Globo Gym or CrossFit?

Globo gym or CrossFit?

I visited a Crossfit affiliate for the first time ever this weekend. Allow me to compare and contrast a first-time Crossfit visit vs. a first-time Globo gym visit. Globo first:

• Enter gym. Notice front desk employee sitting in front of a computer. Wait about 15-20 seconds for them to stop playing solitaire or Facebook.

• “Hi, I’m Brian. This is my first time here.” “Oh, let me get a “trainer” to show you around.”

• Walk through the gym. Trainer shows you the “cardio areas”, which consist of rows upon rows of treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes.

• Next, you are shown the “machines areas”. Various contraptions with diagrams that highlight whatever muscle group the thing is supposed to isolate. If you’re lucky, they’ll have Hammer Strength stuff!! You may get a line like “This machine is designed to work you exactly like free weights.” You think to yourself, “Hmmm, well why not just do free weights, then?” You also note that at least 2 of the four walls in every area are made up entirely of mirrors. And people are standing and looking at themselves in them.

• The tour continues: “Here we have the free weight area. You can use this if you want to get hyoooge.” This typically equates to the square footage of a walk-in closet. Work boots, little tank-tops, and multiple shakers full of supplements abound.

• Now, the all-important retreat into a tiny office where you get the used-car sale. Something like, “Well, typically our memberships are $59/mo, plus a $269 sign-up fee. We’ll waive the fee and set you up on a tiered payment plan where every year the fee will drop 11.59043% until you reach year 4, at which point…” blah blah blah. You counter with, “Well my friend pays $20/mo with no sign-up fee.” They respond, “I’ll have to get my manager.” The dance continues. You threaten to walk out. At this point, you may or may not get the “super secret pricing deal”. You realize you’ve lost a little bit of your soul. They throw in free tanning.

• You are now a member. You work out for 2 years. You see the same people every day. You never talk to them. After 2 years you notice that they all look exactly the same as the first day you ever saw them, despite the fact that they spend at least an hour a day on the elliptical while reading a magazine or talking on their cell phones.

OK, the Crossfit gym first-time experience:

• The first thing you notice is that there really isn’t a front door – it’s a garage door. Or two. Did this place used to be an auto shop?

• The next thing you notice are people on the floor gasping for air. You can see this clearly as the whole place is one open room and the garage doors are open.

• You walk in. At first, you’re not quite sure who works there and who works out there – they all look about the same. Eventually, a trainer or owner finds you and greets you enthusiastically.

• You’re invited to take part in a workout. As you wait for the current group to finish up, you take notice of your surroundings.

• No air conditioning. No mirrors. Not a single treadmill. Rowers – uh oh.

• Ropes and gymnastics rings hanging from the ceiling. Kettlebells. Weight racks. Weird rubber weights. Lots and lots and lots of places to do pull-ups. Instead of mirrors, the walls are covered with dry-erase boards. And peoples names are listed under various workouts that have girls’ names as the titles. Obviously people compete over everything here. As people finish the workout and peel themselves off the floor, you notice that they all seem to be friends.

• OK, time for the workout. A trainer takes you and whoever else is there for a first-time visit and you do some stretches, and then they actually teach you how to do whatever you’re going to be doing that day. Real instruction (with PVC pipe), and the guy (or girl) actually sounds like they know what they’re talking about.

• Workout time. 3-2-1-go. 1 minute into the workout you realize that you actually might die before it’s done. You regret eating whatever it was you ate for breakfast, because you’re pretty sure everybody is going to see it coming out of your mouth. 7 minutes later you’re finished, and soaked with sweat on a pile on the floor. You think to yourself that you did more work in 7 minutes than most people at your old globo did in a month.

• After the workout, you’re told you can hang around and ask questions or go home and ice yourself down. No pitch.

Now, which one sounds better? I’m pretty sure I have not exaggerated anything here – these are my actual experiences. I’m also joining the Crossfit gym.

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Source: Rehoboth CrossFit (Shared post from a new member of CrossFit Franklin Lakes)

We are Different

We are Different.

By Jonathan Heuer, CF Hollywood

We are a different breed.  We get excited by things most people avoid.  The idea of being laid out on our backs after a workout is appealing.  We strive on performance, deal with the pain, and take pleasure in small victories.  5 more pounds, 2 seconds quicker, an inch higher: these are the milestones we live for.  These are the reasons we come in day after day and do what we do.  We love the suck.

We are also a little ridiculous.  We try and explain to friends and family why our shins are always scraped open, why our hands are ripped, why we’re having trouble walking down stairs that day, and then immediately try to convince them why they should come and do it.  We tend towards a cult-like mentality.  (Get more than two of us together and try to have a conversation about something else.  Won’t happen.)  We get way more excited about food than is normal, and we take cheat meals very seriously.  We wear ridiculous looking shoes, or sometimes no shoes at all.  We cheer when someone gets their first hand-tear and then take a picture of it.  We congratulate someone for puking during a workout, and none of this seems unusual to us.

Most of all we are a community.  We suffer together and we succeed together.  We cheer each other on.  We help each other push past the pain and achieve things we never thought possible.  Both inside and outside of the gym we are family.  We come from all walks of life to find a common ground: Crossfit.

attitude!

Here is a great article about attitude!

http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/why-your-attitude-will-make-you-weak/

We can train your bodies but you bring your attitude with you!

Bri

Hand care

This from Catalyst Athletics.com

Hand Care

Spend enough time on a barbell, and you’ll develop calluses. This is good in the sense that your hands are adapting to the stress and becoming thicker and stronger where necessary. However, some of you find that those calluses can become the cause of problems significant enough to disrupt your training.

A callus rip is inevitable over the long term, but it should by no means be a regular occurrence – frequent callus tears mean frequent training disruptions. It’s tough to make progress when you have to stop doing what you’re doing all the time. The solution? Take care of your hands in a way that will minimize if not eliminate tears and allow you to continue training.

First, don’t shave off your calluses. They’re there for a reason. You want that thick, tough skin. What you don’t want are rough or sharp edges that can hang up on the bar and start a tear. Some people get crazy with the callus shavers and take the skin right down to the weak stuff below. Or worse, they shave them down so much that the area formerly armored is now sensitive to the touch.

I prefer fine-grit sandpaper to any other tool out there (200-220 type stuff). Cut some pieces and fold them into little 2×2″ or so squares and they’ll be a little stiff, but flexible enough to get into the places you need. Smooth out the rough edges before and after workouts and you’ll be fine.

To improve on this, start using a liberal dose of Cornhuskers Lotion every day. Don’t use your girlfriend’s silly body lotion – it won’t do the job. Just rub some into your hands every night when you’re going to bed and pretty soon you’ll have hands like baseball mitts. In fact, you might want to try rubber-banding your hands shut around a barbell-sized chuck of pipe all night to break them in.

aarrgghh, not the overhead squat again!

Hey everyone,  I along with many of you struggle with the overhead squat.  I have in the words of George, “the flexibility of a scalded cat”.  I’m working on that, partly my old age, but anyway I found some great tips on the old OHS which will help us all, and kind of let you guys know what we mean when we yell things like, “butt back! heels!, active shoulders!” Okay, here it is, read it, then read it again!

http://weightliftingexchange.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=440&Itemid=60

Bri

A recipe for the weekend…and a little politics!

Hey everyone, before I get going on my high horse I wanted to post a great recipe for the weekend.  It is one for the grill, I figured since it was going to be Father’s day this weekend it would be good to get outside and fire up the grill…

Grilled  flank steak with pineapple salsa…http://www.cathletics.com/recipes/index.php?action=recipe&recipeID=15

Now to my high horse…the coming G20/G8, some of us have to get into the thick of it!  I wanted to let you guys know about some so-called peaceful protests that I have had the privilege of working.  I have seen protesters throw ball bearings out under the police horses, it can cause the horse to lose its footing, causing the one ton animal to panic, toss its rider, and injure itself and anyone in its way.  I have had chunks of concrete thrown at me, fireworks shot directly at me, potatoes and horse crap thrown, barricades ripped down and used as weapons, and the final indignity…the water gun full of urine.  Please don’t be fooled by the claptrap being spewed forth by the mouthpieces for these so called peaceful groups on TV.  Shaun, Sarah and others, please keep your heads down, and stay safe!

Bri

FirePower CrossFit Shirts

Buy the FirePower Training CrossFit shirt. The firefighter inspired shirt is 100% cotton and shows a Firefighter in full bunker gear doing a pull up and practicing CrossFit. “Train not to suck at life” is the tag line and one of the mottos of FirePower CrossFit.

Shirts have been shipped.  Thanks for your orders.

These shirts as seen on CrossFit.com’s FANATIC page are printed by Axis Gear company and the screen printing is of a better quality than our original shirts that were done last year.

ULTRA COTTON® T

2000

GARMENT MEASUREMENTS

Finished Measurements in Inches

Chest sizing

S 18  M 20 L 22 XL 24  2XL 26 3XL 28 4XL 30 5XL 32

* Chest is measured 1″ down from the armhole (1/2 measurement).

please contact mark @ firepowertraining.com

Shipping and other stuff

FirePower cannot make the shirts travel over broad time and modal domains any faster . . .

Ok, here is the fine print, I’m just one guy sending out shirts because I thought it was a neat idea to have some firefighter inspired CrossFit apparel. Heck, we all know that a ton of us firefighters CrossFit. I’m not a hyper global mega net and I don’t have a million hours to take time away from my family to answer emails about where my shirt is or how long it’s going to take. That being said, i’m sorry that it costs the same amount of money to purchase the shirt as it does to send it to Australia (sorry you live on the other side of the world, come visit and I’ll give you a shirt for cost) I’m doing the best I can, if you are far away, send me an email and I’ll figure out shipping, the people at the post office love me.  If you want a shirt order it in the above one month window. We had some problems with our last online shirt distribution place that was supposed to make things easier for us, (but it didn’t and we never saw any money from it either) so this is our last attempt, and hopefully you can get your cool shirt and be happy with it.

Happy CrossFitting

Mark

Breakfast at Troys’ Diner

Wow, had a great breakfast at Troys’ today with Dan A.. I wanted to post a picture I took of it, but that skill eludes me and my kids are at school, so I’m out of luck.  Anyway, it was 3 eggs scrambled, two slices of lean ham, spinach, mushrooms, and onions(stir fried), and some Ezekiel bread I brought from  home.  Dan ordered the “Andrea” special which is also a healthy choice.  Folks, please patronize this establishment, Troy understands the strange healthy requests we make, and he is a pretty great guy. Oh yeah, bottomless coffee too!

Here is some info on which oils you should cook with:

http://www.bodysystems.ca/en/2010/04/cooking-oil-disasters/

Check yesterdays Champion out, congratulations to Josh Brittain, a Firepower Hockey athlete.  Josh was just drafted by the NHL Anaheim  Mighty Ducks!  Way to go Josh!

Gym Etiquette

Here is what is commonly referred to as a “Brian rant”.  It seems that some people are missing the boat on the whole tape issue.  So, once again I will explain it!  Tape goes on your frickin hands, not on the bar!  Pretty simple right?,  well it seems people keep forgetting this, and wrap tape around the pull up bar.  Please do not put tape on the pull up bar!  Now for the really unexplainable stuff.  It would seem that some folks do manage to put the tape on their hands, not on the bar, but when they take the crusty, sweaty, bloody, dirty, filthy tape off their delicate hands, they are somehow so overwhelmed, exhausted, and mindless, that they ball up the tape and simply drop it on the floor!  I cannot for the life of  me understand this…we have trash cans, would you do this in your own home?  Please help us keep the gym clean, throw out your used tape, place your water bottle in the re-cylcle bins, and finally, please use hand chalk on you hands, and sidewalk or board chalk for scoring your workouts on the floor, if you must!  So ends my rant, until next time!

10 Reasons NOT to Train at FirePower

(And 10 reasons we don’t want you to come)

10. They make you try out – Just having a credit card and pulse does not get you a membership.  You have to demonstrate your willingness and ability to train intensely enough to get results. Who wants to have to meet objective standards of performance?

9. They train too hard – You sweat and breathe hard in every workout.  You train at the edge of the redline which makes it too hard to read a magazine while “working out.” They won’t let you be a part of the program if you just want to go through the motions.

8. They coach you – You can’t just sit and peddle on the bike, they make you learn and develop skills. They video workouts so people can see what they are doing and coach you on how to improve. You have to learn how to move better, so you can lift more weight faster – which means you get stronger, faster and lift properly. Who wants to be coached to be stronger or faster?

7. They don’t like whining or excuses – Complainers and criers are shunned, ridiculed, run off and are generally treated like lepers.  They don’t consider the woe is me attitude to be a good thing or a badge of courage. It is the right of every human to paint himself or herself as a victim in everything so they can increase their popularity with their everything-is–wrong peer group.   Who wants to go to a place where you can’t complain about everything under the sun?

6. They teach you new things – They make people learn new lifts, workouts and training methods – And expect you to master them.  They teach and re-teach the fundamentals so you are good at them.  Who wants to learn and perfect movements in constantly changing workouts?

5. They don’t have mirrors, treadmills, machines, TV’s Etc. – They don’t have a place to adjust your make up or to flex while you stand around figuring out your next bicep exercise. You can’t check how your new outfit looks when you work out. There is no TV with Jerry or Montel or any other car crash program to distract you from your workout. They actually make you run to do your “cardio.” Who really wants to actually focus on training?

4. They tell you the truth – They tell you when you are not moving right, or babying yourself or going through the motions. They are do not praise you when you look like a space monkey having a seizure.  If you do something stupid in a workout they will have probably videoed it and put it on YouTube.  Who wants to be held accountable to actually do things right?

3. They expect you to get better and actually expect you to train – They expect you to add weight, go faster and maintain excellent form as a regular part of the training. They expect you to try harder to overcome the weakest links in your performance. They expect everyone who has a membership to actually come to the gym to workout. Who wants that kind of stress to constantly improve or show up?

2. They measure performance – They keep score and track your results. They won’t let you just go through the motions – They keep score on the results of your training. If your scores, weights or times are not improving, they want to know why. Who wants their performance to improve all the time?

1. They charge too much – They charge enough where you may actually feel compelled to show up and train. They think that if they provide a top level, fully equipped training space and expert coaches to coach you, it is of value to their members.  Who wants to pay for a fully equipped and professionally run training center that expects people to workout and requires people to get results?

Thanks to our friends at HyperFit – USA, Ann Arbor CrossFit!

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