SATURDAY 090228

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Sometimes, we're not certain we even want to ask . . .

Oh, okay, it's just the Fancy-Dress Ball WOD at CrossFit Butcher's Lab (end photos) and Jim the Mummer from CrossFit South Philly. What's pain without a little fun too, huh?

CrossFit Legacy grows 'em "Samson Strong": Video.

FRIDAY 090227

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Tanya West of CrossFit North Fulton. Born with Spina Bifida and paralyzed from the waist down. CrossFitter for over a year. Rock on, Tanya.

Now, what's your excuse for not CrossFitting today?

Reminder: CrossFit Kids Affiliates earn the right to use the name "CrossFit Kids." Read more about it in the FAQ.

THURSDAY 090226

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Flower M. and Johnnie B. of Team CrossFit Academy (photos on the outside) plant ten fingers each in the Mojave Preserve, while Matt. S. of CrossFit of Naperville (and the 173rd Airborne) digs into the sands of Morocco.

Handstand photos have become a staple of the CrossFit experience. These in particular were beautiful -- and must have been difficult to execute in shifting sand.

But, overall, is the handstand photo overdone in the CrossFit world? Or have we only just begun to tap its possibilities? Is it our signature photo, even if it is not our signature movement?

Xenia (of CrossFit East Sacramento) loses her pull-up virginity at the tender age of 53: Video. Go Xenia!

WEDNESDAY 090225

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Hooverball at CrossFit South Brooklyn. Beautiful.

Do you play Hooverball with your affiliate members? CrossFit Dodge Ball? CrossFit Baseball? CrossFit Golf? How important is this kind of "fun work" to the morale of your affiliate?

Spencer A. of CrossFit Athens nails 3 reps of a 265lb Overhead Squat: Video.

TUESDAY 090224

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At CrossFit Santa Cruz, Danielle Mulford takes Kelsey Johnson (a high school athlete) through a post-ACL surgery WOD, while Brent Edwards doesn't let a broken arm slow him down.

Ever work with the injured? How do you adapt the WOD to them? Kelly Starrett (of San Francisco CrossFit) is visiting CrossFit Santa Cruz with a workshop designed specifically around this subject. What would you ask (or tell) him?

CrossFit Emerald Coast is proud of their gal Wendy: Video.

MONDAY 090223

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CrossFit Greyskull gets a bit creative with a photo and takes Coach Greg Glassman's advice to "make stars out of your clients" one step further.

"This place was never about me": CrossFit USA owner Merle McKenzie said that recently about his affiliate. Now, we all know about blogs and leaderboards, but what other ways do you make your affiliate not about you? Tell us something that you're doing to turn the focus on your members and their accomplishments.

Over at CrossFit Culver City, they're making a star out of one of their firebreathers: Video.

SUNDAY 090222

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Jeff Tucker (CrossFit gymnastics guru, besides being owner of GSX Athletics) instructs at the Gymnastics Certification Seminar at CrossFit Oakville in Canada on Feb 15th. Tuck is an example of the great resources available to the CrossFit affiliate community: Take advantage of him.

CrossFit NRV gets some airplay in southwest Virginia: Video.

SATURDAY 090221

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Steve Lobotsky, Hudson Valley CrossFit owner and professional ski patrolman, overhead squats a rescue toboggan in the Catskill Mountains.

Niki (from CrossFit Katy) completes a 100-mile race with CrossFit being the majority of her training: Read.

FRIDAY 090220

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CrossFit Verve opened their doors last week with 42 members, more than double their starting goal. Numerous affiliates are reporting last quarter was their best ever. What gives? Why is CrossFit thriving as other businesses take a downturn in this economy?

Not sure that diet is as important as exercise? Mike of CrossFit Rockwall started following Robb Wolf's advice recently and some pretty cool stuff started happening: Read.

What do you do when members stop showing up? Lots of people use the phone but CrossFit Fire decided to try something different: Video.

THURSDAY 090219

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EvaClaire (E.C.) Synkowski of CrossFit Boston (and CFHQ Training Staff) goin' overhead during a workout with MaD CrossFit in Massachusetts.

If your members are Olympic lifting, chances are that you're utilizing the Burgener warm-up. CrossFit Evolution put together a short video to help familiarize their members with elements of the Burgener warm-up.

Ever make that sort of video? Do your members find it useful? Or do you figure intstructional stuff is best left to CFHQ-approved videos? What is the best kind of video to make for your members?

WEDNESDAY 090218

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Nancy Meenen at the first-ever CrossFit Championships, Oct 2004.

CFHQ is sad to announce that we are losing one of our staff members to greener pastures. Nancy Meenen, Co-Director of Affiliates, has resigned her position in order to concentrate her efforts on CrossFit Seattle, which she co-owns with her husband, Dave Werner. We wish all the best for Nancy and we thank her for the hard work and dedication she has shown to the entire CrossFit family.

"Working at CFHQ has been an amazing experience for which I am very grateful. It has been a privilege and an honor to work with the HQ staff and to work for all of you, the coolest people on the planet! Thank you." ~ Nancy Meenen

TUESDAY 090217

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Don't you just want to yell with him? That's the power of a good photo, like this one of Ramzi the dentist from CrossFit Evolution.

Is this one perfectly framed or perfectly lighted? No. But it's real. And that's what draws the reader's eye to it. Shoot photos like this for your blog -- and watch your members' interest pick up.

What kind of camera do you use in your affiliate? Would you recommend it to anybody else? Does the quality of your camera matter? Are the photos on your blog important or not?

Matt E. from CrossFit St. Charles gets down on the farm with functional fitness: Video.

MONDAY 090216

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Rogue Fitness and CrossFit Rochester were just two of the affiliates with representation by members at the Level 1 CrossFit Certification Seminar at Malvern Prep, PA, 14-15 Feb. Also attending were CrossFit Apex owners Josh and Tanya Wagner, among others.

If you're an affiliate owner, how many L1 Certs have you been to? More than 1? Could you honestly say that one is enough? How many of your members have attended L1 Certs? Do you really learn something each time you go?

CrossFit Downtown Winston has some interesting production that's worth a look: Video.

SUNDAY 090215

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Catalyst Athletics has a new home in Sunnyvale, CA.

Coach Mike Burgener: "CrossFit has done more to the sport of Olympic style weightlifting than Olympic style weightlifting has done for the sport."

Read the rest of the story in this article about Burg at the Olympic Lifting Cert held recently at Harbor City CrossFit.

SATURDAY 090214

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17-year-old Alex Haussermann (CrossFit Monterey) jumps onto a stack of seventeen bumper plates. Look for Alex in the NorCal Regional Games Qualifiers in May.

Three Rivers Crossfit gives their opinion on journals/blogs/books you might want to read. What's your opinion? What should we, as CrossFitters, be reading?

FRIDAY 090213

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Got photos from FilFest '09? Share! Upload them to the CrossFit Flickr group.

Anyone with a Flickr account can join and upload photos to the FilFest group. Or you can sign up for free here. Instructions on how to add photos are here.

5 Muscle-up Virgins lose it in one day at CrossFit Threshold: Video.

THURSDAY 090212

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What would you do if you were on the field at the Super Bowl? Professional photographer (and amateur CrossFitter) Alex Tamargo of I Am CrossFit chose overhead squats with a tripod. Choose yours and post to Comments.

A word or two on FilFest '09 from CrossFit PeachTree's Ray: Read.

Jeanne deadlifts 300 lbs and sets a new gym record at CrossFit Stamford: Video.

WEDNESDAY 090211

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CrossFit Olympic Lifting Certification Seminar at Harbor City CrossFit in FL, February 7-8.

CrossFit East Decatur co-owner Shana Alverson sets her training focus on making it to the CrossFit Games: Read her new blog.

You saw it here first: Snowboard Burpees. (Courtesy of CrossFit Salem.)

TUESDAY 090210

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We use the colorful term "firebreather" in our talks about CrossFit and maximum effort, but Peter Trapp, Operations Manager at CrossFit Victoria, (photographed here deadlifting in their box), lived the firebreather term this weekend. Pete found himself caught in the midst of the bushfires raging in southeastern Australia and yet he managed to escape with burns and a sprained ankle. Read his story here.

Pete lost his house, yet the CrossFit community responded in a major way at his affiliate, donating money and goods, crafting a fund-raising WOD, and even designing a "Pete's Pain" fund-raising t-shirt -- all to help one of their own get back on his feet. Nice.

MONDAY 090209

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Tracey Desrocher (Concept 2), Kelly Moore (CFHQ Staff), and Jen Conlin (Potomac CrossFit) on the back deck of the Hyatt at the conclusion of FilFest '09 in Austin.

FilFest '09 has ended. What was your take-away? Great time or could be a little better? Ideas for next year in Miami? Post to Comments.

CrossFit Tacoma grabs some good ink: Read.

SUNDAY 090208

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Carey Kepler from CrossFit Central helps to lead the Saturday afternoon WOD at FilFest '09 in Austin, TX.

Centurion CrossFit Fort Hood gets an awesome write-up in the base newspaper: Read.

Update FilFest 09

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Jocelyn and Jason of CrossFit Milford, the infamous Eva T. of CrossFit Santa Cruz Central, and Andy and Becca of CrossFit L.A. gather at the Affiliate Gathering in Austin.

SATURDAY 090207

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Participants and test subjects in the Level Two CrossFit Certification Seminar at CrossFit Central in Austin, TX on February 7th.

FilFest '09 (The annual CrossFit Affiliate Gathering) has begun! Austin is hopping with hundreds of affiliates from all over the States, plus Canada and Australia. Keep your eye on this space today for updates from FilFest!

CrossFit Milford does a WOD that rhymes with "Bran": Video. (For a laugh, stick around after the credits.)

FRIDAY 090206

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A brand new location -- and the sign on the wall -- at CrossFit Lineage: They sprang up with the help and guidance of CrossFit Edmonton. Congrats to them, and thanks to CrossFit Edmonton for guiding a fledgling affiliate. Another example of good things that happen when a community works together.

Fun vs. Chore: A Viewpoint by CrossFit Evolution.

CrossFit Breakaway Speed combines burpee pull-ups and clean and jerks (yum!): Video.

THURSDAY 090205

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At Diablo CrossFit, they use their HD projector for CrossFit videos, UFC fights, etc. Very cool . . . or a photo that makes us look like a cult? Post thoughts to Comments.

CrossFit North Atlanta has some "making changes" mojo going on among their members, including hydrostatic body-fat testing, "before" photos, and some benchmarking. Wonder what the numbers and photos will tell us in 30 days? Check out their 30-Day Lockdown.

Cynergy CrossFit gets some nice press response on their First Responders Challenge: Read.

WEDNESDAY 090204

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Graham and Lorraine of CrossFit Dental (of the infamous sub-2 minute tooth "Fran") haul out the auger to break ground for their new pull-up station. Start small and grow with your affiliate: Good words for workin' on a dream.

Two blogposts worth checking out: "Don't Workout with Stangers" by CrossFit Invictus and Chris Stroud's "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Tabata." (Chris is a trainer at CrossFit One World.)

CrossFit Addiction takes on the girls from the local gymnastics school: Video.

TUESDAY 090203

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Emmalee Moore of CrossFit Verve prepares to clean and jerk her first attempt in the Bare Knuckles Weightlifting Showdown held recently at MBS CrossFit. 13 Colorado affiliates participated.

If you held it, would they come? Do you think your corner of the CrossFit world would participate in that kind of competition among affiliates? Is it healthy to support the other affiliates in your area, or just foolhardy?

DPL CrossFit grabs some nice press for making fitness a family affair: Read.

MONDAY 090202

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CrossFit El Paso members hiked to Mundy's Gap at the Franklin Mountains State Park.

Meanwhile, Freddy and the crew over CrossFit One World held an Ice Fishing Tournament on their Concept 2 rowers.

Fess up with your cool adventures! Post 'em to Comments!

Angela at River City CrossFit does a WOD three days before she delivers her baby: Video.

Remember the Painstorm from yesterday? Merle from CrossFit USA took it on. Read the account he wrote for his members . . .

SUNDAY 090201

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They may not be Zone, but there's definitely a CrossFit theme here. A member at CrossFit East Decatur demonstrated her pro pastry chef skills for their party, while the trainers at Pure CrossFit decided to bake an organic kettlebell cake for a member, and Kevin at CrossFit Moncton tried his hand at personalized kettlebell cookies for his members.

Jeremy at CrossFit Kinnick gets 54 total pull-ups in a row, 48 of them butterfly-style: Video. (Look for Jeremy at the SoCal Qualifier in April for the CrossFit Games.)

And, are you ready for 25 rounds of this month's Painstorm?