Promo Video - Who are CrossFit Connect?

Okay, so i have just finished making CrossFit Connects first video! :)

I really wanted to capture the essence of CrossFit and explain what it is we do for those uninitiated but also give a good taste of what our box is like specifically and what you can expect when you come down and join in.We have seen some amazing changes over the last few months in our members and i truly believe that you dont get looked after as well in any other gym as you do in a CrossFit box. We are there to not only coach our guys and gals in technique, form and function every session but also inform and guide you on the nutrition side of things too which is vitally important.

I know i am biased when i say this but if you want to truly see a change in your health and become stronger, leaner and faster then come down to see us, check out a class or two and i believe you wont ever want to go anywhere else. It becomes addictive to train in such a friendly and encouraging community. You will actually want to train rather than it being a chore that you have to do.


Check out our website for more information or drop us an email. Come and see why there are now over 60 CrossFit boxes in the UK with the number of CrossFitters worldwide growing daily. Reebok have recently signed on for a partnership deal as they can see the potential CrossFit has for truly making a difference within the industry. This isnt a fad. This stuff works.

Enjoy the short film and get in touch for a free taster session. Join the revolution!
Check out our Facebook page here: http://tinyurl.com/68vtulc for the latest news on CrossFit Connect

GOINGS ON AT THE BOX!

So we have a busy weekend coming up at CrossFit Connect. Heres the lowdown:

Saturday 4th June - 8am-10am
Intro Course. This is the two hour course that we hold for all new members wanting to joining up. It explains everything about CrossFit and why it is so beneficial to you and also introduces the 9 foundational CrossFit movements that we use regularly during classes. It is £80 for the two hours and then you are free to join up as a regular member or come to any classes as a drop-in. More info can be found on the website. www.crossfitconnect.co.uk

Saturday 4th June - 12.30-1.30pm
Free Paleo nutrition talk by our resident chef. This talk kicks off our 30-day paleo challenge which starts on Monday 6th June. We will be covering all the basics of good Paleo nutrition and answering any questions you may have about the plan. We hope that by running the challenge as a group you will be inspired to stick to it, eat well, train hard and see some amazing results! For more information on the challenge please see our blog page here: www.crossfitconnect.blogspot.com

Sunday 5th June - 10am-11am
Free taster class for those of you who have never done CrossFit before and want to get a little idea about what it is we do and how things work. Come down and have a look at the facilities and talk to us about CrossFit. Just drop us a line if you would like to come along.

Things are going great at the moment and the photos of our members on our member wall are expanding rapidly! Our classes are getting busier by the day and everyone is really getting into the swing of it, training hard, eating well and encouraging others whilst they are training. We are really seeing a change in shape of some of our members already and that is great to see. Getting stronger, fitter and toning up in all the right areas. It really is addictive and our members have said that they have never been so inspired to train before than what they are now. Fantastic stuff.

CrossFit Connect Intro Course

Well that time has rolled around again! We have our intro course ready and prepared for this Sunday 8th May for those of you that want to start coming down to CrossFit Connect and start training with us.

This informative and technique driven course will give you the foundations for all you need to know about CrossFit, why it is so effective, why the community spirit is second to none and why our members are already seeing great gains in strength, power and speed in the few short weeks we have been open.

The course runs from 10am-3pm and costs £80. With a maximum of 8 people on the course myself and Holly can give you expert tuition in all you need to know to start coming down to our regular classes.

After that you can either join on a monthly membership of £55 for unlimited classes with no contracts or £8 per drop in class. We really believe we are delivering unparalleled value for money and superb tuition.

Feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions.

One Month In

So my CrossFit box / Personal Training studio has been open a month now and things are really taking off. Word is spreading about how different we are from a normal gym environment and i think people are really starting to connect with  the CrossFit idea, how it works and why it is so good for you. Not to mention fun!

Take a look at our website at: www.crossfitconnect.co.uk for more info and how you can get involved.

If personal training is more what you are interested in then we also provide this at a very competetive rate of £30 per hour session. With over 15 years of training experience I can really help you get into shape, change your eating habits and help you become who you would like to be.

Give me a call or drop me an email to get in touch.

Dave (07791-474780)

CROSSFIT CONNECT

CrossFit Connect, my new crossfit box and personal training studio will be opening its doors on Monday 14th March! Its been a long time coming but we now have everything ready and cant wait to get some people in through the doors! Our first Workout of the Day (WOD) is going to be really special.

For more information see the website at: www.crossfitconnect.co.uk

Or the blog page at: www.crossfitconnect.blogspot.com

We are also having a Grand Opening Saturday on Saturday 26th March where there will be talks on CrossFit and Nutrition and a few workouts to give any newcomers a real sense of what we are trying to achieve with CrossFit workouts. Perhaps even a few prizes too!

Dont hesitate to get in touch if you would like more info or want to pop down to the box to check the place out.

THE OUTCOME

So the Brighton Half Marathon is done and dusted! Last Sunday, the 20th, i set off for what was my first ever organised run. It was a good day for running with little wind, no rain (perhaps more importantly!) and cloudy skies.
Eight thousand runners took part and it was strange to me to be running amongst that many people. I kept questioning how fast i was going as i overtook many people but others were overtaking me. However as the mile markers came around and i checked my watch i soon settled into a comfortable pace. In fact i managed the first 10km in a really good time for me at 44 minutes and felt really strong. My head kept running away with ideas that i was going to finish in sub 1.30 if i kept that up!

Of course i didnt keep that pace up and after about 8 miles my right hip flexor started giving me grief, as it always seems to do on any runs of an hour or more. My lungs were fine so i was a bit annoyed that i couldnt run as free as i would have liked.

At the 10 mile marker i picked up the pace again and ran the nice straight route right along the seafront and back into town and the crowds in a good time. It was also strange running through a whole crowd of people cheering but it definitely spurred me on!

I crossed the line in 1.37.30. As is always the case, once i had finished and caught my breath i thought i surely should have been able to cut 2 minutes off that time and finish in 1.35! Always easy to say once you have stopped running! :)

I was happy with that time and really enjoyed taking part. And i think it goes to show that the CrossFit training really does make you 'fit' in all areas. To run 1.37 having only done two 10 mile runs in the previous two weeks goes to show the kind of fitness you can build up with short blast interval training and what carry over this has. Yes, if i had trained specifically for the 13 miles im sure i could have got nearer 1.30 but then would i still be able to clean and jerk and snatch what i can at the moment? Probably not.

Ive got a time to beat next year now. :)

CROSSFIT EXPERIMENT!

I have never been much of a runner if i am honest. It always seemed very boring to me in comparison with other forms of training that i do and so i limited my running to a quick warm up on a treadmill before a weights session or an interval blast of 4 x 400m or such if i did want to get some cardio in. A 5km was appealing but i'd have to really be in the mood to do a 10km. In fact this was the longest i had run in my life at any one point (taking me around 50-55mins).

So towards the end of last year when i signed up for the Brighton Half Marathon (friends persuaded me!) i wasnt sure just how much running training i was going to have to put in. If i was going to do it i wanted to get a good time and not just run it for the sake of it. I was thinking 1hr 30m to 1hr 45m should be achievable.

I didnt want to start running endlessly for hours each week as i was too into my CrossFit and Olympic lifting to give over that much time to pounding the pavements. So i made a plan to experiment. I decided to see how much fitness carry over there was from CrossFit workouts into my running capabilities. I decided i wasnt going to run any further than 5km in the build up to the half.

Since September i have carried on lifting 3 or 4 times a week and have been completing around 4 CrossFit main site WODs (workouts) a week also. Most or the WODs are completed in around 15 minutes but can sometimes range from just 3-4 minutes up to maybe 35 minutes. So we are talking short intense blasts. How would this carry over into half marathon running of over an hour and a half?

Two weeks ago i decided to go for a long run to see how things were progressing. A little late to change things so i had my fingers crossed that i would feel okay! I was very pleased with the results.
I managed 10.5 miles in 1 hour 36mins in driving wind and rain conditions at the seafront. That was the furthest i had ever run in my life and it felt surprisingly normal. When i stopped i could easily have had a normal conversation with someone.

Last weekend i went again in lovely sunny conditions and made 11.7miles in dead on 1hr 30mins. I felt even better this time.

The Brighton Half Marathon is next weekend (20th Feb) and i am now really looking forward to it. It was an interesting experiment to do and it just confirms to me the superb total conditioning that CrossFit workouts give you. By doing fun, short, intense workouts 4 times a week i was able to build up my stamina enough to be considering a 1hr 30 half marathon which i dont think too shabby for someone who doesnt like running! The traditional thinking that in order to build up running ability you have to run miles and miles each week just doesnt seem to be that accurate (and it saves your knees!).

CrossFit gives you a superb all round level of fitness that whilst not making you a world beater in any one discipline it prepares you for being able to take on most challenges that come your way with a high degree of efficiency.

Lets just hope we have some sunshine next sunday! And no, im not tempted to do the full marathon. :)

(My own CrossFit box - CrossFit Connect - will be opening very soon so if you live nearby Hove, East Sussex and want to keep up to date on any news we might have, take a look at:

http://crossfitconnect.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Dave

365 MARATHONS IN 365 DAYS!

Yep, you read that right! A guy from Belgium has just recently completed his 365th marathon in 365 days! With an average time of just over 4 hours he wasnt exactly walking it either!

That takes some serious dedication and like he says in the article it was a full time job to him (and some!) for the last year. I have no idea how he managed to stay so motivated to do it. Amazing feat.

http://tinyurl.com/6dvu75c

CHANGING UP THE REPS

A really important part of weight training that sometimes people forget is to change the number of reps that you do in any given workout. This simple method of tweaking your training can bring very good results and also stop you getting stale and bored. A high percentage of people in most gyms lift 10-12 reps on their weights exercises and do so for years. Time to change it up!

It means that you will be varying the weight that you are lifting too. For example if you always squat 12 reps for around 80kg take the rep range down to 5's and you would probably be capable of lifting near to 100kg. This will spur your body into new adaptations (muscle growth/ strength gains) so when you switch back to 12 reps a few weeks later you will find you should be able to lift more.

An example of this periodisation (the proper name for changing your workouts over a set time period) can be seen below:

Weeks 1-4
4 sets of 12 reps

Weeks 5-8
5 sets of 5 reps

Weeks 9-12
6 sets of 3 reps

As you can see as the reps go down the number of sets go up to ensure maximum recruitment of your muscles. You would then begin at the beginning again on Week 13. Upon returning to 12 reps in week 13 you should find a nice difference in how much you can lift.

This kind of training plan works best with the big lifts such as the squat, deadlift, cleans, bench etc. The powerful lifts (that you should all be doing!) that will really make a difference to your physique.

This is just one example of a scheduled training plan and there are lots of variations to be found on this within the strength and conditioning world.

The first picture above is a good table to help you plan what % of your max weight (your 1 rep max) to use for each desired rep range. For example if you were lifting 5 reps you would use 0.857 of your 1 rep max or 85% etc

The second image or graph abpove shows a different type of periodisation that focusses on muscle growth in Week 1, strength in Week 2 and power in week 3. Rest is then given in week 4. As a monthly schedule this would also work well.

A quick google search and you will find a lot of information about periodisation if you want to read up on it further.

SHAKE RECIPE

Someone asked me for the shake recipe that i mentioned in a previous post. I tried to reply via the comment but it wouldnt let me for some reason, so i'll post it here. Its nothing special but just a few simple ingrediants that go well:

One glass of AllPro Soya Milk (more or less for thickness)
Two dessert spoons of fresh or frozen berries
One scoop of protein powder
One chopped banana
One good squirt of honey

Blend and enjoy. I have this with and without the protein powder depending on when im drinking it. It definitely makes the protein shake more interesting though.

BACK IN TRAINING!

Glad to say that things are picking up again with my training. I had a real easy week last week just getting back into it after being ill and it was a hard slog i can tell you! Even lifting weights that were perhaps 70% of my normal levels i was left breathless and aching like hell! My lungs had really taken a pounding and left me feeling as though i had about a quarter of the lung power i had before xmas.

However, this week i have seen a good improvement and the weights are slowly creeping up again. I have also managed a half-hour run, albeit at a lesuirely pace. The Brighton Half Marathon is in four weeks so i have to get my breathing back into some kind of workable state! I dont think i will be getting quite such a good time as i was planning but i'll see what happens.

Hope everyone is now back into the groove after the xmas break?

Oh, check out this article from Health Management magazine about CrossFit in the UK. Its growing all the time and its an interesting read coming from an industry-wide magazine. Encouraging news for a soon-to-be affiliate owner!

http://www.health-club.co.uk/digital/index1.cfm?codeid=18353&CFID=19060958&CFTOKEN=43037232

XMAS BLUES

Wow! Well those two weeks of Christmas and New Year went quickly! And unfortunately not in a good way. I was struck down with flu on Christmas Eve and then spent pretty much the next ten days in bed.
It easily takes the title of the worst illness i have ever had and there was definitely more than a bout of 'Man-flu' going on! Im just thankful that i was fit and strong before hand as otherwise it could have affected me even worse. As it is now, im starting to feel myself again although it has left me really drained and i get tired just walking up the stairs at the moment.

It really came at a bad time as my own training was going so well in the month leading up to Christmas. I was training super hard, getting new PB's in the Olympic lifts and blasting through some quality WOD's with the guys from ZT's and CrossFit Connect. Ive got the Brighton half marathon coming up in February which i was in the zone for too getting out on some trail runs to spice things up.

Nevermind. I am just going to have to consider it an obstacle to be overcome. I'll start back slowly next week i think and see how i go.

Another positive (im trying to see the good points!!) is that it happened at a relatively quiet time of year. I had to miss a few sessions with my clients but business wise things were quite quiet. Im glad it didnt happen in a month or so when things will be hotting up with CrossFit Connect as i will need all the energy ive got to get things off to a flying start. Patience is a virtue at the moment with regards to that venture. I'll post more news as soon as i have any.

Im eating the healthiest i can at the moment too with plenty of Paleo food to get my energies back. Ive discovered a great shake with Soy Milk, frozen berries, honey and bananas that i cant get enough of at the moment.

I hope you all had fun over the holidays and that you are getting back into the training now too. Remember to set yourself some targets for the next six months. What would you like to be able to do in six months time that you cant do now? Get striving to achieve them!