Saturday, May 31, 2008

Pullups Galore!


Great job today cranking out those pull-ups! Many of you have made a huge improvement over our last heavy pull-up group workout. Way to impress! Thanks again for coming out and creating such a great environment for all of us to push ourselves in. We are very optimistic that soon, with an actual location, all of us will be able workout in this kind of environment much more often (or every day if your hardcore!) Our search for a location has been going strong lately and we will keep you updated as we become more definitive on where our "box" is going to be.

Trivia Question #5 (6 points): What is the primary reason we prefer to use an Ab-Mat when we sit-up over just a regular sit-up?

W.O.D Sunday 6/1/08

Shoulder Press: 1-1-1-1-1
Push Press: 3-3-3-3-3
Push Jerk: 5-5-5-5-5

A useful video on the press


14 comments:

Faith said...

You get a larger range of motion with the ab mat.

...I've had two strikes, but still giving it another go =)

kenshen said...

plus you remove some strain on your lumbar.

my lower half is extremely sore. it's a good thing i'm helping my friend move today...

Dana said...

Hi guys! Bill and Colin...I just wanted to tell you thank you for putting the utube videos on the site. It helps me to see what you are doing with out having to take up too much time looking for them.

Keepin with it! Thanks!

CJ said...

Dana,
way cool that you are getting into crossfit! I'm glad to hear that the videos help. We'll make sure to keep posting them.

Everyone else,
the 6 trivia points are still up for grabs...keep trying!

Matthew J. Crossley said...

An effective abdominal exercise:
1) must bend the spine in it's full range of motion,
2) while contracting the abdominal muscles from full extension to full flexion.

The ab mat facilitates this as well as improving safety and comfort.

Migs said...

AbMat allows full range of motion, which in turns works the entire abdominal muscle group.

It also provides proper stabilization of the pelvis, so the abdominals fully contract. This almost double the workload vs. a regular crunch.

CJ said...

Miguel,

Good job! The 6 points go to you for mentioning that the abmat provides stabilization of the pelvis.

In other words, the abmat works as a fulcrum which allows the abdominals to be in contact with the ground. This is what enables the abs to be activated. A "point of purchase" if you will.

That was a hard one!

Matthew J. Crossley said...

I didn't really deserve the points anyway... I just plagiarized these guys:

http://www.backbuilder.com/abmat_situps.htm

Evidently not enough. Still, it's a decent article for those who are interested.

CJ said...

Matt,
Interesting article. I don't agree with the rules that they think make an effective abdominal exercise (the most effective ab exercises, overhead squats, Glute-Ham Situps, L-Sits, hollow rocks, etc...don't follow those rules). Besides that, it does cover some very solid concepts. Good find!

Anonymous said...

Nice Miguel!

WOD

Shoulder Press: 135, 145, 155, 160 (F), 160
Push Press: 155, 160, 165, 175, 185 (F)
Push Jerk: 155 (feeling weak), 155, 155, 145 (shoulders are gone), 145

Dana-I'm glad you're enjoying the workouts...keep going strong!

Matthew J. Crossley said...

Damn Huff, 160 is an impressive SP. That's gotta be close to body weight for you. Good work.

My shoulder is angry at me because of the bench and many pushups over the past 2 days. I'm gonna do a similar workout with front squats, back squats, and dead lifts. Seem reasonable?

kenshen said...

faith et al., are you still interested in working out tomorrow morning? i'm planning on being at the gym around 8am. give me a call (650.766.4915) or email (kenshen@physics.ucsb.edu) if you want to meet up...

Faith said...

Ken,

8am sounds great. Do you normally work out in the front or back gym? And if anyone else wants to join, would love the support! Let me know...
(714) 478-3721 or email at freynado@gmail.com

I'll send out an email shortly and maybe we can figure out a time that we can all meet at from time to time...

CJ said...

Long night + little sleep = poor performance

SP:155-165-175(f)-165-175(f)
PP: 155-165-175-185-195

shoulder press was 20# less than 2 weeks ago. Hurt my wrist on the push press. I need a rest day...