Less Then 24 Hours For The Games!

Hey everybody! As you know, I am really excited for the CrossFit Games, and they begin in less then 24 hours! The first event has been released and it is epic! I can't wait to see these incredible athletes do what they do best! Here is the first workout of the Games.

For time:
210-meter ocean swim
Run 1,500m in soft-sand
50 Chest-to-bar pull-ups
100 hand release push-ups
200 Squats
Run 1,500m in soft-sand

This is the video that Reebok and CrossFit have dubbed the Anthem of the Games. The links that I have been posting are working now. So you can click them and they will take you to awesome.

I Stole This From CrossFit Verve!

Why does CrossFit work?
The easiest answer is that it works because it is empirically driven.  It's evidence based, if something is proven not to work, we change it.  In that way, CrossFit continues to evolve with the discovery of best practices.  CrossFit doesn't say our way is the best and only way, it says here is what we have found works.  Try it for yourself and let us know your results.
CrossFit also works because it has a plan.  Have you ever heard, "If you don't have a plan, you plan to fail?"  Fitness works the same way and CrossFit's plan is to increase work capacity across broad time and modal domains.  
There has never been a clear definition of fitness before this.  If you look up the definition of fitness it states being in good shape or physical condition.  What does that mean?  It's hogwash.  If you had to explain that to an alien, their first question would be, "what is good shape or physical condition?"  Now how do you answer that? "You know, good shape". Then the alien thinks; like a star, circle or a square shape?  You can see that is not a very scientific definition.  In order for something to be scientific it must be measurable, observable, and repeatable.  "Good shape" is not any of these.  However, increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains is very much measurable, observable and repeatable.  Why do you think we do all those benchmark workouts?  Why do you think we harp on you to log your loads and times?  We want to know what your work capacity is, whether it has increased or decreased and if you can do more faster.
Let's break this plan down.  Increased work capacity is the ability to do more work; lift heavier things, run faster, hit harder.  Across broad time; now that is why we want "Fran" to be short and intense and "Murf" to be longer and enduring.  If all of your workouts took 20 minutes or longer, you wouldn't be stressing all your oxygen pathways.  We want capacity in short, medium and long distances.  Modal domains, this means we want it all.  We want to be able to run 10 miles and back squat 300lbs.  We want to be able to do anything that comes our way, ANYTHING!
So the next time someone asks you why CrossFit works, tell them it is because CrossFit has increased your work capacity across broad and modal domains.  Can they say that about their fitness program?

Rob Orlando!

Hey everybody! Rob Orlando is another one of my favorite athletes! Here are a few videos to give you a better idea of the awesome!

http://games.crossfit.com/features/videos/i-dont-take-direction-well-rob-orlando

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3GuDCxts94&feature=mh_lolz&list=FLG0MkxQMJ4Go

The CrossFit Games!

Hey everybody! It's the CrossFit Games this weekend, and personally, I couldn't be more excited! There are some incredible athletes competing this year and they are going to go all out! Of coarse I'm rooting for my hero Mikko Salo, but there are numerous competitors I am looking forward to watching this year. Some of which are Rich Froning, Graham Holmburg, and Chris Spealer. *I hope I spelled those names right* Chris Spealer is always the smallest competitor at the games and he has competed in every single one. Last year he did a WOD that had a 315 lb. deadlift. When you take into account that Chris is only 145 lbs., the fact that he is lifting over double his bodyweight for multiple reps is pretty incredible.

Like I said, I'm really looking forward to watching this event, I can't wait! It's not like the UFC where I get to watch at least one a month, if not 2 or 3. I have to wait a whole entire year for this, and I definitely plan on going to next years event! Here is a highlight video from last years games, enjoy and I'll talk to you soon!

This Is CrossFit!

Staying In The Fight by SealFit Founder Mark Devine

Hey everybody! I just read this interesting journal entry from SealFit founder Mark Devine. I really thought it was worth sharing so here it is!

During this final segment to the Staying in the Fight SEALFIT Journal series, I want to emphasize the significance of what we’ve covered and how everyday decisions can ultimately impact whether you succeed or fail in your life’s endeavors.
A “staying in the fight” mentality is crucial for success in any endeavor. Whether you are an MMA fighter, business executive or CrossFit athlete, staying in the fight is about properly orienting your inner self at critical moments. Every race, fight, mission, business venture or crisis has critical “inflection points,” where the outcome can swing one way or the other based upon the actions (or lack thereof) of the key player.
You are that key player.
Someone wise once told me that our lives are defined by millions of tiny decisions, and only a few big ones. We tend to focus on the big ones, but it is the tiny decisions that stack up over time and define who we are. Consider the following:
Do you occasionally dilly-dally too long on an unimportant project so you have an excuse to miss that ugly looking workout? Or do you embrace the suck and lean into the tough ones, knowing that each decision to do so makes you stronger over the long haul?
If you value discipline but don’t practice discipline then it is not your value. It is just a trait you appreciate in others. Practicing a value re-enforces it until it becomes a virtue. Virtues are deeply ingrained value-based habits which require no conscious thought. When strong values are habituated into virtues, right action results in the form of good tiny decisions made throughout the day.
Bottom line: you should train daily to be mentally tough, physically prepared, emotionally deep and intuitive. Train your indomitable, never-quit spirit. Don’t wait for some miracle or distant future date to start. Make it part of every tiny decision you make here and now.
The world is a dangerous and chaotic place. Destiny favors the prepared. Living with your head buried in the sand of ignorance, denial, or non-presence is a recipe for disaster. We have all heard people complain about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This can’t happen. Wherever you are, there you are. You are either:
* at the right place at the right time (you are present)
* or at the right place at the wrong time (your head is in the past or future)
In either case, the decisions you make at that moment will determine whether you are a loser or a hero. It simply boils down to having the mental toughness and clarity for right thought, which will lead to right action.
Don’t wish for things that are critical to living a good life. Work on making them part of you. Starting now.
Moving on to our final tips for developing your mental toughness, so you can stay in the fight… and emerge victorious every time.
Be a Team Player
Take your eyes off yourself and put them on your teammates. Don’t spend too much time looking in the mirror. Put your teammate’s needs before yours. Imagine if everyone did this. Everyone on the team would be watching your back and supporting you, while you were focused on supporting them.
Do this and you will witness something magical. Why?
1. Shared risk. When you share risk equally with teammates, your credibility and trust among teammates goes through the roof. The accountability that comes with shared risk ensures that you act at your best, at all times. You don’t want to let your teammates down. You don’t want them to let you down. You support each other and grow together as peers.
2. Responsibility. The responsibility of having to take care of your team is enormous, but you are not alone. Because of this, you will step up your level of commitment and focus on the mission. The stakes are much higher now than just the potential for letting yourself down.
Finally, an esoteric concept called the Law of Attraction. We attract that which we focus on – subconsciously. We have discussed this at length in the section on positivity. If we take this to the team level, then we note that a positive focus on the welfare and success of our team has the energetic effect of transforming not just the team, but ourselves. What you give out, you will get back at least 10x. In turn, be an island, fly solo, and you will decrease your return by 10x. It is much easier to be mentally tough when you have a bunch of other tough people watching your back!
Embrace the Suck!
During a tough evolution, whether a workout, mission, project or crisis, everyone is experiencing the same pain. It doesn’t help you or the team to whine about it. Embrace the suck means to learn to handle abnormal levels of pain and discomfort. You don’t have to like it; you just need to learn to deal with it. Embrace it and find a way to create a positive emotional association with it. Refer to the discussion on the 3rd Mountain of Emotional Control, and also Positivity for ideas. Remember, the best things in life come with pain attached to them. The more pain, the more valuable it is.
“Fake it ’til you make it” will plant seeds of positive energy and, perhaps even humor. Finding humor and grace in painful situations is a powerful skill. Often there is much humor and beauty in sublime and challenging circumstances. Surrender to the reality of the situation – don’t fight it – flow with it.
* Find humor where others can’t
* Find beauty in misery
* Don’t fight, flow!
* Enjoy the journey despite the hardships
Thus concludes our final segment of the Staying in the Fight series. I hope you have enjoyed this new SEALFIT Journal format and can put the concepts to use immediately. I look forward to working with you all in in person. Train hard, stay focused, and be safe! Coach Divine, Founder, SEALFIT
I wanted to thank all of you for the support and congratulations you have extended to the Teams. SEALFIT is gaining exposure and popularity for our mind, body and spirit training- forging mental toughness. I hope to meet many of you over the next several months.

The Gracie Diet

So there are a lot of diets out there. The most popular ones in the CrossFit community are the Paleo Diet and the Zone Diet. I started to try out the Paleo Diet for awhile but in this day and age, this particular diet becomes exceedingly difficult to follow. Mainly because, if a caveman didn't eat it, then you're not allowed to eat it. They are really strict on this. For instance, you can't eat canned tuna because cavemen didn't eat canned tuna. You can't eat bread because cavemen didn't eat bread. Needless to say, I fell off that bandwagon fairly quickly.

The next one is the Zone Diet. This one seems like the more popular of the two. I haven't even tried this one. It seems like it would be somewhat feasible, but then you really start looking into it and it gets pretty complicated. Everything is broken down into blocks. Each meal has to have a certain amount of blocks of certain amounts of things. Such as, one meal would include 2 blocks of protein, 2 blocks of carbs, and one block of fat. This is where it gets kind of complicated. You have to take into account how much fat your blocks of protein have in them and add them to  your blocks of fat. I don't have time to figure all of this out, so I don't.

Up until this point, I have just tried to keep my diet as clean as possible. And, as we all know, this is very difficult. Especially when you consider how awesome most un healthy food is. I love the pastas and the pizzas just as much as anybody else. But the unfortunate reality is, these things are really un healthy for you. And in order to reach my goal of winning that gold medal, everything has to be on point, including my diet.

I love CrossFit. Not only because of the workouts and the community, but also because they have everything figured out, almost to a science. CrossFit is constantly evolving. They are constantly studying things that make you stronger. They are constantly adding new things to their workouts that push the community to new limits.

The Gracie Family is the same way with Jiu Jitsu. I have been starting to pay a lot more attention to the Gracies and what they call the Gracie Way of life. And let me tell you, I am completely fascinated! The Gracies, much like CrossFit, have everything about their way of life dialed in. They even have their own diet plan. I have purchased the Gracie Diet book and it should be here sometime next week. They have videos on Youtube explaining how to do certain things such as the Renergy Sandwich invented by Rener Gracie, and the Ryron Power Smoothie invented by Ryron Gracie. While I'm watching these videos on how to make a sandwich, I find that I am completely transfixed and hanging on every word they say. They teach sandwich and smoothie making the same way they teach Jiu Jitsu. And I am convinced that they are the best teachers I have ever seen. Some of the stuff that I have seen so far seem pretty interesting. Like the Renergy Sandwich is wheat bread, almond butter, avocados, and spinach. This seems like an odd combination, but I'm willing to try new things. The thing that appeals to me the most is that its not only a diet change, but it's a lifestyle change. I'm sure that I will be one of the only CrossFitters who is embracing a new lifestyle in the . I'm pretty excited about this lifestyle change that I am about to embark upon, and I will definitely keep you updated on the results.

I should also tell you that this will be my first day of training for Grapplers Quest in November. This will be my quest for the gold medal. I know what the holes in my game are and what I need to do to fix them. I will get the gold this time.

Gracie Way

SealFit, The Aftermath

I got everything I expected from my first SealFit workout! It was 2 hours by the time I finished, and it wrecked me for the rest of the day which was completely expected. The first of the three workouts wasn't so bad. It was 21-15-9 of wallball and push ups. That one only took me 5 minutes. It took me 54 minutes and 34 seconds to complete the 5 rounds of 1,000 meter row, 20 power cleans and 20 front squats at 115 lbs. each. The 3 mile run at the end was the hardest part. For the first mile and a half my body was cramping, and seizing up, then it finally realized I wasn't going to stop and gave up. After that, the run became signifigantly easier and I cruised all the way into the gym. I spent the rest of the day trying to re-hydrate and re-fuel. I also did a little bit of filming with some bmxers that I am sponsoring through Never Die. I'm actually not feeling as sore as I thought, and I will be back on my normal training schedule tomorrow! It was a great experiance and I can't wait to do the next one! Here is the final episode of SealFit, enjoy!

My First SealFit Workout!

Hey everybody! I'll be doing my first ever SealFit workout on Sunday morning at 8 a.m.! I'm pretty excited about it! It's a great way to start off my training camp for Grapplers Quest in November. I will settle for nothing less then a gold medal this time. I am going to make some tweaks to my training. I have already studied my weaknesses and found the things I need to work on in my Jiu Jitsu game. I have never been more determined in my life. I'm going to push harder and see exactly what my body is capable of doing.

The workout will be 21-15-9 of wall ball and pull ups. 5 rounds of 1000 meter row, 20 power cleans, 20 front squats at 115 lbs. And a 3 mile run to finish it off. I will let you guys know how it goes and I will probably film this one. I leave you with SealFit 9.

MIAGI!!

This workout kicked the crap out of me!! It was a lot of fun and thank god I only had to do half of it! It was incredibly difficult, mainly because this workout is action packed with movements that I've never done before. Miagi goes a little something like this...

Teams of 2 complete the following for time:
50 Deadlift -135# M/95# W
50 Double KB Swings -1.5 pd M/1 pd W *
50 Pushups
50 Cean and Jerk -135# M/95# W
50 Pullups
50 Taters -1.5 pd M/1 pd W **
50 Box Jumps -24" M/20" W
50 Wall Climbs ***
50 Knee-to-Elbows
50 Double Unders

Here is a video of the Rogue CrossFit team doing this workout. They did not do it as a team, so they did all 50 reps of everything and still got incredible times! These are some of the best athletes in the world ladies and gentelman! Enjoy!

In It To Win It!

Hey everybody! I'm taking a little break from Jiu Jitsu this week. I have watched the video of my second match over and over again. I'm figuring out the mistakes that I made. Next week I will start working on those mistakes. "Train until your skills become instinct. Train until you don't think but react." I have posted a few links for you guys to enjoy, one of them being SealFit 8! November is when I'm going to get my gold medal. Thanks for the support!

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ignxdHgpzWI&feature=player_embedded

                http://youtu.be/7EGIOrQaKXE

One Win, One Loss = Silver Medal

Hey everybody! Here is the video of both of my matches. Both of these matches were completely crazy for different reasons. We had been at this event all day long! We got there at 10 a.m. and I didn't compete until about 5:30. I was completely un prepared and off gaurd. I was filming my Jiu Jitsu coach when I heard them announce my class over the speakers. I heard them announce my name and finally the mat I had to be at. I ran over there and right when I checked in they said "You're Jesse? Great, you're up!" I took my glasses off, threw my mouth peace in and was immediately thrown into battle! This guy was really strong and aggresive. I could tell he was a wrestler so I knew he was going to blow himself out within just a few minutes, all I had to do was survive the storm. I wore him down and caught him in a triangle choke to win the bout. I had a huge adrenaline dump and once it wore off I was completely exhausted! I couldn't even jump around! I was supposed to fight again but my opponent didn't show up so I got to relax a little bit while they finished up another division. My next bout was against a far more skilled opponent. He was another wrestler and he listened to his coach perfectly. I was doing really well but once he got past my legs and got control, I was stuck! I could hardly move! He used perfect technique and moved from one position to the other. He started working for a north/south choke and I was able to get some space the first time. He made a few minor adjustments and this time sunk the choke perfectly. I had no choice but to tap. I really learned a lot from that match and I'm going to make the adjustments I need to my weaknesses. Somebody has my gold medal and believe me, I'm coming for it! Come November, these light heavyweights better watch out, because I'm coming to win! Thanks for the support everybody!

Behind The Scenes!

Hey Everybody! Here is a behind the scenes look of my weekend at Grapplers Quest. I hope you like it! I will be posting my matches in full as well as a highlight video of all of everybody that competed from Flagstaff. My matches will be up here tomorrow and I will have the highlight video by tomorrow night. Thanks for the support everybody!

The Day Of Weigh Ins

Hey everybody! I got woken up a few hours earlier then I wanted as a direct result of rude construction workers tearing up concrete and driving a tractor back and forth. Other then that I'm feeling pretty good. I'm doing all of my pre competition rituals. The first of which is shaving my head and my face. Over the last month or so of training I get pretty scruffy, almost to the point of looking homeless. The day before weigh ins I shave my head and my face, because when you look good you feel good and when you feel good you fight good. The second thing I do is I pack and unpack my bag several time the night before weigh ins. The day of, I do it 2 more times. Just to make sure I have everything. Maybe it's more of a nervous habit then anything. So I'm off to vegas and I leave you with SealFit 7!

                                       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5iFVm3pN3I

Rest Day SealFit 6!

Hey everybody! Not much going on today. We just got stocked up and ready to rock for our epic journey tomorrow! Here is the link for SealFit 6. Enjoy!

                                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Qnk1hpMEU

Last Day of Training

Hey everybody, today was my last day of training. I feel really good. My cardio is good and I feel really strong. I went to the gym this morning and did the Wendler deadlift. And after work I went back to the gym to run the 5K loop. I didn't get any footage of me training today so I used some clips from last years Grapplers Quest and used this new feature I found where I can put the video of me talking up in the corner. I'm pretty excited about this new feature so I will probably start using it a lot! Tomorrow you guys can look forward to my rest day update with SealFit 6!

                          

Ryron Gracie Interview

Hey everybody! I'm running across a lot of interesting videos today. This is a interview with one of the famous Gracie Brothers, Ryron Gracie. I met this brother when I went to the Gracie Headquarters to test for my blue belt. I had just gotten done with my belt test and was in the locker room changing out of my gi and back into my street clothes. Ryron Gracie comes walking in to congratulate me, literally catching me with my pants down! I scramble to pull my pants up and run over to shake his hand.

Getting my blue belt has been a big goal of mine for a really long time. I got it the way I wanted to by going to the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Headquarters in Torrance, California. I had the honor of meeting both of the Gracie Brothers, Rener and Ryron, as well as, the Grand Master Rorion Gracie. Rener was the first one I met as he came into the lobby to welcome us in. I met Rorion as I was in the room to begin my test. I was 100% focused on the task at hand and he pokes his head in and takes me completely out of my headspace! I jump up to go shake his hand and he asks "Why didn't you stand up in base?" Of coarse he was joking, but I started freaking out! All I could think was "Oh my god, I'm failing already!" Needless to say, I passed my belt test and was in the locker room trying to wrap my head around the fact that I finally accomplished a long term goal of mine when Ryron caught me with my pants down! Here is the video I promised you guys. Enjoy!

                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-IUexkG2EY&feature=channel_video_title

Mikko Salo

I found this highlight video of some of the training that my newest hero Mikko Salo is doing for the CrossFit Games. Enjoy everybody and I will be caught up on the video logs this evening!

http://www.sicfit.com/speaker/6620-Mikko-Salo/video/499157-Mikko-2011

Snatches and Wall Balls

 Hey everybody! I had a good day of training today. The workout this morning was 21-15-9 of wall ball with a 20 lb. ball and snatches with 75 lbs. After work I went back to the gym and did 6 rounds of 800 meter sprints on the rower with 90 seconds rest in between each round. I didn't get a chance to edit the video, so I will get that up for you guys tomorrow. Until then I leave you with the link to SealFit 5!

                                                    Here is the link for SealFit 5!

                                  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33x4SGeNmL0

SealFit on a Rest Day

This is the 4th installment of SealFit. Enjoy everybody! I'll see you tomorrow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeLwQNttPfA&feature=related

The Bear Complex Pain Storm

This workout was GNARLY! Let me see if I can explain it right. You do 5 deadlifts, 5 hang cleans, 5 front squats, 5 push press, and 5 back squats; this equals ONE rep. The first round you run 500 meters and complete this cycle for 5 reps. Then 400 meters and 4 reps. Then 300 meters and 3 reps. Then 200 meters and 2 reps, then 100 meters and one rep. This workout was amazing. I was completely un productive for the rest of the day! As you can see I am posting this on my rest day as a result. I will of coarse have my rest day post as well. As of right now, I have 2 days left of training before I take my rest days leading up to the tournament. Thanks for the support everybody!

                                       

2 For 1 Post!

Hey everybody! I had a really good day of training yesterday, as well as today. Yesterday was epic busy after work so I wasn't able to get to the vlog. This mornings workout was a lot of fun. I wasn't able to get footage of me so I showed you guys some footage of one of our fire breathers, Matt Moore. He does this workout the way its supposed to be done and his muscle ups are incredible! I have also posted a video from the Southern California Regionals that perfectly explains why I am so into this sport right now. Enjoy everybody, I'll see you tomorrow!

                  http://games.crossfit.com/features/videos/camaraderie-crossfit-socal-regional

Post 1 of 2 For The Day

I saw this video on the CrossFit Games website and I decided I couldn't wait until a rest day to post it. So here it is! Be inspired by this guy! Not only is he retired and living in Hawaii, but he is competing in the Games at the age of 61!

               http://games.crossfit.com/features/videos/mark-laakso-fittest-sixty-year-old-world