Aug 2019 - Volume 23
What competitions teach us.
I normally do a short article for the front page and this month I wanted to revisit what competitions can teach athletes. You’ve heard my thoughts on this before! This time the voice you are hearing is Kailyn, with her thoughts fresh from the Battle of the Ages competition:
Kailyn: I have realized that I need to change my mindset of trying to compete with everyone in the gym, to just working out with them and focusing on me, not on other people. I have realized that I don’t need to win everything to be a good athlete. Going to the gym, for me at least, is about training to compete not competing with everyone so I will be a better competitor. I have realized that if I put the time and effort in to working out now, that in the future I will get somewhere because I had been working on QUALITY not quantity, which is what’s really important. Since I put in the time now, I will be a better athlete because I know what I am capable of doing in the gym. In competition, you just take it up a notch. If everyone was focused on trying to beat everyone in every workout, they will eventually get passed up by the people who do quality movements because they have put the time and effort into making each rep count and when they beat you where will you be?
Folks, she is 14 years old and already has a better head for her daily training than I do! As you approach your next WOD, think about your intention as an athlete. When the time comes for your competition, then listen to Kai and take it up a notch! – Coach Dell
- Sept 1st – Fall Nutrition Challenge begins – See the Members Only Facebook group for more details.
- Sept 6th – First Friday Free Community WOD @ 5:30 pm. Pitch In Theme is TACOS!
- Sept 7th – Central Indiana Adventure Race. This is a great opportunity to get your feet wet (literally) with the sport of adventure racing! There is a 4 hr version that is perfect for beginners. http://www.dinoseries.com/central-indiana-adventure-lite/
- Sept 14th – Festivus Same Sex Pairs Comp – For more info and to register click here: https://festivusgames.com/info/29521/
- Oct 10 – The CrossFit Open begins! We will have our in-house throw down again this year, check the whiteboard at the gym for more details!
- Oct 12 – The ExhibFit Race 2019! Join us for a fun fitness themed race around Columbus to visit the various Exhibit Columbus Art installations! More details to come!
Member Highlight – The Niebrugge Family
1. How long have you done CrossFit?
Jeff: 1 1/2 years
April: 2 months
Kaitlyn: 3 months
Ashley: 4 months
2. What is your favorite CrossFit movement/WOD/lift?
Jeff: Rope climbs, though I’m still not the best at them…
April: Rowing
Kaitlyn: Rowing
Ashley: Handstand walks (she said with an exclamation point!)
3. What is something that most people at the gym wouldn’t know about you?
Jeff: I first started CrossFit as a result of winning a free month membership in a drawing at the Millrace Marathon packet pickup event in 2017
April: I am a Type 1 diabetic with an insulin pump. So if you hear me ‘beeping’ in the gym, that’s my pump telling me my blood sugar is low, high, or that the pump is temporarily turned off.
Kaitlyn: I want to research genetic disorders and diseases after I graduate
Ashley: I want to be a dentist
4. What is a fitness goal you have for the upcoming year?
Jeff: Complete the Spartan Trifecta for the first time (Sprint, Super, & Beast)
April: Get more toned
Kaitlyn: Complete the Spartan Trifecta (Sprint, Super, & Beast)
Ashley: Complete the Murph in 50 minutes or less
5. What is a hobby you have that is NOT CrossFit related?
Jeff: Woodworking and working on cars
April: Cake decorating / crafts
Kaitlyn: Hiking and exploring the outdoors
Ashley: GYMNASTICS!
6. What advice would you give someone who is afraid to try CrossFit?
Jeff: Instead of saying “I can’t do that”, give it a try; everything is scalable. Before you know it you will find yourself doing things you wouldn’t have thought possible.
April: You’ll never know if you can if you don’t try…
Kaitlyn: Give it a chance and go for it – you’d be surprised how fun working out can be 😊
Ashley: Everything is scalable and everyone is nice and helpful
7. Tacos or Pancakes?
Jeff: Strawberry Waffles (oh wait, was that not an option…)
April: Pancakes of course!
Kaitlyn: Tacos
Ashley: Pancakes
Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Zucchini season is upon us!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/4 cups quick marinara sauce
- 4 medium zucchinis, 31 oz total
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 small onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 14 oz lean Italian chicken sausage, removed from casing (Al Fresco)
- 1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella, Polly-O
- 8 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
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Bring a large pot of water to boil.
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Preheat oven to 400°.
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Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4″ thick. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces and set aside.
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Drop zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 1 minute. Remove from water.
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Place 1/4 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 12″ baking dish, and place zucchini halves cut side up.
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In a large saute pan, brown sausage, breaking up as it cooks into smaller pieces until browned; set aside.
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Heat oil and add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook on a medium-low heat for about 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add chopped zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook about 2-3 minutes.
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Combine with sausage and cook a few more minutes.
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Using a spoon, fill each hollowed zucchini with 1/3 cup cooked sausage, pressing firmly.
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Top each with 2 tablespoons each of sauce, 1 tablespoon each of shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 teaspoon each of parmesan cheese.
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Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through.
Read more: skinny taste
Coaches Corner with Coach Jeff:
Programming is something that has taken a few different shapes since we opened our doors. With each change to the programming, we as a coaching staff are always thinking of new ways to challenge you as athletes. Whether that challenge is with different styles of workouts, weights, time domains, or distance, we always want everyone to feel challenged and experience growth from those changes. We feel that with these new challenges you will see the most growth!
The most recent changes to the programming have been the introduction of more structure to the hour, encouraging athletes to scale according to the time set for a particular workout, and putting more focus on each individuals percentages rather than prescribing a weight.
It’s a greater challenge to scale a movement than to attempt something that’s been prescribed on the board. Nobody wants to be the first one to scale something…but why? For some reason most people view it as a weakness even when it isn’t. Scaling gives you the opportunity to learn things about yourself that would otherwise be lost in rushing through a WOD. It usually looks like trying to complete something too heavy, faster than we are capable. With this most recent change in the programming you’ve been challenged to rethink your options for weight, distance, number of reps, and so on. We do this for a few reasons. One, it’s a chance for everyone to evaluate where they are individually instead of comparing themselves to others. Two, its a great reminder that we aren’t here to compete but to train. Three, its a chance for you to see growth in yourself that you’ve never seen before.
Self evaluation and acceptance is a crucial piece of the puzzle. With this new programming format you’ll be able to do this better than ever before. Rather than trying to hit a number written on the board we will help you figure out a suitable weight based on your percentage. The same will be true for any movement that needs modified to finish within the prescribed time of completion. It’s important to track these results so that later you can compare as you revisit similar movements or workouts. Self evaluation is something you should do often. It’s going to help you mature as an athlete. Take advantage of a simple task like logging you results and take pride in watching you’re measurable improvement increase.
Competing vs. training. This is a tough one. If we were all on the same basketball team we wouldn’t test ourselves by playing a game everyday. The same can be said about CrossFit. We aren’t walking into the building to compete with one another everyday. We are here training, learning proper form and technique, and focusing on our quality of movements above anything else. Coming in and putting in the work requires focus and determination. To often all of us, myself included, gets too caught up in the numbers. Spend the time making sure your movements are consistent and to full range of motion and again you will see the results of your hard work. With this new style of programming we have given the coaches a better chance to spend time with the athletes to improve form and technique. I hope everyone else is as excited for this part as I am. With this change sooner rather than later our programming will evolve into something even more challenging because everyone will be growing together.
Growth. Why else come if we aren’t seeing the changes that we want? These changes come from you as athletes and us as coaches working together to help you achieve your goals. We will be relentless in helping you anyway we can. I know that this puts some people out of that comfort zone of “this is what we’ve always done”, but try something new with us for a few weeks and if you don’t feel challenged, don’t see a change, or just simply feel as though this new format is ineffective then let me know. I’d be happy to sit down and help in any way I can so that everyone has a better understanding.
Looking forward I’m excited to see where this new road leads. I’m excited that some are already seeing the benefits to this and that they are asking for more. In the end it’s so very important that we all still have a good time, and make it the best hour of your day. Don’t be afraid to try something new just because you can’t see or predict how it might affect you in the future!