ALBANY CROSSFIT

Fear of "Fran"

Mark strolled in to ACF today, took one look at the board and almost left. Tim saw the face he made and immediately started laughing. It seems that we all get that way when we realize we are about to go on a date with our favorite woman..."Fran".

The room was once again filled with tons of energy as we divided into 7 heats over the course of our 2 evening classes. From the first heat with Mark, Tim, and Andrea to Heat 7 with Niki, Noreen, and Jody the energy was high. We had a many people stay for both classes just to help cheer on their fellow classmates, thanks to everyone for being great partners, cheerleaders, and coaches.

We had so many people hit PRs today it would take too long to name them all. We also had many people do "Fran" rx'd for the first time or use more weight or harder pullups than they had in the past. John Marro was definitely our MVCF tonight. He pushed himself as hard as I've ever seen him, using 85lbs. for the thrusters and doing awesome kipping pullups. It was great to have everyone gather around to cheer him on, I'm probably not the only one that was getting the chills being a part of it.

Great job to everyone tonight! I am so proud of everyone's performance, drive, and motivation! Seeing your times drop on these workouts and seeing everyone get stronger is really awesome!

Start each new day with a commitment to do what's right – regardless of what may come your way. -- Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura

Viv looking hot, Jess after Fran, MJ and Andrea posing, the "Troy crew" picking on Allie

Niki and Jason doing "Helen"

Painting Party!!!

Let's hit "Fran" tomorrow!  Be ready!  We'll do multiple heats, so come in get warm and get your game face on!

I'm looking to throw a "painting" party.  I'll supply the paint!  How does the weekend of April 11-13th sound for everyone?  Here is my schedule of events:

1. Friday night class, then we move everything into the middle of the room and put on a coat of primer.
2. Saturday we do an earlier workout around 10am, then do a coat of paint.  We'll break for a little while and then have a nutrition seminar given by Dr. Susie Rosenberg.  Plus a pot-luck dinner.  After that we do a second coat.
3.  If needed we do one more coat on Sunday.
4.  I will also be purchasing some new flooring that we can lay down when all of the equipment is moved.

Everyone in?

Check out all of the new pics in the March photo album.

Intensity and Your CrossFit Training

from - www.crossfitwatertown.com

Did you hear the story about the guy who died doing CrossFit? It's true. He didn't go hard enough on "Helen" so his trainer killed him.

All joking aside, CrossFit is one intense MoFo. Usually, your trainer is motivating you to work harder, faster, and stronger and, usually, she/he is right. As CrossFit trainers, intensity is one of our obsessions, along with pull-ups, squats, thrusters, and any of ten thousand other ways to inflict pain help you to achieve your fitness goals. (Although, like the wonderful t-shirt over at Training Anarchy reminds us: "Obsession is what lazy people call dedication.") We push you to go harder because the simple fact of life is that most people don't go hard enough. Yet we also understand health, recovery, and the human body; so we know that, despite all our clamoring and exhortations, you simply cannot CrossFit at the same intensity each day, no more so than you can breathe the exact same number of breaths each day. (And we've tried counting, believe us. Although it wasn't exactly a full day. We had to get some pull-ups in. And we're really not that obsessive-compulsive.)

Anyhow, intensity is a personal thing and that's why we need your help. As trainers, we need to know if there's something going on with your body or your life that could affect today's WOD performance. If you don't specifically tell us, we're just reading clues off of your body, like the sweat on your brow, the rate at which your chest is heaving with each breath, the magenta hue of your face, the number of swear words coming out of your mouth -- and we're betting that you are not going hard enough, because that's usually the case. So tell us if something's wrong, or if you feel dizzy, or you're about to puke. We can help you with these things.

Ultimately, we don't want you to be a wuss but neither do we want to kill you. (There are already far too many Internet rumors that abound concerning imaginary deaths and CrossFit. We'd hate to actually give creedence to nonsense.) So, when you walk through the door and we ask, "How are you?" we're not just shooting the breeze: we really want to know how you're doing -- if you got enough sleep, if your shoulder or knee is hurting, or if you've existed on 4 chicken wings and a can of Red Bull.

Intensity can return awesome results. But it's important to remember that intensity is like the gas pedal in your car: you can't drive 80 mph all the time or you're going to wreck. You have to adapt your speed to the situation in front of you: sometimes the road calls for 65 mph, sometimes that S-curve demands 30 mph, and sometimes there's a stop sign and you have to hit the brakes.

So, let your CrossFit trainer know what's going on with your body, your diet, and your rest. Trainers might seem genetically programmed for drag racing, but we do have five gears and a brake pedal too: we can use 'em if we need to. And, whatever your gender, Clint Eastwood's words in "Magnum Force" apply: "A man's got to know his limitations."

 

Matt's Fran 3/25/08

Did you hear the story about the guy who died doing CrossFit? It's true. He didn't go hard enough on "Helen" so his trainer killed him.

All joking aside, CrossFit is one intense MoFo. Usually, your trainer is motivating you to work harder, faster, and stronger and, usually, she/he is right. As CrossFit trainers, intensity is one of our obsessions, along with pull-ups, squats, thrusters, and any of ten thousand other ways to inflict pain help you to achieve your fitness goals. (Although, like the wonderful t-shirt over at Training Anarchy reminds us: "Obsession is what lazy people call dedication.") We push you to go harder because the simple fact of life is that most people don't go hard enough. Yet we also understand health, recovery, and the human body; so we know that, despite all our clamoring and exhortations, you simply cannot CrossFit at the same intensity each day, no more so than you can breathe the exact same number of breaths each day. (And we've tried counting, believe us. Although it wasn't exactly a full day. We had to get some pull-ups in. And we're really not that obsessive-compulsive.)

Anyhow, intensity is a personal thing and that's why we need your help. As trainers, we need to know if there's something going on with your body or your life that could affect today's WOD performance. If you don't specifically tell us, we're just reading clues off of your body, like the sweat on your brow, the rate at which your chest is heaving with each breath, the magenta hue of your face, the number of swear words coming out of your mouth -- and we're betting that you are not going hard enough, because that's usually the case. So tell us if something's wrong, or if you feel dizzy, or you're about to puke. We can help you with these things.

Ultimately, we don't want you to be a wuss but neither do we want to kill you. (There are already far too many Internet rumors that abound concerning imaginary deaths and CrossFit. We'd hate to actually give creedence to nonsense.) So, when you walk through the door and we ask, "How are you?" we're not just shooting the breeze: we really want to know how you're doing -- if you got enough sleep, if your shoulder or knee is hurting, or if you've existed on 4 chicken wings and a can of Red Bull.

Intensity can return awesome results. But it's important to remember that intensity is like the gas pedal in your car: you can't drive 80 mph all the time or you're going to wreck. You have to adapt your speed to the situation in front of you: sometimes the road calls for 65 mph, sometimes that S-curve demands 30 mph, and sometimes there's a stop sign and you have to hit the brakes.

So, let your CrossFit trainer know what's going on with your body, your diet, and your rest. Trainers might seem genetically programmed for drag racing, but we do have five gears and a brake pedal too: we can use 'em if we need to. And, whatever your gender, Clint Eastwood's words in "Magnum Force" apply: "A man's got to know his limitations."

Energy!

Some days the people around you can make all of the difference in the world.  "Cindy" alone can be a grueling nasty workout, but "Cindy" with 5 other Crossfitters doing it with you can be FUN.  Today was one of those days at Albany CrossFit where there was an abundance of awesome, great, positive energy flowing! 

Thor, Ben, Ernie, Matt, Yvonne, Niki, and Jess were working so hard on their strength!  Ben was so close to putting 200lbs. overhead, no doubt he can do it.  Jess hit a great PR with a 190lb. deadlift, that girl just keeps getting stronger, it's so awesome to see.  Matt hit a 200lb. clean and jerk and just missed 210, you know he'll be a contender at the CF challenge.  Thor is always looking great, matching his previous PR of 180lbs., he was an inch away from locking out 185lbs. next time for sure!  Yvonne's clean and jerks were beautiful, Luke did a great job teaching her, she is such a natural lifter, you know who to call if anyone falls in the ER.

Laura, Camille, and DIana "the machine" did "Kelly" - 5 rounds of .25 run, 30 Wall Ball and 30 jumps.  They were looking so awesome and all had sweet times.  Niki also did "Karen" and hit her goal of under 6 minutes!  The kids came in for their 6th day in a row, they are doing awesome and after a great workout and a mile run were giving some "dril"l lessons.   Andy and Kramer were back for more, Kramer his a nice 5k while Andy did Luke's  "get ready to rock-climb" WOD - 21-15-9 muscle-ups, skin the cat, dead hangs, and manmakers.  Not sure what Andy's time was but there was a nice trail of sweat throughout the gym.  Ted was back after being sick all week and hit 5 awesome rounds of "Barbara" all on the GHD...not sure if that was too smart.

At 3pm Jess brought in 6 of her closest friends for a dose of CF.  They all did great.  Erin and Theresa were back again, Erin was already stronger now able to do pushups on the floor.  Nina, Danielle, Billy, and Adam all did great for their first times.  We gave them 3 small trial WODs to give them an idea of what we do, each of them pushed themselves so hard, even when I offered them the chance to call it a day they wanted to finish.  I look forward to having them back in the near future.

Our resident firefighter Fred Gokey did the American Lung Association stair climb at the SUNY tower.  He climbed 22 floors in 3:30 with his full gear on!  He is a great example of what Albany CrossFit is all about!

While we may never be completely free of all bias, we can work toward communicating in bias-free ways. -- Leslie C. Aguilar

Enjoy a rest day tomorrow.  You guys have been working so hard.  Follow Chester's lead and lay down on (or under) your couch for a little while and relax!

Jess and Viv do "Karen"

My Pet Rock

It's always fun to have a nice team-building workout on Friday nights. "My Pet Rock" provided a great workout with nice partner motivation. While one partner performed the exercise the other partner was holding their "pet rock" which ranged from a 30lb. Kettlebell to a 60lb. dumbbell. The exercises were: 30 calorie row, .5 mile run, 50 Wall Ball, 50 KB swings, dead-hang on the pullups bars, 30 goblet squats, and 3 rounds of "Cindy".

All of the teams did great. We had: Jess and Niki, Angie and Ben, Viv and John, Yvonne and Andrea, Kelly and Jen, Tim and Sara, Courtney and Sarah, Jen "Debby Doer" and Whitney, and Low-K and Mark. All teams excelled in different exercises and everyone did a great job motivating their partners! I loved hearing Mark yelling do it for Ernie Jr.!!! Thanks Luke for leading a great class!

Great noon class as well. Awesome to have Andy and Kramer back! Kramer hit "Cindy" rx'd for the first time with awesome kipping pullups. Andy and Josh did "Helen" and then set some nice PRs on the overhead press. Fred came in for a light day of deadlifts, but was easily pressured into trying to lift 500lbs., he was sooo close and I have no doubt that he can do it next time! Laura came in and did a great job with "Kelly" you keep at it girl, you are amazing (don't tell anyone I said that)!

Briona, Shaina, and Jovan came in for their 5th night this week! I can already see a big difference in their conditioning, check out the awesome video of Briona and Shaina doing a "dance off".

Don't be so busy making a life that you forget how to live. -- David Cottrell and Mark Layton

Sunny Days

Beautiful day inside and outside! 

The morning moms were kicking butt as usual. For those of you that are unaware, we started some classes for a Moms Group from Niskayuna they come every Tuesday and Thursday at 9:30am, these classes are open for all of our members as well. Theresa did great on a 20 minute WOD of 7 45# jerks, 7 65# deadlifts, and 7 15# DB Squats, awesome!

Lenora (from now on known as ID), Beth, Sue, John, and Chris did nice at the noon class. Id and Beth hit some serious squats, while John and Chris did "Lynne". Chris hit some high reps with bodyweight and was really putting his kip together. Guess what he realized...hitting full extension on the pullups actually helps!

I had a quick break so Niki and I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and did "Helen" at the park. Niki hit a new PR with 14:42 and looked great on her 35# KB swings. I set a little PR myself with 9:36. I look forward to lots of outdoor training as the spring rolls in...

Evening classes were lots of fun. The kids came in for a 4th day in a row...I'm so proud of them! Courtney did a kick a@@ JT after complaining her legs were too tired. We had some very nice "Helen" times from Camille, Angie, Chad, Jen, Jody, Marie, and Cara.

Front squats are so important for Clean development. You can't clean a weight unless you can front squat it and Jess, Viv, and Laura did a great job hitting them. Jen, Jen, and Whitney did some heavy push jerks, their form is developing very well. Front squats weren't enough for Jess and Viv they followed with a super strong "Karen" with both of them setting big PRs.

Please always give me any comments are feedback you have. I always look forward to hearing from everyone and want to continue to make Albany CrossFit the best and most fun place to get fit in the in World!

Our character...is an omen of our destiny, and the more integrity we have and keep, the simpler and nobler that destiny is likely to be. -- George Santayana

Luke and Andrea talking dirty

LaskyTastic!!!

"Slob Status" is Jess Dunn's intense creation involiving 2 dreaded exercises - rowing and burpees. I was truly worried for some of our member's lives before class. I was super impressed to see people pushing through the WOD with guts and enthusiasm.

"Slob Status"
2,000 meter row
75 burpees
1,000 meter row
50 burpees
500 meter row
25 burpees

Great job to everyone that completed the workout. I'm glad some folks were wise enough to scale it to half-intensity if they are feeling tired and beat. It is not possible to come in day after day and give 100% without doing some easier, low-intensity days. For anyone in class all 3 days this week, we should definitely plan on a strength or lower intensity day tomorrow.

Thanks so much for everyone's support with Briona, Shaina, and Jovan. They are doing awesome, and are reallky enjoying all of your kind words!

I can't imagine a person becoming a success who doesn't give this game of life everything he's got. -- Walter Cronkite

John Marro hitting 2 PRs!!!

Here's to you John Marro!

John Marro is the man! He rarely does any kipping pullups, always relying on his jumping pullups. So, after hitting a Huge PR of 145lbs. on the Overhead Presses with Lasky, they set out to practice their kips (Lasky tried to sneak out). Needless to say, his kips were fing awesome. He did 21, 15, and 9, the first two sets were broken up, but not much, and the last set was straight through! Awesome job John! So, he is no longer allowed to do jumping pullups!

Members that weren't in class last night did "Barbara" today, she got the same reactions. Jen S. had a puss on her face and said "Barbara" is a b@#ch! Jeff, a visitor from CrossFit Rochester came in and did a great job, Luke pushed him through his last round and he was nearly a minute faster! The morning moms, Josh, Chris, Angie, Yvonne, Fred, Whitney, Jen G., and Camille pushed themselves through "Barbara" today as well.

Ernie and Angie hit nice PRs tonight.  Ernie did 120lbs. on the overhead Press and Angie hit an 85lb. Push Jerk.

I learned a lesson today, always have your camera on you when Dona is in the room. She was looking good on her warmup sets for squats while Diana was talking, next thing we know she is on her back under the bar! She was fine, but it got all of our heartrates up, turns out she just needed a little more attention!

Thor get some rest. Your technique on the Deadlifts was looking awesome. Let's keep the weight low for a week or two and nail it.

Jess Dunn has cooked up a nutty workout...consider yourself warned!

CFT with Luke, Jay, and Matt

Community

Don't forget, I'm starting a 4:30pm class on Tuesdays beginning tomorrow.

Check out today's WOD on HQ, they heard how good Lasky did and wanted to challenge her!

Great job everyone on "Barbara". It was great to see such fiery intensity. It seemed like some people were a bit tired. "Barbara" is definitely one that can kick you in the a@@, you don't realize how hard you are working until it's too late. Nice to have Courtney, Abby, and Kelly back in class! We missed you guys.

We have 3 new kids that I hope will stick with us Briona, Shaina, and Jovan. I have worked with them in the past and they are awesome kids. They need a lot of help with their nutrition but they are always willing to push themselves. When you see them at class please be super motivating and encourage them to keep at it. I want them to make the changes now that will help them live a healthy and fulfilling life, let's show them what a great community we have here at ACF!

Don't forget to listen to your body. I am encouraging a half-intensity week and not many people took me up on it. There is nothing wrong with going easy. Myself and Luke just came off of some light days and a few days off and we both hit huge CFTs today. Every time someone comes back stronger from a vacation everyone seems shocked, but it never surprises me. Rest is a huge part of becoming strong and fit, don't forget it!

Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. -- Thomas Edison

Hitting some Overhead Squats

Just another Manic Monday...

Hope everyone is looking forward to another exciting week at Albany CrossFit.  Remember we will be starting some half-intensity WODs, they are not mandatory, but listen to your body. 

Hope everyone had a nice Holiday and got to spend it with their friends and family. 

See y'all this week!

Playing with our Snatch!

Is CrossFit a Cult?

This question comes up with surprising semi-regularity: Is CrossFit a cult? I could haul out the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary and prove that CrossFit doesn’t meet the first four definitions for cult, but then there’s the tricky fifth definition: "a: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially: such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b: the object of such devotion c: a usually small group of people characterized by such a devotion."

Whoops. Busted. Maybe we are a cult.

We certainly like to joke about how we are. We wear t-shirts that talk about the cult and make references to “drinking the Kool-Aid,” which, when you think about it, is a rather macabre reference since 914 people died in Jonestown, Guyana when they drank poison Kool-Aid offered by their leader, Jim Jones. But we’re also the people who laugh at puking, and chuckle at exhaustion, and, in some of our jobs, smile wryly at death on a daily basis. Why? Because we would cry our eyes out otherwise. Often, the sadness of this world is unbearable, beating down on our chests with the weight of a thousand stones, each one heavier than the last. So CrossFit helps us to beat back that sadness and gives us the stamina to endure the ride. And so we laugh at the Kool-Aid references. Nothing in this world can bring back those 914 souls anyhow. Surely, not us.

But are we a cult? Maybe we are. We are a small group of people, devoted to an idea, with a leader whom we praise. Sounds like a cult. But then again so does Microsoft. And the conservative movement. And even the New England Patriots. Maybe the problem is not that our movement is small but that the definition of the word “cult” is far too broad.

If we are honest, we might find that we’ve actually belonged to several cults and followed this path previously. I myself have belonged to a number of cults within my lifetime. No, I’ve never worn a sari and danced in the airport with a tambourine (well, at least not sober) but I’ve belonged to the Cult of Basketball, the Cult of Beer, the Cult of Bruce Springsteen, the Cult of the US Air Force, the Cult of Mountain Biking, and the Cult of Triathlon, among others. But I guess the difference between those cult experiences and this CrossFit experience is that no one’s lives were enhanced by my previous participation in some of those cults. With the exception of my time in the USAF cult, all were selfish pursuits. I am damn sure that not one person was helped by my past participation in the Cult of Intellectual Snobbery, whose leader was Susan Sontag. It fed my ego, certainly, but that is not the same thing as feeding my soul. One path might lead to salvation, while the other path only leads to more pain. So maybe we need to define a cult not by narrowness of scope but by where it takes you and who benefits by your cult membership. When your cult participation only enlivens your own selfish ends, you might seem fulfilled on the surface but, inside, you’re still left with that big, gnawing hole in the center of your being, the place that Bruce Springsteen describes in “Janey, Don’t You Lose Heart” by saying, “You lie in bed and feel this emptiness.” But, what if your cult participation – this obsession with an interest – leads you to be a better person? What if your cult work helps to banish the emptiness in you, and in others? Then, what is the harm?

So we’re a cult. So what? We CrossFit. We seek to better ourselves through an odd brand of functional fitness, and maybe, in this pursuit, we help others. We eagerly ask others to join us, to share this passion that drives us, becomes us, and, in a way, helps to complete us. Is that the definition of a cult? Perhaps. But, if it is, save me a place at the squat rack and pour another round of Kool-Aid: I’m buying.

www.crossfitwatertown.com - Lisbeth Darsh is the owner/trainer at CrossFit Watertown in Connecticut.

We certainly like to joke about how we are. We wear t-shirts that talk about the cult and make references to “drinking the Kool-Aid,” which, when you think about it, is a rather macabre reference since 914 people died in Jonestown, Guyana when they drank poison Kool-Aid offered by their leader, Jim Jones. But we’re also the people who laugh at puking, and chuckle at exhaustion, and, in some of our jobs, smile wryly at death on a daily basis. Why? Because we would cry our eyes out otherwise. Often, the sadness of this world is unbearable, beating down on our chests with the weight of a thousand stones, each one heavier than the last. So CrossFit helps us to beat back that sadness and gives us the stamina to endure the ride. And so we laugh at the Kool-Aid references. Nothing in this world can bring back those 914 souls anyhow. Surely, not us.

But are we a cult? Maybe we are. We are a small group of people, devoted to an idea, with a leader whom we praise. Sounds like a cult. But then again so does Microsoft. And the conservative movement. And even the New England Patriots. Maybe the problem is not that our movement is small but that the definition of the word “cult” is far too broad.

If we are honest, we might find that we’ve actually belonged to several cults and followed this path previously. I myself have belonged to a number of cults within my lifetime. No, I’ve never worn a sari and danced in the airport with a tambourine (well, at least not sober) but I’ve belonged to the Cult of Basketball, the Cult of Beer, the Cult of Bruce Springsteen, the Cult of the US Air Force, the Cult of Mountain Biking, and the Cult of Triathlon, among others. But I guess the difference between those cult experiences and this CrossFit experience is that no one’s lives were enhanced by my previous participation in some of those cults. With the exception of my time in the USAF cult, all were selfish pursuits. I am damn sure that not one person was helped by my past participation in the Cult of Intellectual Snobbery, whose leader was Susan Sontag. It fed my ego, certainly, but that is not the same thing as feeding my soul. One path might lead to salvation, while the other path only leads to more pain. So maybe we need to define a cult not by narrowness of scope but by where it takes you and who benefits by your cult membership. When your cult participation only enlivens your own selfish ends, you might seem fulfilled on the surface but, inside, you’re still left with that big, gnawing hole in the center of your being, the place that Bruce Springsteen describes in “Janey, Don’t You Lose Heart” by saying, “You lie in bed and feel this emptiness.” But, what if your cult participation – this obsession with an interest – leads you to be a better person? What if your cult work helps to banish the emptiness in you, and in others? Then, what is the harm?

So we’re a cult. So what? We CrossFit. We seek to better ourselves through an odd brand of functional fitness, and maybe, in this pursuit, we help others. We eagerly ask others to join us, to share this passion that drives us, becomes us, and, in a way, helps to complete us. Is that the definition of a cult? Perhaps. But, if it is, save me a place at the squat rack and pour another round of Kool-Aid: I’m buying.