beyond the whiteboard

2011′s Amazing Programming Went Unnoticed

In my opinion The CrossFit Open is the most difficult CrossFit Competition to program for. Unlike the Regionals and Games, there isn’t an understood expectation of talent. For example, athletes at the Regional level can handle a high load/reps of olympic and gymnastics movements. Games athletes are expected to handle, well, everything and anything. I was really impressed by the 2011 CrossFit Open. In fact, I think many people overlooked how well the workouts were designed.

Scaling

In 2011 all the workouts had time limits that ranged from 5 to 20 minutes. Also, all of the workouts were easy enough for most people to get some type of score, but hard enough for stronger athletes to separate themselves. Thus, I doubt the workouts will be super heavy. However, they will be heavy enough where scoring high will require a solid amount of strength and endurance. This is one of those it sounds easy but is actually really hard to do workouts. Below is a graph of the results from CrossFit Open 11.1. The distribution of results show how most people were able to do a few rounds, but only a few people were able to really well.

Regional Worthy Threshold

This was the most impressive part of the 2011 Open programming. Although making workouts that everyone can attempt is a big priority, the main priority is setting a threshold for Regional worthy athletes. It turns out, HQ thought of a genius solution. The most technical movements over the 6 weeks were Muscle Ups and Overhead Squats. They were put towards the end of a workout, where the people who were fit enough to get to them were probably able to perform them. For example, The Week 4 workout was a 10 minute AMRAP of 60 Bar-facing burpees, 120 pound Overhead squat, 30 reps and 10 Muscle-ups. The burpees took a good chunk of time for most people, however the more fit athletes were able to move through them quick and attempt the overhead squats and muscle-ups. The Regional worthy athletes put up anywhere between a 1 to 1.5 rounds. However, as long as you could do one bar facing burpee you had a valid score for the workout. In short, genius.

Equipment, Video and Judging

Around 50,000 people will be participating in the open which means we aren’t seeing any high-end(comparatively) equipment during the open. Also, all of the workouts have to be easily recorded and can’t be too difficult to judge.

What I Doubt We Will See

• Row
• GHD-Sit Ups
• Back Extension
• Rope Climb
• Swimming
• Run(unless it’s a shuttle run which I’d like to see)
• Basically anything you can’t do out of your garage.
• Push-Ups(mainly because I think everyone can’t help but cheat when they get tired and it’s really hard to judge)
• Air Squat(hard to judge)
• Ring Dips

Good Probability

• Pull-ups
• Ground To Overhead
• Dead-lifts
• Double Unders
• Bar Facing Burpees(not normal ones and I pray not burpee box-jumps)
• Wall Balls
• Toes To Bar
• Power Cleans
• Box Jumps
• Thrusters
• Squat Clean

Regional Threshold Movements

• Muscle Ups
• Overhead Squat
• Handstand Push-ups

My Random, Gut Is Saying, List

I have no real reason other than thinking it would be cool to see these

• Shuttle Runs
• Lunges(Alternating Lunges)
• KettleBell
• Fight to The Death With Random Stranger

While researching CrossFit workouts Corey ran across an interesting turn of events. Jon and I, being the CrossFit junkies we are, went way too far into the matrix.

May 12th, 2004

Posted on/for Lynne Pitts’ (old school CrossFitter) birthday.

August 5th, 2004

This workout was very similar to a previous workout. Lynne killed it, even claiming, “At last, the WOD-God has smiled on me…”

The New Girls(November 2004)

Linda is listed as the “L” Girl workout in the “New Girls” journal article. Note, at this point, Lynne (the workout not the person), doesn’t officially exist.

Lynne (April 8th, 2005)

A hybrid of the previous workouts is now called “Lynne”. Long time CrossFitter and affiliate owner, Ahmik Jones, refers a previous WOD (most likely 08/04) as “Lynne”, although this is the first mention of it on Main Site.

Tony Blauer’s BYOB course is a 1-day workshop suitable for anyone looking to develop or enhance their personal defense skills. The course combines Coach Tony Blauer’s most effective material and it’s packaged into a 1-day dynamic seminar that takes you through mind-set, psychology, fear management, how to strike using your natural weapons (like elbows, knees, forearms, etc).

Who Is Tony Blauer?

He is the pioneer of the SPEAR(Spontaneous Protection Enabling Accelerated Response) system and has probably been part of CrossFit longer than you have. He’s featured on crossfit.com, go amaze yourself. When you are done watch this clip of his course. Yup, he’s legit.

Why should CrossFitters attend this course?

The SPEAR system is to Personal Defense what CrossFit is to strength and conditioning. The SPEAR system teaches you to embrace your natural responses in self defense situations. It’s functional, simple and effective. Sound familiar? In fact, Coach Glassman, pictured above, stopped by and spoke about how much he supports Tony and his system when I attended Tony’s camp. If you are a CrossFitter, especially if you own a CrossFit Affiliate, you need to attend.

Why Your Wife, Sister and/or Daughter Should Attend

My wife and I attended Tony Blauer’s Combative Camp over the summer. It was held over a hot weekend at Sin City CrossFit, a great gym, in Las Vegas. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. The room was full of CrossFitters, Police Officers, FBI Agents, MMA fighters and my wife. Surprisingly, there was a lot to learn for everyone there. Especially my wife. My wife, who is much smarter than I am, is going through medical school right now. Medical school is basically a cycle of long nights of studying combined with late night trips to the hospital during residency or rotations. Like any husband, I get worried from time to time. During the camp she learned how to be aware and protect herself in a dangerous event. By the end of the weekend she could get out of holds, avoid tackles etc. I was her practice dummy and was beat up by the end of the weekend. She jokingly tells me that I lost a fight to a girl. I remind her that every married man has lost at least one fight to a girl, his wedding.

Upcoming Courses

October 2, 2011 near San Luis Obispo @ CrossFit Five Cities
October 30, 2011 in San Francisco @ San Francisco CrosSFit
November 12, 2011 in Columbus Ohio @ Rogue Fitness
November 19, 2011 in Tuscon, AZ @ CrossFit Full Throttle

We have recently noticed an increase of CrossFit Beginners registering for our site. This is different from 2007-2008 where most of our users were veteran CrossFitters. I thought it would be a good idea to put together a quick guide for Beginning CrossFit.

First, Watch This

What’s CrossFit? (Short Version)

CrossFit is a workout regimen that gets you good at everything(running, weightlifting, gymnastics etc) with a simple approach. There is a WOD(workout of the day) that you have to perform. Do a WOD 2-6 times a week and you’ll get in the best shape of your life.

What’s CrossFit? (A little longer version)

CrossFit is the greatest strength and conditioning program in the world. It combines weightlifting, gymnastics and monostructural cardio(running, rowing, jumping rope etc) movements into measurable workouts. Measurable simply means that there is always a definite score or result for your workout. For example, a popular CrossFit workout is Helen where an athlete performs 3 rounds of 400 Meter Run, 21 Kettle-bell Swings, and 12 Pull-Ups. Helen is scored by the time it takes you to finish it. Other workouts are scored by the number of rounds(AMRAP), total weight(loads), distance and repetitions of movement(s). There are plenty of different workouts. I know what you are thinking. There is no way I can do that! A great thing about CrossFit is that every workout can be scaled to your current fitness level. For example, you could scale Helen to 2 rounds of 100 M Run, 10 Kettlebell Swings(10 lbs) and band-assited pul-ups(a thick rubberband that helps you do pullups). You would still time and record your workout. The next time you perform Helen you try to set a personal record(PR) by either doing the workout prescribed this time(Rx’d), scaling less or improving on the time with the same scaled workout. The goal is always the same, to do better! CrossFitters do a WOD(workout of the day) once, you guessed it, a day. The WODs will help improve your 10 general physical skills: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination, accuracy. CrossFit.com, also known as Main Site, puts up a WODs for the public everyday. It looks hard, because it is. Doing a workout as prescribed (Rx’d) is an accomplishment alone. Don’t worry, you can scale any workout to your fitness level. As you CrossFit more you will have to scale less. Soon you will be the envy of your friends and family.

How Do I Know I’m Getting More Fit?

In CrossFit there are benchmark workouts that are usually repeated at-least once a year. The workouts cover all ten general physical skills; respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. Increasing your performance in these workouts increases your overall fitness level. On beyond the whiteboard we automatically keep track of your benchmarks. For example, check out Jeremy Kinnick’s Benchmarks.

I’m in. How do I start?

• If you signed up for our site it’s simple. Just log in and there will be a “To-do” section that will tell you what the WOD is. We also have a solid collection user submitted movement demo videos that you can watch before doing a WOD. Note, you don’t have to use beyond the whiteboard to CrossFit. You can get the WODs free everyday from Crossfit.com. In fact, you can get them free on beyond the whiteboard also. Our services include tracking and analyzing your CrossFit stats.
• There are 3,000 Licensed Crossfit Affilaites that offer CrossFit classes for people of different fitness levels. From elite athletes to elite couch potatoes. It’s simple really. You show up to the gym. A CrossFit trainer tells you what to do. You do it and get in shape. I highly recommend going to a CrossFit Affiliate(Most Gyms Offer A Free Class). Don’t worry, you can still use beyond the whiteboard to track your stats. In fact, there is a good chance the entire gym uses the site. Even if they don’t, you’re still better off at an CrossFit Affiliate. If you would like to find a gym that uses beyond the whiteboard check out our Gyms page.

But wait…there’s more

• For about a nickle a day($25 a year) you can subscribe to the CrossFit Journal, which happens to be the best fitness, health and lifestyle publication in the world.
• CrossFit also offers amazing courses around the world everyday. The courses range from introductory courses about CrossFit to speciality courses like Running. Do yourself a favor and go to one or ten.

The sixth edition of the Fight Gone Bad fundraiser will be taking place on September 17th, and beyond the whiteboard is taking part in the fundraising effort. We are excited to give what we can, but we need your help. We are going to donate $1.00 for every Fight Gone Bad post, up to 1000 posts. We will also be having an online competition on the day of the event. Check out the prizes below.

Affiliate Prizes

• The affiliate whose members post the most total reps will get 3 months free on beyond the whiteboard.
• The affiliate with second most reps posted will get one month free on beyond the whiteboard.

Individual Prizes

• The top male and female athlete will get a $200 Visa gift card.
• The second and third place male and female athletes will get $100.

Quick Log

We have amazing users who send us amazing feedback, and, as you guys know, we take it every seriously. A common theme has been to log more fitness variables. For example, sleep. Our goal was to build an interface where a user could log various daily attributes in under 60 seconds. We got it to under 30 Seconds. Starting today you can log your Sleep, Body Condition, Mobility Work, Diet, Post WOD, Water Intake, Fish Oil and Shoes right from your whiteboard. Simply click an option from the whiteboard column and it will instantly get logged.

2 week Overview

The 2 Week Overview brings together Gym Programming, Workout Results, Weigh Ins and Journal Entries.

Today

An easy way to organize what you have to get done today. We created a to-do section which will show your WODs and let you know if you need to weigh in. On top of user submitted demos, we organized any movements prescribed today by workout elements. You can click any movement to view your movement history. We are also excited to include a list of related and recently published articles from the Crossfit Journal. We support the CrossFit Journal because it is the greatest fitness library in the world. Do yourself a favor and read an article, or watch a video if you are against reading, everyday.

Many people forget, or don’t know, that the Girl Workouts are named alphabetically, like hurricanes, and are the classic Benchmarks of Crossfit. Pictured above is the screen that was used to make the shirt.

Why Are The Benchmarks Named After Girls?

To quote Coach Glassman, “Anything that leaves you flat on your back and incapacitated only to lure you back for more at a later date.”

Why Are They The ABC’s of Fitness

They embody the idea of CrossFit. To quote Coach Glassman again, “If you are improving at these, you are becoming fitter.”

The Design and Shirt

Simple and to the point. Next to each workout is the amount of posts CrossFittters around the world have posted. Yup, over 20k for fran and 15k for Helen and Cindy. CrossFitters are awesome. We went with American Apparel 50/50 Poly-Cotton blend shirt.

These pieces are comprised of our distinct 50/50 Poly-Cotton blend. Unlike other Poly-Cotton t-shirts on the market, ours is made with combed cotton, giving it an ultra soft, worn in feel and superior drape. Even finer than traditional combed-cotton yarn, this ultra-comfortable fabric features remarkable recovery even after repeated washings. Slightly more opaque than our Sheer Jersey yet still lightweight, these shirts offer a versatile surface perfect for screen printing and embellishment. -American Apparel

Our t-shirt guy actually told us that no one gives these shirts out for free, but we reminded him how great our users are. The back of the shirt has our new logo and date. We put the date on the back because we will never print these shirts in the future, and want you guys to have exclusive gear. Look forward to meeting you guys.

He Already Won

As if there wasn’t enough drama, Jeremy Kinnick’s wife gave birth to their second baby boy today, days before Jeremy competes in the CrossFit Games this Friday. It was an eventful day to say the least. Jonathan and I roll down to Hollywood to grab the btwb giveway shirts. The shirts come out great and we decide to grab food down on Olivera Street. Right before our food is ready Jon says, “Oh crap the baby is on it’s way.” I get up and tell our waitress, “We are going to have to get the food to go. My friend’s wife is about to have a baby.” The waitress thought I was talking about Jon. I was going to correct her, but didn’t want to derail her efficiency. Honestly, she was amazing and might effect my tipping for future servers. We fast and furious our way to the hospital, just in time to see Jeremy teary eyed. The picture above is him hugging his mother moments after his son was born. This moment helped put things into perspective. The Games are a HUGE deal. On a scale of 1 to 10, they are 42. In fact, they are plural. However, it doesn’t hold a candle to seeing the look on Jeremy’s face. I have no idea who will do well this weekend, but, in my opinion, Jeremy already won.

Series

About a month or two ago we decided to release a series on Jeremy for two main reasons. First, over the last three years he has recorded over 1200 results on the site, and is a perfect candidate for analysis. In fact, he is one of the few elite competitors who have their workout results detailed for 3 years. Second, he is unique for not being unique. He CrossFits and eats right. Jeremy feels like anyone can do it. In fact, that belief combined with his competitive fire is what keeps him working hard every day. Over the course of this series we’ll ask and answer tough questions. How did he make the games in 2009? Why didn’t he make the games in 2010? How did he rebound and make the games again in 2011? What can others learn from his experience? We think the series will be pretty amazing. For example, he has taken his Fran result from over 17 to mid 2 minutes.

Keep Up With The Series

If you want to keep up with the series, please follow the fan page on facebook or twitter account we made for him(It wasn’t easy but we convinced him to do it).

Feel free to contact me via twitter/@moe_naqvi or on our facebook fan page.

Our Booth (We are official sponsors)

We have decided to go with a different approach to usual convention booths. Instead of focusing around meeting prospective clients, we are hoping to meet as many of our amazing users as possible. We want to make a comfortable area for you guys to stop by and say hi. Once we verify you are a member you’ll get hooked up with our cool giveaway bag. Also, you’ll get a sneak peek into our new site design as well as some features we are working on.

2 Minute Challenge

We are going to have a LIVE Two Minute Challenge. If you can’t make it, you can participate at home.

• Repeat of a classic. Double Unders. The competition will begin Friday morning at 8 am and end Monday at midnight.
• If you can’t make it, participate at home. We will be recording and posting videos of people who compete at the tent.
• There will be prizes. At the minimum the top male and female athletes will get a pair of Again Faster Wooden Rings. Also, we will most likely buy stuff from different vendors during the games and add add to the prize pool.

A More Personal Feel

The first thing we decided to do is replace “beyond the whiteboard” with your Affiliate name. We assume you know what site you are on and don’t need to be reminded on every single page(the above picture has “CrossFit Kinnick”). Having your affiliate name(linked to the affiliate page) cleans up the user interface and gives a more personal feel to the site.

Navigation Made Simple

As we worked on features we realized the top navigation was getting a bit crowded. We grouped the navigation options into three categories: Log, Find, You. New features will easily be added to one of the top menus and will never cause design problems.

Don’t Panic

We aren’t changing everything on the site overnight. The new layout will have the same main section on every page. We will constantly make more videos and blogs anytime we are about to change a page.