Pottstown Athletic Club

This program offers an avenue of expression and socializing for area youth who find team activities difficult for whatever reason. Some in the Karate train for free because of their socioeconomic origins. This discipline teaches valuable personal management skills that these children have not been learning elsewhere for a variety of reasons. Karate is the art of unarmed self-defense. Karate is a Japanese phrase meaning   "kara"   - (empty),   "te"   - (hand), or the way of the empty hand. Karate is a centuries old martial art, formally introduced in Japan by Master Gichin Funakoshi. Since the 1950s, karate has been practiced throughout the United States and other parts of the world. Karate is an excellent exercise, utilizing 90% of the body muscles. The mental aspects are as important as the physical. The main objective of karate training is development of character, although karate is also a practical and effective self-defense system.  Men and women...

-  Mike Warkentin, managing editor, CrossFit Journal Are you addicted to met-cons to the detriment of overall fitness?  Yes, we know you feel like you didn’t accomplish anything on deadlift day.  It’s very clear you’re unhappy that you are not out of breath and dripping with sweat.  We’re just going to lie here on the rubber with shaking legs while you head over to the corner to bang out 100 burpees for time.  We’ll even start the clock if you feel the need to hit a quick Fran.  But we’re wrecked from heavy day, so please don’t ask us to join you. Here’s why: You’re part of a CrossFit program. Conditioning is a big part of CrossFit. Many workouts done in CrossFit gyms and programmed on  CrossFit.com  cause you to sweat heavily, breathe hard and collapse on the floor at the end. These workouts range from relatively short tests such as Fran to longer challenges such as Cindy, and many Hero workouts take athletes into time domains past 2...

CrossFit Journal, June 8, 2016 Warning: Reducing intensity can be habit forming. Please consult your CrossFit trainer immediately. You have to do Fran today. Stop reading, close your eyes and really think about that for a moment. Note the freefall feeling in your chest, the sweaty palms and the subtle changes in your breathing. Now consider this statement: You have to do Fran in less than 12 minutes today. I bet you suddenly don’t feel nervous at all. You might even view the reps as a warm-up for another workout. Same weight, same reps, same workout—different results. Intensity burns. It tastes like a mouthful of old pennies soaked in battery acid. It makes you dizzy. It causes you to writhe around on the ground trying to work the misery out of your muscles. It usually requires a period spent on your back or butt, and sometimes it sends your lunch back the way it came in. Intensity gets caught in your throat and keeps you hacking hours after the wor...