Christian Pedersen

Letty is right into her endurance races. She has completed a variety of different running and mountain biking events. A few that stand out to her is the Hawea Epic which she has completed twice (160km mountain bike endurance race). Also last year and the year before she did a 2 day mountain biking trip on the old ghost road and she will do that again this christmas. It is a 115km mountain biking course.

Letty is part of my original boot camp crew and it has been great to see how she has improved over the years and had the courage and confidence to join in on all these endurance races. She also loves her Crossfit mainly because as she puts it “It’s probably one of the only sports where guys don’t see a girl as lesser, they see you as equals, it’s about effort rather than gender”.

Letty is a teacher at Taieri College and last year they went to Africa with World Challenge. They went to Kenya and Tanzania for a month. It included a massive tramp through some fantastic countryside and they helped build a school. Make sure to ask Letty about this amazing trip when you see her again:)

Letty’s big goal is competing in the Coast to Coast 2018 so there is no doubt you will be seeing her training hard.

Christian

Friday 30/09/16

WOD: 12 min Time cap

Complete 5 rounds of:

15 STOH 40/30kg

12 Alt pistols

9 TTB

Max Muscle Ups in remainder of the time

Finisher: 3 sets of

30m Walking Lunges

100m KB Overhead Carry (50m left/50m right)

The boys took advantage of some good weather the other day. So why not get upside down:) We have been working on that a lot the last few weeks and everyone are reaping the benefits from it with improved shoulder mobility and stability. Not everyone are ready to kick into a handstand and walk but most of the members are at least able to do a wall climber to handstand against the wall.

If you turn up 5 or 10 min early it would be a good idea to practice something you feel needs a bit more work. No matter what it might be it could be as simple as working on your air squat.

We have some really talented members around the gym across all age groups so its important that they keep developing especially if they are interested in competing at some stage. It was clear to see over the weekend comp that a lot of members enjoyed a chance to see how they stacked up against others even if it was a team comp. and i am sure they will get plenty of chances in the future to compete with and against each other.

This leads me into my final point for todays post about not competing every time you are at the gym. It is great if you are a competitive person we don’t want to take that away from you but we want you to pick your battles wisely. When there is a competition on, then you compete and you work as hard as you need to, to win. Though, when it comes to just doing the workout of the day, try to take it back a notch and work hard on improving certain aspects of your fitness or skill level rather than just trying to get the work done first. Its not all about winning the workout of the day, its more about improving over a long period of time. If you go in with the mindset of having to win every day you will eventually start to cut corners and that will not help your fitness. It will keep you dishonest through a host of things like resorting to partial rep rage of motion, rep shaving, counting attempts rather than only good reps and  and it will ruin your technique which could very well lead to injury. So make sure when you are at the gym we want you to work hard but its not about winning every day its about improving every day.

Christian

Thursday 29/09/16

Strength: 5 x 3 Back Squats

Set 1-2 @ 70%

Set 3-4 @ 80%

Set 5 @ 90%

WOD: For Time

100-80-60-40-20 Double Unders

10-8-6-4-2 Squat Cleans 80/50kg

If you are considering trying out a gym that focuses on fitness classes look for these five things before committing to a facility.

1. Coaching

A gym is a great place to learn new exercises, skills and drills. There should be plenty of certified coaches who can share their knowledge with you. Every training session you participate in, should be run by a certified coach. You should always be taught correct technique for all movements before starting a workout. The coach should continue to help out during the workout if you forget any movements or if fatigue prevents you from performing the movements safely. That way, you know at any time during a workout you are taken care of and you can focus on just working out and having a good time.

2. Scaling Options

When you turn up to a class for the first time, chances are you will see a lot of high skill barbell and gymnastics movements like Snatches, Clean & Jerks, pull ups, ring muscle ups etc. Don’t be disheartened if you see other members doing a lot of exercises you cant do. The members performing these exercises have most likely been doing classes for a long time and have eventually developed the skill level necessary to do them. That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to, with time. There will always be big differences in fitness and skill level among members. Therefore, you need to make sure the gym has an appropriate substitute exercise (scaling option), which caters for your level of fitness. If you are unsure about what scaling options are available for you it doesn’t hurt to ask the coach and they should easily explain it to you. If they cant you should probably visit more than one gym to check out how different places scale for you.

There are many scaling options to insure every member gets a good workout: It could be a subtle change like lifting a lighter weight during a workout or it could be bigger like doing a different exercise to the ones prescribed I.E. ring rows and push ups instead of muscle ups. It all depends on the individual.

3. Cleanliness

You can always see how much the owner and the employees care about the place compared to how clean it is. It doesn’t matter if they stay late and clean it themselves or if the pay a company to do it. The main issue is, is the place clean when people walk through the door. Are the toilets/showers clean, are the lights working, are there toilet paper and hand towels in the dispensers at all times? Are all equipment and especially the floor clean or are there chalk and dust and dirt everywhere. It is easy to tell if it is generally dirty around the place or if it is just from the class before. Also when it comes to cleanliness are the coaches enforcing a policy of members helping with the cleaning of equipment after use? That will keep things tidy and it shows they care about making sure all members get a good experience no matter what class you join in.

4. Community

The amount of enjoyment and support you get from working out with a big bunch of friends is incredible. When you do well they celebrate with you and when things are going against you they help and cheer for you. One thing is for certain you can always count on your friends. It’s a special bond you share with people you train with. You understand each other because you all go through the same struggles and you all go through the same successes and more often than not you do it together. You can always see the strength and size of a community by how much the gym is doing for its members. Is there good banter around the place or are people just complaining quietly to each other?

5. Equipment

Is all the equipment clean and in good working order as most of the gear you will be using is most likely metal I.E. barbells, Kettle bells, Dumbbells and Pull up bars, it is important that there is no rust around at all. When it comes to barbells here are a couple of quick tips; Make sure the end sleeves on the barbell spins nicely as you can get hurt if they don’t spin well and check if the sleeves are creaking when you spin them as that could mean it needs to be cleaned out or fixed. All other equipment is pretty much just look at it when you pick it up and anything out of the ordinary should come to light straight away.

These are my 5 main tips to check out before joining a gym. And as always if you are interested in trying our facility or you know of someone who should give it a go don’t hesitate to bring them in for a chat or a trial session.

Christian

Wednesday 28/09/16

Strength: 5 x 3 Strict Press

Set 1-2 @ 70%

Set 3-4 @ 80%

Set 5 @ 90%

WOD: 3 Rounds For Time

14 CTB Pull ups

7 Power Snatch 60/40kg

400m Run

Accessory Work: 3 Sets for Quality

Max Handstand Walk or Handstand Hold (free/wall)

Max Hanging L-Sit

If you have ever participated in Small Group training, One on One PT or Boot Camp with me, you know what makes my training model unique. It requires a serious commitment and more effort than most are willing to put into any training regimen.

You don’t only commit to becoming physically fitter and stronger. It is about improving all facets of your life physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Something you don’t achieve in a few weeks but over a long period of time and only if you commit to the process and accept that change doesn’t happen over night.

While doing a program you will notice your whole life will start to improve: You become less stressed because the important things in your life will take up more time than the little things. You become more productive at work, Parenting becomes easier and you will start to enjoy your evenings with your family because now you have the energy to. That is what I can help with but that isn’t a complete program.

You play as big a part in this as I do because, You forge strong relationships with your teammates by going through the training together and you will be there for each other because that is the only way you will get through the training. You count on each other to turn up to every session and give it your very best effort to achieve the desired result. You inspire everyone around you to do more and do better in training and in life. You improve the character of your teammates and their success is your success. You do all of that with or without knowing

To all my past, current and future clients, Thank you for letting me do what I love doing. Watching positive changes happen up close, is a great feeling. I hope you take at least one piece of advice from me whether it’s related to your training or your personal life and keep inspiring everyone around you.

Christian

Tuesday 27/09/16

Strength: 5 x 3 Deadlift

Set 1-2 @ 70%

Set 3-4 @ 80%

Set 5 @ 90%

WOD: 9 min AMRAP

12 Wall Balls 9/6kg

6 Burpee Box Jumps 24/20′

Note: T-Shirts and Hoodies can be ordered through the gym now so get in quick before we put the order through:)

The atmosphere was incredible at this weekends partner comp. It was so cool to see all 14 pairs throwing down and it was great to see all the spectators getting into it and cheering for everyone. Hopefully it showed how great a community we have created in such a short time and it will get them down to try out a session. Huge thank you to our sponsors. As you all know we support Solid Strength Equipment 100% and Paul has been a big help in providing us with top quality gear both for daily training and this comp which was vital in making the transitions go smoothly. OneSupps Dunedin were also a great help by providing us with some super cool prizes.

Rachel & Marco took out the comp with a win in the last Wod so it really came down to the wire:) The very talented pair of Tiree & Joe (Winners of Wod 2) took 2nd and Tessa & Raph held on strong to take out 3rd place after winning Wod 1. Everybody knows how fit and talented Amanda & jack are and it was so cool for the community to see those two joining in as the “Dream Team” and getting amongst it with the rest of the teams.

I think most of the participants got a chance to PR in some form and also enjoy the competitive environment at the same time. The main reason for this type of comp was to get the whole community involved, have fun and doing some fitness at the same time. I know there were a few of you who doubted if you could do it but I am sure you are happy you decided to join in. I am also sure that some of you who didn’t participate will be super keen to join in next time after watching all the fun.

It was also great to see all the spectators coming down who are not members yet:) If you liked what you saw, you can always come down and have a go or contact us to have a chat. We are very approachable and always happy to have a chat.

Christian

Monday 26/09/16

Skill/Capacity For Max quality reps

3 Min: Double Unders – 90 sec rest – 3 Min: Burpees – 90 sec rest

2 Min: Front squats 60/40kg – 60 sec rest – 2 Min: HSPU – 60 sec rest

1 Min: TTB – 30 sec rest – 1 Min: STOH 60/40kg

Finisher:

90 sec Prone Hold

Block lap Farmers Carry (AHAP)

90 sec Prone Hold

The boys are looking great in the new logo T-Shirts and Hoodies from AS Colour.

I am now taking orders from everyone who would like to get their hands on one or more of these items.

Price:

T-Shirts: $35

Hoodies: $60

You can try on a variety of items at the gym to make sure you buy the right size for you. We have S, M, and L female T-Shirts. Male T-Shirts we have S, M, L and XL. For the Unisex Hoodie we have S, M, L and XL. More sizes are available for purchase if needed.

We have made it simple for the first round of clothing and we have gone with a very nice looking Navy Blue with a White logo. Printing has been done by Jonesy at Monogram House. they have come out very cool and I can’t wait to seeing these T-Shirts and Hoodies around town.

Get hold of me at the gym or contact me on mobile or email to get your T-Shirt or Hoodie and bring cash to pay for them. bank details can be provided on request.

You can also check it out on our website shortly.

I am fizzing for todays comp it will be a great couple or hours and we have come up with some great workouts for you to rip into:) Good Luck to everyone

This blog post is not about proving to you whether high intensity training works, because it does work, it has been proven, its been done. What this blog is about is how do you get better at performing work at high intensity so you can get the most out of any workout we throw at you. This is something that needs to be taught first of all and then it needs to be practiced. We as coaches will teach you through weeks and months of training by giving you different strategies during wods and making sure that whether the workout is 2 or 5 or 9 mins long, you are still tired at the end of it.

Points that we will teach you about performing wods at high intensity is:

1. Making sure you scale the workout right so you can keep performing reps rather than spending most of your time resting.
2. Giving you specific work and rest intervals during a workout that keeps you performing reps even though you might be tired. (I am of course talking about good safe reps which can still be performed under fatigue otherwise how does anybody get fit if you don’t workout under some fatigue)
3. You don’t know when your form will break down under fatigue until you become fatigued enough for it to happen, and if you do that with one of our coaches present we can identify it, stop you, help you to regain good form and you can continue safely to finish the wod. If you were to work out hard by yourself and you push through with bad form then you might get injured. What I am getting at with this point is if you don’t push yourself hard enough to find that limit you will always be missing out on potential improved fitness. But to get to that point you also need to trust us coaches that we will stop you in time before your reps deteriorate too much and we get you back on tract and keep you injury free. It is a two way street. We make you work hard, but we also reserve the right to stop you if we see you perform bad reps but that is another discussion I will leave for another blog post.

Points for practicing high intensity work:

1. The main thing here is commitment to working hard during short workouts. It is about finding the next “gear” and that isn’t easy if you have been used to long slow workouts in the past.
2. It could be using minimum work per minute so in EMOM wods making sure you not only get the work done but getting it done as fast as possible.
3. The last point is not avoiding the days where the wod has a short timeframe. Embrace it and understand that true fitness is being good at completing any type of work whether it is a lot of work that will take longer to complete as well as small amounts of work that should be done in a short time.

Make sure you commit to high intensity work and if you are unsure of how to get there ask you coach that is what we are here for. “Don’t be impressed by volume, be impressed by intensity” Greg Glassman

Christian

Friday 23/09/16

Strength: Clean & Jerk

Option 1: Find 1RM in 15 min

Option 2: Work on technique in single reps

WOD #1: 5 min AMRAP 1:1 W/Partner

4 Squat Cleans

WOD #2: Sprint relays 1:1 W/Partner

400m sprint, 200m sprint, 400m sprint, 200m sprint

NOTE: Tomorrow is our partner comp and there will be no morning classes. Come prepared to work hard but above all have fun. we are planning to start at 10am so please be there earlier if possible. We should be done by 12.30pm.

Open Day is coming up 8/10/16 same day as Vogel Street Party and there will be plenty of activities and demos planned for everybody so make sure you let your friends and family know about it.

More info to come soon.

There are many options to choose from when you are looking for gym equipment but there is one company I will be happy to recommend over all of them and that is Paul Davies and SS Equipment. Paul was very quick to reply to my first inquiry and setting up a big order through his website was very easy. Paul pretty much sorted out everything within a few days and we didn’t have to wait long considering the size of the first equipment order. We have organized another 2 smaller orders with Paul since then to accommodate for rising membership numbers which is amazing and every time dealing with Paul has been smooth sailing. SS Equipment has a wide variety of products, the quality is second to none and he is selling it at very affordable prices. I get positive comments daily about the equipment which is great. it solidifies that we made the right decision from the start in committing 100% to SS Equipment. And not to worry, we have more top quality lifting equipment coming soon:)

If you are interested in getting hold of Paul he can be reached at:

[email protected]

Christian

OPEN DAY! We will be having an Open day as part of Vogel Street Party 8/10/16 There will be a lot more info coming out about this event in the next few days so make sure you check our website and our Facebook page.

Thursday 22/09/16

Strength: 5 x 5 Deadlift

Sets 1-2 @ 65%

Sets 3-4 @ 75%

Set 5 @ 85%

WOD: For time:

10-8-6-4-2 Power Snatches 50/35kg

15-12-9-6-3 Burpee Over bar

Finisher: 2-3 Rounds for quality

Max Strict pull ups

Max Push ups

1 min rest

Chris is an engineer who is working with Mikes business and he has been a huge help with getting a lot of our gear made. He made our amazing looking 3 squat bay Pull up rig and this cool new addition to our gym a four bay plate rack. It really makes for a great feature of the gym and is super practical when it comes to storing all our plates and keeping everything off the floor so we can keep the gym clean and hygienic for all of our members. With all the new equipment coming in the next few weeks I am sure we will be asking for his help again. Both staff and members are very grateful that we have a guy like Chris who is keen to give a hand and take time out of an already busy schedule to make gym equipment.

This Saturday 10am is our in-house partner comp and it is shaping up to be a great day with many teams signed up. Make sure to let us know if you are keen to participate. It is for everyone and we are mainly here to have fun and workout together but it is of course a comp so there will be prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd so plenty of reasons to sign up and work hard:)

NOTICE: There will be no morning classes on Saturday as most of the gym will be participating in this comp so make sure to come down and support, help and hang out if you are not competing.

Christian

Wednesday 21/09/16

WOD: For Time

21-18-15-12-9

CTB Pull ups

Box Jumps 24/20′

HSPU

Finisher: 2 Rounds of

200m Plate Carry (Bear hug) AHAP

60 sec Prone Hold

2 min Rest

Marcus Matapo, born and raised in Dunedin by his mother who is originally from Cook Islands. He has always been into sports, especially rugby, where he played for various rep teams during high School. He loved playing basketball but gave it up after as he puts it himself “stopped growing at age 13”, I can relate mate. Like many others he benched and curled his way through a few years at commercial gyms and after thinking, there must be more to fitness than this, he decided to study Personal Training at the Otago Institute of Sport and Adventure to further his knowledge. Now into his 2nd year of studying, earlier this year he found out more and more about CrossFit and wanted to pursue it further. That presented the opportunity for him doing his work placement with us.

As many of you know Marcus has been a member of Southern Peak Fitness since day one and he works as hard as anybody. That is one of the main reasons I thought it was a good idea for him to do his work placement here. He walks the walk when it comes to fitness and he is very knowledgable even at his young age. But most important, he is very keen to learn and he believes functional fitness is the right way forward.

He will of course continue his own training in classes but he will also be observing classes to better learn about the many facets of coaching before we get him more involved. You will see a lot more of Marcus so make sure you introduce yourself if you see him for the first time and of course feel free to getting his opinion on various health and fitness subjects.

Christian

Tuesday 20/09/16

Strength: 5 x 5 Back Squats

Sets 1-2 @ 65%

Sets 3-4 @ 75%

Sets 5 @ 85%

WOD: For Time

600m Run

40 Thrusters 50/35kg

600m Run

Finisher: 3 Rounds for Quality

8 KB Box Step ups AHAP each leg

Max Hanging L-sit

Note: We are getting teams involved with the comp now, so it is looking to be a great comp. Make sure to find a partner and be part of our first in house comp this coming weekend Saturday 24/09 10am