Thursday, February 22, 2007



...This is what makes my whole world go around.--The people I have the opportunity to train. I love them all dearly, and every time I have the opportunity to work with them I have to take a step back for a moment and just appreciate how blessed I am to have these people in my life and to be able to train them. I really am grateful to have the opportunity to work with them, and I will do anything I can to help them.

This is my Wednesday night at 6:00 pm class (The New “Team-6”, Baby!!!). This was the February 21’st 2007, class.

Left to Right:
Top Row; Kim, Rachel, Sam, Greg, Jama, and Kyle.
Bottom Row; Denver, Me, Ronnie, Melissa, and Mark.

There were a few of the “regulars” that didn’t make it tonight; Jason Bils, Dan Grant, John Shepherd, Narine Kadekian and Mallee Sato, to name a few, and they were dearly missed. But I had three new people, (well, not new to CrossFit but new to my Wednesday/6:00 pm class) and they all did GREAT!!! Everyone in class really brings it and not only that, but they all pull for each other as well and cheer each other on. I love the camaraderie of the group and the relationships that people forge through the CrossFit community. It really is a beautiful thing.

Kim and I just met this class and I have to say, she really was digging deep and kicked ass! She fit right in! (My “Wednesday-Night-Class” has a bit of a reputation for being rather difficult and everyone who participates really brings it and works hard.) Not only did she really bring it with the workout, but she also had a GREAT attitude and energy! I hope to have the opportunity to work with her again. Her husband Brian also does CrossFit on a regular basis and actually came to my Wednesday night class for his first ever group class.

Rachel Frankle has been doing CrossFit for quite a while and I actually worked with her a long time ago, though this was her first time in my Wednesday Night Class. She has come SO FAR from when she first started! She was really going for it and it was GREAT having the opportunity to work with her again!!! Her Husband Tom Frankle owns the local “Play-It-Again-Sports” store and has done a lot over the years for CrossFit and for the CrossFit community. He is not only a great athlete, but is someone I really have a great deal of respect for. ...In those quiet moments of contemplation, when thinking to myself about all the people that I am greatfull to have in my life, people who have had an influence on me and who I am today, or the people that I think God specifically placed in my life for a reason, ...Tom Frankle is one of those people.

Sam has been CrossFiting for a little over a month I believe and I know him from back in the day in the Jiu-Jitsu/KickBoxing scene and as a bouncer at a couple of the local clubs. He is a good friend of Greg Amundson and this was his first time taking a class with me. He is very respectful and grateful and is a hell of a nice guy. But don’t let that fool you, he can also put the beat-down on someone.--The man has skills! He said he was a little nervous about taking my class and hopping in with the “fire breathers”, but he did GREAT!!!

Greg Amundson, well, we all know this man by now. Overall he is our best athlete. He has been a great friend to me and to the CrossFit community and I have learned a lot from him. Sometimes some people upon first meeting him aren’t sure whether his kindness and outgoing personality is sincere or not, as they are not sure how to read it. But after being around the man for just a day you realize that he is truly that way and is filled with genuine kindness. He wants to see everyone around him do well. He may finish the workouts first while also using the most weight, (and wearing a 20# vest!), but he is also the first one to be there cheering on everyone else in the class or cheering on the person who is finishing last. A great man and a great friend. This was his last time participating in a group class until August, by the way. He is leaving for 6-months of Military training. He is, as are we all at CrossFit, a little bummed that he’ll be leaving for so long. But many of us will be maintaining a weekly contact with him and will be busting our ass until he gets back. “Finally, with him gone the playing field is level again!”--*lol* J/K

Jama is awesome! I love Jama's energy! She has been CrossFiting for quite a while now and she is one bad ass girl! She is a total sweetheart too! :) I have had the opportunity to work with her for quite a while now and she has been a pleasure to train. She is very driven and always pushes herself hard. She is steadily improving as an athlete. Jama always brings a great deal of energy to the class and I’m always happy to see her.

Kyle Bokariza has been CrossFiting for a while now and he has quite an athletic background (I’ll let him share that with you if he so chooses) and is also quite an artist. :) I’ve been working with him for several weeks now at once a week. (Though I recently started a class as per his request, Friday’s at 6:00 pm, so now I get to work with him twice a week.) He is very coachable and has been very consistent with his training and does CrossFit at least 5 times a week on average. He is also a very driven athlete and it definitely shows in his workouts. He’s a great athlete and a great person. I’ve gotten to know him a little more over the past few weeks and am grateful to have done so.

Denver has been a great presence in the class. He too has been doing CrossFit for a while now and comes in several days a week. Denver always works hard and digs deep, frequently opting to really “push” the envelope, often challenging himself with heavier weights when given a choice. (He also brings great music selections!) I was just working with him once a week, but since I started the Friday evening class, he has joined that as well, so now , just as with Kyle, I get to work with him twice a week.

Me; ...well, not a lot to say there. It aint about me, it’s about them. :)

Ronnie Boose has been doing CrossFit for longer than most of the trainers AT CrossFit! He served as an Army Ranger and is a savage in Jiu-Jitsu too. Ronnie is not only an amazing athlete, but he truly is a dear friend. I have a great deal of love for Ronnie, his wife Robin and his whole family. I recently started working with his wife, Robin, at 5:00 on Wednesday’s and she, just as he, really brings it and works hard.--Both are a pleasure to work with. Ronnie is yet another friend that I truly feel grateful to have in my life. I had the opportunity to spend part of Thanksgiving with him and his whole family. They were all very kind and genuinely good people. I really feel blessed to have him as a friend. ...Back to his athleticism; Ronnie usually pushes himself as hard as Greg Amundson (both usually opt for wearing a weighted vest during the workouts!). I mean, seriously. He is always looking to improve his athleticism. He is fast as heck too!--He is about 5’5” and is faster on the sprints than guys 6’5”! ...He also has a tremendous amount of love and respect for Greg and Lauren Glassman and CrossFit. He has been a part of the community for a while now and I have to say he, just as I, has a tremendous amount of loyalty to Greg and Lauren and to the community they have built. Let’s just say, he “has their back” always and that is something that I REALLY am grateful to see. I have a great deal of respect for Ronnie Boose. ...On a side note, if I ever open my own facility, Ronnie is one of the trainers I would love to have working with me.

Melissa Stroud started taking my classes many weeks ago and first started training with Greg Amundson. I have gotten to know her a lot more over the past many weeks and I now consider her a dear friend. I truly feel grateful to know her. She is currently in LEO and always pushes herself hard in class. She has the sweetest personality and always has a big smile and, much like Amundson, is always cheering everyone else on. In this class, for example, after she completed the workout, even though the workout was rough, she made her way outside to cheer on those who were still sprinting. ...During these workouts I have to run back and forth between being inside watching/coaching everyone on the critical lifts and being outside supporting them on the sprints. When it’s near the end of your workout and you're woozy and nazeous and, as BJ Penn once said, “Discombobulated”, and you are reaching deep within yourself to muster the energy necessary to try to push yourself on the last sprints, ...it can be a lonely place if your out there sprinting without much support. She made sure those who were finishing had support. Just seeing Melissa walk through the door with that big smile makes my day better. I’m looking forward to meeting her husband sometime soon and hopefully will have the opportunity to work with him and introduce him to CrossFit and the CrossFit community. I think he would love it and love the community and I think it would be SO cool if they were both able to train together in the same group classes! That would be awesome! Just as all of us who have done CrossFit together have noticed, there is a great deal of camaraderie that is forged within these workouts. I believe Major Michael Perry, US Army, said it best with; "We learned through CrossFit that combining agony and laughter is a powerful stimulus for developing camaraderie." I have seen this to be true with Married couples that I train as well. Their relationship grows even stronger and that’s just a beautiful thing. ...I am grateful to know Melissa and feel blessed having her as a friend.

Mark is a local Doctor and has been doing CrossFit for quite some time now. He first started CrossFit with Tony Budding and still trains with him, but also does several of the group classes a week. He has come a long way since he first started, and let me tell you, he fits right in with “Team-6”!!! Don’t let the “nice Dr” fool you. He might have a kind “bedside manner”, as the saying goes, but he is a savage at CrossFit!!! He is always striving to become better and is always pushing himself hard, just like Denver, often opting to challenge himself with the “heavier” side of heavy weights. He is fast as heck, too! This man can sprint! He also reads carefully, every month, the CrossFit Journal. He reads every issue, every article, closely, and freequently questions Tony Budding during their 1-on-1's about topics within the CFJ articles. That's friggin awesome!!! I love that! (All of you who have yet to subscribe to the CrossFit Journal, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!?!--DO IT ALREADY!!!! The CrossFit Journal is THE BEST fitness publication anywhere!--Seriously!!!) ...It’s been great having Mark in Team-6 and I’m always happy when he can make it.

One thing I really treasure is getting to know my clients on a more personal level. I take great interest in learning more about them as individuals and hearing their stories. That is yet another aspect of what I do that I am really grateful for. Just as I strive to help them, coaching, teaching, etc, ...I always learn from them as well. Again, that’s just a beautiful thing.

As for the workout...

The class did 5 rounds of:
Heavy Clean----------------------x 5 4 3 2 1
Heavy Split-Jerk----------------x 5 4 3 2 1
100 meter Sprint---------------x 1 2 3 4 5

They had their choice of going left to right or right to left. L-to-R meant the reps of the Clean/Split-Jerk descended but the sprints ascended, R-to-L was vise-versa, Clean & Split-Jerk reps increased but the 100 Meter Sprints decreased.

The running efforts within Storms such as “Hellen” or “Nancy”, to name a few, where the emphasis of the workout is to get the best overall time are excellent! This is a definite fitness capacity for which to improve to greatly increase one’s overall fitness or “GPP”. However, there is also a GREAT deal of merit and value and potency to be gained from doing all-out sprints, especially when coupled with weightlifting or gymnastics movements. From my observations, many of those I work with don’t get this exposure much at all and so I try to give my clients exposure to the potent and effective elements that they may be missing on a weekly basis, such as heavy lifting. Sprinting is one of these elements. All out sprints offer SO MUCH as far as fitness adaptations (I will get into some of this within later posts) and for an athlete, mixing the all-out sprints and then having to “do something” immediately after such as Clean-&-Jerk or Muscle-Ups or picking something up or throwing something or kickboxing, etc, is excellent exposure. This is especially great exposure for those in Military, LEO, FootBall, MMA, etc. As far as broadening one’s athletic exposure and fitness capacity goes, just as there is great merit and value in monitoring one’s output so as to get the best overall time, such as in “Hellen” or “Nancy”, there is also a great deal of merit and value in just going all out, say, on a sprint for example, :), and then just suffering the consequences of that all out effort. A CornerBack may have the all-out sprinting speed to catch a wide open receiver making his way down the sidelines to the end zone, but will he have the strength to make the tackle, or better yet, to strip the ball, recover the fumble and then run it all the way back for a defensive touchdown? ...A Law Enforcement Officer may have the speed to catch up to a criminal in a foot chase, but will he/she have the strength to not simply subdue-&-control the criminal, making the arrest, ...but more importantly, to keep the criminal from wrestling their gun away from them and killing them? There are several examples I could give. Going all-out on a sprint and then having to “do-something” right after is great exposure.

Greg Amundson and I played with different exposure’s to Fight-Gone-Bad for a while. That is to say, on some exposures we would carefully calculate how many reps to get on each specific exercise so as to get the highest possible score overall, thus once reaching that target number you then rest until the top of the next minute. Yet on other exposures the goal was to specifically try to stay moving during every minute and just try to get as many reps as possible on every single exercise, thus setting up for the inevitable “crumbling” that accompanies such an output. Both strategies and approaches have great value and serve to improve and broaden one’s overall physical fitness. Both should be explored.

Anyway, whether mixing with other CrossFit elements or not, all-out sprints, regardless of modality, offer a tremendous amount of physiological (as well as mental) improvements and adaptations. Again, I will discuss this in a later post.

Wow!!!--I think that’s enough for this entry. I’ll add more soon. Maybe tonight, if I have time.

8 comments:

melissa said...

J,
Great entry. Very sincere and informative! I love your classes and like you I enjoy everyone in the class. I know you say that we are all great but we have a great leader! Don't forget that!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Jas - WOW! You are amazing! Your caring spirit pushed me to work harder than I ever have. I will let you know when I can walk again. :) Thank you so much for all of the encouragement and smiles!

CrossFit OG said...

Melissa,

Thanks. I know it was a bit of a long entry to try to get through in one sitting. But it's all stuff I wanted to say. Also, I think I am going to, on occasion, post entries that are more educational as to different aspects of fitness and nutriton, etc. And thank you for the compliment. I try hard to be a good leader. :) I feel honored to have the opportunity to coach all of you and it is a responsibility that I take very seriously. And remember, I am always open to constructive criticism. :)

Jason

CrossFit OG said...

Kim,

Thank you for the compliments. :) But on the contrary, I thought YOU were amazing! You had such a great positive energy about you, I felt blessed having you in my class. I thought you fit right in with the "Team-6" crew! I hope I'll have the opportunity to work with you again sometime. You are always welcome in my class. ...As for thinking I'm "amazing", well, that thought/feeling might pass after you read some of my other Blog entries that are on the little more philosophical side. I kind of just put it all out there. I primarily use this Blog as a tribute page to my clieents, family and friends, ...all the people who make my life so much better. But I also use it as a writeing outlet, so I tend to write some kind of "out-there" stuff. ...But I always write from a place of honesty. ...Even though perhaps honesty be as much a thing of the beholder as beauty. :) Anyway, I think you were as much of an encouragement to me as I was to you, with that big smile of yours and the energy and toughness you brought with you to the workout. I had a great time coaching you and I thought you did GREAT! :)

Jason

CrossFit OG said...

Melissa,

I forgot to comment on something within your post; I'm glad you love my classes!!! :) I think the dynamic between everyone in the class is awesome and I'm glad you feel that way too. Everyone brings such a great presence and I think you all work well together. I love the comaraderie within the "Team-6" group! :) You all inspire me!!! :)

Jason

CrossFit OG said...

Kim,

I forgot to ask, ...how did you even find out about my Blog? I had mentioned to Melissa once before that I didn't even know anyone knew about it. I mean, I know a few people do now, but you just took my class one time and then a day later you're posting here. I don't think I mentioned anything about it in class. ...Just curious. :)

I checked out your Blog as well as your husband's. I liked them both. Very positive, spiritual and refreshing. :)

Jason

Anonymous said...

Jason - I found your blog off of Brenden's about a month ago. I was amazed with your depth, honesty and your obvious talent with words. You are a man of many talents :) You are clearly a passionate person and your energy is very moving. As far as my blog goes it is pretty much day to day life. I hope you don't mind me "borrowing" your photo. I had a great night with you guys. I am looking forward to another class with you in the a.m.?

CrossFit OG said...

Kim,

Thank you for the kind words. ...I don't know what to say. I certainly appreciate the feedback. :)

I don't mind at all, of course you can use the photo.--You're in it! :) ...You can use any photo you like from my Blog, any time you wish. I don't mind at all.

As for my running a.m. classes, thus far my only am class is 8:30 am on Sunday. (It was great having both you and Brian in this mornings class, by the way!!!--That was a nice surprise having the both of you in there!) I will likely be adding more classes next week, though I am still deciding the times/days. ...What times in the morning do you and Brian usually train?--Or would prefer to train?

You definitely brought a great energy to the class, Kim. I'd love to have you in there again when it works with your schedule.--You and Brian, both, are welcome anytime.

Everyone in the group enjoyed having You, Rachel, and Sam in the class. All three of you, while being new to the "Team-6" crew, fit right in with everyone. :)

...I love Team-6!!!

Jason