2011 was an awesome year here at CrossFit 818 and we cannot wait to see what 2012 has in store for all of us. From our families to yours, have a safe and happy New Year weekend and we'll see you all in 2012!

Reminder: the gym will be closed on Saturday and Sunday, and have a limited schedule on Monday, January 2nd (noon class + 1-3pm Wreck Shop). 

Today's Workout
"CF 818 Twelve Days of Christmas"
1 Muscle-Up
2 HSPU
3 Burpees
4 Deadlifts (225/155)
5 Toe-to-Bar
6 KB Swings (32kg/24)
7 air squats
8 KB Push Press (32kg/24)
9 Push-ups
10 Double-Unders
11 Sit-ups
12 Box-Jumps

Posted by Zareh.

Just a reminder, the CrossFit 818 2012 Holiday Fun-tacular Divebar Takeover is tonight at the Capri, at 9:30 PM!

"If the 'why' is important enough, then no 'how' is too difficult."  

I have no clue who first said that, but last week a friend of mine posted it on her Facebook and it got me thinking.  Why don't we do the things we want to do and why don't we achieve the goals we set for ourselves?  Simply put, we fail when we don't want it enough.  As one of my favorite motivational videos says, "You've gotta want it more than you want to breathe."  

While that video is more about making sacrifices in order to achieve your goals, I like to think of this quote as more empowering.  What if I told you I'd give you $1,000,000 if you did 3,000 burpees in one sitting?  Some of you would laugh and say "nothing could make me do something that stupid!"  Really?  Nothing?  What if I could give you back your childhood?  Or make the love of your life fall in love with you?  Or give you your dream job?  Would you reconsider?  If I stumbled onto the right thing to promise you, and if you really believed I could make it happen, would you change your answer from "there's no way I could do that" to "let's do this"?  If your answer changes, then we've found what truly motivates you; we've found what can drive you to do anything, overcome any hardship, and withstand any pain.

So what is it?  Do you know what you want so much that you'll do anything to get it?  As the new year comes, you're going to be surrounded by people who set these crazy goals for themselves with absolutely no idea of how they're going to make it happen.  Inevitably, they will fail; not just because they lack the support mechanisms and the knowledge, but because they lack the pure, gritty willpower.  You can set any goal you want, and as long as it's properly motivated, you'll find a way to make it happen. 

Sound off in the comments if you know what motivates you, what pushes you to be better, and what makes you keep going during hard workouts, long nights at the office, and tough work!

Today's Workout:
"The Heat Miser"

3 rounds for reps of

1 minute double unders
1 minute burpees
1 minute power cleans (135/95)
1 minute jumping lunges
1 minute knees to elbows
1 minute rest

Posted by Armen.

Don't forget that we're holding our first annual CrossFit 818 Holiday Party at the Capri, tomorrow (Thursday) starting at 9:30pm. Be there or be square!

Also, we've received quite a few pre-orders for our CrossFit 818 zipper hoodie, which will come in both men and women's styles is a lovely charcoal heather grey with "CF 818" on the front and our silhouette logo on the back. Hoodies will be $45 and Friday is the deadline to place your pre-order, so talk to your coaches if you're interested. 

Finally, CrossFit 818 will be closed this Saturday the 31st and Sunday the 1st, and we'll be having a limited schedule on Monday. The morning and afternoon classes will be cancelled on Monday, January 2nd, but there will be a noon class and also a special New Year Wreck Shop from 1pm-3pm. 

Today's Workout
"Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer"
1200m run
10 KB Cleans
10 Pull-ups
800m run
20 KB Cleans
20 Pull-ups
400m run
30 KB Cleans
30 Pull-ups

Posted by Zareh.

A BIG reason why a lot of us don't hit our GOALS is we procrastinate. 

Here is a great post on procrastination that really helped me from "The Little  Book of Procrastination Remedies" 

It’s deep within us. We think we’re going to do something later, make up that WOD, stretch before bed, read that classic novel later, or learn French later. But we always overestimate how much we can do later, and we overestimate the ability of our later selves to beat procrastination.

If our current self can’t beat procrastination, why will our future self do it?

I thought I should cover some of the best procrastination-beating strategies, in light of my recent book, focus. People seem to want ways to beat procrastination, so they can actually get down to focusing.

Here’s a quick guide.

Why We Procrastinate Let’s take a quick look at what makes us procrastinate. There are several reasons, which are related in various ways:

1. We want instant gratification. Resting on the couch is thought of as nicer, right now, than going on a run. Reading blogs is easier, right now, than reading a classic novel. Checking email or Facebook is easier, now, than doing that project you’ve been putting off. Eating chocolate cake is tastier, right now, than eating veggies.
2. We fear/dread something. We might not write that chapter in our book because there are problems with the writing that we haven’t figured out (often because we haven’t thought it through). Or we might be afraid we’re going to fail, or look ignorant or stupid. We’re most often afraid of the unknown, which has more power because we don’t examine this fear — it just lurks in the back of our minds. Dreading or fearing something makes us want to put it off, to postpone even thinking about it, and to do something easy and safe instead.
3. It’s easy – no negative consequences right now. When we were in school and had a teacher looking over our shoulders and scolding us if we didn’t do our work, we tended to do the work (until some of us learned that we could tune out the scolding, that is). But when we got home, sometimes no one would be looking over our shoulders … so there wasn’t any immediate negative consequence to watching TV or playing games instead. Sure, we’d get a bad grade tomorrow, but that’s not right now. The same is true of using the Internet or doing other kinds of procrastination tasks — we’ll pay for it later, but right now, no one is getting mad at us.
4. We overestimate our future self. We often have a long list of things we plan to do, because we think we can do a lot in the future. The reality is usually a little worse than we expected, but that doesn’t stop us from thinking the future will be different yet again. For the same reason, we think it’s OK to procrastinate, because we’re going to do it later, for sure. Our future self will be incredibly productive and focused! Except, our future self is also lazy, and doesn’t do it either. Damn future self.

Four Powerful Solutions Now that we know the problems, the solutions aren’t that hard to figure out. Just don’t put them off,

OK?

1. Stop and think. When we allow the above thoughts to go on without really being conscious of them, we procrastinate. When we actually pause and think about those thoughts, we can rationally see that they’re wrong. Instant gratification in the form of goofing off or eating junk food can lead to problems later. Fears are overblown and shouldn’t stand in our way. Not having negative consequences now doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences later. Our future self isn’t as bad-ass as we like to think. So think about what you’re doing, and start to do the more rational thing. Use the strategies below as well, but thinking is the start.
2. Enjoy the process. When we dread something, we put it off — but instead, if we can learn to enjoy it, it won’t be as hard or dreadful. Put yourself in the moment, and enjoy every action. For example, if you want to go out to run, don’t think about the hard run ahead, but about putting on your shoes — enjoy the simplicity of that action. Then focus on getting out the door — that’s not hard. Then focus on warming up with a fast walk or light jog — that can be nice and enjoyable. Then feel your legs warm up as you start running a little faster, and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. This process can be done with anything, from washing dishes to reading to writing. Enjoy yourself in the moment, without thinking of future things you dread, and the activity can be very pleasant and even fun. And if it is, you won’t put it off.
3. Set up accountability. If no one is looking over our shoulder, we tend to let ourselves slack off. So set up a procrastination-proof environment — find people to hold you accountable. I joined an online fitness challenge this month, for example, so that I’d report my workouts to the forum. I’ve done the same thing for running, quitting smoking, writing a novel. You can even just use your friends and family on Facebook or email.
4. Block your future self. Your future self is just as likely to put things off. So block that sucker. Use a program like Freedom to block your Internet access for a predetermined amount of time, so your future self has to actually focus instead of reading blogs. Turn off your cable TV, get rid of the junk food in your house, cut up your credit cards … do whatever it takes to make it really hard for your future self to procrastinate or give in to temptation, or at least force your future self to pause and think before he does anything dumb.

Who is a former or current procrastinator?

Why do you procrastinate?
What do you procrastinate on?
Thoughts 818er's??

Today's Workout
"Mean Old Mr. Grinch"
5 rounds for time of:
5 Snatch Grip Deadlift (95/65)
5 Hang Power Snatch
5 Back Squat
5 Lunge (left)
5 Lunge (right)
5 Push Press
5 Overhead Squat

Posted by Chris.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, but despite the fact that today is a national holiday, CrossFit 818 is open for business (and by business we mean a kick ass workout). So start the last week of 2011 with a bang and come get some!

Remember that CrossFit 818 will be open all week as normal, but closed on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Today's Workout"Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire"
For time:
Complete 100 push-ups
*Every time you break a set perform 10 Goblet Squats

Posted by Zareh.

From all of the Coaches at CrossFit 818, we wish you a safe and happy Christmas weekend. We'll see you on Monday!

(That means come in and get your workout in today!)

Today's Workout
"Double Pyramid Helen"
1200m run
63 KB Swings (24/16)
36 Pull-ups
800m run
42 KB Swings
24 Pull-ups
400m run
21 KB Swings
12 Pull-ups

Posted by Zareh.

We love you and you love us!  Let's get together and celebrate the holidays the old fashioned way: at a local dive, drinking beer, and playing darts.  That's right, it's time for CrossFit 818's 2012 Holiday Fun-tacular Dive Bar Takeover!  Next Thursday (that's a week from today, 12/29/11), we'll be getting together at The Capri, one of our favorite local dive bars, for a night of fun, friends, and family.  Let's plan on being there around 9:30PM so we have plenty of time to hang out (and the 6:30 PM class has sufficient time to get unsweaty and prepared).  

I'm really excited, and I think it's gonna be a lot of fun!  See ya then :)

Today's Workout

"A Spider Bit Me"
For time, complete the following:

5-10-15-20-25-30-35-40-45-50 Air squats
50-45-40-35-30-25-20-15-10-5 Double unders

So as sets of air squats increase, sets of double unders decrease (start with 5 air squats then 50 double unders, finish with 50 air squats then 5 double unders).

Posted by Armen.

One of the first CF818 blogs I wrote (before we had even opened for business) was on the concepts of focus and concentration. I have a fascination with high-level athletes' ability to slow things down and I mentioned that certain baseball players have commented on the ability to perceptually slow pitches down in order to identify whether they are pitches that they should hit. The concept, known as "smooth pursuit" is one that every person has to some extent. 

I notice during some workouts that people "zone out" in an attempt to ignore the pain, or get through that next set of reps. Next time, instead of zoning out, try instead zoning in: focusing on the task at hand to the point which all other considerations go away. You'll find that the act of concentrating on each movement will eliminate that nagging voice in your head that tells you that you're too tired or not strong enough. 


Which do you prefer when working out, zoning out or zoning in? Why? Sound off in the comments!

Today's Workout
Find your Max Height Box Jump
then...
4 rounds for time of:
10m Burpee Broad Jumps
10m Bear Crawl
10 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups

Posted by Zareh.

This has been an incredible year for me as a coach at CF 818.

I remember when we opened the doors to CrossFit 818, exactly 280 days ago today. 

Our 1st Jackie challenge?

Remember FGB 6 at Sony Studio's?

Or our 1st Paleo Posse Challenge? 

The CrossFit Total at our 1st Wreckshop class?

It's been one hell of a ride in 2011. And I want to recognize every single person that committed themselves to us (CF818), and in return we committed ourselves right back to YOU. It's crazy how this CF thing actually works!!!

We have had so many great moments throughout 2011 and we wouldn’t trade it for the world.

You CF818’ers are some of the most amazing people I have ever been fortunate to meet and develop this amazing friendship we have. I can’t tell you how much all you guys mean to me. And it's only the beginning...

Now it’s your turn.

Reflect on when you…

-Signed up: How did you feel? What were your goals? Were you nervous/intimidated/frightened with your LIFE???

-What kind of battle wounds have you had? Blisters, Blood, Scars, Hands, etc...

-What some your favorite or craziest CrossFit 818 moments in 2011?

-Who are the friends you have made through CF818 in 2011?

Post to comments and give us some memories to remember:-)

PS - Next week look out for your predication's for yourself aka 2012 Goal setting:-)    


Today's Workout
Every 2 minutes on the Minute for 14 minutes:
200m run
Max Reps Back Squats (155/105)

Posted by Chris.

Last week, I got several comments from different people before workouts regarding the apparent difficulty or ease of the workouts of the day. A look back at last week's programming and you'll see a lot of basic "work" movements, nothing overly complex or skilled, just "get this shit done as fast as you can" type movements. For some reason, if it isn't muscle-ups, hang-power snatches, or handstand push-ups, people think the workout is going to be relatively easy!

The beauty of CrossFit lies in the fact that you can control the difficulty of the workout to a large extent by your level of intensity. Instead of trying to judge the apparent difficulty or ease of any given workout, try instead to visualize how you will complete the workout. Think about what specific aspect of your fitness you'll work on that day. The last thing you want is to be mentally taken out of the game because you told yourself today was going to be an easy day... "The only easy day was yesterday!"

Reminder: CrossFit 818 will be closed on December 24th and 25th, so get your workouts in!

Today's Workout
For Max Reps:
1 Minute of 10m Shuttle Runs
2 Minutes of Row (Calories)
3 Minutes of Power Cleans (165/105)
3 Minutes of HSPU's
2 Minutes of Box Jumps (24/20)
1 Minute of KB Swings (24/16)

Posted by Zareh.