Portable Glute Ham Developer

We’ve been looking to get some GHDs for the gym. The Glute Ham Developer can elicit some incredible posterior chain tension through its various exercises. Do not confuse it with back extensions. However, they are pricey and take up some floor space! In the meantime, we think using gravity and a partner is a good challenge as well.

March 15, 2008 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment 

Muscle Up On The Horizon, Part 2

3 days ago, we introduced Bill and his muscle up quest. He almost had it! I don’t think you can come closer and not get it. Bill’s been dedicated to this quest for a year, took some time away to reflect on the social implications of the muscle up, and has been back at it for the past few months. Today, the quest is over! I would like to think that JT’s “Rock Your Body” was the exact physical que he needed to lock in the technique.

March 14, 2008 | Filed Under News | 8 Comments 

Just Say “No!” to LSD

Jack Blatherwick, the conditioning coach for the Washington Capitols and conditioning coach for six American Olympic Ice Hockey teams including the 1980 “Miracle Team” talks about the ineffectualness of base training with long, slow distances.

This question comes up often: is it appropriate for young sprinters and athletes in sprint-interval team sports to establish an aerobic base with long, slow distances?

With few exceptions — perhaps professional athletes recovering from an intense season — the answer is “NO,” for the following reasons:

Read the rest on Functional Path Training

I really liked the following bits:

If marathoners do too much long distance training, they establish a comfort zone, running below their anaerobic threshold. To improve times, they must run faster, of course, above their threshold — and there are quite severe respiratory and cardiovascular consequences. This is a physiological habit, not a psychological one, and “speed” work must incorporate intervals to elevate the comfort zone.

Patterns of slow strides are imprinted just as “permanently” into our neuromuscular memory as the quick strides that a sprinter would like to record. Just as a golfer would not intend to include repetition after repetition of “bad” swings when he practices, neither would a sprinter.

…

the mistake made by many fitness coaches is to “compartmentalize” the training into separate workouts — aerobic endurance, anaerobic power, anaerobic endurance, skill, agility, strength, etc. etc. etc. Of course in a game, all of these attributes are required at the same time, so we should be looking for more ways to incorporate the various elements into “integrated workouts.”

Compartmentalizing the metabolic training is analogous to isolating each muscle separately in our strength workouts, and it is just as non-productive.

…

Furthermore, anaerobic interval training is highly aerobic, and can be a more intense cardiovascular workout than what fitness gurus would call a “cardio” workout. College hockey players doing six weeks of dryland training composed of “anaerobic intervals” for quickness and power made greater gains in aerobic and cardiovascular measures than if they had trained with aerobic distances for the same period

CrossFit for the win!! Don’t abuse your body with LSD training. Go hard!

March 13, 2008 | Filed Under Exercises | Leave a Comment 

Mr. Incredible’s Birthday WOD

Jim, local Mr. Incredible, told us his birthday was this Wednesday and wanted a special workout surprise. Aaron, acclaimed workout chef, cooked up just the thing for Jim and friends. Jim’s been at CrossFit Portland for a while now and he has really developed from everything we’ve thrown at him. Happy Birthday Jim!

March 13, 2008 | Filed Under News | 3 Comments 

An Enduring Measure of Fitness: The Simple Push-Up

There’s a pretty good article in today’s New York Times about the pushup.

But many people simply can’t do push-ups. Health and fitness experts, including the American College of Sports Medicine, have urged more focus on upper-body fitness. The aerobics movement has emphasized cardiovascular fitness but has also shifted attention from strength training exercises.

Moreover, as the nation gains weight, arms are buckling under the extra load of our own bodies. And as budgets shrink, public schools often do not offer physical education classes — and the calisthenics that were once a childhood staple.

In a 2001 study, researchers at East Carolina University administered push-up tests to about 70 students ages 10 to 13. Almost half the boys and three-quarters of the girls didn’t pass.

Push-ups are important for older people, too. The ability to do them more than once and with proper form is an important indicator of the capacity to withstand the rigors of aging.

Read the rest of the article, titled An Enduring Measure of Fitness: The Simple Push-Up

March 12, 2008 | Filed Under Exercises | Leave a Comment 

Muscle Up On The Horizon

Bill’s a regular in the morning class and has been staying late to work on getting a muscle-up. The muscle-up is a gymnastic ring’s technique that develops coordination, significant pulling and pushing strength, and positive self-esteem:) The three major pieces to the muscle-up puzzle are the kipping pull up, the ring dip, and the false grip. Once you have all three pieces of the muscle-up Triforce , it becomes a matter of technique and practice.

March 11, 2008 | Filed Under News | 4 Comments 

← Previous Page — Next Page →