Hi Guys and Girls,

I get a lot of questions about where to buy Inov 8′s Here  are some resources ( a nice mix of real shops and internet suppliers)

Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports Ltd (Covent Garden)

3-11 Southampton Street

Covent Garden

London

WC2E 7HA

Tel: 0207 395 1010

www.ellis-brigham.com

This store has the most comprehensive range of inov-8 in London

London Marathon Store

63 Long Acre

Covent Garden

London

WC2E 9JN

Tel: 020 7240 1244

www.londonmarathonstore.com

These guys should have f-lite230 and f-lite195.

Sweatshop Clapham.

Arch 643.

Voltaire Road

Clapham

London

SW4 6DH.

Tel: 0845 199 9965

These guys also have f-lites.

www.gearasrx.com

Gear As RX sell online direct to the CrossFit community.

The inov 8 site has this useful link.inov-8 London retailers .

If you can recommend other suppliers, please post in comments (Colin, where did you get yours?)

If you are not sure about these shoes, 1) buy something else,  but 2) Kates write up is still a great read.

Crossfit London (UK) once again consolidated its position as one of the formost London groups effectively supporting the capital’s runners: in a marketplace where runners are bombarded by the simplistic nonsense of  charlatans, the increasingly popular Crossfit London running clinics assemble the experts you need to hear.

You get to listen to nationally ranked and dedicated amateur runners, who take the hot seat to talk about their training methods, likes and dislikes, and answer questions from the audience. But unlike other ‘religious’ running groups, we make it clear that what works for one won’t always work for others, so no one tries to force their apparent success onto your regime. It means you join us in the evaluation process. A big thank you to David Evans for being this months “hot seat” occupant.

Second to this, we field a team of massage therapists, all graduates from the London School of Sports Massage, many of whom have trained with such industry names as Mel Cash and Leon Chaitow. They normally focus on introducing you to trigger point therapy: an often overlooked but well documented form of self treatment systemised by Travell and Simon’s in Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction. Not that we recommend you buy the expensive book. We often refer runners to “The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook” by Clair Davies, a useful summary of the work for normal people.

Therapist Kate Pankhurst, lead the audience through some knee pain trigger points, and drew key muscles and essential points on a small team of amateur models ( well done Harriet, Tom and maxim), then everyone got a chance to poke and prod. Andrew Stemler added to the “therapy” with a discussion of flexibility, the use of PNF stretching, and how to do it, and shared  ”how to help your achilles tendinopothy” with heel drops. These section were ably supported by physioherapist Terry,  who expanded on some of the science and theories behind the treatment.

One of the many extras with our massage and training team is that both Kate Pankhurst and  Andrew Stemler not only have real world , hands on experience, but their knowledge is enhanced by practical dissection skills: unlike many self promoted personal trainers, they have actually dissected  cadavers and have a real grasp of the way the body really works (not  a vague knowledge based on 19th century anatomical charts!)

We also examined the current running craze , POSE , Crossfit London is fairly unique in having its own, (very open minded) POSE running coach. After all, no one needs a fanatical insistence that a particular way of running is best for you. It’s more useful to be given the drills, then try stuff out for yourself. Our team uses POSE as an interesting way of reflecting on your own running style. Some end up running POSE, others don’t.

We then evaluated a “take anywhere” high intensity workout. Death by 10m. Simply find two points 10m apart, and, its one shuttle in the 1st minutes, 2 in the second (eeeaasy peeezey), gets a bit harder at minute 15!  (but we started off at shuttle 12…………. to give the group the full experience). We the introduced a Romanian Deadlift/good morning variation that really work the glutes and hamstrings.

Very useful for runners.

Then It was over to Crossfit trainer Katarina for  the up-to-date position on hydration and insights into Circadian rhythms

We also announced the  date for the next major running event, where we are teaming up with Inov 8 to look at, among other issues, barefoot running and minimalist shoes, the neural connection in back pain, IT band syndrome and “other stuff” The date for your diaries is
Saturday 3 March 2012. For REPS fitness instructors, that session will have 3 CPD points

I’m delighted to announce the second of our running skill sessions for our members and, (in this case ) outside visitors!

We hope to hold a monthly ( ish. Every 6 to 7 weeks..) running seminar  or clinic where you can learn and/or refresh your POSE running technique, learn valuable injury prevention/treatment ideas and meet other open and willing to share runners. Hopefully this will help us learn and compare Crossfit endurance scheduling techniques with other  established regimes. The important thing is to finding out what really work for you,  not just listening to the spin that magazines and websites (including ours) put on protocols.

People have been running for thousands of years and the libraries have accumulated a lot of information. all of which needs to be respectfully assessed and factored, either in or out. Equally, well-meaning journalists have been peddling the schedules of the elite to novice beginners. It’s time to create the support network you need to get you running well.

We will also focus on running specific drills and exercises that, allegedly, are “guaranteed” to boost your running performance through the roof.  We have a clutch of sport scientists and students  on our team anxious to share the research, evaluate performance and point out that correlation does not imply causation and  that  the plural of anecdote is not data.

We also have former Marines, over 50′s, sub 3 hour marathon runners, former sub-50 second 400m runners.

The event is from 1400 till 1600 on Saturday 26th November at 9 Malcolm Place E2 0EU. Bethnal Green Tube station is 2 minutes away. Don’t bring a car. Run, tube, bus or cycle.

You can book this as a normal class so the most it costs is £13 (less if you have a regular membership) So click the Getting Started button

This will be part lecture, part discussion, part practical. Come prepared to learn and share.

Specially for this session we wil feature the kate Pankhurst Trigger point workshop, with a special focus on  knee pain: come prepared to poke and prod and be poked and prodded, Andrew Stemler will present the famous “learning POSE quickly  workshop”, with special contributions from other fascinating  experts ( I’ll announce them soon),

Our guest runner is David Evans .

I’m delighted to announce the 1st of our skill sessions for our members and, (in this case ) outside visitors.

We hope to hold a monthly running seminar where you can learn and/or refresh your POSE running technique, learn valuable injury prevention/treatment ideas and meet other open and willing to share runners. Hopefully this will help us learn and compare Crossfit endurance scheduling techniques with other  established regimes. The important thing is to finding out what really work for you,  not just listening to the spin that magazines and websites (including ours) put on protocols.

People have been running for thousands of years and the libraries have accumulated a lot of information. all of which needs to be respectfully assessed and factored, either in or out. Equally, well-meaning journalists have been peddling the schedules of the elite to novice beginners . Its time to create the support network you need to get you running well.

We will also focus on running specific drills and exercises that, allegedly, are “guaranteed” to boost your running performance through the roof.  We have a clutch of sport scientists and students  on our team anxious to share the research, evaluate performance and point out that correlation does not imply causation and  that  the plural of anecdote is not data.

We also have former Marines, over 50′s, sub 3 hour marathon runners, former sub-50 second 400m runners.

We start this 1st session with a special guest speaker the ultra runner (and occasional Crossfitter)  Emily Gelder (look up her  Profile here) who will share some of her training, recovery and food ideas ( and answer most questions)

The event is from 2 till 4 on Saturday 1st October at 9 Malcolm Place E2 0EU. Bethnal green station is 2 minutes away. Don’t bring a car. Run, tube, bus or cycle.

You can book this as a normal class so the most it costs is £12 (less if you have a regular membership) So click the Getting Started button

This will be part lecture, part discussion, part practical. Come prepared to learn and share.

if girls are made of sugar and spice and all things nice, and boys are made of slugs and snails and puppy dog tails, what are sandbags made of? Well, unsurprisingly, sand, mainly. But , also a dose of “escalating inconvenience” otherwise known as something that gets heavier  as you go, combined with increasing awkwardness.

Sort of Like marriage.

I  had ridiculed steven when he stayed at home and made 8 10kg sandbags so we could do the weird exercises  that featured in the numerous e-books we reviewed entitled, among others  ” sandbags and awesome abs”  ”sandbags make you a better lawyer” fitness pamphlets.

There is no end to charlatanism in the Fitness industry.

I thought the idea of cleaning and pressing bags to be a bit silly. That said all my objections have finally gone. Simply give the sandbag to all levels of runners, include it in a WOD and stand back and survey the pain.

We had a  pleasing half  hour  of overhead squats  where katarina and Kate put the boys to shame by humping 45kg and 40kg respectively., usefully setting  a standard for the evening. “See if you are as tough as a 49 year old woman”.

Naim continues to amaze everyone by sticking more than his body weight over his head, as did Craig ( I  think… is 60kg your body weight Craig??).

Denny and Yuri did some great coaching and helped  their lifting partners onto even  better form! Go Team,

The workout was simplicity itself

run 350m with a 10kg sandbag slithering off your shoulders as if it  had a life of its own, do 10  x 40 kg sumo-deadlift high pulls, followed by 2 sets of a squat clean, followed by  4 front squats ( sort of  8 front squats and cleans). Amrap 20 minutes.

It was simply nasty, with Ed getting an outstanding 5 and  bit rounds, closely followed by a  Trevor, Cameron, Chris, Simon and  Pat, although everyone had lost count by the end of it. The run, that many looked forward to as a rest, had become a mini hell all  of its own: a hell for those who are bad at running, because they are bad at running: a hell for good runners as they are good at running… without 10kg sandbags. Going “oi, mate, carry this” screws most people hard fought for running mechanics into the ground.

But we discovered a secret. The secret of carrying a sandbag on a run, is…. there’s no secret, all methods suck, but, Mike began developing the ” Mike twist” Want to know more??? Well you  should have been there.

Well done all! With a special high five to Denny For struggling through with  30kg ,and  a nice  welcome to David on his 1s Wednesday  night.

Worse to come next week

For those of you who enjoy a bit of science while suffering should read  MORTON, D. P., and R. CALLISTER. Characteristics and Etiology of exercise-related transient abdominal pain. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 432-438. Is as good a place as any to begin to get up to date with what causes the stitch. Obviously you need to clarify what you are talking about . Its that sharp abdominal pain that some people get while being active. Not an aspect of needle work. (BTW ETP=  exercise-related transient abdominal pain)

This study issued a questionnaire to different types of sports people and asked them about the stitch.  ETAP appears to be most prevalent in activities that involve repetitive torso movement, whether ” vertical translation or longitudinal rotation”. Its normally  a local pain  mostly experienced in lumbar regions of the abdomen. Some  unlikely people also also experience “shoulder tip pain” (STP) too, famously known as the  diaphragmatic-referral  site, suggesting a miffed diaphragm

Note. No one has actually done anything in this report. They havent got runers, held them down and cut them open, or ultra sounded them, or poked them with sharp sticks. All they did was to ask some people if they have had it.  Thats not being a scientist, that being a pollster and a gossip

Conclusions:   This gives “perspective” to suggested etiologies of ETAP, which include diaphragmatic ischemia and stress on the visceral ligaments, and suggest we should be looking at other causes  such as cramp of the “musculature and irritation of the parietal peritoneum” ( who knew)

Interesting to note that the condition that is mostly associated with runners, is suffered through all sports. Its merely that runners whine more.

And the cure, after all this science?…. “factors that provoke and techniques that relieve ETAP, are not well understood” ( All that money, all those surveys, for this. Fu@%ers)

Several causes “theories”  make the rounds in gyms ;ischemia of the diaphragm and   stress on the visceral ligaments  have gained the most credibility. Im surprised my theory about irritated pixies hasn’t got more coverage. “Further examination of the characteristics of ETAP and the stimuli that provoke it may be beneficial for evaluating the integrity of these and other theories”. Oh, and guess what, more studies, funded by the tax payer is some secret roundabout sort of way, is needed. Oh yeh!

With my Therapist and Crossfit hat on, it was interesting to note that rotational movement through the torso played a part.  A lot of what we try and achieve  at Crossfit is to maintain a solid “core” which acts as an anchor for the limb to swirl about. We train you to use your legs to Deadlift, while keeping your  torso “locked down” Clinically we have noticed a tendency among aerobic athletes, when they come to us, to be unable to initiate a leg movement without a body movement. ( If they swing a leg it begins from the lower back, not the hip. load is lifted from the back, not the hip) in short, if every time you move you have to wiggle your core.

Thats a lot of additional movement for a biological box with lots of other stuff to do

Hi All, an interesting running opportunity

My name is Rose and I am writing from a charity called Elephant Family, the UK’s leading fundraiser for the Asian elephant. I am writing with an opportunity that may interest your fitness centre as a target to work towards. We are recruiting runners for the Royal Parks Half Marathon and it would be great if it would be possible to circulate this email with the attached poster to the leaders of the groups if possible. It may be a great way for the group to get together and as a team, achieve something incredible and take part in London’s most beautiful run.

Elephant Family would not be able to do the work we do without the dedication of our supporters – especially our fantastic fundraising runners! For the past few years we’ve had supporters run for Elephant Family in the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon (www.royalparkshalf.com) which has been great fundraising success. There are no longer places open to the public , the only way to take park is by running on behalf of a charity and so it is a great opportunity for keen runners. The Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon is a fantastic event and famous for being the most beautiful half marathon in the UK. Last year was a truly magical event and everyone, including the sunshine, was beaming by the end of the race – check out our video from the day to see for yourself, www.youtube.com/elephantfamily.

Here are a few of the key details, but if you are interested and would like some more information, please let me know.

Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon

• ·         Date – Sunday 9^th October
• ·         Location –  Central London Royal Parks and the Embankment – http://www.royalparkshalf.com/runners/race-details/route-map/
• ·         Distance – 13.1miles (21km)
• ·         Registration – £45
• ·         Minimum Sponsorship - £100

Everyone that signs up will get -

*    An Elephant Family running vest and sweat band
*    A cheerleading squad to spot you and cheer you on!
*    Vital training tips and free training sessions for half marathon runners
*    A race support hotline
*    Helpful ideas for fundraising
*    A runners information blog

I have attached a poster that you could print off and put up if you think it might be of interests to the staff and customers at your centre. If you would like more information or if you would like a place please contact tim@elephantfamily.org or telephone us on 020 7251 5099.

Kind regards,
Rose
Rose Timmis Challenge Events Fundraiser

Elephant Family
020 7251 5099

www.elephantfamily.org | First Floor, 17-18 Haywards Place, London, EC1R 0EQ

Experiment review. 

“Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle… when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.” (Maurice Greene, five-time world champion 100-metre sprinter)

Crossfit (CF) London is looking for all levels of runners from beginners to marathon, lions to gazelles and even some crazy Crossfitters to participate in an 8week “improve your 5K” experiment.  CF London will offer a full 8 week online programme that you can either follow at home or come and join us at the Crossfit Endurance classes (CFE).

The plan is as follows:

1. Run/Walk a 5K before Monday 4^th July
2. Follow the 8 week running programme (check the crossfitlondon website for video’s and coaching tips)
3. Let us know what other physical activities you do during the 8 weeks
4. Re-test your 5K

As part of the experiment we would also like to know what other physical activities you participate in during the 8 weeks.  Do you play a sport, do you use a gym, do you Crossfit, or will you do additional running during the 8 weeks?  An online blog will be available for you to record your training session during the 8-week programme.

The Crossfit Endurance (CFE) classes on Wednesday and Saturday will follow the 8-week programme as the main session focus.  Participants will also get the chance to improve their running technique with numerous POSE running drills:

Learn to improve your running technique:

1. Use gravity (via a forward lean) for forward motion
2. Land on the balls of your feet
3. Never fully straighten the your legs
4. Pull each foot of the ground towards your butt
5. Maintain a least 180 steps per minute

The Crossfit movement is about being wholly promiscuous with our knowledge: Hence we want to giver you our suggested programme. Our training looks to support you as an athlete (if you want to run 5k, believe us, you are an athlete).

WARM-UP BEFORE YOU START THE SESSIONS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JREi3Y7KwQI

Week 1 (Monday 4^th July)

Monday (or your starting day) A 5k time trial

Wednesday: 8 x 100m Time Trail w/ 2min rest between

Saturday: 6 x 200m Time Trial w/ 3min rest between

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNMgoiEX4DU

Week 2 (Monday 11^th July)

Monday 6 x 100m Time Trail w/ 1 minute rest

Wednesday: 4 x 400m Time Trail w/ 3min rest between

Saturday: 2 x 800m Time Trial w/ 3min rest between

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HRvyZZhx-0

Week 1 and 2 Summary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJn8Fx2wSds

Mcmillan Run Calculator

Week 3 (Monday 18^th July)

Monday: 6 x 100m Time Trail w/ 1min rest between

Wednesday: 4 x 200m Time Trial w/ 90sec rest between, 2 x 400m w/ 3min rest between

Saturday: 2 x 1K Tempo w/ 3min rest between

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMy5-EHwExc

Your “Tempo” time fot the 1K session should be taken from the Mcmillan Run Calculator
1. Visit the link above
2. Select the 800m radio button and enter your average 800m time from week 2. Then click calculate
3. In the “Speed Workouts” section lookup the 1000m “Middle Distance Runners” estimated times
4. These times are your estimated 85-95% maximum efforts over 1000m. Your goal for this session is to run the 1000m between these times. I know you can run it faster than this, but DONT! You need to learn to pace yourself.

Week 4 (Monday 25^th July)

Monday: 4 x 200m Time Trail w/ 2min rest between

Wednesday: 4 x 200m Time Trail w/ 90sec rest between, 2 x 400m Time Trail w/ 3min rest between

Saturday: 2 x 1K Tempo w/ 3min rest between

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

Week 5 (Monday 1^st August)

Monday: 2x 100m Time Trail w/ 1min rest between, 2 x 400m Time Trail w/ 3min rest between

Wednesday: 4 x 200m Time Trail w/ 2min rest between, 1 x 800m Time Trail

Saturday: 4 x 500m Time Trial, rest the same time taken to run the previous 500m

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkxFFT1RdF0

Week 6 (Monday 8^th August)

Monday: Tabata = 8 rounds of 20 seconds on 10 seconds rest, maximal effort.

Wednesday: 5 x 100m Time Trail w/ 60sec rest between, 5 x 200m Time Trail w/ 2min rest between

Saturday: 3 x 800m Tempo w/ 3min rest between

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLnivxQHLT0

Week 7 (Monday 15^th August)

Monday: 5 x 200m Time Trail w/ 2min rest between

Wednesday: 4 x 400m Time Trail w/ 2:30 between each

Saturday: 2 x 1200m Time Trial with 3min rest between

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDRnoMR6t_U

Week 8 (Monday 22 August)

Monday: 6 x 200m Time Trail w/ 90sec rest between

Wednesday: 8 x 100m Tempo w/ 60sec between

Friday: Tabata = 8 rounds of 20 seconds on 10 seconds rest, 80-90% effort.

Saturday: 5K TT

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

If you have any question about the programme please post to the comments on this page and we will answer.

The wheels of a race car need to run straight and true for maximum performance and to prevent damage to the car.   This statement holds true for runners and their wheels.  Often we see runners who over-pronate (landing on the outside of the foot and having the ankle roll in) and/or land with the foot laterally rotated.  Over time this can place a lot of additional stress on the body joints.

As running is a repetitive transition (POSE to POSE) the high number of foot strikes can soon cause a repetitive strain injury to the body.  These niggling injuries can become a showstopper if proper maintenance is not a regular part of the training program.

For example, knee pain can be a sign of a lack of mobility in the ankle and/or the hip joints.  Both of these joints are classed as mobility joints as they have (should have) a large range of motion (ROM).  The knee on the other hand, or should I say leg,  is classed as a stability joint and it is used to stabilise the body when movements occur above and/or below the knee (i.e at hip and ankle) .  If we have a loss of mobility at either the hip or ankle the body can start to experience symptoms, usually pain, at the knee joint.  Why is this?   The human body is a remarkable thing and it has the ability to compensate and find the missing ROM at neighboring joints, in this case the knee.  A stability joint should never become a mobility joint!

So what do we do about it?  Runners need to stay mobile and spend time doing self myofascial release (SMR) and mobility drills for the ankles and hip joint.  For example: http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/01/episode-142365-tight-it-band-and-hip.html

W.O.D

Warm-up with POSE running drills

5 Rounds:

Run 100m

Walk 100m

Run 200m

Walk 100m

Try to maintain form and a consistent speed over each running interval

Mobility:

Injury prevention: looking at shin splints and how to prevent and deal with them.  For more information see the mobilitywod.com (episode_270365)

POSE Skills and Drills

We warmed-up with a number of POSE running drills in preparation for the W.O.D to come

W.O.D

Todays W.O.D aimed to test the theory of “supercompensation.”  What is “supercompensation” and what does it have to do with Crossfit Endurance?

As an example, stop and think about how a hybrid car works.  These vehicles have two separate motors that are used to generate movement.  The electric motor is used while the vehicle is moving slowly, when the vehicle needs to more power to move faster the more powerful petrol engine kicks into gear.  So what if the human body worked in the same way?

Under normal running conditions we only need to recruit a certain number of “motor units” to help generate movement of our body weight.  If however we load the body with additional weight, the neuromuscular system needs to engage a high number of “motor units” to successfully move the additional weight.   After engaging the additional motor units they can stay active for an extended period of time. Hence lifting a lighter weight, or body weight, seems to be a shipload easier.

The following W.O.D aimed to test this:

-       400m sprints

-       Call upon a higher level of muscle and nervous system activation with:

• Body weight squats and Squat Jumps
• 90sec Rest
• DB Goblet Squats followed by Squat Jumps
• 3min Rest
• DB Front Squats followed by Squat Jumps
• 6min Rest

-       Repeat 400m-sprint test to see how an individual’s body reacts with more involvement and explosiveness generated by the activation and recruitment of the neuromuscular system.

This is another reason why we do what we do with making athletes stronger in the gym and with their specific sports.