Some of you may have noticed a new group of people coming in around 7:00pm during the week. Four members of the Westlake/Bay Village Rotary Club are taking part in a new Executive Fitness Program that I developed for people who have become a bit lazy and want to get back in shape, but don't have a clue as to what to do. These four are helping me 'tweak' the program to make sure we deliver optimum results.
I'll be working with them in a small group setting, teaching them our basic exercises and developing their physical work capacity. Before long they'll be taking part in the daily CrossFit workouts along with the rest of you.
I told them if they just show up and do what we say, they will get stronger and faster. Most importantly, they will feel better. Of course all four have an opportunity to lose some weight along the way, but how much is really up to each person.
There is one 'catch' for this group - If any one quits before the end of the program, they have to make a $250 donation to the Westlake/Bay Village Rotary Club. One person claims to have already made out the check, just in case! Say hi to Sue, Patrick, John and Pat if you get a chance. I give them all a lot of credit for taking part in this new program.
If you know of anyone who may be interested, let me know or forward this email to them.
Two new videos on our website
I edited a couple more videos last night. It's a good way to see what we do. One shows parts of the Deck of Cards workout from 12/01 and another shows a workout from 1/19. Check them out here on our CrossFit Pictures & Videos page. You can see all of our videos on our Crossfit Cleveland YouTube Channel.
Dues are due
Tomorrow is the 1st of the month, so please pay your dues if you are on a monthly package. You can pay by Credit card on our website or bring cash or a check to the gym. Thanks.
Five lazy guys decide to get back in shape - Continued
Last week I left off with hiring Randy L. to get us into shape and teach us Hapkido. Here's a little more how that got started.
Chuck and I were sitting in the Men's Grille at a local club a few days after our embarrassing attempt to join Randy's Hapkido class at the Westlakek Rec Center. He just had to tell everyone in sight how funny I looked wearing a t-shirt that had not fit me in years, standing in a room full of little kids in karate uniforms, I had to add that he looked almost as foolish, except that he was quick to blend in with the other parents standing near the doorway, acting as if he was there to watch his kid. Maybe that's why some people don't go to a gym, they're afraid they'll look like a goof. Well, I had done that once and I was not up for a replay.
Anyway, while were sitting around the table Chuck and I talked Bill and Dean into joining us if we could find a place for us to learn martial arts. Just about then Bobby turns around from his stool at the bar and says "I'm in!" They did not care what style, just something. I had always been a black belt wannabe all my life and really wanted to take Hapkido. I said I'd contact the instructor who was teaching the program at the Rec Center and see what I could set up for us.
It just so happened that I knew that instructor from high school. Randy was a personal trainer and Hapkido and Tae Kwon Do instructor. He had won several state and national TKD tournaments and could have kicked any or maybe all of our butts collectively, so I decided to ask him if he would give us private group lessons. Any price seemed fair just to keep us out of that room full of little kids with their parents watching!
Within a week or two, the five of us started training with Randy. I think we started with just two nights a week. The first order of business was to get our sorry asses capable of some sort of activity for more than a few minutes. There was no point in teaching us any fancy martial arts moves until we had some wind. For the first couple months we mainly did cardio kick boxing type workouts. He mixed in some self defense training to keep it interesting, but it was mostly an intense cardio program.
It worked. In the first three months I lost at least 30 pounds. I really did not know what I was doing, I just did what Randy told us to do. As for diet, I had been on and off that Atkins/no carb thing. That was a mistake. Low carb diets don't support an active lifestyle, but I did not know any better at the time.
We all can look back on experiences and say what we would do differently if we had the chance. One thing I would not change is the group training aspect. It really makes you stick with a new program. If you are having difficulty getting started doing something-anything, get a few friends to start with you. If you don't have any friends, join a gym that does group workouts/classes.
Looking back, I would make one change. It's really an addition. I would have added more strength conditioning to my workouts. Losing fat is great, but adding muscle at the same time is better. I'm not talking about bodybuilder ego muscle stuff, I'm talking about increasing functional strength.
I get asked a lot about how I changed my diet to lose those 30 pounds. I am not a nutritionalist or dietitian, so I won't give any diet advice here. What I will do is tell you how I changed my eating habits by just identifying a few really bad aspects of my diet and then making a few simple changes. More on that next week.
You can access our newsletter archives if you want to read earlier parts of the story, click here for our fitness newletter archives.
Saturdays are our busiest days
The 9:00-10:00 hour is the busiest time. Members may want to come earlier or later to avoid the crowd. We're open from 8:00am - 11:00am on Saturdays. See below for weekday hours, or check our website.
There has been some confusion on Saturday mornings concerning the Free workouts at 9:30am. We hold a free Basic Training Workouts in the Classroom side of the facility (the side with the blue matting). People attending the free workouts are not permitted to use the equipment on the Gym side (the side with the weights and rowers) unless they have a membership package or pay the daily fee. Thanks for being respectful of our members.
Free Basic Class starts at 9:30am SHARP this Saturday.
We're having another free Basic Training group workout this Saturday morning starting at 9:30am 'on the dot.' The class is limited to the first 15 people who arrive so please be a little early. You'll need to sign in and fill out a liability waiver before you start the class.
If you show up after 9:30am, you may not join the class in progress. If we have a larger crowd, we may begin a second session immediately following the first. Please be aware that if you are attending the free workout, you are not permitted to use the equipment on the Gym side (the side with the weights and rowers) unless you have a membership package or pay the daily fee.
You'll learn the basic exercises that we use in our CrossFit workouts. We'll teach you proper form and technique while we warm up, then we'll give you a workout scaled to your fitness level. We're located at 17140 Madison Avenue in Lakewood. We're on the north east corner of Mckinley and Madison, two minutes off the McKinley/I-90 exit.
If you've been to our free workouts and want something a little more challenging, you may want to check out our other classes available six days a week. We're open from 8:00am - 11:00am Saturday, M-W-F mornings 5:30am-7:00am and T-W-Th evenings 5:30pm-7:00pm. We have additional details on our website, CrossFitCleveland.com
Membership packages
We have several ways you can join and attend group workouts. We don't require any term commitments or contracts. Rates are based on the frequency of your workouts. The more often you want to train, the less it costs per workout. See our CrossFit workout Rates Page for more details. You can pay online or stop in and pay by cash or check.
CrossFit is GPP
CrossFit is a General Physical Preparedness program. It works to develop all ten of these general physical fitness skills.
1. Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance
2. Stamina
3. Strength
4. Flexibility
5. Power
6. Speed
7. Coordination
8. Agility
9. Balance 10. Accuracy
Here is a link to an issue of the CrossFit Journal giving some great information on fitness. The Feature article is titled "What is Fitness". You'll also find more information on the 10 physical skills listed above as well as Crossfit's two other fitness standards. Read more here.
Special Introductory Self-Defense Course
Master Chris Price of Four Gates Hapkido is offering an introductory course on the basics of karate and street defense at CrossFit Cleveland starting this month. We have flyers at the facility with more details. Email me if you are interested and I will forward you a copy.
Copy of weekly newsletter on our website
Starting this week, a copy of our weekly email will be available on our website. I've made a newsletter archive page here, or you can find the link on our CrossFit Cleveland home page.
Mailing List
If someone forwarded this message to you, click here to join our CrossFit Cleveland mailing list so you can receive future messages directly. You can unsubscribe at any time.
We hope to see you soon.
Bill Russell
440-527-0527
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