Congrats to everyone that came out to KEZAR over the weekend! With less than ideal, S.F. weather upon us, we all got warmed up and stepped onto the starting blocks to make it happen! The energy and determination was INCREDIBLE to watch. I am thrilled to have such a great group of friends ready for any challenge I come up with. We had some impressive results, I've listed WINNERS below... Pick up your PRIZE in class! One of the participants also captured the ACTION. Best set of photo's ever... Thanks ISAAC!



FLICKr SLIDESHOW

Men's (Beginner)
Fastest:
1. Matt Rubin
2. Charles Martin
3. Rob Estrella
Most Improved:
1. James Payne
2. Rob Estrella
3. Charles Martin

Men's (Intermediate)
Fastest:
1. Alex Sinunu
2. Abraham Williams
3. Brian Learn
Most Improved:
1. Andrew Bissel
2. Alex Sinunu
3. Brian Learn

Men's (Advanced)
Fastest:
1. Tony Miranda
2. Sean Gourley
3. Preston Kern
Most Improved:
1. Drew Olian
2. Preston Kern
3. Sean Gourley

Women's (Beginner)
Fastest:
1. Kristen Gorts
Most Improved:
1. Kristen Gorts

Women's (Intermediate)
Fastest:
1. Kelly Powers
2. Kari Glass
3. Georgina Costales
Most Improved:
1. Kelly Powers
2. Kari Glass
3. Katie Barnes

Women's (Advanced)
Fastest:
1. Joan Greve
2. Brandy Gibb
Most Improved:
1. Brandy Gibb
2. Joan Greve

Are your TRACKING your workouts on the FORUM yet? Join our online community TODAY!

Workout of the Day
"Fight Gone Bad!"
This is our famous "Fight Gone Bad" workout. It has been used extensively to prep fighters for the UFC. In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. We've used this in 3 and 5 round versions. Today is 3 rounds. The stations are:
Wall-ball - 20 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
Sumo deadlift high-pull 75 pounds (Reps)
Box Jump - 20" box (Reps)
Push-press 75 pounds (Reps)
Row (Calories)
The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of "rotate," the athlete/s must move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point. Add your points and post them to comments. 405 is the score to beat.

PALEO RECIPE
"Baked Walnut-Cinnamon Apples"
4 Apples
1 cup raisins
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup water
¼ cup walnuts
Heat oven to 375 F. Core and piece apples with a fork in several places around the center, to prevent them from bursting. Mix raisins, nuts, cinnamon and vanilla in a small bowl. Fill center of each apple with this mixture. Place in a glass-baking dish and pour water into pan. Cover with foil and bake about 30 minutes or until tender.

A championship team is a team of champions."-Unknown

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of open water swimming. The functionality of swimming is ideal for the CrossFit athlete and I intend on making it a consistent part of our program. Last week I threw the barbells in the truck and headed across town to my favorite spot... Aquatic Park! There was no shortage of tourists hanging out at Fisherman's Wharf to make this one of the most spectacular OUTDOOR WOD's to date!



Jaime, Alex, Patrick, Charles, Kurt, Kelly, Olivia, Kim and Alyssa showed-up to make it happen!

For many, it was their first time swimming in the bay. Here's what a few of them had to say...

FUN!!!! I loved it. It was hard, it was gruelling, and it was wet! -Olivia
Finally made it to my first Swim WOD and it was Great.-Kurt

Workout of the Day
Three rounds for time:
Swim 250m
30 Burpees
30 Thrusters (#95/65)

PALEO RECIPE
"Kona Local Marinade"
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon raw honey
2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, finely grated
Combine ingredients and marinate steak, chicken, fish or pork before barbequing. Baste with marinade during barbequing.

"In the beginning, any personal change isn't easy because you are asking yourself to confront your own self-made comfort zone. The real transformation to the new you, is one that will not only take time, but a healthy dose of perseverance. After all, no transformation is easy or everyone would have already made the shift."-Byron Pulsifer

This week's stand-out is NATALIE! She's by far the most motivated student at LALANNE FITNESS and well deserving of our "Student Athlete of the Week" award! Since we've introduced the Athletic Level Assesment, Natalie has "jumped in" to make sure she is doing what it takes to get to the next level. A strong deadlift and back squat, kipping pull-ups, rope climbs and ring dips are on her resume. Metabolic conditioning is no problem, it's these weight lifting and gymnastics movements that are making her more well rounded as an athlete... GO Natalie!



Natalie crossing another one off the list...the 1-Arm Handstand!

Athletic Level Assesment

Workout of the Day
"Nancy"
Five rounds for time:
Run 400m
15 Overhead Squats (#95/65)

PALEO RECIPE
"Banana Pear Ambrosia"
1 ripe avocado
1 pear
1 banana
1 tablespoon honey
Pineapple or lemon juice
Blender all ingredients until smooth. Serve in sherbet glasses.

"Some things don't always work out the way you plan. The main thing is to keep trying, do better next time, and deal with dsappointment if it comes."-Yogi Berra

GYM CLOSED TODAY! We are @ Kezar Stadium for the NANCY challenge FINALS from 8AM-12PM. Come out to support your fellow CrossFit classmates!

“How many blocks should I eat?” and “should I eat Paleo or Zone?” These are questions many of us have within the CrossFit community. My general answer is to read both "The Zone Diet" and "The Paleo Diet" so you've got an understanding of the principles behind them. Robb Wolf, a well respected nutrition guru within the CrossFit community offers his take on these common questions-Rob Wolf



A FULL HOUSE @ "The Brickhouse"!

Workout of the Day
Run 800m
100 Pull-Ups
Run 800m

PALEO RECIPE
"Appetizing Tomato Sauce"
¼ cup canola oil
8 minced garlic cloves
2 cups diced, yellow onions
1½ cups cored, seeded and diced green bell peppers
3 cups ripe tomatoes
1 four-ounce can of whole green chilies, pureed
¼ cup chopped parsley
5 cups beef stock (no salt added)
Black pepper to taste
In a 6-quart saucepan sauté the garlic, onion and green pepper in the oil until tender. Add the tomatoes, pureed chilies, and parsley and simmer until very tender. Add beef stock. Cover and simmer one hour. Uncover and simmer one more hour to reduce and thicken the sauce. Stir and pepper to taste.

"Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving." -Rosalind Russell

You get an EXTRA class for the next TWO WEEKS!

The men's rope climbing was one of eight gymnastics events on Gymnastics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. The final event in the gymnastics competition, rope climbing was held on 10 April. The rope was 14 metres long, suspended from a frame.-wiki

Rope Climb VARIATIONS



Kurt working on his "foot hold."

CrossFit TOTAL FLICKR Show!

Workout of the Day
"Elizabeth"
21-15-9 reps rounds for time of:
Squat Clean (#135/95)
Ring Dips

PALEO RECIPE
"Honey Dill Carrots"
Baby carrots
Honey
Dill
Steam baby carrots, then drizzle with just a bit of honey (don't overdo the honey, it doesn't take much). Add dill and serve!

"Excellent firms don't believe in excellence - only in constant improvement and constant change." -Tom Peters

You get an EXTRA class for the next TWO WEEKS!

CrossFit is a method of training that offers a chance to improve everyday! To be better than yesterday. Are you just going through the motions? or... do you barely get by with what's acceptable? Is every repetition perfect? Do you cheat yourself and the quality of your movement just to finish the workout faster? These are very real questions we should all consider when looking to improve on a personal level.



The photo above shows Charles, former student athlete of the week, doing burpees with a 4-foot "tuck-jump" on each rep. You might ask..."why is he jumping so high, if we're only required to get just a few inches off the ground?" Well, this is just one instance where Charles is going ABOVE and beyond what's expected! You can find him putting out more than he is asked to put out at every class. This is something that I really appreciate and respect as a coach. His desire to get the most he can get out of every moment at every class is inspiring. If you're lucky, maybe some of his MOJO will rub off on you too!

Workout of the Day
Thruster
3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

PALEO RECIPE
"Rabbit Roasted with Herbs"
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 rabbit (about 2 ½ pound, cut into 6-8 pieces)
Fresh ground black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, halved lengthwise and slivered
1 large, minced garlic clove
2/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth, salt free
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons flat leafed parsley, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the rabbit pieces in batches until golden, about 5 to 7 minutes per side, sprinkling with pepper. Place the browned rabbit into a shallow baking pan. Add the onion to the skillet and cool over low heat for 7 to 10 minutes to soften. Add the garlic and cook two minutes more, stirring. Add broth and raise the heat; bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Reduce the heat; add the rosemary and cook sauce for two minutes longer. Pour the sauce over the rabbit and bake for 45 minutes. To serve, place the rabbit pieces on a serving platter and pour all the remaining pan juices over the top of the rabbit pieces. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately. Serves four.

"Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others." -Plato