There Is Always Someone With A Spear....

 The Wall..

"Fight best in the shade of the cloud of arrows."

Are you a Christian Cross carrier? Or a Catholic rosary counter? Maybe a yarmulke wearing Jew, or a meditating Monk? How 'bout a Nietzsche-loving atheist? Or a Nihilist-believing in nothing? Maybe you're just you, who usually agrees with at least one thing about religious history. Whether Christ was God or not, Jesus was a Superstar.

The scripture tells a lot about the dude on the cross, and what he achieved in his short life. His purpose. His love. His life. And when I read the bible, my favorite passages contain good ole' JC, and a few supporting characters. One in particular you never hear a lot about. You never really get the implication of the asshole with the spear shanking the side of the dying dude on the wood. I mean talk about kicking someone when they're down.

I get it, the dude walking under all the suffering criminals to the Roman court stabbed them to make sure they were dead. While the bible speaks little of this event I think this demonstrates exactly how we feel on a regular basis. Kicked while down. Stabbed when dying. Punished during punishment. The dude who stabbed the savior seems to say, the cooler you are the harder your life, the worse the ending, the more you will get poked. 

I'm very sure we are all guilty of holding the spear of criticism from time-to-time. It's a quality that can, actually, be necessary and productive when used with a loving gesture of the hand rather than the thrusting prod of a lance. But if you're not willing to stand on the mount and give the sermon, stop poking the ones who do.

Politics:

So you sit there and and argue how you would run the country, huh? Welllllll....have you even made Mayor yet? How bout your kids' PTA president, or a troop leader? Gotta start somewhere, right?

Stop playing arm chair president because nobody really gives a shit.  Your voice is either your vote, or your anarchist attitude that brings the house of cards crumbling down. Either run for office, blow the office up, or shut the hell up. It's our job to make the country better by action, not by talking about action. And being free doesn't mean free to complain, but instead free to change.

Churches:

The audience at a church. Oh that's a book on hypocrisy waiting to be published...except we all know that's old news, and you naysayers spouting off about how you can't stand Christians because their the hypocrites are the biggest hypocrites of them all. Everybody's a hypocrite, and those criticizing Christians because they are hypocritical while under a cross somehow forget hypocrisy is the same under a cloud, a steeple, a tent, or a stadium. At least Christians admit they are jacked up.

But for those in the pews complaining about the pulpit. For those sitting back condemning the preacher I say, "Why don't you give the sermon?" Or run the nursery, go to seminary, visit nursing homes, tithe over 10%? Or, at least, shut-up. If the pastor says drink my Kool-Aid, alright then, you can speak up.  Otherwise, if you're not offering you have no vote, just listen and be blessed.

Your Vision:

That moment when that asshole with the spear shows up the most is usually right when we are motivated to do that one thing. That one thing we have written down on the index card in our wallets. That thing that is your passion, your calling, you. 

It seems Visions are bright, just as Christ was. Visions draw the attention of all the spears in the surrounding area and, my oh my, will you get MLK assassinated, John beheaded, or Joan of Arc burnt. It's inevitable that the closer you get to your cross to bear, life stabs you more until finally, that last and lowly critic waits for you to tire in battle only to run down from above and shoot you in the back. That's the life of a true spear holder. Criticizing and stabbing the brightest of us to death. And there are really on three kinds of people. The guy getting stabbed, the guy stabbing, or part of the masses doing nothing.

We all have our crosses. Christ's was pretty large and uncomfortable, and after he did the work his immediate reward was a shank in the side. His legacy is millions helped, a religion created, followers who try to be better in his name. Makes you kinda wanna pick your cross back up, faith or no faith, huh? Walk through the crowd of stone-chucking critics until the spears start pricking and someone finally finishes you off because you're simply too cool to let live. Too meaningful to be on earth. Too great to survive.

Strength:

Single Leg Deadlift

3,3,3,3,3

For Time:

"Isabel"

Compare Here

30-Ground To Overhead Snatch Grip 95/135

Post weight moved and time to comments.

Postwodum Depression: How To Beat "Now What" Blues....

Regional WOD 1.1 Cramping Future Sister-In-Law Carries...

"When man meets a force he can't destroy, he destroys himself. What a plague you are."

Becoming successful. Garnering applause. Accomplishing goals. Finishing challenges. Competing. All these things imply a pinnacle of sorts, the top. And if you don't know where to go from the top, you may fall to the bottom.

In our little CrossFit planet regionals are ending all over the world. Something like 24 or so athletes, team and individual, win a position to the big show in Carson at the hallowed Home Depot Center. The rest of us go home and say, "Now What"? Home is depressing when you have prepared for abroad, or at least when you haven't prepared for anything else.

Humans $#@& shit up. Really, that could be the truest statement I have penned. Various reasons not withstanding one very true, very common reason we are constantly running in circles is our vision. And our vision is a huge issue. When I go to the optometrist and he examines my eyes, he may give me a prescription to help me see better. Get it? "ME" see better. He may do the exact same for you, but the prescription is NOT the same.If we swapped glasses for fun, the only people having a laugh would be the folks watching us try to live with the eyes of another; eyes that don't see shit the same way.

Yet we are always trying to help others in the way we need help. I know this because I have done it for years and years. Up until the point when I realized my life's calling has little to do with weights, chalk, and ropes. It's all about vision. It's all the glasses I have to wear to see the way YOU need helped not the arguments about the way I think you should perceive things.

When I began working with athletes over ten years ago, I thought 90% of my time was diet and training. I was wrong. Today, I argue less than 50% is dedicated to that end. The rest is dedicated to winning wars rather than fighting battles. Battles in life come and go, but the war will always continue. And if I can't prepare you for the end of every battle, won or lost. For what's to come, success or failure. For winning some, and losing more all the same, then what good am I? If you don't want to fight with me today and tomorrow, whether your challenge is over, your contest finished, or Games chance eliminated, I have failed you, and, oh, have I failed before.

I have athletes involved in some competition somewhere every week. If somehow along the way I did not impart upon them the value in the fight, in every fight, in every goal, and the importance of continuing the journey even though the path changes, to ourselves and others, I am nothing more than voyager. Watching and hoping you're like me, and that you will keep going because it feels that good. Some folks do...some don't. I've learned that my glasses don't help anyone else see but me.

When The Games End...

Maybe the Open was your claim.  Maybe you killed it at Regionals, but missed the finale.  Maybe you're on your way to the top, and maybe you win. The simple truth is, it's all the same. Marcus Aurelius said it best, "Alexander the Great died, and so did his mule, and the same thing happened to both." 

The 2011 Games winner is required to do no less than the others. They have a "Plan B" no matter the outcome. Maybe it's not in stone, or even action-oriented, buts it's a next step. And sometimes a next step in the right direction is all we need to keep us moving. A surefire way to die on the battlefield is to stay in the same $%^&ing spot. In victory or failure, have one step planned and it's likely two steps are inevitable.

When Challenges Are Over...

Some CrossFits are better than others at rallying CrossFitters behind weight-loss, weightlifting, Paleo eating, or Zone measuring challenges. In fact, here at PCF our Don't Cheat On Cindy Challenge is rolling to an end in less than two weeks with many a successful athlete learning a lot. But come midnight on that last fateful day, do we forget what we were taught, and go back to the person we were, or do we find another challenge? Something very different. Something to add to our utility belt.

Life is a challenge that never ends, and we are beings that must be challenged to feel valued.  Hence why depression runs rampant in a society that gets its food from a store, gas from a can, and entertainment from a controller. CrossFit is a challenge to which we add challenges. This keeps it fresh and inventive, and assuming you complete one with another on the horizon very different from the last, half your battle is won.

To win the challenge war, put on the universal glasses we all see clearly through when we want to. YOU'RE NOT ALONE IN THIS WORLD AND CHALLENGES ARE NOT JUST FOR YOU. THEY ARE FOR OTHERS YOU CAN HELP, TEACH, EDUCATE, SAVE. EVEN IF YOU FEEL LESS THAN MOTIVATED WHEN THEY END, GET THE $#%& UP AND PULL THE SOLDIER BESIDE YOU THROUGH THE TRENCHES. If we all did this, there truly would be no-man left behind.

When You Become The Person You Imagined You Could Be...

Well, you need a better imagination.

Dynamic

Hang Power Clean

12x2 @65% 1RM

For Time:

1-Clean Jerk 105/155

10-Pull-ups

2-Clean Jerks 105/155

9-Pull-ups

.......

10-Clean Jerks 105/155

1-Pull-up

Post weight moved and time to comments.

Weekly Endurance WODs:  

WOD 1 

Rx & Scaled:  *Death by 10 Meters

* This WOD will be done as part of normal PCF WOD programming!!! 

WOD 2

Rx: 20 min @ 80%

Scaled: 10 min @ 80%

(record distance)

Expose: Something Borrowed, Something Broken...

Mitchell...

“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings”.

The "Saturday Stolen Post" is a duet of sorts. Two stolen posts from the same blog actually, Zen Habits, a site I frequent and actually agree with readily. However, this time I wanted to show how someone smart and thoughtful can take wrong turns when they want something to be true so badly.

The following is a post pulled about Comparing our lives to others which I think we would all do well to read and follow. The second "Link" (you will have to click and read on your own) is also penned by Leo Babauta, but it's just wrong. The first draws us in, well written, articulate, worthy. The second contains all the same attributes but it is bad information. It claims, in a round about way, that Soy is ok to eat. It's not advocating Soy outrightly, it's a vegan/Buddhist's way of explaining away all the studies, justifying bad behavior and saying the entire time, "I'm not saying do this, but..."

The entire point of this is no matter the writer, the quality, the study, the organization, don't be fooled by the good surrounding the bad. The guy who wants so bad for his stuff to be ok packages it well, sells it splendidly and argues it without arguing it. So, don't compare yourself, and don't eat Soy.

The Comparison Trap-CORRECT

I love reading about other people’s work setups, I really do. It’s one of my guilty pleasures.

I’ll read about another blogger’s computer setup, or what kind of notebook and pen he uses, or how he works standing up or on a treadmill or while doing handstand pushups and growing a vegetable garden.

And when I read about some cool setup someone else has, some cool new way of working, I inevitably want to try it. I’m only human.

You’ve done this too, probably. You might read a review of some new software that will help you create, or a new fashion style or some cool shoes or beautiful furniture or the newest iPad, or the latest iPhone app. Or maybe you’re a minimalist and read someone’s barefoot running article, or how they’re living out of a backpack, and want to try that.

It’s a trap.

We’re endlessly looking at how others do things, for inspiration and ideas … but we end up wanting to try those things too. That sounds harmless until you realize that you’ll buy almost anything because someone wrote about it and made it sound amazing. You’ll live a life of an endless series of purchases because of what other people are doing. And it never ends.

Even if you don’t buy stuff, you’ll change your life endlessly, based on what others are doing. You’ll give up your couch, you’ll stop buying Ikea furniture, then give up your cell phone, then give up your computer, then start doing yoga, then become a Zen monk, then create a tech startup. Those things are amazing, sure … but when does it ever end?

When do we ever feel content with the life we’re living?

If you look to the lives of others,
you’ll always find yourself lacking.

Look instead at what you have,
and be grateful.

Reduce your needs,
and be content.

And your life of striving
for perfection, for the future,
will become a life of balance,
of the moment, of inner peace.

Finally The Truth About Soy-INCORRECT

Strength:

Rest

For Time:

Rest

Steal This Video: Ask The Dr? Cholesterol Part 1 and 2...

Part 1...

Part 2...

"That which can be broken must be broken."

This week our "Steal This Vid" series takes a much needed turn towards educating folks away from the worldly consensus. All the way around to a route along which many more of us may be healed, bettered, dare I say cured...oh, no that's right we can't say cured. The only people that cure folks have big names and fancy drugs, not dirty weights and white boards.

For those of you out there curious about the oh-so-misunderstood cholesterol problem, Dr. Coby and I try to shed some light on why each industry has something different to say. Simply, the end goal is very different. So different, in fact, what you hear may scare the shit out of you.

*Download details about Saturday's Practicepalooza below. All all are welcome. All are invited.

Download Practicepalooza

Strength:

Rest

For Time:

"Partner Up"

-Power Cleans 105/155

AMRAP 3 Minutes

-Pull-ups

AMRAP 3 Minutes

-Burpees

AMRAP 3 Minutes

-Frisbee Toss

AMRAP 3 Minutes

Dips

AMRAP 3 Minutes

Recover 1 minute between events

*Every 10 seconds the clock will sound. Upon each beep teammates are required to switch working athletes. Two athlete teams.  Only one athlete works for ten seconds at a time.

Post team and time to comments.

Post time to comments.

Do You Really Believe it...

 Benny

"Shukanu ja'miph!......The One who fights!"

Cognitive dissonance is the act of holding conflicting ideas or performing conflicting actions simultaneously. Knowingly we do one thing we shouldn't and then reason why it's acceptable. Damn, that sounds familiar.

One may know smoking is bad, but they also know gaining weight is bad.  While thinking that smoking is keeping them thin, they argue how giving up smoking is just as bad as the habit itself, so why stop? Or maybe one argues CrossFit to be dangerous. Better to remain "safe" and fat on the coach then to get fit, get hurt, and end up back on the couch and fat.  What's the point?

There are few techniques humans have honed as much as Cognitive Dissonance. Few habits we have established to fit all of our bad behavior. Few tactics make us feel so good about being so wrong, so hypocritical, so common.

The CD Diet:

On our blog alone, there are countless tools provided to make one incredibly successful when it comes to eating. From supportive, fellow Paleo-ers to countless posts on disease elimination and life improvement to constant challenges, testimonials, and experiments. And after over 1,000 posts on our blog alone, and millions of others worldwide, some still choose the other path. The path of CD...blaming, justifying, denying.

Are we really so egotistical and selfish that we conjure up reasons why we should be allowed those three beers? That piece of cake? That slice of pizza? I'm not saying there are not places for them, but if you're slamming them down and then mind-%$#&ing yourself into thinking they should not pose a problem all the while whining to the person checking your body fat, or writing your time on the board, you're the worst kind of person. You're the kind of liar that knowing deceives everyone around you, and just like I have said before, it's never been about the food. It's always been about your mind. Once you stop mind-*#%$ing yourself stupid, you can finally start living without justification and, instead, with success.

The best and most painful thing you can hear today, every day, any day is that you have enormous power. You are the reason you will succeed. Neither I nor anyone can ever really help you without you first helping yourself. The only question is, will you direct your power toward achievement or toward glorious excuses about why you "should have," but didn't?

If It's Ok Here, It's Ok Everywhere:

I never wanted to blog about a stupid-ass recipe for some bullshit Paleo piece of chicken. Shit that's boring. Its still #$^&ing chicken. If you need that, cool, go find it, but it's not my style or my gift. I was blessed with a certain set of talents just as you were, and after we discover what our talents are we are required to use them to help others. I want to show you what I believe we can be as humans.

If you're riding the Cognitive Dissonance train when it comes to something as trivial as food, I guarantee you're justifying other decisions about your life that are much more important than last night's chicken.  And recognizing, being disgusted with and fixing that is the true purpose behind this blog.

Do you really believe it's ok to stay at that shitty job because you're "safe"? How safe is it to go against the human grain of challenge and strength only to adopt an existence that earns you a paycheck? Surviving from vacation to vacation?

A weekly paycheck is simultaneously the greatest prison known to man. The prison of society...the illusion of freedom...is the best way to keep convicts docile. ,And, oh are we docile. Oh,, are we convicted, imprisoned, "safe". A paycheck is Cognitive Dissonance in it's rawest form.  Sure, we need it to some degree just like we need food, but the what and the how of that paycheck are dictated by us.  If you're manipulating your talent into some less-than-meaningful version of what you could be just so you can pump your 401k full of retirement money, there will be nothing worth retiring for. A nursing home always looks like shit no matter how much money you have when you get there.

Unfortunately, the highest levels of CD aren't found in relation to our profession, but to our relationships with others.  This is where we justify bad choices the most. Personally, I believe the reason for this justification is entirely due to our beloved blessing of instinct.  Instincts we put on the back burner. Instincts we argue to be pre-historic, or uncivilized. Our instincts tell us we should not have to work hard everyday for love's sake, yet we do. Our instincts demand we help others, yet we move aside and make excuses that never really help them or, in the worst cases, aid their illness.

Blowing smoke up your ass, and letting you get by with CD is not friendly or loving.  We know this, but fear alone-ness more than anything. So, we call those people who give us a so-called "helping hand" when we fall friends, but they're not. They're co-dependents reinforcing bad behavior. Behavior that is in opposition to our instincts.

Nietzsche's definition of friendship surpasses all others. To him, a friend should look the same as an emery. Both challenge. Both argue. Both make you better than before. Enemies don't help you get up, they knock you down. Friends, true friends, do the same thing. The difference is the enemy wants you to stay down, but the friend prays you get the %$#@ up.

Do you really believe your path? Or are you making excuses while you travel?

Strength

Rest

For Time:

7-Power Snatch 65/95

8-Ring Push-up

9-Swing 35/55

10-Wall Ball

6 Rounds

Post time to comments.

Your Kid Is Your Symptom...

   Andrea... 

“The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.”

I recently played a role in the forced physical fitness education of a rather well known youth organization. I wasn't forced.  The kids were. And, damn, were some of them forced.

I am a very certain kind of disease. Infectious in many ways just as you are. Some marginally different. Some eerily the same. Others astoundingly different. Adults are the disease of the world spreading contagion all over creation. Either we are contagiously helpful or radically hurtful, and we forget our little spawns growing up are just a symptom of the greater disease.  If we act like the plague, so do they.

"Does any body know what a push-up is?," I ask expecting the resounding "yes" I have received in a million of these demonstrations. In return I get one anxious push-upper, one reluctant performer, and a sea of lifeless stares all aimed at the floor.  Some truly did not know what a push-up was, and these were middle schoolers.

Now on any average CF day, a new athlete could storm in and look at me cross-eyed as shit when I ask "Have you ever done a push-up?," and I wouldn't miss a beat. I would just move on down to the ground and show them what's expected, no harm no foul. But I guess I always attributed this silence much more to nervousness paired with forgetfulness because the God's honest truth is, I can't fathom someone growing up without knowing what a push-up is. The Gods honest truth is, there are pre-teens today who have never done one.

Some kids are just Jerkweeds because, let's face it, some people are Jerkweeds, and they have kids. Lucky enough for the kids they are only mirroring their parents. They are not yet defined as the are.  The symptomatic kid standing in front of me doesn't bother me in the least. Kids' poor-ass behavior is not their fault. It's the symptom of a diseased parent spreading their contagion. And as you very well know, treating symptoms ain't worth the time.

As the days instruction went on, I finally caught the painful eyes of a child who looked as though he didn't know why he was there, or perhaps even alive. I relate strongly to this as it's not for anyone else to tell you, or help you understand. It's a path some of us spend our whole lives fighting to understand. I felt empathy for this boy because his life will be consumed by this, but also pride. He will see things differently....if someone cures his disease.  His parental disease.

This particular kid had that spark of intelligence that all kids have. Some demonstrate it differently.  In some it's, admittedly, hidden, but his was there.  It was mired in a level of self doubt that should be unheard of for a youth his age. What parents don't want to hear is that while some of this may be natural, the long-term reinforcement of it comes from whatever is standing in front of them. If parents are fat, their kids are. If parents bully, their kid will. If parents are always hurt, sick, tired, and lazy, so are the kids. 

I overheard a Coach addressing a new athlete's Mom the other day. The Mom asked, concerningly, her young son saying, "He's self-conscious about his weight.  Can you teach him how to eat too?" The Coach responded, "No. It won't help, but you buy his groceries.  I can teach you." 

I could have stopped the conversation to applaud my coach for this beautiful response. It's no surprise that this Mom was well overweight and her poor kid is just a symptom of her bad behavior. Unfortunately, nine out of ten times working the kid will do very little to drive change unless the parents are willing to understand their part. You can't be addicted fixing the addicted. 

The best thing for youth with these symptoms is to immerse them in programs with examples that don't let them get by with any of the diseases we do not want them to carry on into adulthood. CrossFitters who avoid processed shit-food like the plague and workout for fun, Buddhists who avoid alcohol, and intellects who don't own a TV are a start. But until we can cure the disease adults bring to the table...until we begin to call out poor behavior and force responsibility...the future of our planet is fighting a losing battle. A lifetime of treated symptoms ending in disease. 

Today, tell an adult how to change, and save a child.

 Skill:

15 Minutes of your Choice

Suggestions:

Pull-up

Muscle-up

Double Under

Snatch

For Time:

"Diane"

Compare Here

-Deadlift 155/225

-Handstand push-up

21/15/9

Post skill and time to comments.

The Good: What We Miss When We Search For Bad...

Chas

“If each man or woman could understand that every other human life is as full of sorrows, or joys, or base temptations, of heartaches and of remorse as his own . . . how much kinder, how much gentler he would be.”

A few weeks back a friend shadowed me for a day. They helped with a few emails, they were partner to a few conversions, they witnessed multiple interactions. They said, "I hope you will always be able to see the good through all the bad."

I live life incredibly conflicted. A want to help, to make better...different. To build there must be an idea. To make better or different, you must take something already built and see a need for something better, a change, an addition. This usually means you had to search for the things you didn't like to find this need for improvement in the first place, or they just showed up. If you're searching for bad long enough, you will forget the entire reason you joined this little expedition. And once you forget what good looks like, bad is all you will see.

I understand my friend's sentiment. I read them a few diet breakdowns. Folks coming to terms with the fact that maybe they really didn't want to do what's necessary to be 6% body fat. They listened to an athlete speak of injury as their eyes welled up about it....and mine did too. They heard a voice-mail of a woman begging for help for her child who was scared to workout because he was fat...but the mom was scared to bring him in because she was fat too. They'd read some of my writing.

After they presented me with their perceptions, I started to think about my behavior...or maybe more importantly the behavior of those around me. It seems like when your always on the hunt for what's wrong with life, you miss out on the living part. Sure, the goal is to replace the deranged pieces of the roof with strong ones, but if you can't sit under that protector with the folks you care for then what good is it. Besides, if you're always looking up for problems, all those folks sitting right in front of you will eventually leave you to your problem safari. To your jungle of complaints.

When we were kids everything was a new experience. Everything tasted good, every movie was our favorite, every person our friend. At what point does age permit us to find fault with everything the Lord has created? At what point do inventors become leeches sucking on the good to create nothing new and steal everything? At what point do the acceptable changes in taste that come with age become bitching?  

I say this because I'm scared. I'm scared we have moved towards a community of very intelligent complainers. Folks masking their cynicism behind glasses of love. Calling their complaining "help". Slipping in their digs making sure to keep their little projects under wraps so very boring lives can have meaning. Creating drama because life's play is losing its audience, and we crave the applause. I'm scared I do this.

It feels like we are all on the same bridge. One side has a rail the other just the drop off. Some of us are content with hugging the rail never really moving forward at any great speed, just sort of aging along with the other rail huggers behind us, never really complaining, talking, or changing anything. Others move over to the faster path less traveled where there is no guard rail...where we can catch a glimpse of what's coming around the corner above...and we don't like it. So we find ways to change things, make things better, help. Others still ride the edge so close in so much fear of what's coming they fall to the stagnate sea below. And that sea is full of slow-moving bandits ready to draw us in, never letting us climb back onto the bridge...always letting life pass us by.

Where are you on the bridge of life? Hugging the rail baby stepping? Coasting down the edge bugging the slow people by picking up speed trying to bring them with you? Or are you stuck in the muck below? Watching everyone move above, hurling complaints, attacks, and digs until, hopefully, the entire bridge goes and the world comes crumbling down? One big sea of cynics. One big cesspool of complaints. 

Strength:

-Full Squat Clean

1,1,1,1,1

-Overhead Squat

1,1,1,1,1

-Weighted Pull-up

1,1,1,1,1

Post weight moved to comments.

Mental Medicine: Create Your Own Cure...

Kara

“The torment of human frustration, whatever its immediate cause, is the knowledge that the self is in prison, its vital force and 'mangled mind' leaking away in lonely, wasteful self-conflict.”

Ask any Doctor and they will likely tell you that the belief that you are going to get better is at least half as important as the medication you take. In fact, the believing may be all the medicine you need for your cure. What do you believe?

Pain is just another sensation. Heat is the same as cold. Alone the same as crowded. Light the same as dark. Today, make your "Mental Medicine" the pain of accomplishment that can read the same as defeat depending on your perception. Pain may be uncomfortable, but it cures fat, diabetes, Alzheimer's...if you believe it does. Do something that hurts and believe it heals.

Pills are chemicals. Pills are profit. Pills are addiction. Pills are traded, bought, and sold. Pills are chemicals. Pills are placebo. Never trade an ounce of beautiful addiction for a pound of detachment. The human soul was meant to be addicted to the profit of the body, and success of the mind. Addiction is inevitable, but as long as you're buying, selling and trading the right pills you will ensure the chemicals you create make you addicted to getting up rather than falling down. Believe in yourself first.  Then get addicted to being better.

We are all diseased. From the moment we started living we started dying. It's inevitable that we look for a cure to our God-given condition around every corner. Charlatans selling snake oil. Holy men selling scripture. We search because we're scared.  We cry because we fear the unknown. We say fate because fate absolves responsibility. We were given our death certificate upon our birth and this very knowledge is our safe passage. Being given this gift of death ensures we go out and always look for the cure because once you stop trying to get better, you can only get worse.

Cure yourself today by believing, speaking, focusing, and taking the cure you already possess. The cure to a bad relationship is the belief that you can walk and run. The cure to a lifetime of overeating isn't a coat covered in white.  It's a bar covered in chalk. The cure to the most sickening feeling of loneliness imaginable is, simply, your mind's ability to focus on others. 

We all need Cured. We all possess the elixir. Take your medicine and believe.

 Strength:

Rest

For Time:

"Keelhaul"

5-Wall Climbs

10-Wall Overs

20-Tire Flips

30-Burpees

40-Double Unders

30-Thrusters 65/95

20- Box Jumps 30/24

10-Muscle Ups

5-Wall climbs

Post time to comments

Behind The Scenes: Being Thankful For Things Unseen....

   Team...

“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.”

Every now and then folks rise to the cause. Every so often we see greatness everywhere we turn. Every day there are blessings given by others that make our day possible. Every day we forget to say thanks.

This past weekend I was, again, awed by that little thing we call CrossFit. That thing we have a hard time explaining to anyone who asks, "What's CrossFit"? That thing that is always on our mind just a little because no matter how bad it hurts, it's always rewarding. Many times it's one of the few rewarding moments we are guaranteed each day. Maybe it's even the reason rest days suck, huh?

I have been to every CrossFit Regional event ever held in this region, and every time more is required, more is demanded and more is given, more sacrificed, more met. This past weekend was no different. And what is getting kind of ridiculous is how much bigger and broader our reach becomes.  The more media, sponsors, and space. The cooler the people. It's ridiculous because almost everywhere I go outside of CrossFit, I experience the opposite. Think what CrossFit could teach the world?

Judges and Pastors:

Without these incredible people competitors can't compete. Without their hours on the floor, we would not have minutes of fun. Without their stopwatches on us, we could never PR. Judges are that mix of blessing and hammer that came out of the woodwork for the love of it, not for the money. Locally, PCF lined the floors all day. They did slam the gavel when demanded, but that's how competitors are blessed. By a very clear description of good, and a reward for following it. That's what amazing judges do.

Pastors don't no-rep you out of heaven, obviously. But pastors aren't suppose to sugarcoat the bible either. Its not all sunshine and rainbows. If you do dumb shit, you're punished. And just as great Pastors are called to spread the word, judges are called to keep the standard. And how often do we take these folks for granted? How often do we just move off the floor after being given our correction and take their help for granted, or even at our annoyance?

Sponsors and Saviors:

Maybe you have seen fledgling to fantastic, but do you remember fledgling? Do you remember over 500 spectators and four Porta-johns? Do you remember the last time you saw something so beautiful grow so quickly, and stay just as beautiful if not more so?

When folks believe from the background they find ways to make their vision more accessible. Sure, they could be vampires sucking at the sweet nectar of greatness already created. But those folks hanging out long enough would feel the bite, and with the need to spread the CrossFit word faster and stronger, our sponsors have done nothing but listen to what we want and just make it better.

 Athletes and Artists:

Maybe one day someone will venture into CF just for the purse. Maybe one day the attention will draw a professional competitor rather than a winning individual. Maybe....but not now. Today, we have athletes who started and continue for the love. Who fight and claw for the honor. Who go, simply, because they can...because someone has to.

From teams to competitors to coaches to volunteers, media, sponsors and the rest, CrossFit is teaching the world just how "community" is accomplished. How many many people gather around the planet to do something great? Something hard? Something judged? Something elite to standard? Something pure? Something we could teach everyone in need of something special?

Thank you to all those making the day possible and blessed.

Strength:

5x5 DB Press AHAP

5xMax Toe Thru Rings

For Score:

"Nicole"

Compare Here

400m-Run

Max-Pull-ups

AMRAP 20 Minutes

Post totals, reps and rounds to comments.

Weekly Endurance WODs: 

WOD 1 

Rx:  *8 x 100, 1 min rest 

Scaled:  *6 x 100, 1 min rest 

* This WOD will be done as a class 

WOD 2

Rx:  5k TT

Scaled: 1.5 mile TT

(record time)

Alcohol Will Make You Suck...

Teri...

"The commonsense rules of the “real world” are a fragile collection of socially reinforced illusions."

Our "Saturday Stolen Post" proves Im not the only who who preaches the detriments of Alcohol. CrossFit Anaerobic say its yet again. Its not that you gotta toss it all away, its that you can't come complaining when your sinning and have the commandments in front of you. And just as I have said, the article below states, and I will say many more times. If your not hitting your mark and your still tossing back shine, stop asking for help because you don't want it.

If you’ve been doing CrossFit for any significant amount of time and you are stuck on something like not being able to do a pullup, always complaining about being sore, not “leaning out” or feel like you’re getting weaker…it most likely is a problem with your nutrition, alcohol intake, & sleep.

Today we’re going to talk about alcohol. Research overwhelmingly suggests that alcohol use and athleticism do not go hand in hand. Although it might not be realistic for some of you to quit drinking altogether – if you want to thrive in the athletic environment you should take steps to limit and eventually eliminate it because…

DEHYDRATION

Alcohol can cause severe dehydration and huge electrolyte imbalances. After only one night of long drinking, it can take several days to a week for full recovery. While dehydrated, you are greater risk for many injuries including: cramps, muscle pulls, and muscle strains. Also, dehydration can lead to severe brain impairment and even death when coupled with extreme temperatures and intense practices. Dehydration also leads to muscle loss – muscle which you are working so hard to gain.

TESTOSTERONE

Alcohol, when consumed in amounts typical with most college aged drinkers, will dramatically decrease testosterone levels. Less testosterone = less aggressiveness in workouts, loss of motivation, weakness, & once again muscle loss. Your balls will shrink and the quantity & quality of your sperm will decrease. Ladies, don’t think you’re off the hook…for you it increases the amount of  of estradial – which increases your risk for breast cancer.

PERFORMANCE

Aside from messing with your coordination, endurance, & judgement (not just when you’re drunk, but afterwards too). Alcohol also interferes with lactic acid breakdown, which means you stay sore longer.

FAT STORAGE

So, here’s the deal on alcohol & “leaning out for the summer”… Aside from taking in over 1,000 calories on a conservative night of drinking…alcohol is stored much like fat in the body.

More importantly alcohol destroys amino acids and stores them as fat. Yeah that’s pretty messed up… it actually drinking actually converts protein to fat.

The most commonly used energy pathway – the glycolytic pathway is the most severely impaired and will cause you to be lacking in energy, recovery, & increased soreness.

SLEEP

You need sleep to recover. If you do not get quality sleep and enough of it – your body will store fat as a defensive mechanism. Even though it seems that alcohol might help you “fall asleep”, it affects the quality of your sleep.

It will disrupt and fragment two stages of your sleep, where your body produces the most human growth hormone.

Bottom line is that if you’re not getting enough sleep – your body will not recover, you won’t grow stronger, and your energy levels, mood, & performance will suffer.

I’m not going to preach to you and tell you that drinking is “bad” and you shouldn’t do it at all. Hell, who doesn’t like to have a cold beer or a nice glass of wine every now and then? However, you’ve gotta realize what drinking does to your body, performance, and ultimately health.

Personally, I’ve completely eliminated drinking for the past 6 months and it has been the best decision I’ve made for my athletic performance. (I did drink 2 beers to celebrate placing in the Tough Mudder competition a few weeks ago, but I HIGHLY regret it as it took me over 2 weeks to fully recover from the race and alcohol afterwards). I’m sleeping better, feeling sharper during the day, past an athletic speed bump I encountered, and have the energy & motivation to be the “workaholic” some people might say I am.

Ultimately, the decision is yours – you know the facts. This has been my personal testimony and I hope it encourages you to make changes.

Strength:

Rest

For Time

Rest