Upcoming Events   COMPETITOR’S TRACK   Beginning the week of July 18th, we will begin to offer competitor’s programming that will compliment our existing programming. It is designed to be completed immediately after the day’s WOD or as an AM/PM 2-a-day. You must have an Open Gym membership. Email Matt for TrainHeroic access. Featured Athlete   Josh Wheeler “When we moved to KCMO last year, I started asking people what the best CF gym was in KCMO and everyone said CrossFit Memorial Hill.” Former Marine. Lover of cleans and Spin Pizza. Generous donator of Red Bull’s newest flavors. GET TO KNOW JOSH > From the Coach’s Corner   Tonos Radio: Ep 3 | The 1-Minute Workout Can you get fit in a minute a day? Do you “need more cardio”? In this episode, we help you understand how your body responds to various intensity levels and the role of variance in any workout routine.  [Subscribe on iTunes] HAVE A LISTEN >    “Employers – you’re asking terrible employee wellness questions.” So you’re interested in promoting health and wellness for your employees. Great. But, start by asking the right questions… CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE >

Upcoming Events Sunday, May 22nd – 10:00am You won’t want to miss this fun park workout!   Saturday, May 28th – 10:00am Join us for “Memorial Day Murph” in memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, NY, who was killed in Afghanistan on June 28th, 2005. Let’s get in a great workout with great friends and celebrate those who have fought for our freedom!   Murph: 1 mile run 100 pull-ups 200 push-ups 300 squats 1 mile run (Want a little more challenge? Do it in a 20 lb vest.)   Saturday, June 25th– SAVE THE DATE Join us for a BBQ and pool party! Stay tuned for more details. This Month’s Featured Athlete Katie Lee Brother-in-law back squatter. Art Director. Kitten & KC lover. Katie Lee has been filing up our PR board with super gainz & new skillz acquired. Be sure to stop by a 5:45pm class to congratulate her & join her in a workout! GET TO KNOW KATIE > From the Coach’s Corner TheHill Radio: Are you in the 3%? Follow these four easy health tips and you will be in the top 3%!  [Subscribe on iTunes]  HAVE A LISTEN >    5 Ways You’re Sabotaging Your Fitness 1. Beginning with the end in mind. This term became popular in entrepreneurial circles. And – when it comes to starting a business – it’s true! As it pertains to your health, fitness, and wellness this couldn’t be further from the truth. Most people begin their journey with “I’d like to lose 20 pounds” or “I’d like to complete a 30-day challenge” or “I want to get in shape.” While these are worthwhile goals, they will always end in failure. Why?… CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE >

 

April Happy Hour   Friday, April 15th 6:30PM-8:00PM Come meet some new folks, network, have a beer or two, and play some yard games. We’ll also do an informal awards ceremony for The Hill Games | 2016 (you needn’t participate to join the Happy Hour). RSVP ON FACEBOOK >   Saturday, April 16th 9:00-10:30AM(ishhh)- TEAM OBSTACLE WOD Come be a part of our annual Scavenger Hunt/Team Obstacle WOD! Explore our neighborhood while getting in a fun, team building workout.     Important Announcements S.O.W. Skill of the Week – our newest class on the schedule. Tuesdays from 5:45p-6:30p. We’ll look ahead at the following week in programming and zero in on development drills to tackle specific skills. This class is included in Group and 1-on-1 memberships, but is limited to 10 people. Reservations open 48 hrs beforehand.    ​You can still sign up for Evening Iron Hill and The Hill Endurance. You can do so below:   IRON HILL EVENING SESSION By popular demand, USAW Weightlifting Coach Mindy will open up an evening session of the popular Women’s Weightlifting Club – Iron Hill. Classes are held Mondays and Thursdays at 5:30PM. SIGN UP HERE >   THE HILL ENDURANCE Coach Bri picks up the very successful Endurance Programming for a Spring session that will culminate in the Hospital Hill 1/2 Marathon, 10k, or 5k. This is great for 1st time racers or runners looking to maximize performance without putting in a ton of hours on the road. Classes are held Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30PM– locations vary. SIGN UP HERE >     This Month’s Featured Athlete Scott Walters   “All of you are awesome! There isn’t one person I’m not happy to see… Matt and the other owners and staff have built a truly commendable facility where we can all pursue our best.” Scott demonstrates dedication and hard work inside the gym, at his workplace and with his family! And who else do you know has 2016 goals of looking like Rich Froning with no shirt and growing a fuller beard? GET TO KNOW SCOTT >   From the Coach’s Corner   TheHill Radio: CALORIE BOMBS Check out this week’s podcast. Matt and Sabrena play fast and loose with some new audio equipment. They also talk about calories – how and if they matter. Sabrena shows us how she reads confusing nutrition labels. They chat about some sustainable strategies for maintaining a reasonable caloric intake and expose some secret calorie bombs disguised as “health” foods. [Subscribe on iTunes] HAVE A LISTEN >     LESSONS FROM THE OPEN AND BEYOND While some may argue that the Open is a time to look back, I prefer to look forward. For all it’s fun, heartache, soreness, and competition the Open also serves the function of motivation. It allows us to look at the holes in our game and really take pause to ask… READ THE ARTICLE >

Member Updates – February

 

Monthly Member Events:

THE HILL GAMES
Question: Should I sign up for The Hill Games?
Answer: YES!!

Deadline for sign-up is Sunday, February 14. Check out our recent blog post for more details: http://crossfitmemorialhill.com/the-hill-games-2016/

4th Annual Partner Play Workshop

Saturday, February 13
12:30-2:30 PM
$10/ person
Improve flexibility, enhance stability, and focus on coordinated strength; all while having fun!

To register, please stop by the front desk or visit: http://crossfitmemorialhill.com/4th-annual-valentines-day-partner-play-workshop/

 

The Hill Radio:

Coaching Behavior Change

Matt eats an apple live and makes Sabrena define made-up terms. But, seriously, we chat more about how to create lasting habit change toward improved health, fitness, and wellness. We also identify some common triggers for unhealthy activity and some habit hacks you can use to move the needle toward health.

 

February Featured Athlete: Jacob Beaumont

  

“Weighing in at 334lbs—I caught myself in the mirror and realized that at some point things had gone off the rails.”​

Jacob will be competing in a 50K trail in May! Be sure to give him some love on the white board next to our memeber wall. Get to know him better by reading this interview: http://crossfitmemorialhill.com/february-featured-athlete-jacob-beaumont/

December Newsletter

Squat Clinic and Burpees for Warriors

Monthly Member Events – Saturday, December 19th:

9:00a – Squat Clinic with Breonna Lindberg from Cleveland Chiropractic

Come get your squat on! We will be doing a squat demo, workshop, and heavy squat session.

10a-Noon – Burpees for Warriors to benefit Wounded Warrior Project

Coach Josh will be hosting a fundraising event to raise money for WWP. CrossFit Memorial Hill will donate 5 cents for every burpee completed during this event. RSVP on Facebook to learn more: https://www.facebook.com/events/746957618767682/

**Please note there will be no 9:00am CrossFit Class or Open Gym on this day. We recommend you come squat some heavy weight then do some burpees for a great cause!**

Want to win a free month of CrossFit, a Hoodie, or T-Shirt?

With banking and processing fees increasing exponetially every year, we look for every opportunity to not pass those along to our members. That’s why – for the entire month of December – we’ll be giving away prizes for those of you who make the switch to debit or ACH as your primary method of payment.
Simply stop by and visit Caitlin at the front desk on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings and swap out your payment method for a debit card and she’ll put your name in a drawing.

Already using debit or ACH? Thanks! Stop by and show Caitlin and we’ll get your name in there as well!

 

Featured Athlete – Kate Spry

=> Read Kate’s awesome story here <=

 

Coach’s Corner – Muscle Up Progressions

Check out coach Kyle’s jumping muscle progression to lock in your first muscle up sooner than later. Full video here:

From coach Matt. “A Short Memory”

“A short memory.” I first heard this phrase to describe a good baseball player.  Sit on this for a moment – the best batting average in all of baseball history is held by Ty Cobb at .366. To translate that stat, 64 out of 100 attempts were unfavorable.

How’s your fitness memory?

Chances are, you’re just coming off Thanksgiving holiday. If your’s was anything like mine you overindulged and over-imbibed a bit with family. You’re probably struggling with feelings of un-doing all the indulgences in the gym. Or maybe you’re feeling a bit of guilt over all the pie.

You have a much higher batting average.

Here’s the thing – you’ve already won the holiday battle. You’ve been building habits and anchor points around health, wellness, and momentum. You’ve already put in the hard work over the last several months. You have all these great habits and people in your life to push you toward your goals. And here’s the awesome thing – you’re probably batting .800. 8/10 decisions are a win. 

So, don’t beat yourself up; keep up the hard work. And – most importantly – have a short memory. After all, momentum is more powerful than gravity.

The Hill: November Newsletter

 

Good Morning, You’re all invited to our 3-year anniversary party, Open House and Hill Games 2.0 wrap up. And the best news… they’re all at the same time! Saturday, November 14th from 4-7 PM. Bring family and friends, there are gonna be a ton of fun activities for all. RSVP here. We can’t wait to see you there! Cheers, The Hill Coaches

The Hill Games 2.0 have been a blast! Thank you to everyone who has participated in The Hill Games 2.0. It has been inspiring to see all of the teams come together to cheer each other on and so many terrific performances have come out of the WODs. Here are all of our awesome teams.

The Hill Radio: Stay Focused, On Yourself Coach Matt has been offering goal setting sessions for a few weeks now. On today’s episode of The Hill Radio we check in with him and learn how we can all take small steps towards being a better us. November Featured Athlete: Adam Orr On Saturday, November 7th, our very own Adam Orr will be racing in his first ever Ironman in Florida. He has been training incredibly hard for this race and we could not be more proud! To celebrate our friend we will be doing a WOD-ified version of a triathlon on Saturday, November 7th in our 9 AM class. We’ll see you there and Adam, have fun! Coaches’ Corner: The basics of the kettlebell swing The kettlebell swing is a powerful tool in CrossFit for strength, endurance and general athleticism. While it looks simple enough, hone in your technique to get more out of doing less. That’s all for now. Have a wonderful Tuesday and we’ll see you at The Hill soon!

 

Good Morning, There is never a dull moment here at The Hill. Continue reading to learn about all of the exciting events on the horizon and be sure to stop by soon to WOD with us, all of your hard work is really starting to pay off. Cheers, The Hill Coaches

The Hill Games 2.0 starts October 10th It’s time for our next friendly, neighborhood competition and you’re invited to participate! You can sign up here. The competition runs from October 12th – November 14th and includes points for attendance, WOD performance and spirit of the games. The Hill Games 2.0 will culminate in a throwdown on Saturday, November 14th, at 4 PM, wrapping up in our… 3-year Anniversary Party & so much more Saturday, November 14th  Open House, 3-7 PM Hill Games 2.0 Team Series Wrap Up 4-5 PM Anniversary party til 7 PM RSVP here and join us for a terrific afternoon of friends and celebrations! Goal-setting Sessions Coach Matt is now offering free 15-minute goal-setting sessions. You can sign up here today to start reaching your health and fitness goals with renewed vigor and focus. Learn more about these goal-setting sessions by listening to this episode of The Hill Radio. The Hill Radio: I Heart Olympic Weightlifting Coaches Matt and Kyle go fanboy on the snatch and clean and jerk to share how you can use the lifts to make everything in your life better. Coaches’ Corner: Hook Grip Everything The hook grip is integral for optimum performance in the snatch and clean and jerk. With regular practice and dedication the hook grip can also be useful in many CrossFit WODs. Learn how in this video. That’s all for now. Have a wonderful Tuesday and we’ll see you at The Hill soon!

The Hill Games 2.0!

Back by popular demand, we’re introducing The Hill Games 2.0 team competition series leading up to our anniversary on Nov. 14th, 2015!

The format will be the same. You’ll earn points for your team based on several criteria:

• Attendance
• WOD Performance
• Spirit of the Games (team spirit)
• Weekly bonus points

What’s new?

• Due to the HUGE demand for another team series, we’ll be adding 2 more teams for a total of 6 teams.
• The Hill Games 2.0 will culminate in a Happy Hour Open House and throw down to celebrate our 3 year anniversary in the space on Jefferson on Nov. 14th starting at 4:00pm (details to follow).

Scoring:

• There are 4 attendance points per week per athlete up for grabs
• There are 4 bonus points per athlete for workouts logged on all 4 attendance days.
• There will be “tests” announced every week for which your team can earn points for the top 3 male & female scaled & Rx spots. These tests will be during class but can also be completed in 10 minutes outside of class times (before, after, or at Saturday’s Open Gym 10a-noon)
• Spirit of the Games will be awarded to a team demonstrating exceptional support & positivity.
• Bonus point will be announced and awarded weekly.

Rx or Scaled?

• We will use the same benchmarks as indicated in Friday Night Lights as a gauge to whether or not you should choose Rx or Scaled.
• Please read the links at the bottom of the post above to determine where you’d like to compete. Yes, we can scale individual movements that do not fall within the Scaled scope (single-unders, for example).

Schedule

• We will begin with a short “draft” on October 10th at Noon.
• Competition runs from Oct. 12th – Nov. 14th where we will have a team series of fun tests and events to celebrate the anniversary.

Questions?

• Read this post again, then:
• Email Matt@crossfitmemorialhill.com

Register for The Hill Games 2.0!!!

In case you’re on the fence, check out the video below:

 

Good Morning, It is often said of CrossFit boxes that the art is in the coaching, the science is in the workouts and the magic is in the community. Every time you come into The Hill it is important to us that you get in a great workout and perhaps learn a thing or two. But it is even more important that you make new friends and have a great time because that’s truly what keeps you coming back for more. In this episode of The Hill Radio we discussed in-depth how to make strong friendships at The Hill. Here are a few things you can do in every class to make your time, and everyone else’s time, better: Meet a new friend or learn one new thing about an old friend Share equipment or space with a new friend Ask the coach an in-depth question about that day’s WOD (they love being quizzed or can point you in the right direction) Cheer for others the way you like to be cheered High five every athlete in the class after the WOD Of course these things are not mandatory, but they are sure to make you a better athlete and a better friend. Cheers, The Hill Coaches

VIPs Iron Hill Open House. Thursday 9/3 @6 AM. If you’re a lady interested in checking out this amazing strength program, come on in! Nutrition, Measurement & Tracking w/Coach Sabrena. Learn how to eat to perform, feel good and look better naked. Sign up now.  Goal Setting w/Coach Matt. Upon completion of the new offices in the NW corner of the gym this will be up and running. More info coming soon. Congratulations to our Friday Night Lights Competitors Congratulations to everyone who competed at FridayNight Lights. We had a blast and are so proud of you. Check out our Facebook album for a ton of great pictures. The Hill Radio This month’s Featured Athlete is the wonderful Garrett Gilbert. You are all invited to attend his special WOD this Saturday, September 5th at 9 AM. This WOD will feature his strengths and weaknesses and is sure to be a great time. Learn more about Garrett in this episode of The Hill Radio and be sure to check out these other great topics too: How to CrossFit (well) for a long, long time (Part I & Part II) A look at this week’s WODs Coaches’ Corner: How to perform a Box Squat Coach Josh fills us in on how to make your box squat as effective as possible. Remember: Move better, Move safer, Move faster. That’s all for now. Have a wonderful Tuesday and we’ll see you at The Hill soon!