I’ve heard a lot of people ask “what do I eat?!”  If you are running out of ideas and would like to hear (and taste) some new ones, come to the CrossFit Fenway Paleo Potluck this Saturday, February 4th at 5 pm.  Bring your favorite paleo dishes to CFF to share with others, and see what they’ve hunted and gathered for the occasion.

Whatever you bring just has to have all paleo ingredients.  You don’t have to be a part of the challenge to come by and experience all the tasty paleo delights I know some of our very creative members have made.  Join us, eat, and bond over all the new recipes and ideas coming your way!

January 31, 2012
Strength:
Low Bar Back Squat 3-3-3-3-3

WOD:
AMRAP 20:
200m Row
30 second Rest

Compare to 101020

Announcements

Defend Our Title!  CrossFit Fenway was voted the Best Health Club in Boston for 2010 and 2011 in the Boston Phoenix Best Poll.  Help us 3-peat by nominating CrossFit Fenway in the 2012 poll. Go here and fill in CrossFit Fenway in the text box next to health club (once a day per e-mail address).  Be sure to vote for any of your other Boston favorites, and complete the survey by hitting the “Submit” button, entering your name and e-mail address, and then hitting “Vote Now”, otherwise your nomination won’t count.

Who Wants Wrist Wraps?!  Several of you have asked the coaches about wrist wraps, or even borrowed a pair.  I like them for near-max overhead lifts, and metcons with a lot of work overhead.  If you’re interested in ordering a pair for yourself, or would like more information please contact Eric by Friday, February 10th.

I’ll be kicking off the action at 11 am at CrossFit Somerville, and you’re all welcome to join me! Where is that?

Union Square: 35 Prospect St, Somerville, MA.

How do you get there?

BUS:
The CT2 Bus departs from right next to CrossFit Fenway at 10:26 and arrives in Union Square at 10:46, giving you plenty of time to see the place and get warmed up. I promise to have you done in time for a nice brunch in the area, or to just hop back on the 12:05 bus back to Fenway.

Want more particulars? MBTA’s website shows you the route and the station stops.

CAR:
From Fenway, just drive to Storrow West, get off at River St/Central Square, and go straight through Central onto Prospect St. You’ll follow that for about 5 stoplights, until you see the giant “CROSSFIT” letters on the side of our building (just over the hill). We have a parking lot there!

ANY OTHER WAY:
Use this google link to get directions!

Put it this way, if it hurt every time you squatted, wouldn’t you ask one of your coaches to take a look at your form?  Say you’ve been squatting for years, but you haven’t PR’d in a while, and you feel like you’re plateauing, wouldn’t you ask one of your coaches for advice?  Just like squatting, running is a skill.  If it’s consistently causing you pain, or if you’re not getting faster, it’s time to look at your technique.

The CrossFit Fenway Endurance program is a supplemental, 8 session course that will be held on Saturday mornings at 9 AM, beginning August 20th, and running through early October.  This course is for anyone who wants to work to improve their skill.  Over the 8 sessions we will cover Pose running technique, and supplementing your CrossFit training with endurance programming, giving you the knowledge to prepare for any race.  Space is limited, so contact Eric for more information and to reserve your spot.

CrossFit Fenway will be closed Friday, June 17th, and there will be no invasion Saturday, June 18th.

In order to let our team and coaching staff recover, we will not be running regular classes on Monday, June 20th.  Instead there will be 3 uncapped classes at 7:30 AM, 12 PM, and 6:30 PM.  These will be run like an invasion, with no sign ups or pre-registration required.  All you need to do is show up and workout at one of the 3 designated times.

Fundamentals will run as scheduled on Monday, June 20th.

Have a great weekend!

These are 2 separate sessions, so you have the option of attending either one or both.  They are just $100 each ($200 for both), and can help improve your performance, as well as providing invaluable information to better direct your training.

There are a limited number of spots in each 3 hour course, so contact Eric for more information and to reserve a space for yourself.

There’s a few things you might want to prepare that happen outside the tight timeframes of your WODs, though.

Timing: Get there early enough that you’re not hurried or harried – being ready for the athlete briefing means you get the full information and aren’t running around frantic trying to find your heat or details that you could have gotten the first time around. Athlete meeting is at 8am – you may want to plan to have your car parked and walking in by 7:40 am.

Parking: Speaking of getting there early, print out a map the night before. Understand that Route 30 is the main access road, and it is just a 2-lane road with No Passing for the majority of it. Traffic can back up hard if things go sideways on Saturday morning, or it can be a nice cruise. Once there, you’ll find that CFNE is buried in the back of a commercial/light industrial office park. Their parking lot will get overwhelmed by the first 30 cars. There are 180 athletes, 40 judges, 20 volunteers, and god knows how many spectators in attendance. So parking will be out of control, and you may be parked on the side of the road a long distance from the facility.

Packing: You’ll be walking to get there, and crammed into a tight space, and probably having to move all your gear multiple times during the day. Prepare for a walk, and make sure your supplies are in easily portable containers. No pile of loose crap – get a duffel bag, athletic bag, or plastic bin to haul your stuff. Plastic bins also double as handy seats, so I’m partial to those. Bring a blanket: it rarely hurts to have one to wrap up in or sit on the ground for comfort.

Essential equipment: Food and water. Bring a water bottle. Keep it filled from the tap. Bring food. Cook extra chicken breasts tonight and bring them. Power bars? Sure. Grab a fistful of those fun-size LaraBars from the locker room at Fenway and take those, too. Big jar of almonds? Great. Almond butter? Fine. Jarred baby food is the favorite game day nutrition of at least one CFF Coach.

Whatever it is, bring enough calories to keep you going throughout the day. Budget for 300-400 calories after every event, plus loads of water. Nothing too hard to digest. Bring it with you, because trying to go out to eat during the day will Suck.

Eating out: I don’t advise it. It’s a long haul from CFNE to anything resembling a grocery store or restaurant, and you run the risk of getting stuck in traffic. Take what you need.

Non-obvious equipment: It’s an 8 hour day of competition, at least. There are 9 heats of each event. You will spend a great deal of time sitting around, recovering and taking time away from cheering. So bring a chair… and WARM CLOTHES. Sweatpants and sweatshirt to keep you warm during the cold weather we’ll be having tomorrow is essential. Stay warm and loose between workouts – don’t vacillate between boiling and freezing. You might want an umbrella – you might be stuck outside in the rain waiting for your next event.

There will be more that isn’t mentioned here, but I figured a quick last minute list of considerations might help some of you as you prepare to launch into your first competition! Good luck, sleep well, and I’ll see you all out there.

An e-mail with details on signing up for a heat will be going out.  If you’re not registered and fundraising a space in one of the heats will not be reserved for you. If you’re not participating in the workout you can come by to cheer on your fellow CrossFitters, and help count reps.

We’ve done a great job fundraising thus far.  Whether your goal is $150 or $1,500, now is the final push.  If you need any additional info, please contact Eric.

Both are excellent instructors, and I encourage you to be in touch about learning how to get up in the air! In addition, here’s a few words from Joanna about what she does and why she’s excited to be doing it with all of us at CrossFit Fenway!

Greetings CFF community,

There are some really exciting things going on at CFF lately! One of the most unusual is the new aerial arts equipment. You may be wondering what this new thing is all about, so I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself as one of the new aerials instructors.

Every time I walk into CrossFit Fenway, I love to see the personal goals written on the walls. The myriad of reasons why you are all here is awe inspiring.
I think about why I’m here – both as an aerialist and as a teacher – and I’d like to share with you my personal goals for every student who walks into my class:

1. For you to do something you’ve never done before or didn’t think you could do.
2. For both your body and your mind to thank you for doing this.

If you’d like to take a look at my personal work, you can find it here: www.dominiqueimmora.com
But the demonstration of skill in any subject is only part of the art of teaching. To be a good teacher is a calling. It requires a love for the sharing of an art/subject/discipline that one takes joy in oneself. A good teacher shares in the wonder of exploring and in thrives on watching students develop confidence, knowledge, and skill.

I began my working career as a high school teacher. I studied to be History teacher in college and headed straight for the classroom after my final college class (literally!). But I came to realize the classroom was not the place for me. I loved teaching, loved imparting knowledge, loved seeing success in my students, but the format lacked something I needed.

Instead, I poured my efforts into the circus arts I was already performing. I learned and taught everything I could. I managed the curriculum for the WildFire training retreat. This past year I took the Trapeze Teacher Training at NECCA.

In learning I am constantly humbled by what I don’t know. The better one understands the complex bio-mechanics of strength, flexibility, endurance, and coordination, the easier it is to teach and execute safely any physical art, sport, or activity. Towards that end I have started down what will be a long road to greater understanding. I am now certified in Myoskeletal Alignment Therapy and am studying to become a structural integration based yoga teacher and bodyworker through South Boston Yoga, a personal trainer through the NSCA, and Thai Yoga Massage practitioner through Lotus Palm of Montreal. I will also have the pleasure of studying kinesiology with the highly-esteemed Tom Myers (www.anatomytrains.com) in his Body Language program this coming year.

I already see the difference in class. We pay special attention to stretching muscles that are chronically shortened, and strengthening muscles that are chronically inhibited. You will walk out of this class not only with more functional strength, but with strength and flexibility where you need it most in order to prevent common strain patterns.

To me, the best part of aerial arts is that its a great workout that teaches you to do amazing things with your body, while challenging your physical and mental limits. We all put ourselves into a box that defines what we think we’re capable of. Moving in three dimensions allows us new freedoms. In my classes, we create a safe space for you to explore, be afraid, push yourself, be exhilarated, and encourage your fellow students to do the same.

As members of CrossFit Fenway, I know we are all kinetic beings by nature. I challenge you to come try out a class. Push the boundaries of your movement, especially if you think you can’t do it. The only thing holding you back is you!

-Joanna

At 2 PM there is a Birthday Bar-B-Q at Sam and Nathan’s (89 Oxford Street, Arlington, MA).  There’s street parking, several buses that go there, and a better than average chance of a fire performance.

The CrossFit Fenway Endurance program starts up this Sunday at 10 AM.  If interested, please contact Eric.

Whether or not you choose to participate in the supplemental endurance training, registration for the B.A.A. Half Marathon opens this Wednesday, July 14th at 9 AM.  I plan on signing up.  If you’d like to join me on this great course on Sunday, October 10th, be sure to get to the site early, this race fills up fast.  This would be the perfect way to wrap up your endurance training, or just a great way to test your fitness.