CrossFit FX TX
214.383.3337 / info@crossfitfxtx.com
1108 N Greenville Ave. Suite 103 Allen, TX 75002
Your NE Dallas CrossFit location. Accessible from Plano, Frisco, McKinney & Dallas
Unleashing Human Potential
SUCCESS STORIES & ARTICLES
SUCCESS STORIES
Do you have a success story you want to share with us, and the rest of the world? Give us a call at 214-383-3337 or e-mail us at info@crossfitfxtx.com. We would love to hear how fitness changed your life for the better!
My name is Blake Bishop; I’ve been a trainer at CrossFit FX TX since we started back in Dylan’s garage. I have great pride for my job and the people I work with, there’s nothing better than coming to work everyday surrounded by people I consider part of my family. Those who have attended of my classes know that I put a lot of passion into my classes by doing what it takes for my clients to receive the best workout possible; whether it be hollering, showing encouragement, or staying by one’s side until they finish a workout. I want people to leave my class knowing that they put everything they had into that WOD. Some people are a little afraid of me because of the emotion I give my clients, but outside of the workouts I am a very kind hearted person who loves just getting to know people better and answering any questions they may have for me. I go to work everyday hoping to change somebody’s life; whether it is by helping them reach a fitness goal, helping somebody prepare for an athletic event they have coming up or by simply making them feel a little bit better about themselves. Now I’d like to tell you how CrossFit has changed my life and truly help me UNLEASH MY HUMAN POTENTIAL. As long as I can remember I had always been involved in one sport after another. In high school through hard work and dedication, I was able to make all district and region in both football and baseball. During this time I was also a member of the powerlifting team where I finished 2nd in my region, breaking the regions deadlift record with 560 lbs., and 3rd overall in the Texas State Powerlifting Meet. As I would go from one sport to another as the years progressed I found changes happening in the way that I would workout depending on the sport. Going from bulking up in football season to slimming down for baseball, powerlifting and other spring time sports, my body was constantly getting shocked by the changes in my workout routine. It wasn’t until my days of playing high school sports were over that I realized that their can be one form of year round fitness that would help me improve in all sports. As with many others in CrossFit I’ve asked myself the same question time and time again, “WHERE WAS THIS BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL?” If I had known about CrossFit when I was younger I would have had better overall strength, more flexibility, better endurance and most importantly more self confidence. After high school I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted fitness to be apart of it. After a year at My brother is in the Navy and was stationed in Japan. All he would talk about was Crossfit and how awesome it was. He came to visit last summer for his 30 days leave. He was adamant about finding a Crossfit gym and happened upon Crossfit FX TX. He went everyday while he was here and would get home and just go on and on about the awesomeness that is Crossfit. I went and watched him workout and was very intrigued by the whole thing. It’s different and I’m not an aerobics type of person, I need someone to tell me what I’m doing wrong and to push me. I read they offered a free try out and figured what the heck, why not. Well after I was able to walk again, I was hooked. It was like nothing I’ve ever done. A couple of the many things that Crossfit has helped me with is that I’ve gotten stronger and I'm not afraid to try. I’m not scared to jump on higher stacked weights. I’m not scared to run. I’m not scared to just try and I have to thank Gerard and the rest of the coaches. I’ve learned to trust them in that they won’t let me get hurt and they know what’s best for me. They push me harder and my Crossfit friends push me to finish. When I first started all I wanted to do was quit, now all I want to do is finish, finish as fast as I can, finish as many rounds as I can and finish with nothing left in my tank. I’m still going and I’m still finishing. I’m having so much fun and the people I’ve met have become my Crossfit FX TX family. When you do Crossfit, you’re not alone. It’s intense but anyone can do it. I want to say thank you to Crossfit FX TX and especially to Gerard, you’re giving me my life back. Above is a picture of me before and on my way to my physical and emotional transformation. I haven’t reached my goal, but I can see my goal and I’m not quitting until I get there.
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Blake Bishop - CrossFit FX TX Trainer
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Melissa Oldbury - CrossFit FX TX Member
When I started in August of 2009 I weighed close to 230 pounds. I was going as often as I could, but it was very hard to be diligent. I had a meeting with Gerard and he started a plan for me. I needed to change the way I ate as well as change some other things regarding my lifestyle. It’s not easy; it’s actually the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
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Safety and CrossFit - A quick note from Andrew Hatchett, Ph.D.
“We believe that meaningful statements about safety, efficacy and efficiency, the three most important and interdependent facets of any fitness program, can be supported only by measurable, observable, repeatable facts. “
This sentence can be found in the CrossFit Journal article “Understanding CrossFit”. Most impressively, at the forefront of the sentence is safety. Safety should be the chief concern of the athlete as well as the coach. Interestingly the topic of safety is addressed throughout the CrossFit experience. If you take a moment to examine the foundational movements an obvious progression presents itself. One movement builds upon the prior. CrossFit coaches are instructed to focus of form and technique. It is this focus on form and technique that allows for a safe progression of fitness.
The utilization of constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity that has proven to develop fitness at an unmatched degree. The attainment of these fitness gains can not occur or be sustained if not for the teaching, monitoring and practicing of the movements in a safe, effective and efficient manner. What I find interesting is the component of safety in the training translates to another form of safety in a “real-world” context - this translation is injury prevention. By virtue of the movements taught and practiced in the CrossFit program, a more balanced athlete emerges. It is this balance that directly leads to the prevention of injury.
If taught correctly, CrossFit is a safe, effective and efficient fitness program that has no parallel in the realm of improving work capacity across broad time and modal domain. It is through the systematic progression in skill development evolving to an increased work capacity that makes CrossFit a safe fitness program.
Safety is not only the responsibility of the coach, but also a responsibility of the athlete. Athletes should not be afraid to simply ask their coaches question. Often the most powerful question is “Why?”. Athletes too should understand why they should maintain lumbar curve throughout a movement or why the transfer of energy during a clean often hinges on the shrug portion of the movement. It is the development of the athlete’s knowledge that serves a safety mechanism as well.
CrossFit allows for the safe development of superior fitness. This is a result of three factors; the progression of skill, the responsibility of the coaches and the engagement of the athletes. These factors all influence the safety, efficacy and efficiency of CrossFit. Safety above all others.
Andrew is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He has been a loyal CrossFitter for more than two years and proudly holds a Level 1 CrossFit Coaching certification.
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Mike Paknajed - CrossFit FX TX Member
Mike Paknejad exemplifies CrossFit mentality. In less than a year, Mike has lost 208 lbs while increasing strength and lean muscle. His determination, work ethic and daily progression inspires everyone at CrossFit FX TX. Coach G contributes Mike's success to "inner drive, the willingness to do whatever it takes to be the best that he can be!" At this stage in his development (when the average person would be satisfied), Mike continues to post unbelievable progress, such as losing 3.5 lbs of body fat in one week while maintining strength and muscle gain. Coach G claims that "you can't watch this guy work without firing up the intensity in your own program".
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Gerard Gautreaux - CrossFit FX TX Manager
Gerard BEFORE CrossFit Gerard AFTER CrossFit


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Dallas Khalil - CrossFit FX TX KIDS

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Alicia Hughes - CrossFitter
"I just wanted to drop you guys a note and say Thank You. In my 30 years on this planet you can say a lot of things about me... but one thing no one could ever say was that I was into working out. EVER!!! But CrossFit has changed my mentality. I hate going to gyms, but I just don't feel like CrossFit is a gym. All experiences I had at other gyms were horrible. I found it funny that when the endorphins should be flowing and people should be happy while working out, they weren't. I never knew how to work the machines, or if what I was doing was actually the correct way.
At CrossFit you are treated as an individual and made to feel important. I always feel a little bit like family when I'm there. There are not gazillion machines for me to be completely overwhelmed and intimidated by. I use mostly my own stamina and body weight to work out with. The most awesome thing is all the trainers ACTUALLY do the workouts that I'm doing. I love it and can't imagine going anywhere else to keep myself fit for life."
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Greg Deeke - CrossFitter
"Since the age of 5, I've been involved in competitive sports. I ran marathons, played college lacross, swam competitively and almost anything else under the sun. When my collegiate days ended, the hard training ended with it. I lost most of the muscle mass I had built up and replaced the six pack with a keg. I tried home gyms, regular "globo gym" memberships and most things in between. I was constantly bored and the results were average at best. I hate doing things that accomplish very little and bore me in the process, so I needed a change... a challenge. At CrossFit FX TX, every day is a new challenge, a new chance to improve on your past performances. The trainers keep you on your toes by making sure that for the most part, no two workouts are the same. Your body doesn't try to change, it has to change. While it may be true that I walk into the gym every morning thinking "this is gonna suck", I leave every day a little more fired up about coming back to beat that day's time/score. CrossFit is the cure for the bored gym rat, or washed up has-been who thinks that the older (s)he gets, the better s(he) was. When I first considered getting into CrossFit, I saw a quote on one of the web forums that read "if you don't push yourself, who will?". That pretty much sums it up. Push yourself to be the best you can be. No excuses, no attitudes, no ego, just push a little harder every day, and the results speak for themselves. I can't see myself doing anything else."
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Elizabeth Tabet - Our Friend and Fellow CrossFitter

"Here are pictures of the way I was 90% of my life. It wasn't until about senior year of college that I started losing weight, and then toned up when I was in Chicago a year ago. Even though I've ALWAYS loved working out since I was little, I just didn't
put nutrition into the mix til now. I liked to eat as a kid...that sweet
tooth will get ya every time!"
ARTICLES #1. Jumping from one program to another. You gotta stick with it. Don’t just do workouts you think “look tough”. #2. Learn how to Olympic lift. Sure you “can” muscle up 135 lbs in a workout a couple times. However, you are wasting potential, time, and energy unless you commit yourself to learning the Olympic lifts. #3. Not spending enough time in the gym. I know, I know part of Crossfit’s selling point is that our workouts are short. I’m not talking about workouts, I’m talking about time in the gym. “Fran” is between 2 and 4 minutes long for advanced athletes. It isn’t uncommon for them to warmup for 45 minutes prior to Fran. Throw in PNF stretching and myofascial release (which you should be doing), and you are in the gym for more than an hour…. for a 3 minute workout. #4. No organization or plan for supplemental work. Doing a couple handstand push ups every other week isn’t a plan. Running a couple 800s isn’t “doing CFE”. You need to have a plan. Set some goals.By January 1st I will be able to do X. The way I will accomplish this goal is Y.” And you gotta write it down. And you gotta talk to a coach. #5. Not taking back off weeks. If you aren’t excited about getting into the gym to train, you need to rest. Every month or two, take a couple days off (not because of injury) and stay out of the gym. When you come back, you’ll be able to get after again instead of just “punching the clock”. #6. Stop pacing. Seriously. I know you can do 100 pull ups in sets of 5. Why not just “get comfortable being uncomfortable” and not set an artificial limit for yourself? Turn your rational mind off. #7. Trying to be something you aren’t. Look, if you are 5'6, 145 it is going to take years and years of training to have a 450 lb deadlift. Recognize that you are probably not going to have an 1100 lb CF Total at that size. You gotta play the cards you are dealt. #8. Stop trying to get “lean gains”. I get it, everyone wants to gain 15 lbs of “lean muscle”. Me too. Not gonna happen. You can’t gain that much muscle in a short period of time without some serious steroid consumption or phenomenal genes. Gaining weight is a great goal, just recognize that you might not have an 8 pack for a couple weeks. #9. Respect don’t revere Crossfit. Ask yourself this question: When was the last time you read something outside CF.com or the CF Journal that you applied to your training? If the answer is “never” it is time to explore the studio space a little.Want to learn to gain strength and weight? I’ll bet the strongman community knows a little about that. Want to learn some new gymnastics progressions? I’ll bet a collegiate gymnast would know a couple. #10. Taking yourself too seriously. I get it, this Crossfit stuff is awesome and fun. However, in the end it is about working out. You aren’t good enough to get mad. Maintain some perspective on the whole thing. Your family, your religion, your country… these are things to take seriously. If you don’t enjoy the journey, you’re in it for the wrong reasons. Bonus: #11. Newsflash: You probably aren’t going to make it to Aromas. Neither am I. Here is the weird part- it doesn’t really matter. Honestly, it is a little anti-climactic. You have to love training and working hard for its own sake, not for the sake of some competition you probably aren’t going to make.
TOP TEN CROSSFIT MISTAKES
Source: Barbells and Bacon
World Physique Magazine
"Trainer of the Month - Dylan Gautreaux!"
MUSCLE AND FITNESS
"Sweat Storm"
"CrossFit: Workout of the Day"
"Hell Week"
New York Times
"Getting Fit, Even if it Kills You"
LA TIMES
"A workout that's fast, furious and not for the faint of heart"