Game Face.

Did you ever go to a bar before you were 21? How did you act the time you went and got kicked out? How did you act the time(s) you went and got to stay? I'll put money on the fact that the times you stayed, you slapped on your game face and acted like you owned the place...right?

So how is that different than putting on your game face for a WOD? Some of the people I work with closest often hear me say "fake it 'till you make it" or "get your mind right" or "GAME FACE." Yes, the all caps meant I was yelling.
Many months ago, an idividual I look up to, whose name I will not mention, gave me some priceless advise. I was getting my tail kicked in my pullups in a WOD. I mean, I was churning out a max of 2-3 at a time on my way to finishing. After the WOD this individual pulled me aside and told me exactly when my mind checked out of that WOD. He said it was written all over my face the second it happened. I didn't realize it at the time, but I knew he was 100% right. Instead of my face reading "suck it up, get this WOD done, NOW" it said, "Please kill me, I hate my life, I wanna cry."

Since that glorious workout I've tried to apply my "fake it 'till you make it" policy. If I can convince my face that I'm all in, ready to kick the WOD's ass, no matter how bad it hurts, I can convice the rest of my body as well.

So next time you are struggling through a WOD, check your face. Do you have your game face on? Or does it look like you want to call you momma and cry?

cg

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Can you believe it?

Yup...3 weeks, 3 blog posts. I'm proud of me.

I'm not sure January can get much better. Weeks 3-4 you better bring it, because weeks 1 and 2 pretty much whooped ass.

Let's re-cap:

1. Our new sister affiliate to Bayou City CrossFit, Pin Up CrossFit is thriving! We more than doubled the number of lives we get to impact every day this month and look forward to more in coming months. Remember we're offering FREE 9:00 a.m. Saturday WODS each week until further notice. This Wednesday 1/19 has been declared Pin Up CrossFit Facebook day! Show your love for Pin Up CrossFit via your status to get the word out.

2. Main Site WODing. Holy crap. I didn't realize I had it in me to crank out some of these WODS. I love battling through the workouts with Vic, Andrew, Kris, Katie, Shelby, Kirk and others on a daily basis. Every day brings new thresholds, accomplishments, and a feeling of near death.

3. Back to the good stuff. Vic and I had the opportunity to head up to Austin last week and get some Oly training with USAW Senior Level Coach (that means badass is CrossFit terms) Ursula Garza. I've been slacking on my Oly training the past few weeks, but am ready to recommit to some serious weight lifting in the coming weeks.

4. Chipping away at my resolutions. Go to church? Check! Went to church on Sunday for the first time in longer than I want to admit. Loved it. Period.

Take care of myself? Check! Went through an hour of pain and torture with Kristen from Human Body Development. Gulp. She said she went easy. Bigger gulp.

Catch up with old friends? Check! Headed to Kansas this month and to Mexico in April. This has to be the most fun part of my resolutions!

I have to admit though - I'm going to take some responsibility for the great start to the year. When working in education, the phrase "make it a great day or not, the choice is yours" was thrown around a lot. A little cliche? Maybe. But it sure does hold a lot of truth and I'm working to apply it every single day...what about you?

cg

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Still With Me?

It's week #2 of January. 24-hour fitness memberships are thriving. Bally's had to buy a couple extra elliptical machines to meet the high demand. The YMCA just extended their hours so more people could talk on their cell phones while they rode the stationary bike.

Every year thousands of people make the New Years Resolution to "get fit", "work out more", or "hit the gym." In week #2, most of them are still going strong. Heck, they paid for the whole month, right? But by week #3 a few drop off. In week #4 there's a substantial decrease in attendance. By the time February rolls around, the regular gym rats are smiling from ear to ear 'cause they have their gym back!

Have you ever been one of these people? If you are, but you're serious about resolving to not quit your resolution, I have some advice for you:

1. Make a list of goals. REALISTIC goals!
2. Write the goals down (all of them).
3. Put the goals where you'll see them every single day.
4. Make them tangible. Can you check it off when you have reached that goal? Let's compare:

Goal A: Lose weight. Cool, you want to lose weight. That's awesome, but how are you going to decide when you have achieved your goal? I mean, if I skip dinner I'll be down a pound or two. Does that mean I achieved my goal?

Goal B: Lose 10 pounds of unnecessary body weight in 2 months. Now I have goal that can be measured. Yes, I'm still measuring my body weight (which I hate because you can gain weight and lose inches!), but now I have a number and a time line.

Maybe your resolution has nothing to do with fitness, weight loss, or working out. Same rules apply. If I resolve to pay off all credit card debit in 2011, I need to have a plan. So lay out those goals and get after it. It you wait 'till tomorrow it'll never happen.

With that said, I figure I might hold myself more accountable if I were to share a few of my resolutions/goals with both of you that read my blog.

2011 Goals (not all of them...gotta keep some of 'em out of public view!):

1. Make an effort to keep in touch with old friends. Yup, pretty vague. As we get older, the old friends seem to spread out more and more. Going "home" doesn't afford the same opportunities to catch up as it used to. So I've resolved to visit one "old" friend per month in 2011. If all goes as planned, this will take me to Kansas in January. Sure wish I had some friends in the Caribbean.

2. Church. Go to it. I used to go every week. What happened? First step: Find a church to attend - driving to the Woodlands every Sunday just isn't an option any more! Step 2: Go!

3. Grow/develop Pin Up CrossFit and help grow/develop Bayou City CrossFit. Sometimes at night I can't sleep I have so many ideas. Details for this resolution might get long...I'll save you the pain.

4. Develop my own business. Again...tons of ideas. One ready to roll. Watch for it in 2011!

5. Take care of myself. The past year I beat myself up pretty good while committing to CrossFit. While my commitment to CrossFit won't change, my approach in taking care of my body will. This includes listening when it's screaming at me, therapy when it's called for, and staying on track with my diet. First therapy session - Friday @ Human Body Development. I'm scared.

That got long.

But, who's with me??!! Who is going to stick by the resolutions they made this year? Who is going to kick 2011's ass with me? I'm excited.


cg

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Party Like It's...uh....2011!!!

I guess the older we get, the faster the years go by? Because 2010 felt like it just started!

While I feel like I've been beyond blessed this past year in pretty much ALL aspects of my life, I came across the picture below a few days ago and it puts everything back in to perspective.

But I think it's important to add one more item to that poster (may it be a little bit lighter)..."if you spent NYE at the Omni Hotel in Houston you had a better party than 99% of the rest of those celebrating!!" Thanks to Vic Zachary for financing such an awesome gathering and to Nathan Montgomery for planning the shin dig. It was a blast and I can't wait for the 2nd annual Bayou City CrossFit NYE Bash a year from now.

Now that the party is over, what plans do you have for 2011? What are your goals? Where do you want to be when this same scenario plays out next year? What do you want to accomplish in the next 12 months? But most importantly, how are you going to get there!

Here's to a great 2010, and to an even better 2011!

cg

Next time: back to CrossFit!

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BCCF Does Dallas

Two weekends in a row in Dallas....Love that drive.

ACO - Weekend #1 - Success!

CrossFit Dallas Central put on their second annual All Cities Open competition December 11th and played host to 100+ men, women, and "masters" competitors from all over the area, and a few outside of the area. These guys in Dallas run a class act affiliate and both of their competitions I've had the privilege of competing in, went off without a hitch. This year they did an amazing job of testing abilities, exploiting weaknesses, and finally mixing up the workouts a bit. We didn't do the same 'ole movement 1 x 10, movement 2 x 10, movement 3 x 4 - 5 rounds...3, 2, 1, GO! They mixed it up, threw a couple curve balls, and kept us in the dark about the WOD's until just before they started. Our BCCF crew was well represented by competitors Jane Shin, Katie Russell, THE Vic Zachary, Kristian Montoya, Marco Cazares, and myself. We also had an awesome fan base with Kimberly Walling, Shelby Frakes, Curt Vaculik, John and Lori Riley, and Ashley Butturini. I'll go back to ACO every year! And maybe one of those years I'll finally make that podium!


CossFit Coaches Prep Seminar - Weekend #2 - Success....then FAIL!

Katie, Vic, Shelby, and I ventured back up I-45 this past weekend for the CrossFit Coaches Prep seminar. This is a course designed to prepare us for our Level II certification that we all aspire to obtain in the near future. The instruction was top notch. We were blessed by the presence of some CrossFit All-Starts with our instructors being Chris Spealler, Chuck Carswell, Adrian Bozman, and Spencer Nix. These guys KNOW THEIR STUFF. I can't even put into words how beneficial it is to step back and get a refresher on the stuff we do every day...those of you who are in my classes - get ready to get back to basics!!!

Now for the Fail part: I Pricelined our hotel. Boo. Nice Hotel. HORRIBLE service! Long story short - one bed, four people. The floor was not soft.
Seminar complete, let's go back to Houston. Wait, not so fast...we got about an hour south of Dallas when my truck decided to start making sounds like a rocket ship (make that a malfunctioning rocket ship). We pulled off the road at 7:00 and ended up staying in that same gas station parking lot until about 10:30 p.m.. Much thanks to "JZ" of JZ's roadside repair for fixing us up and getting us back on the road. We crawled back into Houston about 2:00 a.m...and yes, I made it to my beloved 6:00 a.m. class at Pin Up!

Lesson learned here: I've managed to surround myself with some pretty amazing friends. Not once did I hear (now, I'm saying I didn't hear it, not that it didn't exist!) any complaining about the hotel or the extended stay at the Shell station near Ennis. Vic, Shelby, and Katie - thanks for being troopers and making the best of a bad situation. You guys definitely made the "not so good" parts of the weekend a whole heck of a lot better. I couldn't ask for better friends.

cg

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What can Paleo do for you?

The Paleo lifestyle is some pretty powerful stuff. Some dabble in it, some live by it, and some swear it's a hoax. The more I learn about it, the more amazed I am at what it can claim to do.

Personally, I'm a dabbler. I've yet to commit to the Paleo lifestyle 100%. I tend to go in swings where I'll be a decent Paleo player for several weeks or months, then fall off the wagon only to realize the enormous effect it has on me. Currently, I would project I'm about 90% Paleo...beer just beckons me on the weekends. Will I ever be 100%? We'll see. The more I read, the more I hear, the more I think maybe.

Here's why:

1. "The Paleo Solution." It's the title of Robb Wolf's book. All about Paleo, all good stuff. Hell, this could even scare you into a Paleo lifestyle. I picked it up about 3 weeks ago and immediately began tightening down on my diet...good stuff.

2. Performance. Ok, so Halloween weekend got a little out of hand. Candy, sugar, and beer. Repeat. Even as I write this with two days of recovery and two workouts to "detox" I still feel like garbage. Who's to say whether it was the candy, beer (there may have even been a couple of shots), lack of sleep, or all of the above. Either way none of it was Paleo!

3. Success Stories. I've yet to hear an athlete tell me that Paleo sucks and they didn't see any results from it! In fact, I have a new athlete in my 7:15 class who can attribute some major lifestyle changes to cleaning up her diet.
Lauren joined my class after finished up basics about a month ago. Her story goes way back to 5+ years ago and involves some major allergies and some "uncomfortable" symptoms. Over 5 years ago Lauren was in a tough place. She had been misdiagnosed with dermatitis and given medication to remedy it. This caused SEVERE blisters covering her entire body. She describes it as looking like a burn victim. She was prescribed topical steroids to put on all of her skin. Doctors suggested she may have food allergies but were unable to pinpoint the source of the outbreaks. Lauren describes sleeping "starfish" style covered in calamine lotion to control the itching. Fast forward a couple months and Lauren has moved home with her parents because the discomfort has disallowed her to even go into work. Doctors continue to tell her it's just a rash and it will go away in a couple weeks (she's had it for 6+ weeks now). Another month passes and Lauren begins to experience severe swelling in her arms. So much so that she cannot bring a spoon to her mouth to eat. Thankfully her family has a great sense of humor and they make fun of her as she attempts to eat! Not only that, she has to be wrapped in hot towels to comfort her skin twice a day for a month. Doctors now think she may have autoimmune disease, but are unable to diagnose the problem.
Let's jump forward to January of 2006: Lauren is finally able to return to work, but must wake up super early for work only to apply massive amounts of foundation to hide her skin from her co-workers. She continues to see doctors...surprise...no results! Lauren continues with her topical steroids but side effects include skin weakness to the point that removing a bandaid would leave a scab. For the next couple years she basically dealt with the hell of the steroids, weak skin, and other side effects. Six doctors and 20-some prescriptions later she makes a New Years Resolution: eat clean.
Lauren cuts out all processed foods except dairy and grains. Her skin is much better, but still has to use the steroids. From May to July she progresses to a Paleo diet. She cuts out soy, legumes, and eventually phases out the grains. The steroid use diminishes until she stops using them completely. Lauren now hasn't experienced an "outbreak" since hitting the Paleo. In her own words, she has the best skin she's had in 5 1/2 years, and is finally able to go without worrying about what she was wearing in fear of an outbreak. This, in a state where it's summer for 9 months of the year!
While Lauren doesn't claim Paleo is 100% responsible for success, it certainly hasn't hindered her progress. She's not shy about her story...ask her about it!

This is just one of the many amazing stories I've read/heard/witnessed verifying the positives of a Paleo lifestyle. In his book Robb Wolf challenges you to try it - for 30 days - and see what it can do for you. I say get on board!

cg

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Barbells for Boobs, Badasses, and Big Time

1. Barbells for Boobs: Awesome event at Bayou City CrossFit put on by our very own Coach Katie. We had a great turnout of people in pink to help support Mammograms in Action by completing the workout "Grace" as fast as they could. Lots of PR's were set, lots of fun was had, and lots of money was raised. Tip your glasses to another great CrossFit get together to benefit something larger than any single one of us!

2. Badasses: I sat at my computer this Sunday watching football (and dozing off from time to time) while constantly checking on the fellas up in Austin competing in the Longhorn Ironman Triathlon. Seriously? 70.3 miles of swimming, biking, and running?! David, Vic, Oli, Chad, and Nathan you guys are fracking awesome. My hat goes off to you BCCF badasses for going out there and busting your ass all damn day!

3. Big Time: I'm pretty excited for this coming week. I'm getting a chance to go workout with the big boys up in Austin to tweak my oly lifts and get some coaching advice from non other than Olympian Chad Vaughn. It's always cool to get a chance to work with guys like Chad who definitely falls into that badass category but is more humble than anyone you can meet. I'll keep you posted on how awesome it is!

'till next time,

cg

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