CrossFit Koncepts

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is not all that it's cut out to be!

Tomorrow, most people in the United States will advance their clocks one hour for Daylight Savings Time (DST). Here are seven things you should know about DST:

Making the shift can increase health risks. Evidence points to acute increases in health risks, especially heart attacks and stroke. It also contributes to a heightened risk of mood disturbances, hospital admissions, an elevated production of inflammatory markers in response to stress, and an increase in car crashes.

DST was originally enacted to conserve energy. Benjamin Franklin invented the concept in 1784. Pushing clocks forward to make greater use of daylight hours during the warmer months was formally adopted during World War I as a global attempt to conserve energy

More after-work sunshine doesn’t necessarily mean a happier you. Sunlight is the most powerful synchronizer of our circadian rhythms. Exposure to sunlight closer to bedtime increases the release of cortisol, which makes it harder to fall asleep at our usual bedtime, and reduces the amount of sleep we’re able to get each night.

Less sleep means more health risks. Moving the clocks forward in the Spring results in going to sleep and waking up before our internal clocks are ready to do so. This misalignment of waking and sleeping times last the duration of DST. 

For certain groups, DST has a greater negative impact. Shift workers and adolescents take a bigger hit than most. Adolescents exhibit behavioral, learning, and attention issues, as well as an increased risk of accidents, injuries, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and mental health risks. 

DST could become permanent. There has been a recent trend to enact the Sunshine Protection Act, which would result in the permanent misalignment of our internal clocks with the time on our social clocks. The evidence surrounding the health and accident risks surrounding DST is so great, that many are in favor of abolishing it altogether.

There are ways to manage the change. Most people will acclimate to the change in a week or so, while others will take longer or not acclimate at all. To facilitate the change you should gradually adjust your waking and sleeping times, setting your clocks ahead one hour on Saturday evening and going to bed on time, and getting outside on Sunday morning to get some direct sun exposure to help regulate your cortisol/melatonin production. 

Beyond the Snatch Workshop - 03/19/2023

BEYOND THE SNATCH WORKSHOP

Sunday March 19, 2023
at CrossFit Koncepts
10:30 am to 05:00 pm

WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

The Beyond the Snatch (BTSn) workshop is the entry point into getting a comprehensive understanding of the mechanics and techniques behind the Kettlebell. We will cover the foundational 01-hand Grinds and Ballistics that are essential to using the Kettlebell safely and effectively. All the techniques that will be taught during the workshop are applicable to a wide range of athletes of any age, strength, or experience level. We will also delve deeply into the concept of the “Hinge”, and how it applies to Kettlebells, the importance of the often overlooked “Backswing”, as well as providing coaching and performance guidelines for all techniques.

NOTE: this workshop is applicable to both the beginning athlete and the experienced coach, especially those who have been through a kettlebell certification in the past. The workshop will be taught so that beginning athletes will have sufficient depth in the techniques that they can self-assess their performance and make appropriate modifications. Coaches, trainers, and experienced Kettlebell users, will gain a deeper understanding of how to manipulate, teach, demonstrate, and troubleshoot Kettlebell technique in a manner that is safe, effective, and scalable to any athlete.

WORKSHOP CURRICULUM

KETTLEBELL GRINDS

• Deadlift
• Front Squat
• Farmer Carry; 01-hand
• Press
• Renegade Row
• Thruster
• Overhead Squat

KETTLEBELL BALLISTICS

• Backswing
• Swing
• Hand Change Swing
• Clean
• High Pull
• Snatch
• Half-Snatch
• Push Press
• Viking Press
• Jerk

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Michael Krivka is a Master RKC with over two decades of experience training with and teaching kettlebells. He has taught a wide range of people, Tier One Spec Op personnel to Soccer Moms, how to safely and effectively use kettlebells to meet their strength and body composition goals. He is the highest reviewed kettlebell instructor on the Dragon Door website, and his gym, CrossFit Koncepts, consistently receives five-star reviews on Google.

WORKSHOP DETAILS

• Date: Sunday March 19th, 2023
• Time: 1030 am to 0500 pm; 01 hour lunch break
• Location: CrossFit Koncepts 16720 Oakmont Avenue Gaithersburg, MD 20877
• Cost: $200/person if pre-registered by 03/12/23; $299/person after 03/12/23 (no exceptions)
• Registration: Contact Mike Krivka at 301/404-2571 or [email protected]
• NOTE: workshop size will be limited to 15 people

How to Dramatically Improve Your Sleep Quality

Chasing sleep is a nightly occurrence with some people. If you are someone who has a hard time falling asleep, or staying asleep, you know how frustrating it can be.

Sleep is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle and sleep issues need to be dealt with first. Before you run off and join a gym, modify your diet, and start slamming back protein shakes and supplements, you need to get your sleep in order.

Oftentimes people will resort to prescription or over the counter sleep medications to help them manage their sleep issues. While this might be a good short term solution, it doesn't address the real problem.

In previous posts we outlined a number of steps you can take to improve your sleep hygiene. In other words, ways that you can prepare the body for sleep and transitioning into sleep mode.

I have been taking ZMA (Zinc, Magnesium, and Asperate) for as long as I can remember before bedtime every night. ZMA helps you relax and transition you into sleep, as well as providing some essential nutrients that are lacking in our Western diet.

I recently became aware of a more potent combination of supplements that are even more beneficial than ZMA. The combination of Magensium Threonate, Apigenin, and Theanine, has been shown to be highly effective at transitioning you to sleep and keeping you there.

The following video, from the Joe Rogan podcast, has Dr. Andrew Huberman discussing this combination of supplements and their effect on the body and mind. I have been using this combination of supplements, a have several of my clients, for several months with positive results.

Take a listen to the video, do some research, and give it a try if you think that it's for you.

DISCLAIMER - I am not a Doctor or a nutritionist. I am just sharing my experiences with these supplements. As always, you should consult with your physician before taking any medications or supplements.

Five Important Things You Should Be Doing Every Day

What if there were five (05) things you could do, that would cost you nothing, that would radically change your life. Five things, that on the surface, seem simple and easy to implement. Would you do them? Would you take the time every day to take care of yourself? Let's go through them and find out.

1) SLEEP

The foundation for physical and mental health has to be sleep. You need to work towards getting at least 06-08 hours per night. If you are having difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep, there are a number of proven supplements and apps that can help. Having a consistent time that you go to sleep and get up is also tremendously helpful

2) MOVEMENT

Movement is the number one least prescribed drug for overall health. It doesn't matter if you are doing Zumba or BJJ, you need to slowly and surely get yourself up to about an hour a day of movement. It could be a combination of walking and weightlifting, or running and yoga, just find something you enjoy doing and stick with it.

3) SUNLIGHT

There are a number of mental and physiological benefits from sun exposure first thing in the morning and later in the afternoon. Try to sun exposure multiple times a day, but focus on getting a good period of time first thing in the morning and in the afternoon. This habit will help your body adjust from sleeping to waking and facilitate transitioning from being awake to sleeping.

4) NUTRITION / HYDRATION

In a perfect world you would get 100% percent of your food from non-processed sources. Unfortunately we don't live in a perfect world, Instead, try to get 75-80% of your food from non-processed sources. In addition to food, you need to pay attention to your hydration, especially in the morning. Once again, 75-80% of your hydration choices should be from non-processed sources, which takes alcohol and soft drinks off the table immediately.

5) SOCIAL CONNECTION

Simply, spend time with family and friends that make you feel loved and appreciated. Your "tribe" is an important part of your physical and mental health, and you should make a concerted effort to spend time with them every day. My favorite time to spend time with my family is over dinner. Learning about each others day is a great way to get some quality time in with family members. Also, if there are "toxic" people in your life, make sure you do your best to minimize exposure to them. There are going to be some people that you can't completely remover from your life, but spend as little time around them as necessary. 

This list comes from the following YouTube clip with Dr. Andrew Huberman. Take a few minutes to listen to what he has to say and then think about how you are going to implement this list into your lifestyle.

CrossFit Koncepts Testimonial from Dave

Here is what Dave, who has been training with us for over ten years and is an RKC (Russian Kettlebell Certified Instructor), has to say about his experience training at CrossFit Koncepts:

I began working out with Mike Krivka over 10 years ago and cannot overstate the value of his expert training.  I have benefitted beyond the obvious rewards and health results of strength and fitness training. I’ve heard Mike say that “Strong people are hard to kill.” I never understood this until I was on the receiving end of a speeding hit and run driver on December 12, 2022. 

The force of the collision blasted my vehicle into two additional cars in front of mine and made it undriveable. I was banged up, but thankfully suffered no severe injuries.  My doctor is a fitness enthusiast and wanted to go over my diagnostic imaging in detail to explain his findings.  I had muscle damage and suffered a mild concussion but had no broken bones, no ligament damage, and no permanent injuries. He pointed out enthusiastically that the “armor of muscle” that I had developed over years of training protected the rest of my body. My doctor admitted that he usually saw more severe injuries and often broken bones with this sort of collision. I later called Mike to tell him my story and to thank him for the excellent training.

I was able to return to work later that week and resumed working out again within 2 weeks once the pain and inflammation subsided. As of today (02/04/2023) my car is still in the repair shop, but I am back to working out.

Thanks for helping me to get strong Mike!

Great Sleep? It's all about CONSISTENCY and COLD!

Getting a good night's sleep is the foundation for physical and mental health. You can workout like a Demon, and diet like a Saint, but if you're not getting good quality sleep, it's all for naught! 

If you are a regular reader of the CrossFit Koncepts website, then you are familiar with Dr. Matthew Walker. He is an internationally recognized expert, author, and lecturer, on sleep. His TED Talk on sleep has over 9.5 million views!

In the video below, Dr. Walker talks about how to get to sleep, and improve the sleep you are getting. Not to spoil the big reveal, but he mentions two things that will improve your sleep:

1) CONSISTENCY - getting to bed and waking up at the same time every day. This allows your bodies biological cycles to become stable and train the body to prepare for sleep. 

2) COLD - your body needs to experience a drop in temperature to move into the sleep cycle. In order to do that, your bedroom needs to be significantly cooler than your body temperature. The optimal bedroom temperature? 65 degrees!

Here's the video so that you can get this information straight from Dr. Walker:

Beyond the Swing Workshop - 02/19/2023

Beyond the Swing (BTSw) Workshop Overview

The Beyond the Swing (BTSw) workshop is the entry point into getting a comprehensive understanding of the mechanics and techniques behind the Kettlebell. We will cover the foundational 02-hand Grinds and Ballistics that are essential to using the Kettlebell safely and effectively. All the techniques that will be taught during the workshop are applicable to athletes of any age, strength, or experience level. We will also delve deeply into the concept of the “Hinge” and the "Backswing", and how they apply to Kettlebells, as well as providing coaching and performance guidelines for all techniques. This will be intensely "hands on", so prepare to train hard, learn a lot, and take lots of notes.

NOTE: this workshop is applicable to both the beginning athlete and the experienced coach. The workshop will be taught so that the beginning athlete will have sufficient depth in the techniques that they can self-assess their performance and make appropriate modifications. Coaches, trainers, and experienced Kettlebell users, will gain a deeper understanding of how to manipulate, teach, demonstrate, and troubleshoot Kettlebell technique in a manner that is safe, effective, and scalable to any athlete.

BTSw Curriculum

The Beyond the Swing (BTSw) workshop is based on around foundational techniques and tactics that have been used in programming individual workouts (for civilians, law enforcement, and military personnel), as well as small and large group classes for over twenty years. That means that every single technique has performed thousands of times, and the teaching methodology and tactics have been ironed out through working with real clients. There is no "fluff" in this workshop, only tested and validated techniques that can be applied today, and developed to a higher level in the future.

NOTE: each technique listed below will be demonstrated, trained, and tactics presented to ensure that the user understands the principles that are being taught. Techniques that have been honed through twenty years of classroom experience, that are completely unique to this training program, will be presented to add depth to the learning and training experience.

Kettlebell HINGE:

• • Door Hinge
  • Accordion Hinge

Kettlebell BACKSWING:

• • High Hinge
  • Squat Hinge
  • Power Hinge

Kettlebell GRINDS:

• • Deadlift
  • Goblet Squat
  • Front Squat

Kettlebell BALLISTICS:

• • 02-hand Swing
  • 02-hand Clean/Dead
  • 02-hand Clean/Swing
  • 02-hand High Pull
  • 02-hand American Swing

WORKSHOP DETAILS:

• Date: Sunday February 18th, 2023
• Time: 1030 am to 0500 pm; 01 hour lunch break
• Location: CrossFit Koncepts 16720 Oakmont Avenue Gaithersburg, MD 20877
• Cost: $200/person if pre-registered by 02/12/23; $299/person after 02/12/23 (no exceptions)
• Registration: Contact Mike Krivka at 301/404-2571 or [email protected]
• NOTE: workshop size will be limited to 15 people; pre-registration as of 02/09/23 is at 06 attendees

More Thoughts on Cholesterol

I'm not a doctor and I am not making medical advice. But, I'm a firm believer in managing your own healthcare and making intelligent decisions, along with recommendations from your doctor.

In regards to cholesterol there is a lot of information, both good and bad, that may influence your decision to take medication to reduce your overall cholesterol levels. There have been a number of studies that are both for taking the medication and strongly against taking it.

If you are in a low risk group, meaning that you have your weight, diet, sleep, and stress, under control, you might not benefit from taking the medication. If you are overweight, have a crappy diet, don't sleep well, and are rife with stress, you might benefit from taking the medication.

Note that even the best medications can only make a twenty percent (+/-) in your total cholesterol. The biggest impact is going to come from weight reduction, diet modification, sleep enhancement, and stress control. Also, your body produces the cholesterol that is being read in the testing, and because of your genetics, you might not have a whole lot of say into your numbers.

So, the long and short of the cholesterol story is: manage your weight, diet, sleep, and stress, talk to your doctor, and make a decision that works best for you and your situation. The following video will give you some insights into what cholesterol is and how you can approach managing it.

 

Kettlebell Swings vs Deadlifts

Is there a benefit from one over the other? I know that there are a lot of strong opinions on this subject. Some are vehemently opposed to Kettlebell Swings because they "hurt your back". Others are also strongly opposed to Deadlifts for the same reason.

I look at it from a very different point of view. I strongly think that both are necessary, for both health and longevity reasons, in addition to being complementary to each other. A strong Kettlebell Swing will reinforce your Deadlift, and a strong Deadlift will reinforce your Kettlebell Swing.

I've been teaching for many years that the Deadlift is the foundation for all of the Kettlebell ballistics.

Why you might ask?

Because the Deadlift is not about how mush weight you can pull. It's purpose is develop the ability to generate a tremendous about of force into the ground and translate that into moving the bar (or the Kettlebell). A strong Deadlift allows you to feel the ground and use it to tie the biggest muscles in the body (lower body and lats) into the force production chain, as opposed to using the much smaller upper body muscles.

In regards to longevity: both are going to be key to staying strong and mobile as we age. If I was starting someone from scratch, I would no doubt begin with the Deadlift. But once they demonstrated competence in the Deadlift, the Swing would be introduced as well.

Like I said, everyone has an opinion about both exercises. Check out what Dan John has to say on the subject:

CrossFit Koncepts Testimonial from Teresa

Here is what Teresa, who has been working with us for over twelve years and is also a Coach, has to say about her experience training at CrossFit Koncepts is like:

If I had to put together a wish list of what I want to get out of a gym membership, it would be as follows:

• A knowledgeable instructor who is interested in improving the quality of my life.
• Something different and fun that’s going to make me want to come back day after day.
• A community of amazing supportive people to work out with.

Lucky for me (and for you), this place not only exists, but it’s close by, and it has changed my life!  

A KNOWLEDGEABLE INSTRUCTOR – Michael A Krivka, Sr., Master RKC, a CrossFit gym owner for the last 15 years, and a martial arts instructor with over 45+ years of experience teaching and training. Not only is he one of the world’s finest kettlebell instructors, but there is also no one you will find locally who is more knowledgeable about fitness, or more dedicated to continuous improvement.  His focus is to help you be the best you can be. He’s not about competition, or PRs, or the fastest time.  He’s about helping you getting stronger, more mobile, and more flexible, using good form and staying safe, while having fun for the rest of your life.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT - It’s not your typical CrossFit gym, but more centered on the use of kettlebells and body weight exercises in the workouts.  While the workouts are challenging, they can be scaled to any level, and there is nothing that will make you feel more badass than swinging around a heavy kettlebell!  Classes are an hour.  Warm up, work out, cool down, you’re done.  That first class (ALMOST 12 YEARS AGO!?!) was the hardest I had ever worked out, but also the most fun I ever had working out up to that point.  I was 49 at the time.  It didn’t seem dangerous at all because someone was always watching me and willing to guide me to get my form right. Over time, I found out it is really hard work.  And at first, it’s common to think you can’t make it through the workout, but you do anyway.  Then something changes mentally, and you know you can do this.  It never stops being hard, you just get strong both physically and mentally.

AN AMAZING COMMUNITY – I cannot say enough about the family-like atmosphere Mike has created in which to train that includes clients from age 10 to 80; from military/law enforcement personnel to doctors to lawyers, to teachers, to social workers, to families, and their kids!  All of whom blend together seamlessly.  It’s a place where if you don’t show up to train for a couple of days, people call to see if you’re okay.  I’ve met some of the best friends of my life here – people I want to grow old with.  They host pot-luck cookouts on the summer holidays, a fun holiday party, poker nights, and birthday celebrations.  Members get together for breakfast on Sundays after the workout. I’ve done ropes courses and trained for a 5K with people I’ve met at CFK, both of which I never would have done without the self-confidence I gained from training there.  No matter how good (or bad) my day is, I always walk out feeling better than I did when I walked in partly from the adrenaline, and partly from seeing my friends.

To RECAP – CrossFit Koncepts is more than just a gym and Mike is so much more than just a trainer.  For me, CrossFit Koncepts improved the quality of my life immensely.  So, if you’re having trouble staying motivated in your current fitness regimen, or want to get one started, or just want to try something different, give Mike a call.  You’ll be really glad you did!