WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? ? ?

The staff at Columbia CrossFit would like to wish all of our gym members a very Happy and Healthy New Year and continued growth and development of your fitness levels in 2012!

Columbia CrossFit would like to update all of our gym members on some of the NEW changes for 2012.

CCF will be under new management for the 2012 season.  We would like to extend our thanks to Dan Gaucher our head trainer for all of his hard work in getting the gym set up last year and for his time well spent working with clients in the gym.  We wish him well with his future endeavors.

There is a new sign in policy for gym members as of January 1, 2012.  All gym members are required to sign in/out at the front desk of Crossroads Physical Therapy (located above the CCF gym) before class begins and after class ends.  After you sign in for class, you may enter the upstairs gym located at the far right end of the building.  The upstairs gym will be outfitted with "state of the art" CrossFit equipment and we are very excited to begin classes in this new space.

JANUARY CLASS SCHEDULE:

ATTENTION ALL GYM MEMBERS:
Columbia CrossFit has many new and exciting changes beginning in 2012!  Here is the NEW CLASS SCHEDULE  beginning January 1, 2012.

Class Times:
Mon. - Thursday
12pm   5pm   6pm

Friday
12pm    5pm

Saturday
9am     10am

Open Gym Times:
Mon-Wed.   6:30am - 11:00am,  1:00pm-4:00pm
Thurs.- Friday   8:00am- 11:00am , 1:00pm - 4:00pm

**PLEASE NOTE:  THE GYM WILL BE CLOSED JANUARY 2nd.  CLASS WILL RESUME ON TUESDAY JANUARY 3rd.

Open Gym Time may be used to improve your CrossFit skills and/or workout without being in a structured class.  The open gym daily rate is $10.  There will be no supervision or instruction by the CrossFit training staff during this time.  (There is no fee for our members paying the monthly membership fee $100/month.)

COLUMBIA CROSSFIT:    "FIT FOR LIFE" PROGRAM!!!
The staff at Columbia CrossFit would like to extend and invitation to our gym members to join the "Fit For Life" club.  This is a consultation/ review program in which the gym member will have access to the trainers for 1 on 1 consultation in areas such as lifting form, diet/nutrition, exercise program development, goal setting, etc.  The times are by appointment only for the "Fit For Life" club members.  Consultation time will be after the 6:00pm class on Monday and Thursday.  The program fee is $50 / month which includes unlimited program review/ consultation services. The appointments run between 30-45 minutes each.  All appointments are to be arranged via email.

**ATTENTION GYM MEMBERS:   BE SURE TO MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!!

Columbia CrossFit will be partnering with Trinity Seminars to offer two days of learning Feb. 3-4 at Crossroads Physical Therapy/ Columbia CrossFit.  We will be offering the Functional Exercise I Seminar!  This course will be offered at a reduced tuition ($300/ family) and will outline the basic principles of exercise, the physiologic response to exercise, how to create your own exercise program, and much, much more!  We hope that you will be able to attend this event and continue to progress you and your family's health through fitness.  You may register for the seminar here  by using the PayPal button at the bottom of the page.  We  would like to encourage all of our gym members to take advantage of this special offer through Columbia CrossFit.

When You Think You Can't. . . . . Think Again!

Be sure to LOOK at this image closely....  When you think you can't, think again. . .

Earning every inch of his nickname, South Africa’s “Bladerunner” Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee, competed in the men’s 400m semifinal at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Photo: Mark Blinch/Reuters

CLASS SCHEDULE CHANGES. . .

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our gym members a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season! 
Here are the CLASS SCHEDULES  for the last week of DECEMBER.

12/26                                Monday      NO CLASS
12/27 - 12/29                   Tue-Thur     12pm      5pm      6pm
12/30                                Friday         12pm      5pm
12/31                                Saturday      9am      10am

We'll see you at the BOX....  Remember to bring a friend or family member to class this week... It's a great time to start the New Year off on the Road To Fitness! 

Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It. . .

Join investigative journalist Gary Taubes, author of Why We Get Fat and Good Calories, Bad Calories, as he addresses CrossFit HQ Seminar Staff at the Trainer Summit held in October in San Diego.

“I’m interested in trying to get the medical-research establishment to change the way they think about the foremost medical issues of our day, which is obesity,” he says.

According to Taubes, the current energy-expenditure hypothesis says that obesity results from caloric imbalance due to an overly prosperous “toxic environment.” He provides examples of how this hypothesis falls short of explaining obesity prevalence in malnourished populations with high activity levels.
Taubes explains that fat accumulation is regulated by insulin, which is the “fat-storage hormone.” To lose fat, you have to lower insulin levels. Because insulin is secreted in response to dietary carbohydrates, Taubes suggests restricting carbohydrates, especially high-glycemic, starchy carbs.
The video below gives a nice summary of most of the critical points presented in the book ‘Why We Get Fat’. I highly recommend those of you who have not read this book to set aside the 20mins and watch this whole video. Equally if you have read the book then this video serves as a good refresher.
This is the condensed version. If you really want to educate yourself on the topic click here for part 1 of 3

The Road To Fitness. . .

Tonight as I walked through the gym I noticed many of you after you had completed the WOD.  Covered in sweat and breathing hard, it was the first time that I saw what I've been looking for in our athletes.  Behind the sweat, there was a smile... Behind the labored breathing, there was a feeling of success.  In case you haven't noticed, the workouts this week have been harder than usual.  And I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate the entire community on raising your fitness bar and doing more work!  Your trainers have noticed your commitment to your fitness level, to your health, and to your community.  The road to fitness is a long one, with slow change and small victories, and you are all growing stronger.  The workouts will continue to grow with you!  I tell you this not to scare you but to inspire you to continue to raise the bar every day.
     There is another part of fitness that we have to look at also.  Now that you are becoming a seasoned athlete, it is your obligation to continue to inspire those around you through your actions, words, works, and lifestyle... I would like to encourage all of you to bring a family member or friend to the gym with you over the next month.  Introduce them to exercise slowly and encourage them to continue to work small WODs every day.  Starting slow and allowing your body to adapt to the WODs ensures a safe / injury free experience and sets us up for a successful lifetime of exercise!  As the community continues to grow, we are all excited by the small victories that are occurring everyday.  I would like to encourage each of you to share your victories and successes with your fellow gym members.  It inspires me to hear your successes!  I'll be the first you share with all of you... tonight I achieved a personal record for my clean.  In the beginning of the year, my clean and jerk was only 95 pounds.... I set a goal for myself to reach 185 pounds by December 31st.  Although I did not clean and jerk 185 pounds tonight, I was able to achieve half of my goal by cleaning 185 pounds.  A small victory that will lead me to my goal!  Today at the gym, let you trainers and fellow gym members know what your victories are, I can guarantee you it will inspire them as it does me...

 Until then...   Stay Strong.     Stay Fit.

STAIRS ARE FASTER THAN ELEVATORS. . .

A light-hearted study in the latest Canadian Medical Association Journal compared how long it took for four subjects to travel between floors at a hospital in Saskatchewan, using a variety of routes ranging from one to six floors. The results: 13 seconds per floor via the stairs, and 36 seconds per floor using the elevator (including time spent waiting for the elevator). By their math, that means hospital workers would save 15 minutes each day by taking the stairs. Taking the stairs during your workday can also make a measurable difference to health.
The study abstract is here, and a news article is here. Of course, your mileage may vary: hospital workers move between floors quite frequently, unlike many office workers. Still, I almost always find I can beat the elevator by taking the stairs.

Stay Strong.  Stay Fit.

Burpee Box Jump ? ? ? Are You Kidding Me !

For those of you who are looking to attack today's WOD but aren't sure what a burpee box jump is, I have pulled a video off the net to help illustrate what we are looking for... I hope you enjoy the WOD!

Fitness vs. Fatness

This study weighs in on the question of whether fitness or fatness is a more important marker of health (abstract here, press release here). This is a nice, clear one. The researchers followed 14,345 men (with an average age of 44 at the start of the study). They did two detailed physical exams just over six years apart (on average), then followed the men for another 11 years to see which ones died, and why.
Basically, there are two variables of interest:

1. Did the men lose weight, gain weight, or stay stable between the two exams?
2. Did the men lose fitness (as measured by a maximal treadmill test), gain fitness, or stay stable?

The result: those who maintained or improved fitness were less likely to die by ~30-40% compared to those who lost fitness — even when you control for factors like BMI. Obvious and expected.
But what about weight? As you’d guess, those who gained weight were more likely (by 35-39%) to die of heart disease than those who lost weight or stayed stable. BUT if you take into account changes in fitness, then the effect of changes in weight almost disappeared. So this is further support for Stephen Blair’s argument that it’s fitness that matters, not fatness, when it comes to predicting health (and Blair is, indeed, one of the authors of this paper). As the press release puts it:

“This is good news for people who are physically active but can’t seem to lose weight,” said Duck-chul Lee, Ph.D. [...] “You can worry less about your weight as long as you continue to maintain or increase your fitness levels.”

But let me add one clarification. Whenever this topic comes up, I often hear from people who say something along the lines of “See, BMI is meaningless! This proves that doctors should never even measure weight, because it doesn’t predict health.” Not quite. Let me reiterate: those who gained weight in this study were 39% more likely to die of a heart attack than those who lost weight. The reason weight gain doesn’t stay as an independent predictor of death is that those who gained weight also (on average) lost fitness, and those who lost weight also (on average) gained or maintained fitness.
So the very important message that this study reinforces is that it’s fitness that matters most. Keep exercising even if you don’t see changes in your weight, and you’ll be gaining extremely important benefits. But don’t interpret it to mean “it doesn’t matter if I gain weight, because weight is meaningless as a health marker” — because there’s a decent chance (though it’s certainly not guaranteed) that if you’re gaining weight, you’re also losing fitness.
(One final caveat: as the press release notes, 90 percent of the men were either “normal weight” or “overweight” — i.e. BMI under 30. So you can’t assume that the same lack of problems would hold true for the “obese” category with BMI over 30.)

"What is the single best thing we can do for our health?"

Found this video via runblogger.com the other day and thought I’d share here as well. Dr. Mike Evans provides a very creative answer to the following question: "What is the single best thing we can do for our health."

The Minimal Run . . .

Here's a short film on minimalist running.  There are many web sites and blogs out there describing the benefits of barefoot running.  If you'd like to explore the minimalist running style, contact your trainer today to set up some running lessons.  You won't regret it!

Keep it Tight in the Middle!

  Solid.          Weak Core.      Tight Shoulders.

I pulled this image off the main site today.  It says a great deal about the importance of keeping your core tight when lifting overhead.

Who's A Sumo What ? ? ?

The Sumo Dead Lift High Pull (SDLHP) is featured in today's WOD.  If you are not familiar with this movement I'd like to encourage you to view the short video below to familiarize yourself with it before class.  Although not a difficult movement, it can really gas you out after a short while.  Constantly varied?  You Bet! 

Tabata. . . Why Bother ? ? ?

What is Tabata Training?

prepare work rest } x 8 = 1 tabata

With Tabata training you exercise for 20 seconds then rest for 10 seconds, and repeat 8 times. This with a short preparation time before starting is a Tabata. It's that simple.
This technique discovered by Dr. Izumi Tabata in Tokyo gives you maximum benefits in a short period of time.
Benefits:

• It burns fat! Tabata raises your metabolism (great for morning workouts)
• It's fast! You gain the same benefits of long drawn out workouts in shorter time
• It's versatile! You can do heavy weightlifting or light aerobics or anything in between. Do the exercises that are right for you, but do them!
• It's proven! It really works, this technique has been researched extensively, and it is becoming popular because people are getting results!

How To Do Tabata Training

You can do Tabata training with weights or simple body weight exercises. First choose what type of exercise you will do. Start with a short preparation to get ready and alternate between work and rest periods for eight cycles. During the work period exercise continuously and as rigorously as you can for the entire 20 second period. During the rest period, stop exercise, catch your breath, and get ready for the next work period. Repeat this for eight cycles.
Tips:

• Do Tabata Training in the morning to raise your metabolism, and burn more fat throughout the day.
• Alternate exercises if you wish to give your work out a variety. For example, maybe you do squats on work period 1, and then on work period 2 you do jumping jacks, and you alternate between the two.
• Find a good Tabata timer, we recommend Tabata Pro for the iPhone and iPod touch, or our free online tabata timer at tabatatimer.com
• Start off light. Treat your first few Tabata workouts as practice. Ease in to the routine.

CrossFit Class Schedule Reminder. . .

Classes will be canceled for Friday December 9th and Saturday December 10th.  Classes will resume on Monday.  We'll see you at the BOX!

Why DoYou CrossFit ? ? ?

This is why I CrossFit . . .

                                                          Why DoYou CrossFit ? ? ?

Spend some extra time tonight with your fellow CrossFitters at the gym and ask each other why you do what you do... not only will you begin to learn about each other, you just might learn something about YOU...

The Recovery Process. . .

This past weekend, Columbia CrossFit members were invited to spend time in a Functional Exercise seminar offered through Trinity Seminars .  The seminar discussed human physiology as it relates to metabolism, the importance of programming and how to program yourself appropriately with exercise, recovery from exercise, and lots more.  Tonight, I would like you to take a long, hard look at your program.  It's important to eat right and to exercise daily, but how many of you have given thought to what you are doing after exercise?  When you get home from the gym, are you grabbing those easy carbs and crashing on the couch?  Recovery is just as important as the workout!  Especially if you CrossFit.  The workouts can be brutal some nights and your body needs time to repair and replenish it's reserves that were spent during the WOD.  If you don't assist your body in recovering properly, will it perform appropriately the next day in the class?  Probably NOT! 
     It is critical that we take a look at managing four main components of recovery:  1. Inflammation  2. Replenishing Nutrients/ Hydration 3. Soft Tissue Mobilization / Stretching 4. Rest 
Believe it or not, there is a right and wrong way to manage these four components of a workout.  If you're not sure, contact our staff of trainers to set up an appointment to discuss which recovery program will work best for you.  We are always looking to improve the performance of our athletes and put a great deal of time researching exercise, human performance and mobility.  It would be our pleasure to help you devise a program that will lead you to achieving all of your fitness goals.  Until then. . .

Stay Strong.  Stay Fit.

Shoulder Prep Is Critical

Here is a video taken from the Mobility WOD website.  Kelly Starrett, DPT started posting mobilization exercises that you can perform at home to assist you with flexibility, recovery, and injury prevention.  Today we will post a video describing stretching of the Thoracic Outlet.  This region of the body contains a vast amount of nerves and arteries that lead into the hand.  If tension builds in the thoracic outlet, shoulder elevation will be limited and you run the risk of injury when pressing overhead.   So take a look, let us know what you think, and ask your trainer if he or she can help you with your mobility today!  We'll see you at the BOX. . .

Constantly Varied.... with Structure?

Do you remember the first time that you entered the CrossFit gym?  The now familiar shout of "3,2,1...GO!" rang in you ears, and then the gym began to move... A wave of athletes all began moving in seemingly randomly selected movements that you had never seen before.  Those same movements now familiar to you, are the crux of your day.  Every day as you enter the gym as I do, your anxiety and excitement build as you search for the WOD on the white board.  And every day, the workout is different.  Constantly varied, or so you're told.  But is it?  Believe it or not, there is a method to the madness!  I would like to share with all of you the CrossFit pyramid.  This diagram will reveal to you a hierarchy of movements that when balanced right, will lead to success in the gym.

At the base of the pyramid you will see nutrition.  Think of your food as the gasoline for your engine.  Without the gas, the car won't run.  If you put in a higher octane, the car may run a little faster.  This is why it is critical that we fuel our engines with the best nutrition possible.  The next level is your cardio component.  The heart is the pump that brings the nutrients and oxygen to your muscles.  The more efficient the pump, the faster the oxygen and glucose can get to your muscles for better performance.  It is critical to have a well conditioned heart before moving on to the next level, gymnastics.  Controlling your body in space is how we negotiate our daily environments without injury.  The gymnastic component of CrossFit allows our brains to connect with our bodies and develop a seamless transition between the various movements in your daily workouts. Activities like squats, push ups, pull ups, and lunges are all examples of gymnastic based movements.  Once we have established a sense of how to control our bodies in space, it's now time to attempt to control an external object in space.  Enter weightlifting & throwing!  Weight lifting and throwing although intimidating to many of you, is a critical part of strength development and in promoting bone density as we age.  EVERYONE should be weightlifting.  Once you have reached this level of the pyramid, it's time to think about a few sessions with a CrossFit trainer.  The one on one sessions that a trainer can provide are necessary to ensure you are maintaining proper form when moving the load.  The power generated from some of the Olympic lifts can be extreme and believe me, form matters.  I would like to share a bit of personal information with you on this topic.  When I first began to perform the snatch, I was working with a 75lb. load.  After one session with one of the trainers at the gym, my snatch went from 75lbs. to 125lbs.!  Form matters... be sure to contact your gym's trainers and set up a session or two when you are ready to take on the lifting component, you won't regret it.  At the top of the pyramid, you will see SPORT.  Yes, that's right, sport.  And here all along, you thought CrossFit was your sport/ activity.  CrossFit is preparing you for your sport/ activity.  When all of the components of the pyramid are met, from the base to the top, you will be able to perform your sport/activity without injury because you are now physically prepared for any situation!  CrossFit has changed the lives of many of our gym members and it has been a pleasure to watch my own life change as well.  I am stronger, faster, and more prepared.  I am confident in my athletic ability, my mental toughness, and my ability to recover from injury if needed.  I hope you will study the pyramid and if you have questions, bring them into the gym. Your CrossFit family will have the answers.
Stay Strong.  Stay Fit.