Steve's Club

Oh No, Not a Deck of Cards Again!

The Hopper Deck we ordered from our good friends, John and Kelly Brown from CrossFit Agoge (who proudly sponsor Keith)  arrived yesterday in the mail. What do you think is the first card drawn from the deck?  If you guessed "Cindy" you were right!  Ironically enough, we did the same workout last night at EvoFit (aka CrossFit Tribe).

"Cindy"
*As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes.
5 Pullups
10 Pushups
15 Air Squats

Note: Prescribed "Cindy" is 20 minutes, but we scaled it to 15 minutes. Crossfitters who cannot (yet) complete a kipping pullup, may scale down using jumping pullups.

         Charlie and "Fab" (cousins) pushing each other.

                 Anthony and Mere getting some.

           The new guy, Rick getting in on the action.

Pullups and Overcoming Challenges

Groups of 5. Two teams face off. Each person completes 20 reps
before next person on team goes. 2 minute rest in b/t rounds.

3 Rounds
Pullups, 20 reps
Squat Jumps. 20 reps
Overhead Squats (PVC), 20 reps

                  Brandon helping FireAnt on the pullups.

       Big Chris and AJ ripping through jumping pullups.

"Every positive change--every jump to a higher level of energy and awareness--involves a rite of passage. Each time to ascend to a higher rung on the ladder of personal evolution, we must go through a period of discomfort, of initiation. I have never found an exception."

-Dan Millman

Trying To Be Like Big Brother....

Trying to emulate the WOD from our mothership's mainpage, today's WOD at Steve's Club was as follows:

Complete as many rounds in 15 minutes as you can of:
10 Push-ups (using the parallettes bars with full ROM)
12 dips (using the parallete bars with full ROM)
50-95 lbs Push-press, 10 reps

Today was a another fun, yet challenging workout at the club. The highest number of rounds completed today was 12, although the count was not as important as the quality of reps and form used to perform the exercises. We are in the process of moving into our own space (finally!....and more on that in a later post) so please stay with us as changes continue to take place behind the scenes and we move into our new home. Although I'm still waiting for the our camera battery to arrive in the mail, hence the reason we have no pictures up lately, please feel free to drop us a comment in the box below as we like to check out our website (as a club) daily. The kids enjoy reading the comments and watching the videos on CrossFit.com and other affiliate sites to draw some inspiration and learn proper lifting mechanics and technique.

   Justin push pressing the load overhead with authority.

Back at it!

Push Presses.

Teams of 4 square off. Complete 20 reps per team. 4 Rounds.

followed by:

21-15-9

Deadlifts, (#75-135lbs)
Pushups

We missed a few a days of training last week, but everyone was glad to be back.

   

What I've Been Trying to Say

I stumbled upon this post on a site that I occasionally visit.  I thought it was worth sharing, and especially liked the part where the author talks about designing your own life.

"Inevitably, all the key decisions that have been made so far were either made by someone else altogether (your parents) or else by someone less experienced and less wise than you (that is, you--when you were younger).  You can't go back and change decisions that have already been made, but that doesn't mean that the design for the rest of your life is immutable.  Start today to design the life that you want to be living."

This is much the same advice that I give to the kids at the club. I let them know that although they're are things that they have no control over (i.e age, height, where they were born, etc), they're are many things that they can strongly influence (notice I said strongly influence and not always control), such as their behavior, health, grades in school, friends, relationships, their future, etc. In other words, "you are the captain of your ship" I tell them.
 
Click Here

Form follows function

I accidentally left the battery charger to the camera at Santa Cruz North gym where we stayed at for the Games this past weekend. Hence the reason for the lack of posts this week. Yesterday we did Fran (several of the boys did it as prescribed) but of course, the camera shut off (low battery) within seconds of using it. However, I did manage to get a few good pictures which I will put up on the blog as soon as we receive the charger in the mail and recharge it back up.

Also wanted to let you know that over the next several weeks I am leaving my stop watch at home and completely disregarding the time taken to complete the workouts. Instead we are going for strict form. If that means less weight (which it most likely will) then so it be. While the kid are making great progress with their training, I think its time that we redirect our focus on doing the movements correctly and safely. I take the blame for letting form slide over the last few months of our training. Not anymore. Going forward, only reps executed with perfect form will count.

The Trip of a Lifetime to the CrossFit Games!

What a weekend it was!  Just so much to write about I don't know where to start. First, I want to thank all of our sponsors and donors for making this trip happen. Your contribution gave Doc, Charlie, Brandon and Keith (and myself) an experience we'll never forget. There is a whole another world out there waiting for these kids that needs to be seen to be realized. Do the same thing and see the same environment day in and day out, and you simply become desensitized to your conditions.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to compete this year, but just being there offering our support to the competitors and helping out as volunteers made for a fantastic experience. On the way back home, we talked about setting and achieving goals. Everyone agreed that they can't wait to compete next year. They know what it takes to compete and promised to dedicate and work their tails off to get ready.

Overall, I can't say enough positive things about the support and reception at the Games that was offered to us from the community at large. We meet so many wonderful people and really felt like we we're a part of something really big. From the Boose's of CrossFit Santa Cruz North allowing us to sleep on their gym floor for the weekend to Jason Highbarger (aka J-Dog) donating an hour and a half of time to training us, to Gloria Stanger making us feel welcomed, to the Glassman's for hosting the event, and to everyone else whom was there....this really was a weekend the boys will never forget.

Just think. Only 364 days away until the 2009 Games. The boys are already talking about it too ha!  The message is loud and clear - Hard work rewards itself. Commit yourself to something, do the best you can, and good things happen as a result. No shortcuts or free handouts are accepted.

              The boys hanging with Gloria Stanger!

               The Boys with CrossFit great Chris Speal.

Keith posing with his sponsor Kelly Brown, from CrossFit Agoge.

The boys get to meet Olympian skier and stud crossfitter , Eva T.

                Just chillin on the beach in Santa Cruz!

      Group picture before we head off to help out for the day.

Angel (literally) took the shirt off her back to give us a souvenir.

Danielle Mulford and her boyfriend Lief from CrossFit Santa Cruz
with Brendan Gilliam of CrossFit Santa Cruz North.

                      Greg Hammond of Concept 2 spends
                          time sharing tips with the boys.

Our friends from Rogue Fitness and Top Female CrossFitter for 2008,
Caity Matter pose for the camera and kindly give all the boys a t-shirt.

The boys hanging with CrossFit studs Freddie Camacho of
Crossfit One World and Anthony Bainbridge of CrossFit Fredericton.

J-Dog of CrossFit Santa Cruz North gives an hour and a
half of his time to train and instruct the boys thru a workout.
Thanks J-Dog!!

The great folks at CrossFit Santa Cruz North let us sleep at
their gym for the weekend. Thanks Ronnie and Robin for your
kindness. Talk about community and support!

Sled Drags at the Park

Thanks to Erin for making the video.

8 boys finish 5 rounds each in 15 minutes. Great work guys!

Power Monday!

Thrusters  3-3-3-3-3

15 Squat Jumps
15 15 Vertical Jumps
15 Broad Jumps

            

       Keith and Dwight getting it done.

            
            Fire Ant learns the "Abdominal Brace."



                        BJ shows courage and (pain)!

                New Kid on the Block..Meet Brian!

"We're consumers. We're by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty -- these things don't concern me. What concerns me is celebrity magazines, television with five hundred channels, some guy's name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra. The things you own, end up owing you."

-Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) in Fight Club

Someone emailed this to me the other day and I thought it made A LOT of sense. Curious to hear from others.  Do you think our government is contributing to the problems many people are facing who live in our country's inner-cities?  Can government do more to stop the cycle and bring about change?

THE JOB - URINE TEST

I HAVE TO PASS A URINE TEST FOR MY JOB... SO I AGREE 100%.  Like a lot of folks in this state, I have a job.. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test with which I have no problem.. What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test. Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them?  Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their butt, doing drugs, while I work. . .. . Can you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check? 
.. Something has to change in this country -- and soon.

Post your thoughts to comments.

Working as a Team...

Teams of 4 face off. The team to complete the total number of reps (form must be flawless in order to count) first wins. 2 minute rest in b/t rounds.

1st round
200 Push Presses (#65)

2nd round
200 Hang Power Cleans (#65)

3rd round
100 Thrusters (#65) followed by: 400 meter relay run.

"Look Coach I have muscles. Can I workout with you guys?"

             

The Future of Steve's Club!

Yesterday at Club somehow the topic of 'dinner time' came up. Everyone agreed that eating dinner together as a family is a rare occurrence, typically only reserved for holiday's and special occasions. Most sneered at the idea, as if it was a strange idea to think otherwise. "Coach, you mean you and your family sat down together and ate all at the same time while you were growing up? Sounds like a skit from the Brady Bunch family [everyone laughs]." Well, in our family Coach, we usually all eat in separate rooms so we can watch our own shows while we eat."

As someone who subscribes to the belief system that "There is not one right way for people to live," I think that there is someone to be had about sitting down and eating dinner together as a family. Of course I didn't ramble on to the kids about how important eating together was, but thinking about the recourse of the day on my commute home (usually takes me 45 minutes to get home), I couldn't help but reminisce about this dying tradition.

Dinner should be a special time for all families throughout all cultures around the world. It is a special time to gather together as a family unit, socialize, tell stories of the day's events and of course, eat. Afterall - this is an event that our ancestors and forebears have been doing since the dawn of time. Think about it. Dad hunts during the day while mom and the kids roam the land to gather fruits, nuts and plants. At the end of the day, everyone sits down around the fire to celebrate the day's work and enjoy one's another's company.

Sure conditions have changed and our lifestyles are dramatically different then the one our ancestors had to face millions of years ago living off the land. But the reason I use this analogy is to merely point out that is perfectly natural practice that contributed to the survival and success of our species. In fact, to think not eating together as a family unit is normal is well, strange. It really wasn't until the last 60 years with the invention of the TV and modern hectic lifestyles that we really started straying from our roots.

I think every so often its really good that we all take a step back and consider what has worked for us up until this point and how we can learn from the past. By looking back, we can allow ourselves to take a step forward. While times are changing, that doesn't mean our traditions, values and beliefs have to. Besides, its completely free to try and and completely free to implement. The only cost is commitment.