Spring 2013

In this quarter

Who wore it best? Chains Who wore it best? Its own category Featured athlete: Amy Thorisdottir Featured athlete: Paige Cooperman Letter from the editor: Asian women takeover Metropolis Valentine Throwdown All Hail to the Queen King of Queens Hoboken Winter Challenge Announcements, events, and random

Its that time of the year, folks. Keep your eyes and ears open, and you will be wowed by how fast and how much people can move. Celebrate your peers achievements, set your goals high, but dont take yourself too seriously. Enjoy, have fun. After all, spring is here. Get a beer that matches your lifting shoes and kick back!

Who wore it best: Chains

Pull ups, squats, jewelry, these are a lot of fun
Aint so skinny!

Jasons secret to making chains look good: Pile them on, and accessorize them with an extra 45# sup? Do these chains make me look hot or what?

Wow, Im so much heavier!

Metropolis family photo Looking good, guys!

Xans secret to making chains look good: wear them shirtless so the sweat glistening enhances the shine Junior with his family, making the chains part of the background

These guys secret to making chains look good: smile, pretend its not hard, intimidate the others making it look easy. If you are Gymbelle, add a kettle bell.

I think

I can

Coffee, phone, weightvest complete the look

Congratulations Jasen on your new job!

Eric is one classy guy who always looks good. Its not just the shirt and tie, its also the vest and the always classy shortsleeved look the wellcoiffed and perfectly bleached hair, the red chino shorts. Note, the black, white, and red color combo that

Ariel here taking the whole beast thing to another level. Yeah, yeah, the gas mask will train him optimally, but has he thought about how much more intimidating he looks? Downright scary would be a better description. Would you ever know he is sweet from this picture? Nope! This is what it takes to win a fight at the Tropicana!

__________

matches Metropolis well. HOWEVER, he is getting a tux challenge!

Clearly, there is some unspoken competition to look the most like The Karate Kid. Sorry Ben and Adam, neither of you will ever be Ralph Macchio, but good try.

VS

Featured athlete: Amy Thorisdottir Edelman

If you havent seen this woman lift, you are missing out, or getting sleep early in the morning. Shes a beast, and its in the genes.
Favorite Movement: Snatch. It's still new to me & challenging which is why I like it. It's something I have to constantly work on. My goal to get some significant weight on the bar in the near future & still have good form. Plus Rolf giggles every time I say it... Movement she dreads: I think T2B at the moment. I say at the moment because what I dread is what I am not good at! Something about getting my legs up to the bar is so slow....I feel like I move through quicksand and I always have to come off the bar. My most hated movement used to be pull ups because I would get so frustrated. I couldn't understand why I was just hanging from the bar & not able to just pull myself up! That was six months ago. I can do 4 dead hangs now...may not sound like much but it is to me!! Achievement: pull ups!! But also in the two competitions I have done so far both have been Rx. The most recent one, Hail to Queen was very XF influenced view of fitness: I love any form of exercise but XF made me realize what works best for me. I used to work out almost twice as much as I do now and I wasn't in as good of shape. It was grueling doing long runs, spin classes etc. I used to work out Sports: I played basketball (All-Conference) & soccer (All-State) throughout high school & all year round. CF games....to be determined... :) the way. supporter of me playing sports. My half brother is 13, 5'10 & weighs 185 ( we are not exactly a petite family on my dads side) & he can back squat 300#x6 rep! I'm not sure what the depth is but any 14 year old that throws 300# on his back should get some credit. He is our family's NFL retirement plan by

challenging to me & real- with Eroc at NYSC a few days a week and he really ly out of my comfort zone started to change my view on exercise in that I didn't so I am proud I did it. have to do straight cardio for an hour or lift little 10# dumbells. The short intense exercise we do now & Lifting in family: I get any that I started with Eroc is what works & XF really of my athletic ability from pushed that to the next level. I also never thought my dad. He played football at Rutgers & has always been very active. He was always my biggest about lifting heavy. Seeing EJ & Allison put up big numbers is awesome & so inspiring it pushes me to want to get there.

Amy Thorisdottir cont. She tells all:

6am secrets: WE ARE ALL OUT OF OUR MINDS! Like, really crazy, but that is why we are all such great friends. We are a group of people that genuinely care about each other & push each other everyday at insane hours of the day. Secrets: 1) get there 30min early & stay 30 min late with Cohen to get optimal stretchFocus, people! ing & Focus! snatch work in. Embarrassing

story about Rolf: Rolf

smiled, tried IIPP I I R RR to act casual but I turned & looked in 2) save up $...6am gear gets expensive (shoes, the mirror & V necks...it adds up!) saw my pants were 3) Don't pick on ripped along the seam from below the waist Paige...she will leave you band to more than halfway down my butt. Oh, did I mention I don't wear underwear crying in the corner defeated...just ask V. She is under workout pants? (TMI?? I don't smarter & quicker than care). To make it worse, I Sorry, Paige! all of us. had to walk ALL the way So, Amy, what weight across the gym to get to are you lifting tomor4) Did you know that the locker room with row? And what will Vikram asks me what pants ripped & my butt you be wearing? Perweight I am using beshowing. Sad part is, I haps a V-neck? fore almost every actually thought about workout?! finishing up my workout. So weird, no one looked me in the face at the gym for like a week after that. I actually kept those pants in my drawer for a year just so every time I opened it I would laugh....

is too easy...but I have a good one about me!! I was about 22 years old & worked out at Planet Fitness ($10 a month...can't beat that!) I was in the dumbbell section with all the guys with my little workout pants & little tank on, thinking I was all hot sh*t doing weighted lunges. Again, 22 thinking "I'm looking good!", some older guy comes up to me & says "ummm, I know I shouldn't be looking but your pants are ripped" I

I am all that is maaaaaaan!!!!!

5) Jared has a really bizarre relationship with the Wodfather. It's mind boggling how in sync they are.

Featured Athlete: Our very own Queen: Paige

Lets hail to Paige Cooperman. She won first place in the non-Rx division at the Hail to the Queen all women competition this past January. She is as powerful and tough as she is sweet and supportive.
Athletic background: I played softball when I was younger and have always been somewhat athletic. A friend got me into running after law school but that was just for fun, not competition. About a year ago I ran my first and last half marathon. Up until I joined XF, I took some kb classes and made up my own WODs at the gym...anything to avoid the DREADmill. What's been the best thing about XF so far? The people for sure! This XF community which has so quickly become like family are part of the reason I get up at such an ungodly hour most mornings...I love that when someone is done with their workout, they get in your face and see you through the rest of yours - the encouragement and the motivation and the constant positive reinforcements push me to want to get

Also, if I can't make fun of Vikram's outfit, I feel like the whole day is a wash.
better.

What do you see on the WOD that makes you cringe but you make yourself go anyway? Pretty much everything. Double unders may be the death of me though...if I had to choose one. What movement do you rock? I've been told I'm a decent squatter Was the Hail to the Queens your first XF competition? Yes. I signed up at the last minute- peer pressure LOL. Basically it's all Katie's fault. How was the experience? Who can remember....just kidding. It was a great experience, it was great to be in it with so many of us CFM girls and such a strong

showing of people who came out to watch and cheer us on. It was also very inspiring. I mean EJ is a legend, Amy couldn't do pull ups or HSPU 2 weeks before the competition and was determined to learn them and compete RX'd and she did it.....incredible! What other competitions/races have you participated in? I did the Moore half marathon last year, the spartan race when it first came out (ask EJ and Cat about it- I think we all have scars in memory of that race) What makes you decide to do them?

Oh, the WODfather makes all of his WODchildren compete or he completley disowns us.
What would you tell someone who was on the fence about competing? Do it. there's nothing to lost really and it just makes you want to get better.

Asian women takeover

by the editor One Saturday I looked around and noticed that almost all the women who were about to wod or had just finished were Asian. I thought, Oh my God! We are taking over! Perhaps it all started with Kristan Clever at the games. I cant say she inspired me to start, because I didnt know about her then, but she does point to a trend: Asian women are taking over Crossfit. We are everywhere! Didnt notice before? Now you will. Not Asian ladies, but part of the takeover

Even the nomnompaleo blogger is an Asian woman

Valentine days Throwdown! So much love!

Paige, the color choices are red, green, blue, or black! Yellow is not an option!

Love is a beautiful thing, so is a group of sweaty people who push each other and are color coordinated.

Cmon baby!

Sexiest man alive runner up

Tommy is everywhere showing love and support!

The Queens all-women competition has turned into one of the gyms most attended and supported annual competitions. Lets celebrate strong women!
Strategizing

Non-Rx First place winner!

Our fans are awesome!

<-Metropolis line up!

King of Queens competition:

JCash, Xan, Tommy, Joe, Brian, and Jon represented Metropolis at the annual King of Queens Competition

Winter Challenge at Crossfit Hoboken

Eroc, Brian, Gymbelle, Jared, Amy, Melanie and EJ crossed the Hudson last December to participate in the annual Winter Challenge

Youre doing great, Mel!

Cuidado is right!

Has he broken a sweat yet?

Fun socks makes the WOD a little more bearable

Announcements and random!

Events coming up
April 6happy hour at Penrose 6pm April 16thBBQ at Dinos RSVP with Brooke. If you dont know what you are missing, check out the photos from last quarters quarterly newsletter. Memorial day weekend: Annual Murph and picnic WOD in Central Park. Last year was a blast with 40 or more coming to sweat and eat together In case you missed it, Brendan was interviewed and featured on Self Magazine this past January in the Bodies by Hotties article. Congratulations Ariel on your Tropicana win!

No, Self Magazine will not call you nor will you win a bout at the Tropicana doing this!

Biggest losers of the quarter:

Johanna Cinquegrana, Amy Edelman, Andy Duty, and Ben Freeman Congratulations to the four of you for sticking to the Nutrition Challenge!

Skinny V, Patrick Gavin, and Ron had babies! Not together, of course! On the left we have Skinnys future snatcher boy, on the right is Rons beautiful daughter who will out squat all of us.