Athlete Profile: Vaughn H.

Hometown: Cushing, Iowa
PCF: When did you start with PCF?
Oct 2008
PCF: Favorite WOD
Fran
PCF: Least Favorite WOD
Don’t have one
PCF: What is your prior fitness background? What was your exposure to CF before coming to PCF?
Very little fitness background. I played some sports in high school, some intramural sports in college but nothing serious. Stayed in good enough shape to pass Air Force fitness tests, but had never thought of myself as an athlete before PCF. I had never heard of crossfit before my friend Heather told me about it, a week or so later I stopped in and signed up for foundations and have never looked back.
PCF: Talk to us about your thoughts after completing your first WOD.
My very first WOD was “Kelly” 5 rounds 400m run, 30 box jumps, 30 wall balls. It was my 3rd class ever as it was the first wod after my initial two foundations classes. It was brutal, took me 43 minutes to complete. Thankfully it was on a Sat and I could take the time to finish it. It was one of those mental beat downs, but I just couldn’t quit no matter how tired I was, I don’t know how long I leaned against the wall with the wall ball just trying to catch my breath. But everyone was supportive and even though I was dead last no one made fun which sealed the deal that the CF community was something I wanted to be part of.
PCF: Tell us a little about then vs. now with regard to your performances on a couple of the benchmark WODs. Favorite WOD?
I think I have come a long way in the past year, I think the first time I tired Fran it was 9 or 10 minutes with a band, the last time I did it (which was a few months before Vegas Mike left) was 5:23, I just turned 40 (thank-you again for all the birthday wishes) and I finally busted the 400 lb hurdle on the deadlift, have a 345 back squat, and pr’ed my clean at 205 at the Alexandria Athlete Exchange WOD. I also feel like my running has improved as well, but it still has a long way to go! But I am still working on $#@! double unders…
PCF: Favorite CF/PCF moments you’d like to share?
I would say my favorite day to day moments are the laughter and smiles, I have seldom spent a day in PCF where there hasn’t been a smile or a laugh. I can have the worse day at work or in my personal life, but when I walk in the door and start to get ready for the wod, that all goes away. Regionals was quite amazing, being part of the PCF team, even though I wasn’t at a level to compete just being part of that will be something that I will never forget. And last, but not least I cannot forget my heterosexual life partner and the entire Vegas Mike/Clydesdale era…
PCF: Any advice for our newbies?
Never say never, can’t is a four letter word. Keep trying, there will be somethings that will come to you easy and somethings that will take years to get better at (although I would be happy if it doesn’t take me years to get my double unders). You will never have a better support group to help you master what used to be the “impossible” than the crossfit community. But sometimes you do have to ask, but I have never asked a question without a respectful, thought out answer given. I doubt greatly if there isn’t a single person in the gym who hasn’t been where you are in some way, shape or form. And above all, have fun!
PCF: And finally (and most importantly) Who is the best looking and most fabulous PCF coach around?
I would have to say Erika because I am a sucker for red heads and Chad just isn’t my type…

If you’d like to submit an Athlete Profile, click here.

Squat
3-3-3-3-3

21-15-9
1 Arm DB Squat Clean (50/30)
Pull-ups
Post loads and times to comments.

As many rounds in 20 minutes;
20 Unbroken Wall Balls, 20#/14# to 10 ft
20 Unbroken Double Unders
Post rounds and fraction of rounds to comments.

Focus Session with Ryan Powell starts Monday, 22 March at 8pm and runs four weeks focusing on: Overhead Squat, Double Unders, Kipping Pullup, and Box Jumps. Over the course of four sessions Ryan will teach you how to link double unders, add 10lbs to your overhead squat, get your first kipping pullup or improve upon your kip, and teach you to cycle box jumps without stopping. Additionally, you’ll develop better flexibility and mobility which will improve all of the CrossFit movements. To register, click here

Upcoming Foundations:

Tue/Thu at 6:30am starting March 30th with Alison Pierce

Tue/Thu at 8pm starting April 13th with Siddharth Sawkar and Ryan Powell

Tue/Thu at 8pm starting May 11 with Kritin O’Keefe

For Private Foundations Scheduling click here

“Christine”
3 Rounds
500m Row
12 Deadlifts (Bodyweight)
21 Box Jumps (20 inches)
Post time to comments.
Compare to 091219

___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

For more info on better nutrition:

-Post a question to our comments section

-Post a question to our Paleo Challenge Comments Section

-Signup for a Paleo Challenge

-Attend the weekly PCF Paleo Video Teleconference Q&A

All of those resources are totally free, use them as much as you want. But if for whatever reason, you need a little more help, you can now sign up for Nutrition Coaching with a PCF Coach by clicking here.

We also provide Grass Fed and Pasture Raised Meat, Pork, Poultry, Eggs, and Milk via the Humble Gourmand. To subscribe to the mailing list and order email Alison. Orders are done weekly and delivered right to PCF.

___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

For Time:
30 Wall Ball (20/14lbs)
30 Ground-to-Overhead (95/65lbs)
30 KB Swings (2/1.5 pood)
30 Overhead Squats (95/65lbs)
30 Burpees
30 Ground-to-Shoulder (95/65lbs)
Post time to comments.

Focus Session with Ryan Powell starts Monday, 22 March at 8pm and runs four weeks focusing on: Overhead Squat, Double Unders, Kipping Pullup, and Box Jumps. Over the course of four sessions Ryan will teach you how to link double unders, add 10lbs to your overhead squat, get your first kipping pullup or improve upon your kip, and teach you to cycle box jumps without stopping. Additionally, you’ll develop better flexibility and mobility which will improve all of the CrossFit movements. To register, click here

___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

This week we are taking a look at food logs for some of Potomac Crossfit’s Athletes and Coaches. This is a real, unedited look at how they eat. If you’d like to contribute and share your eating habits, we’d love to hear from you. To submit your photo food diary, click here.

Today’s profile is on PCF Coach Alison (pictured above). Here’s a look at a typical day for her. If you have any questions for Alison or the Coaches about diet, post to comments.

___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

BREAKFAST
* 3 eggs (scrambled, fried in coconut oil, or hard-boiled)
* Homemade applesauce, berries, or a pear/apple/orange
* Avocado or pecans

LUNCH
* About 4 ounces of meat (typically leftovers from the previous night – steak, chicken, pork, etc.)
* Big plateful of leftover veggies drizzled in olive oil

DINNER
* 4-5 ounces of meat (again, beef, chicken, pork, lamb, bison… depends on what we’ve got. All meat is sourced from the PCF buyers’ club, natch)
* Big salad of dark leafy greens w/ olive oil & balsamic or sherry vinegar
* Couple of carrot sticks dipped in Sunbutter for dessert

Snacks: usually late morning and mid-afternoon. I go for all-natural deli meat, nuts, avocado, red bell pepper… the more of this stuff that’s in the house, the easier it is to have appealing options when I’m hungry.

A lot of the time we’re not eating from recipes, per se. We do a lot of straightforward roasting/pan-searing/grilling of grass-fed meats (they really don’t need much beyond salt, pepper, and olive oil to be amazing). Likewise for veggies — they get steamed, roasted, or grilled with same.

If we’re getting bored I mix it up with herbs and spices or some kind of tomato-based stew (example: ground beef, veal, pork + garlic + onion + tomatoes over roasted spaghetti squash or broccoli). Tomorrow night we’re trying a Paleo shepherd’s pie recipe I was lucky to nab from PCFer Hilary — will post it if it turns out well!

___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

For more info on better nutrition:

-Post a question to our comments section

-Post a question to our Paleo Challenge Comments Section

-Signup for a Paleo Challenge

-Attend the weekly PCF Paleo Video Teleconference Q&A

All of those resources are totally free, use them as much as you want. But if for whatever reason, you need a little more help, you can now sign up for Nutrition Coaching with a PCF Coach by clicking here.

We also provide Grass Fed and Pasture Raised Meat, Pork, Poultry, Eggs, and Milk via the Humble Gourmand. To subscribe to the mailing list and order email Alison. Orders are done weekly and delivered right to PCF.

___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

Clean
3-2-2-1-1-1-1

30 Power Cleans (155/105)
Post loads and times to comments.
This should be a fast metcon in the 1-5 minute range.