January Girl’s Day!

We had a great time yesterday at Girl’s Day. Erin coached 30 lovely ladies through the intricacies of rowing technique. This was one of the most supportive, high energy days we’ve had so far! Everyone was so encouraging and supportive during the final workout, not to mention really psyched about rowing! It was great seeing a lot of new faces and making new friends. Thanks to all the ladies who came out yesterday!

Girl’s Day Jan ‘10 from CrossFit Portland on Vimeo.

The Paleolithic Solution

For those of you who aren’t aware, Robb Wolf, paleo nutrition guru extraordinaire, recently expanded his reach to a podcast. The Paleolithic Solution!

He’s at 10 episodes now. You can find him at his website, robbwolf.com, or on iTunes. If you’ve never heard Robb speak, he is hilarious, interesting, and fascinating. He could make snail watching sound interesting. It’s all great info and awesome tips. If you’re interested in really getting serious with your Paleo, this is an excellence source of info. Enjoy!

Why You Don’t Look Like a Fitness Model

This is a great post from Krista of Stumptuous.com. If you don’t already read her site, I would definitely recommend it. She’s got lots of good info and lots of good rants.

“Why You Don’t Look Like a Fitness Model” is a great example of her passion and a message every woman should hear and know.

[pic from Stumptuous]

Athlete of the Month – Kristin!

We’re going to start highlighting a male and female athlete from the gym each month. You’ll get to know a little more about each other, and we can recognize some of the great work being done in the gym. First up is Kristin! She came to us in the fall and puts gusto into each workout. Just this week Kristin worked through a heavy Christine. She used a bodyweight deadlift which was close to her max, but she finished strong! It was so inspiring to watch. Keep up the great work, Kristin!

How were you introduced to Crossfit? My chiropracter in Virginia told me about the Crossfit he goes to. So before I moved out here, I did a little research and found Crossfit Portland. I stopped by for a visit the day after I got to town.

Favorite WOD/lift: I like to do 1RM lifts to beat my old max weights and I can see improvements.

I have always wanted to Compete in a triathlon, learn to crochet, live in another country, make a souffle, climb a mountain…the list could on and on…

1 word people use to describe me: determined

Outside of the gym I like to Drink wine and watch/critique reality shows with my friends

Something nobody knows about me or would be surprised to know about me: went scuba diving in Lake Superior while it was snowing, brrr

Favorite physical activity outside of Crossfit: running

Favorite place to eat in Portland: haven’t eaten out much since I’ve moved here, but I really like Burgerville smoothies…sorry not Paleo =) …oh and Toro Bravo has great Tapas!

Song that gets me pumped up for a workout: 80’s/90’s hairband classics

Proudest accomplishment: finished 2 marathons

2010 Events Preview

Hey Ladies! We’ve got a lot of great events planned for 2010, and are looking forward to hanging out with old ones and hopefully making new ones.

Girls Day
Our first Girl’s Day of the year will be January 23 from 12-2pm. Our focus will be rowing and it will be tons of fun! Remember you don’t have to be a member to come and have fun with us. Bring your friends, mothers, sisters, and daughters! All you have to do is sign up on the website. Note: The time has been changed to 12-2pm.

CrossKnit First Friday Craft Group
Are you crafty? Come be crafty with us! We meet on the first Friday of every month at Julia’s Café on NE Broadway and 21st from 6:00-9:00ish. You can bring any kind of craft as long as it doesn’t involve too much equipment or space.
Note: We won’t be meeting in January due to the holiday. See you in February!

Ladies Night Out!
February 20 come join us for a special Valentine’s Day Potluck! We’ll be getting together for good food and friends. But don’t bring dessert! We’ll be making a special paleo dessert together. ☺

Raw Strength Tuesdays
Don’t forget the ladies up at Crossfit Fort Vancouver! Ladies night is the first Tuesday of every month from 7:30-8:30pm. Lauren always has fun things planned, and it’s a great time to generally be goofy and ridiculously girly.

This is just a sneak peek, there’s more coming in the year. Can’t wait to see you there!

Holidaze

Piggy backing on XX’s post about the Holiday lifestyle, I found myself sliding into a similar rut this season. Some holidays I’ve been better than others. I go through periods of being particularly clean, and others when I’m not. I have found that when I do get in a rut, it usually proves more motivation to climb out and do better than before. But no one is perfect. There will always be bumps in the road. I was so blah after a couple of weeks, that I actually started my climb out on Christmas day. I made a paleo dessert for myself, which others enjoyed as well. Every time you eat is an opportunity to make good choices. You don’t have to wait for “Monday” or

“January 1” to start anew. (Though you don’t HAVE to start on Christmas.)
I also watched two great films over the break. Food Inc. and Obesity in America. They are similar documentaries, but focusing on slightly different areas of our food system and culture. These films compounded my desire to make good quality food choices, both in the type of food as well as where it’s coming from. I definitely recommend you watch them when you get the chance.

Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year!

CrossKnit this Friday!

Are you a crafty crossfitter? The first Friday of the month we will be meeting to craft our hearts out! Come if you already craft or if you’ve always wanted to learn. You can even come just to socialize! There is coffee, tea, and food. Please do bring money to purchase something, since Julia’s is kindly letting us hang out there! We will also be a hop skip and a jump away from Twisted, one of the best knitting shops in Portland, if you find you are in need of supplies. Or a good yarn fondling.

Where: Julia’s Cafe, NE Broadway and 21st
What: Bring anything that is decently portable and small. Knitting, crocheting, beading, a computer, or anything small is good.
When: Friday December 4, 6-9pm

Note: We will be meeting at Julia’s Cafe, instead of Costello’s Cafe.  Julia’s is a couple blocks away and is way less crowded.

Raw Strength Tuesdays at Crossfit Fort Vancouver!

Head on up to the Couv tonight for some great raw strength action! At 7:30 the boys get out and the girls have fun! It’s different every time: gymnastics, olympic lifting, houla-hooping, who knows!

Where: Crossfit Fort Vancouver

When: 7:30-8:30pm

See you there!

Book Club – The Primal BluePrint

Many of you are familiar with the blog Mark’s Daily Apple or are regular followers. Now he’s come out with a book – The Primal Blueprint.

(pic from Amazon)

I would definitely recommend checking out his website if you haven’t. The book looks great as well. Karen Z had a great idea. She got two copies of the book. One for herself and one to lend to others if she thinks they would be interested, or to answer questions about why she eats the way she does or what is that whole Crossfit thing anyway.

Gluten Free Recipes

(pic from elana’s pantry)

We have recently discovered a great site for gluten free cooking. If you haven’t seen it yet, head over to Elana’s Pantry for some great recipes and ideas about baking and cooking. Note that these are not Paleo. Some of the recipes are, but a lot aren’t. However all are gluten free and most are dairy free.

Also note that Elana mostly uses agave syrup as her go to sweetner. There is debate about the use of agave, but to her credit she addresses that in a blog post. Definitely check it out. She has a Thanksgiving menu, too!

Happy cooking!

Coming Up!

Raw Strength Tuesdays!

Where: Crossfit Fort Vancouver

When: February 2, 7:30-8:30pm

On the first Tuesday of the month, head up to the Couv for a fun filled evening with Lauren and the gals at Crossfit Fort Vancouver! It’s different every time: gymnastics, olympic lifting, houla-hooping, who knows!

CF Girls Topics

Disclaimer!

Any workout/dietary/supplement suggestions are for the average woman. You should consult a professional before beginning any plan or supplements due to effects or interactions with other supplements, medications or lifestyle choices.