CrossFit Ocean City

INCREDIBLE RESULTS CAN BE YOURS TOO

On December 1, 13 Ocean City CrossFitters committed to the 12-week Ultimate Gift of Fitness program.  Each participant has remained dedicated to his/her training and committed to his/her eating plan.  It's amazing how people shift their priorities around to make training and nutrition happen when "no excuses" are accepted.  The progress this group of people has made in 7 weeks is incredible. 

The cool thing is that every member of CFOC has the opportunity to experience their own incredible results.  All that is necessary is a willingness to maximize one of the several program options available. Training will only get you so far. It's all the other "stuff" that get's you where you really want to go: coaching, nutrition, skill lessons, support of an assigned instructor, goal setting, challenges, life coaching, guest trainers, special events, and more.

 

Alison has remained persistent in her training and consistent with her Zone eating plan.   Her performance in the gym is through the roof.  Her stamina is up. She is stronger.  Her intensity has improved.  She moves faster with great confidence.  She know what she wants and she goes after it. In the past 7 weeks she has lost 8lbs of fat and gained 3lbs of lean mass.  She has lost 5 inches.  She feels better than ever. She recently sent me an email: "Wow! You all are to be commended. I have never been able to change my body composition - EVER! I can only say it is the wonderful combo of CrossFit and the fabulous trainers who support me every step of the way. Thank you soooo much!"

WORD OF THE DAY: ENTHUSIASM

Why "enthusiasm?"  Because this one simple mindset can turn a bad day into a good one, a tough workout into an awesome one, and turn negativity into a positive mental attitude.  Check out this article from Success Magazine on the power of enthusiasm and make enthusiasm part of your mindset!  Click HERE to read.

 

Jill comes to class each day overflowing with enthusiasm for CrossFit and life.  Here, she's channeling some of this enthusiasm into some sumo deadlift high pulls!

Voila!

       

Looking good, Lorie!  Happy Birthday! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LORIE

 

Lorie was greeted at Marshalls by local stylist and CrossFit extraordinaire, Holly.  Their WOD was to create three outfits, head to toe, for time.  (Notice the stop watch on the rolling rack.)  Above is the "before" picture.  Bruce, the store manager, and his staff were incredibly helpful and supportive of this impromptu take-over of their store.  Gotta' love Marshalls! "After" picture tomorrow.

THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT FOR EVERYONE

While the right equipment is important, it isn't always necessary.  As CrossFitters, we learn to perform in just about any environment with whatever we have on.  However, there are times when the right equipment can make a world of difference.  Having proper lifting shoes can make all the difference when going for a PR on a one-rep-max lift. If you think you might want a pair, talk to one of the CrossFit trainers to see if you can borrow a pair for a workout to see how they feel before you rush out and drop $100.

 

Carolie, wearing lifting shoes, warms up for back squats.

WHAT TO DO WITH NEWBIES?

We've had a lot of new people join us since the start of the year.  Some jump right into our regular classes and others join in with our eight-week CrossFit Essentials class.  Either way, the training is CrossFit, but the workouts are scaled.  Joining in with a regular class can sometimes be a little intimidating, so our CrossFit Essentials class is designed to cover all the basic moves and the science behind CrossFit in a setting where everyone is new to the program.  It is a great way to get started with CrossFit training, but it isn't a prerequisite to starting your training with us.

 

CrossFit Trainer Lorie Crisanti coaches Jim, Josh, and Anne during a baseline workout.

KETTLEBELLS DEVELOP EXPLOSIVE POWER

People wonder what we do with those funny looking cannonballs with handles.  Those funny looking things happen to be kettlebells.  Kettlebells, which originated in Russia, are used much like dumbbells to develop upperbody strength; however, kettlebells can be used in a manner that develops tremendous hip power.  A common movement used by CrossFitters is the kettlebell swing.  There are two styles of swings: Russian and American.  With the Russian swing, the kettlebell comes to about eye level; however, the American swing completes the path of travel to a position overhead.  It takes increased power and range of motion to take the kettlebell overhead.  If it requires more power, then CrossFitters will do it.

 

Anne and Kim swinging their kettlebells during a workout.

A WARM WELCOME TO CF OCEAN CITY'S NEWEST CROSSFITTER

Congrats go out to Stevie and Tiffany Adkins on the birth of their baby boy, Jack, this past Tuesday.  It'll be a little while before Jack Adkins is ready for a sub-three-minute Fran as rx'd!  Tiffany is doing fine and will come home with Jack on Saturday.  Can you tell where Stevie was headed just after this pic?

STRETCHING

Stretching is an important part of training.  When should you stretch?  That's a controversial issue and no defined standard has been laid out by the fitness community "experts."  What we find works best, and what most "experts" recommend, is some active stretching prior to working out, or in conjunction with your warm-up.  Then, after working out, while the muscles are warm and fired up, it is best to do several minutes of static stretching.  Stretching is one of those things that no one really does on their own, regardless of what they may say as they walk out the door after just getting their PR in a workout.  Besides, flexibility is one of the ten general physical skills, so it's critically important to improve that aspect of your fitness.

At CrossFit Ocean City, you're always required to warm-up.  If you're really tight, or suffering an injury, it will become apparent during your warm-up and we'll be able to adjust and scale the workout so that you don't get hurt.  After the workout, we require that you stretch.  If you're experienced and know our stretching routine, you'll be able to do this on your own; however, we often (especially for newbies) do stretching "by the numbers" and guide you through it.  Again, this ensures that you stretch for your own good and allows us a few minutes to observe your recovery from the intense workout.

What are your thoughts on stretching?  How has stretching helped you?  Post thoughts to comments.

 

Louise, Beau, and Linda stretching after a WOD full of cleans, handstand pushups, deadlifts, and ring dips.

VAN GETS A MUSCLE-UP - THEN ANOTHER

Congrats go out to Van for finally getting the muscle-up.  He worked through a whole series of muscle-up progressions, then decided to give the full muscle-up a shot.  He got one!  Then, since I needed to get a pic, he gave it another shot and got his second muscle-up.  Way to go!

 

Van finishing muscle-up #2.

 

Doug, Peg, and Leslie work on their muscle-up progressions.