Are you all taking advantage of the many things at the gym that may not have anything to do with that day’s workout?  Let’s take a look at the list of things we have going on.

National and International Maps
Mikey spent a good deal of time putting up cork board in the main foyer.  On two of those boards are maps both national and international.  These are not only up for visitors to tell us where they’re from.  They’re up there to tell us where YOU are from.  If you haven’t put a pin in your home town, do so today!!

Goings On at the Gym
The other boards in the hallway are things and events that we felt were important to put up for all of you to peruse.  On these boards we have included upcoming events that the gym will be taking part in.  We also have a location for anything nutrition or wellness related.  You can find the weekly Paleo Plan weekly emails here.  We’ve even included a section for you to promote anything you want others to know about.  If have a side business you’re trying to gain exposure for get us some cards or flyers to put up.  Last but certainly not least, cruise by the “New Member” section.  Here we’ve attached bio’s and pics of all out On Rampers.  Take a moment to study their faces and learn something about them.

Comment and Suggestion Box
I know for a fact that this gem is being underutilized.  Right on the wall is a black mailbox with postcards right next to it.  If you have an idea, suggestion, or comment to make we want to hear it!!!  Take a brief minute to write it down and let us know!  It will definitely be addressed!

WOD
Back Squat
3-3-3-3-3
Add 5-10lbs

3 * 500m Row

Rest as close to 3min as possible between sprints

First and Last Name
Joe Stafford

Where ya from originally?
Buffalo New York

How long have you been with CrossFit Las Vegas?
19 months

What’s your favorite WOD?
Murph

What’s your least favorite WOD?
Josh

What were you doing before CrossFit?  How did you hear about CrossFit and/or CrossFit Las Vegas?
I was a marathon runner, and weight lifter at 24 hour fitness, I trained with my sons Justin and Sean.
Justin joined cross fit and on father ‘s day my wife Tammy bought me the elements class. Sean still elite runner , and Justin and I workout together and I love that.

Give us some insight as to your thoughts after your first workout at CrossFit Las Vegas.
I was challenged and nervous, I am competitive by nature, I wanted to do well.  I was 56 years old, and I was working out with younger people.  However it did take long to see there is something special with the cross fit community.  The trainers Joe, Zack, Mike, Villie, Loreen, Nicole were very encouraging to me.  I was very impressed with the cross fit members how serious they were about there fitness, but mine as well.

Tell us a little about then vs. now with regard to your performances on a couple of the benchmark WODs, ie Fran or Cindy.
The difference now vs. When I first started was flexibility.  As a runner my hamstring muscles are very tight and working out at a 24 hr. Gym doing isolated muscle groups ,I found out there were so many mistakes I made from simply not being aware of how to workout.
So I have improved my workouts steadily, and have improved flexibility a little.  My times have gone down or my weights have increased .

Do you have any special or favorite CrossFit Las Vegas memories/moments?
The first time we were going to do fight gone bad I said to my wife I wonder why they call it that, strange.  Then I did the workout ,and after it was all over, bodies were all over the floor, including mine, and I said I get it.  That and when I almost knock myself out doing shoulder press , get your head out of the way!

What advice would you give to a newbie or someone just joining CrossFit Las Vegas?
I would first of all encourage the vintage croud to come to cross fit it is not just for young people, take your health serious!  The training is impeccable , the trainers are not going to let you hurt yourself, and there is no better place to get encourage than the members of cross fit.  I am a believer in taking care of your body, soul, and spirit, and all parts work together.  Get started.

And finally (and most importantly) Who is the best and most incredible coach at CrossFit Las Vegas?  Explain/defend your answer.
I did not get to where I am in life without the ability to suck up, so the P.C. Answer all the trainers are my favorite, but I will say Villie has always been encouraging to me, mike, is always willing to help, answer question and abuse me.  And how do we forget Joe always working,posting, gathering information,and willing to share,his strength is training movements.

You’ve waited long enough.  Fill out your Athlete Profile.

WOD
Deadlift
3-3-3-3-3 add 5-10lb

Cindy
AMRAP 20min of:
5 Pull Ups
10 Push Ups
15 Squats

Getting the Most Out of CrossFit – Charles Poliquin’s Blog

Super Bowl Sunday
Because the Super Bowl will likely convince some of you to not attend our Open Gym this coming Sunday, the Open Gym will be closed.  Mikey will instead be leading a class before the big came and leave you plenty enough time to get home and enjoy it.  The class will begin around 11am!

Powerlifting Meet
George Prince, in conjunction with Tony Rodriguez of Natural Power Las Vegas, will be holding the 3rd Annual AAU Powerlifting Championships at the gym on Saturday February 11th! Admission to the event for our gym members will be free! The meet starts at 9am and will run throughout the day!

With the meet going all day, the gym will be closed. The Intro Day for any newcomers has been rescheduled to Sunday the 12th.

The Color Run
The annual Color Run  is going down in Vegas, February 25 2012.  It is all about participants of all different speeds, ages, shapes, and sizes toeing the start line.  Whether you are a casual morning mall walker or an Olympic athlete, the 3 miles of the Color Run course will be the most enjoyable real estate you’ve traveled in a VERY long time.

The 2012 Las Vegas Charity is Three Square Food Bank. They are a wonderful organization that does so much for the community.  The Color Run is also partnering with 4 local corporate sponsors for the 2012 event.

Make sure you register to be on the team for CrossFit Las Vegas!!!  You can register here.  There are a bunch of names on our sign up sheet and only a handful have actually registered on the Color Run website!

WOD
Bent Row
4,4,4,4

5 RFT of:
100m Sprint
12 Toes to Bar
8 Handstand Push Ups

Musings on Specialization and Self-sufficiency in the Modern World – marksdailyapple.com

Super Bowl Sunday
Because the Super Bowl will likely convince come of you to not attend our Open Gym this coming Sunday, the Open Gym will be closed.  Mikey will instead be leading a class before the big came and leave you plenty enough time to get home and enjoy it.  The class will begin around 11am!

Powerlifting Meet
George Prince, in conjunction with Tony Rodriguez of Natural Power Las Vegas, will be holding the 3rd Annual AAU Powerlifting Championships at the gym on Saturday February 11th! Admission to the event for our gym members will be free! The meet starts at 9am and will run throughout the day!

With the meet going all day, the gym will be closed. The Intro Day for any newcomers has been rescheduled to Sunday the 12th.

Town Hall Meeting Coming Up
We will be holding another Town Hall Meeting for all our members. The date has been set for February 26th. The Town Hall Meeting will begin at 12pm and go as long as is necessary. Lisa Yi, co-owner of Urban Grill and a very good friend, has offered to us the opportunity to take our Town Hall gathering to the restaurant after the meeting! It has been mentioned that there might even be a role-out of a Paleo-Menu for us to sample. If not, it will still provide us a place to eat, drink, and be merry after the meeting! Thanks Lisa!

For those of you who are new to the gym, we like to hold these a few times a year to get feedback from all of you. We also are looking for you all to bring any questions and/or concerns you have to the table! Save the date and meet us at the gym at 12pm!

WOD
Press
3-3-3-3-3 add 2.5-5lb

OTM for 12min of:
3 Push Press
9 Power Cleans

Use the same bar for both movements.

Super Bowl Sunday
Because the Super Bowl will likely convince come of you to not attend our Open Gym this coming Sunday, the Open Gym will be closed.  Mikey will instead be leading a class before the big came and leave you plenty enough time to get home and enjoy it.  The class will begin around 11am!

Powerlifting Meet
George Prince, in conjunction with Tony Rodriguez of Natural Power Las Vegas, will be holding the 3rd Annual AAU Powerlifting Championships at the gym on Saturday February 11th! Admission to the event for our gym members will be free! The meet starts at 9am and will run throughout the day!

With the meet going all day, the gym will be closed. The Intro Day for any newcomers has been rescheduled to Sunday the 12th.

Some Fun Things For Us to Do Outside of the Gym
Color Run
http://thecolorrun.com/lasvegas/
Tough Mudder
http://toughmudder.com/events/las-vegas-2012/

Vili has put up sign up sheets out for both events. Please speak to him with any questions you might have in regards the events.

Town Hall Meeting Coming Up
We will be holding another Town Hall Meeting for all our members. The date has been set for February 26th. The Town Hall Meeting will begin at 12pm and go as long as is necessary. Lisa Yi, co-owner of Urban Grill and a very good friend, has offered to us the opportunity to take our Town Hall gathering to the restaurant after the meeting! It has been mentioned that there might even be a role-out of a Paleo-Menu for us to sample. If not, it will still provide us a place to eat, drink, and be merry after the meeting! Thanks Lisa!

For those of you who are new to the gym, we like to hold these a few times a year to get feedback from all of you. We also are looking for you all to bring any questions and/or concerns you have to the table! Save the date and meet us at the gym at 12pm!

WOD
Romanian Deadlifts
4,4,4,4

5 ITR of:
15 Russian Swings
10 Pull Ups
15 Box Jumps

Powerlifting Meet
George Prince, in conjunction with Tony Rodriguez of Natural Power Las Vegas, will be holding the 3rd Annual AAU Powerlifting Championships at the gym on Saturday February 11th!  Admission to the event for our gym members will be free!  The meet starts at 9am and will run throughout the day!

With the meet going all day, the gym will be closed.  The Intro Day for any newcomers has been rescheduled to Sunday the 12th.

Some Fun Things For Us to Do Outside of the Gym

First and Last Name
Kristina Shigley
Where ya from originally?
Glendora, CA
How long have you been with CrossFit Las Vegas?
Since October 2010
What’s your favorite WOD?
AMRAPS & Fight Gone Bad
What’s your least favorite WOD?
J.T.
What were you doing before CrossFit?  How did you hear about CrossFit and/or CrossFit Las Vegas?
Before CFLV I was doing what I like to call “The Shape Magazine Workout” an hour on the elliptical or treadmill then doing 10 – 15 lbs weights 3 to 5 x a week. I loved to work out, but would get bored with my routines.

I had heard about CrossFit from the guy I was dating, but was convinced it wasn’t for me. CF just sounded like a ridiculous cult to me. Heavy weights? 15 min workouts? Obsessed members? No thank you!

About six months before I joined CFLV I hit a rough spot in my personal life, and due to unhealthy habits lost 25 to 30 lbs. At first I was pretty excited about the effortless weight loss; I had no appetite and didn’t work out at all, but soon found I had lost one of my favorite features, my booty.

What made me finally decide to give CFLV a try was a day at the pool with Dezirae and Tina. They told me, with some deadlifts and squats, I would have my booty back in no time. I went to the next share the pain and let’s just say I had to apologize and retract my “cult” statements to a certain someone.
Give us some insight as to your thoughts after your first workout at CrossFit Las Vegas.
My first WOD at share the pain was a death by dumbbell push press and burpees. At first I thought, “that’s it? This is the ‘kick ass workout’ everyone is talking about?” But by the end, my arms felt like they were going to fall off and I was exhausted…in less than 15 minutes!

I was hooked. I signed up right there. I knew this is the kind of thing I needed in my life to relieve stress and get back into healthy habits.
Tell us a little about then vs. now with regard to your performances on a couple of the benchmark WODs, ie Fran or Cindy.
Back then, I don’t think I could even put more than 55 lbs over my head or do anything upper body. I couldn’t do pull-ups, push-ups, and I had never done any O-lifts. When I would lift, I was afraid of the bar and would daintily set it down.

Now, I can put well over 100 lbs over my head more than once. I did all 100 push-ups in Angie on my toes, pull-ups are easier and O-lifts are some of my favorite things to do.
Do you have any special or favorite CrossFit Las Vegas memories/moments?
Doing Tough Mudder in Big Bear with the CFLV team. New friends, 10 miles, 25 obsticals, and getting dirty. What’s not to like?
What advice would you give to a newbie or someone just joining CrossFit Las Vegas?
Don’t be intimidated by workouts, lifts, skills, people, whatever. Everything can be scaled and someday you might be the person who the newbies are intimidated by.

Push yourself. You’ll feel better knowing you gave everything you had finishing last, than only a little and finishing first, giving up, or cheating.

Get to know everyone that you can in the gym. CFLV has an awesome community full of fun, friendly, and encouraging people.
And finally (and most importantly) Who is the best and most incredible coach at CrossFit Las Vegas?  Explain/defend your answer.
This is an easy one; all of them! Duh! They all are amazing for different reasons. I could list my favorite characteristics of each one, but I think I have been long winded enough.

We’re still waiting for your Athlete Profile!!!

WOD
Press
3-3-3-3-3

4 RFT of:
30 Overhead Lunges
400m Run

QUICK NOTE:
This Saturday’s Kettlebell class has been canceled.

Sleep: An Undervalued Ergogenic Aide – Dallas Hartwig, Performance Menu

Town Hall Meeting Coming Up
We will be holding another Town Hall Meeting for all our members.  We’ve moved the date to February 26th.  The Town Hall Meeting will begin at 12pm and go as long as is necessary.  We’re also looking at having everyone who comes in for the Town Hall get together for a late lunch/early dinner somewhere near the gym.

UPDATE:
Lisa Yi, co-owner of Urban Grill and a very good friend, has offered to us the opportunity to take our Town Hall gathering to the restaurant after the meeting!  It has been mentioned that there might be a role-out of a Paleo-Menu for us to sample.  If not, it will still provide us a place to eat, drink, and be merry after the meeting!  Thanks Lisa!

For those of you who are new to the gym, we like to hold these a few times a year to get feedback from all of.  We also are looking for you all to bring any questions and/or concerns you have to the table!  Save the date and meet us at the gym at 1pm!

WOD
Pistols
7/7 x 7

3 x 5min AMRAP of:
6 DB Thrusters
5 Pull Ups
4 Burpees

Yesterday, someone asked me after I had left the gym, “What is the benefit of a workout like that?”  They were referring to Jacket of Pain.  When you look at a long-winded, shoulder wrenching workout such as it was, it’s hard to figure if there even is a point to such a workout.  Let’s see what we can figure out, shall we.

Systemically, there are much better ways to develop both cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance (stamina).  There really are.  250 Push Press is indeed a touch excessive.  Workouts that involve less than 90 reps for a given movement or muscle groups are certainly a good choice for the stamina, and using sprint intervals along with moderate lifting do a fine job of eliciting a cardiovascular response.  So why the huge overload on push press?

From a mechanical standpoint, technique will breakdown with this type of workout very quickly.  VERY.  It is in this regard that such a workout finds its purpose.  Even with the frequent rest taken in between reps of push press, maintaining correct technique is a challenge to say the least.  However, the fitter athlete will be able to maintain this technique and move the bar more efficiently.  Through that efficiency, the athlete will finish faster.

Training to the point of mechanical breakdown is not a popular topic and often a source of criticism in and of CrossFit.  However, it is an important concept to train to a point where each attempt at a movement is a concentrated effort to perform correctly.  Being able to push back the point at which such mechanical error occurs is a strong indication of effort and practice.  Being able to perform a given movement correctly under extreme fatigue and duress is strong indicator of a trainee who has put in the time needed to become as proficient and efficient as possible.

Town Hall Meeting Coming Up
We will be holding another Town Hall Meeting for all our members.  We’ve moved the date to February 26th.  The Town Hall Meeting will begin at 12pm and go as long as is necessary.  We’re also looking at having everyone who comes in for the Town Hall get together for a late lunch/early dinner somewhere near the gym.  Stayed tuned for details on that.

For those of you who are new to the gym, we like to hold these a few times a year to get feedback from all of.  We also are looking for you all to bring any questions and/or concerns you have to the table!  Save the date and meet us at the gym at 1pm!

WOD
Deadlift
3-3-3-3-3

For 12min:
1min to get 6 Squat Cleans
1min Rest

Penalty for each missed rep is 5 Burpees

The Hangover
Not the movie based here in town but a clear and succinct look at what a hangover really is.
The Hangover – CrossFit Invictus
Alcohol and Athletic Performance – The University Health Center

Some Fun Things For Us to Do Outside of the Gym
Color Run
http://thecolorrun.com/lasvegas/