Each month we spotlight a different CFA athlete who stands out and shows just how awesome they are. What is it that makes up an Athlete of the Month? It may not be the person that finishes the fastest, Rx’s every WOD, or gets a PR every time they walk in the gym. Although we love and celebrate when those things happen, the Athlete of the Month is made up of much more than physical ability. This person shows up, gives their best every time, and then gives a little more. They are hungry to learn and always ready to do the work. They support their fellow classmates and encourage them to reach their goals. This athlete embodies what we believe the CrossFit Austin Community should be about.

Our April Athlete of the Month is Zachary Perl! Zach joined the CFA community back in October. You’ll typically find him here in theafternoons, cracking jokes and givingthe coaches a hard time (all in good fun). He brings an awesome energy to his classes and to the community as a whole. He’s a hard worker and we are excited to watch him continue on the positive path he’s on. Who knows what this guy is going to accomplish?! We’re so happy to have Zach as our April Athlete of theMonth. Congratulations Zach!

 

State your Name and/or Nickname please:

Zachary Perl (Perl, Zoltan, Doctor Perl) 

Words to live by?
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” – Hunter S. Thompson

What is your fitness background?
My fitness background used to consist of lifting the Xbox controller and eating pop tarts, but eventually I fell in love with weightlifting and football in middle school. Later, I went on to make the Rugby/Keg Race team in college.

How long have you been CrossFitting?
I’ve been at it for a little over a year so far.

Take us back to your first day of CrossFit… How did you feel? How do you compare it to workouts today?
Let’s just say it was painful. I moved down to Texas and I had spent about 2 months sleeping on a concrete floor. These are not ideal conditions before your first WOD.

What’s your favorite part of CrossFit Austin?
The knowledge. CFA has so much to offer if you want to learn about the body, the movements, and the techniques. Being an athlete is one thing, but being able to properly teach athletes is what makes CF Austin elite.

Current Training Goals/PRs?
For the 2017 Open I’d like to finish in the top 15%…that or defeat a black bear in hand-to-hand combat.

What advice do you have for folks just starting out in CrossFit?
Just breath (literally and figuratively). I’ve had so many days where I’ve said, “Okay that’s it… I quit. I’ll never be as good as [insert athlete’s name here]” but it’s really not about that. It’s all about the community, and it’s all about being happy with you. If you can finish just one WOD, you’re doing more in one hour than most Americans do in one month.

What is your cheat meal go to?
Pretty much anything that has cheese and bacon melted on top of it. Extra love if you add Sriracha sauce.

Tell us about a moment you felt most proud of yourself during a workout.
One of my proudest moments was finishing my first competition. It was 10 minutes of Push Press, 50ft sled pulls, and then pushes. I almost died. Some little old lady came over and gave me a cookie after it was over and it all sunk in.

If you could create a WOD and name it for yourself, what would it be?
It would be called Gold’s Gym Gone Bad. It would be a 15-min AMRAP of gym selfies, bicep curls, and protein shakes.  Extra credit: Take one mirror-pic with your homie EMOM.

What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit?

I’m lost somewhere in limbo between being a hillbilly and a nerd. I spend most of my time outdoors: Hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, snowboarding and drinking (on a patio of course). When I’m inside I play the guitar, read (usually Stephen King novels and comic books), play video games, and watch Bob’s Burgers.

Tell us something we don’t know about you…
I’m pretty much an open book, but I did set a couch on fire once…

Longhorns or Aggies?

HAH! I bleed gold & blue…and moonshine. Let’s Goooooooo, Mountaineers!

Leave the fine folks of CrossFit Austin with some parting words…
Thanks for having me CFA. I joke a lot but I’m beyond serious when I say you’ve become my family. Thanks for all of the support and patience on my journey through Crossfit. Much love, y’all.

 

 

 

Today,  we’re excited to launch The Expert Series.  Each month we offer The Expert Series we will host a guest coach who is the best of the best in their field of expertise. Our subject matter experts will offer a specialized class for the month. Primarily we will focus on the sports that are featured in CrossFit training such as Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, powerlifting, running, rowing, etc…

CrossFit Austin is proud to welcome Ursula Garza Papandrea as our Expert Series guest coach this April. Ursula is widely regarded as one of the absolute best Olympic Weightlifting coaches in the United States. She’s one of only 25 coaches designated as Level 5 Senior International Coach by USAW. This is the highest designation a coach can receive from USAW. Most recently Ursula guided her men’s Weightlifting team to the 2014 National Championship.

REGISTER HERE 

Dates:
Saturdays April 16th, 23rd, 30th

Time:
10 am – Noon

Price:
$75/session or $200 for all 3 sessions (limited to 12 athletes / session)

Experience Level:
This is an Intermediate to advanced course. Athletes should have at the very least a year of experience utilizing the snatch and clean & jerk consistently in their training program. This is not a beginners course, athletes should have a strong understanding of the two classic lifts (Snatch and Clean & jerk) and also be familiar with accessory lifts such as the back squat, front squat, push press, pulls, etc. If you have any question as to whether you’re prepared to take the class please contact us at info@crossfitaustin.com.

Pre registration:
Monday April 4 – April Wednesday 6th (This will be for CrossFit Austin members and coaches only)

Open Registration:
Thursday April 7th until spots run out  

Full Bio:
Ursula Garza Papandrea is an elite international athlete and the one of only two women to attain USA Weightlifting’s Level 5 Senior International Coach. She is one of only 25 such coaches in USA Weightlifting and the only Level 5 coach in Texas. She has trained athletes that have represented Team USA at the Junior World Championships, University World Championships, Senior World Championships, Pan Am Games, and Olympic Trials. including the 2014 Men’s National Championship Team Texas Barbell.

Ursula has extensive national and international experience in competitive weightlifting as an athlete since 1987. She’s a Two-time senior national champion, two-time Olympic Festival champion, 5 time world team member (1992-1996), and former record holder in both snatch (master’s) and clean and jerk.

She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise and Sports Science, and a Master’s Degree in Political Science and has had a career as a Professor at Austin Community College since 1994. In 2009 she competed again, winning Master’s National Championships(best lifter award) and again in 2010. She is CrossFit Level 1 certified and have been part of the CrossFit Olympic Lifting Certification Staff since 2009. She also instructs the USAW Level 1 Sports Performance courses.

About two years ago, everyone’s favorite bearded CrossFit superstar Lucas Parker posted this on instagram:

Remember your ABCs: Always Be CrotchStretching

A photo posted by Lucas Parker (@toqueluc) on Aug 24, 2014 at 9:16pm PDT

 

Since then the world realized “You’re only cool if you stretch your groin”.

In all seriousness regular stretching and foam rolling your groin has a myriad of benefits from helping relieve knee and lower back pain to improving the bottom of your squat, and giving you a stronger set up position in the Olympic lifts.  I like the KISS method for mobility so you won’t find any bands or fancy contraptions in our stretching series below. Good ole fashion gravity will be doing the work in these stretches, and the whole routine should take no longer than 10 minutes. Lastly it’s important to remember not to be over aggressive when stretching, if a stretch gives you excessive pain or any numbness discontinue immediately.

 

Groin on the Wall Stretch

• Lay flat on your back with your butt all the way against the wall
• Let your legs fall to side and spread as far apart as possible
• Relax your feet do not pull your toes back or flex your calves
• Take long deep breaths through your belly, gently increase the stretch as you exhale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frog Stretch

• On your forearms and knees, face down on the floor point your feet out, and let your your knees spread wide
• Using your forearms to gently push your hips back and keep your chest as close to the floor as possible
• Take long deep breaths through your belly, gently increase the stretch as you exhale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lizard Stretch

• This stretch will also incorporate the hip capsule and hip flexors
• Kneeling on one knee, lower your hand or forearm to the ground
• Try to keep your torso as close to the “up” leg as possible
• Take long deep breaths through your belly, gently increase the stretch as you exhale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standing Groin Stretch

• Standing up prop a straight leg up on a box or elevated surface so your foot is above your waist
• Increase the stretch by slowly squatting with leg you are standing on
• Take long deep breaths through your belly, gently increase the stretch as you exhale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those are the stretches now here’s the routine.

3:00 Groin on the Wall Stretch
2:00 Frog Stretch
1:00 Lizard stretch right leg
1:00 Lizard stretch left leg
1:00 Standing Groin stretch right leg
1:00 Standing Groin stretch left leg

This is a great series of stretches to do on a daily basis at night or in the morning if you have “tight” hips or are experiencing some knee ache while squatting. Its also great to do before class especially on days that include lunge, squatting, or Olympic lifts. Enjoy!

-Coach Wes

Check out these mobility tips from Coach Tim!

 

Each month we spotlight a different CFA athlete who stands out and shows just how awesome they are. What is it that makes up an Athlete of the Month? It may not be the person that finishes the fastest, Rx’s every WOD, or gets a PR every time they walk in the gym. Although we love and celebrate when those things happen, the Athlete of the Month is made up of much more than physical ability. This person shows up, gives their best every time, and then gives a little more. They are hungry to learn and always ready to do the work. They support their fellow classmates and encourage them to reach their goals. This athlete embodies what we believe the CrossFit Austin Community should be about.

Our March Athlete of the Month is Nicole Seltman! Nicole has been with us since 2012! She’s an evening gal, having dance parties during her rest time with the late night crew :). Nicole is an incredibly hard worker, always giving her best and making the rest of us look bad (just kidding, only some of us ;), but she’s awesome). She is focused and has a wonderful competitive energy. She’ll make you push yourself a little harder too. We’re so happy to have Nicole in our community and we’re extremely proud of all of her accomplishments, including being this month’s Athlete of the Month. Congratulations Nicole and thanks for all you do!

State your Name and/or Nickname please:
Nicole or Seltman

Words to live by?
Do what you like. Like what you do. I don’t stop till the mission is done, I don’t stop till they tell me I’ve won.

What is your fitness background?
I grew up playing competitive soccer all my life. In high school I played soccer and also
lacrosse. I continued to play soccer and lacrosse at the club level in college.

How long have you been CrossFitting?
I think it’s been 4 years!

Take us back to your first day of CrossFit… How did you feel? How do you compare it to workouts today?
Oh my gosh, I remember when I came to do the initial visit. I was sooooo intimidated. It was like 6:30 or 7:00 at night and CFA was in the old building. I was freaking out in the car because here I am walking up to what looks like an old warehouse, in the dark, and there are all these barbells hitting the ground and people screaming. I was like “oh man, what did I get myself into? Maybe I should just go back to 24 hr fitness, but I just took a deep breath and walked in. I have never looked back once.

What’s your favorite part of CrossFit Austin?

I love everything! CFA really feels like home to me- and the people are my family. I love our community, the welcoming atmosphere when you step into the gym, and of course the coaches. For me, it is great to have a place I can come to where I can forget the stress of my day. I love being able to put it all out there, focus on what I want to focused on, get coached to do better. Plus to be surrounded by people who push me, challenge me and care about me as an athlete and as a person- what more can you ask for? CrossFit is my therapy.

Current Training Goals/PRs?
Well of course I have goals to increase my weights on all my lifts. In addition to that I really just want to continue to get stronger and faster. Now that I’m not training for the half anymore, I can get back to lifting and really upping those numbers, so that is where I’m focusing right now. Everyday my goal is just to do better than before- whether that’s 1 more rep, one less second, or 1 more pound.,

Oh, and I’d also like to be able to complete all the Open workouts Rx!

What advice do you have for folks just starting out in CrossFit?
Don’t be intimidated by the grunting, big plates, or crazy movements. Just know we were all starting out at some point. Leave your ego at the door, say hi, introduce yourself and smile. Remember it’s about having fun and making CrossFit what you want it to be for yourself. Who cares what your time is or what your score was…you came in and you got work done (and hopefully had fun) and that is what matters. Oh and of course, ask for help – we are all here to make this the best experience for you that it can be!

What is your cheat meal go to?
It’s probably pizza- I have been trying various places around Austin and am still on the search for the BEST pizza out there. But then again, there is also Kerbey Queso, or chocolate covered almonds with melted almond butter…oh man…

Tell us about a moment you felt most proud of yourself during a workout.
I think last year completing 15.5 was one of my most proud moments. I HATE rowing and of course thrusters aren’t really all that fun either. I was so nervous- but I just got out there and gave it my all. I remember everyone cheering me on and pushing me to keep going. At the end I collapses to the floor and felt completely wiped out (see attached photo). But at the same time, I knew I had put it all out there and I felt really proud of that!

If you could create a WOD and name it for yourself, what would it be?

The Seltman:

Max plank hold 🙂

What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit?
I really like to run- hence my Instagram posts for #sundayrunday. I just ran my 6th half (PR’ed baby!) and I’m sure there will be more to come. I tend to be competitive so anything involving winning intrigues me 🙂 I am a huge soccer player and love to do anything on the water- kayak, paddleboard, swim, etc.

Tell us something we don’t know about you…
I can imitate a dolphin whistle 🙂

Longhorns or Aggies?

I’m actually from NY and went to college at Johns Hopkins where no one really cared about football- it was all about lacrosse for us (our homecoming was in the spring!). So I’m not a huge football fan. However, since moving to Austin I have become more interested in the sport and that being said, I have to go with the Longhorns!

Leave the fine folks of CrossFit Austin with some parting words…
Thank you so much for selecting me as AOM. I am really honored to be a part of CFA’s Community. I love our gym and I love the people that are a part of it. I really consider myself lucky to be surrounded by such an awesome family. Thank you for pushing me to do better and be better every day.