Aaron has been an active member of our community for the last several years. Over the past year he’s put in a ton of work immersing himself in education
around coaching and improving his own and others fitness. We’re excited to add him to our AM coaching staff and are confident in his ability to lead within our community. Above all else Aaron is a humble, hardworking, great person (just like every other member of our staff) and we’re excited to see him grow and display those qualities as a coach with CFA!
About Aaron:
Aaron Garza graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2011 with a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering. As a lifelong athlete with an engineering background, Aaron has a passion for problem solving, especially when it comes to human movement and performance. He began competing in the endurance space throughout college which ultimately led to the completion of the 2012 Dallas White Rock Marathon. However, In June of 2013, while training for the Austin 70.3 Ironman, a cycling accident landed him in the ER with a broken tibia. It was during the injury rehabilitation process that he discovered Crossfit. After immersing himself in the world of Crossfit for nearly 3 years, he received his Crossfit Level 1 Trainer Certification.
A Message from Aaron:
“My knee injury was a tough time for me. I went from working out 6 days a week to non-weight bearing for 6 weeks. During my rehab, Crossfit provided me the opportunity to address my limited range of motion and mobility with healthy, strength specific training. I instantly fell in love with Crossfit and always knew that one day I’d give back and serve the same community that did so much for me. I am beyond excited to be a part of this team and eager to help others improve their general health and wellness in a way that’s positive and fun.”
A. Spend 12 minutes working up to a challenging Squat Snatch or Power Snatch + OHS (80-90%)
B. 14 minute AMRAP 10 power snatch @ 95 / 65 / 16K KB swing 12 box step ups @ 24 / 20 / 12 14 deadlifts (same as above) 200m run *rounds + reps recorded
Optional ‘Cash Out’: Row or airbike max calories in 4 min
Scaling Guide: – 3-6 rounds, about 3 min per round. – Scale Up: 135 / 85lbs
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman
“Stay positive and happy. Work hard and don’t give up hope. Be open to criticism and keep learning. Surround yourself with happy, warm and genuine people.” – Tena Desae
A. 10-15 Minutes of Handstand Work *can work on push-ups, walks, kick-ups, coach and athlete choice
B. PARTNER workout. 20 minute AMRAP 400m Bumper Plate @ 45 / 25 / 15 (both partners run together can trade off who carries plate) 25 bumper plate burpees (same weight) 25 bumper plate squats (hug plate to chest) (same weight) 25 supine ring rows *One person works at a time, partners split the reps of each exercise except the run. *Total team reps recorded
Use your fitness! Shout out to Leah Alter and Nicole Seltman for getting out in the world and using their fitness to do cool human things!
A. 12:00 E202 3 OVHD Squat @ 50-60% *slow tempo down, 2-3 second pause in the bottom. They can build up to this not sets accross B. 16:00 EMOM Min 1 – 1 Back Squat @ 75-85% Min 2 – 3/arm Single Arm Ring Row *all sets across %
C. 8:00 AMRAP 7 hang power snatch @ 95 / 65 / 35 7 Overhead Squat (same) 14 Box jump @ 24” /20” / 12”)
Scaling Guide: – Scale Up: 115/75lb bar
Optional ‘Cash Out’: 4 Rounds 16 suitcase lunge steps 8 push ups 100m run
This is the third article in our “Fitness Fundamentals” series, so far we’ve addressed Nutrition, and conditioning. These articles are for those just starting a health and fitness journey who need simple actionable advice to start improving right away. For those whom fitness is already an active part of their lives, fundamentals are something that should be revisited consistently to make sure the foundation of our hard work remains solid in support of our goals.
Today we address “Gymnastics” basically learning how to to control and move our own bodies through space. It’s important to distinguish between competitive gymnastics and gymnastic as it pertains to fitness training. For most the high level skills displayed in competitive gymnastics are not necessary for fitness, however we do want to emulate the physical qualities competitive gymnasts have perfected. We’ll define those qualities as flexibility, body control, and upper body strength.
Flexibility
You’ll hear flexibility called many names in fitness circles (mobility, increased range of motion, etc.) but we simply want people to maintain the ability to freely move your joints and muscles without significant limitation. For most their current work environment is actively reducing their flexibility and ability to correctly perform simple natural movements like squatting, bending, lunging, pushing, and pulling. A consistent routine of stretching and performing the above movements.
Action step: Maintain and developing flexibility is best done with day to day consistency. The best source we’ve found for this is call ROMWOD. They offer a short 15-20 minute flexibility session daily.
Body Control
Not only should we be able to move our muscles and joints freely we also need to be able to control those movements to ensure they’re effective and safe. Body control is simply the ability of your of your body to do exactly what your brain tell is to do. The way gymnast obtain this skill is with load of tempo and isometric work. In layman’s terms that means moving in and out of positions slowly and holding positions for extended periods of time. Tempo work can be applied to any of the above mentioned movement patterns (squatting, bending, lunging, pushing, and pulling) to develop effective body control. Additionally using core exercises such as hollow holds and hollow rocks help one develop the ability to coordinate the upper body and lower body to work well together.
Action step: Next time you’re training try adding a 3 second descent and 3 second pause at the bottom or top of your movements. Notice the increase in difficulty and intensity that a little extra “control” adds to any given movement.
Upper Body Strength
Lastly let’s talk quickly about the importance of upper body strength. Most men spend years of their youth focusing on bench press numbers at the cost of developing adequate pulling and pressing strength. Meanwhile many female gym goers shy away from upper body work in fear of looking bulky. Utilizing fundamental gymnastic movements helps create well balanced upper body strength as well as an aesthetically pleasing upper back physique.
Action step Here’s a quick upper body training with the goal of achieving 1 strict pull-up. Day 1 – 3 sets of 8-12 banded pull-ups (enough band tension to do 8 but no more than 12) 2 sets of 10-15 RIng Rows or Horizontal pull-ups
Day 2 – Rest Day 3 – 3 sets of 3 Negative Pull-ups: Jump your chin up above the bar and lower yourself for 5 seconds.
Day 4 – Rest
Day 5 – 6 sets of 3 banded pull-ups (less band tension than day 1) 3 set of :10-30 Hang from the Pull-up bar. Thanks for stopping in! Our next installment we will discuss weightlifting and barbell training!
