August 26, 2010

Welcome back to another school year of Conquest Conditioning. I am looking forward to another year of helping people pursue their fitness goals and spreading the word of the benefits an active and healthy lifestyle can have.

Over the Summer I was lucky enough to further my education and became certified in CrossFit Endurance programming and learning the ins/outs of Pose style running. I will be adding the pose running to the available seminars this year. For anyone involved in any type of running sport it is a must. It doesn't matter whether you are a sprinter or a marathoner, the stride remains the same, it's just the cadence that changes. Stay tuned for more details.

As always we are continually trying to improve our facilities and equipment. You will be happy to know that we have managed to raise money to buy reaction balls, some much needed new spring collars and some new medicine balls. They have yet to arrive, but the order is in and it is only a matter of time before we see them. I have yet to set a goal as to what equipment we will look at improving and fundraising for this year, but am open to suggestions from all fitness center users. If you have any suggestions, please post them to comments.

There will be a few changes that will be occurring this year. For some it may not effect you and for others it may effect you a great deal. Due to the stresses placed upon myself running a CrossFit facility and Conquest and Teaching and family and....I just don't seem to be able to find enough hours in a day to get everything done. As a result I feel that all aspects of my life that I care about suffered. This year Conquest will run Monday, Tuesday and Thursday after school starting at 3:15 SHARP! Weight room hours will run from 3 - 4:30. Unless other staff is willing to open the facility, it will be closed on Wednesday and Friday after schools (still open at lunch hours).

Another change will be the aspect of group fitness. Last year people participated in Conquest and started WOD's at different times, ended WOD's at different times, etc. This places huge stress on me as a coach as I am unable to watch form technique, teach movements, help out and encourage. It also forces the group to lose the dynamic that makes it so great. The sharing of blood, sweat and tears. Workouts and warm up starts at 3:15 sharp. If you are unable to attend the session you are free to workout on your own that day, but I will be unable to coach you as my priority lies with those who made the commitment to the session. This does not mean that I am totally cutting you loose, it means that if you do not know something, I cannot teach it to you that day. You will need to modify your workout accordingly with items that you are familiar with.

The fundamentals courses will run in the first week of every month. If you miss that fundamental course then you will need to wait until the following month to join the group. It is too difficult to run WOD's for participating committed members and do fundamentals at the same time. You both don't get my full attention and as a result your movement suffers and increases your risk of injury. You are welcome to come into the fitness center and begin moving, but I would ask that you wait until the following month before joining the conquest group full on.

The final change that will occur is the seminars will happen 1 time each during the year rather than twice. In order to help the fitness center raise funds, they will be done on a sign up basis and there will be a small cost associated with the seminars. If there are not enough people signed up for the seminars then the session will be cancelled or rescheduled.

If you have comments or concerns please email or feel free to post them to comments. This is an open forum and I encourage open dialogue. Thank you for your participation in Conquest Conditioning and please continue to encourage people to participate in this fantastic opportunity.