Ethan Doiron talks about an important aspect of the Crossfit Community.  He has been a part of the Crossfit Kinnick Family  even before it was Crossfit Kinnick, back in my 3-car garage.  One of the originals from mid 2007, he has grown into quite the Crossfitter and has a nice perspective that we all can benefit from in regards to Accountability.  Some of you may not know that he competed in the 2008 Crossfit Games as a teenager.  Now he is an integral part of the Training Team at Crossfit Kinnick.

“Nick wrote an awesome article last week about setting reasonable goals that can be reached one planned step at a time.  Now that is definitely the best way to go about improving your performance in Crossfit, setting goals that are attainable and then taking action.  That is an easy thing to say when you first start, but as time goes by, it will get more and more difficult to continue pushing for these goals BY YOURSELF.

This is where the community of CrossFit shows best in its rawest, brightest, most pure form… ACCOUNTABILITY.  Now do not get scared by that word, accountability is a great way to be kept on track to reach these different goals you have (weight lose, health, performance, etc) Accountability helps because it allows for you to share your goals and aspirations with other people, and these people can come along side you and motivate, encourage, at times scold for eating a cheat meal or two…but all-in-all these accountability buddies will give you a huge step forward in achieving these goals!!!

We as trainers are definitely here to help keep you on track, encourage you, and point you in the right directions. But I encourage all of you, share your goals with a couple of different people from the gym that you feel will really be an encouragement to you and bring them along side you as you strive to reach whatever goals you have set! Take the steps!!!”

Matt LaRochelle writes about his amazing journey from overweight and out of shape to  healthy and fit through Crossfit & the Zone.  He started out at 246 pounds with a 38/40 waist.  He currently weighs 187 pounds and his waist is 32/33.  Not only has he lost weight but he is stronger, faster, and more capable to enjoy his family.  So proud of what Matt has done with consistency.  You are truly an inspiration.  Below is Matt’s story in his words. ~Jeremy

*Pictured above from left to right Matt in September 2010 (246 pounds), January 2011 (225 pounds), and January 2012 (187 pounds).

In the middle of September 2010 I started my intro classes at Crossfit Kinnick. Jonathan Kinnick had asked me to come check it out so I gave it a chance. I was 246 pounds with a 38/40 inch waist and had zero control over my weight or physical fitness. The funny thing is that I thought I was still pretty healthy. I remember doing my first “Helen”. It was modified of course: I did 3 rounds 200m run, some kettlebell swings(35#), and some RING ROWS–I couldn’t do a pull up on bands! I remember driving home after the gym and having to pull over at some elementary school on Euclid so I could dry heave and walk around cause I couldn’t breathe. I was pretty jacked up. At that time I realized then how out of shape I was. I signed up for the classes-always 3 days a week and whenever I could get it to fit my schedule.

Over time, I started to move up the pull-up band colors and I was starting to lose a little weight. At the end of December, I finally got my first unassisted pull-up…That was a big deal for me! When the New Year came, the trainers announced a ZONE challenge was coming up and they encouraged me to join—I jumped at the chance. I took the competition very serious and for 8 weeks I did everything I was told to do. I ate measured amounts of food for the first time in my life. I didn’t cheat one time in the 8 weeks and I was amazed at how good I was feeling. At the start of the competition I weighed 225.5 pounds and by the time the 8 weeks were over, I had lost 24.5 pounds and 8% body fat. I was HOOKED. Since January of last year, I have continued to ZONE and I find it easy for me. I eat the same types of things all the time. I always eat 2 eggs and 2oz of meat for breakfast with either some Coaches Oats or Veggies and Fruit. I eat 4 oz of meat and a big salad and a piece of fruit every day for lunch and for dinner, I eat 4 oz of meat and I usually sautee whatever veggies I have. I eat almonds, olives, good oils, and other nuts for my fat. I now allow myself to “cheat” a little here and there, but I never go crazy. Sunday through Saturday afternoon, I eat VERY strict. I now do a lot of the workouts RXd and I competed in Battle of the Boxes. This year I will conquer my first muscle up and handstand push-up. I want to continue getting stronger and faster and better at life.

People in my life tell me they don’t have time to work out or that they don’t have time to cook meals at home. I am a husband, father, grad student, and I am involved in church activities. I work sometimes 40+ hours a week and for most of the past year, I worked 2 jobs. Some days I spend 2 hours on the freeways to make it to and from work. I figured out after my son was born, that my health doesn’t only effect me but effects my ability to be the best dad that I can be for him. I am addicted to Crossfit and I am forever grateful to Jonathan, Amy, Jeremy, Jake, and everyone else for making all of this past year so awesome for me and my family.

Head Trainer Jake Mannion has this to say about the New Year.

The new year is here, and as much as you, our clients, work to make and fulfill resolutions, we’re doing the same as your coaches and trainers. Our resolution? Well, it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate our standards, and that is exactly what we’re doing. Starting now you’ll see a reinvigorated attitude towards movement standards. It isn’t to be mean and tedious; it’s to make you guys better. Attention to detail goes a long way to getting you where you want to be as an athlete. Remember, the goal isn’t today or tomorrow, but rather what your numbers and body will look like six months to a year from now.

A perfect example of our new attitude was on show with last week’s Deadlift 3-3-3-3-3 workout. The emphasis was on neutral spine. Sure you can pull more weight with a rounded back, but the bad far outweighs the good. First, you can injure yourself. Enough said. Second, a rounded back hardly works the muscles of the posterior chain, the hamstrings and the glutes. So while your deadlift numbers look like they’re getting pretty big, you may still lack the hamstring and glute strength to match. Bottom line, rounded back deadlifts aren’t deadlifts, so lets take them out of the equation completely.

The response from our clients has, so far, been amazing. Special shout out to Brent Langrehr who I personally witnessed go back down from around 305 to 275 to work on keeping his chest up and his back tight. The outcome was a much more controlled set of lifts and, more importantly, reinforced good habits. Sure, his numbers were lower than they could have been, but the sacrifice is being made for greater gains in the future. Anyone remember the 20 Min. AMRAP WOD from about two weeks ago (400m run, 21 155#/105# Deadlifts)? Most of us ended up with sore backs regardless of form, but those who focused on proper form were able to last much longer, thus achieving better scores. There’s a method to our madness people!

You’ll definitely be seeing this new attitude towards movement on display all year long, and not only for deadlift. We need to clean up our snatch and clean technique, as well as a bunch of other movements. It’s this attention to detail that will continue to make us one of the best gyms around. Lets have a great year.

Here is a great read by Crossfit Kinnick Trainer Nick Robles on how to set yourself up for success!!

I have never been one for New Years Resolutions (Why wait until January 1st to change your life when you can start today?) but since we are at the beginning of 2012 lets talk about the best way to set and achieve goals in the coming months. I found this list of most popular New Year’s Resolutions and not surprisingly, half are health-realted.

“Eat healthy food”
“Get fit”
“Lose weight”

Many of us may even have similar goals for 2012, but how do we set ourselves up to achieve them? It’s pretty common knowledge that New Year’s resolutions are not known for their longevity but, if we put some thought into accomplishing what we want, this will be a huge year for all of us at Crossfit Kinnick and we have all the tools to make it one.

First lets look at the first step: setting realistic and achievable goals. Saying “I want to get fit” gives us no set path to get there and no measurable result to determine success. When setting goals we want to make sure they are S.M.A.R.T:

With this in mind we can set goals that focus not on the end result but the daily efforts we have to put in to achieve it. Instead of saying “I want to drop 15% body fat and do more workouts prescribed,” we should approach it as “I am going to eliminate grains from my diet for month and work on a movement I struggle with for 10 minutes before class, 3 times a week.” Setting short term goals makes it easier to not only complete your plan but check in on your progress. After that you can reassess and set new ones!

Once you have a goal you want to achieve, make a serious plan for success. Don’t be afraid to use the tools we have at Crossfit Kinnick! Beyond the Whiteboard and your trainers especially. Want to improve your nutrition? Do some research on zone, talk to any one of our trainers, assess what you eat now versus what you want to eat on a cleaner diet, and start logging your meals. Want to be able to handle more weight in workouts? Again, talk to one of us and we can fill you in on how to start extra strength work. Want to eliminate a weakness that always gets to you in workouts? We can show you progressions or stretches that will help you improve.

A huge part of this is tracking your progress and sticking to it. I guarantee that doing things like logging your meals, ALWAYS posting your workouts, actually looking at your improvements, and posting your extra work will not only motivate you when you see gains but allow you to constantly know where you are at. Knowing your own achievements and recognizing them is essential. I know nothing motivates me more than knowing the work I’m putting in produces tangible results. Lets use Beyond the Whiteboard for everything we can, its an amazing resource!

Finally, lets talk about the most important tool we have…each other! Don’t be afraid to share goals or buddy up to achieve them. Accountability goes a long way in sticking with something that is hard to achieve. Don’t be afraid to set big goals and chase them down, 2011 was an incredible year for us all so imagine what 2012 has in store!!

• Teams: 2 men & 2 women
• Divisions: Advanced, Intermediate, and Masters (45+).
• Price: $200 per team, with no cap on the amount of teams per affiliate.
• Spectators: $5 a person, pre-sale online.  There will be limited space available for ez-ups, so show up early!
• Prizes:
  • Advanced Winner: Rogue Yoke
  • Intermediate Winner: Prowler
  • Masters Winner: Ice Bath
• Workouts: 3 workouts per team. The Movements and Standards will be announced on Nov. 12th at 11am.  Workouts will be announced on Nov 26th at 11am.
• Food: There will be an on-site BBQ company to provide you with your nutritional needs.

This past weekend, the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games Finals were held at the Home Depot Center. Our head Trainer Jeremy Kinnick competed and finished 40th in the World. This was out of 26,000 athletes worldwide. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported him this weekend!

The Event was shown live on ESPN3, and you can watch it from your computer anytime by following this link:

2011 Reebok CrossFit Games Finals ESPN3 Show

You can also see what they streamed live on the Jumbotron at the Games here:

CrossFit Games Stream Archives

Great job this weekend Jeremy! We are all really proud of you.

Jeremy and CF Endurance Coach Brian Mackenzie

It was such an exciting weekend and everyone did an amazing job!!!  Thank you to everyone who came out to show support, it made such a difference for our competitors.  CrossFit Kinnick was representing!!!

I’d like to Congratulate all the competitors for amazing performances, you guys made us all proud.

Final Results:

Veronica Bocanegra – 7th Place

Erik Fay – 15th Place

Jeremy Kinnick – 3rd Place

Team CrossFit Kinnick – 20th Place.