Recipe: Pork Tenderloin with Cilantro Pesto

Food for thought: When Coach John Wooden talked about success, he recalled his dad teaching him and his brothers to “Never try to be better than someone else, always learn from others. Never cease trying to be the best you can be – that’s under your control. If you get too engrossed and involved and concerned in regard to the things over which you have no control, it will adversely affect the things over which you have control.”
Thoughts? Post to comments.

One of our first Sweat Angels, back from July of last year! Guess who left this one? Hint – he’s competing this weekend in the 2010 CrossFit Games US Northwest Sectionals (see the scores posted live here) and is holding up very well so far! Two more WODs today. Wish him all the best!

Test: Broad Jump (note: there is no Broad Jump test in beyondthewhiteboard yet, so please post your best distance to comments and record it in your journal)

WOD: (courtesy of Guerrilla Fitness CrossFit Montclair)
10 rounds for time of:
15 Air Squats
8 Standing Broad Jumps

men: 1 mat length (6ft)
women: 1 mat width (4ft)

Reading corner:
Are You Over-Training, or Under-Recovering?
8 Signs You Are Overtraining

Note: Are you coming with us to NJ/NY Sectionals to support our athletes on the road to 2010 CrossFit Games?  The spectator fee is $50 and space is limited. In fact, I believe at this point it’s already packed and they are waitlisting folks. Get on the waitlist anyway, if you haven’t registered yet. It will take place at Guerrilla Fitness CrossFit Montclair, in Montclair, NJ.

Mike P., Broad Jump

You guessed it right! It’s Fran time!

WOD: “Fran”
21-15-9 reps of:
Thrusters, 95#
Pull-ups

Reminder #1: Our Winter 2010 Nutrition Challenge finish line celebration Paleo potluck party is TONIGHT, at 8pm! Bring your favorite Paleo dish (preferably cooked by yourself.) It’s an open party – bring your friends and family!

Reminder #2: Sunday is looking good! Hunter’s got 46″ of new snow so far, and more on the way! Our main “party van” is FULL at this time, and if you were thinking to come and didn’t RSVP yet, please do so via email ASAP so that we can make alternative traveling arrangements.

Research corner: Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward

January Fran, 3-2-1-GO!

Skill: Practice Clean technique & progressions

WOD: 4 x 500m Row, rest as needed between sets

Reminder #1: Participants of the Winter 2010 Nutrition Challenge – don’t forget about your “after” pictures. We need them by the end of day today. Our finish line celebration Paleo potluck party is tomorrow, at 8pm. We will  be voting on the winner to take home the $200 and another surprise prize! Bring your favorite Paleo dish (preferably cooked by yourself.) It’s an open party – bring your friends and family!

Reminder #2: Skiing/snowboarding day trip is this Sunday. We are going to Hunter Mountain. If you didn’t RSVP yet, please do so via email.

Note: We are all set to register for the Tough Mudder as a team! (and I am already registered as our first team member/team captain). If you haven’t heard of this craziness yet, check the links below. The event is taking place on May 2nd at the Bear Creek Ski Area in PA. If you are participating with us in this event, register using the following link. Select “Team Members (11 – 20 participants)”, and when presented with the choice to Select a Team, select “CrossFit Long Island City” from the pull-down menu. The cost to register goes up after February 28. If you cannot participate, but would like to come to support us, you have to register as a spectator. The ticket cost for each spectator is $15.
UPDATE: When registering, make sure to select 11am as a start time for our team. Apparently it’s not populated by default.

The Steep Climb, one of the obstacles in the Tough Mudder course

Skill: Turkish Get-Up, Overhead Squat Variation

WOD: Three rounds for time of:
50 Double Unders
50 Hip Extensions
50 GHD Sit-ups

Reading corner: Shoes, Sitting, and Lower Body Dysfunctions

Handstands galore! Do you recognize (can you name) everyone in this shot?

WOD: “CrossFit Total”

Back squat, 1 rep
Shoulder Press, 1 rep
Deadlift, 1 rep

Note: Our Winter 2010 Nutrition Challenge is coming to an end this week! As some of you have noted, yesterday should have been the last day of the challenge, if you count exactly 7 weeks from the first day. However, since we did a “soft” beginning with two weeks to join, we might as well do a “soft” ending, with this last week to finish it. Now, this doesn’t mean that it’s the slow transition back to “cupcakes-unlimited” … and somehow I think this is not going to happen. The goal of our challenge was to improve the quality of food we eat, as well as the macronutrient composition of our meals, and to get a glimpse into what it feels like if we use better “fuel”. Those who stuck with us experienced a number of changes, ranging from inches off waistline, to improved performance in the workouts.

I’d love to hear your side of the story. What worked? What didn’t? Did the light bulb go off in your head (and if it did, when?) or something didn’t feel quite right? Are you staying the course from here on, or are you going back to your old ways? Do you feel like you were almost there but might need a bit more help with something? Post your thoughts to comments or hit me with an email. I’d love to hear from you.

In the meantime, try to come in a few minutes before the class this week to get your “after” pictures taken. You can also take your pictures at home (Front view, side view and back view. Men are in shorts. Women are in shorts and sports bra/bikini top) and email them to vadim@crossfitlic.com

Reminder: Skiing/snowboarding day trip is this Sunday. If you want to join us, RSVP via email.

Interested in training with us or know someone who would? Check our upcoming Foundations program schedule. Sign up for the free intro session on Saturday, 11am. No experience is necessary.

From humble beginnings: Linda, learning the back squat back in August

WOD: “Cindy”
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

Reading corner: from Sportscience, a Peer-Reviewed Journal and Site for Sport Research – Barefoot Running

Watch the Video: Great use of rice – Rice Bucket

Rot, kipping pull-up

Reading Corner: from The New York Times: Becoming Your Own Massage Therapist

Watch the Video: from Again Faster:
Foam Rolling – Part I
Foam Rolling – Part II

Guess who that is, and when was this picture taken?

Skill: Muscle-Up

WOD: 
30 Muscle-ups for time

Reminder: If you are planning to come with us to the skiing/snowboarding day trip next Sunday, and didn’t RSVP yet, please email me ASAP. As usual, we need a headcount to nail down the transportation.

Watch the Video: Performing 100 muscle-ups last November at our box as part of the Operation Pull for Hope, Gillian raised over $53,000 for Hope for the Warriors. Watch this video or read the article in the CrossFit Journal – [wmv] [mov]

Jen and Gillian, muscle-ups (photo courtesy of Dan Reshef)

Strength: Overhead Squat 3-3-3-1-1-1

WOD: AMRAP in 2 min of: OHS @ 70-80% of today’s 1RM

Finish with: Anterior Reach

Stretch & Foam Roll

Reminder: Our Winter 2010 Nutrition Challenge is coming to an end next week! We will be holding Paleo potluck party to celebrate the successful completion of the challenge next Friday, February 26, at 8pm. We will have a surprise fun short workout, and will vote on the winner right after! We have $200 in the Piggy Bank for the winner! Bring your favorite Paleo dish (preferably cooked by yourself.) It’s an open party – bring your friends and family!

Kris and Yinh on their California tour made a pit stop at CrossFit Santa Clara to get a workout!

Are you traveling soon? Have you considered calling in and dropping by a local CrossFit box to get a workout? The list of affiliates around the world is here. There is about 1500 affiliates worldwide. Chances are there is one near your vacation destination!

Skill: Forward & Backwards Rolls, Cartwheel

WOD: Tabata Mash-up of:
Squats, Box Jumps & Sit-ups

Post total score. Every rep counts.

Stretch & Foam Roll

Note: We have some schedule changes in the next few days. Please don’t forget to sign up online for the classes and you won’t come facing the closed doors. The link to sign up is on the left, under Members.

Important! Please read: Sorry to keep nagging you with this, but the weather is not getting warmer and the sidewalks on the way to us are not getting cleaner. It remains very difficult for us to keep our floors clean from day to day and session to session. Please bring yourself a dry extra pair of shoes to workout in. Thank you!

Carlos and Kevin, forward rolls

Skill: Back Lever Progressions

WOD: Row 2K

Stretch & Foam Roll

Watch the Video: ASEP Lecture by Greg Glassman. On April 3rd, 2009 Coach Greg Glassman presented CrossFit to the American Society of Exercise Physiologists (ASEP). Below are the direct links to this three part video.
Part 1 – 21min 34sec – [wmv] [mov]
Part 2 – 19min 57sec – [wmv] [mov]
Part 3 – 16min 23sec – [wmv] [mov]

Mike & John on the rowers during our last Fight Gone Bad. Mike is going one-legged, because of the ankle sprain after attempting to conquer the Catskill Mountains. Al and Kevin keeping score.. I wonder if Mike’s score is accurate