Can you believe that it’s already Week Five!? We're halfway through our 8-week challenge and still going strong! Once again, we'd like to congratulate you on making the best decision of the year by joining the CruzFit challenge and convincing your friends to do so, as well!
While some of you over-achievers are already well ahead of pace to finish the challenge on time, we want to remind you to keep an eye on the progress of your teammates, too. Remember, you only win your finisher's t-shirt if EVERYONE on your team completes the challenge (100% of their goal-minutes). If they're not at 50%-complete yet then they're behind pace and probably need some encouragement, motivation, and accountability from you to help them get back on track.
Since this is the time in our challenge when some of you may be feeling considering increasing the intensity of your exercise, or maybe just experiencing some aches and pains from your body's adjustment to new exercise routines, we'd like to offer you some advice and resources to ensure you stay injury-free. The last thing we want is for your own body to hold you back from enjoying the benefits of optimal fitness! Read below for this week's Fitness Tip an Fitness Freebie, both of which focus on injury-prevention.
FITNESS TIP #5:
Warm-up to Prevent Injury
A proper warm up safely prepares you both mentally and physically for the increased demands of exercise. Warming up helps reduce your risk of injury and the aches and pains that come with exercise. Cold muscles do not absorb shock or impact as well, and are more susceptible to injury.
Have you ever tried Dynamic Stretching?
Dynamic stretching consists of exercises you do before training that mimic the movements you are going to perform while training. These exercises loosen your muscles and tendons, increase blood flow throughout your body, and activate your nervous system so you’re ready for action. Dynamic stretching is typically better to do before training since static stretches (holding a stretch for a specified amount of time) can lead to injury or decreased performance if done pre-workout.
Dynamic stretching is an ideal warm-up routine for several reasons:
- It activates muscles you will use during your workout.
- Dynamic stretching improves range of motion.
- Warming up in motion enhances muscular performance and power.
- Dynamic stretches improve body awareness. Movement during stretches challenges your balance and coordination.
If you'd like to learn more about dynamic stretching and/or give it a try, then please visit this week's CruzFit Freebie workshop (see below) or watch this great instructional video from our friend's from UC Irvine's Wellness program.
CRUZFIT FITNESS FREEBIES #4 & #5:
Repeat "Heart Health" Workshop, off-campus
@ 2300 Delaware Ave.
As a special offer for those of you who weren't able to attend the on-campus CruzFit "Heart Health" workshop this week, we'll be offering the same workshop again next week at our off-campus 2300 Delaware classroom. This class is open and free to all (not just CruzFit participants), though the prizes are reserved for our CruzFit'ers.
On Tuesday, Feb. 17th, from 12:30pm-1:15pm* in Room B290 of the 2300 Delaware Ave building, Dr. Jay Johnson from Physicians Medical Group of Santa Cruz will be teaching on the topic of "Heart Health for a Long & Active Life". Dr. Johnson is a board certified cardiologist and the chief of staff at Dominican Hospital.
*Please note the time change (previous advertised as 12:10p-12:55p), due to a change in Dr. Johnson's schedule.
Injury-Prevention Workshop @ OPERS East Gym
Neno Bartocci, ATC
As mentioned above, in an effort to keep you healthy and injury-free throughout the rest of this year's CruzFit challenge, we've asked one of our NCAA athletic program's certified athletic trainers to host a workshop related to injury-prevention. So join us this Wednesday (2/18), from 12:10p-12:50p in the OPERS East Gym, to learn about "Effective Pre/Post-Exercise Body Care" from Neno Bartocci, ATC.
This will be an activity-based workshop (though only low-intensity, and participation is optional) covering the basics of effective warm-up, cool-down, and stretching procedures, so please come prepared to move, stretch, and maybe even sweat a little!
Whole Foods Market Gift Card
Healthy refreshments and snacks will be provided by Physicians Medical Group at the Heart Health workshop, and the opportunity to win some great prizes for your attendance will be provided at both the Hearth Health and Injury-Prevention workshops from Whole Foods Market. Prizes include:
- All Attendees = Raffle Ticket for Whole Foods Gift Cards ($20-$40 value)
First 20 Attendees = Choice of Whole Foods Goody Bags ($5-$15 value) or Extra Raffle Ticket.
Make sure you start tracking your daily exercise in your Exercise-Tracker in Google Docs. If you don't yet have one, talk to your team captain, who was given instructions on how to create and share it with you. (If you're a team captain and you didn't receive your instructions for creating the Exercise-Tracker file, please email us to request we re-send it to you.)
3) Team Leaderboards
Keep track of your team's progress in comparison with that of the other 750+ teams taking part in this year's challenge. Challenge friends to a friendly competition to reach your goals (100%) first or accumulate the highest average minutes per team member. You can view the Leaderboard file on Google Docs.
4) FAQ's
Check out the FAQ pages in the CruzFit Section of our FitLife Website for answers to all your questions about CruzFit!
