Weakness's and how to attack them

START Here first::: are you Donny Shankle, No.. Keep Reading. If you are, then, You sir Are Awesome.

Here we are once again , Coffee slowly dripping into our systems, recovering from the WOD or preparing for one. Contemplating that missed Lift, or that Technical skill that taunts you like a schoolyard bully. You cringe in fear, cross your fingers, say a prayer and hope it doesn't come up. I mean, who needs to do Hand stand pushups or muscle ups any way, really. So you go to your box and BAM, there it is on the whiteboard, your nemesis, your arch enemy, glaring at you, in dry erase marker big bold letters, and all you can read is, "I suck at this movement". So what do you do, what do you do.???

First off spongebob dont let the anxiety and fear take over. Were going to get through this. Now its time for a plan

Step1: Pick ONE thing, yep you heard me correctly, pick ONE thing. Too many people get caught up in trying to improve like 5 things all at once, this doesn't work in life, and it wont work in crossfit. So choose one skill, lift, technique, something you suck at, write it down, because its going to be your friend for the next 3 months.
Step 2: ASK for help. Yep, suck it up girlfriend, you need advice. So find a trainer, find a coach, find an old wizened wizard skilled in the art of Ninjitsu. You get the idea. A coach, or trainer, or BFF can help you break down the movement, and give you advice to help improve your form, and go over assistive exercises to help you conquer this sucka.
Step3: Practice . I like to throw it into my warmup if possible. For example. Last year I sucked at Double Unders, It was pathetic. So I put them into my warmup before a wod, 4 rounds of 10 Du's, 5 pushups, 10 squats, 10 situps. Keeping the rep scheme simple helped me to work on technique and speed, and I was practicing them alot because they were a warmup. Slowly I got good at them and now I do not fear them.
Step 4: Assistive exercises. Whatever your weakness is, there are exercises, or lifts, or techniques, called assistive exercises, these will help you build the necessary strength and technique to perform the movement correctly and efficiently.

STEP5: GO SLOW, that right slow yourself down a bit, or else Chuck Norris here will find you and YOU DONT WANT that. Srsly, its going to be a slow process so take your time, no one should expect to be stringing 30 muscle ups together after 2 short weeks. So don't get frustrated if it seems like its taking forever. Just Chill K

So to Sum it up
Identify---Seek Help---Make a Plan---Practice---Be Patient

BEAST MODE..Out....

Paleo Slackers, easy recipe's

Paleo Slackers.. Easy Steak Lunch Wraps

Difficulty rating 2-- Meaning, if you have difficulty pouring milk on cereal, do not attempt.
tastiness rating- 8.5.. I would give it a ten but I didn't use bacon.
Time- 5-10 minutes.. Depending on how fancy you wanna get.

Ok this is a Quick and easy paleo snack, you can use it for lunch, dinner or whenever. I'm not going to over complicate this recipe, or yell at you like Gordon Ramsey, in fact its pretty damm hard to screw it up. so hang in there we will get through this.

Ingredients Needed:
1 tsp olive oil- optional
Lemon juice and Lime Juice
salt and pepper. I prefer sea salt, cause it tastes good .
Romaine Lettuce
Sandwich steak, thinly sliced, or shaved steak. I prefer shaved steak as it rolls up easier.
Veggies of Choice. I used a red pepper, and a carrot

1. In pan put olive oil, lemon juice, and lime juice, and sea salt, and pepper. Turn heat to like 6 or 7. Put in as much lemon and lime as you want, I like mine zesty so I put allot
2. Once Everything heats up, add in your steak and let cook while we prepare the rest
3. Arrange Romaine on the Plate as follows

      4. Reminder: Check the meat so it doesn't burn, flip it ..do it, flip it now.. Ok, Good, move on.
      5. Cut whatever veggie you are going to use as filler. I sliced red peppers real thin, and used a carrot    peeler to obtain some carrot slices. Because I'm  like a veggie cuttin Ninja. see pic below..

       6. Arrange the veggies toward the top for rolling purposes, it'll make sense in a bit... Oh shit.. check yo steak...
      7. Your steak should be close now, you want it sort of well done, but not dry as a bone.If its too goopy it'll get messy, unless you like that, then have at it.

     8. Ok now time to arrange the steak on the Romaine, place near top again. See the pic.. look at it.. do it ...now..

   9.Roll them baby's up, start from the top and roll em down. Make sure you really crack the spine of the romaine as you roll em, it helps them to stay rolled. You can use a toothpick to hold em together if you want, just don't forget its their while you eat it, cause that's just plain funny
  10. Take a step back, Give yourself a high five, and a fist bump, and prepare for a taste journey, cause you my friend are awesome. Enjoy this with some hot sauce, or a paleo friendly condiment of your choice. Look at that I told you this stuff was easy.

The Angry Globo-Gym-Crossfitter, Ep 1. The Hammer Curl Guy

Dear Hammer Curl Guy

Dear MR Hammer Curl.

I realize that getting " Swole " is your number one priority, but could I request just a few things each morning.

1-Please pick up your dammmm weights. Its hard enough to carve out space to practice double unders or god Forbid and actual Barbell movement that's functional, while trying not to trip over your weights and EZ Curl bar. I realize its important for you to stake your claim to 3 or 4 different Bicep curling stations so that you can start your Bicep-athon, but a little consideration would be appreciated.

2- Dear God stop making that face and that noise. I realize you have probably watched Pumping Iron 37 times and believe that you may actually have arms one day like Arnold, but i swear if you make that, (I just crapped my pants face, and scream like your giving birth), while throwing up a 45 lb dumbbell one more time.. "Ohh shit I may just loose it "

3- If I see you put your back into one more hammer curl, thrusting like its a 1970's disco, I may just have to slap you. If your going to do the movement for the love of God use proper form. I know, I know, Arnold used to use a bit of sway, But the Dude was Curling like 150 with each hand, he is allowed to, I mean he is the Terminator for Gods Sake.


Let me just make this clear, I am not some overzealous crossfitter, who thinks that everyone who doesn't crossfit is lame and beneath me. I just happen to believe that Functional, Body weight movements, Barbell Movements , and a shit ton of squatting will make you a fitter, stronger and generally more useful human.. " Ohh shit i do sound like a zealot ". I mean cmon, Ive been known to do a few reverse curls behind closed doors when noone is watching. Heck Ill even admit that Ive seen pumping iron enough times to make me question my Manliness. Its just that I care for you Hammer Curl Guy. I want you to be the best, strongest, and fittest hammer Curl guy you can be. Were still cool, just thought Id let you know how I feel.

Fist Bump.

Beast mode Out

Next Weeks Episode: Treadmill Lady

CANT "PR" Every Time

If their is one simple thing to get in your head when starting, or continuing any type of strength program its this.
" You cant PR every-time."
Now don't get me wrong I fall prey to this quite often, getting discouraged when I miss a dead-lift that's well below my PR. Or when I miss a clean that I made a week prior.
What happened?
What went wrong?
I trained properly. I ate my vitamins just like the Hulkster told me to, I used the hook grip, etc etc etc.
The answer is simple
Shit Happens.
Some days are better than others and the lifting God smiles upon you, you throw the weights up, lift the middle finger to gravity and sound a barbaric yawlp as you crush the weights. You strut around like a peacock, or do your victory dance, however you celebrate its a glorious occasion.
Then a week later you cant even pull a limp noodle off the floor.
I'm not going to discuss, over-training, or technique or setup in this post that's for another day. This day is about the mental hurdle.
SUCK IT UP SALLY, everyday isn't going to be unicorns and rainbows. Some days you lift big, some days you cant, just keep plugging away and get it through your thick skull, that as long as your pullin the iron off the ground, or attempting it anyway, its a great day. Mentally I know its frustrating but use it to fuel your desire for another day, and DO NOT sit there and analyze every square inch of the lift, because chances are your setup was fine, your technique was fine, IT JUST WASN'T your day, and that's OK, remember its called training and missed lifts and attempts are part of training, save the mental anguish for when your Competing in the Crossfit open, or when your BFF dumps you, or when you drop your plate of bacon on the floor, shit happens deal with it.
Shrug it off, laugh it off, and keep pullin.
I welcome your comments.
BEAST MODE OUT.

FUN

DO SOMETHING FUN

Conan didn't just lift heavy things Over and over and Over and Metcon every day. No he went out and tried new things mixed it up, fought some giant snakes and stuff , so you should too.

Ok seriously though. Mix up your training, throw in some weird stuff, movements from other sports, strongman, gymnastics, soccer, football. you get the idea. Training should be fun, you should look forward to it and count down the hours in between you sessions. I think a vital key is mixing it up and having fun.
Recently a buddy of mine and I  decided to just mix it up so we created a WOD using my car, and a 90 pound vest and a parking lot.
It was push my car 100yds, then run 200 yds w the 90 lb vest, then push the car 100 yds again and then run 200 yds with the vest yet again, do this for a total of three rounds. And you know what, It was FUN, fun as heck, in fact it was awesome. It was something fresh something new, and it broke up the normalcy of our routine forced us to think outside teh box a little and just unwind.
So I encourage you to be like CONAN go be a badass and have some fun. Create some clever and exciting workouts that push you mentally and physically. And leave me a post so I know what you created , always looking for ideas..
Peace out my Friends...
Now go do Awesome....

ASSISTIVE EXERCISES

Part 1. Techniques For Improving the Pullup

That's right, I threw in a picture of Chuck Norris in a sweet jacket just because.. What you gonna do about it.. NOTHIN..................

What is an assistive exercise?:
An assistive exercise helps you to develop the musculature, and technique, required to perform a certain movement or movements.
What are they?:
They are movements focuses on specific muscle groups, or movements that help you either learn or improve upon a lift or crossfit movement.
How often should I do them?:
It will vary depending on the movement or lift but a good habit is to try these 2-3 times a week at the end of your normal WOD or on your rest day as they dont usually wear you out like a normal WOD, but again it really depends on what you are doing.


PART 1- Assistive Exercises for Strengthening the Pullup or Improving the Kipping Pullup

If you do crossfit for any amount of time you will come to quickly learn that the pullup is not only an integral part of crossfit, but its an extremely important movement for building strength, especially in your back and shoulders. Now the exercises Im going to go over will help you to build necessary strength in your shoulders and lats to aid in the pullup, they will also help you to develop kipping form which is crucial to performing well in a Crossfit WOD.


Exercise1: Hanging LAT Pulls. This will help build the necessary musculature to perform a pullup. Perform this exercise by hanging in a pullup position, start with no weights, and simply pull your body up a couple inches, : NOTE: your not doing a deadhang pullup::::::::::::: you should feel your LATS contract hold for a second then release. Do 5 , then start adding weight. I like to hold a Dumbell between my feet. Perform 5 more reps and keep increasing the weight until you can no longer do 5 reps. A good rep scheme is 5 set sof 5

Exercise 2.MORE DIFFICULT ( Hand releases). :: NOTE::: this requires some introduction to the Kipping Pullup swing, if you do not know what this is please watch the attached video for a demonstration,::: In this exercise you will start the kipping swing then simply let the momentum carry your hands off the bar, this help you to get used to the PULL portion and the SWING portion of the kipping pullup. 5 sets of 5 again. You will have to pull slightly at the top to release your hands but you should let the momentum of the swing really drive the hands up, NOTE this will be on the BACK portion of the swing.

Exercise 3. GRIP strength. If you cant hold the bar you wont be able to do pullups well.                         Standing Dumbell- Hold. Nice and simple. Grab a dumbell in each hand and hold on as long as you can. Increase the wight if you can hold it for more than 2 minutes. This will strengthen the forearms and you grip so that youl be able to grasp the bar and not fatigue as quickly.

Try these out let me know if you have any questions. Also Im always open to new training ideas if you have some exercises that you like let me know. Peace out.. Go do something Awesome today

Pullup Tutorial


http://journal.crossfit.com/2011/02/tuckerkip1.tpl

HTFU

Harden The F$%K Up


We have all heard the saying " what doesn't kill us makes you stronger" we all nod our heads and say yeah that makes sense. But . How many of us seem to forget that during our WODS, when your lungs are burning and your muscles are tired and the thought of another rep seems insane.

Wellllll, I have a mantra that Ive been using ever since I head my friend Pete M utter it. HTFU, Harden the F*&k up.

Thats right No BS no excuses, One more rep will NOT kill you, you've already done 5 so another 5 is not going to be any easier. NO you will not pass out or die, it just feels like it. KEEP moving, cause guess what. There will come a time when you don't have the option to quit, when you cant stop and take 5 and catch your breath, you may have to keep going and going.
So HTFU. Try it and let me know how it works