WOD

“Atomic MOM”
20 Minute EMOM:
Minute 1 – 1 Clean & Jerk
Minute 2 – 15/12 Calorie Row

Box Brief:
Congrats to Justin for being the January Member of the Month at Apollo! Scroll down to learn more about Justin.

First of all, you are my poster child for taking the time to prioritize learning the skills before racing off for that big score in the beginning of your CrossFit journey. You slowed your workouts down and worked on technique. You were unwilling to turn up the intensity until you had a confident muscle memory for every movement. Now you just go around crushing everything.

I know you’re competitive. What thought process did you have that allowed you that kind of patience?
I always appreciated how proud you are of how I approached CrossFit by taking it slow for the first 6 months to a year. You were never pushy when I wasn’t going full throttle. Which is good for anyone thinking they would want to try CrossFit but are afraid of not being able to do the workouts as prescribed.

Well before I walked into Apollo, I had been thinking about doing CrossFit for a couple years actually. The reasons I didn’t start sooner were all the bad things you hear about CrossFit especially the horror stories of “people getting injured from the intense workouts” but now I wish I had started sooner. Getting injured scared me since I had already had a little history with tweaking my back from working out. So going into Apollo I wanted to start slow, work hard in the movements I was familiar with and be careful with movements I haven’t done before. What helped me a lot was how helpful and consistent the coaches were. I could always count on having Monica as my coach in the evening class I frequented. I don’t go to the evening classes as much anymore because of work but she was always happy and helped a lot with lifting cues and strategies for workouts. I often find myself repeating to myself cues she has told me during a workout. Another reason it was easy for me to take it slow was I’ve never been a particularly strong person so I knew the key to me getting good at CrossFit was learning how to move well and that meant maybe doing much less weight than everyone else in a workout. Maybe secretly I’m a really lazy person so I really like to do everything as “efficient” as possible aka as little wasted movements/effort as possible. There are still lots I have to learn but I have definitely grown to be more comfortable with lifting heavier weight faster. The key for me is to always listen to what my body was telling me and keep my ego outside in the parking lot, where it belongs!

I know you love CrossFit and I know you do at least one archery competition every year.
What’s that competition like and tell us the story about what made your dad start CrossFit at 60 years old.
One thing about me is I find weird enjoyment out of doing things I am not good at; I enjoy the learning process then hopefully maybe getting better someday. I picked up archery so I could learn to hunt, then I convinced my dad to learn with me, it wasn’t hard, he is always game for outdoorsy stuff. I found out there are competitions (most are pretty friendly) where you hike up and down ski resorts shooting at foam 3D targets of animals. There will usually be a course set up and a group of people will hike the course with your bow. Along the way you’ll find the 3D targets and shoot one or two arrows at them and record your score. It’s kind of like golf but with a bow. It’s a fun reason to get outside and I’ll take any excuse to shoot my bow. Well, I told my dad about this competition and that we should both enter it just for fun. This was before my parents started at Apollo. Well to say that I left out the fact that we would be doing a substantial amount of hiking would not go unnoticed by my dad. He was hurting pretty bad that year getting winded from the hike. It wasn’t long after that my parents started at Apollo. It was great to see them in the gym getting after it! The next year we did the same archery competition and I can’t tell you the number of times I heard my dad telling me how he “wasn’t even tired” when we were hiking up and down the mountain, it was truly a perfect example of how Apollo’s coaches and programming can help anyone.

You’re an mechanical engineer. If money were not an issue what would be your dream job?
If money wasn’t an issue, I think I would have so much fun traveling the world working with outdoor companies testing new outdoor equipment. Everything from deep sea fishing to enduro mountain biking to bow hunting I’m a huge fan of, I could break it and help them make it better!

You’re going to be taken to a group of uninhabited islands and left there forever. You can take 6 things. List them in order of priority.
I feel like there are so many ways to interpret this. Like things that I can’t just live without or things I would need to survive. But the survival side of me says I would need
A Ferro rod
My Leatherman I always carry
A hatchet
A rain coat
Maybe a pair of diving goggles
Then some wire

For your future children. If you could only be assured they would heed 1 piece of advice from you, what advice would that be?
I would hope that I could instill in them that no matter how bad they might be at something, if it’s a goal they really want, to never give up attempting to achieve it.

If you could be a real-life version of any movie character, who would you be?
Mmm shoot I’d have to say Indiana Jones. The dude is smart, thinks fast on his feet, is virtually unkillable, goes on wild adventures, and he always gets the girl.

Strict Press
5 @ 65% of 1RM
5 @ 75%
5+ @ 85%

“Now and Ten”
10 Minute AMRAP:
40 Double Unders
10 Inverted Burpees

Box Brief:
This Saturday at 11am is our 2-hour Foundations class for all new and existing members. Whether you are new to CrossFit or have been at Apollo for 10 years, we invite all of you to attend. We will discuss the topics “What is CrossFit”, Nutrition, as well as cover the basics of the squat, deadlift, press, and the Olympic lifts.

Come out to our New Year Party this Saturday at 1pm for food, good times, and a chance to earn yourself a 1-month of your membership fees. During the party you can show off your “obscure strength” for a chance to win back your membership fees. We will have a surprise challenge in which the best score will win the ultimate prize. Don’t worry… It’s not Fran. It’s not cardio or a traditional strength test. We can tell you this much… It’s going to make you laugh. You won’t want to miss it!

Question of the Week:
If given the opportunity, would you travel to space?

Deadlift
5 @ 65% of 1RM
5 @ 75%
5+ @ 85%

“KIM80”
4 Rounds:
300 Meter Run
15 Weighted Step-ups (53/36)(24/20)
15 Pull-ups

Quote of the Week:
Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”
Lyndon B. Johnson

Box Brief:
This Saturday at 11am is our 2-hour Foundations class for all new and existing members. Whether you are new to CrossFit or have been at Apollo for 10 years, we invite all of you to attend. We will discuss the topics “What is CrossFit”, Nutrition, as well as cover the basics of the squat, deadlift, press, and the Olympic lifts.

Come out to our New Year Party this Saturday at 1pm for food, good times, and a chance to earn yourself a 1-month of your membership fees. During the party you can show off your “obscure strength” for a chance to win back your membership fees. We will have a surprise challenge in which the best score will win the ultimate prize. Don’t worry… It’s not Fran. It’s not cardio or a traditional strength test. We can tell you this much… It’s going to make you laugh. You won’t want to miss it!

Strict Press
5 @ 75% of 1RM
3 @ 85%
1+ @ 95%

“Drive”
3 Rounds:
30 Calorie Row
15 Front Squats (135/95)
5 Wall Walks

Recipe of the Week:
Some of our favorite recipes are in bowls. Give this BLT Quinoa Bowl a shot!

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 large eggs
8 ounces cherry tomatoes
3 cups fresh arugula
1 small ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Instructions:
STEP 1
Prepare quinoa according to package directions. Combine 3 tablespoons olive oil, basil, 1 tablespoon vinegar and lemon juice. Add to cooked quinoa; stir to combine.

STEP 2
Place 2-3 in. of water in a large skillet with high sides; add remaining vinegar. Bring to a boil; adjust heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Break 1 cold egg at a time into a small cup; holding cup close to surface of water, slip egg into water. Cook, uncovered, until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard, 3-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, lift eggs out of water. Keep warm.

STEP 3
In a large skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat. Cook tomatoes until they begin to release their juices, 8-10 minutes. Add arugula; cook and stir just until arugula is wilted, 1-2 minutes.

STEP 4
To serve, divide quinoa evenly among 4 bowls. Add cherry tomatoes, arugula, avocado slices and crumbled bacon. Top each with a poached egg.

“Death By”
10 Meter Sprints

Strict Pull-ups
6 x 6

3 Sets:
Suitcase Carry

Meme of the Week:

“Clinton”
20 Minute AMRAP:
5 Power Cleans (135/95)
5 Push Press (135/95)
10 Sit-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Air Squats
15 Kettlebell Swings (53/36)

Nutrition of the Week:
Working out in a deficit

If you are planning a cut for the beginning of the year like many of us are, it is important to know that you will be working with less energy overall. This means it is important to plan out how you will adjust your workouts to accommodate your calorie deficit. We know that we cannot chase performance goals at the same time as fat loss goals (read this part again!). You can continue to work on skills but you should know heading into your cut that you are not chasing PRs at this time.

As you get started with your fat loss cycle or cut, you may not notice much difference in your workouts. This is a good thing, and you should continue to work out at the same intensity as you have before. As you get deeper into your cut, you may start to notice that your energy during workouts is lagging-like you lost that ‘extra gear’. You may also notice that you are hungrier. At this point it’s time to start scaling or modifying your workouts.

We are lucky at CrossFit Apollo because we have knowledgeable coaches that can help you to modify during your deficit. Some general guidelines are: prioritize resistance training to maintain your current muscle mass. That means-don’t stop lifting weights, but maybe adjust the amount of weight that you are lifting depending on your energy levels that day. Make sure that you are lowering the INTENSITY of your workouts overall once you feel that energy drain. Again, with less fuel you will not be crushing WODS the way that you can while fully fueled and that’s ok. There will be time for that once we start to add more fuel back in. It is a good idea to focus on low intensity steady state forms of cardio during this time. Things like walking, easy cycling, light jogging, swimming, etc will help you get the most out of your calorie deficit while causing the least amount of increased hunger and lower energy.

Deadlift
5 @ 75% of 1RM
3 @ 85%
1+ @ 95%

“Bed Corner”
16 Minute AMRAP:
400/300 Meter Row
15 Toes to Bar
20 Burpees

Question of the Week:
What’s your favorite part of the New Year?

“Open WOD 17.5”
10 Rounds:
9 Thrusters (95/65)
35 Double Unders

Quote of the Week:
“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”
Dalai Lama

Box Brief:
We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! The schedule is normal this week.