Archive for November, 2010

Alright everyone, there are a few things going on that I want to make sure that you are all aware of. When starting workouts I sometime fail to mention these things so here you go!

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The “Jingle Bell Jog” is this Saturday, December 4th therefore there will be NO workout. If you are wanting to run either the 5k or 10k race, please sign up at World Camp before Wednesday. All Campers running will meet early that morning at the World Camp Tent. For more information on this please see Sam or Cristy.

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You will notice that the tree is up already at the camp in preparation for the Christmas party on December 17th. If you would like to participate in the “Secret Santa” please sign up at the gym by the tree. We will be drawing names in a week or so and then you will be able to buy a $15 and under gift for your person. We will be grilling and hanging out from 7pm until. World Camp will provide the meat if those of you attending will bring some sides. If you would not like to participate in the “Secret Santa” you are still invited and encouraged to come to the party!

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Starting in December, World Camp will be offering Yoga to it’s Members! I am pleased to announce that every Sunday at 4pm Beverly Burt from Kai Yoga will be teaching a class to all who wish to join in. There will be no extra charge for this however, you will need to bring your own mat. Although not necessary, a Yoga mat will make different movements more comfortable to perform.

Turkey Bowl II

I often times will come up to the gym at odd hours of the day and sit. Sit on a Plyo Box or weight stack and take in account what all had to transpire in order to get World Camp to where it is today. All the long hours and the late nights, the early mornings and countless training sessions that had to take place to succeed. I have always been a “go getter” and a hustler by nature however, I can not take the credit. I credit ALL of World Camp’s success to the people that walk through the door here, and for that I am truly thankful! On this Thanksgiving Day I want to say thank you to everyone who has taken an interest in World Camp, may there be many more!

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Turkey Bowl II was a HUGE success! Over 60 people showed up this year for the 2nd annual event!

Checkout the above video of Romney knocking out her unassisted Pull Ups! Great Job Romney, we are all so proud of your accomplishments!

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To all of the World Campers on the road this week, please be safe and just know that your presence is missed here. I look forward to seeing you all back in here next week!

Billy is looking STRONG!!!

Remember that this week we will be adjusting the hours slightly for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Thursday will be the 2nd annual Turkey Bowl at 9am. This will be the only workout that we will have on that day. On Friday the 26th we will only be having the 10am and the 5pm groups WODs. All other group times and PT sessions are cancelled for Friday. Saturday however, will be “business as usual and we will be working out at 9am.

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Please be sure to sign up on the board at the gym if you would like to participate in the “Secret Santa” this year! We will be having a Christmas party this year and would like for everyone to be there! The gift is to be $15 or UNDER and it is sure to be a great time. The date and time for this event will be announced shortly but we are looking at the 3rd weekend in December.

This past weekend was “The TEN” in Dahlonega, Ga. sponsored by CrossFit Dahlonega. Every athlete was to compete in 10 events throughout the course of the day. I can tell you, from the looks of things, it was grueling! I am very proud of each one of the campers that participated in the event, you represented our gym well! Thank you all for the hard work that you put in day in and day out, not just these events. The day started early, at 8am and finished up right at 6:30pm. From 40″ Box Jumps to running with a 100lb. 6″x6″ the competition was a test of both strength and determination.

I was most impressed with the way all of our athletes conducted themselves during and between the events. With the standards being judged less than stellar, I received so many compliments on the range of motion and form that they executed on each repetition. Thank you all for representing World Camp so well, and just know that it is truly a pleasure to be around individuals like you!

On a side note and looking forward to the rest of this week. Schedule up until Thursday will be “business as usual” where as Thanksgiving Day we will be having one workout at 9am. This WOD will be our 2nd annual “Turkey Bowl!” The “Turkey Bowl” will be a team workout and friendly competition amongst our World Camp family before we go spend the rest of the Holiday will our biological relatives. You all are more than welcome to bring in out of town relatives to partake in the workout. Black Friday will only have 2 workouts however; one will be at 10am and another at 5pm.

I had the opportunity to go to Lake Park Elementary School this week and talk to the 5th graders about fitness. Our talk turned into an all out WOD! The kids got just a hint of what life at World Camp was like as we went through some run drills, Burpees and Bear Crawls. At the end of my workout, we had some time for Q&A, and there were some pretty intellectual questions. Thank you to the 5th grade at Lake Park for inviting me in and working so hard! It was a pleasure to be with you this week.

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The race to 350 is on and there is now another competitor! Cristy and Jessica both pulled 340lbs. this past Friday afternoon putting them in the same category as some pretty astounding CrossFit athletes! Just to put how phenomenal this feat is, the 2010 winner Kristen Clever’s Dead Lift is, you guessed it, 340lbs. Don’t let their strength fool you though. Both Cristy and Jessica have consecutive pull ups in the 30′s and sub 25 min. 5k’s. Jessica, just 19 years old will be competing this next weekend at “THE 10″ in Dahlonega, Ga. I look forward to watching these two progress this up and coming year. Keep up the good hard work ladies!!!

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Great JOB to Scott today for taking 1st place in his age group at the Chili Run 5k! He did this just before making it in to the 9am Saturday WOD! Keep up the good work brother, we are all very proud of your accomplishments!

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“And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.”
- Andrew Carnegie

As funny as the above clip is, unfortunately, this is how fitness is viewed. In the real world of fitness, there is no “Muscle Triplicator Bars.”

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I started World Camp CrossFit on October 21, 2009.  Back then, I didn’t know that that date would forever be remembered by me.  Kris only had Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10am classes then.  I had signed up through November.  I had two friends that would talk about Crossfit and Kris.  Then another friend had joined.  I saw them change.  Not only on the outside, but more their attitude.   I finally decided I had to try.  If I threw up, they would be there.  I didn’t throw up, I cried.  I cried because I was hurting, fat, and weak.  Kris had to walk with me on the 200 m run. I was hypervenalating.  That was one of the lows of my life.  I felt like I was the biggest loser.  A year later, I am glad that girl is in the past.

I zoned out lots in the beginning.  I don’t remember which workouts we did, or even cared what the name of them were.  My 36th birthday was November 17th.  I remember Kris announcing for my birthday we would do Filthy 50 (which the first time for me was 25).  I almost ran out to never come back.  I felt like I was getting worse, not better.  I only had two more weeks of that crap and I was done with Crossfit.  Later that week when meeting for my birthday lunch, I unwrapped from three of my girlfriends gift certificates.  Gift certificates to WCCF for the month of December.  WTF!!!  I wanted a pedicure, a candle, and a necklace.

So, I am in it now for another month.  I really don’t remember much about December either.  Just more of the same feelings of weak and fat.  The 12 days of Christmas workout is the only one that sticks in my head.  It sucked the worse, I guess is why I remember it.  I had not lost a pound in almost two months of hell, and I was pissed.   I went to the store to buy something to wear when I went home for Christmas, and it was a size smaller, shazam!  It was nice to get a few compliments at home, and even nicer that my Crossfit experience was about to be in the history books with me in a smaller size.  I was going to be heading back to my regular gym.  That gym didn’t make me feel weak and like a loser.  I could do that stuff!  Ready to be back to that.  They had a fat attack class on Tuesday and Thursday, and were starting a circuit traing on M W F in January.

January 4th, I started back at my gym.  It was more my speed…  I could do it.  By the third class of the circuit training, I was almost falling asleep IN CLASS.  Damn Crossfit!  I was back at WCCF on the 11th.   When you are weak and overweight, you are suppose to be pushed to the point.  Be better than yesterday!  Time to quit being spaced out, get my head into the game!

Kris started a 30 day challenge.  I was told about the Zone and Paleo diets, weighed, photographed, and told to commit to 30 days.   During the challenge, we did the Filthy 50 again.  It took me the same amount of time (over 45 minutes, not sure on the min and sec), but I did 50 not the 25.   At the end of the challenge, I had stuck to the Zone diet (85% of the month) while counting calories.  Journaling this showed me I ate an average of 1275 calories a day.  Ran 14 miles and walked 10 miles.  I went to 24 Crossfit classes.   I lost 8 pounds and about 6% body fat. We had another Spring Leaning challenge in April and May.  I lost another 6 pounds and 3 more percent body fat.   Crossfitting through the hottest summer in Albany since the 1900s helped me maintain this past summer.  I have lost 30 pounds since the last October, and finally are feeling muscles.  I see a couple of them too.

World Camp Crossfit taught and trained a fat lazy non exercising girl!  For anyone that is still reading, I wanted to show my progress.  Hoping that my struggles and achievements will help someone else learn and train.

A WOD was a wod of gum or paper.  Now it is the dreaded question!  What will the wipe board say?!?!  It’s time for the Filthy 50!  Triple Helen, because one of her isn’t enough.  Fran, Isabel, Heros Week, Crossfit Games WOD, Fight Gone Bad, 300, Randy, Cristy’s Bday, Cashouts!  What will we do next?

PULLUPS (were put on toddlers)  I started out on the rings for my pullups because I couldn’t even do the gray band.  I did that for two or three months.  Kris put me back in the gray band which I still couldn’t do.  This again was one of the lowest points for me.  I was in the gray band, Kris told me to pull up, I tried, and didnt move an inch.  I was so embarassed!  Still feel a little funny about it now.   Probably due to him tired of seeing me on the rings, I was then doing jumping pullups.  That was another month or so.  Around April a green band was handed to me.  I could do it!  The other day on our work on your weakness, I grabbed a blue and purple band.  I was able to do about 5 of them.

PUSHUPS (were an orange ice cream treat)  Still suck at these.  Pisses me off too!  I am sure I have gotten better, but doesn’t seem like it to me.  Still on knees and tire after about 7.  Slow as molasses too!

KETTLEBELLS (were something rang at Mississippi State football games)  In my Fat Attack classes at my other gym, I used a 10 lb.  After being told at World Camp that the 10 lb kettlebells were for the kids camp, I used a 20 lb.  I am now using the 25 lb, and sometimes the 30lb.

SQUAT (were when you went to the bathroom outside of a fraternity house at Auburn because the bathrooms were gross) Out of all the pictures that that man takes, I wish he had a picture of me doing my first one.  I have accomplished this.  I could put one check on the checklist.

WALL BALL (what my son plays with his hand and a tennis ball) I don’t think he ever let me use the 6 lb, but if he did that is where I started.  I am now full range of motion and almost reaching the target with a 10 lb. The almost reaching the target has just come about this summer.   Every once in a while, I will use the 14 lb.  When I do use the 14, the ball barely goes up.

DEAD LIFT (what a mortician friend calls going to pick up a dead body) just PR 155 1 rep this past week. 65 in the beginning almost threw out  my back.

PUSHPRESS (an argument that a husband and wife have on whether you push or press an elevator button) Other than push ups, these are the hardest for me.  They really get me down on some days.  I remember the first Fight Gone Bad not being able to do but 2 presses during the 3rd round with a 25 lb bar.  Last time, I used a 35 lb and did around 25 total for the three rounds.   I FINALLY felt like I accomplished something.

C LEAN AND JERK(what a teenage boy did behind closed doors) I have gone from giggling when Kris would announce these to knowing that I hate hate hate them as much as Thrusters.  I will not go into what I used to think Thrusters were.  Again, started off with that 25 lb bar, and now I am up to about 55lbs!

BURPEE (Was my grandmother’s maiden name (no joke)) not much to say about these.  I don’t want to forget to sign in, come in late, or say I can’t…  Burpee time!  Now that I have figured out the form of them, they are easier for me.  Not easy!  Need some speed on them.  They slow me down!

POWER CLEANS (was what I do to the house 15 minutes before Robin got home from work) My form gets better every day (hopefully)

BOX JUMPS (guess I don’t have an alternate definition for these.  Just who the hell would jump on a box!)  I started out jumping on two 45 lb plates.  About 9 inches, I guess.  Now, I am on 15inch box.  On work on your weakness day, I got 3 jumps on the 20 inch box.  I have only being doing the 15 inch box for a couple of months.  I remember last  November watching the girls do the 20 inch box, and then looking at the two plates in front of me.  The tape recorder from that thought process would be priceless.  I’m sure there was a good gosh and there is no way.  Now after last week, I jumped up there three times!  Love it!

Crossfit has done many more things than the next few things, but here are a few.  My heart smiles thinking about the incredible people I have met.   I can now hold up my shoulders without a back ache by the end of the night!  I can pick out clothes instead of buying only the stuff that fits.  I sweat!  I actually work out in my workout clothes.  Other people have potty mouths.  I send or receive at least 3 texts a day about wods.   I love my new opinion on tattoos (I still will not be getting one).  Giggling about koolaid and giggling about people giggling about us drinking the koolaid.  I am almost about to believe that it isn’t about the number on the scale.  I wonder if cavemen smoked pot due to the fact that they didn’t drink beer or wine…  I know the cavewoman had to have if they had cavechildren!   Even though Kris has put me through hell for an hour, a thank you is given to him.  I have a new family.   I truly love my new family!

So to all the people that “cant believe” I pay what I pay to crossfit… the above is why I do!

Maybe this year I can get a pedicure, a candle, and a necklace! -Margaret B.

Jay is pointing out Dal’s stellar form on his Kettle Bell Swing!

There have been several “shorts” written by people from our community on why they call World Camp CrossFit home. Even though these individuals have been able to put their thoughts down, words can not express how grateful I am to be reading them. Here are a couple for your reading pleasure.

Syringomyelia is damage to the spinal cord due to the formation of a fluid-filled area within the cord.  It is a disorder in which a cyst forms within the spinal cord. In preparation in writing this, I really didn’t know where to start.  To best describe my condition, let’s put it like this…if you squeezed a lemon wedge in water, then using a straw, sucked up a seed inside the straw, blocking the flow of water slightly…then that’s what I have, kind of. The cyst is between my T8 and T10 in my back, which is rare in a sense because usually they form at the base or around the neck after some sort of trauma to the body.  It can affect your ability to move arms and legs, and it can be disabling over time. In March 2010, I turned 30.  I was the heaviest I’d ever been and really didn’t know what to do about it besides get on an elliptical and use machine weights.  My chiropractor told me I had to workout and train to get stronger.  Then I was invited to World Camp Crossfit, a few days before turning 30.  I was told that after my first class, if I didn’t come back, I more than likely couldn’t get low enough to sit on the toilet.  So I went twice my first week, and still had trouble sitting on the toilet.  But even then, I was hooked. I will tell you the first couple of weeks were rough.  I hadn’t worked out this hard since high school athletics and knee rehabilitation.  It was challenging, competitive, but it was a community of athletes that were inviting, and rooted for you like they were your biggest cheerleader.

Since starting World Camp, I have lost 20 pounds, lost over 7% body fat, and can lift more than I ever did in high school. Crossfit also introduced me to Paleo, and it has changed the way I look at food, the way I eat and the way I try to live my life every day. Now, I do have my vices of course:  Pizza, Beer, and Brusters ice cream, but all in all, I do my best to live the Paleo lifestyle. I have done 2 triathlons, which I never thought I would do, ran 5K’s, and even competed in a local Crossfit event held in North Georgia. World Camp has changed my life.  It’s hard to express the joy I have in my heart to say these words.  Kris, Evan, Sam, Bill, Cristy, Shelby and Rio are my Crossfit coaches, but I have many “coaches” around me every WOD telling me to “get my butt back on that bar”, “come on Durden”, “you can do this”, “just pick it up”, “you better beat my time”, “just one more”. I feel bad missing a WOD.  Never thought I’d ever say that, but it is so true.  I miss seeing my workout partners getting a new PR, I miss the sweat, the competition, and I miss my friends.  World Camp Crossfit came into my life when I was at my lowest in self-confidence.  Now, I know there is nothing I can’t accomplish, and yes that includes “getting below parallel” on a consistence basis.

Oh yeah, and that cyst I have in my spinal cord, let’s just say that at my 9 month check-up, it is smaller!  Yes, smaller.  No radiation, no pills – Just prayer, continued chiropractic care and without a doubt, hard “I think I may throw up in the chalk bucket” work.  - Jennifer D.

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I began drinking the Crossfit Kool-Aid back at the end of July, and since then have lost 10 pounds and in the last month alone went down 3.6% in my body fat!  The last “gym” I was at I think I lost a total of .5% body fat in 6 months. So what keeps me
coming back…THE PEOPLE.  I have always been athletic and involved in activities and love being competitive.  My friend Meghan was the one who said come try it “Saturdays are free”.  So my part-time paying job and full-time student self thought cha-ching I hit the jackpot.  However, it only took one Saturday to fall in love with the people and the hurt of my body.  Yes it can feel good to hurt sometimes. Through World Camp CrossFit I have been able to form friendships I do not think would have happened had I not joined.  Not once have I felt like an outside or a loner.  From day one I became part of a team.  That is what continues to drive me to come back, more so than feeling healthier and looking better (that’s right single guys watch out…just kidding).  On days I am not at Crossfit I feel like I am missing out on a bonding experience.  World Camp is not a place it is a FAMILY, and I am happy to say I am a part of that family.

Anyway, I am thankful for my new found family and encouragment and motivation to want more and to accept nothing less than always giving 110%. – Sara G.

Scott’s 1st Muscle Up! from Kris Morrill on Vimeo.

Great job Scott on getting your Muscle Up!

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CrossFit & Nutrition

If you are ready to be lean and healthy, then the first place you have to start is in your kitchen. Your diet can be the difference not only in how you look and feel, but how you perform in your day to day life! Remember, you can not out train a bad diet!!!

Protein should be lean and varied and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.

Carbohydrates should be predominantly low-glycemic and account for about 40% of your total caloric load.

Fat should be predominantly monounsaturated and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.

Calories should be set at between .7 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass depending on your activity level. The .7 figure is for moderate daily workout loads and the 1.0 figure is for the hardcore athlete.

What Should I Eat?
In plain language, base your diet on garden vegetables, especially greens, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. That’s about as simple as we can get. Many have observed that keeping your grocery cart to the perimeter of the grocery store while avoiding the aisles is a great way to protect your health. Food is perishable. The stuff with long shelf life is all suspect. If you follow these simple guidelines you will benefit from nearly all that can be achieved through nutrition.

The Caveman or Paleolithic Model for Nutrition
Modern diets are ill suited for our genetic composition. Evolution has not kept pace with advances in agriculture and food processing resulting in a plague of health problems for modern man. Coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, obesity and psychological dysfunction have all been scientifically linked to a diet too high in refined or processed carbohydrate. Search “Google” for Paleolithic nutrition, or diet. The return is extensive, compelling, and fascinating. The Caveman model is perfectly consistent with the CrossFit prescription.

What Foods Should I Avoid?
Excessive consumption of high-glycemic carbohydrates is the primary culprit in nutritionally caused health problems. High glycemic carbohydrates are those that raise blood sugar too rapidly. They include rice, bread, candy, potato, sweets, sodas, and most processed carbohydrates. Processing can include bleaching, baking, grinding, and refining. Processing of carbohydrates greatly increases their glycemic index, a measure of their propensity to elevate blood sugar.

What is the Problem with High-Glycemic Carbohydrates?
The problem with high-glycemic carbohydrates is that they give an inordinate insulin response. Insulin is an essential hormone for life, yet acute, chronic elevation of insulin leads to hyperinsulinism, which has been positively linked to obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, blood pressure, mood dysfunction and a Pandora’s box of disease and disability. Research “hyperinsulinism” on the Internet. There’s a gold mine of information pertinent to your health available there. The CrossFit prescription is a low-glycemic diet and consequently severely blunts the insulin response.

Caloric Restriction and Longevity
Current research strongly supports the link between caloric restriction and an increased life expectancy. The incidence of cancers and heart disease sharply decline with a diet that is carefully limited in controlling caloric intake. “Caloric Restriction” is another fruitful area for Internet search. The CrossFit prescription is consistent with this research.
The CrossFit prescription allows a reduced caloric intake and yet still provides ample nutrition for rigorous activity.

Some content pulled from CrossFit.com

Click image to enlarge

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I just wanted to drop you a note to tell you Thank You for one of the happiest days I’ve had in awhile!!!! For this to make sense, I need to go back a couple of years! At 38, I found myself very unhappy and very unhealthy! With my blood pressure a nice 168/118, I was put on blood pressure medicine! There is a long family history of heart disease in my family & at first, I just accepted it! The medicine was awful & I spent a year in & out of the doctors office trying to find one that worked & did not make me feel bad! Randy & I both grew very tired of this & went to the doctor to find out what to do to get off the meds & to get my life back! We talked about food & diet & how I had to learn to put me & my health & not my job first!  In June, for our anniversary, Randy signed us up for Shelby’s beginners class! I had no idea—-he did it on his own! I was very nervous!!! I am not at all the athletic type & knew from Shae what WCCF was all about & knew I did not fit the typical CrossFitter! That was the hardest month of my life!!!!! Every day, I would have butterflies in my stomach because I was so afraid of the things I would not be able to do that day! It’s been 5 months & I love WCCF!!!!! I still hurt @ times but I know & understand that the exercises are working! I have lost a total of 30 pounds, gone from a size 14 to a 6, and no longer take blood pressure medicine! Last week I was sick & had to go to the doctor & my blood pressure was 122/84 & I was sick!!!! That is a huge difference! Because of the huge change in clothes size, I finally went shopping & bought clothes that fit! Wednesday was the first time in a very long time that I felt good about myself physically! I even had on boots again ( had to stop wearing them because my legs were too fat). ALL day long I got compliments & it felt great! Not only was I able to boast about my accomplishments, I was able to boast about my wonderful gym, the best coaches & the most supportive group of people to work out with! You know, I am not & have never been athletic & most days I struggle with the workouts & am usually the last one to finish but I am ok with that because I know I am better today than I was yesterday & will be even better tomorrow! So yesterday was one of the happiest days I’ve had in a very long time! I felt good physically, mentally, & emotionally & I just wanted to say THANK YOU & the gym for all that you have done to help me gain my life back!!!!

-Frances

Crystal Gets Her Pull Ups! from Kris Morrill on Vimeo.

Great JOB to Crystal for all of her hard work and dedication! These Pull Ups are just one aspect in which she has improved. Keep up the good work Crystal, we are all proud of you!

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There are three metabolic pathways that provide the energy for all human action. These “metabolic engines” are known as the phosphagen pathway, the glycolytic pathway, and the oxidative pathway.

The first, the phosphagen, dominates the highest-powered activities, those that last less than about ten seconds. The second pathway, the glycolytic, dominates moderate-powered activities, those that last up to several minutes. These are the “anaerobic” pathways.

The third pathway, the oxidative, dominates low-powered activities, those that last in excess of several minutes. This is the aerobic pathway.

Total fitness, the fitness that CrossFit promotes and develops, requires competency and training in each of these three pathways or engines. Balancing the effects of these three pathways largely determines the how and why of the metabolic conditioning or “cardio” that we do at CrossFit.

Favoring one or two pathways to the exclusion of the others and not recognizing the impact of excessive training in the oxidative pathway are arguably the two most common faults in fitness training. Time domain matching of task or sport to training is the first step to effective, legitimate strength and conditioning.

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THANKSGIVING DAY at 9am!!!

FRAN from Kris Morrill on Vimeo.

Checkout this video of Bill, Cristy and Rio knocking out “FRAN!”

August 2008

I was looking through some old pictures, as I have found that my hard drive is about full and in need of clearing space, the other day. I came upon a photo taken at my Level 1 certification (center of shot). At this point in my life, I had just went out on my own as a trainer and although I had been training clients using a method similar to CrossFit, this was my first true taste of the “Kool-Aid.” I can remember it like it was yesterday! I flew up to Virginia Beach, home of the Blauer Tactical Center where the cert was held. I walked in and was quickly greeted by HQ trainers and participants alike. With expectations of not learning a thing, since I already knew everything there is to know about fitness or so I thought; i was quickly taken back by how engulfed I was in the first few moments. I can remember getting in a big circle with 50 others and being taught the Squat, for the first time I was the client! This was great! I had my first bout with “Bottom to Bottom” Tabata Squats, not so great… later we moved on to the other 8 foundational movements and the amazement only seemed to grow as I witnessed true coaching. Later that afternoon, we were gathered outside to warm up for the final workout of day 1. “We call this one FRAN”, Andy said, with a grin as if he knew something that I didn’t. Even though this was technically my very first CrossFit WOD, I thought “how bad could it be?” “FRAN huh? 21-15-9 Thrusters with 95lbs. and Pull Ups, no problem,” I thought to myself… 3,2,1…GO! I cleaned the weight from the ground, rack position and off I went. Squat, Press, Squat, Press over and over. Thomi Gill from CrossFit Virginia Beach was watching my every move and as I counted 12 she leaned over and politely said, “you know that NONE of those reps count right?” “WHAT?!!!” I screamed! Apparently, I was not getting low enough in the squat and breaking parallel. As I grunted through the the 12 make up reps and the next 9 of the first set and made my way to the bar, I knew that she had my number. Not Thomi, my judge but “FRAN.” I finished this, my first CrossFit workout, in a blazing 9:45. At this moment I realized that I had to immediately go back and apologize to all of my present clientele for not exposing them to this fitness method sooner.

Tire Flips behind the gym

“Remember that the ones who mock you and try to bring you down are the same ones who wish they could be you and run in the same company” -unknown

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For those of you that are interested in competing in Dahlonega, Ga on Nov. 2oth, please sign up at the gym the next time you come in. We will be leaving Friday afternoon, spend the night Friday night and compete on Saturday. World Camp was well represented at the last event and everyone had a blast! This event on the 20th looks to be as good if not better!

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I meant to tell you that the last time I went to see the doc for my RA, he said it was the best he had seen me in a year. I told him everything I was doing at World Camp and he said to keep up the good work, and that I might have proved him wrong, but to still take it easy. I guess they HAVE to say that. LOL!

- Andrea M.

I KNOW ABOUT CHANGE!!  Although we hear much about change in the political arena, I am talking about change in ME.  A new and better way of living my life to the fullest. But I first must digress.  Last March 2010, I came to see Kris about joining World Camp Cross Fit.  I had heard about the wonderful results for Debbie Foreman.  She said, “you will work really hard but you will see results”.  I told Kris a little bit about myself, he asked me what I wanted to accomplish.  My goals were to be more fit, improve my strength and stamina, and improve my coordination and balance.  As I looked around the gym I noticed that everyone was much younger than me.  Well I immediately brought that up.  “I’m just not sure I can do this”, I said.  Whereupon, Kris shows me a picture of a young man with no legs!  He said, “Jerry, I just climbedStone Mountain with this young man.  And in all the time spent with him, he never once said, I can’t do this”.  After that chat I started my new challenge at Cross Fit and have never looked back! Before I started Cross Fit, I could hardly lift the bar, let alone the weights, and now after nine months, I can dead lift 160. I am improving in all aspects of the goals I set for myself.  I am confident that the support and encouragement from my fellow Cross Fitters, and Kris with his unique method of training have enabled me to get better and better! I love change, don’t you?

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“An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity.”
- Winston Churchill

Well, now that all the costumes are put away until next year, its back to the grind! As you know, this is the last week of the “Beat the Coach” challenge, so everyone needs to tighten up and get ready to weigh in by Friday. It was amazing to see all of you hit the rowing so hard the last few weeks. Thank you all for your participation!

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What’s next you ask? The 2nd annual “Turkey Bowl” is right around the corner! The “Turkey Bowl” is a workout on Thanksgiving Day that everyone is invited to! Last year there were over 20 people in attendance and this year looks to be just as big, if not bigger! The workout has yet to decided on however, it is sure to not disappoint. Keep in mind that the gym will be closed on Thanksgiving Day with the exception of the bowl workout.

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“The wise man will want to be ever with him who is better than himself.”
- Plato