tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54064577986425462762024-03-13T06:08:15.748+00:00CrossFit UckfieldWelcome to The Paleo Gym - CrossFit Uckfield - a blog about CrossFit and paleo nutrition. BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.comBlogger177125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-54140347091412525062023-07-05T10:07:00.008+01:002023-07-05T10:07:48.086+01:00<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">It riles me a bit when people reduce nutrition down to calories in v calories out. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-a7e60edf-7fff-6859-ee7c-d623e2ff418f"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Firstly because the calorie content of a particular food is calculated by burning a sample of it in an oxygen-filled chamber and seeing how much the resulting heat warms water, which is great because this is <b><i>exactly</i></b> what our bodies do with food. Wait, no it isn't….<br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCWARe8AXRe5YJZV1NYRyEJxEXHQleh6KcpZF-lkoHkTH1D2rxLbT_rswr_j2SNb13TVbj0tZ9xZOM6rG0nnDg8VyduUKjEwxfE5YhV6krfAocahOYBtccLPB5aEuNtx20qA9QMn_vHssyUSqsjsRdyHWTK49D7tll8MFMTUjnyzV5AnKcWQBWfb8a5A/s742/Screenshot%202023-07-05%20at%2009.58.13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="664" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCWARe8AXRe5YJZV1NYRyEJxEXHQleh6KcpZF-lkoHkTH1D2rxLbT_rswr_j2SNb13TVbj0tZ9xZOM6rG0nnDg8VyduUKjEwxfE5YhV6krfAocahOYBtccLPB5aEuNtx20qA9QMn_vHssyUSqsjsRdyHWTK49D7tll8MFMTUjnyzV5AnKcWQBWfb8a5A/s320/Screenshot%202023-07-05%20at%2009.58.13.png" width="286" /></a></div></span><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Different foods cause different reactions in our bodies - they raise and lower different hormones to different levels - which in turn changes how we respond to daily life - some nutrients are used by our bodies as fuel, some are used to repair muscles, some are used to extract vitamins from other foods some are treated by our bodies as poison. Nutrients do different jobs in our bodies that cannot be simply equated to how much they heat water when they are burnt in a repeatable environment. Each body on this planet is a unique environment, subject to myriad different factors such as genetics, pollution, stress, age, height, mood, activity levels, etc so to reduce nutrition simply to calories is meaningless.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqeCslPOz62_8oL6Lz8VDZ6PfQTFc-402oFqMX2OmNwReSe2PhUrwoy6hs6uY1hZnfHSqcf_IFK87Cgq5TaGdY1Ntoyde8znky-9ZmQg1tOKM-7iNoPawVbM3SDBa4RbmZhN_Pb2CG2Hnwl631UiVA6bvJZkoT1dc1hQQ1k8rompWdRohtRKI01_PVOM/s1122/Screenshot%202023-07-05%20at%2010.03.00.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1122" height="62" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqeCslPOz62_8oL6Lz8VDZ6PfQTFc-402oFqMX2OmNwReSe2PhUrwoy6hs6uY1hZnfHSqcf_IFK87Cgq5TaGdY1Ntoyde8znky-9ZmQg1tOKM-7iNoPawVbM3SDBa4RbmZhN_Pb2CG2Hnwl631UiVA6bvJZkoT1dc1hQQ1k8rompWdRohtRKI01_PVOM/s320/Screenshot%202023-07-05%20at%2010.03.00.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Having said that, if all you care about is your weight and how much body fat you have, eating more than you use will definitely result in you getting fatter. But to use this information to suggest that it doesn't matter what you eat, it just matters what the calorie content is, is dangerous advice.</span></p><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.666667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaCfsp3Jsl6QBgdVe-vFDFKrweVC6tIjGTtbv8BefVsASv6Mh33MhIMUJV6s6K0FequsYpG3wrrJLLNucXX-sp9YEW-za5ZlxvAXZcMCo0Gm7hJzvhWd1_tac8pYT2oLVpcLpqjbc8GQ5N0gREGIIJDrcfcC35kIKNK6K2fApugvvE01u3LJETk9QlzI/s918/Screenshot%202023-07-05%20at%2010.04.49.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="918" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaCfsp3Jsl6QBgdVe-vFDFKrweVC6tIjGTtbv8BefVsASv6Mh33MhIMUJV6s6K0FequsYpG3wrrJLLNucXX-sp9YEW-za5ZlxvAXZcMCo0Gm7hJzvhWd1_tac8pYT2oLVpcLpqjbc8GQ5N0gREGIIJDrcfcC35kIKNK6K2fApugvvE01u3LJETk9QlzI/w167-h156/Screenshot%202023-07-05%20at%2010.04.49.png" width="167" /></a></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Secondly, if you get all your daily calories from sweets, crisps, cakes and fizzy drinks, you CANNOT tell me that someone eating the same calories from meat, fish, eggs, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds is not healthier. You know they will have a clearer mind, clearer skin, a healthier heart, a more positive attitude. By the calories in v calories out argument, you could get all your daily requirements from alcohol with zero vitamins, minerals or nutrients. You would die</span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi559vzf7bDjkvNj41McoL0KXd26O8PAO_5slaX0s51lFBnJ9Jjde_IdZ49GQKpVLSTlNUd713gSwxhnVvmzmZ2M9-y6FRa45BZbFjP8QdC5WeY0FtG2kVtDaI643qXZhYasbNs_AOjHvClo0LK8Dk9FLRfj81pxro6Ru8s4QyoSct2_1kVE6Kf_l8Q75c/s1126/Screenshot%202023-07-05%20at%2010.05.40.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="1126" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi559vzf7bDjkvNj41McoL0KXd26O8PAO_5slaX0s51lFBnJ9Jjde_IdZ49GQKpVLSTlNUd713gSwxhnVvmzmZ2M9-y6FRa45BZbFjP8QdC5WeY0FtG2kVtDaI643qXZhYasbNs_AOjHvClo0LK8Dk9FLRfj81pxro6Ru8s4QyoSct2_1kVE6Kf_l8Q75c/w227-h112/Screenshot%202023-07-05%20at%2010.05.40.png" width="227" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Calories in v calories out has a very limited use. It is much better to think about the quality of those calories, the colour of those calories and usefulness of those calories. That doesn’t mean you can’t have the odd croissant or doughnut, it just means if you have them every single day, just as if you drink alcohol every single day, you might have a problem.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My last word on this is that being able to afford to eat healthy food is a luxury. It really is, which is a disgrace in the 21st century. So if you are in a position to choose between a £1.50 pizza for dinner and oak smoked salmon jus with toasted quinoa and a feta and marrow-bone drizzle, don’t fucking squander that priveledge!</span></p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-66422781974996070372018-05-09T09:18:00.000+01:002018-05-09T09:18:24.040+01:00INTEGRITY<span style="font-size: x-large;">Whomever</span><span style="font-size: large;"> you are, whatever your skill or strength level,</span> however good or bad you think you are at CrossFit, someone somewhere looks up to you. Somebody, somewhere is impressed by what you do. That somebody doesn't always have any idea if you are doing the movements correctly or not or if you are doing all the reps. They are just impressed by what they see you are able to do.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is a position of power.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgciw1uCd91Fc1bOOrfWKowLHu_VVS5yOmx_jjcLe7vKEjThV6xRf9zCwi3RVhxEczAmLWt6-11Tw0HzzMwSvEIiFdBQAAI5NSz_ISMBhDF4ztQlFu4sfPdxmwTfgZd_XmwLEZc0UMpj4/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgciw1uCd91Fc1bOOrfWKowLHu_VVS5yOmx_jjcLe7vKEjThV6xRf9zCwi3RVhxEczAmLWt6-11Tw0HzzMwSvEIiFdBQAAI5NSz_ISMBhDF4ztQlFu4sfPdxmwTfgZd_XmwLEZc0UMpj4/s320/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And as we all know: </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>with great power comes great responsibility.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To wield that power responsibly, you have to have <b>integrity</b>.</span><br />
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The workouts that you do generally require you to perform a given number of repetitions of a given set of movements, with a given set of standards within a given amount of time. They rarely, if ever, ask you to choose your own standards, movements or rep ranges. <br />
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There's been some cheating by the pros in the Open this year and it has upset a lot of people and rightly so. We all look up to the professional athletes and they have a responsibility to us to demonstrate faultless integrity. But just because a few individuals believe the standards do not apply to them, it doesn't mean we have to follow suit. We need to hold ourselves to higher standards. We need to hold ourselves accountable.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let's say the wod today is 21-15-9 reps of thrusters and pullups.</span><br />
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That person you admire gets to rep 18 of the 21. They know they could do all 21 but that woman they admire is a few reps ahead of them and they know they're as fit as her normally. Today they just don't feel on top form but they'd like the board to reflect what they believe they are capable of. So they miss out the remaining 3 reps and move onto the pullups. Everyone (apart from their coach!) is too busy counting their own reps and breathing hard to know if they did the full 21 or not. When they get to the pullups, most of the time their chin goes above the bar. Sure there were a few no-reps in there but they're not being judged, it isn't the Open, they're not going to Regionals. It's just a workout. Round 15 of the thrusters and they're starting to feel a little tough. They could split them into 5s and go below parallel and get their chest through at the top but that would mean letting that woman they admire get even more of a lead on them and they know she just isn't that much better than them so they play fast and loose with the below parallel thing and locking out at the top and try to go unbroken. Sure there were a few no-reps in there but they're not being judged, it isn't the Open, they're not going to Regionals. It's just a workout, right?<br />
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WRONG!<br />
<br />
You look up to this person. A lot of the time, you might even be as fit and as strong as them. Sometimes, you know you do a movement better than them but you still really admire them and are constantly impressed by what they do. So every time they beat your score in a wod, you beat yourself up about it. How were they a whole round ahead of you when you know you are about the same level as they are? You feel bad after CrossFit rather than great because you are confused. That person you admire was hot sweaty and out of breath after their workout. They go a good workout done. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">They didn't cheat themselves, even if the didn't quite adhere to the standards or rep range. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">They cheated you.</span><br />
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The only saving grace we can take from this is that if we adhere to the standards, we know our movement will improve. People with better movement get stronger and fitter quicker than people with careless movement. 3 extra pullups in a wod, even done more slowly than everyone else, over the course of a week, a month a year, adds up to someone significantly better at pullups. Finishing a workout last, knowing you did every pressup chest to floor and every squat below parallel makes you prouder(and fitter and stronger) than coming top of the leader board with a fake score and sub-standard movement.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It matters because it makes us better athletes. It matters because it makes us a better people. it matter because it makes us someone worthy of our secret admirers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Having someone look up to you is tough if you're British, we like to be modest and play it down but<i> <b>it is a position of power. </b></i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqTlFQRXJJmJl0WiV19zyUQ3_pA9VdQUgT9AFcIEZvjUZu-M5xa9OBIZ6s0U_opA9ekca4KFKL_Y1k25v_k14NywTfKcXfIuLKXOLumwRjeoQDqETSoFtTri0xduXHiV5bgB7pZ5olwQ/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqTlFQRXJJmJl0WiV19zyUQ3_pA9VdQUgT9AFcIEZvjUZu-M5xa9OBIZ6s0U_opA9ekca4KFKL_Y1k25v_k14NywTfKcXfIuLKXOLumwRjeoQDqETSoFtTri0xduXHiV5bgB7pZ5olwQ/s320/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Wield that power with integrity.</span></b><br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-40388430568316527912018-04-30T15:39:00.000+01:002018-04-30T15:39:00.750+01:00Three very good reasons to do CrossFit that have nothing to do with being really, really strong and having great musclesThree very good reasons to do CrossFit that have nothing to do with being really, really strong and having great muscles.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">1 Resilience</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_xRyoJRF3nadFOpx3bOpcKVoCQh7rUE-bj9AuXAOdeRDutMJCtxfCebMhpwvHPPt-AZsdwwvLde1w08FZYWrcqrtMNXRVqFFha0QS_EYYn7a0ZTRFCPmLr0V8pJAuqRb9-Sg1X35cM7k/s1600/30738918_1511551252276669_1482205134974715400_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="826" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_xRyoJRF3nadFOpx3bOpcKVoCQh7rUE-bj9AuXAOdeRDutMJCtxfCebMhpwvHPPt-AZsdwwvLde1w08FZYWrcqrtMNXRVqFFha0QS_EYYn7a0ZTRFCPmLr0V8pJAuqRb9-Sg1X35cM7k/s320/30738918_1511551252276669_1482205134974715400_n.jpg" width="275" /></a>CrossFit is a roller coaster of highs and lows; a love-hate relationship with just enough affection in it to keep you two together. It is hard and sometimes it makes you sad - sad at a movement you just can't work out, sad you can't do a pullup yet, sad that double unders are so, so, so stupid! <br />
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It builds you up with a ton of successes: your first brilliant clean, a PB back squat, your first pressup and then it crushes you with your inability to fathom snatches or pistol squats. But you keep coming back and you keep working hard and keep on improving and slowly, slowly snatches begin to make more sense; slowly slowly your mobility improves and you realise you have become resilient! If you can get through that wod you all did last Wednesday, you are sure you can get through pretty much anything! <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">2 Commitment</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6agJJ1Ik5RWIkZVeEoIzHt2EPQHfz9p3zeds9KVYxIEvia263njZtKdGSXbACRRIGPok0UMJl-MM5Jp-PNc2EcI1WSy1NMaBejVGILwOaAAu2iLcy4VRBpao1SlKnt1YvcytpiwTE6W0/s1600/29541361_1792314614160363_5316313176876634411_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6agJJ1Ik5RWIkZVeEoIzHt2EPQHfz9p3zeds9KVYxIEvia263njZtKdGSXbACRRIGPok0UMJl-MM5Jp-PNc2EcI1WSy1NMaBejVGILwOaAAu2iLcy4VRBpao1SlKnt1YvcytpiwTE6W0/s320/29541361_1792314614160363_5316313176876634411_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>CrossFit helps you stop prevaricating in the real world.<br />
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If you are one of those people skilled in the art of putting off today what could easily (but probably won't be) done tomorrow then CrossFit has something to teach you. <br />
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In CrossFit, you learn very quickly to stop waiting for that perfect storm because that perfect storm comes around so very rarely. You are always going to be a bit tired or a bit sore or a bit hungry or a bit late or a bit pre-menstrual or cross with your boss or your kids or your cat....<br />
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The workouts don't often throw out a combination of everything you're good at, they might give you two movements you love but temper it cruelly with one that makes you swear....but you do it anyway because it's written on the board and everyone else is doing it and your coach has never written, 'Did not finish,' on the board yet! <br />
<br />
In short, you learn to go with the flow. You discover how to make the beast of it. You realise just need to get on with it. And if you do that enough, it becomes a habit and you find yourself better at finishing tasks in the real world that you could normally have strung out for weeks. <br />
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You learn that it isn't about having to have a positive mental attitude. You understand what Nike were saying all along: you just do it!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">3 Pride </span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZNFxxpaOtXV0DaM_AbDZW5b2dg2kysqDMjBFw_P5z_KM6AQ-lXtgCBVTIHfW4TKElUmfc0CM4w_kKLpd-OsGg9ASqbQE2axec4MhObWoYb_gjIYl6432tXE0k-4X2Jqa0elkLcVp_s5M/s1600/29060906_10155370328531696_2706039945981781019_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZNFxxpaOtXV0DaM_AbDZW5b2dg2kysqDMjBFw_P5z_KM6AQ-lXtgCBVTIHfW4TKElUmfc0CM4w_kKLpd-OsGg9ASqbQE2axec4MhObWoYb_gjIYl6432tXE0k-4X2Jqa0elkLcVp_s5M/s320/29060906_10155370328531696_2706039945981781019_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>There are things you do at CrossFit that you never imagined in a million years you would be able to achieve. There are things you might work on for months, years even, that when you get them fill you with such genuine, deep, well-deserved, overwhelming pride that the birth of your first child is relegated to a 'pretty good day, I suppose.' <br />
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For someone who battles with depression, that achievement could be showing up 3 days a week for 6 months, come rain or shine, black dog or rainbow unicorn! <br />
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For someone who has battled with their weight their whole life, it could be getting their first pullup. <br />
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It could be going upside down on the rings for the first time, running 200m without needing an ambulance on standby, it could taking part in your first CrossFit competition...<br />
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Pride that comes from diligence, hard-work, commitment and resilience is pretty damn hard to beat!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">On top of all this, </span><span style="font-size: large;">you get really, really strong and have great muscles. </span> What's not to like?<br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-68347889985556841992018-04-30T09:01:00.000+01:002018-04-30T09:06:37.591+01:00Top Ten Tips for Caring for Equipment<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>There's</b></span><span style="font-size: large;"> a lot of kit in a CrossFit gym</span> and it all needs treating kindly if it's going to last.<br />
Whether you're a CrossFit old-hand or a newbie, here's a quick guide to looking after the equipment in your gym .<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1 Barbells</span></b><br />
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Never drop an empty barbell. It makes gym owners weep. You may see the professionals throwing barbells around in an Eleiko gym, with Eleiko bars; those bars cost thousands and are up to the task. Most gyms you train in will have much cheaper bars and they are not designed to withstand that kind of treatment.<br />
Don't drop a bar with fractional plates (anything under 5kg).<br />
Don't drop a bar with 5kg plates on - they are thin and will bend and crack.<br />
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Make sure your bumper plates match - not for OCD purposes but because they all behave differently and some are bouncier than others.<br />
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If you do drop a loaded barbell, don't be a dick about it. Do it safely and under control. You are not the only person in the gym and midway through a wod you might be less aware of what is going on and who is around you. It is completely and utterly unnecessary to throw a bar down from directly overhead. It is very bad manners not to watch where it lands and downright dangerous to let it bounce all over the place. Treat your equipment, surroundings and gym-mates with respect.<br />
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Having said all that, if it's a toss up between your safety and looking after a £200 barbell, drop the barbell!<br />
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When returning barbells to the rack, don't drop them in with a clang, replace them gently and carefully - they will last longer this way.<br />
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If you bleed on the barbells (or pullups bars) please wipe them off afterwards with the antibacterial wipes in the green bucket.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2 Kettlebells and dumbbells</span></b><br />
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Don't drop them. They damage the flooring and they are not built to withstand that kind of treatment. Moreover, they are oddly shaped and they tend to go in directions you didn't bank on, which is dangerous for people and other equipment around you.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3 Rowers</span></b><br />
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Don't let the handle snap back into the rack at the front of the rower; position it there with care.<br />
When moving the rower around, do it with care.<br />
When you have finished with the rower, return the timer to it's original position and move the handle all the way to the front of the rower so the chain isn't constantly under tension, move the seat to the front and stand the rower up carefully so it doesn't hit the wall.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">4 GHD and Squat Racks</span></b><br />
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If you are unsure how to adjust them, ask to be shown - a lot of equipment in the gym needs to be used in a particular way. Learn how to do it right and teach others.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">5 The prowler carpet</span></b><br />
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Don't put barbells on there - especially, don't drop loaded barbells on there, it will split the carpet and become unusable.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">6 Chalk</span></b><br />
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It takes 3 hours to clean the gym floor and due to drying times this can only be done at the weekends so to keep the gym clean, please avoid splashing chalk about. You don't need as much as you think you do. You don't need chalk for burpees or handstands.... If there is a lot of chalk on your barbell after you've used it, you can give it a quick wipe down with the wipes provided.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">7 Flooring</span></b><br />
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It rains quite a lot on the UK and outside gets muddy. Please wipe your feet when you come into the gym to keep the floors as nice as possible - tell your kids to do the same!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">8 Playroom</span></b><br />
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If your kids eat in the playroom, please get them to clear up any crumbs or wrappers - we are in the countryside and mice live round these parts.....they like crumbs.....<br />
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Please get your kids to put away any toys they play with and treat the rocking horse with love - he is old and a bit saggy.<br />
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If you turn the heater on, please make sure it is switched off when you leave.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">9 Bathroom</span></b><br />
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You're grown-ups....you know what to do.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">10 Other people</span></b><br />
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Introduce yourself to someone you haven't met before. Remember what it felt like to be brand new. Welcome new people in and make them feel part of your community. Remember your behaviour affects those around you. You do not do CrossFit in a vacuum. If you constantly say how much you hate the workout or how hard it is or how much you don't want to do it, that has an impact on those around you as well as your own mental attitude. If you get angry and shout when something goes wrong, that has an impact on those around you as well as not being a constructive way to deal with failure. <br />
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Be kind, be supportive, be friendly, work hard and have fun but do it all really tidily.....<br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-53161925060647586512018-04-09T15:18:00.000+01:002018-04-12T08:32:11.837+01:00A whole new world of shopping...or... what's in Krish's PE kit?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijfLu5YMy4r9DhxYa1obkbWHT0BBw7xlyHiRKd3JpJjc9w2zH6iTZ2Z6cpnjiWLdBx637X-P7-krjuxaBkXkOEVgA3Fi4K90MWQqjb8rXiEOK-dXYOOtUEM3R7Vmu0XfgtAy-hDOxeH9c/s1600/IMG_0484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijfLu5YMy4r9DhxYa1obkbWHT0BBw7xlyHiRKd3JpJjc9w2zH6iTZ2Z6cpnjiWLdBx637X-P7-krjuxaBkXkOEVgA3Fi4K90MWQqjb8rXiEOK-dXYOOtUEM3R7Vmu0XfgtAy-hDOxeH9c/s320/IMG_0484.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">When </span><span style="font-size: large;">you start CrossFit,</span></b><br />
you quickly discover there's a shit-load of kit you really, really need. From hand grips and foam rollers to knee sleeves and lacrosse balls, this is your definitive guide to what's a waste of money and what you simply cannot live without! A few years of buying everything on offer at CrossFit Regionals have enabled me to pare down the bare essentials for you.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Spolier alert...you may need it all! Mwahahahahah!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJec3NY8G8bF24wSfPvGNt-aoI527xoTeZScK_SN2rNVajxm8my9JY768p14h-_ShqGDkfd9nNoei6gaVHPY43uFpzF9LfAlkf0IjtTm_dMKYKNd3zhyphenhyphen6dHq0hd93xrUU9iLwrO7yrUo/s1600/IMG_0507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJec3NY8G8bF24wSfPvGNt-aoI527xoTeZScK_SN2rNVajxm8my9JY768p14h-_ShqGDkfd9nNoei6gaVHPY43uFpzF9LfAlkf0IjtTm_dMKYKNd3zhyphenhyphen6dHq0hd93xrUU9iLwrO7yrUo/s320/IMG_0507.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Headwear</span></u></b><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Sweat bands</span></u></b><br />
Sweat bands a la Rich Froning are only necessary if you get a sweaty head. Having to stop half way through a wod because are blinded by rivers of sweat will do nothing for your Fran time. If a sweaty forehead is not something you sufffer from, either you need to work harder or you need to take the sweat band off because no one thinks you look like Rich Froning.<br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Woolly hat</span></b></u><br />
If you train anywhere below freezing for some of the year, you need to avoid cold ears because they make you sad. Get a warm hat. If you work hard enough, you will be able to take it off sometime, unless you live in Canada. If you live in Canada, keep it on.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Hairbands</span></u></b><br />
I keep a stash of them at the gym for clients who forget and in my bag so I always have one. Long hair in your face in a pain, esecially when it gets sweaty! Yuck! Tie it back!<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Clothing</span></u></b><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Everything!</span></u></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVuhLHTWdtMeVNPBz9cJ-XRYrJlOTmT44X1qDh0bgXQBSXJk9A1qDPpJGdMDGWM5i_JCktvOmOuGDLKgi-YTxf8PE30lDwDuc3ktKJTp5kmGZDDvXMy-Ggj84okFbvXmnKGOFjck2aNTI/s1600/o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVuhLHTWdtMeVNPBz9cJ-XRYrJlOTmT44X1qDh0bgXQBSXJk9A1qDPpJGdMDGWM5i_JCktvOmOuGDLKgi-YTxf8PE30lDwDuc3ktKJTp5kmGZDDvXMy-Ggj84okFbvXmnKGOFjck2aNTI/s320/o.jpg" width="320" /></a>Here are a few things to bear in mind. Men - your shorts come down when you do GHD situps - make sure they fit you. Women, leggings are see-through when you squat. Take a moment to think about underwear choices or wear shorts over your leggings. Dress in layers - it might be freezing when you arrive at the gym but you will soon warm up. You also need to be able to layer up again as you cool down. Don't wear lacy knickers on situp day, you'll get a chafed bum! If you have got your lacy knickers on for situp day, use extra padding, like a yoga mat for cushioning. Long socks and hotpants really only really work on the Californians but FYI, there is no sexism, ageism, racism, or any other ism in CrossFit, so if you are 65 year-old, pasty white Brit and you can rock a cropped top and booty shorts, then you go girl - or boy - we don't discriminate....who am I to judge? Long socks do come in incredibly useful on rope climb day to avoid rope burnt ankles. A knee sleeve works just as well in a pinch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43A88xzvS1IDe6jgmDY7D3UTKflE47jjjADNFtyPVfIKQPn8Q3pKKyh7EaPFA-mMT3VWYCBEXZR5ygdbo1SRYq88iJvXka1UNX8w83XFii_oj84MU16Yuok-cXWg3eXYzzItl8np3Lc4/s1600/IMG_0504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="731" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43A88xzvS1IDe6jgmDY7D3UTKflE47jjjADNFtyPVfIKQPn8Q3pKKyh7EaPFA-mMT3VWYCBEXZR5ygdbo1SRYq88iJvXka1UNX8w83XFii_oj84MU16Yuok-cXWg3eXYzzItl8np3Lc4/s200/IMG_0504.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Gloves</span></u></b><br />
The fingerless type are just masquerading as your friend. In the initial stages of CrossFit, gripping onto the bar hurts like hell. Your hands burn and you think gloves will help but they won't. You need to condition your hands so you can hang on the bar for long periods. Gloves take away an element of connectedness that you have between you and the bar. Chalk helps reinforce that relationship. Gloves are like a gooseberry, getting in the way. If you train in a cold gym, CrossFit gloves might be useful on back squat day, to take the chill off the bar but again, they get in the way of a good grip. However, if you get on with gloves, by all means use them.<br />
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Wrist Wraps</span></u></b><br />
When you first start CrossFit, things like front squats, cleans, overhead squats and handstands put your wrists n positions they are not used to being in. Your wrists might hurt for a few weeks or months after starting CrossFit. Wrist wraps can help make you feel more supported and secure and ease the discomfort a little. My take on it is if your wrists hurt a bit, suck it up buttercup. However, if one hurts more than the other or they don't stop hurting when you go home, there is something kore afoot and you need to find out what that is - fyi, it's most likely to be tight forearms, triceps or lats. In this case, t's better to sort out your mobility than rely on wrist wraps. But again, if you like 'em, get 'em, just know you are a better. all-round athlete if you don't have tor rely on the for an empty bar muscle clean! If your awrists really hurt, sort out your mashed up forearm muscles, try tipping your wrists back a little more in an overhead position and use wrist wraps only when you go really heavy.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Gymnastic grips</span></u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwXWsF0242cdw1_70DsJD_5oTeMNcdQ76RJuliDNQO1SXOHxDc1sg2rp2g_jJSexFzJ8uUXd5YWfJwuI4T79YzGxkenoOsGqXOejv10pZCkoN9xzKVAk6sQMSulB88CeaHxSwBgDqhK0/s1600/Gymnastics-Grips-Crossfit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwXWsF0242cdw1_70DsJD_5oTeMNcdQ76RJuliDNQO1SXOHxDc1sg2rp2g_jJSexFzJ8uUXd5YWfJwuI4T79YzGxkenoOsGqXOejv10pZCkoN9xzKVAk6sQMSulB88CeaHxSwBgDqhK0/s200/Gymnastics-Grips-Crossfit.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
CrossFitters are split into two gymnastic grip camps: those who do and those who don't. I'm of the mind that if you look after your hands and condition them, you don't need grips. Personally, I find they interfere with my grip on the bar but I know many people who wouldn't do a single pullup without them. Again, it's a personal choice here - if they work for you and you tend to rip your hands without them, go for it. If you don't need them, why bother?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIamstlIQ1j3Pq4ZgEXM63-M5LzpJE6g-GK1EbPZChWnx6kC2tUdtBRuGyEot2Xabs_RZxlCQAhgD2rUvJpKH6c6YwwUEX-X3jYdq0IsmbQRV3osWmkLglbgH3xxFJI151Dll4adyk8Q/s1600/rehband_knee_sleeves_7_colors_wodshop__50209.1419874642.1280.1280_1024x1024%25402x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIamstlIQ1j3Pq4ZgEXM63-M5LzpJE6g-GK1EbPZChWnx6kC2tUdtBRuGyEot2Xabs_RZxlCQAhgD2rUvJpKH6c6YwwUEX-X3jYdq0IsmbQRV3osWmkLglbgH3xxFJI151Dll4adyk8Q/s200/rehband_knee_sleeves_7_colors_wodshop__50209.1419874642.1280.1280_1024x1024%25402x.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Knee Sleeves</span></u></b><br />
Well, if you like 'em, get 'em. They are useful to keep old knees warm. They might make you feel a little more stable in a squat but if your knees don't feel stable in a squat, I might suggest you have bigger problems than knee sleeves are going to solve. Get stronger glutes.....<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Double Under Prep</span></u></b><br />
Women, it's useful to keep a stack of panty liners on your gym bag for jumping, running, skipping - anything that makes you pee - we keep a double under box filled with panty liners in the gym for double under day, running day, box jump day... If you haven't had children, you might be wrinkling your nose right now - you might not. If you have had children, you know what I'm saying....<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Skipping rope</span></u></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijfLu5YMy4r9DhxYa1obkbWHT0BBw7xlyHiRKd3JpJjc9w2zH6iTZ2Z6cpnjiWLdBx637X-P7-krjuxaBkXkOEVgA3Fi4K90MWQqjb8rXiEOK-dXYOOtUEM3R7Vmu0XfgtAy-hDOxeH9c/s1600/IMG_0484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijfLu5YMy4r9DhxYa1obkbWHT0BBw7xlyHiRKd3JpJjc9w2zH6iTZ2Z6cpnjiWLdBx637X-P7-krjuxaBkXkOEVgA3Fi4K90MWQqjb8rXiEOK-dXYOOtUEM3R7Vmu0XfgtAy-hDOxeH9c/s320/IMG_0484.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Get one. But you don't need to remortgage your home for one. You can spend £60 on a speed skipping rope, it isn't going to guarantee you get double unders in 10 minutes flat. Coach Russ, on the other hand, will promise to get you double unders in 10 minutes flat with a £5 rope.... If you want to spend a million pounds on a fancy rope (I'm about to 'invest' in one with the gym logo on.....then do it but you can get just as good results with a cheap one off Amazon. (You are looking for an adjustable speed rope with a metal cable.) You know it's the right length when you stand on the cable with both feet and the bottom of the handle comes to your armpits.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirYhJ7IqfeBYfUJlZrgTUJWP8zAHNqLBTY0LP3r5OSO3Rtrc_1JgaVzWNMbUAyMmJKP-8x1c4kE0uIFRD8TNyNzKLuJkTZ4nYnfvTPrT5SxB2XoWTUFLIEBg0uhqVSoVQWNbR97yRDaM/s1600/download.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirYhJ7IqfeBYfUJlZrgTUJWP8zAHNqLBTY0LP3r5OSO3Rtrc_1JgaVzWNMbUAyMmJKP-8x1c4kE0uIFRD8TNyNzKLuJkTZ4nYnfvTPrT5SxB2XoWTUFLIEBg0uhqVSoVQWNbR97yRDaM/s200/download.jpeg" width="200" /></a><br />
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Shoes</span></u></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBKL5dyol56sMYdywLFvqI46Fn3cjwjvTRn21DBu_fq4nlm3zCpf-aE4C9WLgQdFLUZnbrK1MGxQRsboJ-EjCH7Zog5AYexmR39h0PJpi7_yUfsPdv5MCu_56rFis3sNJTJTh8-PE1SI/s1600/136344296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBKL5dyol56sMYdywLFvqI46Fn3cjwjvTRn21DBu_fq4nlm3zCpf-aE4C9WLgQdFLUZnbrK1MGxQRsboJ-EjCH7Zog5AYexmR39h0PJpi7_yUfsPdv5MCu_56rFis3sNJTJTh8-PE1SI/s200/136344296.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-AroyGVzwuRNIWPSVNFJy2B9Dr6u_rZMTUUEtZP6a1BCVbiKyNx-9exMdSWGE3p2dPFlitH0qDNt7UUUmwm8k3_b4r0UhmviaOj1gSKb0j97XZvngKqmvzQDz54QZlB4UrUBEnkZ-3w/s1600/nobull_trainer_-_white_-_th_1.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-AroyGVzwuRNIWPSVNFJy2B9Dr6u_rZMTUUEtZP6a1BCVbiKyNx-9exMdSWGE3p2dPFlitH0qDNt7UUUmwm8k3_b4r0UhmviaOj1gSKb0j97XZvngKqmvzQDz54QZlB4UrUBEnkZ-3w/s200/nobull_trainer_-_white_-_th_1.webp" width="200" /></a>Where do I start? You can't do squats in running shoes. Running shoes are for running. They are too wobbly for dealdifts, squats, box jumps and thrusters. A CrossFit staple is Reebok Nanos. I prefer the earlier models of Reebok Nanos but recent manifestations seem to be popular. Try them out, see what you think. I also really love the Adidas crazy power TR shoe, which is really comfortable and very flat. No Bulls are another favourite - very beautiful and they make the Nanos feel a bit wobbly by comparison. You also have Nike Metcons, the biggest rival to the Nano. I did promise you a whole new world of shopping.....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCq0hokcGu8uMSOoTh7I3yeCXIxFIfXNezzutEgssHsjXAqmccQSu2P4758MNJWA7kq_mtF7LL2yxFH5HBVE7ZOtwWxVakmreDi9Waj_BU5u0-vOqJSXqVEwosbE8fP15uk-hZUmgp2bo/s1600/3W5A3917_fd29ab28-736e-4eb5-a02c-5136cee82c98_grande.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="599" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCq0hokcGu8uMSOoTh7I3yeCXIxFIfXNezzutEgssHsjXAqmccQSu2P4758MNJWA7kq_mtF7LL2yxFH5HBVE7ZOtwWxVakmreDi9Waj_BU5u0-vOqJSXqVEwosbE8fP15uk-hZUmgp2bo/s200/3W5A3917_fd29ab28-736e-4eb5-a02c-5136cee82c98_grande.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Lifters</span></u></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7SFeL2d7T-gU7-Ti6mLBcIVm6CVosmTWCNOyt25Ky83TD4EtMmQbfVC1ONNfBYX7jKnnoNDvuR3edJk81wReRUcp8Ji-PYKaO_4YAEY7yTV_QDLk3F2GHnN9jIaPrYWlQ2t2AHG4WBU/s1600/886066900764_2.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7SFeL2d7T-gU7-Ti6mLBcIVm6CVosmTWCNOyt25Ky83TD4EtMmQbfVC1ONNfBYX7jKnnoNDvuR3edJk81wReRUcp8Ji-PYKaO_4YAEY7yTV_QDLk3F2GHnN9jIaPrYWlQ2t2AHG4WBU/s200/886066900764_2.webp" width="200" /></a>If you are serious about CrossFit, these are a very worthwhile investment. They make a big difference to your Olympic Weightlifting - specifically in the catch - nice and solid with a little heel that makes a deep squat more comfortable. They give you some assistance too with squats. Nike Romaleos are your top of the range go-to. Reebok do a great lifter as do InoV8. If you want the prettiest lifters on the block, get some No Bulls. They are stupid money but stooooopid pretty. It is useful, as a CrossFitter who wants to be prepared for everything, to be able to squat and snatch and clean and jerk in shoes that aren't lifters as well so try not to rely on them.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sundries</span></u></b><br />
Not many of these things make you a better CrossFitter. If you can't do CrossFit without these things - maybe it's time to ask why and look more closely at your weaknesses.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Zinc Oxide tape</span></u></b><br />
A very useful thing to have - it isn't however something you should use all the time. If you find you are getting blisters on your thumbs from snatches, for example, tape will prevent that but so also will not gripping the bar so tight, which will have the added benefit of relaxing your arms in the snatch.<br />
If your hands are ripped, a plaster followed by tape will patch you up to finish a comp. Otherwise, don't do pullups on ripped hands. (NB - don't put tape straight onto a rip - you won't be able to take the tape of without re-ripping! Use a plaster first then keep it in place with tape.) You can make some effective palm grips for pullups form tape but again, in my opinion, it's better to condition your hands to look like manual labourers so you can stay on the bar without these things. Some people's hands just rip a lot....do what works best for you.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mYglOG3v4yZ2Saqlh7UM0q2c3JXEfOKnSTCQqX3N32CIA1Croz9aoVJaHD6gy7VyiFxrO9nNJOcRfCX4pXgfK3FAfHnEp2OPN_NkRTJ2nqQTFXP313mLzNSy8cbTgBKvC7in9ER1Tt4/s1600/ww0001-lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="736" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mYglOG3v4yZ2Saqlh7UM0q2c3JXEfOKnSTCQqX3N32CIA1Croz9aoVJaHD6gy7VyiFxrO9nNJOcRfCX4pXgfK3FAfHnEp2OPN_NkRTJ2nqQTFXP313mLzNSy8cbTgBKvC7in9ER1Tt4/s200/ww0001-lg.jpg" width="200" /></a>A little word on taping bars. I hate it. I hate it because it's so good. It makes staying on the bar much, much easier. But listen guys, are we about taking the easy road in CrossFit? No, we are not, so let's improve our grip strength and do pullups without a taped bar.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhDGQxoyR1HUy4Q0_X3eTguSTpHd9NoZO1m2X471U6fsvmip3ngcUd4wg47nAooI9dUTztBylvmaL77h35n-RR01lVkuUjH_o82WlDaf6F-4TOt6o-pFhlgwLV_NP9o3IJkgSQMHld-o/s1600/1b5ce135-3a42-4d03-bd4a-1714ec6605a5._SL300__.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="229" data-original-width="300" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhDGQxoyR1HUy4Q0_X3eTguSTpHd9NoZO1m2X471U6fsvmip3ngcUd4wg47nAooI9dUTztBylvmaL77h35n-RR01lVkuUjH_o82WlDaf6F-4TOt6o-pFhlgwLV_NP9o3IJkgSQMHld-o/s200/1b5ce135-3a42-4d03-bd4a-1714ec6605a5._SL300__.png" width="200" /></a><br />
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Hand Rescue</span></u></b><br />
Also useful can be some hand balm if you do rip - speeds up recovery by stopping the rip from drying out and cracking. If you're a proper CrossFitter and have a beard and tattoos, you'll know about the magical healing powers of bepanthen. Nappy cream. Works a charm on ripped hands. You might also have heard of this if you have children....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizUFChoXUodKg5t_IC7GkHnGffro0je3ytyJEWgSgme2t0RG7ZJFccGk0oMCud3gfhENcYPTCZ4KSeoUpb7DK6ppLdPo0HUwr2ixKSw-N_wLcV4VbqarEK1HdRmZbPGBa0wwUrqH5p22Q/s1600/IMG_0502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizUFChoXUodKg5t_IC7GkHnGffro0je3ytyJEWgSgme2t0RG7ZJFccGk0oMCud3gfhENcYPTCZ4KSeoUpb7DK6ppLdPo0HUwr2ixKSw-N_wLcV4VbqarEK1HdRmZbPGBa0wwUrqH5p22Q/s320/IMG_0502.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Mobility tools</span></u></b><br />
A lacrosse ball is essential. Get 2. Google what to do with them and use them every day. A foam roller (knobbly is good) is useful too. I recently discovered gua sha massage tools - the buffalo horn ones are much cheaper than the steel versions and work great for really getting rid of muscle knots - use with a massage oil, like coconut oil - I avoid the bruising by not going too mental with them - I think it's best.....Electric massage tools (!) look like they will get the job done but are a little disappointing - I haven't tried that £500 one, if it doesn't do what's promised, it's an expensive impulse buy. A rolling stick of some description is great for sorting out tight quads.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">A weight vest</span></u></b><br />
I don't keep mine in my gym bag, I keep it at the gym as it weighs 10kg. Useful. Not essential. Your gym probably has one you can borrow.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Weight Belt</span></u></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83NQsClBsi_R9zb8jxqsDgZRBbbpIRTrOV56uMduvAuwQu08PUtmTCtdVfFRpcrn_RckrTEg5_BD8BOJYAQJ4WwWqF8z4xAjt7WPpiMF7AIDFUX5NBaJX5RMyEs9CRxFn6oCwWjkxgUA/s1600/IMG_0482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83NQsClBsi_R9zb8jxqsDgZRBbbpIRTrOV56uMduvAuwQu08PUtmTCtdVfFRpcrn_RckrTEg5_BD8BOJYAQJ4WwWqF8z4xAjt7WPpiMF7AIDFUX5NBaJX5RMyEs9CRxFn6oCwWjkxgUA/s200/IMG_0482.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Contentious. I got one after I injured my back. It made rehab better - it enabled me to go back to basics on my squat and improve it massively. A weight belt is not for supporting your back - it will not stop you hurting your back. What it does is give you physical feedback - when you brace properly, you can feel the belt tighten all the way around you and when you let go of your brace, you don't feel the belt anymore. It enables you to remind yourself to stay braced - it does not do the bracing for you. Only really for use on lifts that are 85%+ of your 1rm.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0wIr_PNeRw5pwgE5XcOGpfWSocaVF2Wn0p8jU6rR16ysh3_NUt2fiI_M9yt8QARaONy7RIIC-Fjs5h8xLrWTdCsVnw8CuS1gZfu1N1fibRAqFSTT6cePE1ibXIdiOluiDC4eChGSQic/s1600/IMG_0481.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0wIr_PNeRw5pwgE5XcOGpfWSocaVF2Wn0p8jU6rR16ysh3_NUt2fiI_M9yt8QARaONy7RIIC-Fjs5h8xLrWTdCsVnw8CuS1gZfu1N1fibRAqFSTT6cePE1ibXIdiOluiDC4eChGSQic/s200/IMG_0481.jpg" width="200" /> </a><br />
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Food and drink</span></u></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfeVL6xfstUNaV-8qmJQzXfTCBqzEb5KZ5T5xCYthoU0aNo4K3v55-LwizBQyAG72zWSFj3NmZD6unNP9JWVUHJ6hYnGcGl8weTOVqg9rrX0MSVd8xE7RuQjPBhclIamn24F7okOc-62s/s1600/IMG_0485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfeVL6xfstUNaV-8qmJQzXfTCBqzEb5KZ5T5xCYthoU0aNo4K3v55-LwizBQyAG72zWSFj3NmZD6unNP9JWVUHJ6hYnGcGl8weTOVqg9rrX0MSVd8xE7RuQjPBhclIamn24F7okOc-62s/s200/IMG_0485.jpg" width="200" /></a>A water bottle is essential. A shaker bottle is good if you have protein shakes. I make my own recovery drink that I take to the gym in my shaker bottle that has a place for the protein powder pre-mix. I also keep a few pouches of Ella's Kitchen fruit purees and a few Nakd bars as they are a great refined sugar-free source of instant carbs if I am feeling hungry or a bit dizzy. Get yourself a fancy 6-pack bag to keep your gym kit in and it also has spaces for food boxes and ice packs. There is no evidence to show that taking vitamins and supplements benefits you in any way at all and actual evidence to show that certain supplement may in fact contribute to cancer. So I've thrown away the ones I've been taking for the last month to see what they do. I was taking vitamin D, fish oil and and old lady tablet. They made no discernible difference anyway....<a href="http://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/24-billion-later-vitamins-and-supplements-appear-to-have-no-value?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook">Click here for article</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">So, there you go, you guys - 3-2-1 SHOP!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLbpUO2fpXHk781iUCuCQ6pxoMTMzweZjw2z6jvf6fSB3cTo-0ZaAa9p74kQrE8y6ur2fEpA_JmdKNYnfkQBcVJZ5kFyybzv8TZpkBdQv7LqyfZBYr11o1BJ6XB_oak-oOotPSo_EjMk/s1600/IMG_0483.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLbpUO2fpXHk781iUCuCQ6pxoMTMzweZjw2z6jvf6fSB3cTo-0ZaAa9p74kQrE8y6ur2fEpA_JmdKNYnfkQBcVJZ5kFyybzv8TZpkBdQv7LqyfZBYr11o1BJ6XB_oak-oOotPSo_EjMk/s320/IMG_0483.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Totally paleo recovery drink recipe:</span></b><br />
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1 tbsp BCAA powder<br />
1 tbsp creatine powder<br />
1 tbsp collagen powder<br />
1 tbsp vanilla powder<br />
2 tbsp flax seed+probitics<br />
5 tbsp whole egg powder<br />
5 tbsp ground cricket powder<br />
7 tbsp freeze dried ground strawberries<br />
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33% protein<br />
14% fat<br />
53% carbs<br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-39184042328235393802018-04-01T09:40:00.000+01:002018-04-01T09:54:16.329+01:00More isn't better, better is better.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauh92bixF5Wq3mdPAI9JPzEHVfnl3KF2LSn_pTlk0IM0eh4Ya7JbhiU9bdO-FhUPHchLMlz9e2qU7YqZRcDu051hxds8MGM07rgNwKNRrS4rGgZjS03-0u8chk8psw4zw1jgxdb13UK0/s1600/29262090_1781862388538919_8479423751131987908_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauh92bixF5Wq3mdPAI9JPzEHVfnl3KF2LSn_pTlk0IM0eh4Ya7JbhiU9bdO-FhUPHchLMlz9e2qU7YqZRcDu051hxds8MGM07rgNwKNRrS4rGgZjS03-0u8chk8psw4zw1jgxdb13UK0/s320/29262090_1781862388538919_8479423751131987908_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;">Several people have asked me recently about some other bits they can do on top of the daily programme to help them get better at CrossFit. </span><br />
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It's tempting, I know to want to do more, to think if the daily programming is good then double that must be better but <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">more isn't better, better is better.</span></i></b> If you just add volume without thinking about the stress on your muscles and joints and without making sure that these things are well-balanced so you aren't increasing or developing muscular imbalances, you will pick up injuries, without a shadow of a doubt. Injuries are rarely sudden, traumatic events, they are slow, niggling annoyances that develop into things that ultimately stop you training. If your aim is to train a lot, you want to avoid this at all costs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0GdD7nOWlmFza3L5zyuEa9d9Nm0mMctip9FZ4tQCfzXpRVoPI8xHhoi1wRPa1trX-vFWoZqbzAHoHrMBl42EI0Vj-G2mHF9Irlsa5YrIqGIlSF1tAVKNJ7fByJVFieu08wTYH9tTVgM/s1600/28872773_1775665052491986_3021277785804698035_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0GdD7nOWlmFza3L5zyuEa9d9Nm0mMctip9FZ4tQCfzXpRVoPI8xHhoi1wRPa1trX-vFWoZqbzAHoHrMBl42EI0Vj-G2mHF9Irlsa5YrIqGIlSF1tAVKNJ7fByJVFieu08wTYH9tTVgM/s320/28872773_1775665052491986_3021277785804698035_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>It's tempting also to stop following a program and work only on those things you think you need to improve on. In creating workouts that genuinely do work on your weaknesses, you can, in the process, get rid of any discernible plan and forget to keep on top of the rest of it. The thing about a coach is that they can see the things you can't see. They might agree with you that you really need to improve your handstand waking for example. You might <b><i>know</i></b> in your heart of hearts that all you need to do is practice handstand waking all day every day. Your coach, on the other hand knows you have a shitty overhead position and if you made a bit more effort to work on improving that with a combination of targeted mobility and stabilising exercises, your handstand walk would instantly improve. Thus saving you time and stress on your shoulders and freeing up time to work on all that other stuff you're shit at. I'm talking about myself here, btw. Even with coaches to tell me this shit, I waste a lot of time!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqeay4BbGTghKDU1Z9Z2yq6Y0Fv386QsfWyecF0aC7nMFP_xyUzxPYYNUs20EZKCDtsfyCQcJyQ3gmEEkwgsJ-ZPOWc6c7AsD88kvbVjbqyk7oVAQH7UaY0MIRMDisNVxBsCobRBOBeM/s1600/29357063_1786276041430887_8906324590362851301_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqeay4BbGTghKDU1Z9Z2yq6Y0Fv386QsfWyecF0aC7nMFP_xyUzxPYYNUs20EZKCDtsfyCQcJyQ3gmEEkwgsJ-ZPOWc6c7AsD88kvbVjbqyk7oVAQH7UaY0MIRMDisNVxBsCobRBOBeM/s320/29357063_1786276041430887_8906324590362851301_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>So what's the plan? What's the best way to go about getting better at CrossFit? Really, just do more CrossFit and do it with more integrity! That's it. If you currently train 3 or 4 times a week, up it to 4 or 5 in order to make the most of the programming. And just do it better.<br />
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Getting the members of a CrossFit gym better at CrossFit is no different than trying to get a class of children better at schoolwork. You can't read about Biff and Chip or Romeo and Juliet if you don't know your alphabet. You can't get better at creative writing without scaffolding the skills you have with adequate support to build confidence in new skills. You aren't going to learn your times tables if you don't make a sustained effort daily to learn them. You can't focus on an algebra problem if you are tired and hungry! You aren't going to learn anything at all if you keep bunking off! It's no different with CrossFit.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>So, this is the plan:</u></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxUArM9jtm2PL2n0Hyfpz2lq_z-HFVYpvpzPX1zVcqjirqgaHFj014nz0yLpj5rLmAJVDrf-oOI16KHFczBqggzEk_bJTnzTybHwOKnwZjjftTDXnidpQ2x9Ab6JOpODC7CAJ6tuU7hY/s1600/28279702_1763764050348753_3977837948983719486_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxUArM9jtm2PL2n0Hyfpz2lq_z-HFVYpvpzPX1zVcqjirqgaHFj014nz0yLpj5rLmAJVDrf-oOI16KHFczBqggzEk_bJTnzTybHwOKnwZjjftTDXnidpQ2x9Ab6JOpODC7CAJ6tuU7hY/s320/28279702_1763764050348753_3977837948983719486_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Start simply by adding intensity to your workouts. </span></b><br />
When it's a heavy day, go heavier than you want to, go heavier than you think you can; you'll get stronger more quickly.<br />
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On a sprint day, go faster than you want to, rest less than you think you need to; you'll get fitter more quickly.<br />
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On a skill day, be ruthlessly honest with yourself, if your toes to bar were a no rep, no rep yourself and do the movement properly. Go through the full range of motion and for goodness sake, use your core, your glutes and your lats - don't fake it; you'll get better more quickly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zp8T2lv7YP5NU9qSGcsqgvrGCefBldw-s85BgOSVFp3NIQhLIfR6Oudr619PPiPbnN6WBQDuv8iEHJdiVQ64ozzobbXOYgoYra3HqQVyKkj8nrFDMKyWi3qPxJNZ7YiNI4iMfHgWFc8/s1600/29177277_1779001298825028_6240463323453821365_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zp8T2lv7YP5NU9qSGcsqgvrGCefBldw-s85BgOSVFp3NIQhLIfR6Oudr619PPiPbnN6WBQDuv8iEHJdiVQ64ozzobbXOYgoYra3HqQVyKkj8nrFDMKyWi3qPxJNZ7YiNI4iMfHgWFc8/s320/29177277_1779001298825028_6240463323453821365_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Secondly, recover better! </span></b></span></b><br />
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There is absolutely no point adding more volume if you aren't first sleeping well (at least 7 hours a night) eating well (count your macros stop eating sugar, stop drinking alcohol!) and recovering well (keep well on top of your mobility!) Seriously. You're wasting your time and risking injury if these things aren't in place!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Thirdly, go back to basics. </span></b><br />
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Are you trying to skip ahead without getting all the basics in place first? If you don't have a good air squat, your snatches are not going to be any good. If you can't hang in a good hollow position for 30 seconds, a load of core stability and control is going to missing from a lot of your key movements. If you can't do beautiful strict pullups, you really have no business working on kipping pullups and if your kipping pullups suck, forget about butterfly pullups. Don't even get me started on muscleups!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0wYd_GHFMfNl5A4XQqI9C_ejOtRzJGdzkfLUcPfUfQ8aCQRVTcAajHYFviawe_5bmXTkgQM_VAZ-EZZ35Li3Dbkin_a1nZtzFg1duQWiJtHIT3kZMLRi9S3ClJaMfMeiANT-wRjILAA/s1600/28576100_1766847683373723_6033438920598127646_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0wYd_GHFMfNl5A4XQqI9C_ejOtRzJGdzkfLUcPfUfQ8aCQRVTcAajHYFviawe_5bmXTkgQM_VAZ-EZZ35Li3Dbkin_a1nZtzFg1duQWiJtHIT3kZMLRi9S3ClJaMfMeiANT-wRjILAA/s320/28576100_1766847683373723_6033438920598127646_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Lastly, Stick to the programme!</span></b><br />
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To be honest, stick to any programme. Just follow it religiously for at least 6 months, to the letter, before you decide if it does or doesn't work. (A word here - any programme will work if you stick to it - just like any diet will work if you stick to it but unless it's incredibly rubbish, the programming at your own gym will work the best because your coach knows where you are, where you want to be and can draw a line between those two things taking all your mobility issues into account.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>In my experience, the clients who do the best, who progress the fastest in the long run, are those who are <b>patient</b> and work really hard on building the basics. </i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-LgIkOv71Ni0atrIxSnkW6xSxuPPEBNCWhfmYNhB2ZuWWWm2lCCPp6Pz0k8-7EquCk0cRHFGPq3OQ6zqnElHHFKQxYOfAAqyYPfZElKrYUNpaXH580iKiIUeks9EL7N5DZnlFExBALwA/s1600/28379023_1761429957248829_4121432582587733_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="730" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-LgIkOv71Ni0atrIxSnkW6xSxuPPEBNCWhfmYNhB2ZuWWWm2lCCPp6Pz0k8-7EquCk0cRHFGPq3OQ6zqnElHHFKQxYOfAAqyYPfZElKrYUNpaXH580iKiIUeks9EL7N5DZnlFExBALwA/s320/28379023_1761429957248829_4121432582587733_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
So if you do want to add some more volume to your training, at CrossFit Uckfield we have two additional ways to do this. We have the CompClass and MasterClass programming that are bolt-on programmes to the daily board. And we have Olympic Weightlifting classes. They both take into consideration the daily programming you already do and your age - which is very important - once you hit around 35, things start to slow down and get creaky and you often have more responsibilities, which really do impact on your training - the Masters bolt-on programme reflects this and adds a little less volume and a little more mobility than the CompClass; other than that, they are essentially the same.<br />
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The two extra Olympic weightlifting classes a week focus solely on the snatch and the clean and jerk and accessory movements to support these lifts.<br />
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These two bolt-ons are included in Gold membership and are well worth it but they don't replace the main workouts, <i>they complement them</i>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>For those of you who don't want quite that much additional work, who just want to add a few little extras in, I'm going to divulge three important secrets to you.</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6kSYxnwgiD8xco4WWrndY5Ord-Ybh1JXSStHzkUDz4WrbaiCGr-F2ZQPxCLUi4M2Jh9VAgkM2g5s_umjKMrf1by5lr96_F9OxQg_3HbLGFnA9V9Zl2kZld0NSM7jnc9IdIBWHmmhCIc/s1600/27867958_1753044894754002_2939721695600210245_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6kSYxnwgiD8xco4WWrndY5Ord-Ybh1JXSStHzkUDz4WrbaiCGr-F2ZQPxCLUi4M2Jh9VAgkM2g5s_umjKMrf1by5lr96_F9OxQg_3HbLGFnA9V9Zl2kZld0NSM7jnc9IdIBWHmmhCIc/s320/27867958_1753044894754002_2939721695600210245_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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1 - <b><span style="font-size: large;">Vary the movements you practice each day</span></b> More isn't better. Better is better. Doing a million pullups every day hoping to get better at pullups won't work; you won't give your muscles a chance to recover and you won't get any better. Do extra pullups or pressups etc 3 days a week max.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rg3H2qiE52fKE3CXR7tP_ZbqeHs0lIiHgHFFyLY0W8xyedMJ1LN8Qiq_NBNunfOHV_Cb2uul-M9Zo5HZY_Q_59zkDhyphenhyphen6OIt42IQQO3ddF4RHSpgvuCuFrS06V0ypTVveplaIOJ1na74/s1600/29214025_1782148098510348_15625844233677146_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rg3H2qiE52fKE3CXR7tP_ZbqeHs0lIiHgHFFyLY0W8xyedMJ1LN8Qiq_NBNunfOHV_Cb2uul-M9Zo5HZY_Q_59zkDhyphenhyphen6OIt42IQQO3ddF4RHSpgvuCuFrS06V0ypTVveplaIOJ1na74/s320/29214025_1782148098510348_15625844233677146_n.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><br />
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2 - <b><span style="font-size: large;">Work out why you can't do what it is you can't do</span></b> (this is where a coach comes in really handy!) and work on strengthening your scaffolding. A million banded pullups won't make you better at pullups, they just wont help you get stronger lats and a stronger core, which is why you can't do pullups. Do bent over rows, do hollow body rocks, do lat pulldowns - work on those muscles you need to be stronger to do the movement - your coach can help you work out where your scaffolding needs strengthening or tightening.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhbP0r1_k8f7EiJv4FMiqp8qfZnPJlxEkvnjurU3Gqpga1pLXIOsCbU9GS2zsQnBYKHnL2eZdHeqzI4Hju2dGHtHDkQRLqkqp3Fq0gwvLo9WLPdKMQNlySXbzBcdA7LWz4vNJLCJRNXs/s1600/27072326_1728569033868255_8859695407092349834_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhbP0r1_k8f7EiJv4FMiqp8qfZnPJlxEkvnjurU3Gqpga1pLXIOsCbU9GS2zsQnBYKHnL2eZdHeqzI4Hju2dGHtHDkQRLqkqp3Fq0gwvLo9WLPdKMQNlySXbzBcdA7LWz4vNJLCJRNXs/s320/27072326_1728569033868255_8859695407092349834_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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3 - <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Combat your daily life </b></span>- prolonged sitting creates imbalances that seriously affect how you move. 99.9% of people, even people who are already strong and fit, come to CrossFit with comparatively weaker lats and overactive traps and comparatively weaker glutes and tight hip flexors. So pretty much everyone would benefit form strengthening their glutes and lats, foam rollering their quads and stretching their hip flexors and mashing up their traps.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">Take aways:</span><span style="font-size: large;"> more isn't better, better is better. Make use of the valuable resource that is your coach. Trust the programme and be consistent. Have integrity in your movements.</span></i><br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-13031522531038219552018-03-24T10:33:00.000+00:002018-03-24T10:33:21.292+00:00This Post is not about movement standards in the 2018 CrossFit Open<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarCHw1Mme0bo7QqW8h5JNAM5JrjIipnxT18UkqOq_bSu85DkqwdaXJ81poe1-pj3KL4lqWQOVzB37LlBMvsbhXPsTf860-Y6HWajYwXSZxVRor9sOKoiiVPIXQRfkVz3JgZZTjcTOKmE/s1600/28276296_1760457154012776_4984601826670619815_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarCHw1Mme0bo7QqW8h5JNAM5JrjIipnxT18UkqOq_bSu85DkqwdaXJ81poe1-pj3KL4lqWQOVzB37LlBMvsbhXPsTf860-Y6HWajYwXSZxVRor9sOKoiiVPIXQRfkVz3JgZZTjcTOKmE/s320/28276296_1760457154012776_4984601826670619815_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;">CrossFit is so much more than just a workout. </span> <span style="font-size: large;">A CrossFit box is so much more than just a gym. </span>And for me, the 2018 CrossFit Open was so much more than just a globally interactive fitness competition.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">The 2018 CrossFit Open has illustrated to me how incredibly proud I should be of our members</span><span style="text-align: center;">. They demonstrated grit, determination, integrity, friendship and enthusiasm, to name but a few. They are a wonderful bunch and they CrossFitted their hearts out! Proud doesn't even really begin to cover it!</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzP6cC0AN2XDT3zKM9alC7rVqaRo19zlqLMkQF1dgSF4TjSzbQsxTftqBzJr2k5LcVxlblj-lD-NbB0kkrVxhbLUwITBTkVN4EzHZ9OXMs9SXSjXzGwy01ywvtIqbj6B6O7m3kSjeJuE/s1600/29511012_10155370322411696_3522668279648836319_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzP6cC0AN2XDT3zKM9alC7rVqaRo19zlqLMkQF1dgSF4TjSzbQsxTftqBzJr2k5LcVxlblj-lD-NbB0kkrVxhbLUwITBTkVN4EzHZ9OXMs9SXSjXzGwy01ywvtIqbj6B6O7m3kSjeJuE/s320/29511012_10155370322411696_3522668279648836319_n.jpg" width="240" /></a> I am also a little but proud of myself too. This is my fourth CrossFit Open since I started CrossFit but only the second one I have properly taken part in (injuries and mental brain-fuckery prevented the last two from being much more than a bit of a personal whine-fest). It's the first time I have genuinely looked forward to a CrossFit workout and genuinely enjoyed being right in the horrible middle of it!<br />
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This is brand new territory for me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAz7F5KXsKJaF_Uo74zVda-Gug5qC4WBjumL2ihxD-9UGc33TGF_IeXtaapW0aek2RrfnW6WZEFdk7fEG8_N7R0PVm7_a2Aeb_ysYyY535yXc3F7CteM5_FmIvV2nM5C5plvmC-1by9E/s1600/28958674_10155336520376696_7515143084353031433_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAz7F5KXsKJaF_Uo74zVda-Gug5qC4WBjumL2ihxD-9UGc33TGF_IeXtaapW0aek2RrfnW6WZEFdk7fEG8_N7R0PVm7_a2Aeb_ysYyY535yXc3F7CteM5_FmIvV2nM5C5plvmC-1by9E/s320/28958674_10155336520376696_7515143084353031433_n.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
If I'm brutally honest, I probably would have given up on CrossFit some time over the last couple of years if I hadn't had my own gym. I lost my way completely. I didn't like it, I found it hard. I didn't focus on the things I should have been focusing on and I stopped enjoying the journey. All I could see was the stuff I found hard - I couldn't see the progress. I couldn't see any of the positives.<br />
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But recently, perhaps over the past 6 months or so, I have really found my love for CrossFit - I have genuinely begun to enjoy it in a way I never did before.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQj0vLjOQlROeFbwvudBXjvl8r2aQqJD0ccGU9RdexerIVKNPRrcNP9QbvqEzOUS01aC5zpIk2QJhVcEA5-0iIUfH3V4RvzVf9awiMOwYvUpFBNN4VEPbtUh1dIyHnkDn3gSzCY-ZW1g/s1600/28951746_10155336520156696_8793962206910392153_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="718" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQj0vLjOQlROeFbwvudBXjvl8r2aQqJD0ccGU9RdexerIVKNPRrcNP9QbvqEzOUS01aC5zpIk2QJhVcEA5-0iIUfH3V4RvzVf9awiMOwYvUpFBNN4VEPbtUh1dIyHnkDn3gSzCY-ZW1g/s320/28951746_10155336520156696_8793962206910392153_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
This time last year, one of my members, Jonny, tried to talk me into signing up for the Open but I just couldn't. It did not make me feel good trying to explain that the anxiety that came hand in hand with any competitive situation made it impossible to take part in the Open. I was a gym owner who couldn't pull herself together enough to even do the Open with members of her gym who were saying it would be great to see me doing it! I had to try to explain that to a member of my gym. I felt like a fraud.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">CrossFit made me sad; it made me cry. </span><br />
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Fast forward to this year and the memory of that conversation with Jonny and a bit of gentle nagging from Joe made me realise how important it was that I sign up for the Open this year. It was important for my members to see me suffer with them and it was important for me as a person to go into it with no (ok less) ego, to just try to get rid of the last vestiges of anxiety and just enjoy the excitement of it all.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTbdJUIiTvQUU0BsWazm4AvXGOWsMQnR_fquiTegxCUukasfFEO5RwVwbkJkYwgMPU_Tk89OfncphLxQHUMeumagu1xFF6IH4rgvI2nvY4lPsFtIa0t_Y3mTf6k_ZcAC1z2-rbC-JGFY/s1600/29339570_10155354837156696_6887742089765164867_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTbdJUIiTvQUU0BsWazm4AvXGOWsMQnR_fquiTegxCUukasfFEO5RwVwbkJkYwgMPU_Tk89OfncphLxQHUMeumagu1xFF6IH4rgvI2nvY4lPsFtIa0t_Y3mTf6k_ZcAC1z2-rbC-JGFY/s320/29339570_10155354837156696_6887742089765164867_n.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">And I did it. I looked forward to the announcements each week. I looked forward to the workouts and I really enjoyed the whole thing from start to finish. This is by far my biggest achievement in my 4 years of CrossFit Opens. </span><br />
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I have learnt a lot about myself through doing CrossFit. Here are 3 things this year's Open have taught me.<br />
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<b>1 - I can (and want to - which is amazing) push harder than I do currently. This is a work in progress and each time I push harder than I thought I was able to, I realise I still could have pushed harder. I'm chasing that one workout where I just know I couldn't have given any more at all!</b><br />
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<b>2 - I should have higher expectatio</b><b>ns of myself. I spent 40 years of my life being really good at everything I ever did because I made sure I never did anything I wasn't sure I would be good at. CrossFit strips that away! I'm shit at so many things! But I'm also better at some things than I think I should be. So rather than setting the bar so low, no one could fail, I am going to set the bar just out of reach.</b><br />
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<b>3 - It's just CrossFit! It's just a workout. If I do well, great but keep it in perspective; there are still people starving to death in the world and people sleeping rough on the streets of the UK in the 21st century - don't think it matters more than it does. If I don't do well, it's really not the end of the world, keep it in perspective; there are children being bombed in war-torn countries and having to go to work at the age of 5, don't think it matters more than it does. </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rPzcotxqs4diHHJQmfsR2fu0QeFXaZ2S40QDBVA3hAhQ4TAdQPGAeK6nEJ_RFZtRZWnZwu51sqzugjUuTdvvSjf0xaXEcECYK0KeLSQNP_wdWXKZuxU7GqiekBPM__8OLtoDlI0Pkvo/s1600/29497127_10155370322471696_5274492730558457924_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rPzcotxqs4diHHJQmfsR2fu0QeFXaZ2S40QDBVA3hAhQ4TAdQPGAeK6nEJ_RFZtRZWnZwu51sqzugjUuTdvvSjf0xaXEcECYK0KeLSQNP_wdWXKZuxU7GqiekBPM__8OLtoDlI0Pkvo/s320/29497127_10155370322471696_5274492730558457924_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">How lucky am I to be able have a little egocentric, existential crisis over CrossFit? How lucky am I that I get to do this crazy thing every day? How dare I squander my good fortune with pathetic little whines over not being able to do as many muscleups as I would have liked to or getting all proud of the fact that at the age of 46 I can do muscleups at all.</span><br />
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I am so unbelievably lucky to have a mind, body and circumstances that allow me to do CrossFit. From here on in. I am going to enjoy every second, however miserable!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizy1eXw43Mql6qA8kQE-ijE7-79U_FEwBxsyP88NOt8NwU7anwtmGt1u2mnbr9yNlRXbmvB8P0HcKbwz4aFQ67wRvL_lMyjlPQ9mFRe1a2azipQBQmStxpYEMc1FgUYJ5XhTrvrw6zoOQ/s1600/29060906_10155370328531696_2706039945981781019_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizy1eXw43Mql6qA8kQE-ijE7-79U_FEwBxsyP88NOt8NwU7anwtmGt1u2mnbr9yNlRXbmvB8P0HcKbwz4aFQ67wRvL_lMyjlPQ9mFRe1a2azipQBQmStxpYEMc1FgUYJ5XhTrvrw6zoOQ/s320/29060906_10155370328531696_2706039945981781019_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Well done to everyone who took part in the Open this year. I hope you enjoyed it and let's try to remember that although a CrossFit wod may be just a workout, as all CrossFitters know, it also is so, so much more.</b></span><br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-89363550703273402632018-02-19T09:02:00.001+00:002018-02-19T09:02:17.425+00:00How to be better at everything!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHvHwovLcu-hSBbY-fQRVD_KGuTk0heEvdVKZRWcvCyDOlI3bfwvDe-AZcOcr6a-MTMOlJGfP7u6tYDcY1blg5hESBOcCpauxMCdZKfvIdaOEDASiZ-WzayeaCWlB3eSyCtWB75g2uyY/s1600/Maslows-Hierarchy-of-needs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="932" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHvHwovLcu-hSBbY-fQRVD_KGuTk0heEvdVKZRWcvCyDOlI3bfwvDe-AZcOcr6a-MTMOlJGfP7u6tYDcY1blg5hESBOcCpauxMCdZKfvIdaOEDASiZ-WzayeaCWlB3eSyCtWB75g2uyY/s640/Maslows-Hierarchy-of-needs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Whatever it is you want to be better at, you need to start with the basic fundamentals of life. Even without looking at Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we know if we don't have the basics of food and water, we will die.<br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">If you are in a desperate situation, a war-torn country, a city under siege, a famine zone or you live below the bread line, then what you eat is of less importance than how often you eat.</span><br />
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The paragraph above is pertinent. There are people in the world who do not have enough to eat. There are people in <b><i>this country</i></b> who do not have enough to eat. There are children going to school each day without breakfast and parents skipping meals so their kids can eat - in the UK, in the 21st century!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">Knowing this, why would you abuse food just because you are in the privileged position to do so?</span></b><br />
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Let's assume you have enough to eat. Let's assume you want to respect that fact and nourish your body well. Let's assume also that you are lucky enough to be somewhere above level one in Maslow's hiereachy of needs and are working towards self actualization, with a gym membership and let's also assume that you are trying to improve your performance in the gym.<br />
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Already, this goal seems a little shallow after the paragraph in blue....but let's keep on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3MgMfMts-IoUp8Wj7eAQdJGKFpZOfRs0lwgRy2z4uH_nv-cmCJRUCT94j_7bGoPVE3JPSdmydTGH3mW8T8ZRdt_-O20sWxw8ERIOV-UVzp4neR2tFkLjs4k754AX7pjXYinVSuveu5hw/s1600/nutrition-pyramid-300x290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3MgMfMts-IoUp8Wj7eAQdJGKFpZOfRs0lwgRy2z4uH_nv-cmCJRUCT94j_7bGoPVE3JPSdmydTGH3mW8T8ZRdt_-O20sWxw8ERIOV-UVzp4neR2tFkLjs4k754AX7pjXYinVSuveu5hw/s1600/nutrition-pyramid-300x290.jpg" /></a>The single most important weapon in your performance arsenal is your nutrition. Have a look at the CrossFit pyramid - the basis of everything is nutrition. My previous blogpost on being a sugar zombie will explain partially why this is so important.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Your body is a tool for fitness! It is the only place you have to live! You'd better look after it!</span></b><br />
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If you are carrying extra kilos, ALL bodyweight exercises will be harder - you only need to put on a 5kg weight vest to see an immediate reduction in the number of pullups, ring dips and pressups you can do. Now imagine wearing a 5kg weight vest, 10kg, 20kg... for everything you do!<br />
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If you are surviving on sugar hits, with subsequent insulin crashes, how do you think that is going to affect your ability to sustain intensity in a wod? <br />
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If you are not eating enough protein, you cannot build muscle and literally all the hard work you put in the gym is effectively wasted. <br />
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Nutrition is key to how you feel mentally as well, so difficult wods are going to feel insurmountable. If you feel anxious before a wod, miserable during a wod and defeated after a wod, you definitely need to look at what your are eating!<br />
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If you already perform pretty brilliantly in the gym but you know your nutrition is not great, imagine the possibilities if you were to dial it in! To be able to effortlessly deliver the required fuel to your muscles during a workout, to be able to recover more quickly after a workout - those things are going to make a huge difference to your performance and progress in the gym!<br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: x-large;"><b>So if you are lucky enough to live in a safe area, with enough food to eat and enough spare time to devote to self-improvement, for f***'s sake, respect that gift and nourish your body!</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">If you are looking to lose weight, I suggest you get proper help to work out macros and calories - we can help you with that at CrossFit Uckfield. If you are looking to eat better for enhanced performance (side effect will be that you lean up) this is a rule of thumb:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc-O028Hc8Q6Zv215pbyr1G5qfMhGqsZwEZ0NnDwKjC5B8Ia2ew_FDjnS2wfjIUQzLnEWrJYo003cOvkRC1teC4O-Z_96AwCWLNpUt97EBaVNyw_zTbIEY1lRrNuMGrCUqmGc1LM-gi2I/s1600/gopaleo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc-O028Hc8Q6Zv215pbyr1G5qfMhGqsZwEZ0NnDwKjC5B8Ia2ew_FDjnS2wfjIUQzLnEWrJYo003cOvkRC1teC4O-Z_96AwCWLNpUt97EBaVNyw_zTbIEY1lRrNuMGrCUqmGc1LM-gi2I/s320/gopaleo.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">palm sized amount of protein (meat, fish, eggs)</span><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">2 fingers of healthy fat (coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, avocado, coconut cream, etc.)</span><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">the rest of your plate piled with vegetables with a little fruit </span><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">If you feel sluggish on this, have a bit extra starchy carbs the meal before a workout (sweet potato, white rice, white potatoes, banana etc).</span><br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-14807270361798111912018-02-15T08:53:00.001+00:002018-02-15T09:12:36.207+00:00The 2018 CrossFit Open<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJdZLiZQev1LM_mtsEgA0GnKabQDnUi80sqmpiNaNFu08PKq20qjGdniqvzJt0sPUJAkxkMDeHV68-SnpPQ961N3gOoByqy6AopkpqBt4S4MAeLAl3N-vUkncp3SVG6kde-za8SjCSBA/s1600/games-2018-logo-1200x630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJdZLiZQev1LM_mtsEgA0GnKabQDnUi80sqmpiNaNFu08PKq20qjGdniqvzJt0sPUJAkxkMDeHV68-SnpPQ961N3gOoByqy6AopkpqBt4S4MAeLAl3N-vUkncp3SVG6kde-za8SjCSBA/s320/games-2018-logo-1200x630.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://games.crossfit.com/">games.crossfit.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">The 2018 Open is nearly upon us. </span><br />
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I started writing a long blogpost on how to approach the Open, mentally and physically and then figured I could just distill it down to one point.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: x-large;">Relax.</span></b><br />
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If you are not going to Regionals (trust me - if you had a shot in hell, you would <b><i>know</i></b> you had a shot not imaginatively suspect you deserve it) stop taking it so seriously, relax and enjoy it, hoping like crazy that your gym's programming has prepped you for the unknown and unknowable because I suspect Castro is going to be even more of a nightmare this year than he was last year.<br />
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If you have been getting comfortable with nice predictable workouts, with safe movements you 'know' are coming up in the Open, perhaps focusing on one thing you consider a weakness and accidentally ignoring all the others, you might be in for a bit if a shock.<br />
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CrossFit is about General Physical Preparedness. That means working a balance of the 10 components of fitness.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-uGNPRu-toIHYm-2rogTcb-4GMyBQPILldv0zXfNIwzWh-gGEYEZLCQ-Y9JNmuoi4IDUt5WtAwxYF-pTNxXQBOLJxgPhTb35m2iG-q2PLbQ15_0z7GVdwaOJhfbSfN7XCKfz9caHpHws/s1600/2016-crossfit-games-open-crossfit-open.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="1256" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-uGNPRu-toIHYm-2rogTcb-4GMyBQPILldv0zXfNIwzWh-gGEYEZLCQ-Y9JNmuoi4IDUt5WtAwxYF-pTNxXQBOLJxgPhTb35m2iG-q2PLbQ15_0z7GVdwaOJhfbSfN7XCKfz9caHpHws/s320/2016-crossfit-games-open-crossfit-open.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: large;">Your CrossFit gym's programming will ensure you get a thoughtful mix of all of these components, that builds strengths without ignoring weaknesses, making you a balanced athlete without burning you out or injuring you in the process.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>The CrossFit Open tests this.</b></span><br />
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If you have spent the last year making sure you are equally as flexible as you are strong, equally skilled as you are fast, equally agile as you are coordinated, mentally strong without the ego, then in theory, you are read for anything Castro throws at you!<br />
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<span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-size: x-large;">So relax and enjoy testing your abilities. =)</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">#youagainstyou</span><br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-57751793933930841792018-02-09T09:07:00.005+00:002018-02-09T14:56:27.663+00:00You are a sugar zombie and your addicted body has taken over your mind.<a href="https://infograph.venngage.com/media/image_library/248d4046a11b6b13501fa286c9131578.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://infograph.venngage.com/media/image_library/248d4046a11b6b13501fa286c9131578.png" width="187" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">You are a sugar zombie and your addicted body has taken over your mind. Quite literally, if you consume sugar in any quantity, your body has actually taken control of your mind.</span><br />
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<b>If you eat sugar, your mind is not your own.</b> <span style="font-size: large;">If you eat sugar, your physical needs for this drug outweigh ALL mental requirements.</span> So if you know you need to go to the gym and you need to eat clean and you need to avoid certain foods and you need to 'think more positively', until sugar is completely out of your system, <b>your body will not allow your mind to succeed. </b><br />
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When I started my CrossFit journey, I was eating strict paleo. I'm not talking 80%/20%, I mean strict 100% all the time. I ate meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, seeds and nuts. No sugar. No dairy. No grains (no rice, wheat, pasta, cakes, pastry or bread). No legumes (pulses, beans.lentils etc.). I didn't drink alcohol.<br />
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I felt amazing. All the time. Genuinely. I didn't ever feel like I was depriving myself. I was full of energy, I didn't have that 2pm slump, I felt well, alert, clear-minded and happy. Genuinely felt great all the time.<br />
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After 2 years of eating like this, I slipped into adding sugar back into my diet. It was a gradual decline over 2 years.<br />
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I have some perspective now on those two years. <i> I was way more tired. Workouts in the gym felt hard - I was sluggish, I felt heavy. My cardio suffered. I struggled to think clearly about things. I genuinely couldn't think straight. My mind felt foggy and I found it difficult to make good decisions, especially when it came to food choices but also as far as emotional responses to situations. Things that I could have handled before then became insurmountably hard. I wasn't depressed but I was frustrated and angry and incredibly negative a lot of the time.</i><br />
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I know it sounds extreme to suggest food was responsible for my state of mind but going on the evidence I have, it's the only variable that changed.<br />
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Just before Christmas 2017, I started feeling exhausted, especially after I ate something heavy on starchy carbs or sugar. It got to the point where, if I ate some chocolate (and I'm not talking your 95% single origin Ecuadorian stuff, I'm talking cheap nasty, vegelate with double the sugar required) I would be asleep inside 10 minutes.<br />
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So, having made myself reactively hypoglycemic, 2 weeks before Christmas, I decided enough was enough. Gave up sugar again, cold turkey, gave up most starchy carbs. Back on the paleo.<br />
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What have I noticed?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Everything is better! </span>I am more alert, less foggy-minded, less tired, no more crashing on the sofa after meals. While my performance in the gym does reflect the fact that I am 46 years old and a bit lazy, I feel so much stronger, my cardio has improved massively in that I don't feel half as out of breath mid-workout as I used to and bodyweight movements like pullups and burpees feel way, way easier. But more than that, I feel positive!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">I feel mentally more cheerful about everything!</span></b><br />
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What has changed since Christmas? My job is the same, my family is the same, the weather is the same, <span style="font-size: large;">my nutrition is different.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sugar is to blame for how you feel mentally. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sugar is to blame for how you feel physically.</span></b><br />
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You think you don't eat much sugar because you don't add spoonfulls of table sugar to your tea or cereal? You're wrong. Starchy carbs (like cereal and bread) are converted to sugar and anyway, most cereals have added sugar!<br />
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If you eat a lot of rice, pasta, bread, pastry, beans, processed food - albeit savoury - you are addicted to sugar.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Addicts lack the ability to think clearly because their bodies are on a constant mission to stay normal (homeostasis) by getting more of what they crave, be that heroin or sugar. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If your body has a purpose higher than yours (homeostasis) it will take control of your mind to force you onto its own path so it can get what it needs. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Sugar makes your brain into a zombie controlled by your body.</b></span><br />
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For example - while my diet was bad, I would drive to the gym to train (my mental pathway that was good for me) and on the way stop at a petrol station to get something to eat - it was a compulsion (my body controlling my zombified mind). I couldn't <i>not</i> stop at the petrol station. It genuinely was as if I had no control over my actions and when I got to the petrol station, they didn't sell paleo things there and as my brain was literally sabotaging my efforts in order to satisfy it's physical requirement for sugar, I would get a sandwich and a sugary snack. <span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I literally could not stop myself.</span> I could not think straight.<br />
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<a href="https://infograph.venngage.com/media/image_library/bf1f675c1aedfd9ec78d9ad4c9103c9a.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://infograph.venngage.com/media/image_library/bf1f675c1aedfd9ec78d9ad4c9103c9a.png" width="160" /></a>Now that the sugar is out of my system (it literally only takes a few days) I am quite happy to have breakfast, go and coach then drive to where I train without eating again. It just isn't an issue. I have control over my brain again.<br />
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<b>Try quitting sugar for 30 days and keep a record of how you feel and what you notice. You need to stop eating processed foods and take-aways, you need to read all the ingredients on every label (although non-processed food has no ingredients list!) and you need to eat a lot of vegetables - like triple what you think.</b><br />
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<b>If you cannot do this for just 30 days but still complain about feeling down, tired, stressed, out of control etc, then you need to seriously rethink your life!</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Free your mind and the rest will follow!</span></b><br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-47043168675330540292018-02-04T09:51:00.000+00:002018-02-04T09:55:58.088+00:00If you have kids, you should be making them do CrossFit!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMrM_xpFNjROvHGLV2yxOuZIMWhyrreF5GbUga-eJDlGqXXqIoUR_hjNMwV6Y4bUKIGfjjCT1CZxvvtiw_7Th6gJuRyCGvfPjECzO-vXuvOURgEePaUCfK-vSnyNnpWHMhhUMMo-PPa70/s1600/316784_10150311072151118_2219701_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMrM_xpFNjROvHGLV2yxOuZIMWhyrreF5GbUga-eJDlGqXXqIoUR_hjNMwV6Y4bUKIGfjjCT1CZxvvtiw_7Th6gJuRyCGvfPjECzO-vXuvOURgEePaUCfK-vSnyNnpWHMhhUMMo-PPa70/s320/316784_10150311072151118_2219701_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My kids - 1BC (one year before CrossFit)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have three children</span>, aged 16, 14 and 12 and while the other kids who come to Teens' CrossFit enjoy it, I have to force mine to do it twice a week. I imagine this is partly due to the fact that their mum runs the class and also to do with in intrinsic streak of laziness that (honestly) comes from me.<br />
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In this series of blog posts (starting with the previous one about why feminists should do CrossFit) I want to explain how different types of people benefit from CrossFit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5bde3x0E1ndPX47-aEmJcj_qiux2RuK5TrFU1IxIiLKGCRdZMBWJGOzcLRXwCh5ZnW-bBEkzMTthyMTw5IujAHYFYKAU3xUmEivY3oBrxULa5De14WBVMthxgT5vGySkmQatkwmUEdo/s1600/25507734_1694203700638122_2197210844757376815_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5bde3x0E1ndPX47-aEmJcj_qiux2RuK5TrFU1IxIiLKGCRdZMBWJGOzcLRXwCh5ZnW-bBEkzMTthyMTw5IujAHYFYKAU3xUmEivY3oBrxULa5De14WBVMthxgT5vGySkmQatkwmUEdo/s200/25507734_1694203700638122_2197210844757376815_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>Firstly, you need to understand a little about my children; they are unique, of course, just like everyone else, but I'm hoping you might see similarities in yourself or your own kids.<br />
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My eldest son is, at his own admission, a bit of a nerd. He really likes computer games and science. He relates strongly to the characters in The Big Bang Theory and he doesn't go out much. He has recently discovered the joys of Dungeons and Dragons... He likes routine and he isn't hugely adventurous though I wouldn't say he was a nervous kid. He suffered a little from anxiety in his transition from junior school to secondary school but more of that later.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LPV2R34eme9VU1beTezD_ISNANpGbnDeaMcL0CgqALb_KeKrTdRuGXvq2_bBkHJTcV0Iik7_E_vCCePWdwvcYea60_7fPAjU27dla2eHUtWwWusXXxSzWaZTaCANblb_24ZX9FUfzPU/s1600/25446093_1694207697304389_2790442689764818640_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LPV2R34eme9VU1beTezD_ISNANpGbnDeaMcL0CgqALb_KeKrTdRuGXvq2_bBkHJTcV0Iik7_E_vCCePWdwvcYea60_7fPAjU27dla2eHUtWwWusXXxSzWaZTaCANblb_24ZX9FUfzPU/s320/25446093_1694207697304389_2790442689764818640_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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My daughter is the middle child and, on the whole, delightful. She is very competitive and though not vocal about it, very feminist. She flip-flops between worrying terribly about what others think of her and not caring in the slightest. While, like a lot of teenage girls, she likes makeup and clothes, she has a very positive body image and once weighed herself, which had me recoiling in horror until I realised it was to discover what percentage of her body weight her deadlift was. (It was 1.5x bw!) #proudmummoment<br />
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My youngest son is a free spirit. He has been left to drag himself up a bit so knows his own mind, has strong opinions and at the same time is the least competitive and least adventurous of the three. He is not a fussy eater and will eat almost anything just very, very little of it. He seems never to be hungry so is pretty thin and when he lifts weights, you worry he might snap. He has struggled in the past to back squat 6kg...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Each of my kids gets something different from their experiences at CrossFit. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzPdfdpSBc259QfF43isLj6mHzyuAGbtDmEhajG6z6PP9Rbuf2juQFaeZ0X6Z18pZzI0rF1M5qPL6_7fR88' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
This video of my youngest, sums up one of the reasons I make him do CrossFit. He did not believe he could do even one rep at this weight, he put it on his shoulders and said it felt heavy. I repeated what my coach says to me when I say exactly that: 'Yes, it feels heavy but that doesn't mean you can't do it!' and he did 3. Even though his knees are wider than his thighs when he squats, he has got stronger - he couldn't squat 6 kg a year ago and now he can squat 22.5kg for 3 reps. This allows him to see the big picture. It shows him that even though he might not see the results immediately, consistent behaviour yields results further down the line.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPqpSNPGOJrrbPFg9RMHJyXEyiDDls69VGFYTdgdFo9xUBfO-2aMg-meT0IMwp68xeWomrSfYcbXh2ZIMKh4OqvK3gKc-jCgLZHV-UwYpa21McT0SGjk-FvWgDExV_hzqGv0FW2Wuf5dk/s1600/22687536_1637496786308814_2487948531268639431_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPqpSNPGOJrrbPFg9RMHJyXEyiDDls69VGFYTdgdFo9xUBfO-2aMg-meT0IMwp68xeWomrSfYcbXh2ZIMKh4OqvK3gKc-jCgLZHV-UwYpa21McT0SGjk-FvWgDExV_hzqGv0FW2Wuf5dk/s200/22687536_1637496786308814_2487948531268639431_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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Jake is learning that it all takes effort and commitment and showing up and doing the work. And in an age where everything is available to our kids via a screen in their pocket, 24/7/365, this is a powerful tool to give them some perspective on their lives.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyd-5vZLPA1gl6A923yb8PjDXLZt991zXd4l0h3OK2fjKYadgjnNmR5j0AVvgTYf9g6P2fr956asY2FTqooT_6x2n9LND5ch0WvTO8BRHRsFsZ8dsCQpNVBAgklloC9XTvCa1gTDZZC8/s1600/23659212_1666205390104620_7724072444065895156_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyd-5vZLPA1gl6A923yb8PjDXLZt991zXd4l0h3OK2fjKYadgjnNmR5j0AVvgTYf9g6P2fr956asY2FTqooT_6x2n9LND5ch0WvTO8BRHRsFsZ8dsCQpNVBAgklloC9XTvCa1gTDZZC8/s320/23659212_1666205390104620_7724072444065895156_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>My eldest son struggled a little with anxiety for a while and CrossFit helped him control it. Mid way through a workout, you feel hot, sweaty and out of breath. If you aren't used to this feeling, it can be a bit scary at first. If these feelings mimic anxiety attacks, they can be even more scary. So initially, we had to give Zack the get-out clause that he didn't have to do the hard fast bit of the workout but he had to do some strength work instead. Gradually over time, he became less uncomfortable with being uncomfortable and in finding ways to manage how he felt in a workout, he was able to use these strategies when he felt anxious outside of the gym. He no longer gets anxiety attacks.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmqHhy77Is4gfhFYQ1vjUz4SuNXEEMcuG2vMyONxA9jwr6xDNKGpbIKZTwSAf9J9I2-fGpD-0y4CBTm2MYCsKDe_9udWHEhyphenhyphenmXUnrZvG8rpnSTOv4J9HudAq2A873HDmCXjokMWn_Zdo/s1600/22780136_1639380169453809_76384660798031820_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="960" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmqHhy77Is4gfhFYQ1vjUz4SuNXEEMcuG2vMyONxA9jwr6xDNKGpbIKZTwSAf9J9I2-fGpD-0y4CBTm2MYCsKDe_9udWHEhyphenhyphenmXUnrZvG8rpnSTOv4J9HudAq2A873HDmCXjokMWn_Zdo/s320/22780136_1639380169453809_76384660798031820_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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My daughter (and my boys) are growing up in a dynamic time for feminism. There is a lot of talk in the media about what is and isn't acceptable for women to expect. Hopefully this generation of women will have a much more equal footing in the world but it is still set amongst a backdrop of institutionalised sexism and old-fashioned ideals. I talked about implicit bias in the previous blogpost so I won't go into it again but CrossFit goes some way to mitigating residual inequalities.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJItVosJyFCvg8fClb9YP8bEhbjcuAF54MJFvVsPa7cPZt0bp88ibPNZ4NbAa6tl_esIBtI8Qw0pJsNcE1rmvcgkoA2GkHwyiVvbUZwzWkXY_rhbNJMWozR5DbVFk61hYFObJ5vWuTnIk/s1600/27332436_1732965130095312_6078083210079312294_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJItVosJyFCvg8fClb9YP8bEhbjcuAF54MJFvVsPa7cPZt0bp88ibPNZ4NbAa6tl_esIBtI8Qw0pJsNcE1rmvcgkoA2GkHwyiVvbUZwzWkXY_rhbNJMWozR5DbVFk61hYFObJ5vWuTnIk/s200/27332436_1732965130095312_6078083210079312294_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
My daughter gets to be regularly surrounded by men and women whose expectations of equality are very high. The women she spends time with are strong, competent and confident and the men treat the women with respect. There are no mirrors in our gym. We never talk about diets or weight loss or body image. We talk about what your body is capable of doing. We talk about a positive mindset, commitment and hard work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-6-pBa1h1F4so-upcsVFbS8RZl4erg19EHADerEDpEQJiLPropUw27bFBhwZpY5jToIrpTRzvVwONwj4FRsYmMcMLFBVGwz780P-t_GBWTYoFP85TkHt7FSNC7jfpt4Mh0eDl6kg290/s1600/25552360_1694206910637801_883299830787031074_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-6-pBa1h1F4so-upcsVFbS8RZl4erg19EHADerEDpEQJiLPropUw27bFBhwZpY5jToIrpTRzvVwONwj4FRsYmMcMLFBVGwz780P-t_GBWTYoFP85TkHt7FSNC7jfpt4Mh0eDl6kg290/s200/25552360_1694206910637801_883299830787031074_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>In an age where our children have it easy, where a lot of their aspirations end at 'being famous' or 'being rich' I think that forcing my kids to do something twice a week that gives them a sense of pride in their achievements, that makes them work hard to reach a goal, that is difficult and sometimes mentally and physically painful to do, that encourages them to be supportive and work as a team, that makes them have to dig deep to get through it is an incredibly valuable thing.<br />
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This is why I force my kids to do CrossFit twice a week.<br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com0The Saddlery, Crockstead Farm Hotel, Eastbourne Road,, Lewes BN8 6PT, United Kingdom50.940251 0.1247459999999591725.418216500000003 -41.18384800000004 76.462285500000007 41.433339999999959tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-85830129479419186302018-01-30T08:32:00.001+00:002018-01-30T08:32:54.685+00:00If you're a feminist, you should be doing CrossFit!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HmN-ZYkvml2dt_fMkvNZjvBVtPCBNk1EO7IigZnVI03h2TiKVvQOjFahcSaoNTII1ZBcHVVzgKcUyLCsEIrJQceJfl3Kw6X59JRyLTphskkyti1yTVXzq1SuBf6l-FJuOy60-eor6ew/s1600/23755665_1665877170137442_4938660300561101413_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HmN-ZYkvml2dt_fMkvNZjvBVtPCBNk1EO7IigZnVI03h2TiKVvQOjFahcSaoNTII1ZBcHVVzgKcUyLCsEIrJQceJfl3Kw6X59JRyLTphskkyti1yTVXzq1SuBf6l-FJuOy60-eor6ew/s320/23755665_1665877170137442_4938660300561101413_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">If you're a feminist, you really should be doing CrossFit and so should everyone you know!</span><br />
If you listened to radio 4 last night, you would have heard a program about <i>implicit bias</i>. This is where your unconscious brain is bombarded with images and scenarios that it links together with neural pathways to create a subconscious picture of the world. You may be the most liberal-minded of people but if you are constantly shown images and news reports that paint the world or groups of people in a certain way, your unconscious brain makes links according to those images that then affect the choices you make and the behaviours you exhibit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikOoJMH5eT8aW8jrKHDiCON5vrksmD3DP5yNHRIdTw6lnjPIv2oeINpyeInUJqFbnQ3UJRh19o0O20YXJJpW27ebAy-dDbB0oRaN2PDbpA9T88h5W_Hjyy1H8mJhBSpDRW8AsD_YhIFfI/s1600/23473120_1654978737893952_8069139039230910762_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikOoJMH5eT8aW8jrKHDiCON5vrksmD3DP5yNHRIdTw6lnjPIv2oeINpyeInUJqFbnQ3UJRh19o0O20YXJJpW27ebAy-dDbB0oRaN2PDbpA9T88h5W_Hjyy1H8mJhBSpDRW8AsD_YhIFfI/s320/23473120_1654978737893952_8069139039230910762_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
The media shows us regularly that men are leaders and women need rescuing. It often portrays women as image-obsessed cleaners, cooks and child carers. The media tell us that while we should aspire to having everything: a career, children, a sparkling social life, a beautiful, organsied home, delicious, healthy meals, perfect hair and flawless skin we are never quite going to measure up. While men can skip through life only having to worry about which beer goes with their facial hair before buying a new strimmer.<br />
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However emancipated be believe we are, we cannot help therefore but have implicit bias implanted in our brains. Assumptions are made subconsciously that women are less able to do certain tasks, they are to be less trusted in positions of power or rank. The world may be changing but we are a generation whose brains already have a neural network deeply embedded that says women are not as good as men.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgQT8nhfkxV5Hovbl-DjFZ-XUWqbWaVTshgqt09d4WtTiGsD0xpUHhSvd66A-ypxEOgTypIRQwlvjdECfAiNqVPZ2_ohx2b9W1IaA5ZMlrfkIm8GQcLtWegNRv271pe4axHny42sFzyI/s1600/25446093_1694207697304389_2790442689764818640_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgQT8nhfkxV5Hovbl-DjFZ-XUWqbWaVTshgqt09d4WtTiGsD0xpUHhSvd66A-ypxEOgTypIRQwlvjdECfAiNqVPZ2_ohx2b9W1IaA5ZMlrfkIm8GQcLtWegNRv271pe4axHny42sFzyI/s200/25446093_1694207697304389_2790442689764818640_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;"><b>And this is where CrossFit comes in!</b></span><br />
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In any CrossFit gym in any country around the world, you will find strong, single-minded, confident, competent women, easily out-performing some men, deftly demonstrating movements and lifts and techniques that, to everyone in that CrossFit gym, just seem normal.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PmuHq-WSQBMztq3j9ZvfwdAC_Rl8ingss17UVn5HuuWWTyhqVIykG6okF5tvsMwNLdCwrqgLyLwCMAFfe95b6vd78Z-_p04imQVA6i-l_g1Db-7Wd_Qk41bTse_kl_htL8-TM36RsLk/s1600/24312417_1682183071840185_4342095050012191887_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PmuHq-WSQBMztq3j9ZvfwdAC_Rl8ingss17UVn5HuuWWTyhqVIykG6okF5tvsMwNLdCwrqgLyLwCMAFfe95b6vd78Z-_p04imQVA6i-l_g1Db-7Wd_Qk41bTse_kl_htL8-TM36RsLk/s200/24312417_1682183071840185_4342095050012191887_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b></b></span><br />
<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b><b>People who do CrossFit are regularly exposed to these powerfully positive images and scenarios where women are respected as strong, independent and competent - equal to men. </b></b></span><br />
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These versions of the world are creating neural pathways where we have a chance to even out our subconscious bias and genuinely become more broad minded and open to new ideas. These are the images I want my kids to be bombarded with!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3dKdFFWwpiZD36pEvCgkof8ZN_P4Dd4ybmYxRqGe2YYUK82DkTFlEmMPJWySgBqwIYbrzXu_rVoM0gfA1gMOBUcQkjXvcNgTe18zG4xlklbD9unyat1sippeUbrj1PgGDTls12ubs41Y/s1600/18403534_1476647659060395_6275728995166438722_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3dKdFFWwpiZD36pEvCgkof8ZN_P4Dd4ybmYxRqGe2YYUK82DkTFlEmMPJWySgBqwIYbrzXu_rVoM0gfA1gMOBUcQkjXvcNgTe18zG4xlklbD9unyat1sippeUbrj1PgGDTls12ubs41Y/s320/18403534_1476647659060395_6275728995166438722_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">CrossFit delivers a positive image of everyone who takes part - be they thin or fat, tall or short, old or young, black or white, male or female.</span></b><br />
<span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;">If you are a feminist, you should be doing CrossFit and so should everyone you know! </span><br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-14123562267707924882018-01-18T09:08:00.003+00:002018-01-18T09:08:35.225+00:00Building on what to eat and how to be successful...<br />
do this for life-changing results:<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Eat clean:</span></b><br />
No sugar, check all ingredients. No alcohol. No wheat - pasta, bread, cakes, pastry and biscuits. No fizzy drinks or squash.<br />
Each meal (3 a day) made up of:<br />
Eat a <span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">p</span>alm sized amount of <span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">p</span>rotein.<br />
Eat two or three<span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">f</span>ingers of <span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">f</span>at.<br />
Rest of your plate a <span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">rainbow of veg</span> and a little fruit.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Move more.</span></b><br />
Build towards CrossFit between 3 and 6 times a week<br />
Walk more - fast<br />
Sit less.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Sleep well.</span></b><br />
7 hours at least - 8 hour preferable. Dark room. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Get outside.</span></b><br />
Spend time with trees to feel better about everything.<br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-81345504808606791232018-01-12T08:34:00.001+00:002018-01-12T08:34:43.031+00:00The Ultimate Secret to Success!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: x-large;">What if I could tell you the secret to unlocking success in everything you do? What would you do with this secret?</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1z43tW-YNGxgdWRwLM_M75Pg4p9JEf8wMPn20WGkABeHO9ufJPOZellhVmllgvOQCy_WJhvHOzXe3Bx_QJW0cVmzvESEdnxobWbQ4wNvthPMBjaYgSBhHD7tPCLjIG2emSVfMYn7NZE/s1600/Copy+of+14469599_1247654565293040_2708846834036843849_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="960" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1z43tW-YNGxgdWRwLM_M75Pg4p9JEf8wMPn20WGkABeHO9ufJPOZellhVmllgvOQCy_WJhvHOzXe3Bx_QJW0cVmzvESEdnxobWbQ4wNvthPMBjaYgSBhHD7tPCLjIG2emSVfMYn7NZE/s640/Copy+of+14469599_1247654565293040_2708846834036843849_n.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #e60000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Would you use it to be more productive at work? Would you use it to get more out of your time in the gym? Would you use it to develop stronger relationships with family, friends and colleagues? </span></span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-e4b93629-e977-e8c3-3892-0e3603763cd0" style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The secret is really simple. </span></i></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The secret is you.</span></i></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">'But that's not fair,' you say. 'There are loads of things in my life that are out of my control! I cannot be the secret to my own success while that success relies on the opportunities offered me by others or while my success relies on the competence or incompetence of others... The universe just conspires against me. I'm too unfit, I'm too scared, I'm not qualified, I'm too busy, I have too many other responsibilities to focus on my own success!'</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">And breathe! </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">While there may be many elements in the universe over which you exercise no control, </span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you are 100% in control of how you respond to them</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">!</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">YOU are in control of every thought you allow to manifest in your mind</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">so be careful what you think, because you are listening!</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="color: red;">Take control of that inner voice! </span></b></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">I'm not suggesting this is an instant fix. You may be the sort of person who is able to quiet the negative thoughts almost overnight. It may take you weeks, months or even years; it may be a constant battle in your life until the very end but battle it you must!</span></span></div>
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<b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The secret to your success is </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 22.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">YOU</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Try these 5 tips to help turn around a less than positive mindset and start becoming more successful in all that you do.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 - </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Smile</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - as often as you can, even if you have to fake it. Smiling releases endorphins and genuinely makes you feel better and instantly makes others feel better too!</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 - </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nod</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - in the face of adversity. Don't sigh and shake your head; nod and tell yourself you can do it! You don't even have to believe this, you just have to do it to create more positive pathways in your brain.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 - </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine you are 90 years old</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and have been allowed to come back for the day - list the things you would appreciate.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 - </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine you have been told you have 2 months to live</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - what small stuff would suddenly cease to be important? </span><span draggable="false" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.4;">That stuff right there </span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 19px;">is not important</span></span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.4;">! That doesn't mean you have to stop doing or acknowledging whatever it is, just stop placing so much value on it.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: black; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.4;">5 - </span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 17px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration-line: underline;">Allow yourself to feel afraid</span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.4;">. It's OK to feel anxious and nervous and even terrified about things. It's </span><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 17px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">not</span><span draggable="false" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.4;"> OK to allow these perfectly normal and rational feelings to stop you doing things! Feel afraid - acknowledge the fear and push through anyway! </span></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: black; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.4;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;" /></span></span></div>
<div draggable="false" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; line-height: 1.4;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: black; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 17px;"><b><span style="color: white;">Be careful what you think - because YOU are listening.</span></b></span><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 31px;">Live life like you mean it!</span> </span></span></div>
BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-70623502826841330672018-01-07T11:27:00.003+00:002018-01-07T11:27:22.590+00:00Help - what should I eat?At this time of year, there are a lot of coaches, trainers and nutritionists out there vying for your attention. They want you to believe that what they have to say on the matter makes them more knowledgeable than the next guy. You'll hear all kinds of phrases bandied around that make it sound like their particular method is THE method that will finally put all the pieces of the puzzle together and get you the body you want.<br />
<br />
I'm not suggesting I am more qualified or knowledgeable than the next guy on matters of nutrition but as with everyone else, I have my own personal take on all things nutrition related. <br />
<br />
Here are my thoughts on nutrition.<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Calories</span></u></b><br />
<br />
Of course, it goes without saying (although, funnily, still needs to be reiterated often)<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">if you consume more calories than you expend, you will get fatter!</span><br />
<br />
That being said, not all calories are created equal.<br />
<br />
It must also go without saying that 1000 calories of McDonalds cannot possibly be as good for you as 1000 calories of ethically raised, grass-fed beef and vegetables. <br />
<br />
For an elite athlete (probably not you, definitely not me) you are going to need to keep right on top of your calorie intake in order to ensure you stay lean enough to make gymnastics easier, muscly enough to lift the heavy loads and to ensure you have sufficient energy to fuel your workouts. <br />
<br />
For a lot of people this is unnecessary bollocks that clouds the real issues (you are eating the wrong stuff and probably too much of it, you eat too much sugar and you drink too much alcohol).<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Macros</span></u></b><br />
<br />
You will hear all about macros form the 'health professionals'.<br />
<br />
Your body does have an optimal requirement of unprocessed fat, protein and carbohydrate: macros.<br />
<br />
An elite athlete (remember, that's probably not you, however awesome at CrossFit you are and it's definitely not me) is going to need to make sure that their macros are on track to make sure that they are optimising how their bodies use the nutrients they ingest.<br />
<br />
For the average Joe, this close control is superfluous fluff that clouds the real issues (see above).<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Supplements</span></u></b><br />
<br />
If you are eating a wide variety of unprocessed food and you don't have a medical issue that requires you to take supplements, you are unlikely to need them. <br />
<br />
I understand that as a CrossFit 'athlete' it looks kind of cool to have a special shaker filled with the latest protein powder, a pre-workout and a post workout and supplement this and supplement that but it's much easier (and cheaper) to eat well. Supplements are not a replacement for a nutritious diet.<br />
<br />
There's a lot of other stuff out there, intermittent fasting, low carb diets (these annoy me as they aren't low carb per se, they are low starch....all vegetables are carbohydrate!) etc etc. I'm not going to go into all that as I want this to be simple.<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">So what should you do?</span></u></b><br />
<br />
This advice is for everyone but if you need to lose a considerable amount of fat, you are going to need to be way, way stricter than someone who just wants to maintain or be more healthy or lose a little bit of Christmas tub. <br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Do some research, take responsibility for achieving your goals and make this a learning opportunity. </li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Eat a palm sized amount of protein with each meal (3 meals a day)</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Have a 2-3 fingers of fat (healthy fat - avocado, nuts, home-made mayonnaise, cream, butter, olive oil, coconut oil etc) with each meal</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Fill the rest of your plate with a colourful mixture of vegetables and fruit</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">drink a glass of water with each meal</span></b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Do not eat anything with a list of ingredients - this cuts out all things with added sugar</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Limit or avoid (play around with this to see how it makes you feel) white potatoes and white rice</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Eliminate completely (and this is harder, I know) bread, pasta, pastry, cakes and biscuits</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Limit or avoid alcohol (this could also be hard but you may be genuinely surprised by the long list of benefits) </span></b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li>If you feel hungry between meals, either you aren't eating enough at meal times or you are still eating sugar and wheat. If you need snacks in between, try mixing a small amount of protein with carbs - one egg and an apple or a handful of nuts and a banana or a tablespoon or two of full fat Greek yoghurt and a squirt of honey, a tablespoonful of cooked chicken and a rice cake....etc....</li>
<li>If you genuinely want to lose fat and feel better, this isn't going to happen by getting your calories and macros from ice-cream and burgers. It isn't going to be achieved through saving up your calories and macros for a Saturday evening binge of Budweiser and chips! Don't be a dick about it.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>If you find your workouts suffer (or you are more tired or lack energy) because this way of eating has drastically cut your caloric intake, make sure you add in a little starchy carbs to the meal you eat before you train - so if you train in the evening before dinner, have a sweet potato for lunch, if you train in the morning before breakfast, have some rice perhaps with your evening meal etc.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>If you aren't losing weight and you think you are eating well, this might be why: </li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li>you are lying or mistaken about what you are actually consuming - try keeping a private and brutally honest food diary for a week).</li>
<li>you are eating too much - think more carefully about your portion sizes - are you having too much in each meal or too many meals?</li>
<li>Your meals aren't balanced enough so you are eating more snacks between meals.</li>
<li>you haven't stopped drinking alcohol.</li>
<li>you haven't stopped eating sugar.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li>Realise it might be hard work. But do it anyway.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Avoid like the plague everything that allows you to still eat crap and lose weight - you will learn nothing and just end up miserable. Do not use anything that claims to get you slim and healthy through soups, shakes, bars, pills, powders or other such bollocks.</span></b><br />
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#livelifelikeyoumeanit<br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-88723959002898835562017-11-03T08:45:00.002+00:002017-11-03T08:45:52.060+00:00<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">Take this quiz to discover if CrossFit is for you.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">1: Do you consider yourself:</span></i></b><br />
a - overweight<br />
b - about right<br />
c - underweight<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">2: Do you consider yourself to be:</span></i></b><br />
a - incredibly unfit<br />
b - an elite athlete<br />
c - in reasonable shape<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>3: Are you:</i></b></span><br />
a - tired all the time<br />
b - full of beans<br />
c - have peaks and troughs of energy throughout the day<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">4 - Do you have:</span></i></b><br />
a - none of your legs<br />
b - some your legs<br />
c - all of your legs<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">5 - Do you have:</span></i></b><br />
a - a small window of opportunity<br />
b - all day to train<br />
c - some windows of opportunity<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">6 - Do you spend money each week on:</span></i></b><br />
a - alcohol, chocolate and/or crisps<br />
b - protein shakes<br />
c- fresh fruit and veg<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">7 - Do you:</span></i></b><br />
a - hate physical exercise<br />
b - turn everything you do into a competitive training opportunity<br />
c - like a bit of a brisk walk every so often<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">8 - Are you looking for:</span></i></b><br />
a - a change in your life that makes it better<br />
b - a competitive outlet that makes you an even more badass version of you<br />
c - a new challenge<br />
<br />
<b><i><u><span style="font-size: large;">Mostly As</span></u></i></b><br />
CrossFit is perfect for you! You need to make some serious changes in your life but you need a guiding hand. The great news is CrossFit Uckfield is there with you every step of the way, walking and talking you through everything. Everyone at CrossFit Uckfield has been a beginner - many still are - so they all understand what it feels like to walk through those doors for the first time. CrossFit Uckfield prides itself on being a non-judgmental, safe, friendly and supportive space that encourages everyone to get the most from every session, at your own pace! If CrossFit sounds a bit too intense to start with, why not give FitClub a try?<br />
Contact us now to arrange membership or to book a free FitClub taster session!<br />
<br />
<b><i><u><span style="font-size: large;">Mostly Bs</span></u></i></b><br />
You are perfect for CrossFit. This is what you have always been searching for in all the sports and gyms you have explored over the years. At CrossFit Uckfield, you will find a competitive environment that challenges you every session. We will build on every aspect of your physical capabilities, from strength, power and speed to balance, coordination and accuracy. Our strength and conditioning programming can be supplemented with our CompClass or MasterClass programming and Olympic Weightlifting Classes making you a more well-rounded athlete than you already are, with regular opportunities to compete in local, National and international competitions.<br />
Contact us now to arrange membership!<br />
<br />
<b><i><u><span style="font-size: large;">Mostly Cs</span></u></i></b><br />
You and CrossFit are a match made in heaven! CrossFit will help you tone those muscles, keep on top of bodyfat and increase your fitness levels. You'll learn cool new tricks and skills and build strength you didn't think was possible. You'll mix with a great bunch of like-minded people in a fun, inspiring and supportive environment. CrossFit is as competitive as you want it to be; so whether you are happy focusing on being better than you were yesterday or you want to compete within the gym or at a national or international level, CrossFit Uckfield is the place for you.<br />
Contact us now to arrange membership!<br />
<br />
<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-9296313802420518642017-06-16T14:44:00.000+01:002017-06-16T14:44:31.981+01:00The Impatient CrossFitter<b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">CrossFit</span><span style="font-size: large;"> is like spinning plates. </span> There is so much to learn and so much to improve and as CrossFit punishes the specialist, these improvements have to be made across the board. </span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDtc-Qjb5NmjHMyCeFQCVZZi5pKC1o-rhd6MgPtz14457LRjslX7VhiIRO-dTROTZCL8m8287em4ljaxMJM_QPxIA40PIL_fXnXJIVoMU5b45j08I8JFO2kqmTcWPfsCftcJbrPlRsi4/s1600/14370209_1247651765293320_3694981517992257265_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="960" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDtc-Qjb5NmjHMyCeFQCVZZi5pKC1o-rhd6MgPtz14457LRjslX7VhiIRO-dTROTZCL8m8287em4ljaxMJM_QPxIA40PIL_fXnXJIVoMU5b45j08I8JFO2kqmTcWPfsCftcJbrPlRsi4/s200/14370209_1247651765293320_3694981517992257265_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
This is really hard to do when we consider quite how long the list of movements is. As CrossFitters, we have to work on <b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">getting stronger</span></b> because if we are stronger, then everything we do is easier. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7zDbit_OkeV4hNio_8v27UrLTWg9o5FXDDQi4X3sHw1Es8JqWWu6TbJivyXEVo8ZJOmVXARg1xK_OTfOekW5ZFFEhP5gMBFKjpxsiGPZcFbA4aay6hQjdCR0txUuTwPK8yKGhyphenhyphenv85A0/s1600/15439929_10154801849114293_1280352371067630796_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="960" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7zDbit_OkeV4hNio_8v27UrLTWg9o5FXDDQi4X3sHw1Es8JqWWu6TbJivyXEVo8ZJOmVXARg1xK_OTfOekW5ZFFEhP5gMBFKjpxsiGPZcFbA4aay6hQjdCR0txUuTwPK8yKGhyphenhyphenv85A0/s200/15439929_10154801849114293_1280352371067630796_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
As CrossFitters, we have to work on <span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>gymnastics skills</b></span> and while gymnastic skills (when done well) look super awesome, getting to that point of looking super awesome is pretty unsexy. It involves a lot of repetitive, often dull, goat work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PhQ1PZrhmxYTXwsrAHNToOlJCy8zwIAUxrDWfZzkRwPnxPL-TYPIgeAN5P0g9msZhDcksQo4dh-Zzj5PoXlR8GSEHW8TYpn_4Fq2JvbXvG0dN8B4snj9_o_o9TOpKwhLEUs-FGapt8M/s1600/14449948_1247652038626626_56780924110205971_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PhQ1PZrhmxYTXwsrAHNToOlJCy8zwIAUxrDWfZzkRwPnxPL-TYPIgeAN5P0g9msZhDcksQo4dh-Zzj5PoXlR8GSEHW8TYpn_4Fq2JvbXvG0dN8B4snj9_o_o9TOpKwhLEUs-FGapt8M/s320/14449948_1247652038626626_56780924110205971_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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As CrossFitters, we have to work on <span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>Olympic Weightlifting</b></span>. This is one of the hardest thing to get our heads round because when it's done well, it looks effortless but as any of us who have ever worked on weightlifting know, those effortless lifts take an enormous amount of time and work behind the scenes. And again, snatch-grip deadlifts with pauses in the power position, without an actual snatch, are not very sexy but they are integral to our learning journey. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs5pz_Im3PNSYK7z6kL_-aZA1YJJujWaDIPzQcx3yGldYjswHTcgV5E6pxSp4bGKCS_0ecl8S-hYJmRUuK8_C-D-ktXGweBInSWdTj1mZKqJBHyr0tbLngzG9AYLwfOiMBU4VJD46AqBg/s1600/CrossfitUckfield_231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs5pz_Im3PNSYK7z6kL_-aZA1YJJujWaDIPzQcx3yGldYjswHTcgV5E6pxSp4bGKCS_0ecl8S-hYJmRUuK8_C-D-ktXGweBInSWdTj1mZKqJBHyr0tbLngzG9AYLwfOiMBU4VJD46AqBg/s200/CrossfitUckfield_231.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
On top of all this, us CrossFitters have to work on getting <span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>fitter</b></span> and <b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">faster</span></b> too while keeping on top of our <b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">balance, coordination, power, speed</span></b>, etc etc. not forgetting to devote <span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>AS MUCH TIME AGAIN to recovery</b></span> (eating well, sleeping well, mobility and massage).<br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;"><b>CrossFit is therefore incredibly frustrating for the impatient. </b></span>So how do we manage these spinning plates at CrossFit Uckfield and how do we try to manage the development, expectations and frustrations of The Impatient?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEVoeUPDaXL69Faa4lvxTgwYUOBBv6i4-mlYVHWYNv2jwYvf3UXlwmV7HvFsQVuSa05nlgTg4ItzyENlNrq7uxQk0lk6pX8e6J-YcVPzrq4k8202vY6OdpuFjMkJM49Wk2yh0GwdYxHA/s1600/The+Paleo+Gym_RGB.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1438" data-original-width="1455" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEVoeUPDaXL69Faa4lvxTgwYUOBBv6i4-mlYVHWYNv2jwYvf3UXlwmV7HvFsQVuSa05nlgTg4ItzyENlNrq7uxQk0lk6pX8e6J-YcVPzrq4k8202vY6OdpuFjMkJM49Wk2yh0GwdYxHA/s200/The+Paleo+Gym_RGB.png" width="200" /></a><br />
<b><u><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Firstly: programming.</span></u></b><br />
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The programming is really carefully designed to ensure progression across the board. But not only that, the programming is written with you guys in mind. It takes into account the wide variety of abilities in the gym (this is where a history of primary school planning and assessment comes in incredibly handy!) it focuses on eliminating weakness, developing strengths and improving movement using regular gap analyses of your individual needs. Trust the programming; it is there to improve everything all at once. If you look good, I look good, so it makes sense for me to give you the best programming for your individual needs, which is why a lot of what you do is personalised for you. Sometimes that will be a specific mobility drill, a specific warm up, a particular weight or movement, a specific cue or scaling option. We do not do a one size fits all at CrossFit Uckfield.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvrIXwE6CUO2fHGGepoIFhihpHZcLVewYPiNScK8U41056H-i-Iv83M2LRdE1xP8N-1GniqijYTbM9K2cjNGDdsRH_77k-9bfJQRGEithIv7TBt0ME_lMLDfq2hFjnTLa-MerZOd196Y/s1600/CrossfitUckfield_186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvrIXwE6CUO2fHGGepoIFhihpHZcLVewYPiNScK8U41056H-i-Iv83M2LRdE1xP8N-1GniqijYTbM9K2cjNGDdsRH_77k-9bfJQRGEithIv7TBt0ME_lMLDfq2hFjnTLa-MerZOd196Y/s320/CrossfitUckfield_186.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b><u>Secondly: coaching.</u></b></span><br />
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The coaching at CrossFit Uckfield focuses on making sure the basics are covered, starting with your intro course and building from there. We have a brilliant Couch to CrossFit program that focuses on developing excellent form and technique way before intensity is added. As coaches, we are able to identify, as you work, where your weaknesses lie, how your movement can be improved and to triage these into what needs to be addressed first.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivddhqzhIgMbxjI0U9xz5gClU_xJzj0rQEXP1LehcYsXTEhrk4hMODWO-Xj6tZwTQcFsAILCdDAcV76JFDUqh82HSKcV8-iNRsN7MH4zuwRBQF4wjgBsiMO3hdC8hYyPIPJp_YdQvCUWk/s1600/CrossfitUckfield_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivddhqzhIgMbxjI0U9xz5gClU_xJzj0rQEXP1LehcYsXTEhrk4hMODWO-Xj6tZwTQcFsAILCdDAcV76JFDUqh82HSKcV8-iNRsN7MH4zuwRBQF4wjgBsiMO3hdC8hYyPIPJp_YdQvCUWk/s320/CrossfitUckfield_5.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b><u>Thirdly: adaptation.</u></b></span><br />
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We are constantly adapting to your needs which means the programming will change depending on what is happening in the gym. This serves not only to ensure continued progression but also keeps the classes fresh and new as they are always changing and improving and focusing on your unique requirements. This is why recently, I have added a targeted warm-up into the programming. This is a five minute slot of time (it's short, I know but it's amazing what can be achieved with 5 minute's focused work each time you come to the gym) where we focus on one thing you want to improve. There have been some really magnificent and dramatic improvements with this targeted warm up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjguGUuvKM9F7R3J2KxKw3QfiFFmVS8arfrB9izdL8Lhj9eRYw8f0BFqzyfVJaIx_bay5kruDczfIAgbe0UFRQm2vmGmhiiMdaH42HNtdLUVVW5uMhBi67gR-gY69XZcgYx7igUnITXZkY/s1600/CrossfitUckfield_153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjguGUuvKM9F7R3J2KxKw3QfiFFmVS8arfrB9izdL8Lhj9eRYw8f0BFqzyfVJaIx_bay5kruDczfIAgbe0UFRQm2vmGmhiiMdaH42HNtdLUVVW5uMhBi67gR-gY69XZcgYx7igUnITXZkY/s320/CrossfitUckfield_153.jpg" width="320" /></a>It helps to see CrossFit more like learning a Martial Art. It takes time; I mean years, to master most of these skills. This is not a 6 month hobby. It is not even a 2 year phase. CrossFit is a lifelong learning journey with many, many ups and downs. We know we can't be a specialist in CrossFit so we need to focus more on becoming less shit at everything across the board.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSOzy94xXEJzHzoHoj1housnj2TwigXXVB4C39KXWt7KcKVlljHyy3mWdzHvCgWmhaJ_NCj2nlV_iO-3gH-64diBgwDti90O4CNbq1tH-JlwIqf5rdLwVKwM9XAWDGIvR1TnEEg5iLPs/s1600/CrossfitUckfield_158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSOzy94xXEJzHzoHoj1housnj2TwigXXVB4C39KXWt7KcKVlljHyy3mWdzHvCgWmhaJ_NCj2nlV_iO-3gH-64diBgwDti90O4CNbq1tH-JlwIqf5rdLwVKwM9XAWDGIvR1TnEEg5iLPs/s320/CrossfitUckfield_158.jpg" width="320" /></a>Take your time in the beginning and you will create a much stronger and more solid foundation. It will save you time in the long run as you won't need to go back and relearn stuff you should have focused on in the beginning. <br />
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I have records of your lifts and movements and so I can see across the board the improvements you guys are making and I can see where the gaps lie. We work together to plug those gaps. <br />
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With this integrated approach to your training, we are building a gym filled with wonderful, friendly, supportive, constantly improving CrossFitters! As always, I am incredibly proud of each and every one of you and I feel incredibly privileged to work with such a genuinely kind, entertaining and hard-working bunch of people. I truly do have the best job in the world.<br />
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Coach Krish xx<br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-34211160436466973852017-05-15T09:19:00.004+01:002017-05-15T09:22:08.992+01:00MEMBER STORY #3<span style="color: orange; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><u>Maggie's Story.</u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Not everyone has a dramatic story to tell. Most of us are just normal people discovering things about ourselves and trying to live a fitter, healthier life. Maggie's story will resonate with many of us as she found a way to feel better with a few small steps for some very great results!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u><span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;">2012</span></u></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpGv-mlWFDDHJ3_6Nf3biPdxuxnuv5c-AVYew-bW-nmBlKeUtGPCrQl49BYw6mLVO-HgxLIPHKC8kFsfWLjP024A7YJ7qSZAPRZJBjqsVsLjeCgTFcYLzL6sKIjNfRXySuwa6sMScQvo/s1600/1459737_10151680288196780_209508761_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpGv-mlWFDDHJ3_6Nf3biPdxuxnuv5c-AVYew-bW-nmBlKeUtGPCrQl49BYw6mLVO-HgxLIPHKC8kFsfWLjP024A7YJ7qSZAPRZJBjqsVsLjeCgTFcYLzL6sKIjNfRXySuwa6sMScQvo/s320/1459737_10151680288196780_209508761_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I started</span><span style="font-size: large;"> this whole journey when I was still living in Dubai at the beginning of 2012. </span></span> <span style="color: white;">My daughter was turning 1 and I was so aware that I was overweight and unfit. I was overweight before having children but pregnancy really had not helped the situation. I tried walking but could never motivate myself to go regularly enough. I thought about doing exercise apps or dvds but never actually did anything. Meanwhile, I was eating everything! Looking back, I thought I was eating healthily and making informed decisions. I was not! </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Then up popped Krish’s blog, explaining how she and her husband, Russ, had lost some weight and got a lot fitter. Now I had always trusted their opinions and knew that if they did something like this they would do it as scientifically and logically as possible and avoid all fads and trends unless they could be proven to be effective. So I was interested and I read and researched a bit myself. I found that Krish said a lot of things that resonated with me… </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: white;">The most significant thing was the basic paleo philosophy –</span> <b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">keep it simple. Eat clean, move more, sleep well. </span></b> <span style="color: white;">It made so much sense to me. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">However, there were a few times I would read her latest post and not be happy...I remember reading Krish’s blog about going paleo and swearing at the screen, “I have just got my head around fucking oatcakes and no bread and now you do this to me!” I was not convinced and it took a lot of research and thinking through it all to realise she was right.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">I started doing some bootcamp classes and a bit of netball and tweaking my diet but it wasn’t until I moved back to Sussex in 2014 when the really big changes occurred.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><u>2014</u></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizVJXohB2FE0-NpbIUKaZq2xUqYgtuhnubeZE8La6bSRfeuK8ocMTCpMYCLu_CDqdXAtp1XQbE-loWxKnfCfQTAoTZv1LC_UMg_jJ6XO90IHDx5ziDG2Ijj6j30K5w5WsNqFKWOueUXDk/s1600/10485930_10152536401561118_6730666929469295285_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizVJXohB2FE0-NpbIUKaZq2xUqYgtuhnubeZE8La6bSRfeuK8ocMTCpMYCLu_CDqdXAtp1XQbE-loWxKnfCfQTAoTZv1LC_UMg_jJ6XO90IHDx5ziDG2Ijj6j30K5w5WsNqFKWOueUXDk/s320/10485930_10152536401561118_6730666929469295285_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Almost as</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> soon as we moved back to Uckfield I started going to the little gym in Krish's garage; only twice a week to start but it was just lovely. My CrossFit buddy, Helen, started at the same time and was in same state as I was so it was helpful and motivating to go through this together. Krish got us hooked on lifting weights - you can’t beat a really heavy deadlift to make you feel awesome! I slowly started eating a more paleo style diet and began to feel the benefits.<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">I changed shape, lost inches and lost weight and I began to feel fit and strong. I stopped weighing myself; t didn’t matter anymore; </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: white; font-size: large;">the only time I wanted to know was to discover what percentage of my body weight could I lift. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;">It stopped being about the kilos on the scale and became all about the kilos on the bar!</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">My reason for doing this was and still is, to stay out of hospital. I want to be able to move independently when I am in my 70s or 80s. I want to avoid all the modern diseases that seem to inflict so many of us now like diabetes and heart disease. If I do get something like cancer, I want to give myself a fighting chance by being as fit and strong as I can be. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My game changer WOD</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaJqEbcsjW2j8xbJdblp4GzG1BHQD7PYPqYYgqWlpUQdkGRRYRSNf_QZ-oY71PXxqeGiK_Hv9S2RI5JYoIb7a-osdyhFPhFY9tCXnIMbTT6lxl3YW2pQU7CEarYUCIDPI0kxZLVruyDBE/s1600/13239092_1150256895032808_6745707116253266490_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaJqEbcsjW2j8xbJdblp4GzG1BHQD7PYPqYYgqWlpUQdkGRRYRSNf_QZ-oY71PXxqeGiK_Hv9S2RI5JYoIb7a-osdyhFPhFY9tCXnIMbTT6lxl3YW2pQU7CEarYUCIDPI0kxZLVruyDBE/s320/13239092_1150256895032808_6745707116253266490_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">There is one particular WOD</span> (workout of the day) that transformed the way I think and feel about my body – Nancy. This was the first benchmark WOD I was able to do Rxd (as prescribed) which is a significant step in any CrossFitter’s journey. 15 x 30kg OH squats and a 400m run – five times. It took me over 30 minutes. I was the only one in that morning; it was incredibly hot and it felt like it was never going to end but I completed it. I had never felt so strong and fit and that feeling stayed with me for days. </span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">For the first time in my life, every time I looked in the mirror I was no longer ashamed of my body; I was proud of it. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>That had NEVER happened before! </b></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWzwB6Ov6XylXcO9T8vIqbs7WhvZHNrWnh6r43OA0E0Femk9UGNjrjFT3gvi_Prn_Hc43RYkULJ3NHY6JYf1nireKrsoaSJj7gnGdmdS6FXKFV5N6eTNliFd5YKMYbgoAnq6HELvG540/s1600/12417654_10153941711659359_9140936056473332804_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWzwB6Ov6XylXcO9T8vIqbs7WhvZHNrWnh6r43OA0E0Femk9UGNjrjFT3gvi_Prn_Hc43RYkULJ3NHY6JYf1nireKrsoaSJj7gnGdmdS6FXKFV5N6eTNliFd5YKMYbgoAnq6HELvG540/s320/12417654_10153941711659359_9140936056473332804_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">It didn’t last forever. A few months later I was getting changed to go out with friends and everything I tried on seemed a disaster. I felt like I looked like a middle-aged, frumpy mum, which is hard to take when you still feel 16. However, it suddenly struck me that I didn’t look any different from when I did Nancy. My body hadn’t changed at all so if I felt good about myself then, what was stopping me from feeling the same way about myself right now? So I threw on the first top I had tried and chucked on a pair of jeans and went out…and had a great time!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">CrossFit has completely transformed the way I feel about my body. I am no longer ashamed of it. Yes, I have wobbly, flabby parts but it just doesn’t matter. </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;">I feel strong, healthy and fit. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsjnVi0RE_jeX0G2tW-HkX0obLjSbYwli3f6eT3qzuaRVIvZRdPOxeMUJQY3r1iYivdrdaod0nwgdE54SKCfv57RnnSO8h-ozPbugelblAM4tDgzKO-v8uqaiFkDzt8M67CXxVto8jlA/s1600/12074495_1028088783916287_9220334052236641664_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsjnVi0RE_jeX0G2tW-HkX0obLjSbYwli3f6eT3qzuaRVIvZRdPOxeMUJQY3r1iYivdrdaod0nwgdE54SKCfv57RnnSO8h-ozPbugelblAM4tDgzKO-v8uqaiFkDzt8M67CXxVto8jlA/s200/12074495_1028088783916287_9220334052236641664_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaieGwQhpohsqCJPGJleRiZf74mTe22rviK-F-96nOgyia5WYAK2RoSE8hw9KK1Q9Yp3403Ll8oxbWIBCNEbe0lCbWWoK-xHBtRUTEOF8wI2_cFVktNPUi9eb7Gl5-PGxFctSi6HD_YOM/s1600/17951670_1459905454067949_4317111576743139669_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaieGwQhpohsqCJPGJleRiZf74mTe22rviK-F-96nOgyia5WYAK2RoSE8hw9KK1Q9Yp3403Ll8oxbWIBCNEbe0lCbWWoK-xHBtRUTEOF8wI2_cFVktNPUi9eb7Gl5-PGxFctSi6HD_YOM/s200/17951670_1459905454067949_4317111576743139669_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieuGfEKVqgyPGIw3OnjS6w6MbDit1Trwz5jL6rNCo0BMWtSyNg9BLre9oiSev6ja8HKMRvGP1At5dzDsHsENjXIEHj0nBaHYbbfbUx125fuCtMKPRqAugRCEMt3l2NSFuXZb30B9OsnVQ/s1600/14729372_1273638922694604_6733484248920317127_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieuGfEKVqgyPGIw3OnjS6w6MbDit1Trwz5jL6rNCo0BMWtSyNg9BLre9oiSev6ja8HKMRvGP1At5dzDsHsENjXIEHj0nBaHYbbfbUx125fuCtMKPRqAugRCEMt3l2NSFuXZb30B9OsnVQ/s200/14729372_1273638922694604_6733484248920317127_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-size: large;">I could never have imagined in those Dubai days where I would end up with all this. </span></span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">Since returning to the UK and discovering CrossFit,</span> </span></span><span style="font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: orange; font-weight: bold;">I have competed in CrossFit competitions</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: orange; font-size: medium;">and taken my Level 1 CrossFit Trainer's Certificate and</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: orange; font-weight: bold;">I'm now a coach at CrossFit Uckfield,</span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="color: white;">helping others discover what I did!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c773e31b-0b06-87ee-ef50-d928fbfa414e"></span></span>BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-10322521566087892742017-05-08T09:08:00.000+01:002017-05-08T09:08:21.732+01:00MEMBER STORY - #2<span id="docs-internal-guid-67a7ca44-e70c-4249-ce9d-f583e0a2f2f1"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-67a7ca44-e70c-4249-ce9d-f583e0a2f2f1"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oly’s CrossFit Story</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had never even heard of CrossFit when I found somehow I had entered a competition. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPqaoa1pDDWTKEdj2TpqVJUQnasUYx5mCxkrjdUJTlKK4JOpPIiMQhswSdiX82w2aJcRhukQct1Ersv0PiJCU3wYfVS4aQLk5Ehm8kmWRPkSqYSNyifNLyrsifIzr7h63NloSDvEBHEA/s1600/15027905_10155103399925730_9026687344630655645_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPqaoa1pDDWTKEdj2TpqVJUQnasUYx5mCxkrjdUJTlKK4JOpPIiMQhswSdiX82w2aJcRhukQct1Ersv0PiJCU3wYfVS4aQLk5Ehm8kmWRPkSqYSNyifNLyrsifIzr7h63NloSDvEBHEA/s200/15027905_10155103399925730_9026687344630655645_n.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not being one to shy away from trying new things, I wasn’t fazed by this. It was while I was scrolling through Facebook (probably while on the loo, like you do) that I came across this competition. A fellow double amputee, whose aim is to enable more disabled people to get into fitness by adapting and overcoming any boundaries, was organizing it. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I turned up at Crossfit Connect gym in Portslade on a Saturday morning having done zero training; I was completely unprepared. I met Barnaby and Holly, the owners, who were really nice people and very welcoming. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I looked at the WOD sheet and it was like looking at another language. After receiving our t-shirts and a quick warm up, we got underway. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First off was a sled pull - 4 lengths of the astro strip - 80kg if I remember correctly. What I was most surprised about, was the fact that so many strangers were there cheering me on (my own family were there too) Next came wall balls, a 10 calorie row and ball slams. The first round was fine but I’m not proud of what happened next...I threw up! Luckily I managed to get outside, not like another person who decorated the floor. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After finishing this competition and making some new friends, I was bitten by the crossfit bug!</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-67a7ca44-e70c-7eab-6f55-31c5f9c41cac" style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next leg of my journey if you’ll pardon the pun was entering the crossfit open. Some may call me mad, that after just one crossfit experience I was entering a worldwide competition with some of the fittest people in the world. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">I do like a challenge!</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCiOLLm_2XCI7TzDm7BZ2WjmdgtNd09jRi0IvYLxttoQu7fH8rKQWVSCqfrh48o2hp9v_51iv7XB8gtHzqFQoXF_uHLbjhIM3I1-19yv_K48p4LXKk10eq8lePO1yoCP5ILvN1b5s6Iio/s1600/16711920_1391887090869786_4967483868090953668_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCiOLLm_2XCI7TzDm7BZ2WjmdgtNd09jRi0IvYLxttoQu7fH8rKQWVSCqfrh48o2hp9v_51iv7XB8gtHzqFQoXF_uHLbjhIM3I1-19yv_K48p4LXKk10eq8lePO1yoCP5ILvN1b5s6Iio/s320/16711920_1391887090869786_4967483868090953668_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next part of my journey involves CrossFit Uckfield. I’m a big social media user and the aforementioned gym popped up on Instagram. So after some deliberating about whether I wanted to continue with this crazy exercise regime that makes you vomit, I e-mailed Krish. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-67a7ca44-e70c-bac0-0e32-c8b529b07740" style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I explained that I had just entered the Open and would it be possible to join them for the workouts. I received a reply just a few hours later saying that it would be fine and I should come for a chat and a look around. So I did. I visited the gym on a Saturday morning and chatted to Krish and booked straight onto the intro course so we could go through the movements and work on any adaptations necessary. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwstV5yfIk-HQIsDOwTqXszr7Puh03mtCiHXCQhG4GjCFw3HT81GmfRVpUL6vTAZnsNjiayXvjINdXMzL4jNQa1CXLbGcmG0bJKyWQCYBRUqF3UGoBrwqofpin3bigwhQV58YGSVIi4VA/s1600/18275120_1476136912444803_4955297169336783858_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwstV5yfIk-HQIsDOwTqXszr7Puh03mtCiHXCQhG4GjCFw3HT81GmfRVpUL6vTAZnsNjiayXvjINdXMzL4jNQa1CXLbGcmG0bJKyWQCYBRUqF3UGoBrwqofpin3bigwhQV58YGSVIi4VA/s320/18275120_1476136912444803_4955297169336783858_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I joined their Facebook group and was immediately welcomed by all members; some of them even fighting over me to join their team! At this point I thought: I’m going to like this Crossfit thing!</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The Open was only two weeks away so I booked into a class. My first ever proper Crossfit WOD was ‘filthy fifty’. It bloody well nearly killed me! I ached for days after but I’m one of those weird people that enjoy the pain. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjstBk3uOC1gSLgGZ3HLjP7JUW50RjgINogKYOc98cLYradx_YJJL8txZlAw07WXHeSetwI2JtgaMnfLXVywVM-xjTAI2611ukgK3IqFi5Qit1t01zVrLTwNgBlTa9wPrVOkJ2cq-wJ3Ig/s1600/17098158_10155502065045730_5259519732261820815_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjstBk3uOC1gSLgGZ3HLjP7JUW50RjgINogKYOc98cLYradx_YJJL8txZlAw07WXHeSetwI2JtgaMnfLXVywVM-xjTAI2611ukgK3IqFi5Qit1t01zVrLTwNgBlTa9wPrVOkJ2cq-wJ3Ig/s200/17098158_10155502065045730_5259519732261820815_n.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So the Open came and went and I really enjoyed it. I managed all the workouts with a few adaptations here and there and I even did workout 17.3 legless! =) <span id="goog_56492387"></span><span id="goog_56492388"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: white; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-67a7ca44-e70e-1429-6596-e3a4b4ae1793" style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One thing I really love about Crossfit is the family feeling of it all; you just don’t get that in other gyms. Everyone cheers you on when you’re doing workouts and there is even beer after (sometimes…) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For anyone who is stuck in a rut at their current gym, I urge you to try Crossfit; you might find that you love it just as I do!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMrRenIBZVTF1P20EzZdy9AzmncEYx-DB-Roc9YH1JeJuM1WegdoYQ5-1aSnNMV__cyfsSSnj0-ob-yI7efXlUol9RZ2z54lDXbiz4SAxt_PfEdDlr57HiD35H_BjQVZm9BjloDk25fyg/s1600/18300967_1476140189111142_4663971686593997081_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMrRenIBZVTF1P20EzZdy9AzmncEYx-DB-Roc9YH1JeJuM1WegdoYQ5-1aSnNMV__cyfsSSnj0-ob-yI7efXlUol9RZ2z54lDXbiz4SAxt_PfEdDlr57HiD35H_BjQVZm9BjloDk25fyg/s200/18300967_1476140189111142_4663971686593997081_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlu0B9JPKahvzkpi0YpG8GmmeRTRlzsr8rjt1Syy45btnZuo7MzwK8cpEmGBzDIQtISM_wmKO3UINcJUF5wpi7GFXVWI7eZB8optrIGzrunRiYRuLdPV6ul1KK0ka6Vz7aTHIJPWwSoo/s1600/18301716_1476138652444629_8167598889422778404_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlu0B9JPKahvzkpi0YpG8GmmeRTRlzsr8rjt1Syy45btnZuo7MzwK8cpEmGBzDIQtISM_wmKO3UINcJUF5wpi7GFXVWI7eZB8optrIGzrunRiYRuLdPV6ul1KK0ka6Vz7aTHIJPWwSoo/s200/18301716_1476138652444629_8167598889422778404_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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</span>BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-76951975743843547512017-05-04T08:31:00.000+01:002017-05-04T08:31:20.956+01:00You could totally get to Regionals!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I will start</span><span style="font-size: large;"> this post by saying I am a firm believer that</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">if you want something badly enough, you will find a way to make it happen</span></b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>. </b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">I also believe that each and every one of you has the potential to do great things with CrossFit, if you approach it the right way. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg210YHktTlLAyFu9-gPW0YAp1DOR9LPITevtY0sEDwZiFc4NRvLHOdyjBB-UHisEsu3IWxwGm7tIGTAZhHBGqMjnAZtx5jL4C4jwygjiKJrAQyW4fx7bCpfu1MgSC5SUMGcOV1WSmdp98/s1600/15439929_10154801849114293_1280352371067630796_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg210YHktTlLAyFu9-gPW0YAp1DOR9LPITevtY0sEDwZiFc4NRvLHOdyjBB-UHisEsu3IWxwGm7tIGTAZhHBGqMjnAZtx5jL4C4jwygjiKJrAQyW4fx7bCpfu1MgSC5SUMGcOV1WSmdp98/s320/15439929_10154801849114293_1280352371067630796_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The thing with CrossFit is that it seduces you. </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">With the right programming, coaching and attitude, you get such quick, amazing result with CrossFit that your self-esteem rockets. Which, don’t get me wrong, is a very, very good thing. Low self esteem is a ruiner of lives. So thank you CrossFit for enabling us to feel so much better about ourselves in a genuinely healthy, positive and fun way. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">But it seduces you.</span></b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">It’s like falling in love, reluctantly, with a charming rogue. It starts by knocking you for 6 and confuses you. How can something that beats you up so bad be so addictive? How can something that, some days, makes you want to cry keep you coming back for more? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">Because it seduces you.</span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNXSWF_jahPDWrSCRu64Ao_y3KLBufYvvcEFl5F3ii-a2DiLnRGHBFcM80dsxq4JCD6RWia5bMMYdcbplNSzR3oMmVMIguboRqPIaOyD8-uOhrRrn4IQpmv3UadRncF4Q3n5omDEKGI4/s1600/14445938_1247655351959628_4123118483343037056_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNXSWF_jahPDWrSCRu64Ao_y3KLBufYvvcEFl5F3ii-a2DiLnRGHBFcM80dsxq4JCD6RWia5bMMYdcbplNSzR3oMmVMIguboRqPIaOyD8-uOhrRrn4IQpmv3UadRncF4Q3n5omDEKGI4/s320/14445938_1247655351959628_4123118483343037056_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">But just as you can’t see the lovable rogue beyond the charming smile and sweet nothings, you stop being able to see CrossFit with any perspective. If you want to be good at CrossFit, you need a coach who will tell you the truth. Not a coach who will fluff your ego and tell you what you want to hear. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">What we want to hear is:</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="color: white;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">‘You could be a really good competitor. You could get to regionals.’ </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">When we are told this, it makes us feel warm and fuzzy and spikes our self-esteem. </span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">But we are being seduced.</span></b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">This is what it takes to go to the CrossFit Games: minimum 4-5 hours training a day, 6 days a week, every week, including daily mobility and weekly sports massage. Constant coaching and personalised programming to ensure perfect form across the board. Perfect genetics. Perfect nutrition, no deviations. No major muscle imbalances or mobility issues. Incredible mental fortitude and the ability to keep going when it sucks the biggest, fattest, hairy balls ever. Luck. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBSHOav9gQl78s7zHO_FEa46tjGIdWh_l2lgW6WLorASJtT30A-FgiCUULfSqQ7k1gRJxTVI4vOVdMwU-1aj4ZhVFfgo0hYyqHS942nT0m_K5ShT5tYrXZKaYQmtpiNqEvpthyphenhyphentqV9VI/s1600/14370209_1247651765293320_3694981517992257265_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBSHOav9gQl78s7zHO_FEa46tjGIdWh_l2lgW6WLorASJtT30A-FgiCUULfSqQ7k1gRJxTVI4vOVdMwU-1aj4ZhVFfgo0hYyqHS942nT0m_K5ShT5tYrXZKaYQmtpiNqEvpthyphenhyphentqV9VI/s320/14370209_1247651765293320_3694981517992257265_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">This is what it takes to get to Regionals: minimum 2-3 hours training a day, 6 days a week, every week, including daily mobility and regular sports massage. Constant coaching and some personalised programming to ensure perfect form across the board. Very good genetics. Perfect nutrition, few deviations. No major muscle imbalances or mobility issues. Mental fortitude. Luck. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">This is what it takes to be a good competitor in UK and European comps: minimum 1-2 hours training a day, 6 days a week, every week. Constant coaching and great programming to ensure perfect form across the board. Great genetics. Excellent nutrition, few deviations. No major muscle imbalances or mobility issues. Mental fortitude. Luck. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">If you want to compete, you need to get real. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">I believe in every single one of you and I truly believe that if you want something badly enough then you will find a way to make it happen. But, and this is a fuck-off massive but, you need to get real.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dxmfftDwi3KlZgT9H2SPh63a-A16T8y_lpb6xRS5_lk5gExvqD1oSzD5M4nivTGVHUbJQZOIVHBWbxZ70j_yQ_yZp3EW87sSPChZoQ5K1rV-qSacrUujupbS-4sK5b927fIOd_FKb4M/s1600/14433220_1247655245292972_7561752567197330548_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dxmfftDwi3KlZgT9H2SPh63a-A16T8y_lpb6xRS5_lk5gExvqD1oSzD5M4nivTGVHUbJQZOIVHBWbxZ70j_yQ_yZp3EW87sSPChZoQ5K1rV-qSacrUujupbS-4sK5b927fIOd_FKb4M/s320/14433220_1247655245292972_7561752567197330548_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">If you have a family and a job or any sort of life, you are going to have to make sacrifices in order to do what needs to be done. If you have any deficiencies in movement, skill or mobility, you need to leave your ego at the door, forget the numbers on the board and address them. If you cannot do a pullup, stop trying to do muscleups. If you cannot do a pressup, you need to sort that shit out! If your kipping pullups resemble a floundering fish, stop it! Just stop it! Get your coach to show you how to do it right, work like a bastard and do it right!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The reason we have the targeted warm ups in our gym is to help you address your gaps. For most of you, this will be enough. If you are serious about competing, it probably won’t touch the sides.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">As your coach, I have a million resources at my disposal to help you achieve your goals, I know your movement, I know your imbalances and your deficiencies, but the case may be that you either need to come in more often, find a way to get to open gym every day or invest in a course of personal coaching to address particular issues. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Let me end with this: CrossFit is addictive and it is effective but it can mess with your head. Try not to get lured into the, ‘If I just worked a bit harder I could get to Regionals’ trap. You could, of course you could but don’t for one second underestimate the amount of work, dedication and sacrifices this would take. The training will not always be fun. Sometimes you will hate it. If you want to love CrossFit, think hard about where you want to go with it. Think seriously about why you are doing it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">And don’t let anyone flatter or beguile you into thinking you are Regionals ready, if only you had the right mix. If you are serious about competing, then you need to get serious and that starts with a brutally honest dialogue with your coach. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">If you want to talk about competing seriously, then book an appointment to chat with me and we will come up with a plan. </span></b></span></div>
<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-45323431587608571112017-04-25T09:00:00.000+01:002017-04-25T17:22:58.029+01:00MEMBER STORY - #1 - Verity<span id="docs-internal-guid-c05ebedc-9ee9-d549-784d-e858e18939bc"><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: x-large;"><b>Verity's CrossFit Journey</b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Verity's journey is an important one because there are so many women and men out there for whom food has a hold over them to such an extent they feel trapped in a downward spiral.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Verity demonstrates that by focusing on what your body can do - the amazing things it's capable of - rather than what you believe it to look like, you can free yourself from a cyclical life of punishing diets and guilt.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="color: yellow; font-size: x-large;">"The weight on the bar is more important than the number on the scales."</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Verity:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ecsPj-rlJrNGNnPFvdM18V5n_mc0-jpRebibFFrbNnXIsR8c-NtoITPgs8Ly1gBFKdAFZp1GIULQv4rNlJ3VZgXHgzmYDbbDBT0ZUihMSz2YEyCSTtN-pTtjpWxcLR4laF8B0Zj2dug/s1600/12987201_1131313096927188_1164712221316822560_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ecsPj-rlJrNGNnPFvdM18V5n_mc0-jpRebibFFrbNnXIsR8c-NtoITPgs8Ly1gBFKdAFZp1GIULQv4rNlJ3VZgXHgzmYDbbDBT0ZUihMSz2YEyCSTtN-pTtjpWxcLR4laF8B0Zj2dug/s200/12987201_1131313096927188_1164712221316822560_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"I finally decided to take control of my life at the age of 34. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From the age of around 8 or 9 I started to believe I was fat. No matter what I was told, I believed I was huge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I used to feel embarrassed with every food shop, eating in public, believing people were looking at me wondering why I was eating because I obviously had some serious weight to shift.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ndEax_qMm6nguDyb4EPmgw57NFqdF7hZ_VWLJeMFRoRqHO2g8oGll02ksFgU91LbPU8lw_Qn_ZKDruuv1clrExhR9m7w95lfCShO3iMdCzuwgRn8V9bjDh8qij4Q5QyvxpdifzMOyHA/s1600/17690659_10212286113010607_1439382632_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ndEax_qMm6nguDyb4EPmgw57NFqdF7hZ_VWLJeMFRoRqHO2g8oGll02ksFgU91LbPU8lw_Qn_ZKDruuv1clrExhR9m7w95lfCShO3iMdCzuwgRn8V9bjDh8qij4Q5QyvxpdifzMOyHA/s200/17690659_10212286113010607_1439382632_n.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I began to abuse laxatives around 10 or 11 years-old and learnt the fine art of making myself sick after meals. I tried every diet going. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;">The high point being the celery diet! I literally only allowed myself to eat celery and drink tea, nothing else. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;">My weight in adulthood stayed between 7 and 8 stones. I was constantly exhausted and miserable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;">So after finally admitting what my life was like, I took control. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhab2vzuIrqL6P1-i1myWjDnFbZ6dU7bhzMzFBd4noKpacKCeY_13SgQZ9nOIlqiDMjuq2jW0mIdGjEZ4AJoCB8mGx02MibdckRZ-iiF8W1hQE0WYwNbxfFLinMtmp6Kc-Bl0-SiARigv8/s1600/13501921_1171621166229714_8044456571890518842_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhab2vzuIrqL6P1-i1myWjDnFbZ6dU7bhzMzFBd4noKpacKCeY_13SgQZ9nOIlqiDMjuq2jW0mIdGjEZ4AJoCB8mGx02MibdckRZ-iiF8W1hQE0WYwNbxfFLinMtmp6Kc-Bl0-SiARigv8/s200/13501921_1171621166229714_8044456571890518842_n.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;">I do <b>CrossFit</b> as it allows me to eat and not feel guilty. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">The weight on the bar is more important than the number on the scales. </span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've learnt to throw clothes away that no longer fit. I know I'm never going to starve myself to fit into them again. I no longer shop in children's clothes sections. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLr0LW1FUkNkC5YjofOmhDY6EI3ZN4hOzro4Z-nZ57Df0yuXWHPm6scvVtbI8YysZ0MR_73JZtjEnD5ZD4-qQWKYoWD7KaM9J50ocDTymndbtqdjd3q_qn40UBXZ9RCw6lRxKfa9gK_O4/s1600/17309833_1430739133651248_3399010088775066895_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLr0LW1FUkNkC5YjofOmhDY6EI3ZN4hOzro4Z-nZ57Df0yuXWHPm6scvVtbI8YysZ0MR_73JZtjEnD5ZD4-qQWKYoWD7KaM9J50ocDTymndbtqdjd3q_qn40UBXZ9RCw6lRxKfa9gK_O4/s200/17309833_1430739133651248_3399010088775066895_n.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do I ever relapse? Yes. Do I sometimes obsess about the fact I no longer have a thigh gap? Yes. The difference since CrossFit? I go and train. Sometimes I can't face talking, I have to just lift and get through a shit workout to realise what my body and fucked up head can push through.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyO2oi0Z3u-wUmPnjZlOPMcNm0HT-kFBdEGDDSLwnWaFHJGV_BscLEkvTeFwZZE1xttONWDSSdLanhiW7vhHXfmvFFa1Juhpims5ImvKQvTHMMCTb6RDjtOmSTTy7-ITbj6jbqtaGHfo/s1600/13102787_1140491046009393_3156986536825797351_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyO2oi0Z3u-wUmPnjZlOPMcNm0HT-kFBdEGDDSLwnWaFHJGV_BscLEkvTeFwZZE1xttONWDSSdLanhiW7vhHXfmvFFa1Juhpims5ImvKQvTHMMCTb6RDjtOmSTTy7-ITbj6jbqtaGHfo/s200/13102787_1140491046009393_3156986536825797351_n.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's not always plain sailing but I'm pretty confident I control food rather than the food controlling me."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="color: yellow;">Thank you for sharing your story with us, Verity - I'm sure many people will relate to it. If you would like to share your story, please don't hesitate to get in touch. </span></b></span><br />
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<span class="_40fu" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: flex; float: none; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span class="_2u_d" style="display: flex; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px 2px; position: static; top: 50%; transform: none; width: auto;"><span class="_5zvq" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: inherit; height: 20px; margin: 0px; width: 20px;"><i alt="" class="img sp_bVwJXK7rO93 sx_caab1c" style="background-image: url("/rsrc.php/v3/yV/r/RqooCKvhbOa.png"); background-position: -65px -477px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 20px; margin: 0px; width: 20px;"></i></span></span></span>BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com0Lewes BN8 6PT, UK50.9384928 0.1237158999999792350.9284868 0.10354589999997924 50.948498799999996 0.14388589999997922tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-13437812408238007882017-03-31T15:32:00.000+01:002017-03-31T15:32:27.629+01:00CrossFit for the Oldies but Goodies.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnuvUpYBAg6u1O6WVb7RPSFcqxst_cwOX9NTvncM1ECPWiIMlWwanZy3uahsbDiwGWWoP9lHKDOMQARHTiSumE2VIERVCJwH4Uciq1ShVL71iumI-I3r0Yanif_zEDirAcwM6IPjlHl8E/s1600/14440651_1247654825293014_6774953279312453562_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnuvUpYBAg6u1O6WVb7RPSFcqxst_cwOX9NTvncM1ECPWiIMlWwanZy3uahsbDiwGWWoP9lHKDOMQARHTiSumE2VIERVCJwH4Uciq1ShVL71iumI-I3r0Yanif_zEDirAcwM6IPjlHl8E/s320/14440651_1247654825293014_6774953279312453562_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">If</span><span style="font-size: large;"> you're over 40 and you do CrossFit, chances are you're not a million miles behind the youngsters and you give them a good run for their money during some wods and you can lift just as heavy, often heavier. </span></b></span><br />
But I bet sometimes it takes you days to recover from a grueling wod. I bet your shoulders are a little shot and your ankles and hips could do with a spot of oiling. A lot of the time it feels like you've been hit by a bus. Sometimes it feels like you're going backwards and all you can see is the 20 year old PBing every session....<br />
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Once you're over 40, things change a bit but it doesn't mean you can't still PB regularly with the rest of them - it's just a little harder going than it was in your twenties. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcIReQAKq2QoDcGqVnxlqXJRGpGvaoCOQJAaw3b9uNvAMw9xGwsAwx-jYXAjM0KHuPY04xrxtXPyPlcIOMt0h6r89Xfb_xKSgXmaSsfdj77tYDYmHO7lPStf24sQqTzts62yVWjevzBo/s1600/14446105_1247651835293313_5702471511379120752_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcIReQAKq2QoDcGqVnxlqXJRGpGvaoCOQJAaw3b9uNvAMw9xGwsAwx-jYXAjM0KHuPY04xrxtXPyPlcIOMt0h6r89Xfb_xKSgXmaSsfdj77tYDYmHO7lPStf24sQqTzts62yVWjevzBo/s320/14446105_1247651835293313_5702471511379120752_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
A lot of masters athletes in a CrossFit gym have well over 30 years of learnt bad behaviour and ingrained movement patterns to get over that CrossFit just can't fix in a couple of months or even a couple of years. We need to realise we are a work in progress - like painting the Forth Bridge - we just manage to sort out our hip mobility and it's time to move onto the shoulders. We fix them and the hips need revisiting. Just as CrossFit itself is like spinning plates - you need to keep on top of all the movements all the time - it's the same with mobility.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUHxqJmReWARbokpBejFiMVUz8OqPJCBlBVUOgEo2g0rwszIx4OKEUI9Sg_76V2OzFDiR9CAZYZQ9jLwrhRoy41bm4qRVveLjdDtlIubj0EAGcKqxgM0GQMSM6SodTTK82RXdxMTdAfc/s1600/14355168_1247654958626334_4420579319128048939_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUHxqJmReWARbokpBejFiMVUz8OqPJCBlBVUOgEo2g0rwszIx4OKEUI9Sg_76V2OzFDiR9CAZYZQ9jLwrhRoy41bm4qRVveLjdDtlIubj0EAGcKqxgM0GQMSM6SodTTK82RXdxMTdAfc/s320/14355168_1247654958626334_4420579319128048939_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>The trouble is, when you're an over 40s athlete and you do pretty well in a wod, you start to think you're 20 again. You train with those younger guys - you're not a million miles away in terms of strength and fitness, you might even have the edge on them mentally but I tell you what you are unlikely to have over them and that is flexibility and mobility. You have had more years to develop tight pecs, weak lats, tight hip flexors, weak glutes. In short, you are stiff and creaky and a little bit knackered! Unless you're an ex gymnast, dancer or spend more than 2 hours a day with a lax ball shoved up your piriformis, it's going to show. And the trouble with mobility issues is they will lead to injury.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6beHK9cvBMOJRqmR72uPtACF7I2Mcf1j2n3GyZXLDked8LCSRjc9Futiru2SpQN3Wk8Jx3hZly9YLQp9g1_XGqRLpmaa1JV_B-1U6KqjElfnByBhkqO2MuOj7FBThNCqBKeEZAt9Xvik/s1600/14390946_1247655065292990_7501778997542311390_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6beHK9cvBMOJRqmR72uPtACF7I2Mcf1j2n3GyZXLDked8LCSRjc9Futiru2SpQN3Wk8Jx3hZly9YLQp9g1_XGqRLpmaa1JV_B-1U6KqjElfnByBhkqO2MuOj7FBThNCqBKeEZAt9Xvik/s320/14390946_1247655065292990_7501778997542311390_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>As an over 40s athlete you need to spend much, much, <b><i>much</i></b> more time looking after yourself and recovering!<br />
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So how do we do this?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Recovery starts with sleep. </span></b><br />
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If you aren't sleeping well, your body just can't repair muscle. If your body doesn't have time to repair the muscle, you are just adding more and more damage with every workout that your poor old body doesn't have time to repair. You will end up working really hard but not seeing any gains in strength or muscle because you aren't sleeping well enough to allow that to happen.<br />
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SORT OUT YOUR SLEEP!<br />
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<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg31rbkV5yAlav_zFrCtvMBchltdQqNFhVISQvYADpGN7XrA1X_NSh7Fw2h27CTsCYCHC-zUaIHVUtmJVDBVe3TdL6Qq1ogTJqi6grcxVriWzqebDuxiK-l2nt5pKxMOXwCXQsUWiu2Dbc/s1600/14359198_1247654538626376_9141231250516386533_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg31rbkV5yAlav_zFrCtvMBchltdQqNFhVISQvYADpGN7XrA1X_NSh7Fw2h27CTsCYCHC-zUaIHVUtmJVDBVe3TdL6Qq1ogTJqi6grcxVriWzqebDuxiK-l2nt5pKxMOXwCXQsUWiu2Dbc/s320/14359198_1247654538626376_9141231250516386533_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>
<li>Make sure your room is dark - NO lights from anything charging or on standby.</li>
<li>Drink something warming before bed, chamomile tea, warm vanilla coconut milk, whatever - obviously not coffee or caffeinated tea.</li>
<li>Try to eliminate all screens at least half an hour before lights out.</li>
<li>Get rid of your worries. List them into two columns, on paper or in your head: those you can do something about and those you cannot. If you can do something about it, do - and then you can stop worrying. If there is nothing to be done, don't waste your energy worrying - it will change nothing for the better.</li>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Recovery doesn't just require full-on sleep, it requires rest time.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>If you are knackered, take a break! </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8zviq0yMAk8IdbVtluvQuCKKZZOGAD43F702K46VHbNwy_0x3fbvKrlP2ElKigF6lvttCHYcqRJhRLvn8YI21zRGgqT7kt_xAwOwLbSPohzyePh4bt50huYACGSaD21LywBn6GbpJKo/s1600/15400980_1082129928552139_2684804486382289845_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8zviq0yMAk8IdbVtluvQuCKKZZOGAD43F702K46VHbNwy_0x3fbvKrlP2ElKigF6lvttCHYcqRJhRLvn8YI21zRGgqT7kt_xAwOwLbSPohzyePh4bt50huYACGSaD21LywBn6GbpJKo/s320/15400980_1082129928552139_2684804486382289845_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>If you are ill, don't train - especially if you are sick or have a chest infection! You will delay your recovery by training. Add in the occasional day dedicated to mobility - spend your training time rolling your quads or hamstrings, stretching and twisting that T-spine - get more mobile!<br />
Realise that even a week or two off training completely just isn't going to turn you into a useless blob!<br />
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<b style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">Recovery needs fuel. </span></b><b style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"> </b><br />
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If you aren't eating right, your body is going to struggle to repair itself. If you do resistance training, which CrossFit is, your body is repairing muscle (and burning calories) for around 48 hours after you stop training. Therefore, you don't only have only a 45 minute window of gains, you have 48 hours in which to make good food choices. You need protein - around a palm sized amount of meat per meal - some fat (11 almonds.....) and the rest of your plate should be carbohydrate - vegetables - not bread and pasta necessarily - green leafy vegetables, colourful peppers and carrots, berries....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFRRpZJ0ssaVu5lLhNzeVrdrz-pSir3FJWCJDJVEKq_GMbYGgqEu8Ym2nr0S5k-ZRb1sopk-N4hSMXP-q5veNJEPj9gu2TV92Lvbx3B5lddA_I9ZYcTUqp54aowXRfyGU-uNXcrRaFJw/s1600/14441192_1247654891959674_5709114433722020401_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFRRpZJ0ssaVu5lLhNzeVrdrz-pSir3FJWCJDJVEKq_GMbYGgqEu8Ym2nr0S5k-ZRb1sopk-N4hSMXP-q5veNJEPj9gu2TV92Lvbx3B5lddA_I9ZYcTUqp54aowXRfyGU-uNXcrRaFJw/s320/14441192_1247654891959674_5709114433722020401_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Straight after a workout, get some carbs into you to replenish your energy stores - a banana or an apple is good - I like those little pouches of fruit baby food - they get into you quickly.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>We oldies also need A LOT of mobility. </b></span><br />
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We are old and broken and we need to mend our broken ways. We need to spend more time than the younger guys warming up and getting those stiff joints oiled. To get those joints through their FULL range of motion, we need a lot of maintenance - Mobility Wod is great for this as is just taking some time with a foam roller and a lax ball to smooth out those old, knotted muscles. Watching the TV of an evening? You're a captive audience - do some mobility!<br />
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Get regular massages - a sports massage with a physical therapist is essential if you know you are in trouble - if you know your squat needs fixing or your overhead position sucks or something hurts and won't stop hurting. If you just need to keep it ticking over, just get a back and shoulder massage every few weeks. It's an investment in your future mobility.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Recovery also needs mental space. </span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>Keep your training in perspective. </b></span><br />
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If you are stressing over missing a session because life has got in the way - you need a bit of perspective. Remember why you are training in the first place. Very, very few over 40s make it to the CrossFit Games each year - work out your reasons for doing CrossFit and remind yourself regularly that while it is fun to give those 20 year-olds a run for their money, it is still just a workout!<br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-65026211992304044642017-02-23T22:08:00.002+00:002017-02-23T22:08:43.841+00:00Ready or not....<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Tonight I will be woken by my husband elbowing me in the ribs, urgently whispering, 'Do you want to know what it is? Do you? Do you?'</span></b><br />
As I roll over to punch him in the face, a face illuminated by the glow of his phone and demonically gleeful, I will be stopped in my tracks by the maniacal reeling off of movement standards, weights and reps.<br />
<a href="http://cdn2.therxreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-crossfit-games-open-crossfit-open.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for crossfit open 2017" border="0" height="155" src="http://cdn2.therxreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-crossfit-games-open-crossfit-open.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><b>The Open is upon us, people. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;"><b>And we're just not ready!</b></span><br />
We may have had all year but, goddammit, it's just not enough!<br />
If only those double unders were truly in the bag - so good you could guarantee 30 in one go, every time without tripping, rather than the 15 you might manage on a good day, but let's face it 5 on most. If only you'd had a bit more time to practice cleans and jerks or touch-and-go deadlifts. If only you'd actually remembered to work on those hspu or pullups in every warm up, just for a few reps, like you promised yourself you would....if only you were actually ready....if only we had just a few more weeks, days, even...but maybe, just maybe you are actually ready!<br />
Maybe, just maybe, this panicked, sinking feeling is what being ready feels like!<br />
Perhaps that nausea in the pit of your stomach isn't nerves and suicidal anxiety after all but excitement! Perhaps you are bloody ready and this test of what you can do, what your body is capable of, how far you have come so far on your CrossFit journey is just what you've been waiting for!<br />
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<a href="http://draustincohen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/froning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for rich froning" border="0" height="200" src="http://draustincohen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/froning.jpg" width="160" /></a></div>
The Open is a chance for you to shine, an opportunity to show off what you can do! Forget all the stuff you can't do, there'll always be a list as long as your arm of shit you can't do - God, you know there is stuff, somewhere that Rich Froning cannot do....I don't have that list to hand but there are things he can't do. He can't give birth or breast feed, just off the top of my head...but I am getting off the point.<br />
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The point is, <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>you are ready</b></span> - you are always ready because test aside, these are just workouts and do you know what you do every time you go to the gym? Workouts. That's it.<br />
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<a href="http://images.8tracks.com/cover/i/000/410/950/crossfit-8753.jpg?rect=0,0,500,500&q=98&fm=jpg&fit=max" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for crossfit motivation" border="0" height="200" src="http://images.8tracks.com/cover/i/000/410/950/crossfit-8753.jpg?rect=0,0,500,500&q=98&fm=jpg&fit=max" width="200" /></a>You will do what you will do and it is going to be way more than you ever believed or imagined you could do before you found CrossFit! And each of the beautifully crafted workouts that bastard Castro dreams up out of his trippy CrossFit head will teach you a lesson. They will take you to places you've never been before and they will change you. And you will come out the other side a better person for it.<br />
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/24/3a/73/243a73110c5defed48ce3124cd6562d1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for crossfit motivation" border="0" height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/24/3a/73/243a73110c5defed48ce3124cd6562d1.jpg" width="199" /></a>CrossFit is hard - it's hard for everyone - it's hard for those guys who come first and it's hard for those guys who come last and it is also just as hard for all those guys who come in between them. So whether you believe yourself to be ready or not ready, it's going to be equally as hard. <br />
And all that means is:<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">you are ready.</span></b><br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-31264418010751122042017-02-05T13:01:00.000+00:002017-02-05T13:01:08.273+00:00Why I treat my CrossFitters a bit like 5 year-olds...<a href="http://weknownyourdreamz.com/images/magic/magic-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for magic" border="0" src="http://weknownyourdreamz.com/images/magic/magic-03.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #ffd966;">When Bob or Hilda start at CrossFit Uckfield, I tell them that the whiteboard in a CrossFit gym is </span><span style="color: yellow;">golden</span><span style="color: #ffd966;">. It is where the magic happens.</span></b></span><br />
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The planning is done for you, by an experienced and qualified coach, who puts a lot of thought into ensuring your training is balanced, varied and interesting as well as effective. It means you don't have to think, you just turn up and get the work done. <br />
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The whiteboard gets posted every day on our members' page on Facebook. This allows people to compare themselves to others, compete with others and wish they'd come in on the days they missed.<br />
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<a href="http://lincolnparkcrossfit.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/fran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for crossfit whiteboard fran" border="0" src="http://lincolnparkcrossfit.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/fran.jpg" /></a>I have found, over time that the whiteboard is a brilliant tool for encouraging and motivating people, keeping them accountable and involved.<br />
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However, there are some times when those numbers on the board become counter-productive.<br />
If you didn't do as well as you felt you should have or you were beaten by someone who always (or never) beats you. Or you were bottom of the board or top of the board or middle of the board - all these things have the power to demotivate you if you let them.<br />
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<a href="http://www.burford-pri.oxon.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/primaryschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for primary school" border="0" src="http://www.burford-pri.oxon.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/primaryschool.jpg" /></a>So, as a coach, what can I do about this?<br />
I find it useful, a lot of the time, to treat my clients as if they were primary school children. I don't mean this in a derogatory way but how a primary classroom works is, in a lot of ways, similar to how a CrossFit classroom works.<br />
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As a primary school teacher, I found it vital to ensure my class of 30 children, with wildly varying abilities, backgrounds, experiences and attitudes, knew why we were learning what we were learning in the way we were learning it. This knowledge gave the kids autonomy over their learning. It demonstrated to them that what we were doing had a valid purpose that impacted in a very real way on their lives.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-size: large;">So I am implementing </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">learning objectives</span><span style="font-size: large;"> and </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">success criteria</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD37GK6KDpwKNXj7RAdIQFgTCHeGLZAUHMHRoiBsSzhRt9PB4wsVFknH_UzMixqYeJQDrRLlgkxaqecJXXBMjLLuozRSiqdby0v018EsgIOPy-GdlQ6PIJfWjhuzLFq90OcLGigX4dLZk/s1600/14364787_1247655048626325_805813803910173593_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD37GK6KDpwKNXj7RAdIQFgTCHeGLZAUHMHRoiBsSzhRt9PB4wsVFknH_UzMixqYeJQDrRLlgkxaqecJXXBMjLLuozRSiqdby0v018EsgIOPy-GdlQ6PIJfWjhuzLFq90OcLGigX4dLZk/s320/14364787_1247655048626325_805813803910173593_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #45818e;"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><span style="color: #45818e;"><br /></span></b></span></b>
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><b>I want my guys to realise that their training isn't always a tes</b>t</span> (see the previous post) and that their training has a purpose. It isn't random, it is designed for a specific purpose but that purpose does need to be shared with the group.<br />
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If you know why you are doing something, how it is designed to benefit you and how it will make you better as an athlete, then it will resonate much more. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAa717HT59fGd9uLTuSFFsVebHlX42r5DcxAphMzSa-X_5_ixmyG7V_erUUxo4MbbAh_pMd_ixHnJYsl7GeUtX22LMyS5DgQfbva5uf3j37m7A90qMDMBB6Bj1A619ljCtdYXgXB19to/s1600/14355772_1247654941959669_5047826362979174061_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAa717HT59fGd9uLTuSFFsVebHlX42r5DcxAphMzSa-X_5_ixmyG7V_erUUxo4MbbAh_pMd_ixHnJYsl7GeUtX22LMyS5DgQfbva5uf3j37m7A90qMDMBB6Bj1A619ljCtdYXgXB19to/s320/14355772_1247654941959669_5047826362979174061_n.jpg" width="213" /></a>I hope that by sharing with my members the purpose of their training, they will take greater ownership of their movement, that they will become more responsible for their own improvements. But most of all, I hope it will stop them comparing themselves to others and start helping them compare themselves with them yesterday, or last week or last year.<br />
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You can not compare yourself to anyone else because they are not you. You don't have the same age, experience, abilities, height, weight, dinner, conversations, children, jobs, worries, anxieties, strengths, goals, loves, hates, fears, successes, failures, clothes, shoes, cars, houses, holidays, parents, grandparents, blood types, DNA, injuries, ailments, friends, support etc. etc. etc. as anyone else! <br />
<b style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">If you aren't comparing apples with apples, it is never a fair comparison!</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXPr5eKARxHyx6Z_ulEhxFRLgVvDDhRkYnhbrovykf3T-3HL1i53DpmcuoFdjP_1J4JEZWtRDKq9ikweGx9R8Yk-VZWiB8HCCUyQEYdGiTGBpRWLiJNHMoABUdTEfL_p9-aI_i8Sangk/s1600/14470595_1247654701959693_4936286635374065520_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXPr5eKARxHyx6Z_ulEhxFRLgVvDDhRkYnhbrovykf3T-3HL1i53DpmcuoFdjP_1J4JEZWtRDKq9ikweGx9R8Yk-VZWiB8HCCUyQEYdGiTGBpRWLiJNHMoABUdTEfL_p9-aI_i8Sangk/s320/14470595_1247654701959693_4936286635374065520_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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So be fair to yourself, work out what you are genuinely trying to achieve in each workout and think less about the numbers on the board and more about how you are <b><span style="color: #ffd966;">going to improve as an athlete.</span><span style="color: #45818e;"> </span></b>Then you are in a position to test yourself better when one of those workouts comes up<span style="color: #45818e; font-weight: bold;">. </span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: yellow; font-weight: bold;">If you test yourself every single session, when do you get to revise? When do you get to practice and learn?</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: x-large;">Look at the learning objectives and achievement targets and work out what they mean to you...not Bob or Hilda.</span></b><br />
<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com0Uckfield TN22, UK50.966414 0.09591299999999591850.926416 0.015231999999995915 51.006412 0.17659399999999592tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406457798642546276.post-37016053949603448102017-01-27T08:55:00.001+00:002017-01-27T09:01:36.940+00:00How to really leave your ego at the door.<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">We hear it all the time in CrossFit. Leave your ego at the door. Don't let arrogance get in the way of good form. </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">You're only in competition with yourself!</span></b></span><br />
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Why is then that some of the biggest proponents of this ideal actually have the greatest difficulty adhering to its principles? And what does it really mean to leave your ego at the door?<br />
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In order to answer that, we need to have a look at why we do CrossFit. What is it that motivates us? <br />
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In the ideal world, we do CrossFit to become <b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">better</span></b> versions of ourselves. To get <b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">fitter, faster, stronger</span></b> (both <b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">physically</span></b> and <b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">mentally</span></b>) and learn and hone new skills and generally become pretty <b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">bad-ass</span></b> along the way.<br />
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In a lot of people there is an element of <b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">vanity</span></b> - which is perfectly OK - if you eat right and train hard and regularly, CrossFit will deliver an awesome body.<br />
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For most people the <b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">community</span></b> is a huge aspect of doing CrossFit. It's what keeps us coming back but it's also a vital part of the whole thing - we make friends who understand what we are going through. We make pretty serious bonds with people we have sweated, sobbed, screamed and laughed with. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjm0RZ570MS2OfMijna176-4w1llmljG9RKs4MvS-OozzYrldu3jfPMbYjMIcsIffeCyexuBLIw5qAOU98e3UkU1wNZH3qd3dy0MolxBguTYcoJFRfc6lVoRnQOr1OZdb_RFDfZGV1po/s1600/14390988_1247654461959717_1501212395361595160_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjm0RZ570MS2OfMijna176-4w1llmljG9RKs4MvS-OozzYrldu3jfPMbYjMIcsIffeCyexuBLIw5qAOU98e3UkU1wNZH3qd3dy0MolxBguTYcoJFRfc6lVoRnQOr1OZdb_RFDfZGV1po/s320/14390988_1247654461959717_1501212395361595160_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>For many, CrossFit is about <span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b style="color: #3d85c6;">health</b>;<b style="color: #3d85c6;"> i</b></span>mproving or maintaining health for some, life-saving for others.<br />
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If we take all that together, CrossFit is just about <b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">making us better</span></b>. Better athletes, better people, or just making us <i><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">more well</span></b></i>.<br />
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So with that in mind, how does ego get in the way of that?<br />
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Choosing a weight that is inappropriately heavy for the wod because someone you are chasing went heavier. Miscounting reps deliberately to get a better score. Not going through the full range of motion because it's harder and takes longer. Picking a weight that is inappropriately light for the task in order to get more rounds and reps. Faking or exaggerating an injury to get out of a wod or movement you hate. Working only on your strengths so you don't look rubbish at something in front of other people.<br />
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But mostly....worrying about the numbers on the board.<br />
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Let's take a look at the numbers on the board...You know what? <i>They genuinely don't matter!</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghR47JCBJfX1q_o_cec4cQmFXzStGQ8LiZtYx8Eqd0ufKx0ztaiAIyq-8tAtj8IfqwgwQeIO4uuEvAEF7Kqi7Oh_nelVMkwf_ukgd1aIsQGWpUZdJ4wiyEiC9D0Lvh8p7N_-tgWENnToI/s1600/14445938_1247655351959628_4123118483343037056_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghR47JCBJfX1q_o_cec4cQmFXzStGQ8LiZtYx8Eqd0ufKx0ztaiAIyq-8tAtj8IfqwgwQeIO4uuEvAEF7Kqi7Oh_nelVMkwf_ukgd1aIsQGWpUZdJ4wiyEiC9D0Lvh8p7N_-tgWENnToI/s320/14445938_1247655351959628_4123118483343037056_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The sooner we can get that into our heads the better. <b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">They just don't matter.</span></b> Sure, it's nice to see that you went heavier than a rival or that you beat your score last time you did this wod but you just aren't ever comparing apples with apples. You are not the same as anyone else in the gym and you never will be. Someone else has more or less experience than you, weighs more or less than you, trains more often or less than you, has better or worse coordination than you, has more or fewer injuries than you, eats better or worse than you, slept better or worse than you....You are never going to ever look like or train like Rich Froning because, do you know what? You aren't Rich Froning. All you have is you!<br />
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When you know the guy or girl who is always pretty strong in workouts didn't do as well as you expected in a wod, you don't think any less of them. You might, for a fleeting moment, wonder if they were having a bad day or hadn't slept or eaten well or had a sore shoulder or were just taking it easy that day but you certainly don't consign them to the rubbish heap. So why would you feel that way about yourself? One bad workout does not make you shit. Even a month or year of bad workouts doesn't make you shit. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJCvUrUPIPupQSqhIA8ZkVhHoGFRrPnuB27EiowyZEHbnGDxUfjsI5LuXf0Qrf9dABgLG5U6AWA7flxN6_jvhyphenhyphenaWyv2CEXUHwtMmx6wEi6uB5AlMOyscOX_5UkRtYOur1gVwZe7O-96w/s1600/14450001_1247654808626349_7686225947983635588_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJCvUrUPIPupQSqhIA8ZkVhHoGFRrPnuB27EiowyZEHbnGDxUfjsI5LuXf0Qrf9dABgLG5U6AWA7flxN6_jvhyphenhyphenaWyv2CEXUHwtMmx6wEi6uB5AlMOyscOX_5UkRtYOur1gVwZe7O-96w/s320/14450001_1247654808626349_7686225947983635588_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">Sometimes life gets in the way.</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"> </span></b><br />
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Now let's start looking at the purpose of your workout. Every day cannot be a test day, which means that the vast majority of the workouts you do are just a workout - just...<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">your training!</span></b> </span><br />
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Remember that! The workouts you do on a daily basis are <span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">your training!</span></b> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh207RNte5d_IQa6d9N16TOyqcfq1YqZHpQcB39dYk-dPkkJRH3dqcuRhMrPQCNOaJisdzvHAqdjuuS6ialYobOiXIffdyVfxIYo_OiXlKCpO05jStmGSIiI9ckeVT_rfYysZ0L7hW7nJc/s1600/14359110_1247654648626365_1069999632292439811_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh207RNte5d_IQa6d9N16TOyqcfq1YqZHpQcB39dYk-dPkkJRH3dqcuRhMrPQCNOaJisdzvHAqdjuuS6ialYobOiXIffdyVfxIYo_OiXlKCpO05jStmGSIiI9ckeVT_rfYysZ0L7hW7nJc/s320/14359110_1247654648626365_1069999632292439811_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
That means deviating to poor form just to get the reps in is idiotic because it won't make you stronger or fitter or faster - it will just hone your skills at being a bit shit. <br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b>The way to leave your ego at the door is to stop comparing and stop testing and </b></span><br />
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">start training</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">!</span></span></b><br />
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<br />BritFamilyEsshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12762191207564473204noreply@blogger.com0Uckfield TN22, UK50.966414 0.09591299999999591850.926416 0.015231999999995915 51.006412 0.17659399999999592