September Newsletter
September Newsletter
VIDEO WALKTHROUGH OF NEWSLETTER AND CONSISTENCY CREW ANNOUNCEMENT
• Coaches Leveling Up
• Heart Rate Monitors
• Athlete Development
• Nutrition Coaching
• Equipment Updates
• Upcoming Events
• Consistency Crew
Welcome New Athletes!
Dean Neubauer - AM Classes
Laura Gaber - PM Classes
Sierra Cupp - PM Classes
Ryan Wallace - Any Time
Tori Johnson - 9:00 AM
Tara Johnson - 9:00 AM
Rob Manning - 9:00 AM
Devin Rode - 5:00 AM
Jacob Sund - 4:30 PM
Coaches Leveling Up
Big shout out and round of applause on the pursuit of excellence within our coaching staff.
Dustin Smith
Taking his Level 2 Nov. 15-16th
Jess Carter
Re-certifying her Level 2 Nov. 15-16th
Kris Gregory
Successful Completion of his Level 3 on Aug. 21st

In the CrossFit Trainer world there are progressions we apply and adhere to, similar to an athlete learning more as they enhance their fitness. It's simply a system of "Levels".
Level 1 Course
Required by all CrossFit Trainers to teach the method of CrossFit. This course is a broad overview of the methodology, science, application, and helpful tools for coaches to begin teaching classes.
However, I firmly believe that if you've been doing CrossFit for more than 1 year as an athlete than you should READ the CrossFit Level 1 Guide because it's the core of everything we do. By reading the Level 1 Guide you will develop a heightened awareness and deepen your relationship with every workout, cue from a coach, position to master, the nutrition behind it, and why it's practical for everyone.
Level 2 Course
This course goes deeper into the art of coaching. Six areas the coach will expose themselves and begin developing at a more rapid pace are...
- Seeing
- Cueing
- Correcting
- Presence and Attitude
- Group Management
- Demonstration
Like CrossFit, anyone can be great at one specific output (i.e. marathon runners) but to be overall as fit as possible you need to have balance across all domains. This course helps the coaches see their strong suits and weaknesses and begin to address them for the betterment of the athletes and community as a whole.
Level 3 Certification
This essentially is a formal test that you must submit an application proving you've put in the work as a coach. This requires a minimum of taking the Level 1 and Level 2 courses, coached 1,500 hours, and earned CEU credits for continuing education.
Once approved you are tested in a wide array of knowledge and practical application scenarios over 160 questions to confirm readiness to be a "Certified CrossFit Trainer".
Less than 1% of trainers make it to this tier with the test having a considerably low pass rate.
Level 4 Certification
The highest caliber of coaching in CrossFit. You must pass a live performance evaluation coaching two CrossFit classes being graded on the areas of coaching described in the Level 2 course. You must maintain certain CEU's.
Many coaches at this level move on to a seminar staff position. There are less than 150 Level 4 coaches world-wide as of 2024.
Heart Rate Monitors
Exposure = Results
If you have a heart rate monitor make sure you see Kris to set up your account at the gym. Bring your monitor and we will make sure it shows up on the t.v. so you can...
- Pacing Each Workout Better
- Hit the Intended Stimulus
- Zone Specific Training
- Which Movements, Loads, or Volume Give You Trouble
- How Many Calories You're Burning Each Workout
- Increase Your Max Heart Rate
- Increase Recovery Awareness (lowering your HR)
No CrossFit Gym in the Des Moines area has this technology and if you're not using it than you are missing out. This will keep you focused and motivated at each workout. And you can store your belt at the gym so it's ready to go each day when you show up.
Examples - Myzone, Garmin, Coospo, Polar
Basically any arm or chest strap you purchase will sync up! From $25 - $150, doesn't matter. I find they all work the same and just as accurate.
Athlete Development
Intended Stimulus
Let's talk.
You have goals, and we have programming that will assist you in reaching them. We give you a workout and you do it. Simple, right?
Wrong.
Each workout has what we call an "intended stimulus". This stimulus helps create and develop the 10 areas of fitness that we seek to develop, including strength, power, stamina, cardio endurance, speed, coordination, accuracy, balance, flexibility, and agility.
Some times we have strength workouts, which we write up with percentages, loads, and reps, rest times, and sometimes even RPE (newer term for most). As beginner lifters you may need to keep loads light to moderate to control form and allow your body to adapt to the newly used muscles and range of motion... increasing intensity over time. Typically a year of lifting 3-5 days a week will give you a solid base for knowing percentages and the general "how-to", although technique is a lifelong commitment.
The Metcons can be challenging for many, even seasoned CrossFitters to understand. In it's simplest terms we have TIME Priority (AMRAPS) and TASK Priority. This is what I want to discuss today.
TIME PRIORITY
AMRAP's - you work a fixed amount of time and your goal is to get as many repetitions as possible. These can be great for testing how many reps of specific movements you can get through in that time. Or develop awareness on how some movements impact others without the pressure of "finishing last". Which also lends itself to challenging yourself in different ways...
Meaning, you want to work on speedier box jumps? An AMRAP is great to decrease your box height to see if you can move faster. OR to lower your reps to see if you can maintain the speed and integrity of the movement. OR increase your box height to see if it's becoming more manageable, even if that means reducing the volume.
TASK PRIORITY
These are the classic looking "For Time" Workouts - There is a targeted effort that we are aiming for when moving through these. We often give a finish time "range" that we expect everyone to aim for. These workouts often look easier than they are and many athletes bite off more than they can chew because they don't allow for enough time in transitions and recovery due to fatigue and high heart rate management.
THESE are the workouts that we can be better at. It's typically best to keep the weight a little lighter than you expect, or reduce the volume of potentially problematic movements (i.e. still developing, or tend to move slower at) like burpees for some, or calories on the bike for others, maybe running distances or even the speed of your lunges and squats may be more conservative.
We typically put a time cap on these workouts as a safety blanket for those who haven't hit the intended stimulus for the day...
BUT THIS SHOULD NOT BE THE NORM.
Your goal as an athlete is to develop a keen awareness of what you can AND CANNOT do. No shame. No guilt. No pride. No ego. Those things will hold you back from developing the capacity and sustainability in your workouts that you ultimately need on a day to day basis.
When you let go of the seemingly higher standards or comparing to others, you find a lot of freedom and less stressful workouts. Allow yourself to dial back some of your movements, reps, loading and even overall intensity (speed) of movements some days so that your body and mind can recover and feel ready as ever to attack it the next day.
Last note here, is that OCCASIONALLY it is okay to challenge yourself with a given stimulus knowing that you will be flirting with the time cap and hard work that day will just look a little different. Typically this will induce one of the higher intensities you'll find in the gym but should not, and cannot, be the go-to goal every time you show-up.
Talk to me or a coach about specific workout goals if you need more attention of guidance. WE LOVE TALKING ABOUT THIS STUFF!
Consistency Crew
August... a great month to get some of those last minute summer plans accomplished. For many, it was navigating some back to school scenarios and changing up some schedules again!
Great job to the 19 people who jumped into the Crew this month! Be sure to check out THE VIDEO to see who won this months consistency crew award!

Nutrition Coaching
& Group Challenges
I am extremely happy and eager to announce that I will be doing some individual nutrition coaching again.
I have room for JUST 3 more people right now for the individual coaching. Schedule a Goal Session to discuss this opportunity.
Please only inquire if you can devote 3 months (minimum) of intentionality into your nutrition. This will require nutrition meetings, weigh-ins, honesty, patience with yourself, and eagerness to work hard and use a food scale.
In recent years I had let go of some of these things (programming, nutrition, personal training) as I was focused on business development. Turns out, that was likely a mistake because I absolutely love the deeper connection of developing athletes and getting you closer to your goals. Ultimately, the only business development I truly need is to develop the best athletes and humans I can.
This year, we have released a large focus on "The Year of Nutrition" and if you've been reading the emails, there's been a ton of information helping arm you with tools and resources regarding the awareness it needs to start taking steps in this area of your life.
However, many people need a coach - tailoring specifically to your habits, desires, goals, and even your shortcomings. As I've began working with a couple of people I see that the results come exponentially faster when it's a very specific focus.
I've helped many people build muscle and strength. But my new approach is to address your hormones and body composition first. So if you want to...
- Lose body fat
- Increase muscle mass
- Enhance mental clarity and productivity
- Prevent disease and illness
- Decrease inflammation throughout your body
- Recover faster
- Sleep better
- Achieve maximum physical performance
- Not rely on medications
- Improve blood health markers
- Decrease blood pressure and resting heart rate
- Have more energy
- Reduce your cravings for food
Then you need to start taking your nutrition seriously, and I have confidence that you can achieve it all through food alone. Not some drug. Not some dieting fad. Not the perfect workout program. Not a miracle supplement. Just foods and your habits associated with it.
"800 Gram Challenge"
October Nutrition Challenge
CrossFit West Des Moines...
I challenge you.
Beginning October 1st we are going to launch our first 30 day community challenge for Nutrition. If you've never heard of the 800g challenge it's a relatively simple idea.
The goal will be to consume 800g of fruits and vegetables every day. Most people do not eat enough of these food groups. And even more people don't weigh or measure their food.
By incorporating these two habits we will empower you to make some change in your life and help eliminate cravings, as well as boost micronutrients into your nutritional profile so you can start tapping into better health.
More details will be released soon... but buckle up. This will set the course for your entire fall and put you in control just before Halloween and Thanksgiving.
Equipment Updates
Shoutout to Coach Jeff
Over the last couple of months, Jeff has taken on a role in the gym. He initially called it "Janitor Jeff"... but I'm here to tell you that he has stepped up and far beyond the initial expectation of helping clean towels and maintain the bathrooms.
Jeff has caught a lot of... let's say opportunities... that myself and the outside source cleaner that we hired for a year had been missing. In the past couple of months Jeff has...
- Taken apart and detail cleaned all 3 wall fans - getting all those gross dust bunnies off.
- Scrubbed and dusted down every shelf and ledge to give us a cleaner appearance all around.
- Taken apart, inspected, cleaned the rowers so that they all pull "evenly" and not one is greater than another.
- Re-greased the rower chains and updated the software on the Monitors (who knew?). Even repaired one so it stops humming.
- Taken apart every barbell collar to re-grease and clean out any gunk so that each one spins evenly and consistently (GAME CHANGER).
- Kept me ultra informed on supply needs and keeps bathrooms full.
I've had more drop-ins in the last 3 months tell me how clean and well organized the gym is than ever before. One fully explained he'd been to over 100 CrossFit gyms and said you guys are spoiled with the cleanest gym he's ever been to. Our very own Lauren Springer said the same thing verbatim when she joined.
So please, if you see Jeff give him a hug, a fist bump, or just a genuine thank you for all he's been doing. I notice it every day, and I hope you guys do to!
Upcoming Events
9/11 - Thursday - 9/11/01 Tribute WOD
9/13 - Saturday - Trail Run @ Greenwood/Ashworth
9/20 - Saturday - The Impossible Mile
9/27 - Saturday - Grays Lake WOD
10/1 - 800g Challenge Kick-Off
10/4 - Saturday - Annual 5K Run
Celebrating Emily Dekkers and Beth Hansen!
10/10 - Friday - BABY WOD
Outdoor Series 2025
*ALL SATURDAYS
September 13 - Trail Run at Greenwood/Ashworth Park
September 20 - The Impossible Mile at Valley Freshman Track
September 27 - Gray's Lake WOD at Gray's Lake
October 4th - Annual 5K at Raccoon River Biddle Shelter

Never stop learning,
Coach Kris



