The 8am working on their six packs during Mondays “Point Break”!
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WOD

Option 1:
“Goat Day”
On the Minute x 20
Odd Minutes: Movement 1
Even Minutes: Movement 2

“Goat” is CrossFit slang for a movement that challenges us. Examples: Double-Unders, Pull-ups, Overhead Squats, Handstand Push-ups. These are the best days to turn perceived weaknesses into strengths. No better way to do that than today. We don’t improve our technique with a high heart rate – that’s what we refer to as “training”. Today is geared towards “practice,” dialing in our mechanics with a controlled heart rate. As an example, to improve the technique of double-unders, we want to practice at a low-intensity where we can really focus on the mechanics of the hands and the timing of the jump. When we couple “training” with “practice” throughout the week in the right doses, we set ourselves on the fast track to results. Choose two “Goats” to work on, and we’ll alternate between them on each minute. Choose an appropriate rep scheme for each movement that keeps things in the practice intensity range.

For the next five Thursdays during the Open, we will run these Goat Days. Since we do not know what movements will come out for Friday’s workout, this is an opportunity for athletes to choose what they would like to do as opposed to programming movements that may or may not show up tomorrow. Athletes have the option to stick with the same movements each week or switch things up. There are pros and cons to both. Sticking to the same movements and creating a “mini progression” can be very helpful. If the movement athletes are working on come up in the Open, they may want to switch to something that hasn’t come up yet to get prepared for that. No right or wrong answer here.

Option 2:
OPEN GYM
Make up a WOD that you missed, or a WOD that you have really been wanting to try, work on skills, etc!

*You must still come to one of the regularly scheduled WOD times.
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DAILY MINDSET

“When it’s obvious that the goal cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goal, adjust the action steps.”

~Confucius

When obstacles arise, we will find ourselves at a crossroad.

One option is that we can allow the adversity to adjust our goal, moving into a state of compromise.

The other options is that we adjust the sails. While we keep the destination true.

If our reaction under adversity is to compromise the goal and make it a bit easier, we’re now simply continuing on to “check the box”. But goals aren’t meant to be checked – they are meant to change our lives.

And anything of that magnitude is going to mother-freaking-hard. We all can agree on that.

Let’s make it part of our identity – when times get hard, we go harder.
We find the way to make it, because it’s always there.
We just have to work hard enough to find it.

Lauri, Gabe, and Christian are working their way through the Strict Pull Ups and Dumbbell Hang Clean and Jerks of”Point Break”!
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WOD

“Bam Bam”
Teams of 3
AMRAP 25:
10/7 Calorie Assault Bike
15 Kettlebell Swings (53/35)
10 Shuttle Runs (10 Meters)
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DAILY MINDSET

“Life is a wonderful, wonderful opera, except that it hurts.”

~Joseph Campbell

Our life is a summation of what we think about.
Where we choose to place our thoughts and attention, we become. It’s what the human brain is programmed to do – to pay attention to what we’re thinking about.

If we are in the market to buy a silver Toyota, all we see are silver Toyotas on the road. It’s as if they suddenly appeared out of the sky, yet, they were there all along. It’s called the “Reticular Activation System”. We get what we focus on. It becomes exaggerated, monopolizing our thoughts. If we look for the negative, it will be there. If we look for the positive, it will be there.

Are we going to see the wonderful opera, or are we going to be distracted by the pain?

Sara is working her way through the Ground to Overhead with Clean and Jerks during “Open 20.1”!
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WOD

Strength:
Thruster
Heavy Set of 3

Conditioning:
“Child’s Play”
3 Rounds:
10 Thrusters (115/85)
20 Deadlifts (115/85)
50 Double Unders
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DAILY MINDSET

“There are risks and costs of a program of action. But those are far less than the risks and costs of inaction.”

~John F. Kennedy

Change may be one of the single most paralyzing things.
Because in the lack of change… is safe. It’s comfortable.
But in that comfort, we are literally confining ourselves to a box. A world that cannot grow further than what it has already grown to.

If we want to grow, we need to face the terror of change. Face the chance that we may fail. Face the chance that we may embarrass ourselves. Face the chance, that we may never be “safe” again.

When we realize that it is ourselves, not our circumstances, holding us back, safety becomes the least safe thing we can so. The only risk becomes playing it safe.

Dr. D is suffering through the Snatches of 20.1! Who wants a re-do?!
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WOD

“Open 20.1”
10 Rounds:
8 Ground to Overhead (95/65)
10 Bar Facing Burpees

15 Minute Time Cap

-or-

“Point Break”
AMRAP 15:
5 Strict Pull-ups
10 Dumbbell Hang Clean and Jerks (50/35)
15 AbMat Sit-ups
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DAILY MINDSET

“You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.”

~Michael Jordan

There is an invisible, impenetrable ceiling over our heads. Our own expectations.

The level of effort we will put in today will be relative to what we believe we can accomplish. If we don’t believe we can lose the weight, we won’t put in the work to lose the weight. If we don’t believe we can get the job, we won’t put in the research and studying to get the job. We can’t summon the effort for something we don’t believe is possible.

It’s easy to start with the belief. Hard to maintain it in the darkest of times.n This is where most fall – we succumb to the missteps… and we change our expectations. We change our goals, to something more “attainable”. We settle.

That’s when we can remind ourselves that this quote came from a man who was cut from his High School basketball team. A man who had every reason to change his expectations. And that, would have ended it. Yet – we know the rest of story. What will be ours?

Liz has been crushing it since she started at CFD just a few months ago. Here she is using Open Gym to learn how to climb the Rope!
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Reminder: There will be Open Gym today from 8:00am to 10:00am. Come get your weekend WOD on!
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WOD

“Sweat Buckets”
For Time:
50-40-30-20-10: Calorie Row
10-20-30-40-50: Calorie Bike
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DAILY MINDSET

“You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut”

~Dr. Suess

This quote is worth reading twice.
We are creatures of habit. We enjoy our routines. From the morning rituals, to the way we warm up for a workout, to our regimented diets and food plans.

Although dialing in the routine is a great thing, it’s important that we remind ourselves to “keep our eyes open.” What Dr. Suess’s quote alludes to is an open mind. Even when we feel we’ve found exactly what works for us, we must resist the urge to close our eyes and ears to new ideas.

There is so much to learn, experience, and challenge ourselves with. That is, if we only keep our eyes open to do so.

Always a student.

Happy Birthday Heather!

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WOD

“Mind Control”
AMRAP 20:
7 Toes to Bar
7 Front Squats (135/95)
200 Meter Run
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DAILY MINDSET

“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish, and stupid.”

~Epictetus

If there’s one thing we can guarantee ourselves, it’s that we’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to fall flat on our face and embarrass ourselves. It’s just part of the way.

But if we promise ourselves one thing, everything changes. The promise to uphold the willingness to learn.

To take the failure from “this isn’t for me” and translate it into “I’m not good enough yet”. It’s never a challenge of if we can do it or not… but rather a challenge of how bad do we want it. How hard we’ll work for it. We can sit and wallow, or we can meet fire with fire. To pick up the pieces, binding and mending them together, to ultimately make them far stronger than before.

Happy Birthday Derek!

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IT’S OPEN FRIDAY!

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We are so excited that the CrossFit Games Open is finally here, again! We will be doing the Open WOD at the regular WOD times all day on Friday’s for the next 5 weeks. Click here to get registered ASAP. We can’t wait to see what all of you can do!
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OPEN WORKOUT 20.1

10 Rounds:
8 Ground to Overhead (95/65)
10 Bar Facing Burpees

Time Cap: 15 Minutes
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DAILY MINDSET

“Enthusiasm is common. But endurance, is rare.”

~Angela Duckworth

How often do we see a friend start a goal, only to fall off in a matter of weeks (maybe days)? Enthusiasm or motivation is quick to come by, but also quick to go.

Motivation and short term goals can’t change us. They can’t even move us. What does, are reasons. It’s not the goal of “losing 5 pounds” that drives her forward… it’s because she wants to set the example to her daughter that we’re not “genetically pre-determined” to be overweight, even if the entire family has always been.

Reasons are what wakes us up in the morning. Reasons are what drives us to go the extra mile. It’s where we draw our endurance from.

Goals and enthusiasm aren’t wrong to have, but they can’t be our backbone. Enthusiasm can be broken. Reasons on the other hand, are impenetrable.

Thomas is excited for tonights Open announcement, are you?!
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WOD

Option 1:
“Goat Day”
On the Minute x 20
Odd Minutes: Movement 1
Even Minutes: Movement 2

“Goat” is CrossFit slang for a movement that challenges us. Examples: Double-Unders, Pull-ups, Overhead Squats, Handstand Push-ups. These are the best days to turn perceived weaknesses into strengths. No better way to do that than today. We don’t improve our technique with a high heart rate – that’s what we refer to as “training”. Today is geared towards “practice,” dialing in our mechanics with a controlled heart rate. As an example, to improve the technique of double-unders, we want to practice at a low-intensity where we can really focus on the mechanics of the hands and the timing of the jump. When we couple “training” with “practice” throughout the week in the right doses, we set ourselves on the fast track to results. Choose two “Goats” to work on, and we’ll alternate between them on each minute. Choose an appropriate rep scheme for each movement that keeps things in the practice intensity range.

For the next five Thursdays during the Open, we will run these Goat Days. Since we do not know what movements will come out for Friday’s workout, this is an opportunity for athletes to choose what they would like to do as opposed to programming movements that may or may not show up tomorrow. Athletes have the option to stick with the same movements each week or switch things up. There are pros and cons to both. Sticking to the same movements and creating a “mini progression” can be very helpful. If the movement athletes are working on come up in the Open, they may want to switch to something that hasn’t come up yet to get prepared for that. No right or wrong answer here.

Option 2:
OPEN GYM
Make up a WOD that you missed, or a WOD that you have really been wanting to try, work on skills, etc!

*You must still come to one of the regularly scheduled WOD times.
__

DAILY MINDSET

“I attribute my success to this – I never gave, or took, any excuse.”

~Florence Nightingale

Jocko Willink, a well-known former Navy SEAL, speaks to what is known as “Extreme Ownership”. Precisely as the words imply, it’s the action of turning inward at every obstacle.

The terrifying thing about excuses, is that it blinds us to our next move. If we excuse, or justify, we at a subconscious level tell ourselves that this is “out of my control”. That this was a fluke, or a chance event, and there’s nothing I could do differently next time. We can see the danger in that.

On the flip side, “Extreme Ownership” is not about beating ourselves up or for throwing pity parties. It’s purely, so we can train ourselves to open our vision on where to go next. To see the gain. If we don’t allow ourselves to make excuses, we ask the question – “What can I do differently next time?”

Excuses are contagious. As we feel the temptation come today, pause in the moment. Is there anything I could do differently next time?

Becky is getting in touch with her inner fitness model as her hair blows in the wind during her bike ride!
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WOD

“WOW Air”
3 Rounds:
50 Air Squats
400 Meter Run
30/24 Calorie Row
200 Meter Wreck Bag Run (50/35)
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DAILY MINDSET

“We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don’t know.”

~W. H. Auden

Dan and MK are leading the 6am through their Burpee Box Jump Overs!
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WOD

Strength:
Deadlift
Build to a Heay Set of 5

Conditioning:
“Detention”
AMRAP 12:
6 Strict Handstand Push-ups
9 Deadlifts (225/155)
30 Double Unders
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DAILY MINDSET

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance. It is the illusion of knowledge.”

~Steven Hawking

One of the largest dangers in life is a closed mind. The scariest part: we often don’t even realize it’s even happening. It’s never done on purpose.

It’s how our mind operates by default. When we believe we have the answer, we stop looking for the solution. We not only stop seeking it out, but we no longer sensitive to the thought of another option. We can effectively blind ourselves.

Purely acknowledging that human condition can be all that we need. It’s the consistent reminder to always remain a student, most especially, when we are convinced we have things figured out.

As Socrates said, “All I know, is that I know nothing.”
Grateful for what we have learned, yet eager to climb higher.