Here is a nice 7 minute video to follow to help out with your hip flexibility.

This is what she saw.

Isn’t this awesome? The ESPN broadcast is
responsible for a new Crossfitter. 

This is awesome…for Crossfit West Ames.  Not so awesome if you are Crossfit Ames.

What you see above is the result of Google’s local
pages.  There are two ways for your
Crossfit Affiliate to have a local page:

1.
Your business was around when there was
this thing called “The Yellow Pages”.  If
it was, then you likely have a local page already.

2.
You have created and claimed the Local
page for your business.

You might be thinking, do I really need another
piece of online real estate to manage?  While I understand your reluctance:

1.
It won’t take you a lot of time.

2.
Creating and claiming a Google+ Local
page for your local business adds tremendous authority and credibility to your
place profiles…i.e. big impact on local search rankings

Here’s how.

1.
First, set up a Google account (http://google.com/accounts) or sign-in if
you already have one.

2.
See if you already have a page.

a.
Go to Google Maps.

b.
Search for your affiliate name

3.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A PAGE SKIP TO STEP 7

4.
Click on More Info to see your page

5.
You’ll be prompted to re-login to your
Google account, or pass a validation test before continuing (either accepting a
call at the published number Google has, or receiving a post card in the mail
with a PIN number on it).

6.
Once you complete the validation,
you’ve claimed the page and can begin to manage it.

a.
Add as many details as possible…especially
photos, hours, and a URL.  Reviews are
incredibly helpful as well.  However, note that review “stuffing” will be penalized by Google.

7. For those without a Google+ Local Page

1. Go To Your Google+ Account and Click on Pages

2. Click Create New Page

3. Choose Local business or Place and enter your Phone Number and Country

4. Select your Business if it appears or Add Your Business to Google

5. Add your business name, address, and select a category (note you will be able to add multiple categories later)

6. Add your website and agree to terms

7. Add an image (or 2 or 3) and click finish

8. You will be sent an email to verify you own this business.  Once you complete the verification, you are ready to go.

So, there you have it.  In a matter of minutes, you can have a dramatic impact on your Google rankings.  This is a simple thing that becomes more important as other boxes enter your market.

Let me know how this works out for you and how it does impact your rankings.  

Until next time…don’t forget to check out the best affiliate program on the planet for awesome Crossfit Training Journals.

I know everyone’s mind is one the 2013 Crossfit Open, but there are plenty of options to compete in April.

Obviously the big daddy of them all – The Crossfit Open –  starts in March…but there are still plenty of other options to get your throwdown on.

IntensityHead.com

ABOUT THE METHOD

For the next while, I will be following a 3 ON 1 OFF split.  At a high level Day 1 will be Snatch day, Day 2 Squats, Day 3 Clean & Jerk, Day 4 rest, day 5 OverHead Squats & Hang Snatch, day 6  Squat & Clean, day 7 Deadlift / posterior chain day, and rest on day 8.

I will also be experimenting with an AM training session with the main goal being to move.  So it will generally consist of a row (running will be added when the snow goes away), some body weight push & pull, some mobility, and a little light technique work if I have the time.  As I mentioned in my first post, I fight against a sedentary job that has me in front of a computer.  So, I am trying to see if adding the AM session with some light movement & some mobility will have an impact on being able to move better.  Only time will tell.

Now on to the details for Day 1.

Image From LiftBOOK for Crossfit available as an e-BOOK & hard-copy journal

Morning Session

- 3 x 5 minute row / row easy 3 minutes between sets

- Catalyst Warm-Up

- 3 sets of 5 reps (Ring Dips / Ring Rows)

- Burgener Warm-up with PVC

Main Session PM:

WARM-UP

Quick Pace – about 75%-80% of Max Effort

3 sets of 7: OHSQ (light) / T2B / DU (21 reps for DU)

Snatch Specific Warm-Up -

7 x 1 of Tall Snatch + Heaving Snatch Balance (light…focus on zero arm bend)

STRENGTH

Snatch – 5 x 1 (80%) , 5 x 1 (90%) , 5 x 1 (80%)

CONDITIONING

50 HSPU for TIME

Will post my results tomorrow along with Day 2.

Next week I am embarking on a little training experiment that I am going to call The Method. What the Method will do is document my training for the upcoming year.  So, why should you care?

First, there are plenty of training & programming blogs out there for Crossfit Competitors and for beginner Crossfitters.  However, I haven’t seen much for the in-betweener.  Which is exactly what I am.  Someone with some Crossfit under their belt, a long history of traditional ‘training’, and someone who needs a ton of work on virtually all the Crossfit movements that many of us need a ton of work on.  So, I thought maybe one or two of you might find it interesting to follow my progress or lack thereof over the next year.

Next, we have launched the LiftBOOK for Crossfit as an alternative to our MetCon5 Training Journal for those of you training with more volume.  So, what better way to demonstrate the value of the Training Journal than to show you how I use it.  I will post pages from my training log along with results, etc.

Lastly, it is a great way throw some accountability into my own training knowing that someone (even if it is only one or two someone’s) will be watching.  This is a critical piece for me as I train at home & on my own.  While ‘exposing myself’ is a bit scary (wait til you see my Snatch numbers), I am also very excited for the benefits this might bring to my training.

About the Method: Let me say clearly that the programming for The Method is focused on my goals and my unique needs.  I do think that IF something is working for me that it will likely work for others.  However, the purpose of the blog is more to show the day to day of a crossfitter that the majority of crossfitters can relate to.

There will also likely be a boatload of trial and error along the way as I plan to experiment with variety and volume and movements.  While I do want to be a stronger, better crossfitter, my main goal is to enjoy my training & have fun.  These two goals may not always support each other.

You are more than welcome to follow along, but do so at your own risk.  I make no claims as to the effectiveness of this program.

About Me: As mentioned above, I consider myself the prototypical crossfitter.  I found Crossfit approximately 3 years ago, but honestly only fully committed for the last year and a half.  I had the great fortune of competing at the Crossfit Regionals in 2011, but it had more to do with being a warm body than a superstar.  That being said, it was the coolest experience ever.

Coming up on my 42nd birthday in a few months, I face the typical challenges of:

• Injuries.
• I have a long history of contact sports without any major injuries. This changed when I entered the world of endurance sports & was hit on a training ride over a decade ago.  I have dealt with some serious back issues ever since that had me unable to walk for weeks at a time.  I have always stayed active throughout that time, but I still look at that time as a lost decade where training was more to stay above water than getting better.  I have seen constant improvement in the frequency, severity & duration of flare ups since finding Crossfit and learning to be smarter about training.  However, it is still something that sneaks up on me a few times a year.
• Time.
• A full-time day job + owning and operating IntensityHead.com.
• An awesome 8 year old daughter who is prioritized over everything else…as it should be…
• To balance everything, I typically train at 9pm (after my daughter is in bed) and 6:30 am before she wakes up.  The biggest challenge with this is not being able to drop weights as even bumpers can wake up the neighbours.
• Flexibility
• I spend too many hours sitting in front of a computer and am in a constant battle with tight hips and shoulders.
• Ego
• In my mind, I am 24 years old with the capacity of Rich Froning.  I struggle every day with the right balance between realistic expectations and never wanting to settle.
• I can sometimes be my own worst enemy when programming and doing too much, too soon.  I am the perfect candidate for a coach.  However, half the fun for me is the programming…even when I get it wrong.

So, for some of you the 2013 open will be the start of your preparation for the 2014 Crossfit Games.  What better time than this to talk about some of the best competition programming out there.

First, the best Crossfit Games Programming would be done by your own personal coach refining your snatch technique, scheduling some goat work and generally programming for what you specifically need.  However, you may not have the access or the means (i.e. cash money).

Second, take an honest look at yourself…how close are you to making waves at the Open, the Regionals and ultimately the Crossfit Games.  Can you handle the necessary volume?  Do you have the focus?  Do you truly have the potential to ‘make it”?

If your answer is yes, here are just a few great places to start:

Crossfit Invictus Competition Training Programmed by CJ Martin who has worked with several top athletes including Josh Bridges and Camille Leblanc Bazinet.

Outlaw Programmed by Rudy Nielsen.  About a billion athletes following Outlaw qualified for regionals last year and Rudy programs a boatload of Olympic Lifts.

Crossfit New England’s Competitor WOD Ben Bergeron is well known in the Crossfit community for having one of the most successful affiliates, sending a strong team to the games every year and coaching a whole pile of top dogs.

MisFit Training Not as well known as the guys above, but worth a look.  The programming looks to be well thought out.  The cool thing about these guys is that they have built in scaling options for the volume of work (i.e. each day has mandatory components as well as optional pieces for those with the time)

MaxFit USA Has several distinct streams for Crossfit competition, powerlifting, and olympic lifting.

OPT Big Dawgs Blog Arguably, James “OPT” FitzGerald is the OG of games competition and the original Crossfit Games champ.

On the surface, it would tough to go wrong following any of the programming listed above.  However, look critically at the programming and evaluate them for how well thier focus lines up with your things that you have to work on.  For example, Outlaw would be a good option for a solid crossfitter that needs to work on thier O-Lifting.

Critically evaluate where you are in your Crossfit Development and whether adopting Crossfit Competitor programming is the best way to get there.  In my humble opinion, the athletes who will benefit most already have built a solid base of strength, capacity, and technique.

Whatever you choose, don’t make the mistake of bouncing from program to program when you don’t PR by 50 pounds in your first week.  Choose a path and give it time.  That being said, it is still important to measure and track your progress in a detailed Crossfit Training Journal.  Blindly following a path without success is just as counter-productive.

It all started (or maybe just boiled over) when Freddy Camacho posted a quick Facebook update regarding HQ allowing Crossfit affiliates to open up next door to each other and that it gives you the perception that HQ is just interested in making money (I’m paraphrasing to the best of my memory…my apologies for not having the exact quote…wasn’t able to find it on Freddy’s page).  To which Russell Berger replied with this response.

A Little Aside on The Money

This Crossfit making money thread always makes me laugh a bit.  Critics all claim Crossfit HQ are greedy bastards (note, I am not saying that Freddy claimed this…however, his comments were perceived this way) and Crossfit vehemently denies this because “don’t ya know” they lose money on the Games every year.

Well, of course Crossfit is interested in making money.  But, this does not automatically make them greedy bastards.  If you deliver something of value, you deserve to make profit from that value.  Period.  If you love Crossfit, you should want HQ to be profitable.  This ensures that Crossfit, The Crossfit Games, and everything you love will be here to stay. History would suggest -to the unbiased observer- that Crossfit’s decisions are not driven solely by profit.  They understand (better than most companies that I have worked with) that if you focus on delivering value, the profit will take care of itself.  Making decisions that benefit the health of HQ does not automatically make them evil.  Using a financial loss on the Games & turning down Anthos to defend their motives however only gives fuel to the haters.

• A simple admission that they are interested in making a profit but that they have demonstrated their first priority is delivering value first.  The Journal & all the free content on Crossfit.com demonstrates this better than anything.  And, if affiliates didn’t think they were getting value for their fees…they would de-affiliate.

Back to “Are There Too Many Affiliates?”

Affiliate Fee is a Bargain

CrossFit’s affiliate model is a great example of a Free Market (certainly as close as we can come to a Free Market in 2013), and affiliates have been given a great opportunity to enjoy some of the benefits of a franchise without many of the costs or drawbacks.

• Your affiliate fee gets immediately gets your business the recognition of an international brand and from that perspective is a wicked deal.
• The Crossfit affiliate model ripped down the barriers for a young fitness entrepreneur to own their own gym.  In the traditional fitness model, you need a million dollars in capital just to begin the discussion.
• The growth of the Crossfit brand delivers a new affiliate immediate credibility (arguably much more than the early affiliates) and a boatload of marketing tools at very little cost.

• How about adding a section to the affiliate application that requires the new affiliate to identify all affiliates within a certain radius with some best practices guidance on the form that they try to ensure a population density of X for the best chance of success.

Let me start by saying that I am far from a Crossfit apologist.  I don’t believe that Crossfit is perfect.

• There are many things that Crossfit HQ staff does that has made me cringe
• I do not believe that Greg Glassman is the Fitness Messiah
• Whatever is said publicly, (in my opinion) Crossfit Inc is interested in bottom line profit.  That being said, I also see nothing wrong with that.  They deliver a product that people value…they should profit from that.

If your goal is to get through the pullup portion of your WOD as quickly as possible, the butterfly pullup is the way to do it.  Following is a collection of videos from some of the best to help you take your butterfly to the next level.

To start, we have Chris Spealler showing you how it is done.

Next we have Ben Bergeron doing his thing.

Finally, another take that does a nice quick job of breaking things down piece by piece.

Hope you enjoyed the videos…don’t forget to pick up your MetCon5 training journal for 20% OFF…