21-DAY CROSSFIT PREP COURSE CROSSFIT DELAWARE VALLEY ROB MILLER - OWNER & HEAD TRAINER CONGRATULATIONS! By downloading this guide, you've taken an important first step in your fitness journey! Read on to discover how you can start CrossFit on your own and decide if it's right for you.

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE:

Physical fitness is achieved through mindful nutrition, intense workouts and sufficient recovery. We've structured this guide to provide information about each of these topics, along with three weeks of workouts that you can perform in your , or at home. The workouts are tough, but doable, and can be modified for fitness level.

For our beginners, we stress that the #1 variable associated with success is CONSISTENCY. When approaching CrossFit, start with something you KNOW you can stick to. For most adults, three workouts a week and 2-3 meaningful nutrition changes is plenty. Once you get these habits ingrained, you can start adding more workouts or changing more habits. For now, keep it simple!

READY TO TRY CROSSFIT? SCHEDULE A TRIAL WORKOUT AT OUR GYM Our instructors will meet with you to discuss your fitness goals, at your convenience.

FREE TRIAL WORKOUT WHAT IS CROSSFIT? CrossFit is defined as 'constantly varied, functional movements performed at high intensity'. Sounds complicated, right? In reality, it's pretty simple: We use old-school, 'big' movements (think squats, pull-ups and ) and we combine them into workouts that are different every day. Then, we perform the workouts HARD and FAST and really try and push our limits! Do this 3-5 times per week (with some mindful nutrition) and you're doing CrossFit!

We've found that this style of training has many benefits. Our workouts are short, and most of our athletes are in and out of the gym in about an hour. The workouts deliver a broad range of physical adaptations; we get stronger, we develop our 'lungs' and we lose weight. and the mental and emotional benefits of CrossFit are huge: better mood, restful sleep and an increase in self- confidence. NUTRITION - PART I In our experience, it doesn't matter what your goal is: you HAVE to think about your Nutrition. According to the CDC, obesity and related health problems are major causes of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Don't be a statistic! To lose weight, the first and most important step is to manage the amount of energy (calories) that you're taking in each week. Rather than adopting a specific diet (hint: they're often fads!), start with two simple, mindful nutrition strategies - tracking and the Plate Method.

We recommend tracking your food on MyFitnessPal. It familiarizes you with serving sizes and portions, and shows you exactly what you're putting into your body. You can set calorie, protein, carbohydrate, and fat gram goals.

Using the plate method is the simplest way to tackle eating out or even eating at home in order to create a healthy balanced meal. Fill 1/2 your plate with vegetables, 1/4 plate with a lean protein, and 1/4 plate with a starch. Add a little grass- fed butter for a healthy fat option! WORKOUTS - WEEK 1

For 12 minutes, perform as many rounds as possible of: Run 300m (or .2 miles) & 12 Burpees This workout is simple but tough. You can use a treadmill or go outside for the run (or substitute 300m on a rowing machine). If the first run takes longer than ~2 mins then you should scale the distance to 200m. The Burpees are performed by putting your chest and hips on the ground, then standing up and clapping. You can scale these by a) stepping down into the bottom position or b) doing them on a ledge or box (rather than going all the way to the floor). The goal for this one is to move for the entire 12 mins. If you need to walk, that's fine - just stay moving. If 12 Burpees seems like a lot, scale to 10, 8 or 6 per round.

Weighted Squats - 3 sets of 8-12 reps. Then... For 8 mins, perform as many rounds as possible of: 6 Pushups, 8 Situps & 10 Walking Lunges (5 steps per leg) For the Squats, focus on the following: a) as you Squat, try to drive your knees apart (push them out east & west), b) keep your full foot on the ground and c) squat down until your hips are lower than your knees (i.e. all the way down). You can use a across your back; two dumbbells on your shoulders or one dumbbell held in front (i.e. a 'Goblet Squat'). Rest no more than two minutes between sets. The 8-min piece is a fast-paced workout that should allow for quick rounds. If you can't do a full-range Pushup (start with elbows locked, descend to ground and touch your chest and hips), then 'elevate' your body onto a box or a counter.

On a 20-min clock, Run or Row (1600m) one Mile. With time remaining, perform as many rounds as possible of: 20 Swings, 15 Dumbbell Push Presses & 5 Chin-Ups This is your long workout for the week. If the run takes you longer than 12 minutes, cut the mile short and move to the other . The Kettlebell Swings are 'Russian' style, meaning that the bell moves from groin to eye level. Use a KB that allows you to finish the 20 reps in no more than two mini-sets. Same thing for the DB Push Presses - heavy enough to be challenging but able to finish in two mini-sets. If you can't do a Chin-Up (most can't, it's ok!), then substitute with a Dumbbell Row to your chest. If you don't have a Kettlebell, you can swing a Dumbbell instead (same cues). SCALING & SUBSTITUTION

Even the best CrossFit athletes can't do it all! So, what do you do when you're faced with a physical task that you can't accomplish? Answer: You SCALE the movement or SUBSTITUTE it for something else.

In the Week One workouts, you were asked to perform 5 Chin-Ups in workout number three. For most beginners, 5 Chin-Ups is a BIG task and one that many won't be able to complete. In order to scale the Chin-Up, the first thing to ask is 'What is the Chin-Up for?'. We use the Chin-Up to develop the muscles of the upper back and arms. The second thing to ask is 'How HARD should this task be?'. We prescribed 5 repetitions, which compared to the other movements, is a low number of reps (and would indicate a 'hard' effort).

SCALE SUBSTITUTE If you can perform the prescribed If you can't yet perform the movement, lower the number of movement, substitute it for a reps to match the implied effort similar one that you CAN do level. (shown: a 'Ring Row'). GLOSSARY OF TERMS There are a lot of acronyms and special terms in CrossFit. Learn the lingo!

AMRAP - As many rounds as possible Box - A CrossFit Gym EMOM - Every minute, on the minute The Girls - Classic CrossFit workouts KB - A Kettlebell Snatch - Lift from floor to overhead MetCon - A conditioning workout HSPU - A Handstand Pushup Muscle-Up - To move from below to on top of the Rings (or a Pull-Up Bar) Erg - a Concept II rowing machine WOD - Workout of the Day PR - Personal record or personal best Macros - Macronutrients, ie. Nutrition Firebreather - a REALLY good Crossfit athlete The Heroes - CrossFit workouts dedicated to fallen soldiers & first responders Clean - Lift from floor to the shoulder RX - 'Prescribed', or the suggested workout variables (weight, reps, etc) Jerk - Lift from shoulder to overhead Tabata - A type of interval workout WORKOUTS - WEEK 2

Bench Press 3 sets of 5-8 reps, then... As many rounds as possible in 10 mins of: 30 Jump Ropes (single skips) OR Jumping Jacks 10 Air Squats The Bench Press may be performed with a Barbell or Dumbbells, or you can substitute Pushups. For the AMRAP, try to stay moving for the whole 10 minutes, even if you need to 'downshift' and go a little slower than normal. The Air Squats should be 'full range', i.e. the hips are lower than the knees in the bottom. Make sure to keep your full foot on the floor and spread your knees as you descend.

As many rounds as possible in 20 mins Run/Row 400m 30 Dumbbell Deadlifts, 20 Situps & 10 Burpees Another long one. If the Run/Row takes longer than 2.5 minutes, shorten the distance on subsequent efforts to 250-300m. The Dumbbell Deadlift should be performed with the DB's at your sides, palms facing each other. As you descend, keep you eyes on the horizon and tap the front of the DBs to the ground. These should be LIGHT and your back should remain flat as you bend over. Focus on learning the form!

DB Shoulder Press 3 sets of 8-12 reps, then... Four rounds of: 5 Chinups, 10 Pushups & 15 Walking Lunge Steps For the Dumbbell Presses, start each rep from a dead stop at the shoulder. Press the DBs up and finish with a gentle upwards 'shrug' of the shoulder, towards the ceiling. For the Chinups, use the same scaling as workout #3. Same for the Pushups (workout #2). Break the Lunges into two mini-sets if needed. NUTRITION - PART II Once you're eating the right amount of food, now it's time to improve the QUALITY of the food you're eating. Quality food choices will ensure that you're getting the essential nutrients you need and recovering from your workouts. Additionally, quality foods support your QUANTITY goals by providing less overall (i.e. junk) calories per serving.

We recommend 3-4 servings of lean protein per day. This can be in the form of beef, fish, poultry, eggs, tofu, or even protein powder. Protein is essential when training!

Rather than loading up on grains, sugars and other refined carbohydrates, we recommend vegetables as your primary carb source. Not only are they low in calories, but they're loaded with vitamins and minerals!

Most people aren't drinking enough water. We recommend 80oz of water for an adult in training. This will ensure you remain hydrated and help with digestion and other critical bodily processes. WORKOUTS - WEEK 3

10,9,8...1 Jumping Chin-Ups 1,2,3...10 Burpees This reps scheme is a little different. In the first round, you're going to do 10 Jumping Chin-Ups and 1 Burpee. In round two, it's 9 Jumping Chin-Ups and 2 Burpees, etc, until you get to 1 Jumping Chin-Ups and 10 Burpees. For the Chin-Ups, face your palms towards your face. Don't slowly lower yourself from the top (i.e. emphasize the 'negative'). Rather, come down fast. You can substitute the Chin-Ups with Lat Pulldowns or Dumbbell Rows, if needed. If you can do 'regular' Chin-Ups (i.e. not jumping) do those until you can't any more. The emphasis is to stay moving so don't be a hero - switch to Jumping when you get tired.

Run/Row one Mile (1600m Row) Rest 10 minutes Run/Row one Mile (1600m Row) The goal of this workout is to run both miles at approximately the same pace. If you can't complete a mile in 12 mins or less, scale to 3/4 mile (or less). Do the same distance for both pieces. Interval workouts such as these are great for burning fat and for establishing quicker foot speeds for your running.

Weighted Squats 3 sets of 8 reps, then... As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of 50 Kettlebell Swings, 35 Situps & 20 Pushups The Squat workout is a repeat of day 2, but with a slightly heavier weight. Make sure that as you descend, you push your knees out east and west. Keep your full foot on the floor and try to get your hips below your knees, in the bottom. This workout contains BIG sets, so you'll need to strategize and chunk these up into manageable bites. Move quickly, but don't sacrifice form or positioning. Scale the Pushups so you can complete 20 reps in TWO mini-sets. REST & RECOVERY Once you perform a hard workout, your body needs time to rest and recover, so it can get stronger for the next workout. Most CrossFit beginners will be fine with three workouts per week. This provides enough work (i.e. stimulus) to make a change, while not being so much work that recovery is compromised. Combined with a mindful nutrition approach, three weekly workouts is an excellent way to improve your health and fitness!

The first step in ensuring good recovery is to calibrate the workouts correctly. We liken this approach to receiving a prescription at the doctor's office. 'Take two of these and call me in the morning' is very different than swallowing the whole bottle of pills at once! Review the scaling and substitution recommendations and make sure that you're not doing too much, You WILL be sore, but not debilitatingly so. You WILL be uncomfortable during your workout, but you shouldn't train through dizziness or lightheadedness. Slow down, lower the weight and/or reps, and if needed, stop the workout early.

A second key element of recovery is sleep. Aim for at least 7 hours per night, in a cool dark room (more, if you can manage it!). Try to turn off your phone before bed and RELAX. Sleep is essential for good health and many adults suffer a wide range of health problems due to a lack of sleep. You want to feel good, right? Prioritize your sleep so you can be the best version of yourself, in and out of the gym.

Finally, follow the advice presented in the Nutrition sections to optimize your recovery. CrossFit training introduces a new set of stresses on your body that you're likely not used to. Provide your body with the right nutrients and it will grow! YOU CAN DO IT! Action beats intention every time. To get started, schedule your first home workout within the next three days. Write it on your calendar and tell someone that cares about you. Don't worry about how much you can do, or if you might struggle. Just imagine what it will be like when you're on the other side, and how good you'll feel. Change isn't far away, but you have to take the first step!

WE CAN HELP CrossFit Delaware Valley is the Philadelphia area's longest running CrossFit gym. With twelve friendly, professional trainers and a 225+ athlete community, we have everything you need to take your fitness to the next level. Thinking about joining? Let's meet to discuss your goals and show you how we work. If you'd like, we can also do a short 8- minute workout to give you a feel for CrossFit in our gym. Don't worry about your fitness: Just take the first step and get moving towards your goals!

READY TO TRY CROSSFIT? SCHEDULE A TRIAL WORKOUT AT OUR GYM Our instructors will meet with you to discuss your fitness goals, at your convenience.

FREE TRIAL WORKOUT

CrossFit Delaware Valley - 575 Abbott Drive - REAR - Broomall, PA 19008 [email protected] 484-472-6356 www.CrossFitDelawareValley.com