Intros

Don't forget you can contact us to set up your free intro. Sara and Greg did and they kicked ass! Great work you two, glad to have you on board!

Greg and Sara post their intro "Baseline" workouts.

First On-Ramp starts Monday!

Our first ever CrossFit On-Ramp will begin next Monday!

For those of you not "in the know" the On-Ramp is required for any and all who want to join the CrossFit classes. It is 4 weeks, 3 classes per week on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays at 5:30pm. Each class will run about an hour.

The On-Ramp is where new trainees learn the movements, gradually work up into the intensity, and develop the skills, habits and mindset necessary for success in the CrossFit group class environment. For most new trainees, these movements, and the intensity of the workouts, are totally new, and throwing them into the regular group class wouldn't be fair.

Cost is $70 for the 12 sessions, sign up now as space is limited! (maximum 8 trainees)

Kettlebell swings at the old CrossFit Kelowna

Way to go everyone!

So last night being the 2nd last KB class of the 8 weeks I decided to re-test on the first workout you all did on Day 1. I knew everyone would improve on their times. Well you did not disappoint...

Everyone crushed it! Everyone took about a minute off their time, were doing overhead swings, and the squats were all nice and DEEP too! So you guys had increased the ROM big time over day 1, as well as finishing faster.

Not only were the times better, the ROM (range of motion) was vastly improved, but everyone recovered a LOT faster afterward, and I would seriously doubt that you're all as sore today as you were after that first class...

I'm proud of all of you, you've all come a long way.

Sign up... compete!

That's all it takes to really light a fire under your ass and focus your training. After we moved back here and I was back to training by myself in my garage, I lost focus. Coupled with all the stress of moving halfway across the country, and adapting to a new house, new job, etc... and my training fell apart.

I wasn't consistent, my nutrition dissolved into anarchy. It was a mess.

Once the Kettlebell classes started up and I had new people to share my training knowledge and experience with I found a new spark for training.

Then I heard about an Olympic Weightlifting and CrossFit competition in Moose Jaw. I thought about it for a few days, hummed and hawed about whether or not I should... Then I finally pulled the trigger and signed up.

Let me tell you nothing I've done has improved my focus, and my drive for training like filling out and submitting an online form signing up to compete. It's out there, you can go to their site and see my name on the list of registered competitors. There is no backing out now, time to put up or shut up.

Snatching

I enlisted the help of my friend and coach, Guy Greavette, back out in BC. He's an Olympic Weightlifting coach, and knows his stuff. He competed in the Olympics a few times, trained our lifters that went over to Beijing in the last Olympics and everything.

With him programming my workouts I can't cherry pick the things I like doing, while avoiding doing the hard things I might not like, but need to do in order to improve my weaknesses. I also feel like I can't quit and give up, say "it's too hard, I can't do that" because I don't want to let him down. He has a plan to help me reach my goals, all I have to do is bust my ass and follow it. If I can't be bothered to do that then I'm wasting his time and mine. And I'm not about to do that.

I'll let you all know who my training is going and how I do at the contest. If anyone else is interested in competing just let me know and we'll get it sorted out. Time is getting short tho, the contest is on May 14th in Moose Jaw (link under "events" on the right side of our site here...)

There are really kind of 2 events, a standard Olympic Weightlifting contest, 3 attempts each at the Snatch and Clean & Jerk, as well as a CrossFit WOD competition, As many rounds in 10 minutes of 100m sprints, power snatches and pull-ups.

You don't need to sign up for a lifting event, or a CrossFit event, or even anything "serious"... It could just be signing up for a 5k "fun run" or something. But the lesson here is sign up for SOMETHING. Put your ass on the line, set a goal, and do whatever if takes to achieve it.

My sister signed up for a 10k run and has been following my coaching without question (which is a shock because some of the things I've made her do were questionable... lol) and she has already hit her original goal of running 10k in an hour, and she still has time before the race to get faster.

If you're on the fence about signing up for something it's time to get off. Sign up. It's fun!

Confessions of a Recovering Cardio Junkie

By Ellee for the weekly 70′s Big Females installment

From 70s Big.

"I would now like to take this opportunity to humbly apologize to all the ladies out there. You have been fooled; I was, too. As a group exercise instructor, I never had a diabolical agenda to make you frail and weak. I was simply fed the same pernicious pseudo-fitness garbage that you were. The time has come for you to redirect the energy that you are putting into your current workouts in a way that is actually conducive to getting you the results that you desire. A life spent on those machines is filled with pointless and endless masturbatory pain. And you sure as hell will not be molding the ass you have always dreamed of! Find a good coach and a strong community of supporters that will encourage you along your journey to become a stronger woman."

 Read the full article here.

There you go ladies, get out of the mindset that endless hours of cardio is the only or best way to lose weight and shed some body fat. Or that lifting anything heavier than 3-5lbs is going to instantly balloon you up into a grotesque oversized body builder...

You want a leaner, firmer, tighter physique? Build some muscles, get strong, and your physique will reflect that.

Crossfit – Why Crossfit is the Best Way for Couples to Stay in Shape

 Saw this posted on the CrossFit Forum. It's a link to a website about the DINK (dual income no kids) lifestyle, but this particular article is relevant for all!

DINKs know that traditional workouts are not always the best for your long term health. While you can still burn calories and lose weight, countless hours on the treadmill means worn down knees and joints and no muscle gain.

Group of Crossfitters at competition

 

Hours of bicep curls and single-joint movements that focus on only one body part at a time mean longer hours in the gym and less time to focus on new experiences outside of the gym.
Crossfit is the solution to less time in the gym, more calorie burning, a better physique and a better sex life too. Crossfit makes you better at…everything. Weighlifters will gain more speed and endurance, runners/swimmers get more stength and flexibility, and couch potatoes increase general health and fitness for everyday life.
In order to understand why Crossfit is one of the best workouts for DINKs, first, you need to understand what Crossfit is. Crossfit is continuously varied, functional movements done at high intensity.

Read the whole article here!

So... what do I do next? or Life after Kettlebell class

Kettlebell class is ending soon (only a couple weeks left!) and as it stands right now I don't feel there is enough people interested in starting up and running a continuing class of Kettlebells only. So what do you do if you want more? Simple... check out my new class I will be running instead.

Starting at the beginning of May I will be starting up my first CrossFit On-Ramp course. This will be 3 classes per week, for 4 weeks. It is imperative that you are commited and able to make it to ALL of the classes, as the things we do in one class build on things we did in the previous class.

What is the CrossFit On-Ramp? Good question. CrossFit encompasses many disciplines of training and sport, and combines them into a constantly varied training program. We will still be doing all the things we did in Kettlebell class, and much much more. We will also be doing some gymnastics, powerlifting, Olympic Weightlifting, Running, Rowing, Medicine balls, odd object lifting, tire flips, rope climbing... all kind of great stuff. Every class will be different and challenging.

The On-Ramp teaches you all the basic (and not so basic) movements that you'll need to know to participate fully and safely in group CrossFit classes.

The On-Ramp will be limited to 6 people (maybe 8, I'll have to play that one by ear) and will cost $70 for the 4 weeks. After that we will have ongoing regular classes you can attend for a monthly fee based on how many classes you plan to attend.

The On-Ramp and regular classes will be done in my garage. CrossFit is what I was teaching in Kelowna for years, it is what I believe in, and it was what was flavouring my training in the Kettlebell class. If you enjoyed the Kettlebell class, but found you wanted more, or simply want to continue your training, this is the way to go. I promise it'll be more fun, and more effective.

See you all tomorrow!

You can do it!

This is a great story that a friend of mine out in BC shared on facebook this morning. He is also a CrossFit coach, and this is the story of a CrossFit athlete, who started out like pretty much everyone, just wanting to "get in shape" and "look better naked" but realized that she is in fact an athlete. (as we all are/can be).

Read the full story here.

I came into CrossFit as an adult to get rid of my pancake ass.  I certainly wasn’t looking to kick any.

But here I was a year into it, 16 pounds heavier, and competing in an event that requires coordination, athleticism, and gumption.  I had to be coaxed into it, but I was loving it.   Something about the Open forced me to huck my entire soul into the weekly prescribed workouts.  And going full tilt in a workout, in a competitive space – putting yourself fully out there – is exhausting, exhilarating, and awful in a way I can’t quite describe.  It’s addictive.  And as I stared at the prescribed workout on Tuesday, I felt unspeakably sad that it was all going to end, that I was going to have to drop out.

 Read the rest of the story here.

OPT and Matt Lalonde Nutrition Seminar @ CrossFit Regina - May 7th

It is called "The Science of Nutrition - The Basics" and is sponsored by OPT.

You don't want to miss this opportunity to come out and hear Matt Lalonde speak, in person!

Just a month away! This will be Lalonde's ONLY stop in Saskatchewan.

To register and for more information please click on this link:

http://optimumtraining.ca/events/item/opt-nutrition-series-the-science-of-nutrition-the-basics

Outstanding job!

Well done last night everyone. You all tried some of the basic (and not so basic) jump rope drills. Wendi actually nailed double unders first try! Saw some good rope sprints too and everyone was getting the basic bounce down. But everyone killed it when it was WOD time. Really impressed by the effort last night.

It's not about doing more or doing less

It's about doing what is appropriate. If some stimulus is showing a positive adaptation, it is logical to think that more of that stimulus will show an even greater positive adaptation. In reality that is rarely the case. In fact it can actually be counter productive.

Training stimulus creates stress on your body, your body responds to that stress and adapts in ways to allow your body to do that task without suffering stress. This means increasing strength, building stronger tissues, denser bones, greater cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary capacity, etc...

Stress also releases cortisol. Cortisol is good and bad, pretty much like all our hormones, in the right dose it is helpful, as it has a job to do, and in the correct dose it does it. Cortisol releases fat and sugar from stores in our liver to switch us on, give us a quick boost of fuel, giving us the means to overcome our stressor and survive. If you are over doing your training, and creating too much cortisol, you will be releasing too much from the liver and keeping your body high in insulin, storing fat, etc...

Cortisol will mess with sleep. Naturally speaking, you're supposed to be low in cortisol at night and high in the morning. That morning surge is supposed to perk you up out of bed and let you get started with your day. The lull at night lets you drift off to sleep. When you get too jacked up on cortisol you can't get to sleep at night, then you wake up and you're dragging ass so you pound coffee just to get by. Before you know it you're completely at odds with your cortisol and sleep cycle, which just stresses you out even more and keeps escalating the cycle.

This is when people see their mid sections getting/staying squishy, so they think "time to step it up and do more 'cardio'"... which creates even more stress, more cortisol, more squishyness in the middle, and even worse sleep patterns... And the cycle escalates until you simply give up.

So... What should I do about all this? First you need to set some solid training goals. A smart goal is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. (a topic for another day) "Getting in shape", "losing weight", "Getting stronger" are not smart goals. Once you have your smart goals we can devise a plan to achieve them. This plan will include the right stimulus to create the adaptations necessary to achieve the goal, and not wasting any on extra stuff that won't lead me to the goal and will just screw things up with extra stress.

For next week

I want everyone to buy a jump rope. Doesn't have to be fancy but try to get a light, fast, speed rope. Not a heavy, thick, slow rope. Something like this:





I think walmart might have some? It doesn't have to be fancy. To make sure it's long enough, here is the test. Stand on the middle of the rope with one foot. Pull the handles up side by side and even at the tips, to your shoulder. You want minimum for the handle ends to come to your arm pit, but even that is on the short side, top of the shoulder would be ideal.