Transformation Tuesday: Michelle the "Competition Queen"

Todays "Transformation Tuesday" comes from our Macombie of the month Michelle! Michelle has participated in 10 CrossFit competitions in 2014 and plans on competing even more in 2015. She is the "Competition Queen" and is not afraid to jump in and give it her all amongst local CrossFitters. Here is what she has to say about what she loves about competing, and how it has helped her grow:

The best part about competing is the feeling of accomplishment when you’re done, the feeling of community you get from all the different CrossFit families that come out to support everyone, and seeing that no matter your age, gender, weight, or athletic ability, you will be cheered on until you are done.

I have learned a lot from competing, about myself and others, and you’re never going to know how you’ll do if you don’t try. Don’t be afraid of failure, failure motivates you to keep pushing and working harder. Failure forces you to set the bar higher.

For as long as I can remember I have always loved to compete; from bumper bowling as a toddler, to all the sports I played through school, to where I am now. Competing can be very stressful; you will have good days and bad days. Every competition is different and some will push you to your limits, but that is the best part; being pushed to your limit, overcoming it, and setting PR’s. The time on the clock and the place on the leader board mean nothing if you didn't give 110%. Being first is always an awesome accomplishment, but giving everything you had and finishing means more than first place. When you walk off that floor there should be no doubt in your mind that you left every ounce of effort you had out there. 

-Michelle

We are proud of Michelle's fearlessness and hard work. She always gives it her all and never settles for less than her best.

Here is a list of all the competitions she participated in last year:

1-Underdog Competition w/Larry, Sarah, & Ben

2-Spring Fling w/Larry

3-Double Trouble Throwdown w/Sarah

 4-Bad Boy Breakout Games w/Larry

5-CFM 10 Skills Challenge w/Andrew W.

6-Clash of the Monsters II (Individual)

7-Wodtober Games w/Larry

8-Skunkbear Games (Individual)

9-Tank Tops & Booty Shorts w/Sarah

10-Compete with a Cougar/Wod with a Sugar Daddy w/Larry

Great Work Michelle!

 

If you have a transformation story please send it to crossfitmacomb@gmail.com. We want to celebrate your transformation with you and feature you on "Transformation Tuesday." :-)

CFM January Newsletter

2015 State of the Gym Address
Thank you everyone that came out to the 2015 State of Gym Address. We had just about one-third of our members show up.

We started off by celebrating some of our athletes. Our longest active member of 3.5 years, who has been with us shortly after we opened was Judy P. She is one of the 5:45AM morning crew members. Our most active member last year was Kelsey S. She came to 392 classes last year. Just behind her with 387 classes was Andrew W. Both Kelsey and Andrew have put in a lot of work last year and it has shown.

Next, we announced some changes to our pricing options. CrossFit Macomb is now offering Unlimited CrossFit Classes memberships for only $125 per month now. One of our goals was to make CrossFit more accessible and through our growth over the past year, we were able to lower our prices.

We have also added a new pricing option called Mac-Pac's.
We will begin offering a 4 Pass and 8 Pass Mac-Pac. The Mac-Pac passes can be used on any of these services offered by CrossFit Macomb:

CrossFit WOD Classes
CrossFit Lite Classes
CrossFit ELEMENT Classes
Yoga Class
Open Gym
Clinics

The Mac-Pac's work as an add-on to your CrossFit Class Memberships to include Yoga, Open Gym, and Clinics but also can be used if you can't quite commit to a three day a week membership.

The 4 Pass Mac-Pac is $50 and the 8 Pass Mac-Pac is $90.

Lastly, we reviewed our direction in 2015. We are going to focus on three things: Programming, Box to Box Events, and Clinics. We will have a calendar out this month that will keep you up to date with these events.

See the events below dates and times.

CFM Clinics
This year we are going to put some focused effort into refining some of the skills that we touch on during the week.

The first clinic we are providing is a Gymnastics clinic. The Gymnastics clinic will focuson learning and developing each gymnastic movements. We will review specific drills and progressions as well as how to improve our efficiency when we are stringing multiple reps together. We will include multiple breakout sessions to "try the movements" while getting critiqued on the movements.

We will learn and practice the following gymnastics movements. From basic to advanced.

Push-ups, Knees to Elbow, Toes to Bar, Pull-ups, Muscle-ups, Handstand, Handstand Push-ups, Handstand Walking.

We will also be offering a Competition Clinic on January 31st. The Competition Clinic will be FREE for all CrossFit Macomb members.

You can keep up with all our clinics on our website at: www.crossfitmacomb.com/p/clinics.html



CrossFit "Macomb Madness!" Competition - March 14th
The CrossFit "Macomb Madness!" Competition is a bracket style competition where a male/female team will compete head to head against another seeded team through a double elimination contest to determine best.

There will be a scaled bracket for those not competing as prescribed and a toilet bowl bracket for the those that are eliminated from main bracket.

All teams will compete in a least 3 WODs. The first WOD will be completed by every team and determine the teams seed for the rest of the event. From there, each team will compete in heats head to head against another team. The better team advances to the next round until only one team remains.

Sign up your team to hold your spot. We can only allow a certain number to fill the brackets properly. Only 25 spots remaining.

Register Team!

January Macombie
This month, the January Macombie for the "Competition Queen" award goes to Michelle K. Michelle participated in a staggering 10 competitions last year. Somehow she managed all this while working and going to school obtaining a degree in Psychology. She is one of few CFM members that attend the 5:45 AM class as well as the PM classes. Great job Michelle, you are an inspiration to who you surround yourself with. Continue to work hard and good luck in all your competitions this year. You can read more about Michelle in her Transformation Tuesday post on our blog this week.

Upcoming Events
January 24th: Gymnastics Clinic at CFM (1PM - 4PM)
January 31st: Competitor Clinic I at CFM (1PM - 4PM)
February 21st: Competitor Clinic II at CFM (5PM - 7PM)
February 26th: CrossFit Games Open begins
March 14th: CrossFit "Macomb Madness" Competition
April TBD: Box to Box Throwdown

CFM August Newsletter

Injury and illness is an unfortunate part of life that we have to struggle with.

It's About the Journey
We have all been there at some point when our body isn't physically capable of performing what used to be a fairly simple task. The only way to avoid injuries, accidents, or illnesses is to live in an isolated bubble, safe from the dangers of life.
Since we are not designed to live this way, we have to learn to live with the inevitable setbacks of life. Knowing this then, the lesson is in the journey that we take through these trials.
I don't like using myself as an example, but I'd thought that would I share some of my journey's though accidents and injuries in hopes to help you.
August is the anniversary of my fateful accident. Of which, I consider it a miracle that I can write about it today. I was in a motorcycle accident in which I was cutoff on the expressway by a semi-truck in the middle of construction zone. I knew the semi didn't see me so I tried to burst around him. I looked down at the speedometer and I was pushing 75mph when I hit the construction barrel that he pushed me into. I lost control of the bike, dumped it, and started sliding with my motorcycle diagonally across 2 lanes of the expressway. I slid over 250 feet, on my stomach, in front of the semi and cars trying to pass him on the left. Again, miraculously I walked away from that accident. My injuries left with a severely bruised pelvis, 50% of the skin on my forearms, and only 10% of the skin on my hands. My stomach and knees were also badly burned and embedded with gravel and dirt. This accident and these injuries obviously left nearly incapable of doing anything by myself. I'd like to say that despite my injuries I was able to continue with my training, and coaching, and continued to see gains and improvements while doing this. Well that answer is no, and in fact I was left to simply heal. For someone like me this is harder then hitting a PR or doing "Fran" in under 3:00 minutes. Through those couple months I was forced to allow other people do things that I was perfectly capable of doing on my own just a few days before. But through the kindness and blessings of family and friends and all the members of CrossFit Macomb, I was supported to take the time to heal and recoup from this accident. Again the focus of this should not be the accident or what it did to me, but the fact that I had a support group surrounding me to not be discouraged and to get back to full strength. It was this journey that I learned the most about who I surround myself with matters more than what I do or what I can do on my own.
Everyone goes through these struggles. When they are physical struggles, remember that it takes time to get back to where you want to be. But the journey and the time you spent doing that is what is important. And the people you surround yourself with and who help you are what is important. Don't let isolated accidents or injuries define who you are. Let the journey and energy you put in to get through them define you. And by the grace of God, you can look back and reflect it on with the confidence of being tested and found complete.

CrossFit Lite
CrossFit Lite has been going well. Enabling people to kick up there health and overall fitness.
Starting in September we are going to be adding CrossFit Lite classes at 9AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Here is the schedule starting in September.

5:45 AM on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
9:00 AM on Monday, Tuesday (Lite), Wednesday, Thursday (Lite), and Friday
4:30 PM on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
5:30 PM on Monday (WOD & ELEMENTS), Tuesday (Lite & ELEMENTS), Wednesday, Thursday (Lite & ELEMENTS), and Friday (WOD & ELEMENTS)
6:30 PM on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
7:30 PM on on Monday (WOD & ELEMENTS), Tuesday (ELEMENTS), Wednesday, Thursday (ELEMENTS)
and
9:00 AM and 10:30 AM on Saturday

See our full schedule and sign up for classes by clicking here or on the picture

CFM 10 Skills Challenge - Date Changed
We moved the date out to September 13th.
This gives you more time to sign up. If you sign up by August 18th then you will receive a FREE competition t-shirt. Registration closes by September 10th.
All of the WODs are completely scaleable and for all skill levels. Find a partner and sign up before space runs out!

Sign up here
http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=20703&stype=-8&sView=day&sDate=8/9/2014

WODs are posted on the Facebook event page
https://www.facebook.com/events/798785143485485/

Did you also hear that we are giving away a FREE pair of Reebok CrossFit Nano 4.0's?

Every participant will be entered into the drawing and we will pick the winning name after the 4th WOD. Don't miss your chance to get a new pair of shoes!

August Macombie
This month the August Macombie for the "One-Armed CrossFitter" award goes to Kelly S. Kelly broke her wrist doing a squat clean two months ago. A movement she had done hundreds of times before. Although, this time when she landed the squat clean her elbow was pointing down and came in contact with her knee. Everything lined up (in)correctly and something had to give. This landed her in a cast for 6 weeks. Kelly was resilient and continued to come and workout through scaled movements and put focus on form and conditioning while her wrist healed. She really started to surprise me with what she still could do with one arm in a cast.
Kelly wanted to add this to her Macombie.

"My favorite thing about CrossFit Macomb would definitely be the people. Not only are the trainers friendly and helpful, but every person that goes there is just as supportive and nice. When I broke my arm, the first thing I thought about was how horrible it was going to be not being able to CrossFit. It had become part of my daily routine at that point, so it was tough having that major of a setback. But even with a broken arm, the trainers were super helpful with all different types of scaling and sometimes coming up with completely different WOD's, just for me. Not only were the trainers beyond helpful, but every one of my CrossFit friends and even CrossFit members that I had never talked to before were asking about my arm.
Since coming back from my injury, I've been pretty timid about using my arm, but I am definitely making my way back to where I used to be slowly but surely.
CrossFit has not only put me in better physical shape but has also changed my mentality and outlook on many things. For now, my short term goal would be to get my wrist and arm back to where they were before the injury. After I accomplish that, a long term goal of mine has been to compete in local competitions and just continue CrossFit in general. "

Upcoming Events

August 7th: Swim WOD 11AM @ Richmond Pool, Beebee Street Park (See Lisa)
August 23rd: Pure Michigan Invitational (Come see the best of Michigan compete at CrossFit Maven)
August 30th: SwampFoot 4 Mile
September 1st: Labor Day - NO CLASSES
September 13th: CFM 10 Skills Team Challenge

Click on the links for more details on any of these events.


Remember, doing work is the best way to see results. Your trainers are always available if you need extra help.

2013 July Newsletter

I don't do CrossFit to get skinny.

It's not about getting skinny

I do remember trying to get skinny though. My workout routine was focused on shedding fat and losing weight and getting smaller. At the time, I was at my heaviest 210 lbs. I had the wrong idea of what healthy is. I thought healthy meant I needed to be skinny, that fat was the enemy; I needed to be smaller. I don't think that I am the only one who thinks that getting skinny is pretty depressing. When most people go about trying to make healthier choices in their lives, they think this is the way to go. When attempting go down this path it takes hours of work, dedication to a diet, and following a workout routine. With the end result to minimize myself into something smaller. That is so demoralizing.
Well, maybe this is just semantics but working to reduce, lessen, or lose is not in any way motivating. I would much rather work towards something that makes me bigger, stronger, faster, better. Those are motivating and positive words.
Doing CrossFit also takes a lot of work, dedication to diet, and following the Workout of the Day (WOD), but it is focused on building muscle. But it is not about getting skinny.
That is the defining line in CrossFit. Its works by building you up. The focus of CrossFit is making muscle. Muscle is what burns fat when your resting; muscle is what gives you the extra energy; muscle is what releases the positive feeling of endorphin's; muscle is where all the benefits to working out derive from.
But what if I told you it is more then muscle.
There is nothing more empowering then getting your body to do something that it has never done before. How about the first time a 52 year old woman does a strict push-up. Or the first time you get a muscle-up. Or the day you finally get the rhythm of double-unders. Or the girl deadlifting 300-lbs off the ground. Or the guy pressing his body-weight over head for 30 reps. These are feats to be proud of, and it makes all the work and effort worth it. It makes you feel like you can accomplish anything. It's funny how such little things can be so meaningful and impacting on who we are and what we want to become. But it does and it is empowering.

Beach WOD

Next week we are doing a Beach WOD on July 4th. We did this last year and had a great time WODing on the beach, grilling and playing some volleyball.
We will be going to Fort Gratiot County Park. Fort Gratiot Park is just north of Port Huron off of Metcalf Road. Map to park
We will be meeting at the park at 11:00 AM for the WOD.

No other classes will be held on July 4th.
No 6:00 AM or 6:30 PM class on July 5th.
We will be having a 9:00 AM, 4:00 PM, and 5:30 PM class on July 5th.

2nd Annual CFM 10 Skills Team Challenge

Next month on August 10th is our 2nd annual CFM 10 Skills Team Challenge. The details will be slightly different this time. The team challenge will consist of a 3 person team, and each team must have at least 1 girl. Teams can include athletes from different CF boxes. This event is geared toward expanding everyone's ability in performing the 10 physical skills. So all skill levels are welcomed and scaling will be available.
There will be 4 WOD's for every team with a 5th winner''s circle WOD to determine the team that has mastered all 10 Skills.
The first three WODs will be announced the week of the Challenge. We will post video demonstration of the standards for movements and expectations of the WODs.
We will be offering individual prizes to the top three teams. Only Rx'd teams are eligible for the prizes.
Entry for the Challenge is $120 per team.
Register by August 1st.
There will be food and other vending services available on site.

Team captains can sign up here > REGISTER

Sign up for the 10 Skills Team Challenge 

 

Click for a printable flyer 

The 10 Skills Team Challenge is a blast. If you did it last time. Do it again! If you didn't then don't miss out this time. Get your team together and represent CFM as we will be inviting the surrounding Boxes.


July Macombie

This month, the Macombie for the "Accessory Award" goes to Dawn. When Dawn WODs she has myriad of accessories that she sets up. This picture below is a perfect example of how Dawn accessorizes her WOD (Please note this was not staged). Fan pointed at her to keep her cool. Tape to prevent callouses. Water to stay hydrated. Tissues for a runny nose. Weight belt for heavy deadlifts. Wrist straps for presses overhead. Headband to keep hair and sweat out of her eyes. Towel to wipe up sweat. And Cards to keep track of which round she is on. To say the least Dawn is prepared for anything that she may need during the WOD. They must be working because Dawn is continuing to see results and making new personal records. Keep up the great work Dawn.

On Ramp

The next On Ramp will be in July starting on the 9th. If you are new to CrossFit this is a perfect opportunity to learn the fundamentals as well as get a well-rounded approach to health, fitness, and nutrition. The classes will be held for two weeks on Tuesday and Thursday at 5:00pm and Saurday at 9:00am. The dates and times are below.

July 9th, Tuesday, 5:00 pm
July 11th, Thursday, 5:00 pm
July 13th, Saturday, 9:00 am
July 16th, Tuesday, 5:00 pm
July 18th, Thursday, 5:00 pm

Upcoming Events
July 4th: NO Classes - Instead Beach WOD at Fort Gratiot County park 11AM
July 5th: NO 6:00 AM or 6:30 PM Classes
July 5th: 9:00AM, 4:00 PM, and 5:30 PM Classes
July 22nd - July 28th: CrossFit Games in Carson, CA
August 10th: 10 Skills Team Challenge
August 31st: Swamp Foot 4 Mile

2013 February Macombie

This month, the Macombie Award for "Outstanding Encourager Award" goes to Lisa W. Not only is Lisa a great CrossFitter, but she is there to encourage you to complete and finish the WOD. A lot of times after the WOD we have a hard time breathing and we are completely out of energy. It takes everything you have just to stand. But what about everybody else? Lisa, knowing what she just finished, looks over to you seeing that you are not done yet. She doesn't just clap her hands and say, "Keep going". She helps you through the last round by doing the movement with you. Personally , I love WODing with Lisa because I know that when she is done no matter how tired she is, she will come along side of me and help push me through the last couple of reps. I don't know why but it makes the world of difference when someone is struggling with you and all the while says, "Come on, keep going, we will get through this." Thanks Lisa for all the support and encouragement that you provide.  

 

 

 More photos on Facebook.

2013 January Macombie

This month the Macombie Award of "Lost Count" goes to Trent. The best part of when Trent loses count is that he just keeps going. Most people when they lose count make up a number or go back to the last number they do remember. Not Trent. He doesn't believe that is fair. So he just keeps going. As the WOD progresses, I'll ask him, "Trent, what number are you on?" He just smirks and shakes his head, "I lost count." And instead of stopping he just keeps going until the last person is done. I love it when this happens. Not because Trent lost count, but because he is thinking of the person who is working just as hard but may be behind him in reps and he keeps going with them. "I'll just be done when they finish," Trent would say. As funny as it is when Trent loses count, I appreciate the attitude he holds when he does. It is the spirit of CrossFit, we are in this together.  

More photos here on Facebook

December Macombie

 

December Macombie

This month the Macombie Award is: "CrossFit is for Everyone" goes to Charsell.  Charsell is a wife, mother of two and grandma of two. Yes, she is a grandma. You would never know by her performance at the gym. Some of her PR's are: Dead lift 235#, clean & jerk 85#, back squat 165# She has been crossfitting for one year now and has lost 7lbs but more impressive is the 11" she has lost. She is now fitting into size 6 pants (was size 10) and went from large to small/medium in shirts. Plus, earlier this year she competed in her first competition.

Charsell had this to say, "I would have never gotten these results and being fit & tone from the previous gym I went to before CFM. I hit my personal goal of 1 unassisted pull up, my next goal is do 5 unassisted pull ups in a row (working my way to RX, my 1st CF WOD "Cindy")."

Great job Charsell, keep inspiring people and showing them that CrossFit is for everyone no matter what stage of life.      

 

More Photos

October Macombie

This month the Macombie Award for "The Look" goes to Amber. Everyone has heard of the "The Look". For me I usually get it from my wife when I do something stupid. However, Amber has perfected the "The Look". It often comes after I tell her what the WOD is for the day and especially when we talk about the weight that she will be lifting. Amber has a gymnastic background and jumped right in on the handstand push-ups and handstand walks. Amber continues to work on the Olympic lifts and get stronger with each WOD. By the way... don't let the "The Look" fool you. Amber has a very sweet heart behind her laser eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

September Macombie

This month we are recognizing CrossFit Macomb's benchmark athlete, and giving the "Beat Joel" Macombie to Joel. It seems that Joel has become the standard to beat when trying to determine how long the WOD will take. It has become comical how many times I've heard, "What did Joel get this morning,... I just have to 'Beat Joel'!" And I've heard from both guys and girls! It is all in good fun and Joel has been taking it upon himself to making his times harder and harder to beat. He has also begun to document and reminisce on these undertakings in the blog Average Joe CrossFit (www.averagejoecrossfit.com) Which is a blog for the CrossFit majority. Very few people are in the elite CrossFit status, but the majority CrossFitters out there need a benchmark athlete like Joel to push themselves to be better, to do better, and to say, "I beat Joel!" Great job Joel and continue to motivate people to work hard.

 

 

August Macombie

August Macombie

This month the Macombie goes to James C for the Best Attendance for the first half of the year. Since the first of this year James has been to 141 classes! Obviously James is a common face for everyone since he has the best attendance. It seems that when the doors are open James is there. He has also been to all of our events. The CFM 10 Skills Challenge, BBQ Night, Running Clinic, Paleo Challenge, and the list goes on. This is not the only record James has as during his time at CFM at he has see many Personal Records (PRs) in the Leaderboard WODs. His favorite Leaderboard... CrossFit Total! Last time he saw significant strength gains. We will see how much he as grown when we do the CrossFit Total again this month! Keep up the good work James and continue your attendance record.

July Macombie

July Macombie

This month's Macombie goes to Jake aka "Captain Obvious". Jake has been a lot of fun to have at CFM. It is definitely quieter when he is not around. Jake gets the "Obvious" Macombie because he is often asking questions about the WOD right after the WOD is explained to the group, which usually start with "OK let me get this straight..." Jake has seen some dramatic improvements over the past couple of months due to working hard at the WODs. He is often seen staying late and working on specific weaknesses. He completed 17 rounds on Continuous Pull-ups, dropped minute off of his 1200m run, and is currently working on his Overhead Squat which started at 45 lbs and is now repping 95 lbs. Keep up the great work Jake...and keep asking the questions that everyone is afraid to ask!

June Macombie

June Macombie

This month's Macombie "Not the Same Man" goes to Tony A. You can read Tony's story below:

"I am a Michigan Army National Guardsman, and a local fire fighter. Last year I enrolled in the Officer Candidate School (OCS) program. The OCS program is a physically and mentally tough program that prepares soldiers to become leaders in our nation's military. Because I lead an active lifestyle, I figured the OCS program would not be overly challenging - I was wrong.

"In January of this year, I went to Phase 0 - also know as 'Hell Week'. Passing Phase 0 is necessary to become an official Office Candidate. The physical demands were like nothing I have ever experienced before, and this is coming from someone who went through Macomb's Fire Academy and graduated top of the class. I did not quit the program, but was told my physical condition was not good enough to proceed in the program. I was given just one more chance to pass Phase 0 this May.

"I came to CrossFit Macomb in January, immediately after Phase 0. I found your program to be intense, yet scalable. I was pushed, but not so much that form took a backseat. I went home sore and exhausted, and that was exactly what I needed.

"I recently came home from my second attempt at Phase 0, and this time the results were completely different. I had OCS Cadre tell me that they could not believe I was the same person from January. I had a 50 percent increase in pushups and situps and my two mile run went from 16 and a half minutes to 14 and a half minutes. More importantly, when we get smoked (punished) and the cadre has us lifting tractor tires or logs above our heads, I have enough energy to get through it and I recover very fast. I went from being a hot mess, to the head of the pack - all in less than four months.

"The Crossfit program works. I can recommend it to anyone regardless of age and shape because of it's scalability. If you want to change your life, Crossfit is definitely a tool for the job."

Tony's story is a great one because it shows how the right stimulus matched with determination can completely change a person's ability to accomplish their goals. Keep up the great work Tony! I am honored to play a small part in your story.

May Macombie

The May Macombies

This month we are honoring a great success story and someone that I am truly proud of. Stephanie (Sammy) M started in July of 2011. She has made a dramatic noticeable change in her life. She has lost 35 lbs and 6 inches around her waist. I joked with Sammy that I notice these changes once her pink shorts weren't so tight anymore. Sammy threw herself into CrossFit. She did her first competition with a make shift team during the Battle of the Boxes in November. Her favorite WOD is Jack and can now complete 7 rounds + 4 reps. Sammy was also one of the winners of the Paleo Challenge we had during the first of the year.

Sammy had this to say about her Macombie,

"I have to say that I absolutely love my CFM family! I would not be where I am today without every one of you. The constant pushing, encouragement and motivation has helped me every step of the way. I love it, live it and am addicted! One of the most touching things I've heard lately is how I inspired someone. I never thought of myself that way and it truely touched me when they told me. It makes all the hard work worth even more."

Keep up the great work Sammy!