The Open is over, spring is upon us and we need a new challenge. We are introducing the 2019 Goals Challenge! In the next two weeks we want you to write down 2-3 THREE month goals and 2-3 SIX month goals (more on what they should be later). This week do some “tests” so that we can retest in three months and again in six months. These will serve as a guide for you all in your fitness and for us as to what we all need/want to work on. 

What should your goals be? They CAN be anything you want to get better at, struggle with or any generic movement or workout. They MUST be specific and measurable (ie specific weight, time, score, rep count, etc). They SHOULD be realistic. You could set the goal of snatching 300 pounds and while that is specific and measurable it probably isn’t realistic. If you aren’t sure if a goal is realistic for the time frame laid out, ask a coach their thoughts on it. They do NOT have to be movements or workouts during test week but that does make it convenient for you.

Once you have them, share them on your social media by May 5. This way everybody can draw inspiration and hold each other accountable! August 5-9 retest and check our three month goals and will do the same with our six month goals November 4-8 (this might be during the open so we will see about adjustments as we get closer)!

Examples could look like this (hypothetical situation for a mythical character named Arya) but don’t let this limit you:
3 month goal 1 - Back Squat: 200# (current: 190)
3 month goal 2 - Pull-ups: 3 strict unbroken (current: 1)
3 month goal 3 - 1 mile run: sub 8:00 (current: 8:24)
6 month goal 1 - Clean & Jerk: 135 (current: 120)
6 month goal 2 - Strict Handstand Push-up: 1 (current: 2 to an abmat)

To help everybody reach goals we will be offering three extra programs to help jumpstart some movements and strength. We will have these printed out at the gym for everybody to follow. These will be structured like the pull-up program and they are: muscle-ups, handstand push-ups and generic barbell. These will also get emailed out later this week. And lastly, to help we highly encourage tracking your nutrition (MyFitnessPal app is great) and sticking to a plan (RP, zone, etc). The baseline of CrossFit methodology (and specifically D5) is nutrition for a reason. “You can’t out train a bad diet”.

Get ready!!

-Coach Spencer

One year ago, I didn’t know what a snatch was.  One year ago, I didn’t know what a muscle up was, a kip was, or that people would do push-ups without their feet on the ground.  A year ago, this was me.

​210 pounds, unhealthy, and miserable with the way I looked and felt.  It was my 29th birthday, and I was the largest I had ever been, and decided to make a change.  Enough was enough.  The next day, on April 4th I started my 30for30 challenge.  Lose 30 pounds by the time I turned 30.  It had been years since I had a consistent workout regiment that lasted more than a month, and I knew I did some help.  I did a little research and decided to invest in myself and try crossfit and CrossFit District 5.  Today, 365 days later, this is me.

I have lost 40 pounds, and much more importantly, I am happier and healthier than I have ever been.  It took a year of hard work and dedication to reach this point and I am nowhere near "done" on my fitness journey.  I achieved these results from hard work in the gym, and hard work in the kitchen.  I because extremely conscious of everything I would eat and drink.  Cut out snacks after dinner, drank beer once a month, ate more fruits and veggies than the past 4 years combined.  Those are crucial to getting to where you want to go, its easier to skip eating a snickers bar and eat carrots instead than work off 600 calories at the gym. At the same time, I ate my fill of pizza, ice cream, and all the other delicious things through out the year just at much more moderation. They were treats, not staples.

At the gym, I showed up 5-6 days a week most weeks, found Crossfit Boxes to visit when I travel, and took my dog for a 1-2 mile most days it was nice out.  I wish I could go back and talk to my younger self, tell him that looking and feeling like this is possible, it just takes, hard work, dedication, and help.

This journey is nearly impossible to do alone.  Real talk, if you have gotten yourself to a point where I was, you cannot do it alone.  I tired hundreds of diets, and "THIS TIME I AM GOING TO MAKE IT STICK" gym reginmates only to give up.  This time, I invested in myself, both time and money.  Crossfit is not the cheapest way to get in shape, but it is incredibly effective.  The cost is also a motivator, your paying that much, you gotta use it regularly.  The coaches at D5 are amazing, and they will keep you on track and motivate your to come back day after day.

​By the time my 6 months of fitness arrived, I had reached my 30 for 30 goal and then some.  So I set a new set of goals for the following six months, half of which I did achieve!

The other half, I have made significant progress on and will track to try and achieve over the next six months of my journey.  One of the great parts of Crossfit to me is how trackable and measurable everything you do is.  Nothing else you do in your life will have the clarity of time in, vs reward out.  It's easy to see and track every single day, which is what makes it great.

Without a doubt, joining D5 was one of the best decisions of my life.  Not only for the results I see in my fitness, but the community within.  It is a place with incredible people who love and support you as you work to make yourself your best self. Whatever you started, and wherever you want to go, the community is there for you.  The coaches, their families, and all the members care about one another in a special way.  I am so proud to call Crossfit D5 my home.    I hope you will too!