It’s that time of year again, we’re gearing up for Fight Gone Bad 5!  Let’s get a SOLID team to participate this year.  First thing is first, get on the CFNA team:

Head over to www.fgb5.org  and click on “Register.” 
Fill in and submit the required info
Read over and the waiver info and click “accept” if you agree with all that’s said
Fill in name and info, click “Continue”
On the “Team” tab search for “Naperville” and select CrossFit of Naperville, click “Continue”
Then set up your personal fundraising page!

Then go raise some funds!

If you came across the page and don’t want to sign up for our team, or are just looking to donate, you can donate here: 
http://rapidgiving.com/fundraising/page/335/sweat-today-for-someones-tomorrow

CrossFit Tri-Cities is going to be hosting FGB again.  They had an awesome event last year, so let’s get our team together and make arrangments to get over there and represent CrossFit of Naperville!

The Workout

The CrossFit workout ‘Fight Gone Bad’ consists of one minute max effort intervals at five stations, resulting in a a five-minute round followed by a one-minute rest interval. This event calls for three rounds. The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of ‘rotate,’ the athletes must move to the next station immediately. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower, where each calorie is one point.

The stations are:

1. Wall-ball, 10 ft target (Reps)
2. Sumo deadlift high-pull (Reps)
3. Box jump (Reps)
4. Push-press (Reps)
5. Row (Calories)

As ANY of us who played Mortal Kombat know, you busted your ass to kick the crap out of the other guy and when you came out on top, the throaty kombat fight lord instructed you to “FINISH HIM!!” to which you most certaintly obliged… if you knew the 20 button sequence to rock that characters “finishing move.”

And for those of you who don’t know what A-B-A-C-A-B-B represents, then forget about the blab above and think of it as the “cherry on top!”

Here’s how it works:
1.) Bang out the WOD at MAX EFFORT
2.) Recover
3.) Pick a skill and leisurely work it!

Example:  If the WOD is Fran then bang out a PR.  Take 5, 10, 15 minutes to recover from Fran, and work on your RING DIPS or HAND STANDS.

DO NOT HOLD BACK ON YOUR WOD
DO NOT HIT SAME MOVEMENTS AS WOD
DO NOT CREATE A 2^ND WORKOUT

Here are some fine finishes to take advantage of:

-      Back Extensions
-      Glute Ham Situps
-      One ALL OUT 400m Run
-      2 ALL OUT 100m sprints (each way)
-      One ALL OUT 800m ROW
-      THE FISH GAME!!!!
-      Handstands / Handstand Pushups
-      Dips / Ring Dips
-      Dead Hang Pull Ups / Kipping Pull Up Swing / Kipping Pull Ups
-      Max out on a comfortable body weight movement

• Sit Ups
• Push Ups
• Dips
• Etc.

-      Weighted Snatch Drops/Snatch Land or Burgener Warm-up with light weight
-      Dumbell Squat Snatch
-      30 Wall Ball
-      50 Air Squats KEEPING FORM
-      ANY MOVEMENT YOU NEED TO WORK ON!!

If you have an idea on how to “finish” your training, clear it with the trainer.  For some, there is a fine line between topping off the training with some skill work, and over training.  So make sure you are avoiding the later!

Sessions are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:00pm to 9:00pm.  If you need to reschedule a session, our trainers are flexible, and should be able to accommodate your schedule (Reschedule may result in extra fees).  Contact us for more info.

Follow the link to sign up ASAP to reserve your spot.  Spot is not reserved until payment is received.

http://crossfitnaperville.com/get-started/

Katie is ready to deliver.  She’ll be here this Wednesday, June 23rd, with our orders.  Did you foget to order??  Bring your check book, she usually brings extra just in case!

Q7 is always ready for our orders!  Let me know if you need some BEEF!!

I went on my spiel about “what is CrossFit” in my hell week post, and what it means to me.  So why do I CrossFit?  One would think the answer is obvious.  Which it is, and it isn’t.  I want to stay in shape.  Mixed modal workouts containing functional movements performed at a high intensity accomplishes just that.  That’s the “no sh*t” reason.  But here’s the other intangible reason, it puts into perspective what “hard” and “tasking” really is.  Stress used to get to me.  It would affect my moods and productivity, and sometimes I’d get so bogged down it seemed like I couldn’t accomplish anything.  Shifting gears slightly, let’s look at why working out works.  You expose yourself to a physical stress, and your body resists it, and adapts to it and you get stronger/faster/etc.  I feel like CrossFit does the same thing for my mental game.  CrossFit is the only non competitive physical activity as of late that can actually illicit an emotional stress.  Often times workouts mentally stress me out and push me to the limits.

Enter Hell Week, a string of such workouts.  I know I mentioned it to some of you during that week, but the hell week training methodology is not one I agree with.  In fact, I tend to sneer at long 30 minute metcon workouts as well.  I just don’t think they have any significant benefit over a solid 12 min AMRAP in terms of developing fitness.  I like to toss them in every couple of months, but other than that I have no use for them.  I am also all about *trying* to periodize my training.  Get a solid rest/recovery interval or two in a solid week’s worth of training.  I used to hit it hard for 6 days straight, but as my times started dropping, my weights went up, and overall intensity started to peak, the workouts got a bit more potent and it was taking longer for me to recover.  I found I got more progress when training in a recovered state.  Okay, enough about my theories and how I work, the point is I think a hell week is for the most part counterproductive in terms of developing fitness.  I think constant exposure to training like that is actually physically degenerative.

So back to Wednesday night when I rolled out both The Gauntlet and Kalsu.  I was 100% committed to finishing both of those workouts prescribed.   But 42 minutes into Kalsu, Neil stopped me.  I think his words were “I’m gonna cut you off, this isn’t worth it… you’re not accomplishing anything.”  He was right.  I was gassed,  cashing in 10 burpees for 1 thruster.  I would have probably gone for another hour had Neil not cut me off.  And for what, to finish a stupid workout?  I ended up with a “DNF” next to my name on the board.  My first one ever. How disappointing, a dent to the ego that I’m supposed to be checking at the door.  I literally lost sleep over that.  I laid in bed for an hour rethinking the day in the gym trying to figure out if it would have been possible to finish.  I buttoned up the last two workouts prescribed, and Friday evening finally ended.  I was able to bounce back after getting absolutely torn down on Wednesday.

Now while I don’t think training like that improves physical fitness, I do think it tunes up our mental toughness.  I’m not smart enough to know if there’s a way you can quantify “mental strength” but I know hell week made me stronger mentally.  Once difficult or irritating tasks become easier to cope with.  Suddenly things that were bad were not so bad.  I realized that walking a few flights of stairs at work wasn’t hard.  135 pound thrusters, that’s hard.  150 wall balls mashed up with 135lb snatches, that’s tasking.  Dealing with the incompetency of co-workers, or other drivers on the road… that’s nothing! 

Grinding through the thoughts of quitting, coping with failure, dealing with the soreness; all this developed the mental game. CrossFit has coined the concept of General Physical Preparedness… But what of General Mental Preparedness?  How about being able to cope with the whirlwind of mental and emotional stressors of everyday life?  Maybe it’s up to the individual to push themselves to the intensity levels that allow them to build up those tolerances, but I think CrossFit is an avenue to improve that as well, and for me hell week was a reminder of that.

The following week of work after hell week was probably my most productive, and easiest week of the year.  With substantially improved focus, and a notch up in my mental discipline, I was able to crunch through the tasks and projects for the week.  My overall attitude was positive, and I was able to rest well.  I don’t think it was a coincidence, I really think I can attribute that to hell week.  Relative to minute 29 of the Gauntlet, just about anything was easy.

So to those of you who completed all five workouts, or even four, or even three, who drug yourself in the gym knowing that you have gone beyond your capacity, who jumped into WODs with disregard that you went beyond your limits and either failed or completed the WOD… I applaud your efforts, and hopefully you pulled from that experience a golden nugget that carried over to everyday life, and made it a bit easier.  Not anyone could do it.  I’m proud of you guys, and I apologize this post was so late.

-Luke

Naperville Magazine’s BEST of NAPERVILLE

To my surprise in 2009 CrossFit of Naperville was chosen as Glancer Magazine’s READER’S CHOICE for “MOST LOVED GYM” in Naperville.

We can do this again! Just VOTE!!!!!!

We not only have an opportunity to do it again for 2010, but we can also try and get on Naperville Magazine’s list for “Best Gym” in Naperville.

Glancer Magazine: AMVAP by June 2010!

http://www.glancermagazine.com/readers_choice10.html

Naperville Magazine: Vote 10 rounds for time!!

http://www.napervillemagazine.com/?q=node/407

It is the Chicago way…Vote early, Vote often and tell your friends, family and really anyone that will listen.

Enjoy!

—Luke

e-mail us to reserve your spot.

You can join a class on any Monday and you can purchase in 4 week sessions.

When you sign up for this session it will allow you to come to the Monday, Wednesday, Friday 6AM to 7AM sessions and Saturday’s Bring a friend Class.  This will give you a total of 4 sessions per week.  On Saturday’s Bring a friend Class, you will have an opportunity to bring a friend to our Saturday group class.

For more info, see our Schedule & Pricing page under the About section.