CrossFitValleyPark

Laura DeMarco 370lb Deadlift - video [wmv] [mov]

 

Watch this impressive deadlift. You are going to notice something that will be evident in any true one rep max. attempt. The "cat back" posture that will occur is certainly not ideal and unless you are extremely experienced and strong, you should avoid this position. This is why we generally stay in a 3-5 rep range when building strength in the deadlift. It's important to remember it's not always the weight but the position that causes injury. Focus on midline stabilization while you get strong!

For those of you learning how to perform Olympic lifts, please observe the picture. We always stress foot positioning and many of you still want to start wide, in more of a landing position. Aside from the split, your feet will either be in a pulling (jumping) position or a landing (squat) position. You are going to get maximum power in the jump with your feet under your hips. Work on accuracy when shifting the feet.

Wednesday Strength/Skill Work: Deadlift 5 X 3. Alternate with Wall Ball, 15 reps each set. Try and work your way up to the #20 ball. Drive with the hips!

 
 

"Colors make any veggie dish appetizing"

Tuesday Strength/Skill Work: Max Efforts. 4 sets of max rep. OH presses alternating with 4 sets of max rep. Knees to Elbows. With the OH press, you will want to start with about 50% of your 1 rep. max. With the Knees to Elbows, stay strict without swinging or kipping. Simply perform each set until failure.

W.O.D.

-With a running clock, try and perform the following:

-120 Squats in 4 minutes

-110 Sit-ups in 5 minutes

-100 Push-ups in 6 minutes

-This is a 15 minute workout. If you finish before the time is up during each interval,  rest. If you don't finish the required number of repetitions in the time allowed, you are penalized 300 meters in rowing. This goes for each movement, meaning  you could possibly row 900 meters.
 

Many of you may not know that Tracy Strubberg and Darby Seymour are sisters. They are both really impressive and Tracy is getting ready to tryout for our 2010 Games Team.

For those of you learning in our Olympic Lifting Classes, it's worthy to note Darby's extension in the picture. The idea is to drive hard with the legs while keeping the arms straight. She has achieved upward extension and the arms are just starting to bend as she gets ready to pull under the bar. As Mike Burgener says, "when the arms bend, the power ends." The arms will begin to bend as you move under the bar, not as an effort to lift the bar higher. Be patient, use those legs and the bar will cooperate!

Monday Strength/Skill Work: Back squat 5 x 5 x 3. This rep scheme is different and will work as follows. Perform your first 5 reps, then stand with the bar while a partner gives you a 30 second count. Then perform 3 more reps. That completes one set. Alternate squats with max rep kipping pull-ups and half-moons.

 
 

Saturday Stength/Skill Work: Warm up. Then you have 20 minutes to find your 3 rep max. Deadlift and 3 sets of max. rep push-ups. Do your push-ups whenever you'd like during the 20 minutes. This indicates  you will do a fairly long WOD. Be prepared for a 20-30 minute effort.
 

Inspirational!

Saw this video on the CrossFit Santa Clara website. Had to post it. It's very inspirational! Christy Fisher has finished her intros and started classes. She also chose to jump right into the Next Level Challenge. Her e-mails have the quote posted below and we asked her if we could copy it. We think this really defines us here at CrossFit Valley Park. Look out for Christy! Welcome.

Our 2 individual competitors have been getting alot of press lately. It's really exciting to have them represent us as they go against the Midwest next weekend in New Town. We also want to mention Troy Hupp, David Cornthwaite, and Mike Walerius of CrossFit St. Louis who will be joining our guys in the fight to represent St. Louis. Check out 2010 CrossFit Games: "Head to Head" to see a cool write up on Jake and Josh. Check out those stats! 

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

 

Friday Strength/Skill Work: Dynamic Mobility Warm-up. Push Press 3 X 5, 3 X 3. Practice lowering the bar and bending to absorb the shock of heavy weight. Alternate with OH squat practice using light weight and perfecting the movement!

 

"Jake Vs. Josh Vs. Fran"

Thursday Strength/Skill Work:  1 1/4 Back Squat 5 X 5 alternating with KB endurance cycles. 1 1/4 back squats are performed by dropping into the full squat, coming up just above parallel, dropping back down into full squat, then driving  hard to extension. KB endurance cycles start with 2 kettlebells racked. Start with any press variation (single alternating, doubles, anchored, see saw, etc.) and go for 1 minute then hold the racked position for an additional minute.

The 2010 CrossFit Games official website posted a schedule for the Midwestern sectional here at CrossFit TNT in New Town. Pictured is the new gym. Rochelle has managed to turn a bare 7000+ square foot building into an operational gym is just a few short weeks. All we can say is WOW! Great job TNT. The event is going to be awesome! Remember, you can watch the events free of charge if you want to volunteer. Jake Howard and Josh Nimmo will be representing CrossFit Valley Park. They will be going head to head against Ricky Frausto (2 year veteran individual competitor) and 29 other athletes from CrossFit Omaha! They must be doing things right in Nebraska. Good luck guys.

Stepanie Teague is competing in our Next Level Challenge. She decided to start a blog to share her experience and great recipes. Folks, this is so easy to do. It serves as kind of a diary of what you're going. Check out Stephanie's words at  http://stephfood.blogspot.com/.

It's official! CrossFit St. Charles will be hosting our next St. Louis Affiliate Team competition! Mark your calendars for March 21st. Valley Park is sure to come up with several teams to represent. With different divisions to compete in, there should be a chance for EVERYONE to get in on the action. We'll keep you posted on details.

Wednesday Strength/Skill Work: Front Squat 2 x 5, 2 x 4, 2 x 3. After each couplet (2 sets) work on kipping pull-ups and half moons.

 

Tuesday Strength/Skill Work: Warm up should include core work (KTE, GHD, Toe to Bar, sit-ups, etc. ) OH Press 2 X 8, 2 X 6, 2 X 4. After each couplet (2 sets), perform 1 set of weighted lunges, 12 per leg.

W.O.D.

-With a continuously running clock, perform 7 burpees and 7 pull-ups on the top of each minute for 10 minutes. Rest during any remaining time each round. If you don't make it through all 10 rounds, row 1000 meters.

 

Thank you everyone for coming in today for our take off seminar for the Next Level Challenge. We hope you learned enough to get you started on the right path. We applaud you all for your dedication to do this! It looks like we have 22 people. $880 to the winner! You will all be getting an e-mail to let you know who your "check-in" coach will be. Remember to go over all the details of the challenge so you know precisely what you will be scored on. The tentative date for our final check in is April 11th. We will be keeping you updated on benchmark repeats, pics, and other details. The winners will be announced later that week. Tomorrow morning starts with a 3-2-1-GO! Good luck everyone!

Our gamers are getting ready and we've had some  get together workouts. David Cornthwaite (who trains independently) and Mike Walerius (a trainer at CrossFit St. Louis) came out to join us. They are both training hard for sectionals.

Jason Kahlipa (2008 CrossFit Games Champion) and owner of CrossFit Santa Clara is doing something fun. He's posting a WOD every Tuesday. Anyone interested is welcome to do it and send in their results. He will announce a winner each week. Submissions have to be in by the Thursday following each Tuesday announcement. Friday night our own Jake Howard did the WOD with a time of 15:02. Turns out the winner was 16:48. Jake would have won had he submitted it earlier. Awesome job Jake! For those interested in this one try 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 Clean and Jerk (#155, #95). In between each set, do 1 round of Cindy (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats).

Monday Strength/Skill Work: Deadlift 2 X 5, 2 X 4, 2 X 3. Do each couplet (2 sets), then do one set of max rep. ring dips. For those of you strong on ring dips, use the belt with additional weight.

W.O.D.

-Partner up (if you are an odd number, go with one team of 3 and mirror one teammate)

-Between partners, complete:

-2000M Row

-100 OH Lunges (#45, #25)

 
 
 

 
 

"The Face of Determination!"

Everyone is doing an awesome job with their benchmarks for the Next Level Challenge. We are seeing some great numbers! The buzz is being felt and everyone is excited about dialing things in towards better health.

The first cooking event will be on February 6th, 5:30 p.m. The location is the Sayer's residence at 232 South Ballas, Kirkwood, Mo. 63122. Be sure to tell us if you are bringing your spouse. You don't need to bring anything except your appetite!

Friday Strength/Skill Work: You will have 30 minutes to warm up and work on skills of choice. If you haven't got your benchmarks in, this would be a good time to do it.

W.O.D. "In Between"

-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 Thuster (#95, #65)

-In between each set perform:

-10 Push-ups

-15 Sit-ups

-20 Walking Lunges