Our gym is certainly hot these days, and I'm not ashamed to say all our asses are bodacious from the squats we do!  I'm drawing the line at telling you to take your clothes off, but instead I will tell you, IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE SO BRING ALL YOUR WATER BOTTLES (This is actually the other version of 'Hot In Here' Nelly submitted to the record company, but for whatever reason it didn't make it big...)

It's not only important that you're bringing your own water bottle to the gym for workouts, but you ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NEED TO BE DRINKING WATER THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE DAY.  You've heard it all before - we're composed primarily of water, you should be drinking 8-10 glasses a day, drink half your body weight in ounces, drink when you're thirsty, etc., etc.  These are all good starting points for hydration.  Since we're all different individual athletes with different hydration needs, there's no one size fits all equation for water intake.  I'd recommend starting with a bit more water consumption than the above recommendations, evaluating how you feel, and fine tuning your water intake to meet YOUR needs.  Maybe 10 glasses is perfect for you, but half your body weight in water leaves you feeling like there's a lake in your belly. 

What IS important is that you remain hydrated throughout the day, especially with the HEAT.  Numerous studies have cited that athletes who lose as little as 2% of their body weight as a result of dehydration show a 10-20% DECREASE IN ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE.  Putting this into perspective, using the worst case scenario, a 150 pound woman loses 3 pounds as a result of being dehydrated.  She can normally power clean 110 pounds, but that day, because of her dehydration, she may only have enough energy to power clean 88 pounds!  A 10 minute per mile pace could turn into a 12 minute per mile pace!  HYDRATION MATTERS!

That said, if you try to make up for low water consumption all day by drinking 10 water bottles prior to a WOD, you're going to have one hell of a sloshy belly and uncomfortable workout.  DRINK ALL DAY LONG.  A quick gauge of your hydration can be done using your urine output - if you're peeing frequently (not excessively) throughout the day, and it looks like pale lemonade, you're doing great hydration wise - keep drinking H2O and enjoying life.  If your pee looks like iced tea or smells like anything you last drank (ahem, coffee) you need to hit the water bottle ASAP.

If you felt weak, tired, lightheaded, had a headache, dry mouth, were super thirsty or just generally felt 'off' during your workout today, chances are your water take throughout the day was not enough in conjunction with the heat.   Do like Nelly says - BRING YOUR WATER BOTTLE!

WOD - Tuesday - 5/8
5 rounds for time:
15 Box Jumps
12 Pullups
9 KB Swings 53/35

We squat a TON at the gym.  A.  TON.  With all that squatting it can be easy to think we know everything there is to know about the movement, and that we're, well, professionals.  

Before this WOD, do a few practice squats.  Note how they feel.  Grab a medicine ball, place it behind you, and squat again.  With medicine ball behind you, now try squatting with your arms up as demonstrated in the video.  How does this squat compare to your first few repetitions?  Are you getting low enough?  Are you rolling forward instead of keeping your chest up?  What about your butt...is it winking?!  If you're having trouble pinpointing squat problems, grab a coach and ask them to watch you bust out a few of these puppies. 

Remember, if you're not sure you're getting low enough with your squats, it is entirely acceptable (and encouraged!) to use a med ball for a butt-tap-gauge (very scientific name). 

Quality squats over quantity squats, every time.  Make every movement count!

WOD - Monday - 5/7
Power Clean and Jerk
1-1-1-1-1-1-1
THEN
3 rounds for time:
50 Squats
10 Power Clean 135/95
7 Handstand Push Ups
(BEAST: Deficit 45lb plates)

WOD - Friday - 5/4
Benchmark #2 From 6 Weeks Ago
3 Rounds
400M Run
12 Front Squats 135/95
21 Double Unders

Sometimes workouts beat you down.  It happens.  The best thing is that you showed up, tried your hardest, and got as far as you could.  Showing up and giving it your all beats hiding out on the couch at home.  Every.  Single.  Time.

That said, all of you have been putting in monster work this week - you should be proud!  For those who performed the benchmark #1 workout 6 weeks ago, did you see improvement? 

Your earned your rest day this week, fo sho!

CFV'er Charity was kind enough to bring us in some big ole PVC pipes of pain for muscle rolling, so be sure to thank her, and then roll those little legs out!  Thanks Charity!

WOD - Thursday - 5/3
REST DAY!! 
(Roll out, stretch, pay what you owe, or play!)

Yeowza!  Can you feel those legs getting stronger?!  We've been rocking the front squats this week and many of you may feel tight or sore - time to foam roll the heck out of those legs, hang around in the third world squat, and generally stretch your bidness OUT! 

Many of our jobs are in 'cubicle land', resulting in long days spent sitting.  Being plopped in a chair for 8-10 hours does not bode well for loosening up the leg muscles, especially after front squat days at CFV!  If you have time prior to hitting the gym for Wednesday's WOD, take a short leisurely walk on your lunch break.  If you can't swing a walk at lunch, set a timer to buzz every 45 minutes.  This timer will remind you to get the heck out of that chair, stand up and stretch, even if it's just for 5 minutes.  Walk to the bathroom, water cooler, or take short lap around your office floor.  Just get those legs moving!

The above video from Crossfit Ktown illustrates a few stretches you can roll through in the comfort of your own office chair - the stretches are focused primarily on hip mobility, but will also feel great on the quads, hammies, and even your IT band, depending on your level of leg 'tightness'.

If you have a bit of privacy in your office, it doesn't hurt to perform some Samson, cheerleader/pigeon stretches, couch stretches or 3rd world squats.  These moves only take 1-2 minutes, plus you can still read important documents while performing them!  Working AND stretching!  WIN!

With all that office stretching, your legs are going to be ready to "Row Your Fran"! 

WOD - Wednesday - 5/2
Benchmark #1 (From 6 weeks ago)
First:
500M Row
Then immediately:
21-15-9 (95/65)
Thrusters
Pullups

YEAAAH!  The gym has been jammed packed these past few weeks and we are loving the excellent energy and excitement y'all are bringing to CFV!  Keep up the great work!

That being said, please be very mindful when walking through the gym while a workout is underway, and take note of the areas you're occupying.  If you're coming into the gym when another class is finishing up their WOD, please do NOT do your warm-up in the area the WOD is being performed - go ahead, grab the abmats, pvc pipes, boxes, and bands you need, and head to the room next door.  There's a brand new pullup bar station just dying to get some arm time in!  Additionally, when grabbing your gear to warm up, take note of the safest route to travel through the gym space while people are mid-WOD.  Those performing the WOD have priority with regard space, so if that means you have to wait a few seconds for a 'safe path' to grab needed equipment, so be it.

If you're in your post-WOD mode, we know your brain and body is all wonkey and needs to recover.  Please sit somewhere out of the way, without occupying equipment needed for the next group's workout (boxes, rowers, sitting on plates, etc.).

Our priority is your safety.  We love you guys, and want to make sure all athletes feel safe and as comfortable as possible while performing their WOD's (Did I just say comfortable and WOD in the same sentence? bwahahah.)  You get the idea. :)

As coach always says, "Head on a swivel!  Always be aware of your surroundings!"

WOD - Tuesday - 5/1
10 rounds:
5 Burpees
5 Front Squats (115/85)

Makes you feel better EVERY TIME...

WOD - Monday - 4/30
3 Rounds for time:
7 Front Squats @185/125
500 M Row or 50 CDHP 75/45
15 Chest to Bar Pullups

It's all in the transition...

WOD - Friday - 4/27
AMRAP in 15 mins:
1 Snatch  (135/95)
1 Muscle up
2 Snatch/2 Muscle Up
3/3, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, 7/7...

Time to take a little breather...this fella is serious about his play time.

WOD - Thursday - 4/26
Relax, Stretch, Play, or Pay What You Owe

A few of you were asking today, 'What if I don't have my handstand pushups yet?' Not to worry!  We will get you there!  Take a gander at the above video if you haven't already (it has been posted in the past, but really, it's worth another view). The staff at Practice Crossfit did a great job explaining the numerous the progressions and modifications you can use to help you achieve handstand pushup glory.

Go ahead and skip to 0:40 seconds to get right into the nuts-n-bolts of handstand talk. 

Has anyone noticed the push press in the below WOD?  Start thinking of a standard press as a 'right side up' handstand with a barbell (or maybe it should be called footstand?), OR think of a handstand pushup as an 'upside down' press.  The movement is essentially the same, your head is just in a different spot! If you're using a box to do handstand pushups, make sure to get that full range of motion by touching your head to the floor.

WOD - Wednesday - 4/25
2 - 2 - 2 Press
3 - 3 - 3 Push Press
4 - 4 - 4 Push Jerk
and then...
For time:
15 - 10 - 5 Front Squats (155/105)
5 - 10 - 15 Hand Stand Push Ups