CrossFit Workout 28th April '08 from CrossFit Newcastle on Vimeo.

Lewis and Dave making some progress in their 5 X 3 Deadlift numbers.

CrossFit Newcastle from CrossFit Newcastle on Vimeo.

CrossFit Hawks Rugby session from CrossFit Newcastle on Vimeo.

CrossFit Bec Workout from CrossFit Newcastle on Vimeo.

CrossFit Showdown from CrossFit Newcastle on Vimeo.

CrossFit Swim Workout 3 from CrossFit Newcastle on Vimeo.

CrossFit G Glassman from CrossFit Newcastle on Vimeo.

Untitled from CrossFit Newcastle on Vimeo.

Running is just as technical as other disciplines. It takes time to master....smart time, not long time.

How many Runners & Endurance athletes are injured or have been injured by over training or bad technique? How many follow the 'Quality v Quantity' approach?


Mike Collins on Running Technique from Patrick Cummings on Vimeo.

Overcoming the "Get Big" mentality

Overcoming the "Get Big" mentality

I remember it with incredible clarity. The moment I decided that I was going to start living a healthy and fit lifestyle. I was sitting with some friends of mine and we were watching footage from a film project of ours. In one scene I saw myself, without a shirt, running. I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was embarrassing how out of shape I looked. It’s easy to lie to yourself in the mirror when you can suck in the gut or flex the pecs a little. This was brutal truth. I was out of shape.

Like anything else I do, once my mind was made up, I dove in headfirst. Let’s just say…I did everything wrong! My actions were motivated more by ego than science and legitimate fitness studies. I bought a fancy new pair of performance-enhancing sneakers, performance-enhancing lifting gloves, a slick-looking heart monitor, an ergonomically designed weight belt…you get the point. Here I was, 186 pounds and armed to the teeth with swanky new gear and a stack of trendy fitness magazines and web articles that promised “KILLER ABS!”, “INSANE TRAPS!!”, and “MONSTER ARMS!!!”
At the time, my goal was to bulk up to 200 pounds. I needed to pack on 14 pounds of muscle. My thinking at the time went something like this: “Gotta’ get big! What do I do? Lift heavy. Thursdays- Lift heavy, Fridays- Lift heavy, Saturday- Rest. Sunday-Lift heavy. Wanna’ get big? Gotta’ eat big! Protein shakes three or four times a day. Eggs, milk, more protein shakes. Protein builds muscle, so I need more protein, right? Ooh, what about creatine? Creatine makes you big too. Let’s use some of that, and then I can lift even heavier! If I lift big, eat big, and take a bunch of supplements, I’ll be a mass of twisted steel in no time!”

Sound familiar? Know anybody like this? Are YOU like this? I know I was. It was all about working harder instead of smarter. I was trying to eat as few carbs as possible (which sapped my energy levels) and was likely overtaxing my kidneys with excessive protein supplementation. I was so bogged down in food and exercise schedules, routines, and conflicting fitness theories from so many “experts” that once I moved to Connecticut my whole “healthy lifestyle” unraveled. I couldn’t possibly keep juggling all the things I thought I needed to be doing at the time. Did I “get big”? Well, I ballooned up to 210 pounds. Not only did I meet my goal, I exceeded it! The problem is, I felt lethargic. I looked bloated. I had no motivation to work out at all, let alone the way I did in the beginning. My back hurt, my hips hurt, and I was fatter than I had ever been before. 200 pounds wasn’t the dream I was hoping for.

Luckily, I had a friend who was honest enough to tell me that I needed to get my butt back in gear. This time I went into it with my brain as well as my arms. I did real research from reputable sources and began to learn about the advantages of functional exercise. “Getting big” is all well and good for impressing the guys in the locker room, but that seems to be its only real function. Needless to say, that did not mesh with my goals. After about a month I discovered CrossFit. It seemed equally insane and intriguing to me at first. My diet was involving a lot more fruits and vegetables. I studied the real science of carbs and exercise and started eating the right kinds of carbs at the right times and in the right amounts. I started to do these short, intense exercises. I was doing these crazy workouts that involved kettle bells, box jumps, and medicine balls. It was all so beautifully simple but so extreme at the same time! I knew almost immediately that THIS was the training for me.

I’ve been doing CrossFit for just over one month. That’s it. One month. Not that these numbers are the goal of training, but just to give you an idea: My weight has dropped from 206 to 192. I’ve lost an inch of fat from each thigh. Both arms have gone from 16 to 16.5 inches. My chest measurement is up one inch. My waist and hip measurements have each dropped significantly (pants with a “36 inch waist that did not fit are now hanging loosely and my belts are on their tightest settings). My max pull-ups have increased by four, and my muscular endurance is light years beyond what it ever was before. One month. Seriously; and do you know what’s funny? I did this without my weight gloves, weight belt, heart monitor, or other “necessities” from the “get big” days. I still use supplements, but more useful ones, and in smarter amounts. I’m spending less time actually exercising, yet I’m getting results I never could before. I guess the “get big” obsession may not be all the fitness industry makes it out to be, eh? If I had to offer one piece of advice, it would be this: Eliminate all of the influence and information out there that is designed to sell you something, whether it’s supplements, magazine subscriptions, or miracle workout machines. Ignore it. Do the research yourself on functional training and true healthy eating, and then do what feels right. Believe it, you’ll know it once you’re doing it!

Authored by George Rutherford, assistant trainer at SECT CrossFit, father of two, devoted husband, and all around good guy.

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CrossFit Swim Workout from CrossFit Newcastle on Vimeo.


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4 rounds of Medball twists and hollow rocks make for a great warm down after a workout.

9 rounds of;

5 thrusters @ 40kg
5 pull-ups

A clip from our Rugby Conditioning DVD...no Mitch's were permanently harmed during filming.

What’s That Pain in My Heel? The CrossFitter and Plantar Fasciitis

Ouch. You have this pain in your heel. It comes and goes, but it’s definitely worse when you first get up in the morning and step onto the floor. You’re not alone. Plantar Fasciitis (an overuse injury that affects the sole of your foot) is one of the most common injuries reported among CrossFitters. It’s not a result of CrossFit; blame our heel-striking society and the fact that, in the WOD, we tend to run.

So, what can you do? Treat your Plantar Fasciitis and then learn an alternative style of running, like POSE or Chi. In the meantime, you need to deal with the pain, so we bugged our resident physical therapist, Melissa Reed, for some information. As soon as she could break away from kicking everybody’s butt at “Fran”, she gave us these tips:

· Perform a Great Toe Flexor Stretch every morning before you get out of bed and again later in the day. Basically, grab your heel with one hand and pull your big toe towards your shin with the other hand. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds, rest for 30 seconds. Do 4 repetitions.

· Perform this stretch (Gastroc Stretch) and this one (PF Stretch) a couple times per day also.

· Freeze a water bottle and place it on the floor. Roll the affected foot over the bottle for 5 minutes each day.

· Wear a well-designed, supportive shoe. Don’t go barefoot, even in your house. Support the arch of your foot almost always.

· And (you knew this was coming) see a professional. You might think it’s PF but it could be something else. And even if it is PF, your treatment may vary, depending on whether your PF is the result of a traumatic injury, your foot structure, scar tissue build-up, or simply the way that you roll your foot when you walk. Consequently, treatment could be deep massage, rest, orthotics, or even more involved procedures. Trying to diagnose the cause of your own pain is like trying to identify the main flaws of your Clean and Jerk without a coach or a video camera: you might get some of it right but you’re probably missing the big picture.

We tried what Melissa said and, wow, did we find some pain relief fast: the big toe stretch in the morning was particularly effective. Everything else she said seemed to help too. What else did we find that worked? Subbing rowing for the runs in the WOD, to provide some healing time. We also subbed some cycling when we could. When we did run (oh “Helen”, you temptress!) we tried to pay particular attention to proper foot striking.

Finally, we had to confront our love for the ultra-flat Chuck Taylors -– because they could have been exacerbating the PF. (Now, if we didn’t have this pain, the “lift barefoot or in Chucks” mentality that abounds in CrossFit might have prevailed but, quite simply, when something’s wrong, we need to fix it.) Ultimately, we loved our Chucks too much to give them up, so we relegated them to Max Effort and lifting-centric WODs. The rest of the time, you’ll find us in our squishy, well-supported, well-arched shoes. We may not look as cool but, boy, do our feet feel better.

(Text by Lisbeth Darsh/CrossFit Watertown in Connecticut.)

Muzz and Paul had a hard start to the day.

10 rounds of;
10 db hang cleans @ 20kg
10 slap push-ups

















Here's Boz and Pat doing it;

Workout demo - video [wmv] [mov]

Ben completed his first triathlon last month and kate completed the swim for the teams event [the blue caps were from the 'wave' that started 5mins ahead of the yellows caps].

Bec made the Quarter Finals at the Midori Pro that finished last sat. She was beaten by steph gilmore who went on to win the event. Bec is in form at the moment and with some decent swell due to arrive at magaret river this week, we're hoping Bec can show off her big wave skills.

the aftermath

A real sit-up is a good exercise for the abs, but its just the tip of the iceberg....with no swissball in sight!

Daniel and Lewis enjoying some kettlebell & pull-up work




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