01.09.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff at 9:49 pm by Colin McNulty
Working away can be a pain for anyone used to the pleasure of having a local Crossfit gym to go to. God forbid you have to go to a Globo gym and try to do your Crossfit workouts there. But what can you do?
It occurred to me that there’s one group of people who are pretty athletic, that given their underground nature, probably don’t frequent the mainstream gyms, but clearly have great strength and flexibility. Parkour types (what’s the collective name for people who do Parkour??). Look and you will find and all that, so here ia a Parkour strength training video, from my very own Manchester no less.
Checkout the weighted squats, pistols, burpees, broad jumps, human flags for reps(!), deadlifts, L-sits, muscle ups, L-sit muscles ups(!!), plus a load of crazy made up body weight exercises. I like their attitude too, I have no doubt they’d do very well at Crossfit!
It just goes to show, no kit is no excuse not to exercise, and the things you can do out and about are only limited by your imagination.
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09.08.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff at 7:37 pm by Colin McNulty
This weekend I had the privilege of attending what I believe was the world’s first Crossfit Kids instructor’s certification outside of America, at Crossfit3D in Trafford, Manchester. In attendance were the entire Martin clan, the progenitors of Crossfit for Kids and by that I mean the first instructors and the first students, because Jeff and Mikki Martin first trained their own kids in Crossfit.
I’ve really struggled with where to begin to describe the course, as there was just such a wealth of knowledge imparted by the training team, it’s almost too much to take in. We covered a vast array of material that draws on nearly a decade of experience in teaching children, from as young as 3 through to 17.
Of course there’s the material on what exercises are right for what age range. Including when to add weights, how much and in what increments. How much of a focus to put into form and how to get it across to the right ages for example, you can’t say to a 5 year old who you’re trying to teach the shoulder press to: heels under your shoulders, toes pointing out a bit, hands to shoulders, elbows in, mid section tight, now press, head forward, shoulders to ears etc. But you can tell them to jump up and down a few times, point their elbows at your knees, then push the sky up!
Breadth and depth are the 2 words that best describe the course. Of course we covered the 9 fundamental Crossfit movements: the shoulder press, push press, push jerk, air squat, front squat, thruster, deadlift, sumo deadlift high pull, and the medicine ball clean. But each one taught with a focus on the needs and limitations of three different age groups:
- Pre-school: 3 – 5 years
- Kids: 5 – 12
- Teens: 12 – 17
There were also talks on various topics which included subjects like: the origins and aims of Crossfit Kids; how to structure classes at the different age groups; safety, learning types; coaching cues; various science lectures e.g. about the brain’s development and its relationship to exercise, and scientific research into safety in sport, injury rates and bone density etc; how to fix common mistakes in all the exercises; teaching styles; general nutrition and how to educate the kids and deal with disagreements from parents; programming at various ages; how to motivate kids of all ages, with tricks and tips; trainer ratios; class sizes and even optimal kid placement in classes; a focus on sport specific athletes; internet safety and photography; health issues; business development etc etc etc!!!
You get the point. There was a ton of information which is absolutely invaluable and necessary for anyone who has an interest in teaching fitness to under 18s. I cannot recommend doing a Crossfit Kids certification course enough, it was amazing.
Probably the most amazing was seeing the fruit of Jeff and Mikki’s labours though, in the evidence provided by their 3 fine boys: Connor, Keegan and Duncan, and their friend David. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a group of stronger and fitter teenagers anywhere. These guys epitomise what Crossfit is capable of, in terms of building incredible athletes who can apply themselves to a broad range of physical endeavours. One anecdote about David probably sums it up nicely. It was a long story, so I’ll paraphrase:
David decided he wanted to run a sub 5 minute mile, and a marathon. Coach (Jeff) pointed out that whilst the mile was a good goal, the marathon was stupid, and as he’d already programmed his next 6 weeks of training and wasn’t going to change it. That very weekend, despite having not run more than 800m at any point in the previous 6 months, David decided to do it any, in fact he decided to kill both birds with one stone and ran the first mile of the marathon in 4:47 (or something like that, it was 4: something) and continued to run the rest of the marathon, finishing in 3 hours 29 mins (or similar). Pretty impressive without any marathon training whatsoever, but get this: on Tuesday he was back at the gym doing heavy squats, and continued to achieve personal best lifts at every session for the next 10 days!
Now that’s Crossfit and that’s the kind of fitness that years of Crossfit Kids training can achieve.
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27.07.10
Posted in General Colin McNulty Stuff at 9:38 pm by Colin McNulty
As rubbish as it is to announce this sort of thing on the net, working away from home currently means that it’s the simplest way of not having to repeat myself over the next few weeks. As of yesterday (Monday 26th July) I’m no longer a member of Crossfit Manchester, something I never thought I’d ever say. As I was one of the original members when they first opened their doors, and so have been a member for 3.5 years, have long been a huge supporter of Crossfit Manchester and was a personal friend of Mark Beck, I figure I probably need to expand on that statement.
I’ve thought long and hard about what I want to say about it and also what I feel I can say about it. I am privileged enough to have been told some things in confidence, I haven’t betrayed that confidence and I have no intention of starting now. It’s no secret however that last year Karl Steadman left Crossfit Manchester in Stockport, and setup Crossfit 3D in Trafford. That event set the wheels in motion that have ended up with my decision of yesterday.
I don’t think it’s a secret either, that sadly the relationship which built the first Crossfit gym in England, soured as a result of that split. Once wrangling over who gets what in the divorce start (for divorce is essentially what it was), it’s inevitable really that it starts to feel personal and people get upset. I had hoped that I could remain impartial, as I have the greatest respect for both Mark and Karl, as I have attested to many times on this blog. They, as instruments of Crossfit, have had a profound affect on my life, and I owe them a debt of gratitude. Mark in particular spent a lot of time helping me attain my British Masters title this year, and I’ll long be grateful for that.
However it has become obvious in recent months that Mark and I were not seeing eye to eye on many things. I am not going to go into the reasons, as to do so would only give the impression that I’m airing my dirty laundry in public and I have no intention of doing that. Suffice it to say, that I’ve become increasingly unhappy this year, though no one thing was enough to tip the boat.
Fast forward to Monday and I decided that it was time to have a heart to heart, and Mark and I spent a good hour having a reasonably amicable, open and honest conversation. Mark is after all, a very nice and agreeable fellow. Someone who’s company I have enjoyed many times over the last 3 years outside of the gym environment. It was a useful conversation for many reasons, not least of which I felt it cleared the air and got stuff said.
To my surprise however I did learn that Mark and I disagreed on several more things than I’d even thought going into it, but he’d not felt in a position to say so before then. Notwithstanding that however, I was rather hoping we could work things out. Sadly, we couldn’t get past the sticking point that hopefully in the very near future, I’ll be working on a joint venture with Karl (more on that another time).
So before it came to a head, I decided to leave whilst Mark and I were still on amicable terms. I’d like to think I could pop in and say hi to Mark and Jo and the members I know down there occasionally. I still have a lot of affection for Mark and Crossfit Manchester and look forward to seeing them go from strength to strength. I certainly have no hesitation in continuing to recommend Crossfit Manchester to anyone that hasn’t got bored of my spouting off about Crossfit by now!
It’s always sad when a door closes on something that’s been a big part of your life, and I feel rather melancholic about it. Life is full of surprises though and you never know what tomorrow will bring. 
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05.05.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff, The Zone Diet Blog at 11:30 am by Colin McNulty
Robb Wolf has be at the forefront of dietary and lifestyle advice in the Crossfit community for as long as I can remember and I’m quite looking forward to getting his first book, which is now available on pre-order at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk:
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12.04.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff, The Zone Diet Blog at 9:04 pm by Colin McNulty
Nearly 3 years ago, I did a life expectancy calculation, based on how I’d changed after 6 months of Crossfit and the Zone Diet. My life expectancy jumped from 75 years to 85 years, which was pretty impressive.
Anyway, I thought I’d repeat the test 3 years on and see what it is now. Here are the results with the bits I’m missing out on apparently:
Lifestyle
+ 0.5 Minimizing or cutting out your caffeinated coffee consumption completely could provide you with about half a year more in life expectancy
+ 2.0 If it is ok with your doctor, taking an 81 mg aspirin every day improves your hear and brain health and could help you delay or escape a heart attack or stroke. Taking an aspirin each day, perferably in the evening, could add 2 years to your life expectancy.
+ 1.0 There is a clear link between the inflammation of gum disease and heart disease. Do a good job of flossing daily and you could add a year to your life expectancy.
Nutrition
+ 3.0 Red meat is the primary source of potentially life-shortening iron. Cutting back your read meat consumption to 1-2 days per week or less could add 3 years to your life expectancy
+ 2.0 Increasing your exercise regimen to 5 days a week could add 1 year, to 6 or 7 days a week could add 2 years to your life expectancy
Medical
+ 1.0 Examining yourself for cancer could add a year to your life expectancy
+ 0.5 Being in touch with your health care provider annually is very important to your strategy to screen for and prevent illness. Getting the appropriate blood tests on a regular basis could add a half a year
+ 0.5 Getting your blood sugar checked could add half a year to your life expectancy
There are certainly some things I don’t agree with there, like taking the aspirin. Check yours out and post back here what it is: http://calculator.livingto100.com/
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30.03.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff, Olympic Weightlifting at 6:36 pm by Colin McNulty
Thanks for all the messages of support, I can confirm that I did win my category at the 2010 BWLA British Masters Olympic Weightlifting championship finals this weekend.
I was expecting to be lifting against Anthony (Tony) Down, from the Empire Club in Bristol, but it turned out that he came in overweight for the 77kg category at 78kg, which left me lifting all on my own. (I weighed in comfortably under at 75.9 kg.) All I needed to do was get a total and I was home and dry. To be clear then, here are the relevant rules:
- To qualify for to be able to compete, you must lift the qualifying total in a BWLA officiated (3 judge panel) competition in the previous 12 months. I did this when I lifted a 165kg total in the Northern Masters Weightlifting Competition in 2009, which is the qualifying standard for Mens Group 1 (35-39) in the 77kg body weight category.
- On the day then, you must open within 15kg of the qualifying total, so I had to open with a minimum of 150kg. I opted for easy openers of 65 Snatch and 90kg Clean & Jerk. I could/should have opened 5kg higher on each (70 and 95) which was my plan had I been facing Tony, but there was no point risking it. Especially after my recent shambolic training performances.
- You need to get at least one Snatch and at least one Clean and Jerk to make a total.
That’s it, all I needed to do was get my openers and I was the winner. Sadly I started the video camera too early and it ran out of juice (I may try to send it back as a full charge only lasted 70 minutes!) so I only got a video of the snatches, which I may upload at some point. I’ve pondered whether this default win detracts from the occasion? But the way I see it, it means I actually won it back when I lifted 165 at the Northern Open, as I was the only person (apart from Tony) who made the qualifying weight, I just didn’t know it yet!
The snatches went very well and I easily power snatched the 65, then the 70 and finally did a full squat snatch (though had to chase it across the platform!) for 75. Which considering my body weight of 75.9, was less than a bag of sugar away from a body weight snatch. To be honest, now with hindsight, I regret not opening at 70 as I’d originally planned, as I reckon there was a snatch PB in the offing (current PB is 77).
C&Js didn’t go quite so well. The 90kg opener was trivial, but then I made a mistake and jumped straight to 100kg. It seemed like a good idea at the time, 100kg is an =PB lift for me, and 95 meant nothing so going for it seemed the right thing to do. In reality, the 10kg / 11% jump in weight caught me off guard and I dropped both my 100kg attempts. Note to self: 5kg increments only in future.
So I finished with a 165 total (70 + 90). But I suppose the real question is, how would I have done if I’d been facing Tony? Tony it turns out is a very nice fella. Well of course he is, he’s a 5 year Crossfitter! We shared a warm up platform and generally encouraged each other throughout. It is hard to say what would have happened as it turns out that his personal best total of 177 is exactly the same as mine!
Tony got a 70kg Snatch and 100kg C&J, and he was competing against a Scotsman in a close run race, so on the face of it, he would have beaten me. However had we been competing, I would have started at 70 snatch, which I got, as I got the 75 and reckon I would have got a new PB of 78. Similarly I’d have started at 95 C&J which should not have been a problem, and I reckon the smaller 5kg increment would have seen at least one of my 100kg lifts come off which I’ve got several times before, giving a 178 total. But then, maybe Tony would have lifted differently if he was against me? Who can know, it’s all academic.
I do know several things though. 3.5 years ago I was a fat couch potato who hadn’t done a jot of exercise for 15 years and now I’m British Champion at an official Olympic sport. How does that happen?!? Here’s how, and I owe a debt of gratitude to all involved:
- I decided to change my life, but I didn’t know how.
- My mate Ian Sturrock put me onto Crossfit.
- Mark Beck and Karl Steadman opened Crossfit Manchester and filled it with a great bunch of supportive people.
- They got me on the Zone Diet which has morphed into more of a Paleo Zone.
- Mark especially has coached my weightlifting form over the last 3 years and always selflessly gives his time to coach me when I’m at a competition, and generally be helper extraordinaire. I am very grateful and would definitely not have done it without his help and support.
So what’s next? I think I’m going to take some time off the weightlifting focus and get back to more regular Crossfit for a while. Crossfit is a whole load of fun, dropping snatch after snatch whilst training on your own (when I’m away from home) is not. As a result, I’ve left the gym I go to in Cardiff: Aspire Fitness, especially as my contract should be finishing up shortly. They’re a nice bunch down there, and I’m sorry to leave them.
There are 2 things to aim for I think, one is the European Masters Championships. I need a 182 qualifying total so need to get my snatch up to 80 and clean and jerks up to 102. But it irks me that both the 2 biggest Masters competitions of the year: the British Masters and the Northern Masters, are outside the qualifying window for qualification. That’s bad planning! Also there’s the simple fact, that if I wait a couple of years till I’m in the 40-44 category, the qualifying total comes down to 172, which is much more doable, lol!
The second thing is the the English Indoor Rowing Championships (EIRC), which I’ve had my eye on for a couple of years, but always chosen the weightlifting in preference, as often they are both on the same weekend. I’ve got my eye on the 500m title, which if I can make the 75kg lightweight category, I could win easily. Judging by this years numbers my personal best is 7 seconds faster than the 1st place time! So I need to be good this Christmas and not pile on the pounds if I’m going to make 75kg by 3rd week in Feb.
Anyway, it was an exciting weekend and I’m currently very chuffed. I’m sure the feeling won’t last long.
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22.03.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff at 7:06 am by Colin McNulty
It’s always nice to see mainstream science starting to catchup with what Crossfitters are doing, from The Metro last week:
A set of ten one-minute sprints on an exercise bike three times a week holds the same benefits as ten hours of ‘conventional’ distance cycling.
High-intensity exercise at 95 per cent of your maximum heart rate is an efficient way of avoiding heart disease, obesity and stroke, say researchers at McMaster University in Canada.
Like Tabata training, 1 minute intervals with some (unspecified) rest is a wicked way to get your heart rate up and get maximum effort out (“wicked” here is not meant in the common vernacular to mean “cool”, it really is wicked!).
People look at me funny when I say a typical Crossfit workout is in the 10-15 minute range, more exceptionally in the 5-25 minute range, and that’s your workout for the day done. When I bought some new trainers, one of my colleagues asked me how far I run. “Usually 400m,” I said, “as part of a circuit type workout.” He admitted that at the pace he runs, he could plod on for hours.
The point is that getting fit doesn’t mean you need to spend hours at the gym. 10-15 minute, high intensity workouts are much more efficacious than long torturous sessions, and a lot more fun too. Don’t believe me, believe the scientists at McMaster University in Canada instead, they said so! 
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20.03.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff, Olympic Weightlifting at 12:09 pm by Colin McNulty
As many people have noted from my earlier post, snatch practice for the British Masters has not been going well. Dropping six 70kg (154lb) snatches in a row, 2 weeks before competition day, is never a good sign.
So this weekend, with 2 sessions back at Crossfit Manchester, I desperately needed the experienced eye of my Crossfit Coach Mark Beck to sort out what on earth was going wrong. First the result:
Friday: 2 out of 3 snatches at 70kg successful.
Saturday: 3 out of 3 snatches at 70kg successful!
(Plus I did the daily Crossfit Manchester WODs to follow, of course.)
To say I’m pleased and relieved is an understatement. In fact, I’m looking forward to the possibility of having a good crack at a new PB come competition day. Current PB is 77kg, so opening at 70 looks achievable, giving 2nd and 3rd lifts of 75 and 78 if all goes well.
What was the magic ingredient? Simply finishing the pull. It’s probably one of the hardest things to get right in the snatch: when to stop pulling up on the bar and when to start dropping your body under the bar. Clearly I’ve been dropping down too soon and Mark’s guidance to make sure I properly come up on the balls of my feet, actually feeling the weight there, definitely made the difference.
Simple huh? The point is, that even if you workout on your own, it’s worth making the effort to get to your closest Crossfit Affiliate, at least once a month say, just to get that bit of expert coaching that can work wonders to your form.
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18.03.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff, Olympic Weightlifting at 8:35 pm by Colin McNulty
I’m pleased to report that my hamstring tweak had mostly cleared itself up by Tuesday, so I was able to train as I’d intended. There was still a little soreness there, but 98% there. However, that didn’t prevent the disaster that was Tuesday’s snatches!
Tuesday followed my normal routine of snatches for 45ish mins then some form of WOD. I’d hoped to recover from last weeks debacle, quickly move up to 70kg and pop out 3 good 70kg snatches. Well, that turned out to be ridiculously ambitious! I only succeeded in dropping six 70kg snatches in a row, and pretty must destroying what little confidence I had in doing them.
I think that over a year of working out on my own in Cardiff at Aspire Fitness, with no one to watch my form, has really taken its toll on my technique. After the BWLA British Masters, I think I need to go back to the drawing board with my snatch. Even now, 3 years on, they still don’t feel right and there’s too much variability. So it looks like I’ll be starting at 65kg in the comp.
Not wishing to do myself another injury this close to the comp, I finished with a named Crossfit WOD: Annie. I scaled it by dropping the first round, making it: 40-30-20-10 of double unders and situps, which I achieved in 9:57
On Wednesday things got a bit better. Clean and Jerks are harder to cock up on technique and I worked up to three good 95kg C&Js, which will be my starting weight, making a total of 160 to start with, which is more than the 150kg minimum starting total for my category. If you don’t know, your starting total must be at least the qualifying standard minus 15kg.
I followed this with a derivation of Crossfit 3D’s WOD from the other day:
AMRAP in 10 minutes of:
- 3 x 60kg power cleans
- 6 push ups
- 9 kettle bell swings @ 16kg
In which I managed exactly 8 rounds. Again this was scaled down after 40 mins of clean and jerks and so as to not do myself a mischief.
In other news, my weight *just* about on target but I still have a few pounds left to loose. Fingers crossed it won’t be a major drama. I’ll post up a weight chart from 1st Jan next week. To be honest, I’ll be quite happy when this competition is over, I’m deep in the “why am I doing this” stage of preparation, but I know I always go through this, it’s just you mind playing games with you. Ho hum.
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13.03.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff at 3:48 pm by Colin McNulty
EDIT on 6th August 2010: Added Crossfit Clitheroe and Crossfit Leeds
This is a map of every Crossfit Affiliated gym in the UK and Ireland, with contact details right on the map and listed below. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while and finally got round to it. If you spot any mistakes, let me know, especially if I’ve missed one off or haven’t quite got the location in the right place (I’m only human and this took far longer than I thought it would!)
There are a couple I know I’ve missed off, that’s because their websites were down at the time of writing. If that’s you, let me know when your website’s up and I’ll add you on. And if you think it’s useful, feel free to link to this post.
Here is the full list of Crossfit gyms in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland!
- Unit J, Astra Business Park, Guinness Road, Trafford Park, M17 1SD
- 07850 740 992
- info@crossfit3d.com
- Unit 9, Davigdor Mews, 64 Davigdor Road, Hove, BN3 1RF
- Miles: 0777 9402991
- Unit 3D, Three Rock Road, Sandyford Industrial Estate, Dublin 18
- 01-2063669
- info@crossfit.ie
- West 15 Whickham View, Newcastle upon Tyne NE15 6UN
- Kempie: 07786 917 285
- kempie@hotmail.com
- Unit 3, Annesborough Industrial Estate, Annesborough Road, Lurgan, Co Armagh, BT67 9JD
- info@elite400.co.uk
- 02838 342963
- The Master St James Kickboxing Academy, Upper Floor, 174 Rendle Street, Plymouth, PL1 1TP
- 07877045566
- james@abcfit.co.uk
- 4 Bridgewater Close, Reading, Berkshire, RG30 1JT
- Unit 16, Mackintosh Place, South Newmoor Industrial Estate, Irvine, KA11 4JT
- 01294 218508
- fit@basixgym.com
- Unit 35, Evans Easy Space, Stafford Drive, Battlefield Enterprise Park, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 3FE
- 07532223447
- mail@crossfitshropshire.com
- Unit 2, St Katherines Court, Winch Wen industrial estate, Llansamlet, Swansea, SA1 7ER
- 07775 848 429
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