Coaches Corner
The 101 isn’t the only thing that is full this time of year, so is the FFAZ event calendar!
On Feb 11th, Coach Mac and member Lauren Lofy are teaming up to compete in the Cupid’s Revenge competition hosted at CrossFit Infernal in Mesa. Start time TBD, but they would love some support from the FFAZ community.
Dr Sarah is hosting a seminar about pelvic floor health and what pelvic PT can do to improve pelvic floor dysfunction. The seminar will be on 2/25/23 starting at 10:30 am. This is open to the public and free to attend. Please spread the word to anyone that would be interested!
The CrossFit open also starts mid February. The open is a 3 week competition series where 1 workout is released each week and everyone around the world that signs up for the open has the opportunity to perform the workout and submit their score to see how they stack up in their gym, age group, local community, nationally and worldwide. I would encourage anyone and everyone to consider signing up and participating. We are throwing a wrinkle into it by having a draft and intramural style teams configured. It’s a great way to measure your personal fitness level while testing your own limits and comfort zones. If the workouts aren’t your speed then at least mark your calendar for our “Friday Night Lights" events and cheer on your friends and enjoy a few weeks of socials at the gym.
- Feb 17th will be our first Friday night lights. We will be doing a chili cook off with prizes being given out for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers.
- Feb 24th is the date for week 2. Sub sandwiches will be provided for everyone that signs up!
- March 3rd will be the last week of the open. This week we will have the grill fired up and have a potluck style cookout.
More details to come the week of the open, so stay tuned for information circulating at the gym and on social media.
Exciting times are upon us, it’s a new year with new goals and new focuses. We will double down and stay rooted in our mission to provide the best environment possible for our members and community to grow in health wellness and friendship! Thanks again for the support, and we look forward to a happy and healthy 2023!
Let's Celebrate!
Congratulations to the 100 Class Club Inductees
January
- Amanda Schlossler
- Brandon Chegwin
- Mike Dorr
- Cindy Allen
- Andrew Belcher
- Jose Leon
- Tanya Brand
- Tim Bateman
February
- Brandon Vogel
- Kayla Kucera
- Peggy Tazelaar
- Richard Otwell
- Shannon Daniel
- Yazmeen Ybarra
Birthdays
January
- 1/3 Kevin Munson
- 1/5 Andy Wilding
- 1/12 Cole Potts
- 1/13 Marc Beyer
- 1/16 Mary Candra
- 1/21 Rhonda Keavney
- 1/22 Ryan Anderson
- 1/23 Erin Kizimenko
- 1/25 Charles Litecky
- 1/28 Kinga Laskay
- 1/29 Coach Mac Schneider
- 1/31 jimmy Mikrut
February
- 2/1 Richard Flores
- 2/4 Kale Beram
- 2/5 Bret Ricklefs
- 2/12 Ethan Lawrence
- 2/12 Ty Ribera
- 2/22 Coach David Waite
- 2/24 Mike Dorr
- 2/24 Rohit Nichani
- 2/28 Cindy Allen
- 2/28 Joshua Gonzales
Anatomy Optimized
Your Guide to the Reverse Hyper
Hello Fortified family! My name is Trent Kucera. I am a physical therapist and coach here at the gym. We have a new piece of equipment at the gym that we are really excited about. This machine is called a Reverse Hyper. We believe this piece of equipment will be a beneficial tool for our athletes and patients. This month’s write up is going to cover how to set up on the Reverse Hyper, how to perform reverse hyperextensions, and the benefits of the reverse
hyperextension exercise.
Set Up
Assume a prone position on the Reverse Hyper machine as shown below. If you have a hard time reaching the platform utilize the pegs. Both legs will go inside the belt. The belt should be kept taut the entire time. Hips should be positioned at the end of the pads. Grab the handles and let your legs hang. This is the start position for the exercise. You may experience a stretch to the low back in this position.
Performing the Exercise
Start the exercise with straight legs and tension against the belt. Lift your legs using your glutes and hamstrings. The lower back will remain stable on the pads, while the pelvis and lower extremities are moving. At the top of the movement, think of trying to pause. It’s improbable that you’ll actually be able to pause, but it will help with muscle recruitment and control of movement. At the bottom of the movement, the weight should pull your legs under the machine.
You should feel your low back, glutes and hamstrings contracting at the top of the movement, while you should feel a stretch to the low back as the weight pulls your legs under the machine.
Benefits of the Exercise
The reverse hyperextension exercise can be used to improve performance, rehabilitate an injury, or for injury prevention. It isolates the posterior chain musculature (low back, glutes, and hamstrings) in an unloaded position. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that we love to load the spine (squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts, etc.) and believe it is healthy to do so. Nevertheless, it is good to have options, especially if load isn’t tolerated well. Furthermore, the reverse
hyperextension exercise trains hip extension. This can translate to better performance with hip hinging and gymnastics movements.
Hopefully this write up is helpful in outlining the Reverse Hyper machine. I posted a YouTube link below as an additional reference. If there are any further questions, please reach out to one of our physical therapists or coaches for assistance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MthYct8yxQ
Mom’s Corner
Hey FF Fam! I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and your new year is off to a good start! Has anyone set any great new year’s goals? Well, to be honest, I’m not much of a goal setter, but rather a week-by-week checker off-er.
Over the past year, I was determined to make it into the gym at least 3x per week. I definitely accomplished that and made it pretty consistent on going around 4x per week. As I’ve started 2023, I am challenging myself to make it a minimum of 4 days, if not 5-6 days a week. I’m proud of myself and my body, but what this last year has taught me is that consistency pays off over everything else. The dedication has allowed me to go from scaling every workout to now being able to perform most at RX.
I know we all have busy lives. Things can be hectic being a mom, dad, having a job/career, a social life etc. When I prioritized working the gym into your weekly schedule, the consistency came with it. I want to challenge you all this year to push yourselves with the workouts and increase your attendance by a day if able and I bet you will notice the difference over the long haul.
Nicolette - Mom’s Corner
Weigh Ankor
The Mental Mind Game of the Scale
During the month of January I decided to weigh myself every day and post it on my Instagram stories. I never imagined the mental mind game the scale would play with my mind over the month.
It started out great, I was bloated from the holidays and dropped the bloat quickly once I started eating my macros and working out the way I usually do again. But then, the universe reminded me that I’m still capable of making a human inside my body and the bloat came back. The scale stayed the same or swung back and forth one to two pounds each day.
Once that was over, the scale stayed the same. I tried to remind myself that it’s going to do that because there are so many variables each day that will change and as long as I’m hitting my macros and doing my workouts, it really doesn’t matter. Also, I would remind myself, I am hitting goals in the gym so I’m going to be building muscle which is going to add to the scale.
My lowest weight was 162.7, but I was lightheaded and dizzy during the workouts and I wasn’t able to lift as heavy as I wanted to. So, I made the decision to add calories to my diet. This decision made me gain some weight. Weight that was noticed by some people in my life which didn’t help my mindset, but I just stuck to my guns. I know my body, I know what feels right and what doesn’t. I went up to 175.
Since the beginning of January, I’ve been 181. I can’t get below it unless I do a serious cut and I just don’t want to do that. There have been so many women that have been watching my stories and reading my small rants each morning, I am so grateful to the ones that have started conversations with me. I’ve learned so much about you and your mental struggles with the scale.
Maintenance is probably the hardest part of weight loss I’ve experienced. Once you hit the goal weight, you really aren’t sure what to do next. Do you have to stay that weight for the rest of your life? Do you want to lose more? Do you want to gain more muscle? Then what if you gain a little more back? Does it make you a horrible person? No, but that’s what some of us think.
One thing that definitely saved me was that I take my body measurements each week along with photos in the 1st phorm app. I compared my measurements now to the measurements of last year when I weighed 162.7. Most of the measurements are the same. The only ones that had a significant difference were my biceps and my chest.
I calmed down a bit after I made that comparison. I already knew my weight gain wasn’t because I was being lazy, it was because I was gaining muscle and getting stronger but the number measurements really helped me confirm it in my mind.
So if you’re getting down on yourself because of the scale:
- Know you’re not alone. A lot of us do it.
- Start taking measurements and compare them through time.
- Know that sometimes life is going to throw you curveballs and you might get off track sometimes. That’s okay. Just start doing the things you know you need to do little by little until you’re fully back on track.
Follow me on instagram: @weighankor
Visit the site: weighankor.com
MAV Real Estate Team
Hey FF Family!
Because there is so much going on and happening in The Valley this month, we decided to take a break from the real estate news and not only mention a few fun and cool events happening in February, but also highlight a few of our members that are working/participating in these events!
Scottsdale Western Week
January 28 – February 5, 2023
Location: Old Town, Scottsdale
More Info: scottsdalewesternweek.com
Member Highlight
Jose Leon is the President of the Parada Foundation and will be riding with The Scottsdale Charros during the Parada Del Sol Historic Parade and Trail’s End on Saturday February 4th from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (The festival will go from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM that day)
Waste Management Open
February 06-12, 2023
Location: TPC Scottsdale
17020 N. Hayden Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85255
More Info: wmphoenixopen.com
Pinnacle Peak Farmer’s Market
February 11, 2023; 9am-2pm
Location: Pinnacle Peak Farmers Market
2805 W Agua Fria Fwy Phoenix, Arizona
More Info: facebook.com/pinnaclepeakfarmersmarket
Member Highlight
Hope Johnson will be there selling her groovy Happily Hope Sunglasses at this Farmers Market on February 11th! To check out some of her amazing products, go here: happilyhopellc.com. Hope will be participating in many markets in February, and other months. To see what other cool places you can get her rad glasses, you can reach out to her directly or follow her instagram for more deets! Phone: (661) 699-5564, Instagram: @happilyhopellc
Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show
February 16-26, 2023
Location: Westworld of Scottsdale
16601 N. Pima Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85260
More Info: scottsdaleshow.com
Member Highlight
A few of our amazing members below are participating and working this event all weekend long. All of these members play an important role in this amazing event so make sure to go out and support if you can!
Manuel: Trainer and Handler
Koy: Owner and Handler
Shannon: Adult Amateur Rider
——
Basically, we have some amazing members out there doing a lot of really cool things, so be sure to check out and support any and all members that you can! Keep up the amazing work friends!!
We almost forgot to mention (in case you didn’t already know.. 😉), on top of all of these amazing events, and many more, Arizona is home to this year's Super Bowl! So that means it’s time to start packing your patience when driving around… pretty much anywhere during February LOL! Best of luck out there! Have fun, drive safe, and stay sane.
***If you have any questions on the real estate market or are thinking of buying or selling, we are always just a quick call or text away! - Or you can usually catch us at the 6:15pm class!
~ Madeline & Vincent Fiore
The MAV Real Estate Team
As always, you can find more AZ specific real estate info, helpful tips and tricks at MAVrealestate.com or visit us on IG @MAVrealestate.
A Decade of CrossFit
I’m not a mom to a human baby, but I do have a fur baby, Stogie, whom I love dearly, and it’s not that my husband and I didn’t want kids—it just wasn’t in the cards for us. After years of disappointments, I knew it was time for a change of focus and energy.
And that’s when a $39.99 Groupon for “Let’s CrossFit” popped up. For those not aware, “Let’s CrossFit” was the name of our gym before it was “CrossFit Forbidden” which was the name before it was “Fortified Fitness."
January 3, 2013, was the first day I stepped foot in the box, having absolutely no idea what to expect. Since the age of 16, I had always been a gym goer—I lifted weights, took all types of classes, taught cycling classes for a few years, even met my husband at the gym.
However, with all that experience, I had never done Olympic lifts, never squatted below parallel, never heard of a kipping pull-up, and forget about all the acronyms and abbreviations—I was so confused!
My first few days were quite intimidating to say the least, yet exhilarating. Thank God I had some amazing coaches with saint-like patience. I spent countless hours watching YouTube videos and practicing my lifts with a broom handle before I went to the gym just so I wouldn’t be too annoying to the coach. But I’ll tell you, I was hooked right from the beginning.
Ten years later I am still improving, still hitting PR’s, and still in love with CrossFit. Thank you to all of you that ever coached me or worked out with me. All of you have had a positive impact on me—whether you fixed a problem with my lift, encouraged me to go faster or lift heavier, cheered me on to not give up, inspired me by being amazing, or simply made me laugh.
Fortified Fitness is an outstanding community and means the world to me! 😊
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