Thanks to everyone who contributed to help us purchase our newest toy and thanks to Denis who hung around for an hour after the noon class to help me assemble it for use. Thanks to Silk who is leveraging all the Sandman love to help raise funds to purchase some other fun new toys. In [...]
20.1 I channeled the spirit of the Macho Man Randy Savage to help avenge my 2019 loss to Sprite. Unfortunately the Macho Man didn't have the moxie to earn the win and was instead sent around the block in flames. So this week I need a new adversary and I've decided to challenge someone whose [...]
At $100+ per hour many people who would benefit from the care and attention of a personal trainer simply cannot afford it. And yet, blindly wandering through your local gym with little to no plan or inspiration often yields sub-optimal results. Enter CrossFit. At $250 per month, a CrossFit group class membership gives members access [...]
It isn't always possible to get the WOD done at the gym. This makes it challenging to participate in events like the CrossFit Open. But every year there are stories of Empower members overcoming obstacles in order to complete all 5 weeks of competition. In the extreme, one year someone travelling remote regions such as [...]
What a great turn out for CrossFit Open WOD 20.1! In the spirit of this long weekend, let’s give thanks for this great kick off to the 2020 CrossFit Open and Empower Intramural Team challenge. First off, thanks to our great Empower community and thanks for the health and fitness that allows us to put [...]
Form follows function. Move like you're old and you will be. Physiology responds to the demands imposed. The mitochondria in your cells which govern cellular metabolism are stimulated by explosive movements like sprinting and jumping. When 40 year olds wander into CrossFit Empower they often remark, "This training might be okay for younger guys like [...]
I think K-Star is onto something here. My back problems started when I was a full time UBC student, diminished during my 3-year stint as an elementary school teacher and flared up again in a big way when I spent 6 years in an office job. Since I began coaching CrossFit full time my back [...]
The 2020 CrossFit Open starts this week and with it our Intramural team challenge. Both are about fitness, community and fun! Here is how to have a healthy and fun Open/Intramural experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8GY-BltVZA 1. Register and Join a Team If you have 12+ months CrossFit experience and are uninjured, register for the Open. It [...]
Today we’re dead lifting. It’s a disheartening name for a lift once referred to as the “Health Lift”. The new moniker arose in response to the change in competitive standards requiring that the bar be pulled from a dead-stop instead of using the momentum of rolling the bar. Some people live in fear of the [...]
Before we get started, let me begin by saying that I think the world of Emily Beers, she is an outstanding human being, athlete and writer. It doesn't mean we always agree. Case in point, her recent article "5 Ways that CrossFit May Never Get Fixed" published in Breaking Muscle. It's amazing to me how [...]
