The contest will be a Paleo Challenge. All participants can pick up a sheet of Paleo Diet rules so there will be no question of the rules. It will start on Feb. 1st. All participants must declare their participation in the comments section of this post and pay the $20 buy in by the end of the week. This contest will be run on the honor system so that should tell you how much we trust all of you.

This will be a last man standing contest. What that means is that beginning Feb 1st all participants begin eating strictly Paleo. If you cheat or fall off the wagon then you have to log back in and post to the comments that you are out. Last person to cheat wins all the cash. It’s that simple.

If you are participating in the contest please post to the comments section of this page and post again when you are out. More People More Money…

This slider bar will be constantly updated with new information and upcoming events along with some constant slides for new people visiting our site.

The WOD’s will be posted on the home page towards the bottom instead of only in the category so please change your bookmarks to our homepage.

The video of CrossFit Forever Strong created by Andy Skaff still has a home and is proudly displayed on the right side.

If you want to se an older post you can use the drop down archive menu on the right side or just click on the blog link on the menu bar for a chronological list of all posts in all categories.

The links section currently has a link directly to Beyond the Whiteboard and Mobility WOD and we will be adding to it with some great food resources.

The LeaderBoard at the top will be an online record board of the Top 3 men and women in a variety of categories most of which are pulled directly from the chart inside the gym.

We have changed the nutrition page to include some new info and will continue to be more proactive about writing nutrition posts and updating info.

Please let us know what you think of the site and what you’d like to see more of this year. I want this to be your site.

We are getting into the competition season leading up to the CrossFit Games. We have several athletes competing in the Tucson Winter Open. This involved submitting 2 videos for the qualifying Workouts and then the top 45 men and 35 women and the top 10 of each in the masters category will move onto the live competition on Feb. 11th. We will be closed that day to go support our athletes and invite everyone to take a road trip and experience the energy that a CrossFit competition brings. It’s amazing!!

The first two workouts they hade to complete were:

3 rounds for Time:
3 Cycles of the Bear complex @ 155/105
15 Pull Ups

and

5 Handstand Push Ups
10 Bar Facing Burpees
10 Handstand Push Ups
20 Bar Facing Burpees
15 Handstand Push Ups
30 Bar Facing Burpees

I am Proud to say that the following members have made the cut.
Chuck Browder
Niko Countouriotis
Trevor Gelder
Larry Narranjo
Joey Pacheco
Bruce Briggs
Bill Knight
Jessica Gelder
Sandy Ericsson

The competition will be on Feb 11th and has been moved to Prescott at Captain CrossFit. We want to get an idea of who is willing to take a road trip with us to help support our athletes. Please post your support to the comment section of this post and tell us if you are interested in going. If you’ve never been to a competition it is an incredible experience.

The Holiday Body Fat Loss Contest came to an end this weekend. Everyone did really well, but your winner is Jen Hercher. She lost 7.13% which resulted in a 22.23% change from her starting body fat. Jen came back in at 12:00 to collect her $780 check and is excited to go shopping at lululemon for her outfit that they so graciously donated.

Without disclosing anyone’s body fat I will list the top 10 finishers.
Jen Hercher
Sarah Roberts
Andrew Gaspar
Andrew Wilson
Kathleen Leonard
Tricia Hill
Mike Chasan
Joe Robison
Christine Wilson
Scott Vote

Congratulations to everyone who undertook this challenge it is not easy to maintain weight or BF during this time of year much less to lose it.

Group Event:
2/19 Paintball
Tempe PaintBall
1401 S. McClintock Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85281
(480) 966-1900

We have a few options for hours and pricing on this event but I need a rough count of how many people are going to want to go to this. I’ll ask for a guaranteed number later but please post to the comments section if you are interested in going and how many people you will bring. Price will be approx. $32 for field use and equipment rental.  If we have enough people we can reserve the field to ourselves if not we will have to fit in during the open public hours.

January Schedule:
Races:
1/16 P. F. Chang’s Rock and Roll Marathon (Full and Half Marathon) http://www.rnraz.com
1/29 London’s Run (2 Mile Fun Run, 10K and Half Marathon) http://www.londonsrun.org
1/29 Scavenger Dash (Amazing Race Style Event in Tempe) http://www.scavengerdash.com/phx.html

Group Event:
1/15 Ice Skating at Polar Ice in Gilbert
2305 E Knox Rd
Gilbert, AZ 85296
Phone: 480-503-7080

There is open skate from 12:30 – 3:30. Prices are $7.50 for youth and $8.50 for adults with an additional $3.50 for Skate rental. Children under 3 are free.

We are going to be different this year. You can feel free to keep any personal resolutions (Read more books, Watch less TV, etc.) to yourself and your family, but I am going to ask for something more important. I learned a long time ago that NO ONE goes to a gym to workout “Just Because”. Everyone that comes through the door has a goal they want to achieve, or something they want to change. No one’s goal is any more important or valid than anyone else’s goal. They come from many different places. Some goals come from pride and a desire for a new personal best at something. Some come from family and not wanting to suffer a preventable death like that of a loved one. Some from vanity…who doesn’t want to look better naked? The bottom line is that they are very personal and extremely important to the individual.

We are all important to each other, and I think our goals should be too. Let’s make them public this year. Stop trying to achieve them alone and struggling with it by yourself. This will provide a source of accountability, but also a source of support.

I would like to have everyone in this gym take a few days and really think about why you are here, what keeps you working so hard here, and what do you want from this.

Let’s talk a little bit about Goal setting. In order for there to be success it is best to use a system called SMART. Your goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. “I Want to Feel Healthy” is a great goal but tough to quantify and measure. A better goal would be to get a physical and select some data points (HDL, LDL, Blood Sugar) that you want to improve and by how much. Goals can range from races you will run, weights you will lift, weight you will lose, anything you want as long as it fits into the above categories.

Let’s skip the resolutions this year and make some real goals, let’s make them public, and let’s celebrate as we accomplish each one.

Please post your Your Goal to the comments section.

Every day this year you will be doing Burpees. The required # of Burpees for that day will be the numerical date of the month. As the months go on the burpees will cycle up and down allowing for a few busier weeks and s few weeks of rest almost. (Ex. Jan 1st is 1 Burpee, Jan 31st is 31 Burpees, and Feb 1st it goes back to 1 Burpee.)

At the end of the year it will amount to a total of 5,738 Burpees. I have posted a sign in the gym for January. Sign your name to it and get started as of January 1st. You can check the box as you complete that days Burpees. If you miss a day feel free to make them up and get back on track.

10/30 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Barbells for Boobs: The CrossFit Workout Grace done for competition and a fundraiser for Breast Cancer.
www.barbellsforboobs.org Register under East Valley CrossFit

11/7 Fight for Air Stair Climb: a 53 flight stair climb race in downtown Phoenix.
www.climbphoenix.com

11/7 Women’s only Half Marathon & 5K
www.womenshalfmarathon.com

11/14 Aflac Iron Girl Women’s 10 Mile & 5K
www.irongirl.com/events/tempe.htm

11/14 Muddy Buddy: 2 Person Bicycle race / Mud Run

http://muddy-buddy.competitor.com/event-info/phoenix/

11/20 Mad Mud Run: 4 Mile Mud Run

http://www.madmudrun.com/10NovPhx.html

11/25 Mesa Mi Amigos’s Turkey Trot 10K, 2 Mile, 1 Mile

http://www.active.com/running/mesa-az/mesa-mi-amigos-turkey-trot-2008?act=AFC-GetSetUSA&link=1

12/4 9:00 – 5:00 CrossFit Flagstaff Arizona Affiliate Competition
www.crossfitflagstaff.com

12/4 Desert Rage Adventure Race at Saguaro Lake

http://www.sierraadventuresports.com

12/5 Runner’s Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon & 5K

http://www.active.com/running/scottsdale-az/runners-denfiesta-bowl-half-marathon-and-5k-2010

12/11 12 K’s of Christmas (Freestone Park Gilbert)

http://www.12krun.com

1/8 12 Hours in the Papago: 12 Hour bicycle Race Papago Park
www.redrockco.com

1/16 P. F. Chang’s Rock and Roll Marathon & Half Marathon

http://arizona.competitor.com

1/29 Scavenger Dash Tempe: Amazing Race Style event

http://www.sierraadventuresports.com

1/29 London’s Run Half Marathon & 10K

http://www.londonsrun.org/

2/12 Skirt Chaser 5K (Really Fun Race)
www.redrockco.com

2/20 Lost Dutchman Marathon & Half Marathon & 8K & 10 K

http://www.lostdutchmanmarathon.org

2/25 Ragnar Relay Del Sol 202 Mile 12 Person Relay Run

http://www.active.com/running/mesa-az/ragnar-relay-del-sol-2010

3/12 – 3/13 Vegas Anyone? Scale the Strat Stair Climb. 108 flight stair climb Race (1455 Steps)

http://www.lungusa.org/pledge-events/nv/las-vegas-climb/local/event-information.html

3/19 St. Patrick’s Day Run

http://www.active.com/running/scottsdale-az/st-patricks-day-4-mile-fun-runwalk-2009

4/16 Pat’s Run

http://www.pattillmanfoundation.org/pats-run.php

4/30 Warrior Dash ( I think This one is a Must)

http://www.warriordash.com/register2011_arizona.php

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-blueprint-30-day-challenge/#more-14609

I am sure that you have all seen Bruce’s comments of Grok on…This is your chance to find out what he means by that and who or what Grok is.