Today is a day to look forward and leave the things that drag you down. Sit down read an inspirational book, movie or go watch someone you know compete in a sporting event. Think, think about what you want to achieve then write it on the white board. Come in put your goal on the white board, we will keep it there all year. Many of you will set multiple goals because one is just too easy. Don't let the 1st of the year be your motivation for change, do it because someone told you that you couldn't. What are you capable of?

Will you compete in a triathlon, CrossFit Games, martial arts, high school sports or is 2008 just going to be another year? Give yourself the rocking chair test, when you are 80 years old sitting on the front porch, are you going to regret not taking a chance at something? If the answer is yes, choose your goal and put it on the board. Everyone has the opportunity to compete and win, it wasn't until I witnessed the following that I believed it:

1-Caroline deadlifting 245lbs with a big SEG on her face
2- Cara the first time she could break 90 in her squat then proceeded to clean and jerk 75lbs
3-Brian the first time he put a kettlebell over his head, knowing that he would walk tall the next day
4-Tonya knocking out pullups, oh yeah and getting engaged - congrats
5-J getting 3:20 on Fran and realizing that he can still get to sub 2:30. Training to walk on to the finest football team in the nation, knowing he will succeed
6-Sara getting a look as if she should be on the platform earning a gold medal for her O-lift Snatch finally performed by the numbers
7-Vic cussing me under her breath while doing 40 burpees for not showing up 3 weeks straight
8-Mike jumping on the 24"box with ease and snatching a 55lb KB like it was a barbie bell
9-Eric jumping 51" and celebrating by cutting a mohawk in his hair
10-Sherri making a triumphant return and setting an example to women that you too can be born again hard. Meeting Eddie and realizing the two have enough drive to power a train
11-Aaron pushing through frustration and learning the squat clean
12-Ilya making his mean face in the pictures while achieving goals he didn't imagine
13-Sam refusing to do kipping pullups
14-John throwing down beats during his Krav sessions after working out for a couple months
15-Heather telling her salon clients that she does barbell cleans for her workout
16-Jeff showing off his football pendant from stomping a hole in the Wolverines when he played for OSU
17-Jeff K figuring out how to do the kettlebell swing, connecting his head to his hips
18-Chuck trying to warrior his way through a workout after a shoulder injury
19-Nate learning how to push and lead from the front
20-Shannon coming home from Iraq and bringing the whole family in. Cat learned how not to swing a KB
21-Dave the maniac doing Fran as prescribed and oh yeah getting his heart rate to 230
22-"Doc" Mendel finishing Linda in 30 minutes and feeling like a total badass
23-Steve's first day of training at age 16, knowing he will soon be a cross checking master
24-Vic and Sara's kids wearing me out on a Saturday with hooya burpees
25-Troy's wife Sarah boxing with pink gloves, sorry couldn't resist
26-Peter learning not to shave reps and knocking them out
27-Andy becoming a well versed firebreather and missing Rogue while at home
28-The perseverance and integrity of our future military officers, all of our ROTC men and women
29-Reithman making odd contraptions
30-Boyer leaving his lunch and shrugging it off

I could go on for days talking about the accomplishments of our clients as I am sure anyone that knows me will tell you. Here are some of my goals:

1-Compete in CrossFit Games
2-Compete in Highland Games
3-See Cara, Sara, Vic, Caroline, Heather, Jeff, Jeff K, Cat, Mike and Sherri do a pullup!
4-See J walk on to The Ohio State University Buckeyes Football team with authority

So often we want things the easy way, so all of us have done the following: Join Lifetime, Bally's, Lifestyle or Gold's The average gym member "works out" 3-4 times a month, our members train 3-4 times a week. They come to see the people, get instruction and to be motivated. You won't see Hammer Strength machines in our gym because they don't work, you will see equipment and methods that have been used for hundreds of years.

So come in tomorrow and put your goals on the board, it will be written with permanent ink. There is very little gained in life without accountability and absolute determination.

Vic in her undercover outfit, rocking out some box jumps! May not be a big deal to you but this is a great accomplishment for her to do this with zero fear!

The crew with a workout designed to burn some of the holiday calories. Deadlifts, med-ball cleans and box jumps.

My Hero!

Corrine heads back to CrossFit SanFransisco We enjoyed having her here over the last couple weeks. If you were wondering how she paid us for her training, it was with t-shirts from other affiliates! Corrine is a Rogue attorney, good luck on the California Bar!

What is the female smile that we see in here everyday? I was just talking to Coach McCauley in Savanna and he said that he sees this as well. When the ladies that workout here learn the Olympic lifts or get their first pullup, I always see this smile. The sense of achieving something they didn't think was possible and the mind sends the signal for a SEG. The picture above has two women doing kipping pullups and they both had the same smile when they finally got their first pullup. I can't wait to see more people achieve the unthinkable.

Amy and Jennifer stopped in tonight for their first workout! Two more women that will be doing pullups in the very near future.

Robin is back too after a quarter off.

Things are gearing up for a great year!

The ladies at Rogue like to wear their wrist bands, Sara is seen below resembling her hero! Also this may be the cheesiest vid I have ever posted.

I wonder if they deflect bullets!

OH YEAH AND VIC IS BACK ON THE LIST!

We have some bulletproof equipment coming out this year. Here are a few items soon to be in the store!

1) Rogue Rings - TIG welded steel rings with Heavy Duty Straps, assembly rigs in seconds

Launched - Check here for reviews http://www.board.crossfit.com/showthread.php?p=247625#post247625

Rogue Pullup Bar - This bar is designed for people to take pullups on the road, this bar will use the same straps as the rings.

Launch Date: 1Feb08

2) Rogue Men's Multi Purpose Barbell - This bar is made with high grade steel and will be guaranteed against bending or the sleeve coming off FOR LIFE There will be two sets of knurling marks, one for Power and the other for Olympic Lifting. The bar will be treated with Black oxide to keep the bar from rusting and there will not be any center knurling

Launch Date: 23Jan07

3) Rogue Do Win Lifting Shoe - Everyone has been asking for it, so here it is the only place to get your Black with White Strip Do Win lifting shoe. When you get a chance to try these, your Adidas shoes will be given to your little brother or sister!

Launch Date: 15Feb07

4) Rogue Peg Boards - Custom Peg Boards to get that Old School Workout!

We used some crazy mashup mixes on the vid, enjoy! Caity sorry for the mis-spelling of your name at the end. Great job today, see you tomorrow!

WE WILL NOT BE HAVING A 630PM CLASS, THE 530PM CLASS IS ALL LEVELS

THIS IS TO ALLOW EVERYONE'S SUPPORT OF THE BUCKS!

WOD - Inspired by Petranek Fitness

Max Pushups
200M Run

Get as many pushups as you can in 20 minutes. You have to run when you fail on pushups.

Winners: Mike and Cara 233/217
Most Straight Up Pushups: Ryan
Most Improved: Caroline

Troy taught the pushups and Eric taught the Overhead Squat!

Whitehall Firefighters came in today to get a taste of functional fitness...Rogue Style! It was awesome to have them here. Great job guys!

The Level IIs tonight got a taste of their own. They did a technical complex of several movements in one. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it!

Sara and Kevin Mueller will be on site to help everyone learn the correct rowing techniques on Saturday. Sara and Kevin were on the Ohio State Crew Team in College.

Saturday Events:

10-12PM: Strength and Conditioning - Open Gym
10-12PM: Concept 2 Training
11-12PM: Free Intro Sessions - Call and let us know if you will be coming in for an intro to the Rogue Program
12PM: Team All Level Class
1PM: CrossFit Games/Level 3 Class

If you miss all of that, come by on Sunday for the Russian Kettlebell Class!

Tonight the level 2 class was tasked with a very challenging workout. After it was complete all of the members had moved over 11,000Lbs and rowed 2000Meters. The times were even as fast as 23:00 minutes All of these members started out in our level 1 program, and learned the necessary skills to complete tonight's task. Keep up the hard work!

Tonya after a 23:00 minute winning time!

Nice work!

Here is a post written by the a person never short of words, Doug Chapman. Doug has been a great mentor and friend throughout our endeavor to bring Rogue Fitness to life. Now we argue and share ideas, ultimately that is how we end up with elite programs. Checkout HyperFit: Hyperfit USA

"Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken." Tyler Durden

I recently had a conversation with a couple of CrossFit affiliates about training, coaching and running an affiliate. There is a universal fear that someone with a lot of money will come in, buy some equipment and start a new business, market the crap out of it and drive us mom and pops out of business. Generic fitness is no threat, except to anyone really wanting to be fit.

I was cleaning and organizing, prepping for a seminar for Hockey Coaches. I was moving some dumb bells while considering what to talk about, what is important for them to know. It occurred to me that anyone can buy a dumb bell, Concept 2, GHD, some bumper plates or whatever else and start training. So, why do people go to gyms at all? It is cheaper to purchase some equipment once than training with a professional. I guess there is the rub: what is a professional? The reason to train with a professional is for programming. Most movements we and the rest of the affiliates do are readily available at www.crossfit.com with some instruction too. Supply your own coaching and intensity.

Why do people pay for something they could do on their own? It is simple: they won't. Can people do what we do? No.

Most of my clients are some sort self starter in their own right. I would bet most people who come here would get some training on their own, probably be able to do most of the movements and get a decent workout. Something changes when you line a group of people up together and have them compete against the clock. Notice I said "the clock". The stop watch is who you are competing with. I digress.

We regularly run classes with 15-30 people depending on the time and what people's work schedules are doing. The reason people come to us is how we organize and deliver the training program. When people come in, they are organized, warmed up, equipped and then taught skills to do the workout. They do the WOD then they are warmed down - all of it in an hour and all without any need for creativity or thought. Each training session runs between $10 and $15 per training session depending on the package of training. Note: I said training session, not class.

How to do programming: The key and essential difference between us and what most everyone else does is programming. We run a seven day per week training program. It isn't a workout, it is a training program with clear objectives, standards and measurement. Think about how to create a systematic training program that generates work outs that are so broad and diverse we rarely repeat a workout. We usually repeat benchmarks so we know how effective the overall training program. It is an apples to apples comparison so you know if things are effective. There is only one measure of effectiveness that matters, performance. The crunchy and fleeting feeling of blissful nirvana after an 30 minute isometric contraction leaves people wanting, Pukie never let's anyone down. Again, I digress.

The programming challenges people to perform multiple exercises that are non-isolating at a level of intensity considered to be dangerous outside any circle that does not require high level fitness performance to be a part of their job description. (Professional athletes and warriors) There are many unsupported anecdotal and ignorant ideas floating around that just won't die. (Socialism, Communism, most isms and so forth) Anyone with half a brain will be leery of a fitness magazine touting a workout right next to the ad for the same workout. Or that might just be me. Good programming is not a fad, it is a life's work. Magazines are great sources of amusement, not training programs. (Why else would they dupe people into buy them by putting half naked she men on them)

So, how to get people into the said hard-charging and ever evolving program? Here is the hard part. We once allowed people to come to a class, try it and if they liked it, they could join. Doing it was like sipping from a fire hose. The dose is so intense that people never come back. You don't stick your toe in the lava to see if it is hot. I would run into people all the time who had tried a class and were so sore they couldn't walk for a week. (I think that shows exactly how ineffective what they were doing is)

It is hard to know the value of what we do without someone trying it. So let people try it? Why would someone pay $200 per month for a membership when the globogym down the street, literally, charges $40 per month? You get what you pay for. Programming and effectiveness is expensive and there is a professional involved.

Many different options of helping people step into the program are under consideration: private training first, one class free, one week free, an orientation class and so forth. It comes down to if the human being is made of the right stuff for what we do. The training is hard and will get people results. There is no doubt. We live in a society that seeks the latest gratification and band aide fix for most problems. Our program is not a quick fix. It is not a short term solution to those fat thighs. It comes down to one way of knowing if you belong in the program: You come back.

Our training program produces people who are strong, capable and skilled in many, many different aspects of fitness. There are a lot of high performing specialists out there, they are called insects. Specializing in one single area of fitness makes you weak in all others. On one extreme is the ultra endurance athlete. Here is a simple question: Do you want the ultra marathoner to have your back in a scrape? No. How about the super strong power lifter? He might be a help but he is too tired when he gets there. How about a balance between them? I think we all know the answer.

The only real requirement for being a part of HyperFit USA is to have the character and diligence to work hard to refine the things you are good at and open mindedness to work harder to overcome the things you suck at. How do you know you suck at something…you avoid it. At all costs. This is where we live, stamping out weakness. We address our personal discomforts full on and at full speed with eyes wide open. There is no beaming out of this one Scotty.

We use real words like "suck," "fat thighs," and "butt." We don't hide our mistakes, we revel in them. They show us how much further we have to go toward evolving. Stumbling is no reason for embarrassment, sitting your fat ass on the porch and making excuses is.

What does this all have to do with Tyler Durden? There is no budget, no advertising, no spin doctoring what will make up for a bad product. Putting a t-shirt on that says you are a trainer or calling a thing super-thin-your-ass-lift-your-chin and make you strong doesn't make it so. You can dress up a pig, it is still a pig. The question is: does your pig dance?

We officially started our Benchmark Friday tradition today with the classic CrossFit workout "Fran" A Nasty mix of Thrusters and Pullups, she gave everyone a heavy dose of intense fun. WE had a great showing and everyone gave 110%. Awsome job everyone!

The entire Mueller Clan made it out today for a workout!

Sara teaching everyone how to use the erg, first rule of rowing with Sara - DON'T CALL IT A ROWER, IT IS AN ERG

All Level Training sesion - Tabata!

Level 3 - CrossFit Games training, great performance by all. Welcome to the Level 3 classes, hopefully everyone will have the opportunity to try these training sessions!

The house was packed, everyone got a chance to learn the Turkish Getup, "Tater" and kettlebell pass.

Kyle lobbing 35lbs through the air!

Watch out for these two, scary shirts!

Foam rollers to top the day off!

Dennis learning the front squat by using the SuperMan version!

"Mongo" getting some battling ropes!

The Level 2 class working on the 4th round in Fight Gone Bad!

Get the shoulders warmed up with some rollovers!

Snatch Complex, scaled to the athlete!

Simple workout: pullups, pushups and squats! Great work everyone! J almost made level 3 - 2 rounds off!

MOFO is a complex of Kettlebell movements that Mike Latch, owner of Valley Crossfit designed. Our level 2 studs killed this workout with times as fast as 24:00 minutes. We even had one of our monster complete the complexes with 48 Kilos of weight. Look for more of the MOFO series in the future.

Great work!

It feels like Junior High here at Roguefitness, we brought back the pegboard. Some of you might ask Whats that, well its that wooden thing that hung on your gym wall. This is the same apparatus that stole your lunch money for most of your childhood. Well today we are returning the favor, wood beware!

From Doug the fitness guy, please don't ask him about Star Wars! http://www.hyperfitusa.com

Doug Chapman, owner of HyperFit USA wrote:

Are you thinking about trying to get in shape yet again? Lose a few extra pounds? Get ready for spring break? Blah, blah, blah.

A ritual begun:

The days between Christmas and New Years are usually pretty slow and it gives people a time to sit down and think, eat too much, and generally feel something has gotta change. New Years comes and you are really, no, really, ready to change your life and get in shape. People begin to think: Maybe it is time to get in shape? Especially after eating so much around the holidays! The resolutionary market of impulse buyers and one month wonders that are REALLY ready to change their lives are what drive the "fitness" industry. Here is how the typical story goes:

So, now what? The traditional cycle is go to globo gym, sit down with a nice kid in a polo shirt and talk about a membership. The kid will ask you fill out a form about your goals, tour you through the byzantine machines and explain how they can help you reach your goals, let you know all about the options, the cancellation policies, for the low, low price of $39.99 per month. But that is not all! He will remind you about how self conscience you are about the extra pounds you carry and tell you that you will lose them and become popular and have a life that resembles the light beer advertisements. All you have to do is sign on the dotted line. You do, then go to the gym an average of 12 times in two months (From Industry statistics) and get back to the business as usually and buy some larger clothes. You stop going to the gym. This story is repeated all over the United States. Why are people in the United States fatter than anywhere else? Because it is easier here. We can get all of our imperfections fixed with a scalpel, pill or laser, all of which are financeable and some sort of usurious rate. Sounds great, where do I sign?

How about this? Let's take a look at what is means to "get in shape". The universal image is to get on an elliptical or stationary bike or walk briskly on a treadmill for hours, move from machine to machine or a few sets and reps and then all will be right in the world. The advertisements say it. The infommercials say it. The celebrity spokes model says it. It must be true. Why do so few people get the results they signed up for? First, on the continuum of effectiveness, aerobic training is far less effective than anaerobic training. If you don't believe me, look up the research in trustworthy sources, life scientific and medical journals. It isn't an exciting read, but an enlightening one.

Digression: Why is it that aerobics as held the standard for weight loss? Simple, when you burn muscle, you lose weight. When you train exclusively in the oxidative pathway, your muscle goes away. Loss of muscle mass is a major cause for debilitating problems in older adults, like falling down, loss of balance and weakness to the point where people can no longer take care of themselves. Don't believe me, if you are reading this, you have some skill on the internet, look it up, and research from creditable sources. Training for an event, is great and should be done regularly, but balance is necessary for a well rounded human being.

Regression: The second and more perplexing reason people fail at fitness is boredom. Many people lack the discipline to do a boring workout again and again. It is not what they are doing is wholly ineffective, it is less effective than more diverse and intense balances training, but the idea of routine really makes it more challenging to have success with.

Boredom comes from a lack of skill in the training. I believe people get more from their workouts when they are doing a sport regularly. When people are focused on learning skills, better movements and are constantly challenged to improve, do more and excel,

Another aspect to success in training is camaraderie. Isolation in fitness is one of the major drawbacks to camaraderie. For instance, if you are running on the treadmill and your goal is to do a 5k in 18:00 minutes, you are struggling with the last half mile, who is going to give you encouragement or tell you to suck it up or when your iPod doesn't let anyone talk to you. How about being the only person in the gym and you are getting set to do Fran, you begin thinking about getting through it rather than competing for another PR.

Solutions: From a programming solution, constantly varied functional exercises, executed at high intensity keeps everything interesting. The other solution is to find a group of likeminded people who are moving in the same direction.

Wipers made an appearance tonight! All of our athletes got a chance to do the infamous 300 workout.

Kevin Mueller did the workout twice as prescribed but with a 24kilo bell and 24" box! Sarah must be putting something in his food!

Jeff and Nikki came in for a workout, two firebreathers!

Carol represented HyperFit well this evening!

J hitting a PR during the Strength and Conditioning this morning!

Full house today for a chipper!

The CREW!!!!! A bunch of firebreathing maniacs that eat steel and rubber.

Level 3 class, getting ready for the crossfit games.

32" Box Jumps are good for you!

Bryan Panzano pictured here burned through the workout. He only comes in on the weekends due to his wrestling training. This young man is a superb athlete with State Championship written all over him!

Good luck on your wrestling season and get in here as much as possible!

Starting the next 4 week cycle geared towards becoming more proficient in the barbell movements!

Dennis! Your presence is required tomorrow!

Doc has made 2 appearances this week, great job!

Sherri is back in full force!

Tonight was the first jail break workout of 2008. The jail break, is a workout that Rogue members have been doing for well over a year. After accomplishing this workout Rogue members understand why escaping Alcatraz was considered impossible. Good work tonight, lets finish the week strong

7000 Meters of rowing sucks!

Level two after the workout

The overhead squat was at the center of our attention today. Some of our Rogue warriors found out that they have made drastic gains in strength (I told you that you were strong Ilya). Good work, and get ready for Bills "Benchmark Friday's"

Vic generated flutter kicks for all classes today, Level 2 did 100-4 count flutter kicks. Everyone thank Vic for being Vic! See you tomorrow at Rogueapalooza!

Sarah getting the clean down, nice work.

J trying out the new Rogue Pullup Bar. CONGRATULATE J THOMAS FOR GETTING INTO THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY! NEXT STOP OHIO STATE BUCKEYE FOOTBALL TEAM!

Future Firebreather trying out the new pullup bar with dad Kevin.

Mixing rowing with kettlebells makes for a great Sunday afternoon.

Warmup on Saturday, pushups for everyone.

Learning the med ball clean which translates very well into the olifts.

There are only a few slots left for the Olympic Lifting Seminar on 9Feb08, Sign up Here: Olympic Lifting Seminar

Noon group rowing their way through a quick session after learning the Snatch.

630 Group following suit after a brief instructional session with Sarah.

Nice hand stand pushup, the Level 2 class got a taste of the workout from this weekend!

Great work everyone, you guys never cease to impress me with your ability to achieve new goals daily.

The Rogue Trainers are in awe tonight. We sat down tonight and reflected on some of the recent accomplishments of our clients. All of you are nearly progressing faster than we can keep up with. Stay tuned for highlights coming soon!

Ryan was killing it today with perfect kipping pullups out of nowhere!

Tonya is nearly to a complete Fran...just awesome

Ilya completed his first complete Fran today! In under ten minutes!!

Dennis doing his first ever turkish getup with a bar. For those of you that don't know, he has endured the following:

1) Hang gliding accident that nearly ended his journey

2) Mountain biking accident

3) 10 Shots at the UFC title, well maybe not that one

WHAT DOES TROUBLE LOOK LIKE, PICTURED ABOVE ARE TWO OF OUR FEMALE DEVIANTS!

Evening Level 1 class giving the TGU a shot!

The Rogue member base is starting to show some real talent in the Olympic lifts! We continue to be impressed with everyone's speed of learning with these highly complex movements. Stay tuned for a highlight reel of this stuff!

CAROLLLINE!

MONGO!

205 for a single Clean and Jerk, not bad. Using it for a 5 round Workout of the Day...nuts.