Christian Pedersen

I’m so happy that we have successfully shifted locations to 36 Ward St over the weekend and as I said on Facebook yesterday you will be reading a lot of familiar stories about people helping out this week mostly because it were a lot of the same people who helped and they deserve all the accolades I can give them because we am truly grateful for all the help we have been getting even when things have been going against us.

There are still a few important things to be done but they will be sorted over the next short while with limited disturbance to any classes. The 8 private parks we can offer all our members i’m sure will come in handy throughout all of our classes and there will also be some parking for you on the street during busy classes. It is all part of the large service we try and provide you all.

Make sure you come down and see how far we have come in only a few days and as proven over the weekend the community is super strong and you can recommend us to anyone as you know how legit we are.

Note: If you have left anything behind at Vogel street fear not, we have brought everything with us so just ask me what you are missing and you will be reunited with it this week:)

Christian

Monday 28/11/16

Strength: 1RM Clean and Jerk

Find your 1RM in 15min or less

WOD: 4 Rounds for time

9 Deadlift 70/45kg

10 Burpees

6 Power Cleans

10 Burpees

3 Front Squats

It has been an absolute blast training everyone at Vogel street for the past 3 months. Running my own gym wasn’t a dream of mine growing up but as life changes goals change too and by the time I finished studying at the Otago Sports Institute I knew exactly what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. Two people who influenced me heaps were Speedy and Welshie. They showed me how to run a successful business and being part of their business gave me more perspective than anything.  It has been an amazing journey opening up Southern Peak Fitness and thinking about it I wish I had the balls to do it earlier but its done now and I’m so happy I took the plunge.

Now it is time to move premises down to 36 Ward Street in North Dunedin. We have found a fantastic place for you all and I can’t wait to get stuck in down here and make this place better than ever.

Many of you have followed me from different gyms and it does pain me a little bit to ask you to move with me again. You have gone through more change than you should and I cannot thank you enough for believing in me and sticking with me. So thank you very much.

We will be running our last classes at Vogel street today 9am and Sunday 10am so make sure you come down and have one last hit out in the brickyard:)

We will make a plan today and start the move around lunch time. If you are keen to lend a hand let me know and ill contact you when we have sorted a plan of attack

Christian

Saturday 26/11/16

WOD #1: Partner Relay

6 Rounds for time:

1:1 w/partner

200m Plate Run 20/15kg

5 min rest then

WOD #2: Partner Chipper for Time

100 Wall Balls 9/6kg

100 KB Swings 24/16kg

100 Burpees

100 OH plate Walking Lunges 20/15kg

Partition reps as needed but you can’t move on to the next exercise until you are done with the one above.

Leah has been part of our Boot Camps and a member of the gym for a few months now and she has been really enjoying a bit of change. Read this really cool journey through fitness. It has been super interesting and it has been with an amazing commitment to her goals.

Hi my name is Leah 35yrs with two young girls & work part time as a beauty therapist, I first got into fitness in 2007 after my first child was 8mths old I wanted to shed some baby weight so my dad inspired me to take up running as he had previously been a marathon runner all 40 of them , that soon went from the odd 5k race to the love of half marathons and trying to better my PB’s finishing my last half on a 1 hr 43 mins for my wee short legs that was tough.
We moved back to my home town Dunedin with my family as My husband started working for a local Rugby team, I again picked the running up & found a place that did circuit/hitt classes which I loved !
I then meet an amazing lady through children’s friends who now has become a very close friend & she had competed for some years in bodybuilding I was fascinated and intrigued as to what it would take to develop muscle like a bodybuilder and the definition I was totally scared of the being judged in pretty much your birthday suit but was assured after months of training and dedication that was the icing on the cake & me loving a challenge jumped at it when her & her husband said they would train me so with 7 mths of training 6 days a week & total commitment to the nutrition side of bodybuilding, I competed in 2015 with NABBA in chch taking a 1st place for my section & then a 2nd at South Island Classics which both qualified me for Nationals but decided to give my body a break & then still feeling like I hadn’t fully ticked my bucket list off competed with NZIFBB in May this year in a different section coming 2nd in Novice Figure .
I loved the journey & it has taught me so much about mental strength/nutrition & what it’s like to push your body beyond its comfort zone.
I had a few health issues post competition, so needed a new goal & focus & that’s when I found Christian & Southern Peak Fitness. I was quite nervous to begin with but everyone was so welcoming & encouraging.  I love the fun Atmosphere of the bootcamps & Christians strong commitment to pushing us to challenge ourselves… which I can feel. My fitness is coming along nicely so thank you so much Christian & the great people at Southern Peak Fitness.

If you see Leah around the gym make sure to talk to her she is a great girl and always happy to chat.

Christian

Friday 24/11/16

WOD: 5 Rounds for Time

200m Run

12 DB Snatches 20/10kg

12 Handstand Push ups

1 min Rest

Finisher: 8 Rounds for Time

1:1 w/Partner

100m Run

8 Burpee over Box 24/20′

Bridget has been a member since we opened our doors and has improved a hell of a lot over this time. She was kind enough to write a few words about her battle with the “Pull Up”. It could relate to a lot of people so give it a good read.

” I met Christian about 3 years ago when I started CrossFit. I have always been active playing sport and going to the gym and was looking for a new challenge. as with many people in crossFit you find things you are good at and other things that takes time to learn. For me pull ups were really hard so I got Christian to teach me over a few PT sessions which helped heaps. I got the technique sorted but it was still hard to link reps during WODs. I was only getting 1-3 at a time. When I heard Christian was starting his own gym I knew I had to be there. There are so many things I have been able to improve under Christian’s coaching but one that stands out for me is my pull ups. Since moving to Southern Peak Fitness my pull ups have improved dramatically in the last couple of months. Paired with the strength work I can now link more than 10 pull ups and recently got my first chest to bar! Pull ups used to be an exercise that frustrated me. Now I get excited when Christian programmes pull ups because I know I can do them. When Christian programmes pull ups in a WOD it is an opportunity to improve them even more. If it wasn’t for Christian’s coaching I know I wouldn’t be able to do what I can today “.

If you have an exercise you are struggling with and you feel you need a bit of extra help make sure you get hold of one of us coaches. Scaling if fine for a while but in the end we all want you to improve.

Christian

Thursday 24/11/16

Skill: 5 rounds for quality

30 sec handstand hold

30 sec rest

30 sec false grip ring pull ups or false grip ring rows

1 min rest

Wod #1: For Time

21-15-9 wall balls 9/6kg

9-6-3 Muscle ups

5 min Rest

Wod #2: For Time

21-15-9

Overhead squat 40/30kg

Sumo deadlift high pull

We had a few members who ran the Queenstown half marathon over the weekend. What a huge achievement from you all, it is great to see you are using your fitness to achieve your goals.

Megan enjoyed running the half but she’s still a bit stiff & sore but she will be back at boot camp Thursday fantastic work Megan

I often hear ” I’ll start when I get a bit fitter” and I am thinking “what do you mean”? The whole idea about starting to train with us is so you get fit. It is about you developing an overall level of health and fitness so you look good and feel good. I doesn’t matter if you can’t do all the movements straight away or that you can’t keep up with the fittest in the gym. It doesn’t matter if you are the slowest in the class because why? because those are the people we help the most. When new people come into the gym they are welcomed by positive people who want them to feel jus as good as they do we don’t judge you if there are movements you can’t do or if you are not as fit as others, we help you through it so you become one of the fit ones. More importantly, you have a great time training with others and you stay positive in or outside the gym.

Popele have to remember that current members also had issues with different aspects of fitness when they started but they overcame them. These people are only so fit because they have been members for a while and they work super hard when they are in the gym. They earned their level of fitness just like you will after you have attended regular classes for a period of time.

All you have to do is turn up have fun and the rest will take care of itself. The more you train the faster you find a goal and then things will really take shape:)

Christian

Tuesday 22/11/16

Strength:

Every 2 min for 12 min

High Hang Squat Clean – Hang Squat Clean – Low Hang Squat Clean

Focus on technique, not weight

WOD: 4 Rounds for Time

100 Double Unders

25 Burpees

25 KB Swings 24/16kg

Our new training phase starts today and we are starting with one of the stables for this phase which is paused squats. it will develop strength at the bottom of the squat which has a range of benefits described in a earlier post. Make sure to read some of the earlier posts to get a clear picture of our training focusses and other important news and tips. there is also a gymnastics element in this phase but don’t be worried it is mainly geared towards moving better during a range of movements rather than becoming a good gymnast:) There will be variations for all fitness levels.

The mornings are becoming lighter, the weather is getting better and with summer comes a more positive outlook on life. Its time to bring your friends with you to the gym for a free session at Southern Peak Fitness. You can bring them along to any class that suits you but we would recommend Friday 6am, Saturday 9AM and Sunday 10am. It would be great to see more people around the place with all the students missing for the new couple of months because of holiday.

We have some great deals for all the new members as well which are all on the website under pricing, make sure to check them all out. Remember it only takes one moment to change someones life for the better. Ask them to come along and they can see for themselves how cool a community you are part of and how fit and happy you are. That could be all it takes to motivate them to start.

Christian

Monday 21/11/16

Strength: Paused Back Squat

3 x 4 @ 70-75% of 1RM / Tempo 231x

Tempo:  2 sec negative phase  –  3 sec pause in the bottom  –  x fast acceleration through positive phase  –  1 sec reset then go again

WOD: 3 Rounds for Time

400m Run

15 Hang Power Snatch 40/30kg

12 Pull ups

Core Finisher: 4 min Tabata

20 sec Hollow Rocks or Hold

10 sec Rest

20 sec Arch Rocks or Hold

10 sec Rest

A few updates this morning:

1. There are still a few T-shirts and Hoodies to be picked up from the gym so make sure you let me know when you are in and bring payment if you haven’t paid yet.
2. Time Table up till christmas is: Monday – Friday 6am, 12.10pm and 5.30pm. Saturday 9am. Sunday 10am (we will post a revised time table over the holiday period to make sure people who are staying in Dunedin wont miss out on any training.
3. We have finally found a full team to represent the gym at the HPU Play Off 8 in Auckland first weekend of December: Aotea Frandi, Auckland – Jessica Nadine Asi, Auckland – Mike Henty, Dunedin – Christian Pedersen, Dunedin. It will be great to get going and the whole team is excited to get up there and represent us all the best way possible. There will be more info about the comp when we get closer and you can of course follow the comp online on http://crossfithpu.com/playoffs-eight/

Enjoy your weekend everyone

Christian

Saturday 19/11/16

Partner WOD: 30 min AMRAP

Buy In: 1200m Run ( 2 x 600m laps)

In the remainder of the time AMRAP of

20 KB Thrusters 24/16kg

20 Burpee Over Box 24/20′

20 Pull ups

All the apparel is at the gym, make sure you come in and pick it up ASAP and bring cash if you haven’t paid for it yet. It is looking super cool and it would be awesome to see the logo around town:) For all you jealous about not having ordered any and now want to buy some. Get hold of me and we will put another big order in before christmas but get in fast.

Next training cycle starts this coming week so make sure to commit to the next 12 weeks of regular training to get all the benefits of all the aspects of fitness that we will be testing. I am sure there will be something for everybody to work on. Looking forward to this one and so should you

Christian

Friday 17/11/16

Strength:

5 x 5 Weighted Pull Ups

SS w/ 5-10 Kipping HSPU (Strict if possible) or 3 Wall Climbers

EMOM: 10 min

3 Hang Power Snatches

3 Overhead Squats

(Focus on technique not weight)

WOD: 7 min AMRAP

30 Double Unders

10 Alt DB Snatches 20/10kg  (RX+ Squat Snatch)

You are thinking ” The Open is ages away, there is no need to be thinking about that now ” right..? – Wrong. It shouldn’t really matter if you are trying to qualify for Regionals or just want to participate. You all need to do the same reps in the Wods so you need to make sure you are getting it right now so less surprises can come up. I am specifically talking about two things. Yes, it is just as much up to the coaches to get this right but it is also about yourself and here is why.

1. When you are doing Wods you should have a bit of a plan going in. This is to make sure you don’t “Blow out” halfway through and can’t finish the Wod but it is also to make sure you know when to go hard so you don’t miss out on extra reps or finish slower than you should have. It works both ways. If you practice tactics now it will become a lot easier when The Open comes around. Find out how to attack the Wod, break the set before you hit failure so you can continue the set or try to go unbroken it its an exercise you are good at. If you practice all these things you know more about yourself when The Open starts.
2. Full Range of Motion (ROM) is of course always important we can all agree on that but when competition becomes part of it, it can be easy for some to think more about getting the reps done rather than how they get them done. Exercises which are fairly easy but where there are a lot of aspects to get right to gain a rep are specifically exposed for scrutiny. Im talking Wall Balls, Burpees, Thrusters, Box Jumps and so on. With Wall Balls its easy enough to squat down and throw the ball against the wall but.. did you squat below parallel and did you throw the ball past the line? those things you can somewhat get away with during daily Wods, unless the coach catches you, but during The Open you can’t get away with it and suddenly 50 reps turns into 60 or 70 reps because of all the no reps you are given and you can’t blame the judge but you could possibly blame yourself for letting yourself off the hook too often. The same can be said for burpees, thrusters, box jumps and other exercises. Make sure you get the full rep done before you move on.

No matter what your goal is for the Open next year, if you start training for it now you will be much better prepared to really give it a good go. If you are in doubt about doing it, practicing now will give you more confidence before it starts and that might help you decide to do it.

It is just as much up to us coaches to prepare you for it and making sure you do the right things regardless of you wanting to do the open or not. We are the ones who are here to help you improve but make sure you take responsibility for your own fitness journey too and make sure you get the most out of it. In the end its all about being better than you were yesterday

Christian

Thursday 17/11/16

WOD: 8 Rounds for Time

1:1 with a partner (4 rounds each)

200m Run

8 Front Squats 60/40kg

6 Push jerks

Accessory Work:

3 Rounds AHAP

12 Step ups each leg

10 BB Bent over Rows

8 Single Arm DB Strict Press

6 Strict TTB