“Randy”
for time:
75x power snatch @ 75/55-lbs.
Compare results to September 18, 2009.
“Randy”
for time:
75x power snatch @ 75/55-lbs.
Compare results to September 18, 2009.
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Amy S! Congratulations on getting your first pull-up yesterday. I know there are many more in your future. Can’t wait!
BK
Amy, I missed it?! Nooooo; I mean, yesssss!
Congratulations—now, get over here and do it again.
John
That is awesome Amy!! Looking forward to kipping with you when I get back.
Congratulations, Amy! We knew you had it in you. What a long way you have come!
Melody
Congrats, Amy! You looked like you’d been doing pullups forever.
I know we get spoiled, but for people that are on the new side: coaches that go to the (extensive) effort of recording everyone’s scores are very, very rare in the Crossfit world. It is even more rare to link back to previous times that the athletes have performed a workout so that one can easily track previous performances. Same with the PR chart. Combined that’s a ton of work being done that you’re most likely not to find somewhere else. Just sayin’
You’re so right, Rob. I think we’ve all had those “there’s something special going on here” moments. Our coaches’ care for us is something to be admired.
Congrats on your pull ups, Amy! Way to Go!
Congrats Amy!
I agree about how great our coaches are and how the strength focus really shows in our athletes. I’m in Dallas right now and I visited another crossfit yesterday (more on that later, although I can’t begin to compare to the wonderful write ups stulu does, especially since he has actually been to this particular crossfit). We did 5×2 strict press, and when it came time to do the exercise the coach just said- ok partner up! There were no pre-assigned weights and you just lifted however much you felt you were capable of lifting. I was kind of discombobulated by that and I think that contributed to me not lifting as much as I know I can (also flying in that day and being a little sick probably didn’t help) That being said, I still lifted one of the heaviest weights for a lady that day and the other women I shared the bar with were impressed. I say this not to make myself look good, but because I know my ability to lift heavy loads is a direct result of the great coaching I get at MPH. Also, this isn’t a knock on the coach here- he is a good guy, he just had a lot of athletes and only one of him.
6am, the four things I love most about MPH are John, Mel, B-Kay, and you. Thanks for the push–we’ll get it next time.
Crossfit Desert: Palm Desert, CA
I am not a desert kind of guy. Not to be confused with a dessert kind of guy. Which I am. Desserts are delicious and rich. Deserts are hot, barren and lifeless, which seems to somehow be an attraction to certain people…why I will never know.
As I am left to ponder the rape of nothingness while sweating in the shade of 114-degrees my lips often get so parched that I find them detached and laying next to me. This can be disconcerting – as one’s lips should not be removable.
Some friends of mine claim that they live in the “high desert.” As if that makes it acceptable. It’s not. It’s the desert. So what if it’s high. The only difference is that it turns from 114 degrees in the day to 24 degrees at night.
I confess that I will never understand places like Las Vegas and Palm Springs; people are not supposed to live there. Their skin resembling that of a lobster in a tank, that -and they have no lips. Which leads to my argument that the aliens encountered in Area 51 were in fact nothing more than some retirees from Lake Havasu who went for a hot air balloon ride and unfortunately crashed landed in the arms of two naive privates who were recently located from Minnesota.
Of course, this may be why the great desert of Arizona is now so paranoid about aliens. Or am I confused?
The Review
-The temperature read 114 degrees as I rolled up to Crossfit Desert in a sparkling new baby blue Town Car. Avis thought that they were doing me a favor with the upgrade. This, even after I explained that every time they give me a Lincoln people keep asking when I pull up to hotels how much I charge for an airport shuttle. But It was this or a Hyundai, neither of which make for a sexy California presence; my choice of the two coming down to the one which would be useful in case I needed to raise some quick cash as a sedan driver.
-I exited the car, stripping myself from the “real Corinthian Town-Car leather,” which is quite a process in this heat – put my lips back on – and entered the box. I was really anxious to see this place as the website featured the coach, or hostess if you will, fully flexing in tight spandex. I will leave it at that given a vow of kindness that I gave John regarding my posts. You get the point. You can find the site.
-The box was in a strip mall on Dinah Shore Blvd. Which is not surprising as 98% of all “desert developments” are strip malls. In Palm Springs you have to name streets after dead B-grade celebrities, as “Desolate Blvd” does not sound very inviting. For those too young to know who Dinah Shore was she was single-handedly responsible for every bad 70’s variety show ever produced as well as having romantic links to virtually every guy in Hollywood (including Burt Reynolds who was 20 years her junior.)
– Inside was a fully square space with room for about 20 people per WOD. All the usual accoutrements were present. Does anyone use those glute hamstring things? The first thing I noticed was that the air conditioning was running at full blast but the place was still hot. Which explains the placement of six giant fans around the room. I was glad I wore my LuLu Capris as I broke out in a sweat just filling out the release form.
-Cheryl, the owner and coach, introduced herself and the formalities were complete. She was a forty-something converted Cali-Globo girl who saw the light with Crossfit. She is level 2 certified and gung-ho. She told me that she was running the whole show on her own…her partner had dropped out after only a few months. I do give her kudos as she is still determined to make the business happen. The only result of this one-woman operation might be that I would soon learn that all the other people joining in for the WOD were also women. Not that I have a problem with this…just the contrary…yet it still made for a rather interesting environment in that I found myself wishing I had used a bit more hair gel and garbed a more complexion-complimentary t-shirt for the WOD.
-Cheryl and I talked some more as we power flexed. She explained that it has been a bigger challenge than she imagined opening this box in Palm Springs given the average age of the residents being 92. Which is, coincidentally, the average temperature at 11:00PM. She showed me pictures of her members on the wall: all 24. After 6 months this is all she has been able to recruit. She then explained that Crossfit Desert was now embarking on a new strategy: Crossfit for Seniors. Or, as she is touting it: Crossfit Silver. I commented that it was a brilliant idea (I mean that) as she showed me a picture of Mabel, 71, who is one of her clients and is the inspiration to this new direction. I begged her to post a You Tube video of Mabel doing Fran and she laughingly agreed while commenting that this could be the focus of their ad campaign. I did not want to ask what Mabel’s Fran time is, as I feared the result coming in better than mine.
-This was the first box I have ever seen that actually had a fenced in section in the corner for day-care, Fisher Price toys and all. Which led me to wonder why we don’t have the same at MPH so that I can bring Kinley to my workouts. Could it be that John has a problem singing Barney’s theme song to my daughter while I front squat? I made a note to bring this issue up upon my return.
-As the girls of Crossfit Desert rolled in I became curious as to whether there would be potpourri in the bathroom as I had found at Crossfit Morristown last month. I peered in to check and was met with something even more frightening: a full banner ad for botox treatments, breast enhancement, and facial lift surgery from a doctor in Palm Springs. As I jumped back – shocked – I turned my gaze to the ladies who had gathered and began to realize the connection; it was clear that they were all former clients. I declare this as fact, given that John is panicking right now as to what I will say next, my direction though is that of kindness as I can tell you that this doctor does some very nice work. I jotted down the number for future reference as I have recently been considering a pectoral lift.
-We began with a warm-up that would make Mel smile. Two rounds of a 400 meter run and 200 single jumps…the jumps by the way were quite revealing as to how good this Palm Springs doctor was – I mean there was no movement at all in the upper bodies of these ladies! Then there was a round of inchworms with a return of inchworm push-ups (a new one for me). Next came that Goose-Stepping thing, down the length, with a return length of The Ostrich (also a new one). We finished with two rounds of 10 push-ups with an alternate one-arm swing and 30 sit-ups. For the love of God did these people not realize that it was 114 degrees?!
-It was quite a warm-up given that the WOD was “Annie R U O.K” This branded hell consists of 21,15,9 of Rows (for Calories), 65lb Thrusters, SDHP, Medicine Ball Cleans, Burpees, and Wall-Balls. I kept up with girls; perhaps more as a result of my reduced breast weight rather than actual metabolic conditioning, and completed it in 30:04. I am sure that Rob and Steve would have done it in 4:00 but I was proud nonetheless in keeping pace with the much younger ladies who were clearly more accustomed to a workout in 114-degree temperatures.
-One girl finished a minute or two ahead of me: Jennifer. She was quite attractive and very fit. As I posed towards the wall for my last round she screamed for me to “start squatting and throwing.” “Go Down!” she cried! “Go down for me now!” I can tell you with great certainty that I went down for Jennifer like I have never gone down for another woman before. Those nine wall-balls came like lighting – and as I braced myself against the wall at the end I was thinking of flying her into DC for my next Fran.
StuLu’s Rating: 7 Kettlebells. Despite the ambience of botox and femininity this box gets the job done. It was the most killer warm-up I have done outside of MPH and Cheryl clearly means business. Besides, who doesn’t dream of a WOD surrounded by lovely women who scream for your submission? I am just glad it wasn’t Mable yelling at me to “go down.”
Side Note: In the past 10 days I have also tried Crossfit Portland and Crossfit Deep (Deep Ellum/Dallas). Crossfit Portland was so boring that I can’t find a damn thing to write about, not that it was bad…I really liked it…just nothing out of the ordinary. Crossfit Deep will have a review in the coming days as it is now J2’s new box and I had the pleasure of doing a WOD with them before a wonderful dinner together in which I spent three hours complaining about the Caps loss the night before. I will say this preemptively however: J2 both seem to be slipping since leaving MPH. Jason is now using a red band for pull-ups and Jo kept yelling at me during the WOD to slow down as I was making them look bad. ☺
StuLu..another great post…thanks and hurry home!
StuLu’s Reports From the Road – The Cure for the Common Conference Call
I would contest StuLu’s characterization of the color of my pull-up band but he paid for the three-hour dinner.
-Jason of J2 fame
That’s because Jason was using a green band. His game has been off since he lost his battle with Big Red.
Seriously, we miss everyone at MPH especially our coaches but we’re thankful the transition has been a little better with StuLu’s and Sid’s visits to our box in Dallas.
-Joanna (the other J2)
For the record, I am red-green colorblind.
-Jason of J squared
MPH does Dallas. That’s it—B-kay and I are booking the next flight down to DFW to hit a workout hard and Deep.
Get yourself right, Jason. When you come back here, I want the pull-up and muscle-up records blown apart.
MPH for life, you two…be good.
John
I wish this was true. Someone had the nerve to tell me I was strong while I was going for a max press below my MPH best.
Really needed an MPH asskicking about now so thanks for the (renewed) motivation,
-Joanna
–Scores–
Ralph A.: 9:36 (55-lbs.)
Sara S.: 8:27 (25-lbs.)
Paul M.: 6:27 (55-lbs.; sub: power clean)
Samir M.: 8:00 (55-lbs.)
Shana S.: 7:24 (35-lbs.)
Alex M.: 5:37 (65-lbs.)
Tamra F.: 6:05
Keena S.: 6:50 (35-lbs.)
Erez Y.: dnf
Beth F.: 4:47 (25-lbs.)
Ted K.: 7:40 (55-lbs.)
Kristie K.: 6:04 (25-lbs.)
Kris C.: 8:43 (45-lbs.)
Borja G.: 6:57
Charles H.: 8:53
Jeremy N.: 5:28
Ravi S.: 7:58 (55-lbs.)
Ivy F.: 6:56
Katie M.: 6:40 (35-lbs.)
Neil A.: 6:47
Josh M.: 8:06
Jessy C.: 9:38 (45-lbs.)
Robbie S.: 8:18 (65-lbs.)
David O.: 6:39
Jessica H.: 8:38
Sean M.: 9:11
Jen M.: 6:57 (45-lbs.)
Derek B.: 7:26 (65-lbs.)
Jim M.: 7:58 (35-lbs.)
Johnny A.: 8:48 (45-lbs.)
Joseph P.: 8:20 (45-lbs.)
Roselena R.: 7:37
David S.: 8:03 (55-lbs.)
Brian T.: 8:26 (45-lbs.)
Mike D.: dnf
Jeff W.: 9:29
Kevin C.: dnf
Josh O.: 5:53
Joe P.: 3:59
Dave R.: 4:11
Sean F.: 8:03 (55-lbs.)
Linda K.: 9:47 (25-lbs.)
Tod C.: 5:55
Christy P.: 4:58
Sara D.: 6:14 (35-lbs.)
Kyle F.: 9:04 (65-lbs.)
Tyler P.: 7:12 (45-lbs.)
Adam C.: 6:52 (65-lbs.)
Mayra C.: 8:44
Amy S.: 8:18 (35-lbs.)
Amy D.: 7:51 (sub: power clean)
Susanna B.: 7:41 (45-lbs.)
Chad F.: 6:29 (45-lbs.)
Koji H.: 6:12 (45-lbs.; sub: power clean)
Sue R.: 6:45 (25-lbs.)
Jonathan H.: 9:07 (65-lbs.)
Leota B.: 6:53 (35-lbs.)
Ricky B.: 8:05
Wayne C.: 7:54 (65-lbs.)
Mike S.: 6:33
Caitlin F.: 9:37
Antonio G.: 8:03 (65-lbs.)
Stuart W.: 5:57 (55-lbs.; sub: power clean)
April H.: 6:25 (15-lbs.)
Jerry C.: dnf
Meghan M.: dnf
Notes for today:
-10-minute time limit
-DNF Scores:
Erez Y.: 72/75x (65-lbs.)
Mike D.: 62/75x (65-lbs.)
Kevin C.: 64/75x (55-lbs.)
Jerry C.: 65/75x (35-lbs.)
Meghan M.: 68/75x (5-minute time limit)
yay! vegan-friendly raw meat crossfit potlucks FTW! 😀