- Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
- by neil
On Sunday October 3rd, we will be hosting an Olympic Lifting Seminar put on by Coach Wilkes from CrossFit Chesapeake. Coach Wilkes is considered one of the best Coaches in US weightlifting, and his sons are nationally ranked lifters and past Junior Champions. We hosted them back in March, and those who attended will attest to the quality of the coaching. Most everyone who attended that day set PRs on all the lifts! Sign up details will be available in the next couple of days. Cost is $140, which is a bargain. Besides it's worth the price of admission to watch the coaches workout. Coard Wilkes narrowly missed setting a PR on the clean & jerk. He got 405 lbs, missed on 420!
So sign up early - you won't regret it!
All smiles before 30 rounds of "Death by squats"!
- Monday, August 16th, 2010
- by neil
On Friday afternoon, FedEx showed up with a bunch of boxes for us. Two of the boxes had some replacemnet bumper plates. The rest had three differnet colors of 14" round balls - in three different weights. You guessed it - medicine balls!
We broke them in on Saturday, and everyone will get a taste of them today. Wall ball, depth gauge, and many other uses - these bright colorful spheres are sure to bring a smile to your face!
Wall ball!
- Friday, August 13th, 2010
- by amy
Look for an official announcement soon, but it looks like we're going to be expanding, sooner rather than later. Keep your eyes peeled ... Good things will come from this - kids area, lounge area, separate intro area, expanded workout areas. It's all good!!
Watcha talkin' about ladies?
- Thursday, August 12th, 2010
- by neil
Our friends at CrossFit LA recently posted an interesting question. When you're in the midst of a hard workout, is it your body or your mind telling you to take a break? Let's say you're doing Fran at whatever weight. You finish in 7:32, knowing you pushed yourself as hard as you could to finish. Then 2 weeks later, Fran comes up again, and you finish in 6:59! Are you that much stronger in 2 weeks? Probably not. But you know you can do it in 7:32, so maybe you think you can take shorter rests. And now you're under 7 minutes!
Of course, getting stronger and fitter will improve your times and weight PR's. But getting mentally stronger and being able to push through when your muscles are screaming stop will as well. When Amy was racing mountain bikes, she always said "whoever can push through the suffering will win the race". Have you ever finished a workout thinking "I should have gone up in weight"? We all have the capability to do more than we think we can.
So go harder next time, or go up in weight on the kettlebell swings...Just make sure you are always pushing yourself!
Mother & Daughter - bonding on the bar!
- Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
- by amy
posted by Amy
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At CrossFit Blacksburg, we strive to improve health and fitness. Let me rephrase that ... we strive to optimize health and fitness. The only way we can achieve this is to work really hard in the box, and to be diligent in our nutrition. Part of nutrition is hydration. We want you to be properly hydrated, especially in our hot, humid environment. Water is absolutely crucial to all cellular functions, and many of us, myself included, are chronically dehydrated.
So, as your coach, how can I help you with this? The answer is small, simple, and effective. CrossFit Blacksburg is now, officially, a No-Processed/Additives-Filled-Beverages facility. "Well, Amy, do tell what that means." That means that the only beverages allowed in the box are water, whole milk (if you're drinking milk, drink the real fat stuff), coconut water, and the occasiona adult beverage. (Yes, I know that alcohol is a dehydrant, but who said I was promoting its use as a hydrating tool?) There will be no Gatorade, Powerade, Monster, RedBull, or Crystal Light. And there will be no tolerance of soda, in any shape or form. Diet Dr. Pepper is Satan's work, and I will not tolerate it. And this policy extends to anyone who crosses our threshold, including visitors.
"Why?" you ask. That's a good quesion. The reason is that there is no redeeming quality to any of these beverages (if you can call them that), and many are a dehydrant. "Well, I'm working out hard, and I need to replenish my electrolytes." Since when have you participated in a 90+ minute workout at CrossFit Blacksburg? NEVER. No one needs electrolyte replenishment for a workout that lasts less than an hour, much less our usual workouts that last between 5 and 15 minutes! "But Usain Bolt endorses Gatorade, and he runs for less than 10 seconds. Why does he drink it?" Because Usain Bolt is trying to make a living as a runner. Have you heard of many professional runners? He's fast, and he needs financial support. Does he drink Gatorade? Probably. Does he need it? No, not in my opinion. But he does need to figure out a way to pay his rent.
And if Usain Bolt happened to grace us with his presence at CrossFit Blacksburg, I'd tell him to leave his Gatorade in his car.
- Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
- by CrossFit Blacksburg
We received two shipments yesterday you may be interested in taking home with you!
Some of you are familiar with Paleo Kits, the incredibally delicious packs of jerky, nuts, and dried fruit. What you may not know is that the proceeds from these kits go to Steve's Club, a CrossFit gym dedicated to improving the lives of inner city youth in Camden, NJ.
We are stocking both the small and large sizes of the paleo kits. They sell for $5.25 & $6.95. We'll have some tastings available the next couple of days.
The second shipment is a pack of foam rollers. Most of you know the benefits fo these black, round pieces of foam, now you can take your post workout recovery home! $29.95
- Monday, August 9th, 2010
- by neil
NPR did a story last week on the effect adding meat had on the brains of early humans. It turns out that when we started eating meat our brains grew bigger and we started to develop and use tools. It also talks about the benefits of cooking our food. It's an interesting article, read or listen to it here.
One of the advantages of living in our beautiful part of the country is our easy access to quality local meat. We have two freezers in our garage so we can keep a variety of meat on hand. Our freezers can hold a whole hog, a whole lamb, and 1/2 a steer. The quality is worth the investment - and you only have to go the garage to get dinner!
Becky gets her chin all the way over the bar!
- Friday, August 6th, 2010
- by Carol
How do you prepare for your time away from home? Vacation week in our household means lots of preparation and meal planning so that we can relax when we reach our destination. I think we have all experienced the mad dash to the beach grocer with all of the other tourists to gain provisions. Stressful!
The beach that we frequent is merely a small fishing village with few places to find quality food - we have one favorite restaurant that has several Paleo choices and we visit them once or twice during the week. We also have a fresh seafood source - you literally drive up to the dock as the boats are pulling in. Freshtastic!
So, this means scrambling around Blacksburg to gather provisions so that we can keep up our commitment to healthy eating while on the road. Does it take time and effort? Yes! Is it worth it? Absolutely! When we arrive at our beach house, we win. We are set to make healthy dishes for our family without the hassle of shopping at crowded grocery stores. Superb!
By making a plan for meals in advance, we can all stay on track with our nutrition. Start today and in a few weeks, it will all seem so effortless!
We're going to need a bigger boat...
- Thursday, August 5th, 2010
- by Carol
We had a big bowl of cherries in our fridge that were getting ready to go to the other side. Everyone in our house had exhausted their cherry love and I can’t stand to throw away food. (Our dog even takes care of any leftovers that we don’t finish.) So, after cruising the internet for some magical way to dry fruit, I simply turned on the oven to Warm (about 150 degrees), spread the cherries out on a baking sheet and left them in the oven overnight. (I didn’t pit them.) This morning they were perfectly dried and absolutely delicious! Tonight, I plan to dry blueberries for paleo granola!
Delicious!
- Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
- by neil
Yes it's a Nike ad...but one of the comments we hear from new & prospective women members is "I don't want to get big!" Well, unless you are taking steroids, you won't get "big"...but there will be changes!
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You aren't necessarily losing any weight, but....
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Your waist is smaller.
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Your ass and thighs are getting bigger, but....
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You're body composition overall is leaner.
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You are conditioned to think that you need to lose weight to look better, but...
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Everyone is noticing how good you look!
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You aren't the strongest person in your gym, but....
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You are stronger than most the guys at your workplace, and that, ladies, is empowering.
So a strong butt is not at all the same as a "big butt"! So embrace your new found strength! The changes will come quickly if you embrace our program and make the changes in your nutrition.
Thoughts....
