Kipping It Real with Becky!

Each month Overland Park CrossFit recognizes a member who exemplifies our values and motivates others in the gym to push themselves with encouraging words. April’s Athlete of the Month is Becky Klein. Becky was chosen because of her positive attitude and how she pushes herself within the gym.  We were so proud of her for completing her first Open and it was inspiring to other members to watch her tackle each workout head on!  Learn more below about Becky!

    1. What were your thoughts after your first CrossFit workout?

My first actual CrossFit workout was not until I participated in the Open, and even then it was scaled. I guess my first thoughts were something along the lines of “Whew, ok that wasn’t too bad. It’s gonna take me some time to become a badass like everyone else here, but I’m in!”

  1. What has been your favorite workout?
 I don’t know if I have a specific favorite, however I was super proud of myself for re-doing the Open 17.4 and getting a better score. Thanks to Sarah!
  1. What is your favorite cheat meal?

Beer! And (real) Ice cream! …technically not a meal, but I can make it one.

  1. Where do you work?     

I am a Marriage and Family Therapist working in private practice with children, adults, families and couples.

  1. What do you like to do outside of work?

Time with friends, anything outdoors or sports related, activities with my church group and the occasional nap or reading.

  1. What advice would you give a newbie just starting at OPCF?

Be patient with yourself and commit! Learn to love the process and the results will come.

  1. What is your favorite lift?

Anything I feel confident I have the proper form down (and remember the correct name of) which at this time is really only the clean.

  1. What’s your biggest “GOAT”?

Sadly anything involving upper body strength, I get frustrated and in my head and then it is just goes down hill.

  1. What changes have you seen in yourself since starting at OPCF?  

This odd, strange desire to have sore muscles, I almost feel out of sorts if I am not feeling that daily.

  1. What is your biggest improvement or proudest accomplishment thus far?

Just braving the Open, without knowing at all what I was getting myself into.

  1. What is something you have always wanted to do but haven’t yet?

Vacation outside of the US, Ireland perhaps.

What You Need to Know About CrossFit Endurance

What is CrossFit Endurance? First we need to define “endurance.” Endurance is defined as “the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue.”

Isn’t that CrossFit in general? In all seriousness, cardiovascular and respiratory endurance is only one of the ten fitness domains that make up the core of CrossFit. The other domains include stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. A well-rounded CrossFit program should include varied exercises that promote physical competence in all ten areas.

A person needs to improve their “engine” to truly excel at CrossFit. There are several ways you can improve your engine.  Working on various endurance aspects such as aerobic threshold, lactate threshold, VO2 max, and speed endurance will all help you reach your full potential. The fittest men and women on earth incorporate these components to constantly refine their endurance capacity.

How do you start? How do you build better engines? How do you increase your endurance capacity? The good news is you already have a great base program.  Our daily CrossFit training is all inclusive and touches on all ten fitness domains. Anytime you see rowing, running, and an assault bike in a workout you can pretty much guarantee that you are working on refining your endurance capacity in some way. In fact, many Crossfitters can attest to the fact that the CrossFit training methodology has led to PRs in their race times without really “training” for a race. The old logic of training for races by running long distances (without predetermined workout goals) for hours on end is out. CrossFit Endurance training eliminates the unnecessary volume of training while increasing intensity. Let us take a minute to define and explain each of the aspects CrossFit Endurance will incorporate.

The aerobic threshold is the level of effort at which anaerobic energy pathways start to become a significant part of energy production. Runners want to increase their aerobic threshold because this will enable them to run a faster pace for a longer time before tapping into the anaerobic metabolism. This is important because the anaerobic metabolism cannot be sustained as long at the aerobic pathways. Aerobic threshold workouts are steady workouts at a moderate intensity to develop fuel efficiency (burn fat), the muscular skeletal system, and aerobic endurance (1).

Lactate threshold is defined as the intensity of exercise in which lactate begins to accumulate in the blood at a faster rate than it can be removed. This becomes problematic because the unbuffered acid in the blood makes you feel like you have to stop right away (2). Lactate threshold workouts are higher volume workouts with longer distance intervals at higher “threshold” intensities with less rest between reps and/or sets (1).

V02 max is defined as the maximal volume of oxygen that the body can deliver to the working muscles per minute. Although your VO2 max is largely genetic, studies have shown that targeted VO2 max training can improve your V02 max up to 15%. VO2 Max workouts are generally lower volume workouts, shorter distance intervals at higher intensities, with more rest between reps and/or sets (1, 3). An example of a workout to improve your VO2 max is a 60:60 where you work for 60 seconds max effort and 60 seconds easy recovery. If you’re running, this will be faster than 5k race pace and then recovering at a lower pace for 15-20 rounds (3).

Speed endurance is the ability to prolong the amount of time where a near maximal speed can be maintained. Speed endurance workouts are generally very low volume workouts with intervals less than 60 seconds (1, 4).  They are performed at extremely high intensities, and they are used to recruit fast twitch fibers.  The body is forced to adapt to these conditions, which leads to better endurance and recovery between reps and/or sets. An example of speed endurance workout would be something like 6 sets of shuttle run sprints (up to 30 meters) with 90 seconds rest in between sets (4).

OPCF will be launching our 6 week CrossFit Endurance program April 25th.  The program will be available to members, as well as non-members, and it is a great supplement to our current CrossFit training program. Our program will incorporate all aspects of CrossFit endurance training from aerobic capacity, lactate threshold, VO2 max, and speed endurance training. Let’s build those engines!!!!  If you are an OPCF bootcamp member or not a member of OPCF, sign up here today!

Sources:

(1) http://aerobiccapacity.com/training-plans

(2) http://www.active.com/triathlon/articles/lactate-threshold-and-v02-max-explained

(3) https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/training-to-increase-your-vo2-max

(4) http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/speedendurance.html

Understand the Top 10 CrossFit Terms

If you are new to CrossFit or know someone who does CrossFit, you know that there is a special “lingo” that is used.  If you are tired of feeling left out, or just want to be in the know, we have come up with a list of terms to get you up to speed or send to that friend of yours that “doesn’t understand.”

BOX – For a CrossFit lover, this is their second home.  The “box” is simply the CrossFit term for the gym.  Box refers to the simplistic nature of most CrossFit gyms.  Many CrossFit gyms, especially in the early days, had very few bells and whistles.  Just the bare bones necessities.

WOD – The WOD is the quintessential term in CrossFit.  It stands for “Workout of the Day” and refers to the main workout that is programmed for the class.  When CrossFit started, this referred to the workout that was listed on CrossFit.com.

Rx – Rx or Rx’ing a workout means that you did the weight that was prescribed.  For each of the WOD’s there are certain listed requirements, such as weight, number of reps, time, etc.  If you complete the workout as it is listed, you can say that you “Rx’ed the workout”.

AMRAP – This stands for “As Many Round/Reps As Possible”.  For each of the WOD’s, it is either prescribed to be for a specific time or a specific amount of reps that need to be completed.  When the word AMRAP is used this is the workout that has a specific time and you complete as many rounds or reps as possible in the time that was defined.

1RM – At OPCF most of our CrossFit classes will include a lifting portion before the WOD.  When 1RM is listed, this means that you are going for your 1 rep max.  Basically you are trying to lift as much as you can in the movement that is listed.

ATG – This stands for “Ass to Grass” and refers to going as low as possible in a squat.  For a squat rep to be per the standard, your hips must break parallel.  An ATG squat is lower than just breaking parallel.

C&J – Many CrossFit programs utilize the Olympic movements, the snatch and clean and jerk.  C&J is just a short term for the clean and jerk.

CTB/C2B – Similar to ATG, CTB is the next level for pullups.  The standard for a pullup is to simply get your chin over the pullup bar.  When CTB or “Chest to Bar” is listed, this means that you will need to pull yourself a little higher and touch your chest to the bar instead of just getting your chin above the bar.

EMOM – This is another way to program a strength or workout and stands for “Every Minute on the Minute”.  If you see EMOM, it means that the work listed should be performed every minute for as long as the time is stated.

Goat – In CrossFit terms a goat is something that you are not very good at.  For many of us this includes the more skilled movements, such as muscle ups, double-unders, snatch, etc.

This may be a small list of terms, but hopefully now you are better armed with the basic CrossFit terms.

CrossFit Open WOD 17.5 Strategy

We’ve made it.  It’s time for the last week of the 2017 Open and as many of you guessed, we get to see thrusters and double-unders.  This week brings a workout that has only two movements and is for time.

10 rounds for time of:
9 thrusters, 95/65 lb.
35 double-unders

Watching the games athletes complete the workout, it looked like it was a matter of just going through the motions and came down to how many misses there were on the double-unders.  Don’t be fooled, this is going to be a tough workout and will feel much worse than what it looked like on TV.

This workout begins with the thrusters.  The rep quantity might look small, but these are going to get tough.  To put it in perspective, this is the same weight that is done for Fran, but will have double the reps.  The strategy for the thrusters will depend on the fitness level of each athlete.  If you are a top finisher, try and go unbroken on the thrusters.  For you, there shouldn’t be many breaks in this workout and if there are, you don’t want to waste excess energy by picking the bar back up off the ground.  For the athlete that is in the middle of the pack, you probably aren’t going to be able to go unbroken on the thrusters for all of the sets, but you should be able for the first few sets.  Try to stay unbroken as long as possible, just keep in mind that if you take breaks during the thrusters, make sure they are short.

After the thrusters, we move to the jump rope for double-unders.  If you are proficient at double-unders, make sure to relax and use as little shoulders as possible.  The goal here is to move the rope as much as possible with your wrists, not your shoulders, and go unbroken.  If you struggle with double-unders, this can easily be the worst part of this workout.  Obviously, you will want to do as many as possible without missing, but that is easier said that done.  Double-unders get harder the more fatigued you get, so take those extra couple breaths before you start the double-unders to get as many as possible.  Try and stay calm, even if you are missing, there are 350 double-unders to do and getting frustrated is just going to cause more misses.

Overall this workout is going to be different depending on your skill level.  For the best athletes, this is going to be a painful workout that had very little breaks.  Push hard and stay focused on the double-unders.  For the middle of the pack athletes, do as many thrusters as possible without burning out and try to go unbroken on the double-unders.  Just remember, when you are done, you are done with the 2017 Open, unless you are the lucky few to move on.  Congratulations and good luck.

CrossFit Open WOD 17.4 Strategy

We all knew it would happen.  Repeat week.  One of the great things about CrossFit is that is measurable and repeatable.  Each year we have gotten a chance to repeat a past workout to see our progress.  For those that did the open last year, the workout will look familiar as we did it week 4 last year also.  If you don’t remember this workout brings us a chipper with deadlifts, wall-balls, rowing, and handstand push-ups.

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 13 minutes of:
55 deadlifts, 225/135 lb.
55 wall-ball shots, 20/14-lb. ball to 10/9-ft. target
55-calorie row
55 handstand push-ups

The workout begins with deadlifts, lots of deadlifts.  Although the weight is not excessive, it’s the same weight used in benchmark workouts such as Diane, there are a lot of reps.  55 reps of deadlifts at this weight, without a breakup of other movements, will be challenging for most.  The key is going to be to stay consistent and take as many small breaks as you need.  Plan to take 5-10 second breaks.  Try to complete as many reps as possible while still being able to take that 5 second break and jump back on the bar.  For some this might be 5 sets of 11.  For others, this might start at sets of 5 and drop to triples or doubles.  Try not to drop to singles.  Picking the bar up each time from a dead stop is inefficient.  However, if you do go to singles, make sure that you drop the bar, take a quick breath and get back into it.  You don’t want to take 5 second breaks between singles.  Try to keep your form throughout the movement.  You want to be able to move the next day.

We all know how bad wall balls are right?  Well these are going to be a little worse than if you were starting fresh.  When you get to the wall-balls it means that you have just spent 55 reps taxing your lower back and glutes.  So you probably aren’t going to go unbroken on the wall-balls.  Once again, find a pace that you can stick with.  There is no doubt about it, these are going to hurt, but you should be able to take a break on the rower.  For movements like this that, that you know you are going to break up into multiple sets, try and start with a higher number of reps and do less each time.  For example, start with 13, then drop 1 rep each time until you get to 55 (13-12-11-10-9).  Mentally this really helps in the middle of a workout to always do less reps than the last set.

No breaks after the wall balls.  Jump right onto the rower.  If you are pulling, you are moving forward and getting closer to that 55 cal, even if it is slow.  Take the first few strokes to get your breath.  This is easier said that done at this stage in the workout, but taking a break before the row isn’t going to make it better and is just going to waste time.  It is going to hurt either way, so you might as well get a better time.  Depending on when you get to the rower will determine your pace.  If you get to the rower with 1 or 2 minutes left, you are going to want to row at a high level of effort.  You aren’t going to be able to get through 55 cal in 2 min, so might as well do as many as cals possible.  If you finish the wall-balls with 4 or 5 minutes left, your goal should be to finish the row and be able to attempt some handstand push-ups.  More than likely you aren’t going to be able to remember these in the heat of the moment, but a pace of 1200 cal/hr will take 2:45, 1000 cal/hr will take 3:18, and 750 cal/hr will take 4:24.  The difference between doing 1000 cal/hr and 750 cal/hr is only 1:06 difference in time, but the difference you will feel getting off the rower will be noticeable.  You don’t want to jump off the rower and be fresh, but you don’t want to get off and not be able to attempt any handstand push-ups.  Pick a pace that is somewhere in between.

If you made it to the handstand push-ups, good job. This is going to be the goal for most of the above average athletes.  Once again, depending on how much time you have remaining will determine how you attack the handstand push-ups.  If you jump off the rower and have less than a minute, it’s time to suck it up and do as many reps as possible.  If you think there is time for 2 sets, break it a rep or 2 short of fatigue on your first set, shake out your arms and get right back on the wall.  If you don’t think you have time for multiple sets, just go for broke and do as many as possible.  If you jump off the rower and have more time for handstand push-ups, remember to break earlier than you think, take small breaks, and get back onto the wall.  Most likely there isn’t going to be a lot of time and there are quite a few reps to do.  Push hard for the time you have remaining

Overall, stay consistent through the first 3 movements.  Push hard on the deadlifts and wall-balls.  No breaks between the wall-ball and the rower.  Row at a pace that is right for depending on where you are in the workout and do as many handstand push-ups as possible.  This is a repeat workout, so push yourself to do better than you did last year and have fun.

Kipping It Real With AJ

Each month Overland Park CrossFit recognizes a member who exemplifies our values and motivates others in the gym to push themselves with encouraging words. March’s Athlete of the Month is AJ Devlin. AJ was chosen because in a short time at OPCF, he has made an impact on all the members around him with his energy and supportive nature. OPCF appreciates his “never give up attitude” and it is inspiring to other members! Learn more below about AJ!

  1. What were your thoughts after your first CrossFit workout?

I’m going to hurt in the morning, but I’ll definitely be back. Second thought: I’m going to have to admit to my sister she was right.

  1. What has been your favorite workout?
  Despite that it took a mathematician to decipher I really enjoyed the 17.3 open workout!
  1. What is your favorite cheat meal?

All the cheese!!! — Also, the bagels in new york. You won’t ever have a better bagel than in NYC!

  1. Where do you work?     

I’m a Project Engineer at JE Dunn Construction.

  1. What do you like to do outside of work?

You can usually find me catching up with friends or working on my jeep.

  1. What advice would you give a newbie just starting at OPCF?

No matter how experienced you are leave your ego at the door, if you don’t it’s a great way to get hurt. The best part about OPCF, and crossfit in general, is the acceptance of everyone’s skill level and ability to scale EVERYTHING (literally). Also, your future self will really appreciate your commitment to mobility work and scaling weight for proper form.

  1. What is your favorite lift?

Anything involving snatch and clean. However, lately I’ve also come to really enjoy wall balls, call me crazy.

  1. What’s your biggest “GOAT”?

Honestly, just about anything involving the gymnastics type movements. I can’t wait to nail that first muscle up!

  1. What changes have you seen in yourself since starting at OPCF?  

One of the biggest changes for me is that I spend a lot more of my time focusing on my form and all around athleticism, rather than just trying to lift as much as I can with bad form. Also, because my goals have kept evolving since joining OPCF it’s started to become second nature to make healthier decisions outside the gym.

  1. What is your biggest improvement or proudest accomplishment thus far?

I got my first strict pullup since high school! After that I went on to get the full 16 in the 17.2 open workout, which is awesome because I remember telling my judge that I wasn’t going to make it past 5!

  1. What is something you have always wanted to do but haven’t yet?

Hike the entire Grand Canyon and go offroading in Moab, Utah.

CrossFit Open WOD 17.3 Strategy

If you were like us, and thought we might be doing something with 3 dumbbells for 17.3, think again.  This week we are going heavy, that is, if you are efficient at chest to bar pull-ups.  After focusing on endurance in week 1, and skill work in week 2, the focus this week is on strength.  This weeks workout is a couplet of chest-to-bar pull-ups and squat snatches.  It has increasing chest-to-bar-pullups reps and decreasing squat snatch reps, while increasing the squat snatch weight.  The workout also throws time-caps at multiple intervals, see below for the complete workout.

Prior to 8:00, complete:
3 rounds of:
6 chest-to-bar pull-ups
6 squat snatches, 95/65 lb.
Then, 3 rounds of:
7 chest-to-bar pull-ups
5 squat snatches, 135/95 lb.
*Prior to 12:00, complete 3 rounds of:
8 chest-to-bar pull-ups
4 squat snatches, 185/135 lb.
*Prior to 16:00, complete 3 rounds of:
9 chest-to-bar pull-ups
3 squat snatches, 225/155 lb.
*Prior to 20:00, complete 3 rounds of:
10 chest-to-bar pull-ups
2 squat snatches, 245/175 lb.
Prior to 24:00, complete 3 rounds of:
11 chest-to-bar pull-ups
1 squat snatch 265/185 lb.

*If all reps are completed, time cap extends by 4 minutes.

For the athletes that are fairly efficient with chest-to-bar pull-ups, this workout is all about doing a high weight squat snatch while being fatigued, but lets start with the chest-to-bar pull-ups.  You will want to do what is comfortable for you.  If that is butterfly, do butterfly.  If that is regular kipping, do kipping.  Don’t try something new for this workout.  This workout might be focused on snatch weight, but don’t ignore the the chest-to-bar pull-ups!  At the 8 minute mark, you will have completed 39 reps, which is only 6 less than Fran.  We all know what the pull-ups in Fran feels like.

On the squat snatches, DO SINGLES.  If you watched the games athletes complete the workout, Scott Panchik didn’t do more than 1 squat snatch at a time.  There is plenty of time to do singles and get through all of the rounds.  As you can see, the weights in the workout jump very quickly.  There is probably a round that you think “no problem” and the next round is “that is going to be tough.”  Treat that tough round as your goal round.

Expect to be fatigued, but pace yourself so that you don’t redline to the point that you can’t lift.  This workout is about being able to go as heavy as possible with a high heart-rate.  Before you start the workout, you will probably know which round will be your “tough” round.  This is the round that is closest to your 1 rep max.  The closer you get to this round, the more you will have to focus on technique.  Your goal, other than which round you want to get to, should be to not have any misses on the squat snatches.  Take as much time as you need to setup for the squat snatches, but keep mind of the time cutoffs.  If you are in the workout and are close to a time cutoff, push to get through the squat snatches so that you have another 4 minutes of work.  You can always take a break after finishing a round, but you can’t keep going if time runs out.

The key points of the workout are to keep your heart-rate down as much as possible and take the time needed to not miss on the squat snatches.  Keep pushing and good luck.

 

CrossFit Open WOD 17.2 Strategy

For the first week of the 2017 CrossFit Open, we saw dumbbells for the first time ever, so of course Castro felt the need to step up his game for week 2 and double the dumbbells.  Week 2 of the Open brings front rack walking dumbbell walking lunges, toes-to-bars and dumbbell power cleans, with a bit of a twist after round two by switching the toes-to-bars with bar muscle-ups.  Fu

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
2 rounds of:
– 50-ft. weighted walking lunge
– 16 toes-to-bars
– 8 power cleans
Then, 2 rounds of:
– 50-ft. weighted walking lunge
– 16 bar muscle-ups
– 8 power cleans
Etc., alternating between toes-to-bars and bar muscle-ups every 2 rounds.

When looking at this workout, the first thing that comes to mind is “holy forearms.”  The only time that you get a break from holding something is between movements, or when you voluntarily take a break.  This is also the first workout that holds one of the higher skilled movements, the bar muscle up, which will slow down a lot of athletes.

As the bar muscle ups start in round 3, this workout is done different for athletes that are proficient in muscle ups vs. those that aren’t as good, or who have never done one before.  If you are the athlete that has never done a bar muscle up before, but might be close, push yourself to do the workout RX and get that first one.  You’ll never forget that feeling when/if it happens, and with the adrenaline of the Open, there is a good chance you might see it!  That being said, if you aren’t as good at bar muscle ups and think you might get stuck at the first set of 16, your strategy is to go as hard as possible until you get to the muscle ups.  This will give you as much time to work on the muscle ups and will also help with the tiebreak, which is the time at the end of the round.

For those of you that are proficient with bar muscle ups, as stated above, this is going to be a forearm buster.  The only place that you might have a chance to hide is during the lunges.  Try to find a position with the dumbbells that is comfortable so you can rest them on your shoulders to take as much of a break as you can on your grip.  Although there are only 8 cleans, this is something we would recommend you hook grip.

Take calculated small breaks.  Once your grip goes, it is going to take time for it to come back, so make sure to take small breaks.  As you may have seen with the games athletes, neither one of them completed all of the toes-to-bars unbroken and the dropped on the lunges after the first one.  Set the dumbbells down on each trip to give your self a quick breather.  If you are feeling good jump straight from the toes-to-bars into the cleans and set the dumbbells down on the SEVENTH clean.  This will give you a small break and have you use the 8th clean to get you into the front rack for the lunges.  It is ok to break between the toes-to-bars and cleans, but you should still set down the dumbbells on the 7th rep.

This will be a completely different feeling workout than last week.  Push, but make sure to take small calculated breaks to save your forearms.  If you are on the fence about scaled or RX, go RX.  Five feet of walking lunges puts you ahead of all scaled scores, and if you get that first bar muscle up, this could be your favorite workout.

CrossFit Open WOD 17.1 Strategy

There seems to be a common theme over the years of “go hard & fast” when athletes complete their CrossFit Open workouts.  We get it, it’s exciting to compete against everyone else, but it’s also difficult, especially in long workouts, to get the best score you can without any real strategy.  This is very evident when people redo workouts and get drastically better results.  This year we are here to give you strategies & tips for each Open WOD to hopefully help you get the best score you can.

The 2017 Open brings something we have never seen before, dumbbells.  That’s right, the first workout has dumbbell snatches, and lots of them.  It pairs the dumbbell snatches with burpee box jump-overs.  See below for the complete 17.1 WOD.

For time (20 minute time cap):
10 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs
20 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs
30 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs
40 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs
50 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs

This is going to be a long workout.  For some of the best in the biz, we saw scores in the 10 minute range for the women and 12 minute range for the men.  For the rest of us mortals, expect to go much closer to the time cap or hit the time cap.  With a workout this long, the biggest challenge is going to be starting out too fast and burning out.  Pick a pace that you can stick with for at least the first half of the workout and then re-evaluate at the 10 minute mark.  If you still feel fresh, pick it up a little.  If you feel like you are about to keel over, slow down a bit, but don’t stop moving.  The key to this is that you keep moving the whole time.

There are a lot of reps in this workout, which means that you will want to be as efficient as possible.  An inefficient movement that is performed over 200 times will result in a lot of wasted energy.  On the snatches, make sure that you use your hips for every rep.  At the beginning it might feel like you don’t need to do this, but by the end of the workout it will pay in dividends.  Focus on good reps and keep the dumbbell as close to your body as possible.  Place the dumbbell where you want it for the next rep.  On the burpee box jump-overs, don’t waste energy standing up on the box.  Use as little energy as possible to get over the box.  You can recover by slowing slightly on the burpees.

Again, pace, pace, pace and keep moving.  Good luck out there, enjoy the pain, and stay in it until you are done!

Kipping it Real with Bethanie!

 

bethanieaotm1

Each month Overland Park CrossFit recognizes a member who exemplifies our values and motivates others in the gym to push themselves with encouraging words. February’s Athlete of the Month is Bethanie White. Bethanie was chosen because of her consistency in the gym and positive attitude. It’s inspirational for other members to see someone’s hard work paying off! Learn more below about Bethanie!

 

 

  1. What were your thoughts after your first CrossFit workout?

A mixture of “Am I Dying?” and “I can’t wait to come back tomorrow!”

  1. What has been your favorite workout?
Any of the body weight WODs like Annie, Barbara, Chelsea and Cindy.
  1. What is your favorite cheat meal?

Spaghetti and grilled cheese

  1. Where do you work?     

Blue Dart Ventures in online marketing

  1. What do you like to do outside of work?

I love home remodeling. I constantly have a project I am working on or I go stir crazy.

  1. What advice would you give a newbie just starting at OPCF?

Show up often and just keep going – sometimes that is the hardest part.

  1. What is your favorite lift?

The snatch. I am horrible at it, but that’s why I love it – it’s my nemesis. And just so darn sexy once you get it down 🙂

  1. What’s your biggest “GOAT”?

Ring Muscle-Ups – 4 years in and still can’t nail one.

  1. What changes have you seen in yourself since starting at OPCF?  

Other than physically I have eaten better and taken care of myself outside of the gym more than I have in the past.

  1. What is your biggest improvement or proudest accomplishment thus far?

I hit a 100# snatch after only being able to hit about 70# prior to that because of form. The coaches here are so good!

  1. What is something you have always wanted to do but haven’t yet?

Sky diving or going cage diving with sharks.