Weightlifting - Building the Base Series 8

Weightlifting is beautiful.

I love this aspect of training; it offers diversity, is appropriate for many people and helps to achieve so many different things.

Most people when they think of weightlifting will immediately think of bodybuilding training made famous in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Ask a CrossFitter what weightlifting is and they will generally think of the classic Olympic-style lifting. For me though, weightlifting is FUN. It’s also a great way to optimise health and performance and when properly practiced, weightlifting is beautiful and powerful.

I use weightlifting with a wide variety of people for many different reasons, whether it is to help slow the ageing process, improve posture, rehabilitate injury, increase strength and power or just simply help people change their aesthetics.

I would like to share with you why YOU should be doing some element of weightlifting despite your different backgrounds. When used correctly it can be very powerful, but like all things if you don’t understand it or you abuse it you can encounter problems.

Weightlifting can reduce the side effects of ageing!

As we age we lose the ability to gain muscle as easily as we could when we were younger, I’m not talking about gaining muscle to look like an Adonis on the beach, I’m talking about having enough muscle to get yourself up and down the stairs. The muscle mass you will need to help you get the shopping home on your own and keep you self sufficient as long as possible into your old age. Think of muscle as a pension plan. The more, healthy, strong, lean muscle tissue you can build and keep through your 40’s,50’s & 60’s etc. the more you will ensure a better quality of life for as long as possible. You will still able to go out and adventure rather than become dependent on other people’s help. For me, I’m training to ensure I can keep active right through my 70’s and much further!

Reduce Injuries and help prevent them.

I deal with a lot of people day to day with chronic pain. Let’s take back pain for instance, through the use of of load bearing exercises I can provide your hips, back muscles and core the ability to take the pressure of your lower back. This will give you the confidence to be able to go through ordinary life without the the fear you may break. It’s certainly not a cure for all but more often than not it helps to alleviate the problem and your body thrives on movement when done correctly.

Weightlifting can also be used with a lot of sports that don’t even require you to lift a weight. Endurance athletes such as triathletes or runners can often suffer from knee and back pain. Through the use of weightlifting to specifically strengthen the glutes and muscles around the hips and encourage them to work in unison it’s possible to achieve a significant reduction in pain. Weightlifting can also help compliment and improve many sports when undertaken correctly. Even if you just play 5 a side once a week adding a little weight training into your weekly routine could massively help you keep playing the game you love for longer without constantly needing to take a week off as you've pulled or hurt a muscle. I’m not saying it’s a miracle cure but its much better to be a lot stronger and robust than breaking down your body week on week.

Changing your physique.

A lot of people aspire to lose weight and change their health which is fantastic and with the help of training with weights you can see a dramatic impact on your appearance.

The more, healthy, lean tissue you can attain the more your body can burn excess calories as your body requires more energy to get through its day to day activities giving you what most people would call a “toned” body. This can be achieved by building a lean solid base of muscle around your skeletal frame, not only helping with athletic performance but also giving you the look that your body is strong and healthy.

Weightlifting can also help re structure your body posture which is often compromised by sedentary jobs which require a lot of sitting, driving and staring over IPad and phones etc. Your posture can eventually lead to back and neck problems which can be very painful over time but can be prevented by a good resistance based program.

Overuse problems and lack of understanding.

Weightlifting sits at the top of the Health and Wellness pyramid, all the lower layers must be addressed prior to reaching this stage. If the lower stages are skipped, people encounter problems. By trying to lift too much weight without the right ranges of motion or simply not being physically ready to lift those loads people can seriously injure themselves. This gives weightlifting a bad press which puts others off doing it. Through proper tuition and balanced bodies athletes will reap the benefits of this discipline and hopefully encouraged more of their friends and family to take part.

But I don’t want to get massive!

Through the use of aides such as performance enhancing drugs some athletes will massively build their bodies past the capabilities of the human body. Images of these abnormal athletes skew opinion on what the results from weightlifting can entail. It’s important to consider the weight training program you put yourself on. Many of my female clients are mistakenly given the impression that they will put on gargantuan proportions of muscle, when in fact their training is going to leave them looking athletic, strong and lean which is what most people want to attain from their training anyway.

So in closing, find yourself a great coach who can tailor a plan specifically for you. CrossFit 3D trainers are all skilled in this area and will help you reach your goals. Remember weightlifting is fun, enjoy it and realise the benefits that can be had from this amazing way of training.

New Year, New Me?

New Year, New Me

Ever hear this before, maybe even posted it?

Over the last 10+ years of coaching people through to better lifestyles or fitness one of the things I try to get people to do is re program for the long term. After periods of feast there always seems to be famine and vice versa but always it leads back to the same pattern. Statistically few overweight or obese people lose weight; in fact it's less than 10% who will ever keep the weight off that they lose. Scary facts when you come to think of it hey?

Changes are made easier to maintain when you ADD things in rather than TAKE things away. Anyone can find a moment of sobriety after a few bad hangovers or can cut carbs out after over indulging for a few weeks, but ask yourself is this maintainable or even useful? If you take too much away or change things too drastically too quickly without a long term plan, most of the time your adding fuel to the fire. Instead, you need to goal set for the long term and start adding in good habits that you keep before you start starving yourself down for 3+ weeks ask yourself does that mean after that time your now okay to engage back in the behaviour that was making you unhappy or overweight in the first place? Are you ready to take these issues on in long term and invest in your future?

• Instead of dieting by taking out too many food groups why don't you add in some healthy foods first and make things a little easier. If your plan is to train harder than usual you are going to need to sustain your body and keep it fuelled.

• Add in lots of veggie soups and smoothies each day.

• Slowly reduce your intake of foods you've decided are bad, instead of treating them like the enemy.

• Speak to one of the CrossFit 3D training staff and work out your daily calorie intake for your own personal needs and monitor it carefully while making sure 80% of the daily calories are from healthy nutrient abundant foods.

• Add in some multi vitamins and other relevant supplements for you while gradually reducing your sugar intake, processing sugars in the body is heavily nutrient dependant so reducing while adding in these great foods will increase your energy intake while not leaving you feeling hungry and lethargic all the time meaning you can train hard feel energetic and actually want to go to the gym and train!

• Stay away from fad diets and diet books and learn to find a diet that matches your lifestyle and make YOU feel great.

• If you want to find out more about how CrossFit 3D can help you achieve your fitness goals try us out for free for one week – Sign up here.

Here's to an awesome 2016, stay happy and healthy!

Mike Madders, CrossFit 3D

Another 3D Trainer Added to the Ranks - Ben Robinson

Ben Robinson

"CrossFit is a major part of my life, I absolutely love it. Since day one at 3D everyone has been so friendly and supported me, which I'm so grateful for. I'm so proud to say I am a trainer at the best box in the country and being able to make members old and new feel as welcome as I was is fantastic."

Since an early age Ben has been involved in sport. He played youth football for clubs such as Manchester City and Liverpool. At 16 he moved to Newcastle to represent Newcastle United's youth team on a scholarship.

After leaving football at 18, he moved on to play Rugby League at a high level. After sustaining an injury while playing Ben found CrossFit and hasn't looked back since. The newest (and youngest!) member of the training team Ben is currently studying Sports Science and Strength & Conditioning at Salford University. And is gaining experience shadowing the other coaches at 3D and will soon be Level 1 certified.

Meet 3D's Latest Addition to the Training Team - Phil Hope

  “Since finding CrossFit my whole outlook on life has changed, constantly working to be a better athlete and a better trainer. There is nothing more rewarding than helping others to be better human beings and to be ready to take on anything life throws at them. I am blessed to be able to train such amazing members and to be a part of a truly inspiring community of people here at 3D. The community, the friendships and the fitness are all a part of what makes 3D such a unique place to be”

Phil's background in the sport and fitness world has been varied from a young age, ranging from football, rugby, taekwondo and the typical gym goer routine.

Phil found CrossFit when he was working as a personal trainer in a globo gym in 2012 where one of his friends held a CrossFit style class and hasn’t looked back since. Phil is a PT and is also currently employed as a lifestyle coach working in mental health specializing in improving the health and wellbeing of deaf service users.

Qualifications

BA Honours Degree in Sport and Leisure Management

BTEC National Diploma in Sports Development and Fitness

Level 2 Fitness Instructor

Level 3 Personal Trainer

CrossFit Level 1 Trainer

British Sign Language Level 1

Want to book onto one of Phil's classes - check out our getting started page

The Teen Gauntlet Saturday 12th April

*The following has been adapted from CrossFit Brand X Teen Gauntlet information release statement*

Since 2011, CrossFit Brand X, birthplace of CrossFit Kids, has been developing the concept of the Varsity Teen Gauntlet. In practical terms, the event has evolved over the years, but the overarching goals have remained the same. These goals are embedded in the events run at the chosen affiliates worldwide who understand their intentions and represent them faithfully:

Fun
. Community. Effort

The Gauntlet must be fun for the athletes. That should be a no-brainer, but problematically, adults hear the word “competition” and they inadvertently default to a mindset we see throughout our youth sports system. It redefines “fun” to mean “win.” The goal is for the athletes to have fun working hard alongside friends or soon-to-be friends and not worrying about winning. Yes, the Gauntlet keeps score and ranks those scores locally and internationally, but the hope is that the rankings serve to motivate athletes to give their best efforts and to reflect on how they can address shortfalls for the next event. 

The Gauntlet fosters community among teen CrossFitters. Teens who met in 2011 are still friends today, keeping in touch through social media and seeing each other at Gauntlet events. There are teens who have travelled to CrossFit Brand X, for instance, in order to WOD with their friends at the Gauntlet, even though their home affiliate is hosting a Gauntlet as well. We ourselves at CrossFit 3D have had teens attend the Gauntlet just to help out and cheer on their friends, when they have not been able to compete themselves. Gauntlet athletes encourage each other during the toughest parts of the workouts and hang out with each other before, during, and after the event. For this camaraderie to spread and deepen organically, host affiliates work hard to create an atmosphere that encourages it. We encourage your own members to act as hosts, to be ambassadors and maybe step outside their comfort zone and seek out and befriend visiting athletes.

The Gauntlet honours and applauds effort over victory. Safety is paramount and excellent movement is inextricably tied to that. But nearly as important to that is that the athletes come to value the opportunity to put forth their best efforts under competitive conditions. To keep on pushing even if winning is not possible is true success. And we want that recognized and to that end, we as event announcers and organisers acknowledge such valiant efforts. In the long run, this will lead to a genuine understanding of the spirit of competition and provide kids with intangible tools that will serve them on and off the athletic field.

Fun. Community. Effort. We privilege these ideals to blunt the status quo win-at-all-costs mentality of youth sports that prowls the fence line of the Gauntlet. As hosts of the Gauntlet, we are representatives of these ideas and it will be through our concerted efforts that we may begin to see a change in attitude with regard to the purpose of youth sports for our kids.

Eleiko - Weightlifting For Sports

I am very proud to announce that Reebok CrossFit 3D will be hosting Eleiko and Colin Buckley for the Weightlifting for Sports Trainer Course, Friday 6th - Sunday 8th June 2014. Below is some information on the course. This will be an excellent opportunity for coaches and athletes to develop! I have already signed up.

GENERAL OVERVIEW: 

Olympic Weightlifting has changed and evolved over the recent years. Learn the art of coaching the Olympic lifts of the Snatch, the Clean and Jerk and assistance exercises from World Class Weightlifting Coach Educators. Increase your own knowledge, safety guidelines in your Box / Gym and optimizing performance of all your members. 

This course is also suitable for Crossfitters, Strength & Conditioning /Sports Performance Practitioners, Health & Fitness Professionals who are introducing and coaching people the Olympic weightlifting movements. 

COURSE AIM: 

The aim of the coaching course is to provide a comprehensive overview of the many different methods, viewing the pros and cons associated with these and how to develop key technical coaching models to ensure maximum benefit and safety for your athlete or client. The course will focus on the typical and not so typical compensations seen and focus on strategies to improving lifting competencies. 

Course Contents: 

Safety in Weightlifting 

Bio-mechanics of weightlifting 

Coaching principles 

The role of Postural Analysis and Functional Movement Assessment 

Progression lifts and Classical lifts 

Adaption of exercises for sports 

Technique Assessment and correction 

Progressive Resistance Principles 

Developing training programs 

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

The coach will learn and practice the Core lifts (Clean and Jerk and the Snatch). Methods will include the “Top Down” the “Ground Up” the “Hang position”. 

Be able to coach and correct weightlifting skills and ensure that each athlete has the opportunity for optimal learning, development and performance. “Learner Centred” 

Outline and explain the background and principles of planning and preparing weightlifting training programs for fitness and sport. “Principles of Training” 

Prepare a program that meets the needs of the athlete/ team under their supervision and adjust it to meet the demands of their sport. “Periodisation” 

Demonstrate a range of practical coaching approaches in weightlifting. “Coaching Competency” 

Course Duration: 6th-8th June

Friday 6th 10.00am – 5.00pm 

Saturday7th 9.00am – 5.00pm 

Sunday 8th 9.00am – 2.00pm 

Course Fees: £400.00 

All course materials, course manual and snacks are included in the price. 

Information and Applications Forms E-mail: Eleikoweightliftingforsports@gmail.com

Reebok CrossFit 3D recognised by Highways Agency

We are very proud to announce that Reebok CrossFit 3D has been recognised by the Highways Agency.

What does this mean?

In short it means we now have 3 of the brown tourist signs placed on major roads around the Trafford Centre in Manchester directing people towards the gym. With around 35 million visits to the shopping centre each year, there will be a lot more members of the general public being exposed to the presence of CrossFit in our local area.

More than this, it also means that government agencies are starting to see and believe in how popular CrossFit is becoming within the United Kingdom. The number of gyms has risen rapidly in recent years with around 35 gyms in the UK in 2011 to over 300 in the UK today! This is a similar rate of growth that companies like Starbucks have experienced.

What does it mean for the gym?

We hope that the increased visibility of the gym will help to drive new members to us and expand our constantly growing family. You lovely lot are what makes our gym such an awesome place to be.

Thank you.

Reebok CrossFit 3D Pairs Gauntlet

So this past weekend saw us host our 1^st ever internal competition. Due to our home being given the honour of hosting a L1 our very good friends at RCF Stockport allowed us to use their home to run it.

As this is a new box to most member Mike and I decided we would run this as close to real competition standards as we could, giving all who entered who might not have had chance before to experience the thrills and adrenaline of that environment.

It was same sex pair’s event, with teams selected by Mike and I matching where possible more experienced Dizzler with a less experienced Dizzler and also members who may not have interacted before as they train in different classes. A Fantastic turnout of 32 competing for the 3 prizes donated by Reebok, SGF and of course 3D

We programmed 4 WODS for the day announcing WOD 1 via a video to the members page the night before and all other WODS in keeping with the unknown and unknowable competition theme, announced just before they were to be started.

WOD 1                                                    WOD 2A                                                         WOD 2B

12 Min AMRAP                                       in 5 Mins set a 1RM Power clean        Max reps at 80% of your 1RM

12 plate GTOH                                       score is total combined weight

8 Over box burpees                                Rest 2 mins

While one partner rows 500m

WOD 3

For Time

200 Air Squats

150 Kb swings 24/16kg

100 Push press 35/25kg

75 Jumping Pull ups

50 Burpees

It was all scored as per normal completion rules with 1 point for 1st place finish 2 for 2^nd etc

Highlights for the day: a whopping 12 PB’s on the 1Rm power cleans some down to the fact our Dizzlers aren’t too up to speed with the Lbs – Kgs conversions!  A very close fought final in both the ladies and guys events, moving from station to station almost neck and neck with everyone just pushing that bit harder trying to stay in touch with the lane next to them, Laura and Nikki putting 15lb plates on instead of 10lb plates for the final and wondering why everyone seemed to be faster than them, it was great to see even in competition the support given by everyone as always to their fellow athletes who were battling it out at the end

In the end the final results were as follows:

Ladies

1^st Place Charlotte and Bekki
2^nd Place Caz and Lizzie
3^rd Place Gemma and Mel

Jane and Jeni missed out on count back which came to just 1 point across all 4 WODS and down to the number of rounds in WOD 1 it was that hard to separate them great effort from team JJ!!

Guys

1^st Place Nath and Stu
2^nd Place Sam and Hok
3^rd Place Grinny and Andrew

Again as with the ladies Ant and Oxo missing out on count back, a victim of their own success Oxo smashed a huge PB on the clean but then struggled on the max reps as he was using his previous 1RM!!

A really great day and was all done and dusted by 2pm, great to see everyone really applying themselves and hopefully this is the spur to get themselves entered into the open, congrats to all who took part and all the PB’s

Finally Huge thanks to Carl Dickson for letting us use RCF Stockport for the day, our very own ‘Julie Foucher’ Ali Watson for being our superb demo girl for all the WODS, Jen Whieldon for calculating all the scores on a very official efficient spreadsheet, Rob, Lotti, Sean, Tris and Sully for helping with the judging, and to Reebok, SGF Speed ropes and 3D for providing the prizes. Looking forward to the next one… now get signed up for the Open! #proudtobeteam3D

All of the photos that have been taken are getting added to this GALLERY

Ed

Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th

Please remember that the gym is shut today as we are fortunate enough to be hosting the CrossFit HQ Seminar Staff to deliver a Level 1 Trainer Course at our facility.

Our friends at Reebok CrossFit Stockport have opened up their doors to us this Saturday and we will be hosting the the innaugural Reebok CrossFit 3D Gauntlet. The gauntlet will be a same sex pairs event, pairs will be selected by 3D Training Team from all those who wish to compete. Prizes will be available for the best male and best female pair. Workouts will be announced on the day and will feature accesible movements to allow all members to join in.

#ProudToBeTeam3D

Reebok CrossFit 3D to host CrossFit Kids Seminar

We are extremely proud to announce that Reebok CrossFit 3D will be hosting one of the, if not the only, CrossFit Kids seminar in the UK for 2014.

To book on the course, please click HERE

Check out some of our photos form the Teen Gauntlet, a global competition that was hosted by Reebok CrossFit 3D in January. We were the only gym in the Norther Hemisphere outside of the USA to host this competition. Click HERE

If you are not familiar with CrossFit Kids, please give this a read (taken from CrossFit Kids):

CrossFit Kids is not simply a scaled down version of CrossFit, it is entirely absolutely CrossFit
geared and designed for a special population and the specific developmental needs of that population.
(neurological, cognitive, motor)

Since Late 2004 CrossFit Kids has been Forging The Future Of Fitness and is currently in over 1,200 gyms in North America, Australia, Europe, Africa, India, Japan and Panama. CrossFit Kids is a strength and conditioning program that is specifically designed for kids and teenagers and helps them develop a lifelong love of fitness.In a group setting, children and teens participate in fun and engaging workouts that deliver measurable results and prepare them to be well- rounded athletes. With a network of over 2000 CrossFit Kids Trainers, CrossFit Kids is being implemented in over 1,100 schools form preschools to high schools with before-and-after school programs and integration into Physical Education curriculum. CrossFitKids.com contains thousands of archived workouts, video demonstrations and informative articles that provide interested parents or teachers with a foundation for understanding how the CrossFit Kids program can be implemented at home or at school.

CrossFit Kids workouts consist of constantly varied, functional movements that deliver a fitness that is broad, inclusive and general and scaleable for any participant at any level.

What Does this mean ?
This means that, for the most part, no two workouts are the same, so kids and teens never get bored and the novelty of each workout keeps them excited about participating.
The functional movements involve exercises that are fundamental to all things that kids need to do when they play-pull, push,run, throw, climb, lift and jump. All of the movements are taught safely and effectively under the close supervision of thoroughly trained CrossFit Kids Trainers.
When fitness is defined as broad, inclusive and general it means that participants will become well-rounded athletes who will be better at any and every sport that they play because CrossFit Kids doesn’t coach them to be good at just one thing.
Our workouts will increase physical competence in 10 fitness domains: Cardiovascular and Respiratory Endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Coordination, Agility, Balance, and Accuracy.
With workouts that are scaleable, CrossFit Kids can equally benefit a person who is less active or an accomplished athlete by tailoring workouts so that each participant is challenged just enough to deliver measurable results and personal athletic progress.

CrossFit Kids - The Teen Gauntlet

Hosting the CrossFit Kids competition: "The Teen Gauntlet" at 3D is an absolute pleasure. Don't get me wrong, it is a lot of hard word behind the scenes and always nerve wracking on the day to make sure all the kids have a great time, stay injury free, and keep parents happy/off the competition floor, but this all pales into insignificance when you see these kids in action at 3,2,1 go.

 

 

There are only 15 affiliates worldwide that have the privilege of hosting these events, and only 3 of these are outside of the USA/Canada . The others being CrossFit Hawkes Bay in New Zealand and CrossFit Michelton in Australia. Let's just think about that for a second. 3D is the only affiliate in Europe, and the entire Northern Hemisphere to be hosting this competition outside the North American continent.  What a great opportunity for European upcoming talent, specifically in the UK! And what a great thing for 3D to be part of!

 

 

This specific event filled up in a matter of days. We capped the event at 20, just to ensure we could  provide a quality event. This is now the third event we have run and the participant numbers have risen steadily each time.

 

 

The first event, "Muscle up Jackie" was scored in 3 sections. The athletes had to row 1000m (750m for novice competitors) for the first score, complete 50 thrusters (40 for novice competitors) and then complete as many muscle ups as possible in the remaining time for the second score, (there was a 10 minute time cap). Directly after this, competitors had 1 minute to set a max distance for a med ball toss in 3 attempts for a third score.

 

 

The next event was scored in 2 sections, a 1:00 for max distance handstand walk with a point for every 6' travelled (extra points awarded for a turnaround manoeuvre and re-crossing lines) being the first score, followed by a 60' shuttle run directly afterwards for the second score.

 

 

 

The final event, 'Last Teen Standing' was for one final score. At 3,2,1 go, each athlete performed 1 hang power snatch and 2 over-the-bar burpees. On the second minute, 2 hang power snatch and 4 burpees were required. On the third minute, 3 hang power snatch and 6 burpees, increasing by 1 rep on the snatch and 2 on the burpees each minute until competitors ran out of time to complete the required work. There was a lot of standing around for the first few minutes, but the athletes got much busier very quickly! There was some awesome sportsmanship and support all day, but specifically in this final event.

 

 

The programming, courtesy of Brand X, home of CrossFit Kids, was once again exemplary and perfect for showing the well-rounded athletes.

 

There were a few highlights for me - Atlanta's amazing handstand walk whilst doing the splits, Jamie's strict, slow motion muscle ups, two of the girls taking a time penalty on the chin gracefully  after a shortfall of standards in the shuttle run (they ended up joint 1st in their division overall, so no harm done either!), Yusuf's reward of 1 muscle up after an incredibly hard-fought battle to get one, and finally, seeing the Junior Varsity boys all rally around Tom in the "Last Teen Standing" event to will him onto a bigger and better score, even though this increased his lead over them all. They showed true sportsmanship and I think we can all learn from their actions and conduct during this event. And lastly but certainly not least, was Callum. Callum was one of the competitors of the last two Gauntlets, who won the Junior Varsity Male category at the October 2013 event. He chose not to compete at this event due to having exams in a few weeks and was concentrating on them. However, he emailed me to offer his help, and came down, supported his peers, moved equipment and did a great job helping out all day. He even spent time with a fellow athlete who he will again be competing with soon and got him 5 kipping muscle ups in the space of 5 minutes at the end of the event. He is a true credit to his affiliate and family.

 

Presentation followed for the final results:

 

Novice Male:

1st: Chris Murray

2nd:  Blace Eckols

3rd: Luke Gilbertson

 

 

Novice Female:

1st: Hannah Littleford

2nd: Ella Kon

3rd: Lara-Mae Taylor

 

Junior Varsity Male:

1st: Tom Smith

2nd: Jamie Lowry

3rd: Yusuf Tufail

 

Junior Varsity Female:

Joint 1st: Mae-Lei King & Olivia Payne

 

Varsity Male:

1st: Milton Steele-Vassen

2nd: Drew McLean

3rd: Jack Mercer

 

Varsity Female:

1st: Evie Hollis

2nd: Atlanta Harfield

3rd: Ellie Ball

 

 

Well done to all athletes who took part, and thank you to Reebok who kindly donated a £25 voucher for online purchases at www.reebok.co.uk to all of them.

 

The next event is set for Saturday April 12th. I'm excited to see what these kids can achieve in another 3 months of training!

Reebok CrossFit Games 2014

Hi Everyone. I thought I would put down my thoughts for you on this years Games Season. #ProudToBeTeam3D

What is it?

In very simple terms…The 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games is a three-stage test of fitness, comprised of the Open, Regionals, and the world championships, the Reebok CrossFit Games.

Every Thursday from February 27th, to March 27th, an Open workout is posted. Everyone then has until that Sunday to complete the workout. These are completed at 3D and ‘Judged’ by and verified by the Training team/Qualified Judges/L1 trainers. The Open will consist of five workouts over five weeks.

At the end of the five weeks, the Open’s top athletes in each region will move on to the second stage of the competition — Regionals. For each of the 17 Regions (Europe being one of them)there  will be a three-day competition where individuals and teams compete head to head with judges. At the end of the weekend, no more than three teams, three men and three women will advance to the final stage of the competition — the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games.

For teams, the top 3 men and 3 ladies from the open series will compete in a team that could potentially be repping 3D at regionals, provided that as a gym we score highly enough to get 3D ranked in the top 30 of our region, Europe.

Who can take part?

Basically everyone, you may not think you have the skills or their ability to compete, you would be very wrong. EVERYONE at 3D is more than capable of posting a score, fact is if you can perform 1 rep you get a score and contribute to the team effort. For example for the Ladies in  2013  – if you can answer ‘yes’ to doing 1 x rep of the following then you can take part in the Open and help 3D get a team to regionals (I know you answer is yes just showing you what I mean) if you can perform 1 x burpee, pick an empty 20kg bar up over head once –do a box jump you do a wall ball and you have a score in all 5 workouts do more than one of each of those movements even better.

Why should I register?

Well why not? There is a myriad of reasons, but you get to represent 3D and help us achieve our goal for the year to get a team to Regionals. You get to compete with everyone in the world to see how you stack up either as a newbie or a seasoned CrossFitter. There is no better feeling than seeing your accomplishments in black and white for all the world to see. It also gives you a benchmark to work on for the future. Every member that retested the dreaded 7 mins of Burpees from 2012 dramatically improved their score some 6 months on.

Whats new this year?

First up, for masters there is no regionals, what they have introduced this year is that the top 200 in each age group go forward to a further competition to do another 4 work outs competing with their world wide peers, the top 20 of this secondary competition receive and invite directly to the games in LA.

You have nothing to lose, its a nominal fee and let me tell you the atmosphere in the gym when open workouts are going down is second to none. Dont be the D’bag in the corner kicking yourself that you didn’t sign up. We will be programming these workouts in so you may as well sign up and get a score and enjoy yourself, its great fun and a good way to test your fitness.

Thats all and as before if you have any questions or are unsure about this… grab any of the trainers or even the longer standing members who have taken part and they will help explain or clarify any fears or questions you have…3,2,1… GO

SIGN UP HERE: Registration

Changing rooms are ready!

You will all be very happy to hear that the changing rooms are officially ready to use.

Rach, Karl and the rest of the coaching team would like to thank each and every one of you for your patience during the moving and building process. It has been a longer than desirable process but we are all sure that you will agree that the home we now have is worth the wait. The team are working hard to get the other loose ends tied up as soon as possible. Keep an eye out for further announcements on services and facilities that will be available to you all in the coming year.

Thank you again - The Training Team - #ProudToBeTeam3D