CrossFitValleyPark

 

Stronger, Faster....Better

We've all been getting a healthy dose of "The Farmer's Carry." There's nothing like running with 70+ pounds while testing your grip strength. Dan's expression gives away his deep passion for this exercise.

Speaking of strength, Robin Wilhelm easily floor pressed #45's for reps. That is most impressive Robin.

Keep up the strong work everyone.

Thank You CFVP Members

We had a fun filled day here for our "Fiesta Day" Fundraiser. We would like to thank everyone for your wonderful support. We had a big crowd and alot of cool events. There was a little something for everyone. The kids really put on a show. The Prowler tested anyone who dared. Teams took on 800 lbs. of pure beef in the Tug-O-War. Julie Johnson did almost 1300 single jump rope skips unbroken! Runners flew threw the streets of Valley Park on our 5K. Margaret won the "no hands" Nacho eating contest.

Our CrossFit Games Team travels in two weeks to compete in the North Central Regionals. Your support is helping them out tremendously. We are flattered and cannot thank you enough. Special thanks goes out to our team who worked so hard to organize and run the event. Stephanie Teague, Tonya Charland, Mandi Newsome, Louis Clough, Stephen Cooper, Margaret Junker, and Brandon Jackson did an awesome job. Another special thanks goes out to Lisa Moore for helping to feed our hungry athletes today.

THANK YOU ALL!!!

Welcome Brett and Nathan

CFVP would like to welcome Brett Burlingame and Nathan Green. Both of these guys are strong and move well. We look forward to watching them make progress. Keep up the great work guys.

We had some strong performances and some great pictures to go with it. Stay tuned. The ladies were very impressive.

Positions and Introductions

You should be hearing alot of coaching cues on positioning. Sometimes it pays to back up and go back over the basics. Remember this is where it all starts...and ends. Move the load from "a" to "b" right? With a proper starting and ending position, you are more likely to secure proper movement path. With the Overhead Press or any variation of "shoulder to overhead" the bar needs to be high on the shoulders. This is a very common flaw. Too common. The bar drifts down on the shoulders, taking it away from your base, causing elbow drop, forward weight transfer, and wrenching your shoulder structure. The elbows should always be somewhere forward of the bar, then returning to the same position. If these coaching cues bore you, do it right. Get these faulty movement patterns out of your system.

There are alot of new faces every week here at CFVP. Introductions have been little if any. We will be checking in with new athletes. If they aren't being greeted, we'll have some fun at the end of class. Remember when you first walked through these doors and the warmth you felt with being welcomed.

A Perfect Picture

We've been wanting to capture something to emphasize a movement pattern and got a two for one. Phil is spot on. Jon needs some coaching cues. We spent alot of time going over basic movements. Don't let the term "basic" fool you. They are very technical. Unfortunately, they tend to get overlooked when someone just thinks "lift the weight." Take that approach and you'll see your smiling loving coaches turn into raging drill sargeants. There is nothing more important. Cue yourself on setting up any lift or exercise. Keep exhibiting faulty movement patterns and it will be harder to correct. Furthermore, you will end up injured. Take the time to do it right. Don't just get coached. LEARN!!!!!!!!!

The RDL, Romanian Deadlift, the Straight Leg Deadlift, the Good Morning.....all names for the same movement pattern. Note in the Picture: 1. Hip Hinge  2. Slight bend in knees  3. Hips back to counterbalance  4. Lat/Scapula tight  5. Bar close to the legs  6. Lumbar/Thoracic extension

Kelly Zimmerman

We would like to recognize Kelly Zimmerman and her incredible accomplishments in the gym. Kelly has come a long way. She finished 5th overall for CFVP in the 2012 CrossFit Games Sectional Qualifier. She is our team's alternate. This means she could be called upon to compete in the upcoming Regional. That is a huge accomplishment and we couldn't be more proud. Keep up the great work Kelly.

CONSTRUCTION NOTE: As you know we have begun construction next door. While our plumbing is being worked on, the large bathroom will be out of commission. We hope to have it running again by next week. We apologize for the issue.

Fiesta Day Fun

We've been plugging our "Fiesta Day Fundraiser" quite a bit lately. Here's a list of some of the fun and prizes planned for the day. Again, we hope you can all attend and support our Games Team. There are registration forms in the gym. Please fill them out so we have an approximate head count.

• Trophies for best male and female 5K times.
• 18 Events including: Ball Toss, Handstand holds, Human Wheelbarrow races, 500 M row, Vertical jump, L-sit, Sandbag drags, and many more.
• "Face the Giants" There will be a tug of war contest against Steve Himmelman and Jerry Schwartz. These guys are even challenging groups!
• Door Prizes
• Raffle for 4 Cardinal Field Box Tickets
• Food including smoked pulled pork and chicken

PR! Two Ways

We had some awesome PR's Thursday. Different Kinds. Same level of cool. Robin Wilhelm has been sharpening up her Split Jerk. She ramped her way up to a new PR of #113. Then proceeding to make #118 and then #123. It was awesome to witness her excitement. Great job Robin. Get yourself some lifting shoes now!

When performing a conditioning workout, choice of load is sometimes a question mark. Some guidelines that you must consider include how the load affects your movement....which it should have NONE, how many repetitions are required, and how the movements affect efficiency of others. It's not always easy but a rule of 10 is typically in the ballpark. If you can execute 10 repetitions with moderate effort, you are close. Heavier weights, bigger plates, and bigger numbers play with us mentally. They create barriers and a overall feel of..."I can't." If that is going through your head, forget it. Confidence is everything. Stay within guidelines of ability while challenging yourself at the same time. If you keep choosing the weight that is a warm-up for you, you will put the brakes on adaptation. To sum up. Great job to Anne Abbenhaus who chose to challenge herself with the heavier load. While it slowed her down a bit, she went unbroken for 4 sets of 20 with great form. Remember, it's not about the clock. It's about progress.

 

We Like Big Bumpers

We love our bumper plates. They allow us to practice Olympic Weightlifting. Loss of control dictates you "dump" the weight. Dropping bumpers is a sound practice. However, the idea is to do this only when needed. Learn to lower your weight to the ground. Not only do you develop skill and eccentric strength, you save them from undue damage. They are also very expensive. When performing strength lifts such as deadlifts, squats, presses, etc., steel plates will serve you well. We are fortunate to have some rubber coated steel plates that will also be forgiving as they contact the floor.

AS A RULE: If you need to start with smaller, less durable bumper plates for any lifts, ALWAYS exchange them for a bigger plate vs. stacking on several smaller plates. For example, one #25 lb. plate is better than having one #15 and one #10. Yes, this takes a bit more work. You should do this consistently. There are several reasons this is beneficial. To wrap this all up:

• #10 and #15 lb. bumper plates should not be dumped. They are flimsy and will eventually have to be retired. Certain plates also bounce too much, creating a safety issue. If you are learning to Olympic lift with these plates, learn to lower the bar to the floor. During a WOD there is a tendency to drop weight. We know you're tired. We know it hurts. LOWER YOUR WEIGHT.
• As mentioned, ALWAYS upgrade to larger, heavier plates. This saves the smaller plates for those who need them. Going to bigger plates will help you overcome mental barriers with getting stronger. The #35 plate always seems heavier than 2-#15's and a #5. Dumping plates #25 or larger is permitted. They take abuse better. It looks cool. They sound better when they hit the floor. Do it.