Blog Archive

Although you all have different goals, you all essentially walked through our doors for the same reason: To make your life better!

Since adding fitness to your life, you’ve probably become stronger, leaner, more mobile, more confident—the list goes on. Maybe you’re better on the ice in your men’s hockey league now, or maybe skiing a full day is easier than it used to be. Or perhaps you’re now 50 years old, but you feel better than you did at 35. No matter what your goals and gains have been, you most likely feel better than you used to. And maybe, just maybe, you found the love of your life, sweating next to you in a workout, in the process of this whole experience.

Although the concept is the same, we all have different stories of how fitness, and MadLab specifically, has helped our lives.

This past weekend, we held our Tribal Elders night, a night that honours anyone who has been here for 5 years or more. Check out the faces on the wall above the bathrooms—the tribal elder family is growing!

Finally last weekend, it was my turn to go up on the wall. It was an amazing feeling to be honoured, and definitely got me thinking about how this place has helped me over the last five years.

Proudly a Tribal Elder!

When I showed up here, I was a lost 25 year-old. I had just spent 7 years in university and still had no direction in terms of what my life would look like in five years. I was in debt, borrowing money from my parents on a monthly basis, and thought that in order to be successful I needed to find a husband within the next 12 months and start popping out babies within 18.

Fast-foward five years, and I’m no longer in that position. I have a career, and lifestyle that allows me to do two things I love—coach and write—all the while giving me the freedom to essentially set my own hours each week. I’m no longer in debt and could actually conceive of putting a down payment on a house in the next year or two. And while I’m not married, I did meet a pretty good guy here (ok, here’s better than pretty good), and I don’t feel like a failure for not being married with kids yet. And I’m certainly less close-minded and conservative in my thinking. I have to give credit to Patty for providing me with so many opportunities, as well as helping me grow as a human being more than I realized I would in five years. And on top of this, this last year I managed to accomplish my biggest athletic goal of my life—qualifying and competing at the CrossFit Games. It’s funny how that part of it—the physical fitness part of this place—almost seems like an after-thought compared to the other ways I’ve grown since arriving here in 2009. But that’s the whole point of this place: It’s not really about the fitness, per see, but more about how it helps your life.

Now it’s your turn to share your story with us. Please submit one or two paragraphs about how MadLab—the workouts, the people, the coaches, the classes—have helped your life. Send your story to [email protected] and [email protected] and we’ll share your story with the community. In doing so, you’ll also be entered to win a pair of Canucks tickets!!

Tuesday’s Workout:

 Warm up: Coach’s Choice

 Workout: 20 Min EMOM

10 – 15 GHSU
5 – 10  Ring Dip/  M/U
20 DBall Slams
4 – 8 Box Jumps ( 30/36”)

Warm down : L Back – Calves

Cheers!

Shep Shep

Last year, we we held our first ever East Van’s Got Talent, an event that has since been described as one of the greatest events we’ve ever held!

From the lovely Bess, who sang her heart out, to our professional ballerinas—The Dancing Kitties—who made jaws drop, to Fernando’s capoeira performance (that guy is always pull of surprises), to the winning midget puppet show performance by Jen Far and Cindy…It was quite a night! Oh yeah, there was also Bronto’s bare pecker that girls are still talking about…

This year’s Talent Show is Friday, December 12th. Doors open at 7 pm. If you have a talent and want to perform, contact Eunice or Audrey ([email protected] or [email protected]). Prize money to the winning performance!

On top of the Talent show, this also acts as our Christmas Formal, so dress to the nines if that’s your thing. There will be wine and cheese and a Silent Auction with great Christmas gifts! And this year we’ll be adding a scotch-tasting to the event!

See you on December 12th ready to sip wine, support talented members of our community, and definitely be ready to bid your heart out silent-auction-style.

Monday’s Workout:

Warm up: Coach’s Choice

Tech: Thruster – Heavy 4

Focus on the fixed elbow position during the squat phase of your thruster

Workout: 4 rounds of:

4 Thrusters (135/95lbs)
8 HSPU
12 D/U

7 Burpees Every Minute On the Minute

15 minute time limit

Coaching Points: We’ve done this bad boy before. Be sure to scale the thruster and hspu accordingly. Add in the burpees and your shoulders get roasted pretty quick. Try and get a full round in the first minute.

Our big gun Eunice did this in 8 minutes as rx. That was well over a year ago. She would probably be faster now but I say this to give you an idea of how tough this workout can be.

Happy Monday!

Sheppy

Lots of cleans this month. Seen some encouraging development. Today’s workout will be a great opportunity for you to improve your clean further.

Check out this video describing today’s drill to practice when warming up your clean.

Saturday’s Workout:

Warm up: Coach’s Choice

Skill/Tech: Power Clean – 4 lifts to be done in continual sequence
Clean deadlift
Clean pull to top of shrug (elbows straight)
Clean pull to scarecrow
Power clean

Workout: The Chief

5 rounds of 3 min AMRAP – 1 min rest

3 Power Clean (135/95 lbs)
6 Push Ups
9 Squats

Have an great weekend!

HOS

You may have noticed a large group of young dancers at the gym on Friday afternoons. They are the Dancing Kitties coming from a professional dance program at Arts Umbrella. I grew up at Arts Umbrella and am so glad I can give back to the program by introducing them to Crossfit with the help of the House of Sheppy!

As the holiday season approaches they are in full swing with their version of the Nutcracker, Mixed Nuts! This is why they have been away this month and we miss the lively and graceful Friday afternoon workouts. The show is set to the storyline of the Nutcracker with plenty of unique takes on the characters. It is a great show for all ages so while they will not be able to be at East Van’s got talent this year you can all catch them at the Playhouse Theatre! Please check out the info below and go see the show! I will be bringing Charlotte!

Arts Umbrella Dance Company presents: Mixed Nuts – a classic holiday performance reinvented with a twist. Families and kids of all ages can enjoy a modern and engaging retelling of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”, choreographed by leading Canadian choreographers at the Vancouver Playhouse (600 Hamilton) December 12 and 13.

Performances:

December 12 at 7PM
December 13 at 2PM
December 13 at 7PM

Tickets available here: https://16929.thankyou4caring.org/mixed-nuts-2014

Just so you know my personal connection to the show, I was the original Rat King…

Love ya,

Caroline (Slingblade, twinkletoes, blackswan)

Friday’s Workout:

Warm up: Coach’s Choice

Workout: 20min EMOM- Start at :25

ODD – Snatch Barbell Bear (Scarecrow Focus)
EVEN – 15 Hollow Rock (or GHSU)

Warm Down: Shoulders – L Back at :45

Coaching Points: Focus on keeping the bar close to you on the snatches. Good technique is all about conservation of metabolic energy. You’ll need it for this.

Cheers!

Shep