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Inspiration

For the last week or two I've been on the receiving end of a bunch of flak (who said turnabout is fairplay?)  -for not updating the blog.  I apologize for slacking... and I apologize for the lack of new pictures as I keep forgetting to bring the camera back to the gym :(

Fortunately, Gina has come to my rescue with a few words of wisdom.  As the longest standing member of the gym and one who has made TREMENDOUS strides in her own fitness, she knows a thing or two about staying motivated.  Here's what she had to say:

1. "Be impressed with intensity, not volume." - G. Glassman
2. "Be brave, take risks, nothing can substitute experience" - P.Coelho
3. "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no
path and leave a trail" - R.W. Emerson

These quotes were listed on the CrossFit Affiliate page a few days ago. I REALLY like #1 – because very often I sense frustration from some of you on scores, times, and weights that you are not happy with.

What’s often forgotten is that when we are relatively new to CrossFit we make very quick, very big gains.  As we continue on, the gains slow down a bit.  We may hit plateaus or even experience some degradation in performance.  This is when you need to do a bit of an attitude check.  Ask yourself - are you attending to the other areas of your life that contribute to your fitness – like nutrition and getting enough sleep?  Are you consistent in your attendance?  Are you consistent in your recovery?  That last point is a tough one.  Many of us don’t like to take those days off.  But recovery is as important as work effort.

If you feel you are doing well in all of these areas then you may need to just sit back and be patient.  Focus on the positives.  Remember where you started and how far you have come.  Keep in mind that the CrossFit program promotes functional fitness.  Are you functionally fit?  Are you better at your sport?  Do you have more energy?  All of these are tremendous benefits, not to be overlooked.  Reassess your goals.  Are they still important to you?

Ask yourself – are you challenging yourself?  Are you doing things that you aren’t necessarily good at?  Things that you fear?  One of my favorite quotes is this:

"The key to success is for you to make a habit throughout your life of doing the things that you fear." ~Vincent Van Gogh

 Go out and do something that challenges you. Something you may not be competitive at. Those challenges are what make us stronger – physically and mentally - and will go a long way in helping break your plateaus.  Believe me – you will start to see gains again.  They may be smaller but they will come.  Keep in mind -- every day that you participate you are contributing to your fitness… whether you are first, last, or somewhere in between.  Be proud of that.

(Here's a pic - it's the face of determination!  Shelley's been bustin' her ass and making great progress.)

 

Heads up Zoners!!!

Today is Tuesday and that means your food logs are due.  Please make sure they are in the submission bin (if handwritten) or posted to the message board by the end of the day.  In other news...

THE CHEAT MEAL IS BACK!

Against my better judgement, a plan to allow for a small amount of cheating has been added to the challenge.  Here's how it works: 

Each person participating in the Zone challenge will have the opportunity to buy a cheat meal for $5 once a week.  So if you were to buy a cheat meal every week for the next 8 weeks it will cost you $40 a person.  Monies collected will go into a pot.  At the end of the challenge, the cheat mealpot will be divided up 30 / 20 / 50 between the winning team, the 2nd place team and the winning team's charity of choice, respectively.

 

From a point perspective you will be awarded the point for the day of the cheat meal only if you pay for the cheat meal.  No extra points will be given if you do not take the cheat meal -it just means you're discipline enough not to cheat over thanksgiving, weekends, etc.  Ann Micheals will be collecting the money for the cheat meals. There will be a drop box set up next to the food log bin for you to place funds in...  or you can wait til the end of the challenge and just give Ann one lump sum.  When filling out your food log, please add "Cheat meal $5" to alert Gina that you participated in the cheat meal.

 

(My parents always made me come in when it was cold and dark.  The 5am crew doesn't care.... they wanna play outside!)

 

(Mike broad jumps away and leaves the girls swinging during Saturday's relay.)
 

 

(For some reason, I've been on a swing / jump combination kick lately  - 6am crew demonstrates.)

 

 

(Cavallaro takes Halloween seriously.  This year he's gonna be Darth Vader.  He's been working on his character for a couple weeks now and today did his cleans using "the force.") 

Review Time

First off, congratulations to the latest group of Zone Challengers.  You've not only taken a positive step toward better nutrition - you survived Saturday's "Buy-In" WOD!  That was a tough one.

We had a great mix of zone newbies and veterans Saturday morning and I was really pleased with the level of attentiveness and understanding we had during the education sessions.  However, one can never be too sure they're getting everything right.  So just to be certain, we're going to offer two Q&A / Food-log review sessions.  They will be this Saturday the 24th at 8:15am, and Monday the 26 at 6pm.  We'll address any questions / concerns, review some of your Food-logs as a group, make up some sample meals (on the white board - I'm not cooking for you) and hopefully share some recipes / ideas.

Next up, conrgats to everyone that did that crazy-ass-Jensen-cross-country-sanity-check-race on Sunday.  I'm super proud that everyone finished because that run was sick!  I gotta ask - WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? 

What's even dumber is I'll probably do it again next year because I was supremely disappointed with my own personal performance.   I should not have done the DL / Burpee / Barbell Jump WOD the day before.  Hats off to Denise who also did the Saturday WOD and totally kicked my ass on Sunday!

(Denise and Brett "Short-Cut" Lemcke show a couple different ways to get over one of the many obstacles in Sunday's Jensen run.  You can't tell from this picture, but this wall was at least 6 feet tall.)

 (Don't forget to submit your food-logs by Tuesday each week.  This bin, by the front door, is where the handwritten versions go.)

 

Revised Challenge Check-in Schedule

Taking a moment to look at our plan for starting the next Zone Challenge, we realized that since everyone has to do the "Buy-in" WOD on Saturday morning, we figured we might as well check everyone in at that time as well.  Also, a few peeps need to get in and out early, so the first check-in and education discussion will happen at 6:30...   and those folks will get warmed up and hit thier WOD at 7am.  There will be a second check-in starting at 8:15am and the education discussion will begin at 8:45am...   WODs to resume at 9am.

There's a sign-up sheet posted on the bulletin board and I've filled in the teams that I know have formed to date.  Feel free to add your team or just let us know who you'll be working with when you check in.  Remember, points will be awarded according to placement on the buy-in WOD so bring your A game :)

("Super-Sonnik" swings a blurry dumbbell.  She was a co-winner of the last zone challenge and looks like half of her old self.  She can attest the zone works and works well.)
 

(Last Friday's combo of Burpee Box Jumps,Renegade Rows and Double Unders had lots of peeps gasping for air).

Who wants to go another round?

We’ve got another proposed Zone Challenge for you.  This next challenge will run EIGHT WEEKS - from Monday, October 19 through Sunday, December 14.

Here’s how it will work.

We will compete in 2-person teams.  So pick a partner and sign up by Wednesday 10/14.  Weigh-in, measurements and necessary “zone education” will be done on Friday 10/16 at the 5am and 6am classes or Saturday 10/17 at the 7am and 9am classes.  On Saturday 10/17 we will have a ‘buy-in’ WOD.  You will have to do the WOD as a team to get in on the challenge.  The buy-in WOD will be repeated as a ‘cash-out’ WOD on Saturday Dec 13th.  Of course I’ll wait to reveal the WOD until next Saturday J

Points for this challenge will be allocated as follows:

· 2 points for every day you stay within 1 block of your allocated block total. Protein must always be within +-1 block of your prescription. Fats and Carbs can be within 1 block individually OR combined Fats+Carbs must be within +-1 block of double your protein intake for that day.

· 1 point for every % reduction in body fat %.

· 10 points per team for improving scores on the “buy in / cash out” WOD.

· To prevent sandbagging there will be points awarded for finishing position on the buy-in WOD.  10 points for the 1st place team, eight points for 2nd, six for 3rd, four for 4th and two for 5th.

Food logs have to be given to Gina in hardcopy (on a form we will provide to you) or posted to the message board by Tuesday at 9pm of the following week.

 

Are you ready?

(Mike and Sean prepare to face off on some high-pulls.)

(Tuesday's KTE, Back Squat and Push Jerk WOD was brutal.  Tim - where'd u go?) 

(Gina demonstrates proper full range of motion on knees-to-elbows.)

(Alex works on his deadlift.  He's made great strides in his ability to stabilize his core.)

(The CrossFit squirrel shows off some mad gymnastics skills!)
 
 
 
 

We must protect this house!

You gotta love the edge in those Under Armor commercials.  Makes me wanna put on a helmet and run into people, ya know?

Well last night, a group of crossfitters protected THIS house by dominating the Zoo Fitness Challenge at the Seneca Park Zoo.  Though it could be argued the challenge favored runners, it sounds like it was a decent test - and our peeps passed with flying colors.  The story I have is that Stash and Lenzi were 1st and 2nd in the men's division, while Janet was the leading female going into the final event - a one mile run.  When it was over, Stash had won and Lenzi was fourth, while Janet had gotten passed by Megan Norsen (a part-time crossfitting runner) and finished second among women.  Trout was there as well and though I do not know where he finished, I'm sure he did not disappoint.

In other news, we're going to pilot a schedule change starting next week.  Beginning Wednesday the 7th - Monday and Wednesday 6pm classes will move to 4pm.  6pm has been very quiet as of late and it seems a 4pm slot has more support.  We'll try this for a couple weeks at least and see what happens.

The affiliate blog had a link to a good write up from Cynergy CrossFit that addresses dealing with your "goats."  Check it out by clicking here.

  (Read Cynergy's article - and know that this young lady doesn't have any such hang-ups.  I challenged her to 50 straight sit-ups...   she accepted - did it - then said next time she'll do 100!) 
 

 (My camera just seems to love Sydney on oly lift days.  She crushed yesterday's power clean and double under WOD.  Cameron interrupts his own effort to watch in amazement.)

Congrats, Cady and Tello!

Cady and Tello have finally made it to the affiliate page with their gym - CrossFit 585 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  It's been a long time coming, but these guys are real crossfitters and I'm confident they are going to do a super job.

So all you westsiders that have been holding out - your drive time to a real crossfit gym has just been cut in less than half...  you have no excuse!

Fiesty found a fitness challenge going on over at the zoo this Thursday evening...   could be interesting.  Though I will be here, I encourage any and all CrossFitters to sign up and go kick ass. 

(Denise, Steve and Sydney would likely do quite well at the zoo fitness challenge.)

 

 (A couple of younger crossfitters got to try Fight Gone Bad last week as well.)

  

Fight Gone Good :)

Ok, that's probably sucky english - but you know what I mean.

Fight Gone Bad IV was this past Saturday and the whole thing went pretty darn well, I thought.  All the heats went off smoothly and on time, the post WOD coffee and breakfast were great, and, most importantly, we came together to raise over $4500 for two good causes.

As a whole, the CrossFit community pulled together over $1 Million!  As effective as the workouts are, it could be argued the community that has developed around CrossFit may be it's greatest attribute.  It's certainly a big part of CrossFit Rochester.

 (A tired but happy crew of crossfitter's after Saturday's FGB IV.)

(The look on Kylee's face exemplifies the efforts put forth by everyone on Saturday.  If you want to see more, Randy, Jeff and Denise collectively posted over 200 pics on facebook.)

99 Problems

This is why you should not swallow your chewing gum.

...and you thought you had problems!

Seriously though- we hear all kinds of excuses and "I can't ..." stories.  Next time you're ready to throw in the towel on a WOD, mastering a movement or fixing your diet, think about how Carole has persevered.

We're just over a day away from Fight Gone Bad IV...  a great WOD for a great cause.  Hopefully you're all getting those last donations in and getting psyched for the effort.   

Go Time!

Fight Gone Bad IV is this Saturday!  The event will run from 8am - 10am and if you have a preferred starting time, be sure to sign up on the schedule posted by the door.  We'll be running 4 heats - starting on the hours and half-hours.  Please be sure to arrive at least 40 min before your heat to ensure proper warm-up time and so that you can help score an athlete in the heat preceeding your own.  Afterwards there will be coffee (thank-you, Starbucks!) and some breakfast foods (of a zone-favorable variety) available. If you've got something good (gotta be good for you too) that you'd like to share, please feel free to bring it in :)

We haven't done FGB here in a while, but if you've been consistent with your attendance, you're definitely ready...   because that's what CrossFit does - gets you ready for anything!

Congrats to Kylee and "NorCal" (Megan) on completing thier first triathalon this past Sunday - and to Rice (again!) for shaving five minutes off his time from last year.  Also, Gina and Lisa did the Race for the Grapes 5k Sunday and Gina was real close to her PR on a very hilly course while Lisa won her age group!  I think these are pretty good results considering Rice's endurance training has disappeared - and Meg (water polo background) prepared for the run by going on three interval runs with me in the last 10 days before the event - and Lisa's subbed out any running/jumping in the WODS for the last month or so with a calve injury. 

Should you want to test your fitness, there are two separate events comming up on Oct 18th that would fit the bill.  I watched the Jensen Stable XC Challenge last year and this one's a little more that just a run.  While I personally hate the thought of running more than 100 yards, I'm gonna try it this year.  The other event (which I'm sorry to be missing - cause it's likely to be a more complete test) is the Central New York Ultimate Fitness Challenge.  Keep hitting your WODs hard and eating clean to be sure you'll be ready for either one.

Now go get those last few donations!

("NorCal," Rice and Kylee...   smiling after the race.)

(Intense intervals of box jumps and burpee-pull ups are one good way to develop, power, stamina, endurance, balance and coordination.  You need all of that and then some to score well at FGB!)

 (Catching power cleans with the hips engaged and a clean racking of the bar...  I can always count on Sydney and Heather for examples of good technique!)

(Robbie's averaging 5.25 yards per carry so far this year.  If he gets the ball enough, I think Fairport has a good shot at Penfield this Saturday after FGB.)