September October 2008

September—October 2008

TitanFit Newsletter

Interview with Cat Bates Age - 46 Profession - Car-driving Mary Kay Beauty Consultant, and outside sales rep for Cort Furniture Rental. I drive 1500+ miles monthly, 200+ appointments monthly - so I'm always up and down and in & out of my car. How did you find out about CrossFit? - I noticed people coming and going from Herb's garage- they looked like workout buddies. When I learned he opened up as a fitness center, I approached him as a cobusiness owner about sharing leads and recommending each other's home-based businesses. I do makeovers and color analysis on Brides-to-be and he has a "bridal boot camp". It was during our conversation that I learned about the whole Cross fit idea. How did you find TitanFit - It was virtually under my nose! I noticed the same people coming and going and getting more and more fit by the week. (Yes- it's THAT noticeable!!) :) What drew you to TitanFit vs. some other CrossFit affiliates? - Herb's personality- he's a great neighbor so I wanted to see if we could work together to help each other out. He WISELY insisted that I try it before I recommend it to other people. I'm glad I did. Now that I know more about Cross fit and other "gyms" - I trust Herb to know what we're capable of and what is safe. He is really good at helping us workout safely instead of going for a good "show" like you see some gyms do on the internet. How long have you been using CF? After talking to Herb about it in April, and after a twisted ankle issue, I started it in late July. I missed a few weeks for vacation and

In this Issue: •

MEMBER INTERVIEW WITH CAT BATES

•

100 REP WORKOUTS BY: KURT FULLER

•

KURT THOMAS AND A GYMNASTIC WORKOUT

•

FIGHT GONE BAD

•

TITANFIT PICTURES

work conflicts- but have been regularly attending since August. Has CrossFit workouts changed you? - Lets see- I can start with the 3 pants sizes I've shrunk. That's the most noticeable difference. There's also the increased stamina. The best part is the confidence I've found....just pushing myself and knowing I can actually run around the block. I would not have believed that of myself until now. I love the new energy I enjoy and I love how my body feels powerful instead of sluggish. What do you like the most about the workouts compared to other programs - I like the holistic approach- we're moving our whole body the way it was designed to move. We're learning fitness for life activities. I LOVE that my 70+ year old mother can workout next to me and we both enjoy the challenge at our own level. I love the efficiency, too - I work my whole body in 30-40 minutes compared to other places that have a station for each muscle group

TitanFit Newsletter Cat Bates Continued... and intimidate anyone new. CrossFit isn't like that. This group is SO encouraging - they inspire rather than intimidate. And Herb is great at working at ALL levels - I mentioned my 70+ year old mother, my 13 year-old son, my girl-friends that are not usually active in sports at all...we all enjoy being challenged at our own level. I have no doubt it's a SAFER way to start fitness than to try to "workup to it" on your own and risk injury- or risk giving up because you don't have encouragement/coaching to keep you moving forward. It's really cool and I tell all my friends.

= B O R I N G. I love the group spirit of encouragement - it's a great motivator to see what you can aspire to and also to help someone new to see it, too. What do you like least? - Honestly- sometimes it goes so fast - I wish we weren't done yet. That's saying a LOT - I'm not any sort of sporty jocky girl by any means. :) Really - I wouldn't change anything...I really enjoy it the way it is. What else do you do for physical activities? - I am on my feet ALL day long doing outside sales calls - in-&-out of my car 20 + times on a sales blitz. I walk my dog a few times weekly when my son or husband can't. When I am home, I'm always on my feet in the kitchen- making dinner, doing dishes, helping with homework or standing at the counter typing on my laptop like I am now! :) (Standing keeps me from camping-out and surfing the net.) Sometimes I carry heavy demo bags to my MK parties - load and unload into my car. Just general activities around the house. Are there 1 or 2 things you would say to someone that is thinking of starting CrossFit workouts? - Yes- don't delay like I did. Do it right away- it's more fun than you think and when you start to feel the results of increased stamina and looser clothing - you'll like it even more. Some people say they want to “get in shape” before starting CrossFit. What are your thoughts about that sentiment? - Duh! That's pretty blonde to say......and I should know! That's probably coming from past experiences where you go to the gym and get psyched out by the fitness showoffs that max out the weights

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As a woman, did you have any preconceived notions about CrossFit? - I didn't really know enough about it to have any preconceived notions about CrossFit per se, but about gyms, yes. My preconceived notions were that you come, you move machines around and grunt and sweat and feel stupid next to the macho folks that already know what they're doing. My past experience with gyms made me expect dull - sweaty work - that was supposed to be good for you - like spinach. Just like there are different ways to cook spinach - fitness systems are all different and I am pleased to know that first-hand now. Cross fit is like a tasty spinach salad - compared to the rest that are like boiled spinach gruel........how's that for an analogy! Were you intimidated to try this program? - Yes, a bit. You just look at Seth, Doctor Rick, and Jerry and the rest of your VERY fit CrossFit regulars and I wasn't sure I could keep up or that I would fit in. I mean-we live right next door so I noticed that they “ DON’T DELAY were all looking more and more fit LIKE I DID. DO IT with each passing week as they'd come and go. I learned very quickly RIGHT AWAY— that they are wonderful encouragersIT’S MORE FUN and that the workout is scale-able for THAN YOU all levels. Are you happy/satisfied with your progress? - Absolutely! It helped that I got whistled at last week- that always encourages a girl to keep on with the sit-ups! Seriously- I love how I feel. Thank you!!!

THINK ... FEEL THE RESULTS OF INCREASED STAMINA AND LOOSER

Any last words…you know like CLOTHING” how cool Herb is? - Herb is SOOOOOO cool - he's actually man enough to play MAMA MIA music for the ladies workout session. Now that's what I call - COOL. Thanks, Herb!!! ....you rock - and so does CrossFit.

TitanFit Newsletter Fight Gone Bad The Fight gone bad was held on Saturday September 27th at Krannert Park in Indianapolis, IN. There were 14 fund-raisers that each donated at least 10 dollars to participate. 100% of the money was donated to Athletes for a cure. If you are unfamiliar with the Fight gone bad workout it consists of 5 stations and each participant performs as many reps as they can in one min. After all five rounds have been completed you get one min rest before starting the next set of exercises. Three rounds are completed and you add up every rep completed over the total 15 min workout. The five rounds are: Wall ball Sumo Deadlift high pull Box jumps Push press Rowing (calories) Top Scores: Kurt Fuller and Dr. Rick—327 Sara —288 (20lb SDLHP)

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TitanFit Newsletter Kurt Thomas Many of you are too young to remember America’s Kurt Thomas. KT “invented” a move on the pommel horse and was well known in the States for his upper body development. As I discuss CrossFit with perspective members, I mention we do gymnastic movements because gymnasts have the best bodies (from the navel up) when compared to other athletes. Recently Men’s Health wrote and article that agrees with that assertion. Enjoy the following and incorporate some of these (if not all) movements into your workouts. Many of you will see we ALREADY do a lot of these movements in our warm-up or cool down.

Build A Gold-Metal Physique By Alwyn Cosgrove, Men's Health

Pound for pound, Olympic gymnasts are perhaps the strongest athletes in the world. But it's not because they pick up a lot of heavy objects. "I don't lift weights at all," says Team USA gymnast David Durante. "I'm either practicing gymnastics or doing body-weight exercises." Which just goes to show that you don't need high-tech training equipment to be strong and muscular. One problem, though: "Not just anyone can mount the still rings and do an iron cross," says Durante. "It takes years to develop the specific muscles that allow us to perform our routines." And that's why we've created a plan that will let you train your muscles the way a gymnast does but without having to be a worldclass athlete. By combining the classic body-weight exercises (you'll add resistance to some) and cutting-edge training techniques found in this workout, you'll build shirt-splitting muscle, real-world strength, and a more athletic-looking body. And you won't have to spend hours at the gym—you'll be in and out in under 40 minutes. Your 4-Week Training Plan Do these workouts 3 days a week, alternating between the three routines each time and resting at least a day between sessions. For example, you might do Workout A on Monday, Workout B on Wednesday, and Workout C on Friday.

Step 1 Chin-up/Pull-ups/Dip Week

Sets

Reps

Rest

POUND OLYMPIC

1

4

8

120 seconds

GYMNASTS ARE

2

4

6

120 seconds

PERHAPS THE

3

4

4

120 seconds

STRONGEST

4

4

120 seconds

ATHLETES IN THE

8

Step 2

WORLD.”

T Push-up and Inverted Row 4 sets as many reps as you can do, 120 sec rest between rounds Workout B For Step 1, alternate between exercises as you did in Workout A, resting 60 seconds after each set. Do 3 sets of 10 reps of each movement. For Step 2, do the same number of sets and reps that you did in Step 1, but for just one exercise. For Step 3, see the exercise description for the Swiss-ball plank. Step 1

Workout A

Bulgarian Split Squat

In Step 1, do the first exercise (chin-up/Pull-ups), rest for the prescribed amount of time, and then do the second exercise (dip). Rest again, and repeat the sequence until you've completed all the sets. Note that when the reps decrease, you should increase the weight in order to keep the exercise challenging. (See the exercise descriptions below for details.) Follow the same procedure for Step 2.

Step-up

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“POUND FOR

Step 2 Hanging Leg Raise or Incline Reverse Crunch Step 3 Swiss-ball plank

September—October 2008 Gold-Metal Workout Continued…. Workout C For Steps 1 and 2, alternate between exercises the same way you did in Workout A. However, rest only as long as you feel you need to between sets, and use the weekly guidelines below. Weeks 1 and 3: Do as many sets of 5 repetitions of each exercise as you can in 20 minutes. Kurt Thomas on the pommel horse

Week 2: Do 30 reps of each exercise in as few sets as possible. Week 4: Do 45 reps of each exercise in as few sets as possible.

Top Left: Pull up

Step 1

Lower Left: Dip

Chin-up/Pull-up

Lower Right: T Pushup

Dip

Upper Left: Hanging Leg Raise

Step 2

Upper Right: Incline Reverse Crunch

Push-up

Bottom Left: Bulgarian Split Squat

Inverted Row

Bottom Right: Step up

Top Right: Inverted Row

Lower Left: Swiss-ball plank

The Iron Cross is one of the hardest positions to hold as a gymnast.

Lower Right: Pushup

TitanFit Workout of the Month (Megan) For Time: 5 rounds

Member times:

400m run

Chris G.—20:32

Kara E.—23:37

20 18” box jumps

DJ—20:51

Seth W.—24:15

20 Dumbbell thrusters (20lbs for Kurt F. - 21:28 men / 8lbs for women)

Carol S.—26:52 Herb—29:33

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September—October 2008 100 Rep Workouts! By: Kurt Fuller Over the course of the past few months I have completed three 100 rep workouts, for time, at TitanFit. These workouts and my times were as follows: 100 – 95lbs. Overhead Squats = 9:23 100 – Burpees = 9:32 100 – 70lbs. Kettlebell Swings = 7:54 I would like to break each of these down in a little more detail and see how they compare amongst each other. My bodyweight was approximately 155lbs. during each of these workouts. Let’s begin with the Overhead Squats (OHS). The OHS weight of 95lbs. is 60% of my bodyweight. Overall, I felt that this was the easiest of the three workouts. The weight, while over-

head, is in a static position throughout the movement. I can easily squat this amount of weight 100 times, the difficulty lies in keeping your shoulders engaged (driven in to your ears) to simply hold the weight overhead for that period of time. My arms give out far before my legs doing OHS. While the OHS involved the most weight of the three exercises it also has the most limited range of motion.

up well. This is a good workout that requires no equipment and can be performed almost anywhere. Finally the kettlebell swings. This workout was by far the hardest of the three because it combines one component from each of the two previous exercises. Namely, added weight and full range of motion (dynamic movements). The 70lbs. KB is 45% of my bodyweight. While this is lighter than the OHS weight, I’m moving this weight from between my knees to over my head – 100 times. The fact that I am able to use my entire body to move the weight helps tremendously. Again the OHS is just holding weight over head and squatting while the Burpees are a series of isolated movements (squat, push-up, leap) combined in successive fashion. I had to use my hips forcefully to propel the KB overhead, knowing that once the weight was at that position I better prepare myself to squat and absorb the impact of 70lbs. freefalling from six and a half feet and swooping between my legs. But since I was able to use my entire body, I was able to complete these 100 reps more efficiently and timely than with the other two exercises in which my arms simply couldn’t hold up to the fatigue. I was very sore the day after completing this workout. In conclusion, I would like to suggest that the 70lbs. kettlebell be returned to the retailer from which it was purchased. I have no business trying this workout again.

“I HAD TO USE MY HIPS FORCFEFULLY TO PROPEL THE KB OVERHEAD…. PREPARE MYSELF TO SQUAT AND ABSORB THE IMPACT OF 70LBS”

The Burpees are strictly a bodyweight exercise. The movement, however, is more dynamic than the OHS. Of the three exercises Burpees have the longest cycle time for one repetition. At some point during the 100 reps this thought, along with the fact that if you weighed less these might be easier, begins to weigh on your mind. The presence of a push-up within the movement is what makes this workout the second hardest of the three, in my opinion, as my arms do not hold Page 6

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TITANFIT is a CrossFit affiliate. We are located on the Westside of Indianapolis, IN (Indy). TITANFIT is not your run of the mill, ordinary training environment. In our garage gym, we help you train to achieve better overall fitness. We define fitness as the pursuit of function and we measure performance - not anatomy. Simply put if you are exercising for “boy band” abs, we are not the facility for you. If, however, you want/need to achieve real FITNESS, come experience training with us...Indy’s most hands-on training environment.

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