Anyone else sign up for the open yet?

My Name Is Mike Truax. I am currently the owner/head coach at CrossFit Joshua Tree located not far from 29 Palms. I served with 2/7 from 05-08 and then again from 10-12. With a 3 year stint at SOTG in the middle. I left the Marine Corps in 2012 and started teaching and coaching CrossFit locally. In 2015 I opened CFJT and have been doing that full time for the last 6 years, earning my Certified CrossFit Trainer (CFL3) credential along the way. If Im not coaching classes or training athletes at my facility you can find me spending time with my wife and kids. My other hobbies include long miserable hikes through beautiful mountains, big game hunting (trying to figure this out in CA), and rock climbing. I am also interested in learning how to fly a paraglider. Out of the 10 general physical skills strength is one of my biggest weknesses. I am currently on a quest to fix that. This is my current plan: 1.Complete 4 heavy strength days + accessory work every 9 days. 2. Do CrossFit workouts 3-4 days a week. Making recovery for strength days the priority. 3. Eat real food. Avoid it if it didn't grow out of the ground or have a mom. 4. Sleep 7 hours every night. 5. Abstain from alcohol and added sugar.

Monday 210104 "Cindy" Complete AMRAP in 20 minutes of: 5 Pull-ups 10 Push-ups 15 Air squats We are starting the year off with a handful of Benchmark workouts for everyone to do this coming week. Benchmark workouts get repeated later in the year to test progress so be sure to write your score in your logbook. The CrossFit Benchmark WOD "Cindy" is a good test of both upper body pulling and pushing endurance as well as cardio-vascular/respiratory endurance (if you don't reach muscle fatigue first). Strive for full range of motion on all three movements. Kipping is allowed on the pull-ups. The chin should be above the plane of the bar while keeping the head in neutral at the top of each rep and full extension should be reached at the bottom. For the push-ups keep your guts tight and ensure that the shoulders and the hips move in unison. Shoulders and hips should both touch the ground at the bottom and the elbows should be locked out at the top. When performing air squats, set your feet shoulder width apart with the toes pointed out slightly. Ensure that the hips travel back and down to initiate the descent for each rep, pushing your knees away from each other as you do so. Keep your chest up nice and tall, squat below parallel on each repetition and make sure you stand all the way up at the top. My top athletes perform 20+ rounds on this workout with near perfect form. It pays off to break the push-ups earlier than necessary for many athletes. Try to perform the final round with the same intensity as the first. Technique matters. I would rather see an athlete perform 15 rounds with beautiful technique than 25 rounds that look like garbage. Thats enough advice for one workout. Have fun!

What movements did you use? Awesome that you did it with your daughter!!

Tuesday 201229 Strength Clean and jerk 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 Reps If you are not comfortable with heavy clean and jerks consider doing 7 sets of 3 reps or 5 sets of 5 reps instead to practice technique. Post loads to comments.

Monday 201228 Metcon 5 Rounds for time of: Run 400 meters 15 Thrusters 75/55 10 Burpees Speed and intensity are the name of the game for this workout. Pick a load for the barbell that allows you to go unbroken on the thrusters for each round. Push yourself on the run and the burpees, but keep some gas in the tank for the last round. Have fun!

47:24 RX

Im looking forward to it as well Adam! I would put my money on a 12.1 repeat. No equipment required. Just iron will and a big set of lungs.

I have a .22 cal pellet rifle that is actually really fun to shoot. 200 pellets are only 6 dollars and knocking down squirrels and chipmunks between sips of morning coffee never gets old.

Awesome Adam! I am the owner of CrossFit Joshua Tree.

I have been coaching and training CrossFit for the last 10 years and I love it! The experience you have at each CrossFit affiliate varies greatly. Each affiliate (or box) tends to take on the characteristics of its owners/and coaches. I recommend trying to find multiple gyms in your area and take a class at each one. The best ones tend to have a close knit community feel that focuses on developing skill and technique before applying load and intensity. Once you have a spot you like jump in with both feet and seek out the best version of yourself!