BTB Fitness - CrossFit - Poncey Highlands & Buckhead

“Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark.” –David Oglivy⁠
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One of the most dangerous things we can do in life is to dream too small.⁠
When we dig to the root of what causes this, we find that it’s fear.⁠
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We can convince ourselves that it’s too big of a goal. That it’s out of reach. That in and of itself is the death of the dream. A self-fulfilling prophecy from that point forward, as we can’t accomplish what we can’t believe.⁠
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So it starts with that: belief. Belief that we can learn the skills, build the capacity, and hone the craft. Having the dream is only a part of the equation, and it will only come second to having the belief. The belief that you deserve to step up to the plate, and put the ball over the fences.⁠
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The focus of this week’s is the Deadlift. These three stretches target three areas where most athletes struggle with mobility in this movement. The first two stretches help with hamstring flexibility and help get a good setup position and keep from rounding the back. The last stretch focuses on glute and hip flexibility and helps ensure that the glutes are activated for a strong pull! These three stretches can be done with no equipment (unless you use an object for the straddle stretch). Hold each for at least 30 seconds per side.

Straddle Stretch - Begin by sitting on the ground. Spread your legs apart as much as possible and lean forward trying to reach as far as possible. You can use a weight or object to help pull yourself forward as far as possible. You will feel this stretch in your groin as well as your hamstrings.

Kneeling Hamstring Stretch - Begin in a lunge position. Send your hips back until there is only a slight bend in your front knee. While keeping your back straight reach towards your toes as far as possible. Hold and repeat on the other leg. You should feel this stretch in your hamstrings.

Pigeon Pose - Begin in all fours, with your knees directly below your hips, and your hands slightly ahead of your shoulders. From there, slide your right knee forward to the outside of your right wrist. At the same time, bring your right foot to the front of your left knee, resting the outside of your right knee on the floor. Slowly slide your left leg backward, straightening your knee and lowering the front left thigh as close as possible to the floor. Lower the outside of your right buttock to the floor. Position your right heel just in front of your left hip and push your fingertips firmly into the floor. Roll your left hip joint toward your right heel, squaring your pelvis as much as possible.

It’s ! Which means it's time to reflect on all the hard work everyone put in this week’s workouts.This week was a deload week and we went lighter on the weights but threw in not one but two girl benchmark workouts! We also got some new PR’s on Nancy and Christine! Awesome job y’all and have a wonderful weekend!

“Every strike brings you closer to your next home run.” -Babe Ruth

When you hear the name “Babe Ruth”, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Hall of Fame home run hitter.

What is not the immediate reaction, is an “all-time strikeout leader”. 1,300 strikeouts. A record for three decades he held. It was eventually broken, by another who struck out quite a bit too. Mickey Mantle. A name that would be hard to guess, as he’s right next to Babe Ruth in the hall of fame for his home run hits.

These two didn’t reach their success through the home runs. They reached it through the strikeouts. Remove those embarrassing misses… and we would never know their names.

Every missed lift. Every poor competition. Every embarrassing stumble. It’s bringing us closer. This is where we get better.

The focus of this week’s is the Overhead Squat. These three stretches target three areas where most athletes struggle with mobility in this movement. The first two stretches help with wrist, chest, and upper back mobility which all help the overhead position. The last stretch focuses on ankle mobility as well as a little shoulder mobility which helps keep an upright position in the bottom of the squat. These three stretches can be done with little equipment (only a foam roller, weighted object, and a wall). Hold each for at least 30 seconds per side.

Wrist and Chest Wall Twist - Face the wall, place your palm flat on the wall with your fingers facing the ground and your arm fully extended. Slowly twist your torso in the direction of your extended arm’s pinky finger until you feel a stretch in your chest and down your arm.

Thoracic Opener - Begin by laying on your back on the ground. Place a foam roller underneath your shoulder with your feet on the ground and your hips in the air, similar to a glute bridge with your upper back on the foam roller. Fully extend your arms above your head and reach towards a weighted object. Once you are set up, slowly try to bring your hips to the ground while keeping your arms fully extended and feel the stretch in your shoulders and upper back.

Down Dog - Place your hands and feet on the ground and bring your body into an upside down “V” position. Push your head through your shoulders and try to keep your heels on the ground with your legs as straight as possible.

It’s ! Which means its time to reflect on all the hard work everyone put in this week’s workouts. This week we saw a lot of barbells and thankfully one day of burpees and no wall balls! Awesome job y’all and have a wonderful weekend!

to our awesome BTB Social we had last weekend. Had a fun bike ride before and then had a great turnout at Freedom Park. Big thanks to and .horder for putting this all together. Be on the lookout for details about our next BTB Social.

“When we are closed to ideas, what we hear is criticism. When we are open to criticism, what we get is advice.” -Simon Sinek

Our immediate temptation when we receive feedback can be to defend. And often, this defense can be so strong, that it deafens us to any potential upside. We literally close it off, not because the actual information isn’t useful… but because we allowed our emotions to get in the way.

Next time we receive feedback, let’s listen. As obvious as that sounds, there will be a temptation to start to formulate a response, a justification, or an argument. If we are doing that, we aren’t listening.

Strip away the emotion, recognizing that someone has stopped their day to provide us with thoughts that could only make us better.

The focus of this week’s is the front squat. These three stretches target three areas where most athletes struggle with mobility in this movement. The first two stretches help with wrist and lat mobility which both influence the front rack position. The last stretch focuses on ankle mobility which helps keep an upright position in the bottom of the squat. These three stretches can be done without any equipment except for a wall. Hold each for at least 30 seconds per side.

Floor Wrist Stretch - Start on all fours in a tabletop position. From here, place your palms on the floor with your fingers facing your knees. Lean backwards as you try and sit back on your heels. Feel this stretch in the forearms.

Wall Lat Stretch - Start by standing facing a wall. Reach your hand behind your head and place your palm between your shoulder blades on your upper back. Place the bottom of your elbow on the wall and lean towards the wall pushing your weight into your shoulder. Make sure to keep your core engaged and you should feel this stretch underneath your armpit.

Ankle Lunge - Begin in a lunge position with your front foot on the ground and your back knee on the ground. With your heel on the ground, proceed to push your front knee as far forward as possible. Ensure that your knee is pointing in the same direction as your toes and hold. You should feel this stretch in your calf muscle.

It’s ! Which means its time to reflect on all the hard work everyone put in this week’s workouts! This week we took from the workouts to come up with some twists to classic benchmark wods. Awesome effort everyone and have a wonderful weekend!

“No mud, no lotus”
- Thich Nhat Hanh

The mud produces a beautiful blossom, known as the lotus. Some of the most beautiful things in life come from the most adverse conditions.

It’s easy to chalk up an achievement to luck, or something someone was born with.
What’s harder to admit is that said individual put in an incredible amount of effort, perseverance, dedication, and resilience over repeated failure, time and time again, to get to where they are.

We seek the mud. We know what it brings.

For this week’s the focus will be on the hips. Having good hip mobility is crucial to strong and effective squats. Here are three great stretches that can be done without any equipment. Hold each for at least 30 seconds per side.

Upward Dog - Begin by lying face-down on the floor with your legs extended behind you. Place your hands on the floor alongside your body, next to your lower ribs. Point your fingers towards your head and hug your elbows in close to your ribcage. Press your hands firmly into the floor and straighten your arms lifting your torso. You should feel this stretch in the front of your hips.

Pigeon Pose - Begin on all fours, with your knees directly below your hips, and your hands slightly ahead of your shoulders.From there, slide your right knee forward to the outside of your right wrist. At the same time, bring your right foot to the front of your left knee, resting the outside of your right knee on the floor. Slowly slide your left leg backward, straightening your knee and lowering the front of your left thigh as close as possible to the floor. Lower the outside of your right buttock to the floor. Position your right heel just in front of your left hip and push your fingertips firmly to the floor. Roll your left hip joint toward your right heel, squaring your pelvis as much as possible.

Frog Pose - Begin in a tabletop position on your hands and knees. Make sure your hands are underneath your shoulders and knees are below the hips. Slowly move your right and left knee out towards the side. Continue opening your hips as you turn your feet out towards the side and flex your ankles so that your inner feet, inner ankles, and inner knees are touching the floor. Slowly lower down to your forearms with the palms either flat on the floor or pressed together.