After that brief synopsis of the games, it’s time to start talking details. Any member of our gym can help qualify our team for regionals (unless the rules change from last year). If you register for the open as a part of CrossFit Whistler, then your scores will count for the team. You are still competing as an individual, but will also help the team score.
Last year, we were able to host the open WODs every friday, this year things will be a little different. The workouts will be announced later in the week, making it very difficult for you to be prepared for a friday workout with a weeks worth of training under your belts. So, our plan will be to do the open WODs on Saturdays. This will be necessary for not only the gym to be able to provide you with judges to validate your score, but also for you, the athlete, to take a day off from your training so that you can be rested for your event.
At the moment I do not have set times for the Saturday classes, it will depend on who is competing in the open, and when they can train. I imagine, at a minimum 2 classes.
The open was a great experience last year. If you are seriously competing, well, it’s a way to measure up against the world, the country, the region! It doesn’t get any better than that! If you are doing it for fun, well, you get that aspect of it too. You don’t have the world watching your workouts. Just your peers, in your home gym, with nothing but encouragement pushing you through.
Registration for the open begins on Feb. 1st. Check out the CrossFit Games Beta site here for the details on the open. If you are going to compete in the open, we need to know! We need to ensure that you can commit to Saturdays for 5 straight weeks. The first workout will be announced on Feb 22nd, and it’s just around the corner!
Jordan
Here’s my favourite, although, not that far in front of what we sell….. Did you know that……If you can’t find something that was once a part of your life, you probably left it in the gym. With the exception of a pet, or significant other! People come back for their pets, the significant others….. well, they eventually leave on their own 
I have shoes, boots, water bottles, hats, socks, gloves, shirts (someone left their Boom shirt! And steve is pissed.) In the shoe shelf there is a milk crate of clothing and bottles. Go shopping! If I see things in there for too long, I donate them.
Let me take a few minutes to talk about the mess that’s left in front of the gym. It’s a terrible design I know, and I do take responsibility for that. But, that’s where my responsibility ends. It’s not that hard to find your shoes and make sure those that have been moved out of the way get put back in the area from which they came. It’s also not that difficult to put them back. If you are always looking for a missing shoe, you can easily tie them together. Constantly varied is how we train, not how we arrange the gym. And please, this is a big one, do not leave your winter boots behind! There is no room for them to be stored for the week
Now that my winging is over, seriously, we sell things! Lots of them. And we stock them because we want them to be accessible to you. Don’t be shy to ask me about products, I do my best to have my finger on the pulse. If you want something Crossfit related, I know about it. We can’t stock everything, (Although it feels as though we try) like shoes for example, but, we can tell you where to find what you are looking for. For example, Fitness Town is carrying Nike weightlifting shoes, and Inov-8’s. Run with It in whistler has the New Balance Minimus shoes. Looking for anything else, just ask. Supplements, foods, apparel, don’t be shy.
Jordan
The guys from Real Xtreme Rx have branded a pair of shorts with our logo. I’ll be ordering some in to sell. For the moment they are only available in Men’s, but I am told the Woman’s are on the way. If would like to pre-order sizes now let me know. You can leave a comment here to confirm there’ll be a pair with your name on it when they arrive. I do plan on having inventory in the gym, but, can’t guarantee I’ll have your size.
The shorts design will change slightly from the photo above, but are going be really close the picture you see. Sizes run true to your jean sizes, and are available in even #’s. 28,30,32,34,36,38.
Jordan
Jordan.
Jordan
I’m like many others, having come to Whistler for a winter and 6years later no intentions of leaving. Over the years I have taught different types of group fitness classes and become involved in as many mountain based activities available to me. I love the freedom of the outdoors here and the beauty of where we live. I grew up in Abbotsford B.C. where I was involved in more activities and sports teams than I could keep track of. Over the years Track and Field became my main focus and grew to be a very competitive sport for me. Tailing close behind was my time spent as a Softball Pitcher. At that time I had no idea my active life would be leading me into so many seasonally based sports such as snowboarding, hiking, and biking shortly followed by, fitness instructing, and then Crossfit!
Initially Crossfit for me was an attempt at trying something new and to see what all the hype was about. That was over a year ago, and oh how things have changed. Crossfit has become a very important part of my life. I dove right in and found myself constantly challenged and extremely focused. My time as a Crossfitter came to an unfortunate halt due to a pre existing injury. This brought a lot of rest time into my life which is when I decided I would start to study and work towards my Level 1 Crossfit Certification. Its been what feels like for ever but I’m back at the gym now focusing on becoming a future coach as well as slowly incorporating Crossfit movements back into my life. The determination, motivation, and ability to dig deeper and work harder that Crossfit brings to people enthralls me. I look forward to my future with Crossfit and all the challenges and triumphs I know it will bring to me, as an athlete and as an aspiring coach.
Thanks Jayde
Jordan
The first thing that needs to be done is coach you guys and gals more during your buy in. And that cannot be done if we are searching for your wendler numbers. So, we will finish the cycle we are on…… and that will be that last of the wendler program……for now. Unless of course you go from client to athlete and come in prepared with all your numbers. Then maybe I’d reconsider. So, if you’d like to prove me wrong, monday we are deadlifting, tuesday benching, and wednesday squatting.
The most challenging area that needs addressing might just be the discipline side. Oops, that’s a typo, I meant so say nutrition side. (Sorry Michelle, I stole your line!) Getting the information out there that you all are looking for is quite diverse this time around, it has proven to stump me thus far. I don’t think a generic nutrition talk will do. There are those seeking more than what’s been discussed in the past, and on the other side, there are plenty of new people that would benefit from the talks we’ve done before. 2 talks scares me to death because it’s impossible to schedule it in. So I’d most probably do it 4 times, if not more. Having said all that, time for to post this handy video……..
Yes, I do promote a Paleo diet. Am I a hardcore paleo follower you ask? I used to be, now I am little more frequent in my “cheats”. My cheats are foods that I take on for performance reasons, not because I miss pizza and beer. If you did have some weight loss goals in your questionnaire, I have an assignment for you. I’d like for to track how many times per day you eat a meal or snack that is not paleo. If it has dairy, beans or grains. Or if it is highly processed. Track it for a week, starting monday. If the question is do I want you to be 100% paleo? The answer is maybe…… It depends on who you are, and what you’re goals are……
Jordan
After reading some of the questionnaires, it important for me to clear up a few facts. If you’d had trainers, programs, promise these types of results, they are for the most part lying, or bending the truth. Either way, here’s what you should know.
Muscle tone is referring to a contractile property within a muscle. Muscle tone is used to maintain posture. In english, your muscles are contracted and firing just enough to keep standing. As I type this post sitting on the couch, my body maintains an upright posture via muscle tone. If I’d like to demonstrate good posture, I voluntarily push my chest out, shoulders back and down, and squeeze my belly in and breath through my ribs. Muscle tone is the prior, voluntary contractile force of the muscle is the latter.
The common misunderstanding is that if you have muscle tone; you can either see it, you touch it, or you can feel it. But, if you are looking to change the appearance or feel of your muscles, you are looking to build strength, and or mass. Toning is a myth, or a mis-used word.
If you can see the muscle, it’s because you have little body fat. Someone does not need to be strong to have abs, they just need very little body fat on them. So, a person can be defined, and be extremely sick or unhealthy. It has nothing to do with strength.
If you touch the muscle, and doesn’t feel like you are squishing a bag of jello, then you actually have no muscle there. Just because there is supposed to be a 6 pack under your shirt, it doesn’t meant that you can feel it. When there is no muscle there, it feels squishy. Skin/tissue/fat can pinched, squished, etc…. Muscle, not so much. Want definition, you need to shed those extra pounds.
Let’s talk about that for a second, losing weight. Targeting areas where you’d like to lose fat is probably my favourite myth. When it comes to fat storage, the only thing that is somewhat predictable is where bodies like to store it. Abdomen, hips, thighs. But not where your body will remove it. Your body is constantly releasing stored fat in to the body, and re-storing. Where it decides to do this has nothing to do with how many lunges you do, or how many situps. The only thing targeting might help with is the fallacy of toning. Meaning, targeting a specific area you’d like to see muscle might give the illusion that you’ve lost fat in that area. (example of doing bicep exercises daily) But, what you’ve really done is increased strength in that area, muscle mass in that area, and as a result can see more definition. (In the above example, see your biceps with more definition.) Storing fat is 100% hormonal. Diet can influence hormones, and thus play a role in your fat storage, but that is an explanation that belongs in a book, not a blog post. So, if you are looking to target where you’d like to lose your fat, allow me to divulge one of my favourite expressions, head on over to the kitchen. You cannot exercise your way out of a poor diet. Exercise can help mask mistakes on the nutrition side, but, it doesn’t overcome it.
In short, the two most important things to help those who are looking at tone and spot reduce are this. Get strong, and eat well! Of course, the eating well part is an area where most people need help, or, aren’t willing to change. And, I am working on a plan to provide you guys with better resources on how to do just that. In the meantime, if you have suggestions on how you’d like me to help, I’m all ears.
Thanks for all the questionnaires that have been submitted. I’ve read every one of them. So keep them coming! For those that were curious about why these topics were discussed first, it’s not because this was the number one goal discussed, quite the opposite, it had very little mentioning. It’s because these are beliefs that are created by misinformation, and if someone believe’s it’s true, I can guarantee that many other people do to!
Next stop, how to give you the nutritional information for success….. And that one won’t be easy. Oh, did you know that in the surveys, some people rank health the highest priority, but their nutrition rating was B or lower? Is that possible?
Comment
Jordan
Speaking of help, I can really use a hand over the next couple of weeks. I have a strange feeling that we need to add another class, but, it is extremely difficult for me to gauge when the majority of you wait until the last minute to decide what class you want to come to. Most of the time it’s due to laziness (Yes, i am calling you out!). This is a habit I’d like you to break for a couple of reasons. First, for your own preparation. Second, so that your coaches can prepare for you specifically. (Yes, especially when it comes to grabbing wendler numbers, or just the mental preparation we do for each individual needs; modifications, scaling, etc….) Lastly, so that you don’t miss out. I’ve said this before, but the gym is busier than ever, and with folks pounding down the door to get started, you need to make sure that you secure space in the classes you’d like to attend! Plus, the time isn’t far away before we reach critical mass, and stop foundations. So, help me help you by helping me. Of course if you are one of those people that book ahead, thanks, it’s greatly appreciated.
Jordan
When I look back at 2011 there’s so much to reflect upon. I hope you all know that this past year has been by far the most successful year Crossfit Whistler has had. In any way you’d like to measure it, the gym has by far accomplish more in the last 12 months than it has in any year. And the measurements are you! The community. Think of all the accolades each and everyone one of you have accomplished? I look at this years Pique’s best of 2011, and I feel like I am reading a story about the CrossFit Community. If I talk about CrossFit specifics. The leaderboard gets updated every time we do a benchmark, it’s insane! It’s not like we are doing these workouts for the first time. Some of them have been done over 15 times. Let’s not forget about our winners at weightlifting comps, personal accolades on running events, crossFit events, death race, etc….I can go on and on…… Seriously look no further than Steve, he has his own shirt! Boom!
When you look ahead, you should see nothing but opportunity. That, if you are willing to do more than talk about where you’d like to go, you can achieve all your goals. I will say this, and this is the same thing I tell folks after their first CrossFit workout, after they realize how hard a 10 minute workout can be, which is. No, it doesn’t get easier, it’s always hard. Hard work will get you where you want to go. It will get easier to work hard, and, that hard work won’t be all that taxing on the body anymore. But it’s still hard. Go ask Steve, who is by far the hardest working guy I know. So, as you look ahead and write down what you’d like to accomplish. Remember that you have to be willing to work for it. If you are, I’ll do whatever I can do help you get there!
While you think about what lies ahead, here’s the results of the Feats of Strength. I think it’s official…. There seemed to be more than a few data errors in calculating the scores. But, they seemed to be resolved. Once again, congratulations to the winners!
Gals:
1. Kara
2. Kerri
3. Karine
Guys:
1. Uncle Rob
2. Tyler Blair
3. JD
About a month ago I asked everyone to think about their goals. I will send out an email to you shortly, with a small questionnaire to answer. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, time to get thinking about what you want out of crossfit, and what you are willing to do to get after it.
Thanks for an unbelievable 2011, and here’s to an even better 2012!
Jordan
Jordan