5 Ways to Get the Results You Want in 2015

Hey there CFKI teammates, and those that I haven’t had the pleasure of training with yet – as 2015 is approaching I wanted to throw out some ideas to get stronger, faster, and fitter in the new year.  Check it out!
1. Dial in your nutrition.
This one has to be first.  If you feel like you’re plateauing (is that a word?) in the gym performance-wise, you HAVE TO take a look at WHAT you’re eating, and WHEN you’re eating.
What you’re eating has to be whole foods 90% of the time, meaning veggies and fruit, meat and seafood, and good fats like nuts, seeds, avocados and oils (olive and coconut are my favorite).  Can you “cheat” once in a while?  Absolutely, and I would even venture to say you SHOULD cheat, because it keeps you sane if there are things that you crave all the time.  But the overwhelming majority of the time, if you care about being fit, make the right choice about what you’re shoveling in there.  As someone very eloquently put it, eat like a human, not an ignorant teenage human.
When you’re eating is important too, in relation to when you work out.  About an hour before you work out, eat some easily digestible carbs.  Not too much protein or fat right now, because it might make you queasy during your set of 100 Burpees.  Within one hour after working out, eat or drink some protein mixed with carbs.  A protein shake, a turkey sandwich, or my beloved chocolate milk all work well here.
2. Go heavy.
Even if your main goal is weight loss, you still need to lift some heavy weights at least once per week so that your absolute strength increases, which means you will be able to lift more weight for a longer time during your workouts, which means that you will go faster, which means that you will lose weight.
A couple caveats on this one:  #1 — If you are still in high-school, don’t lift any weight that you can’t hoist at least 5 times; you’ll get stronger by staying at higher rep schemes.  And #2 — “Heavy” is a relative term.  Please stay within your range of correct technique – we’re not interested in matching someone else’s deadlift max if it means rounding your back and then having to sit out the next month.
3. Throw in some intervals.  
Are you traveling over the holidays?  Try some Tabata intervals of push-ups, sit-ups, squats, or the dreaded Burpee.  Tabata forces you to get back into it before you think you’re ready, increasing your stamina over time as well as your mental fortitude.
Maybe you like to run as well as throw the weights around.  Rather than always doing a long, slow run, change it up once a week and do a similar interval to Tabata – run a mile by sprinting 200M, then jogging/walking 200M, repeating that for 4 rounds.
Intervals change up the flavor if you’re bored, and also get your heart rate way up for a longer period of time.
4. Have fun.
Anyone know a runner that hates running?  I do — they talk all the time about how they “just went for a long run, and it was terrible, and man do my shins hurt, and I can’t believe I have to run 5 miles on Saturday, that’s going to be terrible.”  Yeah, that sounds like a pain train waiting in the station, and I wouldn’t board it if I were you.  If you want to stick with something, make it something that you can find some enjoyment in.  It might not always be double rainbows every time I step into the CrossFit gym — sometimes I might have to do something in the workout that I know I’m not very good at and I dread (overhead squats), but I know that every time I finish a workout I feel great about the effort I put in, and I enjoy throwing down with my friends.
5. Be disciplined.
I know, #4 was “Have Fun” and now we’re getting serious.  But here’s the thing – if you’ve picked something that you like to do, but you don’t regularly do it, you’re not going to get fit and you’re going to be disappointed.  So here’s a good goal that I’m going for this year:  Don’t ever skip a planned training session.  If you are planning to go to the gym on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of this week, then do it.  If you’re a CrossFitter, don’t let a workout that looks especially rough keep you out of the gym.  Be disciplined, get in there and put your work in.  If you’re injured, get in the gym and work on something that you can do.  Your bonus benefit from this plan will be an added level of mental toughness.
Have any other good tips for amping up your fitness in 2015 you want to share?  Feel free to leave a comment.  And please email me at ryan@crossfitkentisland.com or call me at 443.988.2145 with any questions you might have about CrossFit, nutrition, burpees, or chocolate milk.

July 15th, 2014

CrossFit (6am, 5:30pm, 6:30pm)
Work Capacity:
4 rounds for max reps:
– 1 minute of Sumo Deadlift High Pull, 35/18 lbs
– 1 minute of Turkish Get-up, 35/18 lbs
– 1 minute of Rowing (calories)
– 1 minute Rest
“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on when others have let go.”
 – William Feather

Schedule for July 4th

‘Mericans,
This coming Friday is July 4th, the day that we celebrate our nation’s birthday by drinking beer in patriotic cans and practicing our forefathers’ favorite pastime, cornhole.  To make room for these activities and any other shenanigans you have planned, we will adjust our Friday schedule.
There will be two classes, 6am and 11am.  The 11am class will be followed by a grill-out lunch behind the gym – feel free to bring anything you’d like to share with the group.  We will provide some burgers and dogs, as well as a selection of the aforementioned patriotic ACRT (look it up on GoRuck.com).
On Saturday, we will have a 9am class as scheduled.
There will be no Open Gym on Friday or Saturday.
Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
Ryan
 
 

June 12th, 2014

CrossFit (6am, 5:30pm, 6:30pm)
Work Capacity:
3 rounds for time:
– Run 400M
– 10 Burpees
– 10 Back Squats, 135/95 lbs
– 10 Knees to Elbows
An alternative to the run will be available in case of heavy rain / t-storms
“Failure is only postponed success as long as courage coaches ambition.  The habit of persistence is the habit of victory.”
 – Herbert Kaufman

Programming Note

After a few tough months of strength programming followed each day by metcons (timed WODs to test your work capacity), we’re going to dial back the volume a bit and follow more of a CrossFit.com prescription of choosing one fitness variable to dial up each day.  So if we’re going to go heavy on a strength workout, that will be the sole focus of the day.  If we’re going to go short and fast, then it’s short and fast and that’s it.  Sometimes we’ll skirt the middle ground and go heavy for a long workout, more of a strength-stamina focus.  Either way, we will include some progressive warmups and cool-downs that will focus on mobility and recovery, so that your newfound beach bodies can continue to perform at work and play and not be grounded by soreness.
To that end, many of our workouts in the next few weeks will be direct pulls from CrossFit.com, so if you haven’t been tracking your workout results in BeyondTheWhiteboard.com, now is the time to start, as you will be able to get direct feedback on your result by comparing it to the thousands of other athletes that use that tool.
Hope everyone had a great weekend, now let’s get prepped for a fun week in the gym!  Eat well, drink water, and get plenty of sleep.  Take advantage of the lower volume of work and get after these workouts!
Ryan

May 14th, 2014

CrossFit (6am, 5:30pm, 6:30pm)
Benchmark WOD:  “Chelsea”
Every minute for 30 minutes:
– 5 Pull-ups
– 10 Push-ups
– 15 Squats
Can you continue for thirty minutes? Twenty minutes? How about 10?
If you fall behind the clock keep going for thirty minutes and see how many rounds you can complete.

CrossFit Light (7am)
As many reps as possible in 20 minutes:
5 Cleans, 10 Sit-ups, 15 Jump Ropes
10 Cleans, 20 Sit-ups, 30 Jump Ropes
15 Cleans, 30 Sit-ups, 45 Jump Ropes
20 Cleans, 40 Sit-ups, 60 Jump Ropes
25 Cleans, 50 Sit-ups, 75 Jump Ropes
Use a weight for the Cleans that you can complete 5 reps consecutively (without letting go of the barbell)
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
– Thomas A. Edison

Sign Up for Class!

Hey all you fitness studs and she-studs!  Lately there’s been an epidemic of unannounced class attendees, so we are going to go back to the unwritten (but soon to be written) rule that you must sign up for class online.  It’s really easy to do, you can do so as far in advance as your membership period allows so that you reserve your spot in class, and if you have a handheld cellular device, you can even do it on your way to class (pull over on the side of the road first, please!)
The site to sign up for class is https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ASP/home.asp?studioid=27686
And the mobile “MindBody Connect” app can be found by searching on the App Store or wherever you find apps with those crazy android phones.
The reasons for signing up for class are:
1. It’s important to not overload one class with too many people, especially when we are doing a workout where a lot of coaching support is needed.  Each class is capped at 10 people, so if you don’t make it into the 5:30pm class you can still come in a bit early, get a good warmup in, and hit the ground running with the 6:30 class.
2. It ensures that everyone in the gym is a paying customer.  Sounds harsh, but there’s been quite a few examples of people not paying for a few weeks in a row without realizing it, and that’s not fair to everyone else.
If you’re thinking, “I don’t know if I’m going to make it to class – what if I have something else to do and I signed up but I can’t come?”, my first thought is “Whatdya mean?  You need to get in the gym and get a workout in — you will feel much better about it, and everything else can wait for an hour.”  If everything else really can’t wait, meaning that your house is on fire, or the Bay Bridge is on fire, you can cancel your reservation online.  If you are personally on fire, just stop-drop-‘n-roll and then get to class, and you can skip the warmup for the day.
The penalty for not signing up for class is 10 burpees, enforced at the beginning of the workout.
So, in conclusion, please sign up for class, it’s the cool thing to do, especially if you don’t like burpees!

May 1st, 2014

CrossFit (6am, 5:30pm, 6:30pm)
Work Capacity:
Every 3 minutes, for 15 minutes, complete the following for max total Push-ups
– Run 200M
– As many Push-ups as possible
“Life should not be a journey to the grave, with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow, what a ride!'”
 – Hunter S. Thompson

April 24th, 2014

CrossFit (6am, 5:30pm, 6:30pm)
Strength:  Overhead Squat 3@70%, 3@80%, 3@90% 1RM
Work Capacity:
As many reps as possible in 12 minutes:
– 1 minute of Box Jumps, 30/24 in.
– 1 minute of Squat Cleans, 115/75 lbs
– 2 minutes of Box Jumps, 30/24 in.
– 2 minutes of Squat Cleans, 115/75 lbs
– 3 minutes of Box Jumps, 30/24 in.
– 3 minutes of Squat Cleans, 115/75 lbs
“One shouldn’t be afraid to lose; this is sport. One day you win; another day you lose. 
Of course, everyone wants to be the best. This is normal. This is what sport is about. 
This is why I love it.”
– Oksana Baiul

April 16th, 2014

CrossFit (6am, 5:30pm, 6:30pm)
Benchmark WOD:  “Kelly”
5 rounds for time:
– Run 400M
– 30 Box Jumps, 24/20″
– 30 Wallballs, 20/14 lbs
Times to beat:  Craig Eversole 27:03 (6/25/2012),  Alyssa Stookey 29:03 (6/25/2012)
CrossFit Light (7am)
“Mini-Kelly”
3 rounds for time:
– Run 400M
– 30 Box Jumps, 24/20″
– 30 Wallballs, 14/10 lbs
“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.”
– Tim Duncan