Last weekend Tempe hosted Arizona’s first ever 5k Color Run benefiting Banner Health Cardon Children’s Medical Center. CrossFit Scottsdale was represented by a group from the Women’s classes and had a blast! Thousands of people wearing white came to Tempe Beach Park to line up at the starting line and eagerly awaited being doused in color. At each kilometer, runners and walkers were greeted with a splash of color – yellow, green, purple and pink – and ended at the finish line covered in color from head to toe. It was an amazing event and one that we will definitely be participating in next year!

Calling all CrossFitters….Competition season is upon us and CrossFit Scottsdale is proud to announce that we will be hosting the CrossFit Games Qualifier season opener “Friday Night Lights” this one night local competition is the first step in qualifying for the 2012 CrossFit Games in Los Angeles.

Opening Ceremonies will be held on February 24^th at 5pm. This competition is open to the public and all CrossFitter’s from around the state are encouraged and welcomed to participate. Registration opens on February 1^st at  www.CrossFitScottsdale.com The cost to participate in the competition is $25. We are capping athlete registration at 150 people. The goal of “Friday Night Lights” is to foster an inclusive competitive fitness atmosphere amongst our students, local affiliates and garage gym’ers where everyone is welcomed and encouraged to compete.  We want you to come and bang with the best of them, bring your friends and family to support you and have fun.

There will be 3 divisions for the “Friday Night Lights” 2012 CrossFit Games Season Opener, Prescribed (RX Gamers hoping to have high enough scores to advance to Regionals as an individual or for their affiliate cup team), Masters (age 45+) and a Scaled division to allow for maximum participation, energy and new competitors to the sport. Experienced coaches and volunteers will judge the competition to count reps, adhere to movement standards, validate and submit scores to CrossFit Headquarters. Those interested in competing in the 5 week world wide open will need to also register on www.Games.crossfIt.com to compete.

CrossFit Founder and CEO Greg Glassman has raised two goals for the CrossFit Games process. He wants to find the fittest man and woman in the world, while making the process as inclusive as possible. In his words, the goal is to “dig to the bottom of the well, and come up with the best. Participating in “Friday Night Lights” is the first step in this intense and extensive process.

If competing isn’t your thing, there are several ways for you to still be involved in this process. We are currently looking for judges and volunteers to help with the event series. If you are interested in participating as a judge or volunteer please send an email to info@CrossFitScottsdale.com Sponsorship opportunities are also available for those companies interested in marketing their services or products to CrossFit competitors, affiliate members and fans.

Stay up to date on the latest news and developments for “Friday Night Lights”, become a fan of the facebook page www.facebook.com/FridayNightLightsPresentedbyCrossFitScottsdale

So what happens after Friday Night Lights?

This year, there are 17 Regionals throughout the world. The top 60 men and 60 women from each region during the World-wide open will advance to their respective Regional competition. Similarly, the top 30 affiliate teams in each Region will advance to Regionals. For each age bracket of the Masters, the top 20 men and top 20 women worldwide will advance to the Games with no Regional competition.

Attention Team CrossFit Scottsdale:

As a school, we’ve had great experiences in the past competing in local competitions and preparing for the CrossFit Games, in 2010 we had 15 athletes compete in the sectionals event in Sothern California, 3 of our top athletes moved on to become Regional Qualifiers and we sent a 6 person affiliate cup team to compete at the Regional level. In 2011, over 30 of our students competed in the world wide open, 4 of them were Regional qualifiers and we had the privilege of sending a 6 man affiliate team to compete at the regional level. We’ve seen that competitions are a lot of fun and bring out the best in us in terms of athleticism, school spirit, teamwork and camaraderie. Everyone who has competed in the past has enjoyed it, and gets inspired to step up their training regardless of their experience CrossFitting and their individual fitness level. If you are interested in competing please let a Coach know so that we can set you up for success.

If you want to compete on the CrossFit Scottsdale affiliate team, you must compete at “Friday Night Lights”.  HQ will select our team based on our gym’s highest finishers. Our ‘Official’ team will include our 3 highest ranking men and 3 highest ranking women scores from the open.  There is no limit to how many athletes we can register for eligibility on our team.   Everyone competes first as an individual. The team score is compiled from the best performances among the team members. You are competing first as an individual and second as a team member. Your scores count for both.

Here’s a taste…Who’s in?

For updates, videos from last year and ‘real time’ coverage of this year’s event visit the Friday Night Lights event page on SICFIT.com

Strength
Clean & Jerks
2 Cleans + 1 Jerk

WOD
7 min AMRAP of:
20 Air Squats
8 Bent Over Rows 135/95
12 Ring Dips

Don’t miss the Wednesday Night Throwdown at 7 TONIGHT at CrossFit Scottsdale: Head-to-head, one-on-0ne action against anyone brave enough to enter the arena.
WOD 1 7×7 Burpee / Chest-to-Bar Pull Up
WOD 2 Max Effort Ground to Overhead in 2 min. w/ 155#
WOD 3 Double Under Unbroken – only 1 shot
WOD 4 ???? Unknown & Unknowable ????

Here are the winners in each category:

Michele Nelson – Beginner

Pam Foley – Intermediate

Ginna Ronis – Advanced

The Top 10 Things I Learned At The CFS Women’s Fitness Challenge

By: Michele Nelson

1. Showing up really is 90% of success.

2. Eating paleo made me feel like a monster when it came lifting weights.

3. Inhaling chalk dust at the bottom of each burpee gives me a sneezing fit.

4. No woman is an island. With great coaches and ladies cheering you on, you can go further than you ever thought possible.

5. You may want to puke, but you probably won’t.

6. It’s interesting how much pain is generated when a plate is dropped onto a pinkie toe.

7. If you’re not competitive with yourself, then Crossfit is not for you.

8. When you’re in your third round of Megan, everyone’s cheering sounds eerily like elves chanting underwater.

9. All of the gym teachers who told me I was too slow, too awkward, and too weak to be an athlete were full of shit.

10. Competition is fun. But camaraderie and strength are priceless.

Here are the heat assignments for both WOD’s:

WOD 1 “Megan”
21-15-9
Burpees
kettle Bell Swings
(35# Adv. – 25# Inter. – 15# Beg.)
Double Unders (3 to 1 singles for Inter. & Beg.)

WOD 2 “Weight Overhead”
5 minutes of max weight from the ground to overhead.
(It doesn’t matter how you get it there or how much weight is on the bar. Your score is total pounds over your head in 5 minutes.)

We’ve got membership upgrades for the winner in each category so get ready and we’ll see you all at 6:30!!

WOD 1 “Megan”
21-15-9
Burpees
kettle Bell Swings
(35# Adv. – 25# Inter. – 15# Beg.)
Double Unders (3 to 1 singles for Inter. & Beg.)

WOD 2 “Weight Overhead”
5 minutes of max weight from the ground to overhead.
(It doesn’t matter how you get it there or how much weight is on the bar. Your score is total pounds over your head in 5 minutes.)

So practice that clean & jerk…work on those double unders…do burpees on your coffee breaks…whatever you need to be ready to show everyone what the CrossFit Scottsdale ladies are all about!

See you all Friday night January 13!

We all know what career networking involves; it is the developing and maintaining of contacts and personal connections with different people in your niche area who might be advantageous to you and your career. Networking has helped me to get every job I have ever had, in addition to helping my businesses obtain and retain clients. Can you say the same? What are you doing to help grow and promote your business? Come see what CrossFit Scottsdale Connections can do for you!

This month’s meeting will be hosted by Dr. Sonya Bladow on Tuesday, November 15th from Noon to1:00pm and will be held at  Total Lifestyle Chiropractic.

Lunch will be provided so come prepared to eat and network!

Dr. Sonya’s focus is on women between 20 and 30 years of age, particularly before they become pregnant so she can have a positive influence on both Mom and Baby’s health. She has had extensive training in chiropractic technique and wellness, specifically as they relate to lifestyle choices in the biochemical, physical, and psychological realms. In addition, she has had many years of experience in personal training and nutritional consulting, giving her a unique perspective on health and wellness.   

  Keep in mind that networking is about being genuine and authentic, building trust and relationships, and seeing how you can help others. 

See you all on November 15th!

The results…were nothing short of AMAZING!!

ALL of the challengers embraced the Paleo concepts and lifestyle to completely re-design your health and bodies!

Here is the overall % of improvement in body composition results:

With an average of 16.32% improvement in Body Composition!  That’s a lot less fat and more muscle!

Winners of the Body Rx Challenge took home $350 in CASH and 2nd and 3rd place recieved a gift package from the CrossFit Scottsdale Pro Shop and an upgrade in membership for 1 month.

Female Overall Winners:
First Place:  Hannah Hayworth
Second Place:  Lisa Harlein
Third Place Tie:  Heather Rotan & Pam Foley

Male Overall Winners:
First Place:  Bob Hisle
Second Place Tie: Rich Rotan & Dany Hakimeh
Third Place: Mike Sheneman

Coaches “Look Better Naked” Award  (This goes to the best before & after pictures and was voted on by the coaches.)
Female:  Sarina Brown
Male: Deric Andre

Congratulations Winners!

Congratulations to all of you!  A HUGE Thank You goes out to Original Nutritionals and their Functional O3 Fish Oil for sponsoring our challenge and donating prizes.  Check it out at the CrossFit Scottsdale Pro Shop and visit their Facebook fanpage here. Thank you to all the coaches and ambassadors that made today and the Body Rx Challenge a success!

9am-Body Rx Challengers final 1 mile run and 1RM Clean & Jerk
10am-Paleo Potluck Brunch & Awards

Congratulations to all of you! 

Weekly Bonus Point Challenge #5:  For your last weekly challenge log onto the Body Rx Challenge Google Groups and tell us the following:

1. Why you entered the challenge?
2. What you learned through the challenge?
3. What positive experiences did you have?
4. What you are going to incorporate into your lifestyle moving forward?

To earn your bonus point your answers must be posted before Saturday. 

Make this week your best yet!

Now we all know that cravings are not just as simple as having strong “will power”. Here is how one of our Paleo Ambassadors Stu approached his cravings:

“Recently, I’ve been looking at cravings from a different angle.  After 15 years of having about 5+ sodas per day, I’m happy to say I haven’t touched one in about a month now.  I did it by thinking about what I truly crave for.  I crave for a level of health and fitness that lets me climb mountains.  I crave for the ability to bike long distances.  I crave for the ability to swim.  I crave for the ability to hike anywhere, not just where there’s an easy trail you can park next to.  I crave for longevity.  I basically crave for having no limits because of my health or physical condition.

With that in mind, it honestly became pretty easy to avoid unhealthy food and I don’t even try to make substitutes or only cheat a little.  I view those sodas and unhealthy foods as something that is cancerous to my goals and the lifestyle I’m working so hard to obtain.  Food is something that is meant to make me healthier and enable me to do great things for a long time, it’s not something that is meant to be the cornerstone of a social gathering that has to taste “good”.  The feeling you will get at the end of the road having achieved your goals will be FAR greater than the taste of anything sweet.

Here’s a video that I watched a few weeks back that helped me break my addiction to sugar and really place my health first before what I wanted to taste while eating.

Stay strong and determined folks, this is the only life you have.”

-Stu