Tuesday, 01Nov11

Ready for Anything Training!!!!!

This class is a 1 hour ass kicking circuit that will leave you in a puddle of sweat.

Your cardiorespiratory and muscle strength will benefit from our motivational, challenging and fun circuit training set to energetic music.

Let’s see what you’ve got!!!!

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  H.I.I.T.

We will put everything we’ve learned so far. We are moving ahead to the Hang Squat Cleans and Front Squats which will be reviewed to ensure movement accuracy and injury prevention. There will be No Gloves used or modification of the exercises. Mix your grips up so you can feel the differences on the bar. If you can only get 5 reps and you have to stop, then rest until you can continue the set. Thats what it’s all about. So that the next time we perform this ROD you will see and feel the improvements in both increased strength and decreased time. Please, Please!! make sure you post your time to comments. This is mandatory for this class. We need a reference we can come back to.

H.I.I.T. X-treme ROD

Up & Down NLP

With the Men’s weight at 115# & the Women’s weight at 70# / 4 minutes of;

• 1 Squat Cleans
• 1 Jumping Ball Slam
• 2 Squat Cleans
• 2 Jumping Ball Slams
• 3 Squat Cleans
• 3 Jumping Ball Slams… For Max rounds

Then a one minute rest…Then reverse your rounds for time.

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Monday, 31Oct11

There will be only one Class tonight at 7:30pm. Because of several requests from the members who wanted to spend Halloween with their families, we have decided to honor the request and have only one class. So be There or Be Scared!!!

                             Scary Tabata

We’ll start this one with 20 second intervals /10 second rest for 6 rounds at each station.

Stay at the station until all 6 rounds are complete.

Rest 40 seconds between each station.

Here are the movements:

20 work /10 rest x 6 of each

• Mountain climbers.
• KB high pulls
• Sit-ups
• Half burpees
• DB Thrusters
• Ball slams
• Split squats

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10 Tricks to Avoid Halloween Candy Temptations

Thursday, 09Jun11

Ready For Anything…     

Seven rounds for time of:

• 30 KB swings
• 20 Sit-ups
• 10 Ball slams

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Watch this woman, Allison, perform what they call a transfer skill… “The Snatch Balance”

Allison NYC on today’s WOD – video [wmv]

“UFC Fan Expo CrossFit Edition” – video [wmv]

**Coach Donald’s Olympic Lifting Coach

Clean Instruction, Part I, Coach Burgener [wmv]

Cleaning from the Ground, Coach Burgener [wmv]

Finishing the Extension, Coach Burgener [wmv]

**Coach Juan this is for you… Bear Hug Drill, Tony Blauer [wmv]

Headlock Defense, Tony Blauer [wmv]…

SPEAR is a Bridge to Your Next Move, Tony Blauer [wmv]

Elevator Safety, Tony Blauer [wmv]________________________________________________________________

The 5 Biggest Exercise Myths

Did you answer 3 and 10? Of course you did. It’s the Pavlovian response. After all, anyone who’s ever picked up a dumbbell knows that doing 3 sets of 10 reps of each exercise is the quickest way to build muscle.

Except it’s not. In fact, it’s the quickest way to get nowhere with your workout routine, says Michael Mejia, C.S.C.S., a long-time Men’s Health fitness advisor.

Truth is, today’s most sacred exercise guidelines originated in the ’40s and ’50s, a time when castration was a cutting-edge treatment for prostate cancer, and endurance exercise was thought to be harmful to women. Worse, so-called fitness experts across the country are still spewing these same old conventional wisdoms, despite plenty of research indicating that they (the experts and the wisdoms) aren’t wise at all.

Chances are, these are the rules you exercise by right now. And that means your workout is long past due for a 21st-century overhaul. We asked Mejia to do just that. Here are the five muscles myths he most commonly hears. Hopefully, we’re about to bust them for good.

BONUS TIP: Get back in shape—and stay lean for life! Check out our list of the 100 Best Fitness Tips Ever!

MYTH #1: DO 8 TO 12 REPETITIONS
The claim: It’s the optimal repetition range for building muscle.

The origin: In 1954, Ian MacQueen, M.D., an English surgeon and competitive bodybuilder, published a scientific paper in which he recommended a moderately high number of repetitions for muscle growth.

The truth: This approach places muscles under a medium amount of tension for a medium amount of time—it’s basically The Neither Here Nor There Workout.

Here’s the deal: Higher tension—a.k.a. heavier weights—induces the type of muscle growth in which the muscle fibers grow larger, leading to the best gains in strength; longer tension time, on the other hand, boosts muscle size by increasing the energy-producing structures around the fibers, improving muscular endurance. The classic prescription of 8 to 12 repetitions strikes a balance between the two. But by using that scheme all the time, you miss out on the greater tension levels that come with heavier weights and fewer repetitions, and the longer tension time achieved with lighter weights and higher repetitions.

The new standard: Vary your repetition range—adjusting the weights accordingly—so that you stimulate every type of muscle growth. Try this method for a month, performing three full-body sessions a week: Do five repetitions per set in your first workout, 10 reps per set in your second workout, and 15 per set in your third workout.

MYTH #2: DO 3 SETS OF EACH EXERCISE
The claim: This provides the ideal workload for achieving the fastest muscle gains.

The origin: In 1948, a physician named Thomas Delorme reported in the Archives of Physical Medicine that performing three sets of 10 repetitions was as effective at improving leg strength as 10 sets of 10 repetitions.

The truth: There’s nothing wrong with—or magical about—doing three sets. But the number of sets you perform shouldn’t be determined by a 50-year-old default recommendation. Here’s a rule of thumb: The more repetitions of an exercise you do, the fewer sets you should perform, and vice versa. This keeps the total number of reps you do of an exercise nearly equal, no matter how many repetitions make up each set.

The new standard: If you’re doing eight or more reps, keep it to three sets or less. If you’re pounding out less than three reps, you should be doing at least six sets.

BONUS TIP: When it comes to making lifestyle changes that will improve your health, your first step is the most important one. Start here: 20 Little Changes for a Healthier Life.

MYTH #3: DO 3 OR 4 EXERCISES PER MUSCLE GROUP
The claim: This ensures that you work all the fibers of the target muscle.

The origin: Arnold Schwarzenegger, circa 1966. 

The truth: You’ll waste a lot of time. Here’s why: Schwarzenegger’s four-decade-old recommendation is almost always combined with “Do three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions.” That means you’ll complete up to 144 repetitions for each muscle group. Trouble is, if you can perform even close to 100 repetitions for any muscle group, you’re not working hard enough. 

Think of it this way: The harder you train, the less time you’ll be able to sustain that level of effort. For example, many men can run for an hour if they jog slowly, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who could do high-intensity sprints—without a major decrease in performance—for that period of time. And once performance starts to decline, you’ve achieved all the muscle-building benefits you can for that muscle group.

The new standard: Instead of focusing on the number of different exercises you do, shoot for a total number of repetitions between 25 and 50. That could mean five sets of five repetitions of one exercise (25 repetitions) or one set of 15 repetitions of two or three exercises (30 to 45 repetitions).

MYTH #4: NEVER LET YOUR KNEES GO PAST YOUR TOES
The claim: Allowing your knees to move too far forward during exercises such as the squat and lunge places dangerous shearing forces on your knee ligaments.

The origin: A 1978 study at Duke University found that keeping the lower leg as vertical as possible during the squat reduced shearing forces on the knee.

The truth: Leaning your torso too far forward, so that your knees stay back, is more likely to cause injury. In 2003, University of Memphis researchers confirmed that knee stress was 28 percent higher when the knees were allowed to move past the toes during the squat. But the researchers also found a countereffect: Hip stress increased nearly 1,000 percent when forward movement of the knee was restricted. The reason: The squatters had to lean their torsos farther forward. And that’s a problem, because forces that act on the hip are transferred to the lower back, a more frequent site of injury than the knees.

The new standard: Watch a toddler squat. Push your hips back as far as you can, while keeping your torso as upright as possible. This will reduce the stress on your back and knees.

MYTH #5: WHEN YOU LIFT WEIGHTS, DRAW IN YOUR ABS
The claim: You’ll increase the support to your spine, reducing the risk of back injuries.

The origin: In 1999, researchers in Australia found that some men with back pain had a slight delay in activating their transverse abdominis, a deep abdominal muscle that’s part of the musculature that maintains spine stability. As a result, many fitness professionals began instructing their clients to try to pull their belly buttons to their spines—which engages the transverse abdominis—as they performed exercises.

The truth: “The research was accurate, but the interpretation by many researchers and therapists wasn’t,” says Stuart McGill, Ph.D., author of Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance and widely recognized as the world’s top researcher on the spine. That’s because muscles work in teams to stabilize your spine, and the most valuable players change depending on the exercise, says McGill. Read: The transverse abdominis isn’t always the quarterback.

In fact, for any given exercise, your body automatically activates the muscles that are most needed for spine support. So focusing only on your transverse abdominis can overrecruit the wrong muscles and underrecruit the right ones. This not only increases injury risk, but reduces the amount of weight you can lift.

The new standard: If you want to give your back a supporting hand, simply “brace” your abs as if you were about to be punched in the gut, but don’t draw them in. “This activates all three layers of the abdominal wall,” says McGill, “improving both stability and performance.”

Friday, 10Dec10

 Give the gift of Health & Fitness

Gift Certificates are NOW available

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T.G.I.F

Perform 2-3 rounds for time of this routine:

• Do 20 squats
• 8 Single arm med ball push off (ensure one hand stays on the MB)
• Do 20 lunges
• 8 Med ball push-ups
• Do 20 jumping lunges
• 8 Push-ups over med ball (make sure chest touches the MB)
• Do 10 jump squats
• 8 Alternating medball hand walk up/down
• Do 10 slam ball jumps ( as the ball is raised O/H, jump and throw down the ball)

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When you blame others, you give up your power to change. – Author Unknown

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Monday, 29Nov10

Slam & Push Alternating Ladder

For time:
Dynamax Ball slams:  1 – 10
Burpees:  10 – 1

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Holiday Healthy Eating Tips From the King of Mindless Munching

By Katherine Hobson

Cornell University scientist Brian Wansink is the king of mindless eating. Not because he permanently has his hand in a box of Junior Mints, but because he has studied, psychoanalyzed, and otherwise tried to crack the code of why we eat so much. He focuses on all the cues in our environment that cause us to overeat without realizing it and gives advice on how to re-engineer our surroundings to encourage better habits.

During a conference call today sponsored by the International Food Information Council, Wansink explained why the holiday period is chock full of unhelpful eating cues. First, no matter the time of year, we are pretty useless at realizing how much the plates and other dishes from which we serve and eat influence how much we eat. Even after being warned that bigger bowls lead to overeating, we will still go ahead and pig out when we’re given a big bowl. Moreover, letting our own appetites—the inner voice that says, “I’m not hungry anymore”—govern how much we eat is a losing battle. Most Americans simply don’t think in those terms, he says. His research has shown that Parisians say they’ll stop eating when they’re no longer hungry or the food no longer tastes good; Chicagoans typically say they stop when the plate is empty, when everyone else is finished, or when the TV show is over(!). Finally, the calories in family recipes have been rising over the years, either because of more calorie-dense ingredients or because a casserole that was once intended to feed six or eight people is now consumed by a smaller family of three or four.

With those realities as a backdrop, you can imagine why the holidays are an absolute minefield for people trying to eat healthfully. You’re surrounded by large platters and spacious plates just waiting to be filled, and the supply of food, usually made from traditional family recipes, never runs out.

To address the problems, use smaller plates and glasses. And don’t have all the casserole and serving dishes on the dinner table—serve in the kitchen. That way, if you want another piece of pecan pie, at least you’ll have to consciously get up and leave the room to fetch it. Also, be wary of falling into the trap of thinking you must eat a lot of food because you spent so much time cooking it. If you’re a guest and think you might offend your host by keeping your serving sizes small, remember that Grandma will be pleased if you go back for seconds on her stuffing, even if the total amount you eat is far less than if you’d just had one heaping plate. Finally, about 10 percent of what we eat on a big holiday may come from pre-meal snacking, says Wansink. So stick to a small napkin for hors d’oeuvres and munchies, or just skip them entirely.

Thursday, 16Sept10

Tabata Boxing

A timed 2 minutes at each station with NO REST between stations…. the last 30 seconds “I Say You Do”  if you want to know what that means come to the class.

Kick, Punch, Jump and Press… a full-body experience, this class will take you to the Next Level

• Agility Ladder
• B-A-G
• DB Clean & Press from the floor
• B-A-G
• Body bar jumping jacks
• B-A-G
• Sand Bag shoulder pass push press
• B-A-G
• V-sit ups
• M-I-T-T-S
• Slams w/ burpee

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Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.

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Enjoy this media video on the great George St. Pierre aka GSP

Wednesday, 04Aug10

The Upper West Side

2 Rounds for time of the following:

10 Pullups
20 BB Thrusters 65# (men) / The bar (women)
30 Quick Ball Slams
40 Pushups
50 Air Squats

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“By recording your goals and dreams on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be.” -Mark Victor Hansen

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2010 CrossFit Games Highlights

Womens Heat 4 – video [wmv] [mov]
Mens Heat 4 – video [wmv] [mov]

Masters Women – video [wmv] [mov]
Master Men – video [wmv] [mov]

Monday, 10May10

Monday morning 11:00am class

This will be a ladder routine performed in increments of 2′s 10-8-6-4-2-4-6-8-10 of:

• Down/upward Dog
• DB thrusters
• Lateral box jumps (right-left, left-right =1 rep)
• DB renegade rows
• KB swings

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Strongman Monday Class

Conditioning & Strengthening Ladder

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 reps

• Dbl kettlebell swings
• Quick slam ball
• Dbl kettlebell clean/front squat
• Jump rope 100,90,80,70…..revolutions
• DB Burpees (when jumping at the top, keep arms at sides) use no less than #15

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“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Carl Bard

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The importance of a supervised Strength and Conditioning Program

First of all, I want to say that strength training for today’s youth is something that everyone should consider as long as your kid meets certain standards. Now what do I mean by standards? It is fine for a child to participate in a youth strength training program provided that the kid is mature enough to focused, motivated and can follow instructions.

I want to clarify that when I say strength training, I am talking about a well-structured and competent program that is supervised and meets the needs of the participant involved. All of our programs meet these qualities. This doesn’t mean competitive weight-lifting. Also, when I say supervised I mean professionally supervised. Mom and Dad, unless you are a Strength and Conditioning Specialist don’t bother trying to be the expert. Set aside your pride and let the professionals take over if you want what is best for your kid. I have been training kids and youth athletes for a long time and have seen too many problems with kids getting injured, misinformed, or burned-out due to receiving incompetent instruction from an unqualified adult. Also, though the school programs mean well, they also need competent and certified trainers who can instruct these young athletes in the proper movement techniques. I’ve seen far to many youths performing poor movement patterns with heavy weight which can lead to undue injuries even in our elementary and high school programs. Strength training for kids offers a tremendous solution to raging health issues i. e. diabetes, obesity etc.. It gets kids used to handling resistance and developing lean muscle tissue to promote a healthier foundation further on into their adulthood development. Get your kids involved in our program it’s fun and inexpensive. Youth exercise should be a priority for your child.

Tuesday, 20Apr10

Tabata Tuesday

Do the following couplets 25 seconds work/25 seconds work/25 seconds rest x 8 rds.

• Rapid medball slams / Box jumps
• Mt.Climbers / KB swings
• Reclines / Push-ups

Do 25 seconds of work at each movement in each couplet, take 25 seconds rest then move to the next couplet.

Complete all three couplets

Take 1 minute rest between. Do 8 rounds.

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“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”

~Dale Carnegie~

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Candice Ruiz prepares for the South Central Regionals – video [wmv] [mov]

“Parallette Shoot-through” with Jeff Tucker – video [wmv] [mov]

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Wednesday, 24Feb10

 117 Days Until Summer

Wednesday Tip

• Slam ball squat, press & slam
• Renegade rows
• Band swimmers
• DB matrix lunge
• Back ext/plank
• Ab mat situps

These will be a timed routine of 30 sec work / 15 sec rest with a 45 sec rest between rounds