blog

  1. A few announcements…

    We have a sign up sheet on the cork board for anyone interested in purchasing their own jump rope. These suckers are sweet! Ropes as Rx’d are the best ropes I have ever used. They are well worth the money. They are customized to your height and look cool too. Sign up if you want one, as soon as the sizing rope arrives from them, we will measure everyone who is ordering and place the order. The discount increases the more we order so order one for your friends too!

    Jim Keegan will be talking about the GORUCK challenge after BUTT Camp on Saturday. If you are at all interested in coming along with us on this challenge, be sure to come in for the meeting. We will be holding special workouts for GORUCK ONLY members who are signed up and paid. SISU members signed up for GORUCK can train for free, anyone else who wants to train for the GORUCK with us will cost $200 so invite your friends who want to train for this. Training will consist of AT LEAST one GORUCK specific workout per week (usually on Saturday) until the event May 12th. Training will begin the week of March 5th and continue through the event. This is at least 10 workouts specifically designed for the GORUCK. 

    Thursdays class will be mostly prep for the Open WOD on Friday. The Open WOD will require someone to observe your workout to approve movement standards and count your reps. Friday will be normal class times. We will basically have open gym from 6:30-8:30, 9:30-10:30, 5:30-7:30. A warm-up will be posted on the board but you can do whatever gets you all warm and fuzzy and ready for burpees. Movement standards will be reviewed and are available for explanation HERE. You can do this WOD whenever you are warm and ready and have a judge. This will be the format for Thursday and Friday classes for the next 6 weeks with the Friday format possibly changing as the WOD’s change. 

    Saturday is Pat’s Big Show debut at CrossFit Minneapolis as he gives his best efforts at earning the Fittest Man Alive (age 45-49) title. We will be heading over there around 1:00 and then having beers and things at Kirin’s Irish Pub afterword. Come down and enjoy the amazing CrossFit community you are all a part of! 

    Thank you,

    Coach J

    Posted February 23, 2012 by crossfitsisu.
  1. Here’s to the Open! First two in the books. Congrats Dave (55) and Brian (86)

    Here’s to the Open! First two in the books. Congrats Dave (55) and Brian (86)

    Posted February 22, 2012 by crossfitsisu.
  1. Simple Steak and Veggie Saute This quick and tasty recipe is a no-brainer for a weeknight delight! 4-6 oz Serloin Steak 1/2 red bell pepper, 1/2 yellow bell pepper sliced into strips 1/2 red onion sliced length wise  cut onion in half from stem to stem peel off dry skin and one layer of onion slice ends off at an angle, slice from approx 1/2 inch up from cutting board to center of onion (think clock with hands at 2:15) 1 T dried Oregano Large hand full of bagged spinach 1 9” zucchini sliced on a bias Salt and pepper 1 tsp Dried Chili Flakes Olive Oil Juice of half a lemon Set large saute pan over high heat and let it get HOT. Have meet at room temp if possible or at least not straight out of the fridge. Pat meat dry with paper towels (this will ensure best sear on meat) sprinkle with course salt and course ground pepper (if you don’t have an pepper mill stop reading this and go buy one). Place steak on hot pan and sear both sides (3-4 min depending on thickness of steak). Remove from pan and set it on a plate to rest.  Lower pan heat to medium high, add all veggies, 2 tsp olive oil, pinch salt and pepper. Saute veggies tossing occasionally with tongs or with pan flip. After about 3 minutes add oregano and chili flakes and continue to toss. When veggies begin to soften spinach and stir in another 1-2 minutes. Add a little more oil if it seems dry. Add lemon juice and toss again. Season again with another pinch of salt and pepper. Transfer veggies to large plate or large shallow bowl. Steaks should be rested and ready to slice. The steak should be rare. Slice against grain into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Add back to pan to brown sides (45 seconds per side). Add to top of salad, drizzle with a little more olive oil, squirt of lemon juice and ENJOY! 

    Simple Steak and Veggie Saute

    This quick and tasty recipe is a no-brainer for a weeknight delight!

    4-6 oz Serloin Steak

    1/2 red bell pepper, 1/2 yellow bell pepper sliced into strips

    1/2 red onion sliced length wise 

    • cut onion in half from stem to stem
    • peel off dry skin and one layer of onion
    • slice ends off
    • at an angle, slice from approx 1/2 inch up from cutting board to center of onion (think clock with hands at 2:15)

    1 T dried Oregano

    Large hand full of bagged spinach

    1 9” zucchini sliced on a bias

    Salt and pepper

    1 tsp Dried Chili Flakes

    Olive Oil

    Juice of half a lemon

    Set large saute pan over high heat and let it get HOT. Have meet at room temp if possible or at least not straight out of the fridge. Pat meat dry with paper towels (this will ensure best sear on meat) sprinkle with course salt and course ground pepper (if you don’t have an pepper mill stop reading this and go buy one). Place steak on hot pan and sear both sides (3-4 min depending on thickness of steak). Remove from pan and set it on a plate to rest. 

    Lower pan heat to medium high, add all veggies, 2 tsp olive oil, pinch salt and pepper. Saute veggies tossing occasionally with tongs or with pan flip. After about 3 minutes add oregano and chili flakes and continue to toss. When veggies begin to soften spinach and stir in another 1-2 minutes. Add a little more oil if it seems dry. Add lemon juice and toss again. Season again with another pinch of salt and pepper. Transfer veggies to large plate or large shallow bowl.

    Steaks should be rested and ready to slice. The steak should be rare. Slice against grain into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Add back to pan to brown sides (45 seconds per side). Add to top of salad, drizzle with a little more olive oil, squirt of lemon juice and ENJOY! 

    Posted February 22, 2012 by crossfitsisu.

  1. 2/21/12

    15 min to establish 1RM C&J

    then (pay attention)

    5 min shoulder touch

    rest 2 min

    8 min AMRAP

    5 strict pull-ups

    15 push-ups

    30 jumping split lunges

    rest 2 min

    5 min max rep C&J with 75% 1RM

    **This WOD is from Outlaw CrossFit. These guys claim to have this CrossFit thing figured out. SO, I figured I’d throw a couple of their WOD’s in over the past couple weeks to see how it plays out. What do you guys think? I am a huge fan of checking out other peoples methods and ideas to mix it up a bit.

    We will continue to train the Weight LIfting/Olympic movements (snatch, clean, jerk) with a bit more frequency. These movements are as functional as they get. Remember, Functional Movements recruit mulit-joint, multi-muscle groups to move a large load a long distance, quickly. They are unique in their ability to produce power. This is good. 

    Posted February 21, 2012 by crossfitsisu.

  1. Excuses

    Well…here you have it…we all have the best excuse of all…we can blame it all on Adam and Eve!

    When God asked Adam if he had eaten of the tree he was commanded not to, Adam created the world’s first excuse, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:12) And when God asked Eve what she had done, she gave the world’s second excuse, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:13)  This could be a better story about the power women have to temp us men into making poor decisions…but this is about excuses.
    Making excuses negates responsibility, “we are responsible not for what we have, but for what we could have; not for what we are, but for what we could become”. If we are to take credit for our successes, we must assume responsibility for our failures.  Remember, every action has an opposite effect.  For example, every time we make an excuse, we erode our very own self respect, pride and confidence.  These excuses can be large or small.  They are really little lies we tell ourselves to avoid responsibility and get instant gratification knowing that it was not our failure or fault.  The problem with this, is it slowly chips away at our foundation, 1 excuse at a time, eventually, the foundation is gone.
    When we avoid excuses and embrace responsibility, we reap many rewards. By embracing the attitude of ownership of our success and failure we build a solid foundation for self-respect, pride, and confidence. Responsibility breeds competence and power. By living up to our promises and obligations, we win the trust of others. Once we are seen as trustworthy, people will willingly work with us, for our mutual gain. 

    As many of you know, the 2012 CrossFit Games begin tomorrow.  At this point, there is not a lot I can do at this point, to get stronger, faster or better.  All the preparation is done, now it’s about performance, which will come from sleep, hydration, diet and mobility.  At this point, it’s about my SISU, my determined strength, to push past any excuses that come to mind during the workout, allowing me to stop during the WOD.  I know 1 excuse that will come into my mind, “I am tired, put the bar down, rest, then keep going”.  Another popular one is, “get 10 then you can rest”.  These happen less and are easier to over come when I am well rested, hydrated and have a clean diet.  Accepting and acknowledging within myself that I make excuses for stopping gives me power.  Ignoring it as an excuse, only erodes my power, and completes the cycle.

    Will you make excuses for things in your life today or will you allow excuses to creep in?  Will you accept the fact you make excuses or deny yourself the opportunity to build confidence and power?

    3…2…1…GO!

    Coach Crosby

    Posted February 21, 2012 by crossfitsisu.