 we're rowing out of this year! Happy New YearIt's the last Friday of 2023! When we meet again at the gym it will be a new year. Here's to good health and good fortune in the new year! My family has strong southern roots and one of my favorite New Year's Eve traditions is eating black-eyed peas. When I was young they came from a can or bag. As I have developed my epicurean skills over my life I have learned the importance and value in knowing provenance of my food. Now, when I cook beans they come from Rancho Gordo. Do you have a good luck New Year's food tradition? No? Well you can have fun exploring these good luck foods courtesy of Real Simple. Click on the image below for the recipes. Share with us in the comments you family's New Year celebrations and traditions.  Click on the image above for 13 good luck recipes to cook this weekend courtesy of Real Simple. GYM IS CLOSED:
Saturday Dec 30 Sunday Dec 31 Monday Jan 1 See you all back at the gym on Tuesday, Jan 2. There will be at-home workouts loaded in BTWB for Saturday and Monday.
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CrossFit and Arthritis, Part 2
A few weeks ago I blogged about doing CrossFit with arthritis. Since that post I've heard from several well-meaning people about their concern that I'm doing more damage to my knees by continuing to squat and deadlift. The most important thing I'm learning about continuing to exercise with arthritis is to know thyself. I wrote about this as well.
To manage the damage in my knees, I have to dial it back, but NOT STOP! To age well, I need to keep moving. Once I stop moving I will succumb to the arthritis and then I'm done. The benefits of continuing CrossFit, even at a level far lower than what I once could do, absolutely outweigh the cost of not moving. I will never squat 300 pounds again and that's totally ok! Squatting just half that weight is still enabling my knees to move through the full range of motion under load. It's still driving positive adaptations in my muscles. More importantly, squatting is good for my bones. Now that I'm fully in the menopause transition preserving bone density is my highest priority. Remember, motion is the lotion. As we age, at some point our performance will decline. When that happens we have to use the wisdom we've gained to learn how modify, adapt and scale movements. Please listen to this excellent episode of Varied not Random that is exactly about this topic.  A Christmas Poem from 2020by John Elwell, 5:30PM class
‘Twas almost Christmas, this difficult year 2020 was a long one, with little to cheer An awful virus, too much anger and hate A long difficult year, it seems was our fate A bright spot for me was the True Spirit box The WODs and the people, it’s a place that just rocks The last WOD before Christmas was over and done We all quite enjoyed it, each and every last one Now the gym was empty as I stretched on the floor I had stayed after class to cool down a bit more From above I felt a gust of cold air Santa came down the climbing rope, with red coat and white hair Quietly I sat as Santa went this way and that Trying out the equipment even though he was fat A kettlebell, a wall ball, he handled them well It seems Santa’s a CrossFitter, I could just tell He had no sack with him, not a treat nor a toy But his eyes how they twinkled and seemed full of joy Before the whiteboard he stood, stroking his beard In an instant I saw that the whiteboard was cleared Touching his nose and nodding his head A message appeared, soon to be read He turned back to the rope, gave me a nod and a wink Then like a true CrossFitter, was up the rope in a blink I went to the white board to see what he wrote A workout of the day? Or just a short note? The writing was beautiful, hand written and clear And the message he wrote brought me some cheer “Your last gift in this year of challenges and fear Is True Spirit, both the feeling, and the gym so near The true spirit of people, caring for all Helping friends and others, in big ways and small And True Spirit the gym, where you come to get fit To better yourself, and to learn your true grit The WODs, the challenges, the new people you meet Working out together to achieve that next feat” I smiled at the note full of life and of hope (Still wondering how Santa went so fast up that rope) Thanks to True Spirit athletes, who make the place fun Thanks to True Spirit and Coach Leslie for a job well done.  2021 Night Before Christmasby John Elwell, 5:30pm CrossFitter
‘Twas the night before Christmas in the year 2021 Another difficult year, I was glad it was done The last workout of the year at the True Spirit box Just a few showed up, in our True Spirit socks A few minutes before class we all gathered about The coach at the white board, athletes stretching out When such a clatter arose out where we park We all jumped up and ran out, into the dark We looked to see what made all that noise Outside was a red sleigh, stacked high with toys In the front stood St Nick, there wasn’t a doubt Even in the snow that was swirling about “Ho ho ho”, St. Nick laughed as he jumped from his sleigh “You want a good workout? Well, come this way!” He unlimbered the reindeer, and let them roam free Then turning to us, he said with some glee “There are families who could use some True Spirit cheer You CrossFitters can help me spread some this year I’ve got a little chipper that will be lots of fun And you’ll have a good work out by the time we are done We’ll do a bit of climbing and work on some lifts And some sandbag carries, except with some gifts Throw in some sled dragging up and down slopes We’ll spread True Spirit cheer, so take ahold of the ropes” We each grabbed a rope to pull on the sleigh We grunted and groaned to start on our way Santa on the sleigh would yell “go left” or “go right” As we pulled Santa’s sleigh through that wonderful night We stopped at each house, lifted up bags of toys Skinnied down chimneys with nary a noise Back up the chimney once the presents were set Back to the sleigh ropes, we weren’t done yet Some toys were light, and some were quite heavy (Whose kid wanted an engine for a ’68 Chevy?) All the dragging and lifting and climbing up and down Made for a good workout as we went around town Lots of houses we stopped at, though I lost count When suddenly we stopped and I saw Santa dismount We were back at the gym, covered head to foot With ashes and sweat and lots of black soot We’d had a good workout, we were quite pleased with that Helping old Santa, in his white-tipped red hat Santa hooked up his reindeer, and climbed back on his sleigh “Merry Christmas” he said, and flew off on his way We watched Santa’s sleigh fly as we stood in the snow When we noticed all around us a faint red glow We looked about, what could shine so red? What could be making that red glow spread? As we looked at each other, we soon discovered the source Of the Christmas-red glow that was lighting our course Our True Spirit socks were bright red as a rose Glowing in the Christmas eve night, just like Rudolph’s red nose It was a magical night, when we did Santa’s WOD Our red glowing socks left us just awed And sometimes when I walk in the True Spirit box I swear they still glow faintly, my True Spirit socks |
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