Today’s workout calls for Atlas stones. Who’s Atlas? And why can’t he pick up his own
stones?
According to Greek mythology, after the Titan Atlas went into battle against the Olympian
gods for control of the heavens, Atlas was sentenced by Zeus to bear the weight of the
heavens on his shoulders.
Thankfully, you won’t need to do that in today’s workout. You will, however, need to get
a big, round object over your shoulder as many times as possible (among other things).
The No Excuses Challenge starts MONDAY, September 9. All classes will complete the
baseline workout. Please show up a few minutes before class to take an InBody Scan.
Schedule Update:
Wednesday 6:30 p.m. will return to usual programming effective September 11. We will
likely run specialty courses in the near future—stay tuned! Many thanks to all of you
that showed up for the Summer of Skills classes! We had a blast. Please drop a note
to [email protected] if you have any suggestions or feedback
for next round.
Volunteer Opportunity with Berkeley Food Network:
The Berkeley Food Network is moving into a new space soon, and Sarah could use some hands
and warm bodies to help with the transition! There are still slots available for
September 14.
All body weight this year—move fast and keep pushing on each movement! You are TESTING
today. We will re-do this in 6 weeks.
Tuesday—TRAIN
Open Workout 13.4
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes: 3 clean and jerks (135/95) 3 toes-to-bars 6 clean and jerks 6
toes-to-bars 9 clean and jerks 9 toes-to-bars 12 clean and jerks 12
toes-to-bars 15 clean and jerks 15 toes-to-bars 18 clean and jerks 18
toes-to-bars
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete
21, go on to 24, etc.
MissFit (95/65); knees-to-chest
Everything will be allllll good in the shorter rounds … and THEN! UH-OH! But—it’s only 7
minutes. Try to keep your composure for a solid, big set of toes-to-bars EVEN WHEN YOU
DON’T WANT TO! Go to failure here and see what happens—how quickly can you get back on
the bar for 1-2 more reps?
You can look forward to 1 or so Open workouts each week as we prep for the FALL Open,
which starts in October.
YES, we will be running a No Excuses Challenge this year.
The challenge will officially begin Monday, September 9 and run through Monday, October
21 (6 weeks!).
We’ll have a full informational kick-off meeting on Wednesday, September 4.
For the 6 weeks, you’ll be accountable for the following:
A MINIMUM of 15 minutes of exercise 5 days per week.
7 hours of sleep per night, EVERY NIGHT.
10 minutes of mobility/recovery EVERY DAY.
Eating according to plan (more to come).
Logging your success on the above EVERY DAY.
The challenge is for those of you who are starting from scratch and want accountability
to make basic, healthy habits STICK. You’ll learn the following:
How to compose healthy meals (what types of food make you feel best?!).
How to nail down sustainable HABITS.
How to develop a mobility/recovery practice.
If you’ve done this before, you can expect to:
Re-visit those habits that always trip you up when “life” gets in the way.
Connect with your buddy and the crew and learn new skills and tweaks to make the
habits easier.
Bring BACK the awareness of which of these habits make you feel your very best.
Cost is $89.
Sign up at the front desk.
No Excuses Challenge Info Meeting:
Wednesday, September 4 at 6:30 p.m. Bring yourself, bring your questions! Get answers!
Schedule Update:
Wednesday 6:30 p.m. will return to usual programming effective September 11. We will
likely run specialty courses in the near future—stay tuned! Many thanks to all of you
that showed up for the Summer of Skills classes! We had a blast. Please drop a note to
[email protected] if you have any suggestions or feedback for
next round.
Holiday Schedule Monday, September 2
8-a.m. and 9-a.m. classes only!
Volunteer Opportunity with Berkeley Food Network:
The Berkeley Food Network is moving into a new space soon, and Sarah could use some hands
and warm bodies to help with the transition! There are slots available for September 7
and 14. Coach Heidi will be there on the 7th after morning classes. Functional fitness
for a good cause!
LATERAL step-ups. Choose a box that’s high enough to get your hip below parallel, but not
so high you have to use a big heave to get up there.
“Tempo” will be: Fast on way up 3-2-1 count on the way down BONUS if you can
pause for a breath at the bottom with foot off the ground.
These are a great way to build stability, strength, and positions for pistols. If these
are too easy, descend with your “floating” leg forward of the box.
B. “Kriss Kross”
8 rounds, starting svery 3:00: 200-m run 8 burpees to 6″ target
EACH round is for time. Goal is to move FAST and not fall off the pace. 85-90% on the
200-m run, quick transition, and straight to burpees.
Wednesday—RECOVER
A. Warm-up:
Every minute on the minute for 12 mins (alternating) Min 1: AMRAP: 3 squat thrusts + 3
KB swing Min 2: 50-m farmers carry (1 arm, switch at half)
Focus on a nice, flat landing position with your feet. This will transfer over to awesome
burpees down the line. Choose your standard KB weight–something you can swing without
much concern 🙂
B. Get sweaty:
15 minutes for quality: 50-m sled push (90/50) 30-s L-Sit/tuck
hang 10 inch worm + perfect push-ups
The sled will get your heart rate up. L-Sits are a “fun” skill to practice. Take your
time on inchworm + push-up to make for perfect push-ups and a great stretch. 5 rounds
would be a good goal today.
Goal is to get some work on your pull-ups with JUUUUUST enough squats and dubs to get you
sweaty!
Friday—TRAIN
A. Look (e)MOM, no HANDS(tands)!
Every minute on the minute for 12 minutes (alternating) Min 1: 15-s hollow hold + 15-s arch Min 2: 200-m
run Min 3: Handstand practice
Working on shapes! Open your shoulders, stack your ribs and hips and try to get a moment
of balance in your handstands.
B. “Handlebars”
5 rounds for time: Accumulate 1 minute in handstand 21 toes-to-bar Rest 1:00
HS hold is cumulative, but call it when quality starts to suffer or you can’t compose
yourself enough to feel like this is productive practice. Toes-to-bars will tax arms and
midline even more, so finding a STACKED position is super important to minimize the
amount of energy you put out.
This is NOT the time to “banana” yourself up to the wall and wait it out. Learn
something! Start with one solid set of toes-to-bar (if you’ve never tried to do 21
unbroken, give it a go!). Ideally, commit to a big set that you’re not sure you’ll hit.
If you have a few T2B but not 21, scale back to 12 or knees to chest + T2B linked.
Scaling options: Freestanding HS walk attempts Wall facing (wall walk) Pull a foot or two off of wall
Saturday—TRAIN (Guest Day!)
In pairs: As many rounds and reps as possible in 20 minutes: 20 lunge complex (rev
lunge right, rev lunge left, ball slam) (25/15) 20 partner
push-ups 200-m run with ball
Lunge complex should be a fun challenge today—carry the slam ball the entire time, and
end each “rep” with a smash and catch. Split reps as needed.
Partner push-ups: Both push up and high-five at the top. Run together, but pass off ball
as needed.
This one should be a consistently sweaty 20 minutes. Good fun!
Sunday—TRAIN
5 Rounds for time:
15/10 cal bike 10 burpees
Hit this one fast and hard. Get the RPMs on the bike up as high as possible and maintain
a good clip on the burpees. GO!
8/28: Get a Deeper Squat With Coach Heidi 9/4: No Excuses Challenge Info Meeting
All clinics at 6:30 p.m.
These are FREE for members.
Is there something you’re dying to learn more of? Please drop a line to
[email protected].
No Excuses Challenge 2019:
YES, we will be running a No Excuses Challenge this year.
The challenge will officially begin Monday, September 9 and run through Monday, October
21 (6 weeks!).
We’ll have a full informational kick-off meeting on Wednesday, September 4.
For the 6 weeks, you’ll be accountable for the following:
A MINIMUM of 15 minutes of exercise 5 days per week.
7 hours of sleep per night, EVERY NIGHT.
10 minutes of mobility/recovery EVERY DAY.
Eating according to plan (more to come).
Logging your success on the above EVERY DAY.
The challenge is for those of you who are starting from scratch and want accountability
to make basic, healthy habits STICK. You’ll learn the following:
How to compose healthy meals (what types of food make you feel best?!).
How to nail down sustainable HABITS.
How to develop a mobility/recovery practice.
If you’ve done this before, you can expect to:
Re-visit those habits that always trip you up when “life” gets in the way.
Connect with your buddy and the crew and learn new skills and tweaks to make the
habits easier.
Bring BACK the awareness of which of these habits make you feel your very best.
Cost is $89.
Sign up at the front desk.
Holiday Schedule Monday, September 2
8-a.m. and 9-a.m. classes only!
Guest Day Saturday, September 7
Guests, family, friends, and teens welcome. The workout will be beginner friendly. FREE!
Start at a moderate weight and work up to a heavy, but not sketchy, set of 3. This is not
the time to fail the first rep! Take a second stab at same weight or drop if form starts
to go!
B. “Jack in the Box”
For time: 15-12-9 reps Push jerk (135/95) 30 double-unders after each set
immediately into….
6-9-12 Reps Push jerk (155/105) 30 double-unders after each set
How many Jack in the Box tacos can you get for the change in yo’ pocket? About as many as
the number of jerks you’ll do today.
Upper body dynamic strength day + practice/stamina at heavier weights.
Goal is to hold on to the bar as long as possible—keep your movement SMOOTH and steady
and try to keep each round to 1-2 sets, at most.
Monostructural fun day! Once you pop, you can’t stop!
Break the slam balls into 2-3 sets as needed; keep breathing throughout. You should push
nearly to redline, but not to the point where you dog the rest of the movements. Slam
balls should feel like 85-90% effort by the end … then just HOLD ON!
Wednesday—RECOVER
A. Warm-up:
12 minutes, alternating between: Min 1: as many rounds as possible of 4 alternating lunges + 4 PERFECT push ups Min 2: 150-m run/row or 40-s bike
B. Get Sweaty:
As many rounds and reps as possible in 15 minutes: 30-s hang from bar 15 parallette pass throughs 10 cossack squats
Use a plate, light KB, or light band on rig to balance the cossack squats. Remember: Hips
back, and keep your full foot on the ground when you push your weight to that side!
Play with the pass throughs—try a higher set of boxes if it lets you kick forward and
back without touching the ground. WEEE!
C. Mobility:
1:00/side pigeon 1:00/side saddle (half frog, other leg out) 1:00 child’s pose
2 rounds: 12 deadlifts (185/125) 12 burpees over bar 200-m run
–Rest 2:00–
2 rounds: 9 deadlifts (225/155) 9 burpees over bar 200-m run
MissFit: (115/75) (135/95) (155/105)
Score is combined time, INCLUDING rest!
Sub 25:00 should be very doable if you move quickly through the burpees. You WILL get
tired, but do not let yourself stay on the ground! Moving slowly through 2-3 reps is
better than stopping. Take your breaths before picking up the barbell, but transition as
quickly as possible through everything else!
Burpees are lateral over bar, not bar facing—stay low and move FAST.
This one is all about stamina! It’ll be hard to keep moving through the first and second
rounds, but just keep moving!
Pistols and step-ups will really challenge your balance after the row and box jumps, so
try to find a rhythm or flow to help. Big sets on pull-ups/ring rows. Try to get through
a third or more (e.g., in the 42: 18-14-10; 30: 12-10-8; 18: 8-6-4)
Sunday—TRAIN
In Teams of 2, for total time:
Row 1000m (split as needed)
then,
“Karen” 150 Wallballs (20,14)
“Isabel” 30 power snatches (115/75)
“Grace” 30 Clean & Jerks (115/75)
800m run (split as needed)
Rx+: (135/95) BOTH row and run 2k/1mi
Out the door by 30 min, regardless of where you are 🙂 You go, I go. Keep moving with
fast single reps as needed or small sets. While each workout is a sprint, you’ll have to
keep a steady cadence to have “gas” at the end.
It doesn’t matter whether you can run a mile or you haven’t run since childhood.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve lifted weights all your life or if you’ve never touched a
barbell.
It doesn’t matter if you have an athletic background or if working out is new and scary.
We’ll meet you where you’re at—because you deserve a better life.
Announcements
Summer of Skills:
8/21: Get Your First Strict Pull-Up With Coach Wendy
8/28: Get a Deeper Squat With Coach Heidi
9/4: No Excuses Challenge Info Meeting
All clinics at 6:30 p.m.
These are FREE for members.
Is there something you’re dying to learn more of? Please drop a line to
[email protected].
No Excuses Challenge 2019:
YES, we will be running a No Excuses Challenge this year.
The challenge will officially begin Monday, September 9 and run through Monday, October
21 (6 weeks!).
We’ll have a full informational kick-off meeting on Wednesday, September 4th.
For the 6 weeks, you’ll be accountable for the following:
A MINIMUM of 15 minutes of exercise 5 days per week.
7 hours of sleep per night, EVERY NIGHT.
10 minutes of mobility/recovery EVERY DAY.
Eating according to plan (more to come).
Logging your success on the above EVERY DAY.
For those of you that are starting from scratch and want accountability to make basic,
healthy habits STICK. You’ll learn the following:
How to compose healthy meals (what types of food make you feel best?!)
Nail down sustainable HABITS.
Develop a mobility/recovery practice.
If you’ve done this before, you can expect to:
Re-visit those habits that always trip you up when “life” gets in the way
Connect with your buddy and the crew and learn new skills and tweaks to make the
habits easier
Bring BACK the awareness of which of these habits make you feel your very best
Cost is $89.
Sign up at the front desk.
Holiday Schedule Monday, September 2
8-a.m. and 9-a.m. classes only!
Guest Day Saturday, September 7
Guests, family, friends, and teens welcome. The workout will be beginner friendly. FREE!
Workouts for the Week:
Monday—TRAIN
A. Every minute on the minute for 6 rounds (12 mins total):
Min 1: 200/150-m row
Min 2: 12 KB goblet split squats (6/side)
Push through your legs! Little double leg power + single leg strength and coordination.
B. “Mini Nate”
As many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes:
4 pull-ups
6 hand-release push-ups
8 KB snatch (4 per side) (53/35)
Quick, spicy rounds. Hit the pull-ups unbroken and smoothly linked. Try to move through
the push-ups as you fatigue. Find a smooth pace with the snatch.
Work up to a strong, MODERATELY heavy weight today. Not a chance to max out, but a good
way to feel positions.
ALL sets pulled as singles, with a full reset before each rep. Stand on two 25-lb. plates
or a higher platform ONLY as form allows.
Goal is to feel strong and tight with the bar, pressing through full foot. You are trying
to find a challenging or different way to feel your absolute best position.
If range of motion is limited, this is a great day to actually RAISE the bar off the
ground, focusing on bracing and driving through the legs.
B. 3 rounds for time:
400-m run
15 body-weight deadlifts
This one is short, simple, and sweet. These do not have to be unbroken—in fact, 9-6 or
similar breakup in later rounds may help you move better while remaining fast.
Weight should be no more than about 60% of your 1-RM deadlift. Scale accordingly!
Wednesday—RECOVER
A. Warm-up
3 Rounds:
45 s on/15 s off
Glute bridge-ups Side plank left
Single-leg band DL left
Side plank right
Single-leg band DL right
Single side and core warm-up! You should be sweaty by the second round.
B. As many rounds and reps as possible in 15 minutes:
10-cal row
10 HIGH box jumps (30/24 or higher!)
50-m HEAVY farmers carry
50-foot bear crawl
Rest as needed between jumps and farmers carry. Goal is for each of those to feel HARD
and slow you down just a bit, so this isn’t just a straight through grind.
C. Mobility
2 mins/side:
Butt smash (figure 4)
Legs on box—work around sacrum/low back
Lateral hip smash
Try for as many reps as possible of EACH exercise, not just total score. Bonus if you
note/beat your scores for each movement, i.e., 15-cal row, 15 burpees, 50 doubles each
round …
A minute of rest isn’t much here. You’re pushing your threshold but trying to stay
somewhat in control. Start at a pace that feels aggressive but manageable and try to
hold on. DO NOT hold back on burpees to protect the double unders—really push yourself
to match or beat your early rounds. Sure, you could do 2 fewer burpees and easily make
those up, but what’s the fun in that?!
Friday—TRAIN
A. Every minute on the minute for 10 rounds:
1 hang squat snatch
+
2 OHS
(The squat in the squat snatch does NOT count as OHS)
Start with PVC, then empty barbell until squats feel limber.
Add weight and rest between later sets as needed. Work up to a weight slightly OVER what
you’ll do for the workout today.
B. Double AMRAP:
6 minutes, as many rounds and reps as possible:
1 hang squat snatch (115/75)
3 overhead squats
50-m run
–Rest 2 mins–
6 minutes, as many rounds and reps as possible:
1 hang squat snatch (75/55)
3 overhead squats
50-m run
MissFit (75/55; 45/35)
Rx+: (135/95; 95/75)
Once again, the squat in the hang squat snatch does NOT count toward the overhead squats!
Goal of this is to feel smooth and steady with the barbell. A good “catch” with the
snatch will help.
Weight decreases in the second round: You should be feeling “warm” finally and reps
should feel smooth and breezy! Make it spicy!
Saturday—TRAIN
For time:
800-m run
40 pull-ups
40 walking lunges
800-m run
40 toes-to-bars
40 walking lunges
400-m run
20 pull-ups
20 walking lunges
400-m run
20 toes-to-bars
20 walking lunges
-30-minute time cap-
Fun little chipper today! The runs should be enough relief to let your grip recover
JUUUUUST a bit! Try to hit the rounds of pull-ups/T2B in less than 3-4 sets and minimize
transitions between movements. If you’re feeling beat, this would be a good WOD to
tackle in pairs: Run together and split the reps. 🙂
Sunday—TRAIN (or RECOVER!)
“First Cuts” (from the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games)
From the trail, turn right onto the San Francisco Bay Trail then right again when it
splits. Continue for 200 m or so, and you should see us on a long, sandy strip of beach.
Maps available at the gym.
Oakland Tri/Classes Cancelled: Sunday, August 18th
If you’re free, please come support the Hale athletes that are completing the Oakland
Triathlon. Here is spectator information.
Jack London Square has a ton of fun options for post-race beer and lunch.
Note: 8am class and Open Gym are cancelled for this Sunday!
Summer of Skills:
8/14: Shoulder Mobility with Coach Heidi (fix your overhead and front rack
positions!) 8/21: Get Your First Strict Pull-Up With Coach Wendy
All clinics at 6:30 p.m.
These are FREE for members.
Is there something you’re dying to learn more of? Please drop a line to
[email protected].
No Excuses Challenge 2019:
YES, we will be running a No Excuses Challenge this year. Save the date to start your
meal prep on Sunday, September 8th.
Challenge will officially begin Monday, September 9th. Stay tuned over the next two weeks
for more details!
5 sets of the same weight, all at 85-90% of your one-rep max. We’re getting even heavier
weight on your back today—goal is to gain some confidence under the bar so when we
re-test, it’s not a huge jump.
GET IT!
MissFit: Scale to sets of 5 at a moderately heavy weight—again, working on confidence,
but not under something that feels “crushing.”
Just enough of each movement to feel the burn. Try to keep all movements unbroken and
transitions reasonable. Count down in your head as you approach. 5-4-3-2-1, and GET IT!
Rx+: If you break up any of the movements, start the set fresh. (That is, do ALL of your
double unders unbroken.)
Tuesday—TRAIN
For time, in pairs: 2,000-m row 120 burpees 1,000-m row 100 pull-ups 500-m row 80 KB snatch (44/26) (35:00 hard cap)
MissFit: Ring rows KB 26/18
*Switch every 250 m on the row. Split other reps any way you want!
This one is a bit of an enduro workout—aim for big sets on the pull-ups to start, and
quick transitions and communication between you and your partner.
KB snatch is a bit of skill work at the end. Scale to DB hang snatch if you feel like
it’s sketchy.
Wednesday—RECOVER
Warm-up:
12 mins for Quality: 5/side prone twist 5 candlestick roll to squat 5 big arm
circles backward/5 big arm circles forward 5/side lateral box step-ups 50-m jog
Get Sweaty:
15 minutes, as many rounds & reps as possible: 1 Turkish get-up per side 30 jump rope skips
per leg (ONE LEG at a time! or 100 with both feet) 20 alternating V-ups
Choose a weight that’s challenging for the TGU, or consider moving up and trying another
weight if it feels too easy!
Lots of single arm/leg stuff today. Find your balance!
A. 10 minutes to build to a “heavy for today” SQUAT clean + jerk
Keep those great mechanics you’ve learned in the skills sessions—this is “heavy but feels
good,” NOT “heaviest ever with sketchy footwork.”
If you need to, drop some weight if things get sketchy, then work back up.
B. For time: 30 squat clean + jerks (155/105)
**Complete 5 burpees after each 5 reps of clean and jerk.
Workout ENDS with 5 burpees as well.
Today is a TRAINING day—that means if your touch-and-go clean and jerks get scrappy,
you’re better off setting up for a fast single each time and chasing good movement
patterns than doing sketch reps!
MissFit: 115/75
Friday–TRAIN
A. Handstand Skill Work
Every minute on the minute for 10 rounds: 5 sit-ups + 10-20 s of handstand practice
–Wall walk -3 strict pull-ups -Freestanding
handstand -Handstand walk
Take a minute off as needed. No score on this one; just practice good positions under
some core fatigue!
We’ll run this one in heats with a HARD CAP at 10 minutes. Sub toes-to-bar or straight leg raises for T2R as needed.
Should be fast and spicy. Dig in on the bike and try to keep big sets on the T2R.
Saturday—GUEST DAY at the Beach!
In pairs: 25 minutes, as many rounds and reps as possible: Run to end of beach and
back (together) 30 “log” clean to shoulder 50 “log” lunges
Rx+: Carry log on run.
We’ll meet at the beach in Marina Bay for this one. Wear layers of clothes you don’t mind
getting sandy. You’ll get a good, constant sweat by running together. Share the weight
of the log movements.
Sunday—RECOVER
Take the day off! Come watch the Oakland Tri and hang out for post-race fun.
In this episode, Hale coach Heidi shares her journey from athlete to overweight to
CrossFit coach.
Coach Heidi Gets Real
Coach Heidi has been an athlete all her life: Dance. Biking. Baseball. Football. Rugby.
Swimming. Volleyball. Basketball. Skiing. Snowboarding.
But that doesn’t mean she’s never struggled with her fitness.
Shortly before joining Hale in 2013, Heidi had reached her highest body weight ever: 200
lb. You might look at what she can do now and think, “No way. She doesn’t understand
the struggle,” but we assure you, she does—even now.
“As a coach, unless you are being coached, it’s hard to get to that scary
place sometimes. You can do just enough. I don’t always push,” she admitted.
That’s why even coaches need coaches.
Heidi described being inspired by Coach Wendy to track her macros more carefully; today,
Heidi’s at the lowest body-fat percentage of the past three years.
That inspiration is one of the reasons she decided to become a coach herself.
“The things you can’t see in yourself that others can,” she said. “And this
is a big part of why I love being a coach: You can see the faces people make, you
can see the little glimmers of fear or hope or excitement or all of those things,
and you are not always self-aware enough to see them in yourself.”
It’s not about perfection, she continued. It’s about effort.
“Find something you can nail down and be confident in,” she said. “Find
momentum. Do one very simple thing and do it really well, until that feels easy.
Then you can take off a bigger chunk.”
In this episode, you will learn:
How even coaches like Heidi struggle with their
fitness.
How committing to precise nutrition and
accountability helped Heidi take her fitness to the next level.
Why Coach Heidi thinks you should be a grizzly
bear.
In this episode, Hale coach Dave shares how he went from member to coach and what he’s
learned along the way.
Becoming Coach Dave
You’ve seen him at the front of class.
Maybe he’s cued you through a technical lift or high-fived you after a PR. Or maybe
you’ve watched him overhead squat and wished you could move like that; be as athletic as
him.
But he wasn’t always so at home in the gym.
“I’d walk in there and be very confused and scared of what to do,” he said of
working out years ago in a conventional gym.
He was still intimidated when he joined Hale about four years ago, watching athletes do
pull-ups and lift big weights while he could barely press 65 lb.
“I don’t want to be the weakest one,” he thought.
But he kept coming back. Soon, he realized everyone at Hale—coaches and members alike—was
helpful and supportive.
Things started to click.
“Once it clicks, you realize the fun in it, and you’re accomplishing these
things,” he said.
Today, Dave’s got a 175-lb. press—and even better, he’s the one helping others accomplish
their goals.
“Give us a shot,” he said. “Check out CrossFit Hale, because (in) the
environment here, I think you’d have a hard time not prospering.”
In this episode, you will learn:
Why Dave kept training at Hale even though he was
intimidated at first.
How he made piece with scaling workouts.
Why Dave continues to pursue tough challenges—like
becoming a coach.
˄ ˄ ˄ Things I’ve said out loud to myself during workouts.
It’s me trying encourage myself to stop being weak and keep going.
Have you ever listened to your own self-talk when you’re working out or before you’re
about to try something difficult?
“I dunno about that … ”
“It’s a lot of weight … ”
“I can’t do that movement … ”
˄ ˄ ˄ Actual words we’ve heard around the gym.
Yikes!
We are SO mean to ourselves; SO negative.
We do it so often that we don’t even think it is negative. When I say it out loud, it’s
in a joking or sarcastic tone, or sometimes in a drill-sergeant yell.
But it cuts so deep.
The words you use create the reality you live.
What’s worse is how your words affect the people around you.
When you say out loud “I can’t do that” or “jeez, that’s heavy,” the person next to you
trying to pump themselves up to do the same thing loses confidence.
You can use the lightest, jokiest tone …
but the bottom line is …
You’re dragging them down!!!
Not cool.
Watch Wendy during a tough workout.
She suffers, it hurts, she wants to quit.
When she’s done, she goes outside and sits down with her head bowed.
You go to give her a fist bump and she barely lifts her arm.
Ask her two minutes later how it was and she says,
“It wasn’t too bad! I liked it.”
!!!!
Is she lying to herself? Is that how she really feels?
WHO CARES?!!!
This is what she tells herself every time and what keeps her coming back to do it again
the next day.
Doing that every day has built her into one the best athletes in the gym.
But what do we do about it?
We all have to work hard to eliminate that negative self-talk and start encouraging
ourselves every day.
The best way I know to train myself to do something is by rewarding good behavior and
having consequences for undesirable behavior.
So let’s try it!
This week, your coaches will be looking to promote positive self-talk.
Every time we hear you saying something positive out loud to yourself or someone else,
we’ll be giving you high-fives or fist bumps.
Every time we hear something like “I can’t” or “that’s crazy” or
similar things that don’t help you or the people around you believe you can succeed,
we’ll be handing out 3 burpees.
These will be entirely at the coaches’ discretion, can be handed out at any time for any
reason, and there will be no appeals.
You want to be in an environment where everyone is encouraging you to be your best ALL
THE TIME.
Our job is to provide it.
Let’s do it together.
Coach “let’s go!” Jay
Announcements
Next Guest Day at Hale: Saturday, August 3
All athletes and guests welcome; no CrossFit experience required. Classes at 8 a.m. and 9
a.m. FREE! New guests, please arrive 10 minutes before class to sign a waiver.
Summer of Skills:
Our next few skills sessions will be:
7/31: Oly Skills (Clean) with Nathan Loe* 8/7: Oly Skills (Jerk) with Nathan Loe*
All clinics at 6:30 p.m.
These are FREE for members.
*Advanced sign-up is required. Clinics are currently full, but email
[email protected] to get on the waiting list.
Is there something you’re dying to learn more of? Please drop a line to
[email protected].
Mark Freeman (of Freeman Technique, Cirque du Soleil, and Cal Gymnastics fame) will be
running his clinics on Wednesdays at 5:45 a.m. Cost is $20 for members; $25 for
non-members. Our regular 5:45-a.m. Group Coaching class will continue as scheduled.
Oakland Tri and Alcatraz Swim
Now that the Hero Challenge is done and dusted, the coaches are training for two upcoming
events. More info to come, but the more the merrier! Give us a shout when you sign up!
Today’s your day to practice a great set-up and solid positions. Keep weight manageable
for the first 8-10 minutes, then feel free to add if it feels GREAT.
GREAT snatches at a lower weight beat heavier but “janky” reps, all day, every day. Toe
the line, but today is NOT PR-at-all-costs day.
B. 15 minutes: As many rounds and reps as possible: 3 power snatch (135/95) 10 wall balls (20/14) 100-m run
Fast singles will do the trick for power snatch. Unbroken wall balls. Keep your heart
rate up with the run, but snatch under fatigue is the main event!
Tuesday—PERFORM
“Lynne”
5 rounds for reps of: Bench press body weight (max reps) Pull-ups (max reps)
This is a classic CrossFit benchmark. Choose body weight ONLY IF you can reliably do 3+
reps with this weight.
Otherwise: (185/125) MissFit (115/75)
Kipping pull-ups are the way to roll. Rest as needed between rounds, but do one set
nearly to failure!
Wednesday—RECOVER
A. Warm-up
3 Rounds: Skip around the gym Bear crawl around the gym 1-min
plank 30s/side side plank
Against a running clock: at 0:00: 1000-m row at 8:00: 800-m run at 16:00: 500-m
row at 20:00: 400-m run at 24:00: 250-m row at 26:00: 200-m run
Track times for all of your splits—your pace should be getting FASTER as you go!! Use
what you’ve learned for efficiency, cadence and breathing to hold it together!
As many rounds and reps as possible in 5 minutes: 10 slam balls 5 box
jump-overs 5 sit-ups
2 minutes rest:
As many rounds and reps as possible in 3 minutes: 6 slam balls 3 box
jump-overs 3 sit-ups
Guest Day! Each interval gets shorter (as do reps!), so it should feel like a fun
build-up to a sprint by the end. Kind of like the beat drop in your favorite song.
Build your pace with each round!
Sunday—TRAIN
2 rounds for time: 24-m 1-arm DB front rack walking lunge (1 DB, switch at half way) 24
alternating arm DB snatches 24-m 1-arm DB front rack
walking lunge 24 toes-to-bars 24-m 1-arm DB front rack
walking lunge 24 alternating arm DB snatches
Partner up on this one if you’re feeling like you need an easier day! It’ll be a good one
to just get sweaty at lighter weights—or a shoulder and leg burner a bit heavier.
