Thank You

Monday, August 18, 2014

Weekly Programming Links:  Group Class, Venice Barbell Club, Paradiso Gymnastics

Prehab

Fire Hydrants
Bird Dogs
Monster Walks
Foam Roll Quads/Glutes

Warmup

1 min of Gristle/Groiners
2 rounds of:
5 Pullups or Ring Rows
10 Pushups
15 Air Squats

Cool Down

Couch Stretch, 45 sec
Pigeon Stretch, 45 sec
Overhead Band Distraction, 45 sec

Fitness

Strength

Four sets with 60 seconds rest between movements:

Back Squat x 8-10 reps, heavier than last time
3 Negative Pullups, 5 seconds each
Practice kicking up to handstand for 60 seconds

Notes: For the pullups, jump to the top or have someone assist you. Use bands or spotter as needed to ensure control through the full range of motion for 5 seconds. Add weight if needed. Use our Handstand Progression.

Conditioning

4 Rounds for time of:
12 Push Press (95/65)
12 Hang Power Cleans
24 Double Unders
-15 min cap-

Notes: Newer athletes should use Dbs. If you struggle with Double unders, practice for 60 seconds or perform 75 Single unders.

Advanced

Strength

Every 2 minutes and 30 seconds, for 20 minutes (8 sets):

Back Squat
6 reps @ 60%, 4 reps @ 70%, 2 reps @ 80%,
6 reps @ 70%, 4 reps @ 80%, 2 reps @ 90%,
6 reps @ 80%, 4 reps @ 80%

Conditioning

Every minute, on the minute, for 15 minutes:

Minute 1 – 45 seconds of Strict Handstand Push-Ups
Minute 2 – Bent-Over Barbell Row x 8-10 reps
Minute 3 – Glute-Ham Raises x 6-8 reps

Notes: All HSPU variations should be to full range of motion. If possible, perform the banded harness or L-seated DB strict press. For the glute ham raise, focus on slow down and fast up. Use the GHD, with a band if needed, or the floor variation with a spotter.   Try to stick to the EMOM, but don’t worry if you go off a bit, be sure to get all 5 rounds.

Good times!

In case you didn’t read the weekly update email yet, Friday will be my last day coaching regular class at PCF. This was an extremely difficult decision to make, and has weighed heavily on me over the past two weeks. Change can be so scary sometimes, especially when you have such a good thing going right in front of you. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? The other phrase I keep saying to myself over and over again is the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. As soon as I put my notice in with Diso and accepted the offer to be a private trainer at Equinox in Westwood (I can hear the collective gasp as you all read this…a globo gym?? really???) I couldn’t help think about how good PCF has been to me, and how much I really am going to miss training with all of you.

For my last post at PCF I wanted to share how I came to join the gym in the first place. I was then working for Hilton Hotels as a Buyer of their Pool and Patio Furniture. I had built a garage gym at home and was doing Crossfit Endurance workouts by myself and using YouTube videos to learn Pose running. I couldn’t quite get the technique down, and after being fed up with my lone wolf status I finally signed up for the Crossfit Endurance cert at CF South Bay. The day before the cert I was talking to my coworker and said, “I’m so tired of training by myself all the time and trying to teach myself Pose. All I want to do is find one person who I can train with, start a gym with, or start coaching with. Something, anything.” I am a huge believer in The Secret, the idea that whatever you think, positive or negative, comes true in your life. Most people think that is ridiculous, so another way I think about it is that your thoughts are extremely powerful and drive your behavior and actions whether you realize it or not. I went to the cert with that mindset, but what happened? I was my normal shy self; I kept to myself the whole weekend and didn’t really talk to anyone. It was the first time I had access to rings, so I did my first muscle up at lunch and was stoked, but wasn’t making any progress on my real goal. At the end of the weekend there was a Q&A session with Brian Mackenzie, the founder of Crossfit Endurance. I finally raised my hand and asked, “When is there going to be an Endurance gym in LA? You have a bunch in Orange County and San Diego but there is no presence in LA. I emailed you about this a couple of weeks ago, and you forwarded my email to someone else but I’m still waiting for a response.”   Mackenzie told me to sit tight, that it was coming soon, but after the session I was quickly approached by Diso. “Howdy! I’m David Paradiso, owner of Paradiso Crossfit!” “Hey, I know your gym, I read your blog all the time.” “Great, well I’m interested in starting a CFE program! You should come by the gym for a workout and we can talk more about it!” “Awesome. Yea, I’ll let you know when I’m going to be stopping by.” I coached my first track night at SMC about a month later, and the rest was history. I love this story because I ended up getting the exact thing I asked for, to meet one person I could coach with.

I am extremely grateful that Diso asked me to come into the gym, and to Zeb and G and all those original members who welcomed me with open arms. The story is important because it represents a huge change in my life; finally finding a job that I believed in, where I felt like I was making a difference. It was the first job where I could honestly say that I was doing what I love and something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It was, and still is, my dream job.

I want to thank Diso and Martina. I owe you so much, I would not be coaching and not have this new opportunity without you. I want to thank Zeb and G for being my original mentors when I was a shy and nervous coach. I am going to miss all the staff, past and present, for being awesome people and trainers. When watching you guys coach you will use different cues and I always think, “That was such a good cue, I never would have said that. Frank, remember that for next time.” Or when you cheer people on during a WOD, like Lauren yelling at someone I think, “Damn Frank, you need get hype like her!” I am extremely thankful to everyone who came to my track nights, track morning, swim nights, trail runs, Saturday morning runs, regular classes, Trail Run of Death, Beach Cruiser Triathlon, my morning and daytime regulars at MDR, and everyone who trusted me enough to train them for something crazy like running a marathon or throwing hundreds of pounds over their head. I get so amped up inside when you PR, do something for the first time, or go unbroken in a set. You guys are so inspiring and help keep me honest with my diet and training. I believe the number one mission of PCF is to improve your quality of life by improving your health, and I am extremely grateful after every class I teach to have the opportunity to help people reach that goal. You honestly don’t know how much it means to me when you go to one of my classes. This is the happiest, healthiest, most fun group of people I have ever been a part of.

I will still be in the gym and coming to events, so it’s not a real goodbye, but I know I will miss seeing your faces everyday. If you are free, I would love to see you at Sports Harbor on Washington this Friday at 8:30pm for some drinks and bar games.   I don’t have a final workout in mind yet but feel free to post any thoughts to comments below!

Track Morning


Track Night

Swim Night

I’ll miss you!