BARRIER HOP BURPEES

Posted by Tommy Mo On August - 15 - 2009

We love olympic lifting. We love developing our strength. We also love those opportunities to showcase our conditioning during randomly programmed METCON's. Running, Pull-ups, Squats, Double Unders and yes, even Burpees. But not just your normal regular "run-of-the-mill" burpees, we're talking "Barrier Hop Burpees" which include parallets. Why be predicatable anyway? It's boring. It's uneventful. It's so un-gang-like. After 6 minutes of high-intensity barrier hop burpees, we all caught our breath and took a moment for a post-METCON pose. It's a box norm for us. Get used to it.

The Gang

BEAST STRENGTH!

Posted by Tommy Mo On August - 19 - 2009

To be clear: There is nothing like loading up the bar with a shit-ton of weight and then lifting it off the ground all the way over your head. N-O-T-H-I-N-G! It's a rush. It takes hard work. It takes concentration. It takes well executed technique. Most of all, it takes HEART. Every day we get up before most of the free-world for the opportunity to develop our technique and strength. We coach one another. We grunt. We leave sweat puddles behind. But most of all, we work our asses off to set new PR's. To call us strong is a borderline insult. We prefer you call us all Beasts. Why? Because we deserve it!

Beast-Like Strength

SUPER DAVE = SUPER BUTTERFLY

Posted by Tommy Mo On August - 19 - 2009

Sometimes "pretty technique" is both more efficient and fun to watch. Notice I said sometimes and not all of the times. Olympic lifting is kinda pretty. Kettle Bell swings are not pretty. Now, Butterfly Pull-ups? Yeah, those are pretty. Come on now, how can you not agree? When executed properly they are both pretty and extremely efficient. Like anything else, all it takes is some good 'ol fashioned ball-busting practice. Execute these well and you're assured of a faster "Fran" time. But, don't get me started on that evil bitch. For now, we'll relish on the beauty of the Butterfly.

Butterfly Pull-ups

LOYAL FRIEND: "SWEAT ANGEL"

Posted by Tommy Mo On August - 22 - 2009

Isn't it nice to always have an "angel on your shoulder?" Let's be serious here for a moment. To feel as if you have an angel watching over you is a good thing. It's healthy. It's a positive sense of security. It's spiritual. It's inspiring. Sound familiar? It's another way the gang defines CrossFit. No wonder why we all openly welcome our Sweat Angel to the box every day. She's a positive byproduct of who we are, what we love, and how hard we work. Go ahead, give her a hug. It's okay. If you're lucky, she might even hug you back.....after you call "TIME!" of course.

Sweat Angel

PALEO GREATNESS!

Posted by Tommy Mo On August - 19 - 2009

Grains? You're outta here. Sugar? Sugar feeds cancer! Dairy? Don't even get us started, 86 that garbage too. Meat? Yum! Nothing less than one pound please. Eggs? Oh yeah! Whip me up a dozen will ya? Avocado? Oils? Bacon? Nuts? Seeds? Yes! Yes! YES! Hell YES! Keep it coming! Anything that falls into the paleo diet, we'll eat it up and by the truck load. Anything from the FDA derived recommended daily allowances food pyramid that falls outside of being "paleo approved" and we'll run that same truck right over it. Now pardon all of us while we knaw on the bone. Someone's gotta support the cavemen. It can't be just GEICO. That's just not patriotic.

Paleo Greatness

COMPETITION. RESULTS. RESPECT.

Posted by Tommy Mo On August - 23 - 2009

Know what one of the of the most admired fixtures in our box is? No, it's not the bumpers. Certainly not the rowers. Dare we say it's not even the beloved pull-up bar. It's the whiteboard. Without question, it is the most coveted fixture in our box. We grimace in front of it. We smile in front of it. We sweat, scream and shout in front of it. We even celebrate in front of it. But all of us gang members respect the hell out of it. It is loved. It is feared. It draws all sorts of sound and facial reactions. But, at the end of every WOD, be it great, good, or bad results, we give it the love and respect it deserves and we write on it.

Paleo Greatness

ol' Lady Fury!

Posted by The Graveyard Gang On 9:13 PM

Life moves pretty fast and furious sometimes. No, I take that back. It moves fast and furious all of the time. There's times when any one of us are smack dab in the middle of one of life's experiences and we'll think to ourselves "This has just flown by! Where did the time go?" For example, take a moment or twelve and think back to your absolute best vacation. Where did you go? Some place tropical? Some place entertaining? Some place sporty? Maybe you were parasailing with family or racing down the slopes with friends. Or, maybe you were off draining your bank account in Orlando spending time with that special mouse and fighting off your child's every request to own every little nugget of Disney paraphernalia. Can you picture it? Now, let me ask you this: "Did time stand still? Or did time move so fast that most of the memories are just one big blur?"

Thought so.

That said, the "speed (and fury) of life" can often be compared to some of CrossFit's WOD's. More specifically, some of CrossFit's original "Nasty Lady" WOD's. Arguably, I can't think of a single lady WOD that isn't fast and furious:

  1. "Jackie?" - Most Certainly.
  2. "Diane?" - Ditto that.
  3. "Fran?" - Seriously now?!
  4. "Grace?" - You betcha!

But how about our ol' lady that has one of the softest names yet - besides that evil bitch "Fran" - is one of the meanest of them all? That's right, I'm talking about our ol' lady "Helen." Oh yeah, aside from being fast and furious, she's just flat out relentless. Just when you think you'd can cozy up along her side, wrap your arm around her and whisper that sweet little nothing of "I own you right now" she turns and fires that look of Medusa and laughs that laugh. Yes, THAT LAUGH! The laugh heard for miles and the one that would kill a friggin' horse! Be careful what you say to sweet ol' "Helen" because she's very temperamental.

To my point, the GYG was greeted with Push Presses for strength work and was also paid a visit from the old bag herself that fine morning. We walked in, studied the prestigious whiteboard and all joking stopped:

Push Press
5, 5, 5

"Helen"
- 400M Run
- 21 Kettlebell Swings (24kg/16Kg)
- 12 Pull-ups

(3 rounds for time)

* Choose your vehicle: run 400M or row 500M

What's that? We can run or row? Seriously? That's pretty cool. And, it took all of us about .032 seconds to decide that we were going to run. Well, nearly all of us; Phil, our newest GYG member elected to row as he is very new to CrossFit. We all agreed it was the right decision. But all of us CFF "lifers" looked the ol' bag in the eye and confidently said "We're running ya baby!" As if.

"Dude! I am so gonna' smoke the gym's 'Helen' record today. Your record is going down!.... The running? Easy. The kettlebells? Simple. The only challenging part of the WOD is the pull-ups." - Garth

After some impressive press work where Super Dave showed off his sexy-ness and Pete push pressed the weight of a bulldozer, we all prepared for "Helen." Then it happened. The Show just had to say something and disrespect our ol' lady. He turns directly to me and (over) confidently says: "Dude! I am so gonna' smoke the gym's 'Helen' record today. Your record is going down!" Staring back at him I responded "Oh yeah, Show? Don't sell this one short. It's a lot harder than you think." You would think it would stop here? Of course not. "It can't be that hard. The running? Easy. The kettlebells? Simple. The only challenging part of the WOD is the pull-ups."

Alrighty then. W-H-A-T-E-V-E-R!

We lined up, got the screaming "go" cadence and we all took off. As expected, Garth took off and displayed his awesome running skills immediately by leading the gang in the first run. Next in was Pete, then myself, then Brittany followed closely by Super Dave. Garth held strong in the first round yet showed early signs of struggle with the first 21 kettlebell swings and pull-ups. Heading out to the second round, you could feel "Helen" starting to slowly toy with us. Slightly winded and forearms semi-jacked, I headed out after Pete and Garth. Pete had a 50M lead on me while Garth had to be over 100M in front of me. Time to increase the pace.

I arrived back into the box to see Garth grunting loud on the swings and was basically 2 steps behind Pete. By the time I finished my 2nd round and headed out for the final run, Garth's lead was down to 40M and I had passed Pete. Brittany and Super Dave were duking it out and Coach Zach was screaming his head off in utter excitement. He too was loving the competition! Heading back the final 200M I could see Garth taking more abuse from our lady. As he slowed, I increased and his lead was down to 10M. Arriving back to the box and 3 swings behind Garth it was going to be a swing-and-pull-fest for the top spot. By the time I got to the pull-up bar, "Helen" had my ass in a vice and her laugh was excruciatingly loud...bitch! Just as I was pulling on rep 11, the show let out a loud grunt which was enough to propel him over the bar which was followed by a shout of "TIME!" and capped off with a "WOOO!! Hell yeah!" victory scream and then a full-body collapse.

Time: 9:22 - a new "Helen" gym record. The sonofagun called it.

When everyone had finished, recovered and hugged our sweat angel we tallied the results and congratulated one another. Garth, myself, Pete, Dave, Brittany had all set new PR's. Solid! Photos were taken to remember another great day - arguably one of the most competitive days - for the GYG in 2009. Brittany and Garth, the top female and male times posed for a picture and then us 4 members from the "core 5" grabbed one for the scrapbook.

I'll say it again: "Life moves fast and furious." And, just like life ol' nasty lady "Helen" was moving as fast that morning. Take it from Garth who turned to me post-wod (sans shirt of course) and said "Dude! That was a LOT harder than I thought it would be." With a handful of responses running through my head that would make Chandler Bing proud, I decided I wouldn't go there. Instead, I gave Garth a knuckle pound followed by a "You were strong today! Great work!"

Hey! Some people would call Garth's comments arrogant. I say it's only arrogant if you don't back it up. And, back it up he did. So, I call it confidence.

You gotta' respect that. You just have to.

--> Gang Member of the Day: Garth
Read the quote above. The box record - my record - was 9:33. He came in at 9:22. 'Nuff said. Great work, Garth.

Outstanding competition today, gang. Thanks for the B-L-A-S-T!

-tmo



Photos
1) Super Dave fights to lock out (go BIG!)
2) Pete displays his BEAST power (go BIG!)
3) Brit & Garth pose as #1's (go BIG!)
4) 4 of the "Core 5" (go BIG!)
5) Prestigious Whiteboard (go BIG!)


, edit post

3 Response to "ol' Lady Fury!"

  1. Garth Huckabay Said,
    September 19, 2009 at 10:29 AM

    Absolutely one of the best GYG mornings to date. Love you guys! :)

     

  2. "Tommy Mo" Said,
    September 19, 2009 at 12:55 PM

    I'd have to agree with you on that one. Some SERIOUS intensity and competition that morning. One day I will not forget.

    You were solid that day. I was closing in on you and nearly ran you down. But, "almost" still puts me 4 seconds behind the show.

    Nice work dude!

     

  3. Dave Eagle Said,
    September 19, 2009 at 11:57 PM

    I love the picture of the four of us. Pete and I in our matching black shorts and sleeveless red shirts could be twins. And by Twins, I mean the Arnold Schwarzenegger/Danny Devito Twins. I mean seriously, look at Pete's calves, arms and forearms compared to mine. They're double the size of mine!!! Stud.

     

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