CrossFit lifestyle

It is true, CrossFit is a form of exercise that takes things up a notch and if you aren’t prepared it may come off a bit intimidating and/or as “hard” work.  Nowadays, people have turned their love for fitness into a genuine competition and seek to win the CrossFit games. Many people have negative things to say about CrossFit because of all the stunts and movements they are taught to do, and others love the sport and the challenges you have to perform in order to go beyond your limits.  I for one, had never heard of CrossFit and didn’t know there was such a thing as the “CrossFit” games, I didn’t have a clear idea of what it meant to do CrossFit, outside of big muscles and heavy lifting from what I gathered. It wasn’t until I started following one of my favorite fitness people: Emily Schromm, that I knew what CrossFit was and what was expected from them.  She owns a CrossFit gym in Colorado and lives a paleo lifestyle, she had always posted pictures on facebook about CrossFit and shown pictures of her lifting heavy weights and performing really cool moves, not to mention her girlfriend is a CrossFit competitor.  This is what I thought about Crossfit, UNTIL I realized there was much more to it, and much more training involved and I got a taste of it myself.  Now I aim to tell all of you what CrossFit is and explain some things to you that maybe you hadn’t known or had question on. I am not a CrossFit veteran by any means, but I did my research and I have taken CrossFit classes (still doing so) and I am getting a dose of it, so I figured I would be able to share what I know with all of you in hopes it will make you eager to try it, or give you a reason to not try it. 

What is CrossFit?

  • A branded fitness regimen developed by Greg Glassman, he was the first person to define fitness in a meaningful, measurable way. CrossFit is constantly varied functional movements performed at relatively high intensity. All CrossFit workouts are based on functional movements, and the movements reflect: gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing, ect. These move the largest loads the longest distances, so they are ideal for maximizing the amount of work done in the shortest time.  Intensity is essential for results and measurable as work divided by power or time (the more work you do in less time, or the higher the power output, the more intense the effort). 
  • CrossFit can be done by anyone young or old, beginner or advanced, female or male, anywhere in the world that showcases a gym or gives you the opportunity.
  • You do not have to compete in order to do CrossFit, you can choose to do it as recreational
  • Typically CrossFit memberships may cost a bit more versus other gyms, but depends on the location and what you expect to get out of it- how much it is worth to you
How do you become a CrossFit Coach?
  • Take a Test 
  • Pay a Fee to take the test between $1000 and $1500 but this ranges depending on location and type of course
  • There are 4 levels in becoming a CrossFit coach, each level requires something- I will list these:) Keep in mind there are other specialties one can look into when they are looking into becoming a CrossFit coach (cost more money and have to test for it)
  • Have to at least be 17 to take the test; depending on the location, this may vary
  • Test locations vary
  • Have to register for CrossFit classes & pay that fee; normally 250 dollars as a deposit so that you can secure your spot but can be higher or lower depending on the location and course
  • You are allowed to make payments as long as it is paid in full before the class date/test date (this also is something that depends on the course and location)
  • There are separate courses that each have their own cost and class/test to take in order to be certified
  • Normally the class and test last two days (sometimes more or less) and their are specific dates you need to sign up for before they sold out in order to attend
What is a Wod:
  • Workout of the day- This is a set of workouts your coach will put you through for the day
What is AMRAP?
  • As many rounds as possible- You are completing a circuit as many times as you can within a certain time frame. This same Sometimes this can also mean: As many reps as possible.
What is MetCon:
  • Metabolic conditioning- Few exercises repeated, normally AMRAP style. 
What is a Thruster: 
  • Barbell resting on the front of your shoulders while you are standing, hold the bar with a hook grip and drop into a full squat position while holding the barbell at shoulder level.  Return to standing position with explosiveness and push the weight up over your head. Then repeat.
What is DU?
  • Double under- when you are jump roping, allow the jump rope to pass under your feet twice while you are still in the air.  
What is a pistol?
  • One legged squat
The snatch?
  • Olympic lift
What is Chipper?
  • A WOD you have to chip away, in order to finish.  
What is kipping?
  • The use of explosive strength in order to gain momentum when performing pullups, pushups, handstands, and dips.
RX?
  • When a WOD is performed, the athlete performs all modalities using the prescribed weight and reps
What is ATG?
  • Ass to grass/ ass to ground. Ensuring you are getting as low as possible
CrossFit CFT?
  • Gives an athlete an accurate idea of how strong they are, testing themselves in arguably the three most functional CF modalities: back squat, strict press and deadlift. The best at three attempts in all three, and the sum of the max weight performed in each movement.
What is Tabata?
  • A work-rest method
Pood?
  • Measurement used for kettlebells
PR’d?
  • When an athlete achieves his or her personal record on a lift.
The “Cindy”:
  • Complete as many rou one nds in 20 minutes as you can
  1. 5 pullups 
  2. 10 pushups
  3. 15 squats
The “Murph”?
  • For time
  1. 1 mile run
  2. 100 pullups
  3. 200 pushups
  4. 300 squats
  5. 1 mile run
This exercise has other versions as well for people that are not as conditioned. This was in memory of Lt. Michael Murphy, age 29, of Patchogue, NY.  He was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005. This workout was one his favorites and he called it the “body armor”. If you have a 20lb vest, then you are supposed to wear it. This is done on memorial day.  
Level one CrossFit Trainer:
  • No pre-requisites 
  • Obtain: 100 percent participation in level one certificate course, pass exam
  • Maintain: every 5 years, Re-attend and pass test. 
  • Pass or fail result
  • Receive T-shirts 
  • Course & Test: $1000 14 days or more prior to course date or $1200 if registered within 14 days of course date
  • Re-validation course & test: $500 
  • Retest only: $150
  • have to be in good standing with CrossFit Inc, 
  • Attend the entire 2 day course
  • 100% exposure to all lectures
  • 100% participation in all practical break out sessions
  • 100% participation in all workouts
  • they will tell you what to bring on the site and/or handbook. 
  • Test results are emailed within 7 days of the time you take the test
  • Trainer certificates come within 4-6 weeks and 6-8 weeks for international
  • Read the level one training guide
Level two CrossFit Trainer:
  • Must be CrossFit level one certified
  • Recommended that you have at least 50 hours of experience training individuals and groups using CrossFit methods and completed the online scaling course
  • Same pricing as Level one Coach
  • Read level two training guide and workbook.
  • Site will tell you what to bring
  • participate in all parts of the level two certificate course
  • Maintain: every 5 years re-attend
Level three CrossFit Trainer:
  • Must be 18 years or older at the time of application
  • Must have CrossFit level one certificate
  • Must have CrossFit prep course certificate or level 2 Trainer certificate
  • 750 hours of coaching for groups or individuals, hours must be accrued why level one is current and within the 5 years.
OR
  • 1500 hours of strength and conditioning coaching at collegiate or professional level.
  • must be accumulated within 5 years 
  • Must be done while employed with the college or university, or professional sports team
  • Must be CPR certified in either case
  • Must agree to abide by the CrossFit standards of professional practice
  • Application fee is $150
  • examination fee: $500
  • Re-test fee: $250
  • Recertification fee (every 3 years) : $250
  • Expired certification exam fee: $500
  • In order to maintain this certification: Abide by the CrossFit Standards, Maintain a current CPR certificate, obtain 50 continuing education units, and complete a minimum of 300 coaching hours per year, 900 CrossFit training hours
  • Pass the exam
Level four CrossFit Coach:
  • Coming soon. 
  • Must have Level one and Level 2 CrossFit trainer Certificates
  • Have CCFT (certified CrossFit trainer)
Specialty courses:
  • CrossFit kids trainer course
  • CrossFit competitors trainer course
  • CrossFit scaling course
  • CrossFit aerobic capacity course
  • CrossFit culinary ninja course
  • CrossFit defense athlete course
  • CrossFit defense trainer course
  • CrossFit football trainer course
  • CrossFit gymnastics trainer course
  • CrossFit gymnastics advanced trainer course
  • CrossFit kettlebell trainer course
  •  CrossFit kettlebell advanced trainer course
  • CrossFit law enforcement application
  • CrossFit pose method
  • CrossFit powerlifting trainer course
  • CrossFit rowing trainer course- 1 day
  • CrossFit rowing trainer course- 2 day
  • CrossFit striking trainer course
  • CrossFit strongman trainer course
  • CrossFit weightlifting trainer course
  • CrossFit weightlifting advanced trainer course
Also, one can be an affiliate for CrossFit as well, have to go through some steps and pay money.  
CrossFit has so many different aspects to it, that what we see and hear about on T.v or the radio hardly hits on these other things it can provide.  What people know of CrossFit is big muscles and heavy lifting and jumping around like animals, but it goes beyond that.. these people like any other person who trains, train hard and each person has their goals.  During my CrossFit experience it was about coming together as a family and working out as one team and pushing ourselves, motivating one another and going beyond what is “comfortable” for us in order to finish the workout. Not all CrossFit members have big muscles and lift heavy things, not all of them compete and not all of them are there for the same reasons, everyone has their own story.  I honestly thought about wanting to compete myself, but it is something for down the road possibly. Nonetheless, CrossFit should be treated like any other gym, choose what fits you, your goals and lifestyle and give it your all when you join! If anyone has any questions for me about CrossFit, please feel free to ask me, if you compete in CrossFit games I would love to hear about it, share your tips and advice.  If you take Crossfit classes, share that information as well and if you are a CrossFit trainer or Coach or on the road to being one, would love to hear from you as well! Thank you for reading.
Your fitness blogger,
Shay-lon xoxoxo

My video on stretching

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgXREhbR2_U

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Thank you 🙂

The Bicep curl

 

Hey everybody, I thought I would start a Monday off with an exercise. Many of you have heard of this exercise and probably have taken full advantage of performing it; the bicep curl.  This exercise is a beginners workout and can be done using different types of equipment, using various weights. The more popular is using dumbbells, but this does not mean it is limited to dumbbells, I recommend using other forms of equipment. I will talk about other ways to get your bicep curls done and give you a hand in explaining various ways to perform a bicep curl depending on the nature of the workout.  If you are someone who does this exercise, please feel free to share what you do and if you want, I don’t mind hearing how much you bicep curl in weights. 

Standard bicep curl (dumbbell curl)

  1. Stand up straight with a dumbbell in each hand at arms length. Keep your elbows close to your torso, and rotate the palms of your hands until they are facing forward (starting position)
  2. While keeping the upper arms stationary, exhale and curl the weights while contracting your biceps.  Continue to raise the weights until your biceps are fully contracted, and dumbbells are at shoulder level.  Hold the contracted position for a brief pause as you squeeze your biceps. 
  3. Inhale and slowly begin to lower the dumbbells back to the starting position
  4. repeat for as many repetitions that are recommended
Concentration curls (dumbbell curls)
  1. Sit down on a flat bench with one dumbbell in front of you between your legs, knees bent and feet on the floor
  2. Use your right arm to pick the dumbbell up, place the back of your right upper arm on the top of your inner right thigh, rotate the palm of your hand until it is facing forward away from your thigh.  Your arm should be extended and the dumbbell should be off of the floor (starting position)
  3. While holding the upper arm stationary, curl the weights forward while contracting the biceps as you breathe out, only the forearms should move.  Continue this movement until the biceps are fully contracted and dumbbells are at shoulder level. 
  4. Slowly begin to bring the dumbbells back to starting position as you breathe in. Avoid swinging motions.
  5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions. 
The Scott Reverse Curls (barbell)
  1. Stand with your torso upright, while holding a barbell at shoulder width, elbows close to the torso.  The palms of your hands should be facing down (starting position)
  2. While holding the upper arms stationary, curl the weights while contracting the biceps as your breathe out.  Only the forearms should move. Continue this movement until the biceps are fully contracted and the bar is at shoulder level, Hold the contracted position for a second as you squeeze the muscle.
  3. Slowly start to bring the bar back down to the starting position as you breathe in. 
  4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Dumbbell hammer curls (dumbbells)
  1. Stand with your torso upright with a dumbbell in each hand being held at arms length, once again elbows should be close to the torso.
  2. The palms of your hands should be facing your torso (starting position)
  3. While holding your upper arm stationary, exhale and curl the weight forward while contracting your biceps.  Continue to raise the weight until your biceps are fully contracted, and dumbbell is at shoulder level.  Only move your forearms and keep the elbow straight. 
  4. Inhale and slowly begin to lower the dumbberells back down to starting position. 
  5. Repeat for the recommended repetitions
Zottman curl (dumbbell)
  1. Stand with your torso upright, dumbbell in each hand being held at arms length.  Elbows should be close to the torso.
  2. Palms of the hands are facing each other (starting position) 
  3. Hold the upper arm stationary, curl the weights while contracting the biceps as you breathe out.  Only the forearms should be moving, your wrist should rotate so that you have your palms up. Continue the movement until your biceps are fully contracted, and dumbbells are at shoulder level.
  4. Hold the contracted positions for a second as you squeeze your biceps
  5. During the contracted position, rotate your wrist until the palms are facing down.  Grip with the thumb at a higher position than the pinky.
  6. Slowly begin to bring the dumbbells back down in the pronated grip.
  7. As the dumbbells reach close your thighs, start rotating the wrist so that you go back to neutral palms (starting position)
  8. Repeat for the recommended repetitions
Those were just a few exercises using a dumbbell and one using a barbell. Other bicep curl exercises  that use something different would be:
  • Reverse plate curl
  1. Start by standing straight with a weighted plate held with both hands and arms fully extended, Use a pronated grip (palms facing down), make sure fingers grab the rough side of the plate while the thumb grabs the smooth side.  
  2. Feet should be shoulder width apart and weight plate should be near the groin area (starting position) 
  3. slowly lift the plate up, while keeping the elbows in and upper arms stationary until your biceps and forearms touch while exhaling.  At this point the weight plate should be evenly aligned with your torso.
  4. Feel the contraction and slowly begin to lower the weight plate back down to the starting position while inhaling.
  5. Repeat for the recommended repetitions.
Also, you can do alternating bicep curls, which has the same stance as the standard dumbbell curl but switching arms. There are many variations of the bicep curl and the use of equipment also ranges. I have used cables at the gym to do a bicep curl, it works the same way as a standard one but using a cable in place of something else.  I think having variety in your exercises can be rewarding when working out and can be helpful when you get bored of having to do the same routine, it doesn’t mean you cannot choose to stick with what you know, but I always push for change in exercise equipment and movement when necessary so that you have a wide scope of things. If you have any questions about these exercises or any exercise, feel free to contact me.
Your fitness blogger,
Shay-lon xoxox

Over-training when exercising

Well cheers to another blog post today that I am going to write about. This one will be discussing the importance of avoiding over-training.  For those of you who may not have heard of over-training syndrome, let me provide you with a simple definition: is a condition that occurs when the body is pushed (through exercise) beyond its natural ability to recover. Importantly, it’s not to be confused with mere tiredness, which is to be expected whenever you are engaged in a comprehensive workout regime.

Many people have a hard time deciphering between being tired after working out and over-training. This is why I want to provide you with the right information, in hopes it will guide you for when and if this was to happen to you.  

Signs of over-training 101

  • persistent muscle soreness
  • elevated resting heart rate
  • increased susceptibility to infections
  • increased incidents of injuries
  • irritability
  • depression
  • loss of motivation
  • insomnia
  • Decreased appetite
  • Weight loss
  • personality changes
  • loss of concentration
  • lowered self esteem
How to recover from over-training
  • Take a break. Rest. Some may have to go one week of rest, while others may need more rest days. 
  • Reduce the volume, this can help with preventing over-training if you are always doing the same amount of volume
  • Sports massages have been known to help relax the body and mind
  • Addressing your nutrition, making sure you are consuming enough calories in order to sustain the exercise load 
  • Split training can help prevent over-training
  • eating smaller more frequent meals to control blood sugar
  • avoid stimulants (i,e coffee) when you have over-trained 
  • THINK SMARTER NOT HARDER 
All of these are just a few good reasons to not want to over-train and what to look for.  Be aware of your body and training routine, constant awareness can be the difference between ending up in a bad situation or saving yourself from one.  Thanks for reading, feel free to any feedback.
Your fitness blogger,
Shay-lon xoxox

“Cheat day” & Cheat meals

Everyone’s favorite day of the week or month, cheat day.  For some of you this means eating more calories than what you normally would, some it would be smashing your face with a large pizza and others it would be eating 5 slices of cake versus no cake. It could be you deciding to eat dinner out instead of meal planning, it could be grocery shopping for cookies on aisle 6, it could be frying your chicken instead of baking it, it could be not attending the gym for the week and throwing down bons bons in front of the t.v or it could be as simple as replacing your banana smoothies with chocolate milkshakes instead.  Everyone has their own thing when it comes to this “cheat day”, I think I have witnessed and heard so many different types of cheat days on instagram, on twitter, in person, reading blogs, and I am just like.. am I the only person who does not have a cheat day? What brought this topic of discussion on was the question someone sent me on tumblr, “what’s your opinion on cheat days/treat days? how often?” and I seriously was singing hallelujah in my head because it was a question that I would enjoy talking about with all of you (not to say the other questions were not good, they are always good questions).  I am going to copy and paste my reply and then we can speak about these cheat days and what they mean to me and how I would like to see people maybe go about them and as ALWAYS, feel free to share your opinions, thoughts, and feedback with me, love hearing from all of you; especially on this topic. 

My reply:

Ahh “Cheat days”, I don’t believe in Cheat days. I mean for people that compete, that makes sense and for elite athletes, sure they have “cheat days” because they are on a strict diet and training routine. In that aspect, I agree it would be cheat days. For people who are not elite athletes or competing in competitions that require them to be on a strict diet and training routine, then I would say there is NO cheat day, it is called eating whatever the heck you want and in moderation and not regretting your decision later because you know you will kick butt at the gym and because you are allowed to eat whatever you want as long as you know how much of it is appropriate in order to meet your specific goals. Yes, I might be that 1 percent who doesn’t call it cheat days when I am stuffing my face with pizza, I just call it “my life” choices and dealing with the outcome (with that being, feeling horrible the next day and making a better decision the next time I have this same opportunity) – Shay-lon

Now in my opinion this pretty much sums up my thoughts on cheat days. To dig in a bit further in case someone wants to know where I am going with this whole answer is, not everyone is an elite athlete or competes in competitions that revolves around eating a VERY strict diet, having a VERY strict training routine and living a VERY strict lifestyle where anything they do reflects on how well they will perform in their competition or sport of choice. Now this doesn’t mean your favorite athlete isn’t slamming Mcdoubles at McDonald’s but you have to realize they may get away with eating 10 cheeseburgers because they have a strict workout routine that eats up the majority of their calories and consumes more than half of their time in a day depending on the season and depending on the sport at hand. The average person cannot slam 10 mcdoubles and workout for 30 minutes and expect to get the same results as their favorite player, not to mention the majority of Americans who do live this lifestyle have been doing it for quite some time and after awhile it puts wear and tear on their health and bodies if they are not careful about how they go about it. In their cases they do have “cheat days” because they cannot go far from the path when leading up to competition day, game day, etc.   Every athletes cheat day is different, not all of them do things the same way and the ones new to this lifestyle, will soon have to follow suit if they expect to get wins and excel, it is called “routine”, you fit in this routine where you start off eating as you should because your coach and or health specialist is giving you expectations to meet and if you want to win, then you follow them.  Then they come to a period where they have breaks, they have time to allow their bodies to rest and allow for them to eat something that they normally could not eat due to competing, BUT this doesn’t mean they can sit on their couch and watch netflix all day and not have to keep active at some point before they start back up on their normal routine of eating what is expected and not straying from the path. An elite competitor and/or athlete has a very different lifestyle compared to the general public in a since that none of us are having to lose 50 pounds in 8 weeks for a show .. then turn around have to gain it all back and keep the process going for as long as they choose to compete or perform. Sure they fall short just as we have, but their competition is their job and if they don’t do well at their job, they get fired, just as we do so when they have cheat days, that is their safe haven sometimes. 

Now when it comes to normal average folks like ourselves, we do not need cheat days to eat pizza, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter ice cream, ect. We have a choice in how we go about it and how much of it we eat, in my opinion people make excuses when they create cheat days so that it makes them feel better about their eating decisions. Why are you having to make an excuse of eating at subway instead of making your own sub at home, why are you having to make an excuse for eating chocolate birthday cake instead of eating the carrot cake, and why do you feel like you need a cheat day to eat wings and pizza with your family instead of making a salad with a side of toast with avocado spread? No one needs to make excuses for their actions, take responsibility for what you choose to put in your body and deal with the outcome, you can either eat what you want with few regrets and kick butt at the gym (make a better decision next time or be okay with your decision and keep doing what you do best)  OR you can eat what you want, cry about it and give up because you make a mistake. Life is rough, and eating shouldn’t be a huge life decision, it should be a basic routine; if you have to mentally argue with yourself as to whether you should eat two brownies or 10 carrots, I think you need to do some re-evaluating in that department. I, myself eat whatever I want and I don’t regret it later on and I don’t regret it tomorrow night and I don’t hate myself because of it, I take my consequences and do what I have to do in order to keep on the right path to meet my goals. I have made mistakes in eating too much too and eating something out of moderation, shit happens and honestly I knew what I was doing and didn’t care until I realized the aftermath was not worth it. Sometimes it takes something like that to open our eyes to things, and sometimes it reveals that we have a weakness and we make those weaknesses into strengths later down the road.  Cheat days don’t need to exist in order for us to eat food, no matter the food. It takes discipline, determination, moderation, and understanding to know that everything you do in life has a consequence of some sort, some good and others not so good.  If something you eat is going to take away your sanity and make you feel less than, then take the time to think about why and figure out ways to overcome that.  

I will be the first to say that I eat relatively healthy ( I stay within my macros) but when I don’t feel like staying within my macros, then I leave it and eat what I want. I have chosen to take responsibility for my actions and now I don’t get upset when I eat 8 slices of pizza instead of 3, I just deal with it and if I don’t like the outcome, I try to not make the same mistake, but it is human nature to make mistakes. “Your eating should go along with your goals but it shouldn’t hinder you from living”. -Shay-lon

Thank you for reading!

Your fitness blogger,

Shay-lon xoxo