twintowncrossfit.com

Elizabeth

Elizabeth is a doctoral student in geography at the U.  She’s like Indiana Jones but much cooler and stronger.  Welcome Elizabeth!

When I was little the best thing my parents ever did for me was to turn off the TV.  Unglued from the idiot box I spent all summer riding my bike and running and throwing.  In those days there was no youtube or facebook or DVR or any of the other modern wonders that have turned us into a nation of desk jockeys.

Nowadays, parents have different challenges.  With so much scary news about juvenile diabetes and skyrocketing health care costs, it’s more important than ever that we help our kids learn durable fitness habits that they can carry with them into adulthood.

If your kids spend too much time on the couch, you might want to consider CrossFit Kids.  CrossFit Kids is a healthy, activity-based strength and conditioning program designed specifically for young people.  The CrossFit Kids program is uniquely suited to children’s cognitive, motor, and neurological capacities.  Kids who do CrossFit are positioning themselves for long, healthy, and active lives.

TTCF is very pleased to announce that we are going for the CrossFit Kids certification in April and we hope to become a CrossFit Kids affiliate soon after.  Please help us to serve your family better by filling out this brief survey.  Our summer hours will largely be based on your feedback.

Beau

Beau is an accomplished pianist and runs a piano academy for kids!  Check out Piano by Beau!

On Monday I did “Diane” a famous CrossFit workout consisting of 21-15-9 of 225# deadlifts and handstand pushups. It was an exercise in humility. By the last round I was doing sets of one on the handstand pushups and I was fried beyond description. I finished in 10:09.

I started wondering what a “good” score is on “Diane” and after a bit of googling found the athlete rankings on the 2009 CrossFit games website.  It’s hard to believe, but there are people out there who finish “Diane” in well under 3:00!  Oh to be one of them…

Here are some amusing charts that illustrate the vast ocean separating me from top CrossFit athletes.

Time-based Workouts.

Strength Metrics

So I’ll have to add 100+ pounds to my deadlift to hang with an “average” CF games competitor. Holy buckets! Back to work!

The Wedge community paper ran a really nice story about the gym. Click here for the full article. We’re on page 4.

When was the last time you laughed so hard you almost peed your pants?  For me it was the last time I went to Brave New Workshop at 26th and Hennepin.  This Tuesday at 7:30 TTCF athlete Hannah Wydeven will be performing in Six Ring Circus, an improv comedy show at Brave New Workshop.  Check it out!  (Remember to bring some spare pants)

John

John runs a local ad firm called Wingnut Advertising,  and is an avid hockey player.  Welcome John!

We have a little contest in the gym to see who can do the most double unders without missing.  Actually it’s a contest in name only because nobody can touch John Elstad.  Here he is setting a PR and gym record 41 DU’s.

Check out Allison Frederick’s article in US Rowing magazine about CrossFit!  Hat tip to TTCF athlete Ryan Frederick for sending this article my way.

For those of you who are new to the site, here’s a post I wrote a while back about rowing for runners.

Rowing is the juice and we do a lot of it at TwinTown CrossFit!

Immortal Beloved

Here’s a funny (and true) story.   A building supervisor was receiving numerous complaints about a slow elevator in his building so he called in a team of engineers.

The engineers scratched their heads for a while trying to figure out a way to cheaply improve the elevator’s performance.  Finally, they came up with an ingenious solution.  They simply installed mirrors in the elevators.  No more complaints.  Problem solved.

This anecdote underscores the difference between perceived performance and true performance.  In this case, the engineers realized they could distract the customers from the true performance of the elevator by simply distracting them during their elevator ride.  And what better distraction than a mirror, the primary instrument of human vanity?

Nowadays most elevators have mirrors.  So do most gyms.  Does your gym have as many mirrors as a circus funhouse?  What does this tell you about the gym’s performance?  Is your gym trying to distract you from noticing something?

CrossFit gyms almost never have mirrors.  TwinTown CrossFit doesn’t have any and never will.  Here are some reasons why:

1. Mirrors are crummy coaches.  Correcting technique in a mirror is not effective.  Athletes make the most dramatic progress when they are coached.  Your coach can give you much better feedback than a mirror ever will.
2. Mirrors break. Which means in a mirrored room you can’t throw anything without the risk of hurting yourself or someone else.  CrossFitters want to be good at throwing things.  We also sometimes have to drop things.  Very heavy things that we cleaned overhead.
3. Mirrors cannot inspire you. If you’re staring at yourself in a mirror you’re not paying attention to the other athletes in the gym.  Which means you can’t be inspired by others and you most certainly cannot be an inspiration to others.  CrossFit is incredibly aspirational, but mirrors tend to put your aspirations in a box.  Resist!