We are going to be heading down to Colorado Springs in May and June to hike THE INCLINE.  What is that, you say?  It is an old railroad trail STRAIGHT UP Mt. Manitou. There are 2,744 railroad ties (steps) to the top.  We did this hike last July and all agreed that while it was grueling, it was a GREAT workout.  One thing we realized is that we need to get down there EARLY.  It gets VERY crowded, so the earlier the better.  I’m thinking we leave Denver by 6:30am, that should put us on the trail by 8.  We need to carpool, as parking is an issue in that area.  We can go out for brunch afterwards down in Manitou Springs, we did that last time.  We’re going to do a day in May and a day in June.  Looks like it will be 5/22 and 6/19, both of those are Saturdays.  I’ll be sending out an evite for each day with specifics.

Here’s a quick video of the trail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXD5drBWbF0

And a synopsis of the hike:  http://www.stevegarufi.com/manitouincline.htm

Please join us on May 15th, as CrossFit Denver & Affiliates and individuals across the country compete in a “Beat The Streets” Fundraiser WOD to support the Steve’s Club National Program, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization for at-risk youth fitness. Teams of 4 will compete against other teams across the country. For every $1k raised, Affiliates can sponsor an at-risk athlete for an entire year. All donations go directly to the gyms that will train specific kids and teens in tough neighborhoods to get them off the streets and into CrossFit.

This is a great opportunity to have some fun competing against other affiliates all for a really good cause.

You can sign up here:  http://www.crossfitdenver.com/2010/04/the-buzz-for-sunday-3072010/

Attendance for the Thursday night yoga classes has steadily declined to just a couple people each week, so we’re going to go ahead and cancel that class.  However, we could do a Monday morning 7am class, if people would be interested in that one (we’re adding a 6am Monday morning workout also, see below).  Yoga is a great complement to CrossFit movements!   CrossFit hits you at all sorts of different angles and intensities.  Yoga gives you the flexibility and core support to get the most out of your CrossFit workouts.  Its a great combo.

You’ve been asking for it for a while now, so here you go.  We’re adding a 6am class monday mornings.  At this point it will only be a 6am, not 7am (see yoga above).  This is a trial addition to the schedule.  The last time we tried this, I sat there Monday mornings and was very lonely.  But we have a lot more people now .

Remember!  Anytime you refer a new member to us and they stay past the first month, both you and the new member get 50% off your normal monthly rate for that second month.  Bring us in two people a month and you train for free!

We’re making another buffalo order, if you want some please indicate in comments below.  We’re probably going to change the pricing to $5 for ground, and $7 for other cuts — evenly distributed, you can’t have all the filet .  I’m trying to decide if we have enough people to get a full or just a half, we’re kind’ve on the line, so if you want some please do fill out the comments (and include your name).

The T-shirts have arrived!  Stop by the office to check them out.  Just FYI, the women’s sizes seem to run VERY small, so we’re going to order some women’s XL.

We’ve been saying it for a while now, but we’re going to be starting a cardio kickboxing class a couple times a week.  Looks like it will be Sundays after the WOD, and one evening a week, not sure which evening yet.  Note, this will be bagwork, drills, that kind of stuff, no contact sparring at this point.  Unless you want to go fight with Tom and Tim in their basement afterwards, fight club style.

Posting the WOD results on the website daily has proved to be a full-time job in itself these days.  We’re trying a new approach.  We’re going to post a picture of the whiteboard for that day with everyone’s results who recorded them.  If you choose to, you can go to the website, check the picture and post your result in a comment yourself.  In this way, you can search for your past posts to see your performance.  And Randy and I won’t go insane from trying to decrypt everyone’s post-WOD handwriting every day.

Please let us know your thoughts in comments below.

If you’ve joined recently and haven’t gotten your free ½ hour massage yet, call Kristin and set up an appointment. You can reach her at 720-297-6905.  You’ll be glad you did!

Mark Lodmill, who is a newly certified CrossFit Level 1 trainer with us, has suggested an on-the-water rowing seminar.  As many of you know, Mark is a competitive rower, who rows in one of those water rowing machine things, I think they’re called “boats”.  Anyway, we’re going to try to fill two 8-person boats, learn about on-the-water considerations, then at the end of the day split up and race the things.  Losers do burpees or something.

The day we’re shooting for right now is July 10 (11 if bad weather).  Fee for this will be $100 each.   Between boat rental, paying the coaches, access fee to the reservoir, etc. that’s the best they can do.  But I for one think its worth it to get out there and find out what its like to really ROW.  In talking with Mark and our instructor at the CrossFit rowing cert (an olympic gold medalist), I’m realizing that there are a great many factors that you don’t have to consider when pulling on a Concept 2, but are pivotal in a boat.

Learn how to perform, teach and program the Olympic lifts competently in one session!

Want to learn more? Right-Click Here and choose “save target as” to download the PDF brochure on this seminar series, where you’ll discover…

• Why Learn the Olympic Lifts?
• What Makes This Seminar Unique?
• About Charles Staley
• References

Its $219 for both days for CrossFit Denver members.  Go to the blog post to sign up:  http://www.crossfitdenver.com/2010/04/charles-staley-olympic-lifting-seminar-august-7th-8th-2010/

“One of the signs of a great teacher is the ability to make the subject matter seem simple. Charles Staley is one of these rare teachers.” – Muscle Media 2000 magazine

Prominent in the United States and many other countries, Charles is recognized as a authoritative coach and innovator in the field. His knowledge, skills, and reputation have lead to appearances on NBC’s The Today Show and The CBS Early Show, along with many radio appearances. he has written over a thousand articles for major publications and online websites in the industry. Charles also competes in Olympic-style weightlifting on the master’s circuit, and is preparing for the 2011 World Championships.

“Why learn the Olympic lifts? Why is this seminar different?”

In addition to the (hopefully obvious) fact that the snatch, clean, and jerk are superior ways to developing strength, power, mobility, and overall athleticism, there are MANY overlooked benefits that Charles will bring to light.

Weightlifting coaches “shoot themselves in the foot” with their efforts to validate the sport by emphasizing the amount of time and effort it takes to master the sport. Charles unique approach has students learning O-Lift Competency in one day!

We’ve  been invited along on a “pub golf” outing this Saturday, May 8th.  This is NOT a CrossFit Denver sponsored event, but a lot of us are going along on this birthday party 9-hole pub crawl.    Details:

Please arrive at 6:00pm at the first hole.  Tee time will be at 6:30 sharp.  We will spend a half an hour at each hole.

HOLES:
1. 100 Park Ave.#2105
2. The Horseshoe
3. Uptown Tavern
4. Jr’s
5. Atomic Cowboy
6. Goosetown Tavern
7. MezCal
8. 3014
9. RockBar

Let me know in the comments if you want to go, I need to give them a count of CrossFit people.

Here’s the evite:  http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=KPMCQXVXHDNKVUSAKHLM&li=iq&src=email

We’ve been noticing lately that after the daily WODs, more and more equipment is being left out, bars left loaded up, trash on the mat, etc.  PLEASE respect your gym and fellow members, help us keep the gym clean.  We’re not asking for anything more than putting away the weights you use and cleaning up any trash you make (like athletic tape).  We all forget every once in a while which is fine, but please do try to keep in mind when you’re done, take the two minutes to clean up after yourself.  Thanks in advance.

Hiking – we’re going to do at least one 14er trip this summer.  Maybe tie it in with a camping trip.  One idea is to do some of the Collegiate peaks down near Buena Vista, so we can knock off a few peaks in one day.  If you have thoughts/preferences please comment below.

Jump Street – Jump Street is a trampoline gym.  We tried to do a field trip here last year but no one was interested.  We’ll try it again, sounds like there’s more interest now.

Sunday March 14th is the “Runnin’ of the Green” (ROTG).  ROTG is a 7K run/walk that is centered around the Irish Celebration of Saint Patricks’s Day and Spring. It takes place in downtown Denver (Lodo), starting at 17th & Wazee.  It has been a Colorado charity event for 22 years and has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Volunteer of America. There is an after-run party which has been voted best post-race party by…I don’t know, someone.
Here’s their website.  Just FYI, the site (and this is a technical term) SUCKS, but I think it mostly gets the point across. http://www.rotg.org/index-2.html There is no mention of the details of the after-party, but Zach thinks there is at least SOME free beer to be had.  If not or if it runs out, we will forage for more beer in the wilds of Lodo.  You can register here: http://www.rotg.org/index-4.html

Yoga at CrossFit Denver!
The first few weeks of yoga at the gym have been great! Thanks to Monica Zaltsberg for putting the classes together, everyone who has participated in a class has completely enjoyed it. So get in and try a class!! We currently have one class/week, 7:30pm thursday nights. You can tie it in with a CrossFit workout that day, come in for the 6:30 WOD and go straight into yoga after.
If you’re going to give it a try, wear something comfortable, you’re going to be sweating.  At risk of being indelicate, shorts may not be the best option for what to wear due to some of the poses you’ll be in. If you’re going to be coming in frequently, I would suggest buying your own mat – they can be purchased at many places (Target, Sports Authority,etc) and are quite inexpensive.

Nordic center field trip
We’re talking about having a trip up to summit county to do some snowshoeing or crosscountry skiing. It will probably be the second week in April, as I’m trying not to stack too many activities too close together. If you’re interested, please check the button in feedback below. If we get a dozen people or more, we’ll schedule it.

New members! Get your free massage!
If you’ve joined recently and haven’t gotten your free ½ hour massage yet, call Kristin and set up an appointment. You can reach her at 720-297-6905. You’ll be glad you did!

Astroturf installed

The astroturf is glued down now. We are going to go ahead and piece the rest of the turf in along the wall and the ends, so we’re not completely done, but it is a much more functional area now. We’re going to move the rowers back onto the turf so we can free up some mat space for workouts that need more space.