WOD:

Strength

3x3 Front Squat (use 5/3/1 calculator)

Metcon

6 rounds

1 Min Row for Cal

1 Min Rest

There are many aspects to proper recovery:

Nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemical foundation that fuels our bodies. You can’t repair muscles without adequate intake of high-quality protein. Chicken, fish, beef, and eggs are all great choices because of their complete amino acid profiles. Carbohydrates are stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen. You need to eat some quality carbohydrates in order to replenish yourself. Vegetables, fruits, and some starchy tubers (i.e. sweet potatoes) are all good choices. Grab one of Michele’s delicious “Invictus Shots” after your next WOD to make sure you are getting the fuel your body needs. Don’t forget to eat some healthy fat as well. Besides serving as an energy source, fat helps you absorb fat-soluble nutrients like vitamins A, D, E, and K. Read the The Paleo Diet for Athletes by Dr. Loren Cordain for more information.

Sleep
Get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. During sleep, your body releases a chemical cocktail that will help enhance your recovery and give you the greatest benefit from your training. Muscle tissues are repaired and the central nervous system is rejuvenated allowing for you to train at peak performance the next day.

Rest Days
As I mentioned earlier, Michele is spot on with this one. If you are training hard enough, you will need to rest once every 2 to 3 days. Following a 3-on/1-off schedule or even a 3-on/1-off/2-on/1-off schedule would serve to benefit you. Active recovery is great, go for a swim, a quick jog, or even a round of golf.

Myofascial Release
The repeated microtrauma from training everyday can take its toll on your body. Adhesions and trigger points can lead to all sorts of pain in both your muscles and your joints. Grab a foam roller and start rolling out your muscles. Lats, pecs, traps, glutes, quads, and hip flexors are the hot spots you’ll definitely want to hit everyday. Lacrosse balls are great for calves and glutes as well. The taped balls are perfect for rolling the thoracic erectors as well performing t-spine mobilization. Feel free to schedule a massage but you’ll want to make sure you are doing some damage control on a daily basis.

Stretching
Do not save the stretching for rest days. Tight hamstrings, tight calves and tight hip flexors are often to blame for the pain and injuries experienced by athletes. Do yourself a favor and stretch out after every workout. You don’t have to stretch out immediately after the WOD. I realize people have to get to work or get home for dinner, just make sure you do stretch sometime between the completion of your workout and your 7 to 8 hours of sleep.

NSAIDs
Lay off the Motrin. There is a normal healing process that occurs after an injury. The first 2 to 4 days are the inflammatory response phase. This phase is essential for initiating the healing process. When you take a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, like ibuprofen, the entire healing process is halted. Read more in Kelly Starrett’s article.

Cryotherapy
Instead of drugs, use ice as it can help with the inflammation associated with the muscle soreness experienced after training. Use ice packs, ice baths, ice cups, ice massage, just not ice cream.

Fish Oil
Supplementing your diet with fish oil can reduce inflammation as well as help lubricate your joints. Read Mark’s post here. Dietary supplements should always be the last thing to add to your recovery program. Make sure your nutrition is solid before adding fish oil or any other supplement for that matter.

Having an effective and comprehensive recovery program in place is essential for your continued success as an athlete. Failing to do so will inevitably lead to training plateaus and/or injuries. You should strive to combat under-recovery with the same persistence and dedication that you have in your training. Remember, elite human performance requires an equally high level of maintenance and care.

Written by Calvin Sun of Crossfit Invictus

"Courage is a special kind of knowledge; the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared."
– David Ben

Rest Day

Here is a chart from Trigger Point Therapy. Take a look at this and use a lacrosse ball, or whatever and try some myofasical release. It can be very painful, but you feel a lot better afterwards.

Tomorrow is Blake's last day because he heads out to Pensacola. We are going to meet at the Shed at 0500 to do the WOD.

"Few men during their lifetime come anywhere near exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used." Richard E. Byrd

WOD:

Strength

3x3 Bench Press (using 5/3/1 calculator)

Metcon

6 rounds

15 Unbroken Pullups

20 Unbroken Pushups

25 Unbroken Situps

30 Unbroken Squats

Rest 2 Min between rounds

There has been a lot of talk lately about individual performances and how they measure up to the best. I get frustrated from time to time with my scores compared to Blake and Hiro, but I have to realize that they are amazing athletes and will be competing the Regionals (no small task). If you want to see your performance to continue to go up and be competitive, we must realize how much preparation and dedication is needed to become an elite athlete. Take a look at your nutrition, your rest and trust in the programming (Chad is doing an amazing job), and put the time and effort in to become an elite athlete. Just remember it won't happen over night, but with attention to detail we can push each other to be better athletes and represent the Shed down in Kirkland and show everybody just how good we are.

"No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction." Charles Kendall Adams

WOD:

Strength

3x3 Deadlift

Metcon

3 rounds

400m Run

12 95# OHS

50 Double Unders

"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials." – Chinese proverb

WOD:

Strength

3x3 Press

Metcon

5 rounds

15 Burpees

10 Power Cleans (use 65% of 1 RM)

15 CTB Pullups

Rest 3 Min between rounds

2010 Crossfit Games Site

"A total commitment is paramount to reaching the ultimate in performance."- Tim Flores

Snatch 3x5 (5/3/1 protocol, cycle 2, week 1)

Fat Grip Christine
3 rounds of

500M row
12 Dead Lifts (Body Weight)
21 Box Jumps

We received great news yesterday. Hiro qualified for the NW Regional. He was 1 of only 4 people accepted world wide to qualify via online submission.

Today I was informed by CFHQ that Blake will be allowed to compete at the SE Regional vice the NW! The Shed is going to be represented on both coasts!

"Victory belongs to the most persevering - Napoleon Bonaparte

WOD

Strength

3x5 Front Squat

Metcon

10-1

DB Manmakers

Box Jumps

Are you getting enough sleep?

"When one door closes another door opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."Alexander Graham Bell

Rest Day

If you find some time to mess around in the Shed, try working on some difficult gymnastics moves, such as the L-Sit.

"No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself." - William Penn

WOD

Strength

3x5 Bench Press

Metcon

5 rounds

30 Pushups

30 GHD Situps

Hot or Cold . . . What’s the Right Choice?
Written by Invictus member Rasa Dusa

Muscle soreness, stiffness and strains are the primary risks to obtaining the myriad benefits of superb fitness. The body’s primary response to these muscular strains and the first phase of the tissue healing process is the defensive mechanism of inflammation.

Inflammation is the body’s natural response in the tissue healing process. It can, however, be painful, can limit our movements and slow the tissue healing process, and at its worst, can compromise circulation, depriving our muscles of oxygen and causing cell death. So how do we mitigate the negative effects of inflammation, increase the tissue healing process and decrease the amount of time away from training?

Treating muscle injuries with heat or cold therapies elicit a wide range of positive cellular and vascular response within our bodies. But when is it appropriate to use cold, and when should you use heat?

Cryotherapy (cold) is most appropriate for any acute muscular injury causing inflammation and pain. In the acute injury phase (the phase immediately following an injury/strain) cryotherapy promotes faster tissue healing. The physiological response to cold includes vasoconstriction, a decrease in metabolic rate, and a decrease in pain transmission. The decrease in cellular metabolic rate leads to a decrease in the amount of oxygen required for a cell to survive in the area being treated. Therefore, there is less damage to the tissue and consequently a decrease in rehabilitation time. Cold application also suppresses pain transmission and acts as an analgesia which can allow pain-free exercise for the athlete. Cryotherapy may be used during all stages of the inflammatory response, ranging from the first day to as long as two weeks after injury.

There are several commonly used methods of applying cyrotherapy to injured athletes. These methods include, ice massage , cold or ice water immersion (Ice baths), cold sprays and ice packs. The cooling process includes three stages of cold response. The first stage is a cold sensation (0-3minutes), followed by a mild burning (2min-7min), and finally numbness or anesthesia (5-12min).

- Ice massage is commonly performed on a small body area such as the belly of the muscle, tendons or bursa or myofacial trigger points. For great tips on ice massage, review Calvin Sun’s January 19, 2009 blog post.

- Ice water immersion is indicated when treating a distal body part, large areas, and when circumferential cooling is preferred. Ice immersion involves placing a body part into a mixture of ice and water having a temperature range of 50 degrees F to 60 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.

- Ice packs are the mostly commonly used cryotherapy method. It is recommended that a layer of thin wet cloth be placed between the ice pack and skin. Then ice packs are to be applied over the injured area and secured in place for 15 to 20 minutes.

So when is heat appropriate?

Thermotherapy (heat) is appropriately used when the inflammatory reaction is beyond the acute phase. The introduction of heat during the chronic inflammation stages encourages tissue healing and assists athletes in regaining range of motion prior to physical activity.

Thermotherapy causes an increase in cellular metabolic rate and blood supply, and can serve to accelerate inflammation. With the rise in a cell’s metabolic rate, the cell’s demand for nutrients and oxygen increases. Blood flow will be increased to encourage the delivery of those nutrients necessary for healing and aid in the removal of cellular debris. However, the increase in cellular metabolic rate can also accelerate the rate of cell death, and thus slow the healing process.

For a physiological response to occur, heat must be absorbed into the issue, causing an increase in molecular activity. Methods of heating are generally classified as either deep or superficial. Deep thermotherapy involves microwave diathermy, shortwave diathermy and ultrasound. These forms of deep heat require specialized equipment and training. The most common superficial thermotherapies include moist heat packs, paraffin baths and warm whirlpools. Among the superficial thermal agents, moist heat causes a greater increase in the deep-tissue temperature than does dry. Additionally, moist heat can be tolerated at higher temperatures than dry heat. The easiest way to apply moist superficial heat is with a hot water bag or moist wet towel applied directly to the area in which heating is required, or simply jump in a hot tub.

"Free will and determinism are like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you is determinism. The way you play your hand is free will." Norman Cousins

WOD:

Strength

5x5 Deadlift

Metcon

40 to 20 Alternating Sledge Hammer Strikes

10 to 1 Strict Pullups

From CFV, Collin Jenkins:

I have witnessed well over 5000 CrossFit performances, and have been able to pick up on lots of different tendencies and qualities of athletes who continually are able to put up top performances (relative to their abilities) day to day. Here are 2 of them:

1 - ABSOLUTE FOCUS
When I refer to focus, what I mean is the ability to maintain concentration on the task at hand, especially as heart rate climbs up and muscles begin to fatigue during the workout. When someone is in a focused state or "in the zone", I have noticed their face is unusually calm for how hard they are working, and that their eyes are completely locked onto what they are doing. I have found that learning to use positive self-talk and relaxing the face can successfully improve this aspect of performance.

2. NO THINKING
We work a lot on technique for movements, sometimes with minimal weights, or under low intensity, to help improve the skills which are crucial to long term fitness development. During skill practice, we want to think about movement so we can develop better, more efficient motor patterns. However, it is important to understand that once the clock starts for a workout, all thinking should shut off, unless you purposefully are lowering your intensity to improve some skill (such as pose running or Olympic lifting).

"Performance, and performance alone, dictates the predator in any food chain."
SEAL Team saying

WOD:

Strength

3x5 Press (Month 2 5/3/1 Calculator)

Metcon

7 rounds

5 HSPU

10 Pullups

20 Squats

"73" felt compelled to add some inspiring words to his sledge hammer. Jason and I also bought two new sledges for tomorrow's WOD.

"Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars." Frederick Langbridge

5/3/1 Clean and Jerk

Then

1.5 Mile run forward
1.5 Mile run backward
Ok, Ok, I have been slacking on the posts. I admit it. Below is the downloaded path vs time that Hiro, Blake and Justin took when doing the run this morning. Justin summed it up best "that was worse than running up Mt Erie"


Regardless, great effort boys.

See everyone on Monday.

Rest Day

Ramon went up to Bellingham today and picked up a rower and GHD. Dude, you complete me...No Homo! Thank you! Looking forward to seeing them in the programming.

For those that may be interested I wanted to remind everyone about Robb Wolf's nutrition seminar May 2nd at CF Seattle. Shelly and I have both registered and would love to see you guys there as well.

I really enjoyed listening to him the last time he was in Seattle. Very informative.

So drop the muscle sammiches and get onboard for the big win!


"The only thing in life achieved without effort is failure" - unknown

Whirlwind last 24 hours.


Let me apologize for not updating the site yesterday. I received a phone call from "73" yesterday morning informing me that the CrossFit online qualifier requirements had been posted....oh, and they had to be completed and submitted to HQ by 0800 this morning! It is a good thing that "73" has nothing better to do at work than check the CF games website.


Blake completed the online qualifier "just in case" he is not allowed to compete at the SE Regional. Hiro completed the online qualifier due to missing the sectionals for Navy operational committments.


So, yesterday at 1600, several of us met over at BBN to watch Blake and Hiro complete the first WOD (Hiro had already done our regular WOD earlier that morning). At 1900 we came back to BBN for WOD 2.


This morning at 0445 we met at The Shed for WOD 3.


I cannot stress enough how impressed I was with the performance of both of these athletes. Great effort.

Below lists each WOD and a link to the raw video that was submitted to CFHQ.



WOD 1
5 rounds of
10 Deadlift (225#)
10 Box Jump (24")
10 Toes to bar


Blake 6:17 Video
Hiro 7:32 Video


WOD 2
150 Double Unders
30 Thrusters (135#)
30 Chest to Bar Pullups


Blake 8:41 Video
Hiro 7:28 Video


WOD 3
3 rounds of
7 Front Squats (185#)
7 Muscle Ups


Blake 3:56 Video
Hiro 5:20 Video


On behalf of all of us, I would like to publicly thank Len Nuanez for his support in allowing us to use his gym for WODs 1 and 2.

"Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more." ~A. Lou Vickery

SUCKS TO BE SHEDLESS

Shed crew, just wanted to let you know I've been following your efforts, witnessing PR's on the blog, and gathering occasional updates from Chad. It really sucks to be out of touch and away from the Shed. Keep up the good work.

Eric, fantastic job on keeping the blog rolling.

By the way...5/3/1 freakin rules.

Later,
Trent

WOD:

Strength

5/3/1 Snatch

Metcon

AMRAP in 10 Min

HSPU

Rest 5-10 Min

5k Run

I should be picking up the rower and GHD tomorrow, so now we can add in some C2 action.

"They can conquer who believe they can. He has not learned the first lesson in life who does not every day surmount a fear." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Good work this morning in The Shed

5/3/1 Snatch

Then
10 min HSPU

Then

5K run

Not only did both Hiro (aka Ramon) and Blake put in some good work, but please note that Blake's hair being out of place did not affect him in anyway.

When you live for a strong purpose, then hard work isn’t an option. It’s a necessity - Steve Pavlina

Rest Day

I will be hosting the UFC fight this Saturday night if anyone is interested, just let me know.

"Visualize this thing you want. See it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin." Robert Collier

5/3/1 Dead Lift

Then

5 rounds of
10 Push Press
10 Knees to Elbows
40 Double Unders

Blake achieved on of his goals this morning. A 500lb dead lift (ok, it was actually 505). Congratulations. What are some of your goals? Do you have a plan to attain them? Are you on track?

The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital. - Joe Paterno



Post results to comments

WOD:

Strength

5/3/1 Press

Metcon

200 Double Unders

50 KBS

30 Box Jumps

20 GHD Situps

10 Pullups

Robb Wolf's Paleolithic Solution Seminar in Seattle on May 2nd.

"Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance." Dr. Samuel Johnson

WOD

Strength

5/3/1 Back Squat

Metcon

3 rounds

400m Run

Max Pullups

Max Dips

Rest as needed between rounds

We all have dreams and goals we wish to accomplish, but they do us no good kept inside, locked away from our friends and family. If you have a goal, make it known throughout "The Shed," make us hold each other accountable and reasonable so you can obtain that goal. We have a great support structure at "The Shed," minus the occasional life coaching, that we need to take advantage of. Share your goals, write them down, make them known, because together we can accomplish greatness.

"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world." Joel Barker

WOD
Clean and Jerk Cindy

1 Clean and Jerk
1 round of Cindy
2 Clean and Jerk
1 round of Cindy
3 Clean and Jerk
1 round of Cindy
4 Clean and Jerk
1 round of Cindy
5 Clean and Jerk
1 round of Cindy
6 Clean and Jerk
1 round of Cindy
7 Clean and Jerk
1 round of Cindy
8 Clean and Jerk
1 round of Cindy
9 Clean and Jerk
1 round of Cindy
10 Clean and Jerk
1 round of Cindy


ALL the pieces to the puzzle.

All of us have no problem with getting up at a ridiculously early hour several days a week to get to a freezing cold room and place demands on our bodies that most people would find a bit extreme. The goal may be to increase athletic ability, prolong life, reduce stress or any other number of personal items. The point I am trying make is that we focus heavily on our training but at least as much focus needs to be placed on nutrition. Approach your nutrition with the same ferocity as you would any WOD.

I highly recommend that you listen to Robb Wolf's Podcasts: The Paleolithic Solution. We consistently exercise our bodies and should also be exercising our minds.

For anyone interested Robb Wolf is going to be giving a one day nutrition seminar at CF Seattle on May 2nd. The cost is $195.


”There is something that is much more scarce, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability.” - Robert Half

Post results to comments.

WOD:

Strength

3x3 Bench Press

Metcon

60 Situps

30 Pullups

40 Situps

20 Pullups

20 Situps

10 Pullups

Get ready for a little Clean Cindy tomorrow.

"The first and the best victory is to conquer self." Plato

Rest Day

Get Some Rest
Written by Calvin Sun

It seems to me that sleep has become an inconvenience in our lives. We are all so busy with endless lists of obligations to work, school, friends, family, and so much more. We have become a society of overworked, caffeine-addicted zombies. As a result, most of us don’t sleep enough. And it’s not just an issue of quantity, quality is affected in that many of us are also stressed to the point where we aren’t able to achieve adequate amounts of deep sleep.

Sleep is not simply a continuous state of unconsciousness, rather it is a physiological process that occurs in cycles of approximately 90 minutes. Each of these cycles can be broken down into five different stages. The first four stages are considered non-REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and the fifth stage is known as REM sleep.

Stage 1
The first stage of sleep lasts about 5 to 10 minutes and varies between drowsiness and light sleep. Muscle activity slows down, although you may see some occasional muscle twitching. Most are easily awakened in this state and will not feel as if they have slept.

Stage 2
The second stage is a period of light sleep where respiration and heart rate slows. Body temperature will also decrease slightly during this period. EEG readings will show larger brain waves and occasional bursts of activity.

Stage 3
Stage 3 marks the beginning of deep sleep, it occurs approximately 30 to 45 minutes after the sleep cycle begins. The brain begins to produce slower, high-amplitude waves known as delta waves.

Stage 4
Stage 4 is a very deep sleep. It is characterized by delta waves and is also known as slow-wave sleep. Physiologically, breathing is more rhythmic and muscle activity is limited. If you are awakened during deep sleep, you will probably feel groggy, confused, disoriented and may be unable to function normally for up to half an hour.

Stage 5 – REM
As its name suggests, rapid movement of the eyes distinguishes REM sleep from other stages of sleep. Brain activity during REM sleep is similar to that during waking hours. Intense, vivid dreaming occurs during REM and most of the dreams you can recall occur during this stage. Studies suggest that REM sleep is essential for processing and consolidating emotions, memories and stress.

While every stage of sleep is important, stages 3 and 4 – or slow-wave sleep, seem to be of particular importance. Several studies have shown that when deprived of sleep, there is an increased amount of slow-wave sleep the following evening. Many neuroscientists have suggested that this indicates there is a physiological “need” for slow-wave sleep as it may be the most “restorative” form of sleep. Sleep is still not completely understood as there is an abundance of on-going research on the subject. We do, however, know that sleep is essential to your health as sleep deprivation can result in a variety of undesirable conditions.