Our newest student, Joe, started class on Wednesday. His first workout was what is known in CrossFit as a "ladder." In a ladder you perform one movement - squats, kettlebell swings, pull ups, you name it. With a clock running, you perform that movement one time in the first minute, twice in the second minute, three times in the third, and so on until you can no longer complete the prescribed number of reps in any given minute. At first these seem really, really easy as those first few minutes have a lot of rest. Beware, though. As time goes on, rest time diminishes until there is almost none left and these can become some of the most challenging workouts you can come up against. Hope you enjoyed it, Joe. Welcome!


Joe swings the sandbag

Today's Workout
4 rounds
400 m run
4 Sandbag Sumo deadlift - Sumo deadlift high pull - Power clean - Squat clean complex
8 Wall jumps
12 Burpees

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 43
Burpees to Date: 946

You tell me...


Are these sprints really supposed to be hard?

Today's Workout
Sandbag swing ladder
With a clock running, perform one sandbag swing the first minute, two the second minute, and so on. Continue until you can no longer perform the prescribed number of swings during the given minute. Whatever part of the minute you are not swinging is rest time.

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 41
Burpees to Date: 861

Crossfit is designed to make you better at general physical performance in your life. Have you begun to see where what you have learned has crept into your daily existence. For example, I almost never pick anything up off of the ground without squatting, and I always deadlift heavy objects. Has your training influenced the way that you use your body every day? Post to comments.


Masters climbs an endless mountain

Today's Workout
7 rounds
7 pull ups
21 burpees
200 m sprint

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 39
Burpees to Date: 780

A really important aspect of training that may get overlooked sometimes is how you approach your workout. How many times have you been performing an exercise that you particularly dislike, and found yourself repeating in your head, "I hate this?" There is not doubt that you are probably right about the aspects of your workout that you hate, but what you may not realize is that simply accepting that it is a part of the workout and cutting out the chatter can make it a heck of a lot easier. That whole frowning thing? Not improving your situation. Your attitude will actually drive your behavior. Great physical performance definitely begins with a great mental attitude!


"So burpees stop when?"

Today's Workout
1 mile run
2 minute rest
4 x 200m sprint in sand, each sprint followed by 2 minute rest
1 mile run

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 36
Burpees to Date: 666

On starting CrossFit it is not uncommon to find a lot of things that are either difficult or painful to perform. Then we find the one or two things that we are really good at and we focus on practicing them when we work out on our own. This is only natural. It is really motivating to perform well, particularly when there is no group or coach there to help keep you on your game. The trick to becoming a powerful athlete is dedicating some of your time to those things that might be considered your "weaknesses." You know, those things that make you groan when they get written on the board? The only way to graduate from that state is to improve those things to the point where they don't represent the sticking point in your workout. Know your strengths, celebrate them! But push yourself where you are uncomfortable, you won't regret it.


Beau charges into the surf for our unique beach sprints

Today's Workout
Sumo Helen
3 rounds for time of:
21 SDLHP
12 pull-ups
400 m run

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 34
Burpees to Date: 595

How does one determine if a person is fit? How can we know if a fitness program holds the key to actual fitness? Much of the time, people view fitness just as a function of strength and endurance (certainly important aspects of fitness). Some of the time, people even rely just on what someone looks like to determine if they are fit or not. A more objective measure might be to see whether or not a person has or a program addresses these aspects of human performance and competence (Thanks to Jim Cawley of Dynamax):

1) Cardio-respiratory endurance: The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen.
2) Stamina: The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy.
3) Strength: The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.
4) Flexibility: the ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint.
5) Power: The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.
6) Speed: The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
7) Coordination: The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.
8) Agility: The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.
9) Balance: The ability to control the placement of the bodies center of gravity in relation to its support base.
10) Accuracy: The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.


Mike breaks from his double unders beneath our beautiful morning sky

Today's Workout
60 "Burpee Bombers"

Burpee Bombers: Begin the burpee. After the feet are popped forward post-push up, perform a medicine ball clean and finish the movement with a 10' wall ball shot.

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 32
Burpees to Date: 528

A great exercise that involves our ability to stand up from lying down, the Turkish get-up builds strength, flexibility, and stability. The Turkish get-up will help to improve all of your overhead lifts, strengthen the major muscles of the body, as well as the small, stabilizing muscles, and, in the meanwhile, help to prevent future shoulder injuries. It has been said that in the olden days this was the first lift taught to aspiring weightlifters and the only one they were allowed to do until they could do it competently with 100#! While we don't adhere to that methodology, using the TGU as part of our training is an indispensable tool for core strength and mid-line stabilization.


Jeremy gets under the weight in his Turkish get-ups

Today's Workout
Using a sandbag filled to 30-40# perform
5 rounds
10 shoulder press from knees
12 sumo deadlift high pulls
15 v-twists

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 29

Our newest member to the program, Ryan, got quite a surprise on Monday. His first workout had him doing sprints in the water! One of the greatest aspects of working out at the beach is that your workouts won't just look like a workout that you would do in the gym moved outside. We get to take advantage of all that the environment has to offer to have a unique CrossFit experience. Not everyone enjoys running, but you can't help but enjoy yourself when running knee deep in the early morning surf!


Ryan digs in on day one!

Today's Workout
4 rounds
10 turkish get ups
20 lateral bridges, Left and Right together count as 1
30 double unders

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 27

Another soul, Beau, has joined our CrossFit Santa Monica Beach crew. One of the ways that we practice weighted movements in CrossFit is either with an empty bar or with a piece of PVC pipe. It may sound counter-intuitive, but it is a perfect way to get trained in a complicated movement pattern. Form errors are easier to address, and your brain's motor pathways can be created without the additional stress of weight. When you actually get under a bar with weight, you can then focus on pushing the weight because your brain already knows how to push it. Beau demonstrates this below with the overhead squat. Say hi to Beau, everyone!


Beau getting his overhead squat on during his first workout

Today's Workout
AMRAP in 15 minutes
150 m sprint in the surf up to your knees
50 mountain climbers (2 count)
50 sit ups

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 25

It's Halloween. Another great reason to dress up, go to a party, and cheat on our diets! What we do here we do to be better at life. Who is the best at it but those who not only stay healthy but enjoy life at the same time? Our diet is important, to be sure. But if we can't let ourselves off the hook and have fun when we've worked so hard, what the heck are we training for?! Go ahead, eat the sprinkled, chocolate-coated, nougat-filled, cherry-flavored, over-sized novelty marshmallow today, you've earned it. Happy Halloween!


Allyson steadies herself for a sandbag push press

Today's Workout
Spooky Sprints
6x100m sprints under the pier

100 Petrifying push-ups.
Every time you have to rest, perform 25 Devilish double-unders.
No resting in upward or downward facing dog. You may only rest in the plank position at the top of the push up.

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 22

For a lot of us who work out regularly fitness can be its own reward. Setting goals is a great way to get us through those days when we just don't want to work out. Having something specific to work for can give workouts meaning on those days when they just seem overwhelming. They can be something like a specific minute mile time, a 10 second handstand, or 50 double unders without stopping. Just remember, it's important to push yourself, but be realistic. Oh yeah, and don't forget to set up a time frame. Open ended goals have a funny way of fading away as time goes on.


Mike looks to the heavens and asks, "Why?!?" Just kidding. He's just thrown a medicine ball so high it couldn't be captured in the picture!

Today's Workout
4 rounds
400 m run
50 squats

Round 1 - air squats
Round 2 - back squats
Round 3 - OH squats
Round 4 - air squats

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 20

This week saw two new members, Jeremy and Nick, join our CrossFit at the Beach family. Both come to us as former college athletes, strong competitors, and enthusiastic CrossFitters! Lots of people get the chance to play sports in college, but once we graduate and get out into "the real world" there is often less time to indulge in the intense, fun, and competitive aspect of life. CrossFit is committed to opening that up to everyone, even if you never even considered yourself an athlete! (Because you are - How do I know? You're here!) Welcome to the crew, guys. We look forward to your experience and spirit helping to further "up our game."


Jeremy and Nick, performing more PVC thrusters than they'd like to remember!

Today's Workout
52 Card Pickup
Hearts = burpees
Diamonds = sit ups
Spades = dips
Clubs = squats
Joker = 250 m sprint

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 18

Many of us have been working out for a long time. Most of us have exercised for years before we discover CrossFit. Some of us played sports in school, many of us lifted weights and did some kind of endurance exercise, and there are those who engaged in some recreational, even professional, sport as adults - all great ways to be fit, to be sure! Yet somehow, once we find CrossFit, this is where we tend to hang our hats. What is is about CrossFit that is so much fun? What keeps our interest where others have not? What about it really helps us see ourselves through to our fitness goals? I know for me it's twofold: I'm always being challenged to up my game by the people I work out with and I'm always learning something new and interesting. What about you? What is it about Crossfit that gets you excited and keeps you coming back? Post replies to comments.


Tim's moment of respite before beginning again

Today's Workout
"Jackie" at the Beach
800 m run
80 squat jumps
30 pull ups

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 15

CrossFit is chock full of functional exercises from deadlifts and shoulder presses, to pull ups and squats. We talk about the importance of functional movements in terms of their ability to replicate the kinds of actions that we have to perform in our everyday lives. We use these movements to train to be better at life. Well, how would it be if you actually had to carry someone to safety? What kind of training could you do to replicate that? Well how about the thing itself!? We use buddy carries in our workouts as a way not only to increase the demands on the metabolic aspect of the workout, but to simulate the very real demands of having to carry an individual who is not able to move themselves to safety. It's not just heavy, it's awkward! When was the last time you tried to carry someone your own size? Do you think you could do it if you had to? Try it out and see how far you can get. Oh, and please, do it somewhere you could drop them if you had to!


Lisa and Allyson "buddy" carry Agatha.

Today's Workout
"Nancy" at the Beach
5 rounds
30 PVC OH squats
400 m run

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 13

As you go along in CrossFit you may notice that every now and then a workout arises that has a name. There are workouts with girls names, like "Jackie," "Cindy," "Mary," etc. These are considered benchmark workouts in CrossFit, and originally they were meant to signify that the workout was like a hurricane, powerful and unexpectedly devastating. As time went one, other girls were added, and many of them were named for some of the CrossFit coaches up in Santa Cruz. Then there are the workouts that have men's names. These workouts sadly have a more tragic implication. As you may know, there are many in the military, law enforcement, and fire community that utilize CrossFit as their means to ensure that they are prepared to serve at the highest level of preparedness, and they are an extraordinarily important part of the CrossFit community. When one of these service members dies in the course of their duty, it has become a tradition to create a workout in their honor. The workouts are always challenging and are typically performed by CrossFitters across the country on the day of their posting as a way of paying homage to these service men who gave their lives for our safety.

As a side note, while it has not happened, I am certain that there is nothing that precludes a service woman from being included amongst CrossFit's list of "Heroes." For a complete list of the Girls and the Heroes, click here.


Navy Lieutenant Michael McGreevy, the namesake of today's workout. Killed in Afghanistan June 28, 2005

Today's Workout
"Michael" at the Beach
3 rounds
800 m run
50 arch rocks
50 sit ups

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's Burpees: 11

I asked a couple of clients this morning when they showed up, "is getting up this early normal for you?" In order to be at the beach before class starts, I usually get up around 4 am to get done what I need to get done. This represents somewhat of a change from the past and I was interested to know how this worked out for other people. One of them said that they were kind of used to getting up early but that the regular early mornings represented something new for both of them. It occurred to me how much we take early morning for granted as a time NOT to be awake. Certainly 4am isn't normal for most people in the world we live in, but not making the morning something to rush through or just get through in order to start the day can be a really great way to get the day going. For those of us that have the time (and fortunately for me, we have clients that do!) getting to start our day at sunrise at the beach is a pretty awesome way to get going. My old mornings of sleeping as long as possible, gulping down coffee, and running out the door had their own rewards (i.e. "sleeping as long as possible"), but waking up as the day does and taking time to ease into it has been far more satisfying than I would have imagined.


sunrise at the beach

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's burpees: 8

Today's Workout
5 x
AMRAP in 3 minutes of
3 burpees
6 airball
9 sit-ups
1 minute of rest follows each 3 minute round

Logging your daily workouts is a great way to track your progress as well as to identify weaknesses and bad habits. The next step in keeping yourself on the ball is to start posting your workouts online. Making your workouts public adds an extra level of accountability to your program because everyone you work out with can help you keep an eye on yourself when you feel like slipping or they can give you a great big shout out of "congratulations" when something great happens in your workout. Here at CrossFit Los Angeles, we have provided an online forum for our members to create their own online workout journals. All you have to do is go to the forum main page, register, go to the workout logs section, and click on the "New Topic" button to start your own thread. In there you can post your daily workout by clicking on "reply." No one else will post there but you. We do have a Workout Log Comment Thread where people can quote from your blog and make suggestions, reply to requests for help, or just say "great job!" So far, one of our beach members, Agatha, has picked up the mantle and begun posting every workout she does, whether she did it with us or own her own. Great work, Agatha. Keep it up and the results will flow!


Zeb collects himself after "Murph"

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's burpees: 6

Today's Workout
"Annie"
50-40-30-20-10
double unders
sit ups

Since we are several days into the 100 Days of Burpees challenge, we should probably talk about what is expected out of a well-performed burpee:
1. Starting from standing erect, place you hands on the floor in front of your feet.
2. Now kick your feet back so that you are firmly planted in a push-up position. As you get better at burpees you may be able to shorten the first portion of the movement and drop from standing right into the push-up position.
3. At this point, perform a push up. For those of you who do push-ups from their knees, drop your knees down and execute the push-up the way you normally would.
4. Now pop your feet back to their starting position behind your hands. You want to make sure to land in your heels and not in your toes. This can be tough, and landing with feet wide can be a big help. As you get tired you may be tempted to walk your feet back up to your hands. Don't succumb to temptation!
5. Lastly, jump up in the air, totally erect, hips fully extended, and clap your hands over your head. Try and make sure that you are totally vertical and that your torso is not leaning forward over your feet.
6. Shout "Yay burpees!" (optional).


Lisa demonstrates the very bottom and very top of a burpee

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR BURPEES TODAY?
Today's burpees: 4

Today's Workout
3 rounds
20 medicine ball cleans
25 sit ups
30 OH squats with PVC
400 m run

Agatha's only been with us for about 2 weeks and I think that when she first tried double unders she wondered if it wouldn't be months before she started getting a handle on them. Well, try 2 sessions! In her second day of doing them she not only started getting them, but getting several without stopping! The great thing about Crossfit is that you never get to stop surprising yourself. It's pretty common in our workouts to have to perform movements that we've never even heard of, let alone tried! The really neat thing about Crossfit is that along with intense performance, it also emphasizes skill practice. It can be particularly difficult to execute a new movement at high intensity, and early on in Crossfit skill practice provides us with as much development as the intensity of our efforts. As a matter of fact, the first few weeks of Crossfit can see a great deal of improvement in exercise capacity that cannot be attributed to increase in metabolic capacity alone. The bottom line is, you're just plain getting better by practicing!

** REMINDER **
Today begins CrossFit Los Angeles's 100 Days of Burpees Challenge.
Starting today, perform 1 burpee. Each day, add 1 burpee until Day 100 when you will do 100! It's a great idea to do 100 burpees today to get your baseline time so you can see how much you've improved by Day 100 (no, you can't bank the other 99!). You can count any burpees that you do, whether on their own or part of a workout, but you can't save up any extra. You also do not have to perform all burpees at once, you can split them up over the course of the day. Oh, and you can buy in at any time. The price? All of the burpees you've missed so far, so start early!


Agatha getting her double unders!

Today's Workout
10-8-6-4-2
partner assist handstand push ups
partner assist pull ups
Only give your partner as much assistance as necessary. Allow them to struggle with the movement before providing enough to allow them to finish.

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100 Burpees for time

Sometimes the best workouts we get to do are the ones that have only 2 or 3 elements in them at most. It can be fun to have lots of different movements to do, and it even can make workouts a bit easier to get through - the longer you have before you get back to a movement, the more rest you get for that particular muscle group. Having only 2 elements, maybe with a run added, means that you don't get much of a break from any one thing that you're doing. Some of the most deceptive workouts look the simplest in writing. The next time you find yourself thinking, "hey, that doesn't look too hard," be afraid, be very afraid.

For those of you who have been waiting, our photos from Fight Gone Bad are up on the flicker main page. Check 'em out!


Zeb and Allyson jump

Today's Workout
5 rounds
5 triple jump
10 decline push-ups
400 m run

For the triple jumps, find a set of stairs where you can jump 2-3 steps, three times in succession before walking down.