It's not fancy....

....but we have a changing room!

Even though I tend to be a met-con junkie

"Kelly" is one of the workouts I hate the most. It (for me) is a 1/2 hour of suck. I can't breathe, my legs are burning and my lower back is complaining loudly....there is no break, no exercise in which I can rest. I have a constant inner dialogue going, just trying to keep myself from quitting. Found this post on CrossFit West Santa Cruz this morning while perusing other affiliate sites and I found it quite inspirational. Wish I'd read it before my workout! Maybe I could have broken that 30 min mark on "Kelly". Your workout is 10% physical and 90% mental-emotional, and if you really want to see great gains you have to control that "inner dialogue".

That's my Dad jumpin' that tire!

Ok, I just need to brag about my family for a sec. Mom and Dad are just completing their first month of CrossFit and they are doing great! Dad hit the workout hard this morning, at least it was the first time he wasn't asking for more after the workout!

My daughter Emily threw 3,000 lbs. over her head yesterday in 6:16....done very nicely with 60 consecutive almost flawless 50 lb. muscle snatches. She looked at me at about rep number 40 and said, "Don't hate me because I'm strong". I think we have a t-shirt slogan!

I love these chicas! What a blast! Don't hate them because they're stong!

I'm still coming down.....

......from last weekend. It really was an amazing experience. Here is a blog by super cool CrossFit chic Melissa Byers of CrossFit 603 on what it was like to judge. I couldn't have described it any better. And here is a very well written article from Again Faster about the first place winners. I had the privilege of being James's judge and he was just amazing!

Besides having a lot of fun and working very hard, the whole experience was very inspiring. The athletes were amazing and spending the weekend with that many CrossFitters in one place was wonderful. I have said it before and it was confirmed this weekend....I have never met a crossfitter I don't like!

I don't think George was too happy about the WOD today!

Lori and Marsha just kept doing their sit ups and let this happen! He did eventually calm down and finish the WOD. Manmakers and sit ups are just not his favorite thing.

And Mandy must be some sort of crazy person or a cheerleader. Who smiles this much during a set of manmakers??

WOD #3

We gave a scaled version of the NE Qualifier WOD #3 a try today. It was tough! I was amazed watching those phenomenal athletes this weekend, but I am even more impressed now that we've tried a scaled down version of what they did! Even our CrossFit Silver class (Mom, Dad, and Neil) gave it a scaled down try today. They did great by the way!

Marsha did the workout with more weight than she has ever tried before and she put up a really great time! You are rockin' it girl! My little badass Ginger kicked it as well!

More Albany

The guys from Rochester, Dave Rice from CrossFit Buffalo

The western New York affiliates were very well represented this weekend in Albany. CrossFit Rochester: Joe Celso 21st, Sean Loosen 29th, Adam Cristantello 32nd, Stash Merritt 56th, Joe Edwards 62nd. Dave Rice, CrossFit Buffalo 65th. All in the top 50%!

CrossFit Geneseo had 3 judges: JP, Jess Hayden and me. Next year we are going to have a competitor....right Courtney?

Albany pics!

We had a great day at the Qualifiers! There were some amazing athletes.

Memorial Day Workout

There will be a group workout at 8:00 AM on Memorial Day if anyone wants to stop down and get one in!

I'm so proud of her!!

The CrossFit Geneseo very much more feminine version of Stash Merritt, Courtney Brown, did a 535 Crossfit Total (squat -200, DL-250, press 85) yesterday! According to Rip's chart that makes her an advanced lifter....with 2 months of training! I think we might have a superstar amongst us. Great job Courtney, and have fun in Charlestown!

Speaking of Stash, he is competing in the CrossFit games Northeast Qualifiers in Albany this weekend! Even though he mostly works out at CrossFit Rochester....he is one of us! Go Stash!!

JP and I are both going as well, to judge, so the gym will be closed Friday afternoon through Sunday. We are not open regular hours on Memorial day, but give me a call if you want to work out. Cliff's daughter Tonya is visiting and we are trying to put together a workout on Memorial Day.

More bad news about your running shoes.

Interesting article on cholesterol

The afternoon crew

did some running, rowing and all kinds of pushing this afternoon! A year ago Cliff couldn't even complete a 400 m run. Today he did 4 and put up a very competetive time! Marsha did NOT say "I can't" and did her first assisted handstand pushups! It's really hard to go inverted the first time and she did it! Lisa and Luanne are just plain amazing specimens of WOMAN! And of course, our "big girl now" Alecia put up the best time! VERY closely followed by George...the push up King.

Courtney beat everyone out on yesterdays workout. We are gonna make you a monster girlie!

Maybe it's your high tech shoes causing all those problems

Alecia got to round 2 of the WOD today and her feet were killing her. A decent pair of Nike's. I told her to take the shoes off. She completed the remaining 5 rounds of the workout with no foot pain. In fact, she would have kicked my butt on that workout if she had started without the shoes. There is some interesting stuff on the Crossfit Endurance website on shoes. Here is one article. Personally, I have less back and hip pain when I work out barefoot or in my cheap little flats.

We did some burpees, tire jumps and DB cleans and I got some great pics! Leesh has got a purty squat, and Lori was getting some serious air on those tire jumps...hmmm...might be time to lose the box Lori!

I am sooo proud of this chica!

I met Lynn in January. Her husband bought her a month of CrossFit as a Christmas gift. Now you might say that was a particularly un-romantic and tacky gift, but think about it for a minute. What more loving thing could you do for your sweetie than buy the gift of good health and strength?!

Lynn has absolutely excelled with these workouts. She shows up consistently and works hard. She also brings a sense of fun and lifts the mood ( along with a lot of iron!) of everyone in here. She is a pleasure to train. You rock girlfriend!

If you're feeling a little chilly.....

.....come on down at 2:00 PM today! We'll get you warmed up! There's nothing like swinging a little iron or flipping some tires to chase that chill away!

65# Overhead like it's nothing!

Jessica and Courtney throwing it overhead!

And Vick demonstrating the classic CrossFit post WOD recovery position

Everybody did a great job with this workout this morning. Karen doesn't know it, but I added 5# to her barbell and she still put up a really great time!

Have you ever wished you had an easy way to look up how you did on a WOD?

On the left is a new link that you can click on to go to photos of the whiteboard that I take every week before I erase it! If you click on a photo it will enlarge so you can see it better.

Dad putting up some pretty decent wall balls

Yesterday Courtney joined the club!

She did her first WOD with no rubber band and put up a pretty decent score! Also kudos to George, Cliff, Lisa and Jessica who also recently joined the no rubber band club! It's really hard to give up those rubber bands for good! We are all very proud of you!

We are supposed to get our nutrients from.....FOOD!

Luanne getting her Manmakers on!

Interesting article in the New York Times on the effect of antioxidant supplements curbing the benefits of exercise.

excerpt:

"The effect of vitamins on exercise and glucose metabolism “is really quite significant,” said Dr. C. Ronald Kahn of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, a co-author of the report. “If people are trying to exercise, this is blocking the effects of insulin on the metabolic response.”
The advice does not apply to fruits and vegetables, Dr. Ristow said; even though they are high in antioxidants, the many other substances they contain presumably outweigh any negative effect. "

A big shot is a little shot that kept shooting. - Anonymous

Consistent effort. It really is that simple.

You will not achieve great results here without consistency. Yeah, it's great to get a PR or knock a WOD out of the park, but in the long run it is the mundane showing up consistenly that will get you to where you want to be. Those PR's won't happen without the boring old showing up everyday and working out! The athletes here that are getting the strongest and fastest and most powerful are the ones who are consistently here.

Consistency is a good discipline to develop. Consistency pays off in every arena in your life, not just fitness. Consistent effort with your job, consistent effort with your relationships, consistent effort with any task is how you acheive great things.

Cliff came here almost exactly one year ago...an old fat man. He has trained consistently 3-4x a week since then. He is not an old fat man anymore!

Happy Mother's Day

No 2 PM workout today! I'm spending the afternoon with my Mom!

Caption????

Take what you have and ROCK IT OUT

"...you owe it to yourself and the millions of lives that generated yours to live as though you appreciated it." - Rip

At CrossFit we focus on function over form. I have said many times that CrossFit will get you the best body genetically possible. I don't track your weight or measurements, I only keep track of how much you lift and how fast you can do it. We have all been blessed...yes I said blessed....with a set of genes lovingly passed down to us from our ancestors. It is our responsiblity to take those genes and make them the best they can be. So let's all stop feeling bad that we don't have the "perfect" body that the media keeps trying to tell us we need to have and focus on creating the one we are supposed to have. Let's live and eat and exercise as though we appreciate it.

A couple of blogs here and here along the same lines.

A little shout out to my daughter Emily who got her motorcycle license yesterday and rode her bike to school today....how cool is that? Not necessarily fitness related.....but an example of living life like you appreciate it, of setting a goal and achieving it, of doing something a little bit extrordinary! She set that goal last fall when her father got his and she pursued it with a vengance....practicing every time she got a chance, ignoring those who thought a 17 year old girl shouldn't/couldn't ride a bike. Are we a little bit worried....of course....but we are also very proud of her!

Deadlift Awesomeness

We had some deadlift awesomeness going on here yesterday!

George got a 20# PR on 3 reps. My little Courtney pulled 225# off the floor for 3 reps. Wow! And Lori pulled 3 reps of 170# with near perfect form in her second week of CrossFit. Something tells me she may have done some of this stuff in a former life!

"Lower back strength is an important component of sports conditioning. The ability to maintain a rigid spine under load is critical for both power transfer and safety. The deadlift builds back strength better than any other exercise, bar none." pg. 104, Starting Strength, Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore

Mom and Dad, you had to know I'd post pictures!

My Mom and Dad were in for their second CrossFit workout today! They both did great and I am so proud of them! I'm 45 so you can venture a guess as to what age my parents have achieved. Not only are they the greatest parents in the world, they are also two of the most interesting people I have ever met and I am really looking forward to spending more time in the gym with them. I want them to have the best health possible and CrossFit will help get them there!

I said yesterday....

.....that the play is the thing.

Really? How long are you going to be able to do something that isn't fun, enjoyable, rewarding and a good time?

These workouts are fun...yeah they're hard, but they are a good time! You never know what kinda crazy stuff I'm going to ask you to do when you get here. I will ask you to do things you don't think are possible, and then you will do it and be amazed...that is fun!!

Yesterday we flipped tires and burpee broad jumped across the yard! We played like kids. Yes, it was hard but it was also alot of flippin' fun!

The Play is the Thing!

Laura and Paul stopped by yesterday with Kat and Stevie. Kat and Stevie love the gym. I happened to have 2 25# barbells set up and the first thing they did when they got out here was run over to those barbells and deadlift them perfectly! I wasn't quick enough to get a pic of that but I did get Kat later! Yesterday was also my parents first crossfit workout! We had 4 generations of us playing in the gym yesterday!