Walnut Crossfit

It goes without saying, too much of something that is undeniably bad for you can have a seriously negative impact on your life… alcohol, sugar, partying, drugs, etc. But what about something that is good for you? Is there such a thing as too much being bad? Take exercise for example… sure, doing too much of it probably won’t be as bad for you as too much alcohol, but then again, if you overdo it, will it really get you where you want to go? What about something like going on a crash diet? Great intentions, good short term results, but what are the long term ramifications? Will it get you where you want to be 10 years from now?

The USDA Food Pyramid has now become the USDA Food Plate. Is it really much of a change? Sure… new graphics, colors, and a different shape… but is it saying anything new? I think that the graphics and image is far better than the pyramid, I’ll give them that. But when you really look at the plate vs. the pyramid, the portions, and the places people are getting calories from, they’re practically identical. And there is one GLARING element left COMPLETELY out of the new plate… FAT!
If you want to learn more about the need for fat in your diet, pick up one of the Paleo Diet Books in the front.

Here is my coach from my Olympic Lifting Certification talking about the Snatch and Clean & Jerk and the importance of foot placement. Check it out.

Name: Kristen Wakamatsu

Age: 25

Profession: Event Planner/Project Coordinator

How long have you been a member at WCF: 6 months

How has CrossFit changed your life, lifestyle, level of fitness?  CrossFit has me routinely working out and has tested my limits physically and mentally.  The variation in each WOD has also helped me realize what my body can do.  It has also made me more conscious about eating better and drives me towards my resolution of becoming a healthier me.

What is your athletic background? Soccer

Favorite WOD: If I have to answer, I’d say Cindy, but seriously, is there really such a thing???

Favorite lift: Deadlifts, Back Squats, and Push Press

Least Favorite WOD: All of them?

Least Favorite Lift: Overhead Squats, the Bear Complex, the Snatch Balance, and Clean and Jerks, just to name a small few ..

What are your proudest CrossFit achievements?  I was really proud of being able to do a few of the WODs prescribed, but other than that, just showing up every week!  I’m an extremely lazy person, so just being there and finishing the WODs are achievements for me.

Name one goal and/or personal record you would like to accomplish through CrossFit: I want to start being able to do most of the WODs prescribed and eventually be able to do a muscle up (this would seriously be AWESOME)!

Any advice for someone thinking about trying CrossFit or someone who has just started?  You will never know your limits unless you try it out.  Even if you feel like you did horrible, it only gets better and you only get stronger from there.  The best part about each class is that everyone is on your side, pushing you and cheering you on.  Technically, if you think about it, it’s only an hour a day and usually only 7-20 minutes of pure hell.

Favorite place to eat? Sushi restaurants

Favorite cheat meal? Anything fried, fast food, and ice cream

This video was sent to me recently. This is another CrossFit box owner sharing some of his feelings and rules at his box. It’s GREAT!

CrossFitters are funny. We all think we’re awesome. We drink the kool aid, we wear the shirts, we join the Facebook groups, and we pretty much talk about CrossFit in any situation possible. “Oh hey Becky! OMG I love your dress! This new happy hour menu is so super awesome. Did you know I PR’d on my clean and jerk today?!” You know who you guys are….because I’m totally that person. Minus being in a social situation that does not include a gym.

Anyways. Since we all think we’re awesome, we tend to not love doing things that make us look less awesome. Understandable. We’re human beings. Being defeated does not feel good. We like the feeling of confidence that CrossFit gives us, and we thrive off that confidence. We get to walk out of the gym with our heads held high because we know we did something great today. And that we were literally AWESOME.

But what happens when that confidence goes away?

For the past two years of my CrossFit life, I have hated–literally HATED–muscle ups. I don’t like to do them. I don’t like the mental OR the physical pain that is paired with failing in a muscle up. And because of that hatred, I didn’t really do them. So I failed even more at them when I actually tried. I thought if I worked hard at everything else, they would just come. Well, crap on my doorstep, they didn’t. In the “Amanda” event at the Southwest Regionals last year, I got one muscle up. Yes, one. And I cheered on the girls around me because I couldn’t get anymore.

I was defeated. Frustrated. And aggravated. And that feeling haunted me. I would look up at the rings and any sort of confidence I had built in my two years of CrossFit were out the door. I had built up a fear for muscle ups. A close second to my fear of the chocolate bowl on Valentine’s Day. Muscle ups made me sick to my stomach. They made me cry, they made me kick walls, and pretty much made me a different person than I was. A person with no confidence.

When “Amanda” finally came up the other day, I ran to the bathroom in hopes of not crapping myself. But running for the toilet doesn’t make the muscle up WOD go away. It’s still written on the white board. My WOD buddies are still waiting for me. And muscle ups are still going to show up at Regionals. So I did it, I faced my fears. And finished “Amanda” as prescribed. And my confidence came back.

We can’t always feel awesome. Why would we come back? Why would we do handstands in the back of the gym, at the end of class, if we didn’t have anything to strive for? Why would we pick up a barbell hundreds of thousands of times if we were perfect at it?

So ask yourself, what do you fear? And when was the last time you did something about it? Admit your fears and learn to accept that even as an awesome CrossFitter, you still are allowed to be scared sometimes.

My name is Juli Bauer and I have a fear of muscle ups.

-By Juli Bauer

Courtesy of www.crossfit.com

Thank you to everyone who came out last night to watch the UFC fight. We had a blast! We will definitely be doing this more often.

Please join us this Saturday from 7pm to 10pm for UFC 145, Jones vs. Evans, pay per view event here at the box. There will be FREE Beer.
BYOC-Bring your own chair, unless you want to sit on a box. See ya there!

Dania is so excited about the new schedule, thats she's doing Burpees.

Please be aware that we have modified the schedule a tiny bit….again. We deleted the 8am classes and added more 9am classes and an additional Friday evening class. So we have actually added more classes in the grand scheme of things. Please check the schedule before you guys come into class starting immediately.

Have you ever thought about the fact that it’s really difficult to make a change without getting things out of the way first? Like those old “moving squares” puzzles where one square is open and you move the pieces around trying to get all of the pieces to line up. Well with only 1 square open, it really limits the moves you can make. For many people, that represents life – filled up to the gills with ‘stuff’ (things to do, people to please, jobs to get done, a todo list a mile long, and endless emails). If you try to make real change in that scenario without taking anything out of the picture, all you get is a re-arrangement of the same stuff… a shuffling of the squares. Imagine trying to re-organize your closet this way – can’t get rid of anything or move anything out of the way, just shuffle things around… not so effective!