Level Two Strength/Make Up Day A. Cleans x1x5 85-90% or 9-10 RPE Rest 2:00
B. CDL x3x5 @ 66% of DL Rest 3:00
C1. Front Squat x4-5×3 80-85% Rest :60
C2. DB Snatch x5/armx3 Rest :60
Level One (Day 6) Skill Front Squats Deadlifts
WOD A. Lift off+DL x3+2×3 Rest :90
B. Front Squat x4x3 @ 32X3 Rest :45
C1. Unweighted Step-ups x6/leg x2 Rest :45
C2. Chin-ups x6-12×2 Rest :45
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault
The Open is here! Workouts start at CFA start Saturday! Can’t make it in on Saturday for the workout? Choose it as your make up class today! Learn more here.
CFA will have a Happy Hour on March 1st at 7pm at Little Woodrows in South Park Meadows. Come out to meet and mingle with friends – new and old!
Good luck to Dan (Danimal), Jessica (“G”) and Sameer (“Rocky”) as they run from the masses today in the Zombi Race!
Congratulations to Janice Trinidad on her performance at this past weekend’s Paramount 5K! Way to go, lady!
Level One (Day 5) Skill Ring Dips
WOD 3 Rounds (3:00 on/ 1:00 off)
200 M Run
5 Wall Balls
5 Push-ups
5 Sit-ups w/ MB
*Record total rounds
*When the second rounds starts, athletes should start where they finished in round one
Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin. – Victor Kiam
Don’t forget! Sign-up for the CrossFit Games Open has started! Click here to sign up and represent CFA (registration has been extended through Sunday, 2/26). Workouts start this week!
CFA will have a Happy Hour on March 1st at 7pm at Little Woodrows in South Park Meadows. Come out to meet and mingle with friends – new and old!
Good luck to Jessica (“G”) and Sameer (“Rocky”) as they run from the masses during tomorrow’s Zombi Race!
I have had what I consider a “big girl” complex. Being a big girl is reality for me at 5’9” tall. But my insecurity about my size is not just due to my height – it has been rooted in my past as long as I can remember. I have never been a small or even an average-framed girl. I was born a whopping 11 pound, 23” long baby (sorry, Mom)! It was never in my cards to be a petite gal. I was always naturally athletic, with more muscle mass than most girls (and guys, for that matter). It worked in my favor when it came to sports, but outside of that, it intimidated my peers. My broad shoulders garnered me names like “football player looking girl” and “turtle.” At 15, puberty hit, metabolism slowed down, food intake stayed the same, and I gained weight. My athletic frame became a chubby frame. I went from a size 8/10 to a 16/18 by the time I graduated college. Now I was tall and overweight – a big girl.
After graduating from college and finally accepting responsibility for my weight, I buckled down. I hit the gym harder and dialed in on nutrition. I saw immediate results, and because of that, became a personal trainer. From 2006 to 2010, I was training others to reach their fitness goals while I was on my own journey of getting back to the athletic frame I was born with. However, as I was losing the weight and becoming physically healthier and more attractive, my outlook was as unhealthy as it had ever been! I fed my mind so much junk food about my appearance and desirability, that I had convinced myself that my efforts were never good enough. In my mind, I was too big to get the guy of my dreams. It didn’t matter how much weight I lost or how well I was doing, my mental image was that of a big girl.
My “big girl” complex caused a whirlwind of problems. My health and fitness went on its own roller coaster. My unfit outlook brought on new insecurities leading to even greater losses of self-confidence and self-worth. It even affected my dating life. If a guy was interested in me, I would sabotage the relationship based on the image I had of being too big for him. It was a nightmare.
I’ve been thinking about how CrossFit Austin fit into this whole mindset thing for me. I knew CFA helped me accomplish great results physically, but I couldn’t pinpoint that one life-altering thing. When I joined CFA, I had already been crossfitting for about a year. I had already seen new and life-altering physical results. And those results were consistent! It wasn’t until a recent date with a guy when I realized how CFA has changed my life on the inside, too.
For the sake of saving this charming man’s identity, I’m going to name him Date Lesson #5347. We met for frozen yogurt (yum), and the owners made him buy me a rose (awkward). The conversation was good and we left on a positive note. There weren’t any big sparks, but definitely worth a second date. The next day, we had a texting conversation that went something like this:
Lesson #5347: So, what do you think? Blunt please.
Me: Thank you for the fro yo! I had a great time even though the owners might have made it awkward. And what do you think?
Lesson #5347: You’re def more built than I was expecting.
Me: Not sure how to respond to that…I’m not offended and won’t be but…good or bad?
Lesson #5347: Obviously you’re gorgeous! It’s just not what I’m initially attracted to.
Me: (No response)
Lesson #5347: (after a few hours) So I know my statement might have been a lil off. Wanna talk about it?
Me: It wasn’t off. It was honest and I appreciate/asked for it. I know my frame isn’t considered the norm and I’m ok with that. Just not sure if you’re ok with that and that’s ok too. I’m happy with me…to each his own.
Lesson #5347: I had fun with you. Want to hang out again?
Me: I don’t think there’s a romantic interest.
My responses to Lesson #5347 says it all in terms of where I am now mentally, and because of CFA, I wasn’t offended by anything he said. But because of what he said, I wasn’t interested anymore. He no longer interested me! My appearance shows my hard work, and if that wasn’t attractive to him, it wasn’t going to work out. After this interaction and re-reading the texts, the realization finally hit me! My “big girl” complex was over!
What a great “aha” moment for me! The wasted emotion I spent on beating myself up over something I couldn’t control was finally over. I finally reached the destination of my 14-year journey to physical and mental fitness! And I owe this breakthrough to CFA. I’m surrounded daily by people who genuinely support, motivate and encourage me. CFA has become my family, where I’ve learned and conquered so many things about myself through sharing the stories and experiences of those who workout next to me. I have to give a shout out here to our men, as they have been a huge help for me. They have given me faith that there are still men out there who will appreciate a strong, muscular woman. Thank you to our guys who don’t get “meatheadish” or crude around the ladies, and instead are the first to push/support us. It has really helped in breaking down my “big girl” complex.
In these ways, CFA has made me mentally fit. Without CFA in my life, I wouldn’t have been able to get as strong, as fast, or as toned as I have this past year. I owe the entire CFA community for that, and I am excited to be rid of the internal junk that hindered my fitness potential and decreased my self- worth for so many years. I firmly believe that in order to really reach your fitness goals, you’ve got to be mentally healthy too! What I considered not to be “normal” about myself for so long is, in reality, still not normal. After all, with all the air brushed models on magazine covers and fast food restaurants on every corner, true fitness isn’t normal. Like I told Date Lesson #5347, I’m okay with that. I’m a healthy “abnormal!”
Thank you CFA for allowing me to see me for me, accept me, embrace me and now OWN me!
WOD 3 Rounds (3:00 on/ 1:00 off)
200 M Run
5 Wall Balls
5 Push-ups
5 Sit-ups w/ MB
*Record total rounds
*When the second rounds starts, athletes should start where they finished in round one
It is easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them. -Alfred Adler
Level Two Skill
Push Press 5 @ 75% – 5 @ 80% – AMRAP @ 85% Rest 3:00 b/t sets
*Weight and reps recorded
WOD 3 Rounds 400 M Run
7:00 Active Rest (Practice Jump Rope Skills)
*Record best Run time
Cash out:
Accumulate :90 seconds in an L-Sit Hold in as few as set as possible
Level One (Day 4) Skill Rowing
Team WOD3 Rounds
250 M Row
10 Walking Russian Lunges (total)
10 Partner Chin-ups
*Total time recorded
*2 person teams Partner B can’t move on until partner A has finished exercise
Registration has been extended through Sunday, February 26th. If you haven’t signed up yet, pleaseclick hereto do so. Once you create a profile and register, you will be able to designate CFA as your affiliate. Need a reason to sign up? Click here!
The first CFA workout for the Open will be held onSaturday, February 25th. Be sure to sign up for a class (click here) and come join in on the fun! Because the Open workouts will be done as a gym on Saturdays, we’ve added an 11:00am Saturday session so that there will be room for all of our awesome CFA participants!
CFA Participants will have 3 times to complete the workout:
– Thursday during all class times for Make-up Day (the current week’s WOD only)
– Friday during Open Gym (5:30 PM)
– Saturday at our regularly scheduled All-Levels Class (9 AM, 10 AM, 11 AM)
Visiting or non-member CrossFitters are welcome to come do the workout and get their score validated at any of those times ($25 drop-in fee will be required).
All workouts must have a judge: the athlete will sign off on their score, the judge will sign the score card, and the coach in charge of class will sign off on the score.
Once, I was 15 years old. Now, I’m only 5 months old (in baby talk, that’s 20 weeks). Some of you may doubt it, but it is a true story. Let me break it down for you. It all revolves around “Training Age”. Here is the math…
Running Age:
Start – Finish = Training Age
E.g., 10 years old – 25 years old = 15 years old
CrossFit Age:
Start + Present = Training Age
E.g., September + February = 5 months
One might ask why “Training Age” matters, but here is a better question: Are you serious about achieving your fitness goals? If yes, then finding your training age could map out the next steps toward a higher level of fitness.
11/2 – 2 Years Old or “Younger” Spring is on its way, and no doubt, love is soon to follow. Having a young training age and new love are very similar. You can get away with almost anything.
Love Example: You don’t call her when you are supposed to. She doesn’t think anything of it – little hearts are still in her eyes. Training Example: You get 4 hours of sleep. You feel tired, but you still have a good strength day at CFA.
Love Example: You make him watch the Bachelorette, then break out the DVD box set just to show him the “good parts” of past seasons. He smiles and finds it adorable. Training Example: Your nutrition still consists of getting fast food because it’s easy… You still feel like you are getting “tone” after CFA workouts.
Love Example: Burping the alphabet is your go-to method of cheering her up. She laughs it off because you are sooo cute! Training Example: Your technique for the Olympic Lifts is not quite up to par. However, you feel good, because you still have “some” weight on the bar.
I think you see the pattern. Having a young training age means your body is hungry for a new stimulus. In fact, it could be so hungry that it will adapt to almost anything and any situation. As nice as that sounds, over time “any situation” just won’t cut it.
11/2 – 2 Years Old or “Older” With age comes wisdom. Your body (or significant other) is smarter now. The same ol’ thing just won’t cut it anymore…
You don’t call her when you are supposed to… She thinks the worst and fire is in her eyes! You get 4 hours of sleep….You feel exhausted and you have a terrible strength day. In fact, so bad it borders on NO strength at all!
You make him watch the Bachelorette, then break out the DVD box set just to show him the “good parts” from past seasons…He excuses himself to the bathroom. He sneaks out the bathroom window and you never see him again! Your nutrition still consists of getting fast food because it’s easy… You feel like crap and “lean” is a thing of the past!
Burping the alphabet is a way to cheer her up… She breaks up with you before you make it to letter “B”! Your technique for the Olympic Lifts is not quite up to par. You feel like crap because you are still the only one left with “some” weight on the bar, and you’re constantly fighting aches and pain from your ingrained poor-movement patterns!
As the old adage goes, “The little things in life matter.” It’s true, even with your fitness. As your training age gets older you need to master the little things!
Training Age
[Left] is a graph showing how fast one might adapt if they are young in training age. As I stated before, adaptation can happen fast, but it can also happen so fast that it will stunt your fitness growth (as the first peak shows).
Ideally we want the third peak. We might be new to CrossFit Austin and hungry for fitness, but we need to take the time and do it right! Otherwise, we could find ourselves working our way to the middle and grinding away on a fitness plateau [Right]. All this equals is exhaustion and frustration.
Tips for the Young “Training Age”
Patience: Take your time and recover between workouts
Technique: Practice the basics and master them.
Consistent Intensity: Don’t kill yourself on every workout! It is about the accumulation of quality work, not just having one great work out.
Mastering the Little Things early: Sleep, Nutrition, and Mobility.
Tips for the Old “Training Age”
Master the Little Things NOW!!: Sleep= 8+ hours, Nutrition= Healthy Foods, Mobility = 10-15 min. before or after class.
Taking it to the next level: If you need a new challenge or are at a plateau, it may be time for a more focused plan. Group competitive training is a great tool to motivate and break through psychological barriers. However, once that is accomplished, a focused plan that addresses your specific physical limitations is the best way to jump start more improvement.
Level Two Strength Day / Make Up Day A. Cleans x2x6 75-85% or 8 RPE Rest 2:00
B. CDL x4x4 62-66% of DL Rest 2:00
C1.Front Box Squat x5x3 Rest :90
C2. DB Jerk Unders x5x3 Rest :90
Level One (Day 3) Skill Back Squat
WOD A1. Back Squats x5x3 32X1 Rest :30
A2. Seated DB Ext. Rotation x10-12×3 Rest :60
B1. DB Press x6-8×3 Rest 1:00
B2. RDLs x4-6x 3 @ 4111 Rest 1:00
C. Ab exercise of choice x30 reps
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.” – Henry van Dyke
Congratulations to Janice Trinidad on her performance at this past weekend’s Paramount 5K! Way to go, lady!
