CrossFit Sixth City

Congratulations to Tom McChrystal on winning CSC's Sweatiest Angel award for the month of November! The Sweatiest Angel award is given each month to a CSC member who displays significant work ethic, a willingness to support others and a true sense of camaraderie inside the gym. This describes Tom to a T. Everyday he supports his fellow athletes and pushes himself to find new limits.   How long have you been doing CrossFit? I have been in the CrossFit game for a little over a year and a half.  What do you do when you are not at CSC? When I am not at CSC, I am working for Coca Cola. I spend time with friends and family just relaxing. I do a lot of reading, I enjoy a good book. When did you realize CrossFit was for you? I have to say I was hooked after my first WOD. But what has made me stay with CrossFit was finding the right gym. What is your favorite WOD/movement?  I enjoy bar muscle ups. But double unders

Guest author: Linda Glynias   In that last few weeks (now at the age of 56) I have heard... "I am sorry Linda, but I did not recognize you, you look so much younger, maybe about 27?" said an older customer of mine from Bulgaria, possibly incurring failing vision... "The solution to diabetes is simple" said my endocrinology doctor, "stay healthy", as he is surrounded by mostly patients with severe issues. I am encouraged to lose weight and have a healthy lifestyle to prevent complications of diabetes. "Whatever you are doing, keep it up," said my cardiologist after I had my lowest cholesterol reading in 15 years. Since my mother was a cardiac patient, I have been testing and trying to control my elevated cholesterol for over 20 years. "So how is your CrossFit going?" a friend asks.   "I respect the way you honor your modifications" my yoga instructor commented. I am carefully doing “ my own

Recently Megan Wolansky competed in her first Olympic weightlifting meet - The Midwest Strongest Unicorn at Endeavor Defense + Fitness in Hilliard, Ohio.  She was incredibly nervous, as most people would be, but stayed focused and really impressed.  This is her story... “Get comfortable being uncomfortable.”  This is most likely a quote that we have all heard before, especially in the world of CrossFit. If you haven’t, this quote is one that emphasizes the importance of mental strength. As athletes, we can all complete a WOD by scaling the weight well below our strengths or go through the WOD without pushing ourselves to our maximal physical capacity. We go through the workout rather quickly, thinking “this isn’t that hard.” We are comfortable with the weight, or the pace that we chose for this workout. The workout was probably completed fairly easily, or with little difficultly, but we missed the major point of this quote - being uncomfortable. Being a

Congratulations to Jake Phelps on winning CSC's Sweatiest Angel award for the month of October! The Sweatiest Angel award is given each month to a CSC member who displays significant work ethic, a willingness to support others and a true sense of camaraderie inside the gym. Jake is one of those put his head down and keep pushing full steam ahead kind of people, and it serves him.  Especially in tough workouts.  We don't know if he's ever backed down from a challenge.  Certainly not against Coach J!  He's also the type of person who hangs around and cheers on his fellow classmates.  Cheers to you, Jake! How long have you been doing CrossFit? Just over 1 year. What do you do when you are not at CSC? During the week, outside sales for a packaging company. On the weekends, desperately cheering on my Cleveland sports teams. When did you realize CrossFit was for you? I attended CSC's grand opening in 2014... My strength, athleticism and competitiveness

Congratulations to Brian Rockwell on winning CSC's Sweatiest Angel award for the month of September!  The Sweatiest Angel award is given each month to a CSC member who displays significant work ethic, a willingness to support others and a true sense of camaraderie inside the gym.  Brian busts his butt each day he's at the gym as well as puts in extra time working on weaknesses and continuing to grow strengths.  He is also a great athlete to have in class as his experience level allows him to lead and help new athletes getting accustomed to the class environment.  You can usually find him doing handstands and OHS, without his shirt on! How long have you been doing CrossFit? Almost 3 years. What do you do when you are not at CSC? I am a lawyer for the Cleveland Clinic. Outside of work and CSC I do a lot of yoga and read a lot (I'm secretly a big literature nerd). When did you realize CrossFit was for you? My first workout back in DC - I thought I was going to di

Congratulations to Megan Wolansky on winning CSC's Sweatiest Angel award for the month of August!  The Sweatiest Angel award is given each month to a CSC member who displays significant work ethic, a willingness to support others and a true sense of camaraderie inside the gym. How long have you been doing CrossFit? My first WOD was at CLE with Pat (her brother) and Coach Jeff on St. Patrick's Day in 2012. I remember doing 65 lb push press and bear crawl. I got done and ran 3 miles because I felt like I needed more cardio. I couldn't move my arms for the next 5 days....and signed up at CrossFit Akron a month later. What do you do when you are not at CSC? Working full-time during the week as a nurse/clinical instructor and doing grad school homework on the weekends. When I'm not a complete nerd, I'm probably teaching Bernie a cool trick with Mike, having doggy play dates, or taking pictures of my cat, Jack. When did you realize CrossFit was for

Join us in congratulating CSC's Sweatiest Angel of the month for July, Allison Hayes! Each month CSC recognizes one of our members for their exceptional work ethic.  The Sweatiest Angel is not someone who works as hard as they can day in and day out, but also receptive to coaching, a great teammate and consistently focused on pursuing their goals and supporting those around them. Allison is one of those people that ooze work ethic and eagerness.  Sometimes we cannot get her to leave the gym.  But seriously, if anyone has suggestions on how to get her to go home we're all ears.  Perhaps this is one of the reasons why she has come as far as she has since starting CrossFit in 2013 and coming to CSC in 2014.  We are a little scared to dig up an old picture of her though.  Instead we'll let her show off her impressive transformation... and guns! How long have you been doing CrossFit? A little over 2 years. What do you do when you are not at CSC (hobbies, occ

Please join us in welcoming James Catino to the CSC coaching family!   Many of our PM athletes have likely seen James around and have hopefully had the chance to introduce themselves as he has been an athlete at CSC since February, but you may not know that James has CrossFit coaching experience from Birdtown CrossFit in Lakewood.  He has also been doing CrossFit for 3 years and competing for just less than that.  Prior to CrossFit, James spent time honing his gymnastic skills as well as body building and competitive lifting. We are very excited about adding James to a coaching line-up with as much experience and expertise as any around.  We believe he will make an excellent addition and training mind for our CSC athletes to pick as well as being a genuinely great guy.  You will find James coaching every Monday and Tuesday evening and as well as Saturdays.   So introduce yourselves if you haven't yet, and could someone please find out where the Cat Daddy nickname came from!

Congratulations - Tara Lin Hollins Join us in congratulating CrossFit Sixth City's Sweatiest Angel recipient for the month of June 2015 - Tara-Lin!   THEN NOW Sweatiest Angel Award Each month CSC recognizes someone for their hard work. The Sweatiest Angel is not someone who works as hard as they can day in and day out, but also receptive to coaching, a great teammate and consistently focused on pursuing their goals. Question + Answer How many years have you been doing CrossFit? I have been doing CrossFit for 10 months.   What do you do when you are not at CSC (hobbies, occupation, etc)? Well, I am usually studying, sleeping, working or just sitting outside in the sun ( I am originally from Southern California). When did you realize CrossFit was for you? I knew CrossFit was for me after my first WOD. I just loved the energy and being able to feed off of other, which made me work harder.     What is your favorite WOD/movement? I do not have a favori

Congratulations - Katy Appleby Join us in congratulating CrossFit Sixth City's Sweatiest Angel recipient for the month of June 2015 - Katy Appleby! Sweatiest Angel Award Each month CSC recognizes someone for their hard work.  The Sweatiest Angel is not someone who works as hard as they can day in and day out, but also receptive to coaching, a great teammate and consistently focused on pursuing their goals. Question + Answer How many years have you been doing CrossFit ?   Two years in August. What do you do when you are not at CSC (hobbies, occupation, etc)?     My hobbies include: pretending to be a law student, copious hydration, trying to match my sunglasses to my outfit, and telling stories with too much detail.   When did you realize CrossFit was for you?   When I walked in on my first day of on-ramp and had the same shoes on as Stokes, after watching her bound a bunch of box jumps like she does, I knew I had to try and be just like her.   Wh

Congratulations - Linda Glynias & Paul Schumacher Join us in congratulating CrossFit Sixth City's Co-Sweatiest Angels for the month of April 2015 - Linda Glynias and Paul Schumacher! Sweatiest Angel Award Each month CSC recognizes someone for their hard work.  The Sweatiest Angel is not someone who works as hard as they can day in and day out, but also receptive to coaching, a great teammate and consistently focused on pursuing their goals. Question + Answer (Linda) How many years have you been doing CrossFit ?   3 years   What do you do when you are not at CSC (hobbies, occupation, etc)? Self employed, insurance sales (mainly health and Medicare), have about 500 customers, since 1981! hobbies include yoga, cycling, swimming,volunteering for St Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church and the Disaster Team/American Red Cross. Travel to visit children (Marissa now in CT and Joey in Washington DC) and with husband’s , Manuel-select business trips! (like London

We are coming up on the last week of May which means one thing here in Cleveland - it is Memorial Day weekend and hopefully Summer has finally come!  In the CrossFit world, this also means it is time for Murph! If you find yourself asking who Murph is then you must be new to our functional fit world of people who do not always take the easy road, are willing to work harder than they ever have for their fitness goals, and understand that the support of a community can lift mountains.  Welcome!  And prepare to scream at yourself for 40+ minutes this Memorial Day. What Is Murph  Murph is a CrossFit Hero WOD.  More, THE CrossFit Hero WOD.  Each year thousands of gyms around the United States program the same WOD on the same day - Memorial Day Murph. Murph was created in honor of the sacrifice of Lt. Michael Murphy, one of the storied American soldiers in the movie Lone Survivor.  Click the link to read more about Lt. Murphy and the Murph Foundation. The Murph workout itself is