REMINDER: Oly class on Wednesdays at 8am added to weekly schedule.  Begins tomorrow.

Five rounds for load and time of:
Deadlift, 5 reps
5 Ring handstand push-ups

You may increase and decrease the load as needed.  Note the workout is for time AND load.  If you are not yet able to do handstand push-ups, scale as necessary, duh.

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend the 2010 CrossFit Games (in large part thanks to Eric and Ryan’s coaching back at Roots – thanks guys). Being a die-hard CrossFitter, shop owner, and coach it perhaps seemed odd that this was my first experience attending the ultimate CrossFit event.

Having had a day to look back, see the video footage, and look through the website that brought the event to each of you in your homes, a few things come to mind.

First, the supportive community that we saw at our sectional and regional competitions is the same community that came out to Carson, California. The camaraderie of CrossFit that inspires you each day at the shop is alive and well and an infectious component of the Games.  While the stakes may have been higher, the excitement around incredible athletic achievements was no different.

Second, highlights of the Games for me included the gladiator-like feel of walking into the stadium to see athletes lifting barbells and doing muscle-ups before a screaming crowd.  The staff of judges who – despite long hot days, sunburn, hunger, and layers of sweat – flashed gigantic smiles as they talked about the fantastic athletic performances of the athletes they had judged.  And finally, my biggest highlight was watching Kristan Clever jerk 205 pounds after completing “super Helen.”  Her effort was grace in motion and sent chills down my spine.

Third, the human experiment called CrossFit really works.  The final workout involved exercises that it’s reasonable to say most athletes had not practiced – climbing walls with ropes, wall ascents, and perhaps, for some, rope climbs.  In CrossFit we train for the unknown and the unknowable – with deadlifts, burpees, and box jumps.  The athletes who had performed well in the experienced areas – workouts that involved traditional CrossFit exercises – tended to do well in the rope climb over the wall workout.  It validated to me, before my own eyes, the things we do at the shop day in day out.

Congratulations to our local favorites Matt Chan and Patrick Burke who placed 4th and 7th respectively.

Until next year…