This entire post is written to explain a very fundamental concept (and also to post some of the awesome shots that Super Cleary Photo took at our comp last weekend): to get better at CrossFit, you have to…CrossFit. That means showing up. That means practicing skills. Seems obvious, right? But I’m always surprised by the number of people that seem to forget this concept, myself included.

I’ll give you an example. Like every other crossfitter, I wanted to be able to do a muscle up. So every once in a while, I would jump up on the rings, attempt one, and get super frustrated when I would fail over and over again. I didn’t understand! I used to be a gymnast, how hard could it really be?! I knew I was strong enough. I could do pull-ups and dips for days. And anyone who looked at me was always shocked when I said I wasn’t able to do one. They would say, “That can’t be right. Just try it!” That would only add to my frustration and before I knew it I would be down on myself and ready to quit trying all together. It wasn’t until I finally checked my ego at the door, starting doing drills and working with a spotter, that I began to see progress and before you know it, I had one! And then I had two! A week later I completed my first workout Rx’d (as prescribed) with muscle ups and even though it took me longer than it should have due to a few failed attempts, I was beaming with joy afterwards.

I see this with a lot of beginner crossfitters. They start going to classes, and immediately want to be proficient in all of the Olympic lifts and gymnastics movements. When they can’t do something, they get frustrated and decide that they’re just never going to be good at certain skills. They act as if everyone who is able to do double unders, pull-ups, handstand push-ups or snatch over 100lbs is just naturally gifted and was able to do everything overnight. Ha, if only that were true. I repeat: to get better at something, you have to practice. That means a few things:

1. Show up, regardless of the workout. “I’m not going today because there are cleans and I suck at those.” Well, I hate to break it to you, but you’re always going to suck at them with that attitude. 
2. Put in the work. Want to get better at the Olympic lifts? Go to barbell club or oly class or whatever supplemental class that your gym offers. If you gym doesn’t have one, find one that does. Or ask a coach to work with you. Take a seminar. Sign up for private training. Practice drills in your apartment with your broomstick (I’m guilty of this). There are countless options.
3. Commit. If you want to get better at CrossFit, you’re going to have to CrossFit. You can’t just show up once or twice a week, on top of running and spinning and barre class or whatever other forms of exercise you’re holding on to. I’m not saying that you have to quit everything else that you love, but you’re going to have to make CrossFit your main focus if you want to get better. “But I don’t want to just CrossFit, I’ll get bored and my body will get used to it.” If this is your mindset, then I guess no one ever explained the definition of CrossFit, particularly the constantly varied part. If you belong to a gym with good programming, you’ll find plenty of variety.  When I first started, I held on to my old gym membership for the longest time, afraid, as most people are, to totally commit to CrossFit. After a couple of months, I four that I was using it less and less, and even when I was going to the gym, I was frustrated by the lack of adequate equipment (how does a gym not even have a pull-up bar) and pointless exercises I saw people doing. I finally cancelled and put that money to better use…new oly shoes and barbell!
4. Prioritize strength. Many people who begin CrossFitting will find that their endurance builds up quickly. Rowing, burpees and box jumps? No problem! Everyone loves a good sweat and associates that with an awesome workout. But that is only part of it. Add any barbell movement, and their numbers haven’t budged a bit. At first, this is totally normal. You must learn how to clean and snatch properly before you can start throwing around heavy weight in a workout. But if a year later, your technique is somewhat dialed in but find yourself lifting the same exactly weights, you may need to rethink your priorities. Hopefully your gym will program strength and you’ll find gains there. But if you’re only showing up on squat day every few weeks, with no increase in weight because you really have no idea of your numbers, you’re not likely to get any stronger. Why does it matter if you’re strong? Well, the lighter the weights feel during a workout, the faster your times are likely to be, and the less fatigued you will feel for the other movements. Think about it.

Listen, I know it’s hard. I have had countless frustrating days in the gym, lately more than I’d like to admit. But each time I have to take a step back, remember how far I’ve come, and keep pushing forward.

Don’t believe me? The first video below is from June 2013 and the second is from August 2014.

In the top video, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t overhead squat at all, had no idea what the hook grip was and didn’t really understand what the snatch was other than ripping the bar from the floor to overhead. How did I get better? I signed up for a snatch seminar taught by a couple of great coaches. The first day was spent doing drills. In fact, I’m not even sure if we touched a barbell, which can be frustrating when you know you’re strong enough to lift more than a PVC pipe. But each Saturday for about 6 weeks we would meet and each week we would see improvements. I can proudly say that my snatch is my best lift and I feel comfortable teaching it to anyone because I learned it from scratch. And while I can sympathize with the frustration of feeling like you’re never going to get it, I have video proof that if you put in the work, that is 100% not true. And the best part is, there’s always more to learn. Once you think you’ve mastered something, you find out another way you can improve. That’s what keeps me coming back day in and day out.

Bottom line: If you want to improve at something, you have to practice. Want to run a marathon? Get out and run. Want to be a body builder? Start doing your curls and weighing your food. Want to become better at CrossFit? Get your ass in the gym and….CrossFit!

It has been brought to my attention lately that there are several misconceptions surrounding the topic of girls and looking “muscular.” Here are a few of the statements that have crossed my radar, either directly or indirectly:

1. You don’t need to get any more muscular.
2. I don’t want to train with her because her legs are too big and I don’t want to look like her.
3. I’m scared of getting bulky.
4. I’ve gained too much muscle. I should go back to only doing “cardio.”

The list goes on.

I have a few thoughts…

1. Not everyone works out purely for aesthetics.

It is often assumed that everyone is working out for “toned” arms and a six pack. But the truth is, everyone has different goals. Some people want to be faster. Some want to get stronger. Some want to improve in a sport. Some want to prevent illness. Some want to socialize. Some want to sweat. Some want to fit into their jeans from 10 years ago. Whatever the case may be, everyone has different goals and motivations for working out.

My goal right now is to become a better Crossfit athlete. This involves getting stronger, faster and working on my olympic lifts and gymnastics skills. Is it going to give me the body I want? Maybe. Maybe not. I’ve seen a lot of changes in my body over the past year but that has not been my main focus, simply a result of the way that I train. If I wanted smaller traps and leaner legs, I might train differently. I might eat differently too. But my workouts and my diet align with my goals and for anyone to tell me to stop getting more muscular just makes me want to get stronger.

2. I would never walk up to you and tell you not to get any fatter.

I might think it in my head, but it wouldn’t be an appropriate thing to say out loud. So why is it ok to tell someone not to get any more muscular? It comes off as insulting and is just as offensive. Think before you speak!

3. Everyone’s body is different.

To say you wouldn’t workout with a trainer because you don’t like their body is just ignorant. Trainers are professionals. Their job is to listen to your goals and help you achieve them, whether that goal is to lose weight, gain weight or get stronger. What they won’t do is sculpt you body to look exactly like theirs. That’s not even possible so remove that thought from your mind.

I used to look at other girls’ bodies and think, I want to look just like her. I still find myself doing it on occasion and have to remind myself that my body is my body and nobody else’s. We are all built differently. We carry fat in different places. We gain muscle differently. We have different bone structures. Once you come to terms with that and focus on things that are within your control, you’ll be a much happier person.

4. It takes years to put on a significant amount of muscle.

Someone asked me after class the other day how long it would take before she looked like me. I’m not always sure how to respond to statements like that. One thing that people don’t realize is that I’ve been weight training for years. I may not have been doing as much heavy lifting as I am now, but since the age of 16 I have been incorporating weight training into my workout routine at least twice a week and I know that has been a solid foundation for where I am now, both aesthetically and as an athlete. Granted, none of my muscle really showed until I cleaned up my diet a bit and stopped drinking like a fish, but that’s its own topic…my point is, you’re not going to “bulk up” or “get shredded” overnight. It takes a little longer than you might think.

And to add to that, just because you put on muscle doesn’t mean you’re going to get larger. Your body composition will change as well, which means that you’ll gain lean muscle mass while you shed some of the fluff on top of it. I’ve gained about 10 pounds in the past year (not all muscle but I like my ice-cream) and I still fit into all of my clothing. I just show a little more cheek in my booty shorts 😉 Oh and I can see abs for the first time in my life. I never thought that gaining weight would give me abs! Funny how wrong we can be sometimes.

5. It’s all relative.

When people use the word “bulky,” it’s very unclear what they mean. Are they referring to bodybuilders? Competitive athletes? Do they consider me bulky? Everyone has a different opinion. Below are some of the strong women that I look up to and that I’m sure have been referred to as “bulky” at some point in their lives. I honestly can’t understand who wouldn’t want to look like these women, whose bodies represent hard work, dedication, strength and beauty, but to each their own.

Andrea Ager

Jackie Perez

Christmas Abbott

I think a lot of it comes down to our surroundings. If you surround yourself with people that are obsessed with being thin, you’ll start to obsess over it too. I get it – I’ve been there too. I used to want to be skinny. I couldn’t have cared less how much I could clean or snatch. I just wanted to fit in my size 0 jeans. But then I found myself surrounded by people who valued performance over looks, who saw girls with curves and muscles as admirable and beautiful rather than bulky and manly, and my outlook began to change. And that has made me a much happier and healthier person.

So what is my point here? If you don’t know what you’re talking about, you should probably keep your mouth shut. Just kidding (kind of). I guess my point is that everyone has their own prerogatives and it’s not up to other people to tell them what they should or should not do. Do what makes you happy and let other people do the same.

As a trainer and fitness enthusiast, I’ve always had a lot of people coming to me with their questions about health and fitness (our main reason for starting this blog!)  One thing that I hear over and over again is that people like to strength train and want to be stronger, but they don’t know how to do that on their own.  If you’ve ever felt like this, don’t fear…we’re here to help!  We could go into depth and talk for hours about building a program or even just a single workout, but we’ll spare you and just provide a brief overview to give you a good starting point.  Below you’ll find a couple of key components to keep in mind when putting together your resistance training program.

1.) Exercise Selection & Weekly Split – There are countless ways to split your strength workouts.  For example:

• Full Body
• Upper Body vs. Lower Body
• Push vs. Pulls
• Legs vs. Chest & Tri’s vs. Back & Bi’s
• Anterior vs. Posterior

No matter how you decide to split your workouts, it’s important to remember to stay balanced!  So what does that mean?  If you take a step back, and look at the major muscle groups in the body, you’ll find the following:

• Legs – Quads AND Hamstrings/Glutes
• Chest
• Back
• Shoulders
• Core
• Accessory muscles – arms, calves etc

In order to stay balanced and give yourself the best shot at staying injury free, it’s so important to train all of these groups and keep in mind that you need to balance opposing muscles.  For example, if you’re training legs, make sure that you’re not only doing exercises that target your quads, but focusing on strengthening your glutes and hamstrings as well. If you work your chest, make sure to work your back that same week (or same day) etc.

This might not be perfect for everybody…we are all built differently.  If you have an imbalance or a weakness, you may need to focus more on one particular part.  I have found that most clients need help on their posture.   This may be from sitting at a desk all day, driving a car, typing on an iphone, holding a baby etc. Strengthening the back and stretching out the chest muscle are especially important for these people.  Because of that, I usually focus on two back exercises for every one chest.

Another way to look at this is to balance your pulls and pushes.

• Vertical Pull – Pull Down or Pull Up
• Vertical Push – OH Press
• Horizontal Pull – Row (Seated, Bent, Inverted)
• Horizontal Push – Push Up or Chest Press

2.) Rep/Set Range & Rest Periods – The reps, sets and rest for your program will change based on your goals.  Below is a pretty simple chart that shows the parameters you should be lifting for your particular goal.

3.) Weight Selection – Selecting weight can be tricky if you aren’t on a strict strength/power program and don’t know your 1RM (1 rep max.) If you are new to resistance training and you really aren’t sure what weights to start with, err on the side of light and increase from there.   It’s really import to ensure that your form is on point and you aren’t sacrificing it to lift heavier weights. (Read: challenge yourself with weights, but don’t injure yourself!)  I always tell my clients that if you can easily complete ALL reps on the final set with no problem, then its probably time to increase.  You should be struggling/failing on the final set.

4.) Progression/Regression – As you get stronger, exercises will start to feel easier.  In order to keep improving, you must continue to challenge yourself.  Obviously adding volume (reps & sets) and/or increasing the load (weight) will make an exercise more difficult, however there are a few other ways to challenge yourself:

• Increase complexity – Try putting 2 moves together.  For example, add an overhead press to your squat (thruster.)
• Decrease base of support – Stand on something less stable (BOSU) or take the exercise to single arm/leg (pistol squat.)

5.) Form – We recommend having someone critique your form before moving onto very heavy weights, but we’ll give you a couple of general rules that hold true to most training basics.

• Stance – Feet should be shoulder width apart – This will give you a solid base of support
• Weight in Heels – Ensure that your knee is inline with your heel – Your knee should not go beyond your toes   *Note: for power moves, your weight will shift to your toes throughout the move…as it will when you jump.
• Toes – Parallel or slightly turned out
• Knees – Pointing  in the same direction as your toes
• Core – Tight
• Shoulders –  Down and back – Keep your shoulders away from your ears & do not tense…unless you are actively performing a shrug
• Keep a Neutral Spine –  Do NOT round your back – Head, shoulders & butt should all be in one line

Below is a sample workout that hits the whole body.  For more examples, check out some of our other past workouts on our instagram or facebook page.

As we mentioned before, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to strength training, but we are hoping this gives you an idea of where to start!  If you’re brand new to resistance training, it’s always helpful to start out with a trainer to ensure that you’re executing everything with proper form. If you still are lost or are interested in a2a designing a program for you, contact us!

So you’ve signed up for your first Civilian Military Combine. Congrats! Now you’re wondering, what did I just get myself into and how do I make sure I’m prepared? Well, that’s where we come in! We’ve got about 8 weeks to get you CMC ready, so we’ve put together an 8 week training program that includes conditioning, strength, endurance and skill work that will have you ready to crush both the Pit and the obstacle course on May 17th.

The graphic above gives a breakdown of how each week will look. Each Friday, we’ll post the program for the following week in here.

Below is a description of each of the different program elements.

MONDAY

The Pit: This is your opportunity to practice the Pit. The first week, we will ask you to choose the Pit division (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, or Delta) that you think you’ll be doing race day. See the graphic below for a description of each. You’ll track your reps completed and use that as a benchmark for when you do the Pit again a few weeks later. After the first week, we’ll provide you with variations of the Pit (7 minutes instead of 5, heavier weights, etc.)

Conditioning: This will typically consist of a shorter run or row or interval training. The objective is to get your body conditioned for the obstacle course as well as the Pit, and to test your work capacity after completing the Pit.

TUESDAY 

Strength: Tomorrow, we’ll be posting details on how to create a strength program, so stay tuned. If you’re relatively new to strength training and going to be doing it once or twice a week, we recommend that each session be full body. This will also ensure that you’re not focusing only on arms or legs one day so that you’re too sore to continue training the next day. Tuesdays we recommend performing fewer reps at slightly heavier weights to focus on building strength. Each strength session, we will recommend a movement that you should incorporate. For example, pull-ups, dips, seated row, etc.

Skill work: These will be focused on getting you ready for the obstacle course and will include things such as farmers carries, bear crawls, rope climbs, tire flips, etc. We know that everyone might not have access to all of these things, so we encourage you to get creative!

WEDNESDAY 

Endurance: This will be a longer conditioning piece. We’ve included recommendations – stairs, run, row, etc, as well as a time period or distance.

THURSDAY

Rest Day: This is just as important, if not more, as the other days! Your body has been working hard the past three days and needs to rest! Spend some time mobilizing. (we’ll post more on how to do this later) or get a massage. If you really need to move, go for a walk or a yoga class. Then rest up so that your body is ready to go hard for the rest of the week!

FRIDAY 

a2aWOW: We’re going to continue posting our a2a Workouts of the Week, and this time they will specifically be catered to getting you ready for the CMC.

Conditioning: Friday’s conditioning piece will usually involve stairs. The Poconos course is not flat and we want you to be ready to climb! As we progress, we’ll add objects for you to carry while climbing the stairs. These can be done on a stairmaster/stepmill or outside.

SATURDAY

Strength: This is your second strength session of the week and we recommend performing more reps with lighter weights to increase your muscular endurance. Again, we will suggest movements that you should include.

Skill Work: Similar to Tuesday, we will recommend a skill for you to practice.

SUNDAY 

Rest Day: You’ve worked hard this week! Spend some more time on mobility, eat something yummy, and get ready to get back to work on Monday!

We hope this gives you a good picture of how we would recommend training for the CMC. Obviously, we know everyone’ s schedules are different. You might not be able to start your week on Monday and rest Thursday/Sunday, and that’s fine. Adjust how you see fit. Don’t want to skip out on your favorite spin class? Totally cool – there’s your endurance! High Intensity training studios such as the Fhitting Room (aka come to Julia’s class!) are also great ways to work on your conditioning and muscular endurance.

In addition to the training program, we will be posting weekly tips for you, which will include ways to be efficient in the Pit, what to wear on race day, nutrition, etc., so follow us on Instagram – @average2athlete and @Powercakes – to be kept in the loop.

Finally, be sure and check out our Meet-ups page, where you’ll find opportunities to come practice the Pit with us! For those of you in the NYC and Pittsburgh areas, once the weather breaks, which it looks like it finally might (finger’s crossed!), we’ll be hosting meet-ups outside as well. Stay tuned for more dates!

As many of you know, I left my marketing job about 2 months ago to pursue a full time career in fitness. To some, this may seem like a pretty risky move. It completely goes against any traditional career path or definition of “success” that has been drilled into most of our brains. And believe me when I say, I’m typically a pretty risk-averse person. Hence why I put off this career move for so many years despite the fact that there was always something in the back of my mind telling me I wouldn’t be happy unless I worked in fitness. But I chose to ignore that nagging thought in an attempt to find a “real” career. I mean after all, I do have student loans to pay. I’d be leaving a steady salary and benefits. Plus, wouldn’t my parents be disappointed to find out that their studious daughter with “so much potential” and an Economics degree from Duke was just going to become a personal trainer?

So I spent two years working in investor relations and two years working in marketing only to find that I was never completely happy. Sure, I went through phases, but I always kind of felt like I was wasting my time. Going through the motions because I felt I had to, and doing enough to get by but never really giving it my all. I could never be that great at my job if I wasn’t passionate about it, no matter how hard I tried. That’s just not me. My heart has to be there. And it wasn’t.

(I felt that this post was lacking in pictures, so I decided to show you what I’m eating at this moment. Yes, that is a chocolate peanut butter milkshake. If you haven’t had Bareburger yet, I highly recommend you get with the program.)

One day I was browsing Craig’s List (yes, they list jobs there too) for anything fitness related that I might be able to squeeze in outside the hours of 9 and 6. I was fortunate enough to stumble across a listing from the Fhitting Room. I hadn’t heard of it, but I scoured the website and everything seemed very in line with my outlook on fitness. Functional training? Strong is the new skinny? Kettlebells? I could get into this. So I sent in my resume and hoped for the best. Lo and behold, they asked me to come in and take a class! Before I knew it, I had been hired and was co-instructing alongside Eric Salvador (I didn’t realize at the time the amazing learning experience that had just been handed to me with this one), Daury Dross, Ben Wegman and Amanda Butler. All star crew right there, if you ask me.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure at first how I was going to feel about teaching. I knew I loved working out, but would I love helping a room full of people work out? More importantly, would I be good at it? There was definitely an adjustment period. I am a shy person by nature and performing in front of a room is something that is VERY far outside of my comfort zone, so it took me a little while to come out of my shell. Because I have been working out on my own for so long, things like demonstrating, correcting form and programming came somewhat naturally to me. But learning how to own a room and really inspire people, now that takes work! Slowly but surely I started to get the hang of it, and I can now say that I absolutely love it. Yes, it’s exhausting, but it’s so much fun and best of all, it’s rewarding. Especially when you see people who show up consistently starting to get stronger, starting to move better. It’s an awesome feeling to know that you had something to do with that.

Ok, back to my saga. For about 5 months, I was teaching classes, going to work and trying to figure out how to squeeze in my own workouts in between (which usually happened at 5:00am before teaching class). I was so happy to finally be able to fit my passion into my life, that at first I didn’t mind the crazy hours. But after a couple of months, I was starting to burn out. A couple nights with 5 hours or less of sleep, fine. After a third or fourth night, I start to get the old eye twitch. I wasn’t able to focus at work, my workouts were starting to suffer, and I new that I wasn’t going to be able to maintain my schedule much longer. Not to mention that I was teaching on the weekends, which meant my social life was pretty much non existent at this point (although if I’m being honest, it still pretty much is, but I’m ok with that right now).

Finally, after bitching and moaning about wanting to quit my job, I realized what a brat I was being. The situation was completely in my hands and I needed to stop whining and take action. So, I set a date for myself. December 20th. That was going to be my last day of work. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to pay my rent, but something told me that this was the right move and that it would all work out. And believe it or not, things are going great. I’m teaching, training private clients and working some front desk shifts at the Fhitting Room to make ends meet. I’m able to focus completely on building out my career doing something that I love, and that is such a relief. Am I still exhausted all the time? Sure. But it’s a different type of exhausted. It’s not from lack of sleep, but from busting my ass and putting all my energy into what I love each and every day.

For anyone out there who is considering following their passion but is hesitating because of the insecurity or negative stigma that comes along with it, I hope that maybe my story will inspire you. I’m not saying to quit your job right this second, but rather, start finding ways to incorporate your passion into your life, and when the time is right, take the leap. There is always going to be a little risk involved, but keep in mind that the hardest step is the first one. Once you’ve made the decision and decide not to look back, you’ll find a way to make it work. You’ll never regret leaving something that was comfortable, but you will regret not following you heart, especially when it’s too late.

Ok, enough sappy talk for tonight. I’d like to end this post by sharing with you a few (very random) observations that I’ve made since beginning my career in fitness:

1. I don’t remember the last time I put on shorts or pants without an elastic waist band. Or shoes other than sneakers. Or a regular bra for that matter.

2. I’m hungry all the time. And I eat a lot of bacon. And a lot of ice-cream.

3. People assume that I have hours and hours of free time just because I’m not sitting behind a desk. If only this were true.

4. When I’m not working (or working out), all I really want to do is veg on the couch and decompress.

5. I don’t really consume alcohol anymore. I just can’t afford to be hungover. That being said, I could really go for a margarita right now.

6. I need to be with someone that understands and accepts my lifestyle, which will most likely be someone in the fitness industry.

7. There are always going to be critics out there. And all you can do is try to extract any value that you can from their critique, and then forget they exist and move on.

8. A killer workout can change someone’s entire day.

9. No matter how tired or run down I feel, I’ve learned to find that last ounce of energy and run with it.

10. Mondays are so much better to have off than Sundays.

11. You really can live your dream. It’s not a myth! But it’s up to you to make that happen.