TALENT

For those of you that are sitting at home relaxing and watching football like myself, here is something for you to watch during commercials and halftimes. It is pretty amazing to think about all the many talents that people have. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3kyNGVK-hI

Pullup Shout Out

I have to give another first-time-pullup shout out to my friend, Chelsea! Yesterday, during the "Nicole" WOD, Chelsea thought after 3 rounds of max effort pullups using a band that she would just give it a go without the band for a pullup attempt. Not only did she get one, she came back from every 400m after that and nailed a total of 3 unassisted kipping pullups!

So if you see Chelsea around the gym, be sure to congratulate her on this major CrossFit accomplishment!

Good stuff, Chelsea! Keep up the hard work!

It Never Gets Old

Today, in the 5:30am indoor class at RunTex, we hit the benchmark WOD, "Chelsea". In preparation for the movement standards of this WOD, everyone gives each of the exercises a try. One athlete, in particular, took advantage of the opportunity and thought that she would attempt an unassisted kipping pullup....SHE GOT IT!

This was her first unassisted pullup! This is a huge accomplishment for any CrossFitter! Her achievement was quickly noticed by all of her peers in the class, and high-fives and applause followed. The feeling in room was electric. Gotta love it!

Experiences like this never get old....This is why I am a CrossFit coach!

Congratulations, Melissa!

Thank You.

Saturday was CrossFit Central's Benchmark challenge. The WOD? "Fran".

I'm sure that we all know about "Fran"- she has a nasty reputation in the CrossFit world. For those of you that have not had the pleasure of meeting "Fran" yet, she is a wicked WOD comprised of 21-15-9 reps of a 95# thrusters(front squat to press) and pullups.(Check out this video of the world's fastest "Fran"!) It's a workout that requires the athlete to turn off that internal voice that screams, "STOP! This is too hard!", and instead, just GO!

After watching all of the CC athletes hit "Fran", some of the coaches decided that they wanted in on the action....I was NOT one of them. Although I knew I should just do it, I was perfectly comfortable sipping on my Starbucks americano and watching. It took some vigorous persuasion(peer pressure) from some of the other CC coaches and one CC member in particular, Jeff Blaylock, to get me to jump in. The result....a 3.02 "Fran".

This was not a PR for me, but I took some important things away from the experience that I wanted to share with you all -- even coaches need coaching and motivating at times. I had no desire to perform that WOD, but thanks to my fellow coaches and Jeff, I was able to put a solid effort in that I was proud of for several reasons. So thank you to everyone for that extra push, and Congrats to all of the athletes that took part in this weekend's challenge!

Popeye had Spinach...

I just finished a great protein shake and thought I'd share the wealth.

First, let me just say that everyone should run out to their closest Target and purchase a Magic Bullet blender. This little guy will make your life so much easier - easy to use, easy to clean, and easy to store - it's well worth the small price tag!

Secondly, I should tell you all that the jury is still out as to whether it is truly "paleo-safe". I will be doing a little investigating so that I can hopefully come back to you all with a definitive answer. 'Til then, it's a great option for a non-dairy smoothie/shake.

• 1cup Hemp Milk*(I used Vanilla flavored Living Harvest Tempt brand)
• 1scoop of protein powder**
• 1/2cup of frozen mixed berries

Throw it all in the Bullet and then enjoy!

*The flavored hemp milks(chocolate and vanilla)do have more sugar than the unsweetened version, obviously. But the sugar used comes from organic cane juice, so I'm going to consider this paleo until I find evidence of the contrary.
**Again, this is where the line gets a little fuzzy. Be sure that the protein powder you use is as close to 100% Whey protein as possible. This can be a little tricky as most protein powders that taste half-way decent include some sort of artificial sweetener that would clearly NOT be "paleo-safe".