In last few humid days, I have seen more sweat puddles, droplets, “angels” on the mats at SCF.  Please be sure to wipe the area where which this occurs with a bleach wipe.

Also, when the swamp which is on your chest, hands, back, thighs, and shoulders meets the bar, ball, ab mat, GHD, kettle bell, etc; this is time for a bleach intervention as well.

Lastly, mind the pull-up bars.  I’m no chemist, but from my perspective, chalk, mixed with massive quantities of sweat (and potentially blood and skin), is a germ breeding playground.  So PLEASE wipe down the pull-up bars, rings, and resistance BANDS after EVERY use.

You have been doing a FANTASTIC job with putting weights and other equipment away, and on the behalf of the entire SCF staff, we truly appreciate this consideration!

Jay

Jackie D

Lauren B. and Kara B.

Jesse

Scott M.

Can you believe it??  I almost justified to myself that these cookies were healthy for me.  Cookies, healthy???!!!  Was I being serious?

A serious as a heart attack.  A trainer, who coaches people daily on diet, attempting to justify the eating of cookies by making them healthy….a damn shame.

We can easily become a victim of self-justification.  If we want something bad enough; it doesn’t matter who you are; you will justify a way to have/do it.

People cheat in their relationships, steal from their jobs, rip off their friends, abuse their family members all the time and find a way live with themselves.  Why?  Because they are able to justify doing so.

How can this apply to our fitness besides the aforementioned dietary example?

Have a bad day at work?  Do you deserve a night off from the gym?  Do you deserve an extra drink too?   You know what, you deserve a slice (a small one) of cake too.  Heck, why not, you already skipped the gym (and now you’re depressed about it) and drank too much wine.  You’ll start tomorrow.

Perhaps in your workout, someone trips over your rope and screws up your double-unders.  Do you scrape a rep off of the barbell movement to make of for this?  Perhaps you shorten the run by a meter or two.

Hate burpees?  Gosh…there sure are a lot of them in the workout today.  Suddenly, do you find yourself blaming a shoulder injury from 1974 as the reason for your subbing in double-unders, which by the way, you love?…

I am in no way suggesting that there is no such thing as REAL injuries, which prevent you from performing particular movements.  All I am saying is that it is human nature to justify.  And, if we are not careful we will justify ourselves straight back to an unhealthy lifestyle.

It is easy to truly convince yourself that you are right.  Conduct a self-examination and count how many times you justify.

Don’t allow self-justification to be your downfall at the gym and in life.

Jen A. and Roy, getting down in Friday's front squat

Oh, BIG DADDY...we're sure gonna miss you!

Wayne, looking good in Monday's plated lunges

On Sunday night, I was at home and in bed from my flight from Ohio at 2:30 am.  WAY past my bedtime.  The next morning, I slept in-and-out through my first hour of professional development.  I Faked being interested in it for another two hours, and pretended (and succeeded!) to work for the last two.  After work, I rushed home, got dressed and was en route to my doctor’s appointment.  On the way there, I considered canceling because I was so tired.  The only thing that stopped me was a reminder of the frustration that I have felt when clients have cancelled on me.  From there, I went to the gym.  First, I considered my own training…

I snatched; missing my PR by five lbs (which is actually a good day for me because I am so inconstant in this lift).  I hang power cleaned; hitting a five rep max PR. Then I did the WOD that was programmed for the classes for the day.

As I was driving home, I was nearly dozing off…

Then, I came to a realization:  For the four hours that I was at the gym I never felt tired once.  For real, it never crossed my mind once.

Getting to the gym is the battle; not merely half of it.  For some inexplicable reason (actually it’s quite explicable~community, synergy, exercise induced endorphins, etc..), once we get to the gym, oftentimes, we discover all the energy we could possible muster to get through the WOD. Many times, we even exceed our expectations of ourselves.

So, come in, and get your free (or close to~discounted~) energy!

On another note, it’s been awhile since SCF has tackled the CrossFit total.  Besides being a test of brute strength, today I was reminded of why I love this WOD so much: the camaraderie at the barbell.  Check out these smiles:

Steph/"MEG", Ashley, and Melissa, all smiles!

Amanda, Ashley M, and Stef J. setting some PR's !

Jen B., Liz K., and Eliza doin' serious WORK!

Dom encourages JR after a big lift

For most, we want to be thinner, perhaps more cut or defined.  Many guys want to get bigger; put on lean muscle mass, etc…

I hear it when every On-ramp class begins when I speak to our athletes and read their “goals” when they sign up.  Very few newbies say that their reason for joining CrossFit is to improve their Olympic lifting skills…

When most of us start, we just want to look good; and then, before you know it, we want to be in the CrossFit Games….

Perhaps the Games are too lofty a goal for some, but for most, we lose that potent desire to look good, and care more about our CrossFit performance.  We want to be stronger, get a heavier push-jerk, be faster, get a muscle-up, be able to perform multiple handstand push-ups, have unbroken double-unders, and unassisted pull-ups.

It’s great to see.  Where every other fitness community simply promotes looking better; CrossFit teaches us to feel and perform better (hence the absence of mirrors).  And this isn’t merely the case with our younger clients.  It it certainly isn’t restricted to the male athletes.  It occurs with all types of athletes, male and female; young and old.  We begin to care less about aesthetics and more about performance.

The good news is positive physical results typically follow continually improved physical performance.

Instead of craving the abs, or a rounder, harder derrière, work on getting a better overhead squat or getting your back squat up.  Before you know it, the physical results will follow.  But I guarantee you’ll be rewarded more by the increased performance.

Our 5 am ladies, Becky, Nicole, Caroline, and Faye, working hard to better their rope climbs

Excuse us, Stewy, but do you have a license for those triceps????!!

Congratulations to Kori and all other SCF athletes that participated in the Ragnar Relay Race this weekend. This is a HUGE accomplishment!

How did your forearms feel after those farmer's carries on Wednesday???

Ashley and Steph working hard during tonight's overhead plated lunges

Eric getting stronger and looking eager by the day!

Adina, with a solid lock-out in her one-armed kettle bell snatch

Today, I was asked to reflect back more intently than previously on the “Girls for Our Girl” fundraiser that Shoreline CrossFit hosted on April 28th.  I’ve got to be honest, when all 216 competitors were gathered before me, along with the potential 120 spectators, I stole an idea from my boy Hugh Grant while tearfully speaking to this group…

It’s easy to become disgruntled, frustrated, and calloused by the events which are most highlighted in the news, from the disappointments in one’s own life, and those individuals that work around us daily; but, the fact of the matter is, that if you look hard enough, you’ll really see the goodness, which still exists in the world.

The “Girls for Our Girl” fundraiser certainly taught much regarding the great athletic ability of those who participated, but what it taught me more so was the absolutely selfless, caring, supportive community that the CrossFit movement has constructed.

When Tim Tredwell approached us to created some sort of fundraiser to support his 3-year-old daughter’s costly surgeries and, consequential traveling expenses, I expected to raise perhaps $5,000.  I also expected that, for the most part, we would draw athletes from Shoreline CrossFit.  Never, in my wildest dreams, did I expect multiple members to donate over one thousand dollars. Never did I imagine donations would come in from all over the WORLD; from Sacramento to Canada, all the way to Australia!  And I could not possibly envision standing in front of our competitors after the final WOD, with $23,600 raised for this cause!

To the athletes that fought through HELEN, ANNIE, GRACE, and FRAN for this cause: You couldn’t have been warriors for a better cause.  To our many sponsors-Reebok, Lurong Living Essential, Just a Gud Bar, PurePharma, ProStrength, The Meat House of Branford, Shop SCF and Maruno Design- The day wouldn’t have been the same without you.  To our volunteers, judges, spectators, and those who donated:

Thank you for proving that love really is all around us…

We wish young Emily well with her upcoming surgery.  The loving spirit of the CrossFit community will be behind you the entire time.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Emily, being held by father, Tim

now, that is support for a cause!!!

Chris Spealler, 3rd place finisher of the Southwest Region (Image courtesy of Mary Pantier Photography).

I struggle here today to find the words to place the performance of one man into context, to give perspective, to serve justice unto the event and not overdramatize, overspeak, overwrite the events that happened on one Sunday afternoon in Colorado. It was just exercise, after all. One man picked up weight and put it down. He threw a ball in the air and caught it. He pulled himself up on the rings.

And he pulled us all up.

Chris Spealler, a small man with the strength of a bigger man, a Bible tattoo on his chest, and a megawatt smile, lifted us all up on a Sunday afternoon and made us feel, for one bright, sunny afternoon, like life was fair.

He got third place in the South West Regionals of the CrossFit Games.Third place. And yet he overshadowed the first and second place winners. Why? Because he wasn’t supposed to be on that podium. Because he came from  behind. Because when all else was dark, Speal was light. Because one man, one small man, working harder than ever, managed to pull out the performance of a lifetime and make the last spot in his region for the 2012 CrossFit Games.

Speal will be going back to the Games for the sixth time: the only person to compete in all six CrossFit Games. That in itself is remarkable. That he was also the 2010 CrossFit Games “Spirit of the Games” award winner is remarkable. That he managed to push that big honking sled in the 2011 Games is remarkable. There is pretty much nothing unremarkable about Chris Spealler … except that he’s a regular guy, a husband, a dad, a CrossFit affiliate owner, a CrossFit Level One trainer, and just about one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.

And, so, one Sunday afternoon in the beginning of May, we huddled around our laptops and our iPads and our phones and waited breathlessly for the next updates, the next words, the next news coming from the Regionals. Could Spealler do it? Could he make it when all the odds were against him?

He did. And we all yelled and cheered and cried when he did. One man. Exercising in a gym in Colorado. And yet it was important, so important.

Why?

Because of this crazy CrossFit thing. Because CrossFit inspires us in ways we never dreamed of before. We go to the gym and we become better athletes … and then better friends, better parents, better people. And it all starts in the gym, doing CrossFit together. We have learned this now. We know that CrossFit is more than a workout, more than a name, more than one person, or ten, or a hundred, or a thousand.

Who would have ever imagined we would be there like that? Huddled around our phones and laptops and iPads, reading tweets and updates and wondering how it all ends, or continues, for a little guy from Utah? Who would have thought our hearts could hold so much hope, so much joy, so much love?

Thank you, Chris Spealler, we needed that.

Speall pulling that "honking" sled in the 2011 Games

Now, let’s check out some SCF’ers with the heart of Speall:

Kevin B, Kevin K, Rich, and Jesse gettin' after the muscle-ups during today's WOD

and watch out for the Katinski ninja muscle-up!

Zach, working hard towards that lock-out. Great work!

Bruce and Ariel, scaling up to GHD sit-ups. Enjoy laughing, sneezing, or coughing tomorrow!

Andres, powering through those muscle-ups

Bobby D, working hard awaiting the birth of his baby girl...

SCF welcomes AL out of On-ramp. Watch out for this one!

Congratulations to long-time clients and friends, Mike and Noelle McWalters on the birth of Riley and....

Ryan!!! Born on Sunday, May 6th. We are so happy for you!!!

“And in every instance, my definition of success was other people. I want a jumpshot like he has. I want to write like she does. But never once did I wish to work as hard as he did or for as long as she would, because the problem with success is it hides all the work.” –Patrick Cummings

Is there someone in the gym who you envy for their ability to perform certain movements? There is a certain trainer in the gym that anyone would LOVE to have double unders like. They are extremely effortless and are always done unbroken. However, most people do not know or never saw the countless hours that went into acquiring this skill. Lauren would jump rope in her pre-crossfit, globo gym days constantly. At one point, she developed a cyst on her wrist that forced her to practice them. While many may think that this movement was something that came naturally; it is only because you have seen the success, not the hard work. So even though you may envy these people, they are the ones that push you to be better. Here are the people who are making their once difficult movements, second nature:

Who Set PR’s on the Girls & Hero WODs:

LP PR’d on Murph by 5 minutes, Kathy Boni PR’d on Murph Jr. by 3 minutes, and Shlee PR’d on four girls: Annie, Helen, Grace and Fran.

The Following People are Getting Closer to Mastering Gymnastics Movements:

Ben J, Matt S, and Andres Loaiza all got their first muscle up! Kevin K did weighted muscle ups and Andres also did 4 bar muscle ups. Erin B did 4 kipping pull ups, Katy Williams, Jen Kohut and Ashley Banks all did pull ups in a WOD.

Those Technical Lifts Are Easy For Us!:

LP PR’d on her snatch (130), so did Ariel on his power snatch (135) and Mark Testa and his 18 year old daughter now have the same max snatch at 145lbs =). Mark also PR’d on his overhead squat (175), 3 Rep Max overhead squat (165), and clean & jerk (195). Katy Williams and Frank Hammell both PR’d on their overhead squats by 10 pounds (65) & (270). Frank also PR’d on his 3RM overhead squat (245). Monica R and Maria F had a clean & jerk PR of 115lbs. Karlee Hackett and Tere Testa also had a clean &
jerk PR of 125. Cynthia clean & jerked 140 and C. Quong had an impressive 3RM power clean PR at the same weight. Meg Testa PR’d on her power clean (170) and push press (165).

Nish did 74 unbroken double unders and Nicole Penta did them for the 1st time during a WOD. Robb Anderson also swong the 70lb. kettlebell during a WOD. Shlee and John Lynch both came in 1 st place at the Girls for Our Girl event.

Thanks to Branford High gym teacher, Jen Stackpole, for bringing her students in for a CrossFit experience. We are glad that Coach K, Megin OT, and Mrs. Stackpole could provide them with "the best field trip they've ever had!"

They are all between the ages of 50-55.  In fact, the woman third from the left, not only won for the 50-55 Master’s age group at the CrossFit Games last year, qualified in first place for the Games in her Master’s division AGAIN this year, but she qualified for a regular girl in the Regional….

That’s right; she’s going to her regional with 18, 20, 30, and 40 year olds~Because she qualified.  Because she clean and jerks what most 20-year-olds can’t; back squats more than me; and has a “Filthy-Fifty” time that would make you blush.

And she’s someone’s grandma….

Getting old sucks.  I don’t really know from personal experience, but every time I left my house from 12-21 and my grandmother was sitting on the “glider” on the front porch, she made sure to tell me so.  You definitely get tired more easily as you get older (this part I can feel already!!).  You definitely get more aches and pains.  It certainly takes longer to recover.  And, damn…everyday you age, you feel less and less invincible.

But, then you glance at that photo above.  How could you formulate an excuse?  Sure, they’ve got aches, pains, recover slower than their grandchildren, and sure as HECK know they’re not invincible; a lesson life has certainly taught them this fact. Yet, they never back down.  They don’t make excuses.

For this reason alone, they are champions.  In a league of their own.

They get to see their grandchildren get married…Perhaps even become great-grandparents.

Sure, they’ll never beat Annie Thorisdottir. They’ll never lift more than Azadeh Boroumand (if you don’t know who she is, look her up, because you will!).  But, they are fighting mediocrcy; and in fact, in my opinion, passing superiority.

Jackie and Tracy, working through their KB swings

Lisa, doing WORK!

Jess, always with SOLID form!

Buddy runs, anyone???

You know the difference between a full lock out on the rings, in a handstand push-up, an overhead press, etc.. and stopping mere centimeters before this occurs.

You also know the difference between what it feels like to start a pull-up from a locked-out arm and what it feels like to not.

A lot of times, your mind convinces your body that you simply cannot do the more difficult movement.  The fact that it hurts that much more, it the reason that you should do it.

Now, before someone gets on the blog and says that I am encouraging our members to hurt themselves, let me make things clear…I am encouraging our members to not allow their minds to convince them to cheat the movement; to take the easy way out.

The fact of the matter is that partial movement with equal partial results; plain and simple.  You will not get the same results as the individual who completes the movement correctly.

If it’s harder, that’s what you should be doing (of course in cases of when it is harder because your form is off).

Never let that voice in your head to win.  Push below parallel; fight for that lock-out; the harder it is, the greater the reward.

Here are a few more pictures from this weekend’s fundraiser:

One of our men's Rx'd heats. Dougie-Fresh lookin' good!

Papa Tredwell himself...throwing down (and the infamous KB bar hog in the background!)!

No Hatchel, those socks don't make your butt look big!

Janice, looking RIPPED!

Bianca, with a solid swing!

Quong, soaring on the bar as always!

Of course there are obvious implications to life in general: we’ve got to address our problems, or potential problems, before it is too late, or much more difficult to do so.

As always, I tried to think of a way that it could relate to the gym.  A couple of thoughts came to mind:

Number one, how often do we wait until we are injured to see our chiropractor, massage therapist, or ART specialist?  I’m guilty as well…almost always.  Think of professional athletes…how often are they worked on during the season by sports medicine personnel? Constantly.  This is a proactive way in which they attempt to prevent injury.  Guess what?  Some of you workout at the same level as these pro-athetes.  Are you utilizing the professionals that we have in our community (and right in our gym!) to prevent injury?

But, you don’t have money for a chiropractor or massage therapist?  How often are you stretching, rolling out, or icing?  Or, are you waiting until something hurts to take these measures?

Secondly,  you know your form is bad in the deadlift…Perhaps you hyper-extend your back in any press overhead…Are you waiting until you’re injured to hone in on your form and fix it?  Why?  It may be too late by then.  Fix the problem before the injury occurs.  You know, there’s a scary saying about riding a motorcycle: it’s not if you’ll get into an accident; it’s when“.  The same is true of lifting weight with shoddy form.

Listen to JFK~Let’s repair the roof tomorrow while the sun is still out.

First place finisher, Shlee, during the final WOD at Saturday's fundraiser

Courtney M. battled hard on Saturday. She did awesome and placed 4th overall. Great work!

Ashley B (on her way off of the pull-up bar), next to first place finisher, Alyssa, placed 4th for the scaled division. Great work! I'm proud of you for putting your fears aside and competing!

Third place Master's finisher, Angetta, plowing through Fran