CROSSFIT MILPITAS

Make Corrections

Flaws seen here:

1. Her elbows are way too low

2. The weight is forward causing her to shift to her toes

3. She has too much grip on the bar

4. The weight is not shelved on her shoulders

This picture was taken only a couple weeks ago. Today, Smita went for a Front Squat PR of 100# and got it. I was there to witness. But more importantly(and the reason she got it) her form was extremely better. Those 4 flaws were all addressed(fixing her elbows, fixed everything else) and her lift improved. Great job Smita.

Everyday you train, our job as CrossFit coaches is to fix your movements with certain cues. We know you will most likely not make a perfect adjustment on the spot, but rather soak in our words, process the information, and improve with time. Our consistent "nit-picking" coupled with your desire for improvement equals better movements which increase your capabilities as an athlete. Striving to improve the form of your movements should never end. It is very rare, if even possible, that you will perfect all the movements under the CrossFit umbrella.   

WOD 03/01/08

"Angie"

For Time:

• 100 Pull-ups
• 100 Push-ups
• 100 Sit-ups
• 100 Squats

I know this is very similar to "Time Trials" which I posted on our last rest day. I swear I don't have early access to the main site WODs. It is not completely out of the realm of reality that an intense life task could present itself back to back in short time period. This is the beauty of CrossFit. Give it your all!!!

Welcome

Two of our newest members, Hieu(big smile) and Jaime(ring dips). Make sure to give them a big Unlimited welcome if you see them sweating next to you.

Question to all members: We will be adding classes next month. We are thinking of a 7:30pm class at least twice a week and a 10am beginner class on Saturday. What time slots do you guys want?  Post in comments

WOD 2/29/08

Back squat 3-3-3-3-3

Coaches advice: Don't skip out on strength days. Just because they're not a metabolic conditioning beast doesn't mean they're not important. Remember you are only as "fit" as your weakest of these 10 fitness skills:

Cardio-respiratory endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Speed, Power, Coordination, Accuracy, Agility, Balance

If anyone knows a parkour coach, I would love to implement some skills to our workouts:

WOW

After "Time Trials" PM class Jason came down to try to set a new 500m rowing record for our gym. He's the blur on the right. Bryan is the blur on the left. Both guys were jammin.

Jason's been following the Zone diet for 2 weeks and been following the CrossFit WODs with no more bodybuilding routines for 3 months. His last 500m rowed was about 3 months ago...1:23.6. To drop 3 seconds in 3 months when your time is that low is just insane. Is CrossFit working for him? Ask him, I'm sure you'll get an earfull of excitement.

Check out the world rankings here : Row Rankings  He's 8th place in the world!!!

Oh ya, earlier in the day he shoulder pressed 215#!!!

His thoughts on CrossFit...a picture is worth a 1000 words.

Coaches thoughts: I loved the energy tonight. After each met-con WOD you should be laying on the floor recovering. I saw a lot of that. It shows me I got some fisrt class efforts. Great work to all.

WOD 2/28/08

7 rounds for time:

• 10 sumo-deadlift high pulls(95#)
• 10 ring dips

Check out our boy Freddy taking on OPT in this WOD: WOD DEMO

Air CrossFit

Jenna told me she didn't want to do the main site WOD because it was so similar to the last class she taught Thursday. Hey the coaches need to mix it up too. I knew no one would complain about not having to run and do a bunch of squats. So the PM class did this WOD:

25 and alive

25 push press
25 wall balls
25 box jumps
25 left arm KB lunges
25 right arm Kb lunges
25 elbows to knees

TWICE!!

Carmen 19:14
Pam 19:56
Smita 19:17
Jaujar 26:15
Jason L 22:45
Hector 19:30

Jenna's mixing stuff up in her lab(awesome workout Jenna)..... Good job to all her lab rats!

WOD 2/27/08

Rest Day

Optional WOD:

Time Trials

Complete each of the following exercises for time (in any order). Rest no more than five minutes between exercises. Post your results for each exercise to comments.

• Row 500m
• Run 400m
• 100 pull-ups
• 100 push-ups
• 100 Abmat sit-ups

6 months ago he couldn't do 1 pull-up, so he had no RX'd Fran time:

Explode

Pam and Carla blasting through some jumping pull-ups.

So many movements in CrossFit, life, and sport require a violent explosion from the hip while maintaining a tight core for spine protection. Simple Fitness Tip of the Day: High box jumps are a great way for our body to improve this function.

WOD 2/26/08

Five rounds for time:

• 400m run
• 50 squats
• 30 back ext.

How to Box jump:

"School Boy"

This is Josh Johnson, a 15 year old stud CrossFit athlete. He weighs 147#, deadlifts 345# and cleans 195#! He trains at One World and was able to attend the Olympic lifting seminar, where he was dubbed "School Boy" by coach Burgener. I think the name's going to stick Josh. Towards the end of the weekend he came over to me and said, "This is like the funnest weekend ever." I love to hear to that stuff. Josh, keep up the hard work and just imangine what you will turn into in a couple of years..... a CrossFit games champion!!

WOD 2/25/08

Shoulder press 1-1-1-1-1 reps
Push press 3-3-3-3-3 reps
Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps

A beautiful explanation of the push-jerk:

Schooled!

A pic from today's Olympic lifting certification with Coach Burgener. I can't wait to share my new knowledge with all of you.

WOD 2/24/08

"Eva"

5 Rounds for time:

• run 800m
• 2 pood kettlebell swing, 30 reps(75#)
• 30 pull-ups

Wow, this is a new one that looks like a lot of fun

Ewwww

It's going to happen if you train hard. Torn calluses are a part of CrossFit. A sure way to get one is to use a ton of chalk, then do a ton of kipping pull-ups. Advice: 1. For pull-ups you want good grip but a little give, use less chalk and you will have less torn calluses. 2. Use a callus shaver or pumice stone to remove dead skin.

WOD 2/23/08

Rest Day

Jason's WOD:

"Cindy"

As many rounds as you can in 20 minutes of:

• 5 pull-ups
• 10 push-ups
• 15 squats

Greg does 16 rounds in 10 minutes can you do more than 16 in 20 minutes????

Check it out: Bald guy in the green shirt

Takin steps

Going into this week Farhan could not air squat efficiently. Now after just a couple private lessons, he is well on his way!

Farhan is commited to becoming a strong functioning athlete. His focus, long term commitment, and good old fashion hard work will forge his path to reaching his goal. Keep up the good work.

FYI: Private lessons are available for anyone by appointment with Jenna or myself. They are a great way to build a rock solid foundation or work on complicated multi-joint movements. You will get pointers in class from the coaches, but having a coach focus only on your form and technique for an hour will benefit you more than you can imangine.

WOD 2/22/08

"Lynne"

5 rounds for max reps of:

• Body weight bench press
• Pull-ups(until you let go)

*Score is total reps(but post reps for both exercises in all rounds)

*Scale bench as needed

You can rest between each round as long as need(I usually rest 3-4 minutes). But go straight from bench to pull-ups with no break.

Important: Our bars, racks, and bumpers will be at One World for the olympic lifting certification this weekend. You can do the bench in the main gym then head into the cell for your pull-ups.

Guess who??

The first one who can guess who's bicep is framing Jason Luk's knees to elbows wins a free 30 minute session with me covering the basics of olympic lifts. If it's your bicep you can't guess...that would be cheating.

Joe D. from CrossFit One World stopped by for the PM WOD. We loved having you, you always have a second home here Joe.

Checkout Freddy's post from yesterday, good stuff:

Beautiful couple, beautiful family..... Jason, Tia, and the kids in Tiburon on a gorgeous California day. One World out and about....even though they are wearing Crossfit Unlimited sweatshirts! 

How awesome is the Crossfit Community? Do you think Gold's Gym would post pictures of their clients wearing 24hr Fitness apparel? Be proud people. You are part of a revolution in the fitness industry. In July of 2006, Crossfit One World was the 98th affiliate. As of this post, there are now 392 affiliates (I could be off by one or two...I counted each and every one on www.crossfit.com)  and there are new affiliates opening every day. One day, you will be telling someone, "You Crossfit? I was there at the the beginning.... What's your Fran time?"

WOD 2/21/08

Complete 4 rounds for time of:

• run 400m
• 50 squats

(Another game of frogger for the PM crew)

"Pure knowledge"(by the way I'm in this vid, can you find me?):

Sloshin

Jason bet me $20 he could carry the slosh pipe overhead 400 meters. Here were the rules:

1. The walk was over if the pipe touched the ground.

2. He could lower the pipe down to rest on his back, shoulders, head, or cradle it in his arms. But he could only walk when the weight was overhead.

3. He could not run

He made it about 160 meters and decided to stop to rest his shoulders and slosh took over. It was too much to handle and dropped to the floor.

Sad to say, the slosh pipe suffered a major injury later on in the day, but is headed to surgery Friday and will return to action.

WOD 2/20/08

Hang Squat Clean 3-3-3-3-3-3-3

170# Front Squat

Jason Luk bottomed out for his 1st attempt at 170#. Looks great, he barley missed this one, but got it clean on his next attempt. Everyone lookout for Jason...I see a fire breathing athlete being born here.

Smita got 90# and stuck around after class with 100# in her sights. I had to run upstairs, so I missed if she got it, but I know she gave it her all. I love to see extra effort from you guys, it motivates me.

WOD 2/19/08

Rest Day

Optional WOD:

"420 Helen"

3 rounds for time of:

• run 420m
• 1 1/2 pood kettlebell swing, 21 reps (55# db)
• 12 pull-ups

Watch how upright they stay with their KB swings and copy it:

Hector Post Met-Con

Our first week of classes is in the history books. We were hit with a large dose of met-con(metabolic conditioning) workouts. Everyone did great! Here's a must read, CrossFit Programming, for all of you. It's very important to understand what you are doing and why. We covered "What is CrossFit?" and "What is Fitness?" This articile covers the method to the madness and how it's prescribed. Known in the CrossFit community as "The Art CrossFit".

Look what we have here, a heavy lifting day:

WOD 2/18/08

Front Squat 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1

I suck at the "kip up" but I vow to practice it and learn it. I've seen some of stick around after class to practice your weaknesses(Good Stuff, keep it up)

The 5K crew

From left to right: Farhan, Jason, Ritu, Donn Marie, Paul

And the winner is......

Ritu R.

So where is the 5K run? Well, it starts and ends at the mailbox. Head up Jacklin and hang a left on Park Victoria. Continue until you hit Kirkwall then turn around and come back.

"My knees hurt when I run outside", "I get shin splints" Here's a great way to distance run more effectively:

POSE method

WOD 2/17/08

"Annie"

50-40-30-20-10 reps for time

• Double Unders
• Sit-ups

Dread Time

Jason is a victim of "dread time"(Photos courtesy of Jenna). The phrase was coined months back by Freddy. The definition of "dread time" - Time spent pre-Fran thinking of time spent post-Fran. For a lot of you this was your first Fran experience. I remember my first time, it was exciting. I couldn't wait to do this benchmark workout everyone in the CrossFit community talks so much about. Now after doing Fran several times things are way different. I hate it, not because of the actual workout but because of the recovery period. I never would have thought 3 minutes and some change could do me in for over 30 minutes of intense recovery. Ahhh the beauty of CrossFit.

WOD 2/16/08

Run 5K

Class is on! Show up for this one. It's just as important as a Fran. Remember what our definition of "Fitness" is. I just don't want you to make the same mistake I did of picking and choosing specific WODs you like. Before CrossFit I never ran more than a couple miles and that was rare. Now I only run when the WOD calls for it and the last 10k that was posted I ran in 43:50. Not bad for someone who hates to run.

Hey that's Jenna!!:

Valentine's with Pukie

WOD 2/15/08

Rest Day

Optional WOD: "Lynne"

5 rounds, max reps of:

• bodyweight bench press
• pull-ups

Sorry for the weak post. I'm not having a good night. Either a stomach flu, food poisoning, or delayed reaction from Fran.

Before pics

Andres P. is in! Here are his starting stats: 143#/ 8% bodyfat(skin calipers) Andres...post your 1 month goals and food plan.

Coach Rudi is in! Here are his starting stats: 178# / 17.9%(body impedance). His goal is lose bodyfat. He plans to continue eating the way he has been(which is whatever the hec he wants) and add CrossFit 2 times a week in conjunction with his current martial arts training.

My starting stats: 202# / 11% bodyfat (body impedance)

Jason Khalipa forgot to measure himself today and will post his starting stats in the comments.

There's still time to get in on the action. If anyone wants to send me their starting pic & stats with a goal and their food plan to reach that goal, I'll get you posted. Also if you plan to follow any other regimen than 3 days on 1 day off of CrossFit workouts posted on this site, let me know.

WOD 2/14/08

Happy Valentines boys and girls. Fran showed up to share a little love.

21-15-9 reps

• Thruster(m95#/w65#)
• Pull ups

This is exactly how you should look after your Fran experience(if you don't...go harder next time):

The 1 month goal

It takes some courage to lay a goal out there online. Jason "kaka" Khalipa saw my post yesterday and said he's going to follow the WOD's but change his diet to loose bodyfat and get "shredded". Knowing Jason, there's no doubt in my mind he'll do this. This means for the next month Jason and I have commited to working out exactly the same and are expecting to get different results based on food intake alone....hmmmm, possible? I think so. We shall see. I will post bodyfat and weight for each of us tomorrow.

If anyone else wants to donate themselves to this experiment, let me know and we'll get your goals online and nutrition in line.(You don't have to post a pic if you don't want to)

WOD 2/13/08

"Randy"

75# power snatch, 75 reps for time

Ummm yeah they're pretty "fit":

Fit or Grotesque?

I've heard the concern, "but I want to gain muscle and you CrossFit guys are all losing weight", more than a few times in the gym recently. Well our goal is increased athletic performance and CrossFit with a performance based diet is going to shred bodyfat. If your goal is to gain muscle, CrossFit with the right diet is the way to go.

Here's the explanation:

If you train the WODs hard, and eat right and get lots of sleep, you will definitely gain lean mass, lose fat, and yes, you can build muscle mass with the crossfit protocol. More specifically, according to Coach,
Here is a hierarchy of training for mass from greater to lesser efficacy:

1. Bodybuilding on steroids
2. CrossFitting on steroids
3. CrossFitting without steroids
4. Bodybuilding without steroids

The bodybuilding model is designed around, requires, steroids for significant hypertrophy.
The neuroendocrine response of bodybuilding protocols is so blunted that without "exogenous hormonal therapy" little happens. The CrossFit protocol is designed to elicit a substantial neuroendocrine whollop and hence packs an anabolic punch that puts on impressive amounts of muscle though that is not our concern. Strength is. Natural bodybuilders (the natural ones that are not on steroids) never approach the mass that our ahtletes do. They don't come close. Those athletes who train for function end up with better form than those who value form over function. This is one of the beautiful ironies of training.

Disclaimer: In no way shape or form am I suggesting steroid use. This just keeps it real.

I'm going to do a little experiment on myself for a month and change my goal to increase size with added muscle. I will continue to follow the WODs as I always have and simply change my diet. Today I weigh 202...I'll check back in with everyone March 11.

WOD 2/12/08

"Nate"

As many rounds as possible in 20 mins of:

• 2 muscle-ups
• 4 handstand push-ups
• 8 kb swings - 2 pood (75#)

Chief Petty Officer Nate Hardy was killed Sunday February 4th during combat operations in Iraq. Nate is survived by his wife, Mindi, and his infant son Parker.

We're asking the CrossFit community to make donations to the "Nate Hardy Memorial Fund" in care of the Navy Federal Credit Union, Building 200, FTC Dam Neck, Virginia Beach, VA, 23461.

Bottom to Bottom Tabata

Which of the three pictures is the proper rest position for bottom to bottom tabata squats? Well...number two is supposed to be, but number one and three are much more popular for some reason.

WOD 2/11/08

Rest Day

Optional WOD:

21-15-9 reps of:

• Overhead Squat(m95#/w65#)
• pull-ups

Everything about this video is so cool! And what great scenery for a gym:

We have a 10 footer...as the zen master says, have fun with it!

What was that seminar all about?

This wins the award for funniest picture from the seminar. Freddy's gonna kill me for posting it, but I couldn't pass the opportunity.

On a serious note: Wow!! What a great turnout. I had an absolute blast all day long. I would like to welcome those of you who joined the Unlimited family. Freddy brought up how important it is to train with others and how that brings the best out in you. I believe that to be true and I know each of you who joined our team today will make me a little bit better of an athlete and a coach. I am commited to touching as many lives as I can with this stuff and I am excited to see what the future brings and to see all of you grow as athletes.

A big thanks to all folks at One World who helped out today.

A few more pics from the day:

WOD 2/10/08

Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Compare to 1/20/08

Look at the joy a deadlift can bring:

Locked out

Joe rising to the top of one-arm dumbbell snatch. Looks pretty solid. The weight is dividing the frontal plane, his elbow looks locked out, and his shoulder is actively pressing the load up.

Note to all: The grand opening seminar is tomorrow. We will be offering a special rate on the unlimited monthly membership to all attendees. Also, since you will learn the 9 basic movements tomorrow, it is not mandatory for you to go through the basic movements course in order to attend classes or use the box.

WOD 2/09/08

Run or Row 5k

Some rowing basics:

New Gear

Just in: hoodies & t-shirts

You can pick them up at the front desk. Hoodies are $45 and T's are $20.

WOD 2/08/07

For time:
25 Walking lunge steps
20 Pull-ups
50 Box jumps, 20 inch box
20 Double-unders
25 Ring dips
20 Knees to elbows
30 Kettlebell swings, 2 pood
30 Sit-ups
20 Hang squat cleans, 35 pound dumbells
25 Back extensions
30 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
3 Rope climb ascents

A few Unlimited subs:

• KB swings use 55# dumbell(2 pood = 75#)
• rope climb ascent = 5 towel pull-ups

So you think you're strong, well here's a great test:

Go ahead and give it a try... Just make sure you get it on video for me.

Congrats!!!

Jeff, Pam, Peggy, Carmen, Carla, Alicia, and Hector can always say they were the first students to complete the basic movements course at CrossFit Unlimited. Smita finishes up tomorrow and a bunch of others will get the education at our seminar. Great job to all of you!

Also, big ups to Carla who upon completing the "dirty thirty"(and missing every one of her 30 double unders) kept trying until finally she got her first legit double under. I could see how rewarding it was by the ear to ear smile for her to keep working at something and acheive it.

Work at stuff that's hard for you until you get it. You will get more out of that hard work then doing a movement you have already mastered. Remember...if you never give up, you'll never fail.

WOD 2/7/08

Rest day

Optional WOD:(Coach Rudi, this one's for you)

10 rounds for time:

• 15 deadlifts(m135#/w95#)
• 15 push-ups

WOD demo:(confession: I'm a jealous of his calves)

(Come on you are too)

L-pull ups and guns

Vito(aka V-daddy) and Jason(aka kaka) during "joshie". Kaka finished in 32:09 and V-daddy wasn't far behind.

A note about today's classes: A few of you brought up how hard these basic movements are to master. They are complex movements with a lot of cues to remember. My advice to all of you is master one cue and then move to the next and so on. If you try to remember and master 8 things about a movement chances for "body confusion" are extremely high. These movements take time to learn. Keep practicing, as they will do wonders for your overall health.

WOD 02/06/08

Push Jerk 3-3-3-3-3-3-3

A couple of badasses doing "Fran":

First day of School

Jeff's Deadlift Starting position

Midway...looks good

Fully extended...great job today Jeff!

The 7pm group doing mini-cindy at the end of basics day 1.

Post workout pic from left to right... Alicia,Pam,Peggy,Carla,Hector. The first group workout in the new CrossFit Unlimited room. I also want to give props to Carmen and Smita who were great students who picked up on the movements very quick. Keep practicing what you learned today everyone and soon you will be able to amaze your friends with great feats of strength. See you tomorrow!

WOD 2/5/08

"Joshie"

Complete three rounds for time of:
40 pound Dumbbell snatch, 21 reps, right arm
21 L Pull-ups
40 pound Dumbbell snatch, 21 reps, left arm
21 L Pull-ups

If you build it they will come

Again, a big thank you to Roman Solis for all of his hard work. The box looks awesome. Stop by and check it out.

WOD 2/4/08

Back Squat 3-3-3-3-3

Sorry New England, almost only counts in hand grenades and horse shoes:

Post WOD

This was taken after the brutal WOD on 1/31. Look at the background, there's stuff everywhere. I got a killer "wholebody" workout in less than 20 minutes, with limited space and very little equipment. CrossFit is fuctional in more ways than one.

WOD 2/3/08

Rest Day

Optional Wod: I will be running this at 8am at CrossFit One World. Anyone is welcome to come to the super bowl before the super bowl.

Teams of 2
2 - 12 minute halves with a 2 minute halftime

(touchdown)6 points:
80 - squats
40 - pull-ups
30 - slam balls
20 - burpees

(field goal)3 points:
20 - db cleans
30 - kb swings
20 - box jumps

(extra point)1 point:
20 deadlifts

Only 1 teammate can work at a time. You must complete all reps of the first exercise to move on to the next (ex. 80 squats must be finished before you start 40 pull-ups and so on). You may choose to go for 3 points or 6 points as much or as little as you want, but you can only go for the extra point following a touchdown.

An interesting video I couldn't pass on posting for all you businessmen:

Doing Work

We can measure how much work(power output) you are exserting when you do a workout. The equation is P=F x D/T(Force x Distance / Time). With this simple equation you can compare any workout you do to measure it's intensity. Just answer 3 simple questions, then do the math:

1) How much weight are you moving? 2) How far are you moving it? 3) How long does it take?

There are 3 ways to increase power output:

1) Do it faster. 2) Move more weight. 3) Move it further.

Increase intensity and reap the health & fitness rewards!

WOD 2/2/08

"Tabata Something Else"

Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are pull-ups, the second 8 are push-ups, the third 8 intervals are sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are squats. There is no rest between exercises.

Post total reps

Tabata Something Else Demo