Crescenta Valley Weekly is a publication distributed on Thursdays to La Crescenta and Montrose in addition to parts of Glendale, La Cañada and Tujunga. Last Friday they announced there CVW Finest for 2012. 

And guess who was voted the TOP FITness instructor in the area??

Hint, they represent everything great about CrossFit 818...

Of course I'm a LITTLE bias, but how lucky are we to have Annie Mello as one of our coaches at CrossFit 818?!?! 

She embodies everything you would want in a coach. She cares about her members, is a shining role model of health and FITness, works hard, committed to excellence, is constantly pushing her knowledge and education about nutrition and FITness and the list could go on and on. 

I for one am VERY proud of her and would like you all to wish her congrats and something you really appreciate about what Annie does for you and CF818. 

Today's Workout:

5 Rounds for Time:
90 Double Unders
60 sec Handstand Hold (cumulative)
30 Situps

Post by CMO. 

Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion can be paraphrased as: an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion (until it's acted upon by an outside force). 

Your fitness is a lot like trying to get a 500lb. boulder rolling. When it isn't moving at all, it can seem impossible to get moving. Your first few weeks at CrossFit 818 were probably a time of struggle and acclimation, however with the help of your coaches and fellow CrossFitters you finally got that boulder rolling. As you continue to push that boulder, it rolls more easily and eventually it takes a relatively small amount of effort to keep it going. Don't get complacent, however, because that boulder will eventually stop rolling if you stop pushing, and then you have to start all over again to get it rolling again. Don't wait until that boulder stops moving completely; if you need help keeping your fitness rolling, reach out to your coaches and we'll help you stay on track!

Today's Workout
Half "Bull"
200 Double Unders
50 Overhead Squats (135/95)
50 Pull-ups
1 mile run

Posted by Zareh.

As all of you probably know, I suffered a serious leg injury in January (tears to multiple muscles in my calf). Coming back from that injury has been a difficult (and ongoing) process, but I've had the support of my family and friends both in and out of the gym. Sometimes it's hard to put recovery into perspective, so I found an older post about it and the concept bears repeating:
Injuries are an intrinsic part of sport. Whether through a poor decision of the athlete or a freak, unpreventable occurrence, most athletes will have some sort of injury at some point in their athletic careers. While we hope that these injuries are relatively minor in scale and scope, there will be times that an athlete has to work through a "devastating" injury. The hardest part of these injuries are all the people telling you that you'll never be the same or you'll never be able to do this or that ever again. The voice of doubt begins to worm its way into your skull, and all of a sudden, you're not sure if you want to put in the hundreds or even thousands of hours of work to try to get back to where you were, only to fail. Crush that voice early and often! Tell naysayers that if they are going to say "nay!" rather than focusing on the positive, you'd rather not talk to them at all. Realize that being dealt a specialist's hand is an opportunity to work on some things you may not have worked on as diligently before your injury. Most of all never ever ever give up.

What were some of the challenges you've overcome during a recent injury?

Today's Workout
"Helga"
4 rounds of:
AMRAP 4 minutes-
Run 300m
[Rnds 1 & 3] Max Kettlebell Swings (53/35)
[Rnds 2 & 4] Max Pull-ups
*rest 1 minute between rounds

Posted by Zareh.

I believe most of us have struggled with this in some shape or form... It's the never satisfied syndrome.

I remember being 30 lbs heavier 3 years ago and thinking all I want to be is this certain weight and then I will be happy. Well I hit that weight and was still not happy! I even beat that weight and attained a weight and a body composition that I never thought would
be possible "for my frame" and yet I still felt that I could do more; be better. When was I going to accept the beautiful body that I have and had worked so hard to get?

In my professional opinion a lot of us as a whole get the "a little more won't hurt us syndrome", with eating, working, indulging of any sort, and health in general. If we are thankful for where we are at and where we are going we will be truly happy in our own skin and that is far greater than fitting into any size!

This is a great blog that I read that really hit true to home, and I hope you will all take away from it what I have, and make a conscious effort to yourself and the loved ones around you to be HAPPY with the wonderful YOU that you are!


What do you love about yourself? Post to the comments below!

Today's Workout
5RM Deadlift (add 10lbs. to last week's effort)
then...
5 rounds for time:
10 Evil Wheels
10 Toes-to-Bar
100m run

Posted by Annie.

If you haven't figured it yet, I'll fill you in on a little (not so) secret: CrossFit 818 isn't your conventional gym. Aside from all of the obvious differences (a lack of mirrors, pec decks, treadmills, etc.) one of the biggest difference is that your coaches are committed to you. 100%, every day, whenever you need us. We're willing to make this commitment because we know that YOU are committed, too. You show up when you say you're going to, you make it to all the classes you've committed to, and you continue to make your fitness a priority in your life. 

This level of commitment from you takes hard work and sacrifice, but it's the reason each and every one of the coaches at CrossFit 818 puts so much of his/her personal time into the community. We value your business, but we truly respect and respond to your commitment! Keep it up!

Today's Workout
5RM Press
then...
"Death by Squat"
75% of your latest 5RM Squat
*Start with 1 squat in the first minute,
2 squats in the second minute,
3 squats in the third, and so on, until 
you are unable to complete the 
required number of squats. 

Posted by Zareh.

Ten days ago, I posted a brief blog about "secret sauce" and how there's no such thing as secret sauce when it comes to your fitness. At CrossFit 818, we believe in teaching our members how to make fitness an everyday part of their lives, and one of the ways we do that is sitting down with each member to discuss their reasons for working out and the specific goals they want to reach.

For the next couple of weeks, we'll be introducing programming that includes a specific barbell element almost every day of the week. The goal will be to give you some insight into how different training programs prepare you for different outcomes, and the heavy lifting will go great with the first few weeks of our nutritional challenge! All you metcon junkies have nothing to worry about, as this is definitely not a permanent change to CrossFit 818's regular programming and each week will include at least one longer conditioning workout. 

For everyone who is participating in the CrossFit 818 Six Weeks to Summer Challenge, please make sure to review the details here and don't waste any time getting your pictures and your "Helen" baseline recorded!

Today's Workout
5RM Back Squat
then...
6 rounds of 1 minute on, 30 seconds off:
5 Burpees
Max Rep Dumbbell Thrusters

Posted by Zareh.

Show up and don't quit... follow the program and don't add your own 'secret sauce'! Sometimes athletes get exposed to something new and think if they just add it to their current program then their results will be even better. However, taking elements of multiple programs and just throwing them together haphazardly is a recipe for disaster (in the form of injury and/or lack of results). CrossFit 818's program is designed increase your work capacity over broad time and modal domains. That's "CrossFit" speak for: we're going to get you ready for anything life throws at you.

You may have noticed a few of our members lifting heavy weights regularly in the corner during class. Our unlimited membership gives them open gym privileges, which also allows them to choose what they do during that time. A couple are training under the CrossFit Football protocol. Unlike CrossFit 818's programming, CrossFit Football is designed for power athletes looking to prepare for sports that require extreme power output in short periods of time (think of football as a series of 5-10 second plays separated by 45 seconds of rest). This programming is accomplished by lots of heavy lifting and short, heavy 'metcons'. No secret sauce, just a very different goal and and therefore a different program.

Tyler Selvage, our resident paragon of CrossFit Football (and jack-of-all-trades) was featured yesterday on the CrossFit Football main site for his 450lb. Back Squat PR! Pat him on the back next time you see him! 

Today's Workout
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Movement you LOVE
Movement you HATE
Your biggest GOAT
*List of movements and more details will be provided at the gym

Posted by Zareh.

We have a saying in the Crossfit world called “Your Goat”.

A “Goat” is something that you despise and try to avoid at all costs, usually because we know it is what needs the most work, or it is a movement we flat-out can’t do.

Your goat can change as you progress, or sometimes it continues to linger no matter how badly you want it to go away!

I started to apply this rule to my everyday life as well. You all know what I am talking about….

The tasks in life that you avoid at all costs, or get pushed to the bottom of the “to do list” even though they should really be on top.

So why do we avoid our "goats” so much?

Is it fear, too much to handle, to uncomfortable, or just a plain pain in the you know what!

Well whatever the reasoning is we need to attack and conquer it!

Every time I complete a workout that included my goat…. I always felt so much more accomplished than when I completed a workout I know I was really good at. Of course the workouts I am good at our a great ego booster, but they don’t build the confidence or character that the “goat” workouts did!

This philosophy really began to carry over into my personal life as well. What I came to realize was the tasks that I continued to avoid, were the tasks that were really going to take me to where I wanted to go! They would build character, take me out of my comfort zone, push me, and allow me to grow and succeed in the positive direction I envisioned I could be!

I challenge you all to go out there and attack your “goat” with full force! Don’t hide from it, or act if it is not there. Put it at the top of your list, not the bottom. Challenge yourself to make your goat a habit that you look forward to and no longer despise!

What are some of your “Goats” that you want to work on? 

 Post them in the comments…..


Today's Workout
"Hansen"
5 rounds:
30 Kettlebell Swings (53/35)
30 Burpees
30 Sit-ups (two-touch)

Posted by Annie