Round 1 15 Toes to bar 12 Cleans 135#(95#) Round 2 15 Toes to bar 10 Cleans 155#(105#) Round 3 15 Toes to bar 8 Cleans 185#(125#) Round 4 15 Toes to bar 6 Cleans 205#(135#) Round 5 15 Toes to bar 4 Cleans 225#(155#)
This week on our Athlete Highlight we are featuring Brandon Gouker, one of our most faithful afternoon class attendees – please read up about your fellow exerciser!
Hometown Aurora, CO
Age 35
Occupation Commercial Real Estate Broker
What do you like to do in your free time? Spend time outdoors with my wife and our kids. Cook, golf, bike and snowboard.
How long have you been a member at CrossFit Verve? A little over a year.
What is your background in sports and fitness? Played football and wrestled in high school, wrestled for two years at a Junior College in Iowa.
What changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CrossFit? Overall I just feel much healthier and more energetic. I’ve lost 25 lbs. (with the help of The Paul Buono nutrition program) and am stronger than I’ve been in years.
Has CrossFit influenced your life outside of the gym? If so, how? Definitely. I find myself trying to make better “lifestyle” choices so that I can perform up to my full potential in the gym.
What’s your favorite benchmark workout? I had to look this up and I’m glad I did because I was going to say Murph. Isabel looks fun. That being said, I really like workouts with a run or row component that are super long and vomit inducing.
Any advise for someone just starting? Be patient, be consistent, push yourself but work within your constraints, don’t worry about how much weight everyone else has on the bar. Just do you, scale appropriately and eventually you’ll be where you want to be. Oh, and take guidance and suggestions from the coaches, they know more about this shit than you do.
All smiles for these boys at the Turkey Challenge.
The ability to adapt and make positive gains in your fitness is entirely congruent with your ability to recover from stressors. When we introduce the stress of working out, the body goes into a state of excitement to accommodate the stress. Systems in the body compensate and need time to return to normality and homeostasis. Allowing proper time to recover and applying the right amount of stress is an art that, when optimized, can give you the greatest return on the work you put in the gym.
Hormonal levels are essential for providing good results in the gym. We can manipulate them with the right levels of stress in exercise. For instance, after a heavy weight-training session, there will be a drastic drop in growth hormone and testosterone. The degree of the drop is equivalent to the load and intensity of the session. Likewise, there will be a huge rebound of these levels hours later, followed by a leveling off before the next session … hopefully. But, if not enough time to recover hormonal levels between sessions is allowed, athletes can end up in a constantly depleted state of anabolic (muscle-building) hormones, leading to such disorders as adrenal fatigue and overtraining. Here are some tips to maximize recovery:
Keep sessions short and intense Try to limit sessions to 45 minutes of hard work. Train hard and train fast. After 45 minutes the central nervous system is fried. Any high weight or skillful lifting movements will be greatly diminished. Also keeping sessions short and intense provide a large hormonal response.
Restore your fuelMake sure to feed the machine. Strength athletes should try to get roughly 1 gram of protein for every pound of bodyweight to maintain and build lean muscle mass. Your muscles are composed of almost 70 percent H2O. WATER IS THE GREATEST ANABOLIC!!Being dehydrated is catabolic. Make sure to always drink water before and after training sessions. Glycogen stores fuel metabolic activities like most CrossFit conditioning workouts and long strength-training sessions. Consume good fats and clean carbohydrates to fuel these activities.
Sleep is where you grow! Get enough sleep. That means eight to 10 hours straight. Sleep is when the body truly heals and recovers. Extra points for an afternoon one-hour power nap! Use supplements like melatonin to get deep restorative sleep.
So those are the major ones. Literally eat, sleep and train! If you can nail down the big stuff, you should have everything starting to move in the right direction, and you can refine the details from there.
A few of the many fine products made by Masterpiece Doodle
Verve’s own Edie Frylings will be at Verve today with a display of her many fine products created under her professional title, Masterpiece Doodle. She specializes in ceramics but she has been known to dabble in the painting world, bringing artistic immortality to your four legged furry friends.
Masterpiece Doodle will be at Verve from 9am-11am. There will be a variety of items ranging in price from $10-$125. Christmas is just around the corner, and if there is a Star Trek fan in the family. . . you will need to check her stuff out!!
Here are a few links for additional samplings of her work:
New member Leah getting some high reps on the power cleans!
We hope you had a great Thanksgiving!!! We only have 2 classes plus open gym today to get your post-Turkey Day calorie burn in, 9am – 10am Class / 10am – 11:30am Open Gym / 11:30am – 12:30pm Class.
VERVE UPDATES
Edie with Masterpiece Doodle will be here Saturday showing/selling her amazing crafts! If you have a chance, check them out because the Holidays are right around the corner. You can preview some of the items she will have on her website Masterpiece Doodle.
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Aaron N. Holleyman, 27, of Glasgow, Montana, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was killed on August 30, 2004, when his military vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Khutayiah, Iraq. He is survived by his daughters Shelby and Erin, son Zachary, parents Ross and Glenda, and siblings Kelly and Daniel.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
As it is my annual opportunity to say what I am thankful for, I will do so. I am very thankful to have the opportunity to work with an amazing group of people.The trainers and interns at Verve are some of the best people I know. They are thoughtful, they are generous with their time and energy towards others, they care about being good at what they do and constantly work hard at their jobs, they are funny, and they are humble. I sent an email out to these amazing people with one simple question, what are you thankful for?
“I’m thankful for being surrounded by incredible and inspiring people every day, and for the ability to move and be active.
My mom doesn’t have the best mobility (damn you, MS), so I never take for granted what I am capable of doing with my body… even if it includes some weak as hell toes-to-bar. ;)”
-Jen Kates
“I am thankful for amazing friends and family and especIally Jon!!”
-Patrick McGinty
“I’m thankful for an amazing husband who works extremely hard so that I can pursue my dream job.”
-Melissa Liskowski
“I have to say I’m thankful for Frank… A little gay love thrown your way! He is super patient with my obsessive need to work out, and socialize with everyone at the gym. Most of the time a 1 hour wod turns into 2 hours. Also when I leave lights on, cabinets open, and an unmade bed… he only dreams about strangling me… but has yet to follow through with it!”
-Mick Lewis
“Pete making it one more year, although the laziness factor is increasing he can still turn it on when he needs to.
Brady playing like he’s 29 instead of 39.
The Afraimi’s for thinking they hand out championships in November
The entire Verve community.
Courtney. We made it another year without killing each other.”
-Eric Clancy
“Beyond the usual family, friends, awesome gym, and a wife who puts up with my sh*t, I’m thankful for caffeine and the Creighton Bluejays appearing to not suck this year.”
-Garret Mueller
“I’m thankful for my health, my friends and family and most of all to be surrounded by a group of individuals that support whatever I choose to do – no matter how crazy it may sound. I’m also thankful for Gaby Gallou. “
-Paul Buono
“Hmmm… that’s a tough one. I’m thankful for so many things. I guess the short version would be: my friends, my family, my mentors, my health but most of all, my wife. She is my rock. The only person I know that is strong enough to withstand my ego, my temper tantrums and my stubbornness. She is my moral compass and I’m definitely a better person because of her.
OH! and joggers. So comfortable. I’d wear them everyday, everywhere if I could.”
-Stan Sloan
“I am thankful for many things and people in my life. Starting my day with a warm cup of coffee and a splash of cream is a good start. I am thankful for all my caring and fierce friends and family, all the things that worked when they were suppose to, laughing because without laughter, the world would be a sad place. Time- something we shouldn’t take for granted. Sunshine, the sun’s warmth can brighten any day unless you are Clancy. Learning from mistakes. If we never made mistakes, we wouldn’t learn much so it is one of those things we should be thankful for. Love-life would be a different place if we lacked the ability to love. Pain- even though something you wish you could live without, but without pain, it would be difficult to appreciate life’s joys. Tears-sometimes when there are no words to say, tears can express them and sometimes a good cry can feel so good. Children- Watching my three year old daughter laugh, grow, and dream keeps things in perspective and has brought so much joy to my life. Challenges-without challenges in life, I wouldn’t be the person I am now. The list could go on and I don’t want to sound cliché, but of course I am thankful for the Verve community. I have met amazing people since joining in 2012 who have been there for me through the good and bad. My sincere thanks and gratitude.”
-Nicole Hall
“I am thankful for all the great opportunities I have in life. Whether I take advantage of them or not I am grateful to have the options I do. I am thankful for the verve family and the safe space the gym provides; I feel lucky to be apart of the intern program. I am of course thankful for my family and all of the love and support they provide, no matter how difficult I am.”
-Jason Allison
“For my body, which takes all the bullshit I throw at it and continues to show up anyways. For Huckleberry, who just makes life better. And for this crazy, challenging, and gorgeous life.”
-Maddie Berky
“Crossfit related I am thankful for new Verve friends and the opportunity to learn from the best.
Personally I am thankful for my parents, my healthy family and the freedom that allows us to do the little things that we take for granted everyday.”
-Leslie Smith
“This year I am thankful for having the ability and opportunity to make work/life changes with the support of family & friends. And always, I am thankful for my main man, Ute. “
-Connie Luu
“1) I’m thankful that they only took the bottom half of my sweats. They could have taken the entire pair! 2) To be apart of this gracious Crossfit Verve Community.”
-Jay Cain
“Wine. I’m sincerely grateful and appreciate this life saving beverage. Whoever thought of fermenting delicious grapes, and adding in glorious flavor combinations, I applaud you. In all seriousness, I’m thankful for my immediate family. Regardless of the struggles we have been handed (which can be an understatement), we are still strong, and extremely close. I’m thankful for all the first responders out there sacrificing their family time to keep us safe. And I’m thankful for everyday blessings- my friends with caring hearts, my pets that give endless love, and a job that I enjoy spending time at 🙂 Sometimes these things can be taken for granted, however, I genuinely appreciate what life has given me.”
-Danni Brooks
“I am thankful for this beautiful life and that I get the opportunity everyday to start over. And I am most thankful for all the wonderful people that have come in and out of my life. So many experiences…so many laughs…and all that is more than enough reason to continue being thankful. “
-Ali Nichols
*And now I ask you, the fine members of Verve, what are you thankful for this year? We would love to hear it. Please share with us in the comments. We at Verve want to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving, may it be spent with those you care about, may it be filled with great food and more than a few laughs. For those working during the holiday and unable to spend time with your family, thank you for keeping a watchful eye over the rest of us.
Athlete Highlight of the week – the man, the myth, the legend – Adam Rozier…with his beautiful wife Stephanie Missey.
Hometown? Jefferson City, Missouri
Age? 37
Occupation? Currently in between jobs, I’d love to talk to anyone willing to help out.
What do you like to do in your free time? Mostly get in the mountains and do everything involving the outdoors. I grew up in the middle of Missouri and was always running around in the woods, hanging out on friends farms or going to the Lake of the Ozarks. I was never inside. When I was young I was lucky enough to go on a family trip to Durango, which is where I first fell in love with the mountains. I’m not sure how many years after that trip I ended up going on a ski trip to Keystone and knew this is where I wanted to be. I moved to Vail after college and stayed for about a decade before moving down to the city. I still try to ski every once in a while, but mainly focus all my free time and energy on mountain biking, fishing, and hunting during the fall.
How long have you been a member at CrossFit Verve? A little over 3 years
What is your background in sports and fitness? I grew up playing soccer and baseball.
What changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CrossFit? Physically I have definitely gotten leaner and more muscular. I also have noticed a big difference in strength and endurance with everything I do outside of the gym.
Has CrossFit influenced your life outside of the gym? If so how? I’ve always been a tall skinny guy that wanted to be bigger. Since starting at Verve I’ve put wanting to gain weight behind me and focused on all around health so I can continue to do the things I love outside of the gym. I’ve also learned how much diet affects how I feel on a day to day basis. My whole purpose for going to workout consistently is so that I can enjoy doing the things I love in the mountains.
Whats favorite benchmark work out? I’m not too good with workout names. I really like the long chipper style workouts.
Any advice for someone just starting? Listen to the coaching, they are there to help. Also, try to keep your goals in mind when you walk in the door.
Congrats to team The Lazy Has Beens on finishing on the podium for a second year in a row. They finished 3rd place in the Open Team division.
Just a nice little article from BoxMagazine.com to make sure you are enjoying your exercise…
Several years ago, I watched a day-in-the-life video profiling Rich Froning Jr. in his last year as an individual competitor at the CrossFit Games. Expecting to see him at a box, in the Box, I was surprised to see footage of him playing in an indoor floor hockey league, riding dirt bikes, playing football and shooting guns on his property. He made an interesting argument: If you work hard to get all this fitness, what’s the point if you don’t go out and use it and have fun?
Having fun with your training sessions doesn’t have to be elaborate. A month ago, our owner and head coach went on a honeymoon, leaving the rest of us coaches to run classes in his absence. During the week, the daily dynamic warm-ups became contests that included indoor soccer games, the waiter game (members carry an AbMat around in one hand while the others try to run up and knock it off while not dropping theirs), and even AbMat musical chairs that featured bear crawls.
Recently, we took our fitness to a local pumpkin patch and warmed up with a run through a cornfield maze and put on a WOD that showcased some Halloween-themed cardio, lifting and gymnastics movements. We’ve also had workouts with Halloween costumes and Christmas themes during those respective times of the year.
Even something as simple as moving your workout to the parking lot on a day with nice weather is a fun way to transform a grueling WOD into a more enjoyable experience.
Outside the box, there is no shortage of local leagues members can test their fitness with. Our gym has put together slow-pitch softball, indoor soccer and men’s basketball teams over the past seven years. We have hosted demo workouts at a local park, raced 5Ks, participated in charitable stair-climb races, joined a team marathon row for Special Olympics and even hosted strongman workouts in our parking lot.
Froning, as usual, is right. If you’re going to work hard and get fit, why not get out and enjoy it?
*For those registered for the Battle Series, this workout is the second part to yesterday’s WOD. You need a score for both workouts.
It’s Turkey Challenge time!! Here’s a little look back to the crew in 2015.
The 2016 Turkey Challenge is this weekend!! The event is taking place at Unser Karting and Events Center in Denver. Verve has 4 teams and 4 individual athletes competing. The Turkey Challenge has become quite the large event over the years with hundreds of athletes and even more spectators. Besides being present to cheer for the 20+ Verve athletes participating, spectators will have a whole vendor village to explore with dozens of vendors and tons of cool products. There will also be several food trucks to choose from when your belly starts to rumble. So get your own workout on for the day and then take the drive North to cheer on some folks.
Where: Unser Karting and Events 7300 Broadway Denver, CO 80205
Verve teams: Lazy Has Beens The Cain Train 4 Double D’s and two 3″ P’s CrossFit Verve It’s a Mystery
Verve Individuals: Mick Lewis Anna Dolezal Jen Kates Courtney Shepherd
Today we do a workout named “Brittany”…….. – Anna Mattson
Today is a we are doing a workout named Brittany, named after Brittany Gill, half of the duo who started the Everyday Warrior foundation. We want to make sure you know a little about the person we are pushing ourselves for today. The following was taken from the Everyday Warrior website.
Brittany chronicled much her journey via a blog that I HIGHLY encourage you to take a moment to read. You can see her blog, MORE THAN HOPE, here. Brittany’s blog is beautiful, eloquent, and honest.
VERVE UPDATES
We will be doing Part 2 of this workout tomorrow
If you have time, please feel free to stop by the Turkey Challenge Saturday and Sunday to cheer on some Verve peeps
You will notice a few changes to the schedule and programming over the next several weeks:
1) We often have workouts that can be done in under 10 minutes. We want to take advantage of these days and begin incorporating more skill work. Too often we don’t get a lot of time to really work on a skill like muscle-ups on the day muscle-ups happen to be in the workout, especially if that workout is a longer one. So we will be adding into our programming skill work, either before or after these shorter workouts.Today’s programming is our intro example of this new programming addition. We can spend a good amount of time practicing a skill (one that really only gets better with practice) at no detriment to the WOD. So that you know what skills we will work on, they will be included in the blog post, just below the workout as the “Pre-WOD skill work”.
2) Speaking of skill work. . . well some skills just take time, their own time, not to be shared with other movements in a workout. So we will be throwing in dedicated times for skill work throughout the schedule. These times will be led by a trainer and will not include a workout. These classes will be between 30-45 minutes. Examples of these classes are: muscle-ups (ring and bar), pull-ups, accessory work (posterior chain, midline, shoulders), handstand push-ups, handstand walking, prehab/ rehab of shoulders/ hips. Our goal will be to have these classes listed at different times and different days in an attempt to reach out to everyone. We simply ask that you sign up for these classes when we list them in MBO. Got a skill that you specifically want to see? List it in the comments.
Our goal in adding these two things into programming and the schedule is to provide everyone an opportunity to have more time to work on skills that can tend to take us a long time to master. We want to introduce you to progressions, modifications, and accessory work that will help you reach some of your CrossFit goals.
We have others fun stuff on the horizon as well, including a monthly fitness challenge. We will post a fitness related challenge, for example 100 burpees for time. During the month of the challenge anyone can do the challenge and we will have a place for you to post your time. You can take on the challenge as many times as you want, updating your time on the board. At then end of the month, the male and female with the fastest time for the challenge will win a prize. These challenges will be created for anyone and everyone to participate. Crap talking will obviously be encouraged. 🙂
So stay tuned to the blog post and the schedule. If you have not already, be sure to follow Verve on Instagram and like our page on Facebook. Verve also has the Verve Social Group on Facebook. All of these are places we share the happenings at Verve. . . keep in the loop or miss out on the fun.
