tag:wodstack.com,2005:/blog http://wodstack.com/blog 2013-06-11T16:28:00Z WodstackBloghttp://feedburner.google.com tag:wodstack.com,2005:Article/73 2013-06-11T11:39:02-05:00 2013-06-11T11:40:59-05:00 The number one requested feature for WODstack is an iPhone app. Over the last couple years we've partnered with a few people in attempts to bring an app to life. In each case we were unsuccessful. As you know we build and maintain WODstack in our spare time, and the people who were generous enough to offer to build an app were in the same position. Building an app is not easy and it requires a lot of work - sometimes that makes it hard to do what you want when you are short on time. With that in mind we thought we would ask a quick question to the WODstack community. If we were to create a [Kickstarter](http://wodstack.com) campaign to raise enough money to actually hire someone to build an app...is that something our users would back and if so, would it be enough to get it done. If we went this route the iPhone app would be free - just like WODstack. So if you don't mind, please send us your thoughts by commenting here, [tweeting us](http://twitter.com/wodstack), or leaving a message on our [Facebook Page](http://facebook.com/wodstack). If it seems the community would be supportive of this we'll proceed but if not we'll keep doing our best to make it happen (just might take a little longer). bgadoci http://wodstack.com/blog/73-wodstack-iphone-app tag:wodstack.com,2005:Article/72 2013-06-05T11:27:05-05:00 2013-06-06T08:45:54-05:00 > ## *What you believe is what you have in your life.* How powerful is what you believe? Simple. It drives everything in your life. In work, family, personal relationships and everything we do ... your attitude is everything. If you have a great attitude, it has a positive impact on the moment and your experiences. If you have a negative attitude, then tendencies are for things to not flow well. Negative attitudes grow negative experience. In traditional martial arts we study a teaching called "The Power of Belief." This teaches the following lesson: "What you believe is what you have in your life so overcoming the negative is critical. Strive to have a positive outlook, attitude, self-image and good will with the belief in yourself." All our life experiences are impacted by our positive or negative perceptions ... our beliefs and simply our attitude of the moment. Crossfit is no different in regards to how your belief impacts your experience. This is the tough battle right? Those mornings when you may question your abilities. Those moments when you experience a workout that devastates the mind and body. Those glances to the WOD and knowing it is going to take your heart. In all these cases, what you believe about yourself, about your experience and about the future (yes, the WOD) is going to directly impact your attitude and performance. I share that my belief, my attitude ... directly impacts my progression in Crossfit. Not only Crossfit, pretty much everything I do. The importance of our belief in ourselves is so central to what drives our lives. So why not make it positive? When my attitude sucks toward a movement, then I see it and even feel it in my movement. If it is a movement I am actually good at and a movement that I actually like, then doesn't it feel good and sometimes even look good (to me anyway). > ## *Grow the positive beliefs* None of use are perfect. Some may argue that statement otherwise. We all strive to find the balance in all we do. Sometimes we are up, sometimes we are down. This effort for balance transcends in all things. It takes effort. Plain and simple there is no magic solution to getting fit. Be aware of your approach to the sculpting of mind and body. Does it have to be negative? NO! Why not also put equal effort to grow positive beliefs. Isn't there enough negativity in the world already? The Power of Belief is huge and based on your attitude, it will take you to a higher level or drag you to the depths. I remind myself to be careful how I approach workouts. More than that, I try to carry that approach to all things and remember that what I believe is what I will have in my life. cmoore http://wodstack.com/blog/72-the-power-of-belief tag:wodstack.com,2005:Article/70 2013-05-28T09:54:46-05:00 2013-05-28T10:34:42-05:00 Last December, I met with my now crossfit coach and he gave us a small workout (40 air squats,30 sit-ups and 10 ring pull-ups, 500m Row) and the Whole30 program. He briefly explained the diet and the workout structure. **The Small Workout** The next day, I felt like I was hit by a bus (it hurt to go up and down stairs). A mere 40 airsquats, 30 sit-ups and 10 scaled pull-ups left me crippled. Feeling pathetic, I was determined to increase the volume and intensity of exercise that causes my body to become so sore. **The Diet** I was a vegetarian who consumed volumes of vegetables, meat-replacement soy based foods and salmon/other fish occasionally. Realizing how unhealthy vegetarian "meat" food items actually are I felt quite silly and hypocritical. I always preached about my refusal to consume MONSALTO GMO's, processed foods and meat from huge agribusinesses but I never really thought about non- GMO organic soy-based products as processed food (although, they obviously are). I decided to revert back to a normal omnivore diet as I adopted this new workout program into my lifestyle. So as my January On-ramp date approached I purged my entire kitchen of those horrid pastas,grains, "whole-grain" breads. **Month One:On-Ramp and Whole30** The on-ramp experience is probably slightly different box to box but at CFSB the program is a 4 week introduction to the basic movements/exercises and Olympic weightlifting techniques. The first week of on-ramp I would have a significant amount of soreness, I grew to despise air-squats practically every class we did them -for a month straight. By the 2nd week the soreness was minimal and the movements were becoming more manageable. The introduction of olympic lifting form was probably when I hit my first road block. I kept doing all the movements wrong. I was frequently being corrected by the coaches and it was starting to frustrate me. During the month of on-ramp I followed the strict whole30 diet. It was a little difficult finding the right balance of foods as I started to use fruit and nuts as junk food. **Life after On-Ramp** After on-ramp we joined the normal classes and boy was that interesting. During on-ramp we had a small group who were *just* as new as I was it was comforting. The normal classes had all these people power cleaning over 100lbs, back-squatting my body weight it was overwhelming. I started with a 3 day a week routine just like on-ramp. After about two months and a lot of progress I bumped it up to 4 days a week. Currently, I am increasing it to a 5 days a week and depending on the workouts it has been a pretty smooth transition. I have had two injuries. My first was blowing out my lower back during a 21-15-9-5 power clean workout and my second was pulling my hamstring during a sprint. Throwing out my back was probably one of the most frustrating things I have ever done. I was angry and bitter and hated going to class because not being able to do the movements agitated me. My coach sent me a "how to mentally deal with an injury" article that helped me not be afraid to pick up the bar once again. The diet has been the hardest to follow being a student and away for conferences, work gatherings it is extremely hard not to cheat with non-paleo items. Although, often cheating with dairy, cheeses ect makes me quite sick I will still cheat. It is bad. I have come to learn that it not only makes me really sick it makes me groggy and if I want to beat my PRs I have to stay on my A game. Typically, this competitive mentality coupled with how sick I make myself enables me to look past the sugary processed garbage I was thinking about feeding myself. **Results** So far I have lost about 10 inches and I have noticed a change in body composition. A lot more muscle :) and a progressive improvement on my ability to push my body further each week. **Some Numbers** January: 1 RM Back-squat : 65# May 1RM Back-squat: 145# January: Press: 33# April press: 80# March: Front squat: 88# May: Front squat: 105# January: Overhead Squat: 45# April: Overhead Squat: 93# January : Clean and Jerk: 55# March: Clean and Jerk:100# Overall I am happy with my decision to change my eating and workout habits. jarceo http://wodstack.com/blog/70-six-months-as-a-crossfitter-the-journey tag:wodstack.com,2005:Article/69 2013-05-06T08:19:32-05:00 2013-05-06T08:19:32-05:00 well its springtime in Alaska....well sort of. the daily temperatures here are still hovering around the freezing mark and lots of snow still on the ground. The roads are mostly clear now of snow and ice to allow running outside after a long winter of lots of rowing....Which i am sure most people here have a love/hate relationship with also. My name is Jamie Fitzpatrick, and i am a crossfitter. I am also in the Royal Canadian Air Force and a level 1 cert trainer for crossfit. I train anyone who is interested, no fee. I plan my WOD's in advance for people to look at and join if they are interested. Back in mid March after reading about the Crossfit SB idea and realizing like most crossfitters that i needed to get stronger i sat down and programed 4 weeks of a SB trial program. here is the google docs link for anyone who is interested: (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjWNNV6m_U4_dDhIUDFWQm9EY1R5bkNJWFlMczVwRGc&usp=sharing) well the program is now complete....me and another member here at my base completed it and the numbers were amazing in my eyes. we started off by doing a week of base line workouts. these we will use to measure our total progress. i picked a number of things ranging from a 2K row, Fran, Grace, Karen, Jackie, Elizabeth, and a crossfit total. This week now starts our re-test of those baselines.....results to follow. if you have any questions of comments please feel free to write them. this is a learning process for myself and everyone else here i am guessing too. so lets learn and get better together and from each other. Thanks V/R Fitz rcaf84 http://wodstack.com/blog/69-crossfit-strength-basis-completed tag:wodstack.com,2005:Article/68 2013-05-02T14:43:47-05:00 2013-05-02T19:46:42-05:00 My first few attempts at Crossfit were a disaster. Crossfit and I finally came to blows after a torturous day at work followed by an hour long commute. I felt like I deserved a gold medal just for walking through the door. Did I get one? Nope. Instead I got a workout designed to push me to my limits; a workout to make myself better and stronger. So with my ego depleted, I finished the WOD, stacked my weights, and left…for an ENTIRE year. I had every excuse in the book too. “I like it, but I want to get in shape first.” “Why would I invest in something I will NEVER be good at?” “I am too exhausted to do something that tough at the end of the day.”… The list goes on. For you successful athletes, you already know that Crossfit wasn’t my problem. I was my problem. My mindset was all wrong. So here are a few things I wish I had told myself in the beginning: 1. Show up. This sounds so simple, yet sometimes it is our biggest obstacle. It is not easy to wake up before everyone else, scarf down a banana, and get to the gym before the sun comes up. Neither is it easy to work a 10 hour day, sit in traffic, get changed in a public bathroom, and workout. It. Is. Tough. But I can honestly say that I have NEVER regretted a workout (although 13.1 tested my limits). So don’t lie to yourself about how you just need a day off. Show up. 2. Be Better Than Yesterday. Crossfit isn’t about putting an “Rx” next to your name on the board or being better than the person next to you. While those are good goals to strive for, it shouldn’t be your main focus; just work to be better than you were the day before. If each day you get even 1% better, think of the progress that can be made. 3. Get excited about the little things. Progress is progress people! And Crossfit is about community, so your fellow athletes want to celebrate your PR’s (just as you should want to celebrate theirs). A couple of weeks ago I finally did a perfect pushup. My hips didn’t drop, my elbows were in, my nose touched the ground...It was beautiful. I could do exactly one at a time, and I could not be more excited. Several people in my class took notice and gave me a high five. The same day Rich Froning also had a PR when he snatched over 300 pounds. Clearly our fitness levels are different, but I have no doubt that we felt the exact same way that day. We both did something we couldn’t do the day before. 4. Commit and be amazed. When I first started Crossfit I just wanted a workout that would get me in shape. Somehow along the way I became completely obsessed. I am more aware of my body and what I need. My diet has changed, and I’ve found things I like that I never thought about eating before. I realized the importance of mobility and taking care of my muscles and joints. There is so much information out there, and so many people to learn from, it’s hard not to let Crossfit spill over into other areas of your life outside of the gym. I’m not perfect by any means, but when I compare my habits today with my habits a year ago, they are night and day. The same goes for my level of fitness. Jump in. Commit. Educate yourself. I am 6 months into my second go round with Crossfit. In the last 6 months I have accomplished things I never thought possible. Now that I have my mind right, I’m in It for the long haul. whitneyhartman http://wodstack.com/blog/68-a-crossfit-mindset-for-the-beginner tag:wodstack.com,2005:Article/67 2013-05-01T11:16:46-05:00 2013-05-01T11:17:14-05:00 Recently, we asked WODstack users if they would be interested in blogging. For those that responded, we gave privileges enabling them to do just that. The number of people requesting these privileges continues to increase, so we decided to give everyone the ability to blog. Feel free to write just about anything you want. We don't care if you are just starting to CrossFit, a games competitor or an entrepreneur trying to reach the CrossFit audience with your unique product. We just want the WODstack blog to be a reflection of it's awesome user base. WODstack users span the globe and range from garage CrossFitters to Box owners. We'd love to hear your stories of success, failures and life changes, or your tips for nutrition, training techniques, etc. Blog away!!! From your home page, you will now see a link to add a blog post. It's located right under the 'Log WOD' button.  At this point, we still have an approval mechanism in place to help with formatting and adding images. We use [Markdown](http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax) for formatting and that is likely new to some of you. In time we will remove this approval process. Lastly, make sure to check out [Draft](http://draftin.com). It's an awesome writing tool that allows for easy collaboration from friends or experts. I use it all the time and often pay the $4 to get quick copy edits. They do a really good job. So there it is! Blog away. bgadoci http://wodstack.com/blog/67-everyone-s-a-blogger tag:wodstack.com,2005:Article/66 2013-04-25T12:45:03-05:00 2013-04-26T11:17:28-05:00 > ## *"I don't need cheering ... it's for ladies."* What is this "Community"? It is something different for everyone. For me it is the collective mindset of people looking to do something extraordinary. Sometimes, it is a collective suffering. Knowing that everyone in my class is experiencing the same feeling of pain, exhaustion ... maybe fighting the same "demons" means something to me. We all get value in different ways. We all have our own needs that draw us in to this experience called crossfit. Community? It is a draw for me. It does help to have someone scream at me whether to keep pushing, pick up the weight or ask me where I was yesterday (ie help keep me accountable to myself). I like the cheering. It's not for everybody, I get that. As Mikko Salo said best, "I don't need cheering ... it's for ladies." This guy is incredible! I so respect that fact he is focused and driven enough to push the limit the same whether he is alone, or competing at the highest level. Like I mentioned, community is something unique to everyone. > ## *The ideal of a group of people coming together to do something extraordinary sometimes gets lost.* The people in my box who encourage everyone, at least in my class are few and far between. Like I said, not everyone needs encouragement or even wants it. I totally get that. However some CF folks are so focused on what others are doing that they spend their time criticizing to satisfy selfish needs. Honestly, I do not know why they are there. The ideal of a group of people coming together to do something extraordinary sometimes gets lost. Let me re-clarify that everyone is unique and there are many aspects of crossfit that people love and hate. Cheering being on of them. One of my coaches sent a tweet one time basically reminding people that it's supposed to be fun. I always remember that. A good community of people is a great experience. I can tell you, I remember the people who cheer for me. I guess that makes me a lady as Mikko says and I am ok with that. Not that I can't do the work without cheering or music ... I just get a little extra motivation when I hear someone's voice besides my own say "don't quit". Let me just say it plain and simple. There are some people you drive to crossfit to be extraordinary with. People who you do not want to let down. People who put an extra pep in your step when you see them walk in the door. There are also people who suck the life out of the place and drive people out of the class. Don't be the latter! It's hard, sometimes it's damn hard to even focus on anyone but yourself. Think of the community of people you are there with and recognize the unique struggles and accomplishments we all have. Quit thinking of your failed PR and shift your focus to support someone else. It means a lot. Isn't that a big part of what it meant when the term "crossfit community" is used? Is community essential? No. Is it a good thing? That is relative to the community your become entrenched with. The concept however, I believe is a good thing. We are all part of the same universe. We are all connected. Drilling down into the microcosm of crossfit, humans gather together to embrace fears, break boundaries and refuse to bow to the easy road. I remind myself that I chose to be part of this community. I embrace that and the communal energy that is crossfit. Community in life is a great thing. I am thankful for those who embody this community spirit. I encourage all to not forget this community ideal that makes crossfit a great experience. cmoore http://wodstack.com/blog/66-don-t-forget-about-community tag:wodstack.com,2005:Article/64 2013-04-18T17:30:45-05:00 2013-04-18T21:35:26-05:00 I have 3 boys. 17, 6 and 5 years old. Yes, quite a gap there and that is another story! Long story short, it's like living with animals. My wife is a warrior. Sharing a home with 4 men is a sacrifice and maintaining her privacy is a full time job. The language, the burping, farting ... well, noises from every orifice is not for the weak at heart! As we were screaming, oops! I mean "talking", with our boys about an incident we came to a agreed upon goal. Yes! We agreed on something!! If we teach our boys one thing, let it be accountability. > ## *Accountability: an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions* What a great trait to instill in others. What a great trait to display for others. I can tell you in my own experience, it throws many people for a loop when you accept responsibility. Just to hear someone say, "You know what, that is my fault." Man, that goes a long way. Especially when it is something that has resulted in some form of negative impact. The expectation many times is to hear some justification for a result that steers away from any true acceptance of responsibility. Simply said ... we are talking about excuses. As the famous expression states, "Excuses are like (fill in the blank), everybody's got one." > ## *Family, work, sports ... hell, just life overall, accountability goes a long way.* What is also prevalent is how we treat others when it comes to accountability. How quick we are to point out others lack of accountability before accepting our own. We are all guilty. We are so critical of others, but do we show our selves the same level of critique? As I stated, we are all guilty at some level ... myself included! That statement is for my wife. Yes dear, I do make mistakes and I am not always the best at accepting responsibility for my childlike behavior. Ah ... I said it. So how do we move forward? The next step is the awareness. Let's simply remember to look at ourselves first before we look at others with such harsh intent. Family, work, sports ... hell, just life overall, accountability goes a long way. So let's all learn to eat a little of the proverbial "humble pie." The next time we see someone take the short road to completing a WOD, let's worry about our own effort. Instead of calling someone out, let's call ourselves out. Let's all be accountable. This accountability that I want my boys to develop, it starts with me. I am not saying calling someone out is not needed at times. Sometimes, it is needed. Let the appropriate time be handled in the appropriate manner whatever that manner is. I am saying it is hard for me to question someone's accountability, before I analyze my own. It's hard, it's damn hard. However, when I am sitting there questioning my own accountability, I realize the value it holds. Tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow is a new opportunity to take responsibility. Take it! cmoore http://wodstack.com/blog/64-if-i-teach-my-kids-one-thing tag:wodstack.com,2005:Article/63 2013-04-10T12:47:44-05:00 2013-04-10T13:09:27-05:00 20 years ago, I made a decision to get involved with martial arts. I was always a fan of the movies ... yes, one of those guys. I ended up picking a place out of the phone book, and next thing I know I was down at the school interviewing with the head instructor of the school. Little did I know, Grandmaster was in the next office listening to the entire interview. I was sent away with some information, asked to think about it and come back if I was interested. Well, I was hooked and gave it a shot. > ## *A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step* My plan was a Black Belt. Once achieved, I was done and accomplished my goal. Here I am 20 years later. Now I am the head instructor under the directorship of Grandmaster ... still on my martial arts journey. Always learning. Always reminded of how little I know and how far I still have to travel. It is a lifelong journey. We should always be aware that knowledge is a lifelong endeavor. This can be daunting in thought. Master has always reminded me with the famous expression, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." One step at a time, keep moving forward. > ## *No one ever trips over a mountain* In my time with Master, he has taught me many lessons. The most valuable lessons being the ones related to life. That is what true martial arts teach ... "Have a sincere and serious attitude, be a good life practitioner." One specific lesson always seems to come to light often as a great reminder. Master told me "Instructor, always remember that no one ever trips over a mountain. It is the little things that trip you up." Little things mean a lot! The details translate to the big things whether successes or failures. > ## *Little things in CrossFit* The lessons of the little things is a great lesson. I see it in my personal development within CrossFit. Little things for me translate to technique and efficiency in movements. Coaches telling me "weight on your heels", "keep your back straight", "chest up", "keep your butt down", "chin down" and "knees out!" It's a long and growing list of little things which I greatly appreciate. The more I develop, the more I understand how much the little things add up in becoming better at this effort called CrossFit. These little things for me translate to first and foremost, performing a movement safely and preventing injury. They also translate to increasing weight, better efficiency at moving that weight and what we all fight for ... more reps! Good reps I should say. > ## *Watch out for the little things! They really do mean a lot. Not only in CrossFit, but in life.* cmoore http://wodstack.com/blog/63-watch-out-for-the-little-things tag:wodstack.com,2005:Article/62 2013-04-03T17:45:05-05:00 2013-04-05T11:25:42-05:00 April 1st I turned 45! Can that be right? ... 45 years old? It's gone by in a blink. Now I am just your "ordinary average guy" crossfitter as Joe Walsh so eloquently sang it. Not the crossfitter part, but the "ordinary average guy" part. Who the hell is Joe Walsh you say? There I go showing my age. Look him up, the guy has some talent. My crossfit box has a great credo ... > We're everyday ordinary people doing extraordinary workouts everyday. Simply put, it is just a great expression. Post the 2013 CrossFit Games Open 13.3 workout (yes, the 150 wall balls) walking in itself was an unusual struggle. Maybe I should not say "unusual" because of the nature of the workouts and if someone is truly pushing the limits of mind, body and spirit ... it's gonna result in some pain! Pain, in a good way. Growth in anything, often is through some growing pains. The next day workout, after 13.3 looked like this ... ---- - Option 1: Open Workout 13.3 (for those who missed) - Option 2: "Jerry" for time (Who????) - Option 3: Mobility - Post WOD: 50 GHD Sit Ups ---- ## Your kidding me right? This was my internal voice. No way am I doing that 13.3 again. Option 2 ... row 2000M and run a total 2 miles? Ouch. Mobility? ... well, I need to rise up to a challenge. Mobility is crazy awesome, but there was a need this morning to be there for my classmates who were ready to put it out there. Option 2 it was. Coach gave an option of getting the row in first, and running second. Either way it was gonna hurt, so I strapped into the row and started pulling. ## This is where I ask the question... Are you extraordinary? What is extraordinary? I see it everyday in my crossfit class. It is an awesome thing. For me, it was simply completing this "Jerry" workout. Forget posting a record time ... my PR is to finish. I had not run 2 consecutive miles in 20+ years. We all know it (I do anyway), the "alone time" in facing a challenge. The internal voice saying ... "I wanna just quit" ... "why am I doing this" ..."I can't freakin breathe!". My little voice says a lot. Then the extraordinary happens. Suddenly that voice says ... "Keep going" ... "One more step" ... "One more turn" ... YOU CAN DO THIS! ## Voices that won't let me quit Then there are the external voices forging the extraordinary. The voices from my classmates yelling, "come on Clayton, keep pushing!" The voices that won't let me quit, that will not let me give up on myself. That my friends, is extraordinary! That is greatness and the core of life. It is something unique to all of us. Extraordinary is our individual battles to conquer "the run", the double under, the hand stand push up, the muscle up, that monumental box jump. Celebrate it! Also recognize that is special, something special for everyone. What is easy for you ... may be the devil for someone else (double unders in my case). Even on a greater scale, this spills out into your life. Extraordinary is all encompassing. Are you extraordinary? Yes you are! Live it. Thanks to those who are great examples. Thanks to those who push me toward the extraordinary. cmoore http://wodstack.com/blog/62-are-you-extraordinary