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Tips, news & viewsWednesday, August 29, 2007
Only 5 days left until we begin the next 6 week intensive in Clifton Hill.
If you need the added push group training provides or if you just want to try something different then this course is for you. Experience real improvements in your fitness - contact us urgently. There are only a couple of places left. Monday, August 27, 2007
Further to my blog a few days ago regarding the need to keep learning here are a few suggested books, journals and web sites to check out. Some you may know already. I will post more as time permits. If you have any favourites feel free to share them.
Recommended books:
Recommended Journals:
Useful Websites:
Sunday, August 26, 2007
We've been in Boston for 3 days and will be leaving tomorrow towards NYC by train. It's been our favourite city so far.
This morning we travelled out to CrossFit Boston to train with Neal and his crew. We joined in on some Olympic lifting practice (back squats and then snatches). It turns out that Erica is a natural showing some very smooth snatch technique in her first Olympic lifting class. No doubt she will be showing most of us up in no time at all. Last night, we discovered a great Italian restaurant called Maggiano's; we liked it so much that we are heading back there tonight. On the hole food here is pretty good although you can fall into the fast-food trap pretty easily. There are heaps of fresh food markets about if you are prepared to look around. So, how much attention are you all paying to your nutrition? If we can stay on track over here, surely you can do the same at home. That's about it from Boston. We'll be looking up the boys at CrossFit NYC early next week and hope to get a few sessions in before flying back west to San Francisco for more training (look out Kelly), then we are driving south to Santa Cruz for sun, sand, surf and more CrossFit with Annie, Nicole, Greg and the crew. Train hard, stay safe - Adam. Friday, August 24, 2007
Hi all,
We've survived LA and Vegas and have just landed in Boston. The CrossFit certification course held at Big John McCarthy's Ultimate Training Academy (home of CrossFit Valencia) was off the chain. Thanks to all of the level two trainers who poked and prodded me into the correct positions. Starting off on Saturday with Fight Gone Bad was pure evil but not unexpected. It was great to meet Coach, Greg A, Nicole, Andy, Becca and everyone else. A big up yourself to Steve from CrossFit Effects (Sydney) who smoked Fran in 3:59 after two full days of training at the cert. Go Aussie! A huge thanks to Joe Marsh from CrossFit Las Vegas for the pick-up, training and drop-off at the airport during our Vegas visit. I have a raw palm courtesy of one of Joe's torture sessions (I loved it). Thanks to Michael and Dawn from Petranek Fitness in Santa Monica for doubling the WOD reps for me when I dropped in. I appreciated that no end. ;o) So, what else is there to report? We have not eaten as well as we could have thus far. But we have walked a lot (in blistering heat) and also done a fair bit of training. I have heaps of new ideas too (be afraid, be very afraid). Take care, train hard - Adam. Thursday, August 23, 2007
In order to improve you need to keep learning. You will never know enough. The best coaches and athletes in the world are always reading, attending seminars and communicating with their peers.
Whilst we at Crossfit Victoria are trying to provide you with useful information we stress you learn as much as you can from other sources as well. If you have specific goals such as improving your Deadlift or Squat for example or if you really want to run a faster 5km then you need to set aside the time and effort to read more, find yourself a mentor, specialist coach or training partners who are more advanced than you. We suggest you set yourself some realistic goals both short and long term. Start asking questions and start finding answers. Obviously be rigorous and careful when separating the good information from the rubbish. Ask yourself has the "expert" lived in the trenches? Have they done that? Beware of the armchair experts. In the next few days I will post some suggested books, links etc. Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Yesterday I felt very ordinary. Lack of sleep thanks to my 16 month old, a head cold and a very severe case of Monday- itis made the whole idea of training a very unattractive proposition indeed! The fact I would have to drive through city traffic to Footscray and then deal with peak hour traffic on the way home...you can see where I am coming from can't you?
I love my Monday session usually but two hours before I had to head off I was racking my mind for excuses-I came so close to phoning my training partner. When I got in my car it was decision time,what direction? Somehow I started driving towards the city. I felt lethargic, unmotivated and I thought shopping for DVD's might be fun. I kept on driving. I went to the gym. Guess what? My workout did not suck. I did not hate it. And I suddenly felt more energetic when I walked in and saw other people traing hard. Yesterday I recordered personal best weights in all 3 exercises I did! Front Squat, Incline Press and Deadlift. I felt like a million dollars driving home and I am still on a high. I'm glad I trained. Saturday, August 11, 2007
It's no secret that we love the Olympic lifts. We love the power, the technique, the feeling of defying gravity and the joy of accomplishment.
These girls make the sport look like an art form. Friday, August 10, 2007
On Monday, I'm off to the USA for CrossFit certification in Valencia, CA.
My wife, Erica, and I will then be traveling to Las Vegas, Boston, New York, San Francisco and Santa Cruz for some R&R and also to meet with some CrossFit affiliates. I'll try to post news and photos while we're gone. Keep training hard, Adam. Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Classes at the South Yarra Sports Centre (SYSC) will be run by the facility manager, John Smith, until further notice. John is a former soldier in the British Army and has extensive fitness training experience.
Please contact SYSC directly on (03) 9823 7116 to confirm class times and costs. Tuesday, August 07, 2007
This video illustrates why we don't like silly machines or fitness trainers who don't pay attention. Sure, you may get a laugh from it; we just hope that the guy walked away without any injuries.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Yesterday I finally had some free time - on a Sunday if you'd believe it - so I headed down to the regular Melbourne Parkour session. We met at the wave sculpture in the Arts Precinct and from there proceeded to the adjacent gardens in order to get dirty rolling around on the freshly rained on grass. From there it was off to Southgate to run up some daunting walls and hang from some trees and other groovy structures. Just the kind of thing that the hyperactive child within wanted.
It's amazing how after only 2 hours of focused Parkour training I'm already looking at the urban environment a little differently. I'm wondering if I could jump over that or scale this. It's fun and it's functional and it sure beats sitting on your ass. Interested in climbing, jumping, running, rolling, vaulting and more? Check out the Australian Parkour Assoc. website for all the info. A big thanks to Blair for inviting me along. Ciao for now, Adam. Image sourced from Parkour Australia, please visit and show them some love. Sunday, August 05, 2007
What makes CrossFit different?
To really understand why CrossFit's approach to fitness training is different from the big box, globo gyms you really have to look at the underlying model. We, as CrossFit trainers, are interested in training. We are in the business of training our clients in how to achieve and maintain elite fitness. So, how do we differ from the big boys? Ask yourself: "what business are the bigger gyms into?". Consider the business model of the larger-scale gym; the model requires that many people sign-up on contracts and then preferably do not ever show up to train. This reduces wear on equipment (most of which is all but useless anyway) and also allows for the employment poorly paid, poorly skilled workers. From a profit perspective this model works well but from a training perspective it is truly flawed. Do you see the inherent difference?  Don't misunderstand the intention of this post. We are no attacking our bigger competitors. We merely wish to illustrate the difference between our models in the hope that you can make an educated decision about who you choose to coach you to your goals. Coach Greg Glassman, founder of CrossFit, is very outspoken on this issue. You may wish to view this video where Coach Glassman presents his ideas on this exact topic. Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Let it not be said that Angie is an easy workout. Repping out 100 each of pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups and squats against a running clock is tough work. Something that always makes it tougher for me is the inevitable tearing of skin on my palms. Well, it happened again yesterday (and I have the photos to prove it).
 The above photo doesn't really do it justice. Suffice to say there's a rather raw patch of skin in a nice crater on my hand. My only gripe is that it makes pull-ups, push-ups, grappling etc and little tough for the next couple of days. Aaah, the joys of CrossFit. |
