Class Times Announced

CrossFit Banshee will open her doors to members starting Jan 1.     Our standard schedule will be as follows:

Monday - Friday: 6AM, 5:30 PM, and 6:30 PM

Saturday: 9 AM

Since no one wants to wake up early on Jan 1 though we will only hold the afternoon classes.

The gym is ready for people!!!

Free Workout 12/22

CrossFit Banshee will be offering a free workout at our gym 12/22 at 10:30 AM for anyone interested in trying a CrossFit workout.  These workouts are intended for all fitness levels and available to anyone who it interested.

If you haven't been to our gym before, please stop by about 15 minutes early to ensure that there is enough time to meet our staff and sign a waiver.

The workout will be at the gym located at 380 S Potomac St Unit 100, Aurora CO 80012.

Can't wait to see you there.

Flooring installed!

Yesterday a Mike, Sammy, Andy and Anna showed up to help install the floors at CrossFit Banshee.  The floors look awesome.  We couldn't have done this without all of the great help.

Free workout 12/15

Today's Banshee workout will be the Manitou Incline.  We plan to meet at the base at 11:30. 

If you've never heard of the incline, it is a 1 mile hike straight up the side if a mountain with railroad ties serving as stairs. 

Equipment's here

Today, Santa (FedEx) delivered 4 pallets worth of equipment from Again Faster.  This is starting to get exciting.  Luckily we don't have to wait until Christmas to open it all.

          

Free Workout 12/8

CrossFit Banshee will be offering another free workout 12/8 at noon at the gym on 380 S Potomac St.

If you've ever been interested in trying a CrossFit workout feel free to stop by for a great introduction.  NO experience required.

New Paint!!

The gym project continues.  Today introduced some paint to the walls.  Say bye to that ugly baby blue.

Before

Drop Ceiling is gone and a fresh coat of paint

Day 2 of Gym Work

The contractor is getting everything raised high enough to support working out and getting the walls ready for some new paint.  The lights are now above 10 ft and the HVAC is out of the way.  I can already see people doing thrusters in my mind.

Day 1 of Gym Work

The work on the new CrossFit Banshee space has started.  These are the beginnings of what will be a great CrossFit gym.

Before (Really Low Ceilings)

During (Low Ceilings are gone!!!)

Free Workout 12/1

CrossFit Banshee will be hosting a free workout today at our newly signed location at Noon.  Join us at Noon to see the gym before it is transformed and get a free workout.

We are located at 380 S Potomac Aurora CO, 80012 just south of Alameda on Potomac.

Location Anouncement

Big News:  CrossFit Banshee has found a location and signed the lease.  We will be located just off of Alameda and I-225 at 380 S Potomac St Unit 100, Aurora CO 80012.
View Larger Map

Scaling Blog Series: Strength

A lack of strength in a given movement is the most common reason for scaling a workout.  Almost everyone has been in a position that they just can't lift the weights written on the board.  Luckily this is probably the easiest scaling to do.  The first step, like scaling for skill, involves understanding the intent of the workout then choosing a weight that you can lift that meets that intent.  For instance, a CrossFit workout can be intended to be pretty fast around 4 minutes while other are intended to be long over 30 minutes.  There is a difference in the amount of weight that should be used in each case.  The shorter workout might use a slightly higher weight and fewer reps, while the longer workout might use light weights (or bodyweight) and lots of reps.

For example, if the workout is Diane (21-15-9 225# deadlifts and Handstand Pushups) and you know there isn't a chance that you can do 45 deadlifts at 225#.  Understanding how this workout is performed and how it should feel will help you choose the right weight.  For this workout you should be shooting to complete it within about 7 minutes and with each rep performed pretty quickly.    With that in mind you should realize that deadlifts cannot take up all of the time so the weight needs to be manageable.  The handstand pushups are also an area that can be scaled too.  I usually like to modify these by putting knees on a box but keeping my upper body vertical.  I'm still doing a handstand but my legs are able to help me through the pushup.

Free Park Workout 11/24/13

CrossFit Banshee is hosting a free park workout at Rocky Ridge park in Aurora at Noon.  It might be a little cold and wet so dress appropriately.

Skill:
Squat

Workout:
21-15-9
Thrusters
Box Jumps

Free Park Workout11/17/13

CrossFit Banshee is offering a free CrossFit workout at the Rocky Ridge park in Aurora on Sunday 11/17/13 at Noon, rain or shine.  If you are interested in trying CrossFit feel free to join us at the park.  First timers please arrive 15 minutes early.  

Skill:

Clean and Jerk

Kendrick Farris

Workout:

5 Rounds

10 Deadlift

200 M Run

Scaling Blog Series: Skill

At some point almost everyone has walked into the gym to find a movement prescribed in the workout that they simply cannot do.  This isn't the "Wow, that's just too heavy". NOPE.  You can't even do the movement.  Some obvious examples of this are muscle ups, double unders and pistols, but it can be just about anything depending on where you're coming from.

So how do you do a workout with a movement that you cannot do?  You substitute in a different movement.  Substitution is a great way of scaling a workout and gives a lot of options when you feel stuck.

Picking the right movement to use can be a bit confusing for people though and this is where a coach can certainly help.   Typically who ever is programming will have purpose behind the chosen movement and there are a couple of directions that this can go.

Intensity:  When you substitute a different movement but keep intensity as the focus, the new movement needs to be something that you can do pretty well.  The goal of this type of scaling is to pick a movement that will give you the same effect as the programmed movement.  For example, if the workout calls for muscle ups, a good substitution to keep the intensity is 3 pullups and 3 ring dips.

Skill progression: Another method of substitution can be skill work on the desired movement. Usually this involves a scaled down version of the movement.  NOTE: this usually also decreases the intensity.  Using our muscle up example, you would fall to a phase in the progression to achieving a muscle up by using something to help get you up.  Maybe you practice muscle ups from your knees as the substitution.

Either of the above substitution methods are useful when there is a movement that you can't do. There is certainly a time and place for both and it can be dependent on the programming and your personal goals.

BIG NOTE:  This same approach can be used if you have an injury and cannot perform a movement.

So here's an example:
WOD:
5 Rounds
3 Muscle Ups
6 Snatch 95/65
9 Burpees

And you can't do Muscle Ups.   If the coach says that the goal is to keep the intensity up then I would modify this way:
5 Rounds
9 Pullups/9 Ring Dips
6 Snatch
9 Burpees

Now let's say the goal (yours or your trainers) is to practice the skill behind the muscle up or work on the transition.  I would modify this way:
3 Muscle Ups from my knees
6 Snatch
9 Burpees
My focus on the knee muscle ups would be on the transition from below the rings to above and to make it as clean as possible.

I'd love to get comments or question on this.  I'm sure there are specific movements that you struggle with and would like to know how to sub.

11/3/13 Free Park Workout

Reminder, Free Park Workouts have moved to Sundays at Noon.  Come join us at Rocky Ridge Park.

Today's WOD

10 - 1 Ladder

Burpees 

KB Push Press  Left

KB Push Press Right

Run 100M between each round.

10/31 Park Workout

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

 Courtesy of CrossFit Devotion

Anyone interested in trying CrossFit, we are having a Free Park Workout today at 5:30 PM.  Come and get a great workout before taking the kids out to collect candy.  The workout will be at Rocky Ridge Park on Mississippi between Chambers and Buckley.



Today's Skill:
Snatch

The CrossFit Fairy showed up at the park for the Halloween Workout.

Today's Workout:
5 Rounds
10 Snatch
10 Burpee Bar Jump Overs

10/29 Park WOD Cancelled

Since the regulars called me and cancelled and no one RSVPd I'm canceling tonight's class.  

If you're interested in CrossFit at all this is a great opportunity to give it a shot with a small group with an experienced instructor.   Give me a call our shoot me an email.

Scaling Blog Series (Intro)

The goal of CrossFit is to increase work capacity across broad time and modal domain.  This simply means that given a task the goal of CrossFit is to do it better, no matter how long it takes or what the task involves.   The CrossFit programming mirrors this goal with workouts ranging from the extremely short 1 Rep Max lifts to much longer like running 10K or even sprint triathlons.   Regardless of your athletic ability or background there comes a time when it is appropriate to scale a CrossFit workout.   During this blog series I will explore the reasons behind scaling workouts and different approaches to help get better faster.

The following subjects will be explored in future editions of this series:

1) Skill 

2) Strength

3) Time/Volume

4) Scale Up

5) Back Off

Thursday 10/10 Park WOD

Park Workout Tonight (10/10/13)

As part of tonight's Outside the Box series we are going to work on moving some moderate to heavy weights overhead.

4 Rounds
3 Shoulder Press
6 Push Press
9 Push Jerks
200M Run

Come join CrossFit Banshee for our Free Outdoor Workouts.

Anna looking strong overhead

Steve finishing up the run

Outside the Box Park WOD- Love Your Bumper

9/26/2013

Love Your Bumper



4 Rounds For Time

50m Overhead Lunge

20 Zercher Squat

50m Overhead Lunge

10 Push Press



 ...and DONE!

Are you interested in a Free park WOD? More info here

Outside The Box- Park WOD's

 

Last Thursday a few of CrossFit Banshee's Staff got out to test out the idea of Outside the Box. Now we are inviting you to come join us!

9/18/2013 WOD

(workout of the day)

 

Warm up:

Squats/Hollow Rock Holds 

10 Min AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)
10 Toes to Bar
150m Sprint

Shoulder Press

CrossFit, being a program for general physical preparedness, gives it's athletes the opportunity to practice skills in the gym that can transfer to everyday life. Everyday life actions like holding our babies overhead and hoisting your carry-on bag into the overhead bin of the plane. These movements require a basic a shoulder to overhead movement, also known as a shoulder press.  Shoulder press being the simpler lift of the overhead presses translates to a lot of movements we do in everyday life.  It is also a movement that you will find in the weightlifting modality and also in the gymnastics modality with handstand push-ups.

Set up: It is important to begin with a good set up position to complete the shoulder press. Your stance is hip width apart. The hands are in a closed grip, thumbs around, on the bar just outside the shoulders. The bar is resting in “rack” position on the shoulders, and elbows are down and in front of the bar. Abs or midsection of body will be tight in the set up position and will remain tight throughout the entire lift.

The Press: The next step is to press the bar in a straight up path overhead. Begin by engaging the mid-section and beginning to drive the bar directly up, making sure to move your head out of the path of the bar rather than change the path of the bar around your head.  Once pressed overhead, at the top of the lift, the shoulders will be active with the shoulder angle being fully open (shoulders pressed up towards ears, armpits facing the wall in front of you). In the locked out position the bar should be located directly over the arch of the foot. Remaining in control return the bar down to the rack position following the same straight bar path.

Some common faults in executing the movement:

The bar is not directly overhead and is in the frontal plane.

The bar diverts from the straight path to move around the lifter’s head. This diversion is one reason the bar may be in the frontal plane.

The lifter is leaning back and overextending in the back due to a slack in the midsection.

The lifter is leaning back to generate power from the pectoral muscles, turning the lift into more of a bench press.

The lifter goes up on their toes when trying to fully extend and lock the bar out in the overhead position. Usually this is seen in connection with an over-arched back.

A full press or lock out overhead is not achieved due to inactive shoulders or bent elbows.

With consistent practice and continually added weight a lifter can reap the benefits of the overhead press in many ways from everyday functional movements to full range of motion hand stand push-ups or hand stand walks.

Everybody Needs Mobility and Form Work

I have been doing CrossFit for 5+ years, and I'd like to think that I'm pretty good at most movements.  I train in my own garage gym, without a coach, which means my coach is myself and what I can see in the mirror. Yes, I have mirrors in my gym, if I didn't I wouldn't be able to flex, I mean see what I'm doing :) (at least from a limited point of view). I have been cruising along for some time and decided that I needed more leg work since legs are my weakest point.  I had been working legs at least once a week...front squats, back squats, over head squats with what I thought was good form: Chest up, knees out, hip crease below patella...but I could only see from a frontal view.  I had a series of tough workouts that really hit the posterior chain hard:
Thurs: OHS 5x3
Fri: 55 C&J @ 135 + 10 Rounds of Cindy
Sat: Run 7mi
Sun: Off
Mon: Lumberjack 20 (Rxd)
Tue: Front Squat 3x5
Tuesday is when my back went out... I went down on my third set, felt a huge pop in my lower back, I stood the weight up, and that's when the pain started. Go figure: I had hit my back hard with OHS, C&J, running and Lumberjack 20...I shouldn't have been front squatting. I later found out that I had popped my SI joint out (where the sacrum attaches to the pelvis), and the only reason I didn't injury any bones or discs was because of my musculature. It was horrible: I couldn't sit, stand, or sleep because of every position hurt! I couldn't understand what had happened, my form looked good (at least from my view), I was doing a relatively light weight (and I hadn't thought about my previous workouts)....

It took a couple of weeks of PT and muscle relaxers to get my back calmed down enough that I could do light leg work in a workout again.  Once back in the gym, I mentioned to Steve that I hurt my back during squatting, so he took a look at my squat...right off the bat he knew why things went wrong.  I had no hip flexion, my right shoulder was forward, throwing my center of balance forward putting it in front of my toes...it's amazing my back didn't go out years before.  I thank Crossfit for a strong back! Not only did my strong secondary muscles save my back, but it held me together for longer than if a non-Crossfitter were doing the same thing.  Steve showed me what proper squat form was and when he set me into the correct position I literally fell over because of my inflexible hips! He showed me various mobility I could and how to do squat therapy.  The very first day I did this, the pain in my back diminished dramatically!

So fast forward several months...I've been doing squat therapy EVERY workout: hip flexion, various stretching, working against a wall to keep my back up and my butt under me...with PT, I'm mostly pain free and my squatting is dramatically better.  I've begun upping weights on my squats, but the most amazing thing is my OH Squats and how having good squat form helps.  I worked up to my previous 1RM (that was a major struggle before), and was astounded to find the weight was cake to squat! Now my shoulders couldn't hold much more...but just being able to be STABLE squatting 175# over head was a great feeling!

All in all, it really sucked popping my back out, but it was blessing in disguise: It made me 1) realize I need a coach to check my form occasionally, 2) plan my workouts better and give muscle groups a rest, 3) correct my squat form which had unexpected, yet wonderful results.  Bottom line: nobody's form is perfect and we all can use mobility and therapy.

Deadlift

The deadlift is one of my favorite lifts.  The simplicity of the lift and the amount of weight that can be lifted really make it fun to do.  Even though the deadlift is a simple lift there are still quite a few parts of the lift that can go wrong.   Anyone with back problems automatically thinks that the deadlift is out, and people who don’t have back problems can quickly acquire a problem if the lift is done poorly.   

 

Starting with the bar on the ground and assuming it is loaded with standard Olympic size plates, step up to the bar over the middle of the foot.  A good rule of thumb here is to hide the knot of you shoe laces as you look down.  Feet should be about hip width or just a hair wider.

 

With a straight solid back position, bend at the hips reaching towards the bar.  As you get close to grabbing the bar or to get deeper bend the knees until your shins contact the bar.  Your grip should be about shoulder width with a solid grip on the bar.  Your knees should be pressed out towards your arms.

 

Before starting to lift the bar off the ground, load the back of your legs by shifting your weight towards your heels slightly and pulling against the bar.  This should take any slack out of your hips and back and put you in good position to lift.

 

To start the lift press through your heels and start extending the knees until the bar rises to knee level.  Once the bar clears the knees, squeeze your butt to extend you hip and drive your chest up.  The bar should stay in contact with your legs throughout the left. 

 

At the top position squeeze your butt and abs to full extension and keep the shoulder blades pulled back.  You should be in a good standing position with the shoulders, hips, knees and ankles in line.

 

To return the bar to the ground start bending at the hip keeping the good back position.  Bend at the hip until the bar reaches knee level.  Once the bar passes the knee, start bending the knees as the bar slides down the shins.

 

When the deadlift is done correctly the bar should travel in a straight line from the floor to the top position and a straight line returning to the floor.

 

Some of the common issues that people will run into when they are deadlifting are below.

Rounded back:  Rounding your back during the deadlift can cause big issues and it only takes one time to suffer a debilitating injury.  Focus on driving your chest up as you lift the weight and let you butt take more of the load.  Sometimes the back rounds because you simply can’t get low enough to grab the bar in a good position.  In this case work with a coach to find a way to start the lift in a higher position and slowly work your way down.

 

Hit your knees going up or down: Hitting the bar against your knees when deadlifting usually indicates a timing issue.  If the bar hits your knees on the way up, this is because you are pulling your hips in too soon.  Keep your hips pulled back until the bar passes your knees then start to pull your hips to the bar. 

 

If the bar hits your knees on the way down, you are starting to bend your knees too soon.  Again force the hips back until the bar is at knee level then start bending the knees to return the bar to the ground.

An LMI Event- Devil's Causeway!

An LMI Event-Devil’s Causeway

Devil’s Causeway a 6 mile out and back hike or 11 mile loop hike in the Flat Top Wilderness.

Devil's Causeway is one of the most notorious hikes in Colorado. This hike, which ascends the Chinese Wall in the Flat Tops Wilderness, contains a narrow 3-foot wide, 25-yard long segment of broken rock with 1,000+ ft drops on either side. This segment, which gives the trail its name, is demonic indeed. Anyone with the slightest bit of acrophobia will cower, cringe, and otherwise drool on themselves with anxiety. The pictures of this chunk of rock do nothing to convey the emotional impact of the drop off so don't be fooled.

The Hike:

Sunday Aug 11 -Meet at the trailhead at 8 am it is an 180 mi drive and estimated as a 4 hour drive by Google maps so a group will be camping the evening before at a dispersed campground near the trail. We would like to start early in order to avoid any afternoon storms and hope to be back down to the trailhead by 1-3pm depending on which route is taken.

·        What to Bring –

As always, you are responsible for your own safety and well-being on this hike, but here is some suggested gear:

Water

Lunch/Snacks
Several layers of clothing
Gloves
Good hiking boots
Rain Gear
Poles – optional

Camping:

Saturday Aug 10- Camp the night before near Stillwater Reservoir. The camp spot will be car camping in an undeveloped dispersed spot in the National Forest. The camp spot is near two different reservoirs with restrooms/toilets but no other amenities. If you are joining the evening before to camp please bring anything necessary for comfortable sleeping arrangements and your own food/drink.  A grill and a camp stove will be available to use too.

Please post in the comments or email annalissa.smith@gmail.com for any questions and to RSVP.

An LMI Event- Paddle Boarding at Aurora Reservoir JULY 13

When:  Saturday July 13 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Where: Aurora Reservoir- 5800 S. Powhaton Rd. Aurora, 80016. Picnic tables above the watercraft launch area.

What: Beach Fun, Paddle Boarding & Relay Race, and a BBQ

Who: Anyone who is interested + your Friends and Family. 

 (Disclaimer: This is a voluntary group, and as such, you participate on these outings at your own risk and are responsible for your own personal safety (and safety of your family, should you bring them). As mentioned above, we can offer tips that will minimize these risks, but cannot obviously eliminate them. Please try to use common sense and know your physical limits. We will not judge you if you participate at a slow pace, or cannot finish an event in its entirety. Try to be smart about this. We want everyone to have a safe, enjoyable time.)

Meet at Aurora Reservoir to spend some time on the beach and take 2 paddle boards out on the water at the same time. Throughout the day you can rent the paddle boards from Steve at $10 an hour with a $10/min. Paddle Boards can also be rented from Aurora Reservoir at the same rate. Belt Pack Life Vest included.

At 11am we will do a Paddle boarding relay race. Two teams, first team to paddle out to a landmark turn around and paddle back wins! No charge for renting the paddle boards at this time.

There will be a grill available to cook any meat you’d like to bring for the BBQ. Please bring a side to share as well and anything that you would like to drink throughout the day.

RSVP to Steven.e.williams78@gmail.com if you would like to rent the paddle boards (one or both), how long, and at what time.  

Reasons to Workout

What motivates people to actually make the time to go to workout?  For me the answer to this question changes based on how I'm feeling. 

The first one that comes to mind is one that hits me after a I've slacked off for a while and haven't been keeping up with thing the way I should.  After a longer lay off from working out, FEAR actually gets me back to the gym.  I"ve been extremely over weight in my life and know how hard it is to do anything.  I fear that I might be sliding back towards that lifestyle when I stop working out.  Another FEAR that I have is that I will let people down.  My friends and family are very active, and expect to see me doing activities.  The last thing that I want to do is leave those people wanting more or looking elsewhere for someone to do activities with.

Another reason that I take the time to workout is simply it is something that I SHOULD do.  I know that there are things that I would like to do and in order to accomplish those things I SHOULD make it to the gym.  I know that when a peticularly difficult workout shows up, it is something that I SHOULD do to make myself stronger and overcome weaknesses that I might have. 

By far the best motivation is simply the LOVE of being active.  I LOVE being able to do cool things.  I LOVE the fact that I can show up to a CrossFit gym and have a community of people that LOVE to do awesome things, and support others in their journey.  Certainly LOVING what I do to workout makes dealing with the pain, and giving up the time. 

This has helped me realize that finding activies that you LOVE to do with people that will hold you accountable is one of the best ways to continue to improve fitness levels.

The Incline... revisted!

It is time again to work on conquering The Incline... approximately a mile straight up the side of a mountain. This hike is short but intense with a pleasant hike down.

Join LMI in hiking the incline on Saturday May 4th. Leave Aurora and carpool down to Manitou Springs at 11am return by 5pm. 1 hour drive time each way and allows for four hours hiking... grab something to eat and head back.

While this hike is only a mile up it actually takes a fair amount of time to do the ascent. It is pretty exposed at times and if it is a clear sunny day the heat can get intense quickly. I suggest bringing a hat, sunscreen, lots of water, layers, and nourishment. The ascent is a lot like climbing about a thousand flights of stairs (I'm not sure it is possible to over exaggerate this one) but offers a pretty great hiker's high once you conquer it.

Leave a comment here if you would like to join us and we will get back to you with more information about meeting and carpooling.

Paleo Meal Swap

LMI Fitness will be coordinating the third Paleo Meal swap on May 6, 2013 6pm at CrossFit CRUSH.
Our first and second swaps have been great with 9-10 people participating in each!

Guidelines for the swap:

1. In order to avoid duplicates provide the meal you would like to swap by replying to all in the email sent to those interested in participating. Choosing of the meals on the day of the swap will go in the order of responses received. Respond no later than May 2. 

2. Keep it Paleo, and as clean as possible. A good resource for learning about clean/Paleo foods.

3. Six of the same meal, Four servings in each.  

4.Freeze it before swap.  

5. Include recipe and any instructions for re-heating. Label meal directly with what it is and date it was packaged.

Some tips... for easy transportation bring a cooler to the swap with your meals in it and pack away your new meals in your cooler to take home.

Freeze your meals in an airtight container, gallon Ziploc bags work well as do the large Ziploc containers.

Looking for recipe ideas? Check out this blog.

For those that have participated, does anyone have any other good tips about batch cooking or storing/freezing?

One more thought... I propose donating one of the five meals to provide a set of meals for a family in need (know anyone?)

If anyone in the Denver/Aurora area is interested in meeting up with us to swap meals please email me and I will add you to our list. Next swap is scheduled for Monday, June 3rd!