With the Open beginning this week, I wanted to spotlight one of our members that has been training hard for the Games all year.  Tracy Kuipers is easily one of our most veteran members.  I’ve gotten to work with her regularly through our Olympic Weightlifting program, and it amazes me how far she’s come.  Not only is she a great athlete, but her knowledge of the lifts and of CrossFit as a whole is something I’m equally proud of.  I know when I have Tracy in a workout, it’s like having another coach in the room.  She’s constantly helping those around her get more comfortable with what we’re doing.  All of this along with her seemingly never-ending reserves of energy makes her a great asset to our gym.  Thanks TK for everything you do, excited to see what the next few months have in store for you! -Casey

How and when did you start doing CrossFit?

I started two and a half years ago.  I met Chris and Annie Mello through friends, and I knew them for a while before they talked me into coming in to try out their gym, CrossFit.

What is your favorite part about CrossFit?

The energy of this place and the people.  I pretty much just come to hang out and meet people, the workout is a bonus.  As far as actual working out, definitely power cleans, but really anything with the Olympic lifts.

What about your least favorite part?

Wallballs and Thrusters!  But seriously, I hate the negative perception that a lot of people have of CrossFit.  A few bad gyms out there give CrossFit a really bad name at times.

You’ve been training for the CF Games this year, how do you feel going into the first round of competition?

I feel stronger and much more prepared than last year.  I learned a ton last year competing in the Open, mostly about what I needed to get better at.  I’ve learned to manage my weaknesses.  I’m way more comfortable with heavy weights when I’m tired.  As much as I complained about all of the powerlifting we did, it made me so much better as a whole.  Everything else, even bodyweight stuff, got easier.  I’m much more confident because of it.

What goals do you have for this season?

To keep improving.  I know that I’m way better than I would’ve been had I not done the Open last year, which is why I feel everyone should try it.  Participating will also force you to meet people from other classes you wouldn’t otherwise meet.  You learn to push each other, it’s healthy competition.  We have a strong gym and I know that we’re capable of sending individuals and a competitive team to Regionals.  Along with that, I want to be consistent.  I know I’ll do well in heavy lifting, but I also want to consistently perform well in the bodyweight and skilled workouts.  I just want to be better than expected.

*Have a weekly food plan for you and your family.
*Never feel hungry – always have snacks like seeds, nuts, fruit, and veggies in your car or at your workplace. If you let yourself get hungry that is when you make bad choices.
*Try to limit eating out – it is going to be way easier for you to stay the course if you are making your food and know what you are eating.
*Get in the gym and workout – it is not just a bonus point but it is also the best motivation you can have.
*Make sure you are taking advantage of the bonus points with your sleep, fish oil, workouts, and water.

Remember all of the trainers along with Greg and myself are here for support and to answer any questions for you. Stay positive and take every advantage of the challenge; there is so much to learn and you will be amazed at your body transformation!

Yummy Stuffed Cabbage!

PALEO STUFFED CABBAGE

(all ingredients, all organic, all the time)

Cabbage
Grass-fed Beef
Cauliflower
Celery
Onion
Strained Tomatoes
Paprika
Black Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Lemon Juice

Core the cabbage and drop into boiling water for 15 minutes. Remove and shock in cold water to stop it from cooking, until it’s cool enough to handle. Remove leafs, and set aside.

For the filling, in a food processor add cauliflower, celery, onion, and chop until cauliflower is the consistency of rice. Then mix together with the beef, paprika, and black pepper until fully combined. If you want, you can add an egg as a binder, but it’s not necessary.

Take your strained tomatoes and add in paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and lemon juice (until it’s sour enough for you. For a sweeter sauce, add in raw organic honey to taste).

Take some of the broken and outer cabbage leaves and line a casserole dish with them (prevents the rolls from burning). Take a handful of meat mixture and place it inside a cabbage leaf. Roll it up, tucking in the sides, and line them up in the casserole dish. Don’t be afraid to squeeze all your rolls in tightly together in the casserole dish. Once the dish is full of rolls, pour sauce over everything. Then take some more leftover cabbage leafs and cover it al up (again, to prevent burning). I like to cover the dish in foil, but if you have enough leaves on top, you should be fine.

Bake for 90 minutes at 425 degrees F.
Recipe from caveman.tumblr.com

Shrimp for Dinner?

http://cookingcaveman.tumblr.com/post/16124004309/last-nights-dinner

Megan showing how it's done!

MONDAY:
A.) 5 sets every 2 min:
1 Press, 1 Push Press, 1 Push Jerk
*Go heavier each time, but not to failure*

B.)5X:
30 sec work/30 sec rest:
Box Jumps (24/20)
KB Swings (55/35)
3-5 Chest-to-Bar Pullups, then Toes-to-Bar
*Score is lowest reps/round over the 5

TUESDAY:
4X:
With a partner, row 2 min. Rest while partner rows
*Score is total meters rowed*

WEDNESDAY:
A.) 5 sets every 3 min:
3 Overhead Squats with a 2 second pause at the bottom

B.) 3X:
7 Front Squats (145/100)
21 Ball Slams

C.) 3X:
30 sec “Deadbugs” right/left/rest

THURSDAY:
5X:
3 Deadlifts
7 Pullups
15 KB Swings (55/35)
-rest 2.5 min-
*Attempt to add weight to DL each time*
*Score is total time and eaviest weight on DL*

Friday:
6X:
30 sec work/30 sec rest:
Double Unders
Row for Calories
Burpees
Row for Calories
*Score is lowest reps/round over the 6*

LD so happy for burpees!

We could always use more time in our day!

I get it— you’re busy. Heck, do you even have time to read this article right now? As you’re reading my words, your mind’s probably racing a million miles a minute about the three dozen other things that need to get done today.

I know the feeling. It can get overwhelming— to the point where sometimes you feel like you’re going to snap any second.

Here’s the deal: I’m a full time student, I play a sport, I lift weights, and I run my own business on the side. It’s. Crazy. The madness never ends. It’s too easy for my social life to take a backseat as I find myself planted firmly on my butt at my desk night after night, squinting at the computer screen as my eyes beg to close just for a few precious hours. Then before I know it, it’s the butt crack of dawn and I’m still awake. How’d that happen?

I invite you to sit down with me for just a few minutes today. I promise you it will be worth your time. In fact, my hope is that with my article, I’ll be saving you time in the long run.

What Are Your Goals?

Think about the one or two most important goals you’ve set your eyes on right now. What is it that you want to do? Accomplish? Become? Do you want to run a mile without stopping? Fit into your skinny jeans? Write it down.

For me, one of my goals for the past couple of months had been to start working toward a 225lb deadlift. I kept telling people, “By x time period, I will achieve this goal and it will be spectacular!” I wanted it so, so badly. My other goal was to get my mile down time to 5:30 minutes. I just wanted to be fast.

Examine Your Behavior

Notice what you’re doing. Maybe even jot down some notes for a few days. Are you doing your mobility exercises to help you get to full depth in those squats? How often is your hand reaching for the candy jar without your realizing it on a conscious level?

Did I go to the gym diligently? Check.

Does Your Behavior Match Your Goals?

Oftentimes, all it takes is some awareness of what you’re doing day in and day out to realize that despite sky-high goals you’ve set, you’re not doing much to get yourself there— or worse, you’re doing everything to hold yourself back.

I wasn’t consuming enough calories or getting sufficient rest to support any kind of strength gains. Sure, I exercised six days a week, but that was actually probably too much. I had become so used to my set ways: stay up late working, keep the calories in check so I don’t have to buy a new wardrobe, skip the boring mobility work because, well, they’re mind-numbing.

Oh yeah, and let’s not forget that I was also highly stressed and constantly flustered from trying to do so many different things at the same time. If you try to be the best at everything, your best ends up becoming mediocre. And how is mediocre going to help achieve lofty goals?

Do Your Goals Contradict Each Other?

So you want to gain 20lbs of muscle and fit into those skinny jeans? Okay. For the first, make sure you eat eat eat and lift lift lift; that’ll put some good size on your legs. For the second, all you have to do is eat at a deficit and maybe buy a bigger pair of jeans— then you’ll fit.

It only took a little bit of thinking to realize that my goals of deadlifting 225lbs and becoming a better 1600m-runner couldn’t both be attained at the same time. Something was going to have to give. For the former, I needed to fuel myself; for the latter, the lighter I was, the faster I’d be. Technically, I’m sure I could have found a way to juggle the two, but that would have been an unnecessarily long and tedious process.

Remove the Extras and Prioritize

Let’s take out a pair of clippers and trim off the clutter in our lives that we don’t need. As you move down your list of behaviors, ask yourself, “Is this helping me get to where I want to be?” If you find that just about every action contradicts your goal, you might want to think about why you set said goal in the first place. Are you doing it for yourself or for someone else? Are you scared of success? Perhaps it’s time to reassess what it is that you yearn for. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of self-awareness.

Then put everything in order. What comes first in the list of importance? What can be left for later?

With regards to my deadlift goal, I later learned that I really needed let my body recover from each day’s work in order to so much as inch forward. Sleep, glorious sleep— and elusive at that. Those giant bags under your eyes? That’s what you get when your beat your body into the ground for long enough.

Second, I had to decrease my training volume because it was too much for my central nervous system to take. But I’d become so set in my ways for the past four years that to reduce the time I spent in the gym made me panic. These habits had become engrained in me; I needed to fix them. And third most important was improving my technique. What I was doing wasn’t horrible; I simply needed some tweaking— lots and lots and lots of tweaking. So… not horrible, right?

The more significant goal to me was obvious. Running was going to have to have to wait until another time.

Now Focus

I suppose you could say this is the take-home message. Laser-sharp focus can be the key to transforming your life for the better. Now that you’ve gotten rid of the distractions, it’s time to put these new behaviors on your list into practice. Keep your eyes on the prize and don’t let anyone or anything deter you away from your goal. Recruit a support system that will help you during your weak moments and celebrate with you in your triumphs; this will help tremendously. On a diet to achieve better health? Tell people— tell everyone. Trying to practice yoga on the regular? Make sure you have a buddy or two to keep you accountable. Announce it to the world.

Make the decision to direct all of your attention onto whatever task you’re supposed to be doing. When you’re in the gym, keep your mind in the gym, too. Don’t let it wander to that tiff you had this morning with your friend or that problem set that you don’t understand. Focus. You can get back to that stuff later.

You can absolutely manage it all: those Friday night parties, that book you’ve been wanting to read for close to year, keeping up your performance either at school or at work, and taking care of your body. It can be done, and I am living proof of that. All it takes is a little bit of planning.

How do you manage your time and fitness goals?

Everyone should check out the blog The Greatest they have amazing articles and review products that we all can use. I loved this article because it makes you think and prioritize your life into what is important and what things can wait. If you do not make goals and focus on yourself and your fitness you are not giving yourself a chance to truely live!

-Liza

SPAGHETTI IN CREAMY TOMATO SAUCE

http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/05/30/spaghetti-in-creamy-tomato-sauce/

BACON WRAPPED SWEET POTATO FRIES

Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potato Fries

“SMOKED” BEEF BRISKET

Beef Brisket

http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/crockpot/crock-pot-smoked-beef-brisket/

Make sure you tell us what you think and leave comments about what you liked and disliked about the recipes!!

For everyone interested with either competing in and/or helping out with the open this year, we’ll be having an informational meeting Thursday night (the 16th) at 5PM.  The meeting will be short, as we just want to quickly run down rules, describe the flow of the next 5+ weeks, how each Saturday will be run, and answer any other questions.  Whether you are competing, wanting to help set-up/tear-down, or both, we would like you all to come so we can be on the same page.  If you cannot make it but still want the info, please email me at casey@cfsiouxfalls.com so I can send you the outline.  If you want to be involved, it’s your responsibility to know what’s going on, so please either try to make it or email me.  Thanks!

-Casey

Hey CrossFit Sioux Falls. Are you ready to Paleo? We have a challenge…

This is not going to be your average Paleo Challenge like we have had in the past. The ‘practical’ approach we are taking with this challenge is going to be done by a point system. You start with 4 points everyday, and it is up to you if you end with 4 points or not. You will have opportunities to earn extra credit also, but you must be honest with your fellow athletes and yourself. We will have a sign up sheet on the wall in the gym and everyday or at the end of each week, it is up to you to total your points. Here is the breakdown of points, both plus and minus:

4pts- Start of day and eat strict Paleo the entire day
3pts- For a cheat (brownie, wine, bread, etc cost you 1 point)
1pt- Total cheat day (ya still get a point for being in the challenge)

Extra credit:
1pt- Doing workout in gym
1pt- 8+ hours of sleep
1pt- Fish oil
1pt- Water intake equally 1oz/lb body weight

The winner of the challenge is not just based on the points alone; we are putting in a few other factors. Every athlete participating in the challenge must:
*Get their waist size measured, before and after
*A before/after picture
*Do the baseline workout at the start and end to see their improvement

We can set up times for baseline workouts or you can do it when you come in at a regular class time. The fee to participate will be $30 dollars and at the end of the challenge we will have prizes for the top 3 winners. This is your chance to dial in your nutrition, especially those of you who are participating in the open and win some great prizes. We will not be having any regular meetings with this challenge, but if you have questions on diet or food stop by our offices or email us anytime. We are here to help! Registration will begin Tuesday February 14th in the gym! Challenge will kick-off February 20th.

Let’s get to it!
Liza

Reagan with a strong finish!

B.) 15 minute AMRAP
9 Unbroken Deadlifts (155/105)
12 Hand-Release Push ups
15 Unbroken Box Jumps (24/20)
*If you break, you start over at 1*

TUESDAY:
5X:
2 minute AMRAP
5 KB Swings (55/35)
7 Wallballs (20/14)
1 Pull-up, 2, 3, 4…
-Rest 1 minute and start at the beginning-
*1st time through is 5,7,1 2nd time 5,7,2 3rd time 5,7,3 and so on*

WEDNESDAY:
3X for total Turkish Getups:
1 min DB Renegade Row (35/25)
1 min Abmat Situps
1 min TGU
1 min rest

THURSDAY:
A.) Push Press + Front Squat
5+5, 3+3, 1+1 Progressive sets

B.) For Time:
12-9-6
Push Press (135/95)
Box Jumps (24/20)

-Immediately followed by-

12-9-6
Front Squats (135/95)
Toes-to-Bar

FRIDAY:
2X:
3 min KB Swings (55/35)
*5 Burpee Box Jumps (24/20) on the minute*
-rest 2 1/2 min-
5 min Row for Cals
*5 Power Pulls on the minute*
-rest 2 1/2 min-

This dish is amazing, especially if you love chinese food!- Liza

Hello there lads and lassies,

This is your friendly reminder that the next meeting in our series of “Practical Paleo” is slated this Sunday, February 12th from 2-4. The 1st hour or so will be a review on how the first 30 days have gone. We’ll talk about the successes we’ve experienced, some opportunities that we have to work on, and a few things we have learned about ourselves thus far. Please also be prepared with your journal ready so we can take a look to see if we can track any patterns, good or bad, that we were not aware prior to starting. We’ll also go over how the next phase will be used to track our progress and how to continue to incorporate this into our daily routine.

The last half will be a potluck in which we’re asking you guys to bring one of your favorite meals from the 1st 30 days. We have the plates, bowls, and silverware ready to go. Just bring in your meal and also the list of ingredients with cooking instructions so anyone maybe able to copy for themselves.

In preparation for Sunday, we will have a sign up sheet for those who plan on attending and what you plan on bringing. We also have another questionnaire that we would like to have you fill out as well prior to the meeting so we can get more of your questions answered as well.

For what it’s worth, I’m very proud of what you folks have accomplished so far. The active participation you guys have shown has been truly awesome. Rather than just go through the motions, you’re really taking this to heart and that has been a true blessing to watch unfold. I can’t wait to see what successes the next step brings your way!

Invested in your success, see you Sunday.

-Rob

This morning at CFSF, I had a great conversation with an awesome mom, Michelle. We typically talk kids and outdoor “sports or activities.” I enjoy the talks as I can feel the energy Michelle and her husband invest in the lives of all in their family. They are active. They do stuff. They love it too. Most days by the end of our conversation, she has me wishing I was James, her son, who gets to do all this cool stuff with mom and dad.

Maya at the Top of Great Bear...it was a nice walk down Maybe we will get it next time! Note: Sometimes your desire, exceeds your current ability. Do not change your desire; expand your ability.

The topic today – snowboarding. And one comment she made was how her and her husband were about the only 2 parents actually enjoying the action with their kids while most other parents sat on the deck, out of the action, drinking in their inactivity. It got me thinking – so many people are already “out of the game.” They have regressed so far that likely all they can do in their current state is sit on the deck, out of the action. Even if their heart yearns to be involved, their current state makes it difficult or less fun or impossible.

I do not want to downplay the value of life, but we are all terminal so why not live the game as long as possible. Why not take back the game? Get in control. Be active. Involved. Motivated. Really live the game.

I can drive my wife crazy with my simple belief that the more you can get out of a day, the better the day. Sitting on the couch on a calm (non-windy) day is stressful to me. I think about snowboarding, fishing, boating, Okoboji, Great Bear, Tuthill Park, 4-wheeling at Turkey Ridge, killing some birds. shooting clay pigeons, and countless other things. Yesterday the entire time I watched the Super Bowl, I debated hitting Great Bear. I sit on the couch on days when the wind blows so hard outdoor activity is difficult or worthless; these are the times I will try the relax thing.

I know what it is like to see “the game” fade. I was fading and I see people fading all the time. Try finding a 35-year old to go snowboarding with you at random. (Note: the ones that still do it typically know each other and thank you guys for the invites. I do want to hit Utah, Jackson, Colorado…I really do appreciate the invites.) What about when you are coaching basketball…did you know 10-year olds think it is the best when the coach runs the point guard and makes them all get easy baskets…we do it often and I love it too – heck, I love it as much as they do.

I find peace knowing there is 5 snowboards, 1 “clam ice shack” and 7 poles, 4 disc golf discs, and countless other things activities ready to go from the GMC truckbed at anytime – want to use them with me…let’s go. And I will be frank as I wrap this post up…much of this energy and ability is possible because I CrossFit. 2 years ago my back hurt most every morning…now, zero back pain. 2 years ago my right shoulder was virtually worthless, now strong even when ache comes. 2 years ago my right knee could not take snowboarding actively; wakeboarding either. I was degenerating. CrossFit made my body stronger, it gave me activity…my childhood passions back.

In 2 weeks, I will be cheering my wife and countless others on at the CrossFit Games. It will be exciting. I will continue to compete as well, but in a different game – My Games. For those wondering if you have any “Games” left…I encourage you to push yourself. Change yourself. If your goal is to lose 50 lbs, do it. If your goal is to run a 5k, do it. If your goal is to play soccer with your 6 yr old, do it. If your goal is to get stronger, do it. If you think CrossFit can help, find out.

If Strong is the New Sexy (I say awesome) then make Active your New Life.

Get off the deck. Get in the Games. The CrossFit Games are here. Make YOUR GAMES the best!

Michelle, your drink will be waiting on the deck after a good day of action! Play on.

–Greg

Open Invite: those who want to experience excitement, adrenaline, competition typically not found in “adulthood” anymore, check out CFSF in 2 weeks for CrossFit Games Sectionals. It is awesome to see these people show up and leave their sweat on the mats. We have no deck, but…come in!