This topic was brought up to me today in regards to a blog post. First let me say, that I am by no means a doctor and I certainly do not pretend to be smart (quite the opposite most of the time ha!). As I do before I start typing every blog, I thought I would research and find some quick facts to support our opening questioning…

Hey Everyone!

We’re three weeks into the new year, and many of us have our resolutions going strong!

I heard someone say recently that the piece of cake they were about to eat would ruin their new years resolution. Whether it’s #whole30, getting 8 hours of sleep, or committing to five WODs a week, not breaking our resolutions can feel impossible. That’s because it is. 

We have to be resilient. 

Some days we’re going to miss a workout. Some days we’re not going to get enough sleep. Some days we’re going to eat the cake. 

And that’s okay! 

Be resilient and keep at it. Don’t give up on your goals because you missed one day. Take a rest day, then WOD tomorrow. Prioritize sleep, and remember why you made the resolution in the first place. Eat the cake, wipe away the delicious tears of cake-filled joy (we can’t let the broccoli see us cry), and get back on track. Whenever you start to slip up, pause…take a deep breath…and start over. 

Have strategies to stay on track. Figure out what’s been tripping you up and plan for it. Having a hard time eating healthy? Plan it out in advance. Set an alarm to remind yourself when go to bed (even if it’s embarrassingly early like mine). Have a gym buddy hold you accountable. Repeat after me: “I will not bail on my gym buddy”.

We have a fantastic community of amazing, real, imperfect people to look to for support. We want you to succeed. We’re here for you. We need you. 

Be resilient. 

By Jacob B

“You Need To Breath To Exercise”

I know, right? Mind-blowing stuff. However, when was the last time you actually thought about your breathing as a conscious part of your workout. We spend time in the gym before each WOD going over technique for each movement we are performing that day. Your coach’s intent is to first and foremost keep you safe. We want to address the things that could be potential problem areas in a movement to make sure poor form does not lead to injury. After that, we want you to be able to perform that particular movement as efficiently as possible. I’ve shared with my classes in reference to a power snatch. If someone walked in off the street and had never touched a barbell before and I told them to grab one from the ground and put it over their head in one motion. They are almost certainly going to perform something that looks like a power snatch. Through technique and queuing though, we can make that movement much more efficient and powerful.

Since 2011, I’ve attended many funerals, weddings, fundraisers, and key moments in people lives.   I’m not unique in this matter.  Chances are that if you’re reading this you to have been to many of these key occasions, as this is life.  However, when I reflect at these moments since 2011 they all have the same connection, Reebok CrossFit 306…

Last night I had the privilege of going on a police ride along with one of my longest clients and closes friend. A Saturday night in Saskatoon squeezed between Christmas and New Year's and coincidentally the night of a big UFC fight. The night promised to be filled with excitement especially when we were assigned to the most notorious area of the city known for its gangs and disenfranchised population...

“Common Mistakes with Deadlift Set-up”

In the last couple of weeks, we have seen deadlifts come up in our WODs frequently enough. This is something that will continue. Don’t worry, there is an end game to this! We’re being prepared for new untold greatness.

While deadlift can be an intimidating lift, it is one of the best barbell movements to build outright strength. The lift itself is the pinnacle of “function”; pick something up and set it back down. An important part of moving with purpose through the deadlift is a proper set up. The list below was taken from a Crossfit Invictus blog and are some of the most common set up flaws when performing the deadlift. These are all things we have, and will continue, to cue in class at 306 before a WOD with deadlifts programmed in it.

Deadlift Set-Up Mistake #1- Bar too far from shins.
This mistake keeps you from your ideal pulling position and also puts your lower back at risk of injury. To fix it: once you are in your set position, roll the bar as close to your shins as you can without drawing blood, then lift.

Deadlift Set-Up Mistake #2 – Shoulders too far in front of the bar.
You’re missing out on the full recruitment of your posterior chain if you commit this mistake. Check your hip position – they may be a tad too high. Try sitting back onto your hamstrings and see if that puts you in a better position where the bar is under your armpits.

Deadlift Set-Up Mistake #3 – Shoulders too far behind the bar.
Most of the time when people commit this mistake, it is because they are setting up like they would for a clean, which requires a higher chest position and lower hips than the deadlift. To fix it: send your hips up and back until your shins are vertical and you are looking at the ground a couple feet in front of you.

Deadlift Set-Up Mistake #4 – Hips too high.
The level of the hips should be a little lower than that of the shoulders. If your hips, or even calves, are tight then this will be a hard position to achieve and should be a regular focus of your mobility plan, especially on deadlift day.

Deadlift Set-Up Mistake #5 – Hips too low.
If this is you, ask yourself if it’s just a matter of cueing or if your tight hamstrings are keeping you from elevating your hips so that your shins are vertical. If it’s just a cueing thing then each time you set up for a deadlift, cue your shins to vertical. If it’s your hamstrings, attack them with vigor always (and especially on deadlift day).
So you see, there’s no need to fear the deadlift!

Keep these things in mind as you go through the set up of your deadlift. They will keep you safe, allow you to move weight more efficiently and ultimately succeed in your workouts. Happy lifting!

Every time you move, do it with purpose!

I’m willing to bet that if you have participated in sport throughout your life that you have been injured. Maybe not anything real severe; but certainly a pulled muscle, tweaked joint or something similar.

We are growing here at Reebok CrossFit 306 and we are looking for a part-time coach.  Are you passionate about health and fitness?  Do you want to help and encourage others to reach their full potential?  Do you see the best in people and try to make the world a better place?  Do you like to have fun and know how to not take yourself too seriously?  If you answered yes to these questions, we want to meet you.

We are a CrossFit Gym with an incredible community.  Our community is made up of people of all ages, backgrounds and experiences.  The thing that they share is that they all come together to become the best version of themselves that they can be. 

If you would like to make some extra money while positively impacting people’s lives, we’d like to meet you.  We are looking for someone that can work 5-10 hours/month.  This will require week-end and evening hours.  If you are interested in learning more about this position and our facility, please e-mail: Jason@reebokcrossfit306.com or Rebecca@reebokcrossfit306.com. 

Here at 306, we are always trying to make things better. We are focused on bringing the best member experience that we can. We are very excited to bring Laurie (L.T) on as our community liaison specialist. She is going to help us to collect information from you, our members, from time to time. We want to know what we are doing well and what you would like to see us do better. Now, I can’t guarantee that all of your wishes will come true (like a swimming pool, steam room or weight caddies), but we will do our best to always make sure that we are meeting your needs the best we can. LT will continue her coaching as usual. Please help me to congratulate her on her new role.

Why Not To “Hold The Stretch” Pre-Workout

Everyone remember physical education class during our public school years? “...and we are going to hold this position for 60 seconds.” This is referred to as “static stretching”. Alternatively, at 306 when we do our “couple steps, high kick” or “donkey kicks” for example, we are moving through a “dynamic stretch”. There is method to this madness and below is an article that is good at explaining why.

Static Stretching
Static stretching is any stretch where you elongate your muscle to its fullest extension (usually until you feel slight discomfort), then holding that position. When people think of stretching, this is the kind of stretching they’ll envision—toe touches, pulling the arm across your chest to stretch your shoulder, etc.
Static stretching engages tension receptors in your muscles, which results in relaxed, looser, and elongated musculature afterwards. While it’s initially uncomfortable, the fact that it relaxes the muscles allows it to provide a small measure of pain relief…

Nutrition. It’s the base of the pyramid!

It’s no secret that within Crossfit nutrition is something we talk about. What we may not realize, is nutrition is the base of the Crossfit pyramid. Without proper fuelling, the rest of efforts are futile. I like to use a vehicle as an example. We can take our vehicle for service; get it tuned up, get fluids changed, wash it, and whatever else we want to do to take are of it. We can even take it in for fancy upgrades. At the end of all of that, if we put bad fuel into it, it’s not going to run. Period!

I was not able to attend the annual 306 gala this weekend and would like to take a minute to say I missed everyone. Preliminary reports are in and it sounds like a great time was had by all! I, of course, would suspect nothing less. Not with our community getting together for an evening out.

The importance of “community” is showcased every single day in the gym when we finish a workout. When people stick around to cheer on someone else to the very end. Help put someone else’s equipment away. High fives and encouragement after the workout. While all of these (I would certainly hope anyways) can be found in any Crossfit gym; I am confident in saying our gym goes many steps further. These “steps further” are not the exception around our gym, they are the norm.

Two people were recognized on Saturday for “Community Leaders” and I believe they were both very well deserved. Janice Peterson and Brad Merkosky were this year’s winners if you have not already heard. These two people personify our motto of “Community Above All Else”. Jay expanded on both why Janice and Brad received this recognition on Saturday night and I just want to echo those sentiments to them both. Janice and Brad, you are both examples for all 306 members and it is truly a pleasure to have you in the gym!

I will take it a step further also and say how both Janice and Brad are two people in a very tight knit group. While CrossFit brings people from all walks of life together in the gym, our community extends further than that with relationships out of it as well. This community is what 306 is all about. You all deserve a pat on the back for this culture that is our gym.

If you see Brad and/or Janice around in the next few days, be sure to pass on a congratulations and a hug to them both! And to everyone else in this wonderful 306 community, thank you for being a part of something bigger than yourself and making our gym a very awesome place to be!

Is CrossFit a cure for anxiety and depression?

I have dozens of conversations daily with athletes that suffer from anxiety and or depression.  Now I don’t pretend to be an expert in psychological disorders, but my life experience has lead me to come to understand some basics as it pertains to the inner workings of our minds. 

As humans, we have an incredible ability to forecast, to calculate the likelihood of possible outcomes, and potentially mitigate disasters.  This ability is why us, and not another species runs our planet.  Foresight is hard-wired into our system and has aided in our survival.  While we have an incredible ability to see into the future, we also possess a tremendous memory that keeps us from repeating mistakes.  Anxiety and depression are both the by-products of our enhance cognitive ability.  Anxiety is generally explained as thinking ahead and creating constant what-if scenarios.  Depression is linked to forever thinking back on mistakes and how things could have been different.  If our minds are always looking back or calculating potential outcomes into the future then how do we live in the now?

As athletes and humans, the ability to be in the moment and have a still mind is one of the greatest feats you can accomplish.  Being in the “now” is something that humanity has always longed for.  Mediation is generally all about achieving a still mind, one can argue that prayer is a chance to be in the now.  The desire to free ourselves from constant reflection and forward thinking is also why so many us turn to drugs and alcohol to silence those pesky voices inside our heads.  Drugs and alcohol offer a reprieve from a wandering mind and allows us to be present.  Think about all the great conversations you had while under the influence, how time just flew by, because you were simply able to stay in the moment.  Of course, drugs and alcohol and not a healthy way to combat anxiety and depression.  I offer another alternative – CrossFit.

If you’ve ever done CrossFit as it is intended your mind is 100% involved into completing the task.  This level of involvement ensures that you are in the now, it is a healthy and pure way to recalibrate our minds inner workings, and allow us to be mindful. 

There is nothing that I enjoy more than being so engrossed into my workout that I have no clue what music is playing, what others are doing, and what time it is.  My mind is focused solely on getting through the next rep.  Before a workout starts, we are all nervous, our minds are racing ahead creating what if scenarios, dreading the potential pain ahead. Once the coach says go, anxiety levels drop within the first minute to be replace by a healthy dose of endorphins… 

They were the bane of my athletic career - double unders!

I’ve always been a fairly athletic person and learning new physical skills has always come fairly easy to me. Until someone introduced me to double unders. I struggled. And struggled. Said a few choice words more than a few times. And struggled. I bought four or five different ropes in an attempt to “change something up” in hopes they would click. In the end, it was nothing but time practising them. A lot of time practising them. I remember my calves being so sore from countless broken sets day after day. They eventually stuck and I was off to the races…