We are still working on domain forwarding. Until we figure out the technical aspect of the website, this webiste will remain IN TACT however we will NOT be posting our current information on this website.
We apologize for the inconvenience. If you are looking for information about our gym or would like more information, please go to www.ftffit.com
We are working hard on getting everything finished up. Please be patient as we work through this process. All this technical stuff, we are working on!!
Thank you for your patience and interest In CrossFit FTF
As of Wednesday November 13th, this website will be shut down and we will be moving over to the new website. WWW.FTFFIT.COM
We are hoping within the next three to four days, the www.crossfitftf.com URL will point to the new website.
We have been working diligently on getting the website together. If you are a current member of our gym, please make sure you get registered on the new website as it will allow you special content access and that is the ONLY way to access our FTF Program. Once you are registered we will automatically upgrade your membership to the RX level. It might take us a few hours to get to it. Be patient
If you are not a member of our gym, but would like access to our wods, there are two levels of membership which are explained on the website- Scaled and RX. Scaled will be allowed conditioning only and RX will be given full access to the site as if you were a member of FTF.
We know this is progressive and annoying, but our members pay a premium for the content of the website as members of the facility. There is content that will not be accessible to general public unless you become a content subscriber.
We are focussed on the quality education and training of our members. We love all of you and want to share our information. when you register as a "Free subscriber" you will be given 7 days free to check out all of the content of the website at which time you have the option to upgrade your membership (final details of all of this are in the works on the website .
WE WILL NOT BE POSTING WODS ON THIS SITE AS OF SUNDAY NIGHT. PLEASE BE AWARE, NO MORE WODS WILL BE POSTED HERE.
Thank you for your patience and we look forward to serving you in the future!
Schedule of Events: barbecue: 7:00-9:30 Snatch Clinic: 7p-7:45 p Snatch Ladder Competition:
Ladies 7:45-8:05
Men: 8:15-8:45
We will set it up as follows:
Women's Scaled:
Women's RX: 65/75/85/95/105/115/125/135
Men's Scaled: 95/105/115/135/155/175
Men's RX: 135/155/175/185/195/205/225/245
Anyone over these weights will complete an overage after both complete. You will start at your division weight (scaled or RX) and move through until you miss a weight within the time frame allotted. You will have 50 seconds to complete each lift and 10 seconds to move to the next lift.
HERE WE GO.... Snatch PR's Abound!!!!
Come out and have some fun!! ALL FTF-ers are welcome and invited!!! Even kids!
Saturday , November 10th, FUNDRAISER EVENT-
Come out and support my friend Anthony Thomas who buried his son Jamil after he was murdered this summer. He is trying to raise money to offset the funeral expenses he incurred.
Anthony was my Personal Trainer (Independent) at GB3 and is just like many of us...doing what he loves and making just enough money to get by.
Join Jim Reyes of Flex Factory, Tanner Munro (Personal Trainer at GB3), Jennifer Alcorn of Team Jab/Personal Trainer and Kevin Hughes and myself( CrossFit FTF) in supporting our friend an
d fellow trainer as well as other fitness professionals as we show our support.
Each of the trainers will be leading a group workout and they will be suitable for all fitness and ability levels.
The event will be held at 13 acres which is located below the dog park. The most convenient entrance is at Friant/Ft. Washington and the park admission fee is $5. Or you can park in the shopping center and walk across Friant.
There is a suggested donation of $20 and you will get a wristband and a raffle will be held. Raffle items will include a variety of goods and services, for example..CrossFit FTf will be donating an OnRamp package valued at $200. (**no one will be turned away, all donations of all amounts are greatly appreciated**)
If you have any additional questions please contact me at (559) 288-6608
I really hope to see you all there and thank you in advance for your generous heart and support.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11Th 10a-12p
$20 registration for 2 HOURS of Kettlebell Instruction with Walt Read, CrossFit Kettlebell Certified
FTF kettlebell class
This class will cover the main kettlebell exercises as they are currently taught in the CrossFit kettlebell instructor course. This includes a variety of swings - Russian, power, American (overhead, Santa Cruz style) - and one-arm swings with transition, tactical get-ups, and cleans, presses and snatches, along with some assistive exercises. (Combining power swing and American makes a good competition swing.)
The emphasis will be on form and safety, rather than weight, and we will look at correspondences and carryover to other training domains. As time permits, we might do a little catch-and-release (juggling) and an introduction to kettlebell sport.
Hello fellow FTF-ers and CrossFit Community members
We are a few days into the Hurricane Relief Drive for CrossFit King of the Beach. This box was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. Not only are we looking for items such as clothing, non-perishable food items and other items you might need during a disaster relief drive, but I am also on a personal mission to help them replace some of the equipment that was damaged due to the storm.
I am wanting to make an equipment purchase for them of at least $500 and need your help in raising funds for this cause in addition to gathering items. PLEASE make even a $10 donation so we can help raise funds to help our community. I have chosen this CrossFit because of their incredible story. Most of their members had to relocate, their gym was flooded with 4 feet of water and they lost a great deal of equipment.
Please donate below and I will be making the purchase the first week of December, to help them re-open in a new facility!
I wanted to share with you a story of an Affiliate on the East coast, CrossFIt King of the Beach. The relief items we are collecting will be to help this affiliate with recovery for the members and their families. They were flooded with 3-4 feet of water and are still without power and electricity.
Earlier this week, i posted that i was looking for an east coast affiliate that had been hit by the storm to work on a project. I contacted them after Michelle Kasten said she had seen they were hit pretty hard by the storm when she had read my post about wanting to do this for the community. So I sent an email and got a response today from the affiliate owner. The building their affiliate was located in has now been condemned due to a diesel fuel spill and many of their members are not living in the area right now due to the flooding, power and electricity challenges. Thankfully, they are working on getting a new place to open their affiliate. However, the families and friends of this affiliate are needing items.
Molly, the owner, will be giving me the most needed items for the families, but for now, please bring in any clothing, blankets, canned goods, non-perishables and other item you might need if you were in a disaster so we can send it to them the day after Thanksgiving. If we were in the same situation, I would hope someone would reach out and help us as well. Please donate graciously and generously. Also, if you are interested in helping make a donation for the purchase of a rower or some med balls, they lost some equipment in the storm as well and I will arrange a fund to donate to the affiliate itself to help with equipment replacement. this will ALSO be posted on both of our websites, the old and the new.
If you are in the Fresno area and want to just help a good cause and do something for an amazing communtiy, please stop by and drop off a donation. I would even encourage toys as I am sure the kids will probably be without for a while.
Thank you FTF Community. We are a community built on people helping people, let's come together and make a strong showing to help out an affiliate who is going through a rough time.
Coach K
Here is a link to an update from their gym as of Sunday:
This week, in the member spotlight, we take a look at another of our dedicated members, Jessica Laux. Jessie has been coming to FTF for over two years now and with the help of her coaches Kevin Hughes in the beginning of her CrossFit Career and most recently with Michelle Kasten, she has accomplished major life changing achievements. Here is her story!
I have been an athlete most of my life starting with swimming at the age of five, and continuing all the way through college. I love sports and being physical, but after not being on a team my weight increased and my health decreased. I had been going to "globo gyms" on and off for years, but had a hard time committing and self motivating to keep a consistent workout schedule. I was needing something more. I first heard of CrossFit from a friend, and it sounded like fun.
Like I do with all things, I google searched local crossfits in the area to see which one was closest to where I lived and go to school, and one that fit my college student budget. I found CrossFit FTF to be the perfect match on paper. I then found out that a close friend had just become a member and she talked very highly of the gym and all of the coaches. After completing my onramp and starting classes I realized that crossift was like nothing else. After every workout I felt like I had given it my all, and I accomplished something I never thought I could. That's what keeps me coming back to FTF.
From the first time I stepped foot into CrossFit FTF I have always felt so welcomed and a part of the "family." Evertime I walk through the door I always see many familiar faces. I love that I can walk into "my" gym and be surrounded by people who not just know me, but care about me as well. Even though we are all individuals in this, we strive for a common goal together as a team. I'm not from Fresno, and it's so comforting to know that the members and coaches at FTF have become my new family that support me in so many different ways. With this amazing familly by my side I have been able to accomplish so many things I never thought were possible.
I have been battling cancer since I was 18 and my health had been declining at a rapid rate since then. But once I started at FTF, I have been on the steady climb back to good health and have never felt so alive. I have lost 30 lbs, completely changed my eating habits and overall am a much happier person. With the help of Coach Kasten I have been able to accomplish many goals I have set that I never thought were possible.
There are many thing that I have accomplished, but my journey isn't over yet, not anywhere close. Once I realized the best thing I can invest in is myself... money, time, pain... it's all worth it in the end. I have one life to live and I am not going to sit back and just watch it pass me by. I would like to give a special thank you to Kevin and Michelle for always believing in me, even when I didn't believe in myself. I hope everyone is as forunate as I am to have these two amazing people in their lives!
Each week, we will be highlighting members of our facility and their accopmlishments. we feel it is extremely important to recognize our members and what their goals and accomplishments are here at FTF. FTF is built on the community of people that come to the gym and what better way to continue to build the community than to recognize the efforts of it's members. We would like this first one to be on not just the following couple but the recognition of their kids entering the world of fitness as well!
Our First member Spotlight at FTF- Adrienne Nelson and Mikel Giles-
Adrienne and Mikel consistently show up to not oly FTF for workouts but to FTF community events and their whole family (all 5 kids) usually show up with them . Currently Adrienne, Mikel, Kenzie and Cody all work out at FTF. Their presence at FTF definitely shines and we are excited and grateful they are members at our facility. Here is their story:
My name is Adrienne Nelson. I am 34 years old and a Scentsy
consultant and currently a stay-at-home mom of 5. My boyfriend, Mikel Giles, is
36 and a Nursing student. Mikel has been running since he was 4, starting track
in 5th grade and went to the National Junior Olympics twice in 8th
and 9th grade. When he ran track in college at UCSB he was first
introduced to Olympic lifting, the most memorable being the snatch. My exercise
history is short. I’ve never been the athletic type. I hated PE in school,
didn’t play sports. I was always a spectator when it came to physical activity.
When I met Mikel is when fitness was brought into my life. He started me
running several years ago, though I did it as rarely as I possibly could. We
had a membership at a gym here in town and I HATED going there to workout. The
atmosphere was not friendly and it seemed more like social hour than workout
time. We started CrossFitting a little over
a year ago here at FTF. Mikel plays lacrosse for Central California Lacrosse Club
in Fresno and Jarod Johnson , a teammate of his, set up a workout for whoever
was interested. We started looking into it and Mikel went to try it out. He was
fortunate enough to start his CrossFit experience with the Fight Gone Bad WoD. A week or so later, he got me to try. I still remember my first workout with
Kevin…who knew 2 minutes of squats could hurt so badly for so long haha. We did
our on-ramp with Jared and I fell in love with working out. During ramp-up
Barbells for Boobs took place. Mikel
participated in it and scored a 4:09 at 115 lbs. Even his mom came and did the workout, but I
still hadn’t convinced myself I could lift heavy weight.
We’ve never had such a great experience with exercise as we’ve
had at FTF. We’ve yet to meet someone who isn’t friendly and supportive and
motivating to us, not to mention helpful. It feels more like a family than just
a bunch of people who get sweaty together. As an FTF member, I have been pushed
to achieve things I never imagined I would even try, much less succeed at. I’ve
climbed the rope a few times, I’ve lifted heavier weights than I even thought
possible and I’m currently pushing myself to do kipping pull-ups. When Mikel first started, he wasn’t allowed to
squat with any more than the PVC pipe. He’s finally able to do kipping
pull-ups. We have had help with our diet and nutrition, which has led to weight
loss, 20 lb for myself and 30 lb for Mikel, and a boost in our performance.
This year we both took part in Barbells for Boobs, Mikel scored a 3:41 at 135
lbs and I scored a 3:40 at 50 lbs. Our two oldest sons, Mikel, who is 15 and
Cody, who is 14, have both completed on-ramp. Our youngest daughter, Kenzie,
who is 8, is going through hers now. Since their on-ramps, Mikel has gone on to
win the South Dakota Class A State Soccer Championship and Cody got his first
muscle up during his on-ramp. Kenzie ran the Cross City Race 2 mile in 20:06
right before she started her on-ramp.
In all, our whole family loves FTF. Everyone is great and
supports and cheers us on in all that we do. We couldn’t ask for a better place
to get ourselves in shape!
I have been working with so many people on the words they tell themselves recently as well as the situations that come up in our training and our lives. I even faced a situation like this today, practicing ring handstand push-ups, where fear and the way I was talking to myself was getting me nowhere, so just attempting and failing was the best option..and having fun with it.
Having said that, I re-read this post tonight and wanted to re-share it with you.... I wrote it back in April, right after the opens... It is VERY Passionate and filled with colorful words that I would never EVER use :) :)
Be passionate and never say I Can't!!!
"In order to succeed, your desire for success must be greater than your fear of failure"- Bill Cosby (thanks Coach Tim Lester for this one)
For those of you reading for the first time or evaluating CrossFit FTF or any other CrossFit affiliate, let me just say this. This article while directed at our athletes whom are already attending classes and the gym is for you as well. It is for you to recognize that no matter what skill level we have as people, we all have our challenges. We all have moments of growth, moments of challenge. It is these challenging times we MUST not allow words into our vocabulary that continue to hinder us from going in a forward direction. This article may hurt a little, may make you take a look in the mirror but that may be exactly what you need in order to get to your local CrossFit Affiliate.
'I can't becomes a condition we tell ourselves, a belief, a limiting thought. Stop telling yourself you can't and be prepared for possibilities"- Coach K
I say this with this story in mind. I was coaching a group of athletes the other day on probably one of the biggest fears in the gym- box jumps (wouldn't you agree that most people freeze when they get to box jumps at that one height when their mind goes into shut down??) Box jumps happen to be one of the biggest barriers I have seen where they mentally fuck themselves right away. So each person within the group, whom I told they could achieve this height (30") attempted... and ALL of them made it.. at some point. BUT the way they made it was amazing.
Each person walked up to the box, took a step, loooked at the box, turned away, attempted to start jumping, but then stopped themselves mid jump (because they THOUGHT they couldn't make it) and then after coaxing, each one began to succeed on top of the box.. WITH EASE. Here's the great part. As a coach, I am used to hearing people whine and complain. Whether I pay attention to it or not... ok, well i never do, so in this particular moment, one of the athletes walked up, looked at the box and shook her head... " I can't" it was at this point that I looked at her (now bear in mind she is probably on 4'2" (not really but the box did look pretty big on her) and I said "Get the fuck up there, just pick your feet up and go!!" - So she did. Here's the best part about it.. SHE MISSED!!!! My look of less than slight concern was masked only by the words "shake it off and get up there!"
"I can't"
"Are you f-ing kidding me, you missed by an inch.. get your ass up there! "
"But......"
" I don't care... get up there!"
so she stood back next to the box, shin scraped and pride shattered... and she stood there looking at the box... "You Can Do this.. let's go"
So with a different look, not one of fear, not one you know as the look of "I Can't" , but with determination, and focus... and she landed it with EASE!!! YES... After falling the first time, we NEEDED to curb the I Can't attitude in the face as soon as it started to get there for her again, ... We NEEDED to STOP her from listening to the voices and fears
You see, the I can't Sir.... is the challenge we run into in not only box jumps, but in EVERY thing in life. We are limited not by what our bodies or capabilities are, but truly only by what our mind perceives we are able to do. We MUST be able to maximize our abilities. If we tell ourselves that we can not, then we will not. You are what you believe you are. I have used this example with several athletes lately when it comes to strength workouts. If you tell yourself you are getting weaker, what does your body do? It gets weaker. This is why, I can't becomes a condition, a belief, and a limitation.
I Can't is not a feasibility if you just allow yourself to BELIEVE in yourself. You see... maybe approach it as one of my athletes does "I am unable to at this moment" HOWEVER even within that you MUST be careful in how you approach it. You MUST take caution of even the ATTITUDE in which you say it. For if you TRULY believe you can, then you will. HOWEVER if you tell yourself, you can and don't BELIEVE it, then you will continue to face the same challenge. Every moment, every time we make a decision, every time we go after a goal and it gets difficult, do you stand up and say I WILL, or do you back down and say " I Can't Sir". Do you allow the negativity to seep into your soul or do you look at the challenge with ferocity, tenacity and a complete desire to conquer? Do you allow that to DRIVE the "Can'tsir" away? Do you allow it to take control of you so you have NO IDEA WHAT JUST HAPPENED and HOW YOU GOT there and know that YOU JUST DID???
So many of us in life struggle with challenges every day. We try and try and continue to say I Can't.. the reason i call it the "I Can'tSir" is because it is what affects our whole entire being much like a cancer.. It seeps into every cell, every ounce and thread of your being and affects each nerve, each muscle fiber, each mitochondria. It is cancerous because much like cancer cells, MISERY LOVES COMPANY, so we look for sympathy and hope there is someone who will say the same thing. We hope someone will pay attention and feel sorry for us.. "Can'tSir" is a Cancer. (Have you seen the studies on how much mentality plays a role on the remission of cancer????? Hmmm... coincidence?? I think NOT)
Moments in which you feel you can't go on or you are challenged, stop yourself, turn around, and allow yourself to lean on the belief of those who coach and mentor you. You want to know the reason the CrossFit Community is so stinking successful as a community? BECAUSE WE BELIEVE WE CAN and we don't give a SHIT what anyone else says. If it can be accomplished, we will give it a shot. So many people in life beat you down, tear you up and want you to NOT succeed... we are here to tell you.. YOU CAN. YOU WILL, YOU ARE.
For those of you involved in ANY Fitness Program, do yourself a favor and stop telling yourself how hard it will be, or that you CAN'T lift that weight, or it will be difficult because it is 4 in the morning and I need to get my workout done. WHO CARES? Really? when you FINALLY figure out that YOU are the ONLY THING stopping you from getting what you want, then the "Cant'sir" goes away!! period.. and now it becomes deeper than .. as Coach Tim Lester forwarded to me earlier.. your desire become greater than your fear! IN ANYTHING!!! Channel it, use it, make it propel you forward. Stop listening to those who negate the power you have in you. Stop allowing fear to fill your soul. We know not fear, we know not failure, we know not can't....
For those of you who HAVEN'T Checked out a CrossFit affiliate yet because of your excuses.. and yes, let me tell you, they ARE excuses.. It's time to stop saying I Can't do CrossFit or i have to be in shape in order to do CrossFit. If you are saying I can't do CrossFit or it intimidates me, it's time to stop saying I can't and get to an affiliate and get your ass in gear. What are you waiting for? All We can do is get our hands on you once you're here. We can't help you until then. And in reality.. does it have to be a CrossFit affiliate? We want it to be of course!!! But here's the reality of the situation, stop saying I can't cook, I Can't work out, I don't have time... and start telling yourself the reality.. it's a choice.. Make THE choice to stop saying I can't and get yourself moving... period. no matter what.
I wanted to let all of you know what your firefighters in the Central Valley are participating in. We are in the midst of a fundraiser for the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (http://www.aarbf.org/). The foundation is a California based non-profit organization dedicated to preventing burns and fires and providing services to those who have been affected by a burn injury. AARBF brings together health care providers, firefighters, emergency workers, burn care professionals, burn survivors and others to enhance the quality of life for burn survivors and to make burn injuries a thing of the past. The fundraiser is called Grow Your Stache for Cash. (Sounds dirty and on some of us it is.) The premise is we will grow our mustaches for 6 weeks and try to earn donations for them. The donations are used to send burn survivors to champ camp. http://www.aarbf.org/Survivor-Services/Champ-Camp.htm. You can tohttp://www.growyourstache.com/ to check out some amazing staches, the progress of every-ones staches, and to donate through paypal. At the end of the 6 weeks we will have a huge shave off party, which everyone is invited to. We have over a 100 participants in the Central Valley alone! If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
Thank you
Zack Ziegler
You can get ahold of Zack through the gym. He is a member of FTF and a firefighter at Clovis Fire Department.
Each day we are faced with choices in our lives. Challenges, obstacles and inner demons come to us through our thoughts, our actions and our emotions. Each of these can have an affect on how we interact with the world we exist in. In our world, in CrossFit, it affects us through our performance.
Our performance is of the utmost importance to us. we must recognize how we are performing as a result of the choices we make in our lives. How we eat, how we sleep, how we prepare for the WOD. Even as little as timing of our food intake can affect us.
We all have the ability to respond (the responsibility) to the events in our lives as we see fit. Some of us, we let shit shut us down. For some of us, we let it fuel us. We have the choice to do with our challenges and our inner demons and obstacles what we want.
I like to think of the gym as having a vacuum that SUCKS the suck right out of our lives. Every time I enter the gym, I imagine there is a vacuum that sucks all of my troubles away when i am ready to perform. I imagine a proverbial "Bag of shit" that I literally take, and place outside the door. It will be waiting there for you when you are leaving the gym.
You have the choice to bring that bag of shit in with you, or to literally leave it at the door. The sign, I will be hanging in FTF, will say, Leave your shit at the door. Because it is a choice to engage with your shit during a workout. It is your choice to ignore it once the bell goes off. It is your choice to allow the little things in life to affect you or not. Our big emotional baggage stays with us, but ONLY if you CHOOSE it. You have the ability to make a difference in YOUR performance through the actions you create in the gym.
If you have a lot of shit, as most of us do, think of your WOD as the sanctuary in which NOTHING can get to you. It is YOUR time, YOUR moment, YOUR island of dreams that you are after. YOUR goals, YOUR athleticism, YOUR performance. No one else's.
You MUST approach your training as a choice to improve upon yourself. Don't haphazardly go through life allowing the shit of the day to get to you. I think we would all be lying if we said at SOME point we have allowed ourselves to have a negative day because of the emotions and demons we have inside of us.
I am an example of what happens when you use those to fuel you. With the choices I have made in my life, I am here, fighting every day to be a better athlete, to not let asthma attacks and allergies to get me down, to not let the baggage of life get to me. I am here every day to improve my coaching skills, my athletic skills and my abilities as a member of a community. I make the CHOICE to ensure I am doing what I need to do to make it right during my WOD.
If you have ever seen me workout, it is very rarely that anything slows me down. I may not be the fastest athlete in the gym anymore, but what I do know is that I am certainly capable of turning everything off when I work out. I am in the zone. I choose to finish each workout and evaluate my performance as an athlete and not let shit get to me. I make the choice to push hard.
If ever you have a day where the demons are winning, stop for a moment, gather your thoughts, and use it to drive you into the next level. Injury, setbacks, limitations, are all in your mind. While an injury is real and exisiting, if you don't take care of it, it will become a limiting factor and then be a REAL issue. YOU have the choice to complete self care, ice, ice bath, ibuprofen, stretching, SMR. It is YOUR choice how you take care of yourself for recovery. I can't FORCE you to do it, but I can say it will help. If you take care of that which is yours, your body, then you will always perform at optimal levels. If you CHOOSE alcohol over sleep and recovery, then it will affect you.
Be wary of the CHOICES YOU are making in your performance and training. You are in control of what YOU do. No one else is. If something isn't working, then figure out what does. If something DOES work, then pursue that path.
