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Pick it up son!!! Overcome that little voice that says... "wait, rest..." overcome it and tell it to shut the f@#$ up!  Pick that barbell up, keep moving forward, don't let it win.  You all have it in you, and we will find that threshold for each person and get you to overcome it.  Enjoy the ride...

Nice dragon flag Jill..... real solid... and yes she goes all the way down and back up..

Coach Jocelyn giving the Lisa the look of approval... We have added 2 coaches per class on the busy nights, how has this been working for all of you?  Post to comments...

I am just sayin...... ; )... Sectionals ????

We are going to start implementing Strongman Saturday's..... fun fun fun!  What this basically means is that our Saturday workouts are going to have some sort of strongman movement involved, think stones, sleds, tires, etc..  The WOD's will not be solely strongman, but we are going to be mixing these movements in.  I firmly believe that a lot of strongman movements have a great correlation to real life application.  We will teach each person how to properly do each lift, and there will be Level 1,2, and 3 weights.  This is going to be a fun mix, and it will start soon...

We are going to have an athlete meeting on tonight for all those competing in the sectionals.  I hope that everyone can make it, the meeting should only take about 30-45 minutes.  I would like to have it at 6:30 pm.  There is going to be a lot going on starting Friday night and I will be running around like crazy all weekend.  My ability to really coach during the weekend will be hard.  So, I want to have a personal meeting with our group of athletes before the craziness starts.  We are going to go over game day nutrition, rest, mentally approaching competition, and just some last minute coaching from me before the weekend starts. 

The next CFM Endurance team event is the "Fight For Air Climb: Tacle the Tower at Hartford 21."  This event is Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 221 Trumbull Street in Hartford, CT.  The athletes must climb 68 flights, 34 floors, 686 steps for Lung Disease awareness.  We have a bunch of athletes going up there, please post if you are interested.  The event starts at 9 am.

Next week starts our 3:30 pm class ..

 

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New England Sectionals

Movement Standards are posted... go to the link attached link and scroll down to our section games2010.crossfit.com/ 

 

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Quote of the day

keep this in your mind come every single day of your life..... Coach J

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Are you aware of what happens to the body if you don't get enough rest.  You are not alone if you answered no.  Check out this article by Calvin Sun from CrossFit Invictus

Get Some Rest – Part 2
Written by Calvin Sun

Yesterday’s post discussed the importance of getting good quality sleep as well as an adequate quantity of sleep.  Today we’ll explore some of the damaging consequences that can result from sleep deprivation.  Let’s start with metabolic derangement and move on from there:

Type 2 Diabetes
A study conducted at the University of Chicago found that suppression of slow-wave sleep, despite no change in total sleep time, resulted in marked decreases in insulin sensitivity. This is in turn can lead to reduced glucose tolerance and an increased risk for type II diabetes. Diabetes can lead to a variety of other health complications such as increased risk of myocardial infarction (heart attacks), high blood pressure, and stroke to name a few.

Obesity
In addition to diabetes, sleep deprivation has been found to be a risk factor for obesity. A study published in the journal Sleep found obesity to be correlated with inadequate sleep. Those who slept less had higher BMI values, probably because they were staying up late eating ice cream. In all seriousness, this does correlate with the previously mentioned study on diabetes, as the decrease in insulin sensitivity that results from sleep deprivation could contribute to unhealthy weight gain.

Impaired Moral Judgment
Another study published in Sleep found that sleep deprivation resulted in significantly longer response times for moral/personal dilemmas. Continuous wakefulness was noted as particularly debilitating when it came to decisions that required the integration of emotion and cognition. This is particularly interesting as many military service members are often deprived of sleep, especially those serving in combat zones.

Suppressed Immune System
Researchers at UCSD found that sleep deprivation resulted in decreased levels of Interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 is a cytokine that stimulates an immune response to trauma such as burns and tissue damage (such as that from exercise). The study concluded that decreased IL-6 can compromise the integrity of the immune system.

Irritability/Cognitive Function
Several studies over the years have found that sleep deprivation is strongly correlated with irritability, anxiety, cognitive impairment, and memory loss.

So now the important part . . . how do you ensure that you will avoid these consequences and maximize your sleep quality and quantity?  Here are a few suggestions for improving your sleep:

-Try to sleep before 10pm
-Avoid caffeine and other stimulants after 4pm
-Avoid using the computer, reading and watching TV in bed
-Avoid drinking too many fluids before bed
-Keep a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends

Basically, not sleeping enough can make you sick, fat, amoral, and cranky. Or in other words, you won’t look good, feel good, or play good. Both quantity and quality of sleep are essential to proper rest and recovery. Most sources recommend between 7-9 hours of sleep a night. In addition to sleeping enough hours, many of our athletes have had success supplementing with ZMA. While the claims of increasing free testosterone are questionable, one consistent conclusion has been the increased quality of sleep experienced by users. This is purely anecdotal, but I think it might be worth a shot if you are sleeping enough every night and are on a regular schedule. Please keep in mind that this blog is not a substitute for professional medical advice and care. If you are concerned that you may have a sleep disorder, consult your doctor and not your coaches.