I'm LOVING the fact that I get to coach the morning classes a couple times a week! Not that Josh and Bill weren't doing a good job, but I just feel like you guys were missing some silliness and dance party warm-ups.

The workout yesterday was

10:00 AMRAP
10 toes to bar
10 burpees

Man oh man, I don't think I've ever seen so many conflicted faces. On the one hand, burpees are hard. On the other hand, the toes to bar got even HARDER. So while you wanted to work fast and get the T2B over with, that only meant that you had some burpees waiting for you. Oof. Tough choices. It's like having to choose between burning the roof of your mouth on pizza, or getting poked in the eye with a fork. (that's an old Coach Rip quote....man I love that guy)

I am super excited for the January ramp-up-ers that are finishing up! We have a big 9 person ramp-up and they're all really fun people. I mean...they laugh at all my jokes and everything! Those ramp-up-ers will be finishing up in the next day or two, so look for some new faces around the Fort!

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Not that the rest of the WOD yesterday wasn't HARD....but the double unders were the part that really mattered. Your score was the total number of burpees you managed to get:

5 rounds for max double unders
With 1:30 on the clock
20 KB swings (24/16kg)
max double unders
3:00 rest

Can't do double unders? No worries. You could substitute single unders. It was funny to watch people's reactions to the GYG scores. I heard at least 4 people say, "Wow, Bob got 307!?" Why yes....yes he did. You guys might not know this, but Bob is a phenomenal jump roper! I think he mentioned something about training with Muhammad Ali in a past life or something...

In case you're wondering, the handsome fella in today's picture is Paul. He started with us about a month ago and he's already down 15lbs! I just had to give you some props Paul, because you're doing GREAT! Always smiling, always trying super hard, and always HATING burpees.

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Nicole forwarded me a quote the other day and it has really stuck with me. You can read it in the image attached to this post. (this is the part where you read it.Good. Now read it again, but slower)

I don't think this has ever been more true than right now in my life. The Fort has really become a big happy family and I am so grateful for you guys.

We share each other's lives both in and outside of the Fort and that speaks volumes about what we do on a daily basis. I would be lying if I said the Fort was just about a good WOD or moving heavy weights. The Fort is about the Fort Family and that's what makes it the best place on Earth.

We celebrate birthdays, help each other move, welcome new babies, and bring meals to each other when we are in need. We dance at each other's weddings, watch each other's kids blow out their birthday candles, and even help plan big top secret Christmas surprises.

I have never experienced anything like the Fort Family. You are not my blood but I would do anything to see you smile.

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Let's be honest. This recipe isn't all that complicated, but it's DELICIOUS. I like to enjoy this recipe with 1/2 of a baked potato with mountains of butter, salt and pepper. The blue cheese comes across nicely with the avocado and bacon, but if you're not a blue cheese fan then you might want to substitute a fine parmesan instead.

Ingredients
8 oz 80/20 ground beef
1 slice (17g) of danish blue cheese
2 slices bacon
1 oz onion
1 oz avocado
1 large lettuce leaf

Directions
Fry bacon slices. Crumble, divide into thirds, and set aside, but leave warm bacon grease in pan.

Form two 4oz patties with ground beef. Place the slice of blue cheese and 1/3 of the crumbled bacon in between the two hamburger patties. Pinch the edges together to seal in the cheese and bacon. Season the outside with salt and pepper.

Grill over high heat for 3 or 4 minutes per side, flipping once. While burger is cooking, saute onions in reserved bacon grease. Remove burger from grill and place on large lettuce leaf. Top with sauted onions, sliced avocado, and crumbled bacon.

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I owe a few of our Team Saturday champs a big apology. The black hole that is my to-do list keeps sucking my time and the Team Saturday blog post has been neglected. Not, puppy in a crate 22 hours a day with no water neglected...but it needs a little love.

THEREFORE. I hereby declare that this blog post is dedicated to our amazing Team Saturday champions of the last few weeks!

We have Ryan the Lion and Mark with their stunning New Year's Eve victory! They powered their way to victory in an AMrAP WOD of wall ball shots, kettlebell swings and HEAVY push presses. Well...heavy to us mere mortals.

AND THEN we have Sammi and Pete. They won Team Saturday way, way, way back in December too. Their victory came on a day with single arm kettlebell snatches, lateral hops and knees to elbows. One partner was holding a plate over their head while the other was working. And if you know anything about Pete and Sammi, you'll know that they can hold a plate over their heads for a long time. (Ok, I don't even know what that means)

Moving on to more recent champs, we have yesterday's winning team and the second place team that finished a mere 6 reps behind them - Josh and Neil (701) & RTL and Nick (695). I'm not really sure why Neil looks so unhappy....maybe it's because he's finally back to reality after his long vacation. We missed you Neil! This quartet of stud muffins battled for the belt yesterday in the pull-up, box jump, push press WOD. Great job you guys!

There is one more Team Saturday winning team that is still missing. I believe Sammi was on the winning team again last week, but I can't seem to find the picture! Don't worry though guys....as soon as I track it down I'll add it to the post.

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Every now and then a workout comes along that sets the new standard for "whiteboard groans". "Whiteboard groans" are the noise people make when they first glance at the board and see what the workout is. Usually named WODs have been the groan-getters, but yesterday was record setting!

100 kettlebell swings
80 wall ball shots
60 knees to elbows

Yep. One round of ALL THAT. Now before you get nervous, there are always scaling options at the Fort. As your coaches, it is our responsibility to ensure that you are taking on a work load that is appropriate for your current abilities. Scaling isn't "cheating" or "wimping out". It's simply adjusting the workout so that it is accessible to everyone, regardless of their athletic ability. Cuz let's be honest....My Mom probably shouldn't be doing the same number of kettlebell swings or wall ball shots as Pete. Even at a VERY light weight, this is going to be too many reps for someone like her and it opens a huge doorway to injury. Rhabdo is a scary and life threatening injury that can result from taking on too much work load too soon. Be smart. Scale smart. Live long and WOD!

(steps off soap box)

We are getting ready to place the order for the ladies Lululemon hoodies. If you have not already done so, please bring either $90 cash, or a check made out to cash to the Fort. We'll order these little beauties as soon as we have everyone's moola.

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Boy, if you thought clapping push-ups were hard, you should have been at the Fort yesterday! Our workout included "dynamic push-ups". You had the choice of either slapping your chest, clapping your hands, or driving up so your hands pop off the floor.

We had a bunch of people attempt these amazing push-ups. George got so high off the ground that he even got one FOOT off the floor. Drew did a great job with these too...which is totally shocking since he sucks at push-ups. (Ok, he's amazing!!!)

The workout was a 10:00 amrap of:
10 pull-ups
15 dynamic push-ups
20 anchored sit-ups

Kat did a great job with this workout. She's fresh out of ramp-up and she can already do unassisted pull-ups! Atta girl!

In case you missed it, there are a few upcoming events on the whiteboard. The first is our 3rd round of group karaoke at the Last Chance Saloon. Karaoke will be at 9PM this Saturday the 14th. There is also a sign up sheet for the snowshoeing outing. And since there is finally some of the fluffy white stuff on the ground, you should all be in the mood!

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