About Rob: "Rob Koebke is the co-owner of 202strong (home of CrossFit 202), a boutique CrossFit facility opening up in Farragut North this Fall/Winter. He's been coaching and managing at CrossFit DoneRight -- located in Rockville, MD -- for four years and has helped the gym grow from 5 members to 200+ members. He also runs the CFDR Sports Performance program, training local football, basketball, and soccer teams. Rob's obsessed with human movement and is always looking for ways to make his members and athletes more efficient, effective, awesome individuals."
About Maddie: "I am currently in the process of opening up 202strong (CrossFit 202) in Farragut North DC, while continuing to train personal clients and coach classes at CrossFit DoneRight in Rockville, MD. I have a passion for working with people who doubt their ability to do CrossFit based on prior injuries, age, weight, or fitness level. As a gym owner, I will show you that through proper movement, you too will get stronger, look great, and live a healthier more pain-free life!"
Maddie and Rob were kind enough to answer questions for us in the latest installment of our CrossFit Talk series.
1. What kind of athletics did you participate in before CrossFit? How did you start CrossFit?
Rob: "I played Division III basketball before participating in CrossFit. (Side note: I'm always surprised how many basketball players are afraid of lifting weights) I was forced to retire due to 5 knee injuries -- all of which required surgery -- and was scheduled for a sixth that would keep me from walking for a minimum of 3 months. I stumbled across CrossFit and decided to give it a try, figuring whatever damage I inflicted on my body could resolve itself after 3 months of inactivity. Ironically, starting CrossFit and learning to squat correctly was the best thing that could have happened to my knee. I decided to forgo the surgery, and haven't looked back."
Maddie: "Growing up I was a competitive figure skater and field hockey player. In college I turned to endurance events, completing road races and triathlons. After a few bouts of tendinitis in my knee, I began weight lifting at my local gym. My trainer happened to also be a CrossFit instructor and it is because of him that I got hooked to the workouts and finally joined a CrossFit affiliate."
2. What made you become a CrossFit instructor?
Rob: "CrossFit had an incredibly positive impact in my life. I changed my eating habits, lost 15 pounds, and regained functionality in my knee. I was already in school for Kinesiology because the health and fitness world perplexed me. How could I see orthopedic specialists and physical therapists regularly for two and half years, yet what allowed me to return to a normal lifestyle was learning to squat properly? Was this a well kept secret or were most people just looking for answers in the wrong places?
I became a CrossFit instructor because I wanted answers to these questions. Once I found those answers I felt like it was necessary to help others find them too."
Maddie: "I was a personal trainer for a year prior to being a CrossFit instructor and once I joined my gym as a member, I naturally wanted to be an instructor to learn more about movement. I became a much more confident individual because of the strength gains I made in the gym, and I wanted to be able to help spread the happiness and gratification I found through strength to others. "
Rob Koebke
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3. From an instructor's perspective, tell us one thing you think CrossFitter's should do more of and one thing they should do less of.
Rob: "More warming-up with a purpose. And that purpose should be perfecting the basics of proper movement. Call it what you want -- skill work, activation exercises, whatever -- but the warm-up is the ideal time to prepare your body for your training by getting a little sweaty while simultaneously reinforcing your positioning.
For example, let's say the workout today has pull-ups. A good, simple, efficient warm-up would include:
- % Tabata (4 rounds, 20 seconds on/10 seconds off) of weighted planks - % Tabata of band pull aparts - Positional based mobility
This warm-up takes roughly 8 minutes and accomplishes raising your heart rate, breaking a sweat, and reinforcing the midline and shoulder positioning you'll need during your pull-ups.
CrossFitter's should do less volume. Working just for the sake of working is going to catch up to you eventually, whether in the form of an overuse injury or overtraining."
Maddie: "I think that CrossFitter's should forget about their score more often and really master the basics of movement. They should do far less reps with sacrificed form just to get a good score or lift heavier weight."
4. What is your favorite CrossFit workout and why?
Rob: "Oh, it has to be "Helen". This workout is relatively short (-8-11 minutes), low skilled, and great for testing your overall work capacity."
Maddie: "My favorite CrossFit workout would probably be Jackie. I actually hate rowing and thrusters, but it's a chipper so you only see each movement once and the weight of the barbell isn't heavy."
5. How big of a role do you feel diet plays in your ability to perform at a high level? What foods do you eat a lot of? What foods do you avoid?
Rob: "Diet is huge! What's the saying? "You can't out-exercise a poor diet?" There's actually some exceptions to this at the elite level, but for us normal folk it rings true every time.
I keep my diet pretty simple, mostly out of pure laziness. Omelet with some meat and veggies mixed in for breakfast (this almost always turns into a scramble -- user error). Lunch is chicken or steak on top of a salad. And dinner is chicken, steak, or pork with vegetables.
I avoid rice, grains and pastas during the week. However, If I'm at the weight and body composition I want, I won't hesitate to mix in some beer and wings on a Friday or Saturday night. "
Maddie: "Diet plays a huge role in my ability to perform at a high level and anyone's ability to perform their best. I let myself indulge on the weekends but Monday-Friday I eat a lot of grass-fed ground beef, eggs, salad, veggies, and dark chocolate! I avoid grains, processed/packaged foods, and dairy products."
Maddie Watkins
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6. What is your favorite article of gear or clothing you use when training?
Rob: "Calf-high white socks. I keep multiple pairs in my bag and hidden around the gym because I refuse to workout without them (unless I'm barefoot). I think it goes back to my basketball playing days. Plus, I think I look ridiculous in high ankle socks with low-top shoes. "
Maddie: "My favorite article of clothing when training is ANYTHING turquoise. That could be my headband, wrist wraps, shorts, shirts, and even my shoes."
7. Describe your weekly workout schedule. How many days off do you take?
Rob: "On a typical week, I'll workout Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and pick a day between Saturday and Sunday. I find two off days a week works well for me. I also try to get out and play pickup basketball or football one or two days a week."
Maddie: "I workout 5 days a week and always take two full rest days. I have had many injuries in the past and have learned to listen to my body and part of that is incorporating more rest than I have been used to. The most I'll do on my days off is some mobility and a walk or a hike when it is nice outside."
8. Please offer some advice to someone thinking about trying CrossFit that hasn't taken the plunge.
Rob: "CrossFit affiliates are like Starbucks, in that they seem like they are everywhere. However --unlike Starbucks -- CrossFit affiliates are not all the same. This might make the decision to give it a try more intimidating, but here are some things to look for in a good CrossFit affiliate:
1) Community oriented. Your success is largely dependent on the people you surround yourself with. A strong community means you'll receive tons of support and you'll look forward to your time at the gym. When you stop in to check out a gym, pay attention to coach-member interactions and member-member interactions. If people are talking, laughing, and hanging around before/after classes, this is where you want to be.
2) Movement focused. The movements we use in CrossFit are incredibly effective, but only if you do them correctly. A movement focused facility will not only spend time each session teaching and reinforcing your technique, but they'll also use different methods to address any joint and tissue restrictions you have that keep you from moving properly.
3) Differentiation between CrossFit for sport and CrossFit for fitness. This is huge. CrossFit as a sport -- just like football, basketball, or any other sport -- has a higher potential for injury because the goal is to get from point A to point B as fast as possible, no matter what. CrossFit as a tool for fitness should push your limits, but should achieve the objective of making your everyday life easier. Affiliates that distinguish between the two have a better understanding of your needs. "
Maddie: "My advice to anyone new to CrossFit: Almost everyone who has joined a CrossFit gym(including myself at first) was also intimidated and felt out of shape compared to everyone else. But CrossFit is about helping to make you a stronger and healthier individual and with the proper coaching and environment, you will learn that you will succeed and see great changes to your body and mind!"
202strong opens next week at 1722 Eye Street NW! Visit the 202strong website for more information.
