Crossfit Huntingdon Valley

Love helping others help themselves! Another client returned to her gym with a better understanding on how to run without pain.

Wow! This is one of the most amazing women I’ve had the honor to train. The dedication to addressing the entire system of movement takes hard work and dedication. This mom of 7 soon to be 8 is superwoman. It’s been amazing watching her from afar crushing it at her amazing CrossFit gym. Here is what she has to say about one on one training, “I worked with Katy for around a year and then got pregnant again, during which I saw her a few times to check in and follow up. Interestingly enough, I had much less pain overall during this pregnancy which I attribute to having a stronger core and body due to working with Katy. I am almost due at this time and am looking forward to getting my post baby body back quickly this time around!! I am currently a huge advocate for other moms to work with a trainer and have sent two of my friends to Katy as well!
I am definitely a happy “customer” and look forward to continuing to work with Katy as needed in the future!”

Is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) an indication of a good workout? With brands like livesore apparel it makes it sound productive to be sore all the time or is that just a catchy phrase? Or is there truth that being sore leads to more gains?

A mentor of mine shared a quote with me, “ I can throw you down a flight of stairs and make you sore but did I help you?”

We have had clients over the years say things like, “I did a workout and it made me sore in places I haven't felt before.

We get it. It FEELS productive but remember feelings are not facts.

We could make you do a 1000 burpees and yes you will be sore because that is something new for your body. Did we help you progress toward your goals, are you able to workout the next day or even walk? This is why we don’t throw people into crossfit classes anymore or down stairs (just kidding.) They are sore for days or even a week. This isn’t going to make frequency at the gym possible.

Bottom line, more soreness does not equal more hypertrophy (see article below.) It just means that you did a new thing.

This means if there is no muscle gain from it we would want to limit DOMS.

So what's the best way?

Drumroll………

SLOW Progression into a new activity.

Bottomline picking workouts just because it will make you sore is not efficient. A program that progresses you properly with your specific goals in mind is ideal. Want to learn more DM us.

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/doms/

RX your Effort

RX represents the ideal level of intensity for a specific workout with respect to weight, reps, and time domains.

Trying to hit the written Rx weight every workout every day can decrease your performance. We say this not to kill your crossfit dreams but help maintain a balance where you wont burn out, increase injury and plateau. If we become fixated on numbers we miss the opportunities to progress by using smart progressions, meeting ourselves how we feel that day (sleep, hydration, prior workout volume and stress.)

So how do you Rx YOUR effort to maximize your workout

1. Use Rx numbers as a guide (e.g running for a time rather than a distance 2min for a 400m, 20 reps unbroken fresh with your workout weight.)

2. It can take trial and error: If you do 12 workouts in a month you should make the cap 10 out of 12. This is time to check in with yourself. Do you miss the time domain everyday? Maybe it's time to assess your weakness (e.g. mobility)

3. Don’t max out on the lift when it says a heavy 3, intentional training means respecting percentages. They are there to help you increase power and strength overtime. Don't sacrifice long term gains for a short term dopamine hit.

Put these 3 simple changes allowing yourself to RX YOUR EFFORT (staying in time domain, reps and weight that is appropriate for you to improve performance long term.)

Memorial Day Murph! Who got all the questions right this morning?

Thanks to all who came out for some Top golf on Saturday night!

THE PROBLEM:
My biggest challenge pre hybrid was definitely the pain in my knee. Having been a dedicated crossfitter for almost ten years before Covid, coaching and competing alongside everyday fitness, I racked up a fair amount of minor(and one major) injuries. I still managed to maintain a level of fitness that allowed me to compensate and stay out of pain but that all stopped when I took a few years off of fitness. Before I started hybrid I couldn’t do a single air squat without wincing in pain.

THE OBSTACLES:
When I started to try and get back in shape my knee pain was a huge obstacle. Remembering what my body could do before and I stopped and realizing that I couldn’t come close to training like that when I came back was a mental block for sure. I actually had a few false starts returning to fitness out of sheer frustration from pain I felt at doing things I found so easy before.

WHY CROSSFITHV?
Starting Hybrid and working with Katy was very different from the CrossFit I knew but after our first few conversations I was able to see that this is what I needed. Hybrid provided a personalized approach for me to meet my goals versus the group fitness class I was used to.

THE RESULTS:
A few months into Hybrid I was doing weighted step ups and as I braced myself for the usual pain and discomfort I had on my left knee trying these I moved pain free. I thought maybe it was a fluke so I did a few more and there was no pain. This wasn’t the magical moment that anyone in pain hopes for where it all goes away and you are back to normal as other movements definitely caused me pain still, but this was the first time in years I could something like that and not be in pain. Since then other movements have gradually become pain free or at least improved a good deal.

Now that I have been doing this for awhile and my knee has greatly improved I feel like I’m almost where I want to be. I don’t stress about strenuous things at work anymore and hopefully soon I will be at the point where I can start normal CrossFit classes again. The difference in the way my body feels is huge compared to last year when I started down this path and I am incredibly grateful to Katy and Bryan for providing something like Hybrid when most gyms don’t. This is the 8th gym I have been a member at since I started in 2010 and no other gym has had anything quite like this.

Touching back to our post from yesterday about loads on the body that can cause someone to reach their capacity. It’s never the last rep of an exercise that causes injury. This chart could be individualized for each person (each person has a different injury history, adaptation to stress etc.) Yes, we address mechanics (Mechanoreception) but also adaptation to stress, hydration, nutrition, recovery, sleep etc.) This testimonial illustrates this concept perfectly.

You Don’t Have to Suffer from Chronic Pain!

In some ways, I don’t feel ready to write this testimonial - why? Because I feel like I am in a messy middle. I feel like I am a work in progress. To be brief, in 2018 I was diagnosed with a large disc herniation in my L4-5, T12-L1 small herniation, and an L5-S1 disc desiccation with a central annular tear. I saw two orthopedic surgeons and they both recommended surgery. From research I found that the likelihood of a surgery being effective was significantly reduced because it had been too long since the herniation occurred. I asked one of the surgeons if he thought I could recover without surgery. He said he wasn’t a betting man, but if he was, he would bet on surgery. After seeing a little improvement with aquatic therapy and considering the statistics for a positive outcome, I decided against surgery.

The circumstances in which my injury occurred were challenging. I worked a physically demanding job that I hated where I think the injury took place, I was taking 3-4 barre classes a week which I loved but there wasn’t instruction on proper form, and a close family member suddenly died. All of these life factors brought an otherwise healthy 28 year old to a breaking point.

For years I worked with many different people to try to alleviate my back pain. All of the approaches helped a little but I never felt like anything really stuck. I definitely felt better than when I did in 2018, so I kept hoping that I would someday be able to return to normal exercise. The only exercises I felt safe doing were walking and some pilates exercises.

Fast forward to October 1st 2021, when I began working with Katy. I had followed Katy’s posts on her CrossFit page for a while. I was intrigued by the way she approached healing and exercise, and the testimonials were phenomenal. I decided to give it a shot, and I am so glad I did.

I was still having low back pain, radiating leg pain, and ongoing neck pain flare ups. When I began working with Katy, my neck would spasm when I tried to do the core exercises she starts all of her clients with. I still couldn’t drive for long periods of time without pain. Almost every time that I came in for a session my right hip would be higher than the other which explained the pain I had while walking.

When we began working together we faced many interruptions because of Covid and just when I felt like things were beginning to improve a close family member developed a terminal illness which interrupted our sessions even more. I mention this, because even though I could not reliably attend our appointments Katy stuck with me. Whenever I was down about lack of progress she would look at me with determination and say, this will work for you, we just have to keep at it.

Fast forward to 2023, I generally have no pain in my low back. I do not have pain while driving, and pain does not shoot down my leg. My hips are consistently in alignment. If I don’t do my exercises for a couple days I can feel the pain creep back. I can perform modified exercises in her CrossFit Hybrid class and I’m excited to keep growing in that area.

For the first time in my memory I can do a straight leg raise with my back completely flat, with no pain in my back, or tension in my legs. I was never able to do that exercise without a wedge under my low back. Now my legs easily lift up and I feel my core working without back pain.

In addition to continuing with the exercises Katy gives me, I’m also using the chronic pain management app Curable, and working with a therapist to manage my anxiety and process some challenging life circumstances. What I love about Katy’s approach is that she doesn’t just look at your case through the lens of Physical Therapy. She carefully considers all the factors that go into a person's physical health and is always happy to discuss how conditions such as anxiety play a role in the experience of pain.

I’m honored to write this testimonial, and if I’ve learned anything from Katy - it’s that we don’t have to suffer in chronic pain. I recommend working with her to all of my friends and family, and to anybody who has pain and is willing to do the work to get better.

I’m not yet where I want to be - doing the full range of exercises offered at the gym, taking yoga classes without fear, running, or able to do a pull up - but I’m confident I’m going to be able to someday with Katy’s help.

We've posted this before but it's worth posting again.

This is important. Before you walk into the gym to do a high intensity workout, ask yourself, "How am I feeling today?"

The red column: do you have any underlying injuries? Are you feeling burnt out? Stressed? Did you grab a donut instead of a nutrient dense food for a snack? Did you have a crappy night’s sleep? Has work been taxing?

You are literally stacking the odds against you if this is all piled up so that when you add that workout to your day, you’ve exceeded your capacity. This zone is unsafe, it can lead to injury or burnout.

The green column: this is about taking care of yourself and your basic needs. How can you expect your mind and body to get through a high intensity workout If your basic needs haven’t been met?

Start with basics. Focus on and fix any limitations or injuries before pushing yourself so hard. Take a deep breath–your mental health is a part of your body. Fuel your body with good food and stay hydrated. Put your phone away, far away from your bed and get the rest that you need.

Do all of this so that there’s room for a workout, a walk, playing with your kids, a hike–whatever it is that energizes you.



[email protected]
(267) 964-0915
— in Huntingdon Valley.

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THE CHALLENGE: I love walking. It’s exercise, but I really enjoy it. But it was starting to seem like the more I walked, the more I ended up with one body part or another getting tighter and more in pain- lower back and foot especially. It was really discouraging- something that I knew was good for me, mentally and physically, and something that I loved to do, was getting harder to enjoy, harder to do. I was skipping walks (to my dogs’ dismay).
I was seeing a chiropractor regularly, and I got foot exercises, shoe inserts and a steroid shot from a podiatrist. But although those things helped, the pain always came back.

WHY CROSSFIT HV: I knew from my first consult with Katy that I was going to like working with her. She is so good at listening, and she was able to connect the dots between all the different kinds of pain I was having. And to approach all of it as connected.

BETTER WALKING WITH LESS DISCOMFORT: At some point after I started working with Katy, I realized that when I walked, the sound of my footsteps had changed- they sounded even, balanced. I was continuing to see my chiropractor (who I love). Whenever I went to a chiropractic appointment, she had always needed to adjust my hips. But she stopped needing to do that. Now my hips stay aligned without needing the chiropractor to keep readjusting them.

THE RESULTS: Walking is getting better and better. The back and foot pain rarely show up anymore and when they do, they resolve quickly.
And I can comfortably hold a squat position for a long time! For some reason this is so amazing to me. I thought I couldn’t hold a squat because my legs weren’t strong, but now I see it’s just because my hips weren’t able to fully function and support me the way they were designed to. I feel like the work I’m doing with Katy now is going to still be paying dividends in my mobility 20 years from now (I’m 57).
I always feel like Katy is really listening, and genuinely interested in working with me to get my body moving well and comfortably. I’m so grateful to get to work with her.

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates (Yes it is almost April already)!