Happy Camper

Melissa Gorumba, CrossFit SoCal member and trainer extraordinaire!

How do I get more flexible?

Try a few doses per week of Snatch practice.  I am often asked why we don't focus more on stretching and flexibility.  My answer is that it is already built into the program.  Now, I'm all for stretching out a sore muscle.  But, for our specific purposes too much stretching may negatively impact the stretch reflex needed for some of the lifts.  If you stretch prior to a workout, you risk losing that natural elasticity needed for a bounce out of the bottom of a squat.  Just practicing snatches or overhead squats, for example, is plenty of stretching to get the desired flexibility needed for healthy shoulders, back and hamstrings.  Try it!

Welcome, Jon!

Jon has been been with us for a little over a month and is making huge improvements on form and strength. 
Keep it up!

"Plus-Sized"

For a little over a month, Gordon has been training with a 20lb weight vest.  Incredibly, his times have been consistent with some of our other non-weighted fire-breathers!  Strong work, Gordon!

Guest Speaker at 9am on Saturday

Join our very own Whittney G. Beard  at 9am this Saturday at CrossFit SoCal for tips on how to make small changes in your life that can make a huge differences in your fitness, wellness and success.  Make 2008 a successful and great year.

About Whittney: Prior to becoming a coach, Whittney practiced corporate law for five years, including working as an associate for a global law firm and as in-house counsel for an international corporation. In addition, Whittney was a professor of law for two years, teaching the law of corporate finance and general business to law students.

Whittney is in the process of earning her Professional Certified Coach credential from the International Coaches Federation (ICF).  She is also an affiliate of Accomplishment Coaching as well as a participant in their rigorous ICF Accredited Coach Training Program. She holds a J.D. from UCLA School of Law and a B.A. in Sociology from UCSD.

Morning muscles

Jump the bar!

Here Steve creates momentum and elevation on the barbell while quickly reversing direction downward, getting under the bar to catch it in the rack position.

Strong Work!

Powerlifting (squat, deadlift, pressing) and Weightlifting (clean and jerk and snatch) are an integral parts of our strength and conditioning program at CrossFit SoCal.  It seems that strength training 3 to 4 times a week in addition to doing the CrossFit workout of the day, has major significance on metabolic conditioning and overall physical ability.  We will be publishing the results of our 10 week experiment in the coming weeks right here at crossfitsocal.com.