Five Ways To Protect Yourself Against Modern Vampires...

   Angie

Darin...

Scotty Too Hotty...

"I want out of the labels. I don't want my whole life crammed into a single word. A story. I want to find something else, unknowable, some place to be that's not on the map. A real adventure.' 
A spinx. A mystery. A blank. Unknown. Undefined." 

Vampire movies usually never get old even if they are horrible they are usually kinda entertaining. Until they get all Twilight on your ass and completely ruin an entire sacred creature of the night.

I have viewed countless cinema takes on our walking undead. From films that say Judas Iscariot was the first, to others that lead you to believe vampirism is simply a blood disease like Aids curable by vaccination. And no, I guess I can't intelligently rip on the Twilight series as I have yet to watch one. But from the South Park episode I watched that spoofed it, I surmised Twilight would simply ruin me on those cool caped blood suckers forever.

And before you less than horror fans leave this post, it is not about the undead from the movie of the week. This is about the seemingly undead we run into everyday that we may be entirely unaware of. And entirely unaware of their ability to steal our beauty, our blood, our life.

You may heard me prattle on about Battery Drainers in the past. Those life sucking creatures that just seem to want to steal your thunder every chance they get. Those folks who straight feed of all your positive energy, and somehow do their best to turn it into a personal slight against them, making it all to negative. 

To their credit I do not believe the BD's to be perpetually motivated by your discord. Rather they are perpetually entwined with their own heads up their asses. And since its quite dark up their, they need the light of someones else to show them the way. When a happy go lucky such as yourself comes romping by without the proper defenses up they zap your energy like six douche bags fighting seven. Weakly they thrive off your will. The will they steal, to keep you more like them. 

Feel for them, those Battery Drainers they are weak, and they needn't our pity, but instead our help. They pull you down for fear of you leaving them. Show them you will not tolerate their behavior, but if they are just willing to try, you have more than enough energy in that battery of yours to help you both stand tall as long as both conductors are willing to spark.

Everyday day-walking vampires that seem to resemble co-workers, friends, husbands, wives, and family members are the ones we are more concerned with. You see the Battery Drainers suck you dry if you let them simply out of their own personal weakness. Those everyday vampires, on the other hand, sink their teeth in you out of their strength. The strength to take all your blood like some iron deficient scourge out to absurd the thing they hate most....other people happier than they are.

These modern Nosferatu prowl, manipulating your every whim out of jealousy and envy and can't wait to watch you fall, so that they can suck on you when your down, only to leave that last drop, motivate you to get back up...then do it again. These are the true creatures of the night to watch out for. Not the weak ones who simply don't know better. No, the strong ones who suck the life out of you just for the shit of it. But you can carry your own personal cross, and garlic necklace to burn these fanged assholes where they stand:

Listen-Should be rudimentary, but they are sly. Really listen and you will catch them constantly tearing down even the folks that they should hold most dear. Do you really think your the only one they don't speak bad about behind your back?

Oppose-If you suspect even for a brief second fangs have begun suckling at your spotless neck, then merely perform the exact opposing action the vampire in front of you may be suggesting. If they are motivating you to barge into the bosses office and demand a raise, don't. See who's way wins out in the long run. Your no idiot, don't let a power hungry vampire convince you that you are.

Re-direct-If your unsure if you have any garlic allergic types in your immediate vicinity, start redirecting obvious question to folks you meet everyday. Ones that you already know the answer to. If some jackass keeps coming up with the wrong path, they may very well just be truing to get you turn around so they can sink their teeth in when your not looking.

Wear Your Cross-Pyrrhonian Skepticism is an incredible hard way to live. It asks users to employ Epoch or a suspension of any and all judgment on everything in life. But that doesn't mean we can't employ skeptical tendencies daily. Instead of blind belief. Wear a cross of light skepticism around everyone you meet. To get past that barrier their must be pure, not tainted.

Don't Invite Them In- Many vampire tales describe them as incapable of entering a home without invitation. So, if you suspect Dracula, don't ask the dude to hang with you for a bit and see if your personal stock goes up. If so...stake em.

Well there you have it. Your own personal guide to a modern day Van Helsing. A soulless vampire killer who will not be sucked dry by the wretched life preventing creatures of today. A true guardian of the light. Or at least a fighter who won't get bit enough times to transform them into those pesky blood suckers.

Strength

-Work up to a heavy triple Back Squat

-Work up to a Max Effort Box Jump

10 Minute Limit

Then 

5-Back Squats @ 75% 3RM

3-Box Jumps @ 75% 1RM

Every 90 Seconds

5 Rounds

For Time:

60-Overhead Squats 65/95

Post weight used, impressions, and time to comments.

Educating, Or Enlisting. Progressing Or Preventing: How Ethics Are Confused As Gospel...

   Jen

Tamra...

"Our real discoveries come from chaos, from going to the place that looks wrong and stupid and foolish." 

Some folks have ethics as a basic human premise they were blessed with at birth. Others have to be taught a schools version of proper ethics, and they hold onto them like the gospels regardless if it is the right thing to do or not.

Who came up with the idea of college. Or certifications for that matter. Or our entire educational system where the first team of people that got together called themselves teachers. Sold there art to others who then became teachers as the first folks progressed to professors, then deans and so forth. How the hell did they get to be right? Because they were first? Does following the same tired model of education still make it right, or does it just make us lazy? Is school much less about knowledge gained, and much more about making sure stupid people aren't quite "as" stupid? Or is our current educational system structured specifically to keep folks in the cage, the veritable panopticon we all will have to survive in, and submit to as we grow older. hoops

Take Ethics for instance. Really hard to define actually because its based on philosophy. Simply put ethics are meant to address morality questions like right, wrong, good, evil, just, virtuous, despicable. Easy right? Are you then also aware that we see ethics in very different formats, from very different philosophical minds. For instance, Utilitarians look towards the greater good of the majority. Essentially if you would kill one to save a million, you are Utilitarian. A Dentologist on the other hand believes it unethical to do wrong...ever. To a Dentologist the ends never really justify the means. Each act is intrinsic to the immediate action itself regardless the outcome. Therefore killing one is just wrong, even if it save millions. The list goes on from Nicomachean, Non-cognitive all the way to Nihilism. But they all seem to serve one purpose splendidly. They give people something to disagree on, therefor giving them something to fight about.

So yeah I know you could wrap around argue this shit all day, but the fact still remains, some of us are born without a strong enough moral compass to point us in the right direction so we need so called teachers to lead us down the path of righteousness. Of course that is assuming said instructor is righteous enough. Do you know where your kids are right now, and more importantly who is supposedly teaching them, instead of letting them learn on their own. 

I wager that many more of us could find our own very virtuous behavior defined by any just society if we were only given the chance, as opposed to being force feed lines of bullshit from questionable sources since before we can remember. With that kind of brainwashing form that early an age it takes a incredibly unique mind to figure out the deception. It takes incredibly clear vision to see the invisible cage.

Clearly there are just gonna be stupid, despicable, atrocious assholes out there. There must be, or else the good ones would have no tests of their virtuous justice, which before you argue, I have like seven forms virtue. But I digress. Maybe we are building many more robot esq rejects by training supposed undeniable ethics on our youths earlier than what they know how to process. Therefore the slightly weaker ones who just needed more time to process things on their own, are much more destined to become part of the vast machine of bullshit, instead of someone rising up to change it.

All teachers are not bad, but almost all teachers must fit themselves into a strangle hold even they may realize as unjust, unfair, and uncompromising. Hardly the best case scenario to teach the decision makers of tomorrow to make profound, new, inventive decisions on the spot, regardless of what some book told them to do. Or some fascist teacher.

Maybe I'm the only one who would much rather have a madman at the helm following his gut, than the one following a standard of ethics hundreds of years old just because they were told they had to. Maybe I'm not. Maybe instead of promoting a code of conduct, we organically promote the reintegration of a society spawned by the folks who are going to live in it twenty years from now, instead of the assholes who haven't done a very good job on the maintenance end thus far. Currently, clearly, the way shit is ain't right, and it may very well all stem with what you believe when ethics hits the table. And if you believe this little berg of ours is on the right path, then keep walking. But if you believe somewhere we took a disastrous turn, then stop following every other asshole off the cliff, and taking the leaders out of tomorrow with you.

 Strength:

Rest

For Time:

30-Deadlifts 95/135

30-Pistols

30-Burpees

30-Pull-ups

2 Rounds

Post time to comments.

"Good News! You Won't Die."

Betsy...

"Until you find something to fight for, you settle for something to fight against." 

I jacked our Saturday stolen post from Tim Ferris. Who jacked it from Hugh Macleod. Hell, there ain't shit original anymore, there's just lies told differently, or truth you were finally ready to here. Tim Ferris is a great dude and a personal role model of mine. You may do well to frequent his blog as I do, and you may do well to give the below the five minute read its more than worth. Just like the title says..."You Won't Die".

The following piece is an exclusive excerpt from ‘Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination‘ by Hugh MacLeod. Enjoy!

Enter Hugh

People love to imagine a worst-case scenario. Especially when it comes time to quit doing what they hate and start doing what they love instead.

Cindi is a very bright young friend of mine with a great career in front of her. She’s about twenty-six, and she’s been working her tail off in New York in the graphic design industry since she graduated from college a few years ago.

Cindi grew up in a single-parent household, so there was never a lot of money around. That’s OK; her mom was one smart, fun, tough cookie, and Cindi and her siblings always got good grades at school, so it all worked out rather well.

While she was getting her degree, Cindi had to pay her way through college. Happily she found this job (a) she really liked (b) was really good at, and (c) paid really good money: waiting tables at this fancy restaurant in Manhattan. She held down that job for years.

When I met her, Cindi was working for this small but kinda-sorta successful design agency, call it Acme Design (not its real name). It was founded by a pretty smart entrepreneur type, call him Joe Acme (not his real name, either).

When I met her, she was working all hours, doing a really good job. Busting ass, to put it plainly.

A few months ago, the phone rings. It’s Cindi.

“I’m thinking of quitting Acme,” she says.

“But I thought you really liked your job?”

“I did at first,” she says. “But I don’t think the company’s growing anymore. Plus, I think Joe’s gotten more interested in his new, far-too-young girlfriend than he is in growing the company. The same week he told us we weren’t getting any new pay raises this year, he bought the chick a brand-new Audi coupe.”

Ah.

“Besides,” she continues, “I think I might want to start my own thing. I’m starting to get nibbles from potential clients wanting to work with me.”

Ah!

“I just want to pick your brain,” she says. “What do you think I ought to do?”

“Sounds like a good time to move on,” I say.

“Yeah, but I’m kinda nervous about it.”

“Sure, but that’s normal. . . .”

So I gave her my two cents:

1. Her mother is very supportive of her idea to move on.

Besides, they get on very well. So she can always move back home to the suburbs if she needs to save money.

2. Acme Design is going nowhere, I can already tell. When a man starts trying toshtup his way out of a midlife crisis, you know there’s trouble afoot.

3. Cindi tells me she has no worries about going back and working for the restaurant. Not only was the money insanely great and she liked her job, she only quit her job at the restaurant because Joe Acme told her to.

4. The money at Acme stinks. Pretty much everybody who works there is broke by month’s end. Which makes it hard to stand up to Joe Acme when he’s having a bad day or having a bad idea. She was making plenty of money and still doing her job at Acme before Joe made her quit the restaurant. And since she had to give up that job, she feels a lot more powerless than she used to—without any increase in revenue. Just the opposite, in fact.

5. Cindi doesn’t mind the idea of going back to the restaurant. I tell her to do it. At the very least, she can save some money that way. A young woman with an extra ten or twenty thousand in her pocket has a lot more room to maneuver than a girl who’s broke at the end of every month.

So a simple game plan emerges: She goes and gets her old restaurant job back, she moves back in with mom to save money, she quits her job at Acme, and then she works in the mornings and afternoons for her new design clients, since her restaurant shift begins at five p.m.

When she gets off work she goes straight back home—she doesn’t bother with the after-hours thing with the guys and the gals at the restaurant. No late-night booze, drugs, and club sessions for this girl. No, she’s on a mission. Her colleagues at the restaurant, sadly, are not. They’re too busy being young, fun, and too coked-up to tie their shoelaces, let alone do something interesting in the long-term.

She’s still young. A couple more years of waiting tables won’t kill her—not if she’s saving money and using her off-time wisely to build her design business slowly and surely. I’d bet after a year or two, a girl with that talent and drive would easily be able to leave her waitressing job and start looking after her design clients for much better money, easily. And she’d still be well under thirty. What’s the worst that can happen?

Some of Cindi’s twentysomething peers raised their eyebrows a little bit, though. “Going back to waitressing? Isn’t that a backwards career move?” they said.

No, it isn’t, actually. She’s still young and what she’s doing is consistent with what she wants to do long-term. There’s no disgrace in waiting tables if it’s part of a long-term strategy. If she were just doing it because she had no earthly clue what else to do with her life, that would be different. But she’s not.

“The good news is,” I say to her, when she was just beginning to hatch this Evil Plan of hers, “you won’t die.”

So she went through with her Evil Plan. I was so proud. And the really good news is, she didn’t have to waitress or live with her mom for very long. Three months and she was gone. Three months and she managed to bag half a dozen high-paying clients for her business. Last time I saw her, she was wearing very expensive shoes and had moved into this very hip apartment in Brooklyn. Like I said, I was so proud.

And her colleagues back at the restaurant? They’re still there. Choices were made.

# # #

Hugh’s latest book, Evil Plans, is available through all major book sellers. You can find more of his writing and artwork at his popular blog, Gaping Void.

Strength:

Rest

For Time:

Rest

Spotless, Used, Dirty: Signs That Tell You More Than You Know....

   Troy...

Lori...

 "You realize that our mistrust of the future makes it hard to give up the past." 

Wow, that's clean. I found myself thinking after taking a look around every nuke and cranny of a rather prestigious office I happened to be in a short time ago. A little too clean.

Can we gauge the success, or lack therein, based strictly off the first impression of clean, worn, or dirty? Can such rational decisions be made just by looking at your surroundings?

Now, I dig organization, and a certain level of cleanliness. It seems most of us define their level for each to their own liking, and then make their style somewhat of an issue for the ones around them most. For instance, someone who picks up all the shit on the counter, cleans well underneath it, then puts the clutter back. To me that's not clean, to another cluttered can equal clean, dirt cannot.

But as there is a very definable difference in most of our versions of "clean" so to is our opinion of how the places we most frequently visit should look. It they should look worn in, spotless, dirty, or new. In a world where first impressions can mean the difference of success and failure, properly defining what is acceptable and where it is acceptable at may provide a template for first impression compliance.

New:

Lets get this one out of the way fast. If a frequented hang out of yours is rather new, I imagine it will be pretty damn spotless. Of course I'm mainly taking about businesses, but its safe to safe to say new means clean. 

But one thing to look for in a new place is old stuff. Items new business owners may have brought with them. Tattered pictures on a wall, pieces of a prior place they traveled from. Hell even items of clothing they may have simply transferred. But even if all that fails newness can still be granted a little leeway...just pay attention to how quick that newness wears off.

Dirty:

Our founder Coach Glassman tossed a video up some time ago entitled "clean your bathrooms". The goal wasn't just to tell folks housekeeping matters, even at gyms. But also as a metaphor that if you don't care enough to keep things up as best as possible for those you care for, you will fail in the areas where it really counts.

It doesn't mean bathroom floors you can eat on, it means attention to details while people WOD and while they don't. In items like this the carry over is substantial. Upon entering any fine dining restaurant only to be greeted with a bathroom that was cleaned late last week may be enough to ruin your appetite, and eventually their reputation...simply because if they don't care, why should you?

Used/Spotless:

Here is where the true examples are set. Upon a Doctors visit I damn sure don't want bloody rags just hanging in a trash can, or used syringes on the table like a heroin addicts best wet dream. But I don't want shiny bullshit perfection at every turn either, with a Doctor leading the helm who never looks like he misses an hour of sleep.

I want a Doctor that looks like a damn Doctor should. Happy, energetic, but just a tad stressed that he is not doing enough for me or his patients. I can damn well make the biggest promise in the world to everyone I have ever worked with right now. No matter how many compliments, or thanks, or good testimonials I have ever gotten, I always feel like I never give enough for others, and I always want to do more. Once we believe were doing enough...progress stops.

That same Doctors office may have just purchased new table for half their rooms...and those table should stand out like a sore thumb compared to the rubbed clean edges of the counter tops, the floor that is all foot printed up, and the dog eared book edges of the mounds of research material our good friend leaves behind that he studies all the time.

A used encounter seems to parley much more confidence than a dirty one no doubt. But the same can be said for a spotless one also. Arriving to a picture perfect facility that lacks a little dirt in the corner, foot prints from client after client, or chalk colored matts from tons of pull-ups may very well be a clear sign of just how much the place your attending cares about providing that worn in used proven service we should hold so dear.

The next time your out and about at your normal haunts that keep calling your name, or the new ones, check to see the signs of wear along the surface. Look for the new items they keep adding that make the used ones stand out much more. Keep an eye out for the ones that are not so new, but all too ridiculously spotless. And for your own sake, make a quick left turn if where your at inspires hand sanitizer more than hand shaking....damn that's clever.

Strength:

Rest

Partner Up

"Opposing ladders"

-Swings 35/55

-Hand Stand Push ups

-Burpees

-Wall-Ball

10/9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1

*One athlete begins on rep ten, the other rep one. Then nine, and two and so forth until the entire event is completed by both athletes. Then athletes switch stations.

Post teammate and score to comments.

When Getting Worse Is Sometimes The Only Way To Get Better...

Kara...

Casey...

"I wanted to write about the moment when your addictions no longer hide the truth from you. When your whole life breaks down. That's the moment when you have to somehow choose what your life is going to be about." 

 So afraid to suffer so afraid to fail so afraid to lose....so afraid to live.

If you have yet to crash and burn you have yet to try. If you have yet to stare into the eyes of those who can only say "I told you so from the sidelines", if you have yet destroy everything you thought you were, you have yet to stare your spirit in the eye. 

I wager we are awarded the opportunity to be truly great multiple times per day. In many different ways, but great all the same. I imagine we cannot even realize the opportunities we pass up, and the life we prevent that is sitting right there in front of us. We are the ones who refuse the presents that are being handed our way..by not reaching out for them.

Have you ever noticed the happiest most content of us were stepped on, beaten, or broken at one point or another in their lives. This is not theirs to own. I'm sure if you look back there are times you can easily recall where you felt the same trenched emotions. The only difference is on what scale did you fail, what did you risk, and did you get up and move forward, or crawl back home never to be seen again.

To live is to bleed. Internally your always pumping so stepping in front of the sword ready to simply bleed externally is just as much a choice as avoiding the blade altogether. The more you avoid having yourself cut open, the more you avoid risking putting your beating heart on display the more of you that truly dies....death not life...all one beat at a time. A thumping chest does not equal life, and blood does not equal sacrifice or make you special. Your willingness to be maimed is what makes us beautiful.

Today when you rose, did you rise to just another meeting. Just another email. Just another hand shake. Was the sun glorious...or mocking? Was there something lying beside you that you are addicted to, or that you tolerate? When is the last time you remember living up to your own expectations? When is the last time you felt as though you shattered the limited expectations that the generation before you placed upon your head? When is the last time you weren't jealous of the old you? When was the last time your future was more promising than threatening?

I can't, with a straight face, tell you I am best at posing all of these questions to myself everyday. But I will tell you I focus on them more and more everyday, and move farther and farther away from caring about what you think, what your eyes say, or what your friends whisper. The effect we can have on others is worth its weight in gold if first you fail to care how those others view you, and you only truly care for those standing in front of. The ones you want to help. Risking everything. Risking this one thing. Risking being humiliated in front of one, or many, or yourself may very well make you feel the worst you have ever felt. The beautiful release that comes after makes you the best you ever have been.

Strength:

Press

3,3,3,3,3

1-Minute rest between sets. 

*Immediately upon completing your last press place the bar upon your back and perform 10- Good Mornings at that weight. If failure occurs, log where you failed to comments. Attempting 5 sets of Presses, and five sets of Good Mornings.

For Time:

"Randy"

75-Power Snatches 55/75

Compare Here

Compare Here

Compare Here

Post weight moved, and time to comments.

A Motivational, And Spiritual Blast From The Past...

   Amber...

T

"Even when I'm on my back, I'm never backing down."

Looking back sometimes makes running forward much easier. As long as what you are looking for was the times that you were great. That showed you what you can really do. 

With the CrossFit Games quickly approaching, and the community in an uproar, I find that some folks feel lost in the cause. Even the avid CrossFitters who know there family loves them to death, may feel the occasion spark of loneliness if they feel they are not pitching in somehow. 

Below are quotes, experiences, and details that were shared immediately after sectionals by several of PCF's competing athletes. PCF alone had dozens of new faces who may be completely unaware of the effects this simple competition had, and the level of closeness it brings to a community. Brand new CrossFitters out there take speicial note to how CrossFit is of course a sport, but much less a sport than savior.

Ok, our first CF Sectionals since beginning in June - Holy cow! What an impressive event filled with premier athletes - many of which happen to be PCFrs! Cledith & I were blessed to be volunteers, judges, coaches, pain-in-the- asses when needed, & in awe of the pure will power that carried so many through some freakin incredible workouts! Our line-up from PCF included inspirational performances by all - Betsy, Lisa, Holly, Mitchell, Ash, Mindy, Kara, Chastity, Joe, Shelby, Kerry, Charlie, Josh - I hope we haven't missed someone cuz everyone was great! Hangin with the volunteers - a bunch of great PCFrs in their own right - & judging people from all over the midwest was exhilirating. We are so thankful that we chose to be part of the gang. Undoubtedly these events build TEAM & we saw awesome displays of this & were part of something very special. Our thanks go to Josh, Chastity, Ryan & all the trainers who put us all through the WOD's & push us to be the better version of us. Can't wait for the Regionals!-Ken

Amazing show by the PCF crew today!! Every single one of you showed guts and what a PCF athlete is really made of! It was an honor to be able to count reps for some of you and give you that little bit of a push and inspiration that you give me daily! What a proud day to be a member of the PCF family! Congrats to all!!!-Steph

PCF-ers were ready for yesterday’s WODs...even #4 which wasn’t announced until late day…and even with the C2B pull-ups that were going to be mandatory for the girls until just before the clock started. Might some of us have been forced to scale? Sure. Did some of us wish we could have pushed a few seconds faster? Of course. Was any one of us surprised by the challenge or ready to bow out? No fkn way. Because every wko that came up yesterday could easily have come up on the PCF board – any day of the week – at the exact same weight and reps prescribed for this competition. That didn’t reduce the anxiety you felt about doing well yesterday, but – at least for me – it removed the fear. It also made me think that annual sectionals participation should be a goal for every one of us...even if going to games doesn’t matter to you at all. You do the work any way every day.

In talking with other CF-ers yesterday, a box owner shared with me (while shaking his head) that he’d have to step up the game with his team once they got home given what he was watchin. All I could think as I looked out on all the PCF-ers on the floor was that our game WAS there. Even our volunteers looked like experts as they corrected form and coached on athletes. Sure. There’s always room for improvement, but we’re damn capable and impressive as is.

JB-you have a gift for programming. Period. As I’ve said before, I’m glad to have learned CF at Practice.
Ry-more than unfortunate you couldn’t attend as I promise you missed a rare opportunity to see what you’re helping to create in action.-Kara F

Just want to say thanks to Josh Joe Mitchell and Kara for pushing me to even go to the Arnolds! I was really unsure about the whole thing until 10 min before my 1st workout!At that point i relized i had no choice!!(hahaha) I had the best time of my life in so many ways- i never thought id ever be doing anything like this. Thanks so much to Chad, Whit, Justin and Dave for being in my face! And to all of us who did it, i had so much fun with ya! And to Cledith for snappin all those pics-i hope to see them all also-THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-Holly

Yesterday, in my eyes, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are a family. The support shown by everyone was overwhelming and I love every one of you. PCF is what it is beause of the people in it, and I'd never want to be anywhere else. I always thought the games in Aromas was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had... and yesterday topped it. The difference was all of you :)-Mindy

There were too many wonderful people there to name them all, but... Special thanks to Steph who counted my reps when I was too tired to remember what number comes after 2!
To Walters who did EVERYTHING for me from feeding and clothing me to getting me into the finals and then making sure I finished! and to Josh who corrected technique and coached me through the clean and jerks making sure I would not going to fail on that last workout.-Mitchell

It is hard to capitlize on the full emotional experience of yesterday. Pride, disapointment, jublilation, exhaustion, family, committment, and outright respect first come to mind. What a day. What an experience and what success for PCF. If i am not mistaken we had to have one of the largest presence of any box there! PCF is one special place and to those of you who competed you certainly made us all so proud. Betsy, you have become like a little sister to me, i could not have been more proud of you, i know you were in tears and i was right there with you! Lisa, you continue to impress me daily but this was a game changer for you! Ash, hate you didnt get to see you at your full on game, that is always fun to watch! Mitch, you took my respect to the next level and the rest of you Rock Stars, Kara, Chas, Holly, Mindy what can i say, wow!!! Today during the POD all i could think of was how did they do it!!!!! You all were amazing! Oh, and let me not forget, you all were the best looking girls by far! Volunteers, i enjoyed working with you all! Josh, wow man, you have to be sitting there today beaming, look what Ryan and i created, one big awesome, successful family!!! Yesterday, as i was looking around, and i thought about the many friends in my life, i said to myself, these friends are firends that would do ANYTHING for each other, and that is super cool and that is why this gym is what it is! I know i am leaving something out, but seriously, this was a great day in many, many ways! -Stacy

Our  trainers,  Josh,  Chas,  Ryan,  Nicole,  Mindy,  and  the   rest.  I  have  learned  so  much  from  all  of  you.  I  tend  to  be   quiet  and  a  little  withdrawn,  but  I  couldn't  bring  myself  to   just  watch  the  athlete  I  was  judging,  I  had  to  push  them   the  way  I  have  been  pushed.  Because  thats  what  I  have   learned.  I  received  so  many  compliments  on  my   coaching/pushing/"cheerleading".  My  athletes  were  so   appreciative.  It  felt  great  to  help  them  do  better.  Even  if  it   wasn't  a  PCFer.  That's  a  compliment  to  everyone  who  has   pushed  me.  After  watching  some  of  the  competitors,  I   realized  what  a  great  program  we  are  a  part  of.  Strict   adherence  to  proper  form  is  constantly  taught  and  the   need  for  that  was  made  very  apparent  as  I   judged/coached  some  of  my  athletes.  Thankfully,  I  felt   very  competent  to  judge/coach  these  athletes  because  of   the  training  I  have  received  at  PCF.  Thank  you  all.- ‐Dave

I  can't  express  how  proud  I  am  of  all   who  competed  and  volunteered.   Watching  you  all  do  the  workouts   was  awe- ‐inspiring.  The  workouts   are  hard  each  day  but  to  be  there   to  watch  you  do  four  of  them  in   one  day....I  have  a  new- ‐found   respect  for  all  of  you!  I  am  so  proud   to  be  a  part  of  PCF  and  I'm  so  lucky   to  have  this  extended  family!  That's   another  thing;  you  know  you're   family  at  PCF  but  I  really  FELT  it   yesterday.  - ‐Cheryl

Yesterday was a eye opening experience. I have never been very emotional nor will I ever but I have to admit I was very moved and impressed. I have many different mixed emotions about yesterday. First I was disappointed beyond words in myself. I have never been so humbled and humiliated before by my own performance. But watching the other people from PCF perform took some of the sting off. I witnessed some amazing athletes. It was cool to finally see the comaraderie I hear so much about. It was something to see watching people cheer on people they didnt know whether they were first or last. I have competed all over the world as a speedskater and have never seen it done. It has always been kill or be killed. Josh, I never get to see you workout at PCF, and I have to say I was blown away at how hard u pushed yourself. You practice what you preach and that is something to be admired. I have to give mad props to my wife Holly. I dont think I have ever been more proud of you before. You went from not being able to do a single push up less than a year ago to finishing 23rd at sectionals. I think she has a new respect for competition, and you have only scratched the surface on how good u can be. I realized that you get out what you put in, and now I see how much I have been slacking compared to these other athletes. It makes you want to embrace the challenge and go at it again next year more prepared. Nuff respect to all the PCF people that showed up and competed or volunteered. Well done.-Franchise

How  am  I  so  lucky  to  belong  to  such  an   awesome  CF?  I  feel  so  blessed  to  be  a   part  of  such  an  awesome  group  of   people!!  Words  can't  describe  the   feeling  I  had  yesterday.  Josh- ‐ You  not   only  helped  all  of  us  yesterday,  but  you   stayed  focused  in  your  own  game  too!   When  you  do  something  you  just  do  it   right.  It  was  so  awesome  to  look  around   and  see  all  the  PCF  family  there.  Stacy- ‐ Thanks  for  pushing  me  all  day.  - ‐Betsy

Needless to say the CrossFit Sectinionals brought on many emotions last year. Emotions that were far less attached to an WOD, or PR, and far more realized from the bonds that were created, and relationships formed. 

Join in this year in any capacity you want Spectator, athletes, judge. It matters not, but don't miss these opportunities to grow. 

To see for yourself, or to catch the full re-cap click below:

Here

Here

Here

Download Practitiongude_march2010_sectionaledition_p

Strength:

Rest

For Time:

1min-Front Squats 105/155

1min-Dips

1min-Bent Over Row 65/95

1-min Swing 35/55

1min-Lunge

3 Rounds

Rest 1min between rounds.

Post reps achieved to comments.

Live Starved: How A Controlled Catabolic Environment Is Your Ticket To Being Stronger, Faster, Healthier...

5am Ladies Only Killers... 

"Confidence is a stain they can't wipe off."

Athlete after athlete, email after email, quest after quest. "What is the best way to perform at my utmost this CrossFit Games season?"

The answer may surprise you. The answer is just like everyone else's answer. Bullshit unless it works for you. And it only works if you try it. And trying it means real effort. Not a half-assed poke at the roadkill when you were a kid.

One way to ensure you are stellar during every workout this CrossFit Games season. Or for other top notch events that you may be training for this year is to make sure your training for that event, is putting you in a temporary, less than optimal state.

The idea of "starving" doesn't necessarily pertain to food although it definitely could. It pertains to leaving some things on the able only to be used at that most opportune time when you really need it. Or, if you don't have a specific event, whatever items you call events through the year. Therefore intermittently introducing periods of over 100% of your top performance, and then self-inducing the sliding curve back down. Essentially creating a negative loop feedback with the body, meaning every time you starve, or become catabolic, that the rebound effect is much better than the last, because every time thereafter you climb the ladder higher than before. This is called "Super-compensation".

Super-compensation is exactly what it sounds like. But to take advantage of this 100+% activity, absorption, or living, it must be preceded by a controlled catabolic state. As you may know, but I will tell ya anyway, catabolism can mean "wasting", or "regressing". While we will not let ourselves regress, we will essentially induce a state whee if PR's happen, or muscle gains occur they are truly to be honored because you didn't set yourself up for it. You are essentially positively planning ahead to peak by setting the negative stage today. Therefore stepping on the field, stage, or whatever on game day will make you feel like your bullet proof. Think about it, if  you were good starved...how do you think you will feel fed?

There are several techniques described below to help induce the relatively sub-par state followed by the state at which may be so profound it is almost overwhelming:

Intermittent Fasting:

I have still been avoiding writing full posts on this glorious little tool because it would take a book. But I will soon figure out a way to put pen to paper, and always stash a reference here. 

IF improves overall health, gut sensitivity, insulin sensitivity, protein synthesis, cancer prevention...see why the post would be huge. But applied to athletic performance periodically it can make you dig deep sometimes when it has been long bouts without food. Some folks feel better. Some take a while to adjust. But living in a caloric-ally restricted state is a great way to train your heart out, recover well, and prime the pump so when its time to introduce a few more calories, recover fully, and turn it on game day, you more than surpass the best version of you.

Supplement deprivation:

Setting PR's while snagging down Creatine, Beta-Alanine, Glutamine, Testosterone, Growth Hormone, Vodka is one thing. Setting them without, or at least getting really close will ensure once you ramp them up prior to or a couple weeks out of the event all but guarantees when that adrenaline starts pumping your old records will be new warm-ups.

Over-Training:

Not to the point of oblivious recovery. Or to the point you body hates you enough to tell you by injury. But more like just this side of too much. One or two WODs more than you for optimal performance. Essentially guaranteeing your working out tired. Then when you tapper down, and game day shows, you will be thankful for that endless energy.

Carb Depletion:

Ketosis is where good dieters live. Using their own fat for fuel. Keeping a nice steady state of energy no matter what. A steady state for one WOD per day that is. Ensuring you are almost completely void of carbohydrates right up until the multi event days come, ensuring you maintain the fat burning system you want, while taking advantage of the rocket fuel of a burst that rare light carb product can provide. Timed well, those horrible carbs can be lighter fluid on a fat burning metabolism fire.

There may be one or two more ways but they either look real close to the above and therefore would be a little repetitious, or too starved for our concern as we want just below optimal to spring board well beyond it when the time comes.

Planning this well in advance is the best course of options but fret not, there is still time before the CrossFit Games. Depriving yourself of some calories stating now if your already not by fasting, eliminating all supplements except for creatine which needs loading, and tossing in a couple extra workouts for a couple weeks could be just what you were looking for to kick start your season, by starving before it.

Strength:

Rest

For Time:

20-Double Unders

13-Box Jumps

10-Sumo Deadlift-Highpull 65/95

4 Rounds

Post time to comments.

Practitioners Guide February 2011...

Maggie...

"Sometimes the road to salvation is extermination."

Download it, read it, forward it. Our Newsletter is free to all and welcome to suggestions observations and any thing you want to toss at it.

Download Pracitce_CrossFit_Guide_Februrary_2011

"Reset"

"Even now in the times we live in, in what we have witnessed the human condition tries to negotiate its way into keeping up the same sick habits. The detrimental behavior. The same bad attitude. Apparently, sometimes the road to salvation, is extermination."-Josh Bunch

Ryan-Practitioner Of The Month

"Paleo Pregnancy"

“The problem with this is that the medical professionals prescribing a new diet don’t know what they’re talking about. As the daughter of a PCFer found out first hand, the prescribed diet was throwing her sugar levels off horribly, and her condition was not getting any better.”-Mindy Shardo

"Alternative To Medicine: Dr.Mobility"

“Statistically, a patient over the age of 70 that receives a hip replacement is not likely to survive more than 5 years post- surgery due to improper recovery and continued activity. Getting Paapaw straight to a physical therapist after surgery will dramatically increase his odds of survival.”-Dr.Coby

Download Pracitce_CrossFit_Guide_Februrary_2011

Strength:

Bulgarian Split Squat

5,5,5,5,5

Compare Here

For Score, then time:

Pattern One:

-Beginning at two reps each, Pull-up, and Push-up, add one rep to each every minute on the minute for as long as you are able to do both. When one fails log what minute you achieved, and continue the movement you are still able to perform in the above design. Log which minute failure occurs.

Rest 1 minute:

Pattern Two:

-Complete all of reps achieved in the above design in any order you wish until you essentially repeat your previous workload for time. For example. If you accomplished 30 Push-ups, and 65 pull-ups. You would repeat those numbers for time, however you wish.

Post weight moved, reps achieved in pattern one, and time in pattern two. 

Mental Friction: When The Path Your Walking Chafes The Path Your Thinking...

Nic...

 Matt, and Melissa...

“It isn't the oceans which cut us off from the world -- it's the American way of looking at things.”

Sometimes this story comes up all to frequently. The story of what we want, along with the story of what we are willing to do to get. When the two don't mix, the story creates friction.

I spoke with an athlete the other day I care very much about. In reality I care very just about all the of the athletes I get the honor of working with...but just for very different reasons. Some have these glorious demeanor's, some brazen personalities, some question the shit outta me and I hate it...but love them for the irritation that I know makes me better. 

This particular athlete is incredibly fun to be around, works hard, and maybe most important of all, cares for others and that is always what I hold most dear. Don't get me wrong, a little selfishness goes a long way and sometimes you just need to be number one...but that is rare, much more rare than most of us demonstrate.

On this particular day this athlete and I were involved in yet another discussion about the numerous tactics one could employ to be a better athlete. From losing weight and how-to's. From increasing their  mobility. All the way to the maximum amount of times they could workout before over-training. 

The path our wonderful athlete wanted to take was very clear. Straight ahead. Better. Brighter. Linear. The path our athlete thought would get them there was clear all the same. Clearly creating friction that would soon lead to failure. Which is essentially when our perceived outcomes don't equate to the effort we put forth to receive them.

How many times have you been there? How many times have you let little gems like this slip out. "Oh I want to be way better, healthier, faster but I wanna do it my way". "I shouldn't have to eat like this, train like that, or sleep that much". Sound familiar? I for one have said them all numerous times.

If the path your on constantly rubs your ass raw because you think you should be able to run that path a clearly different way than the feedback your body is giving you, then the mental friction you create will not only serve to halt your progress, but end you career, any career, every career.

Take this for instance. It's more than likely we began a Handstand-up with a regular push-up, a progression aginst the wall and so forth, as opposed to inverted atop the rings. Examples like this just don't stop at training. It will most likely serve no purpose to work endless run time after run time, thinking you can out run that gluten allergy that you wish you didn't have. Wish it all day long, but that path will have a very bad ending.

Obstacles are in front of us no matter what we do, but creating them by wanting something, and doing the opposite to get it will serve to make you very unhappy. Setting up all of the things you really and truly want, then aligning all of the things you really are willing to do, or more likely not do to get them is an exercise in stress relief like never before. 

Setting yourself up for failure is wanting to be the best paratrooper in the world, but refusing to fly. Guaranteeing stress is making something beautiful into a job because you think you should be able to reap its rewards, but pay nothing for them. Mental friction is almost entirely self-created by thinking your above the necessary work it take or sacrifices that need to be made to get the things say you want. One solution, is change your desire...thus the concept of Buddhism. Or just work harder, by changing directions.  

If you want healthy, don't say you do then drink yourself silly every night. If you want thin, don't say you do, then stare oddly at the mirror, doughnut after doughnut wondering why the weight just wont come off. If you don't want to be a champion, don't say you do, then train like the little league. You prevent your success. The best thing about that is, you also guarantee it by walking the path you say you want.

Strength:

Rest

For Score:

50-Squats

1-Round of "DT"

AMRAP 20 Minutes

*For every drop of the bar during a round, perform 2 burps prior to the start of the next round. "DT" consists of 12-Deadlifts/9-Hang Power Cleans/6-Push Jerks 155/105

Post rounds and fractions to comments:

One Thing At A Time...

Shelby and Cory...

“Chaos is the score upon which reality is written.”

The flowing post we ganked for our Saturday Stolen Gem comes to us from Dana's Blog, a part of our valued friends in KY at Derby City CrossFit. Dana describes a place we all find ourselves in from time to time and we may all do very well to follow the same path she did, and just ponder, "One Thing At A Time". 

Part of what I like about the gym is escaping from the hamster wheel that is my brain most of my waking hours. Between a day job where I juggle dozens of priorities, clients and tasks non-stop, a busy writing career where I’m constantly seeking the next story, conducting interviews and writing or thinking about what I’ll write, and always planning for my next travel adventure, my brain maintains a constant near-frenzied state. I live in my head the majority of the time, thinking, planning, making decisions, forecasting what has to happen next in order for the next 17 things that need to happen to take place. My body, too much of the time, is just the shell my brain lives in.

One of the many great things about going to the gym to physically push myself is that I can crawl out of that whirling brain for a minute. I work on what my body can do – how much weight I can command my muscles to contend with, how fast I can run pushing the prowler, how many double-unders I can do in a row (still only five).

But even escaping for that time from my endless mental task list, halting all thoughts of deadlines and assignments for an hour or so, it seems I still need to work on calming my brain down. In a time I most need to focus on only one thing – the task at hand that very moment – it wants to run amuck, asking if I’m positioned right, and forging ahead to prepare for the next steps.

“How many things are you thinking about!?” Ben asked while I was working on my bench today. First I answered “just the weight.” But then I realized that wasn’t true. I was analyzing my set-up, and I was constantly looking ahead to prepare for the next movement.

“One thing at a time,” Ben said. “When you get set, you’re set. You don’t think about it again. When you’re pulling the bar down, that’s all you’re thinking about. Legs, shoulders, they’re taken care of. Just bring down the bar.”

So on my next set I made a conscious effort to stop the barrage of mental activity. No thinking about what I would do next. Just me and the weight where it was right that moment, focusing on what I needed from my body to move the weight. And what do you know? Best bench set I did today (and maybe ever).

With time and lots of practice, hundreds and thousands of reps, it will, I hope, become second nature. But for now, my task is to slow down and do. just. one. thing. at. a. time.

Strength:

Rest

For Time:

Rest