Blog
Training for the Field
Hello coaches and athletes! We have to remember that when we're in the training room we're often learning to move and condition our body with strength, skill, and stamina for purposes on the field. Whether its for competition, work, or general fitness, try to find the application and skill transfer with your training.
Something we don't always do enough in the training room but see a lot in the field is work in our transverse plane, or when we do a lot of twisting and turning. Try some Leg Circles - having control is key and here is a progression to build up to it:
Meanwhile, a lesson we've been talking a while now about with the Burpee can be taken onto the field for something as simple as a quick get-up when you need to be constantly ready:
I'll be in Cape Town, South Africa next week for the first time and doing a seminar at Cape CrossFit! Only a couple of spaces left for this one, I can't wait to see you there!
Strength, Balance, and Explosiveness
When you hear these three words, what do you think of - Oly Lifts? Kipping Handstand Push Ups, Burpees, or maybe some kind of jumping and landing? Well let's get off our feet and onto our backs for some V Ups, because this is where it all starts. If you can't get your upper and lower body coordinated in one explosive motion, you're going to hit your performance ceiling pretty quick.
Our friends The Modern Gypsies continue to do amazing things - having dug over 2km of trench they will soon be laying pipes to bring fresh water to over 450 people! Here's another segment with Carl and The Gypsies in training to prep for all that digging:
Thanks!
+CPNew England, New York, and the Usumacinta!
Lindsey Smith getting some air!
And hello GWOD! Well I just landed coming back from one of the craziest and best trips out to the North East - we took our seminars and training to 3 amazing gyms in 3 days at CrossFit Performance, CrossFit Providence, and CrossFit Long Island City. It's inspiring to work with such talent and focus - even during the NFL Playoffs and all. And congrats to the Pats and the Giants for making it to the Superbowl!
Meanwhile, let's continue to follow The Modern Gypsies adventure through the Usumacinta and Quito now that they have internet access again to update their blog. Be safe out there! Here's the next segment of our training prep with The Gypsies and Carl while they were in SF:
We also have our GWOD progression this week with everyone's favorite L-Hang Pull Up:
Last but not least, my next Freestyle Connection Seminar is at LAX CrossFit in LA next weekend and spaces are still available!
See you soon,
+CPStop SOPA/PIPA!
IMPORTANT: If you know us at all, you know we are not controversial or political types - we just want to bring you the best quality available when it comes to movement training and fitness. However, when something huge comes along and threatens the means by which we use provide our service to you, we must take action to defend ourselves - even through protest. So tomorrow on Jan.18, 2012, GymnasticsWOD will go dark along with thousands of other websites to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its sibling the Protect IP Act (PIPA).
If you know what SOPA and PIPA is and understand its implications, we hope you can take a moment to contact your local representative and voice your opinion about the damage this act of censorship will have. If you don't know, please take a moment to learn and do something about it.
Some of you may be thinking - oh well I'm not from the United States, so it's no big deal here. Well, it IS a big deal - in the past year alone only about two-thirds of the visits to GymnasticsWOD are from the United States. So that means about one-third of you who are outside of the U.S.A could also suffer if SOPA & PIPA becomes law. The internet is a global channel, and we need to make sure it stays open for everyone.
Thanks for your time and support.
Inspired by The Modern Gypsies
Hey GWOD! This week we have a very special feature for you - you may know them from doing WODs at CrossFit Invictus, or you may know them as the winners of the adventure reality show Expedition Impossible, but I got to know these guys when they hung out for a while at San Francisco CrossFit before their next big adventure - they are The Modern Gypsies! I was fortunate enough to work with these mustachios to help them prepare for their first Compassionate Adventure in Ecuador, where they will paddle rapids and summit peaks to reach a small community in the Andes mountains, and THEN help lay 2km of pipe to bring water to the village. AMAZING. You can learn more about these heros on their website, and follow their progress through updates their Facebook page. They're already on their way, currently at elevation 9000ft at Quinto!
Here's the debut of our new Freestyle feature series, to give you a behind the scenes look at their training:
This week's progression is more fun times on the rings - the Backward Roll:
Enjoy,
+CPChasing Quality From Coast to Coast
It's only the first weekend of the year and 2 seminars down already! Thanks again to the crews at CrossFit Oakland and CrossFit Vallejo for making the time to spend with me at the sold out sessions. It's amazing to see how quickly trainers and athletes are able to pick up and apply the movement framework, and I'm excited at the opportunity to come out and work with many more of you soon. CrossFit Providence and CrossFit Long Island City in the North East - get ready for I will see you in two weeks! This is THE time.
This week's progression we're going to build on the Ring Positioning progressions and learn how to do do the Pull Over on rings:
Thanks!
+CP2012 Kickoff!
Thank you for all your support to help make 2011 an amazing year - it's crazy to look back and count that I did 22 seminars for hundreds of dedicated athletes and trainers in the U.S. and Europe last year. These seminars have been a great learning opportunity for me as all of you have challenged me to explore, develop, and evolve my thinking. For 2012, I've already planned more quality sessions at even more locations, including Ecuador, South Africa, Australia, and 20+ other U.S. and European cities. Please check out the schedule and come out to train with us!
This week's progression using the Ice Cream Maker as an option to get into your Inverted Hang:
I'll see you this weekend at the CrossFit Oakland and CrossFit Vallejo seminars!
Thanks,
+CPHappy Holidays!
Hope everyone is having a safe and happy holidays!
Here's something fun to play around with on the rings once you've finished digesting all those holiday dinners:
- Inverted Hang with Positioning on Rings Pt.1
Thanks!
+CP- Inverted Hang with Positioning on Rings Pt.1
Strict Muscle Ups + More Seminars!
What's up GWODers! Just a only a couple of weeks left in 2011 and we're busy trying to wrap it up - and there's no better way than with another Muscle Up progression. This time we're going strict, so focus on your positions and finding those angles to help you make that transition fluid:
And we've just confirmed another batch of seminars - we're coming in hot in 2012!
- Mar.11 - CrossFit Fly (Newport Beach, CA)
- Apr.28 - CrossFit Omaha (Omaha, NE)
- Apr.29 - CrossFit TNT (St. Charles, MO)
- May 12 - CrossFit White Rock (Dallas, TX)
- Jun.16 - CrossFit Overdrive (Long Island City, NY)
- Jul.1 - United Barbell (San Francisco, CA)
- Aug.25 - CrossFit Flagstaff (Flagstaff, AZ)
- Sep.9 - Practice CrossFit (Troy, OH)
Looking forward to seeing you at the next session.
+CPSecond Wave of 2012 Seminars!
Hi team! It's cold outside, have you got your GWOD hoodie yet to stay toasty?
This past week we've been busy coordinating with gyms all over the U.S. and abroad to set up seminars for 2012, and I'm excited to be able to reach out to even more states, regions, countries, and continents! Check out these new seminar locations:
- Jan.28 - LAX CrossFit (Los Angeles, CA)
- Mar.24 - KALLPA CrossFit (Guayaquil, Ecuador)
- Mar.25 - CrossFit Guayaquil (Guayaquil, Ecuador)
- Jun.2 - CrossFit Manayunk (Philadelphia, PA)
- Jun.3 - Arenal Fitness (Baltimore, MD)
- Jun.16 - CrossFit Overdrive (Long Island City, NY)
- Sep.8 - New Species CrossFit (Royal Oak, MI)
- Oct.13 - CrossFit Adelaide (West Hindmarsh, South Australia)
- Oct.14 - Soul Rebel Athletics (Greensborough Victoria, Australia)
- Nov.3 - CrossFit JAX (Atlantic Beach, FL)
- Nov.4 - CrossFit Perimeter (Sandy Springs, GA)
Thanks to the amazing athletes and trainers who've implemented GWODs at their gyms in the past few weeks, with some even logging 150+ GWOD results in this short time. That is incredible dedication and I can't appreciate it enough. And to those of you who had attended my seminar, thank you all for participating and collaborating with me to build something special together. I hope to have a chance to work with everyone of you at a future session - don't forget to get your seminar discount if you log 30+ GWOD results, are a CF Level 1, Military/Police/Fire/Rescue, or USA Gymnastics member!
This week we wrap up our short series on the L-Seat progressions. There is no mystery to this one, you just have to put in some work and get conditioned and here's how you go about it:
Thanks!
+CP
