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The CrossFit Ocean City Holiday Party was a lot of fun! Many thanks to all of our CrossFitters for the many gifts. Huge surprise and totally unexpected! We do this because we love CrossFit and we're greatful we can share it with all of you.
We wish all of you a Happy New Year! Get ready for another great year of CrossFitting!
-Steve and Kelley
On another note, all of you surfing fans should check out this Jack Johnson video: Click HERE.
Recently, we've focused our rowing efforts on our times and other important rowing information provided by the Concept 2 rowing computer. What else, you ask, could we gain besides our time? Other important information provided by the Concept 2 computer includes an accurate measure of our power output and even calories burned. Remember, CrossFit is all about generating power, not just speed.
On the Concept 2 rower, you measure your power output on a given rowed distance by hitting the "change units" button and reviewing your watts generated. You can also measure calories burned (for you cardio-burning, calorie-counting junkies) by hitting the "change units" button again. Measuring calories burned really doesn't excite me very much (unless we're doing Fight Gone Bad). This is especially true when you've just rowed a 500m PR in 1:40 and only burned 34 calories. That's not even a decent sized cookie!
Even more important than calories burned is power output in the form of watts generated. However, just knowing the watts doesn't really do much until that number gets converted into something called the "power ratio." The "power ratio" is the total watts divided by bodyweight. To get this ratio, row 500m hard and fast. Then, get your time and the watts generated. With this data and knowing your bodyweight, compute your "power ratio." For example, if a 175 pound male rows 500m and generates 175 watts, the power ratio would be 1.0. If that same 175 pound male rowed 500m and generated 307 watts, his power ratio would be 1.75. Greater number of watts generated translated into a higher "power ratio."
This "power ratio" means a lot when you compare large rowers to smaller rowers (I'm talking people now, not the machines) and men to women. Let's say you have a female rower, 5'5", 125 pounds, who rows 500m in 1:55.3, and generates 230 watts versus a male rower, 6'0", 190 pounds, who rows 500m in 1:45.5, and generates 285 watts. Sure, the male rowed faster and generated more power during the row, but let's look at their respective "power ratios." The female's "power ratio" was 1.84, but the male rower's "power ratio" was only 1.5. The female rower, while slower, was the one with the greater "power ratio." The "power ratio" leveled the playing field and demonstrated that the female rower was actually stronger and more powerful than the male who rowed faster!
So next time you row, get all of your data and figure out your "power ratio." You should be able to pull your own body mass (power ratio of 1.0) and strive for "power ratios" of 2.0 or better! Your "power ratio" will vary based upon what distance you're rowing, so don't expect to have the same "power ratio" for a 500m row and a 2000m row.
Sheila, Sharon, and Susan rowing 500m for time.
Now that Christmas feasts have come and gone (New Year's just around the corner), it's time to either get back on the bandwagon, or get on the bandwagon for the first time. What am I talking about? You know, that evil four-letter word that comes up this time every year. D-I-E-T.
This year, instead of thinking of dieting as a negative, think of dieting as providing the proper fuel for your body to run on. If you didn't get a copy of Dr. Sears' "Enter the Zone" book for Christmas, then take time out to run down to the local book store and pick up a copy. The Zone Diet isn't so much about dieting as it is about providing proper fuel for the body. The best part is that you don't count calories at all. Instead, every meal is broken down into blocks (grams) of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. You must balance every meal and snack proportionally between the carbs, protein, and fats in order to provide the proper fuel for your body.
Once you buy the book, then make time to read it so that you understand the proper ratios and the correct number of food blocks you need each day. It's different for each person and the book lays it out for you step by step. If you follow the Zone, not only will you have more energy, but your athletic performance will improve and you will lose weight. Guaranteed.
Here are some common weightloss myths:
1. Myth - In order to lose weight, I need to do more cardio. Fact - Anaerobic exercise (interval training and other short-duration high-intensity work) can burn nine times more fat for every calorie expended than aerobic exercise.
2. Myth - By exercising certain parts of my body, I can spot reduce fat. Fact - The more you exercise, the greater the response of muscle to the exercise, not fat. Fat gets burned off proportionally around the body depending upon genetics. Usually muscular definition will become more obvious in the extremities before it appears around the waist and thighs. Also, if you're just starting out on an exercise program, it's quite possible that you'll grow around a certain area (like the waist) as muscle builds, before the fat starts to melt away. This is why it is so important to combine proper nutrition and exercise.
3. Myth - Saunas and steam baths will make me lose fat. Fact - While saunas and steam baths can make the scale read a few pounds less, the reality is that you've only lost water weight and not an ounce of fat.
4. Myth - Electronic, passive exercise machines will help me lose fat. Fact - The rule is that if the machine does the work for you, then forget about losing any fat. Be careful of what you see on those late-night t.v. ads. Almost every single one of those exercise machines are a complete waste of your money. The best machine you can use is your own body. It was designed to move and work your muscles like no other machine out there. Unless you exercise that personal machine, it's going to to get soft, out of shape, and, probably, fat.
Lora L. doing kettlebell swings. Lora committed herself to CrossFit and good nutrition - and it's paid off!
You should probably skip your CrossFit WOD on Christmas Day and spend it with your family. I know it will be hard to take a rest day, but try!
Want to give the kids something to do while you finish Christmas Eve dinner and other festivities? Have them track Santa as he delivers gifts all around the world! Give this website a try and have fun: www.noradsanta.org
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
Flexibility, or the ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint, is one of the ten general physical skills. Flexibility is, therefore, essential for improved overall conditioning and will decrease unless worked on daily. The key to improved flexibility is stretching. Stretching improves flexibility, assists with improved weightlifting technique, and reduces the chances for injury and joint strain. And stretching can be done anywhere and in short, productive bouts lasting less than five minutes at a time.
We always ask our CrossFitters to do a light, active warmup and some light stretching, usually the sampson stretch, before any CrossFit workout. But we always have our CrossFitters stretch at the end of our workouts. Why? Because that's the most important time to stretch those warm, fatigued muscles and maintain our range of motion while the muscles are relaxed.
Stretching should focus on muscles, not connective tissues. So don't push your joints beyond their normal function. Doing so can lead to pain and injury.
Like anything else we do in CrossFit, if you want to get better at it, you have to do more of it. So, if you want to become more flexible, then you have to stretch more - and not just when you come to class! To find more stretches, click the link on the left to take you to the Stretching Institute, or click HERE for another source of excellent stretches. You can also read a more indepth article on stretching and flexibility by clicking HERE.
Looking for something interesting and fun to do? Our other local affiliate, Live Long CrossFit, will host a Kettelbell Seminar on December 29th from 11 to 1. If you're interested, check out their site and sign up. www.livelongcrossfit.com.
Jen and Michele swing their 12KG kettlebells using the American swing, in which you take the kettlebell to full extension directly overhead before bringing it back down in an arc. The American swing differs from the Russian swing, where you only bring the kettlebell up to about shoulder height. While using the American swing can slow your cycle time down, the full arc of the swing requires a greater range of motion and increased power generation. It's more functional and done almost exclusively by CrossFitters.
Greg Glassman, whom CrossFitters refer to as "Coach," is the founder of CrossFit. Over the years, he's developed CrossFit by continuing to find what works and what doesn't in developing elite fitness for both elite athletes and the average Joe. Here's a link to an interview with Coach by Tyler Hass of Power Athletes (he's also the "ring guy"): Click HERE for the link. While the interview was done in late 2002, Coach's words are just as relevant today as they were five years ago. The article is a great read and will also provide some insight into Coach's background and the evolution of CrossFit.
Coach Greg Glassman at the July, 2006, CrossFit Certification at CrossFit San Diego.
Now we're offering a simple and easy way to pay for your CrossFit program. Online payments are quick, easy, and you'll never have to write that monthly check again! Click HERE or use the link in the right-hand column to set up automatic monthly payments for your CrossFit classes, buy multi-month packages, and give the Gift of CrossFit when you buy a gift certificate for a friend or family member. If you just don't know what to give that special person in your life, then give them the gift of CrossFit!
Note to our current CrossFitters: Rates will go up in February of 2008! However, if you sign up now online, we'll lock your current rate in for the next 12 months - even if you decide to upgrade later on in the year!
Click the store link in the right-hand column now and pay using your PayPal account, your credit card, or even debit directly from your bank account.
It's time to make that New Year's resolution and commit to your health and fitness! What are you waiting for? Wondering if you can fit it into your busy schedule? Check out our Class and Event Calendar link and we're sure you'll find at least two out of the 18 classes we offer that will fit into your schedule.
As an added incentive to sign up online, we'll provide the first 15 signups with a free PR Log. It's a worksheet you can use to log your current personal records for every named CrossFit workout and enter your goal times and dates. The PR Log also includes single event records like max pullups, double unders, and 800m runs. A $10 value free! Just sign up online before December 15, 2007, and we'll email you the PR Log!
ADDED INCENTIVES:
New CrossFitters and Past CrossFitters (those who've fallen off the wagon and haven't been seen for several months): Commit to one of our multi-month packages online before December 15, 2007, and we'll give you a free Abmat!
For EVERYONE: Sign up for our 4x-per-week-for-one-year multi-month package before December 15, 2007, and you'll receive your choice of either a set of Powermax Rings or an Again Faster Pullup Bar!
Thanks for CrossFitting with us!
