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Yesterday was possibly the biggest PR day EVER at the Fort. Each class got 20 minutes to find their single rep max on front squats, and there were some HUGE PR's! Andy P., Matt, Ivy, Erin, Mike, Sam, Heather, Alyssa, Kinsy, Mike K., Hero Mike, KTUCK, Scott, Kirsten, Ben, April, Katie, Amanda and Ivan the Great all got to ride the PR train yesterday! All aboard!

Hero Mike named our sadly nameless workout yesterday.

"Jersey Shore Fist Pump"
2 rounds of:
5:00 AMRAP
5 dumbbell thrusters (left arm)
5 dumbbell thrusters (right arm)
5 burpees
3:00 rest between rounds

Watching everyone do one armed thrusters was awesome, and it confirmed how appropriate Hero Mike's name was! I had to warn some of the later classes that somewhere around fist pump number 40, your left arm might need some moral support. Sam's left arm needed more than moral support, it needed a hug. He ended up HOLDING his left arm while he was squatting.

Has everyone seen that we are putting together the first ever CrossFit Fire Fittest FireFighter Challenge? EXCITING, RIGHT?! On August 22nd from 10-2:00 we will be hosting 48 firefighters from local departments for an amazing workout. We are looking for some people to volunteer for various functions. We will need people to work registration, direct cars for parking, take pictures and even judge. If you can commit some of your time to this event, please post to comments along with what times you are available to help. Everyone who is selected as a volunteer will get a free t-shirt from the event. FUN!

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Are you noticing a trend here? Apparently this is single rep max week at the Fort, and everyone is LOVING it! Yesterday we saw people move some SERIOUSLY big PR weights.

Strong Julie, Kinsy, Sam, Heath, Andy, Dad, Jeanne, KTUCK, Ryan, Brandon, Neil, Erin, Craig, Lisa, Les, Tommy Mo, Ed, Brian A., Bethy, and Ivy all set a new one rep max yesterday - GREAT JOB! And to those of you who didn't set a new PR yesterday, I ALSO say good job. Not every day is PR day, and you can't let this frustrate you.

The metcon had MORE pull-ups in it, and that made everyone groan a little. We did 5 rounds of rowing, box jumps and pull-ups, and the workout definitely took longer than we thought it would for some of you. Please pay attention to the goal times when they are written on the board. If you have to scale down to option "B" in order to make the goal time, then let's do it. We don't want you grinding through RX'd workouts 4 times a week, and having your finish times be over 20:00 everyday. That's too much. And that's not what we are looking for. We want you to train in all different time realms, including the 4-6 minute range AND the 20 minute whoppers.

I have been asked at least 3 times this week about Miss Ivy. Have you noticed her lately? I'm sure you have, because she looks amazing. She's lean, strong and athletic, and these days she's looking like a lululemon model. The question I keep getting is, "What's Ivy doing? She's so lean!"

Do you really have to ask?

Do you think there's some sort of super duper secret that I shared ONLY with Ivy? Guys, she's eating Wild Bill Paleo! Hallelujah, it works! Her patience and hard work is starting to pay off not only in the mirror, but also in her workouts. She's.A.Beast.

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Could there be anything worse than doing "The Chief" in 92 degree weather with 97.4% humidity? Ugh. The strength work yesterday was single rep max clean, and there were a LOT of PR's. Les, Kirsten, Tommy Mo, Steph L., Jessica, Kris, Brandon, Erin, Bethy, Jason, Hero Mike, Sam, Matt, Ivy, Josh T., KTUCK, Heath, Brian S., Charlie and Ivan all rode the PR train yesterday. GREAT job you guys! Sam went and set a PR by 20kg's!

Once we were all done high-fiving each other and spraying each other with champagne, we actually got in a workout. The Chief is one of those workouts that doesn't look that hard. Believe me people...it's hard. Not just a little hard either...it's Tom Cruise Crazy Hard. Somewhere between the heavy power cleans, and the 9 squats EVERY round, you'll find yourself thinking "Oh God, we have 3 more rounds of this?" For those of you who held a blazing 5 round pace, do the math....you did 225 squats!

I'm proud of you guys for gutting this one out. I'm especially proud of Miss Bethy for going through RX'd! Well, she didn't INTEND to go through RX'd, but Kris and I put 5 more kg's on her barbell while she was doing her pre-workout nervous pee. Tee hee!

Here's Bethy going RX'd and LOVING it.

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So I wish I could tell you about all the amazing PR's from yesterday, because it was single rep max day for the Push Jerk. Want to know why I CAN'T tell you who set new PR's? Because I'm dumb and forgot to take a picture of the whiteboard. There are two things about yesterday that I know for sure:

1. Stacy set a new PR, and jerked 70kg's!

2. I tried to jerk as much as Stacy and hit myself in the chin with 70kg's.

Oops. Sorry guys. How about this...if you set a new single rep max yesterday post to the comments, and we'll all give you a big internet high-five. Sound like a good plan?

We had some visitors yesterday morning. Kathy Slowinski and Jessica Hellyer stopped in for a visit! For those of you who don't remember, Kathy placed first at our sectionals (because she's a super star), and Jessica qualified at Regionals for the Games! Needless to say, it was a pleasure having them join us for a WOD.

The WOD was ring dips and pull-ups, and it left everyone feeling the burn. When I saw the evening classes finishing their workout, they all looked like they had some SEXY arms and shoulders!

I wish all of you could have the opportunity to see what we coaches see every day. With the help of our spiffy new camera, I have been trying to capture through the lens what I see every day....what makes my job the best job in the world. Here is one of my new favorite pictures:

Know what I see? Well, yes, Zach has his shirt off, but that's not the POINT! FOCUS! I see two people with completely different levels of conditioning giving it 100% of everything THEY  HAVE. Dad is more than twice as old as Zach, and yet there they are working out together. Isn't that a beautiful thing?

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Ok, so there's NO PUDDING at the Fort....but there is Ed. Think you're too old for CrossFit? Think again. Think it's too late to get into the best shape of your life? You're absolutely wrong. Our buddy Ed is a dazzling 54 years old, and he has never looked or felt better in his whole life. Head to the public pool, and I challenge you to find anyone half his age that looks as good. (Your CrossFit friends don't count)

What we do at the Fort isn't just for 20-somethings who are ex collegiate athletes. It's really for everyone. EVERYONE. Got bad ankles? So does Ed. Any reason you give for why you can't do CrossFit is only to satisfy your own feelings of guilt. The workouts are infinitely scalable, and you will only be working at your desired level of intensity. I could take any workout on any given day and scale it for an ex olympic athlete, or a little old lady. I promise, it's true.

So what are you waiting for? What is it going to take to get you into the Fort to give this whole "CrossFit" thing a shot? Are you waiting for famous people to proclaim loudly on a magazine cover that this is how they went from a size 12 to a size 4? There's no need. I've already done that. I'm not famous, but I totally wouldn't lie to you. If you REALLY need a celebrity endorsement, how about this: Madonna does CrossFit.

Now really....what are YOU waiting for?

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Know what happens when Bill gets new toys? We use them on Team Saturday!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this fun and amazing workout!

In teams of 3 row 3,000m's
AMRAP
10 ball slams (30/20)
10 box jumps (24/20")

Each team member has to row twice, and may not row back to back. Only one person can work on the AMRAP at a time, and you must complete a full round before rotating. Your final score will be the number of seconds it takes your team to row the 3,000 meters, minus the number of rounds you get in the AMRAP part.

Make sense?

Tommy Mo, Season and Mark M. were our champions! They crushed the row, and got 19 full rounds! I can't imagine anything more amazing than winning Team Saturday on your birthday, except doing it in your new Lululemon shorts. Happy Birthday Season!

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