The workout yesterday was 30 muscle ups for time. Can't do a muscle up? Don't worry! We have a bunch of different progressions we can use in order to develop this skill. Thanks to Jeff Tucker, we learned a great way to scale at the gymnastics certification.

I wish I could say that I got to watch the classes and that I saw Matt get his first muscle up, or that I saw what a pregnant muscle up looks like....instead I was filling out paperwork from a car accident. Would you believe my luck? I hit a tow truck! The only thing that would have made it more convenient is if there was an ambulance behind the tow truck. Sigh....the car isn't drive-able, the rear axle is bent, but Katelyn and I are ok. She tested the durability of the window with the side of her head. The window held. Bill brought me a chocolate covered strawberry to make me feel better. I recommend this to anyone else in need of post-accident-therapy.

Since I wasn't there last night to take pictures, I'll post this picture of the VERY TALENTED Kelly Moore. She's got more strength in her little finger than I have in my whole body!

Daaaang is she strong

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Yesterday we worked on our cleans. The workout was "Grace" which is 30 clean & jerks for time. I was glad that before we got started that Bill made sure to spell out how frustrating it can be to learn the clean. We have seen beginners get frustrated almost to tears because of this movement. Remember that this is one of the Olympic lifts. World Class athletes spend the better part of their lives perfecting this movement. Don't get frustrated because you can't come in and learn the movement in an hour.

Do I say "pissed off" a lot? My 10 yr old daughter was telling me something about school and she blurted out that it really "pisses her off". Maybe I'm a bad Mother, but I totally laughed. There was just something very funny about hearing your child say "pissed off". Once I stopped laughing I made sure to scold her for saying it. Guess I'll have to try and watch my mouth with her little ears around.

Wanna know what doesn't piss me off? YOU GUYS! I didn't get to see all the classes, but the ones I got to watch were great. Everyone's cleans are starting to get more fluid and explosive. We're going to make olympians out of you guys!

Ryan get it over headRudy gets ready to clean

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Monday was Bill's first official day doing CrossFit full time! I'm so proud of him! In honor of Bill's first day, he decided to put everyone through "Cindy". Cindy is as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of: 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 squats. I must say that I was quite impressed with everyone's endurance! This is one of those workouts that seem easy at first. You'll knock out about 8 rounds really fast...and then you realize you still have 12 minutes left! About round 9.5 is where things usually slow down a bit. We had some people do over 15 rounds! Great job everyone!

We had a friend join us for the workout yesterday - welcome Ryan! Ryan is a good friend of my brother-in-law. With any luck, Ryan will be able to convince Joe to come try CrossFit! (Or at the very least he could SHAME him into coming to see what all the fuss is about)

We are also joined by Janet's good friend, Michelle! Welcome!

Our workouts are hard, but they are scalable to even the most beginner fitness levels. Baby Erin did "swings" for time while Mom and Dad did Cindy. She sent a new PR! She got 815! 

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Is it December already? Wow. Where did the fall go? Can I get a re-do on summer? Sigh...oh well. Bill and I were talking over the weekend and we both agreed that the next 25 days are the BEST 25 days of the whole year. Are there times of the year that the weather is nicer? Of course. No other time of year offers the anticipation and excitement of these next 25 days though.

Remember that the holidays aren't about presents, they're about GIVING. "But Jennie...that's the same thing." NO IT'S NOT. The act of giving is VERY different. The fact that the December holidays come immediately after a holiday called THANKSgiving should be a powerful reminder to everyone how fortunate we are. You can "give" without spending a single dollar. I would like to encourage all of you CrossFitters to do a little more "giving" this December. Your "gift" could be a compliment to a waitress who did a really good job, or a smile at someone as you walk by. You get the picture, right? Be good to each other...and then get to the Fort and kick some a** in your workout.

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Who likes tabata?! Bill had a new creation for our Saturday morning class, he called it a tabata sandwich. You know how you ask little kids if they want a knuckle sandwich? Or when you ask if they want a hurtsdonit? Asking if someone wants a tabata sandwich is kind of the same thing. People will be inclined to say, "Sure! I'd love a hurtsdonit!" When in fact they have no idea the pain that is about to be inflicted upon them. Ok, enough with the drama. Tabata is basically a work protocol when you work for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds - that would be one interval. Bill's tabata sandwich was 8 tabata intervals of rowing, 4 tabata intervals of pull ups, 4 tabata intervals of squats, and another 8 tabata intervals of rowing. I don't think there was a soul in the gym who didn't finish their last row and just FALL off the rower, myself included.

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Our Morning Team Friday class was quite exciting! The workout had a set time, and each team had to work for as many reps possible within the allowed time. Teams of two had to do each of the following for 5:00 each, and count their total reps: push ups, situps, wall ball, rowing and squats. Believe it or not, Mariah and Kris beat EVERYONE at the push ups! You go girls! This just goes to show that determination is a powerful thing! Despite the 160 pushups our defending champs did in 5:00, Matt and Sparky won the belt. Since Mariah is pregnant, do we count her reps as two each instead of one?

The online store has now been updated to reflect our new punch cards. Our schedule has also been updated to reflect the new afternoon times.

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Amazingly, our 8:30AM class set a new attendance record - we had 16 people there! I jumped into the workout making a grand total of 17 people that did Fran on Thanksgiving together. Fran is 3 rounds of Thrusters and pull ups. Each round you decrease the reps, 21-15-9. The prescribed weight for men is 95lbs, and 65lbs for women.

I am so proud of each and every one of you. Everyone really pushed themselves...you pushed yourself harder than I thought possible. You all cheered for each other and wouldn't let anyone quit. On this day of thanks, I have to say that I am thankful for my CrossFitters. You are courageous, fun, strong, and engaging. You motivate each other to be better athletes, and you motivate Bill and I to be better coaches. Bill and I couldn't ask for a better group of CrossFitters to have at our Fort. I mean that with my whole heart.

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