Workout of the Day:
Four sets of:
Snatch-Grip Deadlift x 5 Reps
Rest 90 seconds
Strict Chin-Ups x Max Reps
Rest 90 seconds
(If you are unable to maintain perfect posture in the set-up of your snatch-grip deadlift, you need to elevate the barbell.  Do this by setting the rack pins as low as you are able to go while maintaining good posture, or stack plates underneath your weights to get the barbell higher up your leg.  Remember to keep your chest up and the bar close.  Chin-ups implies a supinated grip – your palms should be facing you.)
(Thanks as always to our friends at Catalyst Athletics for the great instructional videos.)
and then,
Four rounds for time of:
10 Hang Power Cleans (115-135/75-95 lbs)
20 Box Jumps (18″/24″)

5 Tips for Fitness Success in 2010
Written by Calvin Sun

1. Get Rid Of The Junk

The New Year is a perfect time for a caloric catharsis. Purge your home of the cookies, ice cream, chips, sodas, booze and other processed junk that’s accumulated over the past few weeks. Don’t worry, you’re not wasting food as these items really have no nutritional value and barely fit the definition of food. Having these items around will only prevent progress you could be making towards your fitness goals. If you’re a parent, don’t use your children as an excuse. Be a good example for them.  After all, you don’t want your kids to become a childhood obesity statistic.

2. Go Grocery Shopping

Unless your goal for 2010 is to gain fat and waste money, eating out every night isn’t a very successful nutritional approach. Having groceries means you’ll be able to prepare healthy meals to eat. Sarah “The Human” provided an excellent grocery list in her Paleo Week post. At a minimum, make sure you always have some healthy protein sources, fresh fruits and veggies, and some spices to keep things interesting. For recipes and ideas, check out http://everydaypaleo.com/, http://livingpaleo.com/ and, of course, our friends over at the Performance Menu. Also, stay tuned to the Invictus blog for some upcoming recipes. Michele has a cookbook in the works so be on the look out for that as well.

3. Set Goals

If you haven’t already, make a health and fitness goal for yourself to achieve this year. It should be something realistic but difficult to accomplish. For example, a 1000 pound deadlift might be a bit of a lofty goal for me to achieve this year. However, a 500 pound deadlift for reps might be a little more within my reach. If you have a very broad goal, you can break it down into some smaller, more achievable goals. For example, if your goal is to “eat healthier”, you can break it into more specific goals such as “eat protein at every meal”, “avoid drinking soda”, “eat breakfast everyday”…you get the idea.

4. Meet With A Coach

Schedule an appointment with an Invictus coach to discuss your goals. We can work with you to develop an individualized plan to achieve your goal. Our team of coaches is comprised of experts in fields that range from Olympic weightlifting to endurance running to mobility and regeneration. We will evaluate your goal and establish the best plan of action to achieve the desired result. Simply put, you’ll get better results much sooner with a personalized approach. Another benefit of individual coaching is that you’ll be held accountable to the goals you set. How many times have you set a goal in January only to have it become a faded memory by February? Meeting with a coach on regular basis will help keep you on track and ensure your success.

5. Be Consistent

Coming to the gym everyday this week and then disappearing the next isn’t an effective approach to work towards any sort of goal. Make sure you get to the gym at least 2 to 3 days a week. You’ll have to make exercise a part of your normal routine in order to maximize your results. In fact, what you do outside of the gym may be more important than what you do in it. Good nutrition, regular sleep, and living a healthy lifestyle are all equally important to your health and fitness. You’ll certainly live better and live longer if you can get all of these variables dialed in.

Best wishes for 2010!

Tags: Coaching Cues, CrossFit Invictus, Motivation

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 at 9:44 pm and is filed under Workout Of The Day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.