REAL Fitness

There are two reasons (other than health) for people to follow strength and conditioning programs:
1.) Because they want to BE stronger and fit or
2.) Because they want to Look stronger and fit

Over the past several of decades, the majority of America has changed their agenda. We have made the switch from the first reason for the second. Large scale "globo" gyms have largely facilitated this unfortunate shift in thought through the promotion of bodybuilding. While globo gyms make most of their money by getting people to sign up and hoping they don't show up, they also cannot afford with their model for their clients to participate in functional training. This is because functional or real training often requires real trainers to insure the movements are being performed correctly and safely. Real trainers are much to expensive for the globo gyms payroll as their business model is dependent on hiring minimum wage workers.

So with bodybuilding available, this allowed people to cheaply LOOK strong and fit and go along their lives all the much happier. Then this bodybuilding technique transferred over to our sports teams and athletes became bodybuilders. The problem...athletes (as well as the rest of us who'd like to be functional human beings) need to actually be strong and fit, not just look like it.

At the same time, on the other end of the spectrum, endurance athletes began to gain popularity. All off a sudden endurance athletes were looked at as the "Fittest people on earth". Now, I do not have anything against endurance athletes. I just think it is foolish that we call someone fit because they can go an extremely long distance at a fast pace. Being fit is not just about cardio endurance, speed, and stamina. It must include strength, power, flexibility, accuracy, balance, agility, and coordination, as well be applicable to all domains. The top endurance athletes (think Lance) are down right weak and unathletic in under any outlet besides their own specialized movement (running, biking, swimming...).

So why is being functionally fit really important? Besides for the obvious answer geared towards most sports, athletes, and many jobs, it is important for everyone because We ARE Human Beings and We PERFORM human movements. Being strong and fit makes you a more useful person. You will be more useful to those who need help, you will be quicker to react in a moment of crises, and you will be able to perform functional movements while you age. You never know what might happen in life, and it important to be ready. It is important to be Crossfit.

So where does that leave us now? Can we shift how everyone thinks about fitness? Yes, slowly but surly, we can influence those around us through example. By becoming strong and fit, others will eventually ask and try it themselves. I hope, one day, we won't be the proud minority of us crossfitters who do what we do, but we will be the proud majority. Excellence is attractive and caught on quickly. Our community demonstrates unyielding EXCELLENCE, and many others will be soon to follow...

Two of my more Recent PR's:

1-rep max Snatch - 160# (previous best - 145#)

"Diane" 3 Rounds:
21-15-9 For Time:
Deadlift (225#)
Hand Stand Push Ups

Time - 6:33 (previous best - 10:04)


1st Fight Gone Bad Tomorrow (with thruster instead of wall ball), wish me luck!

-CJ

Lots of Fun

I want to thank everyone who took the time to come to our first free Saturday workout. We certainly had a great time working with you all and watching you fly through that workout. You all kicked ass!... but you girls, Sue and Heidi, both really impressed us; especially when you both cranked through both rounds of those tabata pushups! We can't wait to see all of you again this Saturday!

This Saturday, the 26th, we will most likely be hosting free workouts at both Carpinteria and Isla Vista.

The Carpinteria session will most likely be held at 10am and the Isla Vista will be held at 12pm. In IV, we will be meeting at the pullup bars outside of the RecCen at UCSB. They are right in between the outside basketball courts and the turf field. There should be plenty of parking at the parking garage across from the RecCen. The Carp location is still being worked out, but I will give you an update as soon as we know.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at crossfitjenkins@gmail.com or Bill at huffyhuff@gmail.com

Beach Workout

This weekend, Bill Huffman and I will be running our first (of hopefully many) free Saturday workouts. The plan is to have everyone meet on the beach near the Embarcadero entrance (shown in the picture) at noon. For those who unfamiliar with Crossfit, it will be a great way to check us out and get a taste of what it is. For everyone already familiar with it, including some of you monster crossfitters I've met lately, it will be a great way to meet other people in our community. For those of you who prefer to workout with someone else, this is a great opportunity to find local crossfitters.

This is also a great opportunity for you to meet up and talk to Bill and myself about our future opening of Crossfit Santa Barbara. I would love to answer any questions and listen to any suggestions you may have.

So come out and join us this Saturday at the beach. We'll workout, hang out, and for the first time, attempt to bring together the local Santa Babara Crossfit community. See you there!

-CJ

A Learning Experience

So I've been dreading taking the class for a long time: Intermediate Weight Training. I couldn't believe I'd be forced to take such a basic class for body builders from some guy, who at best knew a little more than nothing. I was fuming whenever I had the thought of having to go to this class twice a week for the next 10 weeks. I just knew it was going to be a disaster.

When I got to class, I was handed a questionnaire asking, among other things, what I expected to get from the class. My answer- "nothing". I handed it in and bounced.

The next time I had the class, the instructor asked who "Colin" was and introduced me to the class as the person to ask besides him if they had any questions about anything including form and programming. I wasn't happy to be singled out without being talked to first, but after talking to the instructor, I realized this was a great opportunity for me. He was allowing me to use this otherwise useless hour, to instead work on my ability to train. The more practice I get, the better I'll be, and I want to be the best. Although I may disagree with the programming and mentality the instructor has towards training, I am very thankful to him for giving me opportunity to actually learn from the class.

I guess even the most dreaded things can turn out for the best...

Past 2 wods:

1.) "Barbara" 5 Rounds with 3 in rests between:
20 Pullups
30 Pushups
40 Abmat Situps
50 Squats

(3:01 - 3:25 - 3:58 - 4:01 - 4:28)
Total Time - 18:52 (PR by over 4 minutes)


2.) For Time:
5 Push Press (115#)
25 DB Swings (60#)
10 Push Press
20 DB Swings
15 Push Press
15 DB Swings
20 Push Press
10 DB Swings
25 Push Press
5 DB Swings

Time - 12:14

-CJ

Posture

So whats really the importance of having good posture? I know mom's hate to see their kids walking around with bad posture, but what about bad posture makes is distinctly "bad"? Many many many things.

Posture, even an only slightly bad one, is by and large, the reason severe chronic back and neck pain are so common in our country. The reason can be largely because many of us sit in chairs all day, which evolutionarily we were not designed to do. Sitting down with a non-active back promotes rounded shoulders, a overly flexed back. Not to mention the use of computers often causes a overly forward posture of our neck. Chronic pain, however, is not the only reason to avoid bad posture...

Bad posture is LARGELY at fault for many athletic injuries. Especially those injuries which we tend to get over and over again. Here is an example: having a overly forward (or flexed) neck changes our center of balance. Our shoulders then slump forward to accommodate this defect. Then the anterior (front) portion of our pelvis shifts forward. This puts tremendous stress on our hamstring muscles which makes them much more prone to injury. This anterior pelvic tilt also affects our athletic performance. If a muscle is already stretched, we cannot use that muscle to its full potential. So, for us crossfitters, exercises like jumping, squating and thrusters, the Olympic lifts, and many other aspects of fitness suffer. There are many other ways in which posture can affect our whole bodies and can make a big difference in our athletic ability.

So I am asking you to think actively think about your posture when you can. When you are sitting down, don't slump or slouch... it could cost you not only in later chronic pain, but it could deprive you of your full athletic potential.

Past 3 Day's:

Day 1-"Mary" as many rounds in 20 minutes of:
5 HSPU - 10 Pistols - 15 Pullups

Score - 10.7 Rounds (a PR by almost 2 rounds)

Day 2- Find max 1-rep Deadlift
3 x 225, 3 x 255, 2 x 275, 2 x 295, 1 x 315, 1 x 345, 1 x 370 (f)
note...I jumped up much too quickly on that last set in hope of getting a pr. Stupid idea

then,

5 Rounds for time:
10 Box Jumps (30") - 10 Back Extensions - 10 AbMat Situps

Time - 5:54


Day 3 -5 Rounds for time:
400m Run - 20 Thrusters (75#) - 5 ManMakers (20# each DB)

Time - 21:15


(I will to post after every 3 day cycle on my rest days for now on)
-CJ

A Great Week

Wow, what a great week this has been. I never thought waking up at 4am during spring break could be a fun thing to do! I want to thank B-boy and Robin so much for taking me under their wing and teaching me so much. The amount of knowledge and experience I am taking away from them is truly priceless. They are both very inspirational to me and I cannot express my gratitude enough. I also want to thank everyone who I got to work out with and meet in the mornings. Everyone really helped and encouraged me to push myself harder. There is a lot to say about competition and its effects on performance. CF NSC is a breeding ground for competition and performance and I've enjoyed every little bit of it (yes, even when I got my ass kicked doing "Sage". Hopefully, I'll be back to see everyone in SC sooner than later.

As I head back to SB, I know its going to be one hell of a quarter. It will truly be a quarter of fitness. My classes: Physiology of Exercise, Applied Kinesiology, and Sport Exercise Psychology among others. I will be training hard as well as running my delivery business. I also really want to get CFSB started this summer and there is a LOT to plan for and a LOT to be done. I am also feeling the excitement to have my certification in May. Things couldn't be going busier...or better.

I hope everyone else had an awesome spring break!

Spring Break

It's finally here!

I head back to Santa Cruz today for the first time since winter and I couldn't be happier. The stress of finals is over and now I can relax. I'll be at Crossfit NSC starting monday at 5am. The plan is to workout, shower, and then hang out there all day absorbing as much as I can from Brendon and the rest of the great trainers. I think this will be one if the best learning experiences ever. I cannot wait!

On the down side, I strained a tendon in my "good" shoulder the other day doing knees 2 elbows in a dreadfully hard workout (21-15-9-15-21 of Hang Squat Cleans and K2Es). I've been resting it for the past 2 days but it still is sore (and not the good type of sore). Hopefully, by Monday, it will be good enough to go for whatever the white board demands.

...Sorry if my posts look a little bland without pictures. I sold my camera so I could get in some extra privates with B. Right now, expanding my knowledge on the subject that I love is much more important than a little luxury. I'll try to make up for it in the future by spending more time on each blog so I can write more in depth and interesting material than I have in the past.
-CJ

New Goals

So I set a new personal record for "Fran" again. 4 minutes 36 seconds; almost a minute better than my last attempt 2 months ago. I am excited to see what I can do in the future. This got me thinking about some new goals of mine.

A great way to improve your level of fitness to set goals for yourself. Extremely hard, yet achievable goals. They are useful because they can put you in a clear direction to where you want to go. I think we all should always have goals for themselves. This way we are always progressing, always achieving.

Here are some of my new goals:
-Open CF Santa Barbara
-Attend a level 1 CF Cert and O'Lift Cert by the end of 2008
-Personal records:
*Have a sub 3 minute Fran by 2009
*Have a 30 plus Cindy by 2009
*Have a Sub 8 minutes Helen by 2009
*Back Squat over 400#
*Run a 5K in under 18 minutes
*Have over a bodyweight Snatch

...The list goes on and on in my head and I have NO DOUBT that I will accomplish them all. I know this because I know I will try as hard as I can to tear through my workouts every day, learn as much as I can, program smart, pay attention to my body, and stay on the zone.

We can all accomplish our goals if we train hard enough, eat right, and follow the Crossfit regimen. All that matters is one thing...How bad do you want it??

Pushing Your Limits

It's all about pushing your limits! It's all about going farther than you think is possible. The more and more I delve myself into the philosophy, science, and practice behind crossfit,, the more I am noticing that after a point, you need to erase from your mind the word IMPOSSIBLE. It is not a word. It does not truly exist. I believe you can always push yourself harder. And harder. And harder! Push yourself each and every time you enter the gym! The harder you push yourself to your absolute limit, the faster and stronger your progress will be.

I believe so much in this program, I can talk to people forever about it with unrelenting enthusiasm. And I feel this enthusiasm for fitness is being transformed into an enthusiasm for life. With its ever-growing community and acceptance, functional fitness is changing more lives than ever. And I am more than thrilled that I have found such a great program so young in life. I want to push myself harder than ever. I want you to push yourself harder than ever too! The more this community strives for excellence, the stronger and fitter we will all get as a whole.

Here are some of my recent PRs:

"Annie"
Time - 8:14

Max Snatch: 145#

2k Row - 7:17

Max Clean - 215

3 Rounds For Time:
30 Box Jumps (24")
21 DB Swings (55#)
12 Pullups
Time - 11:49

Have a great day, I've been busy as usual but I'll try to post more often
CJ

Also...next Monday for me is "Fran". My goal: under 4 minutes!