Thank you to everyone that came out and participated in Murph! The Hero WODs serve as a great reminder to honor those who paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we enjoy. These workouts become less about the burning in your lungs or the cramps in your legs, and more about remembering those who have served our country to protect us. 

Today's Workout:

A. 1rm Clean and jerk

B. For time:
    50 KB swings (53/35, USSR)
    50 Double unders
    40 Goblet squats
    40 Double unders
    30 KB C&J
    30 Double unders

Posted by Megan

Happy Friday 818ers!

We will be holding our annual Memorial Day "Murph" workout on Monday, May 30th in two heats: 9:30 AM and 10:30 AM. Sign up for one of the heats on the whiteboard! Also, please remember that regularly scheduled classes on Sunday and Monday will be canceled.

Memorial Day is dedicated to the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice protecting the freedom that we enjoy every day. Below is a video of the posthumous presentation of the Medal of Honor to Lt. Michael P. Murphy.

Today's Workout:

3/4 Tabata Mash up
sit ups
push ups
*rest period is hollow hold/plank

..at the 9 minute mark..

50 wall balls (20/14)
50 double unders
40 box jumps (30/24)
400m run
30 pull ups
30 burpees
20 overhead plate lunges
200m plate run
100 kettlebell swings (53/35, USA)

..27 minute cap..
..at the 39 minute mark..

3/4 Tabata Mash up
hollow hold
plank
*rest period is sit ups/push ups

*45 minutes total

Posted by Commish

​I'm lucky enough to have a job where I can watch people grow and succeed on a regular basis.  It's my favorite part of coaching when I see someone do something they've never done before.  A first pull up or handstand push up, a new 1RM on one of the lifts, completing a workout as RX'd for the first time..these are all impressive feats that should be celebrated and cherished.

PRs are proof of one's commitment to their progress and training.  You don't get a pull up or handstand push up without putting in a lot of work and being consistent, you don't get stronger, or fitter, or faster, or better conditioned without putting in a lot of work and being consistent.  So celebrate your PRs, get excited about them, because I know I'm excited every time I see someone PR.  

Have you set a new personal record recently?

Today's Workout:

5 rounds for time:

300m run
10 power cleans (115/83)
10 push press
10 evil wheels

Posted by Commish

Hey folks! Every year on Memorial Day, gym's all around the country do a workout known as, "Murph." It's the most well known Hero WOD in CrossFit. Named after Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy who died in combat in Afghanistan. This is a workout that Mike Murphy would do regularly, and it's original name was "Body Armor." The workout consists of:

1 mile run
100 pull ups
200 push ups
300 squats
1 mile run
*Must begin and end the workout with a mile run
**partition the reps however you need to
***if you have a 20 lbs. weight vest or body armor, use it

We've been hosting the Murph at 818 since we started five years ago. On Memorial Day, we will be running 2 hour long heats in leu of regular classes. The heats will begin at 9:30am and 10:30am. There is no group warm-up as with regular classes, please show up early to get yourself warmed up and stretch as we will be starting promptly at the scheduled heat times. Sign ups are on the whiteboard, so be sure to put your name down if you're planning to attend. Hope to see y'all there!

Today's Workout:

10 rounds:
1 minute row sprint
2 minutes rest
*score is total distance rowed

Posted by Megan

or IIFYM, for short. And it's pretty much what it sounds like.

There are 3 macronutrients (macros, for short): protein, carbohydrates, and fat. In IIFYM, you are given a prescription of how much of each macronutrient you can consume per day and thereby prescribing a caloric intake as well. Your prescription is dependent on your activity level and overall goals. As a general rule, if you are trying to put on weight you must consume more than your caloric expenditure per day putting you in a caloric surplus. And if you are trying to cut weight, you must consume less than your caloric expenditure per day putting you in a caloric deficit. You can also use this diet to maintain your current weight and body composition wherein you would be consume an amount equal to your caloric expenditure. 

With this type of diet, portion size is crucial in adhering to your prescribed macros. A food scale, measuring cups and a calorie tracking app become your best friends, which for some people can be a little neurotic. But, overeating can be a serious hinderance to your overall goals. Even if you are eating clean, or eating Paleo, it is very easy to overeat clean foods. Just because it's clean, doesn't mean you can have a unlimited amount. Clean foods do get you the most amount of food per day in terms of quantity versus unclean foods, but understanding how much to consume is a delicate balance. Technically speaking, you can make a poor food choice on IIFYM and still hit your macros for the day the way you're supposed to. However, it can make the rest of your meals bland and less enjoyable since you will be limited on certain macros (usually carbs and/or fat). With IIFYM, it forces you to weigh your options and determine if the unhealthy food choice is actually worth it in the long run. 

As always folks, this is a nutshell version of IIFYM. If you have any questions and want to know more, please don't hesitate to reach out!

RoRo is all smiles during a TGU

Today's Workout:

A. EMOTM 16
    Odd- 6 behind the neck snatch grip press from a squat
    Even- 6 strict pull ups

B. For time:
    40 front squats (135/95)
    40 toes to bar (cross body, alternating)
    40 burpees

Posted by Megan

Big thanks to everyone who came out to Team CrossFit Academy over the weekend for their Summer Lift Off weightlifting meet! Chris A and I had a big day on the platform, placing third and fourth in our weight classes along with a few competition PRs as well!

Today's Workout:

A. EMOTM 10

    1 power snatch

    *work up to a heavy single

B. AMRAP 15 minutes:

    20 medball sit-ups (20/14)
    10 flag push ups
    1 power snatch (90% of A)

Posted by Commish

Just in case you missed it yesterday, a handful of your fellow 818ers will be participating in an Olympic weightlifting meet tomorrow at Team CrossFit Academy in Monrovia (map)! Megan, Chris A, Scott and I will be finding our best lifts in two different heats - the men's heat is at 1:45 PM and the women's heat is at 4:30 PM. Come on out and show some support if you're free!

Today's Workout:

​EMOTM 10:
6 toes to bar
6 burpees
*both each minute

..immediately into..

3 rounds for time:
20 db sdlhp (50/30)
20 db thrusters (50/30, 10 left + 10 right)

..stop at the 20 minute mark (10 minute cut off)..

..at the 25 minute mark begin..

EMOTM 10:
odd - 20 kb swings (70/53, USSR)
even - 10 weighted db sit ups

..rest 5 minutes..

..at the 40 minute mark..

For time:
21-15-9
wall ball (20/14)
push ups

10 minute cutoff
50 minutes total 

Posted by Commish

This Saturday, Geoff, Chris, Scott, and I will all be competing in Team CrossFit Academy's Summer Lift-off Weightlifting meet. We've been training for a few months for this and are excited to see the fruits of our labor this weekend. For those of you who have never been to a weightlifting meet, we will each have 3 attempts to max out our snatch and clean and jerk. Team CrossFit Academy is located in the heart of Monrovia, just a short drive from Glendale. We'd love for y'all to come by and support us as we pick up some heavy weights. The fellas will all be lifting starting around 1:45pm and I will be lifting starting around 4:30pm. Hope to see some of your faces in the crowd!

The 818 crew representing at TCA's Fall Lift-off meet last year!

Today's Workout:

A. 1rm back squat

B. 2 rounds for quality:
    3 back squats (85% of A)
    2 back squats (90% of A)
    1 back squat (95% of A)

Posted by Megan

Rick and I above the Nevada Falls in Yosemite!

Today's Workout:

A. Every 90 seconds for 12 rounds:

    4 handstand push-ups
    4 strict pull-ups*
    4 box jumps (30/24)

    *Pull-ups will alternate each round between: wide grip pull-ups and narrow grip chin-ups

B. 400m sprint for time

Posted by Commish

I came across this article written by Paleo chef, Juli Bauer by way of one of our members who brought it to my attention. Juli is the creator of PaleOMG and her recipes are borderline genius when you're trying to remain Paleo-compliant but need help getting creative with your dishes. Since the theme of this month has been nutrition based where my posts are concerned, this article was really fitting. She wrote this blog article a few weeks ago on how her body has changed over the years and how her nutrition and workouts have had different effects on her body.

She begins with "Bodies are weird." And they really are. Sometimes, all it takes is making a few tweaks in your routine to see drastic changes. Other times, it seems like no matter what you do, nothing changes. Every body is different, so the things that work for somebody else, may not necessarily work well for you. It can be a crazy journey trying to reach your goals where you body is concerned. It takes time and experimentation with different eating habits and workout styles to find what works for you. Your goals can change too overtime, meaning that your nutrition will need to be altered as well to accommodate those goals. If you've experienced any of the frustration that comes along with trying to achieve aesthetic results, you're not alone! It's not easy, and even if you look at somebody and think, "If I only had their metabolism/strength/endurance/whatever, it'd be so much easier" their journey to get there probably wasn't easy.

​Here's the article by Juli, should you wish to read it (I recommend it!): click me!

Plate snatches galore!

Today's Workout:

4 rounds for time:
6 push press (135/95)
8 bent over rows
10 bar over burpees
200m row
Rest exactly 1 minute

Posted by Megan