There are ten recognized general domains of fitness- cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. Here at Elysium we strive to create a program that builds each aspect equal to the others, creating a very well rounded level of fitness. I recognize that we are not going to make you the fastest person, the strongest person or the most flexible person. We will how ever make you pretty fast, strong, flexible, powerful etc... While Leon and I are not the best programmers on the planet, I am very confident in saying we are more then competent and could defend and explain our methods both in an intelligent discussion and on a proving ground such as an affiliate challenge.

In this post I am going to touch on how we train balance and how it will help you in everyday life and how more "mainstream fitness" people train balance. Balance is an essential component to fitness. You may not realize it but we do a ton of balance training on a daily basis here at Elysium. Take a look at most if not all the barbell lifts we perform. Placing an external load (of significant weight) and asking you to move quickly across a great range of motion ie... clean, snatch, thruster etc... is going to create a solid midsection and awareness from the mid-line out to your extremities. The use of the gymnastic rings and the different gymnastic drills are also going to develop great amounts of balance and coordination. The even greater part about using these types of methods for balance training is that it will actually help you in real life! If somebody or something tries to move you around, you are going to be a solid rock becuase your body is use to dealing with controlling external pressures and loads. Now are you ever going to me a tight rope walker form doing CrossFit? No. You would have to take up slacklining to learn that or you would need to specialize in that area.

Now lets take a look at how many mainstream fitness people approach balance training!

If you have ever been into any "globo gym" you probably have seen your share of balance balls and BOSU trainers. These devices are industry favorites for "balance training." Granted, used for the right person and the right circumstance these can be useful, say for certain rehab programs. However, many fitness people think that the crazier and more difficult you can get on these things the better! Incorporating these tools into the fitness program will skew it so for into the balance section that it can easily turn into learning tricks. Now, I have nothing against learning fun little "tricks"... but when you can that a fitness program, now I have a problem. If you aren't sure what exactly I am talking about, check out the video below!

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While there are some things on there that are some what impressive, I would be willing to bet that most of our ladies could squat and deadlift more then that guy. I don't care how many partial range of motion squats you can do on a swiss ball, that isn't going to help you be strong and useful if I need to move my coach up some stairs. Wait a second coach, what about doing dumbbell exercises while standing on the ball? That surely must mean he is strong? No! I don't think those weights were a hair over 10lbs, so he definitely is not strong. Your body will always so focused on controlling the balance that you won't be able to move any significant weight. I would by no means call the trainer in the video "fit" to any special degree but I would say he has crazy balance. How helpful is crazy balance? Can you remember the last time you had to do anything that looked even remotely close to the stuff he was doing in the video? Probably not.

Check out the following video of another trainer showing of his balance training.

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I am sorry, but I am calling total non-sense on that. I personally have no idea how any of that will help with absolutely anything in real life? I am going to take this moment and let you know that one of the reasons this stuff bothers me so much is becuase I use to do it and tried to get my clients to do this stuff and I actually thought this was where it was at. Looking back it really is embarrassing and how I ever thought this stuff was "functional" or useful is beyond me.  Now days if you want some great balance, practice your overhead squats, Oh lunges, pistols, handstands and ring drills. Those are the kind of moves that will create balance that can actually help you in the real world.

One thing that I will say that these trainers have added to the world that makes it a better place is this. Swiss ball fail videos are awesome! Also watching these fails happen in person are also great. I will never forget playing catch with Trainer Steve at a globo gym. This game of catch involved each of us standing on top of a swiss ball and throwing a 8lb med-ball at each other! A recipe for a good time right!  Despite what you may think, there was no adult beverages involved. I don't even think it was on a pass to him, but he was just trying to get up on the ball. Upon getting both feet on there his feet immediately slipped out and he fell straight on his back. With much more of a bruised ego than anything, we called it a day on that "exercise."

On that note I will leave you some great balance training fail videos!

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Coach Paul

Today (Monday July 18th) is the first day for the mid day class to be up and running. This class will start at 11am and run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday!

“Defining CrossFit’s Lexicon”

This post is meant to be humorous. Many of you have probably wondered at some point just what all the terms and sayings in CrossFit mean. Others may not realize just why some workouts are named for women and others for men. Maybe you pick some of it up along the way, but to really get the most out of the CrossFit community sometimes it’s necessary to have the code we speak in explained outright. It can literally sound like a foreign language to the uninitiated. So, without further ado, what follows is a by no-means inclusive list of common CrossFit terms, phrases and sayings. We’ll expand this list periodically as the coaches realize there’s stuff we forgot.

Bacon sizzle- when someone rolls around post-wod, unable to find a comfortable position because each one just has a different pain associated with it. Think lying in the fetal position, moving legs back and forth, rolling over, moaning constantly and you’ll get the idea.

Beast- a complimentary term used to describe a badass athlete, as in “she’s a beast”.

CrossFitter- an athlete who seeks real fitness, who possesses real determination and finishes what most people can never even start. A person who knows there is no gain without hard work. One who CrossFits.

DFL- Dead Fuckin’ Last. Better than DNF (Did Not Finish), which is better than DNS (Did Not Start). We’ve all been DFL at some point. That’s where you grow. You learn nothing when you win all the time.

Firebreather- a top- notch athlete, someone who does things that us mere mortals just stare at in wonderment. Someone we can all aspire to be like.

Goat- a movement or lift that you just plain suck at. Something you dread coming up in a workout because you either suck at it, hate it or both. Common goats include double unders, muscle ups, running and handstand pushups. We all should be working on our goats, constantly.

Gorilla- someone with ridiculous amounts of strength that allows them to muscle through workouts. Gorilla strength can often overcome flaws in technique that cripple lighter athletes. Conversely, gorillas often don’t meet their true potential because they never have to develop their technique to succeed. As odd as it sounds, not really a derogatory term.

“Girl” workouts- named by CrossFit HQ, each one has become a staple that CrossFitters can use to compare themselves with others, as in “what’s your Fran time?” Like hurricanes, these wods can mess you up and that’s part of the reason they’re named. After a while you get to know the girls so well it’s easier to just say “today’s wod is Grace” rather than “30 clean and jerks for time”.

GloboGym- the generic name given to all those gyms out there with a vast array of machines, mats, balance balls and trainers, none of which unfortunately do anything to make you more fit. Often associated with low membership prices, which proves the old saying “you get what you pay for”. A gym whose business strategy is designed to get you in the door, pay your fees and then hope you never come in again.

Hero workouts- again, named by CrossFit HQ, for heroes and fellow CrossFitters that have fallen in the line of duty. They are intentionally designed to be tough, almost impossibly so. Part of the challenge is to complete the workout and so honor a hero who has sacrificed so much more than just the sweat it takes to finish the workout. Each new hero workout that comes out is a bag of mixed emotions- sadness for yet another fallen hero, yet tinged with some excitement that there’s a new workout to honor our brothers (or sisters).

Humility- something every CrossFitter should possess. There is no athlete that cannot be brought to his knees by a workout. There is no perfection, only degrees of better. No matter what your achievements, you can also do more and should strive for that. See also pride.

Lung, CrossFit- a name for the hacking cough and lung-burning sensation one sometimes gets after a particularly hard workout. Coach Leon has no scientific reason for this, other than perhaps when you’re sucking wind constantly it probably dries out your airways and leaves you with the cough. An affliction worn with pride, as in “I totally have CrossFit Lung now”.

Metcon- Short for Metabolic Conditioning. The part of a workout where you really get your heart rate jacked up, i.e. the “cardio” portion.

PR- Personal Record. One of the most satisfying things to achieve in CrossFit, as well as an objective measure of success. See also Mr. Bill H., “Mr. PR”.

Pride- something every CrossFitter should possess. You do things on a daily basis that most people couldn’t even think about doing. Hold your heads up high, because you earn that right every time you come in. You have consciously chosen to extend your lives and live them as a fit athlete. Most people are sheep- you are lions. See also humility.

Pukie- unofficial mascot of CrossFit, a clown that is depicted barfing after a particularly heinous wod. Most people will never meet Pukie and we certainly don’t want to push you to that point, but people have been known to meet him when in search of that new PR…

Quit- never heard of the word. Most CrossFitters soon forget its meaning. See also stop, give in, surrender and bitch out.

Rest day- a necessary component for recovery, both physical and mental. The harder you work, the more rest you need. Embrace the rest days- you’ve earned them.

ROM- Range Of Motion. In CrossFit we constantly strive for full ROM, both for its physiologic benefit as well as because it gives us an objective standard to measure ourselves against. If you do 3 pull ups one day with full ROM and 5 the next without full ROM, can you truly say you’ve improved? Full ROM should not be considered optional.

Rower- a medieval torture device used to utterly destroy a person and devastate their supposed cardiovascular conditioning. Reportedly enjoyed by two or three people on the planet.

“That was so stupid”- code phrase for “that wod was so much fun, I can’t wait until I can do it again!”

Water- a necessary component for life, but not for most workouts lasting less than 20 minutes. That’s right, you don’t need it. You’re just looking for an excuse to rest. Put it down and do the metcon. Of course, drink plenty of water throughout the REST of the day.

WOD- Workout Of the Day. Can also be used interchangeably with the word workout, as in “you doing a wod today?”

Here at Elysium we currently are running classes at 6am, 5pm and 6pm. Ever wish we had a mid-day or late morning class up and running? Well, your wish maybe granted in the near future. There are a few people that have expressed interest in a class being added to the schedule to better suit their calender. When will this class be added? It is looking like it could happen with in the next week or so! The class will start out only running Monday, Wednesday, Friday and will be a standard Elysium class. As new members join and the class becomes more popular, other days will be added. If you have had friends that are interested in the past but "only" workout mid-day, this might be your chance to get them in here!

In addition to offering a new time in the schedule. I would like to bring to your attention to a service that is also available here at Elysium. Semi-private training, what is "semi-private training" you may ask? It is a hybrid between a standard group class and personal training. As you already know a standard class will cover a wide array of moves and training styles with no particular bias. This is what a good CrossFit class should offer to every one. Personal training allows for a coach to work on a clients overall fitness while allowing for tailoring of the program to improve on specific weak areas in order to help improve a bit faster for that individual. Semi-private training can be a group of people of 2-4 where more time can be spent on specific areas whether it is the powerlifts, oly lifts, gymnastic strength or running improvement. The cost per-person for this service can vary from $60-$40 per visit depending on the number of people in the group. These sessions can be scheduled at any point in the week that there isn't a class already running at the gym!

If you have any questions about either of these areas, feel free to drop me a line!

Coach Paul

Congratulations to Courtney, Javier and Thayne who each won last month's referral challenge! All three of these athletes will receive 20% off their next month of dues! Thanks to everyone for participating and helping the CrossFit Elysium family grow! Keep your eyes peeled for another referral challenge coming soon.

Normally when we are reviewing the moves that we are going to be using in the workout we talk the most about where the move starts and were the movement ends. Granted at times it is more complicated then others but the main point is that there is a beginning and an end. Lets take a pull up for example... we start at a dead hang and then we get the chin over the bar. Whether your pull-up is assisted, butterfly, gymnastic or dead hang... the r.o.m. is the same. As someone gets fatigued and the pull-ups get more difficult, there is a tendency for the chin to not get as high and not get over the bar. At this point some of you will start to hear the coach start to say "chin over the bar, or that doesn't count." Even if you gave it a half way decent kip and you tried, if the chin doesn't get over the bar then it shouldn't count as a rep. Why do we say this? Lets imagine that we are on a running track doing 100m repeats. Once you start to run you go the entire 100m and get your rest, obviously you wouldn't be done until you crossed the 100m mark. On a 100m run you wouldn't just stop at 85m and rest at that spot on the track? It would be obvious that you didn't complete what the job was. Well, that last 15m is the same as getting your chin actually over the pull-up bar vs getting the chin somewhere close to the bar. In the heat of the moment of a fast met-con t is tempting to allow yourself to count reps that you know aren't full range of motion, challenge yourself to not count those partial reps and strive for virtuosity in your movement.  Another reason to make sure your movements are quality is becuase of the competitive nature of CrossFit. People like to compare scores and see how fast they were in relation to the class and other groups. DON'T be the guy or gal that everyone knows doesn't do full squats or does partial pull-ups. Keep the standard of movements high, we try not to be form nahztees but we want to you move well.

Coach Paul

No workout this Sunday. July 4th, obv. Celebrate our Independence Day! Don't go nuts with the bad carbs... you might pay for it on Monday :)

In the wake of the Affiliate challenge being created several of you have expressed interest in learning more about the Paleo Diet. One of the greatest things about this method of eating, other than being the healthiest and most sound diet around, is that it is very simple. The main idea behind the whole thing is to eat the food that our bodies evolved one for millions of years. This means having a diet of meats, vegetables, nuts, seeds and fruit. As well, this means having a diet void of any grains, legumes or dairy. If you have ever had breakfast made of eggs and a fruit salad, you have had a fully paleo meal. If you have ever been out to eat and had a salad with some meat thrown on and skipped on the bread, you have had another paleo meal.  If you want to get into all the science and the exact reasons why grain, legumes and dairy are avoided feel free to visit Robbwolff.com, it is full of all sorts of info regarding exercise and nutrition.

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So what does an average day look like when someone is doing the Paleo diet? Well here is an example of a pretty average day for myself.

• breakfast- 4-5 eggs, half an avocado, medium fruit (apple, orange, banana etc...) 2-3g of fish oil
• Snack- small fruit (peach, apricot or half of a larger fruit), a cashews or almonds and 1-2oz of meat (chicken, turkey or beef normally)
• Lunch- 4-5oz of meat, some sort of veggie (salad type veggies), 2 medium servings of fruit, 10-15 cashews or almonds2-3g fish oil
• after workout snack- 2-3 hard boiled eggs, large fruit 3-4g fish oil
• Dinner- very similar if not the same as lunch2-3g fish oil
• late snack- 1-2 oz meat and some cashews or almonds
• ****this is my average day, the amount of food may need to be raised or lowered depending on your metabolism***)

If you are like me and ok with eating the same stuff most of the time it is super simple. If you need more variety, all that means is that you will need to pick up different types of meats and produce to allow for more selection. Also look the spices and herbs to add extra flavor and make the meals a bit different from each other. One thing you can see through out the day is that I have servings of protein, fat and carbs all evenly represented in each meal. This is going to help keep your appetite even and controlled.  My gorcery basket is normally made up of eggs, beef of some sort, chicken, seasonal fruit ad veggies and some sort of cashew or almond supply.

One of the beautiful things about the paleo diet is that you really don't need to worry about calories. If you are hungry, eat something. Eat balanced meals and eat till you satisfied. Listen to your body and it will tell you how much you need to eat. If you find your self being hungry, look to fat as the food that you want to add in to help kill the hunger.  On an average day that my hunger is really in high gear I will eat a double serving of cashews, almonds or avocado.

Hey Coach, "What is the deal with you telling some athletes to drink more milk? That isn't paleo."

That is true milk is not paleo. Gold star for you!

We recommend getting more milk into the diet for people who need/want to put on some weight and/or are focusing on getting stronger. Strength coaches form around the world will tell you that unless you are drinking a large amount of milk every day you shouldn't be wasting money at GNC on supplements. I don't know what exactly it is in milk, but the extra calories and the balance of fat, protein and carbs really get the strength building happening. So unless one of the coaches has said to you directly, "you need to be drinking more milk." You don't need to be drinking more milk.

Also you might have noticed the fish oil in my average day. If you haven't heard me preach about the wonder-supplement that fish oil is... feel free to ask me about it. It pretty much makes the universe a better place and helps everything in the body.

Getting back to keeping the paleo diet simple.

1. Don't consume grains, legumes or dairy.
2. Do eat meats, veggies, nuts, seeds and fruit (I like to buy what ever produce is in season, to keep the cost down and help support more locally grown food.
3. Drink plenty of water

As always feel free to ask

We'd like everyone to notice the new additions to the website!

There are several new links to the top bar- "Links" will take you to our preferred businesses, resources and friends. "As Rx'd" is the coaches' blog where we will be posting advice and random thoughts. "Coach Stacie's blog" is also at the top.

The left bar has links to our facebook page, our twitter account and subscriptions to "As Rx'd" and Coach Stacie's blog so you can follow and receive updates automatically!

We're really excited about these additions and hope they'll add to your CrossFit Elysium experience. Tell your friends!

When: August 14th, Saturday 8am-? (times may change)

Who: CrossFitters from CF La Jolla, Elysium, and Mission Gorge

What: Three WODs over the course of a Saturday challenging all 10 Fitness Domains. Men's and Women's categories

Why: This is an event open to all athletes from the above CF gyms. WODs may be scaled down but ...will automatically drop your placing. Awards for top three finishers in each category.

Cost: $20 entry fee

Our goal is to give CrossFitters who may not compete on a "Games level" the opportunity to compete. Competition can be a goo thing!

The sign up board is up at Elysium! As you can see Javier is the first to put his name on the board! Next time you are in the gym grab a marker and write your name up! As well make sure to get your $20 entry fee in as well so we can start putting together some solid numbers of how many people we will need to plan for.

I really think that this could be a great experience and lots of fun for many of you. Getting into somewhere else, going against a good group of people that are very close to your fitness level and going head to head with others will add a whole new dimension to your fitness training. Another thing to remember is that entering and training for this event will be the same as a mud run, 5k run, half marathon, tri or any other event. The main focus is going to be having a good time and having fun! If you are an athlete that wants to show up and give it a solid effort to hit 1st place, we will guide you on the path you should take both with your training and your nutrition. If you are someone who wants to enter more for the experience and not worry about gunning for the top spot, that is just as great.

Many of you may want to know what the workouts will be? Well... while the coaches know what they will be. That info is secret for now. The workouts at the gym will keep on going in the fashion the have been running since we started. What we can say is that will be 3 total workouts day off competition. With those 3 workouts all 10 aspects of fitness will be tested. There won't be anything that you haven't done before thrown at you. I can say there will be a workout that favors the stronger people, a workout that favors the lighter faster person and a workout that is a good old fashion CrossFit wod.

If you have any questions at all. Feel free to talk to the coaches and they can help you out! Lets get in and write some names on the sign up board!

Coach Paul