First pull-up for Jennifer and Nicole!

Congratulations to Jennifer and Nicole for each getting their first dead hang pull-up on the same day last week in the 7:00am class. Jennifer who is 37, has been coming to CrossFit Seattle for 2 years and Nicole who is 51, has been coming to CF Seattle for 1.5 years. It is exciting to see their hard work and dedication pay off.

A nice milestone

Our client Jules posted this on Facebook today: "Finished the Alki Beach 5K in 36:49. Woot! Not a land world speed record, but not bad considering 6 months ago I couldn't run 100 yards without stopping."

Jules has made some impressive health and performance gains since she joined us. Congratulations, Jules!

Running Clinic pictures

Thanks to all that came out for the Running Clinic last Saturday when it was nice and rainy!

Lecture by Dave Werner for Fall LEANing Challenge 2009

Fall LEANing Challenge 2009 Lecture with Dave Werner PART I from Nancy Meenen on Vimeo.

Fall LEANing Challenge 2009 Lecture with Dave Werner PART II from Nancy Meenen on Vimeo.

Fall LEANing Challenge 2009 Lecture with Dave Werner PART III from Nancy Meenen on Vimeo.

Before and After pictures and Interviews from Spring LEANing Challenge 2009

Below are pictures from some of our top 10 winners in our Spring LEANing Challenge 2009. All these folks have graciously agreed to have their pictures posted.

Below the pictures are a few interviews with 4 of the people that made it into our top 5 pick.

Aasim

Tascha

Adam

Jenn

Morrie

Josh

Here are interviews with 4 of our top 5 winners. Turn the volume UP! Unfortunately a few of the interviews were done when a workout was going on.

Here are the questions that were asked of each person:
- What was the most motivating factor for you in the Spring Leaning challenge?
- What was the hardest thing for you to cut out of your eating habits; what did you struggle with most?
- Did you notice energy level increases, better sleep, better recovery from workouts?
- Do you plan to continue eating Paleo?
- What do your cheat days look like? What kind of cheating foods do you like?
- What will you do with the pot o'money if you win?

Interview with Aasim: Spring LEANing Challenge 2009 winner from Nancy Meenen on Vimeo.

Interview with Tascha: Spring LEANing Challenge 2009 from Nancy Meenen on Vimeo.

Interview with Adam: Spring LEANing Challenge 2009 from Nancy Meenen on Vimeo.

Interview with Justin: Spring LEANing Challenge 2009 from Nancy Meenen on Vimeo.

Fall LEANing Challenge 2009: Details

September 18, 2009 through November 6, 2009 (only 7 weeks!)

Rules of the challenge:

* Eating: Paleo or Paleo with Zone
* Cost: $30.00 (cash) to be put into a kitty
* The kitty will be divided in 2 for a FEMALE winner and a MALE winner
* 3 'Before' pictures taken: front view, side view and back view. Men are in shorts and Women are in shorts and sports bra/bikini top
* Each Monday your food log for the previous week is emailed to our LEANing Yahoo Group
* Anyone can enter the LEANing challenge, but to win you must submit your food logs each week and you must be a member at CrossFit Seattle
* 3 'After' pictures are taken on November 6, 2009 (or no later than November 10th)
* CF Seattle trainers pick the top 5 men and top 5 women whose body composition changed the most
* Fall LEANing participants vote on the top 10 to determine the Winners
* The 2 winners win half of the kitty plus one month of unlimited classes at CF Seattle
* The pictures taken are PRIVATE. The pictures of the top 5 men and top 5 women will be viewed on paper at the gym to determine the winners.


TO SIGN UP: Nancy will be at the gym at the beginning of each class on Thursday, September 17th to take 'Before' pictures and collect entry fees. OR email nancy@crossfitseattle.com and Nancy will arrange for your picture to be taken and entry fee collected.

This is our second LEANing challenge. We had 70 people sign up for our first challenge with ~55 sticking with it. For those 55, we saw results in almost every single person, some quite dramatic as you will see tomorrow when I post some Before and After pictures. There were plenty of people who participated that had wanted to take off those few extra pounds and lean out for quite some time but needed a push to get themselves started. The Challenge ended up being a perfect catalyst.

Paleo Eating Lecture on September 12, 2009 with Dave

Fight Gone Bad + BBQ = Lots 'O Fun

Can't believe what good food people brought to this BBQ/Potluck! Thank you everyone for coming out and making this a great evening with really good eats. And an extra HUGE thank you to John Brown and Isernio's Sausage for providing the delicious chicken bratwurst. Those were really good.

Rowing Clinic Review

Several weeks ago (in July, in fact) we gathered for a rowing clinic at the Pocock Rowing Center on Portage Bay. We met for 2 hours and learned from silver Olympic medalist, Lianne Nelson about rowing technique. About 20 of us showed up and got in a good dose of practice and fun. Lianne did a great job of breaking down the stroke for us. Thank you to Jason Peacock, a collegiate rower, for his assistance in teaching. We'll plan on doing this clinic again in the future.

Lianne

Laurion and Jason

Barry

Dora