ALBANY CROSSFIT

You're in the middle of a fight!

Not one athlete did not come in and give it 110% tonight for "Fight Gone Bad"...super energy, awesome PRs, intensity, motivation, teamwork, what an outstanding night.

How impressive is Fred?  It's one thing to dominate the leader board in one aspect such as weightlifting or Met-Cons, but his name is all over it!  His FGB went up over 85 points today!  CrossFit and the zone, a lethal combination.  John N. and Doug were killer tonight as well both hitting 300+ on their very first FGB.  Viv is so impressive as well, she opted to use the men's rx'd weights tonight and upped her score by over 50 points!

I was extremely impressed by Kari tonight.  She has been challenging herself more and more every night.  Tonight she snuck the red band on the pullup bar for her warm-up and then she did FGB completely rx'd for the first time, awesome job!  Dave and Kelly were great together, I was a little nervous having an engaged couple coach eachother through FGB, but they both turned in impressive performances and Dave did a great job coaching his fiancee.

John "Thor" Johnson had two 1st tonight...one was a 300 FGB and the other was meeting pukie.  There were quite a few other first timers tonight, Carol and Kelly were in for their 1st WOD and got a quick lesson in what Albany CrossFit is all about.  Tracy, Jen, Yasir, Anthony, Jen, Katie, Rich, and Gene were all shocked at what they can get their body to do during their first FGB.

Check out the leader board, should your score be up there?  Keep in mind we rank rx'd at the top.

Congrats to Joy from the morning class, she completed her Basic Phase.

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. --Winston Churchill

Kelly's 1st Pullup from Albany CrossFit on Vimeo.

Hump Day

How Shye got his Kip back...Shye has been diligently working on his kip for the past few months and tonight it definitely paid off.  Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a green object moving up and down repeatedly, I looked over and it was Shye banging on sweet kipping pullups.  When all was said and done he had the most of the night and the number one spot on the leader board!

Ryan is doing a great job working on his "suck list' in this case the Overhead Squat.  Rather than being constantly in a state of frustration, he has chosen a much more proactive approach and tonight it really paid off.  He was hitting OHS with comfort for the first time...now next time an OHS WOD comes up he is going to attack it!

Everyone pushed themselves to their limit tonight on all of the rows and the pullups.  No one made this more apparent then Angie.  I was coaching through most of her 2k and she was giving it every ounce of energy she could muster.  Although she missed her PR she did awesome, really taking herself to a whole different level of pain and torture.  After she was done she was telling me how her and Chad had a cheat meal and ice-cream last night, that could have definitely played a role in her missing her time.  Diet isn't only about looking good, but performance as well.

Emily hit her first pullup tonight!  Great work, she is in the video.  Kelly is so close to nailing her first one, I know the feeling she is going through.  A little frustration, some anger, a tiny bit of jealousy, don't worry when you hit that first one it will all be worth it!

Lots of new faces and names on the leader board .  Be sure to check it out, give yourself a challenge, try to move up or get on it, let me know if you have any times or scores that belong on it.

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. --Bertrand Russell

Hump Day from Albany CrossFit on Vimeo.

A Big Improvement

It is always great to see everyone making huge improvements in challenging exercises, and not many exercises are more challenging than the overhead squat.  It takes practice, determination, focus, and a strong core to start hitting good overhead squats.  Tonight we saw tremendous improvements from last week's OHS workout.  Many people were able to use rx'd weight overhead for the first time and everyone else used more weight than last week!  Not everyone was thrilled about that...right Heidi?  But, like I asked her WWJD?  (What would Jason do?)

Overhead squats alone are hard, in conjunction with burpees they are killer.  Niki wanted to give a shout out to MJ, Jen S., Kelly C., Terry, Heidi, Elaina, Meg, Kari, and Angie...basically all of the women that did it.  It is remarkable how well all of the women do OHS, pound for pound the women are definitely much stronger then us with an XY.  Most exercises and sports that require focus and coordination tend to be dominated by women.  Go ladies!

Two sweet PRs today.  Both Toph and Thor couldn't hit the WOD on the board, so Toph did "Murphy" and set a great PR of 39:55.  Thor came in and did "Diane" and improved his standing on the Leader Board to 5:42, great job fellas!  Nice to have a CrossFitter from out of town stop by.  Colin who is a Coach at CrossFit Buffalo stopped in while in town for Business.   He also hit a super PR on "Murphy" with 46:13!

Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision. --Ayn Rand

Jeremy from Albany CrossFit on Vimeo.

Life Lessons at Albany CrossFit

I was so proud of our newest Jen today.  This was only her 3rd WOD and it is a tough one.  John had asked me earlier "what is a good time for Murphy" and I said, "finishing!"  She ran a very strong first mile and then hit the meat of the WOD hard, using the blue band for pullups, and hitting phenomenal pushups and squats.  About midway through the pullups she said I need to go to an easier band, come to find out she was hitting 10 at a time on the blue band, so I suggested she drop to 5 at a time but keep the blue.  She did and finished strong, just over an hour, but with great form and making every rep count. 

Here some of the lessons Jen learned along the way:
1.  people think they need to scale, when really they need to take a deep breath and suck it up.
2.  a little rip in your hand is not the end of the world
3.  you come to Albany CrossFit to get a kick-ass workout, not like at a "globo-gym"
4.  you can do so much more than you think you can
5.  be competitive with others, but more importantly with yourself!

Jen you did great today, I am very proud of you for finishing and you should be proud of yourself!

Congrats Josh, our July 2008 Member of the Month!

I was thrilled with how well everyone did with "Murphy", some very big PRs were set as well as some awesome first timers!  I was happy to hear that Jess Lasky had set a few goals for herself, one being a sub 50 minute "Murph" and she beat it!  I heard a few other members saying how they beat their goal and that is fantastic.  It is a great idea to set yourself some short-term goals as well as some long-term goals, and also day to day goals when you see the WOD to set a time or score for yourself and try to beat it.

 

Don't forget to check out our August Challenge.  I expect everyone to give it a shot!

Does anyone have some "Murphy" PRs for the leader board?

The POSE clinic went so well this past weekend that I am looking to have Matt and Donna back again.  We are looking at the date of September 13th and we would offer two classes one for first-timers and one for all of the members that completed the first training.  Let me know if you are interested.

Check out this great article.

Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment. --Rita Mae Brown


 

Cheat Meal

Let me start his by saying that was one of the best cheat meals I have ever had.  Not only was the food good and plenty of it, but we were also surrounded by great group of friends.  We expected to have maybe 15 people showed up, the final head count was 25!  Very cool to have some folks that had never been out before, Eugene, Chris C., Meg, Kelly, David, Anthony, (young) Josh, and (older) Josh and his fiancee Angie.  Wow, you should check out Angie's left ring finger, there is a beautiful diamond on it, it must slow her down, it must be like having a kettlebell on your hand all day long.

As if the meal wasn't enough about half of the folks kept the party hopping as we rolled over to the nearest Stewart's for some long awaited ice-cream.  Angie was not the only disappointed one when we found out there was no Mint Cookie Crumble left, but like true CrossFitters we made due with what was in front of us and settled for some Peanut Butter Pandemonium and Cookie Dough.

 

When we got home after all this eating Niki was in a food coma and had to lay on the floor, I honestly had a hard time falling asleep as my stomach was so full.  How did everyone that did POSE feel this morning?  Any sore calves and hamstrings?

We have a great week of WODs planned out for your exercise pleasure!  Look forward to a few women, a hero or 2, and a bit of strength mixed in!

Check out our new August Challenge!

Every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn't buy an extra hour. What will you do with this priceless treasure? --Author Unknown

John and Viv's Fran from Albany CrossFit on Vimeo.

John and Viv

Teamwork and POSE

Today's WOD was fun guys, right?  At least that was the intention of it, remember the old CrossFit slogan, "it doesn't have to be fun to be fun."  I know none of you will admit it, but I can tell some of you, actually most of you were having a little fun and maybe even enjoying yourselves!  You can't help it when working in teams and pushing each other, it's bound to be a little fun.

We tried to set up the teams with members of equal ability in order to keep the flow smooth and have the same weights for all team members.  I think we did a really good job of that with all of the teams same gender except Kelly got tossed in with some of the tough guys, but she definitely held her own.  Viv did a great job coaching her teammates Keith and Cindy not only to push themselves, but also to use better form.  By the time they completed the WOD Keith and Cindy were squatting better, rowing stronger, and doing some pretty good medicine ball cleans!

After class everyone was getting excited for the POSE Running Clinic.  A few crazies came and did class first.  Matt and Donna led us through an awesome clinic and based on everyone's enthusiasm I would say it definitely improved everyone's running.  Matt and Donna gave us great tips, recommendations, and drills to practice in order to improve our POSE running technique.  After the Clinic a few of us stuck around for some interval work and everyone was thrilled with their running and some even set some new PRs.  It is definitely going to take time and a lot of practice to learn how to POSE better and more efficiently but it is definitely worth it.  Those of you at the training should definitely try to stick with the 6-week training program and I will do my best to incorporate it into the schedule. 

It was great to finally meet Joy and her daughter Stacy.  Joy is one of Brett's star morning members, and she was definitely looking awesome with her running.  We look forward to having Stacy drop in to some of our evening classes!

Today was a great day.  I look forward to seeing everyone tonight at Beff's!

Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction. --Al Bernstein

Please leave any feedback you have for Matt and Donna in the comments.

Insanity

Extreme Close-Up

Hard way to finish the work week, a fast, intense MetCon.  Looked pretty easy on the board but by round 5 everyone's shoulders were smoked, and triceps starting to fry.  Some really fast times were turned in by everyone, and I loved seeing just about everyone go with prescribed weight or very close to on SDHP, and challenging themselves on the ring dips. 

 

Jess came in sporting a brand new hairdo, and unlike Samson her new cut offered her some strength and she crushed tonight's WOD.  Our newest member Jen (yes, another Jen) did awesome in only her second WOD.  Her form is spectacular, it's going to be fun to watch her fitness level soar!

John came into to hit a birthday "Fran".  Although he didn't set a new PR he turned in an awesome performance, not everyday is a PR day, as long as you give it your 100% it's all good.  John, you are definitely fitter now, a year older.

Hope everyone is looking forward to tomorrow's POSE clinic.  Should be a great time and an awesome way to learn more about running, hopefully dropping some of our "Helen", "Eva", "Michael", and "Murphy" times.  Don't be afraid to come in to the morning class before the clinic.  We have a really fun team workout planned, check it out on the WOD page.

We are even more excited about the big birthday celebration that night and a Huge Cheat Meal!  Can't wait for some good food, good friends, and ice-cream!

Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude. --Ralph Marston

Jackie

After a long hard week of WODs a lot of folks took a much needed rest day today.  Those that didn't were greeted by their old friend "Jackie". 

Everyone's row looked very strong after all of the practice this past Monday.  Lots of people finished the 1k start to "Jackie" in under 4 minutes.  The thrusters were strong.  If you look at "Jackie" all 3 movements are powerful hip extensions.  From the row, to a strong pop in your thruster, to a hard kip in your pullups, the power for these movements are all generated from the hips...core to extremity!

Some huge PRs hit tonight, after less than a week on the zone John Marro set a huge PR at 8:50 and then went at her a second time.  Chad took over the number one spot on the leader board with 8:08, and Angie cracked the top 3 with 14:52.  Check out the leader board and see if you should be on there, let me know.

Great job to all the members hitting "Jackie" for the first time.  Rich, John, Anthony, and Kelly all pushed extremely hard.  I was really impressed by Kelly tonight.  She was struggling with her thrusters while everyone was making their way to the pullups or even finishing, but she just kept picking that bar up and doing 2-3 at a time.  Not once did she ask to go lighter or complain, she just gave it her all.  That is what Albany CrossFit is all about!  I want to see everyone take their fitness to the next level and push their bodies to places they never thought possible.  That is exactly what Kelly did and why she deserves to be Athlete of the Night!

Read the Article You Gotta Want This from  CrossFit Ranier

Deadlift PRs

A Family Affair

My family decided to stop by and check out exactly what it is we do here at Albany CrossFit.  My two sisters hopped in and gave the WOD a try while my parents and nephews chose to observe (wise decision).  I would consider both of my sisters pretty athletic.  My older sister Corey live in Texas and plays for the HellCats of the Texas Roller Derby, and my younger sister Carly attends Colgate University and "works out" on a daily basis...so "Jackie" won't be a problem for either of them, right?

Niki took them along with Jen and Yasar through the warm-up which is enough for someone to say, "there is more than this?"  We had 8 people in class including Mike, Abby, Lenora, and Niki, so all the rowers went down, and 3-2-1-GO!  Everyone was off hitting the 1k hard, Mike was off the rower first in under 4 minutes, Corey was not far behind being a strong rower back in high-school (twenty years ago).  Everyone was off the rower and ready to hit their 50 thrusters, this was the breaking point, most get through 10 no problem and then think to themselves, I have to do 40 more of these? 

Nonetheless, everyone finished their thrusters and attacked the pullups.  Everyone always wants to scale a little more than I would like, but I encouraged everyone to challenge themselves with a harder band than they are comfortable with.  Yasar and Jen both used blue and finished very strong.  Jen was amazingly strong in her first WOD.  She is going to be an absolute firebreather...look out ladies!

I'm glad everyone had a fun time this afternoon.  Nice to finally give my sisters some abuse after years of dealing with them!  Not easy being the only boy!

If you can't do it, don't blame yourself, blame your parents. They gave you weak genes.
 Just don't pass them on.

Prescribed weights for Men, Women, and Viv

For every workout in which weights are involved I usually list a prescribed weight for men and women, well, now I need to start listing a weight for Viv.  She usually finds the men's weight is a tad too heavy, while the women's is a bit too light, and we settle somewhere in between...just right.  You are impressing us all the time Viv, keep up the great work, I love seeing the improvements in you.

Two big Deadlift PRs tonight.  We somehow convinced Angie to go for 260 before the WOD to tie for first place on the leader board (nothing like a little CF Peer Pressure).  She resisted, but when we told her all of the cool kids were doing it, she hopped on it and nailed it!  That is a 10lb. PR in just 3 weeks and she hadn't deadlifted heavy once.  After coaching Niki picked up 155 like it was a feather, so I convinced her to try 175 which was a 5lb. PR, she hit it no problem and then proceeded to lift 185, way to go girlfriend (I mean that literally).

I'm throwing this out there...first woman to hit a 300lb. Deadlift gets Ice-Cream on me!

In case you hadn't noticed combining CrossFit and the Zone is awesome.  I can't believe how incredible everyone is doing.  Some numbers to think about, Angie has dropped 22lbs since joining ACF and starting the zone, and in just over one month Rich is already down 18lbs.  This is where most gyms and commercials would tell you results are not typical...but they are here at Albany CrossFit!

A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. --Ayn Rand

Fran from Albany CrossFit on Vimeo.

Fran