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About CrossFit Davis

James Kitcher Jr., CSCS with Insurance, CrossFit Level 1 Coach, USA Weightlifting's Level 1 Sports Performance Coach

CFD Co-Owner

Specialty Certs:

Catalyst Athletics Olympic Lifting
CrossFit Nutrition
CrossFit Movement and Mobility

I love CrossFit. Loooove it.

More than that, I love seeing people transform themselves - mentally and physically. It's a pure joy and the reason I got into this whole coaching thing -- to help people help themselves.

It certainly helped me. Here's my story in brief:

After I left the Army (former Warrant Officer) back in 1994, I slowly began to put on weight. As my corporate life ramped up, my health took a back seat and my weight pushed up year after year and when I hit 30, well, it went up like a Google IPO. I topped out at about 250 lbs and spend a lot of time between 220 and 235.

I exercised during that time. I mountain biked, hiked, played tennis, a little hockey, hit the globo gym and did the machine circuit and body building routine. Various diets came and went. Atkins, Abs, South Beach. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was fantastic, but I kept getting injured -- mostly due to really really tight shoulders.

Anyhow, nothing worked. Nothing stuck. Here I was -- a former competitive athlete (hockey, martial arts, track and field) and I just couldn't find anything that could get me in shape and keep me motivated. Everything seemed to dead end. No passion. No real fitness - more so sickness. Colds all the time, my feet hurt. Life was kind of crappy. In 2006 I was hospitalized with a bout of diverticulitis. In 2007, ulcerative colitis hit me and the prednisone I was prescribed to treat it, along with no control system skyrocketed my weight up to 250 lbs again. Low point reached.

I needed something. I thought about returning to BJJ and started scouting for places in the SacTown area. I found Cassio Werneck's website and liked what I saw. He had a link to CrossFit. I clicked it and was immediately intrigued. Liking what I saw on CrossFit.com, I decided to change things up and head back to the gym and try this CrossFit thing on my own. It looked hard! I decided I had to get in shape before I tried CrossFit (a mistake, btw!)

So, I joined a globo gym and did my normal, "I want to be Shawn Ray / Lee Labrada" body building routines from back in my high school days for a bit. Well, after 2-3 weeks of GNS2, the first WOD I tried as was "Helen" in a Globo Gym in Elmsford, NY. I used a 35 lb kettlebell and a wickedly embarrassing amount of weight assistance on the Gravitron. My time was 18 minutes + and I absolutely wanted to die afterwards. It was like being stuck out on a penalty kill in hockey and you just cannot get that icing and you just can't move.

I loved it. My time sucked but it was a start. It was a PR! This made me happy. PR's should always make you happy. Doing something you've never done before should make you feel accomplished! Then you raise the bar and go after it again.

Quickly I decided I needed some help and went looking for a CrossFit Affiliate to train at. I found Fourth Power Fitness / CrossFit Sacramento and fell in love after two weeks of training. I started out on a two classes a week schedule for 3-4 weeks and then went to three days a week. My sleep improved, my mind felt clear and sharp vs. the bowl of tapioca is was behind a screen in a cube. I was hooked and knew what I wanted to do -- I had a purpose.

From that moment on I've devoted pretty much every waking moment to CrossFit with the goal of being able to bring this trans-formative experience of mind and body to anyone who wanted to do it. It's amazing to see the fitness forged in the gym spill over into normal life.

Some more bits and pieces about me --

I was born in Brooklyn. Yo BROOOOKLYN!
I went to Fordham University
I was a Warrant Officer in the United States Army for a bit and flew UH1-H1s while I was in the IERW program. I don't fly anymore but am pretty confident I could get a helicopter off roof and save us from the zombie hordes.
Go Red Wings!
I'm a big fan of MMA and am involved with The Rear Naked Choke, a weekly podcast featuring MMA interviews with all sorts of fun, interesting people in the sport - from the fighters to the promoter side.
I've got a background in a variety of martial arts (won a national level WTA tournament back in the day), ice hockey (lifetime through college), track (a few high school records and championships) Wish I'd been doing CrossFit THEN for sure.

As a trainer at CrossFit Sacramento I was mentored by Jaime Llopis (who is now one of my business partners in this venture). I ran classes there and did personal training with all sorts of peeps, even the Boston Red Sox prospect Lars Anderson every now and then. It's also where I met Scott Pfeifer -- the other main coach here and a co-owner as well.

Basically, I just burn for CrossFit and want you to feel the same!

Scott Pfeifer, CrossFit Level 1 Coach

CFD Co-Owner

Specialty Certs:

CrossFit Movement & Mobility

About Me:
Grew up in Davis and graduated in 1991 from Davis High School.
As a kid growing up, I played anything and everything. I played soccer, football, baseball, basketball, track and field, ice hockey, swimming. I was a varsity baseball and football player in high school.
I attended a few different universities and graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education.
My favorite sport is baseball and my favorite team is the New York Yankees. No I'm not a front runner, I lived in New Jersey for six years.
The one athlete I respect the most is the decathlete.
I now enjoy CrossFit, swimming, biking, triathlons, and the occasional bikram yoga session.
I discovered Crossfit 3 years ago through my job as a firefighter. I love the variety, intensity, and camaraderie that crossfit embodies.
I hate the fact that I didn't Crossfit in high school and college.
My favorite WOD? Helen
Played Division I baseball at Texas Tech and University Nevada Reno.
Played one summer in the Arizona Collegiate League and two summers in Kansas in the Jayhawk League.
Played two years of minor league baseball with the Reno Chukars in the independent Western League.
If I had Crossfitted during my baseball playing days I would have had a longer career. Crossfit would have helped my flexibility, strength and power.
I first started Crossfitting at some local gyms. It was amusing to watch the gym patrons stare at me as I was sweating profusely and laying on the floor after a workout. Most people can't imagine pushing themselves past their comfort level. It is easy to sit on a recumbent bike and read a newspaper. Crossfit is hard work! If you want results you have to pay the price!
I currently work as a fire captain in the West Sacramento Fire Dept. A high level of fitness is vital in firefighting. We have adopted Crossfit as the main component in our health and wellness program. I train fire recruits in the fire academy in addition to the online personnel. I believe Crossfit is the most effective way to achieve the level of fitness required for our job. A majority of the Crossfit movements are identical to what we do everyday.

Alex Haussermann, CrossFit Level 1 Coach

I remember my first Crossfit workout. I remember the date and the time of day. I remember how long it took me. I remember how it felt. I remember that when I was lying on my back in a patch of grass afterwards, groaning in pain, I was unable to muster the energy to move over to a patch of shade for a good five minutes. The two experienced crossfitters present were chuckling at my situation, and one of them mentioned to the other that I was doing "the flop," a characteristic movement in which one alternates between the left and right fetal position.

Needless to say, that experience left quite an impression on me. I've been doing crossfit consistently since that day, and I expect to be doing it for the rest of my life. It's just that awesome.

I received my Level 1 Crossfit Certification in November of 2009, and began coaching at CF Davis shortly thereafter. I absolutely love it; I get to yell at people until they acheive a personal record, then I get to yell with them as they celebrate. Seeing someone pull through their heaviest deadlift, get their first muscle-up, or do their first workout as prescribed are some of the most inspirational moments out there, and coaching just puts me that much closer to the action.

A little more about me:
Prior to Crossfit, I swam competitively for eight years, practiced Tang Soo Do for five, and did Cross Country, Soccer, and Lacrosse in high school. I graduated in May of 2009, and started at UC Davis the September after that.

Despite being involved in athletics my entire life, I'm one of the biggest nerds you will ever meet. I own more dice and video games than are probably necessary, and I'm still waiting for an old homeless man to tell me that I'm a Jedi.

I have great respect for primates, and feel that humans just haven't been the same since the tie and briefcase became more popular than the loin cloth and stick. I feel that I owe it to my simian ancestors to strive for the greatest physical prowess possible.

Thus, Crossfit.

Nigel Noriega, Ph.D., CrossFit Level 1 Coach

Specialty Certs:

Gymnastics Certification (Jeff Tucker) Nov 2 2008
Crossfit Level 1 Certification Nov 9 2008
Basic Barbell Certification Jan 25 2009
Kettlebell technique training with Tom Corrigvan and Mikhail Marshak May 9 2009

Most of my athletic activity has been martial arts related. My base is Yongmudo (basically re-formatted hapkido), but I've tried everything I can get my hands on, including tsirum (korean version of sumo wrestling), brazilian jujitsu, tae kwon do, boxing, collegiate wrestling, muay thai, arnis, silat, jeet kune do, wing chun, contemporary wushu (emphasis on staff, long fist & southern fist). I have competed in wushu, taekwondo, grappling and yongmudo competitions. I've trained off and on with elite MMA practitioners (probably not best to mention names here) and have had one official MMA bout. I started Crossfit in 2008, mostly to rehab from long-term injuries, and because prior to Crossfit, I had never done any sort of weight training. Now I find it to be the most convenient form of functional training for a chaotic schedule. I like to play around with parkour and free running when I can. I'm a biologist professionally. I was raised on the island of Trinidad.

Jaime Llopis, ATC, CSCS, CrossFit Level 1 Coach

CFD Co-Owner, Owner of Fourth Power Fitness

Specialty Certs:

CrossFit Nutrition

Jaime is a 1989 graduate of Sacramento State University. He's a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC), Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and CrossFit Level 1 instructor. Jaime has been an Athletic trainer and Strength and Conditioning Coach at Jesuit High School since 1991. He was also the trainer and a coach for the Sacramento Regional Fire Academy from 2003-2008. In 2004 he was selected to be th Athletic Training coordinator for the competition track at the Olympic Track & Field Trials in Sacramento (he was the first trainer on the scene when Michael Johnson went down). Jaime is also the owner of CrossFit Sacramento (Fourth Power Fitness)

Members with a Level 1 CrossFit Certification