CAFFEINE………that invisible life force in the world that keeps all life on planet earth moving forward…without it, we would spiral into a post-apocalyptic decaffeinated nightmare. Just kidding…on a serious note…lately the newest caffeine/pre-workout craze are these BANG energy drinks that have 300mg of caffeine or what is equivalent of 3 cups of coffee. I am going to do my best not to be super technical and complicated but I do want to go into a little bit of detail about what caffeine is and the effects it has on the body. First and foremost, what is caffeine? Well to put simply, caffeine is a natural stimulant most commonly found in tea, coffee, and most exercisers cases, their pre-workout. Caffeine works by stimulating the brain and the central nervous system, helping you stay awake and preventing the onset of tiredness. Once consumed, it absorbs quickly into the gut and into the...

Aaron has been a member at our gym for almost four years now, but has been doing CrossFit for about five. There is a stigma on CrossFit that it is dangerous or that it is for young, in-shape people, but Aaron is proof that both are not true. Aaron is by no means old, being barely in his forties, but the fact that he has come to almost 200 hundred classes this year and set over twenty personal records is a testament to his hard work, the program, and his outlook on exercise. Aaron has a motto that he says often as advice to new members, “I go at my pace so I can still be doing this pace next year.” His thought is if next year he hits twenty more personal records he is defying time itself. Most people deteriorate as they go from forty to fifty years old...

Anyone that knows me knows I love shoes. I am not your typical sneakerhead who waits in front of the computer for the latest release, but I do buy a lot of workout shoes. One of my favorite things to do is to see someone wearing a CrossFit specific shoe and strike up a conversation with them solely based of the possibility that they might do CrossFit. A simple, “Where do you CrossFit at?” Usually will make me a new friend in less than five minutes.  Most people that start at my gym eventually come and ask me what shoes they should be wearing. Usually the question goes something like, “Hey Rich, I noticed everyone in the gym is wearing X shoe. Which one do you think is best.” Until recently I would give a cop out answer along the lines of, “Really any of them are great!” But recently...

I just finished the book, “Unbeatable Mind” by Mark Divine. It was a fun read with some cool insight on how to become more mentally tough, but it also had some good insight on how to be a better person in general. Mark uses stories from his life to make his points on whatever topic he is covering. He was talking about honesty in a chapter and told a story that involved exercise and I thought it could relate to our program as well as be applied to your everyday life. The story was this: Mark was at a Seal Fit Training (a strength and conditioning program he designed) and they were on a run. The guy in the lead was well ahead of the rest of the pack and he thought he was all alone out in front and turned ten feet before the halfway cone. He of course...

I was asked in class by a man, “Why do we need to make hip contact on the snatch? I’m afraid on making contact with the wrong part of my body.” We all knew what he was talking about but it brought up a good point. Why do we make contact with our hips and how do we avoid our vital parts. In this short video I go over why and how to maneuver around certain parts of your body. -Richard