Walnut Crossfit

Name:  Annie Seel

Age:  31

Profession:  Marketing Manager

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

How has CrossFit changed your life, lifestyle, level of fitness? It has changed every aspect of my life.  I’m happier, healthier and stronger than ever before.  CrossFit has taught me to approach everything with a can do attitude.

What is your athletic background? Minimal dance

Favorite WOD: Trick question! No such thing

Favorite Lift: Clean & Jerk

Least Favorite WOD: Angie is straight mean

Least Favorite Lift: Squat snatch

What are your proudest CrossFit achievements? Beating my brother in a WOD

Name one goal and/or personal record you would like to accomplish through CrossFit? 2 unassisted pull-ups by June

Do you have any advice for someone thinking about trying CrossFit or someone who has just started? Keep at it!  It may be frustrating at first because you are not as fast or as strong as your classmates, but remember you are only competing with yourself and becoming the “best” you.

Where is your favorite place to eat? Boiling Point (Chinese hot pot)

Favorite cheat meal? Spaghetti with fried chicken on the side

There is a strong misconception that: less eating + exercise = weight loss. Due to the advent of science, we have learned that this is not necessarily the case. It is not how much we eat, but what we eat.
From Crossfit, I have learned that one of key reasons on why we get fat is due to our consumption of carbohydrates and sugars. Not only do carbohydrates get stored as fat, it also prevents us from losing fat in our work outs!
For example, let’s take running. When we start to initially run, our bodies use both carbohydrates and fat equally for energy. At some point during our workout, our body switches and uses mostly the carbohydrates in our system. What this means is that when we work out, we really are not burning as much fat as we think we are. If we ate pancakes in the morning, the body will use that as energy instead of the fat (which we want to lose!). So we either have to work twice the amount (or more!) which would probably make you hungry again and continuing this infinite cycle, or we can change our eating habits and achieve the results faster without the hunger pains.
Eating less carbohydrates and sugars is also not as hard as you think. There are several delicious recipes on the internet (also check meal of the day on this website) that will make you wondering why you didn’t make the change sooner. More importantly, you will get the results that you wanted and you will not be hungry doing it.

By:Winston Chan

Courtesy of www.CrossFit.com

What sort of criteria do you use to decide whether something stays or goes in your life? Is it the money? Effort? Time? Resources? Difficulty? Logistics? Or does it have more to do with whether, at the end of the day, it leaves you satisfied, complete and happy? That regardless of the cost, effort, time, challenge, etc, it was worth it. Is it sometimes that the struggle is the thing that keeps you in the game? That makes it exciting, fun, challenging, engaging?

For me… I can find a way to pretty much justify anything… if I want it badly enough… as long as I know that the result is one that I REALLY want. But that begs another question… does the end justify the means? I mean does the process really matter… the journey? Is the ‘how you do it’ the thing that determines whether you feel satisfied and complete? What might you have to do to yourself in order to make getting the result you want possible? The answer to this question might vary from one thing to the next… like for a workout, the answer might be ‘yes’ – that the temporary pain and suffering is OK knowing the result you’ll get down the road, where a similar amount of pain and suffering in a “relationship” elicits a very different answer.

My advice in this… don’t stop asking these questions. We each can get out of balance when we’re doing things out of habit, not asking questions… and forging ahead in spite of checking in. So take a few minutes (our hours) to really dive in… ask yourself these difficult questions about the job, workout, relationship, degree, project, boss, school, sport, etc… and remember, you don’t have to do anything as a result… at first, it’s only awareness that you’re after.

Just a reminder that we will no longer be having the Saturday Boot Camp classes. Also remember the class times have changed to 8:30 & 9:30 am. Both Saturday classes with be regular CrossFit classes.

Dan & Dan, on the run.

Here is a quote that really hits me…

Anyone can keep going when the going is good,
but some extra ingredient is needed to keep you fighting
when it seems that everything is against you.
-Norman Vincent Peale

We improve ourselves by victories over ourself.
There must be contests, and we must win.
-Edward Gibbon

New PR(Personal Record) for Tricia on her Overhead Squat!

“The worst thing in your life may contain seeds of the best. When you see crises as an opportunity, your life becomes not easy, but more satisfying.”
-Joel Kogel

Name:  Daniel A. Dail

Age:  39

Profession:  Detective, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

How long have you been a member at WCF? 5 months

How has CrossFit changed your life, lifestyle, level of fitness? Since joining Walnut CrossFit, I feel stronger and more flexible.  I also have the courage to try new movements that seemed very daunting when you see them in action for the first time.  I remember when I first saw a thruster and thought to myself “yeah right,”, but I have become more proficient at the movement and actually did a prescribed weight during a WOD.

What is your athletic background? I played football and threw the shot put and discus in high school.  After high school I joined the US Army where physical fitness is a priority.  I’m not much of a runner because of my knees, but I actually had a 1 mile time of 6:36, which is fast for me.  After the Army, I worked as a police officer with the City of Compton and continued to stay in shape because of the physical exercise regimen I participated in during the police academy.  But, after about 6 years on the job I fell into a rut and became severely out of shape putting on over 80 pounds.  I was unhappy in my marriage and I allowed this to affect my health.  I know in my heart I was over 300 pounds, but I never actually stepped on a scale because I was ashamed of what I had become.

Favorite WOD: It was an AMRAP/17 where we did 7 deadlifts, 14 pull-ups and a 400m run.

Favorite Lift: Deadlift

Least Favorite WOD: Griff

Least Favorite Lift: Overhead squat

What are your proudest CrossFit achievements? The rope climb, where I actually did it during a WOD and learning how to jump rope.  I never owned a jump rope growing up and the schools I attended growing up never had jump ropes to play with.  I learned how to jump rope at Walnut CrossFit and it was the first time in my life I had tried to jump rope.

Name one goal and/or personal record you would like to accomplish through CrossFit? I would like to continue to get stronger and more flexible.  I will never be a Speedo model (even though Tina loves me in a Speedo – just playing), but I would like to be more in shape and feel more comfortable at the river.  And, I want to get a Muscle Up!!

Do you have any advice for someone thinking about trying CrossFit or someone who has just started? CrossFit seems very intimidating at first, but you can do it!!  I remember thinking at first that I can barely do the recommended women’s weight.  I learned quickly to leave my ego at the door and work as hard as I can.  Walnut CrossFit feels like an extended family that supports me through my workouts.  I encourage others and they encourage me.  This sense of teamwork and collaboration is infectious and motivates me to work harder.  I feel like I have a personal trainer at each class and I’m working out with my friends.  I love the fact that Tina, who happens to be the absolute love of my life, and I get to work together.  At the gym she’d be on the stair stepper and I’d be on the elliptical and it was boring.  Because of CrossFit, we are working out together and get to throw up weight, climb rope, do pull-ups, jump rope and we are loving exercise again.

Favorite place to eat? Shima Japanese Restaurant in Chino Hills

Favorite cheat meal? Costco Pizza

Saturday classes have been a blast.

We had a record 25 people in yesterdays class.

Walnut CrossFit would like to wish you and your family a very Happy Easter.

Rest, Relax, prepare your meals for the week and go on an Easter egg hunt!

From last weekend's WOD 4 Warriors Fundraiser

One more pic from last weekend!

There are many compliments that may come to an individual in the course of a lifetime, but there is no higher tribute than to be loved by those who know us best.

-Dale E. Turner