Crossfit Warrenville, IL, August 1.

Always great getting to visit new Boxes while on vacation! Today I visited Crossfit Warrenville (www.crossfit Warrenville) in Warrenville, IL. Great to see Melissa Mills who I have met before at Crossfit Naperville. Melissa and her husband Chris recently opened Warrenville with Ben Groeveneveld and Nate Steele. As always, I met a great group of folks! We started with strength – 5 attempts to get to your max bench. Stopped at 255 due to a shoulder issue. WOD – Burpee DB Thrusters. One minute on, one minute rest – five rounds. Max reps in 5 minutes of work. I got 38 reps with 40lb DB’s. Thanks to the team at Warrenville, look forward to seeing you next time.

Crossfit Pella, July 30th

So happy to see Crossfit picking up in the Midwest! During our family summer vacation back in Iowa, Heidi and I were able to visit Crossfit Pella (www.crossfitpella.com) for a WOD. We met Andi Vanderhoff who opened CF Pella 9 months ago with her husband Dave. Andi just recently got her Level 1 Cert. They are currently in a temporary location until their new facility is ready in another month. This is a great opportunity for folks in my old stomping grounds to give Crossfit a try as it is the only Crossfit in the area! We had a great WOD – 12 CJ (135), 24 pull ups, 24 dips – 9 CJ, 18 pull ups, 18 dips, 6 CJ, 12 pulls, 12 dips. Thanks Andi and Dave! Look forward to seeing the new Box on the next trip.

Crossfit Richardson, TX

I was back in Dallas for a 1 day trip but was able to get back by Crossfit Richardson. Good to see John and WOD with the Richardson Team. Don't know if I will ever get use to the humidity difference between Dallas and CA. Started with strength - Back Squats - 5 x 60% Max, 5 x 65% Max, 5 x 70% Max. WOD - 3 Rounds - 7 CTB Pullups, 400m Run, 7 CTB Pullups. Hit the run hard, rest two minutes between rounds. 10:38. Thanks John, see you at the Crossfit Games!

Crossfit Amplify, Lisle IL

I found myself in Naperville, IL on June 27th. Could not wait to get back to Crossfit Amplify for another WOD.(www.crossfitamplify.com). Man how these guys have grow. Must have been a group of 20 there for the WOD. As always, a great group of folks. Thanks to Scott for making me feel welcome! Started with Strength - Work up to your max triple of front squats (or until you run out of time) 3 x 135, 3 x 155, 3 x 175, 3 x 195, 3 x 205, WOD - 21, 15, 9 - 135 back squat (bar from the floor) and Toes to bar, Time = 6:04. Special thanks to Kati for the guidance on Front squats. Beca - good luck on your move to Dallas. Try Crossfit Richardson, say hi to John!

Crossfit Milpitas, CA

Stopped into Crossfit Milpitas (www.crossfitmilpitas.com) on June 7th. I was a little jet lagged, but Dal had a great WOD to wake me up. 2 Rounds- 300 meter row, 20 box jumps, 15 Plate sit ups (45), 15 Wall balls, 15 V-ups, 30 Double unders, 15 Side twists (45), 600 meter run, Time 18:53. Met a couple new Crossfit buddies in the picture below; good job Justin and Shawn.

Crossfit O-Town, Ottawa Canada - June 6, 2012

Stopped in to see Willie and Jay at Crossfit O-Town in Ottawa (http://www.crossfitotown.com) Simply a great atmosphere. If you ever get to Ottawa and want to lift heavy, come see these guys! Along with some work on non false grip Muscle-Ups, they had a Challenging WOD for Today. AMRAP 12 minutes 3 Thrusters (60/45KG), 7 plyo pushups, 3 Thruster (60/45KG), 7 jumping squats. I scaled with 115 lbs, got 6 rounds and 4 Thrusters. Will have to get shirts next trip.

Crossfit Battalion, Atlanta, GA

Total butt kicker at Crossfit Battalion (www.CrossfitBattalion.com) in Atlanta on April 25. Trained with a great group. So many Crossfits to choose from in Atlanta, glad I chose to train with the Battalion crew! WOD was the 2012 Southeast Regional Individual WOD 2 2000 meter run or row (I ran) 50 alternating one legged squats 30 power cleans (Rx 225) or 70% of your max power clean (155 for me) time 17:18 Just when we thought we were done, Kyle had a couple finishers for us: 1. Jumping Tabata air squats (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off - 8 rounds) wait 5 seconds 2. Tabata sprints (sprint 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds - 8 rounds) Thanks Kyle for a great workout. I will feel this for days I am sure.