One of the best things about Crossfit is that the very act of participating elicits an emotional response.  You get excited, scared, feel waves of dread at the mention of a WOD, and leap for joy when your favorite benchmark workout hits the whiteboard.  Happy, sad, excited, anxious, scared, triumphant - one thing is for sure, us Crossfitters sure have a lot of feelings!

Let’s talk about fear and being ‘scared’.  Feeling scared is TOTALLY NORMAL.  Hell, I’m scared every day I enter the gym.  Scared I’m going to break a limb, that I’m going to damage equipment, or I won’t complete the workout.  Scared I’ll be last.  Scared everyone will laugh at me.  SCARED I’M GOING TO FAIL.  You get the idea.  I might as well just piddle my pants in submission when I drive up to CFV’s door.  

If any of these thoughts cross your mind, hey, I feel you.  You and me, we’re kindred souls.  

I can sit here and say ‘Don’t be scared’ and that will be as effective as getting a cat to do your taxes.  You are going to be scared at Crossfit from time to time.  Acknowledge it.  Own it.  But realize that what you do with your fear is what matters.  

That said - there are many of you in the gym who have been chatting about the Crossfit Open.  If you are interested in the Open, and you feel yourself being drawn to the web page over and over, yet somehow can’t quite commit to signing up...well... why not?  Fear?  

To those already signed up for the Open and are feeling nervous, or to those who are haven’t 'had time' to sign up yet, let me ally some of those things that might be making you feel a bit apprehensive:

• No one will laugh at you - you get to do the workout in the heart of your very own gym, where we support and love you.  Curious about doing competitions in the future?  The Open is the best way to experience ‘competition jitters’, while surrounded by CFV friends and family, instead of strangers in a different box.
• Maybe you didn’t do Beast Camp.  Maybe life got in the way and you had to work late every night, or you took a few months off.  You think you’re not fit enough, not ready, or not going into the Open at what you perceive as your ‘optimal level’.  Is anyone ever TRULY ready?  Try!  You’ll likely surprise yourself and perform better than you think.  Some of the best WOD performances have happened after a night of heavy drinking, months of vacation, and diet deviation.  So you don’t perform an Open WOD as well as you’d like?  You have a week to rock it as many times as you like! At the worst, it's a learning experience - you’ll know how to change your strategy for the next WOD/competition.
• You’re scared you’ll be last, or you won’t be able to do the posted WOD.  As of today over 55,000 people have registered to participate in the open.  OVER 55,000 people.  Realistically, the only person that cares if you’re last is YOU.  Each one of these 55,000 or more people are worried about how THEY perform.  Not what you’re doing.  You’re a drop in the pond of world wide Crossfitters.  We care that you have fun, do your best, and get better every day.  We don’t care if you aren’t able to do the WOD perscribed.  We don’t care if you can’t lift the weight.  We care that you are giving it your ALL, and we love you for putting your best effort on the line, no matter your score standing.                                                                                                                                   

Still decided not to officially participate in the Open this year?  That’s ok!  You’ll still get to experience all the Open WODs at CFV, without having to submit your scores to the Crossfit Open website.  But if you have a little voice inside of you saying “Just maybe I should give it a shot.....”  I encourage you to sign up - what have you got to lose, besides a little fear?

https://games.crossfit.com/mygames/login.php

WOD - Friday - 2/24
Open WOD #1
7 Minutes - AMRAP
Burpees!

WOD - Saturday - 2/25
Team WOD - 9 am

WOD - Thursday - 2/23
Rest, pay what you owe, or complete the Crossfit Open WOD #1
(Crossfit Open WOD #1 = AMRAP 7 Minutes - Jumping Burpees)

The Crossfit Open has arrived, with the first competitor WOD being posted the afternoon of Wednesday, February 22nd.

You have until 5 pm on February 26th to register to compete in the Open!  That's right, FEBRUARY 26th is the last day to register. http://games.crossfit.com/video/2012-reebok-crossfit-games-open-registration

If you're on the fence about participating in the Crossfit Open, you'll have a chance to try your hand WOD #1 before officially signing up.  We will be performing Crossfit Open WOD #1 on Thursday and Friday of this week.

WOD - Wednesday - 2/22
Clean, 1 rep max
Bench press,1 rep max
Overhead squat, 1 rep max

We are Crossfit Athletes.  

Additionally, all of us are something more than JUST Crossfit athletes.  Parents.  Students.  Employees.  Significant Others.  Community Members.  Balancing multiple titles and tasks is difficult.  Somtimes, adding “Crossfit Athlete” into the mix of things we consider ourselves to ‘be’ seems like the last title we should pile into our busy schedules.  

Even when we are able to make it to the gym, it can be hard to forget all the other titles and subsequent responsibilities we hold in conjunction with being a “Crossfit Athlete”.  Homework weighs heavy, work sucks, kids are at home waiting for dinner, and we worry about significant others feeling neglected.  How on earth are we supposed to maintain focus on, and improve, a power clean when so many other things are going on in our lives?

Deep breath.  One hour.  One rep at a time.

A single hour of your day is spent maintaining the title of ‘Crossfit Athlete’.  This is one hour of your life focused on YOU being better than you were yesterday.  Crossfit offers you an opportunity to push your other titles aside, not forgetting them, but letting them take a back seat, while you improve yourself, physically and mentally, for 60 minutes of your day.  

If you have a hard time letting go of your other titles and responsibilities for an hour, try letting go of your obligations with a single repetition exercise.  With each pull up, sit up, power clean, thruster or push up, focus on making each ONE REP movement the best it can be.  Then do it again.  And again.  All you have to worry about is completing this single movement in this very moment.  Before you know it, an hour has passed, and you’ve performed your duties as a focused ‘Crossfit Athlete’.  

You’re still a parent, a family member, a student, and/or a great significant other - but with the focus on ‘being a Crossfit Athlete’, you’ve improved your skill level within this title.  You’ve given yourself a repreve from the stress of trying to mentally balance your other ‘title’ duties.  And, you've also improved your ability to focus on the task at hand (which transitions into all title requirements).  

Worrying about our other obligations, rather than focusing on what is required from us in the ‘now’, robs us of improving our overall skill set for the future.

Next time you find yourself faced with multiple duties required by your many titles, repeat after me:

“Deep breath.  One Hour.  One rep at a time.”

WOD - Tuesday - 2/21
"Angie"
For Time:
100 Pull Ups
100 Push Ups
100 Sit Ups
100 Squats

WOD - Thursday - 2/16
Relax y'all - it's a REST DAY.
(Or hit up one of the benchmark ladies you missed this week / work your goat.)

Taken from the Crossfit Journal, 12/1/2006.  Follow the link below to hit up the Crossfit Journal - you'll find a free .pdf document available for download which will give you a more extensive discussion on each of the lifts, and some hints on how to get the most from your Crossfit Total. 

The CrossFit Total By Mark Rippetoe
December 01, 2006

The CrossFit Total reflects an athlete's functional strength capacity more accurately than any other test, writes Mark Rippetoe, author of Starting Strength and owner of The Wichita Falls Athletic Club/CrossFit Wichita Falls.

The CrossFit Total is the sum of the best of three attempts at the squat, the press, and the deadlift. All three lifts are done while standing on the floor. They require minimal and inexpensive equipment. They are not technique- dependent to the extent of the Olympic lifts, yet they require technical proficiency beyond mere passing familiarity. They are safe when performed correctly, since they can all be performed without spotters—alone in a garage if necessary.

There is no time limit for each lift or for the length of the session in which they are all performed, but they must all be performed during one session—i.e., you cannot leave the area to rest or perform other activities between the three lifts.

Anyone in a position to attempt a legitimate CrossFit Total should be familiar enough with their capabilities on the lifts to have a fairly good idea of just what might be possible for a one-rep max (1RM). This number is what you warm up intending to do. A meet situation will involve three attempts, and this is a good way to determine a true 1RM.

The first attempt would be a weight you know you can do for a heavy set of three. The second attempt would be a weight you know without any doubt that you could do for a single, having just done the first attempt. And the third attempt is the weight you want to do, based on your performance on the previous two attempts.

WOD - Wednesday - 2/15/12
"Crossfit Total"
3 Attempts to Find 1 Rep Max for the Following Lifts:
Back Squat
Push Press
Deadlift

She's guaranteed to make you hot and sweaty, and she'll definitely rock your midsection.  Who is this lovely lady of mystery?  I'll give you a hint - she's no FRAN, but she'll have you 'trippin' if your rope skills aren't to her liking.

You can meet this oh-so-eligible temptress during every class at CFV on Valentine's Day.  Come try your hand at making her yours. 

(Oh, and just in case you need some tips on how to woo this lovely lady, Chris will give you a few helpful tips below.  Spoken like a true rope playah.) 

Happy Valentines Day CFV!

WOD - Tuesday - 2/14
"Annie"
50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
Situps

WOD - Monday - 2/13
"Grace"
30 Clean and Jerks for Time (135/95)

The Box.  Clean and Jerk.  WOD.  AMRAP.  It is so easy to become addicted to the world of Crossfit.  Crossfitters have their own lingo, diet methodologies, workout perscriptions, and a way of life that constantly encourages one to shatter their perceived limitations.  Crossfit makes people strong, healthy, increases confidence, and the commeraddere found among athletes is second to none.  Life ‘in the box’ is one filled full of achievement and positivity, with people becoming better every single day.  

How can you NOT get addicted to this sport?

With all the positive aspects of Crossfit, we sometimes forget there is sport and fitness fun to be had outside the confines of our gym.  We consider ourselves Crossfit Athletes.  We start focusing on individual WOD times, max weights, and PRs, while the day-to-day practical applications of Crossfit in other areas of life get overlooked.   

All those box jumps, squats, and sit-ups are great, but you’re not going to notice how much your skiing has improved since introducing Crossfit if you’ve completely thrown hitting the slopes to the wayside.  Sprints and power cleans are awesome, but when was the last time you picked up a basketball and checked your speed and vertical jump in a game of one-on-one?

Crossfit Vallejo wants you to see how your Crossfit skills transition outside of the box.  At least one Saturday a month we are going to take you on a fitness adventure.  These field trip WODs are not about PRs, times, or weights, but rather the application of your Crossfit skills in different sports and activities.  It's a chance for you to try a new sport, or revisit an old favorite, and see how your Crossfit training applies in a broader spectrum.  Best of all, these field trip WODs are going to be fun way to change things up while getting your sweat on!

Ready for a hint?  Our first fitness field trip WOD involves water, Vallejo, something you've already practiced in the gym during team WODs, and doesn't necessarily require a swimsuit.  Any guesses?

We'll let you know the final details as the date draws closer.  Can't wait for you to see just how practical your Crossfit training is for all types of sport and adventure!

WOD - Friday - 2/9
"Tyler"
Five rounds for time of:
7 Muscle-ups or 21 Pullups
21 Clean Deadlift High-Pull 95/65