Being a Coach

Today I had the distinct pleasure of coaching 4 classes back to back.  It made me reflect on how much I enjoy coaching/training/teaching others that want to learn/improve.  I had just as much energy in the fourth class as I did in the first because I got it from those great athletes that showed up this morning.  We did cleans for max weight and I think about 8 people, at a minimum, got PR's.  There is so much positive energy running around you can't stop smiling.
Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that coaches enjoy the hell out of the people that they train and love to watch improvements in.  It gives them a great sense of accomplishment, plus it is fun as all get out.  The class that I regularly attend is coached by Shannan and you can tell she has a great time with her Cereal Killers (they think it makes them sound scary) and they have a great time giving her a hard time(all in fun of course).  If one of our athletes has a bad day, we think about it and wonder how we could have improved their WOD/morning/whatever.  I think our only regret is not being able to give everyone the same amount of instruction.  If we didn't spend much time with you today, that means someone else looked like they needed it more and you were doing pretty good.  We go to the areas where we feel we have the most impact.  If we missed you today, don't worry, we will give you more than enough attention next time (probably when you least want it - getting that full range on burpees).  To all those awesome CrossFit Champions athletes...YOU GUYS AND GALS ROCK!  THANKS FOR LETTING US TRAIN YOU!

Anthony lost 11 lbs in 24 days!

My buddy Anthony took the 24 Day AdvoCare Challenge with me and helped to keep me on track.  Accountability is a wonderful thing.  He posted some outstanding results that I wanted to share.

                                 Starting Stats                              Results                   Difference
Weight                       252                                            241                       11 lbs lost
Right Arm Flexed       17 3/8"                                        17 1/2"                  1/8" gain
Waist                        50 3/8"                                        47 1/2"                  2 7/8" lost
WOD                        19:09                                           15:12                    3:57 improved perf.
The WOD was 3 rounds for time of a 300m run, 9 clean and thrusters with 95#, 12 jumping pull ups and 15 box jumps at 20".

He did a great job following the challenge along with a Paleo diet.  It was the first step in the right direction that everyone always has trouble with.  Anthony finally found out what it was like to eat clean, feel good and have the performance that resulted in almost a 4 min drop in a workout - IN LESS THAN A MONTH!  He has committed to eating Paleo the majority of the time to continue to lose weight and feel good.  He added some of the pre-workout supplements after the challenge and just started using a 24 " box jump which is amazing - no going back now.....(insert evil laugh here)  His only continued challenge will be staying away from the beer (he is a bigger beer snob than me) but we will get there together.  Great job bud, I'm proud of you.

Beer and Burpees CrossFit style?

Just a clip of CrossFitters in Big Sky Montana having to chug beer and do burpees as a consequence for not winning a challenge.  It starts around the 5:25 mark.


http://community.crossfit.com/video/snatches-beer-and-burpees-big-sky

Food (beer) addiction

We all know about addictions whether it is eating bad food, taking other things that are bad for your body or going back to people that always hurt you.  If you can stay away from those things it becomes easier the longer you are away.  The "trick" is to make the right choices to help you avoid situations where you can fall back into that cycle.  When some people have some ice cream occasionally and then it becomes nightly then a pint a night, etc. it's not good.  Other people can have one bowl a month and use that as a reward or celebration and have no ill effects.  That being said, the day I finished my challenge I went out and bought some beer.  Limited edition stuff, real fancy like.  I drank 3/4 of a bottle and wasn't that impressed.  The following day I had 1 Shiner at lunch and it tasted pretty good, I started to want another.  I am debating whether to go down this road again. I know I shouldn't but I also know that I will.  I like alcohol a lot, I don't do shots, it is enjoyed and appreciated, occasionally large quantities of it are enjoyed.  So the plan is to only put one beer in the fridge at a time since I refuse to drink warm beer I think that should help limit myself.  I am going to have it along with my "cheat meal" and or at special occasions.  I will make this work or if I catch myself sliding into old habits ti will be gone for good.  Just the idea of that makes me want to follow the straight and narrow.  We will see.

Yummy, yummy in my tummy

Just throwing out dinner ideas...
Flank steak, lean and inexpensive also hard to screw up.
(another meat you should try that is easy to make is pork steak, throw on some spices and grill)

Take the steak and put it in a pan and pour the marinade all over it, stab the meat as if you were using a meat tenderizer with a fork and let sit 1/2 hr or so.  We use Allegro Marinade even though there is some soy in it, it has 0 sugar and no gluten.
Cook it on the grill with high heat (500-700 degrees) for about 5 min per side which will give you medium rare.  The only way to have steak.  Slice the steak cross grain like fajita meat and serve.

Asparagus I throw on the grill as I am about to flip the steak, roughly 5 min.  To prepare it add a little olive oil, garlic powder, sea salt and pepper together and brush on it.

The slaw you see is broccoli slaw that you can find in a bag at the store.  We add dried cherries and an Asian sesame dressing to it, it is pretty good.  Got the idea from someone at one of the many CrossFit Champions pool parties.

On the side we added a little chopped up tomato and fresh basil.

Pretty easy to make.