I get it!!!

Being a coach is a lot like being a teacher. We talk, show, explain, re-explain, and re-show hoping that the big picture comes together in our students mind. We search out new ways to explain common things. It's scary to try new things on a class of people.

It makes all kinds of sense in your head. Until you get into a class and it all falls apart or is a total bore. Sometimes we coach or teach things that won’t apply to much of anything for months, then it will come into play and all we can do is hope you put the pieces together.

It might sound stupid but worrying about what you get out of class keeps us up at night. We aren't coaching you in any earth shattering matters. We are not giving you the answers to life changing questions. (maybe we are) We are coaching you to be fitter and healthier people. Its fitness, but we take this fitness stuff seriously.

So the other night we had a WOD that I've never coached a group of people in. It was a breathing ladder, old school Jen Conlin style. I got it from another extreme fitness site years ago. In trying to push limits and keep things interesting I gave it a go in hopes that it will help some of you in your fitness goals.

At the end of class it all paid off! Bill came up to me and said "Jen, I get it! Round 20 was my best round because I got to take 19 breaths before doing my 20 reps!"

Super cool! That's why we coach, teach and stay up late looking for new movements and how to coach them better.

Yes you can do CrossFit

We can’t tell you how often we hear about people struggling with old and new injuries. Or how many times we hear, “once I get into shape I’ll be in to workout”.

Well you are missing the point of CrossFit. Just come on in and challenge us. It is our job to find out what is going to work for you. It is our job as coaches to find a way to get you working out with the rest of the class so you can get into the mix.

CrossFit is about having scalable workouts either up or down to challenge the individual within a group environment. The object of this is to get you moving and help see the changes.

CrossFit can adapt and overcome for whatever your situation is. Bring the bad shoulders, knees, back and hips to us and we will show you. If we don’t know what to do we will call, read, and research what will work.

Do not let injury, fitness, or age determine what you can’t do. Let us find out what you can do and make today’s workout of the day work for you.

Yes you can!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwvfI-27lK0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_6X_CmvZs4

Sunday Funday!

We are pleased to announce that we will start doing Sunday classes at 10:00am.

The classes will be our version of CrossFit Sport and Adventure series.

Be prepared for anything. You could come in and find yourself playing a soccer game, taking a hike, going for a run, or even just a good old workout.

Spring is here and its time for us to do some adventures.

Friends and family are welcome to join us during these events. Look for the hints of what is to come on our Face Book page.

Be prepared for some good old fun! Izzo and Brian promise not to take you skydiving without prior notification.

Weekend

Saturday was a great day at CFL. We had some great guests stop in from the local area and the 9am class was kicking in an extra gear.

Max Wunderle from Iron Works Athletics stopped by for a WOD with his daughter and the rumor has it he is going to help us all out with our running.

A guest photographer stopped in and took some great pictures of the actions.

Next time Corey is in the gym she will be in front of the lens.

Check out her gallery:

http://gallery.me.com/coreylynntucker#100314

The 10am competitors WOD went on as scheduled and I think the jitters of last week are over. We saw major improvements from all of the competitors. We are so proud of everyone competing in the Opens this year.

Say Hi!

Check out one of our newest members Greg.

It's only been a week and he has the CrossFit bug!

New members are coming in every day. Make sure you take the time to say "Hi"!

Announcements!!!!

Don’t forget we are holding 9am classes all week. This is a great time of the day to bring a friend and try out CrossFit Legitimus.

Friday’s are 9:00am and 6:30pm only.

Saturday we will be holding normal classes at 9am. This is a free class for all guests who want to give it a try. Competitors will be lining up at 10am for the next few weeks to compete at the CrossFit Opens. This is for registered competitors only. Everyone is welcome to stay and cheer them on.

I would like to thank everyone for being so nice to our newest members. There is a lot of buzz going around town on how friendly our gym is. Keep up the good vibes!

DU's

The “double under” is a troublesome movement for some athletes. While the concept is simple, pass the rope under your feet twice for each jump, the execution is tricky.

Two simple keys to help develop your “double unders” are:

1. Jump tall through the ankle. Straight body position and a rigid torso make repetition easier.

2. Keep your hands and feet in front of your body. Allowing your hands or feet to fall behind you often result in broken body position making repetition more difficult.

Spend time doing singles and becoming very fast and relaxed with them. As you get better flow back between “double unders” and singles. Play with jump roping doing high steps and one footed jumps left to right and right to left.

Over all stay relaxed and don't jump crazy high!

Check out Buddie Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yHjnfABvhw

CrossFit Bridges Fitness to Lifestyle

See the nice article from Sylvia Cancela

http://canton-ct.patch.com/articles/crossfit-bridges-fitness-to-lifestyle

The Iron

The Iron

by Henry Rollins

I believe that the definition of definition is reinvention. To not be like your parents. To not be like your friends. To be yourself.

Completely.

When I was young I had no sense of myself. All I was, was a product of all the fear and humiliation I suffered. Fear of my parents. The humiliation of teachers calling me "garbage can" and telling me I'd be mowing lawns for a living. And the very real terror of my fellow students. I was threatened and beaten up for the color of my skin and my size. I was skinny and clumsy, and when others would tease me I didn't run home crying, wondering why.

I knew all too well. I was there to be antagonized. In sports I was laughed at. A spaz. I was pretty good at boxing but only because the rage that filled my every waking moment made me wild and unpredictable. I fought with some strange fury. The other boys thought I was crazy.

I hated myself all the time.

As stupid at it seems now, I wanted to talk like them, dress like them, carry myself with the ease of knowing that I wasn't going to get pounded in the hallway between classes. Years passed and I learned to keep it all inside. I only talked to a few boys in my grade. Other losers. Some of them are to this day the greatest people I have ever known. Hang out with a guy who has had his head flushed down a toilet a few times, treat him with respect, and you'll find a faithful friend forever. But even with friends, school sucked. Teachers gave me hard time. I didn't think much of them either.

Then came Mr. Pepperman, my advisor. He was a powerfully built Vietnam veteran, and he was scary. No one ever talked out of turn in his class. Once one kid did and Mr. P. lifted him off the ground and pinned him to the blackboard. Mr. P. could see that I was in bad shape, and one Friday in October he asked me if I had ever worked out with weights. I told him no. He told me that I was going to take some of the money that I had saved and buy a hundred-pound set of weights at Sears. As I left his office, I started to think of things I would say to him on Monday when he asked about the weights that I was not going to buy. Still, it made me feel special. My father never really got that close to caring. On Saturday I bought the weights, but I couldn't even drag them to my mom's car. An attendant laughed at me as he put them on a dolly.

Monday came and I was called into Mr. P.'s office after school. He said that he was going to show me how to work out. He was going to put me on a program and start hitting me in the solar plexus in the hallway when I wasn't looking. When I could take the punch we would know that we were getting somewhere. At no time was I to look at myself in the mirror or tell anyone at school what I was doing. In the gym he showed me ten basic exercises. I paid more attention than I ever did in any of my classes. I didn't want to blow it. I went home that night and started right in.

Weeks passed, and every once in a while Mr. P. would give me a shot and drop me in the hallway, sending my books flying. The other students didn't know what to think. More weeks passed, and I was steadily adding new weights to the bar. I could sense the power inside my body growing. I could feel it.

Right before Christmas break I was walking to class, and from out of nowhere Mr. Pepperman appeared and gave me a shot in the chest. I laughed and kept going. He said I could look at myself now. I got home and ran to the bathroom and pulled off my shirt. I saw a body, not just the shell that housed my stomach and my heart. My biceps bulged. My chest had definition. I felt strong. It was the first time I can remember having a sense of myself. I had done something and no one could ever take it away. You couldn't say s--t to me.

It took me years to fully appreciate the value of the lessons I have learned from the Iron. I used to think that it was my adversary, that I was trying to lift that which does not want to be lifted. I was wrong. When the Iron doesn't want to come off the mat, it's the kindest thing it can do for you. If it flew up and went through the ceiling, it wouldn't teach you anything. That's the way the Iron talks to you. It tells you that the material you work with is that which you will come to resemble. That which you work against will always work against you.

It wasn't until my late twenties that I learned that by working out I had given myself a great gift. I learned that nothing good comes without work and a certain amount of pain. When I finish a set that leaves me shaking, I know more about myself. When something gets bad, I know it can't be as bad as that workout.

I used to fight the pain, but recently this became clear to me: pain is not my enemy; it is my call to greatness. But when dealing with the Iron, one must be careful to interpret the pain correctly. Most injuries involving the Iron come from ego. I once spent a few weeks lifting weight that my body wasn't ready for and spent a few months not picking up anything heavier than a fork. Try to lift what you're not prepared to and the Iron will teach you a little lesson in restraint and self-control.

I have never met a truly strong person who didn't have self-respect. I think a lot of inwardly and outwardly directed contempt passes itself off as self-respect: the idea of raising yourself by stepping on someone's shoulders instead of doing it yourself. When I see guys working out for cosmetic reasons, I see vanity exposing them in the worst way, as cartoon characters, billboards for imbalance and insecurity. Strength reveals itself through character. It is the difference between bouncers who get off strong-arming people and Mr.Pepperman.

Muscle mass does not always equal strength. Strength is kindness and sensitivity. Strength is understanding that your power is both physical and emotional. That it comes from the body and the mind. And the heart.

Yukio Mishima said that he could not entertain the idea of romance if he was not strong. Romance is such a strong and overwhelming passion, a weakened body cannot sustain it for long. I have some of my most romantic thoughts when I am with the Iron. Once I was in love with a woman. I thought about her the most when the pain from a workout was racing through my body.

Everything in me wanted her. So much so that sex was only a fraction of my total desire. It was the single most intense love I have ever felt, but she lived far away and I didn't see her very often. Working out was a healthy way of dealing with the loneliness. To this day, when I work out I usually listen to ballads.

I prefer to work out alone.

It enables me to concentrate on the lessons that the Iron has for me. Learning about what you're made of is always time well spent, and I have found no better teacher. The Iron had taught me how to live. Life is capable of driving you out of your mind. The way it all comes down these days, it's some kind of miracle if you're not insane. People have become separated from their bodies. They are no longer whole.

I see them move from their offices to their cars and on to their suburban homes. They stress out constantly, they lose sleep, they eat badly. And they behave badly. Their egos run wild; they become motivated by that which will eventually give them a massive stroke. They need the Iron Mind.

Through the years, I have combined meditation, action, and the Iron into a single strength. I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts. Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate. I wallow in a thick depression. My body shuts down my mind.

The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it's impossible to turn back.

The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you're a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.

This article originally appeared in Details Magazine

Get it right light

"I could do this better if it was heavier”

CrossFit is based on functional movement, meaning movement that serves a purpose. CrossFit wants you to move fast and efficiently. Efficient movement means more reps with less work or less struggle. If you can do a PVC pipe Jerk really well 10,000 times your 10,000 times closer to moving a heavy load fast and efficiently for longer with less work during any given workout.

Of course over time and increased loads form is going to change and your going to struggle. Increasing the load without perfecting it at a lighter load with give you little to no gain over the long haul.

Try dropping 10# off the bar until you are moving and looking smooth. Keep dropping 10# until this happens. Clean and do that weight for a while before you start adding pounds on the bar.

In the long haul your body is going to hate you for moving a ton poorly and you chance off injury will decrease when you move 6000lbs correctly than incorrectly.

We are all guilty to think that “more is better”. It takes time and patients to get the gains and keep the gains. If you increase you weights on the bar as your form gets better at the end of the year or month or two years you're going to be making more gains then moving a weight that's just plain to heavy for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idtklzRnl_k

For you split jerkers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJSh5cpeJc4

Watch this video of Sage doing some jerk instruction. That's as light as a feather for her and she moves it clean and fast and strong. Her feet land right, the bar moves at the speed of sound, and she pulls her body down under that light weight like she means biz!

Take your PVC work seriously and move it like the world is watching you. Treat it like it will crush you if you don't.

Give yourself time to move loads at long distance really really well before you toss the world on the bar!

CrossFit Legitimus is now open for business!

We would like to thank all of our friends and family who put in some long hours to make this happen. A dream turned into an idea and an idea turned into a project. The project is now complete and our dreams have come true.

We will continue to keep up the hard work to make CrossFit Legitimus the most welcoming and best experience you can imagine when entering a CrossFit gym. We have planted the seed in our community and now it’s time to watch it grow.

Thanks again,

Your team,

Izzo, Jen, and Brian

Put your hands up!

Shoulders, we use them a lot in CF! Going overhead makes you strong and having a strong pull is a big component of CrossFit.

Shoulder health is more then pressing heavy weights overhead or having 66 kipping pull-ups and 100 muscle ups. Shoulder health is a combination of flexibility and strength. Our shoulders are one of the most complicated joints in the human body. The small muscles that make up your rotator cuff do a lot of work during the day. Just imagine how much they are used and abused during a CrossFit WOD.

Shoulder TLC(no not the band!) can keep you pressing, pulling and fist pumping WOD after WOD!

This week part of our warm up and cool down will be sitting with our butts against the wall and our arms above our heads. If you want to be a teachers pet take a look at this video and video yourself at home or at the gym doing the same! We can't wait to see giving your shoulders some TLC!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6V2Exzb324&feature=player_embedded

5k's, 10k's, Tough mudder, Warrior Dash, Beast of the East, Triathlon, or Maybe even The Reebok CrossFit "open"

Whatever your event is or competition CrossFit has the ability to get you ready. Should you workout twice a day? Should you run more before or after a workout? Should you run faster, slower, longer, or shorter? Don’t worry our coaches are here to help you when it comes to all the questions.

We have a simple answer to all of this, CrossFit is the training you need, and it can be scaled or altered to you and your goals. The best thing about CrossFit is that it's constantly varied and it can prepare you for anything! That’s right I said “anything”.

Right now we have members who are doing spring runs and competitions. We don't care if you win or set new records we want you to work hard make friends and have fun doing it. The gains you make just by working toward a goal will stick with you forever. The bond you'll have with your gym and the people you'll meet at these events is worth your entry fee!

Let us know what you want to try to do or what you've already signed up for and we will help you train safe and get as ready as possible. Just go for it!

Maybe competition is not your thing, but you want to be part of the support team for our members who are doing an event. These competitors thrive on your support. Cheering running around or putting ice on sore egos is the heart and soul of CrossFit. Being there at the finish line or at the end of a long day for your friends will be something you'll never forget!

We encourage you to get out and try a new sport we don't care what it is. We are confidant CrossFit will make your experience amazing! Remember one thing, keep this at the heart of whatever you do.....Work hard and Have fun!

http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/racelocation/1,7912,s6-239-283-284-0-0-0-0-CT,00.html

Eat Good Food!

Eat Good Food!

Talking about food can be overwhelming and is a very sensitive subject. CrossFit has a simple way to look at it. Following these basic rules will get you on track to tackle the foundation of fitness which is nutrition.

"Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat." CrossFit journal Oct 2002

Making huge changes in your nutrition can lead to frustration. This will lead you in the direction of just giving up. Make a few small changes and stick to them for a few months.

Let’s make a list of some changes that we recommend.

1. Cut down or cut out Bread, pasta or rice.

2. Eat fresh food, not processed food. Hint, “shop the perimeters of your supermarket”

3. Drink water not soda or fruit juice or stop putting sugar in your coffee

4. Bring your lunch to work instead of going out.

5. Eat meat!

Making these small changes will kick off your adventure in changing the way you eat. Of course there is so much more to all this. From our experience starting off with small changes gives you successes that will lead you to bigger changes.

Moderation in making changes gives you a better chance to be successful, and change the way you eat for life. Give yourself goals and allow yourself days or meals to live a little!

For more guidance on shopping checkout...

http://whole9life.com/2011/01/paleo-poor-your-guide-to-the-grocery-store/

FAST ELBOWS SAVE THE DAY!

Nothing feels as good as a smooth clean and Jerk. The clean and jerk and the snatch are complicated movements but once you start to put it all together you get addicted to them. These are two amazing lifts that make us all stronger and faster.

When you start to understand the movements it’s time to break them down.

• Focus on slow off the floor,
• Fast through the middle
• Getting as tall as you can before you pull yourself down under the bar.

If all that's going wrong pick one thing and start nailing that part before you work another part of the lift. One of the most important parts of the lift is to get your elbows around as fast as you can. This alone will make you a clean & jerk champ.

Please take a look at Sages blog, she's the real pro.

http://sageolylifting.blogspot.com/2010/08/these-raps-are-getting-ridiculous.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juLxWt_3omw

Hollow Rocks

Last night we learned how to do Hollow Rocks. Get ready for more! We only did the hollow part next comes the rock. I can't begin to tell you how important this is to all your over head pressing, Jerks, handstand push ups, and pull-ups.

It's hard to explain to people how to lock your chest down and not let it push forward. Learning how to make your body tight is not an easy task.

The link below will show a video of what we are looking for. In this video you can see Greg's chest is tight and locked, chin is tucked, and toes pointed. Perfecting this movement and understand what it feels like to lock your midsection will allow you to move more weight overhead in a stronger safer way. This will get your handstand push-ups feeling better and will increase your reps.

The hollow rock works is a diagnostic tool to indentify and work on your body awareness. This helps me as your coach and you to get more bang for your buck.

http://www.cathletics.com/exercises/exercise.php?exerciseID=130

Let's get Hollow then get rockin'

Get strong before you kip

Let’s talk about all the different pull-ups. Everyone in CrossFit has a lust for the kipping pull-up or the butterfly kip. I feel your desire, I promise you I understand. Lets get you there in a way that keeps you on the bar this year and next year and the following year and out of the doctors office!

Think of what you’re doing in a kipping pull-up. You’re swinging using your arms like the chains on a swing. Remember being a kid on a swing set? Remember when the chains got slack in them and you clunked on the bottom of the swing and it scared you? This is what we want to avoid. We don’t want a clunk on your shoulders.

Why does this happen?

Lose of tightness in your midsection and your shoulders are not strong enough to control the decent (downward motion of the movement.). When your feet are swinging way behind you and your hips are all floppy it's near impossible to be tight in your midsection. It happens to us humans a lot, when we press over head we get soft in the middle and bang the bar goes on the floor.

Solution:

Gain better control of your midsection. Learn how to feel when your tight and when your not. Add some strong shoulders to it and you will be on your way.

The Recipe is long and you have to keep a control of your desire to swing and feel the wind in your hair.

Ingredients:

• Dead hang pull-ups – 5 to 10 of them (or more) with your hands facing forward, mixed grip and chin ups with your fingers pointing back at you. Good strong chin over the bar or chest to the bar or just as high as you can go.
• Learn how to do hollow rocks on the floor then on the bar.
• Mix in lots of Ring rows and get those shoulders pulling and that midsection strong. On the ring rows get as low as you can once that gets to be a piece of cake put your feet on a box and ring row. Ring rows are one of the best things to get your scapula's pulling back and activated for the pull-up.
• Stir into all that some pressing of Dumbbells, Barbells and Kettle bells with a tight mid section slam bam you’re going to turn into a pulling machine!

What you’re going to need the most is to be patient, dig in and plan to work hard. Your ego is going to have to wait for another day to show up. Although I will be super crazy proud of you when Fran comes around and your doing your ring rows or your doing dead hang band pull ups because that says mountains more to me then you swinging like a loose string of spaghetti on the bar!

Get strong and Pull!