CrossFit Portland

Last week, Rochelle and I headed east to attend the PIMST seminar at the Poliquin Strength Institute in East Greenwich, RI. It was a great experience and weekend of learning some new techniques that I feel will really take our coaching game to a new level.

PIMST is an acronym standing for Poliquin Instant Muscle Strengthening Techniques. It is a collection of methods that can nearly instantly improve range of motion, neural recruitment of muscles (you’ll produce more force), and faster muscular contraction.

PIMST is a comprehensive integrative system of techniques developed by renowned coach Charles Poliquin. It utilizes muscle activation points, Chinese acupressure, and more, combined with years of practical development.


A PIMST practitioner is able to help you to instantly improve the following within minutes, that might otherwise take you 4-6 weeks to achieve:

• Joint Range of Motion (flexibility)
• Neural Drive (strength)
• Meridian Balance
• Fascia Release
• Postural Alignment

This may all sound pretty voodoo, but there is a very real mechanism at work here!

Think of it as re-setting your nervous system’s “software”.

In reality, much of your muscular inflexibility isn’t really muscles that are “short”. They actually CAN lengthen beyond what you may expect, but they won’t because your nervous system will not allow them to lengthen all the way.

This happens from a lack of full range movement over time. Your nervous system begins to assume that since you never touch your toes (for example) that it probably isn’t safe for you to do so. It then begins to keep your hamstrings chronically contracted so that you can’t lengthen them fully.

By doing conventional stretching, we are slowly, over time, able to convince the muscles to give us back a little bit of this range. However, there are many tricks we can employ to help this process.

One that you may be familiar with is contracting the muscle you are stretching, then relaxing it. The sudden lengthening that happens when you do this is your nervous system letting go a little bit.

PIMST uses some other neuromuscular “tricks” to relax the muscles and fascia and allow either instant range of motion improvements, or a stronger signal to the muscle to contract.

On some shoulder pre-hab exercises, we may be able to get 5-6 weeks worth of improvement in just one session. This is compared to doing it conventionally with stretching and weighted progressions.

On Day One of the seminar, we covered mostly the lower body. Lack of VMO recruitment (the teardrop part of the quads by the knee) is a common problem with athletes and the general population alike. Some of the techniques we learned can very quickly cause these muscles to fire better, reducing knee pain and improving performance. We also learned techniques for the glutes and hamstrings.

Day Two was focused on the shoulders. This is a trouble area for me, and it was pretty amazing to experience the instantly improved range of motion and strength improvements firsthand. We also learned some competition day strategies to prep the body and to peak performance.

PIMST is best done in a personal training environment. Stay tuned as we implement this into our practice here in the coming months!

If you are interested in a PIMST session now, please contact me (scott@crossfitportland.com) to schedule a personal training session.

Did you know that immigrants brought dandelion over from Europe?

When they first arrived and found a land devoid of the plant that we now scour from our lawns, they couldn’t imagine a life without what to them represented food (edible spring greens),medicine (root for liver and digestion) and wine (flowers).

CrossFit Portland member Karina Brown will be giving a seminar on herbal cold and flu prevention on January 28th. Full details of the seminar are here.

Who is Karina Brown, Herbal Healer?

I grew up in the forests and wetlands of the Pacific Northwest. In addition to a lifelong interest in plants and about 15 years of self study, I have spent the last three years studying with Portland-area plant teachers.

Most recently, I completed a one-year apprenticeship with Scott Kloos at The School of Forest Medicine. That included camping in various remote corners of Oregon, learning and harvesting native plants.

Before that,

In most cases, there is some space between the health issues the average, healthy person faces and serious sickness, where medical doctors, pharmaceuticals and surgery might be needed.

This space is the prime territory for herbs. Plant medicine excels at strengthening the body’s innate ability to heal itself, and to support the body through all the little road bumps in health. This approach can fortify the body and help prepare it for a time of serious sickness.

Our Paleolithic ancestors certainly had intimate relationships with each of the many plants they came into contact with on a daily basis. Without hospitals and antibiotics, it is undoubtable that they relied heavily on plants for their medicine.

We know that they got a substantial portion of their daily calories from greens, and these wild greens were probably much more bitter than today’s relentlessly hybridized greens and veggies. Bitterness signifies the presence of chemical constituents that improve digestion and liver function, among other things.

Most of the herbs I use are called “food grade herbs,” which means they are as safe to consume as food. I think adding herbs to the modern diet is a necessary part of the paleo diet.

I hope to see you at the seminar! Sign up here.

I also offer herbal consultations for all kinds of health challenges, including frequent colds and flus, fatigue, PMS, menopause, digestive issues, skin problems, back and joint pain, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, recovery from surgery and many other issues.

The OPT Construction Series, Part 3 is today. Starts at 8 AM, goes until 1 PM ish.

Warm Up

Bar Complex, 10 reps of everything

Mobility

Lat stretch with stall bars or band
Cross leg sit stretch – 2 minutes

WOD

A. Deadlift to 1 RM in 15 Minutes
B. 12 minute AMRAP
+
10 Wallballs
5 Toes to bar

We’re finished with the first Running and Endurance Workshop here at Crossfit Portland! Here is what we did, and where we’re headed for the next workshop, which begins February 11 at 11 a.m. Sign up for the next workshop here.

First, thanks to Jenn, ET, Lisa, Carolina, and Jessica for being the first group.

The first class in the Workshop was the 4-hour mini-clinic. This class taught the basic theory and drills that they would be doing over the next six weeks.

I took video of everyone’s running form during the six weeks and we worked on drills to improve their form. Each Saturday class had a video session to chart progress and give more feedback.

Here is a quick video showing a basic improvement over the course of the Workshop. ET went from heel striking in minimalist shoes to landing on the balls of her feet in the first 3 weeks of the workshop.

In the upcoming 6-week running skills workshop, participants will have on-road video sessions, as well as video gait analysis performed while on the “Dreadmill” – the Woodway Curve, an unpowered treadmill that allows the runner to set the pace.

The workshop participants were also given 6 weeks of cadence and drill homework, as well as an optional 6-week training document. Both the homework and secondary WODs were designed to further reinforce what was taught and reviewed in class. In addition to the official class, we settled on an informal track night.

The test at the end of the workshop was running the 2012 Resolution 5k. For some it was their first race, for others, it was a chance to test out their new wheels.

The truth of the matter is that a 5k run should be an easy workout for anyone who uses Crossfit as their base training. Anyone in a 201 class at Crossfit Portland is fit enough to run a 5k.

The benefit of the running workshop was to provide a basic level of running skill. Build the skill, then the intensity, and then the volume. In the 6 weeks of training that we did, we only just started to scratch the surface of what “endurance” running actually is.

The next Mini-Clinic and Workshop is going to start on February 11 at 11 a.m. The test race will be the Shamrock Run on March 18. If you have been wanting to learn more about running, here’s your chance. Click here to find out more.

Madoc Yng-Wong is a Level 2 POSE running coach, a certified Crossfit Level One trainer, a certified Crossfit Endurance trainer, and has attended the Crossfit Mobility seminar. He is available for private consultations as well – runyng@gmail.com

Marie Rochat has worked with gym founder Scott Hagnas as a distance coaching client. Below she shares what it was like to have Scott write and oversee her training. Here is a video of a Christmas Deadlift PR – 405 lbs at a bodyweight of 135!!!

405 lb Deadlift from Marie Rochat on Vimeo.

Before finding CrossFit Portland, I was training in a garage gym. I trained for competitive powerlifting and a variety of sports (primarily rugby and ice hockey).

I discovered CrossFit back in 2008 and began to follow the CrossFit main site WODs in my garage gym. After following the 2009 CrossFit Games online, I set a goal to qualify for the next CrossFit Games.

I met Scott when I dropped into a CrossFit Portland class by chance; I did not know much about him at the time. I was immediately impressed with the gym atmosphere, coaching, and community at CrossFit Portland.

Leading up to the 2010 CrossFit Games Sectionals, I began training with the CrossFit Fort Vancouver team on weekends. During the week, I followed the OPT Big Dawg blog WODs in my garage gym.

As I got to know Scott better, I became aware that he was knowledgeable in the OPT school of programming. After Sectionals, I asked him to program my training for me leading up to Regionals, and I’ve used his programming ever since to prepare for competitions.

I wanted Scott to coach me because I knew he could program effective periodized training, similar to OPT’s blog, that would help me peak for competition.

I also liked how Scott was able to tweak training specifically to fit the style of training that was both right for me and addressed my weak areas.

My training with Scott follows a weekly schedule of three days on, one day off, two days on, one day off.

During competition season, I usually have a few double workout days per week (and a triple every so often). I usually have at least one strength day and one longer base-conditioning type workout every week.

The other days are usually focused on metabolic conditioning. A portion of my met-con work consists of short, high-intensity intervals, which I prefer to standard CrossFit workouts.

One thing I do differently now that Scott coaches me is that I do a lot more mobility. He regularly programs mobility work in after workouts.

For example, on running days he often follows up the workout with 20 minutes of hip mobility work.

Scott has also shown me many great mobility routines for trouble areas like my shoulders.

I also really appreciate how Scott uses the athletic “essence” concept to program for individual athletes. Prior to meeting his, athletic “essence” had never purposely informed my training routines.

Now that I have seen how the “essence” concept affects and enhances my training through Scott’s programing, I will always train in the context of my athletic “essence.”

I really dislike long, high-rep workouts and running. I’m not a met-con monster, and there’s no way I could train year-round doing straight met-cons without burning out. So it’s actually kind of ironic that I spent so much time doing competitive CrossFit.

It’s always a challenge to obtain the level of metabolic conditioning that I need to compete at a CrossFit competition without running myself physically and mentally into the ground. Scott’s programming has really helped with this.

Some of my PR’s:
Fran: 3:40
Grace (power cleans): 3:16
Cindy: 20 rounds
Deadlift: 405lbs.
Overhead Squat: 185lbs.
Jerk: 200 lbs.

I’ve achieved many great results that I feel are the result of training with Scott. I placed 5th in the 2010 CrossFit Games Regional qualifier individual competition. I then went onto the 2010 CrossFit Games as a member of the CrossFit Fort Vancouver affiliate team, where we took 1st place.

I won the 2010 Female OPT Big Dawg of the year award as a result of my Games placing, which was a huge honor.

In 2011, I again went to the CrossFit Games as a member of CrossFit Fort Vancouver team, where we placed 4th overall in the affiliate cup event.

Scott programmed my training for all of these competitions.

However, my favorite result that I’ve achieved working with Scott is not a competition placing, but rather gaining the knowledge and confidence to read and trust my own body, and to train in a way that I enjoy and that works for me in the long term

Working with Scott is a wonderful experience. I’ve gotten more out of my experience of working with him than I ever dreamed I would when I first asked him to program for me. It’s easy to work with him because he’s very adaptive to my schedule and goals when he programs for me.

Working with Scott is also a learning experience because it regularly exposes me to new ideas and concepts. I really like that he has a depth of knowledge and experience. Not only is he knowledgeable in training and programming, but also in nutrition, recovery, mobility, and even hormonal processes type stuff like Bio-Sig. I’ve never had a more comprehensive approach to my training than I have with Scott — he’s able to guide me in all areas that affect my training.

Plant medicine excels at strengthening the body’s innate ability to heal itself, and supports the body through all the little road bumps in health. This approach can fortify the body and help prepare it for a time of serious sickness.

In this workshop, herbalist and gym member Karina Brown will talk about natural, Paleo-friendly ways to use plant medicine to prevent and treat colds and the flu.

The workshop will be held on Saturday, January 28th from 12 to 2. The workshop is $20 for non-members and $10 for members. Click here to sign up and full details of the workshop.

In this workshop, you will:

Stop fighting a losing battle against germs and learn to make a yummy healing food to get your gut right with bacteria.

Use herbs to soothe and treat the symptoms of sickness while enhancing your body’s natural healing ability

First, we will discuss prevention, covering the importance of the Paleo diet, vitamin D, and herbs and foods that enhance immunity, such as adrenal adaptogens, medicinal mushrooms and bone broths.

Throughout class, I will pass around tasters of delicious medicines that I have made myself, mostly from plants I harvested in Oregon forests.

Next, we will talk about treatment. I will cover in detail fever: fever’s function in the body, the importance of not suppressing this vital healing mechanism, and how to use herbs to support and quicken the fever process.

I will cover a few other herbs to treat the flu, like elderberry, yerba santa and balsam root.

Then, we will move to a very important aspect of immunity: populating the gut with healthy bacteria.

I will present a demonstration on how to make a simple, delicious, healing food that helps heal the gut by adding lots of naturally occurring probiotics to the diet.

There will be time at the end for a question-and-answer session. I will also be selling homemade versions of many of the medicines we discuss.

About Karina
Karina Brown grew up in the forests and wetlands of the Pacific Northwest. In addition to a lifelong interest in plants and about 15 years of self-study, she has spent the last three years studying with Portland-area plant teachers. She has studied at The School of Forest Medicine, The School of Traditional Western Herbal Medicine, The Columbines School of Botanical Studies, and The Arctos School of Botanical Medicine.

Karina offers herbal consultations for all kinds of health challenges. Email her to set up an appointment. She makes and offers tinctures, elixirs, tea blends, home-made bone broths and other medicines created from wild plants.