Find Your Pterodactyl
CrossFit, Mental Strength Sarah Florence CrossFit, Mental Strength Sarah Florence

Find Your Pterodactyl

Mindset, again. I’ve become interested recently in the difference between a fixed and a growth mindset. (Ben Bergeron, Pursuit of Excellence podcasts, obsessed) Basically, having a fixed mindset means that you resign yourself to the fact that you / a situation is always going to be a certain way and that you have no power to change it, so why bother. Having a growth mindset means you see things as ever changing and that just because something is this way NOW, does not mean its that way forever, and it is completely within your control to bend what initially may seem like the confines of your situation and potentially change the outcome completely.

Read More
Adversity, My New Friend
CrossFit Sarah Florence CrossFit Sarah Florence

Adversity, My New Friend

So recently I’ve been all over mindset, it’s like my latest hobby. If you know me, you’ll know that I don’t just like something, I FUCKING LIKE IT, in bold, caps lock on. Whether it’s an object (must wear my Train Manchester tank from Sam Briggs’s gym every Saturday), a food (I have eaten broccoli every day for the last 12 months) or a person (my bff and I have 3 matching tattoos), I must absolutely immerse myself in whatever that thing is, until it either becomes as much a part of me as my frequent use of the C word, or I basically fuck it to death and move on to the next thing.

Read More
Junkie
CrossFit Sarah Florence CrossFit Sarah Florence

Junkie

"Would you say you are addicted to exercise?"

Asks my training partner / BFF / fitspo as we glue rhinestones to t-shirts in a rare non-exercise related activity.

I think carefully about my answer as I look around my apartment, which is decorated with a whiteboard detailing my next weeks training plan, along with a collage of photos taken of me at various comps over the last 18 months of being single as fuck and CrossFitting my life away. I have a kettlebell as a doorstop, and as we speak I’m entering my macros from the meal we just ate into My Fitness Pal.

Read More
Just Move

Just Move

So as it’s my first blog for the legends at Evolutio, I thought I’d start by introducing myself. I’m Sarah, 31, former chef in both career and lifestyle. I now coach at Wards Gym and I also work for the YMCA. I promote both CrossFit and Les Mills respectively which, I’ll admit, is a confusing and contradictory combination. I generally try my hardest to not put the training style that I personally love more than anything in the world (CrossFit) on a pedestal and mindlessly criticize all others. If I wasn’t trying though, I would say something like this:

Read More
Stretching our Way to Success in the Gym
CrossFit Alex Drew CrossFit Alex Drew

Stretching our Way to Success in the Gym

For as long as I can remember, my warm ups for football, running or sport in general had always incorporated a component of static stretching. We were led to believe that by stretching before activity would prepare our muscles and help prevent injury. 

Read More
Three Mobility Exercises to Improve Overhead Position
Olympic Weightlifting, CrossFit Alex Drew Olympic Weightlifting, CrossFit Alex Drew

Three Mobility Exercises to Improve Overhead Position

So often we see people come into the clinic with issues performing overhead moves, none more so than the Snatch or Overhead Squat.

For the most of us, we are chained to a desk the good majority of the day, most days a week. This sustained stooped forward position leads to your thoracic spine being stuck in flexion, which doesn’t allow proper scapula mechanics, in turn limit end overhead position or if left unattended can lead to painful shoulder impingement syndrome.

Read More
What is Functional Movement?

What is Functional Movement?

Over the past few months, We at Evolutio have been thinking up an array of ideas that may improve individuals understanding of both basic and advanced movement principles.

We want to provide innovation in athlete education and continue to bridge the gap between therapists and athletes as we aid athletes participating in CrossFit®, Powerlifting and Olympic Lifting.

We want to do all of this, whilst exploring the underlying biomechanical reasons that certain cues are given by trainers in the gym environment whilst pitching out a few extra little idea’s that could go a long way to improve your movement deficiencies or niggles.

Read More