Coaching

I am not sure if I have commented on this before but I would like to comment on this topic because I get a lot of feedback from my staff and I get a lot of feedback from my clients.

What is a coach?

Wikipedia has a good history on it.
Etymologically, the English term “coach” is derived from a medium of transport that traces its origins to the Hungarian word kocsi meaning “carriage” that was named after the village where it was first made. [3] The first use of the term coaching to mean an instructor or trainer arose around 1830 in Oxford University slang for a tutor who "carries" a student through an exam.[4] Coaching thus, has been used in language to describe the process used to transport people from where they are, to where they want to be. The first use of the term in relation to sports came in 1831.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaching

I like at the very end how it says as a coach you "transport people from where they are, to where they want to be." I love that because that is exactly what you do. We have to understand that there are many different ways to coach, depends on the age group that you are coaching. Examples; kids, high school, college, adults, and also what field they are in. Sport Specific coaching (football/basketball coach), strength and conditioning, personal training, group exercise and the list can go on. Your approach to each of these in my opinion has to vary depending on the demographic of your group. This is obvious; I just hope it is to you. In my history I have coached freshman summer baseball, I have personal trained people from 12 years old to 55 years old, and I have been a coach at CrossFit Omaha for 3 plus years. I have worked with many different age groups and many different settings. I feel I can adapt to whomever I am around to help bring the best experience to each person. I am really only going to focus on personal training and being a CrossFit coach, because those are the fields I have spent most of my time coaching. I may hit a bit about when I coached baseball but I really want to talk about coaching the general public and elite athletes in our gym.

How I coach.

I take a different approach to each individual and I take a different approach to each class that I teach. This doesn't mean I go easier on different people/classes or go harder, I look at how each of them respond to different motivations. I try to connect on a personal level, not just in the gym but what's going on outside of the gym as well. When you start to understand the person and where they come from, then you can personalize your coaching. If someone responds better to negative reinforcement, you will find that out sooner if you get to know them better. If someone responds to positive reinforcement then you know how to motivate and get people to where they want to be.

"Where they want to be” Let’s talk about that. Let’s say someone comes to you and says I want to lose weight and tone up. Who hasn't heard that before? I'm not really sure what "tone up" means anymore but I get where they are going. Magazines use nice words like that to get people to buy their product. They show a man or woman doing exercises (that they really don't do) with "amazing bodies," right? So when people read these magazines they come to me and say I want to look like that. (This more relates to when I personal trained. It still does happen though.) Now I love the goal, don't get me wrong, whatever motivates you to get you moving and putting things to action I love. As a coach I want you to want more, if that is what gets you in the door and starts pushing you to become better, great. I now want you to start educating yourself in how you want to go about doing that, and then ask me questions about what you are learning. I don't want you to start taking supplement after supplement and eating whole grains and low fat diets. This is where a good coach comes in to play. As a coach you need to become educated in all aspects of fitness (granted I know I have a lot to learn but I am pushing myself to know all that I can). Not just knowing what set and rep scheme to give people to achieve a certain goal but to understand technique, work to rest ratios, recovery, nutrition, and different training modalities is just a start. The tricky part is that some people either don't want to work hard to really achieve their goals, because society has said fitness is quick and easy, or people don't understand what they really need to do to get there.

Let’s start with the "hard work" part. To achieve anything great in this life it takes hard work and dedication. If it is graduating from College, raising a family, getting a raise, becoming healthier, whatever it may be you can half ass it and get half ass results or you can put hard work behind it and dedicate yourself and get the best results you can. This is what most people do not understand, getting great things in life is a result (most the time) of hard work. You have to ask yourself what you want out of life or from your goal that you have set. Do you really want it or just saying you do, do you want to do the work, or are you just saying you do, and are you ready to dedicate yourself, or are you going to dedicate yourself until it becomes hard. Some people are misled to believe that losing weight and to better your health comes with taking a pill, or some people are too lazy to actually do the work. You have to look at fitness as an overall well-being. As a coach you have to be able to get people to understand that, which is one of the hardest things to get across to people. They see commercials with celebrities saying I wear Sketchers shoes and clothing that will help me lose weight and tone up my muscles in the right places. They also hear commercials saying take this pill and you can lose up to 10 pounds in two weeks just by taking this pill, you don't have to change anything in your life. They also have the government telling them bad nutritional information and leading you in the wrong direction. With all of these factors pulling them in all of these directions no wonder why people have a hard time believing you (coach).

Coach, you have to do your research, you have to understand why this is good or this is bad, or how can I get you from here to there safely and most effectively. The client will only follow you for so long saying, "Well he/she tells me to do this so I am going to do it." This lasts until they don't see results or hear of this report that came out saying doing squats is bad for your knees. You need to be able to be 10 steps ahead of your client. Trust me that is really hard to do, especially when your client wants to learn and understand so much. You have to have them understand that working hard and doing it "this way" is going to have them achieve every goal they set forth. This is why we are doing this because this, this, and this, and this is why we are eating this way because of this, this, and this. You start to gain their trust and they will be asking you not telling you what they read in a magazine or heard from someone else.

What I see in the community.

I have been blessed to have great teachers and great mentors to look up to in my coaching, especially two at CrossFit Omaha thanks Ricky and Joe! In no way shape or form am I saying I am the best coach or my ways of doing things is the best, but it works for me. I try to take the best qualities from people I look up to and use them in my own way. My top three requirements to being a great coach; great personality, great with people, and be very knowledgeable about what you are talking about. Let’s talk about each one.

Great Personality, this is unique to each individual and group you are coaching. I believe that when you have a great personality (that's not fake) you can reach people on a whole other level. They start looking at you as someone they can trust and be comfortable with. When those things happen you can really get people to do amazing things.

Great with People, this is a must for obvious reason. If you cannot adapt to your people and cannot relate to them then you will have a tough time getting people to let you in.

Very Knowledgeable, you can only get your clients to achieve as much as you know. If you know very little about nutrition, fitness, and so on how much do you think your client will know? Remember your client looks up to you and expects that you know everything, so when you know little you client does not recognize that until they educate themselves. This only hurts your client.

I have seen and heard a lot of bad coaching out there and I think most coaches have one or two of these qualities but not all three. In my opinion when you have all three you put yourself in a great position to become an amazing coach. What I usually see with people is the first two but not the last one. People can be great motivators and connect with their clients but lack the knowledge. There are a few cases that I see people who have great knowledge but cannot connect with their clients. This makes it hard for clients to really excel and get what they want and achieve it for a life time. In the CrossFit community I see and hear many things. I see coaches with great passion, and see coaches with great intentions, and I see coaches with great knowledge. I also see coaches with elitist type attitudes, I see coaches who treat their clients like meat, and I see coaches that have no idea what they are doing. This frightens me because CrossFit and its philosophy are what I believe in and what I love. I don't want that to define who I am by association. I know everyone is going to do their own thing and coach their own way. All I ask is that you treat people with respect and you coach the best way you know how.

What needs to be changed, in my opinion?

You get yourself into a career or a job or whatever it may be that makes you happy. You have to ask yourself why did you get in to this job, do you love what you do or are you doing what you do because you have to. Either way in my opinion you should strive to be the best. My baseball coach in high school once said to me, "Be the best you can be with whatever situation you are in. If you’re playing baseball strive to be the best baseball player, or if you are a garbage man be the best garbage man you can be." No matter what you are doing why not put forth the effort in being the best you can. You have one life, one body, and one chance to do things right. So why not put forth the effort to be the best. So when it comes to coaching, you become the best you can and you do the research because people come to you for answers, and people come to you and put their life in your hands and they want you to improve it. So what needs to change? Educate yourself, don't think you know everything because you don't and will not know everything. If you research and keep researching and if clients ask you something you don't know tell them you will find out, it is ok to not know something. It's better to tell them you will research something then to tell them something you don't know for sure. Coach people with respect, motivate people with respect and remember they are paying you. They can walk away at any point and tell their friends how much they disliked you. The best clients are people who heard of you through word of mouth and if you are a great coach people will talk about you in a positive way.

Conclusion.

Coaches, if you educate yourself and you get to know your clients and have a good relationship with them, you are going to be very successful. There are people out there that want to be helped and people out there that say they want to be helped. You can't help everyone; all you can go is lead them in the right path. It's their choice to take that path, but they will more likely take that path if you fit all three of those categories I mentioned before. I want to be the best coach in the world, I'm not saying I am but I want to get as close as I can.

Grains (Wheat)

Wheat; it's in everything, it's part of our diet (for most of us), and it has been, in my opinion, put on a pedastal in terms of nutrition. We have been told wheat is good for us and that whole grain bread is a good source of fiber, vitamins, and nutrients. The following is what the Whole Grain Council has to say about grains:

Following is the official definition of whole grains, approved and endorsed by the Whole Grains Council in May 2004:

"Whole grains or foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally-occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed. If the grain has been processed (e.g., cracked, crushed, rolled, extruded, and/or cooked), the food product should deliver approximately the same rich balance of nutrients that are found in the original grain seed."

http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/definition-of-whole-grains

I have been looking at both sides of the story and those sides are either that whole grains are good for you or whole grains are bad for you. There is really no in between. I can't really think of anything that isn't either good or bad for you, when people say it's okay to eat they are simply saying, "Well its harmful, but not that bad." Like grains. When you break down the argument that grains are good for you, you have to start asking questions. I ask questions about all things, which I feel is really the only way you can make an honest opinion about something, otherwise you are just saying it. When it comes to conversation there are beliefs and there are facts. Some people want facts (me) and some people settle for just believing what they are told. When people start talking about how grains are good for you, its a belief they have and not a fact. When someone says squatting below parallel is bad for you its a belief and not a fact. Improper teaching or self-educating is the issue. Either people did not do their own research or they are just repeating what someone else has told them.

I fear that people have just come to listen in this society and to not challenge anything. I love it when people ask questions about "stuff" because it means they are taking an active role in their own development as a human being. When you don't challenge things you are being molded by someone else and not yourself. Again, don't be a dick about it when asking or questioning something, just have a conversation. Even if you are wrong, it's OK. Ask a highly successful person how many times they have failed or were told they were wrong and it is typically several. You learn and then create your own thoughts and opinions, they shouldn't be developed from someone else. Again, people will point you in either the right or wrong direction but ultimately it is your choice to follow a path. Stand by your opinions but don't disrespect someone else's opinion. Educate each other and learn that is the only way we can grow as a society, even if you don't want to believe the other side you must still listen because you may learn something.

Sorry got off track.

Celiac Defined: (defined by http://www.celiaccentral.org)

"Celiac disease is triggered by consumption of the protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye. When people with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the finger-like villi of the small intestine. When the villi become damaged, the body is unable to absorb nutrients into the bloodstream, which can lead to malnourishment."

Wheat is something that I have eaten my whole life and I have never had as severe of a reaction to it as someone with Celiac, i.e. vomiting, nausea, or diarrhea. So if I don't have a visible negative reaction, why should I not eat grains? Although you can't visibly see or physically feel the negative reaction from wheat if you're not a celiac, it still causes damage to the systems of every person who consumes it. When you do the research you look at two things that pop up: 1. Gluten (& Gliadin) and 2. Lectin. Both do damage to our system. One reason why I may not show signs of anything now is because I could be asymptomatic, meaning it doesn't show effects to my body now but will down the road. Do I want to take that risk? Probably not.

Gluten is found in wheat, rye and barley (oats in some cases) and is the cause of many issues in our system. Our bodies don't know how to digest gluten, so when we consume it, our body then starts to attack itself. It is a substance that threatens our gut, so it sends anti-bodies to defend the threat. Our immune system kicks in and helps correct the issue, resulting in problems with intestinal function, but no structural damage unlike those with celiac, and negative effects on virtually all tissues of the body. Because there is no structural damage to the intestine, these reactions will not show up in a test for celiac or gluten intolerance, as these tests look for atrophy of the villi. This is where belief and fact meet head on. People believe there is nothing wrong with them since they have no reaction or structural damage. The fact is that there is a reaction but the severity is different in everyone, celiac or not.

I was listening to a Robb Wolf podcast the other day and was listening to Dr. Davis, who is the author of Wheat Belly and it was the first time I heard about gliadin. It is a component of gluten. They talked about it being an appetite stimulant and how whole grain breads are one of the worst in glycemic index. They talk about how from the first part of digestion (chewing) your insulin level rises because the whole grain bread turns into glucose very quickly and increases insulin. The combination of the increase in appetite and increase in insulin is a very bad duo. These conditions lead to diabetes, some cancers, obesity, and a whole host of other auto-immune disorders. With all these factors put together why do we make ourselves susceptible to this? Well I'll tell you why, it's easy, it "fills" us up, it's cheap, it's in everything, and the government tells us to. Which are just some off the top of my head.

Lectin is also found in grains/legumes/dairy that can cause similar issues in the body. When you look at nature and you look at how "things" survive, you have to look at the defense mechanisms that allow them to survive and eventually strive. Animals can move, see, attack, hide, and so on. What can plants do? With grains they can't run or move from their predators so they have to come up with their own defense mechanism. In this case, this defense mechanism is lectin. The plant uses this to tell its predators to stop eating it because the "poison" irritates the gut (leaky gut) by attaching itself to the villi in the small intestine and letting partially digested food or toxins into the bloodstream. When the small intestine is damaged then the body starts to try to repair the damaged area. This again in turn creates auto-immune disorders.

Gluten and lectin are two different components, but both cause problems in digestion and problems in the small intestine. Like I said before, some of us may not show these signs now when eating these foods. But again I ask, why eat something that puts a poison in you so you don't eat it again? Take an active role in your nutrition and understand what you are putting in your body. You only get one so treat it well, and it will treat you well.

I've decided to challenge myself starting Jan. 1st 2012 to go 365 days (hopefully a lifetime) on a wheat free diet. You Celiacs say "What's so hard?", I say it's going to be a bit tough because I don't have the fear of my food exiting aggressively. The fear I do have is letting myself down or going back on this. So I guess I have a big incentive. I am going to chart many things during this process to see what changes and how I feel. I will post every night, with the help of my wife because I want her input on how I am doing. I feel as though having a second view on my progress will increase my chances of success. My plan is to turn this into a book, (not sure who would read it) in hopes that it will encourage people without Celiac disease or even people with it, to change their lifestyle and see how things can change.

I've been reading a lot about nutrition and I want to give thanks to Marks Daily Apple and Robb Wolf for making their information available, and I will continue to learn from you and many others.

Great info on these sites:

Marks Daily Apple
www.marksdailyapple.com

Robb Wolf
http://robbwolf.com/

New background

What you think? Its something I have been playing around with. It reminds me to keep educating myself. A reminder everyday right! Yesterday was a reminder how much farther I need to go and how much harder I need to work. I front squatted #250 felt good and should have gone more. The workout on the other hand not my best, maybe my worst. I think I was 330ish, my legs have always been my issue but yesterday was a good reminder. I just fell off. You have those days and you hope they are few and I need to keep on it. My eating has not been good but my reading on eating has been good. That's weird. I have been reading and listening about wheat and how harmful it is. I will be writing more about it and seeing your input. I got to go now but I will have more time tomorrow. Check it out! Our video, shown this before but can't get enough.

Elf on the Shelf

If you have kids and don't know what Elf on the Shelf is I will explain, and recommend you get one. Jen and I were told (can't remember who) about Elf on the Shelf. You get a book that has an Elf inside sent by Santa to look after your kids and your kids can tell your Elf what they want for Christmas. Your kids have to name your elf before he/she gets their magic. Canyon named ours "Buddy". Your Elf flies back at night when your kids are sleeping to report to Santa if they have been naughty or nice, and what they want for Christmas. The next morning when your kids wake up your Elf is in a different place. In the tree, on the shelf, or as you can see in ours in our Christmas Candy.

If you want to feel like a kid again and bring the spirit of Christmas back into your household I recommend you to get an Elf on the Shelf. Now if that isn't a slogan for the book I don't know what is. Its great to have Canyon, who is 3, come in every morning and ask "hey lets go find buddy"! Its great and you and your kids will love it!

Well day 2 on returning to CFO workouts.

#1
"CFO"
For time:
60 Burpees (hand release)

Compare to 100802.

#2
Double Unders, 2 minutes
Sit ups, 2 minutes
Double Unders, 90 seconds
Sit ups, 90 seconds
Double Unders, 1 minute
Sit ups, 1 minute
Double Unders, 30 seconds
Sit ups, 30 seconds

Workout #2 begins exactly 5 minutes after workout 1 begins. Obviously, this means workout #1 has a 5 minute cut-off.

#1- Did it in 3:05 a whole minute and 10 seconds faster than last time. What was I doing last time?

#2- 319 DU's my shoulders and lungs were burning, and 115 on situps, total 434.

Overall Im happy with the day shoulders are going to be sore from the past couple days but now just waiting to what Wednesday is going to be. My suggestion for this workout, find a pace with burpees so you don't stop. DU's shoot big for your first set then find a number you can hit before you rest. I always did about 20-25 DUs after my first set. Situps again find a pace that you dont stop. I hope this helps and I may keep putting up what my strategy was for each workout so maybe it helps people come up with their own.

Jimbo G put this up a little bit ago and I have heard the first 25min and can't wait to hear the last. Its on Robb Wolf's podcast on Wheat.

http://robbwolf.com/2011/08/30/the-paleo-solution-episode-95/

SNOW!

Well we just got hit with a good dose of snow. Here is a picture of Canyon we got to go out and play in the snow and have a snow ball fight and make "foot" prints in the snow (my favorite part of the weekend). It was nice not to get it until December usually Halloween gets nasty. Anyways good weekend to sit around and get a little closer to my sister in-law. We got snowed in while my wife was doing a project. Good time spent with the family and got my first taste of making noodles. I didn't cut my fingers off so successful day!

Back on track with workouts now. I took last week to try to ease my way back into them and saturday started my routine again. I liked doing Front Squat 3x10, Deadlift 3x10, and working on deep handstand push ups and also strict muscle ups. My saturdays.

Today back at noon, feels good to be back but still with JenD and Bob! Seeing if those two months pay off ;).

Skill/Strength

Push Jerk 2-2-2-2-2-2-2 reps
164-184-198-220-230-242-252

Perform 2 push jerks (no split jerks or push presses allowed), increasing in weight every set, for 7 sets on a two minute clock. This will be performed out of a rack.

Conditioning

Every 30 seconds for 8 minutes, perform:
1 Push Jerk, 70-75% of heaviest 2 rep from above
5 Pull ups

1 push jerk at #186
5 kipping pull ups (no butterfly)

It was a good one. I haven't done 80 pull ups in a while so I will probably be feeling that. Push Jerk felt good, worked on going wider with my grip and I liked it. Kipping pull ups got a bit tough at the end, grip just is still a little weak. Want to stay away from butterfly for a bit just to keep my shoulders healthy. Overall great day and it was nice to workout again with my wife, good teamwork!

Addi K, posted a good article on sleep so I wanted to share it here. Sleep is often over looked when training and it should be a huge focus when training and also for you health. As you will read here!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080101093903.htm
Courtesy of Science Daily

On it again!

Alright making back two days in a row, I'm happy.

First to answer Jimmy's questions.

-I used starting strength because where I am with my lifts I feel I make the best improvement with 3x5 set up. Next year I may change some things up to make it more interesting because yes the last 2 weeks got really boring. I am still a novice to intermediate lifter because really I have not been barbell training that long. I have been doing it for 3 years or so. I am still making big gains and once I feel like I am not going to make those bigger gains I will change things up, I probably will here next year or the following. I hope that answers your question, I love hearing from you and you are missed buddy!

Here is some nutrition talk.

-I have been dominating these paleo pancakes for the past few weeks or longer (prob longer) I love them but my energy level is not where is used to be after eating 1st meal. The pancakes are a mixture of bananas, eggs, almond butter, and some cinnamon. I know what my problem is and some mornings I just get lazy and just eat those. I need to be getting more protein and fat for breakfast. I need to be cooking more bacon, I love bay cone. So that's what I am going to do and Ill let you know how I start feeling. Anyone have any interesting "healthy" protein choices in the morning? I like options.

CrossFit Omaha Workout.

-Bulgarian Split Squats (front squat position)
4x6

Then...

Three rounds for quality and development:
Pull ups (strict, kipping, chest 2 bar), 90 seconds
Rest 15 seconds
Pistols (weighted, unweighted, negatives), 90 seconds
Rest 15 seconds
Ring Push ups (feet elev., on knees, rings elev.), 90 seconds
Rest 15 seconds
Row (diff. damper settings, diff. tech.), 90 seconds
Rest 15 seconds

Bulgarian Split Squat went a little too heavy I should have kept my mindset on a deload'ish week. I just felt tired and my body was telling to to ease off a bit but I didn't listen. I went #120 for the squats. We live and learn right!

I love what we did today because we get to choose the intensity and we get to choose what we want to work on. Of course weaknesses!

Pull ups I worked kipping, C2B, strict and some L-pull ups strict. Trying to perform these to the highest standard.
Pistols I have been doing a lot of pistols in my 2 months or strength and I am starting to feel it so I worked on pistols on a KB. I am able to do one on each leg but my balance is, lets be honest, bad. JenD showed up me up those, congrats to her!
Ring push ups again trying to hold my self to the highest standard, my butt and abs were wrecked when doing these correctly.
Rowing (biggest weakness) I work on my start. Doing 100m sprints and tried to start a bit differently each time. I would do 1/4 pull 1/2 pull and then start my fulls. I did 1/2 pull then start my fulls. I did two 1/2 pulls then my fulls. I also did just full pulls. I noticed 1/4, 1/2 and then my fulls worked the best.

Overall great day love being able to work on certain things and lets me know where I stand.

Good read:
http://www.archevore.com/panu-weblog/2009/6/23/the-argument-against-cereal-grains.html
Courtesy of Kurt Harris MD from his website. http://www.archevore.com

Back for good! (I hope)

I want to start chronicling my fitness and also my nutrition. Plus I would like to start talking about my lifestyle a bit as well. I hope I get a lot of questions about really anything. Again this is my way of life and no way and in any form am I going to impose that what I am doing is perfect. I just want to bring up conversation and discussion.

I have spent the last 2 months strength training to get ready for the upcoming season of CrossFit Games. I know my realistic goals and they are to one day be apart of regionals as an individual. I have plenty of things to work on and each year I notice myself getting stronger at those "things".

Strength Program that I did was,

Monday
Back Squat 3x5
Power Clean 5x3 (bench press) every other week 3x5

Wednesday
Front Squat 3x5
Press 3x5

Friday
OH Squat 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

With some accessory work after those lifts like pull ups, pistols, shoulder raises, toes to bar, good mornings, etc. Whatever I felt would help with those lifts.

I ended the 2 months with.
Back Squat 3x5 #290
Power Clean 5x3 #230
Front Squat 3x5 #245
Press 3x5 #152
OH Squat 3x5 #213
Deadlift 1x5 #323
Bench Press 3x5 #220

All my lifts went up, some more than others. This time last year, I am stronger in my squats, press is about the same and deadlift is down. I think deadlift is down because I was not concerned about technique and keeping my back flat. I have been working really hard at that this year.

There is a place where I want to be and there is a place where I am, in my mind I wish I was closer with my lifts but I am happy with the result. I know what I need to do and I have a plan in place.

I am in a deload"ish" week and just getting myself to transfer over from more strength to more conditioning.

Monday
3x5 back squat at #220 (focus a lot on tech.)

Unbroken
15-10-5
Kipping Pull ups (no butterfly)
Toes through rings
ring push ups
4:18 i think.

Today
3 rounds
42 double unders
30 pass throughs
18 push press #132
14:28

Just moving at a good pace not trying to kill myself and also trying to get this cold that I have to go away. Good past couple of days and I my plan is to keep posting on here about what I do.

Good Read!
http://startingstrength.com/articles/active_hip_2_rippetoe.pdf
courtesy of Mark Rippetoe

Finish or Not?

Hilg,

Good question I think that is something a lot of people question. Do I finish or just stop when the time is up. I think you can go a few different ways with that. Its a very tricky subject.

1. Most importantly (in my opinion) you need to be able to keep track of where you were when the time hit. That is your marker. We have time cut offs for a reason, to push intensity, to get high power output, and to increase work capacity. We as coaches and you as a client need to find a way to make sure in "all" workouts that you do finish them in the time cut off. If you are not then you are not getting the benefit of the workout. If that means scaling workouts even though you are used to not scaling then put your ego aside and do whats best for your body!

2. I think you have to pick and choose which workouts to finish and which workouts to say "yup that was enough". We as coaching should do a better job by saying "if you are so far along then finish, or this workout when the time hits you stop". There are some workouts in which it would be ok to finish and others not so much. This would be done on your own and people who are finished might be putting things back.

For example (finishing): The run/air squat/ pull up workout from friday. If you are doing your last set of pull ups then yes finish, but again like I said in my number 1, make sure you know where you were when the time cut-off hit.

For example (not finishing): Lets use the DB Thruster + Push Press and burpee workout from tuesday as our next example. Lets say it was for 5 rounds and a ten minute cut-off. This one I would say stop when the time hits.

To sum up #2, I feel if there is a workout in which it is supposed to be short (5-10min), fast, balls out, and with little rest you stop when the time hits. Because we don't want you to slow down and try to finish. If there is a longer workout (15-20min) and you are close to finishing go ahead and finish. What is close: In my opinion you can finish as long as you don't slow down or rest during your reps or your movements. Also something that can be done in less than a minute.

Then you say whats the point of a time cut-off if you are still allowing people to go past it. I feel most people want to get the workout done in the time cut-off. No one wants to DNF, so if we say you can have an additional minute after the time if you are close. You still DNF but you can still try to finish the workout for yourself.

3. Lastly most people who do the workout prescribed and who DNF are too stubborn to scale and should find a way to finish a workout. Trust me I have been put in that situation and should have scaled and didn't. I did not get what I was supposed to get out of that workout. I learned my lesson. When you start to understand your abilities it will be easier for you to scale accordingly. I know I can do everything prescribed but maybe not at the speed in which will allow me to finish with the top athletes. There is a goal and benefit in each workout, you got to understand your weaknesses and strengths to acheive that goal and benefit. Put your ego aside and you will make huge gains in your fitness if you acheive the goal and benefit of each workout.

Sum it all up people, ASK us for each workout, "Hey if I get here can I finish?". We will let you know. So people just like Hilg asked about this, keep asking questions. I love giving my opinion on things and hopefully it helps out. Keep working hard and keep writing stuff down. The time cut-off would be pointless if you never wrote anything down. Hope this helps and I will be writing my next topic on what to expect in your first month of crossfit.

Got it!

Well I did it for the final time on Saturday and got 308. It was an improvement of 10 reps, which I was happy with. People said I started to smile but I was feeling the exact opposite at the end of that workout. People did amazing for this first workout and plus people had pretty good patience with these first two weeks.

The last couple days have changed the standings dramatically, with all these people finally putting in their scores. Our team went from 5th to 23rd overall, this competition is going to be interesting. Well I put more on this here in a bit but just wanted to say great work everyone. This will be hopefully more fun as it goes along.

Did I Lie?

Well I will be doing the sectional workout one more time. Since the clips are 1 pound I actually did the workout with the correct weight. I feel if some of the girls and some of the guys are doing it again to make sure there is no complainers out there. So I will be going through that hell one more time with them. My goal is to destroy my last score and hope it helps out our team. Maybe 300???? Definitely!!!

Well people the sectional competition has not felt like a competition, but it is what it is. We cannot change anything but maybe they can change something so that next years first time competitors do not have to go through the confusion and poor planning that we have gone through. I understand it is its first year doing it this way but like we always say "have a plan".

Well going to try to get a solid nights sleep tonight and go for round 3 tomorrow. Ill let you know how things go.

So close

Dear 300,

I almost had you this time! I wanted more, I wanted to get to the snatches but my grip was the issue today! 298, really, you say why the hell could you not get 2 more reps. Trust me I was working. Well I will move on to get ready for the next workout because I need to save my back. At least I did better, it was sorta worth it, right? Well Im tired and upset but hey I need to focused on next week and do great on the next one.


Peace

Sectional Workout #1 2011

2011 CrossFit Games Open Workout #1
As many rounds/reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
30 Double Unders
15 Power Snatches, 75#/55#

This one was interesting, a combination or losing grip and losing my shoulders. Im not even going to talk about my form in the last couple of rounds because it felt bad! Just like Jimbo said people sign up because why not help contribute to our team and have fun doing it. Thats what Im doing people! Here my result on the first attempt:

1st go around - 6 rounds plus 24 double unders = 294 reps total.

2nd go around - Maybe?? 300 reps looks so much better if I could get there!

Probably Saturday again but we will see how I feel tomorrow. Have fun people and good luck

Tonight it begins

Well tonight is the night that we figure out what the first workout is going to be! I love what Dave L. wrote on the blog about how everyone should be doing this and I could not agree more. This is going to bring people together even more than what we are now. If you have not signed up for it yet it costs 10$ and its for 6 weeks of fun and team work.

I am excited and a little nervous finding out what the first workout is going to be, its going to be no different than any other day but because its for sectionals you get the butterflies going. I (you) need to remember its for fun you do great, awesome, you don't do so well, who cares. All that matters is that you came out and tried your best and if you put everything out there than you have done your best.

I look forward to these six weeks because it will be on everyones mind and people will be asking more and more questions. About how to scale, how to approach the workout, and what will be a good time to beat? I love it when people asks questions and during these 6 weeks people will be surprising themselves on how much they can do. You will see your performance in the gym shoot through the roof in these six weeks, because now you are fighting together in each class. You will not let anyone down no matter how you do, why, because you showed up! Its better to have showed up than have sat home that day and wondered how it would have gone if I would have shown up. You will have plenty of opportunities to do these workouts, Wednesday, Thursday, and even Saturday.

Get plenty of rest people (solid nights of sleep), keep eating right, and make sure you relax. That last one is more for me cause I stress out too much about these kinds of things. But I am teaching myself to not worry about how I do and just go out and have fun. That is when I do my best!

So when the workout comes up ask us for our advice, ask what the best way to approach it, and best of all have fun people this is a time to push yourself and see what you got. We are not here to win $250,000 (some are), we are here to support our gym and work our ass off. Why because why not, what other gyms out there are doing the things we are doing? Not a whole lot especially with the number of people we are doing it with. This is going to be a blast and cannot wait to see what we have in store for us! Good luck everyone and we are all doing this together.

Sectionals!

https://games.crossfit.com/

I believe that everyone in our gym should sign up and be apart of our team. It cost 10$ to sign up as an individual and then you register for our team. We have an opportunity to show everyone how many great athletes our gym has. Who cares if you don't think you are good enough to do the workouts, (you may surprise yourself) but it's all in having fun. I want to see our team be huge and I want you guys to have just as much confidence in yourselves that I do in you. This has nothing to do with how you rank during these workouts, it has everything to do with just participating.

These workouts will be apart of our regular programming so you will be doing them anyways, its just like any other workout we put on our blog. Now you can fight right along side someone to represent our gym and yourself. I'm really excited about it because I can't wait to workout with all of you and take pride in our gym. Its an opportunity that not a lot of people or gyms get to do. Who cares if you DNF or you have to scale it shows more for our gym how many people wanted to participate then not giving it a chance.

Our gym is well known for how many people come out and compete. We have had a lot in the past come out and know they are going to scale but they still put 100% into it even knowing they can't move on. Thats not the motivation, the motivation is trying it, telling yourself you can do it, and after it is done there will be no regrets because you were out their and you were giving it your all!

We are a team and we are a family, if you are willing to put down 10$ and put the effort you put in each and everyday anyways it will be a whole lot of fun. It starts next Tuesday so get your profile set up on the website above and if you have questions ASK US, don't be left out!

This is something you do not want to miss!

Closer to the goal!

Well its getting closer to that sectional that is coming up March 15th. I have been eating A LOT more lately and have been feeling much better. Keeping the energy high has been huge for these longer workouts. Its still fun for me right now and I hope it continues to be that way. I have no pressure on me, I just want to go out and do my best and if that gets me to where I want to be then great but if not I will keep working till it does.

CFO is my family and when I go compete I want to make them proud and I think other people may share in that same feeling. I want people to look at us and say damn they move really well. Technique has been what we strive for here at the gym and what we are known for. There are absolute beasts out there with no technique. Could you image if they were to get the right coaching and move the right way. That is why I believe CFO does so well, our clients across the board have better technique not only because us coaches strive for it but you guys want it. You know the benefit of good movement and you see the results.

NEVER be limited by your technique, ALWAYS be limited by your strength/endurance. With good technique comes strength and endurance. Strength and endurance does not lead to good technique.

I try to live by that, strive to become a perfectionist! We know when it comes to workouts you wont be perfect but the closer you are when your warming up or fresh in the beginning of the workout the better you are going to do. Look at the top people in any field, they spend hours and hours of work trying to be perfect. Granted I don't even have that kind of time, but when you are in here for 1 hour try to perfect whatever it is you are doing. Because down that road you are going to be one of two people.

1. Me saying the same thing to you over and over again. Ex. dont pull with you arms during the Olypmic lifts.

2. Me saying something different to you then I said before.

I will always make corrections no matter how good you get because you can always get better, right? We are always correcting each other and learning new tricks of the trade. Because in CrossFit you can never be perfect at everything! If you are then PROVE IT! :).

Its something that will never change so don't get frustrated if we are making constant corrections, but do be frustrated if we are making the same correction over and over. If it is something you do not understand please ask! I don't know how many times I can say this but ask questions people that's the only way you move forward in life.

Thats all I got my eyes are starting to hurt so happy training and again if you got questions ask away!

Listen!

Well I did what I have been telling people not to do! I was disappointed in my Fran time (4:11) when it was over a minute PR. How dumb does that sound. I was comparing it to other peoples times (2:21, 2:35, 2:46). I was not happy because I was not close to their times. How many people have done that? Trust me probably everyone. I need to "listen" to my own words.

I learned a big lesson that day. I am not them, I will never be them, I am only me. I need to only compare myself to myself and once I realized that I was really happy with my time! It is really hard not to look at other peoples times and try to beat them. Its frustrating when you don't and you feel like "man I should really be right there next to him or her." You have got to look at what you did, did you get better, have you improved since last time, and so on. These are the things that will make your life so much less stressful. I have put myself in that situation before where all I was doing was comparing myself to people and I actually started to get worse. I was not me, I was trying to be someone else. Its hard not to do that, I know once in awhile I will do it (like I did with Fran) but most of the time I am just having fun. When I do that and tell myself I can only do the best that I can do, then their is no stress.

I have been pushing myself pretty hard in workouts lately, so I decided to Video tape myself doing Fran. It was a huge eye opener, because I saw exactly the point in which I turn on the off switch. I was more than halfway done with the workout and looked at the time and saw that it was 2:15, instead of thinking yes I am killing my old time, I saw that I was going to get no where near 2:30 or 3 minute mark. This just killed me for the rest of the workout. Stupid, but I learned a huge lesson that day. Focus on only what you can do and not what other people are doing.

This does not mean that you should not strive to do what other people are doing, but realize that it will be slow and steady and you will get there if you truly want it. Like me I truly want to be on that team for regionals. Keep working and listen to yourself!

The Games Group: Thursday 110203

The Games Group: Thursday 110203: "Morning:1A. You have 15 minutes to find a 1RM split jerk from a rack. The movement must be a fully dedicated split jerk per USAWeightlifting..."

Hello Squat!

I haven't squatted in a while and I was hoping to go big (for me) but not going to be disappointed if I didn't. I was about to get up to 289 for 2 almost 3. I was happy because the last time I 1RM it was around 300# so I know now I got another (hopefully) 20-30 pounds! This is big for me cuz my legs have been the biggest issue with me. Either being 1RM or high rep squats, always struggled getting better at them. Its been a process, but things are getting better.

I bring this up because everyone has their own struggle. Whats yours? Whats something that you have been working on for months or years and still struggling or not getting what you want. I do this all the time when it comes to my legs. Its taken me a couple years to really start to feel good about what my legs are capable of doing. This is something that everyone goes through, I want to know yours. We here at CFO want to know these kinds of things so we can help you and tell you, you are not the only one.

Its tough because you come in here every day and some things come really easy and make great strides, but some things just seem to take a little longer. This is normal! Just like anything else in the world some stuff comes easy and some stuff has to be dedicated to, to get better. I want to know these things, post your weaknesses.

Weaknesses can be put in two categories (in my opinion).
1. Physical limitations, where people work really hard and it takes longer to make progressions. Flexibility, strength, athletic ability and so on.

2. Not putting forth the effort, where people complain about not being able to do something and when I ask them how often they do it I get the response "I dunno".

Rest days are a great opportunity to get better at your weaknesses. Flexibility, strength, or whatever. Come in with a plan and have a goal to achieve. Don't let something intimidate you so you don't try it. The only way you know if you can't do something is trying it. Expand your fitness and eliminate your weaknesses. Do things your not good at, it will only make you better at things you are already good at.

Never be the 2nd response always ask what can I do to get better. We always have an avenue for you to take to achieve your goals. Oh ya set goals people, whatever that may be if you set them you are more likely to achieve them.

My goal is to be competitive at the regional level, and be in the running to compete on the team. These are my goals and I want you to know about it because if you know, I can't give you an excuse why I am not working my hardest.

Good luck everyone and respond and tell me your weakness

Performance Summit!

Hey everyone,

I want everyone to sign up for the Performance Summit! Even if you have to pay the extra 25$ it will be well worth it. We will be discussing the great world of CrossFit Omaha. It will be a great experience and its something you cannot miss. I know you will all get something out of it that will change the way you look at your fitness. If you have any questions or are hesitant of coming please contact us or pull one of us aside and ask.

Kahrs is the only one who posted about my last question, thank you to them but it seems like I need to get more followers! I hope more people come on here and use this avenue to express themselves. I want people to post on here about what they think and i will get back to them about what I think. Lets use it together to get more out of what you are getting from CFO.

"Mainsite pictures"

I can see how some might find it funny, degrading, stupid, or just don't care (kahrs). When I look at CrossFit and what it brings to the table as a community I put it above all others. Its a public forum and anyone can look at the mainsite. When I think of CrossFit Kids as being one of the links on the mainsite page it bothers me a little. Kids may go to .com to get access to CrossFit Kids link and having photos like that on the mainsite is a bit wrong.
I see what they are trying to do, again sex sells and it will always draw people to the site for whatever interest they may have. Just seeing the photos or actually going their for information. I agree celebrating our fitness and showing people we are not afraid to bare it all because we are proud of what we look like and also show people we can look good naked. There is also a fine line between showing a male or female working out in minimal clothes like we see at the games, and people posing for a picture.
I love CrossFit and what it stands for but don't go too crazy and try to be so different and daring that you lose the respect of the general public. Its fun to joke around about it but ask yourself this would you look at the photos around your kids or even at work. If you feel uneasy looking at the photos their then you know its leaning towards the wrong category.

Trust me I think we should all appreciate the human body, the way it works, the way it looks, and the uniqueness of each individual. I love the posters they put up on the mainsite after the games and show people the true beauty of men and women. Its something that everyone should see, men and women that have muscles and doing things that our body should be doing; lifting heavy weights, running, pull ups, HSPUs, and everything else we put people through. This is how we are built and people should see truly how we are supposed to look at a species.

Again this is one mans opinion, I never judge, people do what they want and like I always say "whatever makes you happy". If you like those pictures great, you don't great to. This is a blog that never judges only has ideas and opinions.

Next question #2 (kinda stupid, but we will see)
"Would you rather LOVE your job and have just enough money to get by, or HATE your job and not have to worry about money?" I want people to talk about what kind of stress money puts on their life and what kind of stress work puts on their life. While they answer this question.

Jon minus 10 pounds

Hey everyone great secret into losing 10 pounds "the hard way". Things were going pretty well for me fitness wise going into training for sectionals. Keeping up with the right people and eating right and just feeling good about workouts.

Then the outbreak monkey hit me and I couldn't eat for 3 days and got better for one and then got bad again for one. This is the reason for Thursday morning if you do not know already. I apologize for that, but no one would want to be around me during that time.

"Attempted" to workout the other day and did not make it half way through, and I am still feeling it. I came back too quick! I will be slowly getting my feet back and hopefully I didn't lose too much during that time. I will be eating everything in site to gain my weight back though. Today is "Christina" horrible story that should never happen. We have a very tight community and a lot of people will be doing this workout today and trust me its one that you wont forget. For many reasons. Cherish everyday and remember that making it through the day alive, healthy, and happy is a wonderful thing.

I will be back to posting on here I hope daily just random thoughts and things that come up but I want you to ask me questions. I have a different point of view on things than Ricky, Joe, and Amanda. We all do and that is what makes us a great team. Being able to have different ideas but really pushing people down the same path. The destination is the same but just many ways of getting there. I want everyone to learn something and I want people to START ASKING QUESTIONS!

I will start posting questions on here and I want your responses! If I don't get any then I will be sad!

1st question:
"What are your thoughts on the mainsite pictures of girls topless doing pull-ups, and now guys with no pants do pull-ups? Funny? Stupid? Don't Care? Hate it? What?"

My Favorite WOD

I think I saw Rick post something about asking people what their favorite workout has been. This brings up a great question. Most peoples favorite workout is probably the hardest one they have ever done. Something that really puts you on your ass, and reminds you that your fitness could be better. I love those! I feel when I get done with a workout and it makes me question what they hell I have been doing the past few months. Especially when I have been busting my butt to get back into shape. Those are the kind of workouts that always stick with me and remind me no matter how hard I work there are going to be workouts that will always get me motivated again.

My favorite workout- meaning the workout that kills me!

2009 Regional workout #1
300# DL x 10
400m run
3 rounds

I have done this twice, obviously once in Denver and once here at CFO.

This combines two of my weaknesses. 1st running (always) 2nd heavy and little higher reps. My back always gets tight when I run (poor running mechanics) and with the combo of DL it doesn't help my cause. I remember vividly about the time I did this in Denver. The second round during the run my mind and body were telling me hey you know what would make you feel better is to fall over and lay on the ground. Of course I did not but man did I want to. This one broke me mentally and I have been hating it ever since.

The last time I did is was sometime in the summer here at CFO and the exact same thing happened, the run killed me and the DL felt really heavy! This is just not one of my workouts. Its one of my favorites because no matter where I am at in my training I know I can go to this one and test how I feel. I may only do it once a year but its a good marker for my fitness.

If you have read my previous posts, it seems like DL is something that I need to work on. Well people what is yours either post it on the blog or post it on here. Explain why its your favorite, is it because its fun, hard, or just challenging for you. Let us know share your thoughts.

For Patsy

Courtesy of:
mobilitywod.blogspot.com