WOD

Each month Overland Park CrossFit recognizes a member who exemplifies our values and motivates others in the gym. January’s Athlete of the Month is Haley Molden! Haley was chosen because of the hard work and constant encouragement she brings to OPCF. She is a phenomenal athlete, and has made huge strides since joining OPCF. She is also a person that brings a smile to everyone’s face. When she walks through the doors at OPCF, the room is instantly filled with her bright smile and positive attitude. Haley is kind, funny, hard working, and just a great person! We are so grateful to have Haley as a part of our community!

How long have you been working out at Overland Park CrossFit?

I’ve been at OPCF for 6 months!

 What were your thoughts after your first CrossFit workout? Do you remember what it was?

I can’t remember much except being really sore for the first few weeks! I think it had heavy back squats in the work out which has always been a favorite of mine. 

 What has been your favorite workout so far?

I love a good E3MOM or anything with a bike and barbell! 

 What did you want to be when you grew up and where do you work now?

When I was growing up I wanted to be a strength and conditioning coach or a swim coach at the collegiate level. Now, I am a school counselor at a middle school in Kansas City, Kansas. 

What do you like to do outside of work?

Workout at OPCF!

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

Lower your expectations of yourself, don’t expect perfection right away and approach CrossFit with the mindset of learning and having fun.

 What is on your bucket list?

I’d like to run a free after school program for kids in low-income neighborhoods to come to the gym, work out, and get healthy food. In hopes to help heal trauma and keep them out of trouble. 

Aside from necessities, what one thing could you not go a day without?

Laughing

 If your pet could talk, what do you think they might say about you?

I like dad better.

 What is your favorite random fact?

I share a birthday with Tupac 

 What is your go-to karaoke song?

Firework by Katy Perry or Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson

It takes time and practice to learn how to pace efficiently. But sometimes, being too good at pacing can actually backfire and hinder an athlete from maintaining their full potential. ‘The Shrinking Violet’ is an athlete who has become so efficient at their pacing that they often underpace a workout and leave too much in the tank. These athletes typically know their numbers so well that they can tell you how many RPMs they should complete any Assault bike workout at, how many minutes they should rest between heavy squat sets, and how many sets of handstand push-ups they should do during a long chipper workout.

This knowledge isn’t necessarily bad, but it can prevent the athlete from working out at their full capacity – they stay away from ‘redlining’ and therefore are no longer aware of what a truly difficult pace is for them. Here are a couple strategies to help you learn how to pace outside of your comfort zone:

Option 1: Pre-determine a specific pace to hit on the machines or how quickly to cycle certain movements. 

Example: if you consistently bike at 63 RPMs, then try something like the following workout but at a higher-than-normal RPMs.

• 10 rounds:
  • 6 burpees to a 6” target
  • 8 kb swings (70/53)
  • 10 Assault bike calories

The goal of this workout would be to move smoothly and efficiently through the burpees and kettlebell swings and then maintain 65+ RPMs for each round on the bike. This will push you outside of your comfort zone and will probably hurt a lot more than you are used to, and may even result in you blowing up, but it will give you an opportunity to test just where your capacity lies and recalculate if necessary.

Option 2: Regularly include “messy” CrossFit workouts in your training. 

Sometimes it’s easy to spend too much time focusing on building up one’s capacity in running or rowing, strict gymnastics, or barbell cycling, but then shying away from incorporating all of these components together in classic CrossFit-style workouts. Sometimes the simplest couplets or triplets can be the most painful and effective. Take the following workout for example:

• 10 min AMRAP:
  • 3-6-9-12…power cleans (115/75)
  • 4-8-12-16…bar-facing burpees

This is a great way to practice working outside of your comfort zone because even if you start off pacing this workout well, it will start to get uncomfortable and you will have to adjust your pacing strategy based on how you feel. 

Sources: https://wodprep.com/blog/crossfit-pacing/ 

Each month Overland Park CrossFit recognizes a member who exemplifies our values and motivates others in the gym to push themselves with encouraging words. July’s Athlete of the Month is Shawn Herrman. Shawn was chosen because even though he has been dealing with a couple of different injuries for the past few months, he has been extremely patient, gracious, and dedicated to getting his body back to full health. He has consistently come in and done his PT every single day, he has modified many workouts without complaint, and he is always caring and encouraging towards the other members. His positive attitude radiates throughout the gym and he is an inspiration for those who are not only dealing with an injury, but also for those who just want to improve their fitness in general. His hard work is paying off and we love having Shawn as a part of our OPCF community! Learn more about Shawn below.

How long have you been working out at Overland Park CrossFit? I have been working out at OPCF since September 2020.

What were your thoughts after your first CrossFit workout? Do you remember what it was? I don’t remember my very first workout, but I do remember one of the first wods I did was a thruster workout. Alejandro and I were the last two to finish haha.

What has been your favorite workout so far? One of my favorite workouts was surprisingly the first Open workout with wall walks and double-unders.

What is your favorite cheat meal? If I had to pick my favorite cheat meal it would definitely be a double cheese burger and fries from a local restaurant back home in Hays, KS, called the Golden Q. If i can throw in a cheat dessert… definitely ice cream cake from Dairy Queen!

What did you want to be when you grew up and where do you work now? When I was younger, I actually wanted to be a doctor some day. Fortunately, this December I will be graduating from chiropractic school with my Doctorate of Chiropractic and opening up a clinic here in the KC metro area.

What do you like to do outside of work? Outside of work/school, I enjoy being outside (especially in the summer) whether it’s being at the lake, fishing, hiking, or paddle boarding. I’m always up for any type of adventure!

What advice would you give a newbie just starting at OPCF? My advice for someone starting out here at OPCF would be… we all start somewhere and want to be the fittest, fastest, strongest we can be, but perfect the simple movements and enjoy the little victories.

What is your favorite/least favorite movement? My favorite movement is handstand push-ups. My least favorite right now would probably be an overhead squat.

What’s one CrossFit goal you have set for yourself to accomplish this next year? A goal for myself within the next year (besides being healthy and injury free) is to work on some of my weaknesses and be a better and more well-rounded athlete.

What changes have you seen in yourself since starting at OPCF? Since working out at OPCF, I have seen that if you put in the work (and sometimes even a little extra), you start to see those little victories add up and they not only make a difference in your performance at the gym, but also outside of the gym.

What is your biggest improvement or proudest accomplishment thus far? One thing that I was happy about was being able to string together decent sets of bar and ring muscle-ups. But, it was also good to be able to take a step back and trust the process of healing a couple of injuries.

How do you fit working out into your weekly schedule? Right now with school it has been nice for the most part to be able to workout in the morning at 9:30am and usually Open Gym. Outside of this, I usually see patients in the clinic and study.

What is something you have always wanted to do but haven’t yet? One thing I would love to do in the future is to work towards competing in an Rx competition.

Each month Overland Park CrossFit recognizes a member who exemplifies our values and motivates others in the gym to push themselves with encouraging words. May’s Athlete of the Month is Clayton Dye. Clayton was chosen because it is evident that he is striving to get better by signing up for additional programs that OPCF has to offer (Gymnastics program and Nutrition program) and through the way he prioritizes good technique over heavier weight on his lifts. He is a very hard worker and it shows with the progress he’s made in the time that he’s been doing CrossFit. His hard work is paying off and we love having Clayton as a part of our OPCF community! Learn more about Clayton below.

How long have you been working out at Overland Park CrossFit? 11 months! Time flies..

What were your thoughts after your first CrossFit workout? Do you remember what it was? Loved it. I remember coming on a day we had to do a million thrusters. Me being naive, thought it was no big deal when we warmed up/practiced it before the Metcon. Boy was I wrong. Still made it to class the next day 🙂

What has been your favorite workout so far? As much as it hurt the next day, I enjoyed the 100 devil’s press and burpees workout from the winter. It was ROUGH but I felt like I had really accomplished something many people wouldn’t have attempted.

What is your favorite cheat meal? Tough choice, it’s either sushi or 5 Guys’ Burgers.

What did you want to be when you grew up and where do you work now? Astronaut. I realized in high school that Calculus and Statistics were going to be the max my brain could handle in math. I then found the Stock Market and wanted to become a Stock Broker. However, NY is really far away from family and friends. I am now a Merchandiser Assistant at a commodity trading firm.

What do you like to do outside of work? Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking or going on walks with the wife at a park and feeding the geese.

What advice would you give a newbie just starting at OPCF? Commit to it whole heartedly. CF definitely isn’t something you can half commit to and get the results you’re looking for. It’s tough but in the end its worth it and there is no better feeling than kicking a workout’s butt. I’d also add, practice makes perfect. I’m still not very good at double-unders, but I am slowly getting there through the help of the coaches and other CF’ers that lend advice!

What is your favorite/least favorite movement? Snatch… Really anything overhead. Shoulders die every time.

What’s one Crossfit goal you have set for yourself to accomplish this next year?  Set a new PR in squats and power clean.

What changes have you seen in yourself since starting at OPCF? I’m able to move heavier weight more quickly and with better technique. Leah’s nagging… er, coaching, has kept me honest and more mindful of foot placement and other aspects of a lift that keep me from hurting myself. Klaudia’s nutrition plan has helped quite a bit as well. I am trying to gain a little bit of weight and eating as much as I do, I haven’t felt groggy or heavy during a workout. I’m seeing great results both on the scale, and in my legs and upper body.

What is your biggest improvement or proudest accomplishment thus far?  It might be small but being able to do a dip on the rings. An old football injury has kept me from doing a lot with shoulders but with the right technique I’ve been able to do those and increase the speed at which I get them done.

How do you fit working out into your weekly schedule? Every day after work! I work the normal 8-5 gig so 6:30 is the best time for me to get a workout in. I will occasionally make it to the 5:30 AM class as well later in the week but the bed sometimes wins out.

What is something you have always wanted to do but haven’t yet?  Deep sea fishing or a trip to New Zealand for many reasons but mostly to sight see. Really pretty country out there.

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When you get into a good rhythm at the gym, it can be challenging to keep momentum during periods when you cannot be in the gym.  With the holiday season quickly approaching (I saw Christmas lights at Target already….) here are 10 workouts you can crush at home, your parents, in-laws…wherever the wind takes you!

1. 10 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)

20 double unders/40 singles

100m run

2.  10 rounds

5 burpees

10 push-ups

15 squats

3.  2 rounds

50 squats

50 situps

40 double unders/80 singles

40 lunges

30 push-ups

30 double unders/singles

4.  10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Burpees

Situps

5.  12 minute amrap

200m run

15 squats

15 push-ups

6.  7 min burpees

7.   4 rounds

20 squats

15 push-ups

1 v-ups

8.  4 rounds

1 min each

Shuttle run

Lunges

Burpees

1 min rest at the end of each round

9.  14m AMRAP

22 lunges

10 push-ups

15 sit-ups

10.  20 push-ups

40 burpees

20 squats

30 burpees

20 lunges (Left+Right=1 lunge)

20 burpees

20 broad jumps

10 burpees

Looking forward to cooler weather and sweatpants,

Kimberly