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BLACK RIVER CROSSFIT

MEMBER OF THE MOMENT

THIS MONTHS MEMBER OF THE MOMENT IS LARA-MARIE KOEHLER! MARIE, A PODIUM FINISHER AT FITTEST ON THE FARM, IS A REGULAR IN THE 12PM CLASS AND HER FIRST BAR MUSCLE UP IS LOOKING IMMINENT!

Marie - tell us a bit about your life before CrossFit and what led you to choose CrossFit to form part of your weekly training routine?

Before Crossfit my routine consisted mostly of spin classes and the occasional BodyPump class at my town’s local YMCA. I was getting bored with it and wasn’t seeing myself getting any stronger so when a friend of mine introduced me to CrossFit a little over 3 years ago, it just kind of stuck and now hear I am!

How has your health/ fitness improved since joining BRC?

The biggest change I noticed since joining Crossfit was that I was less tired during the day and slept better at night… no more naps!

Talk to us about what you like to see on the whiteboard when you arrive in the morning vs what makes you want to turn around and get

back into bed…movements/ types of workouts etc.?

AUGUST 2019

Anytime I see running and deadlifts on the whiteboard I want to turn right back around.

Anything with DB snatches and barbell cleans though, and I’m happy.

How do you use your fitness and health outside the gym?

I like to hike quite a bit, and when I go back to the US my friends force me into the rock climbing gym. Although right now all I really do is study so I guess I’d say for the most part I use it during my hikes to the very top of upper campus.

How do we get more people involved in the BRC? Often, we find people are intimidated and hesitant to get going with CrossFit – any advice?

That’s a tough one. I think most people are afraid or worry that they won’t be able to keep up with everyone. So maybe emphasise ALL fitness levels whenever you post images, videos, etc. on your social media? I was the same and all it took was one class for me to see that anyone can join.

What about CrossFit and BRC specifically do you enjoy the most?

The group-mentality. I struggle to motivate myself when I’m exercising on my own. The pre-planned workouts are a bonus, too

Answer based on the first thing that comes to mind:

100 cal AB or 100 cal Ski? AB Heavy back squat or a 5km run? Squat Long Metcon or Short sprint workout?

Long

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Favorite Oorah bar snack? Berrymuch smoothie

What CrossFit movement would you challenge Mo to? I would feel comfortable going against him in: squat clean, front squat, bench press, shoulder to overhead, KB swings or push-ups. His upper body strength isn’t very impressive.

If you were marketing a boyband, would you rather have coach Dave or Coach Luke on the album cover? I think one cover with both would be ideal hahaha

Lastly, what does CrossFit/ Black River mean to you?

It’s somewhere I can go to turn off my mind and not think about all the other things I should be doing

PANTHER GAMES 2019 RECAP

A record 36 athletes signed up for the 5th edition of the Panther games! This year 5 Rx teams and 3 scaled teams did battle over 2 days of fierce competition. Coach Jamez wraps up this awesome event…

The build up to this event was mindblowing. Banter, videos, secret training camps, blood doping, mental coaches. You name it! Outfits were being co-ordinated, final strategies debated, friendships forged over pre-workout. Tensions were running high.

It was the night before the Panther games. In a flurry of flu related last minute team changes,

JD was inadvertently added to the Grizzlies whatsapp group. He immediately left work, took an Uber to Landrover SA and paid a non-refundable deposit on a new Discovery. He took a selfie with the car in the background, dressed in a full Grizzly suit but couldn’t share it with Suwi and the boys. He had been removed from the group and added to the Saints team roster. A massive balloon payment is due in July 2022 and he has been unable to sell his Polo Vivo during these tough economic times.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Synchro Cindy

This first event was always going to be closely fought: a tactical affair where teams had to make the call how many rounds to hold the deadlift before swapping. Kalaba and Simo went all out: holding the bar for a five full rounds. They were later seen bathing their forearms in the Oorah freezer. Mare’s Bulls seemed to get the balance right – swapping every two. The marsupial drugs Zack brought back from Kangaroo land probably helped too. Friendships were ruined trying to get the timing right on the synchro: two of Ruchana’s team mates pulled hammies trying to keep up with her on the air squats. Rich Froning apparently cried tears of joy watching video replays later on of Saint and Trots doing butterflys in synchro.

Legless

Aurelia resembled a hybrid of Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and Katrin Davidsdottir – coming out of the blocks with 60 unbroken DB snatches – inspiring her team and intimidating the opposition. The wall balls and snatches were bad, but the real proverbial sh*t hit the fan when it was one’s turn to make sweet love to the pain machines for the best part of four minutes. Good intentioned spectators were heard shouting the supposedly encouraging words to athletes on the Assault Bike “only 3 minutes to go!”. Words which would make Chuck Norris cry. Some of the faces captured on digital polaroid during this wod will long live on in the annals of Panther Games

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Archives, much like those taken in the 1RM snatch event in 2018.

SATURDAY MORNING DRIZZLE

Dirty santa

The first event on Saturday was at UCT rugby fields with their club’s awkwardly single sex changing rooms. Perhaps the highlight of the weekend: No, not carrying the wallball. But rather getting down and dirty and into some proper teamwork around the sleds and burpees. Bobby camping over on the fields to scout out the course for the wallball run ahead of time. It was cold, wet, windy, muddy conditions reminiscent of scenes from The Revenant. Two of the Saints’ pensioners were rushed off to hospital for anaphylactic shock. But as the drizzle subsided, a rainbow emerged, followed shortly by Suwi – and somehow everything felt ok again.

The wallball carry was a bit much for some. Andrea, when coming home a sure victor in the first heat, stopped to chase butterflies in the grandstand. Coach Luke had trouble distinguishing between wallballs under the extreme pressure, taking the ladies’ wallball instead. When explaining later he said he preferred those ones because they weren’t made in South Africa. It was obviously all too easy for Nath, however, as he returned to this venue 3 hours later to play a rugby game, while Charl should probably have run with two wallballs.

More chaos ensued on the sled push with the in-goal area of UCT first team field hosting what looked like the drifting world championships on Voortrekker Road. But the teams quickly built their driving skills and then it was burpees in the mud time: a true test of teamwork and using each other’s strengths. The Grizzlies took their judge around the corner after one too many no reps on the burpees, after which the matter must have been settled, as all reps were good thereafter. The judge has not been seen since.

*Note: If anyone has a contact for returfing the first team’s in goal area please drop Raun a text.

Nic Collins Total

Those who have been around the block a bit will remember who this #herowod is named after: that guy who looked a lot like Yasmin Bleeth, but with blonde hair and smaller calves; and who was able to shift more weights than Thanos on pre-workout. This strength test of the Games was always going to be a highlight. Chris had skipped leg day for weeks in anticipation. Four of the Saints eleven team members injured themselves doing heavy cleans in the weeks preceding. PBs were had, high fives were given. The Grizzlies took it one further and resorted to bum slaps, grunts and chest pounding. Leon put his marriage on the line spotting for Andrea. While the brothers Chibale showed off on the bench (both running out of weights), the max clean saw some magnificent lifts: Robbie, Martin, Zack, Jamez, Luke all putting up big numbers. But in the end, it was always going to come down to the battle between Eminem. The People’s Champ has long been suspected of losing mathematical nuance when going primal during max lifts, and that was plainly evident here again. Without warming up he clocked in his first lift at 280lbs. Mare then responded with a PB of 84kg, which once converted became a lift capable of winning gold at the Olympic Games. Matty, unperturbed, chucked 45s onto both sides and went for it… He was last seen deep in a front squat, still trying to get out of the hole repeatedly muttering “You shall not pass”… The coveted Jamez Golden Lifter’s Trophy won by Mare now doubles as an air freshener and humidifier right next to the ski erg and watt bike in Eminem’s living room.

Freelay

Testosterone levels, nervous excitement and high doses of pain: all the ingredients for a great Crossfit wod, or otherwise an average EL James novel. On that theme there were a number of awkward moments exchanged during this blitz event (performing thrusters

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facing other athletes of one’s desirable gender has long since known to be a mating ritual amongst many pre-2014 Crossfit boxes). Trotter had to take four cold showers during the warm-up. Graeme and Colette had to be physically separated mid-wod. JD went redline. And Unbroken. Dominated. Magic was happening out there. Jeniqua actually passed out screaming too loud. It was a great spectator wod that produced a scintillating finish... DJ starting the final set of 27 toes to bar with a four rep advantage over Matt. DJ no repped the 12th. Then the advantage was only 3… then it was two… Blood particles formed under his fingernails as he desperately tried to grip the bar, narrowly holding on by one rep. Thankfully, at that point Astrid climbed out of DJ’s gym bag – where he keeps her on occasions such as these – two foam rollers in hand, and steadily started rubbing down his forearms.

Final

With the Saints and Wild Cats freshly showered and sipping on Oorah smoothies, the rest of the teams took on the final congo line: one Rx team and one Scaled team facing off at the same time. Zack’s eyes gleaming manically, as he whipped the ski erg so high into the 2000’s that Mo was looking pale as he mentally wrote off the gym’s Outsurance bonus. The team chased Zack valiantly and Marc capped off the Bull’s beastly effort on the 50kg slam balls, earning himself only a few weeks of Vietnamese spinal traction therapy in the process. John meanwhile treated the slam ball like it was made of polystyrene. The scenes that followed provided the appropriate culmination to the spirit of the weekend. In both the last two heats, the Rx teams were last to finish: meaning there was left one last lonely individual out on the dancefloor to chip away at those heavy slam balls... In both cases, the packed crowd of spectators surrounded the athlete, cheering them on with warlike encouraging chants. First, it was “SUWI…SUWI… SUWI…!!!” and then “FABI…. FABI…. FABI…!” I don’t often cry: I didn’t at the end of Braveheart or Gladiator. Not even when Jenny dies in Forest Gump. But this was

beautiful. This brought a tear to my eye. Thank you for an epic weekend ladies and gents!

Actual Awards

‐ Winning RX Team: Grizzlies ‐ Winning Scaled: Mavericks ‐ Spirit of the games: Fabi and Graeme ‐ Jamezzz’ Golden Lifters Award: Mare ‐ Blue juice award for person most likely

doping: Robbie ‐ Best Gees: Bobby ‐ Best Pain Face: Head Coach Luke

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AUGUST CHALLENGE

Congratulations to all the Panthers who completed our July challenge – a 5km park run. Special mention to Oloff Van Zyl who clocked a time of 17:57. He’s queeeeeeeek!

Our August challenge is a dirty one: AMRAP12 Burpees over the rower *Buy-in: 2km/1.6km row Burpee standards: chest to ground, 2 footed jump over the rower!

BROADCAST YOUR BUSINESS:

This edition, we showcase the work of members Piers and Alida

What does your business do?

We’re a graphic design agency – we work primarily in print (no, it’s not dead #millennials #fakenews) but we try to keep our skills current.

What is the story behind it – when did you start it and how long have you been in operation for?

My partner – Alida Kannemeyer – (in life and business) started Fresh Identity in 2000 and I was in the magazine industry at the time. I needed a change so started working together in 2009 and it’s been that way ever since. We used to offer a broad range of design but now we focus on Integrated Reports for JSE-listed companies, contract magazine design and a select few wine and food labels.

Are you confident about the future of South Africa? What makes you excited about the future of your business in this country?

And the second option is? Hey, it’s not perfect but you make the best with what you have and there is an indomitable spirit in small businesses and entrepreneurs here that I don’t see elsewhere. The global village is making it easier and easier to service clients anywhere in the world and doing that from the tip of Africa is not the worst place to be.

What are some of the major challenges you face in your business?

Time management – we have a studio on our property but we don’t like to say we work from home, we live at work. Design is often the first aspect of a business to suffer from budget cuts so communicating the importance of good design (and by proxy, good communication) to clients is paramount to our industry’s survival. Treating every job the respect it deserves is demanding but can be just as rewarding when you get it right.

Any special offers to the BRC community of members (Nudge nudge, wink wink)?

If you do business in the aforementioned fields let’s talk.

Where can we find more details about you business – facebook page, website, twitter, insta, post office, verimark?

We have a website (www.freshidentity.co.za) with some of our work on but mostly we go old school – word of mouth and reference…

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YOGA AT THE SPORTS REHAB CENTRE

The SRC (next door to BRC) offers a range of health services including physiotherapy, sports massage, biokineticist and now they've added yoga to their holistic practice.

Offering two variations of Vinyasa, you can choose a class that gives you just what you're looking for!

Vinyasa flow: Your classic energising flow class following the breath in a dynamic strength and stretch based work out. In these sessions we will tackle the fundamentals of flow with enough pace and energy to have you breaking a sweat and feeling like you've had a good work out. Great for beginners to learn the fundamentals.

Peak pose vinyasa: Take your practice further in this session as we slow down and prepare the body in strength and flexibility to get into some weird and wonderful postures. Still following the breath, these sessions will guide you to get into some poses you never knew you could do and will leave you feeling accomplished and/ or motivated to achieve more your practice.

Perfect for intermediates to further your practice.

Secure your spot with our booking site. bit.ly/SRCBookYoga

R120 drop in / R90 students

COACHING PROFILES:

We have a number of exceptional people on our coaching team, so why not get to know them a little bit better!

In this edition of the Panther, we profile head coach Luke Wewege

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Since joining us in 2018, Luke has proved to be a real asset to the BRC coaching team. The professionalism he brings to his work and his dedication towards improving each and every member is remarkable!

Fitness history: Played basketball & rugby at school. Towards the end of school and at varsity I started gymming. Started Crossfit. Right now I do CrossFit, run, surf, swim and play some golf. Really like getting outdoors to do exercise.

Fitness goals: Improve all-round fitness qualities.

Qualifications (fitness and other): BSc(Med)(Hons) Biokinetics (UCT), Crossfit L2

Your definition of fitness: Competent in all fitness qualities, where you are constantly challenging your bodies default homeostasis to get better in each quality by training smart and efficiently, eating right and respecting the recovery process of the mind body and soul.

What do you love about CrossFit: It's super challenging, humbling, fun and you see results.

What do you love above coaching: This is cliche but I want to make a difference and so by helping people get better and seeing their results I hope I have achieved that. There is no greater profession than the health & fitness industry - it's super rewarding. People have made a conscious decision at CrossFit to invest in their wellbeing which makes my job so much easier as I am just helping them along on their fitness journey

Where do you apply your fitness outside the gym: In nature whether, it is swimming, surfing, supping, running, hiking.

Favourite CrossFit movement: Ring Muscle Up & Clean.

Inspiring quote: If it's important to you, you will find a way, if not you will find an excuse

IN OTHER NEWS:

Don’t forget that Open gym on Saturdays extends to 14:00. Don’t forget to book!

Bring a friend Saturday will take place on Saturday 24 August this month. Bring along a lucky someone for a beginner friendly partner workout.

Don’t forget to post your August challenge scores on the board

Support our Panther teams at BMC Battle of the Beasts in Steenberg on 31 August and 1 September

We are excited to announce our new CrossFit Beginners Classes every Tuesday with Coach Charl at 17h30. The Class is ideal for those new to CrossFit to get a better understanding of the basic movements in CrossFit before joining regular classes. Space is limited so remember to book.

Refer new members to BRCF and claim your R250 Oorah Bar Voucher!

Finally, some shower thoughts:

1. We've reached an oddly secure place as a species when we're rooting for the number of lions in nature to increase.

2. On a clock, the minute hand and hour hand never overlap during the 11th hour.

3. The term, "No offense" has a 0% success rate.

4. If unicorns existed, cavalry charges in war would have been even more terrifying.

5. If you put a fridge in Antarctica, it’s technically a heater.

6. Waterfalls are the complete opposite of fireflies.

Until next time!

Team BRC