Brace Yourself!

Brace yourself! What steps are you taking to prepare for a lift? If bracing isn’t one of them then you need to check this out! Coach Wes teaches us how to properly brace and how it can help us out.

Check out the full video below!

May Athlete of the Month – Lauren Fritz!!

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 May Athlete of the Month is Lauren Fritz!  Lauren started her journey with us just over a year ago! You’ll typically find her here with the chicken o’clock (5:30 am) crew, starting her day the best way we can think of! This purple haired beauty brings an awesome energy to the community. She’s a hard worker and we’ve loved watching her grow and progress this far. Every day she makes new strides and we’re excited to see just how far she will go. We’re so happy to have Lauren as our May Athlete of the Month. Congratulations Lauren!

State your Name and/or Nickname please:lauren1
Lauren Fritz (Fritz, Fritzi)

Words to live by?
Animals are friends, not food ☺

lauren2What is your fitness background?
Danced up until college, then drank whiskey

How long have you been CrossFitting?
Literally one year- Just had my CFA anniversary <3

Take us back to your first day of CrossFit… How did you feel? How do you compare it to workouts today?
Before signing up for The Prep I went to a night class where Nole was coach. I didn’t have double unders so I had to do 300 singles and then some running, pretty sure it was an AMRAP… somehow I still ended up signing up for The Prep even though I couldn’t walk for about a week.lauren3

What’s your favorite part of CrossFit Austin?
The recreational drinking at the events I love to watch.

Current Training Goals/PRs?
Now that my faith has been restored in my ability to do DUs, I’d say to get more efficient at them and string more than 3 together.

lauren4What advice do you have for folks just starting out in CrossFit?
It can be intimidating at first… and even a year later… but CFA really is the best community out there. I can’t imagine ever switching.. well, unless everyone else leaves and CFA gets all new coaches/members. I probably wouldn’t like them as much.

What is your cheat meal go to?
queso, mac and cheese, BBQ pizza… I’m drooling

Tell us about a moment you felt most proud of yourself during a workout.
2016 Open, I was able to do some of the work outs RX, when usually I take pride in scaling 🙂
I also have a whole new crossfit attitude since The Open, I am positive that no workout can suck as bad as 16.4 and 16.5. lauren5

If you could create a WOD and name it for yourself, what would it be?
My favorite exercise is a cross between a lunge and a crunch. Its called lunch.

What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit?
I enjoy the sun and being outside, but I can spend hours on the couch watching TV.

Tell us something we don’t know about you…
I lack a competitive nature at the gym… but when it comes to board/card games, shit gets real.

lauren6Longhorns or Aggies?
Hook’em

Leave the fine folks of CrossFit Austin with some parting words…
I complain, a lot, but thank you to the coaches and members for pushing me and believing in me, even when I don’t. Ya’ll are amazing.

April Athlete of The Month – Zachary Perl!!

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.Displaying IMG_7609.JPGDisplaying IMG_7609.JPG

zoltanTell 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.

 

 

 

The Expert Series || Olympic Weightlifting with Ursula Garza Papandrea

expert series

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.

Your ABCs #Alwaysbecrotchstretching || Coach Wes Kimball

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

 

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

wall

  • 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

frog1frog2

  • 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

lizard

  • 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

  • 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

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