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The Dream Team Clinic at Waxman’s Gym with the Best in the World!

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I have been meaning to share some photos along with a little bit about my experience at the Dream Team Coaches Clinic led by some of the best Olympic weightlifters and coaches in the world. My brother Jonathan signed us up for the three day clinic held at Waxman’s gym the moment he saw it was coming to our area and it was one of the most eye opening experiences any of us had in regards to weightlifting. The team leading the clinic consisted of:

“Vasiliy Polovnikov
2008 European silver medalist and 9-time Russian national champion. Currently preparing for 2014 European championships.

Dmitry Klokov
2008 Olympic silver medalist, 2005 world champion, bronze medalist at 2006 and 2007 world championships.

Ilya Ilyin
2008 and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, 2005, 2006, and 2011 world champion, world and Olympic record holder in the clean and jerk and total in the 94 kg class.

Zygmunt Smalcerz
1972 Olympic champion, 3-time world champion, 4-time european champion, former world record holder in the snatch at 52kg, former head weightlifting coach for Poland, current head weightlfting coach for the United States.”

The four men definitely lived up to the “Dream Team” hype and to get the chance to watch them lift, coach, and break down technique was phenomenal. They introduced us to a completely different perspective and approach to the lifts along with their favorite methods for strengthening and refining different parts of the clean, jerk, and snatch. I got to work hands on with the coaches in front of the group and despite a bit of a language barrier, they were very effective in improving my technique and positions with my lifts. Getting coached by world record holders was surreal and a very cool experience. The course was a wealth of information and the biggest takeaway for me was the training exercises they demonstrated for strengthening different aspects of the lifts. I have incorporated them into my training and look forward to seeing my technique improve and to have some fun pushing my limits. As a coach I also gained a lot of insight into how to help my athletes improve even more and find success in Olympic weightlifting. The future is bright for myself and CrossFit Kinnick lifters with our constant effort to learn and refine the Olympic lifts!

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CrossFit Kinnick Ontario is Finally Here!

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This coming week CrossFit Kinnick is opening a second location in Ontario, CA! This has been a long time coming and I am so excited for the opportunities this brings my brother Jonathan and the whole team at CrossFit Kinnick. We have been an affiliate for close to 7 years now and we have put so much blood, sweat, and tears into building CrossFit Kinnick into something we love and are proud of. This new location allows us to bring the same Kinnick experience to even more individuals who decide to trust us with their health and fitness. We couldn’t be more fired up with what this can become! The location is relatively close to our original location in Upland that we have been in for 6 years now and our members all now have two locations that they can attend classes at. We truly see it as broadening our CrossFit Kinnick family and because of the close proximity we are excited to keep our community as tight as ever as we make 2014 the best yet for CFK. Our first classes kick off on Monday, February 3rd and I will be working out at the first class held bright and early at 5:30am. Some of my fellow trainers are joining me in christening the new space and throwing down for the first WOD! Exciting times ahead! If you are local to us and want to check out the new facility you can find more info on class times and more at crossfitkinnick.com!

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Beyond the Whiteboard Analyze: Light

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Next up in my series on Beyond the Whiteboard‘s Fitness Level feature is the LIGHT category. Again, the site has been a huge tool in my CrossFit training since it was created by my little brother Jonathan Kinnick and his crew in 2009. It allows me to log and follow all of my results and numbers so I can really focus and dial in my programming. The Fitness Level is the next step in visualizing fitness and being able to clearly see weaknesses or strengths.

If you missed the first blog in the series, check it out HERE to get a better understanding of the feature and how simple it makes programming and training.

LIGHT

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The light category factors in Metcon workouts that use some weighted element and are typically under 20 minutes. A lot of the most iconic and classic CrossFit workouts contribute to this and the category shows how well rounded you are in those benchmarks tests. Light workouts include many of the girl workouts: Fran, Helen, Grace, and Elizabeth along with other popular workouts in BTWB that have similar characteristics. I have always seen it as really important to test and retest the girl WODs because they are such excellent CrossFit programming and because they are simply amazing indicators of fitness. My abilities across all aspects of fitness have improved right alongside my times on benchmark workouts and that is definitely not a coincidence. The WODs are tried and true and because there are so many results for them in BTWB, your score for each inputs a very accurate data point into the Fitness Level. For example, Fran has over 60,000 posts on BTWB. That means that your score (down to the second) gives you a very clear picture of where you stack up in the CrossFit community for that workout. Many of the CrossFit Games Open workouts also factor into this category because they are similarly programmed, lighter weights mixed with bodyweight movements that deliver a serious dose of intensity. 

Because the Fitness Level pulls in results from 2009 and on, my history here shows that I have always kept these kinds of workouts as a big part of my training and I have performed well on them. My current times and scores puts me at a 97 in the category based off workouts that I have done in the past 6 months. My numbers have stayed in the high 80s and into the 90s almost constantly in that time period. However, I have been doing CrossFit for close to 7 years so there is a little more to my growth here. Here are some of my oldest scores for a few LIGHT benchmarks along with my all time best performances:

Fran

Dec, 2008-  17:22 Rx’d / Oct, 2013-  2:17 Rx’d

Helen

Dec, 2008-  10:33 Rx’d / Jan 2011-  7:30 Rx’d

Grace

Sep, 2008-  3:41 Rx’d / Oct, 2013- 1:22 Rx’d

Diane

Jan, 2008- 7:51 (185# Deadlift) / May 2012, 3:14 Rx’d

I love looking back at these benchmarks and seeing how far I have come! Having started CrossFit completely out of shape and overweight, the PRs I have accumulated over the years represent a lot to me and I will continue to revisit the classics in my training because they are amazing tests and always challenging.

Do yourself a favor and start using Beyond the Whiteboard right away, it is so crucial to see how far we have come in CrossFit, having a record of those accomplishments and top performances means a lot. For me the LIGHT category definitely reflects that. Being able to see this in the Fitness Level takes it to new heights. Stay tuned for more looks into this feature and my numbers!

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#flashbackfriday to Heavy, Chest-to-bar FRAN

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Today’s #flashbackfriday brings back one of the gnarlier workouts I have hit in my training. In 2011 did FRAN with 135# thrusters and chest-to-bar pull ups and finished it in 5:05. Definitely two of my favorite movements in CrossFit! Check out the video!

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Paleo-Zone Nutrition

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The topic of nutrition is a huge one for me and I feel like it is one of the most important things to look at when you are trying to improve your performance and health. I take my own nutrition extremely seriously and have completely committed myself to only putting balanced, nutrient dense food in my body. I have been a big advocate of the Zone diet since I was first introduced to it years ago. I have always stuck with it and truly believe it is the best approach to nutrition for CrossFitters or anyone for that matter. The Zone focuses on balancing protein, carbohydrates, and fats in specific portions that ramp up performance and allows your body to function at its best. What I also focus on is making sure that the sources I am using for my protein, carbohydrates, and fats are the highest possible quality so that I am getting the best balance of my macronutrients while getting the most possible micronutrients. The Paleo diet gives good guidance as to what foods are best and what foods should be excluded when it comes to finding the best sources for our bodies. The combination of Zone quantities with Paleo quality is powerful and delivers exactly what my body needs to train at a high level, recover, and perform. The Zone has gotten somewhat of a bad reputation over the years because of how people misuse the system. The diet itself categorizes all food as either a protein, carbohydrate, or fat and allows you to get your blocks (the Zone serving size) from any source. Some people see that and think including processed carbohydrates, low quality proteins, or omega-6 heavy fats will yield good results. In reality, the Zone provides that information with the idea that anything can be balanced in a pinch, but the real success is found with lean meats, low glycemic vegetables and fruit, and as many omega-3 rich fat sources as possible. I have gone through periods where I balanced lower quality food sources and when I increased the quality, but kept the Zone balance the same I immediately saw increases in the way I felt and performed. Balancing the macronutrients becomes second nature with a little time and anyone who commits two weeks to learning the system will obtain the skill for a lifetime. In future blogs I am going to dive into even more aspects of my own experiences with nutrition and what I see as vital to success with the Zone diet combined with Paleo quality foods.