I begged Shez about writing up a big post before she went to Australia to compete in the Masters League but she wasn’t to keen on being in the limelight so we agreed I would wait till it was over. I would have liked to get the word out there but the wish of a member and friend is more important to me so here it is now.

Shez had been battling a couple of issues with shoulder and back before the comp and at one point it was unsure is she would even be able to compete but with the right rehab and some hard training to catch up, she was ready to go. I have trained Shez for a few years now so it was especially cool for me to see her qualify for such a big comp. She has a funny way of training. She normally does better if you aren’t too positive around her which is weird, but it works. This will hurt her street cred. but in the lead up to this comp something had changed  probably with the injuries and the pressure of having to compete on such a big stage Shez needed a bit of positive encouragement to get through some of the training sessions.

Shez was worried about the swim wod. She had been doing some swimming to prepare but she wasn’t optimistic about that one. It was great getting a message saying she got through it and was off to rest. I tried to help her with some strategy over messenger but most of the time it was just a matter of her believing in herself and trust that she had done enough.

I am extremely proud that you first of all qualified and also decided to compete as the only one from down south even with a few setbacks.

When I asked Shez to send me some bullet points I could write about this is what i got back:

“Bullet point one… i’m off to the sushi train

“Bullet point two… old people are awesome”

I guess that sums it up. Im sure we can get a big crew together for next year, and we might even qualify a couple of Dunedinites again.

Christian

Monday 16/10/17

Strength:

Bench Press

3 x 4 @ 100%

WOD: 15 min EMOM (5 Rounds)

A) in 1 min complete

3 Strict Pull ups – 4 Kipping Pull Ups – 5 butterfly pull ups

B) in 2 mins complete

10 Goblet Squats 24/16kg  &  200m Run

Caption: Our T-Shirt proudly hanging in CrossFit Gore:)

Unfortunately I had some real issues logging into the website yesterday which meant you didn’t get a blog post and we apologies for that. But it got me thinking. A lot of you seemed to be worried about what the wod was rather than finding out if there was any important info you would miss by not getting the blog post.

To get a couple of things straight I don’t write the blog post for the main purpose of giving you a heads up about what the wod is. I have a blog to create value for you. Whether it is a story about a member, things that are happening in the gym, training specific techniques etc.

Make it part of your routine to read the blog post every morning (Monday-Saturday) to keep yourself informed of everything concerning the gym. You will get a much clearer picture of what is going on and you won’t need to stress about missing events or new classes and you get to know other members through the member profiles.

Having the wod on the website gives everyone a chance (member or non member) to look up what we have programmed in the past and either remember % lifts, specific wod scores or get a feel for how we program at SPC. It is the best way to save the program and make sure it is accessible to everyone. It shouldn’t worry you what the wod is as 1. We can modify, change or scale any of the program to suit you incase you have a small injury or are too sore/tired to perform on the day and 2. It is our mission to know what all our members can or cant do and program accordingly for improvements. If you feel burnt out then yes take a day or two off but don’t flag a training session because of what is on the white board, chances are, what you are avoiding is what you need to work on.

Read the blog posts and stay informed and if you have suggestions always throw them at us we are more than happy to listen.

Christian

Friday 13/10/17

Chipper:

800m Run

600m DB carry 22.5/15kg

40 DB Snatches

200 DU

40 DB Snatches

600m DB carry

800m Run

Mark is a hardworking lad from a dairy farm in Southland. Mark is on his third year at PE School at Otago Uni where he is planing on moving into physiotherapy after graduating.

Mark has always been into sports and outdoor activities. He has always been keen to try new sports in an attempt to find his true passion. He seems to have found it with rugby. He has played representative rugby through school and here in Dunedin he plays for Varsity Prems. He still enjoys going back home where he is free to get out fishing and hunting.

After recovering from knee surgery Mark has been keen to get back to something competitive during the summer and he has definitely found it with CrossFit. He wasn’t sure what to expect when he first contacted me about getting back into fitness after rugby season. We started him out gentle but as he has kept coming in regularly he has showed huge improvements in skill and technique and we have been able to build the weights gradually. He is obviously a very strong guy so it was super important for us to keep an eye on the weights he put on the bar to make sure he didn’t re-injure himself. But I must say he has been showing great maturity in the way he has been scaling things and he is reaping the benefits from that early introductory phase now. Mark has also started our Olympic Program with Joe Kelso and that has helped his technique hugely. He will be a beast on the field when he comes back to rugby thats for sure.

It has been great to see that these gradual increases in weights and difficulty has had such an impacts on your strength and fitness and there are no issues with the knee. Now its just making sure we stay on top of things with extra little pre-hab bits and pieces so you get playing fit for next season. Mark has fitted right in with the lunchtime crew even though he is one of the quieter ones he adds a great deal to our atmosphere in class and is really easy to coach.

Christian

Tuesday 10/10/17

Skill: Bar Muscle Up / TTB

10 min warm up and progressions

10 min EMOM:

Level 1: 1-3 BMU

Level 2: BMU Progressions

Level 3: TTB progressions

WOD: 4 Rounds Each for Time

20 Russian Swings 24/16kg

400m Run

2 min rest

What an amazing achievement yesterday. With lifts of an 81kg Snatch and a 95kg C&J Amanda dominated her competition and secured the U-63 National title with her first C&J. She had a huge support crew mainly from her Fryatt Street family but SPC were also well represented, and she gave us all a super impressive show. We put up her lifts on our Snapchat and Instagram stories so you can relive her success there if you haven’t already watched it. We have a close relationship with the Otago Weightlifting Club and there are many more lifters left who are competing today and tomorrow so try to head out for an hour or two and cheer the lifters on.

Just a note about our timetable. We will be trailing a 7am class this week Monday – Thursday. If you want this class to stay make sure you back up around it and turn up.

Christian

Saturday 7/10/17

HERO WOD:

White

5 Rounds for Time

3 Rope Climbs

10 TTB

21 Plate OH Walking Lunges 20kg

400m Run

U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ashley White, 24, of Alliance, Ohio, assigned to the 230th Brigade Support Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina National Guard, based in Goldsboro, North Carolina, died on October 22, 2011 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked her unit with an improvised explosive device. She is survived by her husband Captain Jason Stumpf, her parents Robert and Deborah, brother Josh, and sister Brittney.

Good luck to all the lifters at Nationals its kicking off at 9am with Leigh M:) Then Gouldy at 3pm. Come out to watch some lifting and support the Dunedin Crew.

It will be a great opportunity for all of our members to have a look at some really good lifters and watch what they do during the different phases of a lift. You have all been coached how to do the lifts and you have worked on them yourself. Now this would be a great time to watch other lifters go through them.

When you watch the lifters don’t try to pick up subtle things individual lifters do as they are specific to them and might not work for you. What I am talking about is look at general things that all the lifters do well.  For both snatch and c&j:

• They start the first pull strong and under control (watch the position they start in),
• In the second pull how they keep the bar super close to the body and they hit Full extension.
• In the third pull of the snatch how fast they get under the bar and lock their arms out strong and keep their torso upright.
• In the c&j how fast they get under the bar and keep their elbows high as they catch the bar on the shoulders and stand it like a front squat.
• And for the Split jerk lifters how fast they get get to their split and how big the split position actually is.

Apart from obviously coming out to cheers for the lifters, that is what you should be doing if you want to be a better lifter, Take Notes. So I am hoping to see a lot of you out there over the course of the weekend.

Christian

Friday 6/10/17

WOD: Chipper

60 KB Goblet Lunges 24/16kg

50 Burpees

40 Alt. DB Snatches 22.5/15kg

1200m Run

40 Alt. DB Snatches

50 Burpees

60 KB Goblet Lunges

Photo credit. Sue Shaw. Gore Gauntlet 2017.

The Olympic Lifting Nationals are on this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Edgar Centre. Dunedin has a great group of lifters competing so come down and cheer for them. Our very own Amanda is lifting at 3pm on the Friday so there should be a great opportunity to watch her as most of you will be done working by then. Check Out the posters at the gym for all the details on weight classes and times. It will be a super entertaining comp and the Dunedin crew deserves as big a cheering squad as we can give them. Get amongst it team.

Quick Note: The apparel order has been placed so could we please get that last few payments through so we don’t have to fork out for the apparel. For you who have provided the muscle tees I’ll find out what the print only price is so just hang tight on that one.

Christian

Thursday 5/10/17

Skill: Bar Muscle Up / TTB

10 min warm up and progressions then…

10 min EMOM

Level 1: 1-3 BMU

Level 2: Skill Transfer to BMU

Level 3: Skill Transfer to TTB

WOD: For Time

5-4-3-2-1

Power Clean & Push Jerk 80/55kg

200m Run