Central East CrossFit Regionals 2013—Team CrossFit Polaris -by Jessica Clay

For those that are not certain what the sport CrossFit is, please click on this link for an explanation:http://crossfitpolaris.com/faq/.

The 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games season is a three-stage test of fitness, comprised of the Open, Regionals, and the world championships, the CrossFit Games.

The season kicks off with the Open, the most inclusive competition in the world. The top athletes and teams in each region from the Open will move onto Regionals. The best athletes and teams at Regionals will compete at the CrossFit Games, the world’s premier test to find the Fittest on Earth™. (Courtesy of CrossFit Games)

As co-owner of CrossFitPolaris.com, I am proud to say that we placed 3^rd as a team in the conclusion of the Open within our region, which is easy to say the most competitive region in the world. There are 17 regions in the world.

Within our CrossFit gym’s team we had 2 women qualify for the CrossFit Games in their age division and 6 in total qualify as individuals, including myself. Those deciding to go to Regionals as a team we had to decline our individual invites to compete as a team of 3 women and 3 men and 2 alternates.

Our team is comprised of 3 teammates already experienced as individual competitors in previous Regionals, and a 2-time team Games competitor, we feel our team is going into Regionals as a strong, experienced and powerful team ready to command the workouts and our competition.

Our training regime has been beyond a great experience, it has been fun and challenging, yet we have several weeks to go until our Regionals which is June 7-9.

We all meet every evening and train together as well as several mornings of doing extra work (skills, endurance, strength, etc.). We also do a competitive workout on Saturdays with other gym members competing against us as well as training against other gym teams.

Sample training workouts would include:

Morning workout:

• For 20 minutes EMOTM (every minute on the minute) 20:secs airdyne remaining time 30 double unders, next minute 20:secs push press then 20 bar jump overs. And repeat.

• Extra skill or strength work

Evening workout:

• Core and skills (L-sits tabata, handstand walks, muscle-ups, etc.)

• Strength session (squats, cleans, snatches, deadlifts, etc.)

• WOD (Workout Of Day) 5 rounds of: 6 heavy deadlifts, 12 handstand push-ups, 12 dips

Very soon the workouts for Regionals will be announced and we will then strategically begin to train for those specific workouts.

And then Regionals begins …

Athletes and spectators will gather to see CrossFit competition in a more traditional format. There, under the critical eye of Level 1 judges, and in front of thousands in the stands, the best athletes of the region will prove their fitness.

Throughout the course of three days, each Regional will see athletes perform brutal combinations of workouts to test the range and depth of the athletes’ physical and mental capacitates. Athletes will give it their all, and after the end of the weekend, no more than three men, three women, and three teams will receive invitations to the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games. (Courtesy of CrossFit Games)

Wish us luck as our journey continues, more updates soon!

CrossFitPolaris.com

Twitter: @CrossFitPolaris

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CrossFitPolaris?ref=hl

 

The Amazing Benefits of Hand Stand Push-Ups! –By: Moji Oluwa

When performed as part of a regular fitness regimen, the exercise can provide increases across the spectrum of fitness. While certainly not a beginner’s fitness exercise, any intermediate or advanced athlete can benefit from handstand push-ups.

STRENGTH: The prime movers include the chest, shoulder, and arm muscles. The handstand push-up provides a far greater demand on these muscle groups than standard push-ups. The handstand push-up will make these muscles stronger than the standard push-up because you are pushing a far larger percentage of your body weight–all of it.

BALANCE: One of the most overlooked benefits of handstand push-ups is the balance developed from performing them. While performing handstand push-ups with your feet against a wall will not provide as much benefit to your balance as performing them free-standing, there is still an incredible demand on the proprioceptive function of the nervous system that provides balance.

(pro·pri·o·cep·tor:  A sensory receptor, found chiefly in muscles, tendons, joints, and the inner ear, that detects the motion or position of the body or a limb by responding to stimuli arising within the organism)

CORE CONDITIONING: The core strength developed by performing wall-supported and then free-standing handstand push-ups however, far exceeds that of any of the current devices beloved of personal trainers. The core strength resulting from handstand push-ups exceeds that of almost any physical activity or sport an athlete can participate in. This provides a margin of excess core strength that can serve to protect the athlete from injury resulting from the stresses of sport.

NOTE:-Please if you are going to add the hand stand push up to your training, make sure you learn the proper form and technique and use gradual progression.