The Open is a worldwide competition where individuals compete in workouts that are posted weekly over the course of 5 weeks. You can video your workout and submit it online to CrossFit for judging and validation or you can perform the workout an a CrossFit affiliate and they will judge the workout and validate your score. Spectators are welcome and encouraged to come and see CrossFit as a sport.

CrossFit Palo Alto will be hosting The Open on 5 Saturdays, starting 2/25, from 1-3pm for those that want to compete. Here is what is required to compete at CFPA.

1) Register with The CrossFit Games site and select CrossFit Palo Alto as your affiliate. (cost $20)

2) Purchase a 5-week pass to The Open at CrossFit Palo Alto. (cost $25)

3) Prepare yourself for some challenging and fun workouts with others from the gym.

(If you are a visitor, you are welcome to compete for a $20 drop in fee. You must be registered with The CrossFit Games site prior to arrival and you must contact us ahead of time.)

Dates of The Open are: 2/25, 3/3, 3/10, 3/17 and 3/24

Please note. These workouts will not be scaled. CrossFit designs the workouts to be very accessible, but this is also a competition that requires strict standards. Examples of these standards are unassisted pullups and pushups. The movements and loads are unknown at this time. This is not a class where time will be spent on teaching the movements. Standards will be reviewed and that will be it. This is NOT an open gym time. This is NOT a time to come in and practice movements, make up workouts, etc. This is not part of your regular program and is completely optional. Therefore, any rest days that you may take in preparation for The Open will not be made up.

Is it possible that you’re an awkward runner?

Even if your answer to all of those questions is “no,” chances are high that you could stand to learn a thing or two from Patton Gleason.

Patton, an accomplished ultramarathon and trail runner, is the founder of the Natural Running Store (sponsor of CrossFit Palo Alto’s own Kristen Dymmel!) and a leading expert in the natural running movement. He credits minimalist running and natural gait techniques for getting him back on track after several years of debilitating injuries, and has been studying and refining natural running approaches ever since.

“I love the idea that you are born with everything you need to run,” Patton has said. “I also think that learning form and technique is incredibly empowering. For way too long, people have been conditioned to think that they are broken and need way too many things for running. The big running secret is that you are wired to do it.”

As he delved further into the science of running, Patton developed a style of natural running called Flow Running. You can find out more about it on Saturday, October 22, when Patton will be visiting us from Texas and leading two 2-hour Flow Running seminars at CrossFit Palo Alto. Attendees will learn the fundamentals of natural running, and gain valuable skills and insight about proper running mechanics and efficiency of movement.

The first seminar will run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and the second will run from noon to 2 p.m. You can register to attend by clicking here; tickets cost just $30 each. (Patton will be covering the same material in each of the two sessions, so sign up for just one of the sessions.)

This is a can’t-miss opportunity to learn from an expert in the field of natural running, and at a price that can’t be beat. The seminars are open to both CrossFit Palo Alto members and the general public, so grab a spot before all the slots are filled! (And remember: This event is open to friends and family, so sign them up, too!)

These “Back to Basics” posts are designed to give the reader some quick tips on the Paleo lifestyle so that you don’t have to spend a lot of time making the right choices and can focus on your training instead.

Just a quick word on a common misunderstanding among Paleo practitioners. The original Paleo Diet book by Loren Cordain placed an emphasis on eating lean meats because the effect of saturated fat on the body wasn’t well understood at the time of its writing (around 2000). The reason for this recommendation is sound: all animals (including humans) store toxins in their fat.¹ So it follows that animals raised using conventional methods are exposed to toxins in their feed (corn, grains), toxins on the land on which their raised (heavy metals, pesticides) and are injected with antibiotics and hormones. And if you eat the fat from these conventionally-raised animals, you’re introducing all of those toxins into your own body (and yes this applies to farm-raised seafood as well).

So if you’re going to eat conventionally-raised meats, be sure to trim off the fat! Perhaps an easier solution is to choose cuts of meat that are raised on a natural diet in open pastures. This meat can be admittedly more expensive (though you can save money by buying directly from the farmer through CSAs) but you will taste the difference and feel good about eating meat that lived a good life. Plus, you get to eat all that delicious, satiating animal fat.

What to look for on labels:
Beef and lamb – “100% grass-fed” or “grass-finished”
Chicken, pork and eggs – “pastured”
Fish – “wild-caught”
And of course, buy local whenever possible!

Badier Velji is a Whole 9 Envoy and writes about nutrition at The Lazy Caveman. Visit his website and follow @TheLazyCaveman on Twitter for more tips on how to improve your nutrition and quality of life.

References:
1. http://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/envicon/pim/reports/contaminantinfo/contaminants.html

Nope. It’s time to gear up for the sixth annual Fight Gone Bad fundraiser!

What’s Fight Gone Bad, you ask? It’s a workout that also doubles as CrossFit’s signature annual charity fundraising event. This year, the nonprofits supported by Fight Gone Bad 6 are The Special Operations Warrior Foundation and the CrossFit Foundation.

Both are worthy causes. The Special Operations Warrior Foundation provides full scholarship grants and educational and family counseling to the surviving children of special operations personnel who die in operational or training missions; in addition, it provides immediate financial assistance to severely wounded special operations personnel and their families. And the CrossFit Foundation — the philanthropic arm of CrossFit HQ — is focusing its efforts this year on the CrossFit Kids ISR Swim Program. The goal this year is to contribute $1 million through Fight Gone Bad to help prevent accidental childhood drownings.

And why’s it called “Fight Gone Bad”? Because after finishing this workout for the first time, UFC champ B.J. Penn said: “That was like a fight gone bad.”

Here’s the workout:

Rotate through five stations, spending one minute at each:

Rest one minute, and then repeat the five stations. Rest another minute, and then repeat all the stations again, for a total of three rounds.

Last year, almost two dozen of us packed into our old gym for Fight Gone Bad (and for a post-workout barbecue). Family, friends, and other CrossFit Palo Alto members cheered as each of us jumped, rowed, and heaved medicine balls and barbells around the gym.

This year, we’ll do the same — and also fundraise together to support the Fight Gone Bad charities. Please join us by registering for Fight Gone Bad 6 no later than September 14, 2011. Click here to get started, and set up your own personal fundraising page. Then, share it via email, Facebook and Twitter to get your friends and family to pledge their dollars to support your efforts. (Bonus: Fight Gone Bad tee shirts will be awarded to everyone who fundraises $150 or more by October 1, 2011!)

In the meantime, don’t forget to work on your wall balls and sumo deadlift high pulls, because on Saturday, September 17, you’ll be joining us at the gym for a sweaty good time and for a celebratory (and much-deserved) post-workout Paleo potluck!

CrossFit Palo Alto’s new iPhone app, Outside the Box, is now available for download on iTunes!

Customized specifically for members of our gym, Outside the Box will allow you to:

• View CrossFit Palo Alto’s WODs
• Keep a personal, mobile workout log
• Search past results
• Receive “push” messages from your coaches
• View videos
• Keep a calendar of CrossFit Palo Alto events

To download Outside the Box from iTunes, click here. Once it’s on your mobile device, open the app and click “Register.” Use the menus to select “CrossFit Palo Alto” and your coach — and then start using Outside the Box to track your progress!

(Note: The app is free to download and use, but the optional personal WOD tracking feature — if you choose to use it beyond the one-week free preview — will cost 99 cents per month. The subscription costs go directly to Outside the Box, not to CrossFit Palo Alto.)

The gym will be closed from Thursday, July 28 through Monday, August 1.

Why? Because we’re heading down to Southern California for the CrossFit Games!

Got questions? Keep reading for the answers.

How will I be able to scratch my CrossFit itch while the gym is closed?

We’ll post workouts on our Facebook page — stay tuned for more details. But the best way to get your CrossFit fix while we’re closed is to watch the CrossFit Games!

Really? Why should I care about the CrossFit Games?

The Games are the ultimate expression of the sport of CrossFit, highlighting performances by some the world’s most well-rounded athletes. Watching the best of the best as they fight their way through eye-popping challenges is insanely entertaining — and totally addictive.

Even if you have little interest in spectator sports, the Games will motivate and inspire you like nothing else. Those who make it to the Games are not highly-paid pro athletes with multi-million-dollar contracts, but folks in our global community, working out in CrossFit gyms and in their backyards. They are our CrossFitting brothers and sisters, and it’s impossible to walk away from the Games without a profound appreciation for their accomplishments. The grit and determination you witness at the Games will fuel you in the gym for months to come.

Okay — you’ve got me curious. Tell me more!

Beginning in 2007, CrossFit HQ has hosted an annual competition to identify the fittest people on the planet. And in just a few years, the Games have grown from a small gathering of 70 athletes on a ranch to a major sporting event held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

There, over the course of three grueling days, elite CrossFit athletes from around the world will tackle a series of physical challenges — none of which are announced in advance. To have a shot at the podium, the competitors must be ready for anything: from rope-climbing to muscle-ups, and from squat snatches to steering a wheelbarrow full of sandbags across a stadium floor.

The arduous process of selecting athletes for the 2011 Games began this spring, with the launch of the CrossFit Games Open. For six weeks, over 26,000 athletes across the globe — including a number of your fellow CrossFit Palo Alto members — tackled weekly WODs and submitted their results to the Games website. The top-performing 60 men, 60 women, and 30 teams from each of 17 regions around the world were then invited to Regional competitions to vie for a spot at the Games.

Our very own Maddie Rovira represented CrossFit Palo Alto at the Northern California Regionals last month, where she placed an impressive 18th overall. Held at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, the competition was fierce and the elements were harsh — a full day’s worth of workouts were performed in the pouring rain — but in the end, our region is sending a group of fantastic athletes to compete at the Home Depot Center.

A group of us from CrossFit Palo Alto will be there, too, cheering on the competitors and soaking in the action and excitement. We would love for you to join us at the Games — tickets are still available at the CrossFit Games website and via Ticketmaster.

And even if you can’t make it down to Southern California for our fun in the sun, you can catch all of the action via live streaming video — complete with analysis and color commentary. Go to the CrossFit Games site to check out the live coverage from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. You can also watch the “Live Premier Coverage” streaming online at ESPN3.com from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Trust me: Once you start watching, you’ll be hooked for the rest of the weekend. So clear your calendars!

CrossFit Palo Alto is proud to be home to the only Women-Only CrossFit Program in The Bay Area. Read on to find out how this program can meet you where you are and then take you to where you want to go and beyond.

In CrossFit, we recognize that the functional needs of men, women and children vary by degree, not by kind.  At CrossFit Palo Alto, we also recognize that there are some women who feel more comfortable pushing their envelopes and improving their own fitness levels when they are in an environment in which they feel comfortable.  And for some women, that means a class with other women.

While every class taught at CrossFit Palo Alto offers a “safe space” (physically and emotionally) for learning new movement and improving fitness levels, we have discovered that many of our female athletes have benefited significantly from being surrounded by other women.  This is a place where strength is celebrated and camaraderie has developed organically.  In this environment we have seen confidence in lifting and moving grow, and we’ve been able to see areas where women tend to need improvement, so as a group, we identify and work on them together.  (For example, May is a push-up month for the ladies, and by working on this area together, we’ve seen women to do push-ups on their toes rather than knees for the first time in their lives!)  The classes start to feel more like team practices and sport than simply the workout of the day.

The programming for the CrossFit Women’s program is the same that is employed in the co-ed classes, and is scaled or modified according to each athlete’s ability.  Workouts are performed at the highest intensity that each individual can sustain with good form and technique, which is taught and reinforced throughout class.  Some women are more comfortable in a ladies-only setting and find it easier to focus on their workouts and compete with themselves in the presence of other women.  All levels are appropriate and accommodated in this class.  Some of the ladies also participate in the co-ed classes one additional day each week, so they’ve experienced both sides.  Here’s what some of them have to say about the class.

From Michelle, on her first CrossFit experience through the Women’s Class at CFPA -

I was amazed — I’d heard about the strong communities that develop around CrossFit, but I didn’t really expect everyone to be so open, warm and friendly. These gals are genuinely nice people… And how weird is it that we’re even chatting?…  All of a sudden, I realized that I liked being surrounded by others who could challenge and inspire me. Even during the warmups, I watched with amazement as one of my classmates duck-walked like a mallard on meth down the length of the gym.  It was awesome.  And as the metcon started and I watched the girls take off running, I was thrilled to be a part of this little gang. [Full Post:  “CrossFit Virgin No More”]

Also read:  “Sorry, Fellas – It’s Ladies Only”

555 California Street rises 779 feet above the pavement; one of the tallest buildings on the West Coast.  Formerly known as The Bank of America Building, it opened in 1979.  Its size and presence symbolized wealth and added an impressive punctuation mark on the skyline of San Francisco.  Its history has boasted of being the tallest building west of the Mississippi, the world headquarters of the Bank of America, and, of course the host site for the Fight For Air.

On Saturday, March 26, participants from all over the Bay Area lined up in the hallways of the skyscraper, working their way through the maze toward the stairwells that are normally populated only during building evacuations.

The Task?  Climb 52 stories to the top of the building.

The Reason?  Support the American Lung Association and climb for those who can’t.

The Way?  As fast as possible.

17 Other CrossFit Affiliates were present at the climb, but CFPA rose to top!

Overall 1st Place Male – Sean Falconer

Overall 1st Place Female – Heather Newberry

Largest CrossFit Team participating – 27 Team Members

Most funds raised by CrossFit Affiliate – $10,000+

Most funds raised by an individual – $3300+

FASTEST CrossFit Team – 13:14.6

Most FUN had by ANY team!

For anyone who might have missed it, here’s a general rundown of the climb (Talk to Sean for a different perspective).

Floor 1:  Out the gate, thinking you’ll be able to keep up this pace for a while.

Floor 2:  OK, maybe not as long as you thought.

Floor 3:  New strategy, try two stairs at a time

Floor 4:  OK, never mind.  Maybe singles

Floor 5:  Just keep moving

Floor 6:  Waiting for heart rate to level off

Floor 7:  Still waiting

Floor 8:  Heart rate is sticking here

Floor 9:  Maintain

Floor 10:  Start occupying the brain by doing math

Floor 11:  One-two-three-four…

Floor 12:  Only 12?

Floor 13:  25% done! (Wait a sec, that leaves 75% to go!)

And on it goes, until…

Floor 51:  one more flight… and one switchback, no, two switchbacks and then…

Floor 52:  Reach the top and SNAP goes the camera and down a little hall to…

The Finish.  It felt like a huge surprise party awaiting every finisher at the top of the building.  All that with amazing views to boot (maybe a few folks partook of the bananas too)!

Fifty-two stories, 8:00 minutes flat for one, and upwards of 30 minutes for others.

It’s easy to be impressed by the CrossFit Palo Alto community.  How often do you get participation in a voluntary event (an uncomfortable event, no less) that exceeds twenty five percent of the population?   And even more so, people who are willing to pay for it?  And raise money for it?  And do it all smiling?  Maybe it sounds silly.  Like asking someone to pay to row a 2k for fun on a Saturday morning.

But it wasn’t silly at all.  It was meaningful.  And very real.  And everyone celebrated it together.  Some people added themselves at the last minute, finding a silver lining behind the clouds that kept them from the snow in Tahoe…   There were others whose motivation was to support the cause itself, raising awareness and funds for those who fight for air.   But regardless, the morning started the same for just about all of the participants:  an early alarm on a rainy Saturday morning, a drive up to the city, standing in the rain, legs burning as they reached the top of the climb, and all so that they could participate in an event with their teammates, their friends.  Each one of them proud to pass the test of the day.

(And maybe share a little bacon together in the end.)

Photo Courtesy of nataliedee.com

One of the biggest misconceptions about Paleo is that it has to be a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet. The truth is, athletes like CrossFitters need to eat more than they think in order to recover from our tough workouts, speed up fat loss, and build the most muscle possible.

What happens when I exercise?

Exercise is primarily a tool for increasing work capacity. This is achieved by increasing muscle mass, cardiac/respiratory endurance, and metabolism. On a cellular level, you are actually inducing micro-trauma in your muscles, and it’s vital to repair those tears so the muscle can grow larger and stronger. On a hormonal scale, exercise increases insulin sensitivity. This is a good thing, because insulin is a storage hormone that will shuttle protein and carbohydrates to where they need to go in the body to start the recovery process. When you don’t eat after a workout, you lose that optimal feeding window, and may crash and burn in the long-term.

Okay, so what do I eat?

Well, if you’re following the Whole9 Meal Simple Template, your meals consist of protein, lots of fresh veggies and healthy fat. And you should be eating until you’re satiated. Traditionally, the types of veggies that are recommended on the Paleo diet are low-carbohydrate, however there’s a certain danger associated with low-carb eating and CrossFit. Any time we tap into our muscle glycogen, we need to eat a good post-workout of meal consisting of protein and a starchy carbohydrate. If we don’t, we risk using all the glycogen in our muscles, then our liver, then our brain. If that happens, there are some pretty serious risks including dizziness, shakiness, coma and death. That’s why we take our post-workout recommendations so seriously (and cause we want you to be your best).

The protein in the meal does a couple of things: it starts the repair of all those micro-tears that we created during the workout. It also stimulates the release of a hormone called glucagon. Glucagon is an energy access hormone that allows us to use body fat for energy (a good thing!). The carbohydrate in the meal gets converted into glucose and goes straight to your muscles to refill those tanks.

Personally, I like to eat some scrambled eggs with veggies and a yam. It’s important to avoid fat in your post-workout meal, as fat slows down digestion (great for increasing the satiety in the rest of your meals, but not appropriate when we’re trying to get nutrients in fast). Also, avoid fruit in this meal as fructose (the main sugar in fruit) will cause all sugars to go to your liver instead of refilling your muscles glycogen tanks. And make sure that you can get this  meal in within 30 minutes of finishing your workout. If that means bringing your food to the gym with you, do it. Remember, this post-workout meal is a bonus meal that you get to eat in addition to your normal meals because you exercised. Trust me, you’ll feel the difference pretty quickly and you’ll wonder what took you so long to start making smart post-workout choices (I know I did!)

Your partner in STRENF!

Badier

Badier Velji is an active member of the SF Bay Area Paleo Community and writes about nutrition at The Lazy Caveman. Visit his website and follow @TheLazyCaveman on Twitter for more tips on how to improve your nutrition and quality of life.

Greetings, Fellow CrossFitters!

Welcome to the first installment in our on-going nutrition support blog! We’ll be using this space to provide all of you with helpful tips and advice on how to fuel yourself properly both inside and outside of the gym. Our guidelines for nutrition recommendations largely come from the Whole9 guide, a program of which we are a proud partner. If you are a CrossFit Palo Alto member and don’t have your copy yet, talk to your coach and get reading!

Paleo Nutrition

Why do we recommend a Paleo approach to the way you eat? Well, simply put, because it works! Many of our members (and coaches) choose to eat and live this way because it provides them with more energy to get through those tough WODs, provides faster recovery between workouts and helps you shed fat while packing on muscle.

Where to Start

First, make sure you’ve read through the nutrition guide and you fully understand it. Second, make a plan for how you’re going to incorporate the Paleo principles into your life. The people  who do struggle with Paleo do so because they haven’t fully committed to making change and still hold on to conventional wisdom. At our gym, we offer Nutrition Orientations and Q&A’s regularly to make sure that all our members’ questions get answered.

Set Yourself Up For Success

The Paleo community at large is very supportive and we’ll help you get there, but you have to want the change. You’re already making the right steps by training at a CrossFit box, so you’ve got the potential to strive for even better. It’s important to set realistic goals, be they fat loss, MetCon improvement, or just being the best version of you that you can be.

Be Patient and Open-Minded

Our bodies are amazingly complex and there’s going to be information that you hear about certain foods and body processes that are counter to what you’ve learned or been told. While Paleo eating is far from new, it’s resurgence is backed by science and its results are very real. You may not see gains overnight or even the first few weeks, especially if you’re coming from a heavily-processed diet, but stick with it and you’ll love the improvements in your energy, body composition, physical performance and mood.

Your partner in STRENF!

Badier

Badier Velji is an active member of the SF Bay Area Paleo Community and writes about nutrition at The Lazy Caveman. Visit his website and follow @TheLazyCaveman on Twitter for more tips on how to improve your nutrition and quality of life.