High Fives and F#*% Yeahs!

I love seeing members of the community support each other! 

One of the best things about CrossFit is that it is a community of like minded people who support each other. We don't isolate ourselves into our own world with headphones, we don't avoid eye contact with other humans, and we don't watch TV while we train. What we do is say hello and introduce ourselves to new faces, joke with and encourage each other during the workout, and cheer on the last person working!

A few months ago I told a Saturday class about a tradition I want to start at Foundry. It's very simple, but makes any warmup or workout a little more fun and takes your mind off of the suffering you might be going through. It goes like this: next time you cross paths with another athlete during a run, give him/her a high five and say "Fuck Yeah!" Now I understand that some people prefer not to swear, and I don't want them to feel excluded, so feel free to use the swear substitute of your choice or give the high five and say "Foundry" or "French Toast."

REMINDER: Thursday 5:30pm Nutrition Challenge Outline and Lecture

Progressive Overload- What is it?

The happiest I've seen Nick while doing Thrusters.  

 Progressive overload is the gradual increase of stress placed upon the body during exercise training. 

A common goal for strength-training programs is to increase or to maintain one's physical strength or muscle mass. In order to achieve more strength, as opposed to maintaining current strength capacity, muscles need to be stressed in such a way that triggers the body's natural, adaptive response to new demands placed on it.

Progressive overload not only stimulates muscle hypertrophy, but it also stimulates the development of stronger and denser bones, ligaments, tendons and cartilage. Progressive overload also incrementally increases blood flow to exercised regions of the body and stimulates more responsive nerve connections between the brain and the muscles involved.

Conversely, decreased use of the muscle results in incremental loss of mass and strength, known as muscular atrophy. Sedentary people often lose a pound or more of muscle annually.

The loss of 10 pounds of muscle per decade is one consequence of a sedentary lifestyle. The adaptive processes of the human body will only respond if continually called upon to exert greater force to meet higher physiological demands.

In order to minimize injury and maximize results, the novice begins at a comfortable level of muscular intensity and advances towards overload of the muscles over the course of the exercise program. Progressive overload requires a gradual increase in volume, intensity, frequency or time in order to achieve the targeted goal of the user. In this context, volume and intensity are defined as follows:

• Volume is the total number of repetitions multiplied by the resistance used as performed in specific periods of time.
• Intensity is the percent value of maximal functional capacity, or expressed as percent repetition maximum.

In order to increase your strength & fitness, and get the most out of your time in the gym, you need to be increasing your lifts! That's one of the main reasons why we recommend using the Beyond The Whiteboard App www.beyondthewhiteboard.com to track what you have already lifted and then attempt to lift more on the next workout. If the last time Front Squat 3-3-3-3-3 was programmed your lifts were 83-93-103-113-118, then this time you could lift 93-103-113-118-123 or try 113-113-113-113-113. Either one would be an improvement over the pervious session because the intensity and volume are higher. 

BTWB is easier, bro.  

If you try to remember what all of your lifts were you'll either fail of you have a Beautiful Mind. If you go "by feel" it will always feel heavy at some point and you'll struggle to make actual progress. Download the app, track your lifts, and get more fit!

Put The Water Down!

Prezell looks pretty comfortable in the Death Stretch.  

Are you really that thirsty, or just using it as an excuse to stop moving?​

One of the things I get a kick out of as I watch people train are the ways in which they purposefully reduce their intensity. A favorite among many of you is the water break. 3, 2, 1...go! happens, one round of work is performed and then you stop to take a drink of water! You've been working out for :56 seconds. Is it necessary, or are you uncomfortable and need a hug?​

I will not say that I never stop to take a drink during a workout, but you will almost never see me do so during a 5, 8, 10 or even 15 minute WOD. The human body is designed to work, and stores plenty of fluid to get through most of our workouts. If you're taking frequent water breaks it's either a bad habit you're performing unconsciously or you're looking for an excuse to drop the intensity of the workout.

Next time you hit a workout, leave your water in the cubby for after the WOD, and instead of picking up the water bottle, pick up the barbell. ​

Nutrition Challenge Starts in One Week

Thrusters got you feelin' down? 

If you're looking to get a handle on solid nutrition, then join our Nutrition Challenge! We'll be going over the outline and teaching about proper nutrition Thursday at 5:30pm, taking body composition measurements on Saturday morning starting at 8am, and officially beginning the challenge on Monday, May 15. The cost is $75 which includes the two body fat measurements. ​Sign up on the whiteboard at the gym. 

New Foundry Weightlifting Pilot Program

Want to lift more, here's your chance! 

We're excited to announce a new program at Foundry designed to help you improve on your Olympic lifts (snatch, clean & jerk).  You may have seen some athletes working on additional lifts during classes and stared longingly at their barbell, wishing it was in your hands. Maybe you've been told by one of our coaches that you need to overhead squat more, or that you need to work on your split jerk, but never found the time. During the month of April, and beyond it it goes well, we will open up a new programming track on Beyond the Whiteboard that will consist of Snatch, Clean & Jerk and related accessory movements. There will be 5 full days of training posted under "Foundry Weightlifting." If you're a member on BTWB, you can add this track to your profile now. If you're not a member, you really should be. It's a tremendous tool for tracking your fitness. Log your lifts when you're done!

How will it work? 

Come to the gym, warm up on your own, and start lifting. Priority for space and squat racks will be given to the class, so use the platforms and share space and/or a bar with a friend. I've seen 12+ lifters working out in a garage smaller than our platform space and it works. Do your lifts, then roll your bar out of the way for the next person. Whoever is coaching the CrossFit class will be able to give you minimal instruction and cues, but will not be able to give you a private lesson on how to Snatch, so it's best if you have a pretty good idea about what you're doing and how it's supposed to be done. If you're brand new to lifting, stick to the classes!

Can I lift and then do CrossFit class? 

Technically, yes. Ideally, no. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is just doing more. Most days the Foundry Weightlifting track will have an hour or more worth of training. If you perform those lifts and then attempt a 20 minute metcon, you'll either hold back on the Weightlifting so you can hit the WOD hard, be spent from going hard on the Weightlifting and half-ass the metcon, or you'll do both at such a low intensity that you're completely wasting your time. Also, the body can only do so much and can only recover from so much. Just because Rich Froning does 5 workouts a day doesn't mean you should! A better plan is to do the CrossFit class 3x per week and lift 2x per week, or the other way around. Or, pick one exercise you've been wanting to work on, show up 20 minutes early for your class to do it, then jump into the class when it starts. 

We'll see how it goes in April, and if it doesn't create a safety hazard, space constraints, or a nightmare for the coaches, we'll keep it going. Please do your best to avoid the above if you're going to participate, and let one of your coaches know if you have any questions! 

Happy Lifting!