Tag Archives: healthy-living

Rest Day 9/13: Can Rowing be a Spectator Sport?

Posted on by
Reply

Renegade Rowing Team Pushing Their Boundaries!

Rest Day 9/13:

Can Rowing be a Spectator Sport?

Rowing was big back in the day.  It was one of the first sports of the modern Olympics.  People used to line the shore of regattas and climb aboard boards to catch a glimpse of the action.  Nowadays people only come out to watch for the big events like the Head of the Charles, Opening Day, or the Boat Race.  Rowing has grown over the last couple of years and is ready to be big once again.  The only problem is that it can be tough to watch for spectators if they can only see about thirty seconds of action.  With the advent of jumbo-trons, on-board cameras, media coverage, and new races, that might be about to change.  

Rumble on the River Saturday, Sep. 15

This weekend, Saturday, September 15th, is the third annual Rumble on the River at CRI in Boston.  If you’re in town come check it out.  There will be 5 live bands sharing a stage right on the river, playing from 12:30 to 6pm.  There will be Rowing and CrossFit Boston classes for the general public to try.  If you’re up for a challenge there will be both a rowing and fitness challenge.  How many calories can you row in a minute?  How many burpees can you do in a minute?  But, best of all, there will be rowing.  Not just rowing, but racing!  And it will be great for spectators.  Spectators will be able to watch from the bridges, banks, and docks as crews battle it out head race style for a spot in a final sprint off in front of the docks at CRI.

The Renegade Rowing Team will be racing in the Mixed 8+ event at 2:15pm.  Come cheer them on and experience what Rowing is all about.

Rest Day 9/2: Do you cheat? Share!

Posted on by
Reply

Rest Day 9/2:

Do you cheat?

Share your thoughts!

Below is a great post from Alex Black of Wicked Good Nutrition on cheat days!

Why Sometimes Cheating Is  A Good Thing

And by “cheating” I mean on your diet, not your workout or anything else.  Anyway…

Bacon Wrapped Bananas!

I’ve written about “cheat days” before on the CrossFit Boston blog. But as Labor Day weekend and its end of summer festivities involved are approaching, I thought it was a good time to revisit the topic. I first started thinking about the idea of “cheat days” back in July when a coworker asked me if I’d heard of the “Four Hour Body” by Tim Ferris (he also wrote the “Four Hours Work Week). Apparently, he encourages dieters to take one day and cheat to the extreme, eating as much “restricted food” as possible, almost to the point of sickness. His reasoning is that this will make that bad food unappealing all week and the bump in calories will keep your metabolism from slowing down due to calorie restriction. While I don’t (and probably never will) encourage anyone to go to that extreme, cheating – when done right – can be good for you both physically and mentally. Here’s why…

Rowing WOD 8/27: 2 x 20′ Varying Pressure – Post Total Meters

Posted on by
Reply

Renegade Rowing Team Pushing Their Boundaries!

Rowing WOD 8/27:

2 x 20min Varying Pressure

1st 20min

  • 5min @ 14 s/m

  • 5min @ 16 s/m

  • 5min @ 18 s/m 

  • 5min @ 20 s/m

2nd 20min

  • 4min @ 14 s/m, 1min @ 20 s/m

  • 4min @ 16 s/m, 1min @ 22 s/m

  • 4min @ 18 s/m, 1min @ 24 s/m

  • 4min @ 20 s/m, 1min @ Open Rating

This is a great opportunity to work on the rhythm and consistent effort needed in long WODs with movements like kettlebell swings and sumo deadlift high pulls.  Focus on maintaining consistent pressure through each stroke and every piece.  Rate of Perceived Exertion should be around 60% – 70%.  Effort level on the last minute is open and should be based on how you feel.  Set the monitor for intervals-time with 20 minutes of work and 4 minutes of rest. During the rest stand up and stretch out your back and foam roll any areas that feel overly tense.

These stroke ratings may seem really low, but you should really take advantage of them to get the stroke sequence right and really groove proper movement patterns.  Try to keep the handle moving and eliminate any pauses in the stroke.  You’re looking for smooth, natural, continuous motion!

Novice rowers should focus on one part of the stroke for each 5 minute segment, like a horizontal handle path or a smooth power curve. 

Vets should be dialing in their consistency.  During the last piece Vets should be focused on bringing their 500m split down as the stroke rating increases during the one minute bursts.

Post the total meters rowed in today’s Rowing WOD!

Rest Day 8/26: What do you eat pre/post workout? Is it “Healthy”?

Posted on by
Reply

Rest Day 8/26:

What do you eat pre/post workout?  Is it “Healthy”?

The following is a great post from Alex Black of Wicked Good Nutrition on popular snack foods and how manufacturers try to market “Health”.  Read on and share your snacks and thoughts!

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing – Healthy Foods That Aren’t So Healthy!

Food marketers these days are on their game. Everyday we buy foods with labels like “natural” and “7 grain” and “high fiber” because these words indicate that something is good for us. But oftentimes food products can be wolves in sheep’s clothing, or not so awesome for us foods disguised as health food. In this post I’ll go over a few commonly misnamed “healthy foods” and discuss why we think they’re healthy, why they aren’t, and what to eat instead. Read on for some great info and a recipe for Paleo Polish golumpkis!

… Read More Here …

Rowing WOD 8/25: Partner WOD – 8min AMRAP: Max Calories, Max Push Ups – Post Team Totals

Posted on by
Reply

Chest Touches Floor and Hands Release

Rowing WOD 8/25:

Partner WOD

8min As Many Reps As Possible:

Max Calories 

Max Hand Release Push Ups

Switch at the top of Every Minute

Do you have a strategy for Fight Gone Bad? Do you know how to quickly transition into and out of the row? Today’s Rowing WOD is a great opportunity to develop both.  Go hard, but be consistent with your pressure on the erg.  This workout is only 8 minutes long to give you a sense for the effort needed during a 2k Row.  

One partner starts on the erg and the other does push ups.  At the top of every minute switch.  Each partner will get a chance to perform each exercise four times.

Post your teams total calories and total push ups to comments.  If you don’t have a partner share Renegade Rowing with someone new.