Who Moved My Cheese?

I'll be the first to admit, when I saw that the 2010 CrossFit games would not longer be held in Aromas, CA I was disappointed. Ok, I was devastated. For the past year my life has more or less revolved around getting prepared to qualify for the games. My diet changed. My workouts intensified. I put in more hours at the box to improve strength and endurance. All with hopes of qualifying to compete at "The Ranch" in Aromas. See, "The Ranch" is a perfect example of why I fell in love with CrossFit. It exemplifies that homegrown, grassroots movement that makes CrossFit so unique. I never had the chance to compete or even spectate at Aromas, and to be honest, I feel a little bit cheated.

The new venue for the 2010 CrossFit games is the Home Depot Center (HDC) in Carson, CA. This is the same venue that has hosted the summer X-Games and the Warp Tour, just to name a couple. Needless to say, the HDC is no second rate facility. There will be locker rooms, concrete workout surfaces, showers, sky boxes for the fans, and no dusty hill of death to climb or places to pitch your tent or park your RV. For me, that's the problem. In fact, the games has actually lost some of it's appeal to many for those very reasons.

So where does all of this change leave us? Well, as CrossFit grows, becomes more corporate, and loses some of it's grassroots, homegrown feeling we too must change. We can complain, pout, and fuss about that change all we want but our negativity will fall on deaf ears. We will continue to love CrossFit and will learn to grow with it, or be left behind as it prospers and progresses even further. My goal: Compete at the fancy HDC, with or without the dusty hill, campers, or any of the other luxuries "The Ranch" had to offer.

cg

P.S. Read the book if you're curious about the title.

Read more...

Please Don't Stop the Music...

Music is powerful.

When you walk into BCCF you almost always hear music. It might be AC/DC, Lady Gaga, 2Pac, Rise Against, or any one of the hundreds of artists we hear every day. In fact, if you come in to BCCF and don't hear music it just seems like something is out of place! While some of us prefer the "old school" workout music like AC/DC, Metallica, and maybe a little Bon Jovi, others may like hearing some Black Eyed Peas, T-Pain, or some "kill, death, kill, hate, death" music. Regardless of your taste it seems as though we all want music during a WOD. Subsequently, I've come to the realization that the most common request at the box is not "hey, help me with my squat," or "can you show me that snatch again," or "what's a man-maker?" The most common request is usually "next song (being yelled)" or "MUSIC (yelling again)" when we don't like the song or the coach forgets to turn up the tunes. Why is this so important to us? I've heard a wide range of responses to that question:

1. It gets me pumped up, gets my blood flowing.
2. I move to the beat of the music, it keeps me going.
3. The louder the better, then I can't hear how hard I'm breathing.
4. I have to have music so I can't hear my knees crack and pop.
5. It helps block everything else out.

What I've come to find is that music is extremely powerful. Not only can it help us get ready for a brutal WOD or calm us down as we stretch or practice yoga, it has enormous effects on our lives outside of our fitness.

As most of you know I work as an administrator at a middle school here in Houston. Working with 12-15 year old kids on a daily basis can lead to stressful situations. Lately I've found myself migrating to the choir or piano room when I feel the stress and anxiety piling on. It only takes a few minutes of listening and watching these talented kids make music for me relax and put everything back into perspective. In addition, I recently noticed a trend in my life that became blatantly apparent just the other day. On my way to work each morning I find myself listening to KSBJ as it relaxes and soothes me a little bit. After work the button for 94.5 is pushed and I get my blood flowing a bit for CrossFit. None of it is done intentionally, it just seems to work out that way.

Think about it. Music is used to alter moods and personalities in numerous situations: relaxing music in yoga, massage, and acupuncture, pumped up music to introduce athletes prior to competition, or a little Barry Manilow to set the mood for a romantic evening :0). Okay, that was a stretch...but seriously, have you ever considered how much impact music has on your life?

cg

Read more...

THE SQUAT

Down a road, in a gym far away,
a young man was heard to say,
"no matter what I do, my legs won't grow"
he tried leg extensions, leg curls, and leg presses , too
trying to cheat, these sissy workouts he'd do.

from the corner of the gym where the big men train,
through a cloud of chalk and the midst of pain
where the noise is made with big forty fives,
a deep voice bellowed as he wrapped his knees.
a very big man with legs like trees.

laughing as he snatched another plate from the stack
chalking his hands and monstrous back,
said, "boy, stop lying and don't say you've forgotten,
the trouble with you is you ain't been SQUATTIN'. "


I like back squats.

cg

Read more...

Title Track

No deposit, no return. What does that even mean? Let me explain why "No deposit, no return" has become one of my favorite sayings...in CrossFit and life in general.

Every time I teach an intro class at BCCF, I make it a point to ask each client what they are trying to accomplish by getting started with CrossFit. Most people give me the generic answer of "I want to get in shape," which is a perfectly great answer. On the other hand, clients have given me reasons such as "I want to be jacked and tan", "I'm enlisting in the Army and don't want to get my ass handed to me", or "because my wife is making me." Again, all fantastic answers (well, the wife reason is a bit sketchy). My follow-up question is usually "what are you willing to do to satisfy that reason?" Simply put, the amount of effort you put into CrossFit will stricktly determine what you get out of it - no deposit, no return. At this point in the conversation some clients are probably thinking they wish they would have stayed home. I begin to talk about frequency of workouts, importance of nutrition, journals, and pushing your physical limits. The deposits are growing. Now we talk about recovery, drinking beer (actually, that we should lay off the beer a bit), and the 23 hours of the day we're not in the gym. The deposits are still mounting up. Next comes the talk about that sweetner you put in your coffee and how you always try to find the parking space closest to the store entrance. Even more deposits. We're 10 minutes into our 12 minute conversation and all we've talked about are deposits...where are the returns!! That's the hard part folks. In fitness we deposit, deposit, deposit for what seems like months and months. The returns just don't seem to be making their way back to us. They will. I promise. The deposit you made by giving your all in every class, by changing your eating habits, by tracking your workouts and meals in your journals, and every other deposit you made will create a return in the end. Those of you just starting out, keep making those deposits, the returns are right around the corner. Those of you who have seen the returns reaped from generous deposits, share your story with the newcomers...we can all use the encouragement.

'till next time....

cg

Read more...

My first time...

My first time creating a blog! Get your mind out of the gutter.

This will be my first go at creating a blog. If you had asked me a year or two ago if I was the "blogging type" I would have laughed in your face...and probably assumed you were kidding. BUT, I guess I have evolved. It seems as though in the past year I have found myself consumed with learning ways to create a healthier lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. So, stay tuned to this new adventure of mine to hear stories about CrossFit, read tips on fitness, browse through a rant about something important to me (but probably useless to most), and find helpful tips on nutrition for the active person.

cg

Read more...