Sarah Money
[simage=3543,512,y,center,]
Sarah Money came into my office eight months ago with an absolute fire in her eyes. ”I want to compete” she said, and that’s basically all I remember from the conversation. I know that we made plans on how we would attack that goal, and how her training would need to evolve, but the only real memory I have of that short talk was all that blazing light coming off of her.
Sarah came into our gym already a competent athlete, but eager to learn more and attack her weaknesses. She is a personal trainer who’s background included CrossFit in the past. Sarah is fun and likable, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like her. She is a leader in our gym, and she leads in the best way. She leads by example. She cares deeply about moving the right way. She wants to be the strongest and the fastest sure, but she also wants to be the most impressive, I think. She seems to crave doing things the best way (that craving is, ironically, her achilles heal too), and she takes almost a sadistic joy in suffering through hard things.
Sarah is competing this weekend at the Next Level Invitational, and we are very excited and proud of her. I can’t wait to watch her grow even more.
-Coach Kris
[Crossfit 310]: What is your favorite WOD(s) or skill(s)?
[Sarah Money]: Favorite WOD/skill: honestly hard to say. I do love me a “Nancy”, or anything with the barbell (especially overhead skillwork), and moving awkward heavy things up the stairs or through a run. But really I feel anything could come together as a “perfect storm” and become one of my favorite WOD’s. It’s the uncomfortable that as much as it IS uncomfortable, I welcome. There is absolutely nothing like the feeling of testing your limits.
[Crossfit 310]: What’s on your suck list?
[Sarah Money]: What’s not?! Ha. Most definitely the bodyweight or gymnastic skills. Read the full post: click here
[Crossfit 310]: How would you describe your diet? (Paleo, Primal, Zone, Clean, etc)
[Money]: I would best describe it as 80/20 “clean”. I stray from grains and dairy. Mostly meat (mmmmm), fruits/veggies and cooking oils. My struggles are with sugar, dun dun dun. Hello, my name is Sarah, and I’m a chocoholic.
[Crossfit 310]: How did you hear about CrossFit310?
[Money]: Totally googled the closest CrossFit to where I was living at the time. Dropped by one day, Liz was coming out of the gym and walked me down to meet Kris and life immediately changed. You are lucky to meet one influential person in your life, but 2 game changers within 5 mins of the same day?!
[Crossfit 310]: How long have you been doing CrossFit?
[Money]: I started with 310 in Oct of last year. I dabbled with CrossFit back in ’08 for a little bit but lost touch for almost 2 years until I found the 310 family.
[Crossfit 310]: What encouragement or advice would you give to new people coming in?
[Money]: Use it as your own personal lab and have fun. Each person has their own reason and mostly likely a different reason, but we are all there to grow, no matter how big or small. Some days are better than others but there is always SOMETHING you can take with you (hopefully at some point Liz’s “paleo” coconut/almond/chocolate cube of goodness).
.
.
.
Heather Moe
[simage=3087,512,y,center,]
If you didn’t know, Heather Moe, 5:30pm mainstay and occasional 6am interloper, is leaving us to pursue another career opportunity in Virginia.
I can remember Heather sitting across from me in our intro. She had a noticeable energy and sense of excitement. She came in strong and athletic, but missing some tools that relegated her to the middle of the pack on most WOD’s. Over time though, her determination, curiosity and diligence would seemingly start to free her in a number of different ways. She is such a great example of what it looks like to blossom into more and more fun. In fact, if I could give everyone one thing from Heather, it would be her sense of play. This is the thing that lets her connect with so many people in class. It’s the big secret to success in our place.
There’s an old CrossFit tagline that says, “It doesn’t have to be fun, to be fun,” and that’s the silent agreement that we’re all operating under. There are moments when this stuff can be absolutely miserable…but for most of us, that challenge to endure is kinda fun.
Heather, we will miss you. You are a great example, a great encourager, and a great addition to whatever family you’re going to. Keep us informed on your adventures.
–Coach Kris
[Crossfit 310]: What is your favorite WOD(s) or skill(s)?
[Heather Moe]: The Clean & Jerk and any gymnastics skills. I fell in love with the clean and jerk when I first learned it last Fall. If done right, the movement can look so graceful with the added benefit of giving the lifter the ability to move some quality weight. As for the gymnastics skills, as a little girl my sisters and I were always vaulting off something, up a tree or turning handstands and cartwheels. Getting to “play” again as an adult harkens me back to the fun I had as a kid. I never thought I’d get to play like that as an adult and I absolutely love it!
[Crossfit 310]: What’s on your suck list?
[Heather Moe]: Hands down, squat cleans. Love the clean part, hate the squat part. My squat is still inconsistent and unstable at times, making this movement super hard when I try to move any kind of weight.
[Crossfit 310]: How would you describe your diet? (Paleo, Primal, Zone, Clean, etc)
[Heather Moe]: Just 3 months ago I would have looked at you cross-eyed and said “Whaat??” My journey with food started when I became annoyed that Crossfit was not yielding any significant weight loss. This brought me to Kris who introduced me to the Paleo and Primal “ways of eating” (the diet word has weird connotations associated with it, so I’ll stick with “way of eating”). Before, my way of eating was not bad, just horribly imbalanced w/little protein and lots and lots of carbs. Now, I follow a mostly Primal diet. I don’t eat grains on a regular basis, make protein a main part of my meals, eat a lot of fruits and veg and still struggle with not giving into that wonderful, but deadly, sugar craving. It’s still a journey, but I’ve seen results, feel great and have sustainable energy to do what I want and need to do.
[Crossfit 310]: How did you hear about CrossFit310?
[Heather Moe]: A lot of my military friends participated in Crossfit, especially during their deployments, and highly praised its effectiveness. When my older sister deployed to Iraq a few years ago and took on Crossfit, she came home for her wedding looking amazing. She was a very unlikely Crossfit convert and I figured if she could do it, so could I. When Jeannie introduced me to Crossfit310, I jumped at the chance to try a class and, now, there is no turning back.
[Crossfit 310]: How long have you been doing CrossFit?
[Heather Moe]: Since October 2010
[Crossfit 310]: What encouragement or advice would you give to new people coming in?
[Heather Moe]: Crossfit, literally, is for everyone. For people of all ages, sizes and skill levels. While the work will look intimidating and overwhelming at first, realize your coach is interested in growing and increasing your skill and ability, not breaking you the first week you arrive. You might feel broken the first several weeks there (and believe me, I did), but the coaches will not push you beyond what you are physically able to do. Trust them and listen to their advice. Also, listen to what your own body is saying. If something doesn’t feel right or feels like you might hurt yourself, stop and listen!
Last piece of advice, increasing physical ability is a process. This means it will require time and dedication to see improvement, but this is the best part. Enjoy the journey and celebrate the small successes and met goals. You will certainly have a lot of other people who will be celebrating along with you. Crossfit will help you lose weight, become stronger and more capable, and, in general, give you a better quality of life. It will change your life forever if you let it.
.
.
Matt Chavez
Matt is without a doubt one of the most tenacious competitors I’ve been around. Many of you know that when he came to us he was really struggling with mobility in his ankle (which had recently had surgery). You’ve probably also witnessed his shoulder mobility issues…and oh yeah, his hips and hamstrings are made of stone. Now, all of this might seem like I’m being harsh in my description of him, but I do it for this reason. Despite a huge struggle with nearly every movement (except barbell curls), Matt is still up in the front of the pack all of the time. His tenacity overcomes a mountain of adversity. Sometimes I can’t believe how hard he fights. If he ever conquers those mobility issues, he is gonna be scary good.
Matt is an awesome force in our community. His sense of humor and playfulness will be a huge loss for us. He has absolutely embraced the spirit of our box, and there will be a gaping hole where this crazy kid used to stand…sleeveless…dancing…trying to make me nauseous.
We’ll miss you brother.
-Coach Kris
[Matt]:
I love anything with running. Coming from a soccer background I enjoy having the familiarity of the run allowing me to recover. The workout Helen comes to mind as a favorite. There are many skills I hope to master soon (snatch, thrusters) but I really like cleans. Hang cleans and power cleans are fun for me at the moment. I believe this is due to not have ANY rack position when I first came to Crossfit310. Now everytime I clean I see how far I have come. Have a WOD with cleans and a run… I am in heaven![Matt]:
I think the only thing that was not on my suck list when I began was bicep curls. The problem with that was we never do them! Kris used to call me ‘glamour’ due to the constant request for curls. I have come a long way since. I have my double-unders and they are up to 33 but my jump is too high. I get burnt out very quickly. My wall balls are a suck list staple. I think they like being on that list and just bought a home there. And finally snatch is due to not being able to try it yet. Mobility issues with my shoulder. Hope to keep progressing and tackle that soon![Matt]:
Paleo. But have been toying with chav-leo. It’s paleo with my twist. Paleo with the following added… oatmeal, rice, black beans and potatoes. These carbohydrate sources are to support anaerobic training. Getting all your carbs from fruits/veggies is good to a certain extent. Sugar is in fruit, natural sugar but it’s still sugar and too much is no bueno. I am extremely active. I do 2 workouts a day minimum. Crossfit in the morning and usually soccer in the evening. Surfing, running, weightlifting and biking usually creep in during week to make 3 activities somedays. I feel I can not have the perfect paleo meal before/ after each of these. It’s true that these few starchy carbs stick and are harder to burn through but that is what I need. I have a very high metabolism along with being constantly on the go. As I said I am toying with it. I will keep you posted![Matt]
: In early May (2010) I went to wedding in Cancun and saw a friend I had not seen in 4 months. I noticed a good change in her body and the passion in which she was talking about this crossfit thing. I came back from Cancun with an interest and desire to find out what this whole thing was about. I was recovering from ankle surgery in January and the gym was becoming a burden. I could not run yet so all I did was stationary weightlifting… Hence my obsession with bicep curls when I joined. I looked up where my local crossfit gyms were and up popped Crossfit310. I went in for my baseline workout and was hooked. Being a coach I appreciated Kris and how he relayed the information. I loved how you could scale the workouts due to injuries or mobility issues. And what I was most excited about was that no day is the same! I mean I didn’t even know what I was going to do until I showed up to the gym. Which I have a love/hate relationship with now.[Matt]:
I have been doing CrossFit for about 8 months. I want to become a beast. An all around athlete. I want to push my body to see what it is capable of. Mobility with my ankle and now my shoulder has held me back but I believe good things are to come.[Matt]:
First, listen to your body. Even if you have never done CrossFit, your body talks to you. Learn to understand the language.Second, diet is more important than you think. You can put all the effort an time into your workouts but if your diet is lacking, you’ll never reach your potential. Think of it this way. How many times a week do you workout? Now how many time a week do you eat?
Third, push yourself to be better and find your niche. If it’s cardio you want, then light weight and go for your best time. If it’s heaviest weight you want, then load up that bar as much as you can. No matter what you want to accomplish, you can scale it to achieve it.
Forth, keep correct form. Above I just said you may want to load up that bar. But just think if you compromise form, you will be picking up nothing. Form is the most important thing to accomplish about a skill before adding load.
Last, use the people around you. Your trainer. Soak up Kris’s knowledge. Use him whenever and however you can. Fellow classmates. Their experiences with workouts, movements and injuries. Talk diet with everyone and use people to help you. And finally use everyone for motivation and encouragement. If someone is in front of you… catch them! If someone is behind you, encourage them to catch you!
.
.
Magdalena Ping
-Coach Kris
[Crossfit 310]:
What is your favorite WOD(s) or skill(s)[Magdalena]:
My favorite WOD is any one that has a bar exercise in it. I never would have said that before I started cross fit. LOL.[CF310]:
How did you hear about CrossFit310?[CF310]:
What encouragement or advice would you give to new people coming in?.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Jason Tank
Jason is not the strongest guy in our gym (yet), but he may be the most daring. He is an invaluable friend to me. He inspires me all the time.
You will see much more from him.
-Coach Kris
[Crossfit 310]:
What is your favorite WOD(s) or skill(s)?[Tank]: Favorite WOD would have to be Filthy Fifty just for the sheer amount of work and how much room for improvement there it. My favorite Skill is Deadlift, I like picking up heavy things.
[TANK]: Running jump rope, ring dips, muscle up and pretty much all squats.
[TANK]: I eat Paleo/Zone for the most part. I don’t measure my food but I try to eyeball portions to get that 40/30/30 balance. Sunday is off day, also known as “Sunday Funday”.
[TANK]: Met Kris at church and a few other people that go to church were going. It sounded like something I would enjoy, and I was right.
[TANK]: Started April 7th 2010.
[TANK]: No matter how hard the work looks, do it, you can do more than you think you can, and you will be successful if you do it.
Christine “Small” Galligani
Chris was the first athlete to join our ranks when we moved into our new space. She had been CrossFitting at a great Box down in O.C. (Next Level Performance), so she came in knowing the language, knowing the culture, and already knowing her numbers—sweet!
Chris is an absolute joy to have in classes. Affectionately known as “small” (1/2 of the dynamic duo known as “Tall and Small”), Her attitude towards the difficult tasks set before her is what makes her stand out. If size were measured by determination, she would be a giant. Her eagerness to be better is crucial to her success. Her eagerness to help and encourage anyone who happens to be next to her is crucial to your success—even if you don’t know it yet.
Stand next to her if you can. See if some of that determination will rub off on you. And if I haven’t already, tell her to pick up something heavy.
-Coach Kris
[Crossfit310]
: What is your favorite WOD(s) or skill(s)?[Chris Galligani]
: Hmm… I don’t really have a favorite WOD. As long as I have put everything I had into it, I feel good about whatever it is that I just accomplished. That said, I can rock a good squat – front, back or air (Tania loves to tease that I should use a tennis ball as my target), I love me a good Abmat sit up, and I will admit to having fun with the tire flipping. I am so enjoying my progression on the pull-up bar. I will get there and I will kip; mark my word[Chris]: I always feel like it’s easier to talk about what ISN’T on my suck list! That’s the thing about CrossFit: even the things you do well are always becoming more challenging because you are adding more weight or distance or speed or some other way to grow your strength. That said, pretty much anything with the med balls (cleans or wall ball) is a mental block for me. Also, the more gymnastic skills we do, think handstands and L-sits, are not strength areas for me. And, you can ask any of the three people who coached me through them last time we did pistol rolls… This is not a strength area for me in the least.
[Chris]: My diet is what I would call “Everything in Moderation.” I don’t eat 4-leggeds (cow, pig) with the exception of an annual hamburger and hot dogs at baseball games, so I’m a lean meat only girl and have been for years. That is simply a preference for me. I’m usually pretty strict with my eating during the week: a lot of salads, fruit, chicken, turkey, fish – repeat. I prefer to cook at home instead of going out, and I don’t like fast food. I’m a big water drinker and have a big mug of green tea daily. I am addicted to raw almonds and I try to avoid grains. That said, on weekends and special occasions, I tend to allow myself to indulge here and there; it’s just a matter of balancing those choices with a lot of other good ones for me. Being as small as I am, the bad choices show up on my body pretty quickly. I have been reading up on and starting to experiment here and there with some paleo-friendly food; I think this is where I am headed. I’m learning a lot from Jojo and Liz’s great recipes, so keep them coming!
[Chris]: I was shopping for CrossFits! I was moving from Orange County up to the South Bay, and I did baseline classes at three different CrossFits in the area. Kris was such a great coach and had the most awesome attitude that I was sold almost immediately. I loved the size of 310 and the people are amazing. It was just the right combination of team camaraderie and individual performance for me. I am a little bit of an addict!
[Chris]: I was at CrossFit No Limits Performance in Mission Viejo before I started at 310. (You guys call me Small; they named me Shorty. I’m picking up on a trend here.) I have been a CrossFitter since October 2009. After the first three months of CrossFit training, I no longer needed to wear the knee brace I had used for ten years while running because the core training had strengthened me in a completely different way. From that point on, I was hooked.
[Chris]:Small’s helpful hints for newcomers:
• Don’t be afraid to try. EVERYTHING is new when you first come to CrossFit, even things you think you’ve done before. We do skills in a completely different way, so be open to the changes and come to the gym to learn. It’s the skill work and correct form that help get you through the most grueling WODs. And, it’s the practice and positive mindset that push you to a whole other level of performance.
• Talk it up with people! Just don’t do it when Kris is instructing the group… Our group is friendly and outgoing. People are very supportive of each other and will help walk you through any skill you feel is tough for you. You will always learn something from the people you spend that hour with and it will really help when they are cheering you through the toughest WODs.
• Along with that one, get yourself a buddy. I usually try to find someone who is just a little bit stronger than I am in the skills we will be using during the WOD. I set up my station near them and keep an eye on their progress. This helps me motivate to try to keep up with them when I am struggling and I have to rely on my competitive nature to push me through. (This is one of the reasons that Helen and I are always 1 second apart when we finish a race!) It also helps me gauge which skills I am doing well and which I need to practice more often. Since there are no mirrors at CrossFit, I learn by watching everyone else and trying to incorporate the good things they are doing into my own skill work. This is why times and weights used are logged on the boards; use them to help you set goals for yourself and find someone to chase.
• Write it down. Get yourself a notebook the next time you are at the store and start logging what you do. Some people write what they eat every day, others just the WOD, some track their weight. Whatever is helpful for you to know is useful information. I really like to know my numbers so I can set a realistic goal for myself. So, I track how much I lift, how many reps, etc. Before I start a workout, I look at my last numbers for that skill and set a challenge for myself so I can have a target to accomplish. It really helps me to have a purpose for the workout.
• Listen to Kris. There will be days where the whole WOD is your suck list, and there will be days when he has moved you to a new weight on something and you are nervous about it. You might not like him very much right at that moment, but trust your coach. He has watched your progress and knows what you are capable of, probably more than you do. I’m not going to lie, those days will still suck. But, in the big picture, they help you get to the next goal.
•Stretch, soak, roll out and stretch some more. The recovery is always hard, but it is especially tough when you are first starting. I remember having days of not being able to walk and feeling like I could never go down a flight of stairs again! Help yourself recover by getting enough rest, drinking a lot of water, and making sure you are stretching and rolling out as much as you can. It does make a difference.