3 rounds:15 DB squat snatch, right arm (35/25)15 GHD situps15 DB squat snatch, left arm (35/25)15 toes to bar   Miss Manners…Part 3. Dear Miss Manners, First, thank you for all your help thus far in navigating the ins and outs of the gym. I have one other question that I’d love your help with. I’ve noticed that a lot of athletes in the gym like to use chalk on their hands when they do pullups, use barbells, or want to leave a handprint on each other’s shorts. I’ve also noticed that some of the more serious athletes (or at least those with serious faces) like to take chalk and have it next to them during the workout while others take the opportunity to stop in the middle of workouts and walk to the chalk bucket 3 or 4 or 12 times during a workout. Which is the right way...Read more

“Fight Gone Bad!” Three rounds of:Wall-ball, 20 pound ball, 10 ft target (Reps)Sumo deadlift high-pull, 75 pounds (Reps)Box Jump, 20″ box (Reps)Push-press, 75 pounds (Reps)Row (Calories) Check It at the Door… Hey Roots! Big Ups to all of you that came in and threw down on heavy deadlifts on Wednesday. Skipping heavy lifting days because you like to “go long” or love the met-con is a just as lame as skipping run days because you don’t like to breathe hard. If you want to get better and be a well-rounded athlete, you don’t get to only do the things you love or are good at. But you know that… What struck me in Wednesday’s workout was the willingness of many of you to check your ego at the door. Heavy lift day has a different energy around it and often we can get caught up in that. While that’s good...Read more

Deadlift 5-5-5-5-5 Why I CrossFit. We all have different reasons for doing this. As a coach, it is often helpful to think about what motivates particular athletes as it can sometimes help you to help them. I’ve talked to several people over the last few weeks who have wanted to make the point to me that you don’t do this to compete. Over the next few months, we will pay a considerable amount of attention to the CrossFit Open and the pathway to the CrossFit Games.  While we think that every athlete who participates will make gains in their personal journey with CrossFit, we also understand if it’s not your desired playing field.  We are all competitors, and each find different and similar joys in doing CrossFit. When we talk to new people about what CrossFit is, we tell them that it helps us be prepared for whatever obstacles life, sport, or...Read more

For time:30 handstand pushups40 pull-ups50 kb swings (1.5/1)60 sit-ups70 burpees   Shop Happenings! It’s hard to believe that it is almost February! There is a lot going on in the next few weeks. Take note below and look for the newsletter coming out this week for all the details, but here is a preview. Tonight: The Caveman Cafe will be at Roots today from 5-7 PM serving up paleo samples and selling dinners to go. For more info, checkout the Facebook event link here. Valentine’s Day Couples WOD–Feb 14th at 6 PM: It’s back for another year. This is one of the funnest events of the year. Look for details in the newsletter and mark your calendar. CrossFit Open Registration— starts January 30th: See yesterday’s post for more information. And last, but not least, some bittersweet news. Mike “Odie” Oetken – the friendly face at the Roots front desk, is off to...Read more

7 rounds:1 power snatch + 3 overhead squatsRest 60 seconds     Shane’s Top 4 Reasons for Competing in the Open. Now that you know what the CrossFit Open is, lets talk about why you should compete.  Many athletes feel like they’re not good enough to compete in the Open, BUT today we hope to dispel that myth that you have to be a firebreather, competitive, or even able to do a muscle-up to get something out of the Open. When we consider what the Open is (see Here Comes the Open from last week ), it should become evident that athletes aren’t doing anything than a typical day at Roots; come in, push yourself to the max, and end up in a puddle of your own sweat along all of your Roots friends.  Some may read that and say, “well if I’m already doing that, why should I register for...Read more