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.

I realize it might feel a little differently not being on the beach…

There are many different systems designed to help an athlete communicate with their coach (and yes, CrossFit considers every single person who does CrossFit to be an athlete).  One of the systems [...]]]> Click here to view the embedded video.

I realize it might feel a little differently not being on the beach…

There are many different systems designed to help an athlete communicate with their coach (and yes, CrossFit considers every single person who does CrossFit to be an athlete).  One of the systems we use to facilitate communication between a coach and and athlete here at CrossFit Works is our “home class” system.  This is the reason we hope you can maintain some type of consistency with your attendance (MWF 7am, for example) and that we use the same coach for that class.  As coaches we then have the ability to interact with you more frequently and to get to know you better.

A fantastic system of communication between athlete and coach is the Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale, abbreviated RPE.  I’m not sure who the originator of this system was, but I learned about it from one of my coaches Jack Reape.  The RPE Scale I used was described by Michael Tuscherer (world class power lifter) in his book The Reactive Systems Training Manual.  You can see it here.  With the RPE system you assess the effect of a particular exercise on you based on how hard you perceived it to be.  I LOVE this system.  In my programming with Jack Reape he would tell me, do this at an RPE of 8.  The definition of an RPE of 8 is this: “the weight was too heavy to move fast, but I had 2-4 reps left in the tank.”  Sometimes I was asked about the RPE of a certain exercise.  This system encourages real honesty.  There is no slipperying around with telling yourself “Oh that was really hard.  I worked really hard just then.”  Well, did you have 2 more reps left in your tank?  Yes or no?

The RPE was designed for weight lifting, but we can use it to assess our CrossFit workouts too.  The original definition of CrossFit is that it is performed at high intensity.  This means give it EVERYTHING you’ve got, every time.  According to the creators of CrossFit, if it isn’t high intensity you didn’t just do CrossFit.  This is one reason why, at CrossFit Works, we believe that three times per week is enough CrossFit for a fitness program.  Working at high intensity is physiologically draining.  The benefit is in the recovery.  Does “high intensity” mean the same thing as “I did my workout, it kicked my butt, so I’m all set.”?  No, it does not.

Let’s use the RPE method to talk CrossFit.  If I told you “Approach your finish time on today’s workout at an 8.”  That might mean, finish this workout in a way that you potentially could have done it 1 minute faster than you did.  If I said to you “Approach this one like a an RPE 10 (maximal, no reps left in the tank), that would mean be positive you couldn’t have shaved another second off your time!”  What if I asked you to tell me what your RPE was?  What if I asked you to tell me why it was that particular RPE?  What if you were honest and what if we looked at your progress relative to your RPE?

Scenario #1:

Athlete:  Today was an RPE 4 for me.

Coach: “Why”?

Athlete:  My kid was up sick all last night, I didn’t sleep.

Coach: “Makes total sense.  Very wise approach.”

Scenario #2:

Athlete: Today was a 10 RPE for me!

Coach: Tell me about it, how do you know?

Athlete: I was completely wiped out at the end, I’ve never accomplished that before!  PR for me!!

Coach: “Congrats!  You have changed so much in the last few months!  Nice work!  Tomorrow when you are in let’s see how you feel.”

Scenario #3:

Coach: Today was an RPE 2 for you.  During the workout you were chatting.

Scenario#4:

Athlete:  Today was an RPE 5 for me.

Coach: “Why”?

Athlete:  I’m just here to have fun.

Coach: Silence.

Sencario #5:

Athlete:  Today was an RPE 6 for me.

Coach: What’s up?

Athlete:  I’ve been feeling a little low energy lately, haven’t been sleeping all that well, lots going on at work.  A 6 RPE was really what made sense for me today.

Coach:  ”Yup.  Sounds like the right thing.”

As with any training variable ( movement, rep scheme, load) we can vary our RPE.  The original definition of CrossFit also includes the phrase “constantly varied”.  I believe it is quite wise to vary your RPE in your training.  However, the only way to do this so that it benefits you and your CrossFit community is to be clear, precise and honest about it.  Make sure it VARIES!  Make sure you are taking stock of when to vary and why.  Do you leave the gym looking the same every day?  Are you always the first or second person finished with your strength work?  If so these are signs that you are not varying your exertion and also signs that you are not receiving the full benefit from what is actually a very well designed strength and conditioning program.  Doing CrossFit three times per week, as we advise, will benefit you only if you take stock of your exertion.  Find a way to define your own personal intensity.  We can very easily fall into a trap of thinking we are always working at high intensity because we “worked hard”.  It is ok not to work at high intensity every time, but you have to most of the time and you have to notice when you do and when you don’t.

Well, I know, no one is perfect, but there are moments when we achieve something with a movement that near perfection.  I have had the great pleasure to coach the intrepid 5:30am class this week and witnessed some true moments of greatness.  On Thursday during the Coach’s-Choice workout (a special feature [...]]]>

Well, I know, no one is perfect, but there are moments when we achieve something with a movement that near perfection.  I have had the great pleasure to coach the intrepid 5:30am class this week and witnessed some true moments of greatness.  On Thursday during the Coach’s-Choice workout (a special feature of the 5:30am program) we did tempo snatch grip deadlifts, dumb bell floor press and side planks.  It was really impressive to see the perfection in position and movement.  On Tuesday I badgered (I mean supported) Sarah in moving up to a heavier kettlebell which she handled with precision and control surprising herself, but not me.

And, in a long-planned for moment of perfection and achievement, Betty F. did her first free standing back squats.  I think that Chris and Carl were singing and dancing, but Betty is a little more classy than that of course.  Betty, welcome to the world of squatting!!

The 6pm Mob (Flash?).  Midori and Leslie, the only Sister members of the Mob.  As a head’s up, we are taking names right now.  As in attendance.  Some of our classes are full.  We will be addressing this soon!  Hang in there.

I had to give Ellie the winning spot for [...]]]>

The 6pm Mob (Flash?).  Midori and Leslie, the only Sister members of the Mob.  As a head’s up, we are taking names right now.  As in attendance.  Some of our classes are full.  We will be addressing this soon!  Hang in there.

I had to give Ellie the winning spot for the egg challenge.  It was a total one of a kind entry.  In general, apples featured prominently in versions of egg scrambles.  Ellie and Pancho get 6 dozen eggs.  Don’t forget to share with us if you have any other clever ideas!

By Ellie.  Probably eaten by Pancho.

“Here is my best shot. I just made these for a halloween treat and they were outstanding!”
Ingredients:

• 6 Eggs
• 1 Cup Almond Milk
• 3 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
• 2 Tsp Vanilla
• 2 Tsp Pure Maple Syrup
• 1/4 Cup Coconut Flour
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/8 Tsp Nutmeg
• 2 Apples, cored and diced
• 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• 2 Tbsp Raw Organic Honey
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1 Tsp Nutmeg
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• Handful of crushed pecans
Process:

1. Preheat Oven to 425 Degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, almond milk, coconut oil, vanilla, and Maple Syrup
3. In a small bowl, stir coconut flour, nutmeg, and baking soda
4. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients and beat well to combine, set aside while you prepare the apples
5. In a small frying pan, heat 2 Tbsp coconut oil and raw organic honey
6. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg and juice of 1/2 Lemon and cook for 1 minute
7. Add in your apples and sauté until all your apples are nicely coated
8. Evenly divide your apple mixture between 8 Ramekins greased with coconut oil and then evenly divide your egg mixture on top of the apples between the 8 Ramekins
9. Place your Ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 20 Minutes at 425 and then reduce heat to 375 and cook for an additional 20 Minutes
10. Sprinkle with Pecans when removed from the oven
11. Enjoy

Shout out to Leslie on her 115lb Over Head Squat and Ayanna for her 95lbs.  Nice work by the currently, spectacularly flexible Chris Lees on his 155lb PR and to Allegra, Joli and Josie for finding the elusive overhead squat groove for the first time.

As you all know I am a fan of the author of the 70sBig website.  This post of his is so timely for us.  We have a crew of super hardworking women preparing for the 2012 CrossFit Open Sectionals (as well as women who have been and are preparing to compete in Olympic [...]]]>

As you all know I am a fan of the author of the 70sBig website.  This post of his is so timely for us.  We have a crew of super hardworking women preparing for the 2012 CrossFit Open Sectionals (as well as women who have been and are preparing to compete in Olympic Lifting and Powerlifting).  Chris and I talk often about how to support and respond to people’s mental performance.  Chris and I feel pretty similarly about this issue, so you can expect consistency in your coaching staff with regard to your mental game.  Being upset about things not going well is completely fine.  If you didn’t care enough to get worked up over failure then you don’t care enough to get really good.  I don’t need to repeat what the astute 70sBig post says, but I will add one thing.  Justin, the author of 70sBig is a dude so he has to be a little careful about being critical of crying in the gym.  I am a woman so I have the green light to speak a little more freely on the topic.  I will say that I have cried in the gym twice (not counting the myriad times when I was a teenage gymnast!).  Once was when I nearly knocked myself out hitting my chin with the barbell doing a Snatch.  The second time was actually fairly recently when I missed a lift I should have made and the person coaching me was very nice about it.  Too nice.  In that moment of things going wrong, the adrenaline rush, the fight or flight thing, I want to be encouraged to fight.  I don’t want my coaches or my lifting partners to treat me like I deserve the space to feel sorry for myself.  I want them to ignore me or push me past it.  There is time later to evaluate, to think through what went wrong.  Time later for a hug.  Right then, help me get mad.  Don’t be afraid of my feelings.  I love how in this post Justin says that most guys want to go make a sandwich when they see a girl crying in the gym.  In our gym no one wants to go make a sandwich when they see someone falling apart.  Chris will dive right in and be more aggressive than ever to keep you from losing it.  That is one of the many many special things about Chris.  He is not afraid to coach women so that he moves them past their self-imposed break down point.  I usually take the “ignore it” route.  Tears and frustration are normal and not a reason for extra attention.  Chris and I are incredibly impressed with our women in the gym.  To watch so many of you gorgeous, smart, women get focused and tough is a true inspiration and a gift to me and Chris and all the other coaches here.  As I have said before I wish that all the teenage girls in the world could meet JSchae, Liz, Renee, Silverman, Maureen and all the other rockin’ mujeres here.

To read the full post and see the picture go here, otherwise you can read most of it below!  By the author of www.70sBig.com.

“Learning How To Fail

There will be a point in a girl’s training when something will go wrong. This isn’t unique to females, but it’s more significant to them when it happens. When a guy fails a weight or busts his ass squatting, he’s embarrassed and ashamed, but typically more pissed off. He’ll mutter, “God damn it,” scrape himself off the floor, re-rack the weight, and try it again. He’s pissed, yet has a hint of competitiveness. This could be from playing sports in high school or a heightened relative aggression due to an evolutionary development that results in at least ten times the amount of testosterone. Either way, when girls who are new to training fail, they can get upset and will even cry.

It doesn’t always have to occur after an embarrassing ass-busting that results in everyone in the gym staring. Instead, it can occur with experienced girls who miss a much desired PR. Sorry if you’re a tough-guy girl who feels the need to respond to every discrepancy that isn’t aimed at you, but most girls will cry at least once in the gym.

This can be awkward or difficult, because most guys won’t know what to do (and will often just want to go make a sandwich). Yet it’s relevant, because focusing on “today” is erroneous when training is actually a process. Anybody who broods excessively over a shitty workout just ends up being a pain in the ass. You’re allowed to brood if you bomb out at a meet, but not if you miss a rep off of your work set. Failing is supposed to be a part of training. It needs to happen. If it didn’t, we wouldn’t get any better.

When someone fails or messes up in lifting — but specifically talking about girls here — and they are visibly upset about it, the first thing I do is explain what went wrong, and what we have to do to fix it. Things are not hopeless in the gym. Mechanics are easy to observe and easy to fix; we aren’t dealing with unknowable factors like shifts in gravity or constantly mutating bodies. I will diagnose what caused the failure — whether it’s inadequate recovery (sleep/food/stress/etc.) or a technical error — and explain how we are going to improve that thing. If it’s technical and there are still more sets, then I whittle this down to an easy cue (usually reiterating something we’ve been focusing on). If it occurred on the last set, then I might have a repeat of fewer reps at the weight, back off the weight and practice the cue, or if the person is smoked move on and worry about it next workout (but make a note in the log).

The second thing I’ll stress is that this error, this failure, shouldn’t effect the rest of the workout or mindset in general. I’ll point out, “There isn’t anything we can do about it now, we know why it happened, and we know how to prevent it in the future.” If the lifter needs a few minutes to be pissy about it, I’ll give them that time, but then I’ll ask them forget about it. At nationals this year, Chris missed his third squat — something that I felt he really took pride in because of the progress he made on the lift in the last year (he has squatted 644 in competition). Chris really takes failures hard and was brooding, and this was the quote I used in the post recapping that meet:

“I know you’re pissed and upset about squat, but we still have the rest of the meet. It’s time to step up and be a competitor — we can worry about that shit later, but let’s put all our focus into getting good reps on the bench and deadlift. Go take a walk and let it go on the walk. When you come back, let’s fucking have fun and compete.”

Chris was pissed for a couple more minutes, took a short walk, came back focused, PR’d on bench, hit a really funny posing routine in the warm-up room, and then he summoned the demons for a PR deadlift of 666 pounds — the devil’s number — on his third attempt.

This may not be necessary in a training session, but if I need to, I’ll set a short-term parameter for the lifter to be pissed, and then we’ll wipe the slate clean and focus on what’s ahead instead of brooding on the past.

Lastly, I will put things in perspective. This is typically only needed with women because they have trouble with failure (they get really pissed and upset). I will show them the big picture and detail how far they have progressed. Women typically lift in the moment and are concerned with progress from their relative position and often ignore the fact that they are lifting twice as much weight (for reps) as they could when they started. This is usually combined with a “well done” speech and giving them a verbal pat-on-the-back for how far they’ve come. In all honesty, I think i’s impressive when a girl who couldn’t squat 90 pounds is now squatting 180 for reps. I think that’s really cool and something that 99% of women in the world are unable to do. I’ll usually point out that nobody in the building is capable of such a feat (typically true in a public fitness gym).

Failure is a regular part of lifting. It helps us learn how to improve physically, but it’s a marker of psychological success that can’t be emulated until it happens. It helps us diagnose the problem and fix it, but it helps us grow stronger mentally by not letting it get in the way of a training session, a meet, or progress. Failure also gives us a moment to sit on the mountain of success we’ve built, look down the trail we’ve traveled, and say, “Damn, Ihave come a long way.”

Carl and Chris had a huge crew gettin’ their starting score for The CrossFit Works October “Filthy Fifty” on Saturday.  We had over 15 pairs get things kicked off Saturday and already by noon on Monday Mary Lou was in for her homework. The entire CrossFit Works crew welcomes the new folks into [...]]]>

Carl and Chris had a huge crew gettin’ their starting score for The CrossFit Works October “Filthy Fifty” on Saturday.  We had over 15 pairs get things kicked off Saturday and already by noon on Monday Mary Lou was in for her homework. The entire CrossFit Works crew welcomes the new folks into the gym for this Challenge.  For all of you that have been here awhile keep a lookout for people who might look like they aren’t sure what exactly to do in the gym.  If you see someone like that, offer them a hand or some suggestions as they work through their homework.

Ladies-Only posse gets a special guest on Monday Oct 3rd.  We have been relentlessly talking you all into registering for the All Women’s Strength Challenge on Saturday November 12th.  I know we have Toby, Audrey, Mona, hopefully Lucy, Ellie, Jessica, I’m gonna work on Taarna.  I’ve heard a little bit of worry about [...]]]>

Ladies-Only posse gets a special guest on Monday Oct 3rd.  We have been relentlessly talking you all into registering for the All Women’s Strength Challenge on Saturday November 12th.  I know we have Toby, Audrey, Mona, hopefully Lucy, Ellie, Jessica, I’m gonna work on Taarna.  I’ve heard a little bit of worry about what it will be like: “I’m not competitive.” “Lifting while people are watching???!!!”  ”I’m not strong I will look stupid”.  Cast aside your worries Sisters.  This day is about fun, laughing, getting it on in the gym, learning, setting some Personal Records and being inspired by some other women.  We will have a lovely and talented MC right out of your own coaching staff and the rest of the event staff will be magically kind, supportive, helpful, sweet and of course, good looking.

I know that Jschae has her Ladies-Only crew working on your bench press in preparation for this awesome day.  On Monday you will get some tips and practise from the very same person who will judge your bench press on November 12th.  Gary will be at your Monday class while you bench to go over rules and technique so nothing will take you by surprise on Nov 12th.  Bench big ladies.