strength:8×3 banded overhead press with 50% 1rm of bar weight
Today’s WOD
7min amrap
1 rope climb
5 front squats 155/105
10 toes to bar
rest 5min
7min amrap
200m row
50′ sandbag run 60/40
15 wallball 10′ 20/14
50′ sandbag run 60/40
Trainer’s Tips: Just keep moving for both of these amrap’s. The reps are all manageable to get through without stopping, and the 7min should go by fairly quickly. If you have to rest, try to get through a movement and rest during the transition.
Because of the Women’s Powerlifting series starting on Sunday, the Lifting Class will start at 10:30am and Open Gym will follow at 11:30am until 1pm.
A truly touching testimonial from Kevin Simpson. Please read.
A tribute to the people and process of Crossfit: Crossfit saved my life.
When I started attending Crossfit classes just over a year ago I was using physio to fix my shoulder, elbow and knee. I still hadn’t regained my strength and stamina after I donated a kidney to one of my brothers in 2007 and as a result I was getting fat, in chronic pain, and becoming inactive.
I was inspired to join Crossfit after seeing my son progress over the previous summer from a skinny kid to a fit, well muscled young man. While in Sault Ste. Marie for a summer job, he did the WODs on his own at Catalyst Athletic and Crossfit. His summer long efforts culminated in 2 “muscle ups” the day he left town to come home. I was hooked on his success.
Over the years I had discovered jogging and weight training for fun and fitness. I liked the intensity of my workouts and feeling strong and fit. I pushed myself to a high level of fitness before the kidney operation. I had no idea how long the recuperation would be but even a couple years later I didn’t have the stamina to do an hour long workout like I’d been in the habit of doing. And my injuries were becoming more chronic resulting in physio treatments several times a week. I realized I was in a cycle of exercise, injury, physio treatment and recuperation only to see it happen over again. And those were with trainer led workouts making sure my form was correct. Between my skiing knee injury and only 1 kidney, I resigned myself to never running again. My doctors had warned me against getting dehydrated – always a risk in running or sports in hot weather.
I took a chance with the classes in Crossfit – I was in pain and I struggled with all the moves. But as I continued I realized that my shoulder and knee pain was not worsening and in fact I was improving slowly. It was helpful that the exercises were scaleable and being in a group meant that I was getting caught up in everyone’s enthusiasm and energy. I realized that while the wods are (usually) intense, they are usually no more than 15-20 minutes. I can cope with that duration. Slowly I got stronger and slimmer. For example now I can do pullups, pushups and squats proficiently with little or no joint discomfort. Any physio I do now is about improving my range of motion.
Crossfit is FUN. Doing the prowler push, pulling a sled, climbing the cargo net and rope, or anything outdoors is terrific. And it gives me bragging rights such “The Murph” on Remembrance Day! I still find it hard to believe that I did it, - 1 mile Run, 100 Pullups, 200 Pushups, 300 Squats, 1 Mile Run - much less show up the the next morning for the Saturday wod! Running the 5 km time trial last fall was an awesome accomplishment. It was so easy that it took a while to sink in that it had been years since I had run 5 km. In October (with very little preparation) I completed 85 kms in the 100 km Tour de Hans bike race, before my body seized up. I couldn’t have done this well without Crossfit. Today I can do most of the moves. As I’ve recorded my times or weights I’ve seen progress in my times and weights. My shoulder, elbow and knee pain has subsided and I feel better and stronger than I have in years.
The professionals at Dearborn Health in Waterloo and Eric Wood at Physiofitness Cambridge have been a tremendous help in overcoming my injuries and range of motion limitations.
I appreciate the efforts of Joanne and Lance, Pauly, Dianne, Paul, Lars, Art, Murph, and Glenda in making Crossfit Kitchener a successful organization. To my fellow crossfitters – a high five and “Good Job”!
Fitness is my sport – I am so happy to carry, catch, climb, jump, lift, pull, push, row, run, skip, squat, throw and walk.
Today’s WOD
70 Burpees
60 Sit-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1.5/1.0
40 Pull-ups
30 Handstand push-ups
Trainer’s Tips: Pace yourself right from the start. If you go to hard on the burpees, you will sufer for the rest of this WOD.
Break all the movements up into manageable sets and just maybe you will be able to finish strong.
Some of you might have noticed that I am not in the gym as often as I once was, neither for training nor coaching. And when I do come in, often at lunch time, I’m asked what have I’ve been up to. Well, I thought it would be a good idea to share with all of you the secrets of my new approach to life: balance! One of the tenants of CrossFit is in fact a concept of overall balance – you should not focus on one aspect of health/fitness at the expense of another (I was once guilty of this!). I have come to realize that this spills over into day-to-day life as well. So I decided to back off from purely physical conditioning and focus a bit more attention on other great things life has to offer. I am so happy with the life I have: I am fit, physically, mentally, emotionally. I eat a balanced diet, comprised of aspects I have learned from CrossFit, plus I allow myself to indulge on occasion, ensuring again a proper balance of health and peace of mind. I can honestly say I am the happiest and healthiest I have been in my entire life.
And now I am entering yet another new phase. In August of this year, my girlfriend Genevieve and I will be expecting our first child. Needless to say we are both very happy and excited. Thanks to CrossFit, I am more ready than ever to be strong, fit and fast for our soon to be little one. I hope to see all soon.
-Arthur
strength: 5 sets glute ham raises
Today’s WOD
Every minute on the minute for 10 min:
Do 1 squat clean and then with the barbell in the racked position,
walk 10′. Without putting the barbell down, perform 2 push jerks or
2 split jerks. Start light and work your way up.
5min rest then….
2000m row
Post Load and time to comments
Trainer’s Tips: This is a lot tougher then it looks. Start light, I would suggest no more than 95lb for men and 65lb for women and keep the increments small. If you can get to body weight without dropping the bar, you’re doing good. The 2k row usually starts off feeling easy, but gets really tough for the 2nd thousand. Keep that in mind when you’re picking your pace.
Trainer’s Tips: Try and get a set under your belt quickly and then settle into a 85% pace until there’s about a minute left and give ‘er whatever’s left in the tank. Braking sets into manageable chunks of 5 with short rests works best.
There was a great article in Saturday’s “The KW Record” about Mandy and her quest for the Olympics being held this summer in London. Click on the link to read it.
Today’s WOD
Paul will be focusing on the Snatch for today’s lifting class.
For those of you who are competing in the open competition and haven’t registered yet, click on this link https://games.crossfit.com/mygames/login.php and follow the 3 easy steps below. We have created our team “CrossFit Kitchener”, so be sure to join the team once you complete the individual registration.
Step 1. Complete the athlete registration process
Step 2. Select your affiliate from the list of affiliates on your athlete profile page (link on right hand side under “Affiliate”)
Step 3. Create a team or have a member of your affiliate create a team
Today’s great testimonial comes from Shane Lowry. Great work Shane, and we’re glad to see you changed your underwear for the photo shoot
My before picture (left) i am 189.5 and the after (right) picture i am 170.5
Crossfit has been really good to me. The people and the atmosphere are great. You crave the pain and the hard work lets you feel great about yourself. I try to convince everyone I know to join or try it. Even my girlfriend Tricia needed some convincing when she first started and once she did she has been hooked since. People always see Crossfit and say “I can’t do that” or “there is no way” but the best part is once you get to the gym everyone tells you “you can”. After hearing about the Whole30 in November last year it really interested me, another challenge. I wanted to try it cause I wasn’t happy with the weight that I was (not playing soccer at the level I had been was really hurting me). Tricia and I decided that November wouldn’t be a good time for us to start the program and needed a little bit more prep time so we started in January. I lost 20 pounds last month and I’ve never felt better. First day back to real world food we dove into some “not-so-Whole30” foods and honestly it hurt mentally. The whole time I was eating I was saying, “This isn’t Whole30”. It doesn’t just change what you eat for 30 days it changes how you want to eat for the rest of your life. The ultra reset button. If there is one thing I can say about Crossfit and the Whole30 it’s that they are contagious in the best ways possible.
Another CrossFit/ Whole 30 success story. Congratulations Tricia!!
I always considered myself to be an athlete. All through high school I played on almost every varsity team and played competitive soccer until I was 18. Once I started college and working 5-6 nights a week I found myself in a slump where I was eating more, and doing little, to no exercise. My boyfriend Shane suggested I come to Crossfit Kitchener and after a bit of convincing he finally got me to join. With such a hectic school and work schedule I try my best to make it 2-3 times a week. Crossfit has changed my life in only positive ways. After every painful WOD I only feel good about the new goals I set for myself and when I will accomplish them. For the month of November 2011 the gym suggested doing the Whole30 and after looking it over I told myself there was NO way I could eat like that still living at home and always having temptations staring me in the face, but it was the thought of actually setting that goal, and achieving it that made me think otherwise. Shane and I discussed with our families how badly we wanted to be able to accomplish this! So for the month of January we bought our own groceries, prepped all our food a day or two in advance and ate new things, some of the freshest, most delicious food possible. While doing the Whole30 not only did I change how I was eating but it has completely changed how I think about food. Shane and I both feel great, it would be harder now to go back to eating the way we had before the Whole30 then it was to start the Whole30.Big thanks to the Crossfit family at CF Kitchener! I can’t wait to see future results!
Strength: 7×3 banded overhead press with 50% 1rm of bar weight
Today’s WOD
15min time limit
open with 500m row
amrap
2 muscle-ups
4 hspu
8 kb swings 2/1.5
close with 500m row
Post number of reps to comments
Trainer’s Tips The first 500m row should be at 90% or so. 10 or 15 sec extra on your row should enable you to start the “Nate” portion of
the WOD with little delay. Watch the clock, because you have to give yourself enough time to get that last 500m row in.
Another amazing testimonial!! Here’s what Vicki has to say……
Fitness has always been important for both Malcom and I. We used to train together, then came the babies….there was a pause in my fitness life, with being a working mom. Soon enough, I started venturing back in search of the “perfect” gym. Goodlife…check, got bored of the same stuff over and over. Zumba…check, super fun, dance your heart out for an hour, but that’s it! No major improvement in muscle training. Bootcamps…check, but the trainers were never the same, so inconsistency was frustrating. Yes, I even tried pole dancing and made it to level 2! This time there was no improvement in cardio.
Malcom noticed a (couch potato) friend mention “crossfit” on his facebook, looked it up in our area and got us signed up. Like everyone else the first few visits were murder, but the warm friendly atmosphere, super supportive trainers and the motivation from everyone was really what sold me!
Nothing in life is easy, but it’s the choices we make or excuses we use that will determine our future. Still with lots to learn and improvements to be made, I WILL determine my future!
At our one year mark, I am proud to be a “Crossfitter” and a “Whole 30” graduate! With too many of you to list and how each one of you have either said something encouraging, assisted me on tips or taken the time to show me how to “try”, a BIG thanks to my Crossfit FAMILY!!!
Oh, and one more thing…MURF – I’M LISTENING!!!!
Today’s WOD
“Top Gun”
20 Thruster’s 135/95
20 SDHP 135/95
20 Push Jerk 135/95
20 OH Squats 135/95
20 Front Squats 135/95
Every min on the min, the bar is dropped and 4 burpees are performed
Trainer’s Tips: What can I say, this is going to be tough. This is heavy, but still manageable. When scaling, pick a weight that you think will allow
you to do each movement at a rate of 10 reps/minute.
Dave Merriott 6 months ago (on the left) and today (on the right). Good job Dave!
It’s been about 7 months now since I first stepped foot into CrossFit Kitchener and did a trial WOD… I thought I was going to die that night. I was the last to finish and it felt awesome having everyone else cheering me on to finish the WOD as honestly I did not think Iwas going to complete it. I loved the support of everyone around and if it were not for that I would of never come back. Today I am 50+ lbs lighter and have gone from couch potato to hooked on crossfit and suffer withdrawal symptoms if I miss 2 or more days in a row.
I had tried doing paleo after being informed of it during the bootcamp but found myself going back to the processed foods and junk until a few months ago when we did the whole30 challenge. It really opened my eyes as to what goes into processed foods and the value of eating whole foods. I decided this was the perfect time to get started with healthier eating. The CFK facebook page for the whole30 challenge is/was a great place to share tips, recipes, pictures and provides so much support during the whole30 challenge as the first few weeks are tough to get through, but on the bright side it only got better from there. I am still doing paleo about 90% of the time with a few cheat days here and there — I am looking forward to the next 30 day challenge starting Feb 1st.
Strength: conventional deadlift to 1 rep max
Today’s WOD
21-15-9
Body Blaster’s
KB Snatches 1.0/.75 each arm
Post times to comments
Tune in to Biggest Loser at 9pm (Tuesday). Apparently, they are doing FRAN!!
Day 1 of our whole 30 challenge starts today. Good luck to everyone doing the challenge!!
In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. We used this in the 3 round versions. The stations are:
The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On the call of “rotate,”move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.
Trainer’s Tips: Everyone’s favourite, “Fight Gone Bad”! Chances are you have done this one before, and if you want a PB, you will need some strategy. Know how many reps of each movement you will need and as hard as it may be, try to maintain your effort for each round. It is normal to lose a few reps during round 2, but it is also not uncommon to see people gain reps in round 3. Know which movements you will accumulate the most reps with and use the full 60 seconds. For weaker movements with lower reps, tranistion to your next movement at 50 seconds and get ready for the next movement. Good luck!
Trainer’s Tips: If you can thruster this weight, you might want to start off with that strategy. It should allow you to get some reps under you belt quick. If not, try to catch the clean in the squat. At this weight, power cleaning it and then front squatting is only going to tire you out for the jerk and will make the WOD drag on.
Whole 30 challenge starts on Wednesday. The charts are all set up on the garage door and ready to be filled so get your name up there if you are doing it. If you are on Facebook, be sure to join the CF Kitchener whole 30 FB group.
Strength: 6×3 banded overhead press with 50% 1rm of bar weight
Today’s WOD
5x3min rounds
50 squats
max reps 100′ sprint
rest 1min
At the start of each 3min round, complete 50 air squats. With the remaining time complete as many 100′ sprints
as possible. No half part reps, only complete reps count. Your score is the total # of 100′ sprints completed.
Trainer’s Tips:Start the first round at about a 90% effort and guage the rest of the WOD by how that first round feels.
Pay attention to how long it takes you to complete a 100′ sprint so you can time it to get your maximum amount.
JANUARY 30TH BOOTCAMP IS NOW FULL. WE ARE STILL OFFERING OUR JANUARY PROMO OF 5 FREE CLASSES WITH THE PURCHASE OF A BOOTCAMP OR 3 ON-RAMP PERSONAL TRAINING SESSIONS UNTIL THE END OF JANUARY. YOU WILL ALSO RECEIVE A $20 COUPON TOWARDS ANY OF OUR MEMBERSHIPS. OUR NEXT BOOTCAMP STARTS ON FEB 14TH AND IT’ ALREADY STARTING TO FILL!!
Coaches Tips: Get your first round behind you as quick as you can and then try and pace yourselves keeping your rounds between 2-3 minutes. Keep your deadlifts unbroken as you’ll probably have to break up your pullups. The hspu’s and double unders are what they are. You either have them or you don’t.
Congrats to Lindsay who got her muscle up yesterday during open gym with the help from Coach Paul!! What an amazing accomplishment. Another big congrats goes out to Shan who has mastered the rope climb yesterday. The lifting class on Sunday mornings as well as open gym is a great opportunity to come in and work on skill development.
strength: 6×3 banded overhead press with 50% 1rm of bar weight
Today’s WOD
5 rounds for time:
15 Wall Ball 20/14, 10′
15 Box jumps 24/20
rest 1 min between rds
Coaches Tips:Your objective here is to do each set as quickly as possible. Your sets will likely get a little slower, but try and hang on as best as possible. For those of you who are good at wall balls and box jumps, try to go unbroken each round. You’re in charge of your 1 min rest, so keep an eye on the clock after each round.
Coaches Tips: OK, the set up may look like a FGB, but don’t expect a FGB like score. Somewhere between 1/3 – 1/2 the reps you get in a FGB would be a great score. This WOD will bring you to your knees so make sure you scale accordingly.
(While one person rows the other Squats. Whoever is done first waits)
Coaches Tips: Discuss your pacing with your partner before the workout. If one of you go too hard on the row in one of the early rounds, you will pay for it later. Proper pacing on the row will allow you to start your back squats sooner and will hopefully give you a little breather before your partner is done the row. If you’re sucking wind and your partner is not, this WOD will seem never ending.
Coaches Tips: Chipper lovers, get your fill. A little bit of everything in this one. All of these are nice manageable numbers and should allow you to keep moving. FYI: Burpee broad jumps may have been created by the devil.
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 handstand, 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.
