Coach’s Notes

What is fitness? Is it a faster Fran time? Is it walking around pain-free? Is it a great body fat percentage?

Back in 2002, Greg Glassman, the founder and CEO of CrossFit, wrote one of the most popular CrossFit Journal articles of all time – “What Is Fitness?”. In Glassman’s view, thousands of companies and millions of individuals were chasing “fitness,” but no one could come up with an agreed upon definition. It felt silly to all be aiming for a target we couldn’t quite put into words.

The article went on to define CrossFit’s three standards of fitness, which we’ve talked about before. With these standards in place, “fitness” becomes a measurable target.

Glassman also introduced the concept of the Sickness, Wellness, Fitness continuum, which tracks an individual’s progress towards fitness using the standards defined along with blood markers, etc:

With the new year upon us, millions of people have set New Year’s resolutions aimed at being “fit.” From past experience, I know this usually means something like:

I’m going to eat healthier and work out more.

Ever heard (or even said) something like that before? I know I sure have.

At CrossFit Undeniable, our goal is to provide the tools, guidance, accountability, and community necessary to help you kick ass well into your 90’s and beyond. This absolutely includes eating healthier and incorporating intense exercise, but it includes so much more.

Glassman’s three standards definitely form the foundation of what it means to be “fit,” and it goes well beyond what you eat and how you move. “Fitness” to us includes:

• Having close, quality relationships with friends and family.
• Balancing stress in your life and taking time to mentally decompress when needed.
• Getting adequate sleep at night.
• Setting a positive mindset.
• Dedicating your energy to something that gets you excited every day.

We could probably sit here and list a dozen or more characteristics.

On Episode 100 of the Pursuing Health podcast, medical resident and former CrossFit Games athlete Julie Foucher was asked about the most important “health” factor many people are missing. She didn’t mention nutrition or intense exercise. She mentioned relationships.

The point is to expand your definition of what it means to be “fit.” It doesn’t just mean having a faster Fran time. It’s more than that. It’s getting intense exercise, eating well, building great relationships, balancing stress, staying flexible. Fitness shouldn’t be a narrow sliver; it’s a broad perspective.

As you look to improve your fitness in 2019, definitely chase Glassman’s three standards. PR your lifts, push your metcons, and build strength, power, and endurance, but also think about all of the other factors too. Are you sleeping enough? Are you constantly stressed? Are you putting effort towards close relationships? Those things are equally imported!

The first of the year provides a natural opportunity for reflection. It’s synonymous with fresh starts and resolutions – looking forward to all the things you want to accomplish, see, and do over the upcoming year. It also provides a great opportunity to look backwards at the memories you created over the past 12 months.

We wanted to take a moment to do just that – reflect back over all the awesomeness that was 2018 at CrossFit Undeniable.

First, a huge thank you to all of our members. You literally make this all possible

Think back to the last time we did heavy snatches (if you’re doing the main workout today, you don’t have to think back that far! 🤣). How did you feel? Confident under the bar? Comfortable?

If not, don’t fret – you’re not alone!

Olympic lifts like the snatch and clean and jerk are difficult. That’s one reason we spend so much time each class going over positions; no matter how long you’ve lifted, you can always use a refresher on the basics. Still, hitting these lifts once a week or every two weeks isn’t enough repetition to build supreme confidence under the bar.

For those that want to improve their Olympic lifts, we’re running a clinic on January 5th from 10:15AM to 1:15PM followed by a six-week cycle that will meet three times a week for specific training and workouts. Read on to find out all the details

Overview of Our Oly Cycle

Starting on January 7th, we’re running a six-week Olympic LIfting cycle outside of our usual programming. The cycle is focused on three things:

1. Repetition – We’ll work on drills again and again so you immediately find the right position at the bottom of your squat or when driving under the bar in the jerk.
2. Individual coaching and drills – Sure, we’ll do 3-position drills, but there are so many more exercises out there that can build speed and power! Think clean deadlifts, snatch balances, and more. We’ll work with you one-on-one to establish drills tailored towards your weaknesses.
3. Hitting personal records – Okay okay – I get it. You want to lift heavy! Who doesn’t want to PR their snatch?! Technique plays a HUGE role here. With better positioning, you’ll find yourself lifting more weight without much additional effort. You can be sure we’ll get heavy, and you will hit some PRs. Promise!

This might be for you if…

• You don’t quite feel confident dropping under a heavy bar in a snatch.
• You’ve been lifting for awhile now but haven’t seen many PRs in your Olympic lifts.
• You want to work on your snatch/clean and jerk outside of class but aren’t quite sure what to do.

The class is open to new and experienced lifters. You will need to know the basics behind Olympic lifting (where to put your hands during a snatch, for example). If you’ve been at CrossFit Undeniable for less than three months and aren’t quite sure if you’re ready, email me and let’s chat!

Nitty Gritty Details

• Our Olympic lifting workshop will happen ahead of the six-week cycle. It’s happening on Saturday, January 5th from 10:15AM-1:15PM. The workshop is free for Athlete Plus members and $25 for unlimited/$50 for three-days per week.
• Our Olympic lifting cycle is starting on Monday, January 7th and will run Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 7:00PM-8:30PM ending on February 15th. The cycle is free for Athlete Plus members and $175 for Unlimited/$250 for three-days per week.
• It’s not required to attend the workshop in order to join in on the cycle, but it will help. You can also elect to only attend the workshop and not do the cycle as well if you want.

Ready to sign up? Just email info@crossfitundeniable.com, and we’ll get you all ready to go!

Thinking back, can you remember a gift you wanted more than anything else in the world when you were a kid? The gift that you swore up and down would make you the happiest kid alive?

I sure do! I was 10, and Pokémon was just starting to become insanely popular. I remember begging and pleading with my Mom to let me get the Gameboy game before Christmas, but she held strong. On Christmas day, I think I played that Gameboy for eight hours straight I was so excited.

Flash forward to this year – the top item I’m most excited about, the thing I can’t wait to get…is a vacuum. That’s right; I’m excited to get a new tool to clean the house! My times have changed…

Vacuums aside, I was reading some interesting statistics today that mentioned 30-40% of gifts are returned. That’s a staggering number! Coming up with thoughtful, unique, and yes, usable holiday gifts can be challenging.

At CrossFit Undeniable, we want to help you give (or receive) the gift of health. We’re offering gift cards starting at $50 that can be purchased directly via this link. They can be used on personal training, nutrition coaching, memberships, or any other service we offer. If you’d like a physical gift card, just let us know, and we’ll be happy to help you out.

Purchase a Gift Card

The research is pretty clear on the value of gifting material items versus experiences. The former loses its luster over time. Meanwhile, there’s a sense of excitement built around experiences. There’s the build up before the experience, the memories created during, and the lasting changes that stick around afterwards.

At CrossFit Undeniable, we believe that a gift certificate for coaching can create lasting change that will deliver benefits for years. It’s impossible to put a value on feeling more confident or finally being able to keep up with your grandkids.

Regardless of whether it’s for yourself or someone you know, we’d love to get you set up with a gift card for the holidays. Gift health!

A special thank you to all of the amazing members that provided gifts for our A Special Child collection. There will be a lot of happy kids this holiday season!

This past Wednesday, our classes did the CrossFit Total, which involves finding one-rep maxes (the heaviest amount you can lift one time) of three movements: Back Squat, Deadlift, and Shoulder Press. It’s a strength benchmark we use to measure improvement and help determine training weights to use in other workouts. It helps to know you’re one-rep max!

The CrossFit Total just happened to coincide with the end of our Powerlifting class – six weeks dedicated solely to improving strength. The participants tested their original numbers prior to the cycle and afterwards to gauge improvements.

Our entire gym knocked the CrossFit total out of the park. Altogether, we lifted a total of 24,905 lbs as a gym! That’s a lot of weight. Here are some equivalents:

• One fighter jet
• Two T-Rex
• Four fully-grown great white sharks
• Five Ford F-150 trucks

Everyone truly #crushedit!

I want to give a special shout out though to the Powerlifting class. Every single person improved their lifts over the six-week course and hit a PR. The energy was electric on Wednesday evening!

They busted their tails putting in the hard work, and it paid off.

So, hats off to each and every one of you. Congrats on the PRs and kudos on putting in all the hard work. I enjoyed working with you and celebrating all those wins on Wednesday night! Keep up that momentum.

You deserved every single ring of that PR bell!

Did you set a New Year’s resolution for this year? Did you make any progress?

If you’re like most people, the answer is no. Statistics around failure rates range. Some say that 80% of resolutions fail by February. Others claim that only 8% of individuals keep their resolution for the entire year.

The statistics vary across the board, but the takeaway is clear – most people don’t make it.

There are a lot of reasons for such a high failure rate. The idea of a clean slate, starting fresh on January 1st inspires many to overreach. Despite displaying zero interest in curbing sweets throughout the previous year, they’ll vow to give up sugar for 365 days straight – going cold turkey. Or, feeling inspired, they’ll join the masses hitting the gym six days during the first week of the year before landing back on the couch too sore to move.

We’re still in the early parts of December, but January 1st is right around the corner. Maybe you’ve already set a New Year’s resolution. Maybe not. Regardless of which side you fall on, the tactics behind setting successful resolutions don’t just apply to habits you build on January 1st. They apply to any scenario that requires building a new habit or breaking an old one.