Rossiter at NoCoast

NoCoast wants to provide every opportunity to keep you healthy! We love seeing our athletes crush workouts. We don't love seeing athletes crush their bodies, be it shoulders, backs, knees or any joint/ligaments/muscles. We strive to program well, coach well, and lead each individual to their fittest self. Recovery and healing is part and parcel to that process. Along with our Physical Therapy Services, Dry Needling, and soon-to-be Yin Yoga, we are happy to offer Rossiter.

Rossiter is a unique two person stretching system. This technique involves the practitioner anchoring connective tissue in target areas while guiding you through a series of movements. It’s designed to restore mobility and function while reducing discomfort related to muscle tightness. In addition, it reduces pain and enhances sport performance, allowing people to live a more active, pain free lifestyle. The Rossiter System was developed by Richard Rossiter, certified advanced Rolfer since 1987. Our NoCoast Rossiter Coach, Ashley O’Connell, has advanced training with the Rossiter System.

Rossiter can:
- increase overhead range of motion allowing freer movements with Oly lifts
- loosen the lower legs to enable deeper squats
- work within the legs to help alleviate lower back pain
- address traps and arms to lessen the effects of sitting at a computer all day

Member:
Intro: free (December special)
Individual session: $35 
4 pack $120

Non member:
Intro: free (December special)
Individual session: $45
4 pack: $160

Sessions are 30-40 minutes.

To schedule an appointment or talk to Ashley to see if this technique is right for you:  303.902.3288 or ashley.r.oconnell@gmail.com (website www.heelingpain.com is under construction but will be up soon!).

What Happens After “Fran”

By Jeff Wolfe

Jeff W. 

So if you are reading this, you either fall into one of three categories: 1) You, like me, also chose to brave CrossFit’s poster child workout when you saw it programmed today, knowing full well that you were setting yourself up for a day of post workout misery. 2) You didn’t know you were doing the epitome of 10 years hard time in a coal mine today until you arrived at the gym and looked at the white board, but chose to stay and “power through” to see what all the commotion was about. I pity you most. 3) You purposely avoided the gym so you could avoid feeling like you have pneumonia for the rest of the week, or you truly couldn’t make it to the gym to for completely legitimate reasons; either way you can’t consider yourself fortunate and instead live vicariously through this post. It is my hope that thanks to my recount, you forever revel in appreciation of the battle that was fought, and lost, in our community today.

The following is a time-lapse breakdown of what I experienced physically and emotionally post-Fran. Feel free to judge, empathize, or thank your lucky stars you missed the hurt.

Immediately upon finishing Fran: “Thank the heavenly father I’m done! It’s over.” I eagerly glance at the clock to look at how long I was in oxygen deprivation…“THAT’S MY TIME?!?! Well, piss. Couple disappointment with my gasping like the gold fish out of water in those horribly depressing asthma commercials. I DON’T EVEN FEEL THAT FATIGUED!!! Clearly I didn’t push myself hard enough.” – Famous last words.

5 seconds post Fran: “What is happening? How did I end up on the ground? I’m not complaining, in fact I might just stay here, maybe build a summer home. Or I might just close my eyes and embrace the white light.  Am I even getting oxygen in these breaths?! Oh great hear comes Coach Dan…(he’s been done for a while). Go away, I don’t want to give you a high five, I just want to lay here and feel my blood pump oxygen back into my what feels like deflated lungs. What’s that he’s screaming over the music? Wait has that song been playing the whole time? Get up and walk around he says? HA! There’s a better chance of Rich Froning ending up as a contestant on The Biggest Loser. Not gonna happen…Oh so you’re gonna help me to my feet? Well if you insist.”  I struggle to my feet with Dan’s assistance and stumble towards the door.

15 seconds post Fran: “Well Dan I’m outside walking around. Oh hey! There goes Karen, looks like she’s walking a 200m. Maybe I’ll go join her. Take a couple steps. Nope. Definitely just going to stumble around the front the building wheezing like that kid with the inhaler from Hey Arnold.” After a few steps I’m doubled over with my hands on my knees, trying to process if I have any physical maladies other than still not being able to catch my breath. It’s at this point I become aware of my forearms. “Oh hello there! Good to know I still have two extremities attached to this breathing torso. I can’t really feel my legs yet. I guess I could learn to walk on my hands if I suffered some freak nerve damage during the workout.”

1 minute post Fran: “Whew. Ok I can feel my legs again. And my arms are already starting to feel less like swollen stumps and more like working body parts. And I can sort of breathe close to normal again. I think I’m good to go back inside and assess the scene.”

3 minutes post Fran: Returning inside I see that Mary and Jurney are almost finished. Dan is walking around seemingly unfazed and my suspicion that he’s not human is reaffirmed. At this point I actually think I’m feeling mostly recovered. “It kinda hurts to breathe but at least I feel sentient again.”

6 minutes post Fran: “To Hell with recovered. There’s fire ants in my throat!” I don’t recall drinking acid!”  The burning in my esophagus sends me in a frenzy for the closest liquid. “I would pick today of all days to forget my water bottle.” I settle for the bathroom sink until I’ve quelled the flames enough to fetch my protein shake. It’s happens as I’m descending the stairs. One simple “Cough” and I know that I’m doomed.

10 minutes post Fran: I’m back outside, hacking like a weed whacker, expelling more mucus than a slug. I’m pretty sure one projectile looked exactly like the green ghost in Ghost Busters.  After several minutes and several more bouts of wracking my lungs in a futile attempt to end the flow of slime, I feel like I’m going to vomit. Thankfully, walking around seems to ease the feeling and I return inside to hear Mary explain the burning and mucus is likely the result of rupturing alveoli in the lungs. Joy.

20 minutes post Fran: Sitting on a box, all I want to know is why I decided it was a good idea to climb on this crazy train in the first place. There isn’t a part of me that doesn’t ache. I’m pretty sure I have lung cancer, mesothelioma, pneumonia, and black lung. And that’s when Dan gets up the nerve to start deadlifting. I want to scream, curse, cry, and more than anything just lay down. But instead I start laughing, which leads to coughing.

40 minutes post Fran: Still at the gym, laying on the ground. I think I’m getting hungry, but I can’t quite tell. My senses are all screwed up. There have been times I’m more functional after a night of heavy drinking. The only functional movement I’ve made in the past twenty minutes was to produce more mucus from god only knows what alveoli I have left. Talk about constantly varied.

1 hour post Fran: I managed to leave the gym. At the grocery store I had a coughing fit so bad that an old lady on oxygen in a scooter gave me a look of sympathy. Oh the irony.

2 hours post Fran: I sit on my couch and nothing has felt so glorious. I cough every time I get up, so the solution appears simple.

4 hours post Fran: I’m still on the couch. Throat constantly tickles, threatening. My disconnect with reality has reached the point that I’m watching MTV. And enjoying it. I’m worried.

8 hours post Fran: I have become one with the couch. I can safely say that delayed onset post Fran might be the equivalent of morphine. V and I have sat through Wrong Turn 4 & 5. Don’t watch them. I just don’t have the energy to care enough to change the channel.

KUDOS to all those who made it to work after Fran. I don’t know how any one else could be productive members of society. It’s safe to say the score on the day is Fran – 1, Jeff – 0. 

Yoga at NoCoast!

Lindsey Judd, Yin Yoga Instructor

We are happy to announce that Yin Yoga classes will be available at NoCoast soon! Classes will run Monday and Wednesday nights at 7:30 PM, starting December 16th. Many of you already know Lindsey Judd, famous for her flexibility and gracefulness at NoCoast. Lindsey, a certified Yin Yoga instructor, will guide you through an hour of restoration that is very much needed for anyone who regularly CrossFits.

Yin Yoga is a gentle way to move fascia, bone and dense tissues in the body by holding yoga poses anywhere from 2-10 minutes. This practice is slow and static, allowing the muscles to relax while exercising the joints to their full range of motion. Yin yoga also stimulates the Parasympathetic Nervous System which can help slow the heart rate, lower blood pressure, promote healing, improve sleep, balance hormone levels, reduce stress and anxiety and return the body to a state of homeostasis. Yin yoga is very beneficial to athletes who tend to over stimulate the nervous system. Yoga, in general, is a great supplement to CrossFit. This type of yoga, in particular, is exactly what your body needs to maintain your body's ability to be in the best positions possible for correct and sound movement in your WODs.  After all, flexibility is one of 10 general physical skills of fitness. We'd venture to say it's not on everyone's priority list, so here's an opportunity to open up, stretch out, increase ROM, and reduce your risk of injury!

All yoga classes are FREE through December so give it a shot! No sign ups necessary through December! Just show up.

Contact: Lindseydolanjudd@gmail.com

Our Thanksgiving

By Leah Hosburgh


This will be NoCoast's first Thankgsiving. It had me thinking about the progress of this year, and how grateful we are. So this blog is dedicated to giving thanks:

Thank you to all our members. You are NoCoast. You are what drives this machine. And we are so grateful you've chosen to be here!

Thank you to the old school members. You know who you are. The ones who helped us paint, drill, and had faith in us from the beginning. 

Thank you to our coaches. Thanks for sticking with us on Saturdays, honing your craft, and being open to us, as we continually search uncharted territory as business owners.

Thank you to everyone who rallied to make the Lumberyard Throwdown a success. We couldn't have done it without you! And it was a crazy time of year with comps all over the place and Matt and I just welcoming Asher into the world.

We are so grateful to be in Louisville! We've had a great time working out in this little town, and then regularly descending on Main Street to grub it up! 

We are only here because of you! We know it. And we are grateful. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

NoCoast CrossFit at Louisville Elementary School

Coach Dan teaches the squat to LES students.

By Mary Kolenda

NoCoast CrossFit & Louisville Elementary Kids Do CrossFit

Louisville Elementary School (LES) students experienced a healthy dose of CrossFit when NoCoast CrossFit Kids Coach Mary Kolenda introduced CrossFit to over 400 students in Doug Dombek’s PE classes for four days in September 2013. Squats, presses, burpees and CrossFit dodgeball kept the kids moving and engaged as they enjoyed fitness with CrossFit Kids.

NoCoast CrossFit Partners with the Louisville Elementary PTA

Coach Matt Johnson and Coach Mary Kolenda at LES.

On October 9, 2013 NoCoast CrossFit visited LES again and ran free 30-minute CrossFit Kids classes as a reward for each class that raised the most money for the school’s Jog-A-thon fundraiser. The PTA surpassed its goal of raising $29,000 for the school, and lucky classes PK - 5^th were treated with a special Hallowe’en themed CrossFit class led by NoCoast CrossFit Owner/Coach Dan Finck, Coach Matt Johnson, and CrossFit Kids Coach Mary Kolenda.

Kids entered the gym with grins, gasps, and wide-eyes as they observed the Hallowe’en decorations, lights, and obstacle course attraction that awaited them. Coaches Dan Finck and Matt Johnson led the eager students in duck walks, broad jumps and other CrossFit warm-ups before dividing the kids into relay teams for the obstacle course.

3-2-1 Go! LES kids hurdled over “hot lava,” crawled through the “bat cave,” swerved around cones in “witch alley,”  squatted on orange medicine balls in the “pumpkin patch” and bear-crawled through the “haunted house” to the finish line.  Favorite Hallowe’en tunes of  “Ghostbusters,”  “Calling all the Monsters,” and “Purple People Eater” blared while teammates cheered for each other. LES parent volunteers, NoCoastians Bridget Voss and Jen MacQueen helped facilitate the fun-filled event.

NoCoast athlete, Bridget Voss, volunteered for the event.

One highlight was seeing kids of all ages and abilities participating and cheering each other on throughout the day. Another highlight was watching 5^th grade teacher Adam Thaler take on NoCoast CrossFit Coach Dan Finck in the final obstacle race of the day.  Fifth grader Jacqueline Kolenda commented, “It was a fun way to sweat!” Overall, this NoCoast CrossFit Event was a blast and true to the CrossFit Kids theme of providing “Fun with a Purpose.” Thank you to the Louisville Elementary School students and PTA for having NoCoast CrossFit share the love!

Thank You and Congratulations! Lumberyard Throwdown was Awesome.

The inaugural Lumberyard Throwdown is in the books! We couldn't be happier with how the event went. We had great weather, great volunteers, and great competitors. We are so thankful for all the help and support we received that made this event possible. Keep an eye out for pictures from MVF Studios. Special thanks to RJ Gelinas from I Get it Chiropractic for donating his vocal chords and emceeing the entire event. And another special thanks to Human Movement Management, our awesome neighbors who shared the lumberyard with us, as well as helped with equipment and set up 

From Head Judge and Competition Floor Flow Master, Dan:

"I just wanted to thank all of you so much for an outstanding job on Saturday. As judges, pit crew, and heat assigners, I thought we came together really fast to run a really fun and smooth competition. With the amount of changes in weight, equipment, and movements you guys kept each heat running smoothly. For those of you who judged, I want to thank you for making my job easy! You guys did a great job, you were fair, and from what I saw, you were encouraging and left each athlete with a good experience.Our pit crew guys, thank you for being on top of each heat. With the amount of changes we had through out the day, you guys kept each heat moving and on time.And to our ladies at the check in table, thank you for keeping your side of the competition running on time. Over the past few days, we've gotten a lot of great comments about our competition from athletes and spectators. Without you guys, the day wouldn't have been possible. Thank you so much for all of your hard work and support, Sam, Leah, Matty, Mary, and myself truly appreciate it!!"

And of course, congratulations to the winners! (Photos below courtesy of Ken Apodaca)

Masters Women
1. Heather Szabo
2. Julie Egbert 
3. Stephanie Lohmuller, MBS CrossFit

Masters Men
1. Scott Baldensperger
2. CJ Langbecker, MBS CrossFit
3. Keith Bushaw, CrossFit Arvada

















Open Women
1.Staci Meredith, Mile High CrossFit 
2. Heather Shaughnessy, Alpine CrossFit 
3. Sherrie Pasko, NoCoast CrossFit
















Open Men
1. Dylan Barnes , CrossFit South Aurora
2. Luke Andrusyk, CrossFit Arvada
3. Nate Rader, CrossFit Verve
















Elite Women 
1. Veronica Wojakowska, NoCoast CrossFit
2. Johanne Snavely, CrossFit MOB
3. Abby Knowles, CrossFit Roots

















Elite Men
1. Matt Johnson, NoCoast CrossFit
2. Jon Moffitt, Mile High CrossFit
3. Kory Mossoni, NoCoast CrossFit

Programming vs. Programming

By Matt Hosburgh

We measure our fitness by the ends.  The ends can be a max lift, a fitness test, a race, a CrossFit competition or even a life-threatening event.  How we get there is the means.  When you take a look at the means, it’s not always attractive.  In fact it can look downright overwhelming.  If you’re a CrossFit athlete, you follow some type of structured workout plan. Whether it is the standard three days on, one off, or five days on, one off, there is a degree of “normalness” in a program that boasts the unknown.  That structure is typically referred to as programming.  Behind the day in, day out workout lays a carefully architected plan, or program.  In CrossFit, this program best works when all three of the energy systems (glycolitic, phosphogenic and oxidative) are each given attention.  Too much of one might hinder the other.  A generic program might look like:

Source: The CrossFit Journal: CrossFit Training Guide

At first glance, the programming might be complicated or hard to follow.  Upon further examination, it begins to paint the means to the end. 

As we get ready for the Lumber Yard Throwdown(LYTD), many details go into the planning and preparation.  One of the often overlooked pieces is the scoring system.  I find myself taking for granted these systems and my expectation is that they “just work.”  Anyone who has participated in the CrossFit Games’ Open has experienced that mass scoring system.  For the most part, it just works.  For our competition, we obviously needed a scoring system.  NoCoast is a fan of highlighting internal, community talent, which is why this year’s LYTD scoring system was created (from scratch) by Tom Piekos.  Powering the leaderboard is a programming language called Ruby.  A little snippet (I do mean a little) looks like this:

Source: Tom Piekos

Similar to what happens in CrossFit programming, happens here.  The end is the leader board and the means is the programming to bring it all together.  NoCoast would like to thank Tom for all his hard work and attention to detail!  Look out for his craftsmanship this Saturday.

Welcome our New Coaches!!

NoCoast Coaches

We are pleased to announce and welcome Joe and Coleigh to our team!

Joe Galbraith

Born and raised in Colorado, Joe has always been interested in sports and athleticism. Joe is what we call an “OG” in the CrossFit community with over five years of CrossFit experience. CrossFit has had a significant impact on Joe’s life and has changed him in many ways for the better. Throughout his CrossFit journey, he realized a passion for helping others achieve their CrossFit goals. This inspired him to begin coaching. He began his coaching career in March of 2012 coaching  the MERGE Flatirons Church group. His passion for coaching then lead him to completing his Level One Crossfit Certification in December of 2012. Joe has been training hard as a coach ever since and is excited to bring his experience and passion to the NoCoast community.

Coleigh Patrick

Born In West Palm Beach, FL. Coleigh has Lived in a variety of different places, including: California, Upstate NY, NYC, VA & MD. Coleigh has always been very competitive starting from the monkey bars at the playground to baseball, soccer, a little gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, Lifting, BMX, some martial arts, surfing, snowboarding and mountain biking.  At 19, as an Ocean Lifeguard in Boca Raton, FL., he competed at a national level with the team for 6 years. To this day he is still invited to compete with the BRBP to compete at Nationals every year! In 2005 he made a life change landing him in Superior, CO. where he’s lived since. He raced Downhill, 4 cross and duel slalom mountain bikes for the first 4 years excelling up in class every season to Semi Pro. Then he had two beautiful boys and lots of those activities took a back seat.

Introduced by a close friend through persistent persuasion, Coleigh gave CrossFit a try. After his first free WOD, he drove straight to his gym and quit, never looking back. Coleigh learned as much as possible and received his Level 1 certification in December of 2012. Teaching has always been a part of Coleigh’s DNA in the world of sports and continues to be with Crossfit. Nothing makes him happier to see results like that! He’s super stoked to be a part of such a great staff and crew of members at NoCoast. He is anxious to continue to learn, grow, and change NoCoast’s members lives for the better. 

NoCoast Tracks

As you all know, at NoCoast we have three different levels that the majority of our athletes fall into. We call them “Tracks” and depending on your CrossFit experience, you will fall into one of the following; LiftOne, Green Track, or Blue Track.

LiftOne is our beginners program that introduces the CrossFit methodology and the NoCoast approach to fitness. Once an athlete has completed our LiftOne program, they graduate to our regular WOD program and they’re placed on the Green Track.

The Green Track is a place for our athletes to gain confidence and experience at NoCoast, while getting comfortable with movements and their individual abilities. We realize that a Green Track athlete is still figuring out the names of some of our movements and working on technique. We post workouts with modifications to most of our movements on the Green Track and never prescribe weight for our lifts in order to give our newer CrossFitters a chance to develop technique and strength. If you are able to scale up on some or all of the movements that is great and its the first sign of being ready for the Blue Track.

Our Blue Track athletes are considered to be our experienced CrossFitters. Our number one requirement is that you have a technical understanding for the majority of CrossFit movements. We also expect our Blue Track athletes to have a pretty good sense of their own abilities. We don’t require you to be able to perform every movement, but you should know how to modify movements that you’re unable to perform. As a Blue Track athlete we also expect you to know your 1 rep maxes for most, if not all weight lifting movements. At NoCoast, our goal is to individualize workouts as much as possible in order for each individual to maximize their time with us. Even though we consider our classes to be a competitive environment, it is not a competition. Using the right weight and modifications in a workout is the best way to continue to improve, increase your work capacity, and keep yourself safe.

At NoCoast, we provide an online log to help track your progress. Beyond the Whiteboard allows each NoCoast individual to see their Track’s workout each day and it allows you to log everything you do at the gym. Whenever you log a workout, whether it’s a strength WOD or conditioning WOD, that information is filtered to your Benchmarks. Once you begin to build your Benchmark library, you’ll be able to look up past results to help tailor new workouts to your individual abilities.

For those of you aspiring to get to the Blue Track, continue working on your movement techniques and record your results; show us that you know your 1 rep maxes. For those of you who are on the Blue Track, please take control of your workouts. Be prepared when you come to the gym. If you don’t know your 1 rep max for the lift we’re doing that day, look it up; give yourself every opportunity to continue to improve everyday.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

By Mary Finck, PT, DPT

Post WOD muscle inflammation and damage.

We’ve all experienced muscle pain up to several days after exercise from Crossfit; it’s a normal response and there is an explanation!  It is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), which is a phenomenon that occurs 2-5 days after exercise from more eccentric (lengthening of the muscle) movements.  DOMS occurs from small microscopic tears that occur to the muscle fibers.  This is a normal response after exercise and can help build up muscle hypertrophy, increase stamina, and help with muscle recovery as you increase load/resistance.

 

Muscle pain or fatigue should go away after a few days, but if pain persists you should consult your local physical therapist (me!)  There is controversial research to support the best treatment outcomes for dealing with DOMS. Most research suggests gentle stretching, ice and pain medication.   In my opinion, soft tissue mobilization will help with realigning muscle fibers and break up adhesions in the tissue.  Don’t dig into a sore muscle; you will probably just hurt it worse!  Ice is good for pain in any case in the first day or two after injury.  Gentle dynamic stretching and doing a WOD will help increase blood flow and oxygenation to the muscle tissue which can aide in healing.  If you are really sore, you should have a NoCoast coach help substitute a movement, or modify your WOD, so that you don’t cause injury. When the muscles are already fatigue and healing, you are more prone to have poor co-contraction (muscles firing at the right time) and have an injury occur, especially if your lifting heavy load. Manual therapy, such as soft tissue massage can assist with fiber alignment, decrease edema, and increase blood flow as well.  Kinesiotaping helps increase lymphatic flow and decrease pain signal to the brain through the concept of desensitization. 

If you are ever unclear if your pain is DOMS, or a more serious injury, please feel free to contact me anytime and I will do an assessment & give recommendations!  Keep up the hard work NoCoast athletes; hopefully your experience with DOMS will build a stronger mind and stronger body to maximize your functional potential.  

Mary is available for appointments at NoCoast. Contact mary@nocoastcrossfit.com

Mindset: A Break-Takers Guide to Not Taking Breaks

Kristi in the zone.

By Leah Hosburgh

Since I began doing CrossFit workouts, I’ve been trying to figure out the pain barrier. And I’ve realized that the ones who are best at pain management, just are, and don’t think about it too much. But, I came into CrossFit pretty soft mentally. And physically. Like most people do. So for the non-freaks, what’s an average, inexperienced athlete to do with all this pain! Coach Dan wrote an article about mental toughness, and basically said that it’s in the discomfort where all the magic happens: you get stronger mentally, physically, spiritually. So how do we make the change practically? I have not mastered this at all, but I have learned a few things. Here are some tips:

1. Make a plan for YOUR workout. Sometimes, you just have to go for it, all out, get crazy, just get a WOD done. I think there is definitely a time and place to “just do it.” Sometimes you get thrown off and just completing a WOD becomes the task at hand. In general, however, if I think about how I will tackle a workout based on my strengths and weaknesses, I’ll have a better time managing it. Or as I like to say-stay in control of it. If I don’t, wallball shots can easily control me. But if I develop a plan prior to going in, and maybe even modify that plan if needed, I make the choice. I maintain control over the situation, the workout doesn't control me. I might be slower on some movements, but as long as it doesn't crush me, I can keep moving and driving. As a side note, the plan should take you to the limit. So it should be hard. That brings me to...

2. Countdown. If you’ve managed things well enough with a plan (Step 1) that you aren’t physically destroyed and heading for a trash can, then KEEP MOVING. Countdown 5 seconds or 3 big breaths, and go. Once in a while you get stuck with heavy weight or a technical movement, like handstand push up or muscle up.  But if you are staring at a wall or barbell for 2 minutes between each rep, you didn’t scale right. Like we’ve said in class very often, doing Rx’d Fran in 18 minutes, probably needs some reevaluation. And unless you are in a competition (and scaling wasn’t an option) or you are doing a VERY strength biased WOD or WOD not for time (the Bear complex), I don’t recommend coming to a complete and utter halt in your workout. 95% of the time, your workouts should be set up to allow you to keep moving. Pick a number to countdown between reps and stick with it.

3. Keep an Eye on your Targets. In a WOD with a few or more movements, complete one and get your eyes on the next one. Finish that last pull up, and set your eyes on that barbell. Do the countdown and keep moving. Once you’re done with the barbell, get your eyes on the box. Leave no room to get distracted. Turn your focus from what you were doing, straight to the next thing.

4. Self Talk. Short. Sweet. Positive. Powerful. My self talk is a lot like that. One word that means a lot, and keeps me going. There isn’t a lot of opportunity to get poetic in a CrossFit WOD. Pick a few words that will carry you through.

5. Take out the Distractions. I admit. I might be addicted to the chalk bucket. Here are some things I see athletes use as a break opportunity: chalk, water bottle, adjusting shoes/wraps/etc, random stretches, wiping off sweat with a hand towel, looking at the clock a million times. I’ve been guilty of a lot of this behavior. What I have found for me, is it’s like a twitch. I just do it without thinking about it, and it’s wasted energy. Sometimes I DO need that chalk, but not nearly as much as I find myself doing it. A trip to the chalk bucket is usually a lot longer than my countdown rule…