Just watch how he gracefully shifts his center of mass from side to side to accommodate his change in foundation.  Knowing how to move your body in alignment with your position in space seems so obvious but is still an ability that many of us, as adults, [...]]]> Click here to view the embedded video.

Just watch how he gracefully shifts his center of mass from side to side to accommodate his change in foundation.  Knowing how to move your body in alignment with your position in space seems so obvious but is still an ability that many of us, as adults, sorely lack.  Perhaps we’ll work on this one day in the very near future…!

Tonight at 6pm is the second in [...]]]> The Women-Only CrossFit class busted out the weight vests yesterday and finished up with some picture perfect Deadlift complexes.  Very very inspired by this group of women who said they want a class of all women, but they don’t want an easier workout.  Grab onto your bootstraps…

Tonight at 6pm is the second in our Yoga For Athletes workshop series.  You do not have to attend in order, so if you weren’t at the first one that is fine.

Saturday, Skill checklist for the Daily CrossFit Program.  Come during Open Gym, 9:30 to 11:30.  Even if you aren’t sure you will complete the checklist, it might help you to set goals for yourself.

Primal Plan, four week, eight hour nutrition learning lab registration is open.  Go to www.primalplan.com to register.

Performance CrossFit will meet this Friday at 5:45.

Saturday CrossFit workout at 11:30.

This week both the Daily CrossFit Class and the Blueprint class experienced the challenge of holding static positions under fatigue.  Daily CrossFit held planks following lateral burpees and Blueprint did chin-over-bar hold following a 400m run.  It’s tough to maintain those positions when your breathing is seriously labored and it is tough to [...]]]>

This week both the Daily CrossFit Class and the Blueprint class experienced the challenge of holding static positions under fatigue.  Daily CrossFit held planks following lateral burpees and Blueprint did chin-over-bar hold following a 400m run.  It’s tough to maintain those positions when your breathing is seriously labored and it is tough to mentally overcome your fatigue to stay tight and relax enough to hold a challenging position!  Shout out to Jason P. who accumulated 1:50 chin-over-bar-hold during his three rounds.  Mark B. wanted to beat him…

Don’t forget to send in your t-shirt slogan ideas to carl@crossfitworks.com!

No, not that kind of t-shirt contest.  The kind where you get to showcase your cleverness.  We are ready to order new t-shirts.  You guys are always coming up with cool t-shirt slogans, so let’s use them!  I have one rule.  I have to be happy explaining your t-shirt slogan to my 9 [...]]]>

No, not that kind of t-shirt contest.  The kind where you get to showcase your cleverness.  We are ready to order new t-shirts.  You guys are always coming up with cool t-shirt slogans, so let’s use them!  I have one rule.  I have to be happy explaining your t-shirt slogan to my 9 year old.  We aren’t big on censorship or anything like that, but “Nice Snatch” isn’t going on a CrossFit Works t-shirt.  You get my drift.  You guys are cleverer than that anyway.  Thanks to Mac for reminding me to make this into a contest!!  You have until January 21st, Saturday at noon to submit your slogan ideas.  Pay close attention.  Do not submit your ideas to the comments here.  Send your ideas to carl@crossfitworks.com with the subject heading “T-shirt Contest”.

January 21st from 9:30 to 11:30 will be the first opportunity you have to come and assess your current fitness relative to the skill checklist for the Daily CrossFit class.  On January 21st, Saturday at 9:30 we will begin taking people through the skill checklist that will eventually determine which program is the best fit for you.  We will give you more information in the next few days, but remember that you might want to come that day and work through the skill check list even if you know you won’t accomplish all the skills.  It will be a powerful tool in setting your individual training goals.  Remember too, that our skill check list is not a “who’s who” of CrossFit movements, but an assessment of your strength and conditioning foundation with an eye toward being a well-rounded, fit person who has the mobility, musculature and kinesthetic awareness to be safe under many physical demands.

Really these guys don’t need any introductions.  You just need to know they are wearing new hats!!  Carl and I have always known that the best way to know if someone is a good match for your gym is to get to know them as athletes first.  That way you get to see [...]]]>

Really these guys don’t need any introductions.  You just need to know they are wearing new hats!!  Carl and I have always known that the best way to know if someone is a good match for your gym is to get to know them as athletes first.  That way you get to see how they hold up under pressure, how they conduct themselves as representatives of the gym, how they respond to different coaching challenges.  We don’t always have the chance to do that, but this time we did!

We’d like to announce that Andre Matus, will be coaching at CrossFit Works.

“Andre has been a member of the Pascua Fire Department for 6 years as a Firefighter/EMT. He was introduced to CrossFit from a fellow firefighter and from that point on he has enjoyed every moment of it. Andre is a Certified Crossfit Level 1 Instructor, and also holds a certification in Crossfit Olympic Lifting. Crossfit has provided a sense of balance and health to his life and he enjoys sharing this gift of CrossFit with others. He has a passion for helping people succeed and provides a motivating and effective training atmosphere.”

Andre’s enthusiasm for CrossFit is unparalleled and his outgoing, laid-back style is very comforting in the gym.  He has experience coaching group CrossFit classes and is looking forward to getting to know more of you all!

We would also like to announce an expansion for Mark L. who coaches the CrossFit Kids classes.  I often think that the most useful coaching seminar I have been to was the Kids cert.  If you can teach a kid to squat and deadlift, you can teach an adult!  Mark has the extremely enviable ability to demonstrate movement brilliantly.  He possesses wonderful mobility and neuromuscular awareness, developed during many years of wrestling and motocross.  Mark is a very patient coach, but not at the expense of moving you toward greater performance.  Mark holds CrossFit Level I certification, CrossFit Kids Certification and USA Weightlifting Club Coach certification.  We are lucky that Mark has a little bit more time in his schedule which is allowing him to do more with you all!  Mark will be the coach of the 5:30pm class.  If you are lucky you’ll get a white board chat like the kids!

Next week we will be happy to see Ben back from his world travels too!  Ben will be moving from the 5pm class to the 6am class.

Please log in to MindBodyOnLine.com by clicking here, CrossFit Works Classes, and register for the class you regularly attend.  If you are one of our folks that has an unpredictable, frequently-changing schedule then simply register for the class that you attend most [...]]]> The new schedule is up and ready to go !!!

Please log in to MindBodyOnLine.com by clicking here, CrossFit Works Classes, and register for the class you regularly attend.  If you are one of our folks that has an unpredictable, frequently-changing schedule then simply register for the class that you attend most often.  This process of registering is one that you will do each month in order to maintain or reserve your spot in the class that you choose.  We have switched to this system in order to allow better class-size management and to facilitate communication with our clients!!

Most important changes are the 5:30am class will now meet Monday, Wednesday and Fridays.  Women-Only will meet Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 4-5pm and CrossFit Kids will meet Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 4-5pm.

Please take special note that we are offering a Saturday CrossFit class that is open to ANY and ALL members of the gym.  Saturdays from 11:30-12:30.  Open Gym is from 9:30 to 11:30am on Saturdays.  At 11:30am Open Gym will end and we will offer an All-Gym- Awesome-time CrossFit class.

In the next week or two we will be checking in with you all to see if you need assistance or help getting registered for your class!

Happy New Year.

Lots of upcoming program announcements and scheduling details.  Keep checking!  Today begins our foray into modern technology in order to serve you all better!  From now on, you will sign up for your chosen class or program through, Mind Body [...]]]> Anne is going to CONQUER the squat during this Raw Strength Series!!

Lots of upcoming program announcements and scheduling details.  Keep checking!  Today begins our foray into modern technology in order to serve you all better!  From now on, you will sign up for your chosen class or program through, Mind Body On-Line,  our on-line database system.  This will allow us to manage class size and to communicate easily with specific groups of clients.  We are super excited!!  But it won’t work if you don’t use it!!  Over the next few days our entire class and program offering will be ready for you to register for using this system.  You will register for your chosen class each month.  Today, the Raw Strength Series, Women-Only CrossFit , and CrossFit Kids are ready for action.

The first Raw Strength Series of 2012 is open for registration!!!  This Raw Strength Series will be Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:00pm to 7:30.  We will begin on January 9th and run 6 weeks through Feb 15.  You can read more about the Raw Strength Series at www.barebonesbarbell.com. To save your place, register here:

Raw Strength Registration.

Only 12 people will have a spot in this Raw Strength Series to insure that we can offer you our full coaching attention.

Your coaches this series will be myself, Jennifer Higgins, and Gary Panttila.  We loooove weight lifting and we love teaching people how to lift and watching progress in our clients.  Gary has more than ten years of coaching experience here in Tucson and five years of competitive powerlifting experience.

Beginning next week on January 3rd the Women-Only CrossFit class will move to Mon, Tue and Thur from 4-5pm.  Repeat.  The Women-Only CrossFit class will no longer be a M, W, F class, but a M, Tue, Thur class.  Same time, 4-5.  To correspond with this, and hopefully make the schedule a little more family-friendly, the CrossFit Kids class will move to the exact same time and days.  CrossFit Kids will now be Mon, Tue, Thur at 4pm instead of Mon, Wed, Saturday.

To save your spot in the January Women-Only CrossFit class please sign up here.

Women Only Crossfit Registration.

To register your child for the January CrossFit Kids program please go here:

CrossFit Kids Registration.

Parkour is ridiculously awesome.  The MovNat guys are awesome too, but we don’t all live in the jungles of Thailand or the forests of West Virginia.  Parkour is The People’s version of Natural Movement.

I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to say that [...]]]> Click here to view the embedded video.

Parkour is ridiculously awesome.  The MovNat guys are awesome too, but we don’t all live in the jungles of Thailand or the forests of West Virginia.  Parkour is The People’s version of Natural Movement.

I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to say that when we, as humans, feel strong we can be happier.  Strength gives us a platform from which to conquer fear.  Fear is such an enormous obstacle in life.  ”Be careful” is my least favorite parenting phrase.  If you have kids, strike that from your vocabulary.  Instead try, “Focus on your balance if you climb on that wall and walk along the top because you are high up and if you fall you will very likely get hurt.”  I observe that adults LOVE to tell children to “be careful” or “don’t do that honey you could get hurt” or  ”don’t play with that, you might get dirty”.  What is it about us as adults that makes us want to instill such fear into our children?  All that does is produce a generation of people afraid of everything because they never spent their child hood falling and failing and figuring out how to get back up and brush off the dirt, bandage up the scrapes and get going.  Creating fear creates fearful people.  I find it fascinating to talk to adults that I admire.  The most accomplished business people, engineers, scientists and all-around really interesting people I meet are often the ones who had a lot of wild adventures as a kid.  Their mothers let them fight it out with their siblings, they jumped off barn roofs, broke their arms riding their bikes all crazy, swam to islands, rode motocross, rode horses, and cut firewood.

In your movement adventures, whether it is in your CrossFit gym, or on your mountain bike rides or navigating puddles, do you notice when you are fearful?  Can you be smart and wise, but brave and adventurous?  Kids are usually brave and adventurous if we let them be, but not always wise and smart.  Adults often let their heads do all the talking, so they miss out on courageous adventures.  One of the things I like most about keeping fit with a powerful strength and conditioning program is that it lets me be courageous and adventurous even though I am all grown up.

Click here to view the embedded video.

My girls.

In our CrossFit gym each and every client is considered an athlete.  This is a radical difference from the way that clients are dealt with in other gyms and fitness programs. [...]]]> SUBTITLE: DOES YOUR FITNESS PROGRAM TREAT YOU LIKE AN ATHLETE?

Click here to view the embedded video.

My girls.

In our CrossFit gym each and every client is considered an athlete.  This is a radical difference from the way that clients are dealt with in other gyms and fitness programs. Being identified as an athlete is indicative of the theory behind your CrossFit fitness program.  CrossFit is a fitness program.  So is Pilates.  Ditto for Yoga.  Same for Zumba.  The bootcamps I drive by every day in the park are fitness programs.  All these fitness programs are life changing.  World changing.  A sedentary life is a prescription for a sick life.  Whatever gets you moving is special.  I’ve tried all those fitness programs and more.  I’ve enjoyed them all in certain ways.  My favorite non-CrossFit fitness program was aerobics, back in the 80s.  Yes, I am over the age of 40.  Man that was a good workout.  My legs would burn and my lungs would be bursting.  The music was awesome.  The outfits… unforgettable.  Fun was the name of the game.  There were a few things that heightened the fun of my aerobics fitness program.  First, was taking one of my fellow geologists who, as the only male, would do the entire class in his combat boots with a look of complete serious concentration the whole time.  More fun could be had by going with my roommate, a serious follower of the Grateful Dead. We would mix vodka tonics in our water bottles and get vibed with some high kicks to Gloria Estefan.  Also hilarious was taking bets with another friend about which one of the hockey team (training outside the window) the aerobics instructor had slept with the night before, and adding extra hip thrusts when the song “Push It” by Salt ‘n’ Pepa came on.  Always fun and always a good workout.  Going to aerobics was way better for me than sitting around with the campus anarchists drinking beer at noon (that was for aerobics rest days).  I loved it, it was a great workout, it was hilarious fun, but in no one’s mind was I an athlete!  In fact, I am pretty sure the primary thing the aerobics teacher noticed about me (aside from the above-mentioned stuff) is that I never wore spandex and I wasn’t in her sorority.  She sure as hell never gave me any tips on how to get better.  But she often smiled at me and said “Great job!!”  It was complete bullshit on her part of course (again, see description above).  I actually found it fascinating.  Clearly, while half drunk and pointing at hockey players, I was not doing a good job.  Why on earth would she say that?

So, what makes you an athlete once you set foot inside a CrossFit gym?  Why are you an athlete in CrossFit Works but not at Pilates, Yoga, Zumba, or many other fitness programs?   You are an athlete in a CrossFit gym because the underlying assumption is that you believe you can improve, you want to improve and you want someone to help you improve.  Improving in a CrossFit gym is different than “getting better” at aerobics.  There are specific traits you want to improve in a CrossFit gym: endurance, stamina, agility, accuracy, coordination, balance, speed, power, strength and flexibility.  Improving in a CrossFit gym means you want your nutrition to improve, your energy to rise and your wellness to increase.  The underlying assumption when you walk in the doors is that you have goals for yourself regarding these qualities.  The underlying assumption is that you walked in because you want someone to watch your movement patterns and your performance and you want someone to tell you how to get better.  The underlying assumption is that you want someone who takes you seriously as a person who wants to get stronger and faster.  You are looking for someone who believes in your future.  You are looking for someone who will invest themselves in your future.  The underlying assumption about you as a CrossFit athlete is that you don’t want to be bullshitted by a “fitness trainer” like my super pretty, spandexed aerobics queen.  You are an athlete because when you are not inside the doors of this CrossFit gym we are thinking about you, researching your sticking points and arguing about methods to get you over your personal obstacles.  You are an athlete because you have coaches.  Not aerobics instructors.

One reason I love CrossFit more than I ever loved aerobics is because there are guys, besides a lone geologist in combat boots, for one thing.  Every other fitness program I have ever been to is vastly dominated by women.  Personal training studio, check.  Yoga, check.  Pilates, double check.  Dance class, triple check.  Why is that?  Are only women out of shape?  Do only women care about their fitness?  Obviously not.  Something is wrong with a world of fitness programs populated  predominantly by women.  I’m immediately suspicious.

The serious reason I love CrossFit more than any other fitness program is that I am treated like an athlete.  I value that feeling more than anything.  My training partners and my coaches actually care about my progress.  They take it personally if I am not obviously improving.  They do not let my moments of weakness get the better of me.  They never underestimate me.  They might overestimate me sometimes! but they never let me be less than I can be.  There are not a lot of people in the world who are brave enough, steel enough, confident enough to give me a push when I start to half-ass things.  As an athlete in a CrossFit gym I am surrounded by people who always see me as more than I am that day.  When I know that my coaches see me as an “achiever” I carry that feeling with me into the world.  When I fail a lift, like today’s last deficit Sumo Deadlifts, I am grateful for the encouragement I get as I try the lift, and even more so for the head-shaking “you coulda had that” that comes afterwards.  I don’t feel like a failure, I feel like “wow!  I just failed, but my coach just said he sees me as capable!”   I don’t crumble inside because someone pointed out that I am capable of more than I just did.  To me, that is a vote of confidence.  None of my coaches or training partners believe that my middle age, my gender, my motherhood-situation or my lack of spandex is a problem for my performance (that all falls under material for jokes).  One of my current coaches is older than I am and way more bad ass.  She, herself, is committed, focused, and accomplished and she expects me to be the same.

I also love being an athlete in a CrossFit gym because it is as fun as aerobics ever was.  There is more silliness.  Bubblegum-flavored branch chain amino acids taste at least as good as vodka tonics.  The outfits are still as good.  Have you seen that Lululemon stuff?  Out of my league for sure, so much matching.  The only thing that aerobics had going for it that my CrossFit gym does not, is my kind of music.  Once in awhile I get away with a little Salt ‘n’ Pepa, but not often.  Still, I will find love for the dubstep, as long as I am treated like an athlete.  As long as all the people inside these doors look at me, see what I am doing, and think to themselves “she could do better than that if she fixed a couple things” I don’t care who is better than me, worse than me, louder, quieter, better dressed, bigger, smaller, faster or stronger.  I care that I am in a place where everyone is an athlete.  Everyone is an athlete because they are here working to overcome roadblocks.  The roadblocks might be nutritional, lifestyle, physical, mental or emotional but they are temporary.  When dubstep shows me the Salt ‘n’ Pepa I might even be won over to the music.  Do CrossFit.  Get coached.  Get past obstacles.  Get treated like an athlete.  You are one as soon as you walk in these doors.