I have a newsflash for you.  Shiny things aren’t going to get you the results you are after. There is only one thing that is going to accomplish that. The answer is simple. You!  You are going to get the results you are after. You need to put in the work.

Here’s the thing; regardless of who you are, if you are reading this, you want to be better physically. What that looks like differs for each person but we all want to more fit and healthier. We wouldn’t be interested in Crossfit or members of our amazing community if we didn’t want that.  In order for us to move forward on that journey, we need to first acknowledge where we are at. 

At Reebok Crossfit 306 we operate under “one program” for everyone who walks in the door. We don’t have a “scaled” option, just the same as we don’t have a “competitors” option.  The workout is designed as it is wrote on the whiteboard for our top athlete. Don’t worry though. We have “you” covered too.

I kind of feel like I am taking a risk here. I’m going to step out on a limb and talk about separates a good Crossfit coach from a not so good Crossfit coach.  If you were to sit down and write an article on what makes a stand out person in your chosen profession, you better be ready to back it up!  So here we go.

At 306, we are extremely luck to have amazing human beings take the lead every day and be our “coach”!  We pride ourselves on having great coaches lead great workouts to great athletes in our great community.  Kelsey Rhode is one of those coaches I am talking about. She started training at Reebok Crossfit 306 in August of 2015. A little less than a year after that she started coaching. For the past three years she has been one of four full time coaches and a pillar of our staff. 

Getting away is just that and it is a good thing.  We need to reset once in a while.  I hope for everyone out there, that they are able to to step away from routine and the daily grind to change it up.  Stepping away is ok and I encourage you to do it.  Regardless of what holidays look like for you, they are good for the body and the mind. To be able to get some rest, do things you enjoy doing but might find hard to get time to do otherwise or to get some tasks accomplished that need to be done.  These are all good and should be done.  

I would like to introduce you to this amazing human. This is Elaine and she just completed her 6 week transformation. What does that even mean? Well, she came in after really enjoying retirement over the past 6 months. She is a wife, mom and grandma. She realized that she was also pre-diabetic, experiencing hip and knee pain and her blood markers were not going in the right direction…

In society, we are set up for as much “here and now” as possible. We have drive-thrus. Not only drive-thrus but drive-thrus with mobile ordering. We have high speed internet and LTE+ cell phone coverage because “normal” internet makes us wait. We have microwaveable dinners and precooked chickens because we need to eat “right now” as we run out the door to something else.  We have “super size” because that makes us full and more is better.  

Pay attention to the very small differences in movement that make your body feel better at the end of a workout. These are the things that lead to longevity, improvement and success!  

Did you read the article?  Yesterday’s blog. The attached link. It broke down “the clean” in tremendous detail. Nine pages worth the be exact.  That’s a lot of information.  A lot of very good information.  As I mentioned, turns out todays WOD just so happens so have cleans in it.  I know, I know; you’re welcome! Ha

Were it not for the snatch, the clean would have but laughable challenges to the title “King of All Exercises.” Oddly, we start our examination of the clean with mention of the snatch, as many of the superlatives attributed to the clean apply equally to the snatch. Clearing the air early with admission of the snatch’s peer status, we can speak more freely of the clean’s unrivaled qualities and need not repeatedly suggest the snatch’s possible exception to the clean’s peerless qualities.

I’ve touched on stretching before in our blogs but it holds its place such that I wanted to go in to it again.  The science behind stretching and why it is important has changed over the past few years.  Instead of thinking of stretching as simply a way to get more flexible (which isn’t a bad thing by the way), think of it as part of your recovery. Specifically, stretching after we workout. 

…Now that the weekend is over, what’s next?  As an athlete, where do we go from here?  It’s totally natural to feel the post-competition “lull” if you will.  We were all wound up tight, nerves on edge, anticipating and executed with all we had.  Now on the other side, we might not have any clear goals to work towards… 

When I sat down to write this blog I had the “Be Like Bruce” fitness festival on my mind.  Let me correct that. I had the “Be Like Bruce” competition on my mind.  I was going to type something about that competitive edge. But…

I was watching a Rich Froning interview lately and he was asked to give one piece of advice to someone who is just starting out in Crossfit.  His answer, which he went on to expand on, was simple - “Have fun with it!”.

When we set our feet for a squat, we are laying the foundation for the movement.  If we are going to build a house, we need the foundation to be rock solid. If the foundation shifts, so does everything else built on it.  This is exactly what happens with our feet when we squat.  If our feet are moving even slightly as we squat, then our foundation is not stable.  If our foot moves, our ankles moves.  If the ankle moves, the knee moves. If the knee moves, the hip moves.  You get the picture.  

My favourite moments as a coach aren’t watching someone set a new clean and jerk PR or get their first muscle up.  These things are fantastic and are almost equally as exciting for me as they are the person achieving them, but they aren’t my favourite.  My favourite moments have come when I get to be more than a “Crossfit coach”.  

Do not slam the door when you squat. “Say what?  That’s it. He’s lost it” you’re all thinking.  That very well may be the case but bare with me on this topic anyways as I explain.  When squatting; back squat, front squat, squat clean, regardless; do not slam the door!

You may have noticed, but Instagram was down for most of the day yesterday.  Ya.  I know, right?  If you did not notice, congratulations!  You were most likely being “present” and “mindful” at whatever it was that was occupying your time throughout the day.  

When it comes to getting results in the gym, there is no training program in the world that will get you results without effort!  One world renowned coach who I am respect very much, Ben Bergeron, likes to call it “grit”.