Testimonials

Some comments from the last FRCF Olympic Lifting Seminar.

The O-lift seminar was fantastic! The great teaching progression gets you performing the movements without over thinking them and the 4 to 1 student to coach ratio gives you plenty of individual feedback. Thanks!
- Jeremy Myers

Great seminar. Very well thought out instruction and pacing. This is a must seminar if you CF at all and absolutely essential if you CF at home or in a Globo Gym.
- Jason Wyrick

Thanks for hosting the class. As a rank amateur I was a bit apprehensive in signing up, but I was pleasantly surprised by the patience of the coaches and by the way the groups were broken out based on skill and ability.  I learned a ton and I'm looking forward to building on the excellent base that your team helped me develop.
- Terry McCormick

 Skip,

I have been following the posts about our Results Based Fitness and I thought I would add my two cents.

To say the least, it's impressive to see our athletes improving their times throughout the year. Whether it's a Heroes' Workout, Named Workout, Triathlon, Mountain Bike Race or 5K, everyone seems to be improving.

Every time I've thought I was experiencing a slump or plateau you were able to show me that no matter how I really felt, I was still improving.

I truly believe my fitness is at a higher level thanks to FRCF. Unfortunately, I do not have many times on athletic events to compare my fitness to. What I have is our timed workouts and my personal experiences on the Denver Fire Department and Colorado Task Force to compare my overall fitness; I have never felt better. The last few weeks is a true testament to this.

The last three weeks I was in Texas and Louisiana as part of the Colorado Task Force - USAR deployment for Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike. We did get some good work in Galveston and a lot of staging for the first two Hurricanes. It's nice to see FEMA being proactive. During the down time I was able to get in some CF workouts with some other great folks. The constant randomness of it all was awesome! When actually working in Galveston I felt excellent. I never slowed down and my morale was sky high. Physically, I felt tiptop. Mentally, I felt sharp and focused. Credit must be given to FRCF and all the great people involved.
Thanks for everything, Skip, and keep up the good work!

Sean Roeper

Dear Skip,
I wanted to share with you my results from the 2008 Leadville 50 mile Mountain Bike race across the sky.

In July of 2007, prior to joining Front Range CrossFit, I finished the grueling race in (7:14) seven hours and fourteen minutes, I knew my time was pretty bad, but I had finished the race and I was determined to improve my time. But, in my reality, with two young kids and a busy schedule, I knew that spending more time in the saddle was not the answer to improving my overall fitness. It was about this time my brother-in-law “Sean”, who is a Navy SEAL, told me about CrossFit.

As a lifelong athlete, who was pretty “burnt out” on the gym scene, I turned to CrossFit.In November 2007, I joined Front Range CrossFit and I attribute my 2008 race results of (6:02) six hours and two minutes directly to training with you and the crew at Front Range CrossFit. I was able improve my time significantly by shaving an hour and twelve minutes off from the previous year. The best part is, I felt really strong all the way through the finish line.

There is no doubt in my mind that CrossFit is the greatest workout on the planet, there is a true methodology behind the workouts, not to mention great people to train with. I studied Exercise Physiology in College and Graduate school in the early 90’s; I was also a competitive rugby player, and always looking for a great workout, a better way to train. You guys deliver on that every time! Thanks for your dedication to excellence and detailed instruction.

Sincerely,
Emilio

Navy Seal Hero Challenge 05/06/08

Letter of Appreciation

- W.S. Pieseski
Commander, U.S. Navy

Download navy_week_2008_thank_you.pdf

Navy Seal Hero Challenge 05/06/08

Okay, please forgive me FRCF folks, but I am going to "clog your blog" with well deserved props instead of posting times and loads!
Many, many thanks to all of the dedicated FRCF members and the team leaders for the outstanding support during the "SEAL Hero Challenge". You were all a true class act in honoring Petty Officer Danny Dietz. Thank you so very much for your hospitality friendly disposition! Skip, you run a top notch operation and your team ensured the place was nothing but total energy.

Dude.....next time I want to feel like I am breathing out of a straw full of hot mustard during a WOD, I'll come calling FRCF at 5,280 FT. Until then, I'll be CrossFittin' here at sea level at CFSD ( although I really have no excuse because Master Chief and Zach were right up there with some of team Front Range's top athletes). Thanks again to all!!!

Much Respect and Appreciation,
Chief Chris Freischlag,
EODGRU ONE, Coronado, CA

Posted by: Chris Freischlag | May 07, 2008 at 06:54 PM in comments

I have been working out at commercial gyms, 5 days a week, for over 10 years and after working out at Front Range CrossFit for 6 weeks I can't tell you the last time that I felt this good!!
- Jim, age 62

It has been a couple of weeks now since the March 2007 TSC and I have been thinking a lot about the event since then. I had a wonderful experience and really cannot recommend this contest enough. There are several aspects of the event that contributed to my enjoyment and make me suspect that I will be a long-time returning participant.

First, the group energy enables you to easily find an extra 10% in yourself and that's a nice surprise when you are used to training on your own. I attended the event in Denver hosted by Front Range Crossfit. It was a great group of athletes participating and everyone was genuinely rooting for others to do their absolute best. The energy was palpable and past personal-records were dropping like flies. Seriously, whatever you can do on your own, you'll do significantly better in this type of atmosphere.

Second, the TSC seems to be a perfect blend of events to measure overall strength and fitness in a non sport-specific way. This has been addressed before but here is a quick re-cap: Deadlift, Pull-ups, 5-minute snatch. The deadlift is an excellent measure of raw strength. You just can't get more basic than lifting a really heavy thing off of the ground. It's primal.

Next are pull ups and there is no better indicator of upper-body strength relative to weight. I have always been impressed by anyone who can knock out more than 10 perfect pull ups. At this event, I was in a room full of guys where 15-reps was just about average. That's motivating.

Last is the snatch test and this is all about how much work your body can do in 5 minutes. Its 5 minutes of hell but feels so good when you finally stop that it's actually worth every second! Well, that might be a stretch. Anyway, my guess is that you get a 15% benefit from the group on this one. The last minute is all about remaining focused (and conscious) and ignoring the very sensible signals that your body is sending. The room rooting for you that last 60 seconds is an incredible boost.

Lastly, periodically testing yourself in a competitive event is a great way to track your progress and stay motivated for a life-long strength/fitness program. All competitors at the event in Denver were awarded T-shirts. On the back of the shirt, in big bold letters, it says: FACE THE TRUTH. This really resonated with me. The truth is that I competed in March 2007 and the results are now part of the public record. The next time I compete and look at the results the truth will again be very apparent and I will face it. I will have improved, maintained, or lost ground. I plan to participate in this event, at least once a year, as long as I am able. If you can join me, I'll be rooting for you.

--Kevin

2007-03-27

CrossFit is an incredibly rewarding workout.  I have been an athlete all my life and have never had a workout routine that has helped improve my strength, stamina, and general physical ability like CrossFit does.  I have been doing CrossFit for four and a half months and have seen a big difference in my body and my physical capabilities.  For me the best thing about CrossFit is that even when you’re doing the most difficult workout ever, you’re having fun, working out with a group of people that quickly become your friends.  Skip and the entire Front Range CrossFit gang are incredibly helpful and motivational!  The other thing that I find great about Skip and the CrossFit program is that you can modify it to work for anybody.  Personally I’ve had a few knee surgeries and never thought I’d be doing overhead squats.  But with a lot of work and a little patience, CrossFit has made it possible.  Now instead of worrying about hurting my knee, I can worry about getting better at my pull ups (which by the way, I can only do thanks to CrossFit!)

- Heather Crawford

"Hi my name is Curtis.  I am a BJJ Instructor and I am also a Pan American BJJ silver medalist so I am very familiar with different types of workout regimen.  Until starting CrossFit with Skip, I have never been this tired from a workout.  Since I started Crossfit with Skip I have improved my strength, agility, and my stamina tremendously. Thanks Skip for introducing me to CrossFit.

PS. I'm still sore."

Curtis Hill

BJJ Black Belt

"Skip has not only been a big help with adding CrossFit to my workouts he is also an inspiration. He puts us through the workouts and he is right there next to us doing them, and pretty much beating everyone's times. I strongly recommend to anyone to add CrossFit to your workout regime. Skip is a great CrossFit trainer, and a great friend. Skip, thanks for all of your help and support."
Aaron Romero
Professional MMA fighter