Thank you!

Hey guys!

It has been a long time since I last made an entry on this blog, and I have pondered what to do with it? It is not that I dont have anything to say (those of you who know me, know that this is the case) but I have felt that this blog has played out its role!

So this will be my last entry on this blog, but within a foreseable future I think you might find me on another blog, so if you feel that you have any time left for whatever crazy thoughts I would like to share:-) then stay tuned!

Thank you for dialling in!

In health

Mads

1o ways to unfuck your CrossFit box???

Been offline for a while, but that does not mean that I have not been following everybody elses bloggs:-) and when you get the chance to sit down and enjoy what everybody else decide to share online, a few questions arise! I would like to share one with you here today!

A while ago I read an article from what used to be CrossFit Greyskull! I actually read a bunch of their articles and decided that the articles were intresting and to some point justified! However, I also decided that I would not invest any further time in reading the articles of someone who had jumped off the boat, and just stood there yelling profanities, and spat hatred at the sport and pursuit of fitness that has become such an integral part of my life!

There are many things I would like to change about CrossFit, but instead of turning into a hater, I have decided to contribute with my input, and let it become a part of what CrossFit is today! CrossFit is ever evolving and if you contribute to the community then you can help develop it! If you sign out and just complain nothing is ever going to change! It is much like the people who decide not to vote, but will complain about the direction the country is moving and the talentless politicians who lead it! If you dont vote/contribute you simply have no say- That is where I decided to put the Greyskull articles!

Lately however I have seen some of their articles resurface on different bloggs and websites, and the most popular one seems to be the one that offers 10 advices on how to set things straight at your CrossFit box! Remember that this advice is coming from someone who has decided that they know better than the entire community, and turned their back on CrossFit! I am not even going to get into why I think the article is BS from beginning to end- instead I thought I would choose the higher road and offer 10 advices to how you can contribute to your box becomming a better place! Cause that is what you do when you decide to contribute instead of acting like a spoiled child!

So here we go, 10 advices on how to contribute your box becomming the best box in the world:

1- Voice your opinion!
Tell the box owners what you think! Let them know both good and bad! That kind of communication will lead to a better box everyday of the week and twice on sundays! If someting bothers you then be vocal about it straight to the owner! Criticism is great when it is done out in the open, not so much behind closed doors or behind someones back!

2- Present solutions!
When you find somethng you would like to see changed, offer a solution! Dont be a part of the problem, be a part of the solution instead!

3- Get involved!
Get involved in your box! Help out in classes, set up a fund raiser, start a facebook group! Get involved in what happens at the box- that way you can help drive the box in the direction you would like!

4- Share your experiences!
Do a cert and contribute your new knowledge to everyone else! Visit other boxes and share your experiences! Help move all the markers in the right direction!

5- Be openminded!
Realize that sometimes you may not know everything better than everyone else! Listen to why things are done the way they are, and allow for things to settle in before you rip everything up and force your own opinion down everyone elses throught!

6- Are they your goals or the box goals?
Wait for a second, have a coke and a smile and ponder! Maybe the greater good of the box is not what the tailormade solutions to your ambitions look like! How in this case do you work around this? Then move to point number 2 and present a solution!

7- It is your box!
Treat the box like you little baby! Imagine that the box is yours and every single individual that walks through the door, just walked into your box! How do you want them to feel? What values do you appreciate in your box? Now pass them on to the next person!

8- Learn peoples names!
Make an effort to get to know the names of the people you work out with and use them! You'll be surprised at how happy people get when you walk up to them in the box and ask what their names are! Usually you get the question why you want to know? When you say that you honestly care and want to know who you work out with everyday- more often than not you gain a new friend for life!

9- Internet warrior!
Get online and comment on the bloggs and websites run by your friends at the box! This builds a comminuty you would have never imagined possible! These people take the time to share their efforts and thoughts, the least you can do is comment!

10- Get the f#*k out of Dodge!
If you feel like the box you are at just is'nt right for you then give the owner a high five and a chestbump, and go somewhere else! There is no reason to be enemies just because you deside that you would thrive better in another box!


So instead of unfucking your box! Be a part of the solution,and help create better boxes and happier crossfitters!

I know that at least one of you will read this and say something along the lines of: " Of course he says so! He is part owner of a box!"
This is true! I am a part owner of a box, and the reason this box exists and is such a fantastic place is that the members there are actively engaged in making it a better place! They could not care less about unfucking anything- they are way too busy building a place they can thrive in and become better athletes!

A thank you from the bottom of my heart to every single one of you who have decided to make CrossFit Nordic the place it is today, and to the crossfitters worldwide who are making their boxes and the community stronger day by day!

Much love!

What did you drink?

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had to defend yourself and the lifestyle choices you have made to people who claim that you are "extreme" because you do not eat bread? or because you work out 3-4 times a week? or because you have decided that you need to get stronger etc?
These accusations very often come from people who are not in shape themselves, and who have already had to begin dealing with the "challenges" that occur when you really could'nt care less about your health!

Elite athletes are extreme no matter what sport you deside to try to master and bring to the ultimate level, and there really is no discussion there, but how come that we have to listen to the same BS? I have a bunch of answers, some better than others! However I have decided to spare you my crazy rants on the issue, at the same time as I am sure that I will avoid stepping on sore toes this way:-) So I have decide to share a story with you- all you have to do is decide where you feel like you fit in? I promise to try to keep it short!

" Once apon a time there was a very small kingdom. The small kingdom basically consisted of a village, and on a hill above the village there was a castle- that was it, that was the kingdom.

People grew their crops and lived in relative harmony and got along with both friends and foe- and they loved their king! The king was a wise man who wished everyone well and settled disputes fairly. Under his rule the small kingdom had prospered for many years!

Then one day a evil man came by and poisoned the well in the village. This was the well everyone in the village drank from. He poured a poison in there that made everyone very upset, and hostile for no reason whatsoever! Over the next few weeks people in the village fought amongst themselves. They started fires and begun arming themselves so they could defend themselves against foes- both real and imagined!

In the castle where the king drank thare was also a well, but it sprang from a different spring. This meant that the king was the same as he had alway been, and all he ever wanted was for everyone to be well, get along and prosper!

After a while the villagers began to look at the castle and talk about the king and how he had changed, how they could not relate to the "new king!" They began making plans on how to assasinate him so that they could elect a new king whom they felt could be one of them!

The king heard about these plans! Wise as he was he decide to sneak down to the village and drink the water from the well in the village. He did so, and returned to the castle! The next morning he woke with a fury burning inside him, and he immidiately decided that the kingdom should go to war on their neighbors, and while he was at it he decided that 10 imagined wrong-doers in town should be hanged in the city square!

The villagers were over the moon that they had gotten their king back and talk on the town was all about how their king had gotten his wits back......"

It would be easy to do the same when the 1000th person comes up to you and claims that you are extreme and feels that it is perfectly ok to question the lifestyle choices you have made! When the 100 000 000th person looks through your lunch box and decides that it is perfectly ok to call you extreme or over the top for the choices you have made!

I beg of you not to drink from the village fountain! The choises you have made are yours to keep, and you dont have to defend them to anyone.. You should take in information and always be open to widening your horizons and learn from those who know more than we do.. But when the haters begin their insane rants about your lifestyle choises while they dont train and try to eat themselves to an early death- please dont listen!

This could be applied to virtually anything in life, but I have not found any other place where people take such liberties when it comes to the decisions others have made on how to live their lives, when all they should do was begin with the man in the mirror:-)

What do you think? Has anyone ever taken a shot at you?

Much love

The beginning of a love story!

It is the beginning of a new year and it would have been super easy to share all my new years resolutions and personal goals for the new year with you. The truth however is that noone really cares what an old over the hill, semi fat kid, has planned for the next year! Those of you who claim to want to hear- its really are lovable, but there is no need for the courtesy!

Instead I would love to share some thoughts on the thing everybody has been talking about the last couple of months- the Reebok/ CrossFit partnership!
What is is all about and how do we feel about it? Has CrossFit sold out and become mainstream? Has CrossFit given in and jumped into the lap of the MAN?

What we do know is that Reebok and CrossFit have signed some sort of partnership, and from what I hear it is a long term commitment! I could be wrong, so let us not get to hung up on the details!
The first Reebok CrossFit box has opened, and I have a feeling more will follow within a very near future!
It has also become mainstream knowledge that Reebok will sponsor the Games!
I am sure that there are many more facetts where we will see Reebok get involved in the CrossFit community. I have heard a lot of rumors and have been blessed with some info straight from the horses mouth, but until it all becomes official lets just keep it at that!

So how do we feel about this? Has CrossFit sold out? Has CrossFit given up everything we stand for and sold it all for a bag of coin?
I have heard lot of haters go nuts about this! They have been very vocal both to my face and in different media! They are saying that CrossFit has lost its soul! That CrossFit has sold out? That HQ is just trying to cash in? That HQ has forgotten where it all began??
My personal favorite it this quote: " CrossFit should be elite and underground, this has ruined it all!" I'll get back to it, but I have to say that this one made me laugh! I am never going to take a swing at another persons opinion. Opinions are like assholes, we all have one! But this persons perception of CrossFit could not possibly be any further from mine, and by no stretch of imagination can I relate to this defination of CrossFit!

HELL NO! CrossFit has not sold out! CrossFit has not sold all moral values for a bag of coin! CrossFit has not forgotten where it all began, or where it was Coach wanted to go with this!
There have been plenty of opportunities to cash in before now, and I know that there were plenty of other options that would also have generated a lot of money for HQ! The partnership with Reebok will give CrossFit the possiblity to develop in the way that CrossFit has always wanted to go! In order to develop CrossFit has needed money and a partner that could help facilitate this development- This is exactly what Reebok is! reebok is not going to change CrossFit in any way shape or form! Instead Reebok is going to help CrossFit go exactly where CrossFit has always wanted to go! In return CrossFit will try to benefit Reebok in any way they can, and I am sure there is a pretty hefty contract saying what CrossFit has to do!
The essential part however is that Reebok is not going to change anything! Let me say it again so it can sink in! Nothing is going to change! CrossFit will just be able to take CrossFit where they want, in the way they want! The need for compromise in order to make the guy with the money happy is non-existent!
Just lean back for a second and think about it! If you accept the fact that Crossfit has turned down a bunch of bidders and substantial amounts of money because they all came with a prize of changing what we do! What do you think would have to be offered in the deal with Reebok, for CrossFit to take it? That is right! A partnership that allows CrossFit to continue down the path we are all already walking, but with the suport of a partner with some serious muscle! How could that ever be wrong! So if nothing changes, how could CrossFit have sold out?
I keep my fingers crossed that this is the beginning of a love story between Reebok and CrossFit, and I pray that both companies will prosper from the partnership!

So back to the comment about being elite and underground! We publish what we do online! We share information on everything we do virtually free of charge! Every affiliate that publishes their programming helps provide free access to some of the finest training in the world! On CrossFit.com you will find more information than you will know what to do with free of charge! The list goes on and on- but you get the picture! Everyting we do is transparent, and easily accessable for everyone! It has always been that way- what is underground about that?
Keeping something elite and underground just means keeping it to ourselves, which is something CrossFit has never done! The problem with this attitude is also that it gets in the way of progress! Why would you want to evolve if you are already better than the rest, and the biggest fish in a very small pond, and how are we going to develop and become better if we get no input from anyone else, since we are a closed society? No way!

I would like CrossFit to be easily accesable to everyone willing to put in the work to become a better athlete! I would like the entire world to know that there is an alternative that can actually get you where you want to go, if you really want to be a better athlete, no matter what that means to you!
My promise to you is that if I ever find a cure for cancer I will never sit on it and keep it to myself and a chosen few- I will share it with the world..... I am not sure that is the case for the one who wrote the quote!

2011 looks like it will be a fantastic year for CrossFit, for you and for me, so lets help each other make it all come true!


Much love

The ABC of deadlifts!

Lately I have shared a bunch of deep thoughts on different subjects relating to CrossFit, and if you want get philosofical about it, life in general! So today I have decide to go the the other side of the house and get into some observations on the deadlift! If you are a monster deadlifter and you have some thoughts you feel like you would like to share with the world- please do share them also!

For those of you who do not know yet, I have a love affair with the deadlift, and most offspring from the deadlift! This also means that I have had a tendency to really geek out and dig into all the different schools of thought on how to execute the deadlift! Lately however I have come to a realization that I would like to share!



A deadlift is basically just the process of bending down and picking something of the ground. However, in order to be able to do so more than once and with a slightly heavy load there are some considerations to be made! If you decide to neglect these completely there are pretty fair odds that you will get into a world of trouble with your back, and the only one you will benefit will be your osteopath, chiropracter, napapat etc. who will have a field day trying to reassemble the debris that was once your spine!

These considerations are:
- Weight on your heels!
- Lumbar curve maintained!
- Shoulders above or slightly in front of the bar!
- Symetrical grip just outside of shoulder width!
- Arms straight!
- Bar in contact with you shins!

You all know these and I am sure that you have heard them all a million times before, at least if you have had the "pleassure" of having me around when you do your deadlifts!

So far so good, this is the part that most can agree on?? But what happens when you begin to move? This is where the differences begin to show. Or is it?

What I have found to be fantastic points of performance is to stay on your heels, raise your butt to where your lumbar curve is picture perfect, and you begin to feel tension building in your hamstrings. You tighten your grip and secure your midline, and lift! You raise your hips and shoulders in the same speed until the bar passes your knees, after that you open your hip completely, and voilà you are in the top position of the deadlift!

The actual lifting of the bar is less controversial, but the starting point is where tempers begin to flare! All I intend to do with the athletes I coach, is to try to build up tention in their hamstrings, glutes and erectors before they even attempt to lift the bar, thus ensuring that the midline is never compromised! This approach also has the advantage that every inch of movement produced by their hamstrings, glutes and erectors translates into movement on the bar! Aha! That is exactly what I want since these are the primal movers in this lift. So where would the point be in letting them move without getting any elevation on the bar?
So where the starting point will be will differ from athlete to athlete depending on their levers and flexibility? Yes sir! The basics need to be in place, but where that leaves the individual is different from athlete to athlete! Beautiful is it not? we are all built differently, which means that there are basic universal rules for safety, but where that leaves the individual is..... that is right- different from person to person!

So now.. please do share what do you think is a good deadlift? What needs to be taken into consideration? How do you teach it? How were you taught? Did it work?

Much love

Sectionals 2011!

Let me just begin by saying that I know as little and as much as the next guy! The information I have is from what has been posted on the journal, so things can still change, or I could have gotten something completely wrong!



Here is my take on what is going to happen, and how I feel about it?

The setup!
It appears that the sectionals 2011, will be a six week deal where workouts will be released, and the athletes who feel like giving it a try can simply do the workouts, at either an approved affiliate or anywhere else! All they have to do is video tape the effort and submit it to Crossfit! Could it be any easier?
I am sure more information on the standards will be published as we get closer!

How do I feel about that?
To me it is a simple matter really! Last year athletes who could not make it to the sectionals were more or less S#*T out of luck! If they were not there they could not qualify- This year anyone anywhere can compete, and try to make it to the Regionals!
This also means that all the people who spent a fortune on travelling to the sectionals, can save their money and spend it on grass fed protein sources and skins!
The cost of competing has gone down by 90-95%!! Once again that just means that more people will be able to compete, without having to wonder if they can afford to do so!
So basically all you need this year is a camera and internet access and you are good to go (provided you have the equipment needed to do the WoDs) could it be any easier?



The criticism has been that the fantastic atmosphere and cameradery that we experienced at last years sectionals will be lost, and since we dont all have to get together to compete the community as such will suffer!
I hear you! I have to admit however that I dont think the sectionals built anything that was not there already! The cameradery I felt was there long before I walked into the sectionals, and if you show me a video of someone fighting as hard as these athletes di I will feel the exact same way again- the community and the bond between crossfitters worldwide is there already, that is not something that will go away because of one less competition!

I am stoked about this years setup! More people get to compete, at a lesser price, with a lot less paperwork! Any affiliate who wants to set up a sectional can do so, and if you are far off in the boondocks or down range, you can still submit your workouts and make it to the next cut! I just dont see what is not to like about this?

How do you feel? Thoughts, ladies and gentlemen please do share!

Much love

How do YOU coach an athlete?

Before we get into the deep end of the pool and begin discussing how you coach an athlete, and how you like to be coached, I would like to define what I mean by athlete, and what I mean by coaching?

In this context I will consider an athlete pretty much anyone you will find in your box. Whether the athlete is at a level where he/she wants to compete in the Games, or if he/she is on route to performing their first air squat without looking like a train wreck, really does not matter here today- they are all athletes!
So whether you are about to call Dave Castro to give him an inside tip on the next years winner of the Games, or if you are about to call a medic to pick up the human debris that is left after this person has performed the simplest movements- it really does not matter- they are both athletes in this context!

Coaching! When talking about coaching I am simply referring to the process of guiding and giving advice to any given athlete on how to perform better! I am not talking about making up ellaborate plans for future goals! I am talking about how you coach right now!

So lets get started!

I have had the pleassure of meeting a lot of very gifted CrossFit coaches, and been blessed with the opportunity to be trained by them in all kinds of enviroments. There have been 1 on 1 sessions, classes, and workshops, there have been competition like situations and just playing around trying to work on things that would probably never be used again!
What I have found however is that there is a certain kind of coach that always seems to give me sense that I am taking a little extra something with me from the workout. It can be a technical pinpoint that has made me move better! An insigt into the complexity of a movement that has helped me understand said movement better! Or just a comment that has helped me push through the WoD when I was about to fold and call it a day! Whatever it may be there is always that sense of having been a part of something bigger than a workout!


A couple of examples of coaches like that are inevidable, so here comes the ass kissing:

Karl Steadman- This man has a way of seeing/understanding movements better than anyone I have ever had the pleassure of training with! He knows immidiately where the problem in the movement is, and with very subtle instructions he makes me move better just like that! He never brings out the sledge hammer and shreds everything I do to pieces! Instead he makes me move better in degrees, beginning with the obvious, and then moving down the line, leaving the detail work until all the gross mechanics are in place!
He is a wizard and if you ever get the chance to watch him work, or be coached by him- do yourself a favor and take it!


Martin Altemark- Unfortunately I dont get to spend as much time with him as I would like to, but I know that if I did, a bunch of my old PB's would be in serious danger. He has a way of always making me work a bit harder than I originally intended, without pushing me into the proverbial wall and into the arms of Pukie! Still, without going that far he always motivates and focusses on taking the WoD on step further! It is a quality lost on many, and I wish he could write a book about what it is he does- I think a lot of us would buy it!

So what is it that makes these guys such excellent coaches? The answer is simply that they make me a better athlete, which is exactly what I am striving to become! I will go as far as to say that that is what we should all strive towards! If it is not your goal, please stop reading and go back to focussing on the latest bicep curl blaster extravaganza in the globo gym magazines!
Sorry got carried away there:-)

But there are other coaches outthere who are the exact opposite, and they too have produced fantastic results with their athletes! How could that possibly be? Could it be that there is more than one way to being a fantastic coach? Could it be that you get your thrills and motivation in the exact opposite way that I do, and still you evolve?

Of course there is more than one side to the coin, and of course different things rock your boat and make you a better athlete! The big question is what we do with that discovery? Do we gravitate towards the coaches whom we feel hit all the right spots and leave the others to themselves, ignoring that they have also reached their goals with their athletes, or do we embrace these coaches as well and pick what we can use and discard what we cant use?


My answer would be to do just that! Find some coaches whom you can relate to, and who give you the sense of always evolving and improving, and spend 95% of your time working with them! But you should also try to train with some coaches whom you find to be the opposite, and maybe not quite your first hand choice- there just may be some really brilliant advice just lying around just begging to be discovered there too!

On the coaches side of the house there is also some soul searching to be done! You need to spend time with other coaches, watching them teach, training with them in order to evolve as a coach. If you dont, you easily fall into the trap of becomming a "one-trick-pony" and when that happens you have limited yourself and virtually every single athlete you work with! Dont be afraid to learn from other coaches! It is the only way to evolve, and who knows- maybe one day you will be able to help all athletes, no matter how they click and what they need to become better athletes- Would'nt that be something!

So my question is this! Who is your favorite coach and why, and what do you do to become a better coach?

Much love