Taylor

Taylor_thCrossFit (6am, 5:30pm, 6:30pm)
“Taylor”
4 rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
5 burpee muscle-ups
If you’ve got a 20-lb. vest or body armor, wear it.
U.S. Army Specialist David Wayne Taylor, 20, of Dixon, Kentucky, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, died in Kandahar province, Afghanistan on March 29, 2012, from wounds sustained in an accident at an ammunition supply point. He is survived by his sisters Tamara Taylor and Christina Abell, and mother Sarah Whitledge Taylor.

Isabel

03052014
Benchmark WOD: “Isabel”
For time:
– 30 Snatches, 135/95 lbs
Times to beat:  Patricia Twitty 1:38 (35 lbs, 1/23/2013), Kenny Seeling 2:11 (5/17/2013), Jim Hull 2:48 (95 lbs, 7/19/2013), Dana Bradshaw 4:23 (7/19/2013)
Rich Froning’s 225 lb Isabel

Angie

For Rx’d results, complete 100 of each movement before moving on to the next one.
02122014
Benchmark WOD
“Angie”
For time:
100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats
Scores to beat:  Ryan Matis 13:14 (5/9/2013), Lori McClelland 15:56 (8/19/2013)

Diane

01222014
Benchmark WOD: “Diane”
21-15-9 reps for time of:
– Deadlift 225/155 lbs
– Handstand Push-up
Scores to beat:  Kenny Seeling 2:30 (9/23/2013), Ryan Matis 3:05 (4/19/2013), Alyssa Stookey 3:12 (1/29/2013), Dana Bradshaw 3:52 (4/19/2013)

2014 Goal Setting

2013 has come and gone – how did you do with your goals?  Maybe you wrapped it up super-quick and then didn’t really have another goal to shoot for.  Maybe your goal remained just out of reach all year because it was a little too lofty, or maybe you couldn’t narrow down your goals enough and were shooting for too many at once.  Maybe you’re a practiced goal-setter and you nailed that thing to the wall right on schedule!  In any case, the new year is a great opportunity to refocus and redouble your efforts toward a solid goal.
Julia Handstand Hawaii
The best goals will have the following attributes:
1. They are specific and measurable.  Not just “I want to lose weight”, but “I will lose 15 pounds”
2. They are attainable and realistic.  If you currently squat 200 lbs, squatting 400 lbs in the next year is not going to happen for you!
3. They are time-bound.  “I will climb to the top of the rope by May 31st, 2014”
4. Finally, they are SINGULAR.  If you choose two tough goals, it will take you twice as long to achieve just one of them as if you just choose one and go for it.  Set your sights on one goal, crush it, and move on!
How can you work on achieving your goal, given that our class time is scheduled already with a warmup, strength/skill component and WOD?  Here are a couple ideas:
1. Show up to class on time and ready to work, knock out the warmup and mobility quickly and spend 2-3 minutes working on your goal.
2. Keep your goal in mind when deciding how/if to scale the workout.
For example, if your goal is to lose weight, it is generally a good idea to use a lighter, manageable weight during a timed workout so that you can continue to move fast.  Use the strength components of the schedule to get some heavy work done, and then use a light weight for the Work Capacity component.  Also, if your goal is to do a strict Pull-up and the workout calls for 25 Pull-ups in a set, instead of using the blue band and zooming through 25 reps, choose a light band that you can do a small amount of reps with, and scale the number of reps in the workout.
3. Keep your goal in mind during the workout itself.
If your goal is to improve your Front Squat 1RM, then as you are squatting with heavy weight make absolutely sure that your form is perfect.  You can’t add weight to your squat if you are allowing your lower back and shoulders to round forward, and if you let the weight slide down to your rest in your hands.
Think about what you are excited about achieving in the new year, and when you think you can achieve it.  Email me at ryan@crossfitkentisland.com with your goal, and I can give you some feedback on whether it meets the criteria above.  Then write it on the whiteboard at the gym, write it down at home next to wear you lace up your shoes, write it somewhere that you will see it on a daily basis so that you’re always reminded of what you are working toward.
Looking forward to helping you meet your goal in 2014!
Ryan
 

Halloween Evening Schedule

Hey all – it sounds like most are not planning on WOD’ing on Halloween night, but for those that are we will do one evening session at 5:30pm.
happyhalloween
Our schedule for the day will be as follows:
6am Group Class
10am-11:30 Open Gym
5:30 Group Class
Happy Halloween!
Ryan

New Open Gym Schedule

As some of you know, we started offering a 10am class on Monday/Wednesday/Friday back in June, and while it was popular in the summer, the attendance has since trailed off.  That time also happens to coincide with my most convenient training time.  Since I will be at the gym and training, beginning on October 28th we will begin offering…
Open Gym every weekday, 10am-11:30am!
Note that Open gym means that a coach will be there making sure that you don’t do anything tremendously stupid, but they may also be training so please do not expect the same level of coaching that you would get at the group classes.  During Open Gym you can do the Workout of the Day, another workout you’ve been dying to hit, work on some technique or get a lift in.
Consider the rules of Open Gym to be:
1. Train Hard
2. Stay Safe
3. Have Fun!
Please check the schedule and sign up online via this link.  I will blog about any cancellations or schedule changes and get them on any and all social media outlets that are available to me (so… Facebook), but the final say on whether Open Gym is happening is whether it still appears on the schedule.
Finally, please note the following:
1. Signing up for Open Gym does not count toward your number of classes that you can attend per week.  So, if you have a 3x/week membership and come to Open Gym on Monday, you can still sign up for 3 group classes during that week.  However…
2. You must be a paid member to come to an Open Gym.  This is NOT the time to bring a friend, because as stated above our coaches who are in the gym at the time will also be training and so not able to give full attention to a new person working out.

Set a Goal

Your number 1 goal for this week is to set a goal.  If that circular logic does not implode the universe immediately after I post this, then by the end of this week, I want each CFKI athlete to write down ONE GOAL that they are going to achieve by the end of 2013.  A few of us were talking a couple weeks ago about this, and although we have encouraged goal-setting by creating a whiteboard space for random submissions, we’ve never gotten super structured about it.  Well, here we go!
Your goal should follow the “SMART” principle.  It should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
1. Specific:  Instead of “I will lose weight”, how about “I will weigh under 200 lbs”
2. Measurable:  Make sure that it is possible to determine whether you hit the goal or not.  “I will work hard in the gym everyday” is pretty subjective, and you and I might have different opinions on whether or not it happened!
3. Attainable:  Choose a goal that is not out of reach within the next 3 months.  Running a mile in 6 minutes is probably not attainable without immediate medical attention if your current PR is 8:30.
4. Relevant:  Choose a goal that is about fitness, and that hard work with physical training and nutrition can help with.  If your goal is to get Lasik surgery to fix your vision, I’m all for it and happy for you, but on the other hand in this context I don’t care.
5. Time-bound:  Assign a deadline for yourself to hit the goal.
Your goal could be hitting a certain time on a benchmark WOD, hitting a sweet new PR on a lift, or accomplishing a gymnastic skill that currently eludes you.  Here are some good examples:
“I will walk on my hands 20 feet without stopping by the end of 2013.”
“I will Snatch my bodyweight by Halloween (wearing a costume)”
Finally, choose only one goal.  It is very difficult to stay focused and make solid progress on more than one goal at a time.  Write down your one goal, nail that sucker with hard work every day, celebrate your accomplishment and then get focused on another one.
So, in closing, by Friday, September 27th, everyone should have written down one goal in their logbook, journal, on the whiteboard at the gym, or on their bathroom mirror.  Please also email me what your goal is so that I can hold you accountable to it and help you make decisions in the gym to smash that goal as soon as possible!
For the glory,
Ryan

Morning schedule change

Morning WODers,
Due to minimal interest, the 7-8am class on Monday/Wednesday/Friday is now cancelled.  It has been replaced with a 10-11am class on Monday/Wednesday/Friday, beginning this Friday (June 28th).
Thanks,
Ryan

ESAC Debrief

It’s the day after the 5th Eastern Shore Affiliate Challenge, and I am SO PROUD!
First, the obvious:  for the third straight time, we have athletes standing on the podium at the end as individual placers in their division (continuing Alyssa Stookey’s legacy!).  Lori McClelland was the top overall female athlete in the Scaled division, and Claire Leocha was the 2nd place female athlete in the Scaled division!  It had been a long day and by the time the awards were being presented, Lori and Josh had gotten packed up and were a mile down the road when I called them to tell them, “Turn around, YOU WON!”  Claire represented Lori well on the podium, and when Lori got back we all celebrated their awesome accomplishment.
– Lori’s strength was her endurance, completing 63 burpee bar jumpovers in 4 minutes (1st place WOD #1), and 176 reps in the 7-minute AMRAP (2nd place WOD 2), and then she shot her performance over the top by snatching 85 lbs in WOD #3 (7th place).
– Claire knew that she would score well in the strength portion of the comp, but maybe surprised herself with her “engine”, blasting through 51 burpee bar jumpovers (15th place), thrusting/pushing/jumping into 157 reps in WOD #2 (7th place), and then finishing STRONG with 15 Snatches in WOD #3, 2nd only to our own Patricia Twitty!  Talk about improving over the course of the day!
But there were so many other awesome stories coming out of this hard-fought competition that I want to make everyone aware of, because they represent our individual passion for ultimate fitness and also our collective commitment to our TEAM:
– Patricia Twitty, in her first competition, really in any sport, was a top-three finisher for CFKI and went on to the team event.  The first team event was a 300M relay swim in which each teammate has to swim 50M.  Twitty took swimming lessons last summer (I’m guessing because she somehow saw this coming?) and was our first in the pool.  Twitty really didn’t want to swim, we all could see it in her eyes, but she didn’t waver and got the job done with grace.  I’m so proud of you, Twitty!
WOD Highlights:  Twitty placed FIRST in WOD #3:  Snatch Ladder, completing 5 reps at 45 lbs, 5 reps at 65 lbs, and 5 reps at 85 lbs in 2:41!  That’s 975 lbs lifted overall!
– Dana Bradshaw, a second-time competitor, had been practicing for the 6-foot wall jumpover earlier in the week when her dumbass coach put a plate in front of it to jump off of.  The jump-off went great; the landing produced a nasty ankle sprain that could have bumped her out of the competition if she didn’t have the heart of a lion and the tenacity of a freaking bull shark.  Dana competed and did so well, icing her ankle in between her heats and then putting her gameface on and representing CFKI amazingly!
WOD Highlights:  Dana placed 4th in WOD #3: Snatch Ladder, completing 5 reps at 45 lbs, 5 reps at 65 lbs, and 3 reps at 85 lbs!
– Ryan Grantham, in his first CrossFit competition, placed 6th overall in the Men’s Rx division.  It’s been a real blessing to have Grantham in the gym as one more firey competitor to push all of us, and with his great technique and internal drive, he is going to win one of these things, and soon.
WOD Highlights:  Grantham placed 4th in WOD #2:  7 min AMRAP of Thrusters, Pushups and Box Jumps.  His 180 reps was 10 more than his closest competitor in the event.
– Ryan Matis, a second-time competitor, is starting to climb up the leaderboard.  This time he took 7th overall in the Men’s Rx division!  I could tell Matis was disappointed in his WODs 2 and 3, knowing that he could have done even better, which to me is encouraging!  It’s a “silver lining” to know that you placed well in an event (7th out of 39) but could have pushed even more.  That’s easy to work on for next time!
WOD Highlights:  Matis picked up 3rd on WOD #1:  Burpee Wall Jumpovers, completing 38 reps in 4 minutes!
– Ashleigh Beck, another first-timer that needed some convincing to jump into the fire, finished 14th out of 32!  Ashleigh has come such a long way from her CrossFit start just a few months ago, yesterday performing ultra-consistently with her WOD finishes of 16th (WOD 1), 17th (WOD 2), and a strong 10th (WOD 3).  We’re so glad you joined us, Ashleigh, and can’t wait to see your progress continue!
– Rx Dudes:  Our entire Men’s team entered as “Rx”, meaning that they did not scale any of the workouts.  Our 6 Men’s Rx competitors were second only to CF Lewes’ 7 athletes in representing our gym, and we were so strong.  MP Parker, Ryan Malvey and Jimmy Bradshaw all stepped up into their first competition, and there was no quit on that wall, in jumping up on that box, or in grueling through those heavy snatches with, let’s face it, no rest.
Our participation in the team competition in the afternoon ended after the swimming event when the bottom 4 gyms were knocked out, but after that we cracked open some beers (thanks, Josh and Lori!), and had a great time watching the remaining teams sweat through some tough ones while we got a chance to relax and enjoy the sunshine.
On Monday, the training begins for ESAC #6.  Hope you’re having a great weekend and a happy Dad’s Day.  See you back in the gym soon!