FIT AS FU*K

Monthly Archives: December 2011


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New Year Resolutions 2012: Competitions

For most people, New Year equals resolutions, we all want to make the next year even better than the last one. This post is about making New Year resolutions that are attractive, realistic and fun.

We will share our plans for 2012, and how we plan to make them happen. The posts are divided in to subjects: Maximizing Performance, Lean Eating, New Inspiration/Knowledge, and Competitions.

Competitons:

As the CrossFit community in Europe grows, more and more different competitions and events occur. Some are large with workouts on a very high level and others are local get-togethers in the box. Wheter you are a ”pro” or beginner, competitions are a great way to learn about yourself and what you are able to achieve physically and mentally on the actual day of competition. If you are a box owner, hosting an event is a nice way to create awarness about CrossFit and potentially attract new clients to your box. Who doesn’t want to train at the best box?!? All in all – a win/win situation.

Ditte: I’m looking forward to both competing myself and hosting the FIT AS FU*K CHALLENGE in 2012! I’m especially happy that a lot of the competetions will be team based, as I find it much more fun. My dream is to qualify for the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games with my team from Butcher’s Garage. My process goal is to improve my weak spots and most importantly continue to work on eliminating ”nervousness” and performace anxiety prior to competitions. My plan is to participate in a lot of competions and continue to work with Janne – our mental coach.

Sarah: I LOVE competitions, and I am looking forward to a very challenging year in 2012. Furthermore, I’m super excited about hosting the 3rd FIT AS FU*K CHALLENGE in 2012 with participants from all over Europe signed up already. I have worked a lot with our mental coach Janne and will continue that journey in order to perform 100% in competitions, to deal better with nervousness, and accepting not performing 100% all the time (especially in weightlifting).

I’m coaching 2 competition teams at Butcher’s Garage, and I’m super excited about seeing the new competition team in action and about going to a lot of competitions with my own team. My proccess goal is to perform well at Opens and Regionals and my DREAM GOAL is to qualify for CrossFit Games 2012. Both teams will continue to work on mental aspects as well as on raising the athletic level as individuals and as a team.

I am new to the weightlifting sport, yet going to attend some quite big competitions, i.e. Copenhagen Weightlifting Cup and the Danish Champonships in Weightlifting in 2012. I will continue to work on technique, strength and performing 100% in each lift/focus in each lift. Dream goal is to hit 70-75 kg. i snatch and 90 kg. in clean & jerk in a competition in 2012 (I’m right now at 65 kg. snatch/80 kg. clean and jerk on a good day) 🙂

Our tips:

  • When it comes to competitions, Janne (our mental coach) has taught us to have different kind of goals: Dream goals and process goals. Process goals relate to the factors that you can control (your own attitude, preparations etc.) and dream goals could be specific placements/results that you will work towards, but that also could be influenced by external factors (your competitors, events, illness, work-outs etc.).
  • Get in the game! Don’t refrain from participating in competitions even if you are a beginner. Find an event that suits your level and go! Usually once you get past the first time, you’ll be hooked and ready for more!
  • Find a balance between too few and too many competitions – either is good for you and/or your daily training.
  • Attend international competitions as well. They’re fun, you get good memories and friends and learn a lot about the level in other countries (great inspiration).
  • Work on your weaknesses – it’s about beeing 100% complete as an CrossFit-athlete. You’re never better than your weakest spot/the team is never better than the weakest person….. etc.


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New Year Resolutions 2012: New Inspiration/Knowledge

For most people, New Year equals resolutions, we all want to make the next year even better than the last one. This post is about making New Year resolutions that are attractive, realistic and fun.

We will share our plans for 2012, and how we plan to make them happen. The posts are divided in to subjects: Maximizing Performance, Lean Eating, New Inspiration/Knowledge, and Competitions. 

New inspiration / knowledge

The field of health and training is a constantly evolving, and it’s allways possible to learn something new. Don’t forget to take advantage the resources (/nerds!) in your local gym or online community. The more you know, the more effective can your training potentially evolve to be.

Ditte: Since I study sports science at University of Copenhagen, I’m constantly bombarded with new information – and it’s allways nice to learn about muscle fibers and motor-units. But sometimes I enjoy to read about ”applied” principles instead of just theories. My goal in 2012 is to read a least 3 training-related books (could also be about mental aspects) and apply at least one thing from each book to my training-routines. Futhermore, I hope to be able to complete an internship at a training related facility in 2012 as a part of my education.

Sarah: I have planned to attend more olympic weightlifting and powerlifting competitions and to improve my level of performance further in 2012 (snatch 70-75 kg./C&J 90 kg). It’s great to learn and get inspiration from other sports and to bring the best parts/exercises/knowledge back to my CrossFit box. In order to do that and to perform well, I will keep training weightlifting 3-4 x/week in a weightlifting club (IK99) supported by deadlifts and bench press for powerlifting.

Our tips:

  • Learn from the specialists – The goal of CrossFit is not to create specialist and that means that special skills like some gymnastic, swimming and weightlifting isn’t taught detailed in the CrossFit boxes. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t benifit from learning these skills from specialists. It’s allways nice to enlargen your network and learn to use your body in new ways.
  • Seek new knowledge – If you take time reading about training, it will give you a better oportunity to find out what kind of programming/change you need. That knowledge might be the thing that helps you reach your performance goals.
  • Discuss the knowledge/new inspiration at your box – other might be interested as well/have other perspectives on the same topics.

Books we recommend:

Mark Rippetoe: Starting Strength

Martin Rooney: Training For Warriors

Martin Rooney: Ultimate Warrior Workouts

Greg Everett: Olympic Weightlifting

John Berardi: The Precision Nutrition System binder

What are you reading? Please post your recommendations in comments


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New Year Resolutions 2012: Lean Eating

For most people, New Year equals resolutions, we all want to make the next year even better than the last one. This post is about making New Year resolutions that are attractive, realistic and fun.

We will share our plans for 2012, and how we plan to make them happen. The posts are divided in to subjects: Maximizing Performance, Lean Eating, New Inspiration/Knowledge, and Competitions. 

Lean Eating

Eating healthy is a New Year classic, and probably one of the hardest changes to do. You can find a variety of books, home pages and proffessionals that offer good advice on nutrition. We have both chosen to focus on habits and lifestyle changes, instead of the typical New Year crash diets.

Ditte: My goal is to eat more home-cooked meals and bring my own lunch to school/work more often. I don’t have any plans regarding loosing/gaining weight, but I want to pay more attention to the quality of food that I eat. Right now, I order organic vegetables online and get them delivered at home every week, the plan is to find a better quality meat and fish as well.

Plan of action: I will bring lunch a minimum of 4 times /week, and in order for that to happen I need to prepare my lunch the night before, preferrably before making dinner. Find a company that sells organic fish and organic free-range meat.

Sarah: I want to serve my husband and my son varied and healthy meals 5 x/week. Personally, I need to eat more meals during the day (every 3 hours) in order to fit into my weightlifting weight class 🙂

Plan of action: make a meal plan for every week + do most of my grocery shopping online (www.nemlig.com). First step: healthier habits, second step: always stay below 75 kg (my weightclass), third step: stay there for the rest of the year+.

Our tips:

  • Focus on changing habits: What most people forget is that eating is less about nutrition facts and hardcore diets and more about daily habits. Like with your training, remember to plan ahead so you don’t have to make last-minute decisions.
  • Do your shopping online: It’s possible to get both healthy and varied foods (especially vegetables) from online sources – if you live in Denmark you can get organic vegetables and meat+fish delievered every week. This will save you time and will encourage you to cook more meals and try new things.
  • Remember that your health is a life-long project: Don’t ditch the whole plan just because you accidently eat a muffin the first week or forget your lunch box. You can allways start again! Furthermore, many studies indicate that a 10% diversion from the ”perfect” plan won’t actually change the outcome – it might even help you stay motivated.

THANKS TO BEN O’GRADY FOR LINKING TO OUR BLOG TODAY: http://benogrady.com/7-crossfit-blogs-you-should-be-reading/#.TvtqbWQdL7g.facebook


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New Year Resolutions 2012: Maximizing Performance

Photo: Jens Koch

For most people, New Year equals resolutions, we all want to make the next year even better than the last one. This post is about making New Year resolutions that are attractive, realistic and fun.

We will share our plans for 2012, and how we plan to make them happen. The posts are divided in to subjects: Maximizing Performance, Lean Eating, New Inspiration/Knowledge, and Competitions. 

Maximizing Performance

The key to maximizing performance is all about making a plan and sticking to that plan. Since CrossFit is constantly varied and contain so many exercises and performance domaines, it’s all about finding out where to start. Put in another way: what is the least amount of work that will produce the biggest results? Once you have addressed your weakness/area for improvment, make a concrete plan for action.

Ditte: I have chosen to focus on leg strength, Back squat: 100 kg, Front squat: 90 kg and 2 skills: double unders (min 50 reps unbroken) and toes2bar (min 20 reps unbroken), as I consider these to be my greatest weak spots.

Plan of action: Legs: following wendler 5/3/1 and 1-2 weight lifting classes each weak. Skills: doing a minimum of 2 wods each month containing t2b + double unders.

Sarah: I will focus on upper-body strength (muscle-ups, pull-ups, ring-dips, strict hspu etc.) . I also have some exact goals for 2012 in terms of kg: front squat: 110 kg, Back squat: 130 kg, deadlift 140 kg, clean & jerk: 90 kg, Snatch: 70-75 kg.

Plan of action: following weight lifting classes 3-4 x/week + squat sessions/weightlifting/leg based WODs 8 x/week in total. I will do upper-body training every time, I hit the gym + do mostly upper-body dominated workouts.

Our tips:

  • Consistancy is key. Don’t make your plan too complicated – it’s better to do one thing every time you train, than having an extensive check list that you get through once a month.
  • Use a note book or your phone to log your training and plan your session. Many lifting programs are available as apps.
  • Plan all your training 1 month ahead and set reminders in your calendar.
  • Get a training buddy and make sure that he/she knows your goals. Discuss how you can help each-other.
  • Make your goals public! This makes you push yourself harder.

Please share your New Year resolutions with us in the comments below!


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8 Reasons Why Women (Should) CrossFit

Read the full blog post here: http://athletic-therapy.com/2011/11/03/8-reasons-why-women-should-crossfit/

Here are 8 reasons why you (or a woman you love) should give CrossFit a shot:

1)      It’s always challenging you to learn new exercises, so it keeps workouts fresh and exciting. Walking at an incline on the “dreadmill” 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week? No, thank you. There are more fun (and productive) things to be done!

2)      It strengthens your core (WITHOUT doing 200 reps a day of ab-specific work). CrossFit includes so many compound exercises that whether or not it’s your goal, you will build core strength. So, once you inevitably peel away fat you’ll have some amazing abs to show for it.

3)      It burns calories like crazy. Try doing one of the WODs (Workout of the Day) with running + compound lifts (like deadlifts, weighted squats, or cleans). It is not only exhausting but also brings you into a whole other realm of calorie burning. Workouts like this will keep you lean and mean.

4)      You’ll get more muscular. And I’m talking about the lean, athletic, fat-burning, awesome kind of muscular. Don’t believe me? Check out this video and try to argue otherwise. “Skinny fat” is nowhere to be seen. :)

5)      You will feel like the energizer bunny. I know, weird that exercising actually gives you energy, right? CrossFit is no exception.

6)      It increases confidence in the gym. I have worked out with so many women who are deathly self-conscious about entering the “men’s area” of the gym. You know, where all the barbells and plates are (aka, the good stuff). After you bite the bullet and tackle a few of the heavier CrossFit workouts you’ll never harbor that fear again.

7)      It increases confidence OUTSIDE of the gym. After completing a killer WOD, I can tell that my sense of accomplishment carries over into everyday life. I can tell that it does this for other women too. I taught a young female client how to back squat in the “men’s area” last night. She simply glowed with accomplishment afterwards… Or maybe that was just sweat?

8)      It’s an investment in your future. Like you, I don’t want to suffer from bone density issues when I’m 50. I want my fitness level to bounce back as quickly as possible after I have kids. I want to continue to feel strong and powerful into my 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond. If you do too, now is the time to make the investment.

Read the full blog post here: http://athletic-therapy.com/2011/11/03/8-reasons-why-women-should-crossfit/


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MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry christmas to all our readers and to the people in the fantastic CrossFit-community around the world!

// Ditte & Sarah

Try this WOD during the christmas days:

Evety minute on the minute for 20 min.:

  • 2 clean & jerks @ 70/50 kg.
  • 6 kettlebell swings @ 32/24 kg.

Scaling up/down:

  • Go light: clean & jerk 60/40 kg. + swings 24/16 kg.
  • Not sure that I can RX: try to RX as long as possible, then do AMRAP the remaining time
  • Challenge yourself: keep each round under 30 seconds or less with the RX’ed weights
  • Go heavy: do 3 clean & jerks each round and/or swings: 40/32 kg., and/or clean & jerk 80/60 kg.


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:::COOL TRAINING APPS:::

Here’s a list of the coolest and most useful training apps for CrossFit, running, interval and strength training

CrossFit

Interval training/running

Body weight training

Strength training


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:::Christmas 2011 – CrossFit Christmas Ideas:::

GEAR

NUTRITION

TRAINING EQUIPMENT

OTHER


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London Throwdown 2011

Butcher’s Lab and Butcher’s Garage have just participated in Europe’s largest on-line CrossFit challenge, the London Throwdown.

The Qualifier WODs were:

Every Second Counts!

All 3 workouts are for time. The athletes with the least accumulated time across the WODS will qualify for the finals. You may submit and re-submit your scores as many times as you like and in any order.

WORKOUT 1:

Complete in any order or breakdown…

  • 75 Thrusters 35/25kg

  • 75 Burpee bar hop-overs

  • 75 Pull-ups

WORKOUT 2:

BUY IN: Output 1200/800kg of power clean. (Select your own weight).

Then complete…

5 rounds of:

  • 5 Shoulder-to-overhead 60/40kg

  • 7 Front squats 60/40kg

  • 9 Toes-to-bar

CASH OUT: Output 1200/800kg of power clean.

Example for power output on cleans: 12 x 100kg power clean = 1200kg

or

30 x 40kg power clean = 1200kg or, for women: 32 x 25kg power clean = 800kg

WORKOUT 3

  • 100 Double unders

  • 30 K2E to pull-ups

  • 30 Hang snatch 35/25kg

  • 100 Double unders