Goal Setting and Paleo Challenge

We will starting two challenge running at the same time for the same duration.  Both of these challenges will run for 10 weeks start on Friday, Feb. 3 and end on Friday, Apr. 13.  We will cover the detail of the Goal Setting Challenge first, and the Paleo Challenge second.

Goal Setting Challenge

The cost of this challenge is $20 to enter.  The winner of this challenge will receive HALF of the pot.  Everyone who walks though our doors is one of our athletes.  Not just the people who have or are competing in CrossFit, olympic lifting, powerlifting, or strongman competitions.  This challenge is more for those who are not competing in those things but have still chosen CrossFit as their fitness program.

Rules:

You will set 5 QUANTIFYABLE goals that you want to achieve.  One of your coaches will have to approve all of these goals.  These may be anything from:

one pullup, do all bodyweight WODs Rx’d, do all barbell WODs Rx’d, clean/deadlift/press/squat a certain weight or percentage of your bodyweight, do a muscle-up/handstand pushup, lose a certain amount of weight, wear a certain pant/dress size.  Any of these will work because they can all be measured.  Look great naked cannot be measured, it depends on who you ask to what the answer is.  Your pant size however, will not waver on its decision to whether or not you can fit in it, likewise the deadlift will either stay seemingly cemented to the floor or break the floor and you stand up with it.  Measurable.

The athlete who achieves the most goals out of the five will win half of the pot.  If there are several athletes who get all five of their goals, the coaches will decide on who smashed the goals the most.

For example, one person’s goals were: deadlift #300, do 5 pullups, lose 10lbs, power clean #200, and row a sub 2:00 500m and that person deadlifted #350, did 15 pullups, power cleaned #225, and rowed a 1:31; most likely that person would be the clear winner.

Those who enter this will be given a warmup tailored to them to address those goals they have.

Paleo Challenge

Read our Paleo Challenge from last year first.  Read the results from the Challenge next.  This Paleo Challenge is open to anyone.  The cost is $20.  If you want to improve your performance for a competition you are doing, if you want to help yourself win the Goal Setting Challenge, if you want to be stronger, or just look, feel, and perform better this is the challenge for you.  You can do BOTH challenges if you want.

Rules:

We will again have four criteria.  While most of you will be after the look and the aesthetic value of the body, you ladies hate taking your shirt off and having a picture taken of yourself.  Even though we have seen tons of ladies in sportsbras before, this is always an annoying sticking point and just takes wwwwwaaaaaayyyyy to long to do.  So the men shirtless and ladies in sportsbras before and after pictures are out.

#1-weight

You will be weighted on the same scale.  Your weight loss (or gain for our Lift Big Eat Big fellas) will be the first measuring stick for your progress.

#2-inches

You will be measured in three spots-bust line, waist line, and hips.  Your inches lost or gained will be the second thing we judge the contest winner on.

#3-performance

We will have 6 workouts that will be repeated over the 10 weeks.  Your improved performance will be the third judging point.

#4-food journal

Just like in the last challenge, you will be given blank food journals.  You will fill them out with everything that goes in your mouth and be 100% honest on them.  If you give me a fake journal that looks better than how I eat and there is nothing to correct, how can I help you eat better?  These will be turned in every Thursday and given back to you every Monday.  You will be ranked, the best food journal gets 1 point, 2nd best gets 2 points, etc.  For most people last time, this was the best part of the Paleo challenge because you coaches feedback on how to improve YOUR diet on a week by week basis.

The winner of the Paleo Challenge at the end of the 10 weeks will receive a free month of unlimited training.  We will have bi-or-tri weekly group Paleo mini-meetings to go over problems people are having and how to address them.

So there you have it, two challenges set out in front you.  Both designed to keep you focused through the springtime and both designed to make a healthier, stronger, fitter, more fitness educated you.  Again you CAN do both.  Only our non-competitor athletes can win THE GOAL SETTING CHALLENGE.  Anyone can win THE PALEO CHALLENGE.  We charge you for these to make you more accountable to your health, plus grading all those journals is a pain in the ass.

PS-anyone who enters this and puts hot dogs on the food journal owes me burpees.

Recession Sucks Special

We will be running a special for ANYONE who has not trained with us in 2012.  Repeat, ANYONE.  If you are an old client who has not been here in 2012, but you trained with us on Dec. 31st, 2011; this special is for you.  If you have never trained with us, this special is for you.

We are offering 50% off ANY group sessions.  So you can come 2x a week for a MONTH for $75 ($9.38 per class).  You can come 3x a week for a MONTH for $90 ($7.50 per class).  Or you could come unlimited for the MONTH for $105 ($5.25 per class).  Even save on our couple unlimted deal at $175 for the MONTH.  This deal WILL END Feb. 3, 2012.  This is cash or check only.  Read that again.  Cash or check only.  This deal is unreal.   And the coaching, programming you will receive here is head and shoulders above whatever you are currently receiving from your trainer, DVD, zumba instructor, treadmill, some dude who used to be a trainer, or whatever you recently read in Men’s/Women’s Health.

There is a reason we take regular people like yourself and put them in the top 10 and 20 of CrossFit competitions.  There is a reason we take regular people like yourself and can put them on the podium at powerlifting and olympic lifting meets.  There is a reason that endurance athletes who train with us lower their already fast mile times.  There is a reason that the regular men and women who train with us lose weight (and GASP!) KEEP IT OFF instead of yo-yoing.  That reason is we know our shit.  Come give it a try for a month and see.  If you are tried of having no results and no luck act now.

Current members refer a friend and get 15% as long as that friend continues with us.

Yes I know a digit is missing at the end of the video.  (240)607-2701

Jan. Challenge

This month’s challenge will be using a percentage of your bodyweight.  There will be one bar for all three movements that you will be using.  The movements that we will be using this month are the squat, push press, and deadlift.

Challenge

Men will use 65% of their bodyweight and women will use 50% of their bodyweight. The bar will start at the floor.  Then you will get the bar to your back anyway and give us 10 back squat, 20 shoulder to overhead anyway from the front rack position, then 30 deadlift.  Fastest time wins.

Rules

Squats must be hip crease below top of the kneecap and full hip extension at the top. Shoulder to overhead anyway start in the front rack position and must be fully locked out overhead.  For deadlifts the bar starts at the floor on every rep and ends with the hip at full extension and shoulders behind the bar.  Deadlifts CANNOT be dropped at the top.

No Excuses New Year’s Special

Those those of you looking for a way to break in the New Year with some actual results this time, we have a solution for you.  We will be giving you 8 weeks of 4 times a week training for only $180.  That is 32 sessions scaleable, tailored to your fitness level CrossFit group classes for only $5.62 a session.  This special is for FIRST TIME CROSSFITTERS with us ONLY.  We will be running this special from Dec. 26th til Jan. 6th.  There are no extensions on this special.  The training will take you from the day you join for 8 consecutive weeks.  You may come to any of our listed class times Monday-Thursday.

If you would like to put your faith in a program and an affiliate that prides itself in making people strong and helping them actually achieve fitness goals, in a practical, steady manner, then come in and stop joining a commercial gym every two years only to go there for the first two weeks of January.  Whatever your fitness goal may be we can help you achieve it.  Don’t waste another New Years Resolution.  Don’t believe us? Check out these regular humans below.  The most athletic people on here played a moderate level of high school sports many years ago.

December Challenge

This month we will revisit “classic” CrossFit programming with named WODs.  This challenge was inspired by the brutal second event on day one of this year’s Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge.  Except we will shorten the time domain and you will do the challenge as an individual.  The challenge is: max reps in six minutes.  The clock will not run continuously just like in the Nov. Challenge.  One minute of “Karen”, two minutes of “Grace”, three minutes of “Fran”.  Rx’s movements get 2 points per rep, scaled movements get one point per rep.

Rules:

This will be a judged challenge.

“Karen” is 150 wall balls #20m #14f for time.  You will have one minute to get max reps of wall ball.  Ball starts on the ground, it must be cleaned where the hip crease drops below the top of the kneecap and thrown in one fluid movement about the 10 ft. line.  Not squatting below parallel on the wall ball is a NO REP!  Scaling on this part of the challenge is hitting above the 8ft. line.

“Grace” is 30 clean and jerks #135m #95f (2 hands anyway overhead) for time.  You will have two minutes to get max reps on clean/jerk.  The barbell starts on the ground and may be cleaned, power cleaned, or deadlift + reverse barbell curled to the shoulders, then driven overhead via press, push press, push jerk, split jerk or the force with arms locked out and head through the window for a good rep (no snatching or power snatching these).  The bar must touch the ground every rep at the start of the movement.  Scaling for this will be #95m #65f.

“Fran” is 21-15-9 of thrusters #95m #65f and pullups.  You will have three minutes to get max reps of this workout.  The bar starts on the floor for the thruster and hip crease must again hit below top of the kneecap and be driven up in one fluid movement to a full lockout overhead with head through the window of the arms.  Pullups must be at full extension at the bottom and chin above the bar at the top.  Scaling for this will be pullup bands for the pullups.

Most points wins.

Nov. Challenge re-cap:

This challenge was DOMINATED by Terri, scoring a massive 60 total points.  Top male score was Cesar with 43 total points.  Brute strength as definitely a plus for this workout, but as Terri showed; determination and mental strength was more important that upper limit physical strength.

your cert sucks! (part 2)

First, with all that extra traffic from the main site and I didn’t pick up any new twitter followers? Don’t you know that twitter is the new facebook and I need social media validation!?!? Plus I’m clearly hilarious, not as hilarious as Epic or Drywall, but funny nonetheless.  But whatever. . . . . . . . . . . on to the post.

In part 1 I spoke about what I have seen firsthand at globo-gyms that many people did not get to see as an employee (6 plus years behind the scenes).  I made fun of shitty trainers, shitty group-exers, and shitty strength coaches.  Why? Just because it was fun? Yes. I kid, I kid, not just because it was fun.

Regular folks pick trainers based on how the trainer looks and how many “certs” they have.  If they get hurt or don’t see results they blame ONE trainer.  If someone gets hurt at a CrossFit box, or doing a CrossFit workout, they do not blame just the coach, or that affiliate, but condemn ALL THINGS CROSSFIT.  All CrossFit gyms are not the same and are definitely not equal.  Some of you got what I was trying to say.  Others of you, oye, reread the shit and try to understand.

The real title of this post should have been Putting It All Together.

Certs

Certs are awesome.  The more knowledge you can ABSORB the better.  See absorb.  Not memorize.  You need to be able to apply knowledge.  PT certs are great, if you can use that knowledge to teach people how to move.  Coaching certs are great too.  But just having a piece of paper doesn’t automatically make you a better coach.  Just because you were around Chuck, Boz, and EC didn’t mean you got their eye through osmosis.

You need to be able to apply shit.  Don’t they say at the Level 1 that you should live in couplets and triplets? Not 45 min. chippers every day jackass.  If you program that slop, read here, read here, read here, read here, read here.  If you went to the USAW do you understand when and why to program snatch balance for your athlete? What about stuff from the hang or blocks?  You are Westside certified but don’t know some people need to do deficit deadlifts and others need to do rackpulls?

Seminars

Here is a plan: go to a cheaper seminar so you have a decent knowledge base before you drop $400-1200 on a cert.  Want to go to the CF Oly cert or USAW? Check out Wilkes Weightlifting or something comparable in whatever part of the country you are in.

Check out seminars that are not necessarily CF specific like this one. These dudes might know a little bit about making people into beasts even though they aren’t CrossFit coaches.

If you don’t want to go to a seminar find a former raw powerlifter, strongman, or oly lifter in your area.  Use google to find local weightlifting teams.  Or horror of horrors; drive an hour or so to go be around a coach that knows more than you.  Go be a fucking sponge around those that are better than you, not a know-it-all-my-shit-don’t-stink jackass.

Find a real gym that produces the results YOU are after and want to see in YOUR athletes.

Soak up knowledge.

Experience

This is the kicker.  You should know of Gladwell’s 10,000 hr. rule.  This is when you can consider yourself an expert.  The more hours you have applying your QUALITY certs, seminars, and knowledge to train folks, the better you are.  Knowing how to modify EVERYTHING you program so anyone can do CrossFit.  Working around, not through injuries.  Scaling weight and reps correctly.  I don’t expect Bill McLevel1stein to be able to get that shit right, but I bet Dutch Lowy can.

You should be able to take athletes from regular joe to 200, 300, 400, 500+ deadlift.  Most people have NEVER done a pullup, get them there.  But remember it’s not just about your firebreathers, after all you are just a middle-school gym teacher.

To sum it all up, teach well, not lazily.  You are more than a stop watch holder.  Never stop learning, never stop applying your knowledge.

Programming

You cannot learn this at any cert or any seminar.  This takes time and the ability to apply knowledge.  Push/Pull, Oly lifts, physical shit (prowler, sledgehammer, weighted carries), bodyweight movements are all in the toolbox for you to use.

The the biggest key I think for people to understand and many boxes miss: you should KNOW how long you want a met-con to take and KNOW what you want it to accomplish.  Don’t wait for times to come up on the whiteboard and say “Oh, yea it looks like 7 minutes is fast.”  If you smash people with three 45min chippers in a week don’t expect them to pull on DL PR that weekend hoss.

As Glassman originally said, “The magic is in the movements, the science is in the explanation, the art is in the programming.”

All “CrossFits” can draw from the same movements.  But some suck at teaching them, so those movements are off-limits (hopefully) to them.  All “CrossFits” should be able to explain all the movements and explain nutrition.  But many “coaches” teach a clean when the people can’t get set on deadlift.  All “CrossFits” do programming.  But many cannot decide what they want to happen with their programming.  Are you trying to make people strong? Do you just want them conditioned? Is your programming hurting people?  Is your programming increasing their fitness or just destroying them every day?

Black Friday Fitness

Christmas is coming up.  And we know money is tight.  So we are gonna dish out some quality savings on real fitness this holiday season.  Starting Nov. 14th and ENDING on Cyber Monday Nov. 28th you can save 30% off of every package we offer for your first month with us.

2x a week for the month is only $105, 3x a week for the month is only $126, unlimited training for the month is only $147, and couples unlimited is only $245!  This offer is good for anyone who has not trained with us in the month of November.  Cash or check only for this deal.  Any questions please call us at (240)607-2701.  First time CrossFitters with us please call ahead to get an assessment setup because spots are limited!  To our current members get a friend to take advantage of this deal and recieve 15% off your next months dues as long as your friend is training with us!

Our class times are:

Mon-Thur 8am, 11am, 4pm, 6pm, & 7pm

Fri 8am, 11am, 4pm,

Sat 9:30am

Sun-closed

November Challenge

This month we will have a six minute workout.  There will be three exercises and we will do each for two minutes.  The clock will not reset between exercises.  Exercises are: prowler, overhead barbell walk, and farmer’s carry.

Rules

You will accumulate points based on how far you go on each exercise.  We will setup cones every 15m.  You will get one point for every 15m you go.

Weight ON the prowler is #140 for men and #70 for women.

Weight for this is #115 for men and #75 for women.  For the overhead barbell walk, you can get the bar to a locked out position overhead any way you wish.  Once it is locked out, you can begin walking.  If the weight is dropped you must stop walking.  You being walking again from the position where you dropped the bar, not where it rolls to.

For the farmers walk the weight is #145 for men and  #95 for women in each hand.

Prowler, barbell for barbell walk, and farmers handles for farmers walk all start on the same line.  One point for every 15m covered on each exercise.  Total points win.

October Challenge Re-Cap

We lifted 5000lbs for men and 3500lbs for women from ground to overhead anyway on Halloween.  The fastest time was Coach Sam at 3:05, he chose 44 reps @ #115.  Fastest male athlete was Chuck at 3:24, he chose 50 reps @ #100.  Fastest female athlete was Anne at 5:13, she chose 47 reps @ #75.

Paleo Challenge Winner

Here are the original rules for the Paleo Challenge.  We will break down each of the four criteria as we go as this will build drama as you read.  First, I hope all of you were able to improve your eating as the challenge went on.  If the food journals were any indication, most of you were, so I hope my feedback was helpful.  For those of you who didn’t see the results you wanted, odds are you weren’t handing in food journals OR you food journals continued to be marked up in red ink even on the last week.  This style of eating is sustainable over a lifetime and I hope you continue to eat this way.

What do I eat again?

Sight

We took before and after pictures of everyone.  The three top people that stood out when lining up these pictures were Shannon A., Gayle S., and Donn R.  Honorable mentions to Marco S., Eric R., and Lynette F. on the visual part of this as well.

Measurements

We took bustline, waist, and hip measurements; as well as weighing everyone on the same scale.  The top three weight loss were also the top three total measurement losers.  Shannon A. lost 7lbs. and was down 4 total inches.  Gayle S. was down 14lbs. and down 3 total inches.  Donn R. lost 6lbs. and was down 6 total inches.

Honorable mentions to Anne M. who lost 3.5 inches and Shelly M. who lost 3 inches.  Honorable mentions also go to Eric R. and Marco S. who were doing Paleo + milk to gain size and were up 6lbs. and 7lbs. respectively, all while losing belly fat and adding lean muscle to increase inches in their chest and butt.

Performance

We said this diet was designed to make you look, feel, and perform better.  So here in lies the performance aspect.

WOD 1

-50 wall ball

-15 power clean #135m #95f

-50 wall ball

Dates for this were Aug. 9th and Oct. 18th

08.09.11

10.18.11

Top performance winners for WOD1 were Eric who was 56 seconds slower but used #95 the first time and #135 the second time.  Shelly was one second slower but used #75 the first time and #80 the second time.  Shannon was one minute thirty five seconds faster and used 5 lbs more the second time as well.  Biggest winner from this WOD was Charlie who was forty seconds faster and used 20lbs more on the power cleans and went Rx’d the second time.

WOD2

“Randy” 75 power snatch #75m #55f

Dates for this were Aug. 8th and Oct 19th.

08.08.11

10.19.11

Biggest improvement from this one was Shannon who shaved off 2 minutes and seven seconds off her time and Eric smoked this the second time getting almost 4 minutes faster!

WOD3

Deadlift

Dates were Aug. 16th and Oct. 25th

08.16.11

10.25.11

Alot of big numbers here on the deadlift.  Alexa went up 20lbs.  Eric went up 40lbs.  Anne went up 20lbs.  Shannon up 27lbs.  Charlie up 15lbs.  Apryl up 67lbs!

WOD4

Backwards Nancy 5r of:

-15 ohs #95m#65f

-400m run

Dates were Sept. 21st and Oct. 27th

09.21.11

10.27.11

Big winners here were Shelly who was a minute sixteen seconds faster.  Shannon was nine minutes twenty nine seconds faster! Terri was seven minutes fifty three seconds faster! Charlie was seven minutes thirty six seconds faster!

Food Journals

You guys know we circled the bad shit on your journals and gave feedback on what we wanted to see better from you next week.  But we also ranked you guys on this like a CrossFit competition.  Best food journal got one point, second best got two points, third best got three, etc.  The top five food journals over the nine weeks were in order: Shelly, Anne, Terri, Eric, and tie for fifth with Shannon and Marco.

And the winner is. . . . . . . . . . . Shannon A. Shannon will recieve one month of unlimited training for the month of November!  Shannon started with us this past January and has been working hard toward her goals ever since then! Proper nutrition plus smart training has led her to achieve these goals.  Congrats Shannon!

bad driving and bad training

This is gonna be a shit-ton of fun for me.  I hate terrible drivers and I hate terrible training.  And I love to make fun of both like it is going out of style.

Washington, DC was recently shown to be one of the top ten WORST places to drive.  Not a freaking surprise to anyone who has spent any time in the DMV.  And I feel that via my observations that many of these shithead drivers live right here in Waldorf, MD.  Bad driving is a lot like bad training.  Bad drivers think they know what they are doing just like people (coaches/trainers/trainees) think they know what they are doing.  Because screw it, you’ve been doing this for a long time right, and you know whats up!

Right hand turns from far left lane.

Have you seen this asshole?  Why are you turning right with no blinker at the last minute across three lanes of traffic? Because you just saw the Cracker Barrell sign? Really? Its huge and yellow and brown.  How could you miss it.  I see more Maryland license plated driver doing this than ever.  Are you that high?  Don’t you have some idea of where you are going? Or are you just like a dog and see something and go after it?

Trainees

This is the rudderless guy at the gym.  No real goals.  Not sure what he wants to focus on getting better at.  You have open gym times? He will be there, to do EVERY exercise at a super light weight to “work technique.” Yeah hoss, those deadlifts at #135 look awesome! Way to tear up snatch balance with that unloaded barbell!

PR!!

Coaches

This is the guy who doesn’t program anything out.  Just wakes up and “thinks up” something.  Let me guess coach, 30 minute chipper? Awesome! They did something like that at the 2009 Games? Cool, don’t worry that your athletes can’t make the top 50% at the local throwdown, give em’ hell!  And no scaling!  That’s why your box is elite!

No regard for what his athletes did yesterday, this week, or what they are working towards.  He just wants to give them the most brutal shit ever, every day.  If you finish the WOD faster than he wants, cool, double or triple WOD for YOU!

Nose or ass of the car all out in the other lanes.

Really? Is your spatial awareness that bad that you cannot tell that from your whole front quarter panel is out into oncoming traffic making everyone in the left lane to swerve into the right lane asshole?

This fuckstick got what they deserved. Pay attention jackhole.

Trainees

These folks have no clue about gym etiquette.  And if they did it wouldn’t matter, because once they start the WOD, look OUT!  Dropping bars from overhead with no regard for them going into other people, walls, boxes, etc.  Double unders in a WOD? Prepare to get smacked in the face cause they are gonna start across the room from you and end up in your bubble.

Coaches

These folks are the worst at logistics.  Why did you not direct your athletes to get in some sort of order?  Why are two athletes taking up your 4000 sq ft box? You know you get about 10 square ft. to workout at during competitions right?

Flashers on in the rain.

This fucking guy.  At least he is warning me that he totally sucks at driving.  Stop going 35 in the left lane with your flashers on.  Do they not teach you that slow cars go in the right hand lane around here?  If it is raining that bad, pull the fuck over and keep your flashers on while you are stopped on the side of the road.

It says "Emergency Flasher" not "Raining Flasher"

Trainees

These folks “used” to workout at a different box from many states away.  They can crush all the PRs on your whiteboard.  Your top guy jerks 315, his PR is 335.  Sub 3 Fran? You know he’s got that.  550 deadlift easy.  He will tell you all about it.  He’s going for his Level 1 soon, probly start his own affiliate.  Oh, but he hasn’t done it in a “few” months, that’s why he’s not gonna hit those numbers today.  Gonna ease back into things.  He used to Zone his Paleo meals too, but his diet’s been sloppy of late.

Coaches

This is the nit-picky judge at competitions.  The kettlebell has 5 degrees either way from 90 or its a no-rep? Thanks.  Good thing its only 100 of these.. . . . .Why is your eye so good but your squat PR is only your bodyweight?

Too much stuff on the rear windsheild.

If you have more than 3 stickers on your bumper or rear windshield, its too many. And how can you have Calvin peeing on Ford but also a Jesus fish? And if you have those two, I bet you have a Flowmaster or some sort of hunting/buckhead sticker on there somewhere.  Really? OBX and some flip-flops on your car? The cops know you are on your cellphone guuurrrrrllllllllllll.  TTYL!

With all these, you don't even need one that tells me you suck at driving, I already know.

And if you have stuff inside your car on the back windsheild.  Creepy and I know you are terrible at driving.  Why are there beanie babies and odd animal bobbleheads back there? WTF?

Trainees

Name droppers.  Just like the person who needed  a sticker to let you know they were once in Ocean City, these people will tell you every semi-famous person they shook hands with.  If I throw you a bone and say “power cleans looked good!”  Please don’t respond, “Yeah I learned ‘em from Josh Everett at the Oly Cert this year.”  If you are doing them at #95 and you think standard Grace weight is heavy I would keep that info to yourself chief.

Oh you are thinking about going to Rip’s “new” cert and you read his books? Cool, I read Shakespeare and Milton but that doesn’t make me a poet now does it hoss?

Coaches

All the certs.  None of the ability to apply them.  Your cert list is 20 lines deep, but if you haven’t taught your people the Burgener warm-up why are you teaching them snatch balance?  If your girl can’t deadlift #185 you probly shouldn’t try to have her power snatch #95 in a WOD.  Oh wait, your USAW certified? Well then by all means, butcher it away (but ps Isabel is a 3 min WOD not a 30 min one.)

You went to CF Football so you can program daily strength into your WODs but your met-cons are still 30+ mins. daily? Way to be able to apply theory.  But real quick tell me again how big Welbourn was!

I urge you all to rage against bad driving and bad training.  Fight the power!