As Rx'd Blog

Coach P

Remember when I made that post about the newbies? The one where I talked about how this doesn't get easier? Well... many of you have been around the gym for a decent amount of time now and have moved out of the beginner cateogry and into the intermediate phase.

There are a good number of you that have been training with us for almost a year now and the days of daily pr's are almost gone. You now know how to read a workout to a degree. You have your favorite and least favorite moves. I am sure many of you think that it should be getting easier; remember what I talked about before? It does not get easier.

When you reach a more advanced stage as many of you have CrossFit becomes harder than ever before. Why? Well, it is pretty simple. In order to progress and set new records you work some much harder for minimal gains. Struggling for that extra 5 pounds on that deadlift is going to be way harder then it was for that extra 20lbs months ago. Getting 10 seconds faster on your 400m run is going to be tougher.

It can be easy to start having less fun in the workouts. It can become tougher to show up on a regular basis when things get this way, especially if you have been around for a while and all of a sudden there's a new group of crossfitters that you are training with. The newbies are setting pr's on the board while you struggle to match your best or even come close to it. This can be very demoralizing. It can make you not want to show up as often, and when you don't show up often it is only going to get worse. The speed or strength you added recently is going to be tough to maintain. Before you know it the 3-4 visits a week can turn into 3-4 visits a month. It gets even worse if you look at the workouts the morning of or the night before and think, "I don't like that wod or those moves... I think today can be a rest day" (yes, I am calling YOU out...  you know who you are).

I am sure that when you first started here there was a reason. We probably asked you directly. We probably asked, "why do you want to start crossfitting?" For some of you it was losing 10 or 20lb, for some it was getting stronger or faster. You signed up and started attending classes. Guess what? You did lose that weight, and you got faster and stronger.

Now, the more important question is- "why are you going to CONTINUE to CrossFit?" What else do you want to accomplish, what else do you want to get better at? Could it be possible that you have become complacent with your accomplishments, and now it is harder to find that motivation to come to class and really push it like you use to?

Leon made a great post about goal setting the other week and if you haven't read it yet I would highly recommend it.

I would also recommend looking at what we do in CrossFit, where you struggle and where you tend to do better. Try to find something that you do well and work on really pushing it so that you continue to excel at things you're naturally gifted at. Equally as important I would find something that you know you are not as strong at and focus on that weakness. I have a goal on the goal board (you know, the one Leon talked about in his post? The one with only 3 names on it, 2 of the 3 of which are the coaches?) One of my goals is a 500lb deadlift; the deadlift is a strength of mine so I know that it is very possible to get that with some focus. My other goals are a body weight of 210-215 lbs and 50 pull ups. These will be more challenging because they will require me to focus on my diet more then I normally do and focus my training to involve more moves that I tend to shy away from. I do this to keep my training fun and challenging in all areas.

Everyone goes through the same phases with CrossFit. Whatever problems you may be have and think are special and unique to you- they are not. Everyone else goes through the same growing pains. With that said, how about we get some more goals up on the board and start talking with the coaches about how to to get there? Any goal, nutrition, training or life-based is valid. Lets get after it!

Coach P

This IF-ing guy!

So the other week I was going trough my CrossFit blogs and saw this post linked on CrossFit NYC discussing Intermittent fasting. Up till that point I had heard a little about IF here and there across the CrossFit community but nothing that really got me interested in learning more about it. Robb Wolff has discussed several times on his website. Maybe it was so different from what I had heard for the past 5-6 years since I started getting into "health & fitness" I never really took it serious?

For so long I have been one of those that preached the 5-6 small meals a day approach to eating. I have experienced lots of great results for both myself and athletes I have been able to work with. It was what everyone did... whether you wanted to gain, lose or maintain weight it has been 5-6 meals a day... it was just common knowledge that it was the best way to eat. After reading around the interweb about IF and going through some of the different studies and the arguments for this style of eating... I now personally think it makes a lot of sense.

I personally am a big fan of an evolutionary explanation for just about anything that has to do with people. Over at the Modern Forager they offer this brief description...

"A constant titration of calories and insulin is not a natural state for humans, who would've fasted (or eaten lightly) during the day's hunting and gathering and then feasted at night. Some days there would be little food (unsuccessful hunt). Some days there would be abundant food (woolly mammoth!). But nevertheless, our ancestors would not have eaten 5 meals each day. I have no scientific data to back this up, but my body tells me that giving it a break from constant digesting is much appreciated."

This very basic explanation makes sense to me. Back in the day people didn't have a time table where they "had to eat," they ate when they were hungry and they had to eat what ever they had. There must have been days where the food hauls were scarce and they had to involuntarily fast and go without food. Like wise when they had food I would bet the would definitely eat their fill and not worry about spreading out their meals in small portioned segments through out the day. I also have become a huge fan of doing everything that "mainstream fitness" says not to do... so IF  has that appeal as well.

Over the past year since the gym has become busier and busier I have slowly (and almost unknowingly) switching to a IF style of eating. switching from 5-7 meals through out the day to 3-4 meals. Mainly do to not planning ahead... I would have a large breakfast that would carry me through till lunch/ wod time, then a larger lunch and a dinner after the day was over. I have been eating more paleo over the past year for the most part. I have discovered that my body works really well on a very high fat diet, moderate protein and lower carb style eating plan. This also might be why I remember most people's numbers so well.

After reading a few more articles I decided to dive into IF and give it a go. M-F I decided I would switch to a template similar to the lean gaines model. I am even forgoing beer M-F and trying to limit the nectar of the gods over the weekend... baring special events or get togethers. My typical eating schedule now tends to look something like this...

530am- black coffee

10am or 12pm- WOD

11:30am or 1:30pm- first meal of the day. carb heavy but still with a fair amount of protein and fat.

330-4pm- second meal of the day- much less carbs. much heavier on the fat and "moderate" on the protein.

730-830pm- last meal. mainly fat and protein with little carbs.

The interesting thing is that I have experienced so far is that even though the meals are much closer together and larger... I feel less full of food then I did when I was eating 5-7 small meals through out the day. When I wake up in the morning I feel light as a feather and ready to go. My energy is about the same if not improved, in my wods especially. In the past 2 weeks my strength numbers have been going up a little better and my lungs/ met-con feel great. As far as "leaning out/weight-loss," I feel some of the extra lbs I had are going away at a rate that matches the results I have got from doing standard "paleo/zone." Another benefit that I like about this approach to eating is the "less stress" factor. You don't need to worry about exactly when you are eating or missing a meal and throwing off the entire days plan. Planning meals can also be a bit easier when there is only 2-3 instead of 5-6 of them.

I am still going through with this little experiment on myself before I preach this method to all our athletes... all though I have a few that have agreed to try it out and see how it works for them. Just like any other approach to eating you need to find a way that works for you and what you want from your diet. Woud IF work for someone that is trying to gain pure size and strength.... probably not. Would it work for someone that is trying maintain strength and get faster and lighter... probably a bit better of a fit for that person.

I will touch on this a bit during my section in the paleo seminar this weekend. If you would like to learn more here are some of the places that you can check out till then.

What is this again?

Is intermittent fasting healthy?

The leangains guide to intermittent fasting

Better blood glucose with lower meal frequency

If you want more

Coach P

The new shirt design! Should be landing in the coming weeks!

So the other day I was pa-rousing  through the land of CrossFit blogs and I stumbled across this link over at CrossFit NYC. After going through the article I felt there were some good points made that I thought could be used in determining where one stands on following the "paleo" life style.

Deciding to be "paleo" should be a decision that you make on your own for your self and for reasons that make sense to you. No one should start trying to follow paleo for the sole reason of "everyone else I know is doing it"... cough cough crossfitters cough cough. There is a difference between hearing about others starting this way of eating/living and witnessing their gains and benefits and just trying it because you don't want to be the odd man out. I do like comparing paleo eating to kosher eating because both of them have lots of rules that come with them and the degree to which you follow these rules is also a decision you should make for yourself.

My main interest in the article was in the second half. Where the writer goes into discussing "paleo" foods... what are "Paleo" foods you ask? I will give you a hint... have you ever made "paleo eggs", "paleo steak" or made a "paleo fruit salad?" No, all of these things are natural and you could of had them millions of years ago. There is no need to apply the pre-fix "paleo" to them becuase it is a given. When this is applied to making meals... you wouldn't make a rack of "paleo" lamb and roast some "roasted paleo veggies"... you would just make a rack of lamb with roasted veggies to go with it.

How ever... most of us haven't been on the "paleo" trolley our entire lives. We use to enjoy the days of breads, cereals, pasta, rice etc etc.... We now how wonderful some of those things taste and we wan't to find a way to have them again... but we won't to be "paleo" at the same time. Enter "paleo" foods. "Paleo" foods.... paleo bread, paleo cookies, paleo pancakes, paleo muffins, paleo pizza. Many people have spent hours and hours messing with nut flours, honey, agave nectar trying to make something that resembles their once loved food items. Granted some of these recipes can turn out pretty good and can be pretty tasty. From this though comes a few issues. If you have to add "paleo" to the item is it still really paleo? Many of the "paleo" items tend to be loaded with "natural sugars" such as agave nectar and honey... which goes against the grain of the paleo philosophy of a little to no sugar diet. This aspect could be discussed for a pretty long time if you got enough paleo fanatics in one room... and even then you wouldn't end with a agreement across the board most likely.

Where would I stand in the discussion? Well... I would be the one laughing (or most likely chuckling silently in my mind) at the paleo geeks arguing over this stuff. To the people saying that you shouldn't be making all these "paleo" foods becuase they aren't "real paleo" foods, I would say you might be taking this way to seriously... at least for me. I think to the people that try to make a "paleo" version of every grain/bread based food I would ask... who exactly are you trying to fool? While some of the things people make up aren't bad and some are actually pretty tasty... you will never mistake a "paleo" muffin for a real muffin... a "paleo" pancake for the buttermilk flapjacks mom use to make you. I find these "paleo" foods just as funny as all of the veggie "meat" products... veggie burgers, veggie steak, veggie chicken strips and the worst of all veggie bacon. I don't care who you are... no one will ever mistake a slice of veggie bacon for actual bacon. Just like many "paleo" followers weren't like that their whole life, most vegetarians weren't like that their whole life... so they try to make things that resemble these items that they "can't" have.

To the people trying to be/stay paleo... my personal philosophy is this. I stay paleo 80-90% of the time. When I do, I feel great, I train, recover and over all work better. I want to eat/ live this way because I believe it is the best thing for me both now and in the long term. How ever I do enjoy eating tasty foods! I would also rather eat something that is clearly not "paleo" but is absolutely amazing! Then to try to make some sort of resemblance of a once loved food dish.  I feel no guilt in having a slice of pizza here or there, having a beer, or nom noming on a burger WITH the bun on! Certain things just aren't worth messing with.

What does this all mean in the end... Of course I recommend leading a paleo style diet but only to the extent that you believe in. Think about why you are doing it and know what you want from it. Whether you decide to be a purist or if you like to pick and choose which principles you will follow. That way when a random friend asks you why you always order extra veggies and no rice or potatoes (wait aren't those paleo? Wait for the seminar) at dinner, you can give them a solid answer.

Coach P

Constantly varied, functional movements executed at high intensity... this is CrossFit in a nutshell. Today I want to spend a little time talking about the "constantly varied" portion.

If you have ever looked at multiple days of WODs, whether it be here at Elysium, the mainsite, or any other affiliate, you have probably realized that the programming is always different. This is partly why CrossFit-type programming is so effective; we never get a chance to adapt to any one workout but instead get the benefit of "surprising" the body every day. While the workouts can seem as though they are completely random, this is not the case. Occasionally, there may be "hopper days" where the WOD is randomized. Outside of that, there actually is a method behind the madness.

Constantly varied is much different from random. When I am sitting in front of the computer thinking of what I want to program there are several things that I consider.

1. The strength is much less varied then the metcon portion and for a strength program to be beneficial it needs to be less varied and have some consistency to it. Normally when deciding the strength portion I will look at the prior week and see what we did. I don't want strength days too close together for the same movement because the body might still be taxed. Then, I look at the last 2 or 3 days of metcons and try to find a point on the body that is reasonably fresh. On a weekly basis you might notice that we tend to do 2 forms of squats, deadlifts, cleans and the overhead lifts almost every week in some fashion. This is by design to get you all stronger as quickly as possible!

2. The met-con- putting together a met-con can be a bit tougher. Every coach has their philosophy about programming metcons. Some coaches might over-think it and some don't give it enough consideration. When I put together a metcon the first thing I consider is, "what do I want this to feel like for the athletes?" You may have noticed that metcons can be challenging in multiple different ways. "Cindy" is a very different workout then "Grace"; one is long and the other is short. "Fran" is different from "Elizabeth"- both are short WODs that combine barbell and gymnastic elements, yet they are very different in terms of difficulty and metabolic impact on the body. When deciding on the type of workout I want I envision how my body would react.

A few examples-

"Oly Death"- as most of you may recall, it took many if not all of you more then 25 minutes to complete this workout. This WOD has never taken me longer then 20 minutes. The first time I did it my time was 18ish minutes, then 16ish and now around 13 min. A 13 minute workout is far different from a 30+min workout, even though everyone is doing the same movements and reps. Athlete A taking 13 minutes and athlete B taking 30 minutes are experiencing completely different WODs. The limiting factor for the 13 min athlete is going to be pain tolerance and the ability to push through discomfort; the ability and strength needed to move the barbell is not the issue. For the 30+min person, the limiting factor is most likely going to be the physical ability to move the barbell; if you can't stand up out of the front squat, then you have no choice but to rest.

"Run 5K"- We had a ton of people show up for this WOD (because I was clever and hid the WOD) and it was a blast! Many people were somewhat upset with me over this "awful" workout. So what was the thinking behind it? When I programmed it I knew that everyone could complete the workout without issue. The limiting factor or the challenge of this workout was going to be mental. During the run, did you spend any time in your head saying "this run is SO long, this sucks, i don't want to do this", or were you saying " this isn't that bad, I can finish this, just keep moving"? Getting down on yourself and letting yourself move more slowly because you are mentally unprepared is the limiting factor for this WOD.

"10/12 WOD"- Yesterday's (10/12/10) WOD was designed to be light and short. I tend to describe these types of workouts as "pain tolerance WODs" because the weight never gets truly heavy. Most likely, you aren't going to hit failure on the movements and be physically unable to do a rep. You may put the bar down, but not because the weight was unmovable; rather, it was because your arms, legs or whatever was hurting too much and you "needed" a rest. I came across this realization when I started to train for sectionals and regionals. I realized that doing well in those arenas meant being able to deal with the pain, do more reps and take less rest than the guy next to me. I then noticed that if i went into a workout knowing that the idea was to see how much discomfort I could push through before I "needed" a break made a huge difference in the end result. Getting back to 10/12, I already knew this was going to be a "pain tolerance WOD"; to build on this I added the "no touching the ground" aspect. I wanted to see who would keep the bar in their hands and deal with that discomfort if it meant you wouldn't have to do something more uncomfortable, like 10 burpees. This workout was different for everyone. For some all the pain was in the shoulders and traps, some the wrists and quads, but everyone had that general aspect of discomfort in a specific area.

"Narf followed Fran"- Why not? Doing the same movements two days in a row is just as varied as never doing the same movements two days in a row...

The next time you are in class and we suggest you scale a WOD, or if you are told to complete the WOD Rx'd, feel free to ask why. Sometimes going into the workout with an idea of what is about to hit you can help you prepare and perform better. No matter who you are, there will always be a "limiting factor", be it strength, endurance or mental toughness that we are trying to develop.

Coach P

It is hard to imagine that we opened our doors just under 10 months ago. In the past months I have been inspired by so many of you and by what you all have accomplished. Just about all of you came to our affiliate with a totally different background yet all of you have accomplished things that I am sure you never thought possible.

We sometimes forget that the community and the results we see in CrossFit Boxes are not normal for a "gym"... I guess that is why we don't consider ourselves a "gym". We get use to seeing ladies doing pull-ups, deadlifting 200+lbs, the men are expected to be big and strong, muscle-ups are something everyone tries to learn... didn't everyone know your name at your old gym?

The other day I was in total amazement from watching a few athletes go after a workout that it made me think about all the things that our athletes have accomplished. Below is a list of some things that are on the top of my brain... sort of a "best of" moments so to speak. These are the types of things that make doing what we do so fun and a labor of love!

- brandon losing 35lbs and still dropping weight

-  Irene losing 40+lbs since starting with us and that will probably be 50+lbs by the time she reads this.

- Tiffany losing 15+lbs and tons of inches

- Big Ben droppin 20+lbs

- David dropping 10lbs and tons of inches

- Bill & javier gaining 13+ lbs of solid muscle

- First pull ups... 8+ athletes, more then half of which were ladies!

- First muscle ups!! Anthony Kimpo, with other getting crazy close!

- Watching the skinny guys like Bill and Javier work their way up to 315 deadlifts!

- Watching Tiffany build her shoulder up to fully functional from almost nothing is still mind blowing.

- Tiffany getting the first supra 200lb squat for the females and sneaking up on our first female 300lb deadlift!

- Witnessing the development of Coach Stacie... from getting into crossfit only months before we opened to the great coach and athlete she is becoming.

- Brandon getting his level 1

- Brandon getting 10 dead hang pulls a few weeks ago.

- Watching Irene complete Grace with 33lb for her first class ever... then watching her complete Grace at 77lbs a few months later and still getting a faster time!

- Watching Irene do any workout really... she has more fight then any one in this place... including me.

- Working with athletes like Brian, Danielle and Karla who have been crossfitting for some time... but still helping them break into new levels of training that they weren't hitting before.

- Seeing all of you hang out before class and after, the relationships and friendships that have developed are amazing.

- Watching Sherrie become 300% stronger then she was only a few months ago.

- Getting pictures of Javier Clean & Jerking a boulder on his camping trip.

- David sending video of a burpee on top of a mexican pyramid.

- Does any one remember the Left Coast Invitational?

- Karla and Alessandra going from 1 muscle up and now getting multiples in a row.

While there are many more things I could think of and list, I will leave you to remember what you have accomplished so far and what you still want to do!  Our space like all CrossFit facilities... is something special. Sometimes you need to remember that our idea of normal or average is so far beyond what most people consider advanced that we can get down because our numbers aren't jumping as fast as they use to. Keep working hard and keep having fun.

I love this video below. Everything that is said in it could be applied to our gym. Just change it from CrossFit New England to CrossFit Elysium!

Coach P

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So I was going through my normal morning ritual of checking out some other affiliate websites and I came across this article. Were they discuss how music impacted peoples performance while exercising. Volunteers were put on spin bikes and told to cycle for 30 minutes. They were given music to listen to while exercising, some were given faster music and some slower music. After it was all done the people who had the faster music covered more distance and had a faster pace through out the 30 minutes (no real surprise here).

As with lots of studies involving exercise I come across, I feel there are some things that need to be pointed out. First off, the instructions were to ride at a pace they could "comfortably maintain for 30 minutes." Which essentially means zone-out and keep moving. So is it really any surprise that listening to faster music while doing a mono-structural event for 30 minutes with no real goal had an effect on the pace? I could totally see this study being used for a new "fitness dvd"... "with our signature tempo paced music you will move faster and burn more calories and lose those un-wanted pounds easier then ever before... with out even knowing it!"

So what does this mean for our Elysium Athletes? I would say it means mostly... a whole bunch of nothing.

But coach, didn't the article just say that listening to my favortie music will make me faster?

NO. Have you ever heard us say, "finish this workout at a comfortable pace." If we went through the workouts on auto pilot and zoned out... then having faster music playing probably would make people move faster.

Below is a Rate Perceived Exertion Scale. Many exercise classes in the globo gym world use this as a guide for the people in the classes. I would be willing to guess that the riders in the study were probably staying around 2-4 on the scale? I would be willing to bet the the farther up you go in the scale the less impact music will have on performance. To take this back to the Elysium setting... were would you guess we operate at 90% of the time? I would say that our facility would have to get a whole

I know every one has their preference of music style, favorite artist and so on... but none of that should matter during a CrossFit workout... did any of you hear the music playing during the Left Coast Invitational? No, of course you didn't... you were focused on the task at hand and you worked your hardest.  I will concede that listening to music pre-wod can help get you into the mind set to go all out but after 3.2.1 go, the music should mean nothing.

I have experimented with playing music that I like, don't like, hate and neutral with during wods... and I found the same thing each time. After about 30 seconds... I don't hear anything. It is just me and the movements working through it.

With all of this said, I will close with a few things... as always, if you still would prefer certain music to be played on the stereo during class, bring in your own MP3 player and be the first one to hook it up. You can bring in the fastest, slowest, most popular or most annoying music you would like! Secondly if someone brings in something that you "can't" deal with... write it on the excuse post! No one has claimed the "I didn't like the music" excuse yet, so if you want it, go for it!

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Coach Paul

The Left Coast Invitational has come and gone... and I really need to put my thoughts to writing!

When Ian aproached me about putting an event like this together for our athletes I new it would be a fun event that everyone would have a great time at. I really had now idea how much fun it would really end up being. For the past month and a half we have been looking forward to this weekend. With that said, most of you, if not all of you really didn't do anything outside of your normal training. There were some of you that changed your diet a little... Javier getting a bit more on the paleo side... and Karla getting 70's big (but that was really for her personal goals of getting stronger). Around Elysium we trained like we have been for the past of months (looking back, probably should have programmed more running?) and did what we normally do and that in it's self is very special!


I am glad that most of our athletes were placed in the back half of the heats making it easy for me to judge the first heats and break away to coach you all! It was a great experience to meet many different athletes and watch them work as hard as they could. Most of the people I had were good movers and I didn't have to take many reps away from any one (even when I did take away reps from them... I didn't have anyone get upset or argue with me.) My thinking was that the people that I judged were knowing that they were getting a "true experience" for what a CrossFit comp is like. I do know that I probably called back more reps then the other judges but I feel I gave enough slack without letting people "get away with stuff". It was over all a fun experience... but the closer we got to our heats I just wanted to watch all of our athletes go!

If I had to point to a few things that I/Leon did that had an impact on the outcome was our game planning and our mental prep for every athlete. For the deadlift we kew exactly how the event was going to work from the first weight to pull, the rest periods and the end goal. From the athletes I judged and saw... many of them seemed to warm up DURING the 10 time cap and waste the first half with sub PR lifts... we new what everyones PR's were starting and we told all of you the warm up before and pull your near max, current max or new max for the FIRST lift. We talked with every one individually about each workout and what for them to expect both easy points and hard points... turned out that telling Karla that "the run is going to be hot and uncomfortable, just expect it and know that you CAN deal with it and push through it." was something that really helped her on that one. Also when an athlete was having trouble with a lift we focused on giving technical coaching on how to move better and get the workout done faster... instead of just yelling "you can do it, you are doing good... keep it up." I took probably 30 pull ups away from a girl that couldn't get her chin over the bar... if her coach didn't keep on telling her to shake it off and keep doing good... and instead said, to use the donkey kick at the top of the move. I probably would have takin way less reps away.

As many of you learned this past weekend... the mental space you go to during competition is a little different from the place you go to during daily WOD's. As well, the way coaching that needs to happen changes as well. I am so glad that I was able to have the experience of coaching all of you in action.

I will go through the day and recall some of the bigger memories that are floating through my mind at the moment!

Javier thoughing on 315 (15lbs above pr) and pulling it like a warm up, for the first rep! Then going on to set several more records! Brian having full faith in me and just picking up what ever I told him to put on the bar and in the process setting a 70lb PR!!! That is unreal. Brandon pulling a new fat pr. Tiffany setting a new pr and winning the event... after NOT doing any strength for the past 2 weeks? Watching Leon coach Alessandra and Anthony into new prs! The whole gym watching Ben as he pulled 485 of the ground for the high score of the day and the crowd scream for him! (make sure to put that on the mirror Ben!) The most epic moment was Watching Karla pull a new 25lb pr... then with only 45 sec left, telling her to put 5 more on and just pick it up. With only 10-15 sec left she grabbed it and locked it out with only seconds to spare! Ask any strength coach and that kind of stuff should not happen, just insane! Taking top mens and womens spots for the event!!!



My greatest joy from this workout came from watching all of you move... and move well! All of you had great range of motion and made your judges job easy. Javier learned how to kip just last week and with that went and got a 10+ round score!!! Brian Showed us that you can enjoy a beer or 2 or 5 and still crush some metcon! The ladies rocked this workout! Having Tiffany, Alessandra and Danielle all next to each other was a sight to see! How about Karla not only winning the top spot for the ladies but also beating pretty much every male except Brian! And that is after her gaining 6-7lbs in the past month or so (on purpose)!!! Were I became the most proud was watching you all drop to the floor after "TIME" was called. The looks on your faces showed that you gave it everything you had! At the end of the wod knowing that you worked your best is what will give you the most joy and pride!



Event 3) "The eqaulizer"... what jerk thought that wod up?



Javier was the first to go and set a great time, getting many if not all the thrusters unbroken! Brandon powering through them and staying focused on the burpees. Tiffany... who couldn't use her left shoulder 8 months ago was pushing the barbell overhead with ease. This was an inspirational wod to watch, you all fought through it to the very end and I was so proud. Then it got crazy! The first to last heat had 2 elysium ladies and the final heat had 2 Elysium ladies!!!! Brian was sitting in first and others siiting high! What an epic ending to the day!!! This was a wrokout were game planning and coaching helped a ton! Every one had a game plan and an idea of what to expect going into this workout. Many other athletes went all out at the beginning thinking they were going to be able to fly right through.... those athletes quickly learned that was false. The workout was far worse then many expected. I judged to majority of the heats besides for the final two. Having been to regionals were they stacked the top athletes at the last workout all together... I knew this was going to be an insane 10-15 minutes. The energy in the building was electirc! Going into the final workout was amazing... did I mention that Karla and Stacie were TIED FOR FIRST! Both ladies had 6 points and were several point ahead of the nearest competitor! For the final heat Leon Coached Brian, Ben got Stacie and I coached Karla. I Talked with the athletes and told them they had a chance at the top spot, they had already proved it by earning the spot they were in and now it was time to go all out! Let me say this, Karla impressed many people in that last workout! She stuck to the game plan and gave it everything she had. Her crisp thrusters impressed several other athletes and judges, her steady pace and focus set her into the lead early in the wod! On the way back from the runs she would come back into the garage with a straight face that meant business, it wasn't the "this is horrible, this is hard, why am I doing this face" that I know we all make and that I know I have made in competitions before. It was nothing but focus and determination!!! Once back in the hanger she didn't stop moving. Once the last burpee was called she dropped to the floor with a look of total exhuast, there was no doubt that she gave it 100%. Then we were able to cheer Stacie on as she finished the workout second in the heat!


After the wod's were done and every one could relax. I couldn't help but have a grin on my face after what I had witnessed. Knowing where the points were at the beginning of the last workout gave us an idea of how well we might of done but there was always a chance that someone managed to get that last point they needed to edge someone out of placing. Part of me didn't care where the points fell becuase I knew you all had givin everything possible... but there was a side that wanted to hear we had sweeped the event! First we got the female results... the girl that took 3rd overall was the same girl that won the final wod... once I heard this I knew we had a good chance that we took top two! Then the names were called! Stace beal 2nd place, Karla Wagner 1st place female (officailly the best female at exercising)!!! Watching two of our athletes standing on the top of the podium was so amazing! I am hard pressed to think of another time when I ever felt so proud. I have seen how hard these ladies train on a weekly basis and for it to show and for them to be recognized for it was so great! Then the males were going to be called up!!! Third place was called, then it was announced that there was a tie for the second place spot... the called the names and it wasn't any of ours.... While I was a little sad that we didn't get it I was still so excited that our guys worked their asses off. Then it is announced "a tie breaker will occur, but before that... lets announce the 1st place male." Brian's name was called up and our gym just roared! While we had talked about how amazing it would be to sweep the contest... to acutally have it happen was so crazy!

The day was so much fun! From having so many of you represent and for so many coming out to watch and support! The entire day was filled with pride and inspiration! I know that there are some of you that are 100% happy with how you performed and there are some of you that wish some of the wods had ended up different.The main thing to remember is that it was an experience, on to learn from and remember for the next one!

Once again I must say I have never been more proud and I have had grin stuck to my face for the past 2 days! Great job everyone!

Coach Paul

The affiliate challenge is coming up this weekend and we have a good number of people entering! This post is to help those people prepare and also to give any one that may want to enter into CrossFit competition in the future. By this point in your training you are as good as you are gonna get. This is going to touch more on the mental aspect of competition.

"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming. " John wooden

The coaches at Elysium or proud of everyone that has stepped up and said the want to be a part of this event. We can't wait to see all of you give it everything you have and watch you compete against fellow crossfitters! The main thing that we want all of you to remember is this... HAVE FUN! You enter a CrossFit Competition for the same reason you continue to train on a weekly basis... it's fun, so don't forget that part.

When it comes done to 3.2.1 GO, all that matters is that you gave it your all. I will tell you most likely you are going to find a higher gear then you have ever experienced before in a CrossFit workout. One of the best things to remember is that at the end of the wod is that you want to feel like you worked as hard as you possibly could in the moment. If you really feel that you gave it everything you had, then that event was a success in my book.

Every one this weekend will have a workout that they feel is there strong suit and the workouts were designed that way. Whether you are looking forward to the deadlift, short Cindy or the equalizer... knowing that you worked your hardest and you didn't leave anything behind is what will make you feel successful at the end of the day! I am almost 100% certain that every one is going to pull a deadlift PR and probably break their standard "Cindy" pr (with only 15 minutes).

Getting back to the competition side of things... giving that last little bit of effort and getting 5lbs above someone else and giving yourself a better score might make the difference between coming in last or not last on an event and when all three workouts are totalled 1 point can be a huge difference at the end.

An easy way to make sure you give your all is to stay positive in your self-talk. During a workout, the best way to slow yourself down is to start saying to yourself "this is harder then I thought it would be... this is hard... I don't think I can handle this..." that will make you drop off the pull up bar or drop the barbell faster than anything. Telling yourself that you can work through it and it isn't that bad, telling yourself that you can fight through... that is the kind of stuff that will get you those last couple of reps for an unbroken set and get you to get the hands back on the bar.

Can't wait to watch all off you represent the Elysium family and tear it up!

Coach Paul

PS. I realized that the self talk part can seem pretty corny and some people don't like the rah rah... you can do it, your doing good, keep it up. If you are some one like that, then taylor your self talk to fit your personality. When I need to get myself moving faster I get some what mean. I tell my self to suck it up, quite whining, deal with it. For me this works better to get me re-focused. I will never forget at the regionals on the first workout when I dropped the bar and our great athlete Danielle yelled, " quit being a b*tch and pick up the bar." An instant smile jumped on my face and I picked it up and tore through the remaining reps! Figure out what you want to say to your self and also let us know what you want us to yell at you!

Is CrossFit for everyone? No. CrossFit is for any one that is willing to put in some hard work and is willing to push themselves. Now with that said, any one can do CrossFit. Whether you are a 20years old, 50 years old, some one who is 5% body fat or 40%. Absolutely any one can start doing this stuff and every one can benefit from it. With proper coaching and scaling, any CrossFit workout can adapted to any individual. Here at Elysium we have a wide array of athletes and we care about each one just as much as the others... in all actuality, we probably are more inspired by the newbies  who are coming into the gym and working hard and just getting started. Between the yelling, sweating, shirt-less workouts, obnoxious music etc... more experienced athletes forget how intimidating our gym can be to new people...

With all this said, check out this video of some of the coaches attacking the workout "Fran", going for personal records. Also watch some of our newer athletes go after "Fran" for the first time. with the different scaling options shown, you will see that really any one can do this stuff!

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Found this on another affiliate blog, pretty funny stuff.

You know your a crossfitter when...

■Your shins have more scrapes than a twelve year old boy.
■You know better than to say, “That looks easy”.
■You’ve spent HOURS watching videos of other people working out (who does that?).
■CrossFit t-shirts dominate your wardrobe.
■When you travel, your first concern is if there is a local affiliate close by.
■Refresh is your favorite button after 6pm.
■3 on 1 off takes priority in your schedule.
■The words Snatch and Jerk have lost there comedic value, but farting while deadlifting has not.
■There are days you have to talk yourself OUT of going to the gym because it’s a rest day and that means you are suppose to rest, right? You are confused at this and ask your coach if you can still go for a run. When they tell you rest means rest, still confused, you ask if that means you should do nothing or could you do…?
■You shave your hands.
■Pain is a relative term.
■You know what this stands for IWCABTAMD.
■You know the ten general skills by heart and can recite them at social gatherings.
■You have posted pictures of yourself working out on facebook.
■You believe in sweat angels.
■Tape and chalk are at a premium.
■You used to bit your nails and now you pick at your calluses.
■Almond butter is the nectar of the Gods.
■You know that the benchmark WOD’s are named after real people and you would find it interesting to talk with some of them and find out WHY?
■You think in blocks not calories.
■Fat is delicious, you laugh at fat free.
■You don’t remember what it is like to have mirrors in your gym
■You know that a 70%+ dark chocolate bar can sub as 3 blocks carbs.
■You must workout with loud obnoxious music, but never hear a word of it.

■ You do everything for time....except sex, that's as many reps as possible in 20 minutes.
■You consider other CrossFitters family.
■You believe the world would be a better place if everyone was a CrossFitter.

■ You have people take pictures of you doing OHS (1st of, you know what OHS means) with random things on trips.

You think of anything else?