The KrisFit blog rises from the ashes of its vacant, inactive state for the last four months.  Since the last post back in October, we have finally found our own space.  We opened our doors two weeks ago and our Revolution has begun.

The building itself is a blast—our warehouse/office/flex space gives us everything we’d hoped for, and I feel like I’m driving a Ferrari every day.  But the Revolution didn’t start when we moved in, because the Revolution isn’t the gym itself.  It’s our people.  It’s you guys.  The Revolution is in the community.  It’s the banter in the comments section.  It’s the weakest person in class chasing the strongest person through their workout.  It’s in our Facebook page.  It’s in the run that you don’t want to do.  It’s in the heart of your Suck List.  The Revolution is us taking goofy pictures of our food and sending it to each other, for encouragement and affirmation.  It’s in accountability.  It’s in our laughter.  It’s in every team workout where you sacrifice your time to help the teammate who’s a step slower than you.  The Revolution is also you trying to crush someone else’s time, just to see if you can.

The Revolution is fun.

This is what some of that Revolution looks like. I know it’s a pop song, but you know: you are a Rock Star, and these are your Rock Moves…

Girls Are Strong…Again from KrisFit on Vimeo.

This is a letter sent to all our athletes and coaches.

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you know that our new affiliation, CrossFit 310, got some publicity on the CrossFit Radio podcast. No one outside of CrossFit would ever know or care about such a thing, but inside the CrossFit world, it was a good opportunity to get some exposure for our new affiliation and establish ourselves as an authentic part of the community. You can listen to it by clicking on the link below:

CrossFit 310 on CrossFit Radio

After a flattering introduction at the beginning of the show, my interview starts somewhere around 24 minutes in.

CrossFit Radio is interested in following my journey as a brand new affiliate, and your journey as athletes inside of this new environment. In our first interview, we discussed some pretty exciting things like insurance and applications and realty (no offense liz and scott!!!)–so it’s geared mostly toward other people who are considering affiliation with CrossFit. The next interview will likely deal with what happens after you affiliate and find your space. who comes through the doors, and what happens with the athletes who experience the transition is a very exciting topic that I can’t wait to tell people about. CrossFit has also asked me to write an article for the journal, possible a series, that documents this same subject matter.

This is a very exciting time. as I was telling a client yesterday, the place that we will move into will be your place. it will have your names and your times and your records and your impact all over the place. the thing that makes this exciting for me is you guys. I’m so thankful for you guys and so excited to see what is happening with you all. Every one of you is moving better than ever, breaking PR’s, feeling less pain, attacking your diets, and transforming into bloodthirsty killing machines that cannot be killed themselves…I’m getting ahead of myself.

You guys are the foundation of whatever is built in the future.

I can’t wait to see what happens next.

kris

This is the post that does in fact confirm that KrisFit is alive.  All the rumors regarding the death of KrisFit were wildly exaggerated–there was no aneurysm while filming a Kung-Fu movie in China.

This is what happened:

I know what you’re thinking. So what? That’s the most amazing little girl ever. How could that be hard? Well, the truth is, I am suddenly so busy that I can barely sit down and write an email, let alone a post on my website that 3 people know about–me, my wife and the cat.
Yes, this is the thing that had to give for a while. Yes, I will choose to do it again if necessary. I want time and energy for my family. I want focus and attention for my clients. And some day that Kung-Fu movie will happen.

Wow. So with all that, you want to know what brought this post on?

This guy. Captain America himself.

Trent’s First Muscle-Ups… from KrisFit on Vimeo.

Something awesome happens with a CrossFitter every now and then. For those that are neck deep, there are seminal moments and invisible badges for tasks that we strive for in our CONSTANT pursuit to get a little better every day. Getting your chin over the bar for the first Strict Pullup is one of those moments (see future post of Steve Berg). Graduating to your Kipping pullup is another (see future post featuring Maria Abarca, Roxy Richardson, and David Kalstein), and managing an Overhead Squat, or a Pistol or Handstand Pushups, or any kind of Lever.

Getting your first Muscle Up is definitely one of those moments.  It’s like a scouting badge.  A badge that says, “I’m committed to this thing”, and if this were the military, newbies would have to salute you.  It’s special because it’s a harder task than most people think–a valuable blend of muscular and soft-tissue strength that doesn’t come easy for most people (Thomas Mitchell don’t get a big head though, the task doesn’t even register on any scale to be judged in gymnastics).

It’s also special because it means you are a little closer to completing your CrossFit workout as Rx’d, instead of another humble scaling of the WOD.

Congratulations Trent.  I salute you.

Today Jenny Atkinson is celebrating a birthday (4-25-09). Common decency prohibits me from revealing a woman’s age outright, but it’s somewhere in this post–hiding like a “Where’s Waldo?” Now, I am very happy for Jenny that it’s her birthday, but this post is actually celebrating another day–last Friday, April 17th. Why?

1. Because birthdays happen every year.
2. As birthdays accumulate, they devalue.
3. Birthdays make people cry.

So with this Post, I choose to celebrate last Friday–an absolute Red Letter Day for Jenny. She came rolling in at 7am, and by the time she left, she had 3 new PR’s. A new Rowing PR. Push-up PR (20). Deadlift PR (185lbs).

Jenny Red Letter Day from KrisFit on Vimeo.

If you’ve read much on this site, or been around our group at all, you know what kind of premium we put on body weight exercises. Yes, we use barbells and kettle-bells and Rings, Ropes, Rowers and Med-Balls, but all of that stuff takes a humble step back from the strength and grace of a controlled body movement.

Push-ups, Pull-ups, air squats: The Holy trinity.

That being said, within the rubric of our community, there are a few feats of strength and athleticism that separate you from the bunch and put you into what I call “Bad***”.

For women, these initial feats are:
1. A single pull-up (intro to B.A.)
2. 20 strict push-ups (Level 1 B.A.)
3. 5 or more strict pull-ups (Level 1 B.A.)

So, if we look at the landscape of last Friday, the second Peak came when I announced that the days workout would focus on heavy Deadlifts. What’s important is, that Peak came during the conversation we had and not the actual pull itself. The result was a personal record that was 30lbs stronger than Jenny’s previous best–even though we had not Deadlifted since that day. What was the difference? Two things:

• A general, systemic increase in strength due to the type of training we’ve been doing.
• Change in perspective.

The second bullet point is what I want to focus on here. I will reference one of my earlier posts- DuBose…crap- where a significant increase in strength resulted from a simple change in perspective.

Friday, Jenny experienced the same type of thing during thirty seconds of conversation when I referenced Melissa Byers–who all of my women know as a prime example of a woman who is both Feminine and Ferocious, surrounded by great trainers, and smart as a whip.  I told her that Melissa and her weigh the same.  Then I told her that last week Melissa Pulled 215lbs.  I explained that I wasn’t giving her this information to put pressure on her, but just the opposite.  I wanted her to know what was possible.  I had no expectations for Jenny above giving her best, and pushing the limits of her intensity.  We would focus on intensity within the strict boundaries of form, and then see what happens. We talked about approaching that bar like it was a slot machine.  Do your best and if something great happens, we’ll celebrate like you won the jackpot.

Jackpot.

Congratulations Jenny on 20 push-ups and man-handling 185lbs.  Also, Happy Birthday!!  We celebrate that just as much, but it wasn’t quite as interesting to write a Post around.

Here’s some Pics from my birthday gift to Jenny.

Happy Bday from Kris

This post is going to be part of an ever expanding page that I am creating for this site. It will be dedicated to functional movements performed with a prejudice for strength and control, throughout a full range of motion. You will not see a partial push up. We will award strength, power, intensity and grace.

Girls are strong.  Most of them just don’t know it.

We’re going to show you some who do.

Pullup Girls from KrisFit on Vimeo.

Stay tuned true believers…

Last weekend I went with Josh DuBose and Andy DuBose to Huntington Beach where we sat around for two straight days talking and learning about things we love to talk and learn about. Over the course of two days, we spent sixteen hours listening to lectures, drilling exercise technique, watching Crossfit titans like Greg Amundson and Josh Everette to a work out at lunch, and of course working out so hard I thought I would melt right onto the blacktop (Burpees, blaghghh…)

Andy says yes to no oxygen

Andy and I are 4 and 5 in from the left. Josh is kneeling below us.

Certified

We had a blast.

This is a test.

You know how ocassionally you’ll here something on the news about someone who’s taken in a cute little baby tiger, or bear cub, or chimpanze and raised the thing like it was part of the family for years. Then one day “out of nowhere” that adorable thing snaps, and reverts suddenly to its natural instinct and clamps down on his owner’s head onstage in front of an audience, or almost takes a persons head off with a swipe from its paw, or attacks a neighbor friend after a glass of wine and a Xanax, and tries to eat her face?

You know those stories right? Well that’s kind of what Josh DuBose is to me.

After training together for years, with him making steady and impressive gains the whole time, Josh has suddenly turned from a soft and docile winebibber, to a Ferocious musclebound Spider Monkey. His fitness level has absolutely skyrocketed–so much so that it has become a serious threat to my own ego. Let me rephrase that. Josh is in such ridiculous shape right now, that I’ve taken the big sombrero that was my ego, off my head, and set it on fire.

Sad and Happy...

The most responsible thing for me to do would be to take Josh to the Vet and quietly put him to sleep before he ruthlessly kills me or someone else with some metcon workout, while barely causing a hiccup in his own heart rate.The problem is, he’s one of my best friends in the world and those aren’t easy to come by. So what to do?

Here’s what it’s become and why it’s ended up on the KrisFit page.

In a few weeks Josh and I are both getting certified through Crossfit. Unfortunately, with the new year, and a new baby, and me experimenting with Mark Rippetoes Starting Strength principles for the last few months, I find myself in less than desirable Crossfit shape. At the same time, Josh happens to be reaching his own personal, physical zenith. Every week he emails me and lets me know he’s broken a PR (Personal Record), or done something totally ridiculous and previously out of reach for us.

And every week I consider hitting Him in the knee cap with a hammer, to slow him down a little. Just kidding. Kind of.

Because of this renaissance Josh is experiencing, the most interesting thing is happening–aside from continually having to swallow the giant bolus of pride that I’ve been chewing on. What’s happening is, he is unknowingly dragging me with him. I’m way back there behind him, but none the less, when I come across obstacles Josh has already crossed, I know I can cross them too. I’m feeding off his successes. His victories unknowingly enable me. And this enabling is so powerful.

Last week Josh sent me a note that his workout that day was a Crossfit workout called “Nancy”
5 Rounds for time:
15 Overhead Squats (95lbs)
400m Run

After I nearly fell over, I promptly decided that “Nancy” would be my workout of the day, and I would use that same prescribed weight, despite the fact that my best OH squat, like Josh’, had been one set of 10 reps at 95lbs. And that’s when it happened…

The funny thing is, I didn’t even see Josh do what he said he did. Maybe he lied to me. Maybe there was a catch somewhere. All I know is, I didn’t ask any more questions. I threw that weight on there and I suddenly was 3 times as strong as I had ever been. On the first furious set, I did more than ever before, and felt more confident and sure of the movement than I ever have. I completed all 5 rounds with 95lbs. On my last round, even after all that running, I strung together 8 great reps in a row and could have done more but I lost focus for a second and had to dump the weight. My form broke down at times, and my time was nearly double Josh had done, but the fact is, I did something that I previously would have thought was impossible, had Josh not shown me otherwise.

And all it took was me hearing that it was possible. That is mind blowing to me! Your brain can suddenly say to your body, “You Can!”, and your muscles will respond affirmatively.

That’s it? If that’s all it takes then what else is possible? What else can I do but just haven’t been told I can yet? What can you do tomorrow that seems impossible today?

Keep yourself open to the possibility of a surprise like that. It’s real. You can do more that you think you can. You’re stronger than you know.

Be like Randi Barnes. I’m serious. Everyone.

Learn to activate your hips and hamstrings. Get a butt. Learn to squat.

If you play a sport and you can’t squat like this, you’re not as good as you could be.

Get a butt.  Learn to squat.

If you’re over 30 and have creeky achy knees: Get a butt. Learn to squat.

If you run 5 miles a day, but the weight still isn’t coming off, cardio is not your problem–intensity is.  Get stronger.  Get a butt.  Learn to squat.

If you want to move better period (run, jump, skip, hike, bike), build a foundation and learn to squat.

And get a butt.

Untitled from KrisFit on Vimeo.

We put a heavy premium on controlling your own body weight around here. Push ups, pull ups and squats are the foundation we lay first. True strength starts here: control and manipulation of your own frame. Because of the sheer size of bergs frame, it’s been a tough fight for control like that. Berg is a big guy, by anyone’s standards. You just aren’t going to find a lot of guys who are 6′2″ and 240 plus lbs, pulling their body weight around very far. It wasn’t easy for Berg either. The first time he attempted a chin up, I think he was surprised to see he didn’t budge. Since then, he’s probably done a thousand reps with assistance from me and a thousand more with the big band. Unbeknownst to me though, he’s like Samson—blind and getting stronger, in secret, right under the nose of this philistine. Then last Tuesday, out of no where, he gets his first unassisted chin up. And Thursday, with the camera rolling and witnesses around, he did three singles in one session. Awesome.

Berg, don’t cut your hair.

Good times.

Mr. Impossible is what I half jokingly call David because secretly, we both thought things like this rope climb, with zero pain in his shoulders, would be completely impossible.

If you can’t do a squat with your own body weight, or bend your wrists far enough back for Rack position, or can’t coordinate the Clean and Jerk, or can’t do a pull up, or can’t bench press your own weight, jump onto a box, or deadlift anything…keep plugging away.  All that seemed impossible a year ago.  Man have we learned a lot.

David 1st Rope Climb from KrisFit on Vimeo.

Meet Trent Mitchell, owner of Mitchell Fitness Systems (you’ll see his banner in the background of many krisfit videos. Check him out at www.fitnesscoach4u.com). He is a former bodybuilder with titles including: Mr. Georgia, Jr. Atlanta, Mr. North Georgia, Mr. Atlanta and N.P.C. Jr. USA runner-up. Trent has been training for over 20 years. He’s got more certifications than you have time to read about. This guy is a mountain of muscle, and knowledge. But guess what? He’s not satisfied.

Somewhere in the last year, the athlete inside of him started screaming louder than his self image. And I’m speculating here, but I bet it was railing about being able to run and jump and swing and pull and leap and throw and explode into action, like back in the days when Trent was a quarterback at Missouri Valley College. Whatever the case may be, Trent announced his intention:

At 48 years old, Trent is going to reinvent himself.

I know, you don’t think it’s that big of a deal do you? Well you’re wrong. In fact, you don’t have the courage to do it yourself. Seriously, I feel comfortable saying that, because I see it everyday–I struggle with it every day. So few people have the courage to reach for something new. To depart from what they’re good at, and pursue something so difficult that consistent failure is the only foreseeable future, but the prize is authentic satisfaction.

You know what I’m talking about. But just in case, I’ll give you an example.

Trent can bench press a car and his arms look like someone photoshopped them, but he can’t do a muscle-up–yet. He can squat a house, but can’t correctly overhead squat 15lbs–yet. Are you getting the picture of what kind of enterprise this is? Tell me the last time you humbled yourself like that. Have you ever?

You’ve got that thing you do that merits some sort of respect from others, so that’s the thing you do, continually, even though there’s been no real fire behind it for years. Maybe you’ve got a heavy bench press and people are really impressed with how many plates you have to take off the bar. Maybe you play basketball but nothing else cause you have that shot from the top of the key that’s money. Maybe you’ve got that funny bit that you do–the only bit you do. Maybe it’s that one karaoke song you sing, every single time. Maybe it’s that haircut you’ve had forever because you’re afraid your face will look fat otherwise.

The point is, there are things that we want to do but don’t because we’re afraid. We’re afraid to look stupid. We’re afraid to be vulnerable. We’re afraid of embarrassment, so we keep doing the thing we know we can do and it’s boring. There’s no rush at all. There’s no life in that. Follow your fear.

I’m not saying poor gasoline over yourself and light a match if you’re afraid of fire. I’m just saying that anything worth doing has to have some risk involved.

This is Trent’s first Crossfit workout. It’s a departure from everything he’s been doing for quite some time–but I see the fire.

Trent’s First Crossfit from KrisFit on Vimeo.

This is Jenny Atkinson. One year ago her shoulders sounded like they were full of gravel. She had so much pain in her shoulder and neck, she couldn’t do a moderate set of pull-downs without pain,let alone haul her body weight up to the rafters of Trent Mitchell’s Gym. Jenny is the first girl in the gym to climb to the rope.

Congratulations Jenny. What’s next?

Jenny Rope Climb from KrisFit on Vimeo.

We’re back!!! And this video is long overdue.

Early in December Randi Barnes announced that she was tired of sitting on a pull up personal best of 4. She set a goal of getting that 5th rep before the new year.

Cut to two weeks later…

Randi 5 pullups from KrisFit on Vimeo.

This girl’s going for Hero status. Keep an eye out and see what happens.

My computer has a flat tire. can’t post anything right now, despite the fact that it’s been a big week for goals and personal bests.

Rob Reinis: benches 265lbs (personal best)
David Teichman Squats 200lbs for 5 reps (personal best)
Randi Barnes gets her 5 pullups (personal best)
Jenny Atkinson is the first girl to climb the rope at Mitchell Fitness.

Good stuff. Fun way to bring the year to a close.

Randi’s best ever is 4–which was witnessed, but undocumented, earlier this year. Pretty good considering she couldn’t even budge her weight the first time she tried a pullup.

Randi Pullups from KrisFit on Vimeo.

Steve Berg and Josh DuBose work out together all the time–despite being built completely different and having different athletic talents and abilities. One of the things we do with our group is build bonds with each other through the relative “sufferings” of a shared workout experience. We encourage working out with someone else. We encourage accountability. We encourage a competitiveness–but winning is not preeminent. The incendiary value of encouragement and the vulnerability of failure fuel many of our workouts. These elements seem to stave off boredom, and encourage over-achievement.

Find a workout buddy. Find a group. Challenge each other. Risk something.

Steve Berg decends.

Josh and Berg hammer out air squats in the middle of their workout…

…then stabilize and hold.

Josh “L” climb from KrisFit on Vimeo.

This is a long way from struggling with 4 pullups in “the Yard” at Magnolia park. Good work Dubose.

David Chinups from KrisFit on Vimeo.

This is David Teichman. He’s 58 yrs old and we’ve had a blast finding out he’s a real athlete. These 10 chinups represent a lot in comparison to December of last year when David was 40 pounds heavier and the first time he attempted a chinup his shoulder sounded like it was packed with gravel and stones.
Keep an eye out for more on this guy. He’s someone that we can all learn something from.

Roxy Deadlift

This is Roxy Richardson, AKA Roxy Balboa, as she is known professionally.

This is the third fight we’ve trained for together. Her goals were to put on muscle and increase strength, without compromising the speed and explosiveness she’s known for.

Mission accomplished.

This photo was taken from Thursday’s workout, which was the pinnacle of our last few months together. Week by week, in conjunction with her fight training, we built a terrible machine that could withstand improvised punishment, and react to it with strength and a clear mind–instead of fear and confusion.

Roxy fights five, two minute rounds. Thursday we put her through six, three minute rounds of unpredictable punishment, in which she excelled.

This was her last workout:
One exercise per minute, for the duration of the minute. one minute rest every three minutes. No knowledge of what exercise is next. There is no Fair or Unfair. Whatever happens, happens…deal with it.
EXERCISES:
Deadlift- 95lbs
Ball Slams- 10lbs
Push Press- 45lbs
Box Jump- 28″
Incline Sit ups
Clinch Hang- Body Weight

Check out Roxy hanging on for dear life at the end of Round 4…Do you ever fight this hard for anything?

Roxy Clinch Hold from KrisFit on Vimeo.

Kris “L” Climb from KrisFit on Vimeo.

First time ascending the rope in an “L” position.

Berg Bench: 195lbs from KrisFit on Vimeo.

Berg. One of the Sons of Thunder. Sho’Nuff!

“Grace”: 30 clean and jerks for time

Josh Grace: 95lbs from KrisFit on Vimeo.

This is Josh chipping away at “Grace” for the first time. Yes, making all those noises helps. No, that’s not Josh barking. That’s his dog Abbey patiently waiting for him.

Rob Bench: 245lbs from KrisFit on Vimeo.

This is Rob when he’s focused and intense. Very strong. i think the grunt helped.

This is also me, 3 mins before we get too greedy and Rob makes me deadlift 255lb off his chest.

Kris’ first muscle ups from KrisFit on Vimeo.

This is not my first muscle up ever. That happened about 5 mins earlier. Both me and Trent Mitchell were kind of caught off guard by it. These aren’t my 2nd and 3rd ones either though–Trent’s thumb missed the record buttonfor those.

Great day.