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…

That box will change everyday as it pulls a new recipe from a variety of websites. Most of the recipes are pulled from Paleo or Primal style sites. Although they may not all be perfect they are a great addition to your nutritional arsenal. You can click on the recipe or on the link directly to the site from which it was pulled. starting to do that and bookmarking those blogs and pages will begin to give you an infinite resource list for food needs.

Thefoodee.com however is where I truly believe the magic and genius has happened. This site was developed by Matt Lucas who owns CrossFit Free Range. Spend some time and go to the site and look around. I encourage you to register for the site. Once you do you will have access to the best resource it has to offer which is the menu planning and grocery list.

When you click on the recipe it will give you the option to add it to your grocery list. You can continue to look at recipes and add things to your list. When you are done you will have a grocery list containing all of the items you need to make each of those recipes divided into what sections of the grocery store you will find them in.

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.

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.

Getting started at CrossFit Forever Strong is easy. All you have to do is be motivated to workout and show up. We will take care of the rest.

You DO NOT need to be an elite athlete or spend time “getting in shape” before you come here. That’s what we do.

You DO NOT need an appointment or to show up at a particular class time. We always have trainers in the gym and run small groups of people all day long.

You DO NOT need to know what the exercises for that day are or how to do the workout. You will always have a trainer with you.

You DO NOT need be intimidated by anything or anyone. We are a community here and every member is here to support each other.

The one thing that you NEED TO DO is to show up and be motivated to work hard. That’s all we ask.

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