2/10 Double Teamed!

So I got up and left really early, not hitting the wall in my sisters driveway this time, to head to CF Ballantyne(107) in Fort Mill, SC.

Here I met the trainers, signed some waivers, you know the typical stuff while class was hitting their warm up.  Then as everyone partnered up for the team WOD, there was only one person left for me to be with, Jenn.  Jenn was a mother of one, with an adorable little baby and a husband who watched the baby then handed it off so he could workout in the next class. I'm about twice her size so she told me to not be upset if she held us back.  I told her not to worry and that we would kick a little ass! 

The WOD:

As a team, 150 Slam Balls (30/10#), 150 DL ball tossed (30/10#), 150 Wall Balls (20/14#), 150 Ball Tosses (10#). As yelled time at 19:34, she looked around and couldn't believe it.  We were the first ones done.  She had never experienced being on top of the mountain.  We were one of the only mixed teams, which made it that much sweeter.  I really liked this WOD and I'm glad Jenn had a great experience, Thanks CFB!

Now time to speed across Charlotte and make the 10am Team Wod at CrossFit Vitality.

Now this place is huge! I mean like it had indoor astro turf!  So after meeting some of the crew, We got teamed up and the Wod was explained to us.  This time I had a 16 year old boy and a 40 year old soccer mom. (some teams had 4, like an alt or a rest person)  Rd 1 (20) 50m Sprints with Bear Crawls back, 1 person works the others are in plank. (7:20)  Rd 2 12 minutes of death burpees, slam balls, box jumps (13rds 14/14/1) Rd 3 10min, max number of 200m rows.  (13)  We finished 3rd overall, not bad for being one person short.  Can't wait to see what you guys do with the venture. 

Next stop, CF Covington Grand Opening......

North Carolina!!!

(2/9) So i got the opportunity to go visit a huge group of friends from around the east coast in Charlotte, NC this weekend.  I got in a little early to knock out some WOD's and snowboarding while I was here. So I went to Ultimate CF (105) and checked out their 6am class. After a quick warm up and some SOTS press skill work, I hit 125#x3, we went out to a few hill sprints.  I was paired up with Matt, one of the strongest memebers in the box, for these 10 50m hill sprints.  Every round got faster and faster and more competative.  I'm pretty sure we split the finishes but it was great to have that competative spirit so early in the morning.                   
After the runs, we came in for a little challenge.  Team plank hold for time, losing team has 25 burpees.  Again I was head to head against Matt.  2...3...4 minutes passed, only 2 people were left. Matt and I. 4:30, 4:45, 5 minutes in we decide to drop together so noone does burpees. Thanks for a great start to the day. UCF and I will take you up on the offer to come back.

Now on my way to Appalacian Mtn for a little snowboarding, I stopped by CF Hickory in Hickory, NC.
Turns out that the owner, Kent Stamey, is a good friend of Jen Patton, who is a good friend of mine and both are 2008 games competitors. 

6rds of 5 pull ups, 10 burpees, 250m row and 2 min rest.  19:30 was a great time for a 2nd wod that day.  

Great time meeting some of the athletes there and pick there brains. Thanks Kent!

Off to the slopes!!!! 

Not so Travelled, but well learned

So I have been home in Pittsburgh for a few weeks as you can tell.  I've made some life changes, redecorated a little, set some PR's and even done some school work.  I wanted to share this short paper about CrossFit that got me 2.5% (that is a good thing) of my total grade.


CrossFit and Innovation.  CrossFit is one of the most innovative ways to incorporate many things you thought you knew about fitness and a lot more you never thought of.  Former gymnast and creator of CrossFit, Dr. Greg Glassman, introduced this revolutionary idea to the fitness world in 2002.  Dr. Glassman took a required proficiency in the ten fitness domains of cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination, and accuracy and created something that took the worked by storm.  Incorporating gymnastics, Olympic and power lifting, and everyday functional movements along with a healthy diet, Dr. Glassman gave the fitness world his own "Fitness in 100 word or less"

World Class Fitness in 100 Words

• Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and NO sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.
• Practice and train major lifts: deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics:pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstands, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast.
• Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. ROUTINE IS THE ENEMY. Keep workouts short and intense.
• Regularly learn and play new sports!
  ~Dr. Greg Glassman, CrossFit, Inc.

The innovative ideas that CrossFit has spread can be shown from your everyday "soccer mom" picking up the little ones with proper deadlift to a soldier on the front lines passing ammo cans up with a push press in the pursuit of protecting our freedoms.  I can tell that the methods the use are working because before I was a trainer at a CrossFit gym, I was a client.  I was that overweight guy coasting thru on fast food and video games.  The constantly varied functional movements, made for any age or ability, that they incorporated into their everyday workouts help push their clients to be better in and out of the gym.  They are always finding new ways to make you strive harder than you were yesterday and that's what puts CrossFit on the cutting edge of fitness innovation.

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. BTW, I'll be back on the road for 105-108 this weekend!