The buzz about
New
sandbag training
WODS
on the schedule
PAY it
forward
New column
Janine’s inside
&
At h l e t e ’ s Community & C u lt u r e April, 2013 Issue 10
Michael Kalman had something To LOSE.
Community supported
Expectations surpassed
Goals exceeded
Founder
Coaches
Josh Felber
Jamie Grigas Jason Elrod Nate Napolitano Cindy Virdo Dustin Shaffer JP Lytle Hannah Whitman Aaron Whisman Eric Wilson
Mentor Coaches Emre Erdem Holly Waters-Williams Ryan Snyder Dan LaPointe
Media Team
Ben Klingeman
Athlete Services Representative Dominic Martucci
…
“believe you can, and you’re half way there.” - anon.
4
Team Member Bio: Klingeman
5
Bod Pod
5
Coach’s Tip: Community
6
Contests!
7
Welcome On-Ramp Grads
8
Rail Against Breast Cancer
11
The Buzz about Sandbag Training 12
Katie Middendorf Megan McDaniel
Operations
Words from Felber
Upcoming Events
14
Schedule Evolution
15
Janine’s 9
16
Member Transformations
18
Coolest & Newest: Rocktape
19
What We Saw Last Month
20
Words CrossFit, by it’s nature, gives back. Let’s pay it forward. We all have those moments where our minds are in fear of what we are about to do. We question our abilities and what our bodies are capable of. As CrossFitters, we test ourselves and push our mind and bodies to the limits. And we think its fun. Once we begin CrossFitting, ordinary will no longer suffice. We awake with a brand new day ready to take on the world. We believe therefore we can achieve. We surround ourselves with people that inspire us, and with hopes of inspiring others. We fuel our bodies and minds. All of this allows us to reach beyond our limits. We dream big, have the support of our community and CrossFit family and because of all of it, no goal is ever out of reach.
Crossfit both takes everything from us—physically, emotionally and mentally, and then gives us back even more than we had before. Hard work and dedication pay off. We are reminded of it every time we step foot in the box. We learn to replace negativity with positivity and surround ourselves with people who we want to be like. All it takes is one person to make a difference in someone's life and show him what you have been shown. Giving is receiving. Pay it forward and make a difference. Just as much as I encourage each and every one of you do to this as individuals, we also do it as a family. Putting turkeys on family’s tables, Holiday toy drives, offering WODS for Wounded Veterans, supporting the Foodbank, Battered Woman’s Shelter, Autism Society, Victims Assistance Program, Wounded Warriors, Memorial Day Murph Foundation, Gennesaret, the Feed My Starving Children Foundation, and so many others. This is what makes my job so rewarding. It goes beyond a PR or getting ripped (though I’m thrilled every day as I see more and more of our athletes exceed their goals); it is seeing friends and athletes apply the life skills learned at CFA and taking it to the masses. What you do next is in your hands. What’s your next step?
Yours in Good Health, Coach Felber
: Benn Klingeman Operations director
Growing up athletics has always played an instrumental role in my life. From making friends to maintaining health, athletics was always at the center of my development. I have participated in several different sports such as track and field, powerlifting, and football. Following my graduation from high school, I enlisted into the United States Marine Corps where I really began to understand the capabilities of the human body as I was tested in both physical and mental capacities. I spent a year deployed overseas and once released from duty I realized how much I appreciated mental and physical challenges. I tried a number of different training programs, but it wasn't until I found crossfit that I felt fulfilled. At CrossFit I found a sincere sense of community, and the motivation to push myself harder than ever before. CrossFit is unparalleled to any other program out there; I am happy, healthy, and consider myself incredibly fortunate to be apart of this crossfit team. Another tool provided by CFA Here’s a chance to take it further: Victim’s Assistance Program needs a few good painters to help spruce up some halls prior to a big Open House. Let’s team up and put our good hands to work for their great cause. Wed 4/3 4-8 and/or Sat 4/6 9-2 Let’s rally and get this done for some folks that could use the help! Email: Katie@crossfitakron.com
Body composition through Air Displacement. Takes about 3 minutes. Way more accurate and much less invasive than a dunk tank or calipers. Schedule the next time you’re in.
to measure your fitness and progress. Plan to hop in the Pod every 90 days to track your muscle and bodyfat. Accurate, private and quick. No pinchers here!
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Community.
Engage in it and put it to work for you.
Since we are in the middle of the open, I think it is important to talk about Crossfit Akron' s community. I want to give everyone, new athlete or current athlete, a new challenge this month.
When you walk into the gym during the week, try to introduce yourself to someone new.
Whether it is someone going through on ramp, or even someone that has been at the gym for a long time (Just because you know their name, doesn’t mean they know yours). Go say hello, because you never know how far that goes for someone’s day. There may be a time when it just wasn’t your workout but someone new either cheered you on or gave you some advice for the workout. You remember what that felt like. Or maybe you make a new friend and there is some friendly competition that helps you own a workout! In my eyes, Crossfit Akron has the best community around. The coaches and I get the privilege of talking to a variety of personalities during the day. The workouts are fun, but what makes our time at CFA is Coach JP Lytle the community. So please, as you walk into the box Crossfit L1 Certified this month, make sure you introduce yourself to someone new, cheer on someone who isn’t your best friend, or warm up with someone you don’t know that well because this will strengthen our community and strengthen you.
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Coach JP Lytle
The T-shirt climate has changed. It’s now your turn.
DETAILS: We thought it was time for our athletes to show us what’s cool in the realm of CrossFit Box T’s. So here it is. Submit a design for the summer, 2013 shirt by April 21. The top 3 designs will be posted on FaceBook and we’ll Vote. The design with the most votes will be what’s on our backs this summer. Submit designs to: crossfitakron@gmail.com
In an effort to continually bring the best in for our athletes, we are currently interviewing for a new Oly Coach. Dan Bell is heading out on his own. We’ll keep you posted as we work to continue bring you the very best in all facets of wellness.
Welcome OnRamp grads! Ne
Brittany Page
Che Thomas
Miles HlIvko
Christina Vaughn
Myra Mark
Alex Petroski
Alise Campbell
Elizabeth Datchul
James Summitrall
Nate Danals
Nicholas Marshall
ew faces you’ll be seeing around the box:
April Burr
Arisca Droog
Baron Rogers
Bryan Oden
Jessse Riddle
LeAndrea Bennis
Lindsay Kanis
Michael Paxton
Sarah Gable
Sierra Baxter
Nicole Myra Mark Perantinides
Oriana Chen Nade Danals
Tisha Amissa
Caitlin Taylor
Chris Crosier
Louis White
Shawn Keppler
Tracy Brown
Diana Mabie
Eric Mabie
Erin Culver
Jessica Strebel
Lookin’ Good. As if we need one more reason why CrossFitting is good for us. Check out Coach Whisman sportin’ it up as a model in this past week’s Dick’s Sporting Goods ad. Way to rock those ropes!
Be sure to give him a pat on the back next time you see him at The Box! Want a chance to get in on it yourself? Email newfaces@pmtm.com with the subject line “Athlete.” In the body of the email, please include your name, contact information, the sport(s) you play and your skill level in that sport. Also attach a head shot, full body shot and a shot of you playing your sport. All emails must be under 1MG in size. They will return contact ONLY if a client is interested. • Males 15-16 yrs of age must be 5’7" & taller. Males 17 years & older must be 5’9" and taller • Females 15 & older must be 5’6” + in bare feet • Must participate in one of the following and must be on a skilled level: football, soccer, track, cross country, bowling, golf, basketball, volleyball, tennis, swimming, hockey, wrestling, baseball, softball, archery (bows & cross bows), CrossFit. P90x and rugby.
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Featured Sponsor: PrimalLife Organics
Matthew Palfrey is a strength and conditioning coach, the Health & Wellbeing Advisor for BMI Healthcare in the UK, and author and the founder of Sandbag Fitness - a specialist resource that promotes sandbag training for strength and conditioning. In this article he shares some of his coaching philosophy and how sandbag training can be part of a well-structured fitness program.
————————————When I tell people that I do sandbag training I often get puzzled looks and the inevitable question “why don’t you just use a barbell?”. While I still train fairly regularly with barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells, the sandbag holds a special place in my programming for a few reasons:
The sandbag is an unwieldily object with a constantly-shifting center of mass - this makes you fight hard for each and every lift The absence of handles on your sandbag mean that your grip is going to get an amazing workout too - this makes the
sandbag like many real-world objects that you might be required to lift in daily life Because the sandbag is malleable and will mould to your shape, it’s a great choice for loading up sprints and performing exercises like load carries and drags - both awesome strength and conditioning exercises
I actually founded the Sandbag Fitness Blog as a way of recording the garage-gym sandbag workouts that I was following at a time when I couldn’t get to the gym. It was as much a financial choice as anything else and I was able to get over 200lbs of sand for less than $15. A homemade sandbag stood me in good stead for a year or so and things have progressed from there. I now use sandbag training with a number of individuals and teams, bringing a level of strength and conditioning that may have been previously missing in their programming. Are Sandbags Any Good For CrossFit? Sandbag training is a great choice for CrossFit athletes for a few reasons. Primarily, sandbag exercises work as great accessory lifts for standard strength movements like deadlifts, squats, presses and
pulls. The instability of the bag and its awkward nature make it a good tool for breaking through sticking points in your lifts - even at lower weights. Going back to a barbell exercises after using a sandbag for a couple of weeks often results in improved lifts. The sandbag is also an excellent alternative for traditional free weights in overhead exercises. Stabilizing the sandbag overhead is considerably tougher that a number of other comparable free weights. You can use it for things like overhead walking lunges, overhead squats, thrusters and clean and jerks. Thirdly, the sandbag is just plain fun to use! You can drag it, throw it, flip it, lift it, roll it and any number of other things. While the results are serious, this element of play is important in all programs. Sandbag Exercises To Try If you’re interested in integrating some sandbag training into your fitness program then I’d suggest starting with the following key exercises.
Sandbag Overhead Press Lifting an object that has a constantly-shifting center of mass definitely Coach works well for de- Dan veloping strength and stability throughout the shoulder girdle. For those that find barbell presses uncomfortable, the sandbag variation can also aid in reducing stress through the hand, wrist and rotator cuff.
Sandbag Zercher Squat The sandbag zercher squat is a front squat variation that requires significant core strength and flexibility to perform correctly. An excellent exercise for wrestlers, football players, martial artists and anyone involved in lifting.
“The sandbag is just plain fun to use! You can drag it, throw it, flip it, lift it, roll it and any number of other things. While the results are serious, this element of play is important “
Sandbag Overhead Walking Lunge Controlling the sandbag overhead while doing walking lunges (or any movement, for that matter) adds an additional level of challenge that is great for ramping the exercise up a notch.
Sandbag Load Carry Throw that sandbag over your shoulder or hold it in a bear hug grip and run! This is an excellent conditioning exercise and also has a great carryover into sports performance and daily activities.
I hope that’s inspired you to give sandbag training a go. And, whatever you do, keep training hard and smart and you’re sure to get the results you want. —- Matt
More:
Matthew Palfrey is the founder of the Sandbag Fitness Blog, co-founder of Brute Force Europe and author of The Complete Guide To Sandbag Training and Sandbag Training For MMA & Combat Sports. He also writes for sportEX Dynamics Journal, My Mad Methods magazine and a range of other online and print publications. For more information about sandbag training check out: http://sandbagfitnessstore.com
Coming to CrossFit Akron April 1, 2013 All insurances accepted.
$25 for CFA Athletes
Chiro practic massage mobility
New Sunday WODS Added Beginning April 1. See the next page for details CrossFit Endurance Workshops Prep for the race season. Call The Box for Details CrossFit Open March 6—April 7 Rock Tape Clinic April 27, Noon—4p $40. Registration will open next month. Special Class Schedule The first week of May is our first in the 4 weeks of special scheduling this year. Regular WOD classes will not be held. We will have a schedule of mobility, yoga and other specialty classes available to ath letes, though. Stay tuned for details. Memorial Day Murph May 25 at CrossFit Akron. More details to come. Grace Race May 27. Get out and run for a great cause. Link TBA Spartan Challenge Central East, June 1. Details to come. Crossfit Regionals Central East, June 7 - 9 at the Columbus Expo Center.
Check out our weekly ad in stores or online. We have great coupons and even more savings HERE.
Evolution for you. MAY 1-7, 2013 Sunday WODS
Inner Warrior
Our first of four weeks this year with a special schedule.
NEW WOD TIME Sunday 9:30a
Regular WODS will NOT be held during “Spring Cleaning�.
Beginning April 1, 2013
We will have a variety of specialty classes available to our athletes, though. Including mobility, yoga, and skills and strength sessions. A schedule will be posted in the next few weeks.
This will be incorporated into a Tues/Thurs/Sun schedule for athletes who wish to come 3 days a week. It will focus on building strength. Interested? Call or email the box.
Just more ways to streamline our service, offer more opportunities, and provide a better experience for you.
Hello CFA family and friends, Let me introduce myself. My name is Janine Lytle, you may know a few members of my family who are also often at The Box; my sister Sam, who at 8 months pregnant was still doing burpees and my brother Wally, the big, red-headed ogre, who could probably move a truck if you dared him to. Or maybe you know my other brothCrossFit is just as er, J.P. or aka coach J.P., who is disgustingly good at everything he does. These 2 boys (they probably will much about comment on the fact I said boys not men) are the main nutrition as it is reason I took a huge interest in food and nutrition because believe it or not we hung out together and trained together from about WODing when we started micro soccer to college soccer. So obviously we train together for CrossFit and have discovered that CrossFit is just as much about nutrition as it is about WODing.
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When I was out at college without access to my own kitchen for a couple years, I realized how much I loved cooking and learning about different foods. With that in mind, I realized that I wanted to take my abilities and love for cooking to a professional level. I graduated from Valparaiso University with a degree in Exercise Science and Dietetics and am going for my Masters in Nutrition later on this year (girl needs a break!). I want to help people enjoy a healthy lifestyle eating delicious food and to help my community understand what foods can do to our bodies, good or bad. So I’ve become a regular contributor to the ACC publication, and I’m so happy to share my knowledge of what we fuel our bodies with. Here we go! In spirit of the holiday, Easter, I’m shining a spotlight on the egg. No I am not referring to the delicious, chocolaty, refined-sugar Cadbury egg our childhood memories so fondly remind us of this time of year but the delicious egg from our friend, the chicken. Breakfast has to be my all time favorite meal of the day and not to mention most important! As a chubby kid going to bed looking forward to my next delicious bowl of
processed cereal I thought I was doing everything right but now that I have matured and grown from my mistakes, it's all about the eggs in the a.m. Don't let the new hype about eggs and how they can cause heart disease and high cholesterol due to the yoke turn you away from them. Most of these studies only focus on one food in the subjects' diet instead of looking at the other disgusting, processed foods they are putting into their body. I have always been
a bigger fan of the eggs whites instead of the whole egg but through my research I have discovered that I have been doing it all wrong. The yoke contains 8 out of the 13 essential nutrients we need in our daily intake of foods, for example, vitamin B12 and 6, choline, vitamin E, and vitamin D. I don't know about you guys but I have always wondered what the difference was between brown eggs vs. white eggs. What it comes down to is
the color of the hen, white hens lay white eggs and brown and red hens lay brown eggs. And the only reason why the brown eggs are priced higher is due to the fact that the reddish/brown hens are typically larger breeds therefore cost more to feed. I will leave you all with a recipe for your upcoming Easter celebrations or to use for any kick ass start to your day, Easter egg quiche with sweet potato crust. Peter Cotton Tail’s Egg Quiche Ingredients: Filling 9 eggs 2 tbsp. ground mustard 1 c. unsweetened almond milk (I used the Almond Breeze, Acme had a 2/$5 deal)
1 tbsp. chia seeds 1 green pepper, diced 2 c. sliced mushrooms 1 medium sized onion, diced 2 c. spinach 1 red pepper, diced 8 oz. Venison breakfast sausage 2 tsp. garlic salt Pepper to taste 2 tsp. fennel seed 1 tsp. nutmeg 2 tsp. sage Crust 1 large sweet potato, sliced
like potato chips 1 tsp. allspice ¼ tsp. red pepper flake 1 tsp. garlic salt 1 tbsp. honey 1 tbsp. coconut oil, melted Reheat oven to 350. 1. used a mandolin (Kohl’s has quality hand-held mandolins for a good price) to slice my sweet potato, threw the slices in a mixing bowl with the spices and oil 2. Layer the pan with the sweet potato slices and make sure the bottom is completely covered. 3. Bake the crust for 15 minutes at 350. 4. Add the first 4 ingredients to a mixing bowl, whisk it together, and let it sit while preparing the rest of the filling 4. Brown the sausage and put it on a separate plate. 5. Dice the veggies into bite size pieces 6. Use the juice from the sausage to sauté the veggies 7. Add salt and pepper to taste. 8. Add the meat and veggies together. 9. Slowly add the meat
Want local exposure to hundreds of passionate athletes focused on their health and well being? Contact Katie@crossfitakron.com for details.
and veggie mixture to the egg mixture so to temper the batter so the eggs don't scramble. 10. Pour the mixture over the crust and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Enjoy! - Janine
CrossFit. They too have
This year, for our weightloss series, we set out to find a way to highlight athletes who found success in weightloss and continue to work on weight management and regaining health and wellbeing through seen tremendous physical transformation and are now better, stronger, faster in everything they do.
Michael Kalman Since his first WOD on 11/26/12, Mike has lost 30 lbs! He is married with 3 kids who like to watch his workouts on the CFA webcam, and is the Chief Information Officer of ASPCA Pet Insurance. Here are his own words: “Having not worked out for over a year. I stopped working out because I didn't enjoy what I was doing and it wasn't working. I was discouraged and it was easier to simply focus on other addressing other sources of stress and actually accomplish something. But self-neglect catches up and I ended up in a worse place. My weight was in a dangerous place, my diabetes uncontrolled, and my cholesterol off the charts. The sugar toxicity in my blood was causing organ damage; my triglycerides and cholesterol vastly increased my chance of coronary and stroke events. Mine were the kinds of levels discussed in medical and actuarial research on morbidity and mortality. This morning I had the pleasure of reviewing new blood work with my doctor. My weight is down, blood sugar is now in safe/normal ranges, dropping a whopping 5 full points to an hA1c 6.6. Total cholesterol is now 97and my doctor cut my cholesterol meds dose in half. He also discontinued one of my three diabetes meds. These results in such a short period of time are shocking, but not to you who are familiar with Crossfit, because this is what happens. Crossfit makes you well and it makes you young. At my intro class I was a little concerned that that there were no overweight, out-of-shape people at the BOX. I got this big sage-like grin and heard , “Mike, they come in that way but they don’t stay that way.” So this is just the start of my Crossfit story. With the expert guidance of our coaches, the acceptance and warmth of the community and of course the wonderfully hellish workouts- I look forward to getting into even better health and shape. Thanks to my friend and co-worker Simeon who encouraged and enlightened me. Thanks to Coach Jamie who has taught me about form, mobility and most of all that none of what we do at Crossfit is beyond my grasp. Thanks to the Coaches JP, Hannah and Dustin who have helped me to push myself just a little more. And thanks to all of you, my Crossfit Akron BOX friends.
Megan share’s her exciting perspective with us all: “It was a one of those moments I won’t forget... We were in the middle of a WOD when Jason walked up to me and said “Hey, come talk to me after we’re done.” When he walked up to me, I was smiling with a 75# atlas stone on my shoulder. Afterward, he said “You have been busting your ass and getting results” and asked if I’d be Athlete of the Month. Needless to say, I was very surprised. It was the second time we had used atlas stones since I started at CrossFit Akron North in mid-February. Right before the workout, I was walking with my stone to the area I was going to workout in and Eric said to me, “If you can carry your stone across the gym, you need to go heavier.” So, I went from 43# to attempting 75#; I tried a few times before starting the WOD but was unsuccessful. Not wanting to give up, I kept both stones near me. Once the workout started, I attempted 75# again and there I was...lifting that stone for the rest of the workout; it’s that encouragement and the personal successes that have got me hooked and excited to come in each day. When I think about my short time a CFAN so far, all of my thoughts lead to one thing...happiness. I’ve started working out 3 times a week, and actually look forward to it. I have frequently surprised myself with my performances/abilities. My energy level has spiked and I have also significantly changed my eating habits. I am down about 10 pounds and others have even begun to notice as well. I was told “you have a glow about you these days” by a coworker and it was by far one of the best compliments I have ever received; I knew it was yet another result of joining CFAN. My best friend, Hannah, and I started this together which has resulted in us growing close again. In addition, after some strong encouragement by Eric and Jason, she and I signed up for the Open, simply to push ourselves even more. There’s also receiving the encouragement to do more/lift more from Jason and Eric in every WOD...and then actually doing it and feeling accomplished. All of this has led me to notice a huge difference in myself and it has been extremely encouraging and rewarding. I cannot wait to see what other changes come about in the future!
WHAT IS ROCK TAPE USED FOR? • • • • • • • • • • •
Achilles tendonitis Plantar fasciitis Jumpers knee (PFS) ACL/MCL issues Rotator cuff Groin and hamstring pulls Lower back issues Shin splints Tennis and golf elbow Pain associated with pregnancy Postural correction
What is Rock Tape?
RockTape is a special kind of tape known as kinesiology tape. First used by acupuncturists and chiropractors in Japan, today kinesiology tape is used by practitioners throughout the world to treat injuries and improve sports performance. While the use of kinesiology is often associated with athletes such as Serena Williams, Kerri Walsh and Lance Armstrong, the reality is that RockTape is effective for the treatment of a wide variety of problems, not just sports injuries.
Get it At the Box. Questions? Great! Get in on the Rock Tape Clinic April 27. Noon—4 At CrossFit Akron.
At the box.
Thoughts? Ideas? We’d love to hear them. We appreciate your input, suggestions and ideas! So please be sure to share them with us. If it’s related to the newsletter, shoot Katie an email at katie@crossfitakron.com
What we saw last month...