3 Tips To Improve Your Strength

Your body increases its strength by 2 main pathways: recruiting more muscle fibers in a particular muscle group and increasing the firing frequency of your motor neurons and muscle fibers. Regular training with intermittent rests and recovery will result in increased power and strength overall.

1. Accessory Work

Isolating and targeting smaller muscles that work together with larger muscles allow you to perform complex movments. The better you’re able to recruit these muscles, the more potential you have to build strength. Athlete Development uses movements to isolate these smaller muscle groups to strengthen them while practicing more difficult skills. It’s a perfect complement to your Defiant Training. You will progress towards a higher performance level and maximize your full potential.  

2. Strength Classes

Attend Strength Class twice a week to supplement your in-class Strength training. Functional barbell training has its place in building strength. You don’t need to get fancy, just focus on proper form and do it often.  Make sure you’re recovering properly to fuel your progress. Make it a point to improve on your technique- better technique makes performing lifts easier, allowing you to move heavier weights.

3. Eating to Perform

If you want to have top-fuel-type performance, you need top fuel. No one has ever demonstrated anything but inferior capacity on a diet where they did not eat clean- you are not going to get anywhere in terms of optimizing your performance on a bad diet. Optimizing performance through a diet of meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, no sugar.  Consume light-moderate carbs and little fat within 1 hr before your workout.  Post training- have a light snack with protein and carbs within 1 hr to promote muscle repair.

5 Things You'll Want To Do Before Your Workouts

1. Have a pre-workout snack

-       In order to power through your gut-wrenching, muscle-building workout, you need a source of fuel to keep you going.  Eaten 1-2 hours before a workout, make sure to include carbs and protein. Keep it light so as not to cause stomach cramps.

2. Foam Roll Hot Spots

-       Roll out any tight muscles or soreness prior to your workout to get blood flowing to these muscles.

3. Drink Water

-       This is especially important if you workout in the afternoons. Be sure to hydrate throughout the day. Don’t guzzle just beforehand, unless you want to see that water come back up.

4. Review Your Goal

-       What do you hope to accomplish in today’s workout? Go faster, go heavier, master a new skill? Focus on what you plan to do and visualize yourself doing it right. Keep your goals in mind.

5. Have a Pre-Workout Supplement

-       Products containing a combination of caffeine and arginine are extremely popular choices. Caffeine promotes increased focus, intensity and energy while Arginine activates peak vasodilation, resulting in powerful muscle pumps.

What Not to Miss in May at Defiant

Your May Challenge is...Push-ups!!

Your goal is to accumulate 800 push-ups this month. More tips and videos on good, controlled push-ups will be posted throughout the month. Let's get pumped & ready for Murph on May 25th.

Health & Wellness:

For anyone needing Chiropractic care (and if you CrossFit, this means YOU), your coaches have been seeing Dr. Ashley at Peak Performance Chiropractic. The goal of chiropractic is to restore proper function of the brain, nerves, joints, and muscles. Active rehabilitation may be used to correct poor postures and strengthen weak muscles. Don’t wait until there’s pain. Check him out at http://www.performatlife.net

All around cool stuff:

Murph shirts are up for grabs! Pre-order one ASAP to make sure you get the size you want. Last year they sold out immediately so plan ahead. See our FB post and click the link to order.

We’ve got many new faces popping up at Defiant! If you see a newbie in your class, be sure to introduce yourself and help them get the hang of our community. Remember your first day???

Bring your friends to try us out for One Week Free! Simply let your coach know that you’ll be bringing a friend to class. It’s that easy. Share what you love, chances are your friends will love it too!

Coach’s news

Baby Kara is home with Coach Josh & Candace and doing great! Check out Josh’s adorable photos on FB and his Instagram page. She’s gorgeous!

What’s going down at Defiant?

Saturday, May 2nd at 10am is our Free Community Workout. Bring a gang of friends and start your weekend off with a PUSH. Let’s show them how we do it!

Monday, May 25th is our Annual Murph Challenge WOD! Keep up to date on our FB page for details, heats & updates. THIS IS HUGE! Plan for it.

Our Mobility Therapy class can change your life! If you haven’t attended one yet, get in the game. Sundays at 4:30pm. Learn how to care for your muscles and joints to prevent injuries, increase flexibility and decrease soreness.

Our Skill Development class is a MUST.  Learn basic and advanced Skills through fundamentals and technical practices. What you learn in this class will affect ALL of your movements. Get on board. Saturdays at 9am.

Love Defiant classes and want them all??? You can have it all! CrossFit classes, Strength classes, Mobility and Skills. Talk to a coach about upgrading to an Unlimited membership so you don’t have to miss a thing.  Did someone say “GAINZ”??

What's trending:

If you’re ready to take your CrossFit movements to the next level or want to learn moves or skills, make a Personal Training appointment. Coach Marcus has flexible hours and will work privately on the skills you choose.

Personal Training Packages:

$50 for a 1 hour session

$120 for  3 (1 hour) sessions

$175 for 5 (1 hour) sessions

April Events & All Around Cool Stuff To Know

The CrossFit Open

The CrossFit Open and Defiant Open are now complete. Most of us stepped out of our comfort zone, found a few new PRs...and had a few of our weaknesses rear up and bite us. Take some extra time to learn new skills, improve your weaknesses and grow as athletes.

APRIL CHALLENGE...
Write down two of your weakest movements or skills that you discovered during the Open and post them on the red board. All month long you will have ample time to work on these weaknesses and turn them into strengths. Boom.

One Week Free

Make sure your friends all know that they are welcome to try us out for One Week Free. Just have them hit our website and sign in.  Then, they’ll understand your need to celebrate PRs!

NEW CLASSES!

Skill Development Class- Saturdays at 9am- Kick off Date: April 18th. 

-       This class is for all ability levels and varies each week. During class, you’ll have the opportunity to work on form and technique during a variety of drills using fundamental movements. Attending this class will leave you with the ability to increase your skill capacity and work towards advancing to the next level of that skill.

Mobility Therapy Class- Sundays at 4:30pm – Kick off Date: April 19th.

-       Everyone should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves. By addressing your mobility limitations, you can help to prevent injury at the same time that you are increasing your athletic performance. Mobility Therapy is designed to address your individual limitations, guide you through ways to fix your tightness/soreness/immobilities, prevent you from future injury, make you a better and more efficient athlete, and help you live and feel better in your body.

** These classes will count towards your weekly classes. You are welcome to upgrade to an Unlimited membership at any time.  Reap the full benefits of everything Defiant has to offer including all CF classes, Strength classes, Mobility Therapy & Skill Development.

Unlimited memberships include:

• 1 hour of Personal Training
• 1 Nutrition/Supplement/Goal Setting appointment
• 1 Body Composition Test (using state-of-the-art Ultrasound technology)
• 1 Defiant CrossFit T-shirt
• Unlimited classes each week

(Contact Jenn or Delanie to upgrade now, starting in April)

Merchandise Sign Out

-       Grab what you need from our Defiant Gear Shop or Kill Cliff in the Fridge. Simply sign it out on the Merchandise sheet and have it charged to your account later.  Advocare products are not included and are sold separately.

Product of the Month:  Advocare’s Muscle Strength (60 caplets)

• Helps decrease recovery time between intense workouts
• Promotes building lean muscle mass and reducing fat tissue
• Enhances muscle growth in conjunction with strength training
• Encourages repair of muscle tissues
• Helps the body adapt to physical and mental stress

(Psst…here’s a little secret.  Most of your coaches use this pre-workout)

 Have a wonderful April and Happy Easter!

5 Ways To Get More Help From Your Coach

5 Ways To Get More Help From Your Coach

1. Ask for help during class. Speak up, don’t stand in the back of class where it’s difficult for your Coach to see you. Ask them to watch your reps and be open to suggestions and feedback. Work on your technique and practice before adding more weight.

2. Pay attention during the demos. Pick up on movement patterns, techniques, and strategies. Listen to the cues they give. Your Coach demos the movements for your benefit so take advantage of this learning opportunity.  Many times your Coach will offer up a strategic idea on how to get through the workout more efficiently. Chances are, your coach has already done the workout before.

3. Set up an appt for Personal Training. This is an hour dedicated just to YOU. Ask all of your questions- you have your coach’s absolute attention.  Advance your skills at your own pace. Your coach will give you “homework” to continue practicing long after your session. Book as many sessions as you need to feel comfortable and make the gains you’re looking for faster.

4. Watch your Coach workout. Observe their movement patterns and techniques. Notice their rest times vs work times- what was their approach? Review their strategies- how did they attack a round? You can try these different things and apply them to your WODs. Stick with what works for you and discard anything that doesn’t. Make it your own.

5. Get an Unlimited membership. You’ll have more access to coaches, demos, and practice opportunities.  You’ll learn more each week and show your progress much quicker. You’ll hit new PRs each week. Unlimited packages come with additional incentives. The other perks? Burn more calories. Get stronger. Faster. Better.

February at Defiant CrossFit

Defiant's New Years Challenge is in full swing! Athletes, be sure to get your food logs and WODs turned into your Coach asap to get full points. GAME ON!!

More Kill Cliff is on the way including a brand new flavor, Berry Legit- Blackberry Lemonade. Keep an eye on the frig!

We have only a few more hoodies left! Get one while you can, $30. They're lightweight and perfect for the next few months before summer kicks in. Sign it out on the Members Sheet and we'll charge it right to your acccount.

The February Challenge is Jump Rope. Choose Doubles or Singles. 50 DU 4x/week or 150 SU 4x/wk. Log your reps, burn more, get ripped.

Coach Jenn proudly represented Defiant at The Fittest Games taking home a 2nd place win in the Masters Women's division! What does this mean for you? Expect to see new versions of those WODs coming soon!

5 Ways to Make It Through the Holidays

5 Ways to Make It Through the Holidays

1. Go. To. The. GYM.

            I can’t stress this enough. You’ll feel a gozillion times better for it. Reduce your anxiety, fuel your muscles, burn off any excess calories and boost your metabolism. The rush you carry with you from a great workout will clear your mind and give you the self-confidence to rock it through those holiday parties. Plus, you’ll want to burn off any holiday indulgences immediately! Cram in as many classes as you can- you’ll never regret this decision.

2. Make as many clean dietary choices whenever possible.

            Temptation is EVERYWHERE. It doesn’t mean you have to give in to it all. Stick to clean basics: choose your meats and veggies to fill up on, then taste a little here and there- emphasis on the HERE & THERE part. You’ll feel stronger for having made a smart choice and won’t get that sugar induced stomach ache that inevitably follows.

3. Buy yourself a little holiday gift too.

            Just a little reminder to take care of yourself and feel good about who you are. You know exactly what you want and you’re the easiest person on your list to shop for. Get in that Happy Place!

4. Reduce your Alcohol consumption.

            Sometimes it seems easier to get through those holiday parties getting your drunk on. Maybe you’re right, but you’ll totally regret it. Keep your hits to a minimum. You’ll save yourself from a butt-load of extra hidden calories and avoid the headache that creeps in later. The more you drink, the more you’ll eat too. Know your limits and set a rule for yourself before ever even walking into a party. Remember, anything that happens at the drunk holiday party ends up all over Facebook. You can’t unsee that.

5. Keep close the people who make you feel your best.

            So maybe creepy cousin Bob who hasn’t seen you since you were 7, isn’t exactly the person who’ll compliment you the most. (or maybe he will, he IS creepy after all) If you’re away from your closest friends, stay in touch through text, email & social media. It’ll keep you smiling, especially when you tell your story about cousin Bob. One hilarious text from a good friend can change your whole mood. It’s one more reason to hit the gym with your best buds beforehand (circle back to #1). Indulge!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!

Six things to remember so you never fall out of love with CrossFit

Six things to remember so you never fall out of love with CrossFit

1. Whatever you do, don’t stop going: This is tough.  Why would you want to go on a date with someone you don’t like…consider it more like a marriage (you are not going to easily give up on your soul-mate)  nor should you easily give up on yourself.  Go to the BOX and do the WOD.
2. Scale back:  Don’t do the WOD RX for several days, master the movements. This is completely opposite of what everyone else is doing, but tell your coach beforehand and take your time. Do it right.  There is a certain gratification in doing each movement with absolute perfection.  Go light and go fast. This will also get your confidence up.
3. Because you may be feeling a bit down – do not let your eating habits fall off, too. We tend to rationalize, “well I skipped the gym, so I’ll just eat this bad/junk/processed crap now to make me feel better”, or “I’ll have a glass  (or 2) of vino with dinner, alcohol is a depressant, folks!  Even if you can’t get your ass to the box for the WOD…keep your diet dialed in.  Diet is 80% of the total package.
4. Get an accountability partner: CrossFit inherently is more accountable than most other things in our lives – but find just one person at the gym (maybe someone who is of a similar age or mindset) and be accountable to them and ask them to hold you accountable – this is the same idea as a workout buddy.
5. It’s a lifelong journey: Remember that no matter what you are doing CrossFit for yourself, for the long haul, it is not a brief commitment,  it is a lifelong commitment and just like anything that lasts for more than a hot second, your feelings will change over time. Recognize this and move on.
6. Don’t lose sight of your why: Remain confident that getting in three or more workouts per week statistically puts you ahead of the game  – scaled WOD or not, it all counts, so don’t be too hard on yourself!

~Lisa Scotto