Dina Widlake takes a risk and learns how to grab life by the pull-up bars.
That pull-up bar mocks me. I cannot be the only one who experiences it.
Messages pour like party confetti, scrappy little echoes from the distant past as I look up—only I’m not celebrating. I am being mocked.
I hear those words: “Girls aren’t built to do pull-ups. They aren’t designed to have that kind of upper-body strength. It’s unnatural for girls to do pull-ups. You can’t do them.”
Or can you?
“All of our business is from word of mouth. I haven’t advertised once, and all 125 clients that we have are all from word of mouth,” says Chris Isernio, owner of CrossFit Old Bethpage/CrossFit Central Long Island in Farmingdale, N.Y. “We don’t even have fliers. I’m what you call the worst businessman ever.”
Businessman or not, Isernio is finding success through CrossFit. CrossFit Old Bethpage is growing and has just moved into a larger space. The athletes share their own success stories.
CrossFitter Phil Calderone says he is in the best shape of his life and can perform athletic feats he couldn’t even in his youth.
“I’m 49 years old now, and I could climb a rope, get almost anything done,” he says. “It’s fantastic. I love it.”
Like many other athletes there, CrossFit has become a family thing. For the Gemmill family, CrossFit has bonded together not only their immediate family but also their brothers and sisters in other states.
Charlie Wagner, a retired firefighter joined his son at CrossFit Old Bethpage.
“I’ve found nothing, nothing, in all my years of going to the gym, that would even come close to this,” he says.
10min 24sec
Additional video: “Push Yourself Beyond Limits” by Jennifer Hunter and Hector Delgado, published April 18, 2011.
Debbie Rakos explains how to tee up a great game for CrossFit Kids.
A missed shot on the golf course is usually accompanied by a few grown-up words and a scowl, but when your young athletes miss a put in this game, they’ll only get fitter!
Fore!
Breech alpaca birth assist last week
I know it’s been a long time since I’ve updated. My visit to Polyface Farms was extremely inspiring and I’ve yet to write about it. Here’s what I’ll expand on in the next newsletter and what I’ve been busy with:
Some good recent reads:
Charcoal Roasted Pork Loin 
Ben Hollingshaus was behind the scenes at the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games to film the preparations for the largest CrossFit gathering to date. In this all-access video from the Home Depot Center, Ben highlights the incredible efforts of the staff and volunteers, all the way from the equipment set-up to the portable-washroom placement.
“Something big I can feel is going to happen,” Ben says.
By mid-week, the athletes have assembled. Ben catches up with them as they prepare for the swim test.
When asked if bears swim, Jason Khalipa is confident.
“‘Khalipa-bears’ swim. They swim phenomenally,” he answers.
The athletes share some strategies for the unknown swim event ahead of them. Pat Barber shows off his “power beard” and talks about personal grooming for a competitive edge.
Elyse Umeda is just honored to be a competitor.
“Just to get here was a … journey itself, and every year it gets harder and harder, so I’m just honored to be here,” she says. “It’s been so much fun the last couple days—and probably a lot more fun the next few days.”
9min 53sec
Additional reading: Swim Test Announced, published July 26, 2011.
by Santy Alfonso
"We made it!!! :-) "
by Vicki Grippa
"This is an amazing woman with superior work ethics and ..."