SATURDAY 090131

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Sometimes, peristance pays off. CrossFit Sonoma County worked out of a gymnastics facility for a year, and now they have 1600 sf to call their own. (And Dan Schmieding got this photo through 10 rounds of set up the timer, sprint to the truck, hop up in the bed, and kick up to a handstand!) Congrats to Dan and his crew!

And another affiliate opens their doors! Welcome to Erin and her gang at CrossFit Center City: Video.

FRIDAY 090130

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Six women trainers in this photo from Mt. Baker CrossFit. How many women trainers do you have at your affiliate?

One week out from FilFest 09 (aka The Affiliate Gathering). If you haven't signed up already, do it now, because we're about to hit the cap.

Now, in our ongoing series of Words for Affiliates by Affiliates, CrossFit Gulf Coast's Frank DiMeo thinks weakness might be a crime . . .

THURSDAY 090129

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CrossFit Neptune starts 'em young. Here's their latest addition: Rogan Clay Tellez. He'll be ready for the CrossFit Games in about 2025. Wonder what the Games will look like then? What will CrossFit look like then?

Remember what it was like to hit your first WOD at a CrossFit affiliate? Forrest went to CrossFit South Bay and then wrote about it on his blog and made a slideshow with an amusing (if not work/family safe) soundtrack. "Get up, c'mon, get down with the sickness."

CrossFit Ventura gets a bit creative with two cars and a WOD: Video.

WEDNESDAY 090128

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A warm welcome to CrossFit New Hampshire!

Now, we're down to two states: Only Vermont and Wyoming remain without CrossFit affiliates. Which will be the last state to join us?

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are being revised in 2010, and you can contribute. Go here to submit comments and here to read the comments of others. Be forewarned: the vegetarians and the low-fat crowd have already been there.

Four women face off in a firefighter challenge at Sumner CrossFit: Video.

TUESDAY 090127

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CrossFit Kids Certification Seminar at Brand X in Ramona, CA, January 24-25.

Ever have anybody not regard you as a serious businessperson because you run a CrossFit affiliate? Have you encountered people who say, "Oh, that's not a real job." What do you say back?

Over at CrossFit BWI, they're being real. Watch their use of a four-box screen in the Glory Dawson video and think of how you could use that in your own work.

Then watch John Alanis and a missed rack that will make you chuckle.

MONDAY 090126

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CrossFit Fire Base Orlando medaled in the UCF Army ROTC Iron Knight Challenge over the weekend. Read more about it on their blog.

Speaking of blogs, check out CrossFit Invictus. Good photos and some great short posts on a variety of CrossFit-related topics, including nutrition, ice massage, and hard work. Updated, useful, unique: Elements that will keep your blog alive, and keep your readers coming back.

Trainer Showdown over at CrossFit San Rafael: Video.

SUNDAY 090125

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CrossFit by Imperium went back to the 80's recently and discovered that a WOD in leg-warmers is really, really hot. (And we don't mean "Mmm, baby" hot.)

Speaking of hot (wait -- are "strong" and "hot" synonyms?), the Potomac CrossFit women are strong: Video.

SATURDAY 090124

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Brandon Mackabee of CrossFit Santa Clarita gets the bar ready to deadlift 455lbs. (Look for Brandon at the SoCal Regional Qualifier for the CrossFit Games.)

CrossFit Durham grabs some ink in the Raleigh News and Observer.

FRIDAY 090123

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Dutch Lowy (CrossFit ATM and a trainer for CFHQ) instructs a participant in an independent training seminar he recently ran at CrossFit Flagstaff.

One of the things Dutch tries to do is help you prepare for the CFHQ Level Two Certification -- you know, the cert with the 30% pass rate. What advice would you give a trainer preparing for the L2?

Often, one of the reasons we became CrossFit trainers was to help people escape from the Gym of the Living Dead. (Thanks CrossFit Hampton Roads!)

THURSDAY 090122

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They started as CrossFit Des Peres in smaller quarters. Now, they're known as CrossFit Valley Park and this is their new 3,000 sf space.

CVP's Dan Thacker writes of all the help they had, including "an architect who drew the plans up for the city, a commercial real estate agent who drew up the lease, a laborer who busted up old concrete and poured new concrete, 2 marketing agents, an HVAC guy who helped with air conditioning/heating, not to mention all the people who showed up to help with anything and everything. It was so neat to have so many people help. Try finding that at a globo gym!"

Have you had the same experience? Who helped make your affiliate what it is?

Primal Fitness loves their women: Video.

Going to FilFest? Check out what CrossFit Central's got cooking for the night before: an Affiliate Bar-B-Q. And immediately prior to that, they're holding a free business talk for all interested affiliates: Check out "The Big Mo."

WEDNESDAY 090121

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Jamie Moore ("Leftridge") of CrossFit Wichita Falls obviously forgot about the "virtual" part of the shoveling WOD the other day. What's the rest of the story? Perhaps Jamie will share in Comments . . .

What goes with a truck? Football, of course! Three Rivers CrossFit has Zone-friendly snacks to get you through the Super Bowl.

Another in a series of Words for Affiliates by Affiliates: Jerimiah Childress of CrossFit Tulsa writes about how to bring out the best in your new members . . .

TUESDAY 090120

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Being the only man at Ladies Hour does have its advantages. (That's Wayne R. being manhandled by the strong women of CrossFit Northwest Tucson.)

Gravatars are cool -- and enhance the "Comments" experience on your blog. Click here for more information.

"Donkey Kong" Pre-WOD at CrossFit Moncton: Video.

MONDAY 090119

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Justin (JroCk), trainer at Jeannie's Beach CrossFit, headstands on the sand, while Scott Muli, who trains at CrossFit Hattiesburg, hits the slopes in Utah.

CrossFit affiliate vs. Snap franchise: What's the better deal? Read this article and give your opinion in Comments.

CrossFit Santiago gives us another interesting video: Nuestro 2008 en Imagenes. (And in case you didn't notice, there are six international Level 1 certs scheduled for this year, including one in Peru, our first in South America.)

SUNDAY 090118

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CrossFit Sydney grows up. From parks in 2006, to a rented patch in a globo-complex in 2007/08, to their own box in 2009. Congratulations, mates!

73% of body height -- that's what Clark (of CrossFit Fire) jumped when he nailed 52": Video.

SATURDAY 090117

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What does CrossFit do to us? It grabs us by the throat and changes who we are, or brings out the person that we forgot we were, and awakens the warrior within. Meet Margo from CrossFit Redding, who went from barely being able to bend her elbows on the pull-up bar a year ago, to doing full "Murph" in 45 min and change. She's heading to her regional CrossFit Games Qualifier.

CrossFit Ramstein grabs some ink in Stars and Stripes: Read.

FRIDAY 090116

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Mackenzie, Tucker, Rippetoe, Wolf, Martin, Martin, Glassman, Martone, and Burgener. That's a whole lot of knowledge in nine people. Wouldn't you love to have been a fly on the wall at that Specialty Cert dinner table?

Music. We all play it at our affiliates. But how do you determine what you play? IPod playlist? Pandora? Your cousin Ernie and his harmonica? And how loud is too loud? Or is there such even such a thing as too loud?

CrossFit Milford does "Nasty Girls": Video.

THURSDAY 090115

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Chalk: A love/hate relationship. Recently, Guerilla Fitness CrossFit Montclair laid down the law. What's your take on chalk?

Read more chalk opinions: "Ouch" by CrossFit One World and "How to Use Chalk" by Again Faster. And, of course, there's always the old CrossFit joke . . .
Q: Why do all CrossFit gyms have chalk?
A: You can use it to mark where the bodies fell.

Reminder: Register by midnight tonight for FilFest '09 (The Affiliate Gathering) if you want to save $50.

WEDNESDAY 090114

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Not a sign from a CrossFit affiliate, obviously. Do you have any restrictive signs in your box? Is there anything that you specifically ban or condemn? What would get a member tossed out immediately?

Steve's Club, a non-profit CrossFit affiliate in NJ, has Paleokits available as part of a fundraiser. Some good food for a good cause: Check 'em out.

EC Synkowski (trainer for CrossFit Boston and CFHQ) gets CrossFit Watertown to combine "Karen" with "Grace": Video.

TUESDAY 090113

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CrossFit Performance owner Ben Kelly plays with the CT Wildcats, a semi-professional rugby team.

Ben's going to be at FilFest '09, along with a couple hundred other affiliates. How about you? Only two days remain before the registration fee increases for the Affiliate Gathering in Austin on Feb 7-8. (You'll still be able to register after Jan 15th, but it will cost you $50 more.)

It was a year of big changes for CrossFit Santa Cruz -- and they chronicled it with a slide show: Video.

MONDAY 090112

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CrossFit Kettlebell Certification Seminar, CrossFit West JAX/CrossFit East Jan 10-11.

Do you Facebook? Do you Twitter? Is it for fun, or has social media really become important for affiliates (and other businesses) in our world today?

For example, Mt Baker CrossFit submitted a fairly cool video of one of their sailors doing muscle-ups on his ship in the middle of an ocean. If you have a Facebook account, you can see it here.

SUNDAY 090111

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Co-owner Eric Preston celebrates the new CrossFit San Elijo box with, of course, a burpee. (Why would you celebrate with anything else?)

CrossFit Santiago presents "Destrezas Físicas": Video.

SATURDAY 090110

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New space, new pull-up bars, new stuff all around. Check out Diablo CrossFit. You can see the plans to the pirate ship and other interesting ideas on their blog. It's worth a read.

Christmas maybe be over, but CrossFit PEI has one more WOD to share: Video.

FRIDAY 090109

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It's not breaking news, but there's a funny story on how CrossFit Ocean City trainer Ann (on the right, that's Lorie on the left) found her birthday present. (And we could always use more photos of CrossFit women, so send them in!)

Lots of WODs have funny names. But we never quite heard of one like this before, courtesy of CrossFit Arizona and their impromptu chemistry experiment.

Favorite WOD names? And, the backstory, if you know it. Post 'em to Comments. It's Friday. Time to let the fun fly. (As if we weren't already doing that everyday, ha!)

THURSDAY 090108

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Steve Owens, co-owner of CrossFit Knoxville, using his "CrossFitness" in a functional way at an undisclosed location for the Department of Energy.

Do you use Google Reader (or something similar) to keep up with CrossFit blogs or the latest from the CrossFit Journal? Do you know what an RSS Feed is? Does your blog have one? Why should you care? Let's talk in Comments.

Now, let's try keeping up with Rudy from CrossFit Alexandria, as he gives us a very serious tour of their new digs: Video.

WEDNESDAY 090107

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CrossFit is on the move everywhere! It seems a day doesn't go by without an affiliate telling us how they're expanding into bigger and better quarters. Here we have The Cell CrossFit (formerly Ultimate CrossFit Perth) laying some rubber mats in their new location in Western Australia.

If you had to do it over again, would you pick the same location that you're in? Why? Or, why not? Or, if you're still operating out of a garage or a park, what's holding you back? Why are you not in a box?

CrossFit Stamford puts the OHS to our gal "Fran": Video.

TUESDAY 090106

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The gang over at Jeannie's Beach CrossFit (Jeannie, Brett, Jody, and Pete) working on their handstands after a WOD, and trying to spell something. Any guesses as to what? Post 'em to Comments.

We're 185 days away from the '09 CrossFit Games. Is your affiliate going? Will you be competing in the Affiliate Cup Challenge?

CrossFit Hyperformance grabs some ink in the Savannah Morning News: Read.

MONDAY 090105

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Justin, at Bridger CrossFit, lays in front of the Pukie he helped paint on the wall. (He just set a PR in Fight Gone Bad.) Nice!

Reminder: This year's annual CrossFit Affiliate Gathering (aka FilFest '09) takes place on Feb 7-8, in Austin, TX. Register now, before the fee increase on January 15th. Are you going? Sound off in Comments!

Pressin' the log at CrossFit RVA: Video.

SUNDAY 090104

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Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. At CrossFit One World, they ice down a knee with what's available in the frig. (Can you name all five beers? Post to Comments.)

New affiliate CrossFit of Naperville lands some press already: Read. (Bonus points if you find the common CF phrase butchered by the paper.)

SATURDAY 090103

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CrossFit Lexington preps for a photo shoot.

CrossFit Litchfield Park does "Grace" a little differently: 2 guys, 1 bar. Power Clean and a toss. Video.

FRIDAY 090102

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CrossFit Fife trainer Simon throws ten fingers on the ground while walking his dogs on a -5 deg celsius morning in Scotland. (His camera battery died after this practice shot, so he had no chance to correct his form. Honest! That's the story he told us.)

What do you do on your day off? Really. The CrossFit protocol calls for active rest and learning new sports on your day off. But do you do that? Or do you simply rest?

I am CrossFit from CrossFit Central: Video.

THURSDAY 090101

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Corlyn Saldana deadlifts 300lbs at Team CrossFit Academy. (Check out the expressions among Corlyn's cheering section.)

A message concerning CrossFit affiliation fees for new applicants: Read.

We've had a lot of snowy photos lately, so here's CrossFit Evolution to make us all long for warmer climates and some sandy Hooverball: Video.