We had about 15 of our athletes compete in the Hammerhead Upstate NY Challenge on January 14th. We were represented in all three divisions for both male and female (Div 1, Div 2, and Team). There were many great athletes in attendance and it was a very fun event for our athletes and all of our gym members there to cheer on their friends. What an amazing CrossFit community we have, both within our gym and the greater Rochester/Buffalo/Syracuse area. Next up, many of these same athletes from FCCF (and a few others who couldn't make the last challenge) are headed to CrossFit Buffalo for Round 2 of this event this weekend!

Good luck!

We'd like to wish all of you a very Happy Holiday season from all of us here at Flower City CrossFit!   We will be open for one WOD on Christmas Eve (Saturday at 8am), and will be closed on Christmas day.   We will also be closed on New Years Day.  Other than that, we will be open with our normal hours through New Years.  

If you are an out-of-town CrossFitter who is in Rochester for the holidays, please come join us for a WOD.  We love visitors!  Just shoot us an email here and let us know when you are thinking about dropping in.  Hope to see you over the Holidays!

To celebrate our one-year anniversary, we hosted a night at FCCF with dodgeball, food and friends!  It was a great night, spent with many of the wonderful people who make the gym such an energizing place to come to every day!

This past year has been simply amazing!  The gym started out with about 5 members and today it boasts a community that is comprised of well over 100 CrossFIt members and almost as many Bootcamp members.  My dream to open a gym started almost 12 years ago, and in my wildest imagination I don't think I could have anticipated this past year being as sucessful and FUN as it has been.   When I look at the success of the past year what I am perhaps most happy about is the people who have found a home at FCCF.  I am sure that I could not have hand-picked a better group of people to be a part of the FCCF community.   The members here are among the most dedicated, hard-working, supportive and caring people I have ever met.  It has been, and continues to be a joy to work with every one of them.   Seeing the amazing things they acheive makes all the long hours worth it!

I want to give a special shout out to Ann Miller-Michaels and Kris Kratky for all they did to make the anniversary party such a great time.  I also want to say "thanks" to Steve at Hammerhead Fitness for putting together what has got to be the coolest plyo-box ever (see the picture below)!  Thanks also to Davin Sweeny for a very special Ab-mat signed by several CrossFit luminaries.

But most of all, I want to thank all the wonderful members that make FCCF what it is.  You all inspire me every single day! 

Few better ways to celebrate a CrossFit anniversary than dodgeball!

Mike is a force to be reckoned with when he's got a dodgeball in his hand.

Serious ups!

Engraved plyo box signed by FCCF members!  How cool is that?

THANKS for a great first year!!!

On Sunday, we hosted Amazing Grace 2011 (AKA Barbells for Boobs (B4B)), which benefits Mammograms in Action (MIA).   MIA provides funding for qualified low-income and uninsured women and men who need screening and/or diagnostic procedures in the prevention of breast cancer.  

The B4B event was developed and launched in 2009 successfully raising $4,000. In 2010, the event spread to 5 countries and 42 U.S. states with participation from over 5,000 athletes resulting in over $300,000 in fundraising and sponsorship. The 2011 Amazing Grace event runs throughout the month of October at Crossfit gyms around the world, and I am sure they will far exceed their goals.  We sure did! I’m proud to say that we had over 60% of our members make a donation and participate in this event.  We also had raffles to raise extra funds, prizes for the best Grace time and best pink outfit, and a brunch provided by our members after the workout.  We also collected new and gently used bras from our membership to go to www.support1000.org.  

It was an inspiring morning full of competition, friendship, pink everywhere, and fun.  I am humbled by the effort put forth by our members and their generosity.  Their contributions just might save a life. FCCF people are THE BEST!!

Thanks to those that volunteered their time getting the gym ready and cleaning up afterward. And a very special thanks to Ann and Laura for putting it all together!

Coutney rocked out a super fast time at full weight.

We had a CrossFit kids session doing Grace with PVC pipes.

The gym was looking mighty pink on Sunday!

Amazingly Denise was not distracted by Eric (on the right above) as she flew through Grace at Rx weight.

On October 16, 2011 we host the Barbells for Boobs fundraiser event with the ‘Amazing Grace’ WOD.  I keep seeing bags of pink stuff arriving at the gym, being brought in by Ann Miller-Michaels and Laura Cook who are planning the event at FCCF, and I have to confess that I am a bit nervous to see what Ann and Laura have in store!  

This event is being hosted at CrossFit gyms across the country through the month of October and all proceeds go to Mammograms in Action (MIA) --  a 501(c)3 non-profit breast cancer organization with the mission to provide funding for qualified low-income and uninsured women and men who need screening and/or diagnostic procedures in the prevention of breast cancer.  I want to emphasize that MIA is saving lives and finding cancer in women and men that most likely would have never had a mammogram.  Let’s pay it forward and give to this great cause!  We are also collecting new or gently used bras to give to a women’s shelter at this event.

Want to help us out?  If you are a local crossfitter and want to participate at our gym, register on our affiliate page online which includes your $35 donation to MIA.  Then email me at info@flowercitycrossfit.com and I will sign you up for a time that morning to compete in the Grace WOD.  We will be starting Grace at 8:30 am with heats beginning every 15 minutes.  Following the WOD, we have a potluck breakfast planned, raffle prizes to give away, and awards for the top Grace Scores from Hammerhead Fitness.  Ann also has an award for the “pinkest-dressed” participant.  You must be signed up on our page to be eligible for the awards and raffles.

Want to donate to this great cause, but are not interested in doing the workout?  Simply sign up for our team from the link above, donate $35, and just email me to know you won’t be participating in the workout.  You are welcome to come for the breakfast and raffle!

Learn more about this event:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6pMaFHVt6Q&feature=share

This Saturday, we are starting up another session of CrossFit Kids (ages 4-7) at FCCF! The class will be 11:00-11:30 am every Saturday for 8 weeks (ends 11/19). The cost is $40. Please email

CFKids@flowercitycrossfit.com

by Friday if you would like to sign your child up for this fun class.

Success Story – Kris Kratky’s Transformation at FCCF

 Kris, before and 9 months later

Kris first heard about Crossfit in 2009 from a cousin of his whose husband is in the Air force. When she described it to Kris, he thought it sounded a little crazy, like something a green beret or navy seal would do. His cousin encouraged him to try it and see for himself. Kris started Fundamentals at FCCF in October 2010 as one of our first three new members. Before CrossFIT, Kris occasionally went for runs and did P90X, albeit inconsistently. Kris states “I was nervous about starting CrossFit. When I did start, I was at a point in my life where I was the most out of shape and the heaviest I have ever weighed. I was also intimidated by preconceived notions of “gyms” based on previous experiences.” Kris weighed 200 pounds when he started CrossFit and had no plans to participate in any endurance or performance races.

Fast forward one year later with Kris coming to CrossFit regularly for a year. In 2011 he has participated in a rowing event, many running events, a relay trail marathon, a bike ride event, and a triathlon (just to name a few). He has also competed in many fundraising events for charities as part of the FCCF CrossFit community including the Zoo Challenge, Fight Gone Bad, and the CF Rochester Games. He now weighs 167 pounds. Kris says that CrossFit has given him the confidence to go after anything. He never anticipated losing as much weight and as fast as he did, his cholesterol level has never been better, and he is the strongest he has been in since high school.

We asked Kris, “What do you like best about Flower City CrossFit?”

What I love best about Flower City Crossfit is without a doubt the people and confidence it has given me to push my personal goals. From the outset, I’ve never felt intimidated and I have always been given the right amount of encouragement, reassurance, and motivation to keep pushing myself. I’ve done basement workouts before but find it difficult to stay motivated. I have also joined gyms before but felt like they were not places for someone to get into shape, but rather for people already in shape. I also am not motivated by what I call the high school football coach mentality; a coach who believes in getting in your face and yelling profanities at you. Flower City Crossfit, and specifically Jeff Rice, has represented everything I need to be successful; trainers genuinely committed to your betterment, safety and Crossfit principles, an “anyone can do it, you just need to put in the work” attitude and friendships with people I never anticipated or imagined. I also never thought I could participate in such races as the Fleet Feet Sehgahunda Trail Marathon relay without extensive trail running experience.

Finally, we asked Kris, “What keeps you going? What gets you out of bed in the morning?”

Flower City Crossfit has become a lifestyle for me. There is something about the sharing of a hard workout with my fellow FCCFers that forms a family-like bond. I find myself happiest seeing others around me succeeding and hitting personal highs and not just taking stock of my own personal gains.