We are starting a new trend in 2017- every month we will be rolling out a "member of the month". This is to highlight member's their hard work and dedication!

Here is this years first "member of the month"- Joanne Sanchez!

What brought you to Crossfit Watsonville?

Former owner, Cliff Hodges convinced my husband and I to try it out. So we did!

How do you spend most of your days?

I'm a mother of three so I pretty much spend my days cooking, cleaning, and driving my kids around.

What is your biggest improvement since you started Crossfit?

Running! I've always hated running and while I'm still not great at it, I don't dread it as much anymore.

If you could program a workout what would be in it?

I rather ...

The time has come for the highly anticipated Affiliate cup to take place. This Saturday at CrossFit West, 50 some odd teams from 15 affiliates within the Santa Cruz county will get together to throw down and showcase the hard work they have done over this past year.

There will be many spectators and 22 plus vendors making this an all day CrossFit extravaganza that will sure be one for the books.

To encourage you all who are not competing to make it out to this event and cheer on our 4 CrossFit Watsonville teams we are cancelling both Barbell and the CrossFit class for Saturday the 22nd. Again I repeat, the gym will be closed all day Saturday October 22nd.

So put on your CrossFit Watsonville swa...

By: Matt Sleeper

Yes, stretching.

Athletes can, and often do, possess more potential for strength than they are currently able to realize. Muscular strength is effected by three main factors:

1) Muscle cross-section area (size); This is how much the muscle fibers overlap each other during relaxation, the more fibers overlapping, the greater potential for force production.

2) Type of muscle fibers; There are 2 main types of fibers, type I and type II. Type I fibers are long and lean, capable of repeating motion for long periods of time without fatigue, but only able to produce small amounts of force. Type II are just the opposite, shorter and bulkier, not able to contract for long periods of time...

Whether you’ve just started CrossFit or have been CrossFitting for years, you’ve undoubtedly heard mention of the importance of taking the time to truly develop and master the Squat. You’ve also likely heard the term “Virtuosity”; doing the common uncommonly well.

The Squat is one of the first things you learn to do in CrossFit. It is not only foundational to so many of the other movements we do in CrossFIt, but it is one of the most very natural things we learn to do virtually in infancy. It is very much a part of your DNA. Watch any small child and you will see this is true. A two year old has one of the most amazing and beautiful Squats you will ever see. It i...

A solid “racked” position is something that seems to elude many an athlete, even veterans, yet is essential for effectively driving heavy loads overhead. I still see long time CrossFit’ers attempting a 1-RM Jerk with elbows behind the bar, shoulders retracted, bar resting on the collar bone instead of the meat of the shoulders, and the weight loaded up in the biceps. Such positioning does not lend itself well to optimizing transfer of force into the object and effectively driving a heavy load overhead. It is mechanically disadvantageous. The same is true if the elbows are too far forward and cranked up high like a Front-Squat. While an excellent racked position can be somew...

In a class this week, probably a third of the way through the WOD, an athlete all of a sudden had a different look on his face. I could tell something was in his head that was robbing him of focus on the workout. He was either flogging himself over a percieved lack of performance or allowing life to creep in and beat him down in a moment of weakness. He was having a bad moment. F! THAT

In the middle of WODs you can and will go through an insane amount of self discovery and inner dialog. A lot goes on in a WOD. You get fatigued, your lungs hurt, various body parts hurt(sometimes all of them), doubt starts to creep in, pain is your companion and you need to keep moving till the reps/rounds are ...

It is very easy to fall into the vacation trap of neglecting to get workouts in. Many excuses pop up such as "I don't have equipment", "not sure what I can do", "I had to many mojitos the night before", etc. the list can be lengthy. However, it is also just as easy to get a good sweat on when traveling. Whether you do death by Thrusters using hotel dumbells (something I've done), 300 air squats for time, a running and burpee WOD say on a beach. The list here can go on as well.

My point is, try to get a sweat on at least once a day when traveling. You'll feel better, its fun to get family and friends involved, and you wont be set back when you return. For an added bonus, drop into a local Cros...

Yes, it is a thing. Our neck is almost never thought of when contemplating what to mobilize. That is until it comes up due to painful headaches or a chronically tight neck resulting in pull-ups and overhead movements to be uncomfortable. Not only can it hinder movements due to tightness, it can also hinder the growth of those muscles. That keeps you at bay from clean prs, snatch, deadlift, barbell cycling, etc. Point is your neck is important. Below are two ways to mobilize it:

1- Simplest one, grab a band of medium-thick resistance. Then step your foot in in and loop the other end over your shoulder. Following the band placement, proceede to look over your opposite shoulder and down at the g...

Regardless of how fit we get inside the gym, if we never venture outside of the gym and apply that fitness elsewhere, we are missing out on another beautiful part of life.

Many of our members and coaches have been getting outside of the gym lately and applying their fitness elsewhere, everything from rock-climbing and kiking to ice-climbing and mountain biking.

Last weekend, Coach Kami ventured out for an extended hike with friends in Yosemite. They explored Glacier Point, Illillouette Falls, Nevada Falls, and Vernal Falls.

And...