Recess!

Photo credit - Lindsay McCardle

All through my formative years - elementary school and high school - I was extremely active on a daily basis.  In elementary school, I walked 20 minutes to and from my house every day.  I played sports/games at recess, repeated at lunch, did PE, and then walked home, where I typically played basketball out in the back lane.  I also played soccer.

In high school, I also walked 20 minutes to and from my school, played basketball at recess, played basketball at lunch, did PE, and had a rugby practice or game after school most days.

In both cases, I had well over 2.5 hours (and often as much as 4 hours) a day of physical exercise, a lot of it at a moderate intensity and only some at "full speed ahead".  Contrast that with my usual daily life now, which consists of driving places, coaching athletes, and sitting at a desk for 80% of my working day... before blasting out a crusher workout at 100% for 1-1.5 hours.

No wonder I have mobility issues, recovery issues, and am more injury prone than ever before in my life!  

This is why I've started taking recess during the day.  There's no bell, no rush of classmates (although a few co-workers join in), but the premise is the same.  Get moving, do some light activity (usually a game of some sort), and refresh body and mind.  I typically take a half hour each day to do this, which ends up giving me 2.5 hours more activity per work week than I was getting previously.

The results?  Too early to tell from a physical standpoint but mentally it's done wonders.  Now when I start losing focus while working, instead of going to the old standbys of youtube and facebook or nodding off at my desk, I go and grab a ball, a co-worker or two, and shoot some hoops or play outside.

If you're like me and most of your day is taken up by immobility, try taking a recess.  Physical benefits aside, these breaks will help you re-focus on the good things in life like being outside on a beautiful day or spending time with friends.

Now, the next step is getting a building-wide bell every few hours...

Cam

Changes to Coaching and Programming

Michelle hitting du's at last year's Taranis Winter Challenge

Fitness, and the pursuit of optimal levels of fitness, is constantly evolving... and since my business is built around helping others explore and develop fitness, it must also evolve.  As a result of necessity (my time available) and athlete requests (more accessible programming), I am changing some of the structure of my Coaching and Programming Services.

Primarily, the Complete Training Systems section is getting a makeover.  From here forward, the fully supported training option ($250/month, all training provided with online support) will be known as the Elite Training Group.  Athletes within this group get training tailored exactly to THEIR needs based on a series of assessments and ongoing measurements. The good (and bad, depending on how you look at it) news is that this group is currently FULL, as I have a core group of committed and talented people and need to ensure they receive proper quality of service.  Stay tuned for an Athletes Page on this website detailing who is training wth the PSC Elite Training Group.

To provide more options for programming for competitive crossfit athletes who aren't part of the ETG, I have created a new programming service.  I will offer complete training (i.e. metcons, strength, technique) that is targeted towards peaking for the Open and Regionals but is not individually tailored to each athlete.  This is a great option for those looking for a progressive plan that is well designed and focused on hitting all of the needs of the crossfit athlete.  This will also be the plan that I myself will be following, so you are guaranteed that I will make it as good as I possibly can.  This option will now be known as the PSC Competition Team and will be offered for $150 per month.

These changes will be happening as of right now and I believe they will provide a lot more opportunities for people to engage in some excellent programming with some real thought, experience, and passion behind it.

Onwards and upwards!

Cam

Relentless

Realizing potential through

Executing plans that move us forward.

Learning from mistakes,

Educating our bodies and minds.

Never settling for good enough, we

Take hold of all opportunities to progress.

Leaving fear of failure behind while

Elevating our game.

Striving for constant improvement so that the only result is

Success.