CrossFit Chicago

Thanks Dane for topping us off with the new (heavier) and improved boxes!

A1 – Handstand Hold 3 x 1 minute
A2 – GHD Sit-up 3 x 10-15
A3 – Single-Unders 3 x 200

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:
10 Kettlebell Swings (1.5/1 pood)
10 MB Sit-ups (20/14)
30 Double-Unders

This time last year… Alex wrote on a Virtual Challenge.

…And the Winner Is!
-Bryce Wood

Before we announce who the overall winner of our largest cash prize in CrossFit Chicago history is, I just wanted to let you know that this was one of the most satisfying challenges that I have been a part of. The team that I got to lead and be a part of really motivated me to get even tighter on my own diet, and I personally saw some great results just from the camaraderie of being a part of this experience.

The most satisfying for me was to see how many people change had their perspective change on how your bodyfat% affects weight loss. It doesn’t!! There were numerous people who came in with disappointed looks on their final bodyfat percentage tests with me because the scale didn’t move, only to find out that they dropped three percent bodyfat.

These are our AVERAGE changes from our challenge participants in just three weeks time:
Body Fat 2.5%
Suprailliac 6.1mm
Squat Reps 6 reps
Metcon 1:23

These are our top performers in each individual category:
BodyFat% – EmilyG – 5.6%
Suprailliac Score – BrianW – 19mm
Squat Reps – JaredH + 29reps
Metcon Time – MJ C – 9:18

NikkiY was our overall winner! She was chosen based off a formula we developed based on overall improvements in each of the four categories. Nikki dropped 4.3% bodyfat, 16.2mm on her suprailliac, improved her squats by 27 reps, and dropped her metcon time by 2:40.

The rest of the top 10 looks like this:
2. MJC
3. JaredH
4. MaggieC
5. MelisaS
6. BrianW
7. MattT
8. DevinT
9. EmilyG
10. AbeM

If any of you are on the fence for the next nutrition challenge, I hope you can see the benefits, and have seen some of the transformations amongst your fellow athletes. Even if you think you’re pretty strict, which I know a lot of people who already look and perform great, a lot of those athletes also dropped bodyfat, picked up some new muscle, all which lead to better results in the world of CrossFit.

Some Words from the Champ!
-Nikki Yuen

I came back to CFC after taking a three month hiatus from working out, and soon realized that I was in terrible shape. At that point, I had heard of the benefits of eating clean but was always too doubtful that I would succeed in changing my eating habits. When the paleo challenge announcement came along, I was hesitant to sign up – I literally was flip flopping on my decision to participate up until I e-mailed Bryce telling him I was in just days before the challenge meeting. From that point on, I figured…well, I already e-mailed him so there’s no going back now. Might as well give it a shot. From there, I tried to eat paleo wherever I went. I think my hardest day was my first Saturday, when I was invited to my boyfriend’s coworker’s for dinner. Thinking I could find something no matter where I went, I thought I’d be fine. Sadly, the only thing I was able to eat was some of the chicken picked out of the rice it was a part of. Since then I learned that if I was going to be visiting friends or family, I should probably tell them ahead of time (or eat earlier) just in case something didn’t work out.

Having Team KK as a support group was also extremely helpful. Paleo challenge veterans in the group shared their successes from previous challenges, tips for travelling for work, recipes, etc. Everyone was always so great and encouraging that it made me look forward to reading about their experiences every time I opened my e-mail.

As I started to get used to eating better, I had to make sure I was staying active and committing to the challenge. Slowly, I felt better while working out; I felt less gassed and frustrated after WODs. Post-challenge, I cheated over the Thanksgiving holiday, but made the determination that I need to keep doing what I’m doing to feel better and healthier for my own happiness. Sure, I’m not eating as strictly as I was during the challenge, but I did up my membership from two a week to four a week to make sure that I keep moving. It’ll be thousands of baby steps from here to where I want to be, but the challenge was just the kick in the butt (or inspiration) I needed.

Rest day/make ups
This time last year… Bryce wrote on Virtuosity.

Steak in Spicy Red Chile Sauce
-Erin O’Brien
Adapted from Spicie Foodie

1 pound ribeye steak (or tender beef cut of your choice), cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh red chile, chopped (for a less spicy sauce, remove the inner seeds/ribs)
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (no salt added variety)
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive oil

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender. Next add the red chile and stir to combine. Add the cumin, oregano and garlic and sauté just until you can smell the garlic. Next add the canned tomatoes with their juices and stir to combine all ingredients. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes before removing from the heat. Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and process until the sauce is smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Set aside while you prepare the steak.

Wipe out the skillet and heat a couple more tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Season the pieces of steak with salt & pepper and add to the skillet. Stir the steak so that the pieces brown on all sides (approximately 5 minutes). Pour the red chile sauce into the skillet with the steak and heat until steak is just cooked through. Enjoy!

***Reminder: Erin and Kate will be hosting handstands for today’s Seminar Series at 7pm***

Muscle-Ups x 20
or Strict Pull-Ups x 40

21-15-9 reps for time of: (8 minute cap)
Toes-to-Bar
Handstand Push-ups

Post time to comments.
This time last year… Zack wrote on Continuing (Paleo) Education.

Seminar Weekend Options
-Rudy Tapalla

We as CrossFit Chicago have decided to take a bigger role within the greater CrossFit Community and be regular hosts as a Seminar site. As we love to fulfill this role, we don’t want to inconvenience our members by completely shutting down. We will be opening up for a 7am class on Saturdays and 530pm on Sunday on weekends we host seminars.

We are considering opening up at 6pm on Saturday evenings and/or 730am on Sundays if the response is great enough. So we are asking now, would you like us to hold a 6pm class or is that just too late in the day? Is 730am Sunday just too early? Please respond via the blog as this will be the deciding factor.

Current CrossFit Seminar schedule:
CrossFit Kids, December 8/9th
CrossFit Level I, January 5/6th
CrossFit Level I, February 2/3rd
CrossFit Kids, February 23/24th

Teams of Three Complete 30 minute AMRAP of:
10 Thrusters (95/65 or 30% of Back Squat)
500M Row

Post team and individual rounds to comments.
This time last year… was a rest day!

Logan’s See-ya-later
-Logan Battison

Hello! My name is Logan.

This is a very bittersweet message. Next week my family and I move to a new home in Overland Park KS. This week I say goodbye to my CrossFit Chicago friends and coaches. To say the least, we are thrilled to move from our condo life in Bucktown to a spacious home, yard, nearby family etc. Our time in Chicago has been filled with great experiences and people and just overall good times. As this move has drawn closer I have thought about the things I will end up missing the most from my old city and as you may guess CFC is at the top of that list. Let me share a bit about my story with CFC.

I joined CFC in September 2011, and like many before they find CrossFit, I had become used to living too high on the hog and was a bloated, lazy man. Sweet SaraC took me through the Baseline workout that I made it through in about 6 or so minutes (banded pulls up, knee pushups). I flailed around on the floor for about 45 minutes after this, unable to speak. 3hrs later I started to regain basic motor functions…it was BAD! My first workout happened to be a partner WOD with AdamB, a 20min AMRAP of farmers carry’s/sprints. Again I resembled someone that just got shot and electrocuted at the same time. Over time I lost the bands, got quicker, shed weight, recovered faster, and started going Rx… like in a montage! I even did a Paleo Challenge with my wife in June and got so freaking sexy. Fran, Murph and many other Heroes and firsts will always be remembered inside CFC’s walls. I learned to be tough again here, to embrace the path that pain leads you down, to taste the victory of not giving up.

I want to extend my gratitude to the coaches of CFC and to the community of amazing individuals. Each and every coach has made an impact in my life by ingraining discipline, form, drive, and perseverance back into my heart. Thank you for what you do. To all the members I have had the privilege to get to know and train with, thank you for making this such a positive environment. This year has been full of change for my family and you all played a much larger role in making it a success than you may know. The Battison’s thank CFC and wish each of you the very best.

Overhead Squat 3-3-3-3-3

5 Rounds for time of: (12 minute cap)
10 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups
10 Overhead Lunges (45/25) (total reps)
10 Plate Push-ups

Post load and time to comments.
This time last year… we revisited an Open workout!

Wednesday’s Seminar Series, Handstands!
-Erin Cunnningham

Our next Wednesday night workshop will consist of coach Kate M and myself, Erin C, coaching the mechanics of all things handstands. We understand that for many, handstands don’t necessarily come easy. Being comfortable upside down takes practice and quality technique work. Whether you are brand new to our CFC community or you are a seasoned vet, we welcome you to come out and join us.

We will be covering:
Core Stability
Hand, Shoulder and Body position for handstand
Kicking up into a Handstand
Handstand holds – freestanding and against the wall
Handstand Walks

We will be doing plenty of drills and will get lots of practice. This session is designed to help you get to the next step in your handstand progression, wherever you may be. This will be our first gymnastic specific session. We will be following this up with handstand push-ups and eventually muscle-ups.

See you on Wednesday!

Overheard, “Every good diet starts Monday.”

Rest day/make ups
This time last year… Abbey wrote on 6am.

A week in review:
Eye on the Prize
Don’t be That Guy, Part Three
Oh $#$@ I Ripper – Now What
Happy Thanksgiving/October Member of the Month!
Dear Lurkers

A little Thanksgiving prep!

Teams of Two Complete three rounds each for alternating 1 minute AMRAP’s:
Hang Power Cleans (75/55)
Box Jumps (20″/16″)
Push Press (75/55)
Kettlebell Swings (1.5/1 pood)

Post time and partner to comments.
This time last year… was Thanksgiving!

5 Rounds for time of: (20 minute cap)
50 Double-Unders
30 Wall Balls (20/14)
10 Calorie Row

Post time to comments.
This time last year… Jonny wrote CrossFit Chicago is Better than Yesterday.

Dear Lurkers
-KaceyF

Dear Lurkers,
You checkin to the blog and read the posts daily, but you never post. You are wondering if some of the things that Skins writes about are legitimate, if Alex really has fun on the Airdyne, and why the hell the 6am is so…weird. You know who you are. I used to be one, too.

The blog at CFC is a huge part of our community. We are lucky enough to be one of only a few affiliates to have such an interactive and informative daily blog. It took me about 6 months of crossfitting to start posting to the blog on a regular basis, and I wish I had done it sooner. Not only is the blog a great way to track your progress on and reflect back on how much stronger and faster you’ve gotten, but its one of the best and easiest ways to connect with the rest of the CFC community.

When people post their results to the blog, it becomes easier to put a face with that name, easier to congratulate you on your first pullup, your first muscle up, or even surviving your first class! The blog is also a great tool for the coaches to see how the general CFC population and individual members are doing. Are our athletes overworked from a tough programming week? Are we deficient in overhead movements? We had how many PRs today?! You get the idea.

So, do yourself a favor: let the community and the coaches hear from you and start posting to the blog! With somewhere around 400 members, we should have no problem reaching 100 posts on any given day. And no, I’m not counting the days when Shepard’s Pie is the topic of discussion.

Let’s see how many first time posters we can get over the next week. You don’t have to be the next JoeP (I mean, who could), but give it a try!

***HOLIDAY HOURS 8am-10am!***

Rest Day or
“Thanksgiving Special”
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
11 Burpees
22 Walking Lunges
12 MB Sit-Ups (20/14)

Post time to comment.
This time last year… 6am Glen wrote on Paleo Madness.

CrossFit Chicago is pleased to announce our newest member of the month – Kate!

Not only does KateM run her own apparel line, she’s also our October Member of the Month! She’s a big part of our community and has helped out at our events and represented us at competitions at other affiliates. A RudyFit member, KateM has a strong competitive drive and more importantly one of the nicest people at our affiliate. As one of our original Women’s Only Groupon members, she’s come a long way and setting goals has played a large part. Watch the video to learn more about her goals, her CrossFit story, and how CrossFit connects KateM with her husband, GeoffM. If you see KateM, please give her a big smile and congratulate her for being our newest Member of the Month! Don’t forget to see the extended footage at the end of the video too!

***There will be no official Seminar Series Class today but Rudy will be around to assist with any snatch and clean and jerk help needed today!***

Olympic Total:
Snatch 1RM
Clean and Jerk 1RM

Compare to 8Oct11.
This time last year… Zack wrote on Problem Foods and Keeping it on the Rails.

Oh $#$@ I ripped – now what?
-Kate Mikelsons

What is the 1st giveaway that someone CrossFits? Checkout their hands! I know my hands look pretty decent until you flip them palms up and see that they actually resemble hands of an Appalachian lumberjack. It really freaks people out when they catch a glimpse – my favorite is walking in to get a manicure and seeing the reaction on the manicurists face when my hands had a little less than an ideal week – it’s awesome!

As a former gymnast, I think I got my first rip at age 4 and have had the (often time painful) privilege to try just about every precaution and remedy out there (except for pickle juice which someone mentioned the other day!) and wanted to share my “best of” to prevent them and suggest what to do if you unfortunately get one.

What is a rip?

If you are reading this and you don´t know what a rip is and you´ve been CrossFitting for over 1 month – kudos to you but…..you should probably be working a little harder on the kip in your pull-up – just kidding (kinda) ;)! Calluses are hardened areas of skin that develop in response to a prolonged point of friction in order to protect your skin. Because that skin has hardened, the dead cells don´t “slough off” the way normal skin does. A rip occurs because too much excess dead skin is sitting on top of a developed callus at a friction point and when the thickness becomes too great, the callus tears off or rips.

Maintenance

If you CrossFit or hang from bars, you will develop calluses (good thing) which can, if left on their own rip (not so pleasant). The idea is to develop great calluses that will allow you to perform 40+ pull-ups in a row but not lose training time because they rip halfway thru a workout. “Callus Maintenance” is needed to prevent rips from occurring.

There are lots of methods that work to sand down your calluses. You want to make sure that the skin remains tough but all the edges are smooth. Some tools I´ve used that are effective are the ped egg, a callus shaver (intended for the feet), and razor blades both on moist and/or dry skin. The key is to try a few different ways, adopt your favorite, and make time to do it every week! Remember, you are shaving off DEAD skin but the soft skin around the callus is very much alive and has nerve endings – don´t mess with that! Also, I do not recommend picking because it´s not as precise and has a tendency to create tears rather than prevent them.

Oh-no! It happened!

So now what? Miss a week of CrossFit? Ask your coach to give you a substitute for pull-ups because your hand is in shambles? First, it depends on the rip, but if possible, here´s my advice for coming back faster even with one of the worst kinds of rips – the bloody ones!

1. IMMEDIATELY following a rip, cut off the flap of skin. If it´s a bad one, tell a coach and they will show you where the scissors are and help you inspect your apparatus for blood. If you don´t notice until your home or want to assemble your own “rip” kit, scissors with a slight bend at the tip work well. I tend to use nail clippers or cuticle cutters because they are easier to maneuver with one hand. The most important thing is to cut that flap off as close to the skin as humanly possible.

2. Wash your hands. Totally painful, I get it but it has to happen as an infected rip is way worse!

3. Get that sucker closed – fast! This is the biggest area of discussion as there are probably a hundred ways to do it and some fancy products on the market (I dislike the ones with alcohol). My favorite is taking a black tea bag, wetting it completely (doesn´t matter what temperature water) and wrapping the string around my hand while clutching the bag. I move it around or flip it over every 5 or so minutes for about 15 minutes. It stings a little and your hand will be a little discolored when you take it off (see above photo), but the rips will be closed. If there is still a little oozing going on, I repeat after letting it breathe for 30 minutes.

4. Cover them during the day with Neosporin and band aids.

5. Leave them open at night – no band aids

6. Cover them when you work out and modify the exercises that hurt if needed.

To better looking hands!