CrossFit Chicago

2k Row
Compare to 2Jan12.

This time last year… there was no 29 February.

Consequences
-Chris Woody

A little over a month ago the 6amers and NOONERS!!!!!!!! battled it out for the title of the “Best Damn Class in the History of Crossfit” or something like that. After four hours of a grueling back and forth, Woody lead the NOONERS!!!!!!!! to victory.* A 1% difference separated the final scores! No matter how slim the margin, there are consequences for being the 2nd “Best Damn Class in the History of Crossfit”, and here it is:

The Hero WOD:

The 6amers will be doing Kalsu**

On the minute:

Complete 5 burpees and perform max rep 135lbs thrusters on the minute.

The goal is to complete 100 total thrusters.

At the beginning of every minute perform 5 burpees, for the rest of the minute perform as many thrusters as you can during that minute. At the beginning of the next minute perform 5 burpees and then max rep thrusters and so on until you reach 100 total thrusters.

http://www.crossfitfootball.com/page/index.php?menu=blog&page=blog&hide&id=2342

Date: TBD. Some time after the Open, hopefully a Saturday in April. We want to be there to cheer them on!

The playlist:
Playlist:
“Tingalayo” Raffi
“Smooth Operator” Sade
“Caribbean Blue” Enya
“Hold On” Wilsom Phillips
“Songbird” Kenny G
“My Heart Will Go On” Celine Dion
“Friday” Rebecca Black
“My Ding-A-Ling” Chuck Berry
“I’m A Barbie Girl” Aqua
“In Spite of Ourselves” John Prine
“Good King Wenceslas” The Barking Dogs
“The Sounds of Silence” Simon and Garfunkel
“Main Title” The Notebook Soundtrack (Aaron Zigman & Hollywood Studio Symphony)
“Macho Man” Village People
“Go, Go Power Rangers” Ron Wasserman
“I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas” by Gayla Peevey

The Blog Post Monikers:
John Beery – “Beery Manilow””
Abbey Cullen – “ABBA”
Tim Swan – “(S)hania T(wa)i(n)”
Brett Leibsker – Justin Beibersker
Matt Jones – “Tom Jones – Talking ’bout the Lady”
Brooke Bendix “Ke$ha” No reason to change this one
Anthony Dayrit / Allday – “A-Ha”
Zack Otte – “Zack “Attack” Morris” It will still be Zack Attack, he must remind everyone it comes from Saved by the Bell
Sommer Muasher – “Bananarama” – It’s a Cruel, Cruel Summer
Tina Tiliks – “Chris(Tina T) Aguilera”
Jean Janes – “Billie Jean”
Randy Santiago – “Austin Powers” – Do I make you feel randy? Yeah baby!
Billy Quaranto – “Billy Ocean”

Foot notes:
*It’s my story, I can tell it any way I want. If you want to take credit for leading the team to victory then you need to write the article.
**This throw down was great and we have had a lot of fun with the rivalry. No disrespect is intended toward the great sacrifice of Lt.Robert James Kalsu.

Robert James Kalsu (April 13, 1945 – July 21, 1970) was selected as an Oklahoma Sooner All-American Tackle in 1967. As an eighth-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1968, he started eight games at Guard and was voted the team’s top rookie in 1968. He began fulfilling his ROTC obligation with the US Army following the ’68 season and started his tour of duty in Vietnam in November of 1969, where he served with Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 11th Artillery, 101st Airborne Division. His MOS was 1193-Field Artillery Unit Commander. LT Kalsu was killed by mortar fire on July 21,1970 at Firebase Ripcord near the Ashau Valley.

There seems to be a reoccurring theme here.

A1 Front Squat 3-3-3-3-3
A2 Floor Press 3-3-3-3-3

This time last year… we featured GinaP as our Member of the Month!

Muscle ups vs. No False Grip Muscle ups
-Zack Otte

Muscle ups in gymnastics are nothing more than a means to get from hanging position with your body below the rings to a support position with your body above the rings. From a skill level according to gymnsaticsbodies.com, they barely register. Since most of us are not gymnasts, we would disagree with this thought and in fact it place it as one of the most advanced gymnastics skills we use in our training, right up there with pistol squats and freestanding handstands. A true muscle up, has no kip, it is as its name implies a m-u-s-c-l-e up not a kip up. For body weight strength development, achievement of a kipping muscle up should not be viewed that as the end goal, but a progression toward L-seated muscle ups, strict muscle ups, and weighted muscle ups.

That’s not to take away from all the 1st time muscle ups we’ve been seeing lately, I think it’s great. Getting a kipping muscle up requires a great deal more strength than a dead hang pull up or chest to bar pull up and should be viewed as a great achievement. But if you’ve gotten there, know that there’s more on the body weight strength side of things.

In addition, if you’re viewing CrossFit as a sport and not just a training method, there is a better technique for performing high reps of muscle ups than using a false grip, kipping or strict. We teach the false grip because it is the gymnastics method and puts your hands in the proper position for the bottom of the dip. In other words, this is what you should be doing if you’re working toward a strict muscle up. The other option is a kipping muscle up without a false grip, and if you’re a Games athlete you should have these in your tool box. These should be viewed as two distinctly different movements for different purposes just like the dead hang pull up and kipping pull up.

Why should a Games athlete learn a no false grip muscle up?

1. Multiple false grip muscles are slow because you have to reset the grip either at the top or the bottom, whereas with a no false grip there is no grip reset allowing you to quickly transition to the next rep.
2. Kipping as we know from Drywall is another word for cheating, and if you’re going to cheat you may as well not half a$$ it. Holding the rings in your fingers is a stronger more secure grip and also lengthens your levers allowing you to create more momentum in your kip. You will not be able to hold onto a false grip and kip as aggressively as is being suggested in the video below.
3. The skin on the pads of your hands (no false grip) can take a lot more abuse than the skin on your wrists (false grip).
4. It makes the dip far easier because you’ll be reducing the ROM.

The progression I used to teach myself the no false grip muscle up is based on Carl Paoli’s series on gymnastics wod. He goes through a 4 part progression that I highly encourage you to watch. This is link to the 1st progression: http://gymnasticswod.com/content/no-false-grip-muscle-progression-pt1

Carl does a great job walking through this, so I won’t regurgitate entire tutorial, but will give some color to the discussion. The key to the no false grip kipping muscle up is the pull and where you pull to. Think about which is the easiest option, a dip where the bottom is your arm pit, rib cage, or hips? Of course hips would be the winner and rib cage isn’t all that bad. Unfortunately, the rite of passage most of us have gone through on our first muscle up is only pulling toward our chest, which if you’re able to achieve the muscle up at all, results in the deepest dip you’ve ever had to do. This is not ideal and puts a ton of stress on your elbows and shoulders and failing half way through that turnover hurts even worse. On the hand, if you can pull toward your belly button you have the opportunity to transition into a much more comfortable dip that is not near as taxing on your body, making high volume far easier. Some of this is mindset of where you’re pulling to, but make no mistake, there’s a strength competent to pulling this deep that may need to be developed. Whatever your deepest pull up is, bottom of rib cage, belly button, hips, this should be your target when on the rings. If your target is lower than what your strength can get you to, you will not get your chest through on the transition. If these are in line and you can at least pull to the bottom of your rib cage you should be able to pull these off with a little work.

From a strength development point of view the kip will take away the initial pull, but it only gets you so high, finishing the pull toward your hips will require some pretty decent strength development. The carry over to the false grip muscle up is that you will have developed the ability to pull higher, with the goal being to pull to the bottom of your chest / middle of your rib cage area before your transition. Getting this high puts you in a more normal bottom of the dip versus that super low and deep turnover dip position that puts so much stress on the elbow.

I’m not in a ton these days, but I’d be happy to work with folks before my 6 a.m. class on Mondays or on the weekends on both strict muscle ups or these no false grip versions.

***For the next 4 weeks (during the Open) there will be an additional co-ed class at 12pm on Sundays!***

12.1 DONE!

5 Rounds for time of:
5 Handstand Push-ups
10 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups
30 Double-Unders

This time last year… we posted a pic from the CIRC.

Stand Up Straight!
-Bryce Wood

I know that you’ve all heard it before, and I nearly slap Coach Kurt every time I see him because he constantly points out how poor my posture is, but it’s a good point. I was thumbing through an article the other day written by one of my favorite contributors to T-nation, Chad Waterbury, and he pointed out some good issues. By having poor posture, you are constantly cutting yourself short on strength and recovery. Basically, a lot of things are working improperly, so your strength numbers are always skewed because you’re always working against your ideal body.

I would guess that over 80% of our population at CFC has some sort of posture issue. One very common issue I see out our gym is called kyphosis. Kyphosis is a condition of varying degrees, but essentially the thoracic spine is rounded more than necessary and your pelvic is turned under making your butt disappear. Not a good look.
Take a look at the picture of me! This is how I stand and sit probably 90+% of my day. Head is tiled forward upper back is rounded, pelvis is tilted under, and you can’t see my feet, but I’m sure they’re ducked out.

Two of the top reasons this happens are:

1. You sit in front of your computer all day and rarely pay attention to addressing the problem. You’re putting your spine into an unnatural position. Habits are tough to break, so the more you sit like this the more often you’ll look like this when you walk around.

2. Most men in this country in the weightlifting community are obsessed with the bench press, and have little concern of exercising correctly. The more time you spend on only developing your chest, the tighter those muscles get and your kyphosis becomes more prevalent.

An easy way to tell if you have some kyphosis going on is by simply standing flat against the wall. Stand how you want to stand. Now, put your head, shoulders, and butt against the wall and flex your abs. Feel any different? That’s what you’re supposed to look like when you stand with good posture.

How do you address this issue? Fortunately by coming into CFC you are part of a program that is based off pulling at least twice as much as pushing. So, your back is going to get stronger. We also emphasize that you spend time rolling and stretching to address this problem. Remember though, most of you spend 3-5 hours/week exercising and 30-50 hours sitting in front of a computer.
The severity of your condition is going to vary from one person to the next, but how you approach it is up to you. Pay attention to how you sit, stand, and exercise. The more aggressive you are in getting this fixed the better you’ll perform and the longer you’ll be able to do it.

See a coach if this is a fitting description for you. Or ask Kurt to give you a posture adjustment next time you see him.

Congrats to everyone that competed at the CIRC as well on 12.1!

Rest day/Make ups/Mobility work

This time last year… we were wishing luck to the CIRC competitors.

“Super last minute, procrastinator, I just need to do this one more time, last chance 12.1 workout” TODAY AT 5PM!!!

A week in review:
Why Not?
Game Day
Judging Video Series – Counting Reps/Represent!
No Fear
Easy Tomato Soup
12.1 Tips

CrossFit Games Open 12.1
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes of:
Burpees

This time last year… Billy wrote “On the issue of body image”.

12.1 Tips
-Anthony Dayrit

With everyone eagerly anticipating the release of the Open’s first workout, there were certainly some cries of disgust when a 7 minute AMRAP of burpees was released. My initial reaction when I found out the workout was one of disappointment—I had expected some bodyweight movement (perhaps hand release pushups) mixed with a lighter skill (double unders) that most participants could get through. Yes, I don’t mind burpees and I can do them quickly, but 7 minutes of continuous burpees (with a jump) is not necessarily my dream workout and much different from doing them within a workout. After testing out the workout Wednesday night, I’ve come up with a few tips to keep in mind for game day.

Warm-Up
While this is the type of workout that will get everyone more than warm within the first minute, it’s important to make sure certain areas are primed beforehand. You’ll be doing only one movement over and over, so the repetitions on the same areas will cause some fatigue. To start from the top, I’d make sure your shoulders are loose (PVC pass-throughs, handstand holds, T-pushups), and that you’ve foam- rolled your lats well. Warming up the wrists will also help as you’ll be jumping down and pushing off the ground quite a bit. Lastly, taking a lacrosse ball to your calves and arches of your feet would be smart in terms of the constant jumping during the workout.

Pacing
Deciding how to pace will probably be the most difficult aspect of the workout for many athletes. Here are a few ways to do this:
All out, taking rests when needed
Steady pace for the duration, with minimal / no breaks
Steady pace by picking a number of burpees to try to get per minute
Work or time intervals (Ex. Do X burpees, rest Y seconds / Do X seconds of work, rest Y seconds)
Combination of these (I went out pretty hard, perhaps about 90% for the first 4:00 then did sprints of around 7 burpees and rested as needed)

All: Try to have a number in your head when you start. On Wednesday, I wasn’t feeling 100% and knew my legs were tired, but wanted to get to 100. I also knew Kristen Clever (2nd Fittest Woman in the World) had gotten 128, so I just hoped to come close to her.

Think about how you work best during workouts, and try to tailor your strategy based on that. From watching a few people do the workout, if you are looking to hit X number of burpees for minute, it may make sense to think about it as a descending progression (Example: 25 in the first minute, 20 in the second minute, etc.)—try to factor in how/when fatigue will start to set in. JeffA was great enough to judge and write down my splits for me on Wednesday, so I’ll post below. I will say that I went out too hard at the start, but wanted to see when that wall would hit. Gas-tank wise this wasn’t any worse than other workouts, but I felt it more in my legs than anything else.

Time / Burpee Count
1:12 — 32
2:00 – 47
3:10 – 65
3:42 – 72 (Where I started to slow down)
4:45 – 85
5:27 – 95
7:00 — 120

One discussion some of us had is to try to treat this like you would a 2K Row—pick a relatively solid pace that you can try to maintain for most of the workout, and then give it your all at the end. Since I’ve already done this once, I may try to experiment with a different strategy on Saturday—my 2K is quite slow and my work capacity isn’t best suited for that type of workout, so I’ll try to do something that plays to my strengths.

With all of the complaints that I’m sure are bound to surface about the selection of this workout, after doing it I can say that it’s a very good test of work capacity and strength. Some may argue that the workout favors the bodyweight specialist / endurance athlete, but I believe leg strength will be a limiting factor on the workout in addition to the obvious one of a gas tank. Some may think I’m biased in saying that this is a good first workout, but 1) It’s easily accessible to anyone, 2) It’s easy to judge, and 3) If you think it’s not that hard or too easy, then surely you should be able to do many more reps than everyone else! In my mind, burpees are a pretty good movement to symbolize Crossfit in general—how many times can you get knocked down but still get back up?

***GameDay Saturday Heat Times***
8 – AlisonF, JoeP, MaggieC, MeganMa
820 – DevinT, LynnW, CarolynT, ZachA, JefferyK
840 – LouCar, ChrisT, CarleneS, TracyH, DaneS
900 – GlenO, AbbeyC, BrookeB, ChrisW, SusanH, ElizabethP
920 – MilesC, AmyS, JefferyK, KeithH, EricA, CindyF
940 – HeatherH, CristinaMa, GeneD, SaraC, SommerM, EricM
1000 – CarinaA, JonnyV, JohnG, TeraL, ChristinaMo, PhilipB
1020 – Alfredo, JoshA, JenB, AnjaP, KrystalB, AlexaT
1040 – XiomaraM, ChrisR, JoshR, AmyP, BillyH, TerryL
1100 – CamL, KarenC, KaceyF, JK, BobS, NayD
1120 – AdamC, AnjaliT, AdamB, MeghanJ, BobR, AlexH
1140 – TonM, MeganMc, JeniR, ChadG, AngelaS, KatyN, JeffreyA
1200 – JoshuaB, NickF, AlexN, ScottR, AnthonyD, ErinC

For now, we are planning on writing the schedule 4 on, 1 off, 1 on (The Open), 1 off. What that means basically is Mon-Thu will be a scheduled workout. Friday a rest day. Saturday The Open. Sunday a rest day. We may change it if we find it’s not the best way with The Open.

The GameDay Saturday Heat sign-up deadline is 2pm today. Email Jonny your preferred 2-hour window slot (b/t 8am – 12). Heat times will be posted later today.

Rest day/Make ups/Mobility work

This time last year… Erin wrote a recipe for Paleo Chicken Pot Pie which I’m sure is not as stunning as Shepherd’s Pie.

Easy Tomato Soup
-Erin O’Brien

4 servings

1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (no salt added variety)
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth (no/low sodium)
2 teaspoons oregano
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened. Next, stir in the garlic and oregano and cook until just fragrant. To the onion mixture, add the diced tomatoes and broth and season with salt & pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and puree the soup with an immersion blender (or transfer, in batches, to a blender) until smooth. Taste the soup and adjust seasonings to your preference. Enjoy!

JK with the 53.5″ monster.

7 Rounds for time of:
1 15’ Rope Climb (15 ring rows)
10 Wallballs 20/14
15 Kettlebell swings 1.5pd
20 Double unders (16″ box jumps)
or
The Open 12.1 Sampler

This time last year… Erin wrote an article on why you should “Keep an Open Mind”.

No Fear
-‘6AM’ Glen Ong

Upon my entrance into this CrossFit world, was the wonder of the CrossFit Games. I read about the exploits of CFC’s own athletes. I came during last year’s CF Open and watched them grind it out week after week, followed by the spectacle of the regionals. I envied those athletes and wondered, “Do I have what it takes?”

Thereafter, discussions arose on how isolated strength programs may be essential for a competitor. I went under a program late last year, in search of that coveted rx. The strength program lasted about eight weeks. Although I made some gains, the rx on most WOD’s eluded me. To make things worse, my endurance levels dropped off. Upon the horizon was the question on whether or not to participate in the CF Open.
I had a barrage of reasons for not doing it. I couldn’t rx. My endurance levels were too low. I’m not good enough as those doing it. I should just focus on training on next year’s open. After the rationalizing there was one reason to do it. Because I was afraid.
What did I have to fear? I can’t remember the last time someone laughed at another for not finishing, or for scaling. This community has always shown the opposite. Doing the open in front of others? This was not much different from the classes. I learned from my religion that one should not live in fear, and to confront it even if it hurts. This, along with the encouraging words of fellow CrosFitters, motivated me to sign up for the Opens.

Since then, I strengthened my focus on CrossFitting. I cleaned up my eating, added in post workouts, and rested sufficiently. I know I will have to scale some WOD’s and that there may be DNF or two. I am definitely still afraid, but will cast that down at the sound of “3-2-1-GO!” I know this experience will give me something to capitalize off in the months following.

I encourage all my fellow CrossFitter’s to become a part of the open. I only hope to give it my best, and nothing less. Above anything, I will confront my fears. Who’s with me?

\
Judging Video Series – Counting Reps

Snatch 1RM
Compare to 24Jan12.

This time last year… Cam wrote an article “From the Offensive Line to CrossFit”.

Represent!!!
-Kelly Johnson

Now that the Open is upon us it’s time to gear up. Besides, who doesn’t want more CFC swag?! We have come up with two options for an official 2012 CFC Open shirt and need your opinion! Please view the picture below and decide which you like better. (Picture yourself wearing it, sweating a lot, people are cheering you on while you dominate a WOD, duh) Memories will be forgotten, pictures will fade but a shirt lasts forever.

PLEASE ONLY VOTE ONCE! Those who have signed up for the Open will receive a discount of $5. Please vote if you are planning on getting one and stay tuned for more details. Voting closes February 29th.

A1 Single leg deadlift 3RM
A2 Deadhang weighted pull up 1RM

This time last year… Gina wrote on how to approach 1RM Days.

Game Day
-Jonny Vu

In less than 36 hours, the first CrossFit Games Open workout will be announced and over 30,000 athletes worldwide will do the workout and submit it to the CrossFit Games site. At CrossFit Chicago, if you haven’t already noticed, we want everyone to participate. Remember if you’re participating, you’ll need a judge to verify your score. All the coaches are judges and some of our members have gone through judge training in the past. I’ll post who those individuals are in the comments and when the next judge training is for our members.

If you’re NOT doing the workout on Saturday aka “GameDay”, please email Bryce on when you’re planning on doing the workout and he will work with you and a judge to coordinate a time for you to complete the workout. Please give him at least 24 hours notice.

If you’re competing on GameDay, we will run heats from 8am till approximately 12:15pm. The end time will vary depending on the workout and more information will be passed along on Thursday so please keep your eye on the blog and Facebook. After the workout is announced on Wednesday, email me your preferred 2-hour window to workout. Please send everything in 30 minute increments to make things easier on scheduling. I’ll do my best to accommodate you, but please be flexible since we’re trying to facilitate over 100 athletes. If you MUST compete within a smaller window, please let me know.

Your email subject line should include your name and preferred window: “Jonny Vu 9:30-11:30″.

On Friday, I’ll post the heat times on the blog. The heat time is assigned is when you should be on the floor ready to workout, so be warmed up and ready to go. We’ll have coaches in the warm-up area assisting with warm-ups and technique. Heat assignments will also be posted on GameDay and those will be the final versions. Sometimes we make lane adjustments or move someone up or back 1 heat, so check the heat board when you arrive.

ALL PARTICIPATING OPEN ATHLETES: After you’ve gone through the workout, you’re responsible for verifying your score with your judge by signing the scorecard. Please do not sign the scorecard until you are absolutely sure that the score on the sheet is accurate. Don’t forget to write down your score and input it into the CrossFit Games website by Sunday 7pm cst. Please don’t wait till the last minute, since the staff needs to verify all scores before the deadline and we need the time to contact you if there are any discrepancies.

If you’re not participating in the OPEN, we do not plan on having any CrossFit Classes on Saturday morning. We’ll make an announcement on class schedule changes sometime this week to accommodate those that aren’t participating in the Open.

Finally, please feel free to invite your friends and family to GameDay. It’s a fun and exciting environment so we hope to meet some of the important people in your life. We’ll often have members bring frosty beverages and not so paleo treats to celebrate and hang out after the final heat. On behalf of the CrossFit Chicago staff, we’re looking forward to a fun and exciting Games season. If you want in on the action, sign up here: http://games.crossfit.com/

21-15-9 reps for time of:
Power Clean (115 /75)
Thruster

This time last year… we had a photo from some row relays we were doing for a warm-up.

Why Not?
-Kelly Johnson

Are you not signed up for the Open yet? Or are you one of the 100+ who has signed up for the Open already? You’ve heard a lot of the reasons why to sign up for the Open lately. (Watch the video above!) For now though, let’s focus on something different- the reason(s) why you don’t want to sign up for it….

Fear?
A very valid reason. Competing is sometimes scary, especially the Open. We don’t know the workouts, movements or weights that we’ll be asked to do week to week. Fear often drives the decisions we make in the gym daily- Do you go RX’d? Do you scale? Do you go into do the workout posted for the day? Do you post your time? Do you attend the 6am? Do you attend the 12pm? Just kidding!… kind of. But honestly, fear is meant to be overcome. When we are faced with tough situations, it’s how we attack them that determines our outcomes. If you decide to avoid or go around the tough parts and stay where you are comfortable, you’ll never test your limits. You’ll never know the ‘what if’ outcomes. If you never try something new, how will you know if you can or can’t do it? Fear is a limit you put on yourself that you don’t deserve.

Laziness?
Yep. This will be hard work. It will require you to give your all and then some. But, if you aren’t already doing that in the gym every time you come in, you are already cheating yourself of the progress you could be making. You are cutting yourself short. If you are OK with that, continue to give only 80%, make minimal progress and stop complaining about it. If you aren’t, make a change. Decide to start giving everything you have, starting with the Open. We all want to be better than yesterday or else we wouldn’t be working out. We want to be healthier, stronger, and overall better moving individuals. Here’s 5 more workouts to contribute to that.

Commitment?
It’s 5 weeks, 5 workouts. Maybe you can’t make Saturdays all the time. Cool. We are avaible Thursday and Friday to make sure you can get it in early; just let the coach of your class know you need to be judged and we’ll make it happen! Maybe you’ll be traveling during one of the weeks or weekends. I have great news- you can do these anywhere! (You know, if you’ve got kettlebells, some bars, some plates… a huge Reebok container with the stuff inside of it… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkTbWQ9Tnek) But seriously, you can. At any Crossfit gym or even globo gym while you are away; as long as you get judged by a Level 1 CF certified trainer or video tape yourself, send it in and HQ will verify your workout. The Open is meant for anybody.

Doubt?
Legit. When I signed up last year I was very doubtful that I’d be able to do every workout RX’d or even at all as I was still very new to Crossfit. However, workout to workout, I grew in confidence and was able to overcome the doubt I had. When it came time to jerk a weight repeatedly I never thought I’d be able to move, I did it. When it came time to overhead squat more than I ever had before multiple times, I did it. Even when it came time to do Fran backwards-ish and with chest to bar pull ups, I did it. I got through it all and it made me stronger, more confident and eager to challenge myself more. Similar to fear, doubt only sets limitations. It’s what holds you down. No matter how short your Crossfit experience, ask yourself this- have you done something you never thought you’d be able to do? Most likely that answer is yes. Don’t you want to see how much more you are capable of?

Nerves?
Duh. If you are nervous, that means you care. There isn’t one competition I do that I don’t get extremely nervous for- on a field or in a gym. I’m not going to sugar coat it for you; sometimes it’s really hard to deal with. Sleeping the night before is often impossible. The day of your head is racing with thoughts. You stomach is tight and full of butterflies. But with time I’ve learned how to manage it better and actually allow it to drive me to succeed. It’s only been more experiences with competition that has allowed me to develop as an athlete with a stronger mental attitude. Half of the battle is mental so once you learn how to conquer that, you are one step ahead and closer to kicking more a$$.

$20?
Really? If anything it goes to better the sport you love. Also, the Saturday workouts don’t count as one of your weekly visits. So really, it’s a deal!

Honestly, who forces you to workout every day? We show up and do this for ourselves. For fun. This is a luxury that we often take for granted. Remember that the next time you want to complain while working out. And remember that during this week when you contemplate signing up for the Open. It’s a great opportunity that over 100+ of us have already decided to take. Will you? No excuses. Just sheer effort, determination and heart. That’s all it takes. Join Karen. Join Josh. Join Tera.

http://games.crossfit.com/