April 24, 2018

Trusting The Process

Here’s a phrase we’ve all heard before: “Trust the process.” It’s a phrase that goes against everything that I, a human living in the age of immediate gratification, want to hear. I get annoyed when my coach says it to me and can see the same reactions on my clients’ faces when I say it to them. It’s typically followed up with a response of, “I know, but…” by whoever it was said to. I don’t want to believe that the process pertains to me. I want to believe that somehow I will miraculously acquire strength and skills because of some magical program written by some guru of fitness (I’ll have a future post on this). Read More

April 12, 2018

Demoting Myself: Starting A CrossFit Gym Part 13

After being a coach at CrossFit South Brooklyn in NYC for 6 years I moved halfway across the country to open my own affiliate, CrossFit Lumos, in Austin, TX. This series will chronicle my experience opening the gym and what I am learning along the way. This article is the final piece of the adventure, before I’m a real live gym owner. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8. Part 9. Part 10. Part 11. Part 12.

Getting close to a year on, things at the gym have stabilized a bit. (At least as much as they ever will!) We have a solid core of members, the culture is strong, and I’ve hired three great coaches who are friendly, supportive, knowledgeable, anchors of the community. My day to day at the gym is fairly set- we’ve figured out hours and classes that work for people, settled on good procedures for onboarding- the gym hums along now without it feeling like any momentum must be externally created.

So I’m “demoting” myself! That’s my reward for getting us this far.
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April 5, 2018

What, When, Why: Gloves & Grips

Look down at your hands. Are they a mass of flaky, chopped up skin? Are they full of cuts and holes like a medieval leper? It doesn’t have to be this way! While CrossFitters’ hands take a beating between work on a barbell, pull-up bar, and climbing rope, there are a myriad of options to put some distance and protection between your buttery soft mitts and the forces that seek to tear them to shreds.
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April 3, 2018

Older, Fitter: How To Keep Working Hard As You Age

📸: CrossFit Games

How Will I Know I’m Getting Older?

“As you are now so once was I, as I am now so shall you be, prepare my friend to follow me” – I can’t be sure, but this is likely on at least one of my ancestors headstones… the Irish have a thing for rhymes.

You might not be feeling the effects of your age in the gym just yet, but you will at some point. There’s no particular birthday to pin it on and I can’t stand the old “It’s all downhill after ___” crap. It may happen at a different age for you than it did for me and it will eventually come for The Rich (if it hasn’t quite yet) as well.
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March 23, 2018

CrossFit Games Open 18.5: Preliminary Analysis

This is part of a series on The CrossFit Games 2018 Open Workouts. For more, checkout: 18.4 Final Analysis, 18.3 Final Analysis, 18.2 Final Analysis, 18.1 Final Analysis.

It’s week 5 of the Open and Dave Castro is….letting us choose? Votes are in and it looks like we are doing 11.6 for the third time (11.6/12.5/18.5). This is now the most repeated Open workout.

The following percentiles are based on several thousand results that have already been posted to BTWB.

*These numbers have been updated from the initial post and now only include 18.5 results posted after the announcement.

Rx’d Individuals

18-5-rxd-prelim.png

Scaled Individuals

18-5-scaled-prelim.png

Masters Divisions

18-5-masters-prelim.jpg

 
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March 17, 2018

CrossFit Games Open 18.4: Preliminary Analysis

This is part of a series on The CrossFit Games 2018 Open Workouts. For more, checkout: 18.4 Final Analysis, 18.3 Final Analysis, 18.2 Final Analysis, 18.1 Final Analysis.

It’s week 4 of the Open and Dave Castro is not letting up. This week it’s the classic benchmark “Diane”, followed by heavier Deadlifts and Handstand Walks (HSW). This is the first time we’re seeing the HSW, but you have really work to get there. There is also a new HSPU foot-line calculation that is rumored to be very challenging for some athletes.

Currently we have about 74% of men and 57% of women performing the Rx’d version. Similar to last week, we have 0% of either gender have finishing 18.4 as Rx’d. About 41% of the Rx’d men and 26% of the Rx’d women are finishing Diane (90 reps) within the time cap.

The following percentiles are based on several thousand results that have already been posted to BTWB. These percentiles may change as the weekend progresses and more scores are entered into the system.

Rx’d Individuals

18-4-rxd-prelim Read More

March 14, 2018

Developing An ‘Open Mind’: A Positive Outlook For A Positive Performance

“Nobody who ever accomplished anything big or new or worth raising a celebratory fist in the air did it from their comfort zone.” -Jen Sincero , You Are A Badass

Along my bedside lies a little brown notebook which was collecting dust up until a few weeks ago. My intention is to form some sort of habit involving positive reflection in order to shed some light on my often stressful work week. The notebook has sections where it asks you to open and close your day with 3 things you’re thankful for followed by a daily positive affirmation. While my gratitude for certain things change week to week, one thing has remained static as the Open has kicked off- I have decided that every day I should write the same positive affirmation, “I am a regionals athlete”.
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March 10, 2018

CrossFit Games Open 18.3: Preliminary Analysis

This is part of a series on The CrossFit Games 2018 Open Workouts. For more, checkout: 18.3 Final Analysis, 18.2 Final Analysis, 18.1 Final Analysis.

It’s week 3 of the Open and Dave Castro brought the heat. It takes a total of 800 Double Unders, 40 Overhead Squats, 24 Ring Muscle-ups, 40 Dumbbell Snatches, and 24 Bar Muscle-ups performed in under 14 minutes to complete 18.3. Good luck.

Currently we have about 75% of men and 63% of women performing the Rx’d version. So far 0% of either gender have finished 18.3 as Rx’d. About 74% of the Rx’d men and 32% of the Rx’d women have completed as least one Ring Muscle-up.

The following percentiles are based on several thousand results that have already been posted to BTWB. These percentiles may change as the weekend progresses and more scores are entered into the system.

Rx’d Individuals

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