The baby is here.

Angela and baby Gwyneth shortly after she was born.

Angela and Gwyn are doing great. Thank you to everyone who came by the hospital and for all the flowers and gifts we appreciate everything. Angela is eager to get back to training, so both should be back to the gym in a couple of weeks ready to go. There will be plenty of pictures to come as she grows up into a CrossFiter.

Best gym in Spokane

Kelsey's shirt says it all.

Fundamentals.

Doreen cruising on the treadmill during a WOD.

Donell mid burpee. She is also a great hairstylist, check out Koi Salon .

Shawn is using CrossFit to improve his cycling and having great success.

Janelle hydrating after a WOD.

Erik from KXLY channel 4 came by for about 3 hrs to broadcast from our gym. We don't have any video because it was a live broadcast, but we should be able to get something soon. Thanks Erik, KXLY and everyone who made out at 4:30am. We all had a good time and a great workout.

Mary is motivated and always ready to work hard.

Mari always smiling:)

Brandon's Bench press clinic during the Sunday "Titan" class.

Sunday Class Canceled!

Be aware that this Sunday's Titan Class will be canceled. I will still be in Seattle attending a Nutrition Seminar by Robb Wolf and won't be making it back in time. But it's been a rough week and you all deserve an extra recovery day:) Have a great weekend and I'll see y'all next week!

-Brandon

Almond Cookies, Sat. Lady Luck WOD, Some More New Hours and New Equipment!

Almond Cookies...recipe below

Alright CrossFitters, we hope you all had a great weekend! Us trainers sure did at the gym. Saturdays WOD was a great "Lady Luck" WOD with the deck of cards. Although there really isn't any luck since you have to perform every card regardless:) The only luck one can wish for on these WODs is to not get too many of the same suit in a row; no other WOD causes so many curse words than after pulling the same suit over and over again (don't blame the shuffler, blame Pukie:).

We also had a great Titans Class on Sunday. Like mentioned earlier, we went over the Bench Press. I think everyone came away from it with a good bit of things to remember and work on for their next bench day. We had some great weight being pushed, and also had quite a few heavy attempts that weren't, but remember that you have to reach that limit occasionally to know where it is and work to break past it! Great job everyone!

We would also like to announce that starting this WEDNESDAY, we'll be having a 5:30-6:30 a.m. class on Mon, Wed, and Fridays. Just like the Sunday class, we'll be testing these days out for a little while to see if they get enough attendance to make them worthwhile.

And, like promised, here is my end result recipe for the Almond Cookies that I have been trying to perfect. I got the original starting recipe from a post on 'Mark's Daily Apple' but I took some things out, substituted some others, and then tried to make it taste good:) So give it a shot and let me know at the gym how they turned out (if bad, let me know and I can maybe find where you and I differed:)

I picked the Almond Meal up at Huckleberry's on the south hill (kinda on the expensive side, but I don't plan on making them everyday so I think it's worth it).

1 3/4 cup Almond Meal
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 cup honey
* Mix these together and then blend in the following:
1 large egg
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/4 cup butter (room temperature)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Once a consistent batter has formed, place in the fridge to harden for 30 minutes.
On a baking sheet/pan/etc, roll mixture into small balls and slightly flatten. I have been getting about 12 of them but you could probably get even more by making them smaller which I would suggest (maybe go for 15). Sprinkle with cinnamon (optional) and then bake for 8-10 minutes making sure to not get them too browned. Once done, stick in fridge to help them cool down and harden a little (they tend to still be pretty soft coming out of the oven). Depending on how many you make and different brands of food, etc, I roughly estimate that each cookie comes out to be around these zone block: 4 (Fat) and about 1 Block of Carb and Protien each. But no flour!!!! And since these add nothing but good and healthy fat, I have been chopping up 1/2 a cup of either macadamia nuts or pecans to throw in there as well. Pretty good for a Zone/Paleo-friendly treat!

Sat WOD, Vegas style

Always changing it up!

Working hard as a team on Sat.

Lindsey and Marissa wasted this WOD!

Mr. Mike teaching a fundamentals class...welcome.

"Please don't be another spade, please don't be another spade...ah, sh**!"

Great kip Marissa!

Team Two knocking out one of the rows

Also, we have finally gotten the new plates to replace "The Green Tens". They have been so good to us, but no longer serve a good purpose. And although they have been replaced (we now have 2 sets EACH of black, Hi-Temp 10's and 15's), we have put them on display in the gym for two reasons. The first, similar to that first dollar made, these plates have been with Mike and Angela since the very beginning of CrossFit Spokane. And as CrossFitters keep getting strong and prove they can't be stopped, the fate was not the same for the "Green Tens". But could they have lasted longer? Yes. Which leads me into the second reason for them on display...caring for your equipment. Yes, YOUR equipment. It may belong to the gym, but it is yours. These weren't intended to be bumper plates, but no matter how many times we would mention this, they still managed to get used as such. Don't get me wrong, safety rules above all and if something HAS to be dropped, so be it. But many a times we would see the obviously conscious decision to let them smash into the ground. Not good. And although we now have replaced them with bumper plates, the skinnier ones still have a tendency to bend a little if dropped hard. So, please be as kind as possible to our new circular friends:)

You can also use this care in a few other areas. We know not everyone does these, but they do occur every so often. So from here out at CrossFit Spokane, if a trainer catches you ever doing any of the following....10 burpees on the spot!:)

-Letting an EMPTY bar drop hard onto the floor (not good for the bars)
-Using a Jump Rope outside without a mat underneath
-Dropping a Kettlebell from anything higher than a couple of inches (ouch!)
-Coating your hands with so much chalk it looks like you strangled a box of powdered doughnuts
-Leaning empty bars or solo plates against the racks or walls (ouch!)
-And last but not least, if you are using "change"/small steel plates which don't allow for the collars to clear the floor when the bar is on the ground and they are left with the collars pointing down, it's burpee time! If you wonder why some of the collars have been getting "flexible", see the second picture below.

RIP Green Tens, you've been good to us.

Naughty, naughty CrossFitter:(

-Brandon

CrossFit Rocks!

Incredible recent video of Mr. Mike hitting 16, yes 16 OHS's at BW...with great depth! Way to set the bar bro!!!! Look closely at the last few at the bottom to really see that midline stabilization controlling the balance of the bar overhead....AWESOME!

Well, it's been a little while since I have posted any blogs, so I will start making up for it today. I have been acquiring a good amount of photos and have been thinking of many subjects that I would like to share with y'all at the gym. Following this post, over the next couple weeks, here are some of the subjects I will be covering (not to mention the good stuff Mike will be posting):

-Great recipe for Almond Cookies that are flour/oat/refined sugar free (finally got it right:)
-CrossFit Game WODs that will actually be posted tomorrow on the HQ Games site
-The importance of proper warm-up and some suggestions to add to your current one
-More means less : Why all women should be trying to gain as much muscle as possible
-Some thoughts on ROM: How the stopwatch can hinder your progress
-Some thoughts on the prescribed weight: Are you really improving by just taking seconds off?
-Hitting the "motivational wall" and getting through it: Setting goals rather than "just exercising"

So, before the photos, I would like to give you notice to something that will periodically be added to our programming soon. Sprints. (I am now wondering how many of you just cursed?)

I was chatting with my long time friend, XF CDA owner, and great trainer, Derek, the other day about various CrossFit training subjects and we eventually started talking about the importance of short, hard, and multiple sprints and how they can greatly benefit your performance and fitness. He has started throwing them into his programming every so often and has noticed great results. So, just like everything else in CrossFit, if it works, we'll do it:) That is why CrossFit is the most superior fitness program in the world.

Now I know that we occasionally conduct "longer distance" sprints here at the gym mixed in with the WOD, but what I am talking about are WODs that might be nothing but sprints, allowing you to not hold back for anything. Trust me, an all out effort in a sprint style WOD can leave you begging to do 5 Fran's in a row or 400 Burpees for time. As a former cross country runner (I know, hard to imagine a 220 pound dude running distance, I was smaller back then:) and having helped coached a high school XC team, I can attest to how great the benefit is at running multiple hard sprints with little rest between. Will we be doing these all the time? Of course not, but when they do come up, there is one area that requires immediate attention....the proper warm-up for working into your max effort sprint speed.

There are few movements out there that can increase the chance for injury more than hitting sprints without a proper warm-up into it. Remember this.....don't think that your normal crossfit warm-up alone is adequate to prepare you for an all out effort sprint!!!!! I can't stress this enough. The two most common injuries that can result from this are pulled muscles or shin splints (which usually comes from several exposures to "pounding the pavement" too hard, too soon.) And it's because of this that we'll introduce hard sprinting in short doses in the beginning. Don't worry, we'll instruct you and make sure you get the proper warm-ups when these days come up, but make sure to follow them! Hmmmmm...my week for programming is next week....I wonder what one of the days will be?....hmmmmmm?:)

A notice for Sunday's Titan Class: I will tell you now that it is going to be covering the Bench Press. There are many things that I would like to go over before even starting the WOD on Sunday that can greatly increase your skill at the Bench Press. I had the privilege to attend Ripptoe's Barbell Certification several months ago over by Seattle. Of all the lifts covered, I thought that the Bench Press would be the one that I would learn the least on (I have always done it and have had a strong bench)....by the time the cert had ended, with the exception of the Back Squat, I had learned more about that lift than any of the others. None of the specifics were too big, just lots of little things to help improve that lift. If any of you felt weak while doing Lynne this past Tues, try to stop by!

"Strong people are harder to kill than weak people; and more useful in general." -Ripptoe

Our own Nick Grant (on loan to CrossFit Montana for the summer), Kelly, and Alex. Root for these guys in the Affiliate Cup this Friday! It was great meeting all of you and I'll stop by CrossFit Montana next time I head that way. Thanks for stopping by! Good Luck!

These are our tools. All you need for Elite Fitness...actually, you can get it with even less than this!!!!!! Don't let the Globo Gyms fool you with all that expensive equipment!!!

Eddie (fighter on the left) will soon be spending a few days a week with us training for a fight this September! We love the diversity of the people in this gym! He'll be training right along side doctors, lawyers, students, hockey players, grandmas, beauticians, military, etc, etc,.

Great full extension at the top Janelle!

Teams of two: Misery loves company:)

Mike has HOPS! On the way up to nose-height tire jumps!

Controlled Chaos and Mayhem in action:)

Hitting the streets....CrossFit norm.

And again:)

Pregnant style Plank Holds....watch out ladies, she'll be back to "normal" soon and will be setting the bar again in no time....time to step it up! That's right, Angela will be back to 100% soon, tremble with fear ladies...and men:)

Matt's secret to success...PurePro (nasty tasting) Protein Drink. It does require you to go shirtless afterwards to take full affect!

Having some skill-based warm-up fun with mother-daughter duo, Cheryl and Mari, they have great form; expect some great things to come from them in the future!

Is that Superwoman? Nope, just your normal CrossFitter doing something abnormal:)

Working smarter, not harder...as a team; actually they are working smarter AND harder...go figure:)

Doing it right and getting some summer sun!

Kristen!, you forgot your jump rope! Oh wait, that's just some high tuck jumps:)


My son Ben; nothing specific to say here, I just thought this was a badass picture:) He looks tough, but we all know he is a little wussy lover dog:) Make sure to pet him for good luck!

-Brandon

Krav Maga

Just to let you know there will not be a Krav Maga class this Saturday. However, to compensate, Thursdays class will be about 2 hrs and cover both classes.


It's been a while since we have anything from Sean Croxton undergroundwellness.com, so here you go. Enjoy.

Join Us

No sense in wasting a chance to challenge your self.

Running with kettlebells, FUN!

Angela keeping track of her teams reps.

Brandon focused!

This is very short notice, but if you would like to get a workout and be on the news at the same time we will be here at 4:30am-7:30am Tuesday morning for KXLY 4 news. They will be doing live feeds from our gym every half hour starting at 5am. If you can't make it check it out on TV channel 4.