Fitness

CrossFit is a sport that rewards consistency. You don’t have to be the best at anything to win a competition. However, it’s unlikely you’ll come out on top if you’re the worst at anything. Your chances of success are good if you are average across the board and substantially higher if you are better than average across the board.

The best advice you’ll ever receive for the 2018 Open: train your weaknesses. Start now!

If you’re not getting out of your comfort zone and doing the movements you either dread or tend to avoid on a regular basis, you’re not doing yourself any favors. The CrossFit Open is expressly designed to expose weaknesses, so put in the work now and prepare for your best open ever!

It’s far from a comprehensive guide, but here’s a short list to get you thinking. Be honest with yourself!

• What movements in the 2017 Open tripped you up the most?
  • Squat snatches? Bar Muscle-ups? Handstand Pushups?
  • When did you last train these movements?
  • Are you keeping a log and charting progress so that you cam measure progress?
•  What movements do you hope are not in the 2018 Open?
  • Good candidates are advanced skills we’ve seen in previous opens and in regionals. (It wouldn’t even be that surprising to even see handstand walks given their increasing prominence in regional events.)
  • Do you have a program in place and a training partner to help you attack these weaknesses?
  • Have you been putting in any time with dumbbells?
• Do you have mobility or range of motion restrictions that hold you back?
  • Proper technique and efficiency in the Olympic lifts are practically one and the same. Mobility and range of motion is essential for all of them, including the “power” variations.
  • Do you know your restrictions, and are you specifically targeting them with focused routines?
  • Try yoga classes, ROMWods, and Mobility WODs and see what works. Test and re-test your ranges of motion where there is restriction.
• Are you strong enough?
  • Although sometimes overlooked, are you squatting, deadlifting, and pressing enough with heavy weight?
  • Are you stronger today than you were this time last year, or even two years ago?
  • Consider spending the next 3-6 months getting as strong as possible with a linear progression. (If you’re not keeping a log and seeing increases in strength, start today!)

This list could go on and on, but you get the point: train your weaknesses. Try to get to the point that there’s nothing that you truly dread or feel that you just completely can’t do. You don’t have to be the best at it, but don’t allow yourself to be the worst!

Go on the record with a training partner, and keep a training log. Pre-pay for a bundle of personal training sessions with a coach. Do whatever it takes.

Finally, remember: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” (Tim Notke)

Don’t wait till January to think about these things. Start today.

Source: Throwdowns.com

We have yoga!! You asked for it – we’re providing it!

Meet Cecelia Miller

Cecelia fell in love with yoga in 2006 and how great it made her feel. Since then, she has followed her passion to learn more. Compelled to share her love of yoga with others, Cecelia completed her Power teacher training in fall of 2015 and has been enjoying teaching yoga ever since. Not only in the Powers style but Hatha, beginner, and restorative as well.

Cecelia will be offering two restorative classes and one Hatha class at Paramount each week: Tue/Thur 8-9pm and Sun 9-10am.

Restorative: Sundays and Tuesdays, a relaxing practice. Most of the postures are in a resting position and held for several minutes at a time to allow connective tissue to heal. The focus is on gentle stretching without strain.

Hatha: on Thursday nights, Cecelia will offer a slow flow/alignment-style Hatha class which will be more active and include standing and balancing postures, with a little bit of breath work.

Yoga is included with unlimited Paramount memberships, otherwise, you can purchase a Yoga 10-pack here.

Ego has no place in a CrossFit gym – or any other gym, for that matter – if you want to truly grow as an athlete. Good coaching, proper movements, and being open to learning are paramount to your success, and to your safety. The following article “The Pig-Headed and the PRs” by Emily Beers, contributing writer for CrossFit Journal, underscores my sentiment.

—Coach Chris

[excerpt] “Picture a guy landing a snatch with his feet four feet apart, and instead of locking his frame, he uses his deltoids to press the bar out.

“And when he deadlifts, he just bends down and pulls on the weight as hard as he can.

“That guy, or girl, is always lurking.”

Those are the words of Sean Dickson, owner of CrossFit Riverchase in Birmingham, Alabama.

He was referring to himself—or at least the guy he used to be.

“I was an alpha male who had the abilities but was lacking knowledge, technique and coaching cues to know any better,” said Dickson, who served with the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2010.

After learning the hard way—including a labrum tear—Dickson said he now goes out of his way to sniff out and reform competitive yet reckless individuals with oversized egos, like the guy with a 100-lb. overhead squat who is determined to muscle-snatch and press 200 lb. over his head.

“I had an athletic guy at my gym once who could throw a 225-lb. barbell over his head, but everything about the way he was lifting sent alarm bells to the coach. But he kept insisting that he wanted to do a 225-lb. back-bend deltoid raise so he could put it on social media for all his friends to like.

“I kicked him out of the gym.”

Read the entire article >>

Individuals recover faster from trauma because they are fit. Whether you realize it or not, being in better shape not only helps you recover from trauma or illness faster, it may help decrease the amount of trauma your body experiences in an emergency.

This is a great journal article that highlights what being fit can do for you in a critical situation.

Click image for the full story.