Wednesday, January 18th 2017
To day we celebrate an awesome athlete, husband and dad of two, Kyle M. About a year ago, Kyle committed himself to his fitness, and we were lucky that he chose the Cove to reach his goals.
Among other things, he’s improved his back squat by 50lb, built quite an engine and after participating in the barbell club his lifts are not only stronger, they are better. As we all know quality of movement is more important than the loads we lift, and Kyle has done wonders with his form. And of course the numbers increased after that. He’s drunk on CrossFit Koolaid and has even installed a garage gym at this home so he can chug it all day long.
What makes Kyle’s circumstance even harder than any other multi-taking professional/family man is that he has a demanding job that requires extensive travel. As we all know, being ‘off schedule’ can destroy consistency in working out and good nutrition. He’s on the road often and the turnaround on his trips is so fast that it is hard to keep a routine.
Thankfully he’s got an amazing support system at home to help him prepare for life on the road (and helps him stay on track when he’s back at home). Caroline, also a Covie, got him a meal prep travel bag that he now packs when he’s heading out. It fits several meals and has ice packs to preserve the food during flights (and yes, apparently TSA allows you to travel with it as look as the ice packs are frozen). Now instead of booking hotels with great restaurants, he’s on the hunt for hotels with microwaves and refrigerators.
Kyle is leading by example and we are taking notes. Last year his focus was on his fitness and this year his sights are set on adding better nutrition. It’s hard to figure out everything out at once, but if you approach change in ‘bite sized pieces’ (pun intended), you’ll likely see success is much easier to find.
And he’s figured out that what works for other people doesn’t always work for him… and that’s just find. As he wisely said “It’s about finding what works for you. If I’m 80 or 90% there, I’m good. I can’t lose sleep over it. It’s a challenge across the board, but we are finding what works best for US”.
FX: 18lb
RX: 26
RX+: 35
For 12 minutes
Min 1: 7 Wall Slides – DEMO HERE
Min 2: Pigeon Pose on a box (30 seconds each leg)
Min 3: 12-15 Heavy Russian KB Swings
35 Cal Row
30 Sit Ups
25 Deadlifts
2 Rounds
Fitness: 185/125
RX: 225/155
RX+: 225/155 (20 GHD Sit ups)
15 Min Cap
Coach’s Tip: This is a fairly generous time cap, but you will still need to cruise through the row and sit ups to leave enough time for the barbell. If see you are nearing seven minutes after round one, PLEASE consider reducing the number of reps on each movement to ensure you hit all of them. Or just come out of the gate and consider doing 30/25/20 instead. Your core will be fatigued, so maintain good spine position (lock in that midsection!!) and ensure the only movement is happening at the hip. The coaches will tell you to drop the bar immediately if they feel you are in a compromised position. We would much rather cost you five seconds on your score than a week of a sore back.
