Goal Setting 101

Everyone can set goals... but not everyone actually follows through and achieves them. Sad but true. If you're having trouble staying focused, try to remember the advice below, and get yourself back on track.

Have a game plan: To succeed in reaching your goals, you need to create a map, to help you get to your destination. Pick a few things you want to achieve and make a plan of action. No plan usually means no direction.

Try to stay focused, and avoid distractions that pull you away from the path leading to your goals. Finding an extra hour in the day can sometimes seem impossible... but to achieve your goals, you need to make sacrifices. Carve out time to work on yourself... your body will thank you.

Get your friends and family on board! Support is huge in reaching goals! Yes, you're amazing but even amazing people need support!  If you're out of your comfort zone you're going to need to be pushed! We all need like-minded, goal oriented people to remind us to keep it moving!

K.I.S.S!  Over complex goals or goals that are too lofty are poison to your motivated spirit! Create goals that you can work towards, and achieve. Achieving your goals will give you a confidence boost, and all you to achieve even bigger goals! Be realistic and let your ego go, or you may find yourself in No Man's Land... where no one grows, and everyone is complacent.

Keep your thinking positive: Even if you're off track in reaching your goals, STAY POSITIVE. We all know how easy it is to give up, give in, and get down on yourself. If you need encouragement, or constructive criticism; ask for it!  Now you have your plan, you've got your team... use them!

You would never build a house without a blueprint... so don't work on your fitness without a plan of attack. Map it out, write it down, tell someone, talk it out! Know your numbers, and what you are shooting to accomplish next! If you need help coming up with some realistic but challenging goals: JUST ASK!

Test Your Endurance

Monday is a test of endurance day.

We have a lot of people signed up for endurance events this Summer and Fall; this "test" was created in light of that.

Please get to the gym a little early and get warmed up.

Bring your log book.

Make a note of your times, weights; how you slept, and how well you've been eating, and hydrating.

I'll start you when you're ready.

Please don't bring the, "I can't attitude."

You can.

SOME people will have a slightly altered WOD due to what they have signed up for.

You know who you are.  Be ready.

If you're not signed up for anything, this is a fitness test for you!

Make a note of your results!

We will run this at one other time, 5:30am on Wednesday with Coach Liz along with the regular WOD.

Friday morning Jen will be running the EWOD, at 5:30am.

Be ready...this will be another test of your overall endurance.

It will be different and it will be hard.

Please log your eating, times, sleep and hydration for this.

Saturday, CrossFit Football will have two gears.

One that is much like what we've been doing..power and endurance pacing.

The other will be geared to those who are doing the Firebreather in October.

Get some!

No Pictures, Please

How pretty do you look when you wod??

For real... can you leave the Gym and go out for drinks??

The answer in most cases... should be no.

Unless you are injured, recovering, or pregnant... you should be pushing yourself to the point where a stranger on the street might see you and wonder if you just walked through a thunderstorm.

If you look perfect in every picture of you that is ever taken at the Gym, chances are you are more worried about the camera than you are about the weights, the wod, your form, your body...

Maybe it's time to challenge yourself a little more.

We all know that CrossFit is scalable, and can be personalized to fit every fitness ability... well, the same goes for how you challenge yourself.

Jillian might throw 195 pounds on the bar for a back-squat to challenge herself, while someone else might use 135.

Neither amount is wrong, or better than the other.

Our Coaches only ask one thing of us: Our Best. All the time.

If the wod has ten burpees, do ten burpees.... not nine.

Nine is less than ten people... we know it hurts, but one more burpee wont kill you.

Maybe running up the dreaded hill is not your bag... but why not try walking it??

Pick up a heavier kettle bell, give it a shot.

If your form starts to waiver, the Coach will always tell you to scale down.

But that's okay too, because at least you tried.

Morale of the story: Challenge yourself... not the person next to you, or behind you, or in front of you.

Worry about YOUR wod, YOUR weights, YOUR body...

And don't look cute while you do it.

We Work It All

    

Photo Credit: Kristen Stewart

"What body part am I working by doing this?"
"I hope we don't do legs/arms/abs today..."
"I hate running it makes me out of breath."
 "How do I get better at running? How can I lose weight? How can I be a beast?"

We get asked these questions very often, and that's fine, ask away.... but, the answer will pretty much always be the same.

 CrossFit works most everything all the time.

It's not a "parts" kinda workout... Spot training is not effective in getting fit.

Let's think about Paleo eating; hunters and gatherers.

They had to go out and hike, climb and run around after their food.

They had to build fires and tools...you get the point.
 
They were in shape because if they weren't they would die.
 
They were constantly active and ate meat, veggies, berries and some nuts.

Today, our lives don't require being in shape (for the most part), thus we have the need for fitness.

Why?

Because we are killing ourselves with inactivity.

I know. The truth hurts.

Enter CrossFit: Strength and conditioning for the general population.

Don't complicate it. It really is that simple: Anyone can do this.

Of course there are other non-CrossFit but similar fitness "programs".

Let's be open minded about it, if it works for someone, it works... nuff said.

CrossFit works everything often, and in a relatively short amount of time.

If someone is training for a particular sport, or event, there are always tweaks we can add in or take away from a work out.

But, if you're looking for general health and fitness, then know this:

CrossFit works all of you, all the time!

There will never be a legs day, a shoulders day, a back and biceps day... we work almost every part, almost every day!

CrossFit has proven success because it's fun! Like gym class for adults!

  "The CrossFit prescription is “constantly varied, high- intensity, functional movement.”
Functional movements are universal motor recruitment patterns; they are performed in a wave of contraction from core to extremity; and they are compound movements—i.e., they are multi-joint. They are natural, effective, and efficient locomotors of body and external objects. But no aspect of functional movements is more important than their capacity to move large loads over long distances." -Greg Glassman (Founder of CrossFit)





-Jen Conlin

Babysitting!

With summer coming, and so many new members... let's review how babysitting at CFL works.
 
First off... Babysitting is always free at Legitimus! Yay!

Because CFL is full of weights and things that kids can get hurt on, we ask that you make sure that you, and your children understand the rules about being at the Gym.

1- Kids must stay in the backroom, no kids are allowed on the mat during class times.
2- Kids are not allowed to climb or play on the rowers.
3- Please be courteous, someone will be making a trip to the gym just to babysit... If you say you are going to be there... be there!

The Legitimus babysitting program has successfully helped parents get their WOD on for over a year.

The kids have ranged in age from newborn to age 10, and have all become friends outside of the Gym too!

There have been zero trips to the Emergency Room (knock on wood!)... and many, many burpees in the back room.

It is amazing to see what our little sponges soak up! 

Babysitting is offered almost every Saturday morning, and at least three days during the week, sometimes more.

The days and class times often change with our schedules, but babysitting is always offered four days a week.

The best way to stay in the loop about when babysitting is being offered is to join the Crossfit Legitimus Babysitting group on Facebook.

This page is constantly updated with information about who has free time and can cover what class times.

If you are having a hard time getting in to WOD, this is the place to speak up and reach out to other parents!

Any questions and comments related to babysitting should always be directed to the Facebook page.

This includes if you need a  particular day covered... don't be shy to say so!

You know what they say... It takes a village!

Rowing...

Rowing can be done sloppy and spastic-ly,  or it can be done with form and efficient movements.

You pick how you want to row.

I, of course, am going to push you to row smart, pretty, and effectively.

Your power on the rower comes from your leg drive, which is connected to how you control your torso. If you drive with uncontrolled power it is lost through losing form with your upper body.

As with all human movement, you should aim to only go as fast as you can while holding outstanding form.  If your form is falling apart, slow down reset your body, and continue on.

Just like you should not lift weights that cause you to fall apart at the seams and lose all alignment, the same rules apply for rowing.

Why?

Because it is smarter to earn speed or distance traveled, than it is to force it.

Just as it is wiser to earn lifting heavier, instead of bull-moosing weight and hurting yourself.

Remember your ego is waiting in the car, you left it there before class!

Getting strong and fast is a process, it requires patience and wise choices. Or you will burn yourself out by lack of efficiency  or injury.

Things To Think About While Rowing:

Legs drive
Hips open once the legs finish the drive
Hips then open slightly
Arms finish with a pull

As for your upper body, keep it tight like when your deadlifting, use that tightness to transfer the power your legs and hips create.

I love to hate rowing.

I personally had no appreciation for rowing until I went to C2 for a weekend to get my Rowing certification.

On day two they took me out on the water to learn how to scull.

It was amazing! I loved it! I sucked at it! I understood it!

Think of the rower being in water. If you row like a hurky jerky you'll fall out of the boat!

If you are smooth and travel with the water not creating any extra movement of the water and of the scull, you will move like a hot knife through coconut butter!

Every person is different in learning movement.

The next time you're on the rower, ask one of the Coaches to give you two cues to help you improve.

Nail those two things over and over.

Once we see that you can hold on to those two improvements we will move on to the next step!

Efficient movement is earned!

Check out this video: Let's diagnose where your power loss is, reel it in, and smooth it out!





-Jen Conlin

Member Spotlight: Tim Francis

Tim Francis has his hands full.

With a wife, four daughters, three dogs, and a horse to keep him busy, Tim doesn't get much time for himself.

Even with his crazy, hectic schedule, Tim still makes sure to keep wodding high on his priority list.

Tim loves all things CrossFit (except burpees and mountain climbers), especially box jumps and Olympic weight lifting.

He is hoping to hit a 44 inch box jump, by his 44th birthday next year... and is super flexible with ass to the grass squats.

Tim is also a die hard obstacle race enthusiast.

This past weekend he completed the Tough Mudder race in Vermont, and is hoping to get accepted into Spartan Ultra Beast, a marathon obstacle course.

Tim tries to be active every chance he gets, even mowing the lawn with a 40 lb weight vest on! Every time!

Since joining CFL, Tim has gone about 80% Paleo...but refuses to give up on his beer!

If you had an Army of estrogen in your house... you wouldn't give it up either!