Back to Being a Has-Been

I have heard a famous NBA basketball player once say that "you can tell when you are getting old when you talk more about what you have done rather than what you are going to do." I personally think that the past is a good measuring stick for the future. Some use their past victories or failures to inspire future victories. Some use past victories or failures to keep them living in the past, unable to move forward.

The key about the past is to use it for something positive. If you have great memories about past victories, use them to inspire and motivate in the present and future. If you have failures or negative memories about the past, use them as lessons learned and as a foundation of experience that leads to a positive future.

You have to make that choice though. You will never be satisfied with yourself if you are not living up to the potential that you know lies within. That is where self worth and self confidence comes from. It is about being the best that you can be. If you were fit and active 10 years ago and are not now, you will not be happy with yourself. You know that a higher potential lies within. Many try to excuse themselves by blaming busy schedules, old age, or the nagging knee injury from that one Jr. Varsity basketball game 25 years ago.

We all have more potential than we will probably ever realize but the goal should be to reach for new levels of victory. Whether it be a weight loss goal, a fitness standard, or to be a better parent, settle for nothing less than your best. If you were a success in the past, you know the potential is there to be a success in the future. If the past holds failures and defeats, you have no where to go but up. The best is yet to come.

This Is Your Brain On Drugs

We all remember the anti-drug commercial that said "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs." Well there are a couple of comparisons I want to make with drugs and fitness training without cracking an egg.

Now let me first say that I do NOT have first hand experience with drugs but I am sure we have all heard how drugs work and their effects on the mind and body. Usually a person begins with a small amount but eventually require more and more to achieve the same effects. You never hear of someone doing the same amount of drugs day after day for 20 years. You always hear how one drug leads to many or to stronger types of drugs.

The same can be said about an effective fitness regimen. You can't expect to do the same type of training day in and day out and achieve the same effects. That means that you can't just walk for 30 minutes a day or do your 3 sets of 10 on the circuit machines at the local Globo gym and see drastic results. That may work for a short time but eventually you will need more. You have a couple of options. You can either change the intensity or the exercises or better yet, both. I have seen many people who attend the same boot camp classes who after years of training are still doing modified push-ups and using 10lb dumbbells for overhead presses. After several months or years of training, it is going to take more "drugs" than that to achieve a higher fitness level. You can't get or stay fit without getting stronger. Some may say that they don't necessarily want to get anymore fit than they are. That is fine but if you continue to do the same thing, your fitness level will not stay the same but actually drop. Remember, it takes more drugs to achieve the same high.

That is why we do the Crossfit prescription of "constantly varied, functional movements executed at high intensity." This keeps our bodies guessing while achieving high levels of fitness and also leading to the physiques we've always wanted. It is a fitness regimen that is evidence based in that we keep scores and results from each workout which allows us to track our results both on paper and in the mirror. Better yet, these workouts don't take long. We substitute intensity for time.

The other comparison with drugs and fitness is the chemical high you can get from both. I have to admit that I am a fitness addict. I rely on that endorphin high and confidence boost I get from training. If I go too many days between workouts, I get agitated and frustrated. My body seeks that release. The biggest difference is that drugs tear down your body while training builds and strengthens it. So don't expect to see me in rehab anytime soon because this is one habit I don't plan on kicking. What can I say. This is my brain on drugs. Any questions?

Prepared for Anything

What are you preparing for? Every one of us is preparing for something whether we know it or not. I was reading the story of David and Goliath recently and I found it interesting that when he faced the giant, he was confident and sure that he could defeat him even when no one else had the nerve to even dare approach him.

1 Samuel chapter 17 says in verse 33 Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”

34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

Some may say that David was nothing more than just a shepherd but God had bigger plans. He was preparing him for his future. He was strong in mind, body, and spirit and had developed that strength through years of humble service and patience.

What are you preparing for? I would like to think that we at Trinity Fitness are preparing to be examples for the world to follow. The most recent reports predict that diabetes will be the number one killer in the near future with as many as 1 out of every 3 people developing this preventable disease. I would like to think that if our lives come down to "survival of the fittest" that we will be the ones that survive. Whether it be surviving the physical threat of terrorist attacks or the threat of preventable disease, we are doing our parts to care for this temple that God has given us. And if a lion or bear attacks us while we are walking down the street this week, I wouldn't be surprised if you are strong enough to "catch it by the jaw and club it to death." We have been preparing ourselves by taking on bears and lions with each and every workout.

Just Give Up

The title to this post is more of a play on words. Is the title of this post my way of insinuating that you give up? We all give up every single day. All of life is about the choices we make and what we either give up or get with those choices. This morning I gave up being early to work for an extra five minutes in bed. I gave up a free donut breakfast in the teachers lounge for a better diet. I am giving up time for something else right now so that I can write this post.

For those of you who are training with us, these are some of the things you are giving up.
1. You are giving up being unfit and unhealthy.
2. You are giving up a low self concept for a better reflection in the mirror.
3. You are giving up weakness for strength.
4. You are giving up being a victim for discipline and control.
5. You are giving up fat for muscle.
6. You are giving up the Globo gym for true fitness found in a garage gym.
7. You are giving up lying on a comfortable couch for a gym floor.
8. You are giving up insecurity for confidence.
9. You are giving up your ego to by humbled by every workout.
10. You are giving up hours of slow and easy for fast and intense.
11. You are giving up average for excellence.
12. You are giving up making excuses for accountability.
13. You are giving up minutes working out yet adding years to your life.
14. You are giving up your limitations but rather test them with every workout.

I heard of one lady giving up her daily Starbucks coffee and using the money for her monthly training fees. Giving up does not have to be a bad thing. Giving up may be the very thing that gives you the most.

The Best Fitness Program On Earth

What is the best fitness program on earth? My answer to that question will be about as vague as a politician but it is definitely worth discussing. I will also mention that my opinion is exactly that and it has been shaped by years of trial and error. As mentioned in recent posts of mine, my wife and I are now Crossfit certified trainers. Does that mean that we are 100% Crossfit all the time? Not at all. Our program design highly favors Crossfit but we are not opposed to more sport specific training as well as other training protocols. It really depends on the goals of the client.

I started working out at a very early age. I grew up watching the Rocky movies and trying to emulate Rocky style training. I used to incorporate push-ups and pull-ups into high intensity interval style workouts. I scaled walls, jumped on park benches, and pressed odd-shaped objects over my head. I also did the whole Globo gym 3 sets of 10 pec deck followed by 20 minutes in the "fat burning zone" cardio workouts. I have trained like an athlete, army recruit and bodybuilder. This is what I have learned.

As an athlete, I was very fit for the sport I was training for. When I was playing football, I was lean and muscular and was fit for playing football but suffered when transferring over to track and field and vice versa. After college, I trained more bodybuilder style and was not quite as lean as I had been as an athlete. I maintained strength levels but had lost ground in anaerobic endurance, speed, and power. I returned to my roots with what I called obstacle course training and now is called Crossfit. With Crossfit style training, I am as lean and muscular in my mid to late 30's than I was at twenty. I am without question stronger than I have ever been. I feel like I am both aerobically and anaerobically as fit as I have ever been. I can do things physically that I couldn't with the other types of training. I also am not bored with the same old monotonous routines from years past.

I understand that everyone is different according to their preferences with training but our needs are the same. Good health and fitness is a must for any person of any age group. Crossfit has provided what I consider to be the gold standard when it comes to being well rounded and overall fitness. Some people prefer fast and intense and the awesome results that come from that style of training. Others prefer a lower intensity way of training. It really comes down to personal preference. I encourage a healthy lifestyle regardless of training style. Just remember that certain types of training elicit certain types of results. You can't deny results and you certainly can't deny the physiques of people who train with high intensity functional movements. You will get what you are training for. What kind of results are you seeing?

Man Arms

Since I started training many years ago, one major concern comes up more than any other with my female clientele. The concern is whether they will get too bulky and muscular. Most recently I have had some of my female clients becoming insecure about developing "man arms." This usually begins with a comment from an insecure man about the fit physique of a confident woman. This in turn makes the confident woman start questioning the actual training that has given her confidence in the first place.

Let me first begin by saying the same thing I say to first time clients who voice their concern over getting too bulky. Men and women are different. Women don't have the same testosterone levels of a man and therefore will not develop like a man. Genetics will ultimately determine how a person looks with or without training. I tell people who train with us that they will look how they are genetically supposed to look at their fittest level. You can't expect to look like anybody other than yourself. That is unless you want to go under the knife.

The issue of "man arms" is another concern. I have women who are stronger than they have ever been, doing things they never thought possible, and who also look better than they have ever looked. They are walking around with a quiet confindence that they have never had before. I have yet to see one female train with us that has arms that look like any of my male clients. No matter how strong and lean a female gets, unless they take steriods, they will never have "man arms." What we are guilty of is developing strong, fit, beautiful arms. Do you think that Kelly Ripa is insecure about having "man arms?" Judging from her wardrobe, I think she is pretty confident with strong, fit arms.

I saw first hand the results of long-term Crossfit training at a recent certification. I saw a room full of some of the best physiques I have ever seen. These type of gyms are litered with them. Don't be ashamed of who you are but rather test your own limits and see what you are truly made of and what you can look like at your best.

Certifiably CrossFit

After years of CrossFit Journals, videos, and workouts, Amber and I attended our first CrossFit Certification this past weekend. We arrived early and were slightly nervous but more in awe of the nice facility and surrounding area. When we walked up to the sign-in desk, we could see familiar faces from the CrossFit videos such as Pat Sherwood and Matt Chan. It was like seeing celebrities for us, perhaps our own taste of CrossFit Hollywood.

The certification was an organized, perfectly orchestrated series of lectures and movement clinics. I never thought doing air squats could make me so sore. But when you do 50-60 squats in each movement clinic, holding each for about 5 seconds while the trainers check form, it definitely starts to add up. We learned the nine foundational CrossFit movements such as the squat, front squat, overhead squat, shoulder press, push press, push jerk, deadlift, sumo deadlift high pull, and the medicine ball clean. They also worked with us on the Glute Ham developer, the kipping pull-up, overhead snatch, and the muscle-up.

We ended our first day with Fran. Keep in mind that we had already spent 8 hours in an non-air conditioned lecture room and gym. We were totally exhausted from the movements throughout the day and we had to end with Fran. After ripping my hands to shreds on the larger diameter pull-up bars, we took the group photo, sweaty and red-faced. It had been a great day.

The second day was more of the same. Lectures and workouts in the sun started to really add up. We ended the second day with a detailed 50 question test that covered everything CrossFit from nutrition and exercise physiology to programming and human movement. We left knowing the definition of "Fitness" and how to spread the message to our clients.

I have been following CrossFit for years now but never really knew if I would go to a certification or not. I never in a million years would have thought that my wife Amber would go with me. When we opened our folders that contained our scores for the weekend, we both smiled and hugged each other and left happy, thankful, and totally exhausted.

We returned home to happy kids who had decorated the house with balloons and signs congratulating us and a large cookie cake saying CrossFit Winners. We are blessed and happy and now we are also CrossFit Level One Trainers.