Hey community,

 

I am going to ask you all for a favour. Please click on the link and go support the bill that has been introduced in Congress about saving gyms, crossfitboxes etc. We all know that health is more important than ever and that physical training will only have positive effects on your brain and your body. It is time to rethink training facilities important role in this pandemic and actually look at numbers and statistics with this in mind.  Go to this link: https://gymscoalition.org/get-involved/ and complete the form and  It takes 30 seconds and is important in showing our support for the gym support bill that has been introduced in Congress. 

 

Best,

Char 

 

Thursday’s Training: 

EMOM 30

Minute 1: 12/9 Cals AB

Minute 2: 12 Squats + 8 Thrusters (95/65)

Minute 3: 200m/150 Row

Minute 4: 12 Bar Facing Burpees Minute

5: Rest

*Intention: CrossFit Open Prep / Recoverability. What number of reps can you sustain for this EMOM 40? With any workout, think of ‘relative intensity.’ If you’re taking 50 seconds to complete 12 cals on the AB, reduce the number of cals. You need more built in rest in order to complete the work ahead. This is NOT an AMRAP. Move fast and get built in rest.

I am welcoming you to our special event this coming Saturday – the all girls GALENTINE’S Workout to celebrate our female community. We will run two classes 10am and 11am WOMEN ONLY. Reservation is open as of two days back and if you for some reason haven’t got a spot, connect with me and we will try to arrange the best we can to get you in. Come as you are and/or with glitter and sparkle in your hair and clothes! Cannot wait to see you all on Saturday to celebrate women, training and life! 

This is Saturday’s ALL GIRLS WOD:

AMRAP 12

“Nancy”

400m run  

15 OHS 

-Rest 3min-

AMRAP 9 

“Jackie” 

1000m Row

50 Thrusters 

30 Pull Ups 

-Rest 3min- 

AMRAP 6

“Grettel” 

3 C&J 

3 Bar Facing Burpees 

 

If you are a male reading this – don’t be too upset that you are missing out on this workout. It will come back on the training schedule for the entire community and you will get a chance to do it then. Here are Thursdays and Fridays Community Workouts:

 

Thursday’s WOD

“Murph Prep”

5RFT:

400m run

12 pull ups 

24 push ups 

36 squats 

– 35min cap – 

 

Friday’s WOD

“Charlotte” 

For Time:

21-15-9

Overhead Squats (95/65)

Sumo Deadlift High Pull 

 

 

Aerobic and anaerobic training, do you know the difference? What does it mean and why is it important to know what it is? 

We have three main energy systems that the body use to create energy (ATP). 

1. The Creatine Phosphate system (CrP) CrP –> Cr + P + Energy –> CrP + ADP –> ATP
2. Anaerobic glycolysis (carbohydrate metabolism anaerob) –> 3ATP/glucose + lactic acid; 
3. Aerobic (oxidative) metabolism with oxygen.  Glycogen metabolism with carbohydrates (39ATP/glucose) or fat (150ATP/fat molecule)

The CrP system is used during very short and intense duration of training, for example a person sprinting 100m. He/She will use the creatine phosphate stored in the muscles. It will last for about 10 seconds. 

Anaerobic metabolism is when you execute high intensity work/workload for about 2 minutes. During fast glucose metabolism and/or lack of oxygen (O2) your body will create lactate (aslo known as lactic acid, which can be an uncomfortable feeling as it hurts). This lactic will be transported out of the cell for the body to get rid of it as CO2. During metabolism of lactate you will create ATP = energy. The positive thing with using lactic acid as energy is that you can create big amounts of ATP in a very short time. For example, a 400m runner / sprinter at a high level will use anaerob metabolism during the race. He or she will have big amount of lactic acid at the finish line as a rest product of creating energy. The negative thing using anaerobic metabolism is that your pH will drop, in other words your cells will have a low pH (acidic). A crossfit athlete performing the workout FRAN under 3min will also tap into this system. If you as an athlete perform FRAN – it might take you 5-6min to finish. This means you will be using both the anaerobic energy system AND the aerobic energy system that I will talk about now. 

Aerobic (oxidative) training is the third energy system and the most efficient system being used by most people during exercise. Here you will have access to oxygen due to lower consumption of energy and the metabolism will happen within the mitochondria to Co2  that will be transported through the blood to the lungs and you will exhale the Co2. (Also called the Kreb cycle). By letting your cells use oxygen (O2) in the metabolism – you will receive 39ATP per glucose molecule compared to 3ATP during anaerob metabolism. YOU WILL LAST LONGER!  

Aerobic training is very good for you because you will by exercising:

a) Peripheral Circulation – increase your amount of mitochondria in the tissue, increase the network of capillaries in the tissue (where the gas exchange happen), perfusion of organs and non working muscles.

b) Lungs – ventilation and diffusion will improve.

c) Heart/Circulation – increased hemoglobin, bloodvolume, minute ventilation (HMV = HF (heartbeats) + SV (volume of blood per contraction). SV is the most important factor as it shows how fast the heart can contract and pump the oxygenated blood out in the system.

d) Metabolism – your overall metabolism will increase and become more efficient.

e) Lower your blodsugar – your muscles will have the ability to store glucose without the use of insulin. The only way to lower your blood sugar and prevent diabetes type 2!!! 

 

Next week we will discuss VO2 Max and Submax numbers and tests we can do to improve our aerobic and anaerobic training. 

 

Best,

Coach Char 

 

Thursdays Training: 

OAK PARK OPEN BEGINS THIS SATURDAY!!

AMRAP 15 Strict Pulling 

5-10 strict pullups 

5-10 pushups 

:30-45 seconds of hollow holds 

AMRAP 15 

400m run or 500m row (your choice)

20 DB Stepups (16- 24″)

 

Happy New Years! 

I am excited for a new year and new opportunities as we move into 2021. I have truly learned a lot during this past year, both about myself and the world and I am mentally ready to tackle and use the past years ups and downs and turn it into something productive. Let us do positive good changes moving forward.

 

Best,

Coach Char 

 

Thursday’s Workout 

AMRAP 16

100m Run

10 Back Squats (155/105)

10 Pull Ups*

*Scale = Jumping Pull Ups

– Advanced: 5-7 BMU

 

Who are you in times of crisis and what happens in your body when you are exposed to longterm stress? A crisis is the single most difficult challenge for anyone. No one is ever ready for the unexpected, especially when it comes in the form of a virus that takes the entire world by storm. 

 

Until this year, a crisis was for most people equal to a severe accident, a natural disaster, a divorce or a death (just no name a few examples).  A true crisis will cause stress to the mind and body that most often will have longterm negative consequences. This is the year of THE PANDEMIC. A true crisis for many people. A crisis that will cause prolonged stress on our systems. My general observation is that people are overwhelmed and confused, letting fear drive their actions. Fear is a stressor. Necessary for our survival in the short term.  Deadly in the long term.  

 

SA – axis

From a physiological point of view – fear will stress the system. Short term stress activates the Sympathetic -Adrenal axis causing increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, dilation of bronchioles, increased metabolic rate, changes in blood flow patterns leading to decreased digestive activity and liver will start to convert glycogen to glucose and release this glucose to the blood. We call it the “fight or flight system”. This physiological response is also what happens to you when you exercise and is not bad for you in the short term. The primary stress response goes through the spinal cord and via neurons and ganglions to specific organs. 

 

HPA – axis 

But let’s talk about what happens to your system during prolonged stress. During prolonged stress, like the sort of stress a crisis can cause, but also overtraining – the endocrine system gets activated and there is a direct link between your hypothalamus – pituitary gland and the releasing hormon called cortisol in your blood stream.  Basically what happens is that the hypothalamus will release hormons (CRH and ACTH) that directly activates the adrenal gland that distributes and  release cortisol directly into your bloodstream. Too high levels of cortisol in your system will cause sickness and you will experience symtoms of increased blood volume and blood pressure, retention of sodium and  water by kidneys (you will retain water), increased blood glucose (can cause hyperglycemia and diabetes), suppression of immune system (you are more susceptible to catch a virus or bacteria), proteins and fats get converted into glucose (you will gain weight). In other words – prolonged stress is terrible for you. And it will effect your mood and judgement. Because your mood is also effected by your endocrine system and the BOSS, your hypothalamus. If the BOSS gets out off balance, so will you.  

 

So what can we do about this?

Well, first of all – be aware about the BOSS and your hormones. 

Secondly, crises don’t just test our smarts; they test our characters. We cannot control the crisis, but we can control how we respond. Try not to allow emotions to bring the worst out in you. Think in slow motion. Become an example of calmness, inspiring others to keep their heads, too.  Staying calm requires taking a moment to figure out what’s really going on. Focus on facts, not on people’s fears or anxieties. There’s a lot of misinformation going around, from people minimizing issues to others seeding panic or believing they know what is right because they are surrounded by friends or social media enforcing this information on them. 

Third – Try getting a good night’s sleep and start fresh the next day. Sleep not only helps us think clearly; research has shown that it also boosts our immune systems.

Fourth – Don’t turn the quarantine into a pause. Life must go on. The paradox of time is that we always complain that we don’t have time for what we want, but when we get free time, we waste it. Maybe you cannot see your family or friends right now, but you can maybe spend more time outdoors, read, learn a new skill and hammer down new good behaviours. Maybe this is the unique opportunity to focus on what really matters. Social distancing doesn’t mean distancing ourselves from crucial activities and responsibilities. Spend your time wisely.

Fifth – In times of crisis, it’s more common to step back and see how things go. However, uncertain times require us to be brave and calm; I will argue we must do what is uncomfortable to do.  

 

Stay Safe! 

Coach Char 

 

Thursday’s Workout:

AMRAP 24

200m Run w/Med Ball (20/14)

16 Pistols*

12 Burpees

*Box Step Ups (24″/20″) while holding Med Ball ‘bear hug’ style

 

 

 

 

Whether you’ve never heard of mom guilt or can’t escape its relentless grip, it simply means that pervasive feeling of not doing enough as a parent, not doing things right, or making decisions that may “mess up” your kids in the long run.

Mom (or dad) guilt may be temporary, like how I felt about leaving my kids at home this morning as they were decorating the Christmas tree. I was running around trying to get ready to teach the women’s barbell class. I ran out of the house as my 5 year old son begged me to help him decorate and I felt like a terrible mom pushing it off until later. 

Some moms feel a dread or a weight on their shoulders and some feel panicky — like they need to fix the problem right now. Mom guilt is the shoulds, the supposed to’s, and the other moms are… clanking around in your head as you try to make it through the day. I am totally one of those moms dealing with “should and supposed to’s” Always feel guilty that I don’t spend more time with the boys and that we have babysitters rotating to make it work for me and Kenny and the boys. 

 

The last year has been a challenge to say the least. Adding Medical school to my schedule was not an easy decision and I still doubt myself sometimes.  Not that I don’t like my education – I LOVE IT and it feels 100% right. But it does not feel good to sacrifice time with the boys for school or work. The contradictions and expectations are limitless.

 

Mom guilt has many faces and origins. Everything from personal insecurities to outside pressures from family, friends, social media, and other sources. A quick scroll through Instagram will show hundreds of posts of what other moms seem to be doing so well. Even formal recommendations, such as those from doctors and organizations, can create feelings of inadequacy.

 

 

 

 

Lately – I have come a cross a lot of students with knee pain or an expression of knee joint pain.  I therefore would like to commit this blog post to the knee joint and common injuries and what you can do to prevent a future injury.

Two things we as therapists or coaches keep an eye out for are the valgus and varus knee deformity. Valgus knee is more common among women than men. Valgus knee means that the knee “cave in” or “falls in” during a movement, ex squat, giving it a knock-kneed appearance and putting extra pressure on the outer (lateral) compartment of the knee joint.  Varus knee is more common among men. It’s what causes some people to be bowlegged. It happens when your tibia, the larger bone in your shin, turns inward instead of aligning with your femur, the large bone in your thigh.

 

If you have valgus knee deformity – there is a greater chance that the lateral ligament will get injured as it tries to stabilise and protects the knee from falling in. The best way to strengthen and protect your knees are to a) strengthen your vastus medialis muscle + the VMO and b) gluteus medius muscle. If you actively work on strengthening these two muscles, the likelihood of knee injury will decrease substantially.  

 

Furthermore – to protect your knees from injuries but also conditions as osteoporosis or cartilage damage – I would encourage you all to. improve. the strength and range of motion of the Quadriceps femoris muscle.  The four muscles are the Vastus Intermedius, Vastus Lateralis, Vastus Medialis and Rectus Femoris (see picture below). Being the largest muscle group in the leg, they all sit on the front of the thigh and assist in many activities.  Having STRONG quads will not only help the knee joint, but also benefit in basic exercises such as walking, running, jumping and squatting.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursdays Workout: 

Mental Toughness

For Time:

18 – 15 – 12 – 9 – 12 – 15 – 18

Front Squat (155/105)

Shoulder to Overhead (135/95)

**Coaches interval: 10/7 Cal AB**

There are lots of research and studies regarding physical therapy and mental health. Physiotherapy in mental health care addresses human movement , movement function, physical activity and exercise in group and individual settings. I would like to say that these mechanisms and tools are also something we at Oak Park very much apply in our classes and during individual sessions.

 

Mental health is a topic of growing interest in society. Various mental health organisations are engaged in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of people with different mental health disorders.  Unfortunately, neither physical training nor physiotherapy are considered to be a significant profession within mental health care. Reason being might be because of the role and added value it offers can remain unclear among patients and other health care providers. 

 

I would really like to get ahead of the conversation among health care providers and the general population as we all know that physical training with a coach and/or a supportive community can offer an extensive range of physical approaches (endurance training, strength training, functional movements, relaxation techniques like breath exercises or yoga and body awareness) and help improve mental health problems and disorders. Because these approaches are aimed at the enhancement of self-confidence, at symtom relief and the improvement of quality of life.  The core of the problem (as I see it) is the separation of mental health issues and physical movement. That the practice is being treated as two separate thing that we work on. As we sit down with all our students we talk through physical goals and behaviours. And the mental aspect cannot be separated from the physical approach.

 

Mental health refers to cognitive and emotional well being. It refers to how a person thinks, feels and behaves. Your mental health can effect daily life, relationships, the ability to enjoy life and even physical health. Most students I come across have some sort of physical pain, usually connected to emotions rather than physical trauma (injury). And every week I see students and community members for different reasons crying/struggling with mood/anger/frustration during a training session. I can see it in their eyes as they walk into class or to the session with me. And almost all the time – students walk out of training sessions feeling a little bit better than they did when they came. Your body responds to physical training. It will always be helpful for your mental health to train when you feel like  the least. And please – if you read this blog – try understand the absolute correlation between mental health and physical movement. They are not separate. 

 

Side note:

Kennys birthday workout on Saturday the 28th at the gym. 9am-12pm. Sign up for your heat! And coffee! New schedule for the women’s classes starting AFTER Thanksgiving. Tuesdays 7am, Wednesdays 8am, Fridays 8am. 

 

Thursdays WOD:

Aerobic Capacity

AMRAP 50

1000m Row

30 Push Ups

:30 Plank (each side) 

800m Run

30 DB Lateral Lunges

:30 Side Plank (each side)

1000m Ski

30 RKBS

:30 L-Sit

Students, athletes, community members – here are some event that you do not want to miss out, please mark your calendars with the following: 

 

Wednesday the 25th of November (the day prior to Thanksgiving) there will NOT be a 5 or 6pm class, BUT we will run two classes for noon, 12pm and 1pm and I will be coaching the last class of the day at 4pm before we all head home to join our families for Thanksgiving. 

 

Thursday and Friday the 26th and 27th the gym will be CLOSED for Thanksgiving.

 

Saturday the 28th – Please come and join us/my husband, our dear Kenny Kane for his 50th (!!) BIRTHDAY workout celebration. Kenny has composed a long, tough, fun workout  that he will do with the community and anyone that wants to join can participate and scale appropriately.  It will be at the OUTDOOR SPACE at the gym between 9am-12pm. After we will do a potluck picknick so if you just want to come by and join us for some food please do so (bring your own food for covid safety) We will have our favourite barista, Louis, from Primo Passo Coffee provide the best coffee on the west side to anyone who comes to celebrate with us.  Kenny’s actual birthday is on December 1 – but this is the day he will officially (covid safe) celebrate with the community and his friends. DONT MISS OUT! 

 

Sunday the 29th – 8am start – Coach Jamie will lead the community through an epic outdoor training session and run through all the stairs and canyons in Santa Monica. It will be a 90min longer endurance piece and different groups divided into speed and ability. 

 

The new winter class schedule will start the week after Thanksgiving weekend. The biggest change and news will be the added women’s class, we will now provide three classes a week- women only. They will be the following days and times: 

Tuesday’s 7am (at the gym)

Wednesday’s 8am (at the gym)

Friday’s 8am (at the gym) 

 

We will also start hosting seminars for our community. A lot of people have questions and want to learn more about nutrition, basic anatomy, breathing, stress, postpartum and sleep improvement.  We are looking into providing the community with roughly one seminar a month where we as a group discuss and talk about a specific topic that month. Stay tuned! And if you have thoughts or subjects you would like to learn more about or host the seminar around – please let us know. 

 

Stay safe,

Coach Char 

 

Thursday’s Workout: 

Context: Competition 

For Time:

15 – 12 – 9

Assault Bike Calories

DBALL Squat Cleans (100/70)

 

 

On Oct 31 – many places and countries around the world celebrate/honor/remember the people that have left this life before us. (A day similar to the US Memorial Day). In Sweden, this day also falls on Oct 31 and most people make their way to the cementry to light a candle for a beloved and missed family member.  I saw this note as I left the cementary after lighting a candle for my grandparents and wanted to share it with you. Also – a beloved Oak Park member lost her younger sister last week and I wanted to send extra love to her and her family. 

 

It is okey to be afraid. 

It is okey to be sad. 

It is okey to feel broken inside. 

It is okey to feel that you don’t have more to give.

You will give more than you think you can. 

In the end you will collect the pieces of yourself.

You always have. 

Despite everything going on. You have always collected the broken pieces of yourself and dragged yourself up.

Despite every hurdle that have come your way.

Despite every heartache, every failure, every tragedy.

And you will pull yourself together this time too. 

I promise. 

It will be painful. 

But you will also experience good moments. 

Beautiful moments. 

Moments worth saving. 

I want you to experience those beautiful moments. 

I want the sun to shine on you.

I have got your back. 

I will sit with you when you need me. 

I will give you the hope you need. 

 

 

Thursday’s Workout:

“Casper” 6 Rounds

1:00 On / 1:00 Rest

Row Cal

Burpees

Double Unders

 

*Go ALL out on each movement. Do not game it.*