We had a great time at Day 2 of the CrossFit Games SoCal Regionals today. Thank you to all the CrossFit Kinnick Homies who came out and showed your support! The sea of Neon Blue was large and loud today! Our team represented well and is currently is 24th place in all of Southern California!

Coming into today, Head Trainer Jeremy Kinnick was in 6th place. Finishing in 6th place on Workout 3 moved him into 5th place overall, 9 points out of 3rd. Only the top 3 individuals make it to the CrossFit Games Finals in July. With an impressive 2nd place finish on Workout 4, Jeremy jumped from 5th into the 3rd place spot overall! With 2 more workouts to go on Sunday, we will all be pulling for him! Spread that BUTTER!!!

Congratulations to Danny and Nick for making it on the CrossFit Games Website.  Team Kinnick is competing at the Reebok CrossFit Games So Cal Regionals this weekend at the Fairplex in Pomona.  This picture is during Team Workout 1 on Friday. They are in the middle of doing 20 partner Deadlifts at 455#. Together with teammates Melody and Mercedes they killed this workout with a time of 7:50! Great job guys! Way to represent CrossFit Kinick!

Jeremy and Jonathan went down on Thursday to register Jeremy for the CrossFit Games So Cal Regional. The set up looked great and it was nice to have an opportunity to walk the venue before the competition. During our visit Jeremy gave a short interview about his preparation for the event. Check it out! Video

*Pictured above from left to right: Moe Naqvi, Jake Mannion, Corey Tripp, Jeremy Kinnick, & Jonathan Kinnick.  Picture is from the 2011 Reebok Crossfit Games.

One of CrossFit’s very important mantras, for those of you who may not know, is “empirically based fitness”. In short, we use numbers, namely work and power output, to determine the efficacy and efficiency of our training program. If both go up on a workout to workout basis, we know we are becoming more fit. In layman’s terms, if you set a personal record, you are getting better. When a personal record is achieved, both your work and power output numbers have increased. But you don’t need to know that. Your times and lifts are what we care about. Are they better than last time? If so, keep doing what you’re doing.

But how do you know if they are better than last time? Simple…you post on a regular basis. It will be difficult to be the best you can be if you aren’t taking full advantage of the features offered to you on Beyond The Whiteboard. I find that those who post regularly know their numbers by heart. They know their best Fran time. They know their max deadlift. If you know these numbers then you know what to beat/go for, and the motivation those numbers provide is immense. No one wants to do worse than last time in a workout; it’s not a great feeling. So going into a workout knowing exactly what you have to beat for a personal record is real kick in the butt all of us can use. Bottom line, the best CrossFitters are those who know their numbers. And how do you get to know your numbers? You post to Beyond The Whiteboard.

This doesn’t mean you have to be on Beyond The Whiteboard all hours of the day in order to become familiar with your stats. If you don’t know your last score, a simple glance at your last time before the workout is all you need to get the most of the upcoming session. This takes 30 seconds people. If you don’t know where to look, ask your trainer.

Other Useful Tips

Use the “notes” section when posting. The notes section is good for anything you’d like to remember about the workout you just completed. Examples include how you broke up certain sets. Did you go unbroken? How fast were your runs? Etc. Anything you can clue yourself in on for the next time, will only help you to do better when the workout comes up again. You’ll be able to access those notes at any time.

Pay special attention to your previous scores on lifting days. Lifting days are ranked on Beyond The Whiteboard by total weight lifted. This means if your Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1 lifts were 155, 175, 195, 205, 225, your total weight was 955. If you know this, then the next time you do this workout you can easily adjust your sets so that you are lifting more weight without necessarily hitting a PR for the deadlift. For example, if the next time you did the workout your reps were 200, 205, 215, 220, 225, your total weight would be 1065. That’s a much better lifting session than the previous one. But you wouldn’t know to do that if you didn’t know your previous numbers for the workout.

Conclusions

Bottom line, don’t underestimate the importance of logging your results and knowing your results. As trainers, there is only so much we can do. Some personal responsibility is required. Once you make the switch, I promise you’ll start seeing the results.

-Jake Mannion

Nick Robles tracked down this great Crossfit Journal Article by Dawn Fletcher about the mental side of Crossfit and the Crossfit Games.  This is a great read.

“The goal of the CrossFit Games is to see which athletes and teams are the fittest in the world.  I believe that the Games are more than just a test of physical fitness.  It is a competition of the most important aspect of all, a single facet that is not listed as one of the 10 components of fitness. The biggest test of the CrossFit Games is mental.

Andrew Perry brings us a great article/video from the Crossfit Journal by two amazing Crossfit Athletes Mikko Salo (2009 Crossfit Games Champion) and Dan Bailey (6th place at 2011 Games).  The Crossfit Journal is a phenomenal resource for learning about all things Fitness related. ~Jeremy

Just a reminder!! Crossfit is a life long journey. We are not
going to get better overnight. Here is a cool article on the training
plan of some beasts. - Andrew

CFJ OffSeason with Mikko Salo & Dan Bailey

“I’ve had it ingrained into my head by some coaches in the past that champions are made in the offseason, so I still put in a lot of work,” Bailey says. “It’s definitely dialed back a little bit, just the volume.”

Salo has a different training plan.

“I don’t think there is an off-season,” Salo says. “For me, like I focused on … my weaknesses, doing a bit different kind of strength training,” he says. “I believe you should be, like, 85-90 percent of your maximum results all the time.”

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.