Our favorite photos from the CrossFit Open 2022!
Krysten– Tearing both her hands during the C2B’s, she kept going and even attempted some bar muscle ups!
Ashley P.– She’s never done a pull up in a workout before, and chose to do the workout Rx! And 9 months post-baby, she did all 30 T2B and then attempted C2B’s! Even though she didn’t get one, she was successful at getting 7 regular pull ups!
Daryl- Daryl did the workout Rx – and that is a huge deal! He worked his butt off the entire time!
Aimee– Aimee completed all 3 workouts at home! She’s been doing at-home workouts for a year now and has made some amazing improvements!
Carmen– After getting her first C2B in a workout, Carmen stuck with it and got all 30 reps!
Amy– Going into the workout, Amy wanted a T2B personal record, and she crushed it! She even powered through her C2B pull ups!
Angel – Angel had one of “those” weeks but she came in and gave 100% effort during her workout, finished under the time cap, and it was inspiring!
Faith -With her kids and family by her side, mama-to-be Faith absolutely crushed 21.2! Love to see the determination and grit from the KCI mamas!
Paul – After getting a great score scaled, Paul mustered up the courage to perform the workout a second time-this time RX! We all know what it’s like to enter that pain cave and Paul did it not once, but TWICE!
Pat – Pat wants to do the right thing always. Before the workout, Pat asked how he could help his team out the most – and the answer was to do the workout Rx – well he surprised himself with how much he could accomplish and was beaming with excitement!
Lindsey – Lindsey needed a push to be convinced she could do the RX version of 21.2 and it wasn’t easy for her. She trusted her coaches, her body, and pushed herself for the betterment of the team!
Tami – Tami helped judge and count reps at the 5:15am class and during FNL – and then she did the workout on Sunday to do the workout solo! Sacrificing for her team and inspiring others!
Micah – Trusting your coach can be unnerving, especially when the coach asks you to do something you’ve never done before. Micah trusted her coach and completed the workout after never before doing a DB snatch with 20#, and she completed 150 of them in the workout! Truly the Spirit of the Open!
Barb – Barb represents so many positive qualities of the Spirit of the Open: hard-working, positive, coachable and gracious. We are thrilled she decided to compete in her first-ever CrossFit Open and even more proud she FINISHED the scaled version of 21.2!
Stephanie – during one of her first wall walk attempts, Stephanie fell flat on her face, brushed it off and kept going!
Tyler – not only did Tyler do this workout solo in his garage – but it was his first CrossFit workout in an entire year!
Ally – Pretty new to CrossFit, and not a skilled jumper, Ally had to be convinced by her coach to do the workout Rx and attempt double unders. Not only did she get her 1st DU, she got 50 of them in the workout!
Erik – Erik came in for class after working a 12 hour shift, tired as you can imagine. Well, he was the last person and completed the workout solo in his own heat. Not only that, but he got a PR on his DU’s!
Bridget – Bridget also came to the gym after a 12 hour shift, and convinced one of her teammates to come to class with her, dressed completely in theme! She also got a PR on her DU’s!
Here you’ll find the leaderboard, Spirit of the Open nominees and winners, and the Spirit of the Open nomination form!
If you’ve ever had a child or other loved one in the hospital, you understand the emotions and challenges that occur while that loved one is in the hospital. “Normal” life is interrupted and hospital time is often gloomy and lacks joy. We have the opportunity to step in and offer joy, laughter, fun and simply happiness by assembling “Happy Kits” for Children’s Mercy hospitals.
The Happy Kits are used to help patients, families, and caregivers occupy time during their visit. This simple gesture will make someone else smile!!
There are a couple ways you can participate in this project!
Here’s how we’ll do it at KCI:
Between now and February 12th, we’re going to collect items for the “Teen and Caregiver” Happy Kits and “Greeting Card” Happy Kits. Once you bring an item in, let us know on the sign up sheet. All collected items will be assembled (by us) Saturday, February 12th after the 9am class. If you are not available at that time, but would like to participate at home, that’s fine too.
Check out the supply lists below, head to the store, then drop those items off during your next workout at KCI All collected items will be assembled (by us) Saturday, February 12th after the 9am CrossFit class! This is a family-friendly outreach project and we are encouraging the whole community to participate!
Teen and Caregiver Supply List (Ages 13 & Up)
Greeting Card Happy Kits Supply List
These Happy Kits are filled with supplies to help our patients make their own cards for others, i.e. parents, siblings, or nurses.
If you have any questions, let us know! You can also learn more about the Happy Kits HERE
Cheers to a Happy Holiday Season 2021! Here are 5 go-to workouts while you are travelling or too busy to make it to the gym!
WOD #1
AMRAP 21
-800m Run
-60 Air Squats
-40 Hollow Rocks
WOD #2
20 rounds for time:
5 push ups
7 sit ups
10 squats
WOD #3
Every 6:00 for 3 sets
-600m Run
-1:00 MAX effort KB swings or Jumping Air Squats
-30 Sit ups
WOD #4
3 rounds for time :
20 burpees
40 air squats
60 jumping jacks
WOD #5
Every 3:00 for 30:00
-200m Run
-10 Hand Release Push Ups
-10 Sit Ups
We ask our bodies to perform many tasks throughout the day, and our nutrition plan is meant to fuel those activities so that we can do them well. Different foods fuel our body differently and impact our performance. We need to know the difference between high and low quality fuel. Changing the perspective that food is working FOR us instead of “I work out FOR FOOD” gives freedom to anyone who adapts this mentality. We’ll never “out-exercise” a poorly fueled diet.
We have to look at our choices and ask ourselves, “Can I sustain this behavior or eating habit every day for the next month/quarter/year/etc?” Diets aren’t part of the solution. The solution is to build positive habits around nutrition and healthy decisions. CrossFit’s vision of “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar” and “keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat” is a guiding vision we share, but what we really focus on is the habits that support a sustainable lifestyle that is fueled by the right foods.
Where does this get us? What is the next step you need to take? Well, that’s a discussion you probably need to have with a coach since we’re all in different phases of our nutrition journey. But here’s an analogy that might help you figure out what to do next.
We’re all familiar with a CrossFit class. We talk about the workout at the Whiteboard, then we Warm Up. After that, we spend time Teaching and Practicing exercises. After that, we do the Workout. And we wrap up class with a Cool Down & Reflection. Let’s use that same framework, just now for our Nutrition.
Whiteboard: This is when we begin to learn what to expect. It’s also the best time to ask questions. What goals for my nutrition do I have? How am I feeling? What are my expectations? What challenges do I face? Who can help or support me with these?
Warm Up: What do I need to get ready? What data do I need to know? I can’t just jump into the “workout.” Am I doing a Daily Food Log or weighing and/or measuring food? How many calories should I be consuming? What does the macronutrient composition look like? Measuring the data is imperative to know what’s working and what isn’t.
Teaching/Practice: What’s the most important thing to improve or change? How will I implement a sustainable change? What do I need to learn about my current habits or beliefs surrounding food? Do I need to educate myself further? Before making a change in an eating habit (the workout) it’s important to understand what I’m capable of doing and where my weaknesses are.
Workout: Action! Take what I have learned and apply it – usually for a minimum of four weeks. Doing so will help establish measurable, observable, repeatable data on the input (food) and output (performance). During those 4 weeks, there will be ups and downs, challenges and victories!
Reflection/Cool Down: Once I’ve made a change, there will be new adjustments to the prescription to achieve better levels of health and fitness. These evaluations and potential changes will be ongoing throughout life. It’s time to recover and get ready for the next workout, starting at the Whiteboard again!
Culture Month – Week 1 – Community
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What do these three things mean in relation to your CrossFit workouts? The quick answer is that it’s the acronym to remember for nonstop progress in the gym. MCI teaches you to value longevity in your fitness. So let’s break down what each component means and how you can apply it to your workouts.
Mechanics -the foundation of the pyramid. Mechanics create the structure of movement and dictate the safest, most effective way to complete the movement. This is all about quality of movement. The higher the quality, the higher the level of fitness over the long term.
IF you currently cannot perform (insert any movement) with excellent mechanics, the path forward is more deliberate practice with reduced loads and speed. IF you can complete (insert movement) with great mechanics, how consistent can you be across multiple reps and sessions? Which brings us to the next layer on the pyramid.
Consistency -is the ability to meet the standard of the movement and apply good movement patterns even when there’s variations in equipment, rep count or weight loads. Your first rep and your last rep should ‘look’ similar, even under fatigue. Once you have achieved this, it doesn’t mean you don’t need coaching but it does mean you can add in the third layer of the pyramid.
Intensity -relates to scaling/customizing the workout to accommodate your fitness level in order to maintain the stimulus of the workout. Our coaches are there to help you understand the stimulus for each workout of the day and scale the workout so you can experience intensity. As your fitness ability improves, you may notice you’ll scale in different ways or not even at all.
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To achieve our fitness goals and maintain a healthy life, we must strive for and train at full ranges of motion. Whether that means pull ups or squats or burpees, putting our bodies through the full range of motion is critical to getting maximum benefit out of our training and workouts. As you get more familiar with the exercises you should know the ideal full range of motion. You also become aware of your own movement and any limitations or shortcomings in your ranges of motion. Which brings us to the last point on movement.
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Our overall health and fitness will be limited by our weakest link. For some, this is the range of motion in the squat and mobility restrictions. For others, this is the strength of certain muscles. And others are limited by nutrition and lifestyle choices. We place a lot of value on working on our weaknesses because these are the anchors that hold us back from what we are capable of. Everyone has a weakness and can be actively working on improving it. It’s part of CrossFit Culture!
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It’s critical to our survival, number one. If you break down human social structure, community is a common thread. But that isn’t really motivating is it?
Being part of a community will produce results.
-Your teams at work create successful projects.
-Families thrive when there is support from many.
-Nations become great when the majority share common values and behaviors.
So what? Why does this matter in CrossFit? And what does it mean for you?
It means your success depends, in part, on the health of the community. And the health of the community depends, in part, on you!
-The shared suffering of workouts brings us together.
-We meet and engage with people in our class. It’s amazing what happens when you care for the other people around you!
– Growth happens outside our comfort zone. Having a strong community fosters growth
– We welcome newcomers. The veterans know the power of CrossFit – and we are genuinely excited to share that with newcomers!
– Lifelong friendships can be created and maintained. We share common interests and values – a great recipe for lifelong friendships!
-Support in and out of the gym. CrossFit isn’t just one hour a day. Our coaches and members support each other more outside of the gym than inside!