Reebok: Building a CrossFit Community

Sevan Matossian recently toured Reebok World Headquarters in Canton, Mass., to meet the new members of the CrossFit community. One of the executives is Chris Gallo, director of performance apparel, who shows off the breadth of Reebok’s commitment to sports with the company’s multiple courts, tracks, fields and exercise facilities, including Reebok CrossFit One.

Gallo says he is impressed with CrossFitters as multifaceted athletes.

“They do everything,” he says. “They’re just great athletes.”

And Reebok employees are becoming great athletes, just like other CrossFitters around the world.

“I’m a CrossFitter,” says Chris Froio, the VP/head of Reebok fitness and training. “It became very obvious to me very quickly that CrossFit was exactly what I needed.”

In just six months, Froio has seen benefits to his health and fitness and is back to his college weight.

According to Bill Holmes, the VP/head of Reebok human resources, CrossFit is changing Reebok’s culture.

“I think what’s been amazing for us here at Reebok is that it’s really been a huge energizer for our organization, and it’s really been something that employees have rallied around in a big way.”

23min 29sec

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Additional reading: If the Shoe Fits … by Kevin Daigle, published Feb. 07, 2011.

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Preparing for Masters: Jacinto Bonilla

Join reporter Jennifer Hunter as she shares the story of Jacinto Bonilla of CrossFit NYC.

Bonilla is a 72-year-old trainer at his gym. After finding CrossFit at age 67, Bonilla decided to give a second career a try and retired from radiography to become a coach. Even with an athletic background in competitive running, bodybuilding and circuit training, he says, “CrossFit really humbled me. ... I thought I was in shape.”

Now Bonilla is definitely in shape as he prepares for the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games.

Bonilla competed in the 2008 CrossFit Games and had planned on competing in regionals last year, but an injury took him out of the competition. This year, he finished seventh overall in the masters 60-plus division and looks forward to the main event at the Home Depot Center this July.

When asked about how aging affects him as a CrossFitter, Bonilla replies, “You slow down, but that’s about it, you know. I still feel as strong as I was, and I still feel that I could do a lot of things.”

Bonilla concludes: “I wish … that every 70-year-old could do the things I do.”

8min 27sec

Additional reading: CrossFit After 40 by Dr. Allison Belger, published Jan. 30, 2010.

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Plaxico Burress released from prison after serving time for gun crime

? Wide receiver served 20 months of sentence
? Burress pleaded guilty after shooting himself in thigh

The former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress has been released from prison after serving 20 months on gun charges and the 2008 Super Bowl hero hopes to return to play in the NFL.

Burress, 33, left Oneida Correctional Facility in upstate New York three months early for good behaviour after pleading guilty to gun possession charges from a Manhattan nightclub incident in which he accidentally shot himself in the thigh.

"I just want to thank God for bringing me through one of the most trying times in my life," Burress said as he left the prison. "It's a beautiful day, it's a beautiful day to be reunited with my family and go home for some quality time with them."

Burress caught the game-winning pass in the last minute of New York's 17-14 upset of the unbeaten New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. But he was was released by the Giants following the November 2008 shooting incident and is now an NFL free agent.

The tall receiver, who began his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, must wait for the labour dispute between NFL owners and players to be resolved before he can market his talents, which his agent has made plain he intends to do.

Taken in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft with the eighth overall pick by the Steelers out of Michigan State University, Burress has 55 touchdown catches on his NFL resume.

• NFL
• US sport

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Gravity, Speed and Acceleration

Continuing our discussion series, Pose Method creator Dr. Nicholas Romanov discusses gravity, speed and acceleration and how these concepts relate to Pose, a method of teaching sport-specific techniques.

Through mathematics, Romanov has determined that the body is falling at its maximum acceleration when tilted at an angle of 22.5 degrees. This is the point at which the “vertical direction of (the) body-weight vector becomes dominating.” He defines the terms “acceleration” and “speed” and explains their interactions.

“Gravity gives us (an) incredible amount of acceleration,” he says; however, the doctor believes we still don’t fully comprehend it or utilize it.

“In classical biomechanics, running was understood like rotation is a consequence of horizontal movement. In Pose concept, it’s opposite: rotation is creating horizontal velocity,” Romanov says.

According to the doctor, gravity is the only force that can increase rotational movement, and the only way to increase rotational speed is by increasing the magnitude of the angle of your fall to a maximum of 22.5 degrees while moving.

6min 56sec

Additional reading: The Basics of Pose Running Techniques by Brian MacKenzie, published Dec. 1, 2007.

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CrossFit Verve: The Best Shape of My Life Nutrition Challenge

For their latest nutrition challenge, CrossFit Verve owner Matt Chan says he and his wife Cherie chose the most successful elements from their previous challenges.

“We’ve had more success with this one than we’ve had with any of the other ones,” he says.

The nine-week Best Shape of My Life challenge was based on points won or lost during the challenge. Points were earned through Paleo and Zone meals, with bonus points for meal frequency, workout frequency, adequate water and sleep, and eating of vegetables. Points were lost for cheat meals, not having post-workout meals, not supplementing with fish oil, drinking alcohol and working out less than three times a week.

At the beginning of the challenge, participants bought in with $100, half of which went toward blood-work testing before and after the challenge. The participants tested their performance on the workout Cindy and retested again at the end of the challenge.

Prizes were awarded for the men and women with the best changes in body composition, best improvement in performance and best overall finish. Depending upon their point total at the end of the challenge, participants could win back their money and receive a T-shirt.

“It’s been a lot of fun, and it’s something that I really recommend that any gym do,” Chan says.

9min 10sec

Additional audio: CrossFit Radio Episode 121 by Justin Judkins, published May 26, 2010.

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U.S. Women Lose, But ESPN Wins Over Viewers For World Cup Finals

To the surprise of few who have been following the 2011 FIFA Women?s World Cup, ESPN on July 17 continued to attract big ratings for its coverage of the two-week event.

Hilary Swank Whitney Port Minka Kelly Carol Grow Erika Christensen

NFL draft 2011: The first-round picks ? in pictures

As this season's draft takes place we give you a rundown of who has been selected by whom

Uma Thurman Alice Dodd Kate Walsh Autumn Reeser Camilla Belle