crossfit norcal - the performance menu issue 11 - dec. 2005 - power bias, exploring elevation

PUBLISHER NorCal Strength & Conditioning PO Box 5501 Chico, CA 95927 www.crosstnorcal.com

COVER Greg Everett DESIGN Greg Everett BACK ISSUES Backissues are available at www.crosstnorcal.com

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ERFORMANCEMEN

FEATURES[3] POWER BIAS Ballistic training for athletic explosiveness [7] EXPLORING ELEVATION A look at elevation as a method of creating progressive resistance for bodyweight exercises

REGULARS[9] COOKING WITH SCOTTY Scotty Hagnas of CrossFit Portland dispenses some culinary genius [11] RECIPES FOR HEALTH & PERFORMANCE New ways to feed yourself for optimum health and athletic performance

POWERBIASLike I said, Im biased. This bias has carried me along not only in my own training but also in my intellectual pursuits surrounding athletics. This is what brought me ultimately to CrossFit. When I rst found CrossFit, my training bias allowed me to perform some fairly impressive tricks. I could jump on top of objects that were chin high, and at the Sequoia-like height of 59 (175cm), I could dunk a tennis ball from a standing jump. What my bias did not allow me was the ability to survive the CrossFit met-cons. They crushed me and I initially thought the WODs to be beyond human capacity. I was wrong about the human capacity part: the WOD is very hard but certainly doable. But for me it came at a price: my two footed jumps now bring me only a fewTHE PERFORMANCE MENU ISSUE 10 NOVEMBER 2005 3

I have a major bias: I love explosiveness in athletics.Yes, I understand Iron Man is demanding both physically and mentally, but it just does not inspire much passion for me. I have always been more intrigued by sports like weightlifting, boxing and sprinting than I have by marathons, triathlons or the The Tour.

inches up the basketball net and jumping on top of something navel high is a fairly challenging affair. I am undoubtedly tter by any measure, but I must admit some lamentation about the loss of top-end power. Perhaps this explains my interest in concepts like the Max Effort Black Box template offered by Coach Michael Rutherford and the work of Jay Schroeder, who most of you will recall turned Adam Archuleta into a monster. In the case of Archuleta, it appears his training involved a combination of conventional strength moves performed as quickly as possible, throwing and catching weights (as in the bench press), smart use of functional isometrics, and nally, plyometrics. The intention according to Coach Schro-

BY ROBB WOLF

eder is to make the athlete as quick as possible and to teach the athlete how to absorb and transmit force. Watching Archuletas Freak of Training DVD got me thinking about my power bias and how we might tweak traditional CrossFit programming to improve our maximum power output. Greater emphasis on Olympic lifting, as it trains one to maximally accelerate an outside object and to absorb ballistic loading, might be one way to approach this. Perhaps less obvious would be gymnastics elements such as roundoffs, handsprings, blocking, and work on the parallel bars, rings and high-bar. A third area that may offer opportunity in both maximum power output and metabolic conditioning are ballistic/ plyometric derivatives of traditional callisthenic movements such as pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups and squats. Before we look at these derivatives, lets consider the attributes of some of the CrossFit mainstays:Angie 100 Pull-ups 100 Push-ups 100 Sit-ups 100 Squats For time Barbara 20 Pull-ups 30 Push-ups 40 Sit-ups 50 Squats 5 rounds for time Chelsea 5 Pull-ups 10 Push-ups 15 Squats Every minute on the minute for 30 minutes

ups - rounds in 20 minutes) and have come within 5 Pull-ups of 17 rounds. So, toss out push-ups, squats and sit-ups? No, of course not, but I think we can modify these movements by making them ballistic/plyometric, thus increasing their training stimulus and value. This can be accomplished by using clap variations of the push-up and pullup, medicine ball throws for the sit-ups and jump squats for a revved-up version of our old standby. Lets look at each of these movements in more detail and then we can talk about how to incorporate them into our training. The clapping Pull-up is initiated like a standard kipped variety, but the body is launched violently upwards such that the hands leave the bar to complete a clap and then re-grab the bar (hopefully) on the way down. One may do these as singles but they lend themselves very well to multiple repetitions. Of the basic callisthenic movements, the clapping pull-up may offer the least benet if one has been performing kipped Pull-ups with excellent form, as the standard kipped pull-ups already offer a potent plyometric loading of the shoulder girdle. The Big Fat Pull-Up is an extreme example of this, but I think it illustrates perfectly the points of power and plyometric loading. As one gains condence in the clap variety it is possible to get rst the chin and eventually the shoulders above the bar at the apex of the kip. Everyone has likely seen the clapping push-up. One stays in a tight, standard pushup position and violently explodes upwards. The hands leave the oor and clap before returning. Gymnasts do a variation of this movement in which the arms are kept completely straight and the movement is completely a product of scapular protraction and retraction. Our variant is a full range of movement that maximizes work output. For our ballistic sit-up, we will add a medicine ball throw and anchor our feet to allow for rapid cycle time and maximum velocity on the ball. At CrossFit NorCal, we set a crash pad against a wall, slip the feet under the pad and then get hucking! We use a 6-pound Dynamax ball for our stronger athletes, so do not be afraid to go as light as 2 pounds, especially in the beginning. If you use a Dynamax ball, it is crucial that you throw

These WODs offer a fairly high volume of work that develop strength, localized lactate tolerance and overall metabolic conditioning. These workouts also remind me vaguely of distance running with the relative volume and lack of higher strength and power demands. I tend to opt for Mary (5 HSPU, 10 One Legged Squats, 15 Pull-

THE PERFORMANCE MENU ISSUE 10 NOVEMBER 2005 4

to a padded surface lest you destroy both the ball and contact surface. Technique involves holding the arms high over head with a fully engaged shoulder (shoulders in the ears). Pull the abs in, creating pressure and stability in the midsection. The sit-up can be performed through a full range of movement, but also through partial range of movement that minimally exes the spine and takes advantage of the abdominals primary role in midline stability. In either case, the medicine ball is released with as much speed as possible, and with a little practice, ones accuracy and precision will improve to the point that the ball hits the same point every throw and bounces right back to the hands, allowing for rapid cycling of the movement. The jump squat is perhaps the most intuitive of the movements, as virtually all of us have jumped at some point in our lives. The movement is executed with standard Olympic-style-squat positioning and range. With your feet shoulder-width apart, torso erect and eyes toward the horizon, pull yourself down violently with the hip exors. As quickly as possible, reverse this downward movement and explode upward, your feet leaving the ground. You should be in the classic triple extension (ankle, knee, hip) while airborne. This may be a news ash to some, but you will reach a maximum height and then return to the ground (nothing to see here folks standard Newtonian physics). The landing occurs in the exact reverse order of the take off, with toes landing rst, followed immediately by a roll to the heels that initiates the exion of both knee and hip. Over time, you will learn to use the energy from one jump to transition to the next. Now that we have some familiarity with these ballistic varieties of our standard callisthenic movements, I want to make a strong case for why we should incorporate these into our training. I want to look at power/work output and some considerations related to muscle ber type and super-compensation. First, lets look at the components of power and work to critically evaluate our movement choices:

Work = F * d

F = force and d = distance moved (displacement)

Power = Work / Time

I think most of you, based on the fact that you are reading this publication, have a good understanding of these concepts and are on the lookout for ways to increase the amount of both work and power you can generate. The ballistic movements by their very nature involve greater travel (increased work) and greater power (the work is performed faster) than their less springy relatives per repetition. One may make the case that over the course of a workout like Angie, ones average power will decrease due to the greater segmentation of sets, but this will only be true until one has adapted to the greater demands of the ballistic movements. In our limited pool of participants, we have noted rapid progress with the ballistic derivatives that transfers quite well to the non-ballistic parent movements. As we have noted in previous PM issues, this implies multi-dimensionality of the ballistic movements AND the necessity for a path dependant approach to training. In essence, the ballistic movements offer more opportunity for growth regardless of the testing parameter. Not to beat this to death, but there is an interesting nding that training non-explosively might make you, well, non-explosive. Do check out a great article by Kenny Croxdale and Tom Morris here. Here is a small excerpt from that article:Another obstacle when training for an explosive bench press (even at lower percentages of 1 RM) is the deceleration of the bar during the lift. Research has shown as much as 75% of a movement can be devoted to slowing the bar down. (Flannagan, 2001). Elliot et al. (1989) revealed that during 1-RM bench presses, the bar decelerates for the nal 24% of the range of motion. At 81% of 1-RM, the bar deceleration occurs during the nal 52% of the range of motion. The accompanying deceleration phases result in signicantly decreased motor unit recruitment, velocity of movement, power production and compromises the effectiveness of the exercise. (Berry et. al., 2001)

What I take form this is that high-volume non-


explosive calisthenics can make one slower in an absolute sense. No, I am not saying the non-ballistic movements have no place in training. I am suggesting a re-evaluation of some movements used in general programming. It is also interesting to note that throwing athletes (shot, discus, hammer) frequently have elite level careers that extend into their late 40s. These athletes are concerned with one thing: Moving objects as fast as possible. This training seems to forstall much of the age related decline in power production. I want to look at some aspects of muscle ber type to complete my sell for these ballistic movements. For our purposes we will keep things very general and lump bers into fast and slow twitch categories. The slow twitch bers are generally termed type 1 bers and are small, produce relatively little power, have high mitochondrial density, are highly vascularized and are therefore perfect for long-duration aerobic activities as they fatigue slowly. Fast twitch bers are divided into type 2A and 2B bers. The type 2A bers are much larger than the type 1 bers and therefore produce much more force. They have an impressive mix of both power and endurance as they are fairly well vascularized and contain large amounts of Glycolytic enzymes in addition to a fair mitochondrial density. The type 2b bers are very large, have virtually no oxidative potential and are the elements responsible for maximum power output. It is perhaps not surprising that different training stimuli affect the various ber types differently. When one must recruit maximally and or quickly, the type 2b bers are the prime movers. Moderate intensity longer durations activities involve the type 2a bers while low intensity efforts rely upon the type 1 bers. Here are some other interesting tid-bits. High

power output training that is followed by long stretches of relative low intensity activity tends to improve large motor-unit recruitment, which innervates the type 2b bers. Two situations, however, cause a conversion of type 2b bers to type 2a. Endurance training, whether it is anaerobic threshold training or classic long distance cardio cause a 2b-to-2a shift with aerobic training possibly even converting type 2a to 1 bers. Any way you cut it, this represents a signicant decrease in the ability to produce maximum power. High-volume high-intensity training actually causes a conversion of some 2b elements to 2a. This happens after a high volume block of work that lasts several weeks to a few months. If one now dramatically decreases volume, there tends to be a rebound of ber type to even higher levels of type 2b. It appears some of the 2a bers can switch type. This represents the standard tapering period seen for most sprint athletes. The implication is that smart use of ballistic calisthenics movements will allow not only for crushing metabolic training but also for maximum power output, even for single repetition efforts. Additionally, we might be able to structure blocks of training in which volume is cycled to take advantage of these neurological and morphological changes.Implementation

Sorry for the long-winded lead in, because implementation is simple: Start slow! Cindy is a good place to start: 5 Pull-ups, 10 Push-ups, 15 squatsrounds in 5 minutes. Then 10 minutes etc. we have also been doing 1/10th or 1/5th of Angie as a warm up (10 or 20 of each movement instead of the standard 100). These efforts have been amazingly taxing but produce some impressive results. Try adding these movements into your programming for a month and then go back and check your performance on the conventional workouts. Let us know what your results are.


EXPLORINGPROGRESSIVE BODYWEIGHT RESISTANCEby Tyler Haas

ELEVATIONThis is Part 1 in a series of articles that will cover how taking advantage of various mechanical principles can provide incremental resistance for bodyweight exercises. The simplest way is to add weight to your body in the form of a vest, hip belt, ankle weights, dip belt, etc. This is pretty obvious stuff, so I will skip it and move into more interesting territory, specically how gymnasts approach this problem. If you told a weightlifter that you could get super strong with a single weight, he would kindly explain to you the Law of Adaptation. It states that a stimulus must increase in strength over time in order to continue the promotion of adaptation in an organism. And, of course, having a barbell is the only way to do this! However, a few clever organisms have managed to attack this problem from multiple directions and have in the process discovered athletic movements that promote many physical adaptations beyond strength. These are not smoke and mirror tricks either. The level of difculty in these exercises actually does increase as a result of observable phenomena. The rst principle we will look at is elevation. By manipulating the elevation of your body, or parts of your body, you can make many exercises more or less difcult. This works particularly well on horizontal exercises such as pushups. Our platform for exploring this principle is the Stomach Roll to Handstand. In this exercise, you start on the ground in a prone position, roll forward onto your stomach, then press up to a handstand. It has the largest range of motion of any pressing

movement that I have ever seen. It covers both the horizontal and vertical planes of motion. It also develops body control, balance, timing, coordination and just plain looks cool. Since this exercise is very hard for most people, we need a progression that will enable anyone with a handstand pushup to attempt it and then progressively increase the resistance to the point where he or she can actually complete the skill on the oor. Elevation is the best way to do this. All you will need for this is something that you can use to elevate your torso. Panel mats work really well, but a stack of books with something soft on top will work ne as well. When you are looking for your apparatus, just make sure that it is heightadjustable and soft enough that you dont smash your sausage. In the beginning, you will probably want a stack between 1- and 2-feet high. To start, lie face down with your belly button lined up with the edge of the stack. Place your hands on the ground at the same width you use for handstand pushups. Arch your back as much as you need to in order to straighten out your arms. From here, quickly rock forward onto your stomach and bend your arms. As your center of gravity shifts over your hands, press up to a handstand and straighten out your body. If you fall short, lower down onto one knee and then the other. If you fall forward, do a forward roll. This is a good place to mention that you should be comfortable doing a handstand-forward roll on whatever surface is in front of you. Obviously, keep this area free of fragile objects, pets, your mother-in-law, or anything else that could injure you. After a few attempts, if you are not

able to get to a handstand, then you will need to make your stack higher. If you have successfully completed it, then lower your stack by just a few inches and then make another attempt. Continue to lower the stack until you reach the ground. Those last few inches above the ground are always the hardest. As for a training program, this is really up to you. I like to do about four or ve sets with increasing difculty and then two more at an easier level. Each set is just one or two reps. If I struggle with form, I will do another rep. If it goes smoothly on the rst attempt, I move on. I always keep track of how far I get. Right now, the full stack (six panels) is pretty easy, so I will do one rep as a warm-up. I then skip a panel and go straight to four. I then proceed downward from there. A sample workout might start at six panels and then go: 4,3,2,1,0,0,2,2. (Zero is on oor without any panels) Next month I will introduce a new principle and apply it to a different exercise. Denitely get started on the Stomach Roll to Handstand, as we will come back to it later with a few different variations. Have fun!


COOKINGY WITH SCOTTScotty Hagnas of CrossFit Portland shares his culinary geniusThis month, I feature a handful of really quick meals for those on the go. You dont have to resort to the local Quickie Mart; Paleo/Zone goodies are just minutes away! I make a few concessions here from optimal food sources and preparation techniques in the interest of saving time. I really prefer to use fresh fruits and veggies and to avoid the microwave whenever possible, but sometimes this just isnt possible when you have a very busy life. A couple of the recipes have a holiday twist, and a few also feature the cranberry, a tasty seasonal fruit.

SIMMER SAUCE SPINACH5 minutes . 2 cups frozen spinach . 1/3 cup frozen chopped onion . 1/2 cup Korma Simmer Sauce or other Marsala sauce (Trader Joes Curry Simmer Sauce is good, too) . 5 oz canned tuna or other leftover meat . 1 oz cashews . 1 Tbsp raisins . Olive oil as needed Microwave spinach and onion until thawed (or, as I usually do, leave them out to thaw overnight). Add sauce and meat, then heat more. Add rasins, cashews, and oil as needed. Zone Blocks: 1 serving = 4 carb blocks, 5 protein blocks, 4 1/2 fat blocks (before adding olive oil)

. Parsley . 1/2 tsp coriander . Water I love the slow cooker. Toss in a few things, go to bed, and you have meals for the next day when you wake up. Here is an easy chicken recipe load the crock pot and get some sleep! Zone Blocks: Approx. 2 servings at 5 protein blocks, 2 carb blocks.

BRANDIED CRANBERRIES3 minutes preparation, 1 hour cook time . 2 cups fresh cranberries . 1 cup unsweetened applesauce . 1/2 cup either Brandy or grape juice A quick dessert. Mix applesauce, cranberries, and juice or brandy in a small baking dish. Bake in oven at 350 F for 1 hour. This is good warm or chilled. If you dont want to use brandy, grape juice is a good alternative. The taste is a bit different, but still quite good. Zone Blocks: 1 serving = 2 carb blocks

QUICK CORRIANDER CHICKEN5-10 minutes . 2 chicken breasts . Cabbage, cauliower, or both . 1 apple, cored and chopped


QUICK STIR FRY5 minutes . 3 cups pre packaged stir fry veggies . 5 oz can tuna or other leftover meat (shrimp works great, too) . 1 oz sunower seeds . Olive oil or toasted sesame oil . 1/4 tsp ginger . 1 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce (optional) Saut the veggies in the oil for around 3 minutes. Add the ginger, sunower seeds, tuna, and soy sauce. Saut for a couple of minutes longer, then serve. Zone Blocks: 1 serving = 1 1/2 carb blocks, 5 protein blocks, 4 1/2 fat blocks. Add oil as needed to balance your fat blocks (1/3 tsp = 1 fat block)

Here is another spin on the Quick Berry Cereal that was featured in the August 2005 Performance Menu. Simply mix and heat a bit in the microwave. With some lean protein, this makes a good 4X fat meal. Zone Blocks: 4 carb blocks, 16 fat blocks.

BOG SALAD10 minutes . 4 cups spinach . 4 oz turkey . 1 Tbsp dried cranberries . 2 Tbsp avocado . 1 boiled egg, sliced . 1/2 oz chopped walnuts . Olive oil A salad made from holiday leftovers. Toss and enjoy! Zone Blocks: 2 carb blocks, 5 protein blocks, 7 fat blocks (before adding olive oil or other dressing)

Quick Stir Fry

QUICK MANGO CEREAL3 minutes . 1 cup frozen mangos, thawed . 1/4 cup almond meal . 2 chopped dates . 1 oz chopped walnuts . 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Bog Salad


RECIPES FOR PERFORMANCELEMON TARTSNikki Young Pastry . 1 cup almond meal . 3 Tbsp lemon juice . 4 dates Filling . 6 Tbsp lemon juice . 1 nely grated lemon rind . 1 Tbsp honey . 2 eggs Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fanforced). To make the pastry, place ingredients into a blender and mix until well combined. In a mufn tray (or similar), line individual holes with baking paper, and rmly place pastry mixture on the bottom and sides. Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until pastry has browned. Leave to cool. To make the lling, place lemon juice, lemon rind and honey into a pan and simmer on low heat for 2 minutes. In a bowl, beat eggs well with a fork. When mixture is simmering nicely, slowly add the beaten eggs, stirring vigorously to form a nice smooth texture. Add more honey if desired. Leave to cool slightly. When pastry has cooled, and the lling has reduced to a warm temperature. You can then spoon the lling into each individual tart. Place in the fridge until cooled and set. Makes around 4 servings, depending on size. Zone Blocks: 9 block fat; 1 block carb; 0.5 block protein (per serving)

Lemon Tarts

CHERRY BALLSNikki Young . 20 fresh cherries, chopped . 3 Tbsp almond butter, or peanut butter . Cup chopped walnuts . 1 Cup shredded coconut . 2 Tbsp honey


Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fan-forced). In a bowl, mix all ingredients together. Shape into balls and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place in the oven for 5-10 minutes, or until balls have browned. They will still be quite soft at this stage. Place them in the fridge until cooled. Makes around 7 servings. Zone Blocks: 3.5 block fat; 1 block carb (per serving)

individual servings. Zone Blocks: 24 block fat; 9 block carb (Divide by serving sizes for blocks per serving)

Cinnamon and Raisin Cookies

ALMOND DELIGHTSCherry Balls

Nikki Young . 2 cups ground almond (almond meal) . 3 egg whites . 1 Tbsp melted honey . 1 tsp ground cinnamon . tsp ground nutmeg Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fan forced). In a bowl mix ground almonds, cinnamon, nutmeg and melted honey; melting the honey makes the ingredients mix together easily. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until light and uffy and stiff peaks form, mix carefully into the almond meal to prevent too much air being lost in the egg whites. Place teaspoon size scoops of mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place in oven for 10-15 minutes or until browned and cooked. Makes 13-15 servings. Zone Blocks: 4 block fat (per serving)

CINNAMON & RAISIN COOKIESNikki Young . cup almond meal . 3 Tbsp freshly ground walnuts . 1 Tbsp honey . 1 Tbsp cinnamon . Dash of all spice . Dash of nutmeg . 2 Tbsp currants . 1/3 cup raisins . 1 egg Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fan-forced). Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. On a baking tray lined with baking paper, rmly pack mixture down into a large square or rectangle shape. Place in oven for 20-30 minutes, or until well browned and cooked. Leave to cool, then cut into


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