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T. Quinn  •  Mar 14, 2010

Half Murph

Some thoughts on tackling childhood obesity. I’m sure most of you have read or heard about this already, but earlier this month Michelle Obama announced the launch of a national policy to deal with childhood obesity.  By educating parents, improving school lunch programs, making healthy foods more accessible and promoting physical education, the Let’s Move campaign promises to  defeat obesity’s challenges. First the organic garden in the White House and now this; it really seems that The Obamas took Michael Pollan’s letter to the editor to heart.  To learn more and support what First Lady Obama is doing at the White House, visit the Let’s Move website.

And for another take on the obesity epidemic, check out Jamie Oliver’s talk at the TED Conference. This video is about 20 minutes long but it’s definitely worth watching.

Jamie Oliver suggests that to tackle obesity we must focus our efforts in teaching our children about food.  How do we do that?  Oliver’s solution is similar to Mrs. Obama’s in that it advocates fresh, healthy, real food in our nation’s schools.  Oliver says that not only should every child should learn how to cook ten simple recipes by the time they leave school but that cooking should be taught in grocery stores, too.  Supermarkets should employ food “ambassadors” or experts to inform buyers about cooking and to help consumers make good choices.  Oliver claims that, “big brands should put food education at the heart of their business”.

Post thoughts on these videos and comments on childhood obesity in the United States to “comments”. Videos and text courtesy CrossFit Oakland. If you are interested in learning more about CrossFit’s stance on combating childhood obesity, check out the CrossFit Kids Website. If interested, contact Mike Jones at CrossFit St. Paul. They started their CrossFit Kids classes this past week and have welcomed our own Stephanie Cantu into the mix as one of their CFK trainers.

… and then …

Warm-up:
Run 400 M
Dynamic PVC work:
Golf swings
Shoulder rotation
Greek God
The Deborah special, etc.

For time:
Run 800 M
50 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
150 Squats
Run 800 M

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups and squats as you wish. Just be sure to bookend these movements with the 800 M run.

Post thoughts and times to “comments”.

1 Comment

T. Quinn  •  Mar 12, 2010

A little triplet…

To develop ring strenght - start in the false grip position and extend one arm out to the half cross.

Warm-up:
20 Minutes: Oly Lifting (BB)
Clean
Jerk
Snatch

21-15-9 Reps for time:
KB Swings (1.5 Pood/1 Pood)
Pull-ups
Box-Jumps (24″/20″)

Post thoughts and times to “comments”.

8 Comments

T. Quinn  •  Mar 10, 2010

Main site…

"Meatza, Meatza"

Warm-up:
Deadlift: 1-1-1-1-1
50 KB Swings (1.5 Pood/1 Pood)
25 HSPU

10 Rounds for time:
15 Deadlift (135#/95#)
15 Push-ups

Post thoughts and times to “comments”.

For an incredible “Meatza” recipe, click here.

8 Comments

T. Quinn  •  Mar 09, 2010

Odds

Say what you want about the uniforms, but this stuff is unreal. We can all learn a lot just by watching.

Warm-up:
2 Rounds – Moderate pace:
25 Jumping Jacks
20 Squats
15 .5 Burpees
10 Lunges
5 Staggered push-ups

… and then …

5 Rounds for time:
3 Jerk (135#/95#)
5 Burpees
7 Squat clean (135#/95#)
9 Chest to bar pull-ups

Post thoughts and times to “comments”.

20 Comments

T. Quinn  •  Mar 09, 2010

Large loads, long distances, quickly…

Kalen in Costa Rica!

Warm-up:
3 Rounds:
10 Push-ups
10 Jumping Pull-ups
Dynamic stretching

Thruster:
5-5-5-5-5

… and then …

For time:
50 WB Shots (20#/10#)

Post thoughts and times to “comments”.

Also: here is some great information that Greg put together. After the 300 squats the other day, we got to talking about the difference in output of smaller athletes who complete the same task as bigger athletes. People like Scott, John, Greg, or Troy are all either moving their bodies further per rep than people like, Kalen, Jason, or myself, or carrying more body weight altogether. This can have a tremendous impact on the power output an athlete is capable of putting out. See some calculations below.

Using my (Greg’s) height, 73″, and weight 280lb, and doing 270 body weight squats in 17 minutes, my power works out to:

Squat Reps – 270
Travel, Body – 0.46 meters
Work, Body – 115146.51 joules
Total Work – 115146.51 joules

Work Performed
115146.51 joules
11741.49 kg-m
84932.07 ft-lbs

Power Output
112.89 watts
0.15 horsepower
83.26 ft-lbs/sec

For someone says 5′5″=65″ at 145lb, doing the 300 squats in 9 minutes, their work would be:Squat Reps – 300

Travel, Body – 0.41 meters
Work, Body – 59053.31 joules
Total Work – 59053.31 joules

Work Performed
59053.31 joules
6021.67 kg-m
43557.72 ft-lbs

Power Output
109.36 watts
0.15 horsepower
80.66 ft-lbs/sec

Its almost the same amount of power output.

Want to figure out your own horsepower? Here’s a great calculator you can use to do it: http://www.performancemenu.com/resources/powerOutput.php

16 Comments

T. Quinn  •  Mar 08, 2010

Three’s a charm… I think.

Sorry, don’t mean to dilute the site… but this is too good not to post.

No Comments

T. Quinn  •  Mar 08, 2010

Oh and then there’s this.

I know some folks had questions pertaining to the last high bar vs. low bar squat conversation. So, let’s back track a bit here, and go over what each is, and why they might be useful to us as CrossFitters.

Courtesy: CrossFit Again Faster

No Comments

T. Quinn  •  Mar 08, 2010

Just row… hard.

How's this for a rowing machine...

For maximum distance covered:
Ten 20 pull efforts on the erg

Rest precisely 30 seconds between sets.

Post thoughts and distances to “comments”.

And finally, here is the recipe for some super simple, super delicious ChocoCoco Macaroons! Thanks Steph! Did I mention that they’re paleo?

Ingredients:

3 large egg whites

1/3 cup (or less) raw honey – you can melt it a little on the stove or in the microwave so it’s more manageable

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/3 cup almond meal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg whites in a bowl using an electric beater until stiff peaks form. Fold in honey, cocoa, walnuts, coconut, and almond meal until just combined to minimize the handling of the batter. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of mixture onto an oven proof tray lined with baking paper. Bake in an oven for 15-18 minutes (depending on macaroon size), or until light brown in color. Cool before serving. Also really good if you keep them in the refrigerator and then eat them cold!

16 Comments

T. Quinn  •  Mar 06, 2010

Fight Gone Bad

Some thoughts on high vs. low bar back squats.

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. We’ve used this in 3 and 5 round versions. The stations are:

Wall-ball: 20 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
Sumo deadlift high-pull: 75 pounds (Reps)
Box Jump: 20″ box (Reps)
Push-press: 75 pounds (Reps)
Row: calories (Calories)

The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of “rotate,” the athlete/s must move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

Post thoughts and scores to “comments”.

4 Comments

T. Quinn  •  Mar 05, 2010

Squat… Push-up…

Warm-up:
50 Messier Squats
Skills work: Snatch, Muscle-up, Rope climb etc.

3 Sets for time with 2 minutes rest between:
100 Squats

3 Sets for time with 1 minute rest between:
25 Push-ups

Post thoughts and slowest times to “comments”.

10 Comments