ALBANY CROSSFIT

No one slacked off

That is exactly what Niki had to say after all 3 evening classes tonight, and it was true.  I can't honestly say after tonight's classes that one person didn't give 110%, amazing! 

The WOD was no joke - 20 minutes with a partner while one is running about 200m, the other is doing as many Overhead Squats with 45lbs. as possible.  Great teamwork as always, lots of encouragement amongst each other even as one was drinking water forcing the other teammate to do more Overhead Squats.  I was impressed by everyone - the teams of Andrea/Jen, Cheryl/Angie, Marie/Heidi, Jess/Elaina, and Ben/John were awesome.  Jess and Elaina's squats were beautiful and I saw both of them starting to get there butts to the ball, really challenging themselves. 

Shout out to John Marro for sticking around for a second class to ensure we had even numbers for partners...very appreciated.

Check out the previous post for more details on the CFT this Thursday.

There will be no class this Friday July 4th.  Niki and I are planning to hike Prospect Mountain, if anyone is interested in joining us please let me know.

By request from John Marro I will sometimes post the next day's WOD the night before...to see it click here.

Practicing what he Preaches

Many of you don't know who Bruce is, but he is one of Albany CrossFit's first members.  He has been coming in on a daily basis and pushing himself to learn these movements and improve his fitness.  When he first started he couldn't do one pushup, now he can do many with perfect form.  Brett constantly e-mails me and gives me wonderful feedback on Bruce's improvement, but when I woke up this morning with a message from Brett I was worried that something was wrong.  Turns out Brett was so excited he couldn't wait to e-mail me, he had to call for this news...Bruce got his first Pullup!  Bruce you are amazing, you inspire people at work (he is a minister) and you inspire people at Albany CrossFit.  Once you hit that first elusive pullup it is like the flood gates open, many more will soon be following.  Great job!

It looked like rain all morning, but when the nooners went outside the sun was bright and hot!  Fun little partner WOD, don't want to spoil the fun for the evening folks, just bring your running shoes.  Everyone was awesome, Dona has shown some super improvement on her overhead squats (spoiler alert).  Although she still has a hard time with weight, she now gets her booty to the ball every time with PVC, she is stabilizing the mid-line much better. 

I would like to run a CFT (CrossFit Total) this Thursday evening.  The CFT is your max Squat, Overhead Press, and Deadlift.  If you plan on attending class on Thursday please let me know ahead of time if you can, and also let me know what you consider to be your max lifts and I will help create a warm-up for you accordingly.  I will just be there from 430pm until 7:30pm, so come in when you can and you will be on your own to warm-up and get ready to hit your lifts.  You will have 3 attempts to work up to your max weight on each lift, a failed attempt counts as one of the 3.  If anyone knows they can hangout and help me spot and judge that would be great.  I'll have 3 racks set up and have the 2 big racks for a warm-up area.  Feel free to ask me any questions, should be a fun time.

Member Spotlight: Chad Ahr

CrossFit is great!  It's fun, I love the people, I'm looking good, feel amazing...but what else?  For most people this is all the motivation they need to show up on a regular basis, but not for Chad Ahr.  Chad trains like an animal and it shows.  He is hitting PRs during every workout, has dropped 10lbs while increasing strength, and just placed 2nd place at the US Nationals Grappling Tournament today.  Not too bad for someone that had minor Brain surgery just 3 months ago (is there such a thing as minor brain surgery?).  

 Although quiet and unassuming, Chad is vicious on the mats while competing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ).  He trains 4-5 times per week in addition to CrossFit under the tutelage of Bruno Tostes.  Chad demonstrates the huge benefits of CrossFit on the mat.  Although he has won and placed at many tournaments in the past he credits CrossFit for his much improved conditioning and strength over the past 6 months.  While not being able to compete in BJJ due to his surgery, Chad upped his intensity at Albany CrossFit and feels he went back to BJJ practice even better than he left. 

All of Chad's teammates at Bruno's academy are impressed with Chad's mutant fitness conditioning, prompting many others to join ACF (Peter, Ryan, Tim, Joe). 

Chad also credits the zone diet to much of his success.  7 months ago he competed at his last tournament in the 180lb. division and had to "make weight".  Today he weighed in at a lean 170lbs. with absolutely no problem on the scale, in fact he was at a wedding the night before and said he had his cheat meal and even some cake. 

So, how did he drop over 10lbs. in just a few months?  A 20 block zone diet, that he thanks his girlfriend Angie for preparing for him on a daily basis.  Not only has he lost the weight, but at the same time he has set numerous PRs in his lifts, meaning this is bodyfat that he has lost, certainly not muscle.  Trying to maximize his performance Chad will be switching his zone diet to 18 blocks and eating 4-5 times the fat beginning this week.

Chad has definitely become more in tune with his body and it is necessary when competing at such a high level.  Diet and exercise play a huge role in his success as does rest.  Chad makes sure to get at least one complete day of rest per week and if his body is feeling fatigued sometimes a second. 

Congratulations Chad on your great performance today!

Congrats also to Niki "schnoopie" Weden for completing all of her Intermediate Phase testing today.  She had been very nervous about her final test the 2k Row.  In order to pass for Intermediate you need to be under 9:20, and her previous 2k PR was 10:52.  We went over some technique before she started and talked about pace and strokes per minute, she then proceeded to smash it with a HUGE PR of 9:09!  Was it the zone or great coaching?  Either way, you did awesome and I am very proud of you!

I would love to have some more CrossFitters hit the Phase Tests.  I know many of you can pass all of the requirements for basic at this point.  If you have any questions about the testing feel free to ask.  You can do one or two of the tests everyday, don't hesitate to do it before or after class.  Challenge yourself and thrive to learn more, work on new movements, and improve!

I'm throwing this out there...give me some feedback and opinions...July 4th is this Friday, rather than offering a class, I thought we would go to Prospect Mountain (Lake George) and do a nice hike. After we can have a small BBQ or get-together somewhere.

Huge Class

Other than the Memorial Day WOD this morning was our biggest class to date.  Nothing makes me happier then showing up on Saturday morning and seeing 30 people getting warmed up for a yet to be stated WOD (well, a few things, but not many).  We had 30 people raring to go today and I'm pretty sure you all got what you came for.

3 rounds of:
800 m run
21 KB Swings
21 Thrusters
21 Pullups

Now, I did this WOD yesterday, and like I said before class it was one of the very rare times that I felt like quitting mid-workout, so I couldn't wait to see all of you give it a try.  I'm glad some people also listened to me when I said, "Listen to your body", by the time Saturday rolls around some of you have had a rough week and some of you were there last night, so I was glad to see some scaling of weights, reps, and rounds. 

If you are feeling beat, it could be over-training or poor nutrition.  Either way, please talk to me about it.  Remember you don't have to not come in to take it easy, you can do a half-intensity week.  You should be doing this minimally every 2-3 months.  You still come in and do the WODs, just have the weight, reps, or rounds.  Your body will thank you and you should see some gains by the time you are done.  Your body gets stronger when you are resting, not when you are in the gym.

Great to have our guest Aaron from Virginia Beach.  He not only did a great job with the WOD, he then rowed 3k, and stayed after and hit my WOD with me...the one you all will be doing on Monday!

From the this could only happen to John Johnson file:  After today's grueling WOD and hanging out with that glazed over eyes look for about an hour John finally made his way home.  About 15 minutes later I receive a text stating, "I was so dazed when I got home I grabbed what I thought was a jar of almond butter and ate a big spoonful...it was minced garlic!"

Listening to our bodies

The evening classes were full of sore and tired bodies.  They were not too happy about today's WOD.  They are both hip movements...I swear!  John didn't believe me before and he certainly didn't believe me after.  But, the better form you use, and the more you can explode your hips the less your arms will feel it. 

John was perhaps the least happy out of everyone and crankier than I have ever seen him.  I through out there the idea of 20 minutes max air squats and he said, "then I won't be able to use my entire body all weekend!"  Ultimately, I think he did the best thing, he took today's WOD and scaled it back a bit.  No matter what, the most important thing is to listen to your body, and John did a very good job at that.  So what that he used 75lbs., it was better for him and you can go harder tomorrow or the next day.  Good job John!

CrossFit is prescribed as 3 on 1 off for a reason, it works!  The people that get the best results, the people turning in 2 minute Frans follow 3 on 1 off for the most part.  Not everyone is able to do that.  You have jobs, kids, families, partying (Laskys'), that interfere.  So, it is important to make sure to listen to your body.  If 3 on 1 off doesn't work, you can do 5 on 2 off, maybe take is easy on Wednesday or 3 on 1 off, 2 on 1 off (Mon. Tue. Wed., Thur - off, Fri. Sat.).  My point being listen to your body!

We had a few more folks compete in the pushup challenge, Josh A. - 312, Diana - 322, and Josh F. - 137, nice work!

Great to have Steve from Texas back while visiting family.  Always a pleasure to have in class and super hard worker.  You'll have that Muscle-Up by next time you visit.

See everyone in the morning...get some rest, there is a hard WOD in store for you!

Sore arms

So we use the hips!  Everyone came in kvetching (it's yiddish) about sore arms, chests, core, and triceps today.  The 2 movements in today's WOD if done properly should be primarily hips!
 
7 Rounds of:
15 SDHP
15 Push Jerks
(95/65)

Everyone rocked it!  Yvonne has such incredible form, it's really beautiful to watch.  Fred had it done in 13:15 and after he said, "I would rather do Fran"...evening folks, get your game faces on!

Brett had this to say about the crazy people that workout at 5:45am - Bruce and Joy are steady rocks.  Joy got her first pull-up yesterday and put 2 together today! She is a joy.  Bruce was DLing 95# for sets of 10 on Monday and benching 85# for the same (huge gains from November Bruce). 

Happy Birthday Jess Lasky!

The 20 minute pushup challenge continued in the evening classes.  Everyone left with very little movement in their upper body.  Awesome job by everyone.  I saw some really great pushups, chest to the deck and a full extension at the top.

So, after a full day of Pushups, here are the ACF standings

Thor - 444
Shye - 418
Marie - 347
Fred - 330
Jess L. - 291
Ali - 285
John N. - 248
Heidi - 238
Niki - 235
Noreen - 232
Jody - 227
Ryan - 224
MJ - 214
Zaerin - 213
Rich - 210
Sarah - 210
Angie - 197
Jenn G. - 185
Ben - 182
Jess C. - 160
Thunder John - 135
Camille - 135
Lenora - 135

I encourage everyone to register and post their scores daily, they then list the top 20 men and women for all WODs and it is very easy to use.  You can put that you train at Albany CrossFit and we can represent.  It is free and there is no spam, I am a member, check it out - www.logsitall.com

Quote of the Day:  Tim talking about the Olympic lift the Snatch -  "Will my kids get booted from school because of this Olympic lift ???….max was working on his form and he said the “word” and how much he liked it…wow !!!"

After the 6:30pm class we stayed and worked on our medicine ball cleans and squat cleans.  I took some video, if you are in it, I definitely suggest you watch it and notice your form.  If you are not in it, I also recommend watching it so you can see what other people do right, and what they can work on.
Clean Practice

Pushup Challenge

I'm going to try and get some afternoon posts in if I have the time, hopefully to make the site more organized and each post less wordy, and give me less to remember by the time I get to my computer every night...it's really just a ploy to get all of you to check the site more often. 

The nooners did the 20 minute pushup challenge with great success.  At first MJ was not thrilled that this was "all" we'd be doing, but with a little encouragement and razzing she hopped on the bandwagon.

Everyone set a pace for themselves, Ryan started with 15 every minute, but soon realized he had bit off more than he could chew.  Everyone was going a little slower by the end, but pushed themselves (literally) as hard as they could.  Surprisingly at the end a few folks said their core was the most sore, which is great, meaning you are keeping the mid-line stabilized and going core to extremity, perfect form.

For those of you not in the know.  This challenge was created by BIll Patton of Logsitall.com.  Every month he will post a new challenge.  You don't have to register with logsitall to compete, but you won't be in the standings, as of this minute our very own John Johnson is #10.  I encourage everyone to register and post their scores daily, they then list the top 20 men and women for all WODs and it is very easy to use.  You can put that you train at Albany CrossFit and we can represent.  It is free and there is no spam, I am a member, check it out.

ACF Standings:
Noreen - 232
Ryan - 224
MJ - 214
Thunder John - 135
Camille - 135
Id - 135

Another Suck List Success Story!  Noreen hit her first Double Under!  Great job!

Funny story from Dave Garvey.  He came into the room today and was complaining that his whole body was sore...he said from "Crash Test Dummies".  I said that is perfect, what do you think you would feel like if you drove a car into a brick wall?

Kipping Practice

Practice Makes Perfect

On Monday I posted on the board the "Suck List".  Everyone was to write down an exercise or two that they need work at or in other words, Suck at.  Everyone has been very diligent in practicing thus far.  Today Cheryl came in and she picked pullups and double unders.  After just a few minutes of practice she had done her first pullup and double under!  Now this isn't the norm, but just goes to show by focusing a few minutes daily on something you are not great at, you can improve and something else can take its place on the list.

Firefighter Fred came up with a killer workout for his birthday today, so killer that he and two others were the only ones to even attempt it.
"FireFighter Fred"
3 rounds of:
13 Front Squats (bodyweight)
13 Pullups (1.25 BW)
13 Deadlifts (1.5 BW)
Lenora, Fred, and Chris had to dig deep to complete this one.  I was very impressed with Lenora during this WOD, although we scaled the weights quite a bit, she used perfect form, and I have never seen her move so fast, that very well may have been her first sub 12 minute Met-Con.  Mazel Tov Lenora!

The rest of the evening folks hit "Helen".  For some it was there first time, and for others a time to hit some new PRs.  Some very big PRs were hit tonight - Niki hit 12:20, Chad hit 10:56 a PR by almost 5 minutes, John Marro also took nearly 5 minutes of his time.  Others didn't go down in time but used more weight or a lighter band, or even no band at all.  Both Jess L., and Angie did their first "Helen" with full pullups, and Jess actually decreased her time!

The 5:30pm finished early and their reward was 5k Relay Race.  We set up 3 teams of 3 rowers they were team 1: Marie, Andy, Elana, team 2: Diana, John M., Viv, team 3: Josh, Ernie, Jess C.  All 3 teams also received a Lasky bonus, meaning they could all have Jess Lasky hit one row for their team during the race.  Team 3 took the top spot with a 5k time of 21:17, what a great time!  It gets nuts during events like this, the air gets thick, the room gets hot, and the energy is through the roof, so much fun!

5k Relay Race

Happy Birthday Firefighter Fred!

What a great coach Niki is already becoming...you are going to be awesome!  She did a great job encouraging folks as well as being a great demo for the medicine ball cleans.

Before I get to writing about classes, big shout out to Ernie for not only hitting his first Muscle-Up but then getting back on the rings and doing 2 consecutive, check out the video!

The nooners were crazy and I mean that in every sense of the word...Lenora was there! We started with Diana, MJ, and Lenora getting some good practice on their Medicine Ball Cleans and then turning it into a mini WOD of 15 medicine ball cleans, 5 pushups. They made so much improvement in that small amount of time.

Josh, Andy, and Dave all strolled in and we hit the brand spanking new WOD -

"Crash Test Dummies"
21-15-9
Squat Cleans (95/65)
GI Janes

This WOD should if done properly fry your hips! You should be opening those hips explosively for the both the clean and the jump on the GI Jane. For those of you that don't know a GI Jane is a burpee where you take your jump into a pullup. Josh and Andy both finished in under 10 minutes, MJ and Diana took a little longer but I was super impressed with their form. Great job to everyone!

The 4:30 class was full of estrogen, all of the ladies came in ready to go.  We took some time to work on kipping and Chris just about nailed her first pullup, and Jen, Erin, and Tracy made huge strides towards theirs.  All of the evening classes learned the medicine ball clean.  We broke the movement into 4 parts: the deadlift, deadlift shrug, front squat, shrug and drop under (there will be a written test).  For some it was their first time working this movements and they did a great job.  Rich, John, Ryan, Kelly, Dave, and Jody were awesome and all already displayed great technique.  It would be great if those new to this movement took some time everyday to practice it, even if just a few minutes. 

I am taking the 11:15am class off the schedule and combining it with the 12pm. I know many of you like the strength class but you will still have that option just starting at the noon time.

Success is not the key to happiness - happiness is the key to success.

Ernie's 1st