shoes. get them.

Watching people do the olympic lifts in running shoes, sandals, high heels, whatever you people are wearing these days hurts my soul. This is like watching soccer players run into a game in their tennis shoes. Or tennis players running onto the court in soccer shoes. Or runners going for a run in olympic lifting shoes! Hopefully you get the point. The shoes exist for a reason. They work. I have heard the argument, "I'm not good enough at the lifts to justify buying the shoes!" Well guess what, you will never be great at the lifts WITHOUT the shoes. You might have the technique down, sure, but you are limiting your abilities and even flirting with injury. Doing a clean in running shoes is like standing on a pillow and being asked to clean.

What's that? You don't want to listen to me? Well then, take it away, VS athletics narrator guy:



One thing the video doesn't mention is the raised heel. The heel height varies a little in certain shoes, but the purpose of the heel is to make the bottom position of an olympic-style squat (upright torso, think receiving position of clean/snatch) easier to obtain. The raised heel lessens the need for ankle mobility to comfortably get in that position. It is absolutely possible to achieve good bottom positioning without a raised heel, but it's certainly easier with it. Why not take that advantage?

These are helpful not just for our heavy lifting, but also for any metcon where there is lifting and no running or box jumps. This is quite a few, actually.

You can't buy these shoes at Wal-Mart or Sports Authority, however. Unless you have a kickass gym supplier in the area, you are more than likely forced to order them online. Don't worry, here are a few of the places that sell the shoes:

http://vsathletics.com/

http://www.againfaster.com/weightlifting-shoes/

http://www.dynamic-eleiko.com/products/shoesFR.html (Adidas, and my personal preference)

http://www.ristosports.com/ (handmade and customizable)

http://www.roguefitness.com/store/weightlifting_shoes.php (Keith has some of these if you want to check them out)

http://www.muscledriverusa.com/wesh.html

If you can't find a shoe after all those links, you're hopeless. There are subtle differences between the different shoe brands (sizing, heel, firmness of sole), so if you have a specific question, I might be able to answer it, but probably not. I'm helpful like that.

UPDATE: Ryan asked a good question in the comments, here is my reponse:

Good question, Ryan. I wouldn't recommend maxing your back squat in them or even doing any of the strength work in them, but there are definitely shoes that are "better" for cf. The common themes are mostly minimalist shoes, low profile, not much cushioning, light weight, flat soles. Here are a few options:

Chuck's are the default and work great: http://www.converse.com/#/products/collections/specialcollection7 (the only reason I don't wear these is because my feet are entirely too wide for them)

http://store.dcshoes.com/home/index.jsp (Skate shoes work well because of the flat sole and they are designed to help you "feel" the ground)

http://www.terraplana.com/evo-p-1263.html?colour=76 (these are on the extreme end. a lot like "five fingers, but without the ninja turtle toes)

http://inov-8.com/Products-Detail.asp?PG=PG1&L=27&P=5050973060

http://inov-8.com/Products-Detail.asp?PG=PG1&P=5050973021&L=27 (my current choice)

http://inov-8.com/Products-Detail.asp?PG=PG1&P=5050973023&L=27

http://www.adidas.com/campaigns/performance/ru_ss10/content/products.aspx#grid (I have used Adizero's quite a bit and love them)

holy crap

Well, not every post needs to be entirely about training...right? And since I'm a dork, I thought this video was pretty stellar:



I can remember making Rube Goldberg machines in middle school for science competitions...ours were, uh, simple.

And what off-topic post would be complete without some animals?

Animals catching treats in slow motion.

Keep the music nominations coming!

training music

The music being played in the box is a constant topic of discussion, catalyst for fights, and source of amusement when MJ comes on and Chauncey flips his lid. I have heard just about every damn thing possible at the gym. I have heard more Black Eyed Peas than I would care to admit, but I've also heard some funky circus music, country, metal, rock, reggae, hip hop, whatever Barry Manilow is (adult contemporary?), and everything in between. I think there are as many opinions about "good" training music as there are genres of music. I am going to present you suckas with what kind of music I like, and why. Buckle in and and get ready to disagree.

(actual picture of Chauncey the last time The Jackson 5's "ABC" came on)

Training music is not as simple as "blast AC/DC bitches!"...at least for me. I want different things playing when I'm lifting heavy than I do when I'm fumbling through a metcon. I like certain songs when I'm warming up, when I'm cooling down, whatever. I'm weird. At the same time, I should note I rarely hear the music during an actual workout. Once the clock starts or the lift begins, anything in the world could be playing and I wouldn't care. I just prefer the music to get me in a proper state of mind. Sometimes it does help bail me out of a meltdown, but I try to avoid those times.

First, for metcons, I like relatively calm music. WHAT?! Heresy!! As much as I like Disturbed, it makes me feel like crashing through walls and punching children. If I am going to have a good metcon, I am already pumped up and ready to go, so I want music that will help calm me down if I start to freak out because I can't breath and there's a hundred pounds crashing on me. Sometimes I like Rage Against the Machine or something to get me ready for a metcon, but usually that means I don't want to do the metcon in the first place, so that's a whole other problem. My current favorite metcon song is kind of embarrassing. It came on Pandora one day during one of my metcons and I totally dug it. Later I found out it was by Limp Bizkit. Sigh.... anyway, here is that song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEGI9NbH-mk . Don't ask me to explain it, it just works for me. I don't even listen to the lyrics. Here is another favorite metcon song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS4OAK-v6Zg . I'm less embarrassed about that song, but most people wouldn't dig it for Fran.

For heavy lifting, I like things like U2's "Numb" . For some reason I also like STP's "Loungfly". Why? It played one time when I PR'd my snatch, so now I like it. I think Reggae is legit lifting music too. If you disagree, you're wrong. A decent amount of good hip-hop belongs in there too.

As you can tell, I like pretty random music for training. I want anyone and everyone to post some favorite songs in the comments and I'll start collecting them onto a playlist that we can have at the gym. I doubt everyone will like every song, but I also doubt that I care. Nominate songs and we'll play them! Probably.

sharks and quads

I have a couple posts in the works, but in the meantime I'm going to leave you with two things: 1) A killer stretch for your quads/hip flexors and 2) A killer animal video.

Read, perform, reap the benefits:
http://sanfranciscocrossfit.blogspot.com/2008/12/doode-wheres-my-quads.html

And,

drink that water

A little over a week ago there was a link to a video on the main site about hydration. It was eye opening:

Hydration for quicktime

Hydration for lesser media players

I seriously doubt any of you are drinking as much water as your body wants. Start doing so. Side benefit: you'll have to go to the bathroom often enough that you will always have an "out" in any situation. Example: "I think I love you...!" "Ohhhh....I...um...drank 77 oz. today, I HAVE to run to the bathroom..." Or something like that.

I recommend the always classy gallon jug filled with water. Drink the whole thing throughout the day and you're more than likely good. What's that? Too lowbrow? Too slow?

(can also be used to get in your 100 oz. of...liquid)

Have any of the bodyweight challenge participants been practicing their movements? Anybody try out the programs?

names and some "get-some challenge" ideas

All right suckers. A blog post. Hooray for us. First things first, we have some class names! The winners are:

6am is now "Bitch Slapped Before Breakfast". BSBB was dominant in the polls and you can thank Bruce for the solid name suggestion.

6pm is now "Six Shooters". I'm not exactly sure what that means or implies, but it squeaked out a win so we'll take it!

Maybe we'll make some shirts...and then wear them and bully the other classes. I think that sounds like the appropriate thing to do. Not unlike a gang. What of it, 5:30pm?! Punks.

I have had a couple requests about strategies for the bodyweight challenge. What follows is my blanket answer. If you need any further help or are completely confused, let me know.

Way(s) to get better at bodyweight movements:

practice. A LOT. You are trying to get better at moving your body through space and the best way to get better at that is moving your body through space. Fortunately your body goes with you everywhere (I hope) so there is no excuse for not finding time to practice these movements. You can practice at work, at home, at the grocery store, in a house, with a mouse, whilst eating a grouse. Proper use of "whilst"? Probably not.

I would recommend doing all different versions of the movements. Jumping pullups, pullups, band pullups, negatives (lowering from above the bar), pushups, knee pushups, negatives, planks (holding top pushup position for time), squats, jumping squats, lunges, etc.

I went out and scoured the internets for a few ideas on how exactly to practice these movements. I have personally used some of these, they work.

Pavel's Ladder : this is legit. I've used it. It works.

NASA program (no, I don't think it's THAT NASA): it's in comment #7 in this thread. Read, follow, succeed.

One Hundred Pushups: can't really vouch for this one, but people seem to dig it.

Any one of these will work. The biggest thing to remember when working on movements like this is CONSISTENCY. This is the case with all training, but it really is true. If you do one of these programs for two days and give up I assure you it won't work. You'll lose to Betty and I'll cry. Even if you don't follow one of these programs, consistent practice is the key. Be relentless about it. Make these movements your bitches. Put them under your heel and grind them into the ground.

If you are learning the kip, the same applies. Practice before and after class. Ask questions. Look dumb on the bar, don't be afraid. Watch other people do them, watch videos, be persistent.

Also, when practicing your situps, be sure you know where your cats are:



crafty bastards...

let the naming begin

I gathered all of the nominations I could find and put them together in the polls at the top of the blog. Clearly the 6PMers were a little more inspired to name their class. I imagine it has something to do with the 6AMers not giving a shit what I call them at 6AM in the morning. If any of your 6AMers come up with a nomination you want to add, throw it in the comments and I'll put it in the poll.

ANYONE can vote for these. I don't care if you're Tyler (who?) or a Nigerian prince who stumbled upon this blog ready to ask for some money...VOTE! You can vote for more than one choice if you wish. Your future is in your hands. I think I'll let South Park and Diddy (or Puff Daddy, or Sean Combs...) take this one:





On an unrelated note, everyone did a fantastic job with the double metcon today! There were some killer performances in both classes. The two workouts tend to expose different weaknesses in CrossFitters. Have a hard time with the heavy weight in "Grace" but crushed the 2nd metcon? Or kill "Grace" but have a hard time with those gymnastic movements? Or maybe you killed both. Or maybe you got rocked by both. Use them to determine which thing you want to focus on. For the ladies in the bodyweight challenge, I will give you a suggestion...focus on the gymnastic movements. Before and after class, at home, in your sleep, whenever you can, practice! I'll talk more about this in the future.

If you're feeling fired up and angry about the "Vote or Die" campaign, here is arguably the cutest puppy ever:



If you're not smiling right now, call your emergency contact. You're dead.