For a normal burpee, we jump straight up into the air and clap our hands over head. For a burpee frog jump, you want to jump forward and extend your whole body. Picture a frog taking a big leap and flinging it limbs back and extending it belly and hips forward. That's how you want to jump! For this workout, we burpee frog jump the length of a basketball court, back and forth -- the bigger your jump, the fewer burpees you have to do!


Valerie and Vanessa demonstrate the burpee frog jump in action.

Today's Workout:
"Traveling Burpees"
Burpee-frog jump the length of a basketball court
50 jumping jacks
Burpee-frog jump the length of a basketball court
40 tuck jumps
Burpee-frog jump the length of a basketball court
30 squats
Burpee-frog jump the length of a basketball court
20 jumping lunges
Burpee-frog jump the length of a basketball court

Welcome to our newest Rancho Park member - Teddy! Teddy joined us this week and is off to a great start. As you can see he strategically positioned himself in front of the appropriate graffiti.


Teddy does the medicine ball throw over the wall.

Today's Workout:
10x
100m sprint

Rest

Speed situps - 15s, 30s, 45s, 60s, 45s, 30s, 15s

Box jumps are a movement we work on frequently in the gym, and one that can easily be taken outdoors and on the road. Find any sturdy object roughly 20 inches high and jump! At the park we use the bleachers, the picnic benches, the low landscaping walls, and just about anything else we can find. Find a variety of things you can jump on to keep it interesting and realistic.


Jarrod lunges on one of the many baseball diamonds at the park.

Today's Workout:
3 Rounds
400m run
30 box jumps
30 jumping jacks

Holidays feel a little like CrossFit sometimes - a quick rest and then back to work!


Jennifer busts out the push ups, while Greg and Alia burpee in sync.

Today's Workout:
3 Rounds
400m run
40 squats
30 sit ups
20 push ups
10 pull ups

Rest is an important element of working out. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the pursuit of strength and speed and forget that rest is vital, too! Enjoy your holiday and get some rest - let your body recover and rebuild. Happy Labor Day!


Farmer's walk up the stairs with buckets filled with sand.

Welcome to new classmate - Jarrod! And look, we even carried him around on his very first workout!


Robert, Jarrod and David doing a team workout.

Today's Workout:
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:
Up flight of steps carrying buckets of sand (total equaling 20-50#)
At top of steps do 2 burpees on first round
Down flight of steps carrying buckets of sand
At bottom of steps do 2 sit ups

Each round the number doubles, so on the second time up the stairs, you do 4 burpees, then at the bottom 4 sit ups. This number keeps increasing until you reach 20 minutes.

Welcome Greg to the classes! Greg started this week and seems to already be hooked -- here he is with veteran class member Linda, working on his clean technique with the PVC pipe.



Today's Workout:
"Nicole"
As many rounds as possible in 20 min:
400m run
Max set of pull ups

Note number of pull-ups completed for each round. Your score is your total number of pull ups completed.

Olympic lifting can appear complicated and daunting, but broken down into elements it can be scaled to any fitness and skill level. A great way to start is with PVC pipe - if you can not do a movement correctly with little to no weight, you most likely won't do it right with weight on the bar either. Learn the movements with PVC - train your brain and your body in the correct movement patterns and you'll be ahead of the game when weights are added.


Alia contemplates during a workout break.

Today's Workout:
3 rounds with PVC pipe:
400m run
30 jump shrugs
25 front squats
20 clean drops
15 cleans

Not only is CrossFit a great way to start the day, it can be a great way to wrap up the tail end of the day as well. Our evening classes are every Tuesday and Thursday night at 6:30pm. So on your way home from work, stop by and enjoy the fresh air and get a workout in!


David and Michelle do dips as the sun sets.

Today's Workout:
With partner and medicine ball -
5 rounds
20 Partner medicine ball push ups
20 Partner medicine ball sit ups
20 Partner medicine ball sprawls

For push ups, from your knees throw the ball at your partner, pushing it straight from your chest as you drop down into your pushup (either knee or toe push ups, depending on your fitness level). Your partner catches it, pushes it back at you and does a push up of their own. For sit ups, hold the ball overhead, tap the ground behind you and sit up and throw the ball in an arc to your partner all in one motion. The partner should catch it over head and repeat the movement back to you. Medicine ball sprawls are like the bottom of a burpee - throw the ball to your partner and drop down into the bottom of the burpee, then hop back up before they toss it back to you.

What's a plank up? We do these at the park from time to time - they are a great variation on doing push ups and offer a different challenge. Plank ups work both your core and your arms. You stay in a plank position the entire time, but you raise and lower your body with your arms. Start with your toes on the ground, elbows on the ground and your body in a nice flat line from shoulder to heels. Imagine you're trying to suck your belly button into your spine, keeping your back from arching and sagging. You then push up with one arm, then the other to raise yourself up as if at the top of a push up. Then lower yourself back to your elbows one arm at a time. This is ONE rep.


Lawrence is at the bottom of his plank up, Greg is on his way up, and Mike is at the top.

Today's Workout:
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:
5 burpees
10 flutter kicks (2 count)
20 bird pickers (2 count)

There's something about working out at 6am with a group of people. It's very different than working out at 6am on your own. There's a level of accountability when you know your absence will be noticed and a level of fun when you know you've got friends you're looking forward to seeing. As a group, classmates help each other out - supporting, encouraging, and driving each other. Everybody accomplishes much more as a member of a "team."


Peng, Jennifer, Matthew, Mike, Misty, Addie and Craig

Today's Workout:
3 rounds
400m backwards run
25 tuck jumps
2 laps of the bleachers (up bleachers, lunge across, down bleachers, lunge across)
25 plank ups

Sometimes it is the workouts that look the simplest that turn out to be unexpectedly challenging. The "Cindy" is one of the classic CrossFit Girls - the standard workouts that are used as periodic gauges of improvement. The first time most people see the Cindy written down, they think, "No big deal!"....and then they try it! Give it a shot and see how many rounds you do. In the future, we'll do it again and see how many more you can do after consistently CrossFitting for a while!


The morning crew enjoys a set of lateral bridges.

Today's Workout:
"Cindy"
As many rounds as possible in 20 min:
5 pull ups
10 pushups
15 squats

What's a Tabata? Tabata intervals were named for Dr. Izumi Tabata, a researcher at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. Originally working with speed skaters and stationary bikes, Dr. Tabata came up with the interval, designed to work both the anaerobic and aerobic energy systems. One interval is 20 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest. You do this interval 8 times, for a total of four minutes of work. You can pretty much "Tabata" anything and it's a great way to get a quick, intense work out.


Rodney's works on his ring pull ups.

Today's Workout:
Tabata Mash-Up Part 1:
Situps
Lateral bridges (left side)
Lateral bridges (right side)
Arch rocks

Tabata Mash-Up Part 2:
Wall sits
Plank holds

Have you been keeping up on the Olympics this year? I've been finding them particularly fascinating as an opportunity to observe form on a world class level. The runners, gymnasts, and Olympic lifters all display a subtle variety of form, but at it's core are the same mechanics we teach in class. Try watching the Olympics and thinking about what you're learning as a CrossFit student -- are they doing what they're supposed to? And what is the result? To keep up on all the Olympic results, visit NBC's website: NBCOlympics.com


Misty jumps and shrugs!

Today's Workout:
4x
400m backwards run
50 squats

Welcome to our newest member - Craig! For those of you who are new to CrossFit Los Angeles, or those of you following our workouts from other cities and countries, check out our online forums. You can start your own workout log! We'd love to hear what you're doing and your experience doing the workouts. Become part of our virtual extended family: Petranek Fitness Discussion Forums


Craig works on his overhead squat.

Today's Workout:
"The Vortex"
With a continuously running stopwatch,
Run 1.5 Miles
At each minute mark, alternate between 10 jumping lunges (one rep is both left and right) and 10 push ups (so at minute 1, do 10 jumping lunges, minute 2, 10 push ups, etc)
Continue in this fashion until either you have finished 1.5 miles, or you get "Vortexed" (have no time to run after finishing your lunges or push ups)
If you finish, your time is your score. If you get Vortexed, your time at the Vortex and your distance completed is your score.
If you finish, next time you do this workout, try Vortex +1 (11 jumping lunges & 11 push ups), Vortex +2, Vortex +3 until you find the point at which you do get Vortexed.

Sometimes it's fun to make up CrossFit workouts in celebration of special events - anniversaries, birthdays, etc. Today was in celebration of a birthday -- Happy Birthday, Addie! So, we're doing 29 of, well, a whole bunch of things! Specifically, though, we worked on elements of Olympic lifting - jump shrugs, overhead squats, push jerks and more.


Addie is airbone!

Today's Workout:
4x
29 Overhead squats
29 Sit ups
29 Jump shrugs
29 Arch rocks
29 Push jerks

Hooverball is a combination of tennis and volleyball, played with a six pound medicine ball. It was invented in the 1920’s by a White House physician, to keep President Herbert Hoover fit. Here at Petranek Fitness, we like to play it down on the Santa Monica Beach! We play Hooverball on the beach volleyball courts. The game is easily adaptable to all fitness and skill levels. It’s a great way to spend the morning – in the fresh air and sunshine, bonding with teammates and competing with classmates!

On August 23rd we will be holding a Hooverball tournament and all Petranek Fitness clients, from the Santa Monica, Rancho Park and beach locations are invited to join in! There is not charge for this event - just lots of fun! No experience is necessary either - there will be a wide range of fitness and skill levels.

Please email if you are interested – We will be coordinating the actual team assignments based on who signs up.

We will be arranging the tournament brackets ahead of time, so to participate everyone must sign up in advance. Teams will compete against each other in sets of five games. The winner of the best of five games will progress to the next level of the tournament. All teams will have multiple opportunities to play, regardless of game outcome.


Peng and David practice Hooverball on the tennis court.

Today's Workout:
800m run
45 squats
30 pull ups
600m run
30 squats
20 pull ups
400m run
15 squats
10 pull ups
200m run

This week marks the start of our new evening classes! From here on out, every Tuesday and Thursday night there will be 6:30pm classes. C'mon down and check one out!


Alia - mid mountain climber.

Today's Workout:
1 mile run, for time.
Rest
Speed situps - alternate with partner, doing intervals of 15s, 30s, 45s, 1min, 45s, 30s, 15s
Rest
8x 30s wall sit, 30s rest
Rest
Push up circle - up to 5 and back down
Rest
1 mile run, for time (compare to first mile)

Welcome to our newest member David! David got to do one of our first workouts using our new "dumbbells" -- otherwise known as buckets of sand. Unlike dumbbells, buckets are more "real life" -- life doesn't always come in convenient dumbbell shapes and sizes.


David does windmills with a sand bucket.

Today's Workout:
Ladder of Burpees, Push Ups and Medicine Ball V-Twists, starting at 1, 2 and 3 respectively, and ending at 10, 20, and 30.

For example,
Round 1: 1 burpee, 2 push ups, 3 v-twists
Round 2: 2 burpees, 4 push ups, 6 v-twists

Work your way up until you do round 10:
10 burpees, 20 push ups, 30 v-twists

Wall ball? For those familiar with exercises unique to CrossFit, you know that Wall Ball means squatting and then throwing a medicine ball up to a target approximately 10 feet above the ground. But, really, who needs a wall? How about Tree Ball! Jennifer shows us how it's done!



Today's Workout:
All exercises are done while carrying a bucket filled with sand - 15-25#

5x
24 squats (hold bucket in front)
20 overhead walking lunges (bucket overhead, 10 each arm)
16 windmills (bucket overhead, 8 each arm)