The Games: how it all started, and how far it has come! This weekend, the NorCal Regionals will be held in our own backyard at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. For the athletes competing, it is the last step towards a coveted spot at the Home Depot Center this July. For all CrossFitters in the area, it is a weekend of fun and inspiration that will not disappoint.
Heat times, venue information, and updates throughout the weekend can be accessed HERE


Get your training in first thing on Friday morning. Saturday classes will be cancelled - come out to watch the NorCal athletes!
Friday 5/18 @ Paradigm:
-3 rep max DL
-Tabata "Hard Core": dead bug, V-ups, hollow body hold

-courtesy of CFHQ

Checkout the preview of what is in store for you tonight @ Paradigm!

"Great people are those who can make others feel that they too, can become great".
-Mark Twain

WOD: partner version of Regionals WOD #4 - 1 mover @ a time, share reps as needed:
50 Back Squat (135/95)
40 pull-ups
30 S2OH
50 Front Squat (85/65)
40 pull-ups
30 S2OH
50 OHS (65/45)
40 pull-ups
30 S2OH

OLY class: Taking our cleans to the next level! muscle, power, full, and hang, with progression drills

Ya...regarding other fitness programs, we aren't biased at all...

For those of us that CrossFit, we know oh too well how intense it can be! The longer we train, the more we learn how crucial solid recovery is. If you neglect recovery, you will delay progress! You can train multiple days in a row if your programming is appropriate and if you take care of yourself between training sessions, but after a week like many of us at Paradigm just had, a day off can be a good idea too! Recovery doesn't have to mean an entire weekend spent on the couch drinking margaritas...eat well, sleep more, go on a walk or hike, ice problem areas and get on the foam roll. Here's a few reasons why you might want to rest up for the awesome week ahead:

1. Ropes are finally here and WILL be climbed this week! (I anticipate some "1st rope climbs" sprinkled on the PR board!!)

2. We are gonna tackle some of the very workouts that the athletes worldwide are currently crushing in Regionals.

3. The sun's gonna be shining all week!! ....which generally gets your Paradigm coaches a little more fired up than usual and results in programming that fringes on insanity.

Monday 5/7 @ Paradigm:

Skill: "S2OH" (aka shoulders to overhead)
WOD #1: 30 S2OH for time (135/95)
WOD #2: every other minute for 20 min...
-sprint length and back
-20 DUs
-5 Pushups

-courtesy of HQ

An Olympic sprinter knows exactly what their event calls for. Their distance is set in stone and they can train very specifically for that race. An ice skater practices his routine over and over until it is perfected backwards and forwards, knowing where they will be on the ice each second of their performance. Part of the intrinsic thrill of CrossFit is that every day is different and unique. Just when you thought you mastered the foundational movements, something new pops up that you have to learn. In competition, there could be a skill that you have never seen or attempted before, and you can only hope that your training was broad enough to give you the tools needed to tackle your new task...sort of like life. It's one thing to study for a test when you know the material that will be examined. It's a whole different game when you must be prepared for anything that may be thrown at you. But how boring would life be if we knew exactly what was going to happen every year, each month, every day? The mystery is what makes it exciting.

Routine is the enemy when it comes to training. Not only is it monotonous, but your regimen will only prepare you for....that regimen. If you want to be a hamster on a wheel, go chain yourself to an elliptical machine. When it comes to real life challenges, expect the unexpected. Develop yourself by learning new skills. Forge new paths. We don't know what the future will bring, what sport or activity we might decide to try, what physical limitations we may deal with someday, what trials we will be presented with; by facing and overcoming the unique challenges that each WOD and training day presents us with, we build the strength to climb higher and the confidence that we can and will crush the real test - the unknown.

Wednesday @ Paradigm:
-5 rep Back Squat
-"Death by Pullup": min 1, 1 pull-up. min 2, 2 pull-ups...etc
-100 V-ups for time!

OLY Class 630pm:
Skill: Snatch Deadlift
Strength: Hang Snatch 4x8
WOD: "Bear Complex" 7 rounds

-Shelby Walkinshaw, Wyoming

"There is no such thing as "firming and toning". There is only stronger and weaker". -Mark Rippetoe

Guys, as a rule, warm up fairly easily to any program which ensures they get stronger. For the first time in our culture, we are seeing a trend towards women wanting to be "strong" instead of "skinny" - and thank goodness! As Mark Rippetoe says (his quotes are hilarious by the way if you have never checked the guy out), "Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general". Strong doesn't mean bulky; Strong means more capable. And not just more capable in the gym! As our strength improves, we will be better at surfing, rock-climbing, walking up the stairs, snatching, playing soccer, getting up and down from the ground to play with our kids...oh ya and we will look sexier in our jeans too.

When we train for aesthetics, improved performance may (but usually doesn't...) accompany it. When we train for performance, improved aesthetics will most definitely follow. Those aesthetic results will vary, since we all have various genetics. Everyone has unique "stubborn" areas where they tend to store fat in more readily. Likewise, they see definition in different areas first. Some people get shredded in their arms before seeing any change to their mid section. Others will have a 6-pack popping out before seeing anything happen to their biceps. No room for "spot training" in CrossFit! It's a short-sighted road to travel down and will only result in one thing: hypertrophy of certain muscles. If your goal is simply bigger biceps, then bicep-curl away. But all those curls won't guarantee a better clean, jerk, or snatch. They won't guarantee that you are better functionally at any activities (apart from bicep curls of course), they won't do anything for your cholesterol and triglycerides, and to top it all off, they are pretty boring and rather narcissistic. And if fat reduction is what you are after, spot training is definitely not your friend - and any program or miracle exercise that promises it, should be dismissed. A billion squats will most definitely NOT get you a smaller booty. In fact, if the only change you made was squatting more, it would most likely make it bigger! It's not that squatting is overrated or that our biceps aren't important...but the picture is bigger than that. Don't get so caught up with the micro that you lose sight of the real goal: becoming fitter.

Our bodies are unique. Just like we weren't granted control over our height or eye color, we can't choose where we will or will not see definition. If you get stronger and fitter, your body WILL change. You will lose body fat when you improve your nutrition. You will build muscles as a result of weight lifting. Measure your performance by tracking your WOD's, weights used, goals achieved. Focus on developing all of the physical skills, not just one or two of them: strength, agility, coordination, balance.....they are all necessary. If weight loss is your goal, it's ok to chart your circumference measurements and check the scale. Just keep it in the proper perspective. Spend more energy trying to improve your mile and "Fran" time, and less spent thinking about the way your triceps look. And for the record, fitness models usually look the way they do on stage for a week tops. Focusing on performance will keep you motivated and engaged for the next 50 years.

Split Jerk: Skill work and 1RM
WOD: for time,
50 DUs, 25 Burpee Box Jumps
50 DUs, 20 Burpee Box Jumps
....continue sequence to 5 Burpee Box Jumps