinois (http://www.osotamerica.org/). If you haven’t bought a t-shirt already and would like to support these two fantastic charities, please make sure to do so before Tuesday, May 28th.

3 Rounds for time of:
500m Row
21 Burpees
400m Run

Compare to 7Feb12.
Post time to comments.

This time last year… Teresa was named our May Member of the Month.

Who’s your Hero?
-KaceyF

Memorial Day is a time when we can commemorate the significant sacrifices that individuals and families have made for our country. If you have been CrossFitting for a few months or more, you may have noticed that the CrossFit community does a lot to honor the men and women who have served our country. One of the ways we do this is by completing a Hero WOD. Hero WODs are notoriously difficult and intense, whether they demand a long time domain, heavy load, or a difficult combination of movements. They are named specifically for fallen service men and women, giving each WOD its own story. We do these grueling workouts to show honor and respect.

Below is a complete list of of Hero WODs. Choose one. Complete it rx, scaled, or even share it with a partner. Give it one-hundred percent effort. That is what these Heroes have already done for us.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, and thank you to all who have served.

http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/faq.html#WOD1

Five rounds for time of:
50 double unders
10 Push jerks 185/125
Rest 1 Minute

Post time to comments.

This time last year… Carina wrote us a “See-ya-later” letter for Texas.

Help us welcome one of the original Women’s only groupon member’s to the Member of the Month club! AngieS has made immense strides since starting Crossfit Chicago in October 2011. From doing extremely well in nutrition challenges to overcoming her weaknesses, Angie always is a tough competitor in her very kind, often smiley sort of way. Learn how CrossFit has changed her life and why tree branches should live in fear of her passion for pullups. Congratulations AngieS – your hardwork, dedication, and positive attitude has impressed us all!

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
5 Chest to bar pull ups
10 Wall ball shots (20/14)
15 Kettlebell swings (1.5/1pd)

Post rounds/reps to comments.

This time last year… Anjali wrote on Being Sick… Do’s and Do Nots…

CrossFit Chicago Endurance Program
-Rachel Fisher

Sunday Fun Runs? Interval Thursdays? Endurance Enthusiasts?! Many of you may have noticed some talk of running shenanigans around the box as of late. With the warm weather as well as racing season upon us, these training sessions have been designed to give you a taste for what is to come here at CrossFit Chicago.

Beginning June 1st, CrossFit Chicago will be offering the newly reinvigorated CrossFit Chicago Endurance Program. Don’t know how to swim? No problem! Signed up for your first triathlon and have no idea where to start? We’ve got you covered! We will offer coaching on basic skill development, on building an endurance base, race training and strategies, and on improvement with those long, grueling metcons we all know as “chippers.”

Cardiovascular and respiratory endurance are part of the 10 General Physical Skills within the CrossFit arsenal. To be a well-rounded athlete, it’s important to get outside of your comfort zone and maximize that gas-tank capacity. Intense, varied, Crossfit-style endurance workouts are designed to do just that. Our program will work in tandem with your strength and lifting routine to help you achieve greater endurance while working on skills such as foot speed and swimming stroke.
Here are some of the details:

-We are offering 6 days/week of programming including primarily swimming, biking, and running. (Occasionally there will be some kettlebell swings, rowing, or body weight movements added.)
-Classes will take place 6pm Monday through Friday as well as Sunday at CFC as well as by the lake/at the pool depending on the workout
-The workouts will be announced daily on the blog, just like your current CFC workouts are.
-These classes (with the exception of Thursdays and Sundays) will count as classes separate from your CFC membership, and will be an additional charge to your account if you choose to participate (pricing TBA).
Each and every one of these workouts will be coached by myself and other qualified endurance coaches. We have several coaches on staff with CrossFit Endurance Certifications, and I personally have a long-standing history of endurance racing and coaching.

My experience includes 20 years of competitive swimming including 4 years as a swimming instructor. I also have spent the last 13 years running competitively, during which I had the opportunity to run in the Boston Marathon. I also have spent 6 years competing in triathlons, representing Ohio State at USAT Collegiate Nationals in 2007 and 2008. I hope to use my skills and experiences to help you reach your endurance goals this season!
If you are interested or have any questions, please comment here or email me at rachel at crossfit chicago dot com. I look forward to getting started and I hope to see you all crushing some endurance WODs soon!

For time:
2k Row
Then,
1 Snatch every minute on the minute for 15 minutes.

Compare to 29Feb12.
Post time and load to comments.

This time last year… Kurt wrote on Contraction Velocity.

Body Slam Yourself on a box
-Rudy Tapalla

Summer has somewhat arrived and with that the heat; with the heat comes more sweat (BTW more chalk on really sweaty hands doesn’t help, dry hands do, see Bryce’s Article on Hand Maintenance for more info). In any case, whether it’s slick sweaty hands or just your grip giving out on you, NO ONE EVER PLANS TO FALL OFF THE PULL UP BAR!

If the unfortunate event ever happens to you (knock on wood), we need you to set yourself up in the safest environment as possible. We by all means don’t want you to Million Dollar Baby yourself and body slam yourself on a box.

If you don’t understand the Million Dollar Baby reference please watch the clip below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp_j3ZirLjM

Be very conscious of where you place your box if you need it as a booster to the pull up bar (as well as where other people put their boxes) or into a band for pull ups. The position of the box should ALWAYS be off to the side and NEVER directly behind you. It will also make it a ton easier to get in and out of your band and you won’t end up kicking that annoying box behind you when you kip. So although Lauren does a great job of staging my awesome photo, the situation is serious.

Don’t ever let this, become this…

Once again of course we don’t ever want you to fall off the pull up bar but sometimes it does happen to the best of us. I’ve witnessed it with Eileen and AlisonS. It happens in a split second and we always want you as safe as possible.

“DT”
Five rounds for time of:
12 Deadlifts (155/105)
9 Hang power cleans
6 Push jerks
(20 minute cap)

Compare to 11Sep09.
Post time to comments.

This time last year… was the last day of Regionals.

CrossFit Defense
-Val Ngai

Have you ever found yourself in a scary, unsafe, possibly life threatening situation?  Were you in a parking lot?  At the ATM?  Walking down the street?  What did/would you do if some dark lurking shadow was hovering over you or if you heard daunting footsteps fast approaching you from behind? 

These were some scenarios we were presented when Coach Carrie, Coach JK, Coach Kelly, Coach Rachel, Coach Rudy, myself and some other CFC athletes attended the Crossfit Defense course held by Tony Blauer this past April.

As Crossfitters, we theoretically are training for the unknown and unknowable; hence the constant variety of movements in different metabolic regimes released the night prior to GO day.  Can Crossfit be applied to self defense?  ABSOLUTELY!  Not only physically, but psychologically.  Here’s how.

Physically:

Think of the 10 fitness domains we ideally train in Crossfit: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination and accuracy.  Now think of how each of these fitness domains are applied in specific movements and how they can be translated to self-protection.  For instance, squats and cleans produce strong, powerful hips that will provide a good base to hold your ground when attacked.  Wallballs, thrusters and pushups provide explosive palm and forearm strikes.  Running, box jumps and double unders provide the endurance, speed and agility ninja style.

This is not to say that we’re all bad asses that should be signing up for ultimate fighting challenges.  This is to point out that we all train physical traits that can help us in a time of duress when someone is trying to hurt us.

Psychologically:

I’m sure we would all agree that the word “Fran” elicits a certain fear in our minds.  We go through a denial phase (NO! Not Fran!), an acceptance phase (Ok, this is going to happen.  Rudy will not let me leave this gym until I do this workout) and an execution (3-2-1- GO!).  Coach Blauer taught us that this mindset can be applied to scary situations and the faster we can get through the denial phase and accept that we are indeed in a life-threatening position, the faster we can manage and execute our self-protection course of action. GET TACTICAL!  JUST GET IT DONE!!!

Coach Blauer taught us that the mindset and awareness methodologies of a SWAT operator and a stay-at-home mom differ by degree, not kind. Both need fear management skills appropriate to their arena, both need to have a built-in understanding of what they are fighting for. Both need to understand, that their body already knows a lot about protecting itself and is going to do certain things in a dangerous situation.

General:

Some more main points from the course include:

1. Bad guys want:

   1. Body, Property, Life

2. Bad guys don’t want:

   1. To get caught, To get hurt, For things to take too long

3. Detect and avoid danger by improving awareness and make practical tactical choices regarding personal safety.  Devalue yourself when in harm.

   1. You see someone in the shadows while you’re at the ATM.  You have a gut wrenching feeling that you’re going to get jumped.  Coach Blauer taught us to devalue what the perpetrator wants.  Scream at the ATM “What??  How could they empty my account?  WHAT THE HELL?!!”  Suddenly, you’re not that appealing any more.

   2. WATCH THIS VIDEO!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpEQICb-9Sg

4. Defuse and de-escalate common conflicts and position yourself for a morally and legally tactical position.

   1. For instance, if you think someone might be following you, Coach Blauer taught us that if you turn around and yell “Are you following me??!”, you’ve put them in a defensive and surprised position and showed yourself to be a fighter.  Of course, if they’re just a normal person who isn’t actually following you, so what?  You’ve got yourself in an awkward, embarrassing position but it’s not life threatening!  (It’s just one more person in the world that thinks you’re crazy.  )

5. Victims create their own destiny.

6. Make a list of what you’re fighting for.  Is it your children?  Is it your significant other?  Fight like you’re fighting for them.

***REMINDER***
The Sports Docs (Dr. Paul & Dr. Tim) will be in from 9am-noon performing complimentary injury screening and Active Release Techniques (ART) soft tissue mobilization!

7 Rounds for time of:
10 Overhead squats (95/65)
400m Run

Post time to comments.
This time last year… Alexa wrote How to be a CrossFit Chicago Tweep.

7 Rounds for time:
7 Toe-to-bars
7 Front squats (165/110)

Post time to comments.
This time last year… Erin wrote a recipe for Calamari Romesco.

Ryan’s CFC Farewell
-Ryan Meester

Unfortunately the time has come for me to write my farewell story. My wife Tara, daughter Lyla, and I are moving back to Wisconsin after a 9 year stint here in Chicago. I wrote a pretty in depth story on my CFC experience back in 2011 (http://www.crossfitchicago.com/archives/6143) so I won’t take up precious blog space here retelling how CFC has changed my life for the better, but certainly check out the article if you want to get a sense of that because it certainly has done so.

I do, however, want to take the opportunity to sincerely thank everyone that has been a part of my experience here at CFC. From the initial invite from Cam / Lauren, to the coaches that helped transform me from a couch potato to tri-athlete in a matter of months, and the countless competitors that I’ve worked out with, each person has played a key role in the fantastic experience both Tara and I have had over the past 2+ years. In the past year, I haven’t been able to be around as much as I would have liked due to numerous things (i.e. Elbow surgery, constant work travel, new baby etc…) but trust that I continue to appreciate all it is that CFC has to offer when I can take advantage of it.

Now starts the process of finding a new CrossFit home. Nothing will ever replace this experience, but I hope to take what I have learned here and bring a little bit of the community with me. I’ll make sure to post on the blog where I end up and I certainly welcome anyone to visit if you get the opportunity.

Well… I’ve been told to never say “good-bye” but rather “I’ll see you soon.” In that spirit, I’ve set some new goals for the coming year (I’ve learned that without concrete goals in place I have a hard time staying on track) and I plan on making some trips back on occasion to check in with everyone. Hopefully by the Open next year I’ll be able to make some trips down for game day Saturdays and can be a bit more of a competitive force in the MEAT!

5 Rounds for time:
50 double unders
25 push ups

Post time to comments.
This time last year… Erin wrote Regional Training, Putting the Fun back into CrossFit.

Lemony Walnut Dip
-Erin O’Brien
Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine

Makes 1 cup

1 cup raw walnuts
½ cup olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Juice from one lemon
Zest from one lemon
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. Place the walnuts in a small pan and bake until just beginning to turn golden and toasted – approximately 10 minutes. Watch them at the end to make sure they don’t burn. Remove the walnuts from the oven and allow to cool.

Combine the walnuts, shallot, thyme, lemon juice and lemon zest in a food processor and process until the nuts are chopped. Add the olive oil and process again until the dip is smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve with your favorite vegetables. Alternatively, you could toss roasted vegetables with the walnut mixture to coat. Enjoy!

For time:
30 Power cleans (185/115)

Post time to comments.
This time last year… Jonny wrote on North Central Regionals!!!

Anniversary Party Recap
-Bryce Wood

It wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t brag on my Old School team repeating in the Anniversary Party Throwdown. Last Saturday we celebrated the 5th year anniversary of CrossFit Chicago with three events. We started off the day with CFC Memorial Run, where we headed down Elston and Cortland passed the old 1962 Clybourn location to run through the original CrossFit Chicago 400 and 800m run route. Events 2 and 3 ran athletes through a clean and jerk gauntlet, and the final event was a team chipper with wall balls, rowing, burpees, kettlebell swings, box jumps, and deadlifts.

The Memorial run kicked off at 9 am with over 45 CFC members participating. BrettR and DanaF helped secure the win for the Old school on this finishing 1st and 3rd. JohnS and DavidM finished 2nd and 4th, but were unable to bump the Middle School team in 2nd. New Schooler ErvinG rounded out the top 5 for men.

Coach RachelF of the High School team led the women’s run event, and was 9th overall. Fellow coach and High Schooler KaceyF was 2nd in the women’s run. Middle Schoolers AlexaT and LaurenA contributed to the team with 3rd and 5th place finishes on the women’s side, and MelissaD finished 4th in the women’s group to help the Old School to a 1st place finish on the run.

In the second event the ladies went first on a clean and jerk gauntlet that started at 55 pounds and increased to 195. The ladies started a trend that continued to the men’s side with the PR bell ringing every minute or two. The Middle Schoolers nearly missed winning the event with three of the top five finishes, including an impressive 185 by ElizabethP. JessicaH hit a 165 clean and jerk for 2nd and AlexaT got another top 5 finish hitting 145 for the Middle School. High Schoolers and CFC coaches KellyJ, 155, and KaceyF, 145 helped the team get a 1st place finish.

On the men’s side, the event began at 115 and worked up to 285. ChrisS and Coach BryceW led charge tying for 1st at 275, and BrettR got third with a PR lift of 265 to give the Old School team the top 3 lifts and a win on the men side. CamL of the High School team hit 255 for 4th, and Middle Schooler ZackJ clean and jerked 235 for a new PR and a 5th place finish.

In the final event teams of three or four completed 1 round of: 20 wall balls (20/14) 20 burpees, a 20 calorie row, 20 box jumps (20/14), 20 kettlebell swings, (55/35), and 20 deadlifts (225/135). The team of DanaF, BrettR, ChrisS, and BryceW got the old school team the win in 8:32. Team CamL, 2nd, and Team KellyJ, 5th, helped the High School team with times of 10:06 and 10:30 to get the High School team in 2nd place overall, and Middle School teams ElizabethP and JessicaH tied for 3rd, both finishing in in 10:20.

All in all competition or no competition it was great to see athletes putting their best efforts out there for a fun day of workouts, and to celebrate the success of longevity of one of the best CrossFit gyms in the country. Looking forward to another year of bringing on new members, seeing new PR’s across the board, and improving the fitness and health of all members at CrossFit Chicago.