CrossFit Blacksburg is a school of fitness where we teach mastery of physical movement. CrossFit is a fitness system designed to create high levels of fitness through constantly varied functional movements executed at a high intensity. Special Forces, endurance athletes, desk jockeys, and soccer moms have all benefited.
Join us this evening at CFBB for a social at 6:30pm as we wrap up Client Appreciation Week - thank you for being a part of our awesome CrossFit Blacksburg community!
Here's a great video about the various CrossFit Games Regional competitors from Iceland. As Lisa P pointed out to me, Iceland has the population of Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Radford, and Roanoke combined. Yet there are numerous competitors from Iceland. What gives? I agree that the equality between the sexes in the Icelandic culture does have a lot to do with it. Expectations ... what do you expect your daughter to do, and not do?
Food for thought.
What expectations/limitations are you placing on your kids?
This post from Melissa and Dallas of Whole9 fame really hits home for me. While I have gotten wiser in my old age, I still sometimes don't optimize my down time.
Rest vs. Recovery
These two words, “rest” and “recovery,” have distinctly different meanings when applied to health, fitness or athletic contexts. Recovery can encompass many different behaviors and strategies, but it is fundamentally different than just resting.
Rest is simply the absence of effort or movement—the absence of exertion. Think taking a day off from exercise or sport, napping, chilling on the couch, rotting your brain with Jersey Shore or Lost reruns, and going to bed nice and early so you get adequate sleep. All of that is fine and good, but resting is only one small part of true recovery.
Recovery is the restorative process by which you regain a state of “normalcy”; healthy and in balance. (If your “normal” is not “healthy,” perhaps you should spend some time considering that.) Recovery is far more than just taking a day off from training. Genuine recovery includes adequate rest, but also must include the engaged, deliberate execution of a cogent plan to offset the (physical and psychological) cost of your training. Continue reading here.
Yes, those are ice cubes in the water - serious recovery!
"I am a 41-year-old mother of two. I have always been fairly 'small', never overweight but certainly not fit. I was never an athlete in school and never liked to run at all. A few years ago, I decided I wanted to start working out as an example to my kids and for myself. I began by working out in my garage. I still remember crying in the beginning because I would get so sore and felt like I would never get there ... A friend had told me about CrossFit. I will be honest, I was absolutely intimidated by it ... In my mind you had to be an athlete your whole life to even think about doing CrossFit, And then there was the age factor .. the only people I knew who did it were in their late teens and early twenties. I am in my 40's and did not want to walk in looking like a joke.
Finally, I convinced myself to 'just try' it ... I never heard anything negative and was encouraged every day. Here I am, 7 months later feeling the best I have ever felt. I am in the best shape of my life and I want to tell people everyday how great CrossFit is for your mind and body. I especially want to share my story to inspire anyone my age who is intimidated like I was. If I can do it, they can do it. I am continuing to set goals for myself and strive for the next level. My goal is to inspire, not impress ... I also want to show that CrossFit does not make a woman look less feminine or too 'bulky.'" -- Candy Rice
This week is our Client Appreciation week - our way to say Thank You to you folks who keep us busy, and in business!! Each day this week, we'll be doing something a little different for you. We'll wrap things up by having a social at the gym on Friday evening from 6:30 to about 8. We'll provide some munchies and beverages, you provide your sparkling personalities!!
Remember that our schedule has changed for the summer starting this week. The website schedule has been changed, and we have paper copies available as well. The big change is the expansion of level classes in the evening (beg/int and int/adv). We're also adding a T/Th 10 AM ladies class, and a T/Th 9 AM all levels class.
Want to learn more about the benefits of coconut? Visit the Coconut Research Center online! "Modern medical science is now confirming the use of coconut in treating many conditions. Published studies in medical journals show that coconut, in one form or another, may provide a wide range of health benefits." The list is long and surprising!
Log onto this new site from Paleo Plan and register to ask our local restaurants for Paleo options when we eat out! We Want Paleo!
In honor of all mothers and mothers-to-be, a Paleo chocolate cake recipe from Civilized Caveman Cooking just in time for Sunday...Happy Mother's Day Ladies!
Coconut Chocolate Cake:
Ingredients:
1 1/4 Cup Almond Flour
1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Coconut Milk
1/2 Cup Shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 Slivered Almonds
2 Eggs
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
Coconut Oil for grease
Process:
Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees Farenheit
Melt your chocolate and coconut milk in a small sauce pan over low heat
Once the chocolate is melted, transfer to a mixing bowl or your stand mixer
Add in your eggs and mix well
Now add in your almond flour, shredded coconut, salt, and baking powder and mix well
Grease an 8×8 baking dish with coconut oil
Transfer your batter to your baking dish and sprinkle with your slivered almonds and some coconut if you would like
Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick in the center of the cake comes out clean
Perhaps you have seen or heard of the work Jamie Oliver, famed Chef and Author, tried to do in West Virginia with their school lunch program. Not much success by most accounts. But being shouted down by people demanding Mountain Dew and Pizza for breakfast - for their kids, at school, only drives home the point. Kids all over this country are being taught that food doesn't matter, that choices don't make a difference, that fast food and junk food is OK.
Jamie is hopefully helping to start a revolution in this country, and is in fact trying to. Go to his website and see what you think. A client at CrossFit LA is helping to build the momentum. Todd Spradlin is helping to build the momentum. Todd produced a documentary called "Lunch Hour" which just won the Impact Award at the Awareness Film Festival in LA. The trailer is below. Share it with your friends and family. Just look around Anytown, USA to see why. We can do this, but it won't be easy.
You should have received an email today regarding the new schedule that starts next week. There are copies available at the gym, and the website is set up to reflect "real time" scheduling.
The biggest changes are the addition of a Women's only class at 10 AM Tuesday & Thursday, and the implementation of level classes in evenings. The Women's class is pretty straight forward - you have to meet "certain" requirements!
The class levels are going to be beginner/intermediate & intermediate/advanced. You decide what level you are and come on in. If you're not sure where you belong, just shoot us an email. A large percentage of our community is going to fall in the intermediate category. If you are an advanced or high level intermediate, you won't get as much out of the beginner/intermediate class. And if you are more on the beginner side, the advanced class may leave you feeling a little lost and overwhelmed. All other classes are open to all levels.
Don't hesitate to ask questions if you're not sure where you belong.
If you've been with us for a while, you have hopefully read this article at least once. The rest of you, enjoy.
What is Fitness? Being able to run a marathon? Deadlifting double your bodyweight, or more? And just who defines what fitness is?
In the first article ever published in the CrossFit Journal, Greg Glassman, founder of CrossFit, tackles the subject. The article is almost ten years old now, and ten years from now will be just as relevant. Following is the opening of the article. The rest is of the article is available here as a free download. While you're there, go ahead and get a subscription to the Journal - it'll be the best $25 you've spent all week! Post your thoughts to comments. The links that were originally posted in this article are all dead - sorry.
What Is Fitness and Who Is Fit?
Outside Magazine crowned triathlete Mark Allen “the fittest man on earth”. Let’s just assume for a moment that this famous six-time winner of the IronMan Triathlon is the fittest of the fit, then what title do we bestow on the decathlete Simon Poelman who also possesses incredible endurance and stamina, yet crushes Mr. Allen in any comparison that includes strength, power, speed, and coordination.
Perhaps the definition of fitness doesn’t include strength, speed, power, and coordination though that seems rather odd. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines “fitness” and being “fit” as the ability to transmit genes and being healthy. No help there. Searching the Internet for a workable, reasonable definition of fitness yields disappointingly little. Worse yet, the NSCA, the most respected publisher in exercise physiology, in their highly authoritative Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning doesn’t even attempt a definition.
Bill & Wes building strength, stamina, endurance....
The Mid Atlantic Regionals took place this past weekend in suburban DC. It was an interesting competition, with some records set, then broken, and some stellar performances put forth by many athletes.
Gretchen Kittelberger will be returning to the Games for the second time. Gretchen is a CFBB favorite, as she trained at CF Charlottesville for years, and after years as a Division 1 gymnast, she was more than qualified to visit our box for a gymnastics seminar back in February. She's a local competition dominatrix. Gretchen finished 3rd this weekend at Regionals, with veteran Christy Phillips and new-comer Jenn Jones rounding out the top 3. Jones set a world record for Diane (21-15-9 DL 155/HSPU) with a blistering 2:20!
On the men's side, Ben Smith dominated the field, and Nate Schrader and Brian Quinlan filled the remaining spots to represent the Mid Atlantic Region at the Games in July.
I've judged most of these athletes. The two women I've judged were stellar athletes, meaning that they responded well and respected my decisions as a judge. I'm partial to Gretchen simply because I know her and have competed against her. I've judged two of the men. One was great, one was cocky and full of himself. I'm cheering for the one who was great.
As a grad student fully immersed in my studies, I appreciate the varied workouts at CrossFit Blacksburg that keep me interested and require a small investment in time. I strayed from physical activity after high school, and it was not until finding CrossFit that I have truly felt excited to workout again! Even as someone who previously had little interest in weight training, I have found myself motivated by both the strength and endurance gains that I have made here. The gym has provided direction for not only exercise, but also nutrition and a general approach to life!
