Tag Archives: weight loss

I Keep Waiting …

For fitness to get easier …

For the weights to feel lighter …

For food to get simpler …

We’ve been working on people’s fitness for DECADES!

You’ve probably been working on your own for just as long.

Why is it still so HARD?

It’s not your fault …

There are very few things in daily life that encourage you to get and stay in great shape.

Even if you CAN navigate the lies we’re sold about how to eat or work out.

You have to go OUT OF YOUR WAY to eat well, make time to train, and get a good night’s sleep.

You have to say no to SO MANY temptations in your daily life.

Fact is, it’s HARD.

We get it.

And if you are able to muster up the motivation and discipline to take ANY steps toward improving your health or fitness, we salute you.

You’re not always going to be perfect, you’re not always going to be happy about it, and you’re not always going to want to do it.

But we appreciate the effort you put in, week after week, to live a better life by improving your fitness.

And we promise to keep doing everything we can to support you.

See you at the gym.

Coach “Happy Monday” Jay

P.S. – A quick LOL for you. This is exactly how workouts feel some Mondays. 

 

Announcements:

Saturday, October 5: Guest Day at Hale

All levels welcome. 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Please arrive early to sign a waiver if this is your first class!

October 10 – November 11: CrossFit Games Open

With the new format of the CrossFit Games, this will be the first time the Open is held in fall (these results lead to the 2020 season).

We will do the Open WOD in Friday class each week—workouts will be announced on Thursday afternoons, and we may update the weekend’s programming to adjust!

Expect: a fun chance to THROW DOWN on a “Perform” WOD each Friday. One of these should be a repeat (re-TEST!) of one you’ve done in the past. We will not be tracking points with Early Birds versus Night Owls, but you will have a fun time competing with yourself and your swolemates. Get it!

Registration online is optional.

P.S. There are a few skills we are likely to see in the Open:

  • Overhead squats!
  • Advanced gymnastics: bar muscle-ups, muscle-ups, chest-to-bars
  • Toes-to-bars
  • Double-unders
  • STRICT gymnastics: HSPU, Pull-ups, etc.

You’ll see some of these more frequently in the programming, but if you’re looking to brush up, now would be a great time to schedule a few skills sessions. Email [email protected] to set these up!

Workouts for the Week

Monday—TRAIN/PERFORM

A. As warm up to B:

8-min EMOM:
3 power snatch

Work up to and beyond the workout weight—feel solid in the catch!!

8-min EMOM (or as needed):
Pull-up/bar muscle-up practice

Extended warm-up today—with the shorter WODs you should feel like you’ve had a LOT of practice before 3-2-1-GO!

B. PERFORM!

“Open 16.3”

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 7 minutes of:
10 power snatches (75/55)
3 bar muscle-ups

Take this as a chance to compare to your previous effort or practice some skills you haven’t had much time to try.

HIGH skill, low volume today. With light weights, this should feel SPICY! If you don’t have BMU, pick a scaling that you can move through unbroken or with quick singles. If you’re close, attempts are cool!

Tuesday—TRAIN

5 rounds, not for time:
10 body-weight deadlifts
400-m run

(30-minute cap)

Just. Do. Work! This should be plenty sweaty. Take your time to set up and get good, quality reps! Play with rep schemes and sets and breathing. This is PRACTICE.

Wednesday—RECOVER

A. Warm Up:

15 mins to accomplish:

3 rounds:
10/side slow plank knees-to-elbows
8/side Bulgarian Split Squat
(back leg on bench)

3 rounds:
10/side: side plank w/1 breath pause
12 Spanish squats
(3-2-1 down, controlled UP)
30-s rest

B. 5 rounds:
300-m row (80% pace)
Between rounds:
Max box/bar/ring dips in 1 minute

Sub push-ups as needed. Note total reps!

C. Mobility

2 mins tricep smash
10/side slow scorpion (3-breath pause)

Thursday—TRAIN

5 rounds for total time:
21 wall balls
30-s rest
15-cal row
30-s rest
9 toes-to-bars
30-s rest

Goal is to hit each set as hard as possible—keep T2B unbroken or FAST if able, move at an aggressive pace on the row! Your transition time COUNTS in your rest. BE ON IT in 30 s.

Friday—TRAIN

A. (Front rack) split squat for load:
5-5-5-5-5

5 per side per set. YIIIIKES midline and balance. Aim to drop straight down, NOT shift forward and back between feet.

B. 15-min EMOM:
Clean and jerk
PRACTICE

NAIL THAT SPLIT JERK!

Work up to 75-85% of max, and keep it cute.

Saturday—TRAIN—Guest Day!

One partner works at a time:
100-m run
1 DB man-maker
100-m run
2 DB man-makers
100-m run
3 DB man-makers

etc.

Push-up + row
Push-up + row
Burpee to squat clean thruster

Split work as needed, finishing 1 full man-maker before switching. One partner runs each round, or split to 50 m/each as relay.

Mandatory high fives!

Score is the round you finished (i.e. finished the 7 man-makers) plus additional reps (AND you ran 100 m)

Sunday—TRAIN

12-9-6-3 reps for time of:

Clean and jerks (135/95)
Chest-to-bar pull-ups

Rx +
♀ 125 lb. ♂ 185 lb.
Bar muscle-ups

Is CrossFit Dangerous?

You’ve heard the stereotype—”CrossFit is dangerous.” But is it true?

Well, like everything in life, it depends on how you do it. And at Hale, our team of professional trainers will teach you to move safely and efficiently so you can get a great workout while minimizing risk of injury.

Remember—the fitter you are, the safer you’ll be in any situation.

Being sedentary is the real danger.

How to Get Out of a Rut

Those last few weeks of summer can be brutal.

You’re squeezing in the last vacations, family visits, BBQs …

Then, BAM—school starts.

All the sudden there’s traffic everywhere, you’ve got a new commute to deal with, and life has spun up again.

But … it still feels like summer! The sun is shining bright, the days are still long, and there are still festivals and BBQs to attend.

The last thing you’re worried about is your fitness.

A few days turns into a week, then a few weeks …

But you don’t want to lean out too far over that edge.

After a solid five months of progress, vacations and illness put me right into that rut.

Here’s how I get out of it.

1) Figure out what has worked in the past.

Have you had success in the past? What were you doing? How did you start? What was the one habit that made the biggest difference?

For me, it is:

2) Show up and do the minimum requirement.

When it comes to fitness, only three things matter: training, nutrition, and recovery. We’ve found that training comes first because when you train, the other stuff eventually falls into line.

So, we start by suggesting you train every day, doing the minimum required to say that you showed up.

The minimum for me is showing up to class. I don’t tend to care about how much weight I lifted or how fast I go during this stage. In fact, I will try to do LESS than I’m capable of to make sure I can recover for tomorrow’s workout.

Often you find that you haven’t “lost” everything, and you aren’t “starting over,” you just haven’t trained for a little while and feel a little rusty.

Do this often enough and you …

3) Build a streak.

The first workout back after a long layoff is terrible. The second one is bad, and the third one is mildly uncomfortable.

By the time you get to the 4th or 5th one, you’re kinda back! You aren’t feeling amazing yet, but your body adapts and the rust is knocked off.

That’s why it doesn’t matter how you perform in that first week back. The only goal is to get to the point where you feel like you are back on track with a habit.

Each workout you do in those first few days:

– Builds confidence that “yes, you can still do this.”

– Reminds you that you aren’t in as bad a shape as you thought.

– Encourages you to show up for the next one.

Once you get 5-10 days under your belt, it’s time to:

4) Get motivated.

The success you experience by building your confidence leads you to ask for and want MORE. This is where the motivation kicks in and you should start setting goals.

This is also the time to start looking at your nutrition. Are you eating enough? Is it in the right ratios? Does it support your goals?

Once you have a goal and next actions, do exactly what you did to get here, and focus on (1) figuring out what has worked in the past, (2) doing the minimum, and (3) building a streak.

—

These steps will get you out of a rut in less than two weeks and get you back on track and motivated to go crush your fitness goals.

Coach “rut buster” Jay

 

Announcements:

Outdoor WOD Saturday, September 21

Guests, family, friends, and teens welcome. The workout will be beginner friendly. FREE! Meet at Albany Middle School/Cougar Field Track. Classes at 8 and 9 a.m.

Other Cool Events, September 21

Kenny is competing out at the Battle on Sunset.

Golden State CrossFit • 401 Sunset Dr., STE K, Antioch, CA 94509
Sat, Sep 21, 2019 8 a.m.
 
A handful of us are also swimming Alcatraz that morning with Odyssey Open Water. They are calling for more kayak/paddle board support. If interested, email [email protected].

Workouts for the Week:

Monday—TRAIN

A. Deadlift for load:
5-5-5 at 65%
3-3-3 at 75%
1-1-1 at 85%

Take a set every 2 minutes. Work the set up. Make it solid.

Training Day. Lift heavy! Just getting a few solid reps at heavier weight. Practice some touch-and-go sets, and work up to a few heavy singles 🙂

B. 500-m row for time

C. 250-m row for time

Not expecting a new PR, but try to stay within a few seconds. Rest 5 min, then hit the 250-m row … at a FASTER split pace

Tuesday—TRAIN

5 rounds:
2 min on, 2 min off:
15 wall balls
100-m run
Max burpee to plate in remaining time

Transition times matter on this one. RUN out, RUN in, and get straight to the burpees. Score is total number of wall balls + burpees each round.

Wednesday—RECOVER

A. 12 min for quality:
10 cal row
10 PVC muscle snatch
Crab walk
10 banded pull-aparts

Get shoulders warm and ready to get PUMPED.

B. 15 min to hit 5 rounds:
10 bench press
6 rope pull-ups
Scale to toenail version w/negative
(3-2-1 down; alternate top hand 3/3)

Add weight to bench press as you go. Weight should be moderate today, and nothing you feel like you’ll be close to failing at 10 reps. Note final weight.

C. 1-2 Rounds
Bicep curl 21s (empty BB or slightly heavier)
7-half way to full up
7-bottom to half way
7-full curls

Hands out to ring–work on full elbow extension at the bottom. To be done unbroken.

Pec smash: 3 mins/side

Thursday—TRAIN

A. Gymnastics skills day!

10-min EMOM:
C2B/Pull-up practice, 3-7 reps

If you’re not to kipping pull-ups, choose an option that will get you closer to your strict pull-up:
Banded pull downs (with PVC)
2 negatives (only as you can maintain quality!)

B. 15-min AMRAP:
20 double-unders
10 DB weighted step-ups (1 x 50/35)
5 C2B

Rx+: 3 BMU

MissFit: Double-under attempts/jumping CHEST-to-bar.

Train—Gymnastics skills. Goal is to keep C2B unbroken as long as possible under grip and shoulder fatigue! This is good practice for holding together gymnastics to be smooth + steady in the Open.

Friday—PERFORM

A. As a warm-up:

Every minute for 10 rounds:
1 snatch (power or squat)
+
3 overhead squats

Work up to and beyond your weight for the workout today—you should feel smooth and stable!

B. “Nancy”

5 rounds for time of:
400-m run
15 overhead squats (95/65)

PERFORM: CrossFit main site generally gives some clues to the Open–they’ve done a version of this workout TWICE in the last week. We’ve also had repeat workouts with OHS and C2B. It’s been a while since we’ve hit some OHS—let’s get sweaty and get after it!

Saturday—TRAIN

In teams of 3:
20-min AMRAP:
50 push-ups
75 sit-ups
100 lunges
50-m buddy carry

8-a.m. and 9-a.m. at Albany Middle School/Cougar Field. Guests, friends, family welcome and encouraged to attend!

Sunday–RECOVER/TRAIN

For time:
40 synchro toes-to-bar
40 synchro single arm dumbbell hang clean and jerk (35 lb.)
40 synchro box jump-overs (20-in)
40 synchro single arm dumbbell hang clean and jerk (35 lb.)
40 synchro toes-to-bar

Grab a buddy and see if you can stay in sync!

No Excuses Challenge

The summer’s over, the kids are back in school and there’s no better time to focus on improving YOURSELF!

From September 9 through October 21, we’ll be running the No Excuses Challenge, a six-week period in which we’ll eat better, move more and recover well.

In this challenge, you will learn how to:

  • Compose healthy meals.
  • Nail down sustainable habits.
  • Develop a mobility/recovery practice

We’ll measure progress with a before-and-after baseline workout as well as an InBody scan. The goal isn’t perfection but rather to learn which habits are most effective—or destructive—in helping you feel, look and perform your best.

Sign up at the front desk today!

Whether you’ve already registered or you’re still on the fence, we invite you to attend our kick-off meeting TODAY, Wednesday, September 4, at 6:30 p.m. to get more details and ask questions.

September 2 – 8

Announcements

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.

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!

Here’s the link to sign up.

Guest Day Saturday, September 7

Guests, family, friends, and teens welcome. The workout will be beginner friendly. FREE!

Workouts for the Week:

Monday—PERFORM

Team Series 17.1

9-15-21 reps for time of:
Thrusters
Bar-facing burpees

Men use 95 lb.
Women use 65 lb.

All reps are IN SYNC with partner–meet at top of every thruster and bottom of every burpee. This should be a fun challenge and a good push!

MissFit: 75/55

Tuesday—TRAIN

A. Tempo step-ups

5-5-5-5-5 per side

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.

C. Mobility:

2 mins/side couch stretch
2 mins/side bone saw
2 mins/side LAX ball lats

Thursday—TRAIN

A. Deadlift for load:
3-3-3-1-1-1

Work up to a heavy single for the day. MAY be a new max, maybe not.

B. “Just Enough”

12-min AMRAP:
5 strict pull-ups
15 air squats
25 double-unders

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!

The Hale Case Study Project: Week 6

It’s time to check back in with our Hale Case Study participants!

In this update, they’ve just hit the six-week mark—and if you’ve ever made a lifestyle change before, you know that’s when things start to get tough. The newness has worn off and all that’s left is hard work without the lustre.

But this is the time when it’s most critical to keep pushing onward, and that’s exactly what our participants are doing.

Natalie got a 40-lb. deadlift PR.

Jay’s down five percent body fat and got his strict muscle-up back.

Jon got a handstand and toes-to-bars and can go on longer bike rides with his kids.

Lilly passed the point she normally gives up.

“Around week four is when I tend to be like f**k it, I don’t care anymore,” she said. “But I stuck with it.” Now she’s down 4 percent body fat and around 6 lb.

Tune in above to see what the rest of the Hale Case Study participants have accomplished at the six-week mark.

Feel Better. Look Better. Get Stronger.

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.

Tuesday—TRAIN

A. Deficit deadlifts:
3-3-3-3-3

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

Thursday—PERFORM

“The Ghost”

6 rounds of:
1 minute of rowing
1 minute of burpees
1 minute of double-unders
1 minute rest

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)

4 rounds for time:
400-m run
3 rope climbs
7 squat snatches (95/65)

Rx+
3 legless rope climbs
7 squat snatches 135/95

RxINSANO: squat snatches at 185/130

Running Into a Burning Building

You’re walking through the lobby of your office …

You smell smoke …

You see people fleeing in a panic …

Do you run in to save your co-workers? Or turn tail and run out with them?

…

Depends on how much you like your co-workers, right?

You’d like to say that you’d run in and be a hero …

But the smart thing to do is to call the fire department …

Let firefighters like Larry or Aaron save the day. You can still get credit for ringing the alarm! 🙂

Most “scary” situations in life are not nearly as life-threatening as they seem.

But we THINK they are.

And we are conditioned as humans to run from them anyway.

For a majority of things in life, this works well.

It’s easier to avoid scary situations if they’re not relevant to your life.

But what if they are?

If something you WANT is on the other side of fear—how do you deal with it?

Do you rationalize it by deciding you don’t want it anymore?

Or do you overcome the fear and do it anyway?

We know how it is the first day you walk through the door at Hale.

No matter how friendly we are, how approachable our members are, how much we tailor the workouts to you …

It’s a strange environment …

Where you’re doing things you’ve never done before …

and everyone looks like they’ve been working out since they could walk …

It’s flipping SCARY!!!

We can talk you through it, put guardrails in place, and guide you to the path that works for you.

But at some point you have to decide …

Will you run away from that fear?

Or run toward it?

When we talked to Ann Mary, Kenny and Sarah on the podcast, they described how they felt that fear at the beginning …

They said:

“Damn, this is hard … I’d better keep doing it!”

They ran TOWARD the fire instead of away.

And it’s not like it got easier over time.

They still get scared … we all do!

Some days fear can stop anyone.

But by overcoming it most of the time, Ann Mary, Kenny and Sarah got stronger, felt better and lost over 180 lb. between the three of them.

Now THEY are the people that look like they’ve been working out since they could walk.

After 10 years of coaching, we believe the number-one indicator of success is not background or history …

It’s attitude.

You can start anywhere in your fitness journey …

Got 100 lb. to lose? Got a bad back? Haven’t worked out in 15 years?

Doesn’t matter.

If you have the attitude of running toward the fire instead of running away,

You WILL become an athlete.

Coach “fire brigade” Jay

Announcements

Outdoor Workout: Saturday, August 17th

All athletes and guests welcome; no CrossFit experience required. FREE! Workouts will be at the beach in Marina Bay at 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Arrive 15 minutes early to park and walk from the end of Bayside Dr.

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!

Workouts of the Week

Monday—TRAIN/PERFORM

A. Back squat for load:
5 sets of 1 rep

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.”

B. PERFORM

12-min AMRAP:
9 deadlifts (155/105)
15 wall balls (20/14)
21 double-unders

MissFit:
Deadlifts (135/95)
42 single-unders

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!

Mobility:

2 mins/side couch stretch
2 mins/side delt smash (against wall)
2 mins/side tricep smash

Thursday—TRAIN

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!

B. CrossFit Games: “Ringer 1”

For time:
30-20-10
Cal bike/row
Toes-to-rings

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.

If you’re antsy to get moving:

5k run for time. Post time to SugarWOD 🙂

Living Better Podcast – Ep. 45 – Coach Heidi Gets Real

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.

Links and resources for this episode:

Thank you for listening!

Thank you so much for checking out our podcast!

Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below, or email us.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe via iTunes or Stitcher.

Subscribe via iTunes.

Subscribe via Stitcher.

Do you have a burning question you want answered? Click here and share it with us!

Living Better Podcast – Ep. 44 – Becoming Coach Dave

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.

Links and resources for this episode:

Thank you for listening!

Thank you so much for checking out our podcast!

Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below, or email us.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe via iTunes or Stitcher.

Subscribe via iTunes.

Subscribe via Stitcher.

Do you have a burning question you want answered? Click here and share it with us!