Tonight we have a brand new group of athletes starting our Fundamentals Course. We have 12 participants ready to get in the best shape of their lives and excited to join the ranks of our regular on-going classes. If you see them this evening please welcome them into our community.

I’ll also take this opportunity to re-iterate one of our gym policies. GREET NEW FACES. If you ever see someone you don’t know in our facility, be the first to approach them and introduce yourself. If they’re new, you’ll help them feel at home and if they’re not, you’ll meet a new friend. CrossFit has forged a community of like-minded people and has created a new family for all of us. We see this daily in our classes and have been reminded of it’s awesome size at the Canadian Regionals this weekend in Okotoks. No matter where you come from, we are all bonded by one similar trait: the eagerness and drive towards elite levels of fitness.

DJ Wickham hitting a 220# Snatch gaining him 1st place in the 2nd workout of the Canadian Regionals this weekend.

Ever tried running barefoot? You have probably seen a few of us around the gym wearing our Vibram Five Fingers. (the funky toe shoes that look silly) We wear these to allow us to run barefoot (or just be barefoot) but still have protection from sharp objects on the ground.

The number one question I get asked when I wear them is “what are those for” while the person points at my feet. Because I’m typically a smart-ass, I usually respond with “what are those for” and I point to their feet. I then say that they serve the same purpose as shoes do to protect my feet but allow my feet to work the way they were designed. They allow my foot and lower leg to absorb my body weight the way nature intended. The way evolution has made them.

The shoe does do quite a good job at absorbing your weight, but it will never be as good as your foot and leg can do. Check out the video below and if you’re up for the challenge, try a short barefoot run. Like anything, your body will get some soreness using new muscles but don’t worry, these muscles were meant to be used!

If you’ve ever run barefoot or in Vibrams, let us know your experience. Post thoughts to comments.

It’s competition time again!!!

From Friday May 28th till Sunday May 30th the Canadian Regionals for the 2010 CrossFit Games are being held in Calgary. All of our Coaches will be in Calgary helping out with the event and therefor won’t be here running classes. The weekends schedule at CrossFit Edmonton is as follows:

Friday May 28th: Morning classes as usual, Closed for the evening.
Saturday May 29th: Closed
Sunday May 30th: Closed

If you’re interested in following the action while we are away, you can view live results throughout the weekend here.

Highlights from the Northeast Regionals and the “Albany Crippler”.

Monday May 24th is the May Long Weekend Holiday. We will be running holiday hours in the morning (8am and 9am only). Mamas and evening classes will run as regularly scheduled. See our schedule page for full details.

Coaches Brian, Auty and Chad getting in a little b-ball warm-up.

This Sunday May 16th, we will be having the workout at Fowler Track. We will meet at the facility for 10am and then head there together at approximately 10:10. Otherwise, you can just meet us at the track for 10:15am.

Please be prepared for whatever weather may bless us that day with either lots of water and sun block or perhaps a jacket if it’s cooler.

And don’t fret, there may still be some heavy lifting at the track…

Sandra demonstrates some heavy Db Cleans.

Starting on May 15th, we will be adding an “Open Lifting” class at 10am on Saturdays.

This class is available to any members who currently participate in the regular group classes. The intent of this class is to give anyone the opportunity to ‘make-up’ any missed percentage based lifting days that may have occurred during the week. You may also come in to complete any other workout that you may have missed, however, priority of bars, weights, racks and space will be given to those wishing to make up missed lifts.

The Saturday Open Lifting Class is not a structured class as you have come to expect, however, there is of course a Coach that will be available to assist you if needed. You will warm up, work out, and stretch all on your own accord and all within the hour. Also, partnering with someone and sharing weights is highly encourage and may become necessary if class size grows.

Post thoughts or questions to comments.

“3 Bars of Death” uses up a lot of weights with just 3 people! (aka Linda)