I’ll be attending the Crossfit Cert in Quantico on the 7th of Sept.  My first.  . 

I am currently reading the journals like a mad man and also checking out the forums. 

Any tips on what I should be looking forward to, things I should be studying, things I should know/do, questions I should ask?

Thanks in advance!

Gonzo-
Enjoy yourself.
There will be loads of information to digest. Ask anything you want, Coach will answer it.
Great to hear you are going- give us an update when you return.

Gonzo,
It is has been hectic here for the past couple of weeks so I have been largely off the boards.  I would say read and work on the following movements.

Squat
Front squat
Overhead squat

Deadlift
Sumo Deadlift High Pull
Power Clean

Shoulder press
Push Press
Push Jerk

Bring materials to take notes. 

When are you going to be back out here?

I would also suggest refreshing your memory on WODs such as Fran, FGB, and possibly WODs with ball cleans and burpees.  Oh, throwing in an occasional Cindy probably won’t hurt either.

Thanks for the tips.  I picked up starting strength when I got here and I can’t put it down.  Flexibility is still my biggest weakness.

My class graduates on the 28th of September, so hopefully I’ll be back by that weekend. 

Gimpy - Thanks for the info.  I’ve printed all of the journals and put them in a binder, and indexed them for easy referencing.  I’ll definitely make it a point to memorize all of the workouts.

I just completed my first CF Cert this past weekend in Quantico.  It was a great time!.  Exceeded my expectations.  I took the advice that Coach Jeff and Gimpy gave and it was well worth it.

My weekend started off arriving in Quantico at Friday, midnight.  By the time I was able to get the rental car, and hotel room, it was 2:00AM!.  It didn’t matter, I was too excited to sleep well anyways. 

When I woke at 0600, I gathered my things, and mustered downstairs for some breakfast.  Who did I see in the lobby of the hotel?, Eddie Lugo and Jeff Martone hanging out.  I didn’t bother either of them, but it was comforting to know that I can spot these guys out from the website and journals. 

At 0830, I arrived, received my name-tag, got my notes ready and took my seat.  I saw Eva-T, Andy (from SD), Eddie, Tony B, Coach, Jeff Martone, Tony Blauer, and a few others pouring in.  Eddie Lugo, with the help of Andy, ran the show.  He introduced Coach, the Blue shirt trainers, and the Yellow shirt trainers.  He laid out the ground rules. 

I could go on forever on the VOLUMES of information that was being spoken, and the willingness of Coach to answer ANY and ALL questions. 

In between lectures, we were brought out to learn how to properly air squat, front squat, and OHS.  Then we did some B2B tabata squats.  More lectures, more demos.  Drinking water, and chomping on Zone bars were essential parts of staying ready to absorb the information. 

On Sunday we were treated with an unexpected surprise, when Coach introduced Buddy Lee.  I may butcher his stats a bit, but you’ll get the idea.  Buddy Lee was a former Marine, all-Marine wrestler, Olympic gold medalist (92 olympics), and also a trainer of other olympic athletes.  A key part of his training has been his INTENSE practice of jumprope techniques.  He also sells a superior jump rope, which is pricey, but well worth it.  A 2-hour demo/instruction and we were toasted.  What a great way to warm up for Sunday.  Coach promised that Buddy Lee will be on “board”, helping to develop better jump rope skills into our WODs. 

On Saturday they did a Fran Demo, which I tried to be apart of, but was too slow.  On Sunday, we did FGB Demo, to which I scored a 253.  Not bad, but not great.  About an hour or so later, we went to demo a 10min Cindy.  I jumped out there as well, and did 11rnds +2 PU’s.  (They hailed Connor as having the best Cindy score)

All in all, I had a great time.  The amount of knowledge in that room was enormous!  Exceeded my expectations, I would definitely attend another cert.

I would like to add that the requirement for proper form, proper depth, and proper extension touted at Brand X paid off.  I received compliments on my full extension, full height wall-ball shots, on my full extension, chest high pull-ups, and fully overhead push-press.  I replied that these were the standards required at Brand X.  I may not get the best numbers in the world, but I try not to sacrifice the standard.

I had a great time, and I wanted to share a bit of my experiences.  Thanks!

Rick

Thank-you.

That’s really good information.

More jump-rope stuff is a bit worrying,  :shock: I haven’t got to grips with double-unders yet.

Gonzo great to hear you had such a good time. All that yelling we did at Brand X paid off. Good to hear.

Rick!
It was good seeing you out there. I know I will never be able to compensate for not “putting the shirt on” while out there….
I will punish myself severly
Have fun in “The Red Hell” and I ‘ll see you when I get back

Thanks for the report. Your enthusiasm is contagious. I’m considering the Decatur one. I really don’t care about going to Decatur, but I’m afraid there won’t be one again on the east coast for quite some time.

Big D,

I believe it was you that scored my first Tabata FGB.  I remember a lot of yelling, and even more laughing. 

Swede!
Yes sir, small world! 
That’s ok, you redeemed yourself as you performed a perfect muscle up complete in street clothes.  I was impressed.  To top that off you had about 5 extra pounds of hair on your face alone. 

<cough> <cough>... Swede wants to do a PAINSTORM when he gets back to Brand X <cough> <cough>...

That can be arranged :twisted:

Gonzo
Great to hear how much you enjoyed the cert. Thanks for posting.