Todd Rakos and Dan Strametz will be having another Women's Self Defense class March 27th! Sign up now! Bring your daughters, mothers and friends.....don't be a victim. Contact Debbie for sign ups.

When did you start Crossfit?
I started last March.

Why did you sign up for the Fitness Challenge?
I signed up for the 99 days Fitness Challenge in the hopes of losing some weight and to help me start living a healthier lifestyle. Also, I was sick of always being tired and I was struggling to keep up with my four year old daughter's endless energy. Additionally, my health was not that great. I have Type II Diabetes and Hypertension. I was having a hard time manging my blood pressure due to stress and diet. And my hemoglobin A1C and blood sugars were not where I or my doctor wanted them to be. So, my ultimate goal for this program was to see what I could do to greatly improve my health. This program helped me jump start to living healthy and with the hope of being fit someday.


What did you gain from this program?
The program taught me better diet choices and helped me improved my Crossfit techniques and performance. It was as close to having your own personal trainer (without the fee) and they gave you individual attention and encouragement. I can still hear Jeff telling me, “What's 3 more...Anybody can do 3 more.” Three is the magic number! Dan helped me improve my techniques. Debbie & Andrea kept an eye on me and pushed me (I think my squats were low enough:). Mikki, is so supportive. She presented a nutritional class that gave me the knowledge on how to eat healthier and to make better choices for me and what I gave my family. I guess this was the hardest part for me and I still struggle with it but I am and my family are in a much better place than before I started the challenge.


Did you think you could win?
NO! Winning the performance section of the Fitness Challenge was a surprise to me. Ultimately, I did achieve what I wanted in the challenge. My blood pressure prior to the challenge was 120-130/80-90 at rest and my hemoglobin A1C was 7.0. Towards the end of the fitness challenge my Blood pressure ranged from 110-120/65-80 and my hemoglobin A1C = 6.4. I lost 11 pounds during the challenge and 2 dress sizes. So, I'm pretty happy with that.

Congrats Christine! We are so proud of you!
Picture to be added soon!

Another wonderful CFKids Certification with a stellar group of people. We had attendees come from nearby NorCal all the way to Ireland and England. Thank you to all who came out for the Cert!

Great weekend, wonderful people and such a hospitable host!

Never want to worry about paying your monthly dues again? Brand X Ramona and Brand X Poway is now offering opportunities to purchase a lifetime membership. This is a great way to save a ton of money! If you are interested, contact Debbie Rakos at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more information.

Another great weekend with some outstanding people!

I know you all are taking time today to sit back and reflect on the past year. You may be thinking about your family, your workouts, how you have improved in some WOD's and what you can continue to improve in. Take some time to sit and write down some goals. Now I want you to be specific. Studies have shown that if you are specific and actually write down your goals you will be more likely to achieve them. I encourage you to make one of your goals to attend Kelly Starrett's Mobility and Recovery Cert. The amount of information contained in this Certification is incredible. Anyone can benefit from attending. If you want to become a better athlete, a more effective coach or just want to feel better than make sure to be at one of K Star All Star's Certification.
Here is to another great year!


Kelly performing some "freaky voodoo magic" on a member

Alyssa is an extraordinary athlete and a pleasure to have at Brand X. She has made stellar progress in CrossFit, especially with her bar dips! Alyssa comes to class everyday with a determined mind set and never holds back on her workouts. She is motivating just to be around! Her consistency and hard work have paid off as she deadlifted 3 x 165 x 5 the other night!!! If you see Alyssa be sure to tell her congratulations!


Getting ready for a sumo deadlift


Getting mad air on her lateral hops

Tracy has been a dedicated Brand X member since 2006. She decided to ramp it up in her CrossFit classes about 1 1/2 years ago. She has made stellar progress with her fierce determination. Anyone at the gym can tell you of Tracy's amazing and inspiring progress. Tracy recently told me that her favorite workout is Grace, in which she has a rockstar time of 6:43. Continue the great work Tracy!!