Crossfit Iron Horse, Fort Worth

This weeks Beyond the WOD comes from former NFL Great and avid Crossfitter, John Welbourn. I frequent his blog, and this was a post from last week. Enjoy!! John, First of all I would like to say thanks for the awesome website and the wealth of information I found on it. I have a quick [...]

Elevators are awkward. They present an opportunity by which you could be uncomfortably confined with several individuals that you have never met. Body odors, loud talkers and space invaders are just a few of the many perils of the awkward elevator situation. And because we know that the ride will end soon, it just isn’t [...]

“I don’t want to bulk up!”

Well I stumbled across this a few days ago doing some internet research and thought “how appropriate!”  I feel like we have this discussion almost daily in the box and thought many of you would enjoy the article and share it with others.   Please click on the link, READ, and then post your thoughts to comments, we’re interested in knowing what you think.

Top 10 Reasons Heavy Weights Don’t Bulk Up the Female Athlete 

By Tim Kontos, David Adamson, and Sarah Walls

In case you haven’t figured it out by this point in the article, what is currently being done in fitness clubs to help female athletes tone their bodies is not working. It’s not helping these women get toned, and it is definitely not helping improve athletic performance. Maybe it’s time for a change. Contrary to the ineffective light weights currently being used, heavy weights offer many benefits for women including improved body composition, stronger muscles, decreased injury rate, and stronger bones (which helps prevent osteoporosis). Let’s try lifting some heavy weights and controlling our diet and watch this logical, science-based solution make the difference we’ve been looking for.

 So it’s been a while since we’ve had  a “beyond the WOD” post and I think it due time for a little extra credit reading.   I came across this little bit from Andy Petranek of CrossFit LA and couldn’t help but think many of you would benefit from such a good read.  Daily I see the frustrations in many of you and I want you all to read his piece and take to heart what he is saying.  I struggle myself with the expectations he talks about so we ALL can take something away from this.  Enjoy….and let’s have some fun!

When I started adventure racing, waaaaay back in 1995, I did it for two reasons that have the look and feel of one… fun and adventure. I had no expectations, no idea how I would do, no idea how I would pay for it (I wrote a $10,000 check to get my team in, but didn’t really have that kind of money), didn’t even know how to do many of the outdoor skills required of me in the race. All I knew is that it was going to be fun, exciting and an incredible adventure.

When I retired from my short “professional” adventure racing stint (’99-’03) in 2003, things had changed for me. I was bored with traveling to the same courses year after year, I knew all the how’s, when’s, why’s, what’s, and who’s of every location, every race, every season. I knew all the strategies, I knew how to cut all the corners, I knew how to train, what to wear, how much to drink and eat, when to wake up in the morning, how to pack my bike in the my well worn travel case. And, more importantly than all that, I had an expectation. I expected to win, or at least to be in the top three. So not doing so led to me feeling disappointed, like it was a waste of time.

One of the things that I LOVE about CrossFit is that even after 8 years of doing it, it doesn’t get old or boring. There is always something new, fun and different to learn, something I’m not as good at as someone else, something that makes me want to get back into the gym and train again the next day. For me, the ONE thing that has had the ability to “taint the water”, is my own expectation (judgement) of my performance. For CrossFit to continue to be fun, exciting and an adventure for me, I have to constantly remind myself to let go of the outcome. If I keep showing up, the outcome will come, in spite all the things in my head that might say otherwise (why aren’t you rx’ing the weight, why haven’t you pr’d in a year, why didn’t you qualify for the games as a master in your first year of eligibility, you should be faster, you really suck at Olympic lifting, why are guys 40# heavier than you doing more muscle ups than you, you should be more flexible, you should spend more time training in the gym, you should be able to run a marathon barefoot, you shouldn’t be getting beat by so-and-so, you should be on the leaderboard in EVERYTHING, etc).

So now, I continue to train for fun, adventure and excitement, but I also train to keep my mind from poisoning the well, training to continue to let go of the outcome, expectation, judgement. When I’m succeeding, I’m looking forward to tomorrow and having fun today… that is a big win for me. And I’m finding THAT to be as big a challenge and as much “fun” as any other training I’ve ever taken on!   

by Andy Petranek–CrossFit LA

You ever feel like this about CrossFit? Like it fills some place inside you that you can’t even describe, let alone name. Like you’ve come home, after so many years of searching. No other gym workout ever came close to filling that space or ending that search. And now no gym could ever come close [...]

Fight Gone Bad 6 is coming in a week. Have you registered? Have you started raising money? What are you waiting on??? Read this link… http://www.sportsgrants.org/fgb6/blog/2011/08/how-to-get-happy-right-now/

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” Frederick Douglass It’s confession time! How many of you have cherry picked a WOD? (Cherry picking is knowing what the WOD is before you attend a class, and deciding NOT to go because you are scared, worried, think you can’t do it, etc…) Here are a [...]

This Beyond the WOD comes to us from our good friend Dutch at BlackBoxFTW A post to the MEN. Testosterone which is what makes you a man, at the levels that men should have in their blood, stimulates all the things that make us men (Robust Sex Drive, Muscle mass, Stable mood, Strong immune system) [...]

Fearing the deadlift or back squat? Who out there has had some apprehension about either the deadlift or the back squat? Maybe you had an injury in the past or a lift that didn’t go quite right? We are here to tell you that your fear exactly describes your need. I know, not what you [...]

Whats that you say? you already eat some fish in your diet?? Well check out this article and then come talk to us about the Fish oil we have stocked in the Office for you guys. ITS THE BEST STUFF ON EARTH! http://strongerfasterhealthier.tumblr.com/post/8386549650/omega-3-in-fish-vs-omega-3-oil