Workout of the Day:
Deadlift
3-2-1-1-1
and then,
Three rounds for time of:
400 Meter Run
21 x Bodyweight Deadlifts
12 x Box Jumps

Saturday's beach WOD was a success . . . and free of run-ins with killer amoebas.

Michele’s Plea for the Killer Amoeba
Written by Michele Vieux

In my opinion, the best animal (or creature) may be one of the tiniest known to man. Amoebas are freaky enough, but KILLER amoebas (naegleria fowleria)? Holy smokes!

These tiny creatures lurk in the silt of shallow, warm water. Go ahead and look for them but they cannot be seen with the naked eye. You will never know they are there—waiting to make you their next victim. Disturb their resting spots and they wreak havoc by entering your body through your nose and feeding off your brain until you die. The death is slow and painful. It takes five to fifteen days and infection is often mistaken for meningitis.

People who are infected tend to complain of a stiff neck, headaches and fevers. In the later stages, they’ll show signs of brain damage such as hallucinations and behavioral changes. Once infected, most people have little chance of survival.

According to the Center for Disease Control, since 1965, when the killer amoeba was first discovered in Australia, 200 cases have been reported worldwide. Only two of the 200 have survived to tell the tale! During the period from 1995 to 2004, 23 people in the United States have died from killer amoeba attacks. This number is expected to rise due to global warming.

Though infections tend to be found in southern states, Naegleria lives almost everywhere in lakes, hot springs, even dirty swimming pools, grazing off algae and bacteria in the sediment.

Again, HOLY SMOKES! Better start wearing a nose plug.

To recap why the killer amoeba is the best/scariest/deadliest animal/creature ever:

1. Can’t be seen with the naked eye so you never know you’re in danger
2. They swim up your nose and eat your brain
3. They disguise themselves as meningitis so doctors can’t do anything about their presence
4. They cause severe pain and craziness
5. They are getting stronger in force (thanks to humans)
6. They frequent places humans enjoy spending time

Workout of the Day:
“Annie”
Rounds of 50-40-30-20-10 for time of:
Double-Unders
Sit-Ups (anchored)

Rest for 5-7 minutes, and then complete 100 Ring Push-Ups for time.

Have you purchased the new CrossFit Invictus t-shirt yet?

Top Five Animals – An Argument for the Inclusion of the Shark
Written by Jim “Pops” Martin 

I was recently involved in a heated discussion with some of the CrossFit Invictus crew regarding the ongoing controversy over the top five coolest animals on the planet. The experience caused me to revisit the list provided by Adrian Bozman of San Francisco CrossFit. While Adrian presents some interesting selections, I find his exclusion of the shark to be a grave error.

How bad-ass does an animal have to be to eat its brothers and sisters in order to survive? Oh, and this happens inter-uterine! It is called ovoviviparous and it is the way that Mako and Sandtiger sharks reproduce. The female creates a thin egg sack containing the embryo and a yolk to sustain it. Usually the first to grow large enough to eat its way out of the egg sack also consumes the other inhabitants in her uterus. After that, often only a single survivor is born. Unlike most terrestrial mammals that show some regard for the caring of their young, (like the Musk Ox), the young shark is carelessly deposited into the ocean without so much as a passing glance from the female that gave it birth. There is no herd to protect them, no pack to help feed them, no colony, army, drove, troop, flock or family to teach them how to survive in nature. For them the decision is: are they predator or prey? – a harsh entry to the world.

How do these difficult challenges prepare them for life in the oceans of the world? Let’s look at their success rate and longevity. The earliest evidence of the existence of sharks enters the fossil record between 350 and 400 MILLION years ago. Google that! 350 million years ago North America was crushing into Russia. When sharks began populating the ocean (there was only 1 big one then) the first amphibian was struggling to secure a foothold on land. Since then sharks have remained relatively unchanged. There has been no adaptation because they have been near perfect since the very beginning. The perfect stealth predator, the perfect survivor, the perfect population balancer in nature, and certainly one of the five coolest animals in nature.

Workout of the Day:
Ten rounds for time of:
12 Burpees
12 Pull-Ups

New Invictus star Iman demonstrating flawless burpee form.

Interview with Adrian Bozman
Conducted by C.J. Martin 

Most of you that I have spent any time with know that I have a tremendous respect for San Francisco CrossFit coach and CrossFit Web-lebrity Adrian Bozman. He’s a phenomenal coach and an even better person. So I was ecstatic when Adrian agreed to do a candid interview regarding an important issue that has been raised in the CrossFit community.