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	<title>CrossFit Kinnick - Upland, CA - Serving Pomona, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Alta Loma, Montclair and Chino</title>
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	<description>Forging Elite Fitness</description>
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		<title>Squeeze it!</title>
		<link>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/04/29/squeeze-it/</link>
		<comments>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/04/29/squeeze-it/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:49:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gym Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/?p=2807</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I recently wrote a blog on the importance of the air squat.  Its reach permeates all of CrossFit.  Bottom line?  If you can&#8217;t squat, you probably aren&#8217;t the best at CrossFit.  Not to worry.  With a little hard work anyone can improve their air squat form/technique.  But what exactly is it we&#8217;re looking for in an air squat?  Most of you are well aware of the top 4 items because we go over them at the earliest of stages at CrossFit Kinnick, On-ramp and Fast Track.  If you&#8217;ve forgotten already (sigh) here&#8217;s a quick refresher course. Heels &#8211; keep your weight back in your heels Knees &#8211; keep your knees as wide as possible Chest up &#8211; chest up as much as possible in order to maintain proper lumbar curve Full depth &#8211; hip crease below the knees at the bottom &#160; If you were uncertain before I listed them, many of you might be yelling &#8220;Oh!  Duh, I know that stuff!&#8221; at the computer screen right about now.  Sometimes these things become second nature to us so much so that we forget how to verbalize the individual steps.  It&#8217;s always a good idea to commit these steps, and the steps to each movement, to memory.  The more you understand what it is you&#8217;re actually doing, the better the athlete you&#8217;ll be. Sadly, there is a step to the air squat that is far too often forgotten.  This is crazy unfortunate because this specific step has a huge impact on other, more complex, movements like kettlebell swings, snatches, and cleans.  Its absence from coaching is all too prevalent in CrossFit gyms worldwide.  So what is it?  ((Drum roll)) The butt squeeze &#8211; AKA full extension &#160; True power is derived from violent and full hip extension.  Because the term &#8220;extension&#8221; can be confusing to some, the phrase &#8220;butt squeeze&#8221; has been introduced as a simpler alternative.  Everyone knows how to squeeze their butts.  If you squeeze at the top of the squat, there is no way you don&#8217;t achieve full hip extension.  This can be a tricky thing to do when performing lots of air squats at high speeds (&#8220;Cindy&#8221; comes to mind), but the benefits of repeated hip extension far outweigh the disappointment of slightly slower WOD times. There seems to me to be a direct correlation between performing a butt squeeze during an air squat and using the hips properly during a clean, snatch, or kb swing.  That is to say, if you don&#8217;t squeeze and open the hips on an air squat, you&#8217;ll likely do the same when hip extension truly matters&#8230;during heavy, powerful movements.  Remember, the hips are the strongest tools we have.  So&#8230; You must use them if you are looking to pick up heavy loads to shoulder height and above. If you aren&#8217;t opening your hips all the way, you aren&#8217;t using them. You can only open them all the way if you are squeezing your butt. &#160; This is easier said than done of course.  Some people tend to be so quad dominant that they are, at first, incapable of squeezing/activating the butt.  If you sit in a chair a ton for work I&#8217;m talking directly to you.  This is where incorporating the butt squeeze into something as simple as the air squat comes in handy though.  Learn to wake your butt up so that you can take full advantage of its power.  How do you know if you are at full extension at the top of an air squat, you say?  It&#8217;s simple.  Stand as tall as you possibly can while at the top and squeeze like you&#8217;ve never squeezed before. Good Ethan &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; Bad Ethan &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; It&#8217;s a fairly subtle difference, but it means the world to glute activation and, ultimately, hip extension.  We can&#8217;t expect to be masters of olympic weightlifting if we can&#8217;t perform the simplest of hip extension movements.  I know the air squat isn&#8217;t always the sexiest movement out there, but please, at the very least, for the sake of your weightlifting, wake those glutes up and unleash your hips&#8217; full potential.  Open them at every opportunity possible.  You might even get that butt you always dreamt of.  So squeeze it!]]></description>
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		<title>The Fall WLC: Another Success!</title>
		<link>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/04/24/the-fall-wlc-another-success/</link>
		<comments>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/04/24/the-fall-wlc-another-success/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:20:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gym Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/?p=2796</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Another Whole Life Challenge is in the books!  That means more and more success stories.  I won&#8217;t lie to you and say that sticking with the challenge for a whole 2 months is an easy thing (the number of people that actually finished this go-around is a testament to that fact).  Nobody, though, can deny the incredible results experienced by those people determined enough to stick it out to the end.  Every time we do a challenge like this I continue to be amazed by the dramatic results we see.  Some people learned to include lots of water into their daily routines.  Others learned the importance of, and value in, getting a decent night&#8217;s sleep.  The important thing is that lessons were learned and good habits were formed. Remember, these challenges aren&#8217;t supposed to be the end all, be all of habit-forming events.  Rather, they serve as stepping stones to bigger and better things.  Anyone who improved by even 1% in any of the categories has placed themselves on a path to healthier, happier lives.  Special shout outs go to everyone who participated, not just the overall winners.  Over half of the participants improved on their workout scores by 50+ reps.  Shawn Gorham, Bill Rauch, Moses Gomez, Katie Cappuccio, Stuart Gaitan, Cedric Elias, and Mario DeLaMora all lost 4+ inches.  And an honorable mention is certainly in order for Jorge Morales who lost 20+ pounds!  If these success stories don&#8217;t light a fire in you, I&#8217;m not really sure what will. Having said that, let&#8217;s give it up for the outstanding participants of this Fall&#8217;s Whole Life Challenge.  And the winners are&#8230; Overall Winners Male &#8211; Shawn Gorham Female &#8211; Stacy Perez &#160; Category Winners Workout &#8211; I-Esha Scott (40% improvement, 75 reps)/Bill Rauch (36% improvement, 70 reps) Measurements &#8211; Moses Gomez (7% improvement, 5.5 inches lost)/Katie Cappuccio (6%, 5 inches lost) &#160; Prizes $100 CFK store credit for the overall winners $25 store credit for each of the category winners &#160; Visit the Whole Life Challenge finals board too see how everyone fared. Great work everyone!  If you missed out this time, or you&#8217;re looking to improve again on the gains you&#8217;ve made, don&#8217;t miss our next Whole Life Challenge later this year.  Get off of the sidelines and into the game people.  We&#8217;re changing lives over here! &#8220;The secret of getting ahead is getting started&#8221; &#8211; Mark Twain]]></description>
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		<title>It all started with a bet&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/04/11/it-all-started-with-a-bet/</link>
		<comments>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/04/11/it-all-started-with-a-bet/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:45:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gym Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/?p=2780</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For those of you still uncertain as to whether CrossFit will help you attain your body composition goals, here&#8217;s a remarkable story from our very own Josh Acosta. Interestingly enough, it all started because of a bet between father and son. Fortunately for us, our bodies don&#8217;t care about how the decision to be healthy starts, so long as that decision gets made. The bet? $500 to the first person to get below 200 lbs. Talk about motivation! If you couldn&#8217;t already tell by the picture above, Josh won. He&#8217;s now $500 richer and the proud owner of a brand new lease on life. How did he do it you ask? It&#8217;s simple really, and it has always been simple. Josh just decided to be committed. Consistent exercise, via CrossFit, and strict Paleo-Zone eating habits. In 4 months he dropped from a very hefty 263 lbs to an incredible 187 lbs. For the mathematically challenged, that&#8217;s 76 lbs lost!  Some of you might be thinking, &#8220;he was probably doing nothing but going to the gym 24/7 though.&#8221;  Nope.  Josh stuck to his 3 days a week, every week.  The key is consistency, and now he&#8217;s reaping the benefits. Oh yeah, and excuses never seemed to get in the way. For those of you who don&#8217;t know Josh, his left shoulder is highly prone to dislocation. I&#8217;ve even witnessed it pop out a few times in the gym myself (it&#8217;s not pretty). Regularly we have to scale/modify his workouts to work around the injury, but that hasn&#8217;t kept him from pushing hard on the regular.  He&#8217;s also been super busy finishing up his senior year of high school. It&#8217;s cut into his gym time a bit, but he&#8217;s more than made up for his lack of exercise with continued strict Paleo-Zone eating habits. Let this be a lesson to everyone: if, for whatever reason, you can&#8217;t make it to the gym for an extended period of time, stay true to your eating habits and good things will continue to happen. From the man himself: &#8220;I won the bet, but the money wasn&#8217;t the sweetest part, it was the feeling of waking up in the morning and being able to get out of bed without a struggle, to be able to take my shirt off or not [have to] wear a sweater everyday in public.&#8221; Not only did Josh win the bet, but he&#8217;s also winning at life.  How will you get motivated?]]></description>
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		<title>The Open: Final Thoughts</title>
		<link>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/04/09/the-open-final-thoughts/</link>
		<comments>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/04/09/the-open-final-thoughts/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Apr 2013 22:26:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gym Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/?p=2767</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It was a very successful 2013 Reebok CrossFit Open for CrossFit Kinnick. We had high hopes going into them as a gym as well as for each of our members individually. From the very first CrossFit Open I was a big believer in its ability to push athletes to heights they never imagined. Most of us didn&#8217;t, and will never, move on to Regionals (the next phase of Reebok CrossFit competition), but the Open never fails to inspire numerous athletes on to a successful rest of the year. Gym Success Stories Yet again head trainer Jeremy Kinnick successfully qualifies for the Southern California Reebok CrossFit Regional. He finished in a tie for 18th place in the So. Cal region and is looking to make his 5th appearance at the Reebok CrossFit Games in 2013. CrossFit Kinnick has also qualified a team for this year&#8217;s regionals. Team Kinnick finished in an unbelievable 52nd place in the world and 5th place in So. Cal. That includes 3 top 10 finishes from the 5 workouts, the most notable being a 2nd place finish for Open workout 13.5. Yep, that&#8217;s right, chest-to-bar pull-ups for days at CFK. Butter! Big shout outs have to go out to Elyse Persico (1oth place) and Melody Sanchez (31st place) who also qualified as individuals for the women&#8217;s division.  In an effort to get our team to the CrossFit Games, they will forego individual competition and, instead, compete for Team Kinnick. Just to put each of these feats into perspective: the Southern California region alone had 1597 women (not including the countless number that didn&#8217;t submit a score for 1 or more of the workouts) the men had 2717 (not including the countless number that didn&#8217;t submit a score for 1 or more of the workouts) there were 173 registered teams &#160; Individual Success Stories Perhaps more important though were the individual success stories many of our members experienced because of the Open. Competition tends to bring people out of their comfort zones and, if you hadn&#8217;t noticed by now, progress is never made from the comfort zone. The workouts this year were pretty brutal, but that didn&#8217;t seem to slow anyone down. Burpee/Snatch Ladder Burpees and heavy snatches. It doesn&#8217;t get much scarier than that, but CFK had a ton of personal triumphs, especially with the snatches. Aash Dalal fought for about 10 minutes to get one 135# snatch and he finally did it. Several days later, during class, he was cranking out numerous 135# snatches.  Needless to say, he learned the value of squat snatching when the weight gets really heavy. Sherylle White hit her very first 75# snatch! &#160; Wall Ball/Double Unders/MU This one was a repeat from last year and it was just as hard, but that didn&#8217;t keep virtually everyone from PRing this go-around.  In fact, around 80% (according to the Games site) of athletes that also performed the workout last year improved on their 2012 score.  CFK standouts include: Nick Robles: 15 more muscle-ups Melody Sanchez: 15 more muscle-ups &#160; Clean &#38; Jerks/Toes-to-bar Toes-to-bar are just hard.  Period. Big shout out to Carmen Armendarize for getting her first toes-to-bars all the way through to the round of 6 Tracy Constanza couldn&#8217;t do a single toes-to-bar last year during the Open.  This year she did 19 of them! &#160; Thrusters/Chest-to-bar Pull-ups The worst combination in all of CrossFit.  Oh yeah, and the pull-ups were C2B. I-esha Scott got her first chest-to-bar pull-ups ever!  To top it off, they were virtually strict pull-ups. Last year George Gaines got dominated by the Fran ladder.  This year he got 15.  The more he does, the better he gets. Enough said. Susy Ramos hit a 65# thrusters for the first time ever.  She&#8217;s got a Rx&#8217;d Fran in her soon. &#160; I know I left off so many other awesome stories of personal triumph, but that doesn&#8217;t make them any less important.  Let&#8217;s take this momentum and use it to make the rest of the year our best ever.  Every one of you should have a new found confidence when it comes to these movements and weights.  Training for the 2014 Open starts now.  3,2,1 go!]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Coachability</title>
		<link>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/03/21/coachability/</link>
		<comments>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/03/21/coachability/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:35:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gym Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/?p=2587</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As great as both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant were/are, they never won anything without head coach Phil Jackson.  The truth is, more often than not, behind every great athlete you&#8217;ll also find a great coach.  Natural talent and ability, while also very important, will only take someone so far.  In the end, countless hours of practice, critical analysis, and strategizing are what separate the truly great athletes from the rest of the pack.  That is where coaching comes in.  In my five years at CrossFit Kinnick I&#8217;ve encountered every possible kind of athlete.  We&#8217;ve trained the entire spectrum of personalities ranging from your typical alpha male to your tranquil, silent introvert.  Any type of personality can be successful at CrossFit though, just so long as one critical criteria also be met: coachability (yes, it is a word.  I checked).  Because CrossFit workouts are so intense, it is incredibly important to be as efficient as possible for as long as possible.  Great coaching will keep you using all of the necessary muscles and joints, and in the proper progressions, for the entirety of a workout.  That means faster times and heavier weights.  Unfortunately, not everyone is as coachable as they&#8217;d like to think.  The good news is anyone can become coachable by adopting 3 basic traits. So what are they? Humilty.  Stay humble.  Except the fact that you don&#8217;t know everything we do.  We&#8217;ve been in the game for 6 years now.  Along the way we&#8217;ve picked up important, subtle pieces of information and experience that have turned us into experts on the topic.  We are more than willing to pass that information along, but you have to be willing to defer to our knowledge.  We know more than you!  Humility can also refer to your attitude after getting crushed by a workout, or by your inability to perform a specific movement.  No one is great at everything.  And if someone is, it&#8217;s because they spent a long time working on weaknesses.  The second you recognize and accept your weaknesses is the moment you will will finally be ready to improve them. Passion.  Be a go-getter but want to be better for the sake of being better.  If CrossFit is something that you truly enjoy doing you&#8217;ll start to see your performances skyrocket.  But, like those businesses that fail because their only goal is making money, if making it to the CrossFit Games is your sole purpose behind CrossFitting, your performances and passion will be sorely lacking.  Don&#8217;t simply perform the lifts/movements.  Rather, become students of them.  Learn the ins and outs of each because you&#8217;re fascinated by optimizing and improving motor patterns.  Become a nerd!  This isn&#8217;t high school.  Nerds are cool. Trust.  Show some faith in your coaches.  You are paying for a service after all.  It doesn&#8217;t make a ton of sense to not take advantage of it.  I found a great quote in an article on coachability by August Turak of Forbes.  He says, &#8220;The problem with life is that it must be lived forward and only understood backwards&#8230;the benefits of change are often only obvious after the change has occurred&#8230;[but] the false pride that prevents us from “stooping” to the humble role of “follower” is far more dangerous than incompetent teaching.&#8221;  How can you reap the benefits of coaching if you don&#8217;t put your faith in us at least for a little while?  Let us show you what we have to offer.  I promise we won&#8217;t disappoint. &#160; The above items are things you must change internally.  They may also take some time depending on how close, or far away, you are from them currently.  If you&#8217;re looking for more of a quick fix, below are some simple things you can start doing to help make yourself a more coachable athlete today. Work hard, but pay attention.  No, I&#8217;m not talking about remembering the rep scheme or the order of operation for your workout (though that will also make your trainers very happy), I&#8217;m talking about being able to decipher the advice and corrections from your coach amidst all of the yelling, grunting, and excitement happening around you.  Yes, blocking everything out so that you only hear the music can be great for a simple, grind-it-out workout, but not for a workout that requires strategizing and top-notch technique.  You must learn to stay focused on what you are doing, but to also filter out the voice of your coach so that you may incorporate their specific advice mid-workout.  This will come in handy especially during competitions.  Making adjustments before breaking down physically and mentally will make all of the difference in the world.  Learn to multi-task.  Work hard, but keep your ears open.  This means no headphones while working out.   Part ways with your original game plan.  We all go into a workout with a specific strategy we feel will maximize our score by playing to our specific strengths.  Rarely, though, do we ever finish a workout with that same plan still going strong.  S@#t happens.  A good coach will come up with a new way for you to attack the remainder of the workout.  That&#8217;s what we are doing when we come by and say &#8220;go with sets of 5 now with short breaks in between&#8221;.  You&#8217;ve never heard us say that before?  It&#8217;s probably because you weren&#8217;t following point #1! &#160; As coaches/trainers, we want you to succeed.  We&#8217;ll do everything in our power to make that happen, but lots of what we do is dependent upon how you receive it.  Only a coachable athlete will reach their full athletic potential. The question then is, are you coachable? &#160; Source/Inspiration: Turak, August. &#8220;Are You Coachable? The Five Steps to Coachability.&#8221; Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 30 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.]]></description>
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		<title>Competitions: Why Everyone Should Compete</title>
		<link>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/03/13/competitions-why-everyone-should-compete/</link>
		<comments>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/03/13/competitions-why-everyone-should-compete/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Mar 2013 21:17:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gym Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/?p=2710</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[CrossFit is a sport.  With all of the numbers, scores, and comparisons floating around all of the time, CrossFit naturally lends itself to the idea of competition.  Whether you realize it or not, you are competing every day in the gym.  It may not be against your friends.  It may not be against others in your class.  Each and every one of you though competes against yourself.  You&#8217;re battling your mind, your fears, your doubts, and your previous scores all of the time.  We&#8217;re all veterans of competition, so why not register for an actual competition? Even the most consistent of CrossFitters get nervous at the very thought of joining a local or CrossFit sanctioned competition.  The excuses I hear most often include &#8220;but I&#8217;m not good enough&#8221;, &#8220;I&#8217;m not going to win anything&#8221;, and &#8220;what&#8217;s the point?&#8221;  But why?  We just agreed that we all compete every day we&#8217;re in the gym.  We don&#8217;t require the illusion of medals, prize money, or community recognition afterwards.  All we rely on is the drive to be better than we were yesterday.  Each of you is living proof of that; you wouldn&#8217;t come to the gym weekly if it weren&#8217;t true. So why, then, does the presence of prizes and rankings make actual competitions different?  Remember, only a very small percentage of athletes who enter competitions ever win anything.  For example, at this years Games their will be roughly 190 competitors (50 men, 50 women, 30 masters men, 30 masters women, 30 teams).  Only 15 people/teams will win something.  That&#8217;s 7% of the participants!  The same odds can be scaled down for every other CrossFit competition out there.  Chances are, unless you&#8217;ve got a real shot at making a run at Regionals/The Games, competitions will bear little tangible fruit.  So why should you still compete? Here are my top 5 reasons why everyone should register for a CrossFit competition. 1. Inspiration You probably won&#8217;t win.  It doesn&#8217;t matter.  You&#8217;ll become inspired by those better than you.  It will light a fire under you like you&#8217;ve never felt before.  Suddenly your eating and consistency will be on point.  Anyone who has ever competed can attest to this.  Afterwards, you&#8217;ll be more motivated than ever.  That&#8217;s a good thing! &#160; 2. Personal records You will PR.  If your lifetime best deadlift is 300#, you will pull, at the very least, 305# in a competition.  You&#8217;ll be stronger.  You&#8217;ll be faster.  Hell, you&#8217;ll probably be more flexible (not really, but it&#8217;ll certainly feel that way).  Thus is the power of a competition environment.   So, if nothing else, compete to set new personal bests.  If you thought you went hard at the box, you ain&#8217;t seen nothin&#8217; yet.  Each of the elements of a competition help you to push even harder.  You&#8217;ll surprise yourself with what you&#8217;re actually capable of, and it will make you rethink your effort during regular workouts in the gym. &#160; 3. Perspective What are your weaknesses?  How do you stack up against everyone else?  If you aren&#8217;t already sure, a competition will shine a light on your weaknesses.  This is also a good thing!  We have to know what we are bad at before we can start to fix them.  Not everyone is as introsepctive as they should be while at the box.  A competition will help you to see things you&#8217;ve never seen before.  The best CrossFitters are completely aware of their capabilities. &#160; 4. Confidence builder If you ever had any fear for a specific movement (snatch anyone?), a competition will help you to conquer those fears.  Case in point, last years 12.2 Snatch Ladder scared the death out of me.  Before the workout I feared a 135# snatch like no other movement.  I wasn&#8217;t even sure I could power snatch that weight.  Could I even do 30 of them in the allotted 1o minutes?  Long story, short, I PR&#8217;d.  Now 135# power snatches aren&#8217;t so daunting.  Competitions will help you to get over your fears and to make you see your true potential. &#160; 5.  Feel a part of something When you register for a competition you are never alone.   You&#8217;ll have the full backing of the entire box (aka your extended family).  There&#8217;s a reason why competitions, during registration, ask you which box you belong to.   It&#8217;s part of your identity as a CrossFitter.  You are all CFK Homies.  As long as you&#8217;re giving us your all, we&#8217;ll be cheering you on from start to finish (and losing our voices in the process).  We&#8217;re all in this together.  Also, CrossFitters recognize hard work when they see it, so don&#8217;t be surprised if you get plenty of encouragement from strangers. &#160; Conclusion We&#8217;re all seasoned veterans of competition.  In fact, I&#8217;d venture to say that no body competes more often than a CrossFitter.  Don&#8217;t disrupt your programming/training to partake in competitions every weekend, but do compete every once in a while.  By the end of a two-day event, yes, your body will hate you and it will be tough, but you&#8217;ll have gained intangible rewards that will help you progress as an athlete.  Still a little nervous?  Take advantage of CrossFit Kinnick&#8217;s Battle of the Boxes and the Reebok CrossFit Games Open.  Both are a little less intimidating than your standard competition.  CFK&#8217;s BOTB is a team competition, so you&#8217;ll have partners to lean on the entire way.  The Open is spread out across 5 weeks so it&#8217;s much less physically demanding on the body.  Also, because we dedicate each Saturday to the Open, you&#8217;ll have the backing/support from the entire gym.  You won&#8217;t always feel like finishing some of the workouts, but the encouragement from everybody around you will be more than enough motivation to. We&#8217;re all at different stages of our fitness journey.  Competitions aren&#8217;t only for the top 1% of CrossFitters.  Each of us can benefit from participating in one, SO GIVE IT A SHOT.]]></description>
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		<title>Michelle Carrasco – “You Have To Want It”</title>
		<link>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/03/02/michelle-carrasco-you-have-to-want-it/</link>
		<comments>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/03/02/michelle-carrasco-you-have-to-want-it/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Mar 2013 20:09:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jeremy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gym Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Testimonial Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/?p=2674</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“Hey… My name is Michelle Carrasco and I’m 21 years old. Since I can remember I’ve always been overweight: from elementary school to high school. My sophomore year in high school I made a change to be healthier and lose some weight. I managed to lose 40 pounds and I was comfortable. I wasn’t the happiest but I was okay. I still had that voice in my head telling me “you’re still the fat girl.” I don’t think it ever went away actually. After I graduated high school in 2009, I started letting myself go. I got a full time job and went to college full time. I was eating fast food religiously and got lazy to get a workout in. I was making excuses for myself… “I’ll just start next Monday.” “One bad meal won’t hurt.” “I’m too tired to work out.”… These were many of my excuses. I tried all the “diets” out there. I tried weight watchers, failed. I did weight loss pills, they worked for a 15 pound weight loss then I would gain it back within a week. I did no carbs and sugars for a month then binged and gained it all back. I even tried nutri system and failed. I felt like such a failure. I turned to food for my comfort. Going through drive thrus and eating in my car so no one would see me. I always was wearing black clothes because supposedly it made you look thinner, lol. I always wore a jacket as if that would cover my body too. I would just look at myself in the mirror and I would feel so disappointed in myself. There were times I would just cry. I was not happy for a very long time. I was just breezing through life and not living my youth. I would see my friends go out on the weekends and made excuses to not go out with them. I didn’t want to get dressed up because I did not feel pretty, let alone have any clothes to wear out. I got introduced to CrossFit a couple years ago but I wasn’t fully committed because I found an excuse for it. “I was just too busy with work and school.” I would go to the box and get a workout in but then eat garbage! My weight didn’t go down. As a matter of fact from January 2012 – August 2012 I managed to pack on 50lbs from eating out EVERYDAY! I remember watching YouTube videos of people’s CrossFit and weight loss transformation videos and saying I want to be that person. I am going to be that person. I remember the day, clearly, when I wanted to change my life. It was sometime in October 2012, the day I saw pictures from my brother’s wedding in August 2012. I couldn’t believe how big I was. I cried for hours! Something had to change! I reached out to Jeremy to reactivate my CrossFit membership again in November 2012. Since then, I’ve been sticking to a STRICT Paleo lifestyle and I CrossFit 5+ days a week now. Today is February 25, 2013 and I’ve managed to lose 64lbs so far in a matter of 3 1/2 months. My whole outlook on life has made a 360 degree turn. I am beyond happy again and it shows. I am only halfway to my “goal weight.” I am very observant of what I am feeding my body. It is crazy seeing my body change week after week and to see myself improving at the box. I’m running again and I’m lifting too. I’ve motivated so many of my friends and myself every day. I never thought I would be that girl motivating people to lose weight and get healthy when just 3 months ago I was that person looking for an inspiration. YOU are your own inspiration and motivation. YOU have to want it and YOU have to work for it. It isn’t easy but it is worth it. I find myself getting mad at myself for missing a workout now, lol. I never have a “cheat meal.” I don’t find it worth it to trash my body after fueling it with healthy food. I’m beyond dedicated to this lifestyle change. I want to share with everyone that anything is possible if you put the effort into it. Thanks Jeremy for believing in me, thanks to all the CrossFit Kinnick Trainers for all your help and the extra push and to the amazing people at CFK I have met for the support and encouragement. And most importantly, myself for believing I can do it. I’m halfway there… I am NEVER turning back into that girl that was just coasting thru life and not living.”]]></description>
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		<title>The Air Squat: No Respect</title>
		<link>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/02/06/the-air-squat-no-respect/</link>
		<comments>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/02/06/the-air-squat-no-respect/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Feb 2013 22:02:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gym Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/?p=2412</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[THE LOWLY AIR SQUAT &#8220;I get no respect&#8221; isn&#8217;t just a popular quote from the late, great Rodney Dangerfield, but, I&#8217;d imagine, if the air squat could talk, it too would announce something eerily similar.  I see air squats performed in the gym every day, and, for whatever reason, most people seem satisfied with merely achieving full depth.  Never mind that proper depth is often accompanied by rounded backs and narrow knees.  I&#8217;ve been called the &#8220;Squat Nazi&#8221; at the gym and, honestly, I don&#8217;t mind.  The air squat isn&#8217;t like a pull-up or a sit-up.  Both of those movements aren&#8217;t nearly as demanding in terms of technique.  The air squat requires extra, special care, and, for the reasons you&#8217;ll read below, everyone can benefit greatly from channeling their own inner &#8220;squat Nazi&#8221;. In my experience, the air squat never seems to get the respect it deserves. That&#8217;s a shame because if there is one movement in all of CrossFit I&#8217;d recommend people spend the most time on, it would have to be the air squat.  Its practicality and contribution to elite athleticism is virtually unrivaled.  It also happens to be a component piece of the weighted squats (back squat, front squat, overhead squat, etc), witch, themselves, are also important pieces of the Clean and the Snatch.  You will not perform any of the weighted movements at full potential if your air squat form remains sketchy. Because of its inclusion in a myriad of more complex movements, and its presence in every day life, perfecting the air squat should be a top priority for elite athletes and motivated health seekers alike. While this isn&#8217;t always the most popular way of thinking amongst super eager CrossFitters, it is certainly the most necessary.  I know, I know,  but you see other people in the gym back squatting/snatching ridiculous amounts of weight and you want to as well.  Short answer?  Don&#8217;t be that person.  If you stop to think for just a second why it is they are able to move tremendous amounts of weight,  you&#8217;ll quickly come to the realization that their air squat isn&#8217;t too shabby.  It also probably took them a while to make it that way. &#160; WHY? Functional Every day we squat.  We squat when we sit and stand from the couch, from a chair, and, yes, even from the toilet seat.  We were born to squat!  The above picture displays a perfectly executed air squat by a toddler.  Yes, I said it, a toddler.  If he can squat properly, shouldn&#8217;t you be able to as well?  The truth, whether you remember it or not, is that you used to be able to.  Life in an advanced, industrial society though, is such that not an awful lot of walking, standing, and squatting is super necessary.  We have cars and trains that keep us from walking as much as possible.  We have comfortable chairs and couches that encourage poor posture while sitting.  As far as mobility goes, society has set us up to fail.  We no longer know how to use our hips and knees properly.  Diligently working on your air squat technique is the answer.  Regain proper hip and knee function so that your body works the way it was intended.  Be more like the toddler. If you can&#8217;t sit/walk/run properly now, imagine life at 60/70+ years old.  It probably won&#8217;t be very independent.  A lack of proper hip and knee function means the use of canes/walkers, family supervision, and even the inability to reach down, pick up, and hold grandchildren.  It may just be me, but that doesn&#8217;t sound like a very happy, productive life. Athleticism All basic athletic movement is derived from the hips.  The ability to generate high power output via the hips contributes to proficient running, jumping, throwing, and punching.  If you are having a difficult time getting high enough on the kipping pull-up, or picking up more weight on the clean/snatch, both of which require violent hip extension, the answer might be as simple as fixing your air squat.  Get the hips and knees moving properly via the air squat, and watch your power output soar through the roof. Mobility You can&#8217;t perform a proper squat without basic hip, ankle, and torso control.  Diligently working on your squat will improve mobility and flexibility in each of these essential joints.  It is important that your joints operate properly for basic health and fitness.  Proper mobility will reduce the risk of injury in these areas and keep you independent well into your older years.  Yes, you can use the other mobility practices we&#8217;ve shown you to improve these areas, but simply practicing the air squat slowly, making sure proper technique is adhered to, will do wonders for your mobility/flexibility. Basics Back squat.  Front Squat.  Overhead Squat.  Thruster.  Wall ball.  Clean.  Snatch.  What do all of those movements have in common?  That&#8217;s right, a squat.  If you can&#8217;t air squat properly, you can forget about performing these movements at heavy loads.  You&#8217;ll still progress in the gym, given proper nutrition and consistency, but it won&#8217;t be any where near your potential if air squat technique is lacking.  It&#8217;s very similar to setting PRs while on a paleo-zone diet.  Sure, you don&#8217;t need a great diet to set 10-30sec personal records, but if you&#8217;re looking for 1-2min PRs on a regular basis, nutrition must be dialed in.  The same can be said about improving the air squat.  A proper, efficient air squat will make everything seem a lot easier. REMEDY? Outside of the gym: Walk, jog, run, instead of drive, when you can.  Stand and work, rather than sit, when you can.  Mobilize, utilizing all of the techniques we&#8217;ve shown you, as often as possible. Inside of the gym: Take your time on your air squats during the warm-up.  It is the one movement I&#8217;d recommend everyone slow down on.  Emphasize quality over quantity. Be like the toddler!  Take advantage of this moment.  It will probably be [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Nick Robles: No Excuses</title>
		<link>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/01/30/nick-robles-no-excuses/</link>
		<comments>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/01/30/nick-robles-no-excuses/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:40:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gym Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/?p=2508</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Excuses. We all have them. Life can be difficult sometimes. It gets in the way of making it to the gym on a consistent basis. It gets in the way of eating and sleeping right. Newsflash though&#8230;you aren&#8217;t special! Nobody is. The brutal truth is that life gets in the way for everyone, everywhere. It&#8217;s how we deal with life&#8217;s hurdles that determines our character and, ultimately, the path our lives will take. Will you overcome the obstacles and be stronger as a result, or will you succumb to them and remain stagnant? Most of you know Nick Robles as one of our up and coming trainers at CrossFit Kinnick. You probably see him in the gym everyday working hard. You&#8217;ve probably been trained by him and his budding knowledge base. And, yes, you also probably assumed Nick has always had it easy as a solid CrossFitter (a common misconception of most top-notch athletes). What you probably don&#8217;t know is that Nick had the greatest excuse of all to back down from life&#8217;s obstacles. He didn&#8217;t. Here is Nick&#8217;s story: &#8220;In January 2007, when I was 16, I was diagnosed with Primary Bone Lymphoma (Non-Hodgkins). For months prior to my diagnosis I had been dealing with really bad knee pain. Everywhere I went I limped around because of how much it hurt to put pressure on my left knee. To get through my day at school I basically packed a ziplock bag full of Ibuprofen and Excedrin (I figured out you could take those together with no side effects) and would take full doses of each every four hours just to make the pain bearable. I had it checked out multiple times and got diagnosed with everything from a torn meniscus to tendonitis. More often than not I was simply told to rest. After a while I started having other issues in addition to the knee pain. My energy levels plummeted, I had a major loss of appetite, and I rapidly lost close to 20 pounds. Thankfully, it was then that a different doctor took an MRI of my knee and saw a growth at the end of my left femur. I immediately had a biopsy done and was then diagnosed with cancer. From that point on I was sent to an amazing pediatric oncologist in Anaheim. I was scheduled to go through 6 rounds of chemotherapy followed by 6 weeks of radiation therapy and had a port surgically placed in my chest through which I would receive the drugs (to avoid exhausting my veins with so many IVs). With each round of chemotherapy I also had to receive a spinal tap where drugs were delivered directly into my spinal fluid to prevent the spread of the cancer. My first round of chemotherapy was not without complications. I had a severe allergic reaction to one of the medications and ended up hospitalized for the entire week of treatment. Luckily, high dose anti-allergy medications allowed me to get the chemotherapy I needed without the adverse reaction. The treatments were really taxing and I went through everything that came with the treatments: hair loss, nausea, adverse reactions to the drugs, and overall exhaustion. Something unique about my experience is that I got all my treatment in a pediatric oncology office, so I was a young adult going through chemotherapy alongside children and even toddlers. It was a difficult thing to see, but at the same time the kind of care I got was what I needed, versus being placed with adults and elderly patients in a much different environment. The treatments were definitely a difficult process for me and I spent long days hooked up to machines. My body responded really well though and I made it through the chemotherapy as planned. I was able to recover quickly and return to doing normal daily things. I have my girlfriend, Kristen Chapman, to thank for helping me reacclimate to life outside of hospitals. We became close friends and started dating right around this time, which was a big highlight for me coming off such a rough period in my life. I began radiation treatments a few months later just as my high school water polo season was beginning. I would actually leave halfway through practice to go get the treatment, and then immediately head back to jump in the pool and continue practice. After that season is when I started joining my friends Danny O&#8217;Brien and Ethan Doiron at Jeremy Kinnick&#8217;s house for some crazy workouts in a garage. My CrossFit journey started there and it has completely changed my life. I don&#8217;t think my diet or lack of exercise caused my cancer, but neither were priorities in my life. I ate whatever I wanted and often used playing water polo as an excuse to eat poor quality food. When I got sick it was shocking to have my health feel so far out of my hands. My faith, Kristen, friends, and family were instrumental in me dealing with that. CrossFit has given me control over my health and fitness. That&#8217;s a feeling I never used to have. Having that control is empowering and has led to a complete lifestyle change for me. January 31st marks 5 years since completion of my treatment which is a milestone for cancer survivors. It signals the end of a time frame where doctors closely monitor any kind of regrowth of cancerous cells. This January also marks two years of dedication to training as a competitive CrossFitter and I&#8217;m extremely grateful for the chance to get stronger and improve every day.&#8221; Life happened to Nick, and he overcame. Not only did he fight back, but it would appear he&#8217;s also winning. As Jeremy Kinnick&#8217;s training partner, he&#8217;s morphed into a true CFK beast with the potential to make it to the CrossFit Games Regional as an individual. That would be an incredible feat considering only around 50 athletes from all of Southern California can qualify. Whatever the [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Partner/Team Workouts: Why We Love Them</title>
		<link>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/01/24/partnerteam-workouts/</link>
		<comments>http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/2013/01/24/partnerteam-workouts/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:37:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gym Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.crossfitkinnick.com/?p=2450</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At CFK, we love partner workouts.  Since their official inception by CrossFit at the 2008 Games, which CrossFit Kinnick took part in, they&#8217;ve become a community-wide sensation, and rightfully so.  They seem to fit perfectly with the &#8220;enjoy your fitness journey&#8221; mentality that helps define the CrossFit program.  Their popularity has even given rise to team-only competitions like our very own annual Battle Of The Boxes series.  And while we too recognize the importance of having fun, we also love partner workouts for completely different reasons. It is important for you to understand our reasons so that you may gain the absolute most from these types of workouts.  You can expect to see a partner workout at CFK at least one Friday of every month for the rest of the year, so let&#8217;s do them right! Why We Love Them  Great ice breaker: There&#8217;s something about struggling, sweating, and aching your way through a workout with someone that helps to form a bond/friendship.  Try partnering up with someone you don&#8217;t know that well and see if you can&#8217;t find some things in common.  A gym that suffers together stays together. &#160; Different stimulus: Though a partner workout may seem to have lots of rest, don&#8217;t forget about your share of the work.  It often requires sprinting through your portion.  Partner workouts entail tons of quick bursts of effort which is often difficult to achieve during a solo workout.  Constant variation! &#160; Communication/team-work skills: You and your partner must work together in order to achieve the best score possible.  This requires planning, communication, and trust, all of which are valuable attributes outside of the gym as well. &#160; Less stress for first-timers: They are great for easing intimidated newcomers into the fold.  This is one of the major reasons behind our Guest Days.  If you have a family member that is a bit too intimidated to try CrossFit alone, a partner workout may be exactly what they are looking for. &#160; Responsibility:  A shared work load means taking care of your portion.  Commit to what you can and do your best to stick to it.  Learn to work for the sake of others.  Don&#8217;t let your teammates down. &#160; Extra push: Think of your partner as your own personal cheer section.  They are right there every step of the way cheering/urging you on, and vice versa.  Don&#8217;t underestimate the power of this sort of motivation.  You&#8217;ll often find yourself pushing harder than if you were alone. &#160; Careful though not to fall for common partner workout myths.  Included is the notion that they are easier because of the built in rest and the shared work load. Often times, if performed correctly, partner workouts will be just as difficult as, if not more than, solo workouts.  As indicated in the list above though, there&#8217;s lots more to be gained from partner/team workouts than most people realize.  If you go into them with the proper mentality, I promise you&#8217;ll come out of them a better athlete and a better person.]]></description>
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