This weekend is the big game! With it comes some big opportunities to fall off the wagon nutritionally. This weekend it is important that we all have self-control, and remember what we do today will affect what we do tomorrow. In reality, some of us will fall off the wagon and others won't. I'm probably going to indulge at least a little bit on Sunday. With that in mind, many of the same tips we talked about over the holidays will apply on Sunday.

-Keep it contained- Try to keep any cheating to one meal only. When you're done, you're done. Don't let one meal ruin your whole day, or week.

-Don't compromise quality for quantity: Everybody has their favorite food. Mine happens to be any combination of peanut butter and chocolate. When you are going to cheat, try to do so on your absolute favorite food. When I do so, I get maximum satisfaction with minimal damage. Instead of mowing through a few bag of chips along with some cheese dip and then your favorite food, cheat with only your favorite food and be done with it.

-Shake it off: After you have anything that is considered a 'cheat', you will probably feel pretty bad. This is an excellent opportunity for laziness to slip in. Who wants to go to the gym when they don't feel well? Probably nobody. This is when it is the most important to go. Show up on Monday, work off Sunday, and let that be the end of it.

Finally, here is a list of paleo snacks. Don't feel pressured to bring bad food just because its a party. I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend!

-T.I.

Nathalie jumping rope during Tuesday's WOD! Click here to check out more pictures on Flickr.

Some people love rings, but most people hate them. The rings are a difficult thing to master. The trouble most people have with the rings is instability, which can be hard to overcome but is a great strength developer. When you press a barbell overhead you have one solid piece of metal in your hand. While a barbell can be quite heavy, it’s pretty stable. However, when doing ring dips, you are forced to stabilize your arms independently. Performing such movements can greatly improve strength with the barbell and overall strength.

Let’s be honest, how often are you going to find a perfectly balanced bar that needs moving in everyday life? Probably not often! It’s much more likely that you will find an unbalanced, unstable load that needs to be put overhead. This is exactly why the rings are important. They help develop stabilizer muscle in your shoulders, which not only helps when doing dips, but also when you are performing any pushing movement.

We know that not everyone can handle the rings right away, and that’s ok. There are plenty of progressions that you can do to help you build up to being able to use the rings. Start with pushups and when you feel comfortable, move up to the dip station. Once you feel doing dips, try out the rings. You can use the different bands to help you progress enough to use the rings without bands.

Can any of our ring enthusiasts give some more tips to beginners? How long did it take you to feel comfortable on the rings?

 Donna working on some burpees! Click here to check out more pictures on Flickr.

Some you may have not have noticed, but CrossFit can be very grip intensive. Between pull-ups, kb swings, deadlifts, rope climbs, muscle ups, snatches, and almost every other movement we do your grip can take a beating. There are a few different ways that you can help train your grip so that your perform better in the gym and in everyday life:

-Don't switch your grip on your deadlift until absolutely necessary. You should try to keep both your hands facing the same way until your grip starts to fail. At this point its ok to use the switch grip to pull more weight. This is something I am really bad about. Whenever I am even demoing deadlift my grip is switched. That is not good. This is one example where following exactly what your trainers do is a bad thing.

-Use a thicker bar. This one's for the ladies, sorry guys. When you train on a thicker bar, it activates muscles in your shoulder differently than on a thinner bar. Also, because you cannot grip the bar as well, your nervous system actually produces more power to move the same amount of weight.  Ladies train on a men's bar when you can, and then when it comes PR time switch back to the female bar.

-Use the grip force grip trainers. These nifty little tools are right behind the kbs. You can actually slip these around anything in our gym. You can use them on kbs, pullup bars, and the barbells.

You guys should try some of these methods and see how your grip strength affects the rest of your game.

Chris aka TI

Mike and Andressa killing some sit ups and rowing. Click here to check out pics on Flickr!

So it has been one month since the beginning of 2012. How are your resolutions going? Has your persistence waned? Do you find it hard to keep pressing towards that goal? Yeah I know mine aren't going all that well either. This blog post serves more of a check-in purpose than a guilt trip. If you have stopped pursuing your goal everyday, take a moment and reflect about why you set that goal. Did you set it because it would be good for you? Did you set a goal for someone else? These are important questions to ask. If you haven't really decided why you set that goal, odds are that your persistence has diminished in the past month. Now is the time to re-examine yourself, your goals, and your motivations. Not everyone will set goals that will change the world for the better, some people will only set goals to look better, perform better, or save money. Those are ok, no matter what, make sure you know why you are pursuing your goal.

Instead of making February about Valentines day and chocolate (oh how I love chocolate), make February about re-committing yourself to your resolutions that most of you have forgotten about now. A few good ways to do this are:

-If you wrote your goal down, find it and post it somewhere visible.

-Retell other people about your goals. they will help keep you accountable.

-Take a little time to assess your progress. If you have made progress celebrate, if you haven't recognize it and do better in the upcoming months.

-Chris aka TI

Marty working on some kettlebell swings.  Click here to check out check out more pics on Flickr!

At CFB we do quite a bit of lifting.  We are currently working on a strength training cycle.  During this cycle we do 2 sets of 5 reps and then do a set to failure of the same weight.  If you have been lifting weight for more then a week, you are probably a bit stronger then just lifting the barbell.  Therefore, it is important to use warm up sets.  When we write a lift on the board and it says 2 x 5 and then 1 x 5 AMRAP we do not mean just load your working weight on the bar and get after it.  If you really want to get the most out of it you will need to use warm up sets.  The numbers written on the board are your "working sets." For example, currently my deadlift weight that I am working on is 315lbs.  No matter how warm I am, I can't just load 315 on the bar and expect to pick it up for 5 reps.  I am going to use warm up sets to get to that weight.  I would probably use 135 for a couple of reps, then do, 185, 225, 275, and then 305, then start my working sets at 315.  This is not a set in stone template and is completely up to the individual, but it is important to use warm up sets to get yourself physically and mentally prepared to lift heavy weights.  This also boosts your volume during your workout which is another benefit.  What kind of warm up sets do you guys use?  Post Comments below!

 Kelly having some fun on the cargo net.  Click here to check out more pics on Flickr!

Everyone has exactly the same amount of time, 24 hours in a day, 168 hours a week no more no less. What you choose to do with that time is the key. Most people spend around 51 hours a week sleeping and another 50 hours a week working counting commuting time, so far that’s 101 hours. On average people spend about 15 hours a week eating including 2 hours a day for breakfast lunch and dinner and a few minutes here or there for snacks. That’s 116 hours of the week used so far. Now throw in another 24 hours of week of relaxing, watching TV, reading, playing with your kids and making love with your spouse. Now we are up to 140 hours used up for the week. On top of that throw in another 4 hours a week for going to church or watching a football game. That makes 144 hours, but remember there are 168 hours in a week. Even after we’ve eaten, slept, worked, played, made love and even watched a lot of television, we still have 24 hours left in the week. You could watch another 6 hours of TV a week and still have another 18 hours unaccounted for. It is completely plausible for you to exercise. What’s your excuse? How do you overcome the time excuse? Post comments below.

Fun with pull ups.  Click here to check out more pics on Flickr!

Check out our new video.  If your friends want to know about CrossFit Bartlett this would be a good thing to share with them!

It's inevitable that someone finishes first in a workout.  If you finish before someone else, what do you do?  Do you lay on the ground for awhile?  Do you immediately put up all your equipment?  Do you move as quickly as you can towards the door to leave? Or..... do you stop and cheer for someone else?  One of the amazing things about CFB is our community.  Let's face it, what we do is extremely difficult.  What makes it easier to handle is knowing that everyone else is here for you.  There are many times where my performance would've suffered if I didn't have someone cheering me on and telling me I could do it.

If you finish early, cheer someone else on.  Next time they may be cheering you on.  We are all here for each other.  Let's do our part to make a more awesome experience for everyone!

Do you cheer for people?  Has cheering ever helped you perform better?  Post comments below!

P.J., James, Tara, and Andy enjoying some kettlebells.  Click here to check out more pics on Flickr!

Many of you know how I feel about coffee.  I've posted blogs on it in the past.  I enjoy coffee.  I like the taste and the warmth and the feeling I get from drinking the caffeine.  I think many people can drink one or two cups of coffee a day in the morning and do just fine.  Caffeine is a stimulant though and should be used with care.  The consumption of caffeine causes a response from your Adrenal Cortex.  The same organ that releases adrenaline when you are scared or about to get into a fight (fight or flight syndrome).  That's why people feel the way they feel when they drink caffeine.  This is fine every once in awhile or even once a day for most people, but if you have hormone regulation issues you should probably be weary.  Either way, we have decided to start offering free coffee in the lobby for our morning class dwellers.  Enjoy it and have some fun!  Coffee or no coffee what's your preference? Post Comments below!

Diane enjoying some burpees.  Click here to check out more pics on Flickr!