April Newsletter

April Newsletter

The CrossFit Games Open is over, but it appears winter isn’t through with us just yet. Who is ready to dive back into training with a renewed focus on improving weaknesses!? Let’s dive into a few updates and interesting stories for April!

MEMBER FEATURE: AUDREY WALKER

Audrey Walker is a well-known 5 am warrior. After making an impressive come-back from shoulder surgery, she roared through the 2018 CrossFit Games Open, barely missing the Masters Qualifier.

How did you arrive at CrossFit Fringe?

John has been doing CrossFit since 2009. We were living in Colorado. Whenever we came back to Columbia to visit his family, he would go to the old Fringe. (I would go do long runs at Rockbridge or Katy Trail) He got to know Nate a bit and also a little bit of the way things were done at that box. When we moved here in August 2014, we lived Hartsburg and started CrossFit in Jeff City because of our kids’ activities at the YMCA. When schedules changed, and we decided to move all of our family activities up to Columbia, there was no question in John’s mind on where to CrossFit. He was confident that the coaches knew what they were doing at Fringe. We didn’t even look at another gym. We didn’t compare prices. We just joined. He was that confident about it. Every once in a while, I will admit my husband was right. This is one of those rare times.

What is your fitness background?

I was a competitive swimmer since the age of 9 and continued to swim competitively through college. After college, I started dabbling in running 5ks. Then I started doing triathlons, sprint distance, and Olympic distance mostly. I trained for and participated in 2½ ironman events, but both were DNF because, in one of them, the swim was canceled due to dangerous conditions (so we just did the bike/run) and the other, I had a running injury (so I just did the swim/bike). From there, I started long distance trail running because it was easy to jump on the trails and get in my runs in with little kiddos. Early morning running on trails with other runner moms and the mountain lions in Colorado was the way I started most of my days. I finally tried CrossFit at age 40 after poo-pooing on the entire concept for about two years.

What’s your favorite workout?

I don’t really have a favorite, but I prefer workouts over 20 minutes that involve all the things – barbells, gymnastics, and rowing or running, like the awesome Saturday partner WODs!

And your favorite CrossFit movement?

Toes 2 Bar. Sorry… it just is…

What is your least favorite CrossFit movement?

(I would say Assault bike, but that is not really a movement) So I will say snatch. I say that because I just can’t make my body do what my mind is telling it. It has been the slowest progressing movement in my CrossFit history. When I see anyone who can do a snatch with beautiful finesse, I stare in awe and hatred at the same time. I say that I definitely have a case of Snatch Envy.

What purchase of $100 or less that has positively impacted your life in the past 6 months?

MY INSTANT POT!

What is an unusual habit or absurd thing that you love?

Well, I am obsessed with this stuff called Bragg Nutritional Yeast. I mean I put it on practically everything I eat. I even keep a container of it at my desk at work.

What is the best or most worthwhile investment you’ve made recently?

I would say this was not actually an investment in a thing, but an investment in a choice. My choice to pick up and move from Ohio to Colorado was probably the best choice I have ever made. I met John in Colorado, have two beautiful kiddos, met lifelong friends and had amazing experiences of life in the Colorado mountains.

What new belief or habit that has most improved your life?

The Rock has a saying “When life puts you in tough situations, don’t say WHY ME, just say TRY ME.” I have really tried to get better at moving away from the pity party of life when things get hard and instead have learned to try to find solutions, find creative ways to make things better, count my blessings and be thankful for what I have, and most of all surround myself with people who make me better. Moving away from Colorado was so difficult for me. But I have truly found a lot of beauty in Missouri, pride in working a full-time office job, and friends who get me and support me.

For anyone starting CrossFit, what advice would you give them?

1. Be patient, trust the process, enjoy the journey because there is no destination. I was the non-believer – “I mean seriously who gets a workout in 5 minutes?” I use to say. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
2. Stop focusing on the scale and aesthetics and focus on performance – You find something way more powerful within yourself in gaining a new skill or a new lifting PR than fitting into a smaller pair of jeans. (However, you will end up looking better because; a. Your body WILL change for the better and b. You will look in the mirror and see pride and health which makes you beautiful). One day you will be jumping with joy over how awesome you are for stringing together 6 toes to bar and then just shrug and say “oh, look I just got an actually visible ab in the process.”
3. Don’t try to be good or master or improve everything at once. Pick and choose a few movements and goals. Work on them, succeed then move on to the next ones.
4. Use the support system of the gym. The CrossFit community is unique. You can’t get this from ANY and I mean ANY other gym or social circle. Capitalize on the people and coaches surrounding you. Use their positive energy to succeed in the gym, at work, at home. They can be your antidepressant, your caffeine, your therapy…

Winner of the Open Intramural

After tabulating all the scores and awesome performances, it’s no bollocks, we are excited to announce that RX Pistols have won our 2018 Intramural! We are still working with them on deciding just what to purchase with everyone’s entry fees, but it’s sure to be awesome! As a reminder, ALL the entry fees we collected for the Intramural Open go into a pool for selecting what new things will be brought into the gyms.

As always, we are working with captains to collect as much feedback about how the Intramural went this year as possible. If there are things YOU LOVED or great ideas you have for how to make the Intramural even better, get with a coach, or drop us a line at [email protected]!

• 1st: RX pistols (with 389 total points)
• 2nd: Aggressively average (with 366 total points)
• 3rd: RX Kwon Do (with 353 total points)
• 4th: Fringe with Benefits (with 275 points)

Ava Kitzi Qualifies for the Qualifier

We had some people get crazy close to being able to enter the Qualifier this year (it’s truly a testament to hard work, dedication, commitment, and a balancing act with all you do every day!) but we are super excited that our very own Coach Ava (CrossFit Kids/Teens) qualified this year after placing 81st IN THE WORLD!

If you’re unfamiliar with the Online Qualifier, it is the next step for teens and masters after the Open. Because, they don’t go on to the Regionals, their performance in this qualifier will determine whether or not they the head to the CrossFit Games in Madison, WI in August! For teens specifically, the top 200 teenagers from each division after the open will complete the qualifier workouts (four-day competition). The top 20 teens from each age division will then head to Madison, Wisconsin, for the 2018 Reebok CrossFit Games.

The 2018 Online Qualifier will take place soon — Thursday-Monday, April 19-23, 2018.

Brooke Wells heads to her 4th straight Regional appearance

Finishing SIXTH IN THE WORLD in the Open, her highest finishing standing to date, Brooke rolled through the Open like a breeze. Central Regional tickets are on sale NOW, so get yours and show your support for Brooke in her final year with us at Fringe!

Help Wanted: Extra Childcare Support!

While we currently have two very excellent care providers that take care of 99 percent of our childcare needs at East (thank you D and Kendra!), we could use one or two substitutes who would be able to step-in from time to time. Emergencies and vacations happen. We don’t expect free help by any means and we pay per shift for the help – so if that 5:30 pm time frame and looking after some little ones are right up your alley, please help us and your fellow Fringies out! We have a short application process. If interested, email [email protected] to learn more!

Tell Your Friends — We Just Rolled Out Our New Elements Program!

We’ve heard your feedback and are excited to roll out the next iteration of our Elements Program! Our new Group Elements format is a 2-week, 6 session course at the front of your first month’s membership (meaning you are buying a full month of Unlimited CrossFit when you buy Elements). Each session is 1 hour of work designed like a normal CrossFit class that includes warm-up, skills, workout and discussion. Classes meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in either the morning or evening depending on the program schedule.

Our goal is to run two small group (2-4 participants) Elements each month, giving us more time with individual athletes both during Elements and transitioning into classes, and offers our athletes a more concise and attentive plan of action that has them in regular classes sooner. It also means less wait time when they decide to join CrossFit Fringe!

Check out our current schedule of Group Elements Session dates and tell your friends!

Facility Updates

Improvements continue around the gym with both locations having converted from traditional whiteboards to shiny new TV displays of SugarWOD! This will save our coaches time at opening and closing and hopefully lessen the squinting for you our athletes at having to read some of the less-than-stellar handwriting that occasionally appeared.

We’ve also worked to make the use of space more efficient at East and hopefully open up the room a little bit more and make equipment easier to grab. Additional aesthetic work at East includes finishing out the mezzanine trim work, framed in windows, and more paint. We’ve got new a pair of plyo boxes at West as well. Our work is never done and we will continue to work on making our facilities as perfect as possible for you!

Product-wise, we’ve restocked all Driven products, including adding Aminos to our line-up. We’ve also made the switch from Rx Bars to ONE Bars!

Upcoming Events and Competitions

• April 19-23, 2018: CrossFit Games Online Qualifier
• May 25-27, 2018: CrossFit Games Central Regionals (Nashville, TN)
• May 28: Memorial Day “Murph”
• July 21, 2018: AR-X (CrossFit Little Rock)

From the Question/Comment Box?

Q: How do you stick to a Nutrition plan? What about plans that prescribe cheat meals?

A: Ever follow a meal plan (like macros, Paleo, Whole 30, or whatever you picked) and follow it to near perfection? You don’t deviate and you’re 100% compliant on Monday through Friday, then you lose resolve over the weekend? It all starts on Saturday when you have a quick lunch out and then also have dinner out after skipping your regular breakfast? You also decide you need a rest day from the gym because it’s the weekend and you were perfect all week? Next thing you know at dinner you have a drink, or two, and then head to another bar, and that number that turns into five, or more…? By Sunday, you’re feeling bad about the decisions you made the day before, so you basically don’t eat and starve yourself in hopes of making up for going off plan. Plus you just feel like garbage cause you ate poorly and had too much to drink. Sound familiar?

The most important thing that we can educate and preach on in nutrition is consistency. It’s not about perfection, it’s about consistency. Five days of perfection can easily be ruined and erased with two days of hedonism. We could break it down mathematically — in seven days you’ll have on average 21-28 meals for most individuals. Two days of play would be between 6-9 meals that you just didn’t care, and those are compounded by being back-to-back days. That means roughly 30% of your week was off-script. That’s a lot, isn’t it?! You grade for the week would barely be a ‘C’.

On the other hand, restraining and controlling yourself, and planning ahead a bit can allow you to live a healthy, balanced, and slightly indulgent lifestyle. Some nutrition plans refer to these planned meals as “cheat” meals. We kind of hate the word ‘cheat’ in regards to nutrition, as it ascribes feelings and morals to eating implying that there are foods that are both inherently good and evil. That’s not the mentality we want! We want to enjoy food, all foods within reason, and in moderation. So let’s reexamine what a good week could look like and still have high satisfaction with your nutrition plan.

Monday and Tuesday you stick to your plan with almost no slips, maybe a few calories over or under, but for the most part you’re nearly perfect. Wednesday you know it’s going to be Date Night and you’re going to have Mexican and a margarita (maybe even two!). Knowing this, you make your breakfast and lunches a little smaller than normal, and you make sure to definitely get that workout in! At dinner, you order whatever you’d like, but you don’t scarf it down. Instead, you eat most of it, not all. You try to avoid the never-ending chips and salsa, having a bit, but not making a meal of them. And you do have those two margaritas, cause it’s Date Night after all! Thursday rolls around and you get right back on track with your normal plan, and the same goes for Friday – except you have a dessert and Friday and you really liked it and wanted it. Saturday is business as usual, but you again go out for dinner and drinks – this time you intentionally order off-menu, making it the healthiest meal you can given that you’re out. You have a couple beers with dinner and call it a night. Sunday, you get up and have a slightly bigger breakfast than normal, but otherwise, you’re right back on script. In this example, you have normal and enjoyable social life, you’re enjoying your food and company, and you had maybe 3 meals off base, with a little splurge here and there. Three meals off-plan, that means you’re still 85% compliant – and that sounds like a MUCH better and more sustainable way of living right?!

So the long and short? Set yourself up for longtime/lifetime success by aiming for consistency over perfection.

If you need a chat about your diet or situation or need affirmations you’re on the right track, you can always schedule a no-cost consult here. We’ll talk about you and your goals. You get a free 15-min nutrition counseling appointment as part of your Fringe membership.Have an amazing month of love, lifts, and GAINS! As always, if you need anything, you can reach out to us on social media, or email [email protected].