Who likes dead-lifting after they run? WE DO! We honored the 4 fallen Oakland California police officers who were killed in the line of duty by doing  OPD. We modified it slightly to make it a team workout, and I think everyone enjoyed it.

As a team of 2:
Both run 400 meters
Once you are both back from the run, one partner works at a time to complete
80 deadlifts (120/80kg)
80 box jumps (24" box)
80 push press (60/40kg)
Then run another 400 meters as a team

We had a few teams lose count, and a few teams go for some extra credit...hey, nobody's perfect, right? Pete and Garth were our champs once again. Garth finished the workout and said, "thank god Pete is so strong over head or we would still be working!" I think we had some really good teams, and everyone complimented each other's strengths and weaknesses...it's part of being a good team!

Clark came in early and was going to SMASH his old box jump record. Unfortunately, he warmed up for like 40 minutes, and I think he used up all his jumpiness. You'll get it next time Clark!

Matt Smith and Tina came and tested our 10AM introductory class - both of them did a great job! Matt didn't even know he was a squat natural! I brought Bill out of the office just to show him how nice they are. Matt, we're going to make an Olympic lifter out of you! My prediction is that Matt will be the first person to overhead squat his bodyweight!

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The workout last night was Elizabeth -

21-15-9
Squat cleans (60/40)
Ring Dips

Why are ring dips so hard? I have been trying FOREVER to get strong enough to do these without the band, but no luck so far. Sigh. Guess I'll just file them away on my list of cool things to learn how to do in 2009.

Matt L did GREAT yesterday. His squat cleans came a long way since last Saturday. We worked together after the workout last Saturday, and decided that his butt needed to go back at the same time his elbows came forward in the clean. Matt is VERY coachable, so he makes us look good!

I'd like to give the award for "most determined" to Brian. Admittedly, Brian has very inflexible hamstrings and hip flexors. He has to really fight for depth on every single squat, and squat cleans are no exception. Look at his determination!

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How are everyone's abs feeling today? WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T SNEEZE. Those L-Sit pull-ups you did last night were working more than your patience and your grip; they were working those lovely muscles in your midsection! I'm sure all of you who were here yesterday are well aware that your abs got a good beating last night...

The workout was 6 rounds for time of:

12 burpees
12 L-Sit Pull-ups
If you can't do L-Sit Pull-ups, do regular pull-ups, and add 20 seconds of hanging L-Sits between each round.

The workout was supposed to have double unders instead of burpees, but we didn't have enough room inside for 10 people to be going nuts on double unders at once. Stacy volunteered to go outside about a dozen times, but alas, Bill kept the burpees.

I'm going to do something that I said I'd never do...I'm going to post a picture of someone with a torn hand:

Do you see that? No...not her hand...the look on her face. Brittany tore her hand up climbing the rope the other day, and look how proud she is. As Bill pointed out a long time ago, would you rather have NOT climbed the rope and had a hand without tears? I'll speak for Brittany here: HELL NO. Climbing the rope is a HUGE accomplishment. Do you guys realize that you climb 20 feet when you reach the top? Congrats on the rope climbs Brittany, and congrats on your torn hand.

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Hi everyone! Bill is working hard on getting your individual nutrition prescriptions put together. He was sick over the weekend, so that set him back a few days in his progress, but you should have them in your inbox's shortly! Thank you for your patience!

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If you want to impress ALL your friends at the next party you attend, then you definitely need to come in and deadlift. Lifting heavy stuff impresses people young and old! Ok, so that's a bit of a stretch...handstands are DEFINITELY cool though. Just ask the CrossFit main site and the 9,886 pictures of handstands they post. It's good to come in and play around with "stupid human tricks" and get your name on the record boards for your BEAST skills!

The workout yesterday was deadlifting 5 sets of 3. You're not going to believe this, but everyone did a great job! We had a bunch of people set new PR's, and every single one of you is developing better form. Brian set a new PR and was all non-chalant about it. I asked if it was a PR and he was all cool and smooth like, "yeah, it was...but ya know...it was pretty heavy". Yeah Brian...it's WEIGHTS. It's SUPPOSED to be heavy. Now gimmie five up top! (virtual high five)

I was approached by one of our newer CrossFitters, and he shared an amazing improvement with me. I am going to protect his privacy because I didn't officially ask his permission to share his story. This particular person had to side-step in order to go down a flight of stairs prior to starting with CrossFit Fire. His knees hurt him SO BAD that he had to come down the stairs like an 85yr old man. Last night he shared with me that his knees feel better than ever, and that he doesn't have to side-step the stairs anymore. If that isn't proof that squatting properly is GOOD for your knees, then I don't know what is. Seriously. What do you people WANT from me?! THAT'S PROOF!

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Sorry I had to miss the ladies class - the last day of every month I am committed to being at my full-time job until midnight if needed. Hopefully, Bill wore the wig and skirt that I sent with him.

The workout yesterday was a lot of fun!

4 rounds for time of:

40 Double Unders

30 Sit-ups

20 Ring Dips

1 Rope Climb

I tried catching Stacy on video during her transition from double unders to sit-ups. Her last double under is immediately followed by her PLUNGING to the floor and going straight into her sit-ups. It was the most amazing thing I ever saw, but it caught me off guard. When you see that kind of thing out of the corner of your eye it almost looked like she was falling!

Everyone did a fantastic job! There was a lot more rope climbing last night than any other night! Garth figured out how to get a good hold with his feet and he became a rope climbing machine. Tom climbed the rope 4 times and didn't even leave half of his hand on the rope! Matt W. made it to the top 4 times...legless! Mikey also climbed the rope for the first time yesterday - congratulations!

Audra, I'm sorry to hear that you miss carbs so much. Try not to be crabby!

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Yesterday, we honored our very good friend, Kris Loyd, by doing a birthday WOD of her choosing. I think all of us are pretty glad Kris only has one birthday a year! The Birthday Girl chose the following as her workout:

Run 400m

Then complete 7 rounds of the following:

10 Knees to Elbows

10 Wall Ball Shots (20/14)

10 Kettlebell Swings (24/16)

10 Box Jumps (24/20)

Then finish by running another 400m.

In all honesty, I am VERY impressed with this WOD. It was a total butt-kicker and it combined a lot of great movements. I could have done without the runs on either end...but everyone knows I'm a big sissy when it comes to running!

Matt L...did anyone know how fast this guy can run? I finished my 7 rounds and headed out the door with a solid lead on everyone. I made it almost to the brown mailbox as Matt was just leaving the parking lot. I decided that it would be a perfect time to take 10 steps to just rest a little. As I turned around at the brown mailbox, Matt was RIGHT THERE. I trotted along as fast as my legs would carry me, but Matt kept gaining on me. Soon, everyone was yelling, "Jennie! You better hurry up! RUN FASTER OR HE'LL CATCH YOU!" I checked my peripheral vision and there was Matt. DANG IT! I had to kick it into a FULL SPRINT and Matt and I dashed across the finish line together; Bill called it the first ever CrossFit Fire tie. It's a darn good thing we didn't have to run another 10 feet, otherwise Matt would've beat me! Great job and thanks for pushing me Matt! Just as a warning though, don't EVER tell me again that you "should've let me win." Jerk. Maybe I should've let YOU win! Psh.

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