CrossFit is NOT a 6 week challenge!

I'm sure you have seen tons of "6 week challenges" for weight loss, body fat loss, get tone and fit,  blah blah, etc. etc.... They are everywhere and appear to have your best interest in mind. It goes something like, pay a big pile of cash for an accountability coach, a meal plan and work out 3+ times/week. Great! Sign me up! Fix me in 6 weeks. These are simply lies. Sorry not sorry.

Ok, ok...  some of these challenges are legit and someone has their bank account and your well being and best interest in mind.  AND...  It's ok to START there, it truly is! As a matter of fact that's a great place to start. You put some skin in the game with the pile of cash (you may or may not get it back) and now you've sparked a fire under your butt. You feel more motivated than ever (you've got cash on the line) and engaged because someone is helping you stay accountable.  But what happens when the challege ends. So let's say you feel and look better. Well, now what? 

Here's the most important part. Are you ready?  Simple! IT CAN'T END there. So if you are motivated by a 6 week challnege and think its going to be life altering, GO FOR IT! Just be sure to realize and be honest with yourself that you can not un-do years of things like being sedentary and eating poorly in just 6 weeks. It takes hard work, long term consistent commitment, learning and being open minded, experimenting, trying and failing and trying again. It takes dedication, sacrifice, determination, drive and more. 

So when you are ready to make a permanent shift in your lifestyle, don't worry... (It's not all or nothing)  here are a few things to consider. You will need to become your own accountability coach and plan your schedule to keep the workouts up. Eat well, sleep and hydrate even though no one is watching (well except Santa, of course).

And so now I begin to tell you that when you are ready to take a step, come and take the Warrior's Path.  At Warrior's Path CrossFit we are ordinary people performing extraordinary things and we welcome you.  We welcome you to not only feel and look better, have more energy, strengthen your bones, decrease your chance for chronic disease, make new friends, test yourself, learn about yourself, become better at life, better in your relationships, feel confident and so much more. It's magic and it's here for you. Take the first step and give it a shot. 

An apple and 10 wall balls a day keep the Doctor away!

Coach Pat said do the movements and put forth 75% effort. You have 5 minutes to get it done. I picked up my 14# wall ball at 4 min 55 sec. I knew I wouldn't finish in the time domain. Just then he shouted "keep moving until your finished, complete all the movements!" I finished at 5:21 That was round one of three. We were to do it again, same movements with added effort each round. I counted each pull as I pressed my feet as hard as I could into the rowing machine. Focused on pulling strong and breathing, anxious to get off the rower and pick up my barbell. Man, how I love the barbell. I surprise myself even now thinking about it. Each rep count I feel butterflies. Butterflies of joy and excitement to get back to the bar. It's getting harder and harder to breathe but I still keep moving. I paced it better the second time and somehow finished in 5:06. Now I still have to do it again. One more time at 100% effort. Standing there,  trying to catch my breath and thinking where can I improve? How can I shave off any time from this? Where did the rest time go? 10 seconds... 3, 2, 1.. Here goes everything. I moved as efficient as possible. Broke up the barbell movements and the kb swings in effort to not get too out of breath. Swung my arms as hard as possible in the box jumps. As I picked up the wall ball for the final of the seven movements, the clock read 4:40. I didn't see what anyone else was doing. I was totally in my zone and finished in 5:04. Whew! 2 seconds faster than the previous round. I felt the buzzing in my head and my body was a bit trembly. I just lay there for a minute overwhelmed with pride and accomplishment.

Afterward, I stood up. A sweat outline imprinted the shape of my back on the floor.  Wow that was fun! It's moments like this one that reinforce my decision to make this a priority in my life. I only wish other people experience this feeling within themselves. The buzz that ignites a desire to be a better person, to take care of myself and encourage others to do so as well.

It's funny that CPJ said today "do 10 wall balls and eat an apple every day for the rest of your life. You'll live better and longer" I believe this to be true.

I stopped at Shop Rite on the way home from the gym. Why is there a bench in the bread aisle? As I thought about the bench and it's odd placement a man sat down on the bench. At first I was curious why he would take the load off in the bread aisle. That's when it occurred to me! He needed to take a rest! Slightly annoyed by this and increasingly saddened as I thought about it more and more. I realize the man on the bench could probably not do any wall balls never mind 10 of them and he most likely would never even try.

Before you become the man on the bench in the bread aisle, start with an apple a day. When that is so easy and you do it without any thought, then try a few wall balls. As the wall balls become easier and easier increase the quantity to a minimum of 10. Then do it every single day.

Beyond the Rower (Concept2)

"Athlete Development Camp"

Creating Positive Forward Motion

I found this to be such an amazing class with tons of valuable info that is easy to understand and experiment with. First because of CPJ's drive to help people become better at whatever their personal goals are. For me I want to be better at breathing while performing specific movements such as wall balls. I tend to hold my breath when doing wall balls which prevents me from doing very many unbroken. I have tried variations of them playing with the depth of squat to catching the ball more on one side than the other. All of these variations feel as if I am jeopardizing the integrity of the movement so I always end up back at square one. After participating in ADC I have learned how to utilize my breath in conjunction with my body and this really helps. I knew how to apply breathing during Olympic Lifts but for me the feeling doesn't cross over. In addition to ADC, I have kept a regimented meditation program which is focused on breathing techniques. Maybe these two combinations are, for me, the missing link.  

Below is the work that I consistently did each week to improve my aerobic base. 6 sets of 750 meters. Each week the rest time between sets is decreased. The goal is to row at a 500 m pace within a set range of strokes per minutep. This exercise has proven to  be useful and I think that rowing each week for a longer distance (even if there's set rest built in) is a valuable tool that translates beyond the rower. 

The Green Mind Project Offers

The Green Mind Project Do you want to feel vibrant healthy and better than ever? Are you looking for sustainable lifestyle changes? Do you want to loose weight and/or gain muscle? Are you thinking about starting a new fitness regime and don’t know where to start? Do you feel like you don’t know how to fit healthy changes into your hectic day? Are you struggling with meal planning or prep? The Green Mind Project will help you with a variety of sustainable lifestyle modifications to gain vitality, stamina, health and fitness • Organic shopping on a budget • Quick healthy meal plans for busy families • How to make the most of your time cooking • 21 day sugar detox program • Techniques to become more active • Couch to 5k or Spartan sprint • Spartan sgx training classes • Bridal boot camp programs • Crossfit coaching • Mobility with methodical movements • Breath therapy and more TheGreenMindProject.com TheGreenMindProject@Gmail.com -holistic Health Coach–

Inspiration for 15.1

Feed your fear a suck it sandwich. That's today's inspiration.

No. I'm not kidding but that not all I have to say about it. I was really excited about the open for a few reasons. The first reason is because I am new to coaching and I am looking forward to being part of the judging.  I think it will help me gain some respect with the members in the gym. Not that anyone is being disrespectful but I mean for the athletes to be confident with my ability to see integrity in their movement. And I am anxious for all of the encouragement among everyone to do their best. That is the best part! 

The poor decisions made by some of the athletes who decided to sand bag 15.1 to enable themselves to perform better with 15.1A are just missing the entire point. I can't wrap my head around who would have validated those scores.  Anyway, I was just thinking about the point of submitting video and the purpose of having a judge to ensure each athlete performs each movement with integrity. In my opinion, not performing the movement to the best of your ability is just as much a question of integrity. Seriously people do the workout, post your score and just be proud to be a part of the entire experience!

Peace out friends!