Standing On Your Head

Last night Tin Man and I went to Mid-Atlantic Gymnastics to receive some much needed gymnastics skills training. The staff there is great and Richard, the owner, had a lot of fun teaching us old guys some cool tricks. I look forward to incorporating some of the things we learned into our workouts. It certainly opened my eyes to other weakness I have and need to work on. (No comments please Tin Man) One can definitely see why CrossFit incorporated gymnastics movements into their program. You quickly understand that gymnasts use some very different muscle groups then someone who does a more traditional GPP or weight training program.

Other News

Our new members Ryan and Neil are blazing through our fundamentals program and they should be meeting some of our benchmark WODs by the end of next week. These guys are progressing at an amazing pace. Ryan, who was already a Kool-aid drinker, is developing his form nicely and is itching to have his intensity challenged. Neil walked in being challenged by the warm-up. In just a few sessions Neil has not only improved his fitness level but is starting to see why CrossFit stands out from other programs. At the rate these guys are going I might just be taking 3 people to the CrossFit Games qualifiers next year. You guys are doing great and I'm glad you decided to join our little gym.

Events

UFC 97 is happening on April 18th and I would like to invite everyone to come by to watch the event. Thales Leites will be fighting Anderson Silva for the middleweight belt. It should be a great fight so let me know if you are interested.

Also happening this month is the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Games Qualifiers. Tin Man and I will be traveling down to Virginia on Friday the 24th so I will not be available for training that day.

Last Word

I purchased a flat bench this week so now we should no longer need to step into a Globo Gym to do any WODs like Linda or Lynne. For now that only leaves a GHD as the last major piece of equipment left to buy. I think once that is completed I will be trying to save some money for the affiliation fee. Right now my goal is to be able to affiliate by the end of the year.

Also, I will be taking orders for shirts this week. On the front it will say "Havoc Fitness" and the back says "Wreaking Havoc in your community" with the website link underneath. These are high quality shirts so they will run about $40 each but they are well worth the money. I can email you the design if you would like a better idea of what these will look like. Let me know by Friday if you want one and what size so I can place the order.

You Know You're CrossFit When

You know you're a CrossFitter when:

1. You tell your friends that you met Pukie at the gym and they have no idea what you're talking about.
2. Your face is red the next day because you spent the previous WOD working on your hand stands.
3. Guys - You talk to your wife/girlfriend about the girls you want to do and she doesn't get mad.
4. Girls - You talk to your husband/boyfriend about the girls you want to do and he does get mad.
5. You bought a pair of Converse All-stars so you can work on your pose running.
6. You spend half your work day going through the CrossFit affiliates page.
7. The other half of your work day is spent going through the CrossFit message boards.
8. You sit in meeting thinking about how to better tighten your core.
9. You can't have one conversation with your friends without mentioning CrossFit.
10. You leave skin on the bar.

Today Tin Man left a good chunk of skin on the bar due to him dropping it on his shins. He still completed the workout but at a body weight of 160 pounds, 115 can get pretty heavy after awhile.

Another top 10 list to check out

Top 10 America's Unhealthiest Restaurants Great! Now I have less choices when eating out.

Defeating Grendel and the Dragon

CrossFit Frederick Challenge

On Sunday Havoc Fitness joined up with CrossFit Frederick to compete in their Beowulf challenge. Tin Man and I pitted ourselves against CrossFit Frederick's top fire-breathers enjoying the much needed competition we usually don't see in our little space. All those that competed in the challenge showed an unbelievable amount of determination and strength of character. Tin Man had an impressive performance showing why he is going to be a tough contender at the CrossFit Games Mid-Atlantic Qualifiers. With a time of under 30 minutes he not only kicked the snot out of Grendel and the Dragon but also had some fight left in him to take out the other CrossFitters.

Although his performance was impressive, the most incredible display of fitness cam from the kids class held just prior to the challenge. The kids challenge was a scaled down version of Beowulf that would make most adults cringe.

Kids Beowulf

500m Row

400m Run

5 rounds of

10 Jumping Pull-ups

15 Push-ups

20 Jumping Ball Slams

400m Run

500m Row

All of the kids completed the WOD in under 30 minutes then a short time later were found running around outside as if they hadn't done a workout. It will be interesting to see these young fire-breathers develop and become a force to be reckoned with. Watch out future CrossFit games challengers, these kids are already in training.

Around the Gym

In less than one week Havoc Fitness is welcoming another member to our humble space. Neil was dragged in by Ryan on Monday who got his first taste of the Kool-aid. We look forward to seeing you grow as a CrossFitter and overcoming new obstacles.

Nothing else too exciting to report, however we did get in some new Iron Woody stretch bands on Monday. This should help those who are having a difficult time with pull-ups as well as provide us with some new movements to help increase our explosive power. I look forward to incorporating them into our WODs in the coming weeks.

Last Word

Here is a good read that I found in my internet travels. Check out the link and post your comments. Characteristics of a World Class Trainee

Challenges

New Faces

We have a new member here in the Havoc garage that I would like to welcome. Ryan is new to CrossFit and seems to be quick to drink the Kool-aid, as soon as he finishes his water. He has shown a lot of motivation and mental strength in just his first two days here. I expect that it won't be long until he is a full fledged beast.

Challenge

Tin Man and I will be traveling out to CrossFit Frederick on Sunday to compete in Beowulf. This will be the first time Tin Man will have some real competition before going to the CrossFit qualifiers. Only 37 more days to go and we still have a long road ahead of us. As for his injury, I think he is healing well and making progress. As long as we don't do anything that aggravates it he should be good to go.

Around the Gym

I managed to level the lifting platform which was a lot bigger challenge then I expected. I think it would have been easier to level the floor that it was to level the platform. Still ahead is to build some better boxes and hopefully increase the platform size by two feet.

Nothing left to report so I will leave this link as a final thought.

Better Equipment = Better Fitness

Latest News

Not much has been going on at the gym but there are a lot of things in the works. Tin Man has been injured so we've had to juggle some workouts while he heals. We think he might have tennis elbow so we have had to minimize or eliminate exercises that aggravate it. I hope to be back on track soon so we will be ready for the CrossFit Games Qualifiers. On the bright side it means that I finally have some time to get a lot of small chores done around the gym. I'm also planning on making some changes to the site but I need to work out the format I want to have. If anyone has any suggestions or input on what they would like to see you can post in the comments or email me directly.

Around the Gym

We finally have a real Olympic bar and I must say that it has been great so far. I ordered the B&R bar from Rogue Fitness and I feel that it is worth every penny. We've been using some pretty cheap used bars and they have worked out okay but it is nice to know what a solid bar feels like. I think I will be sticking with these bars whenever I need to buy more. I think this bar is going to bring a lot of O-lift PRs in the coming months.

Some of the projects I will be focusing on in the coming months will to take care of the little things around the gym. The first of such projects will be to level the lifting platform. After yesterday's workout I realized how essential this project is. It can be pretty difficult to PR when the weight has a tendency to lean on you. Doing deadlifts isn't so bad but once you start taking the weight overhead it becomes a challenge. Other projects are: building spotter stands, finishing the Pukie mural, building a bar holder, buying more floor mats, build a free standing wall ball target, install the second set of rings, and hanging a leader board. After that I hope to have some money saved up to buy some of the last few essential pieces of equipment.

Events.

Tin Man and I will be participating in a competition this month. I've been talking to Amanda from CrossFit Frederick and convinced her to do a countdown to the games competition. The details haven't been finalized yet but hopefully we can get something worked out this weekend. I'll post the details and provide a commentary of the day's events. It should be a lot of fun and give Tin Man some real competition before the qualifiers.

Last but not least is an article from Forbes. I found it to be an interesting read and thought I would share. Follow the link then post your comments.