We live in such a small world, don't we? Last night we had two visitors at the Fort, and would you believe I went to grade school with one of them? Season and Bethany joined us last night as we did 3 rounds for time of: 50 walking lunges holding something heavy above your head and 50 situps. They both did a great job!

Now that the weather is getting a little...um....less awesome, try and come prepared to be outside. There's a good chance that we'll be inside, but just as a precaution, bring something warm in case you have to play outside. We did our walking lunges outside last night because Scott was installing our new rings. I'm sure all of you would rather be cold than to have a tool dropped on your head. A special thanks goes out to Scott for being our "big ladder hero" and getting the new rings hung!

PLEASE NOTE that this Saturday morning's class will be rescheduled to 7:00AM. We have the gymnastics certification, and we have to make sure we get everything cleaned up before 9:00AM.

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WE DID IT! We climbed 103 flights of stairs all the way to the top of the Sear's Tower! Marty was there to set the pace, and time our breaks, and Zach was there to keep all of us laughing. I think I can speak for everyone when I say we had a blast! We got our numbers mixed up, so I climbed wearing Kim's bib number...but other than that I think we had everything right. About 63 flights into the climb I was feeling dizzy, and was hoping that 1/2 the stairs were "right turn" and half were "left turn". Much to my amazement, we reversed direction to even things out.

I couldn't be prouder (is that a word?) of you guys! It was a tough climb, but everyone motivated each other and kept going all the way to the top. I really mean it when I say that we have the BEST group of CrossFitters at our gym! We are thinking about organizing another stair climb - this time to the top of the Aon center. Anyone interested?

Zach and I attempted to do a handstand pyramid, but as you can see, I fell right into him. We definitely need to work on that a little more at the Fort.
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Have you ever looked outside at the weather and thought to yourself, "self....the weather is way too crappy to go for a run. Let's stay inside where it's warm and dry." Ever thought that? If you have, my guess is that the weather was probably similar to Saturday morning. It was about 40ish degrees, windy and raining. We're like the post office though. Rain, sleet, snow....whatever the weather we're taking care of business! We did 5 rounds for time of: run 400 meters, 35 push presses. (35kg/20kg) With the stair climb less than 24 hours away, we didn't want to exhaust our legs too much. Instead we punished our shoulders a little bit. Fortunately, everyone was coordinated enough to get their chin out of the way of the bar....except for me. I thought I'd slam the 20kg bar into my chin at full force just to show all of you what happens if you don't get your head out of the way. Yep...I love you guys that much.

Leslie tried handstand pushups for the first time and did GREAT! She was a little scared to kick up at first, but she quickly mastered kicking up and hollowing out her upper body. We're proud of you Leslie! Thanks to Sparky for coming to workout even though you weren't feeling well. We'll let you use that as your excuse for getting beat by Brittany....again.

I went to a "surprise party" last night. Ahem. I hope you all know what I'm talking about. I giggled for about 3 hours straight. It was a blast! I met a lot of great ladies, and I sincerely apologize to Alicca for spamming her party with my CrossFit flyers. I'm hoping I'll see a few of you soon for your free week! (Chery....Jennifer.....Noreen...) CrossFit has changed my life and I know it can change yours too!

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Team Friday! Hooray! The workout last night was in teams of two, each partner does 100 pull ups. Only one partner can be doing pull ups at a time. As soon as you get off the bar, you have to do 10 push ups, and 20 kettlebell swings before you can get back on the bar. The workout was scaled back to each team's skill level....so don't be scared by the 100 pull ups. Barbie and Janet were our winners! HOORAY! Another girl power team!

We had an unfortunate mishap with our pullup bar last night. One end of it is not secured to a flange, but rather is held down by a steel "U". This allowed the bar to flex juuust enough so that it created a weak point. During the workout, an entire section of the pullup bar broke! It snapped the metal bar right off at the threading. Hmm...this won't do! We'll be contacting some steel and welding companies to see if they can design something a little sturdier for us. Sorry!

The camera was not at the fort last night, so unfortunately I do not have a picture of our champions. I do, however, have a picture of people flipping heavy stuff....because remember everyone...you can't get sexy just by flipping pancakes!

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So we're all sore. That's just the facts after the last few days. Can you guess the one thing that you would dread seeing on the whiteboard as the workout? What could possibly be written on there that would make EVERY SINGLE PERSON who came last night groan and shake their heads? 150 burpees for time. That's right people....it's the unthinkable, but it happened. Bill decided we should do 150 burpees for time. I have officially given him the title of "CrossFit mad scientist", so I don't question what he puts on the whiteboard.

I've been trying to go 21 days in a row without complaining, and I wear a little purple bracelet as my reminder. If I complain, I switch the bracelet to the other hand. Would you believe that I was in the process of removing the bracelet so it wouldn't get in my way during my burpees, and it BROKE!? It's too ironic for words.

We are organizing carpooling for the Sear's Tower climb on Sunday. Our team is one of the first to climb, so we have to be downtown by 6:30AM. YEAH! If you didn't sign up for the climb, but would still like to come with, please just let us know. We'll be going out for a team breakfast once the climb is over, anyone is welcome to join us.

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If I had to guess, I'd guess that this week is a test to see how sore we can all get. I'm sure all of you are feeling the same all over awesomeness that I'm feeling. Ugh. One of my goals for this year is to get a Masseuse Crossfitter to join our gym. This would, of course, be in the best interest of the masseuse. Imagine how much business we could drive their way, especially after a week like this.

The workout last night was 5 rounds for time of 15 deadlifts, 12 hang power cleans, 9 front squats and 6 push jerks. For those of you who were here for the "get a grip" team Friday event, this workout was an all too familiar horror. Everyone did a great job though. There were 12 people at our 6pm class, so we had to get creative with the equipment sharing, but we made it through! We had a visit from our buddy Pete again, and he amazed us with his strength. He was our only CrossFitter to go through this workout at the prescribed weight of 60kg! Nice work Pete. How's your grip feeling today?

Mariah had me laughing again last night. With 12 people putting forth maximum effort, the Fort got a little warm. Remember how warm it was outside? I'm walking by people lifting, squatting and jerking watching the sweat just pour off them...and Mariah looks over at me very timidly and says, "It's kinda hot in here". It never once dawned on me to open the door. Sorry guys!

I would like to welcome our two new members, Nathan and Megan. They are our third married couple to join together. You guys are too cute! Nathan is Brittany's brother, and so far it looks like he has her same level of determination to do well! Megan is quite possibly one of the sweetest people I have ever met! We are all so glad to have you at CrossFit Fire! WELCOME!

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Last night we had a two part workout. First, we got everyone good and jello-legged by doing 3:00 of squats. (as many reps as possible) Then we did 3 rounds for time of 15 ring dips, 20 sumo deadlift high pulls and 25 kettlebell swings. I had to laugh a little when Mariah called them "kettleballs"...it was kind of an inside joke with me and Mark.

The workout was fantastic, and it was made even better by the fact that it is still hanging out around 70 degrees. Granted, it's pitch black by 5:30pm, but hey....whaddyagonnado?

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