Here we go again; its the “week of”. The annual Reebok Crossfit 3 On 3 is this Saturday.  Last year I did a blog post prior to the competition entitled “Competition Day Hacks” (September 25th 2018). Have a look back in the blogs for some good detailed breakdown on competition day specifically. In this one, I’m going to address the week leading up and what I recommend that looks like. 

I don’t care what you say, I am still not saying it. No four letter words that start with “F”. It’s still summer. Right up until September 21st. You can’t even argue with me on it, the calendar man says so. However, as we near the end of August here, it does mean it’s time for one thing. Back to school!

Our community is our strength.  If you are already a part of it, thank you making it what it is.  If you would like to become a part of it, come on in!  We’ll keep the lights on for you. 

“Crossfit is designed for universal scalability, making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs.” -via Crossfit.com

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shorted. Happiness never decreases by being shared” -Buddha

You’ve heard it before; “sharing is caring”.  You have this tremendous gift of fitness and everything that that entails, including happiness.  Why not pass it along to someone you care about?

…One simple illustration I thought of was a PVC pipe that we use in the gym.  If we stand that PVC vertically on the floor and push down on the top of it, it creates an arch.  With my hand pressing down on the top of it, this arched position has potential energy.  There is energy stored in that shape.

Our “Fit Over Fifty YXE” program has been running for over 7 months now with huge success!  As the program head I would love to credit for this.  However, it certainly “isn’t me!”.  When the program began or as we have had new members join the group, I always get a few funny looks when I say we are going to box jumps or burpees.  While at face value they may seem simply as “work”, I always follow up on that first time with explaining the “why”.  I also ask one simple question; “when was the last time you ‘jumped’ onto something?”  Not stepped up. Jumped. In this very simple case of a box jump, the answer most often is “I don’t know” along with a lot of agreeing nods

Do you want to increase your chances of achieving your concrete, set out goal by 95%?  Here’s how you are going to do it! It’s amazingly simple!

I’ve been talking a lot in my classes over the past few days on that ever so controversial topic of “kipping” in our WODs.  It’s definitely the one thing that when thrown out there to a non-Crossfit person, raises the eyebrows and gets a laugh or two.  In our “Crossfit” world, they are every bit as common as Dr Dre Beats headphones and razor-back tank tops are in a globo-gym.

Well, that’s a wrap on the 2019 Crossfit Games Open.  For a lot of us, the Open represents the one time a year where we “compete”.  We ride that wave through the five weeks; come in and put in some extra effort and extra time.  Despite that season of competition coming to an end, let’s stay on the wave and keep looking forward to even more goals.  

When we walk through the doors of the gym each time, we have already won.  We have chose to take the time out of our day.  We have chose to drive the extra miles. We have chose to be present.  All of these choices are wins over what could be a “shorter”, “faster” or “easier” day.

I have a great appreciation and tremendous respect for anyone who is being excellent.  Whether it be the person pumping my gas at the gas station, the person who cleans the floors, or the person running the company.  Take pride in what you do.  Do it with excellence so that you can be proud of the outcome.  

This blog is going to be a little different.  You aren’t going to learn to double under. You aren’t going to better at gymnastics. I am not going to throw any knowledge at you at all.  What I might do is save your (or someone you pass this along to) life. 

…Greg Glassman, the founder and CEO of Crossfit, is a master of coming up with simple illustrations (most of them only need to be deciphered like Coach Jay’s handwriting) to explain some pretty heavy topics. In this particular case, he has made a simple arch to help us “place our needle” on the arch in a hopes of moving it towards the “fitness” end…