Member of the Month – NOVEMBER 2018 How awesome is this weather?!  November is such a great month for working outdoors and working out in general!  Thanksgiving is upon us and we all know what that means… FOOD!  Aside from the deliciousness that accompanies Thanksgiving, is recognizing how fortunate we are.  Here at UpReach, we are thankful for you, our members.  This months member of the month is Chloe Dayton.  We sat down with Chloe to find out what keeps her so motivated and why she loves UpReach. What led you to try out Crossfit? I always wanted to try CrossFit but I remember being really intimidated, but my desire to know more about fitness and challenge myself physically pushed me to just do it. I’m so glad I did! What is your favorite part about UpReach? There are SO many reasons I love Upreach!! The two that come to...Read more

The weightlifting belt is an awesome tool, but just like any tool it only works well when it is used correctly.  Let’s take a minute and talk about what a belt can and cannot do. Belts can: 1: Help you increase your intra-abdominal pressure.  By wearing a belt correctly and actively “pushing out” with your core against the belt we create a pressure system in the core itself that helps it keep the spine stable and safe. I want to make clear that this can and should be done without a belt as well. The belt is just a tool to create an even more pressure. 2: Potentially help you lift more weight WHEN USED CORRECTLY. With the increase of intra-abdominal pressure (see note 1), the core and spine are in a more stable position and thus allow greater transfer of energy from the lower extremities throughout the rest of...Read more

Member of the Month – OCTOBER 2018 Fall is among us!  It’s hard to believe that we are on our 10th member of the month.  Although, it is not hard to believe that we have so many outstanding members at UpReach!  Francesca Autore is this months member of the month!  Francesca regularly attends the 5:30 AM class, so many of you have not yet had the opportunity to meet her personally (she’s pretty awesome!)  We caught up with Francesca and asked her a few questions about her Crossfit journey. What led you to try out Crossfit? I’ve been running since 2014 and this year I really wanted to take my fitness to the next level with strength and functional training. I have always struggled on my own and needed something and Crossfit seemed to do just that. What is your favorite part about UpReach? Everything! From the coaching to the camaraderie, I...Read more

The Facts about “The Golden Hour” Most of us have heard of “The Golden Hour.”  If you have not, this is 45 to 60 minutes AFTER a workout.  During this time, muscles absorb the most nutrients, and glycogen is replaced very efficiently since it was just depleted by the strenuous exercise.  There are some questions and assumptions that I have had about this so-called golden hour over the last 6 years of Crossfit that I decided to research. Myth 1:  It is best to not eat before a workout so that you can eat during the golden hour. Truth:  This is FALSE.  It is important to have food and good carbs in your body before a workout so that you have energy.  According to Jillian Michaels, trainer to the celebs, “your body needs some glucose (blood sugar) for fuel in addition to what it can use from fat stores when...Read more

I have had some questions on what I do to keep my shoulders feeling healthy and strong.  Hope these exercises help! 1) Shoulder Mobility: I borrowed part of this routine from GMB Fitness. If you have not checked them out, do it! By starting out with a general shoulder stretch every other part of this feels more open and easy! 2) Internal and External Rotations: By strengthening both internal and external rotation we give the rotator cuff a stable base to work from. In this video I show 3 different options depending on what you have available. My favorite is the CrossOver Symmetry. If you do not have one it is worth the investment! 3) Crossovers: Most overhead movements take us through somewhere in this plane of motion. By training our shoulder to be stable through them we reduce pain and increase our range of motion! 4) Inverted Kettlebell Press:...Read more