Monthly: January 2011

At the Rogue Vs. Again Faster Throwdown in Lake Tahoe, Calif., 2009 Games champion Tanya Wagner talked about her pregnancy and how it has changed her CrossFitting.

In this installment, Wagner, who runs CrossFit Apex with her husband Josh, talks about her first visit to the doctor. The doctor couldn’t understand why Wagner would want to do CrossFit movements—pregnant or not—and cautioned her against exercising strenuously during her pregnancy.

“But I could sit on my butt on the sofa and have a miscarriage, and you know what? Then I would blame myself that I was just lazy,” Wagner says. “How can you tell somebody it’s safer to not do anything?”

“Be smart,” Wagner advises people considering CrossFitting while pregnant. “You’re not going to PR. Who cares about the time? Get a good workout to stay healthy and listen to your body.”

7min 55sec

Additional reading: High Performance Pregnancy by Andrea Nitz, published Dec. 20, 2008.

Join Mikko Salo, the 2009 CrossFit Games champion, on his road trip across America—but this trip isn’t quite the same as the CrossFit Journal’s last Road Trip with Dave Lipson, Rob Orlando and Dave Castro. A man of few words, Salo is rarely distracted from his quest to better his training.

Salo’s journey continues at Rogue Fitness, home of 2010 Games champion Graham Holmberg. The two champions talk about the future of the Games.

“The events, everything every year changes, so you’re going to see a different blend of winners,” Holmberg says.

With four editions of the Games behind us now, the question is always, “Who’s going to be the first person to do it twice?”

“I want to prove to people I can do it twice,” Salo says.

Both Salo and Holmberg share the desire to become better CrossFitters.

“If we get better, we might win the Games, and that’s like the bonus,” Salo says. “There’s always something to do, some things that you can do better and be better at.”

“Perfection is not attainable,” Holmberg agrees.

13min 24sec

Additional reading: Then and Now, published June 19, 2010.

John Pak talks about some of the ways instructors at Level 1 seminars produce quality CrossFit coaches.

Time literally flies in the 16 hours of the Level 1 seminar. It’s not so much because you’re passionate about what you’re learning and why you’re learning it. It’s because of how you’re learning it. It’s quality instructors teaching quality information.

I’m not a professional writer and don’t own a box, nor do I work for CrossFit. I’m just a CrossFitter who went to learn how to train others. I started doing CrossFit at CrossFit RX’D in Placentia, Calif., and got the urge to make it a larger part of my life. I decided to go to the Level 1 seminar held in Las Vegas, Nev., on May 8 and 9, 2010.

The instructors were superb: Stephane Rochet (lead instructor), Heather Bergeron, Matt Chan, Mike Giardina, Eric O’Connor and Chris Spealler. These trainers were really passionate about what they were teaching and emphasized proper form, which is how you become better. Through that, I saw others around me itching to be better. We all know that itch—the one that moves us to become better, stronger, faster and ultimately fitter.