Coach’s Blog

As an aspiring writer, especially in the realm of fitness and self-improvement, I love reading the CrossFit Journal.  They have some amazing writers that contribute articles, as well as pretty hilarious videos on a regular basis.  This one caught my eye as one to share with you all, because of the vivid writing style (you’ll see what I mean), as well as the amazing yet familiar story it tells.  It’s an article about a guy that started CrossFit, and dutifully went to classes but still doubted his ability.  And then something happened, and I’ll let him tell the rest of the story.  Please do read it, maybe it’s something you can directly relate to, or maybe it will just provide some extra motivation when you need it!
This is the Moment his Life Changed

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
 – Bruce Lee
We have some really great coaches at CrossFit Kent Island.  They can all command a big group, can teach and motivate individuals, and they genuinely care for others’ wellbeing and their success.  Those qualities alone would place someone at the top of a Best Coaches list anywhere.  But one more thing that I truly appreciate about our coaches, and that I know you all appreciate too, is that they move really well.  Have you ever watched one of our coaches do a thruster or a handstand push-up and thought to yourself, “Wow, that looked like crap.”  Nope, neither have I!
Have you ever wondered how that happened?  How did Jason’s deadlift technique get to the point where his setup on the bar is bulletproof and he can lift almost triple his bodyweight?  How did Lori get every one of her kipping pull-ups to look exactly the same, knocking out more reps after everyone else is beyond tired?  How did Alyssa figure out how to snatch so much weight over her head?  Maybe they were born with it.  Maybe it’s Maybelline.  But I’d bet (because I know it to be true) that they have spent hours working on those skills, watching others that move well and imitating, practicing and asking for feedback, and mastering each component until they were satisfied and ready to move on to the next progression in that skill.
I’ve heard from several people going through the On-Ramp program, “Man, you made that look easy” as we are working on stringing together Double-unders or Toes-to-bar.  And my answer is generally that it is easy for me now, but it wasn’t always!  All of our coaches have gone through the frustrating struggle of learning new skills, and we are incented to do that constantly so that we can make it look fluid and mechanically correct for those we are coaching.  The side benefit of all that self-development work is an ability to move flawlessly and efficiently for as long as possible, and thus an increased level of fitness.
So if you want to look like Tristan when he does a perfect air squat, or Denee when she does 20 strict handstand push-ups, you have to follow the process.  It’s simple, but not easy.
Here we go:
1. Be coachable.  If a coach zeroes in on you in the warm-up, asking you to get lower in that squat or to lock out the barbell over your shoulders and not out in front, don’t take offense!  They have identified something for you to work on, that’s a gift!  Take on that feedback and make a point of thinking about that one improvement as you train.  The more you continue to move correctly, the easier it will become!
2. Make an improvement plan.  If what you need to improve on is not currently possible, due to mobility or strength deficiencies, then you know what the gap is.  Put together a plan to address it.  A coach can help you with that!  I think you’ll notice their eyes will even light up when you ask for help.  The plan could include some extra work that you need to do outside of class time, in Open Gym or before/after class.  It could also just mean a targeted scaling plan for future workouts, using your improvement goal as the scaling reason.  For example, if I need to improve on my squat mobility, I am going to go super-light or even just go to air squats in weighted squat workouts so that I can focus on perfect technique.  If I need to get stronger pressing overhead, then in a Thruster/Double-under workout I am going to scale back the number of double-unders to accomplish, and make sure I have a heavy-ass barbell in my hands for the thruster.
3. Put in the work.  Here comes the “simple but not easy” part.  Everybody loves making plans, putting together lists of things to accomplish.  Actually checking those things off the list is where many fail.  It takes discipline and dedication to get it done.  It’s going to involve some frustration, and require heavy doses of patience and toughness.  I know I already threw a quote at you up top, but here’s another one from Jocko Willink.  “If you want to be tougher, be tougher.”  Developing mental toughness simply requires you to be tougher in situations that demand it.  Decide to be tougher than your excuses to not put in the work.  We’re all tired, and we all have way too much work to do.  For some people, the tough people that get shit done, those things just don’t matter.
To close this post out where I’ve asked you all to get in here and put in work, I’d like to announce that effective immediately we are expanding Open Gym time for an extra hour on the front end.  Open Gym is now 11am to 1:30pm each weekday, and I hope you can find some time to make it in!
In 2018 we will also be hosting a Double-under clinic with some professional jump-rope instructors, as well as offering some gymnastics skill seminars with our own Coach Alyssa!  Stay tuned for more information soon there.
Until next time, train hard, have fun, and practice those skills!
Ryan

We’re doing the CrossFit Total today at CFKI, and coaching classes of athletes through this brute strength workout got me thinking.  I’m thinking about how this test of a 1RM Back Squat, 1RM Strict Press, and 1RM Deadlift has shone a spotlight for some people on a weakness in their overall fitness.  And for others, it hasn’t exposed anything but strength!  So good for you if you are in the second camp, but that in itself should provoke some self-analysis in terms of bringing your fitness game to the next level.  Coach Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit, outlined 10 general physical skills that should all be included in our definition of fitness.  They are cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy.  Every movement that we include in a workout at CrossFit Kent Island tests at least one of these, and some of the more frequently-used movements are popular because they test several skills at one time (ahem… wallballs…)  So if you have the strength box checked, maybe it’s time to refocus your energy on a general skill area or movement that remains an Achilles Heel when it pops up in a workout, rather than re-doubling your effort on that 400-lb squat.
So, what do you REALLY need to work on?  Let’s think about that question from the perspective of a few fictional athletes completing today’s WOD.
Joanna finished the CrossFit Total today in record time, even though it was not a timed event.  She is an experienced squatter, and so quickly moved through the warm-up and ended up PR’ing her Back Squat by 5 pounds for a happy 175-lb effort!  Moving onto the Strict Press, Joanna knew it would be a struggle — Strict Presses have never been “her thing” — but was feeling confident from that PR and put her previous best weight on the bar for a warm-up.  She pressed her warm-up weight for one rep, and failed on the next set!  Oops, I guess we haven’t improved there.  Regrouping, she got an impressive 10-lb PR on her Deadlift in about 15 minutes, stretched her legs, and headed out the door to work!
Joanna’s experience with the CrossFit Total would lead me to believe that one thing she needs to work on is upper-body strength, at the very least on overhead pressing.  Staying after class for 15 minutes once per week to do 3 sets of 5 Strict Presses, Push Presses, or Jerks (maybe alternating weeks between the three) would be a great first step in shoring up her strength imbalance.
Christopher is a monster with some weights in his hands, and he’s pumped when he sees the CrossFit Total on the nightly blog.  He walks into the gym a couple minutes late for class, some last-minute work emails got in the way, and jumps on the bike to catch up with the class.  His Deadlift and Press numbers during the WOD are definitely at the high end of the class, and his Squat numbers would be too but he’s been feeling really tight lately.  Well, I guess his whole life he’s had tight hamstrings and back problems, so what are you gonna do?  His squats at 225 lbs are suspect, and as he loads more on the barbell the depth of his squats are such that they don’t count as full reps.  He works with the coach on technique adjustments to help get lower, and it works sometimes if he really concentrates and gets as low as he can in an air squat, but that bottom position is very uncomfortable so he does a few more reps at 315, getting as low as he can.
Christopher is a strong dude, and I would pick him on my side in a fight any day, but a well-rounded athlete he is not.  Luckily, putting some effort into his squat mobility — what he REALLY needs to work on — will increase his comfortable range of motion relatively quickly, and for him the sky is the limit in terms of gains that will materialize with better flexibility and pain-free movement.  To be clear, I’m saying that improving your mobility will also increase your strength, stamina, endurance, balance and agility.  It starts with putting some focus into your pre-WOD and post-WOD mobility – don’t show up late or jet right after class!  That is the bare minimum that we all need to put in to get primed to move, and then to recover.  After that, stay for 15 minutes to do 3 more personal drills that any of our coaches could prescribe and you could add to your regimen, or come to one of our Mobility sessions once per week, and use the knowledge gleaned there to work at home for 10 minutes per day.  Christopher is never going to be an ideal picture of mobility, that title is reserved for those that are genetically gifted to be super-flexible.  But he can definitely make improvements, and they will go a long way.
My last example will be Yolanda, who also needs no introduction to the barbell, and is pretty fresh since she hasn’t been into the gym since last week.  After all, the past two WODs have been pretty endurance-heavy, and that’s not really in her wheelhouse so she decided to stay home and do some push-ups or sit-ups or something.  She wants to see those abs, so she’s been working sit-ups into the rotation more often when she thinks about it.  When it comes to her max lifts in today’s CF Total, she’s a little bit underneath her current PRs and generally felt a little sluggish.  She just PR’d her Deadlift and Press last month at Open Gym, so it’s not really a big deal, and she definitely has the highest total of any of the females in class today.
Yolanda is strong, and has consistently been getting stronger which is awesome.  But her workout choices show a neglect for other facets of her fitness, and that’s not going to help her quest for abs.  She has no glaring weaknesses in the CrossFit Total, which is a sure sign that what she REALLY needs to work on is not strength at all, as much as it might be fun to do.  How about committing to hitting at least one workout a week that “doesn’t look fun”, or even show up to class without knowing what the workout is?  Leave the programming up to your coach, and just show up and give your best effort.  Gradually, the parts of your game that you haven’t practiced too much will not be apparent weaknesses, and you might find there are some pretty fun gymnastics skills out there!
Maybe you can categorize yourself into the Joanna group, the Christophers, or the Yolandas of the world.  Maybe your current fitness situation doesn’t fit neatly into one of these.  Wherever you are, take a moment to analyze first what you’re good at, and then where you need to put in some work.  Start with the 10 general physical skills that make up “fitness,” and then maybe drill down from there to specifics.  Like we said to Christopher above, your weakness will probably not ever become a strength compared to the other skills you are naturally gifted at, but it sure as hell can get better.  You’ve all proven that!
Until next time, I’ll see you in the gym, working on my overhead squats!
Ryan

Hi guys,
Some of you may know I was interviewed a couple months ago by Athlete Daily, a fitness blog, about my experience with SEALFIT, and specifically how it helps with my CrossFit training.  Check out that article here if you missed it!
Denee and I were talking the other day about staying productive and efficient during the day, based on a quote we had both just read from the Daily Stoic, “Life is not short, we just waste too much of it.”  Out of that discussion, we started talking about making sure that we were doing everything we could fitness-wise outside of the gym to recover well, and not spend too much time on things that would adversely affect fitness.  I started thinking about writing a blog about this, and then randomly opened Athlete Daily’s blog to check out if they had anything.
They do.
Enjoy, and think about one thing in this article that you need to improve on.  Make a plan, and get to work!
Ryan

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
 – C.S. Lewis
Denee came across this quote the other day and sent it to me, and I love it for it’s simplicity and applicability to so many situations in our lives.
One audience that comes to mind immediately for me is folks that are having a hard time starting a workout regimen like CrossFit.  You’ve all probably heard it as many times as I have, “I want to do CrossFit, but I need to get in shape first.”  Think about where you were in your fitness journey before you started working out at CFKI.  Even those of us that THOUGHT we were in shape were rudely awakened with our first few WODs.  So, if you hear this from someone, remind them that their starting point doesn’t matter, what matters is that they do start.
Of course, this quote could also apply to all of us that have taken the leap and are serious about our fitness.  Now I’m thinking of the upcoming holidays that will disrupt our work, family, and fitness schedules to no end.  Many of us spend a lot of extra time in the gym before the holidays and plan to do the same afterward, to account for our plan to not work out or eat right at all during that stretch from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.  We’re automatically writing off that whole time as a “no fitness zone”, but that doesn’t have to be the reality!
If you really tear it up on Thanksgiving, layering on the turkey and stuffing with two pieces of pie (you have to try them both) and then 6 beers watching football on the couch, that’s fine!  Another great quote to live by during the holidays is “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”  So, don’t beat yourself up and feel guilty about going overboard once in a Blue Moon (get what I did there?).  That leads down a spiral that can continue the debauchery for much longer than you planned.  In addition to enjoying all the food and drinks with your friends and family if you’re away from home, spend some time hiking outside or tossing the football in the backyard.  If you’re at home, take some “me time” to get to the gym in the morning before the whole crew is awake.  You’ll feel great from the endorphins released when you move around with a purpose, and because you know you’ve once again committed yourself to a healthy lifestyle.
Finally, I’m sure we can all read that quote and think of another area of our life that it really seems to fit.  Something that you know you should be doing but haven’t been able to pull the trigger.  That feeling that is holding you back may be a fear of failure or even just a fear of the unknown.  “What if I make the leap and things suddenly are a lot different?”  Or maybe it’s just that the objective you have in mind is so daunting when you look at the big picture that it seems like too much to bite off at one time.
Thinking about our quote again though, we’re never going to be able to find the perfect starting point, the perfect beginning.  The thing to do is to take small actions that lead toward your future state.  As part of your morning routine, identify ONE THING you can do today to make progress toward your goal.  In the evening, reassess where you are and determine the next appropriate action toward your goal.  The next morning, review your plan and then go out and take action again!  As you continue progressing toward that final objective, the bigger picture will come more into focus and your momentum will keep you energized.
So in the end, whether we’re talking about starting or maintaining our commitment to fitness and health, or even creating a meaningful change in our lives, the process is simple but not easy.  Wherever we are in the continuum of “ready”, all we need to do is start.  Take one step in the right direction, which leads to another… and the rest is your story!
 

In my last blog post I outlined how to become more consistent with your workouts by planning out your week of fitness and then executing on that plan.  But let’s bring it back up one level.  Why workout anyway?  What are you training for?  PR’ing your Fran time and your 1RM Clean and Jerk every few months is pretty awesome, and at first just being noticeably better at CrossFit is all the motivation you need!  But if you hit a plateau in your Wodify weightlifting graph or find yourself searching for motivation to get in the gym on a regular basis, you might need something else, a meaningful challenge in your future that you can keep in mind.
This special, looming challenge could be CrossFit-related like competing in the next Eastern Shore Affiliate Challenge, or even just committing to doing better than last year in the CrossFit Open.  Maybe even more powerful would be an event that you don’t feel like you’re currently prepared for, something you’ve never done before.  A Spartan Beast obstacle course race, or a GORUCK Challenge, or an Olympic Weightlifting meet.  Of course, it must be something you are interested in — otherwise the motivation won’t really be there — but also the more outside of your comfort zone it is, the better!  Think of it like this – if I sign myself up for a 50K trail run that is going down in March, I am going to be super gung-ho about creating a stepwise training plan for myself that will address all of my weaknesses that would be exposed on those rocky hills.  If I sign myself up for a 5K road run on Kent Island, I wouldn’t feel too bad about neglecting my training and nutrition for a while — if I get ramped up a couple weeks before the race I’ll be good to go.  So make it something you will enjoy training for and then crushing on “race day”, but also something that you do NEED to train for.
On those days that we all have when you’re lacking that internal motivation to get in the gym or even just get out of bed, keeping that difficult event in mind will be that external motivation that you need to work on improving your fitness and your mental game.  We all know that CrossFit makes us more physically fit, but practicing that discipline to do the hard work when you really don’t feel like it will also pay big dividends during the toughest times of your event.
So, as this year wraps up and the colder weather is dragging in shorter days, I encourage you all to commit to a tough challenge to loom in your near future.  Sign up, put it on your calendar, and your winter workouts will be fueled by motivation to arrive at that event ready to kick ass, and a huge success at the event will propel you forward to even greater challenges!

Hi guys,
This week I’d like to offer up another guest blog from our own Laura Tricarico, who among other things is a CrossFitter and a Nutritional Therapist.  Halloween is just behind us now, and that means we all have bags full of candy sitting around.  As the candy supply starts to wane, it would be a great time to think again about how to best feed our kids and set them up for eating success in the future.  Please enjoy this informative and motivating article from Laura!
Make it a Family Affair
Creating a healthy lifestyle as a family when children are young can build long term habits that will follow your children through their lives, but we all KNOW that by now.  No parent sets out wanting their children begging for treats or negotiating with dessert.  Unfortunately, parenting doesn’t come with a guide and over time you may find your kids battling their own sugar dragon or having other less than ideal habits.  So what do you do?  How do you build healthy and happy kids who have positive – relationships with food?  Answer: with immense amount of patience and consistency! Below are a few tips to begin the transition and suggestions for getting the entire family on board while hopefully resisting all-out meltdowns!
GIVE THEM TIME:  Change takes effort and time especially for the littles.  Make small shifts and resist changing all their comforts at once.  Start by making one healthy switch a day and slowly alter their expectations at mealtimes.  Also keep in mind, it takes 10-12 times for a child to truly determine a dislike to a new food so give them plenty of opportunities to try new foods before you determine they don’t like it.
GIVE THEM CHOICES: Children love exercising their independence and autonomy.  Allow them to make their own healthy choices by giving them two parent-approved options to choose from.  For example, offer apple slices with peanut butter or carrots with guacamole.  Both are great snack ideas, but they will feel empowered by the choice.  Win-win!
GET THEM INVOLVED:  Try taking them to the grocery story with you and letting them pick two or three produce items to try during the week.  Have them help you prepare the purchased foods to eat.  Let them toss veggies with healthy oils and spices (who doesn’t love getting messy) or chop veggies or fruits using kid appropriate knives.  Not only will they be proud of their contribution, but you are spending time together and sharing responsibilities.  Plus you are showing them a life long skill of preparing food – their future spouse will thank you!
LEAD BY EXAMPLE: Mommy and daddy eating fresh and healthy food goes a long way in the impressionable eyes of kids.  Also, show them how being healthy is fun by choosing to be active together or going outside.  Kids are incredibly observant and will mimic what they see from their role model – you!
KEEP IT COLORFUL:  A plate full of vibrant colors is incredibly appealing.  Remember that we have five senses and that how food looks can be just as important as how food tastes.  We eat with our eyes first!
DON’T OVERCOOK:  Cooking foods appropriately will ensure ideal texture and flavors.  Overcooked veggies become mushy and bland and leave a lot to be desired.  Make sure you add healthy fats to vegetables and plenty of spices to bring out their flavor.  My favorite way to prepare vegetables is to toss with avocado or coconut oil and sea salt and roast at 425 degrees on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 25-30 minutes until slightly browned.  I haven’t met a vegetable that doesn’t roast well.  Super easy cleanup too!
HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS:  Remember that a child’s stomach is about the size of their fist.  Small kids = small fists.  So make sure you provide appropriate serving sizes to match the size of their belly!
BE CLEAR:  Without discussion, kids may interpret the dietary changes as punishment or simply resist based on confusion.  Eliminate that path by explaining why you are making changes as a family and how those changes will benefit them.
LAST RESORT – SNEAK ATTACK:  If all the above suggestions fail, add healthy ingredients to their favorite foods or find healthier ways to prep your family’s favorite dishes.  Blend veggies into sauces, smoothies, or casseroles.  They will likely have no clue!  Cleaning up your child’s diet may not be easy and may come with a few tears (yours and theirs), but remember the struggle gets easier over time and only if you stay consistent.  Stay focused on the end goal of building a healthy body and food relationship.  Also, it is much easier to resist giving in to tantrums if those offending foods aren’t in the house.  Bottom line – as the parent, you control what goes into the pantry and fridge.  If you don’t want your kids eating it, don’t put it in the grocery cart.

So I’ve signed up for a 3x/week membership at CrossFit Kent Island.  Yes!!!  That’s an awesome step toward accomplishing my fitness goals, and I’m ahead of the pack compared to 99% of the population!  Alright, next step – on Monday afternoon I sign up for Monday’s 5:30pm class, and come in and kick ass.  Awesome!!!  I’m rocking it!  Let’s keep it going.  I should probably spread out my fitness, so I plan on coming in on Wednesday sometime, and then maybe Friday or Saturday, depending on what the workouts are.  I decide to come in on Wednesday morning, but then I sleep late on Wednesday, so of course I’m going to come to the 5:30pm class instead.  But what’s with this traffic coming back from DC?  So I miss the Wednesday workout, which seemed pretty sweet – Pull-ups and Power Cleans, they’re in my wheelhouse.  On Thursday, I’m a little hung-over from the happy hour I hit on the way home because I knew I wasn’t making the 5:30 Wednesday class, but it’s no big deal, I’m going to go on Friday and Saturday.  Friday’s WOD has burpees in it though, so I guess I’ll wait for Saturday’s WOD and really crush it.  On Saturday, I show up, get crushed because of course it also has burpees, and waddle away thinking that maybe I need to change to 2x/week.
Does that sound familiar to anyone?  If so, are you looking to reduce your membership cost to 2x/week?  Or maybe instead you’d like to increase your fitness and get your money’s worth.  Keep reading if you’re in the second camp.
Here’s an alternative scenario, and the difference is characterized by an increased level of planning, and commitment.
So I’ve signed up for a 3x/week membership at CrossFit Kent Island.  Yes!!!  That’s an awesome step toward accomplishing my fitness goals, and I’m ahead of the pack compared to 99% of the population!  Alright, next step – on Sunday evening I sign up for Monday’s 5:30pm class, Wednesday’s 5:30pm class, and Friday’s 5:30pm class.  Each of those days, I plan out how I’m going to make it to those classes, and I make it happen.  I got 3 tough workouts in in a week, but I’m feeling good knowing that I pushed myself hard this week, and I’m ready to do it again.
In the second scenario, I’ve not only gotten in three varied workouts that will increase my physical fitness, but I’ve also strengthened my ability to commit to a plan and see it through.  This is an area of mental toughness that must be trained, and will become stronger with time.  And although the physical benefits from working out more consistently are huge, the advantages to be gained here go beyond physical fitness, as training your ability to plan and stick to a plan will transfer to your job, your schoolwork, and your life in general.
In summary, I hope you can picture yourself as someone who can consistently create that second scenario.  Someone who can plan out your week of workouts, and even expand to your week of nutrition.  Plan it out on Sunday, using your work and family schedule as known constraints.  Starting on Monday and each day through the week, attack your plan, knocking out workouts and eating healthy meals, and just blazing through other tasks you’ve planning for yourself for each day.  You will feel amazing at the end of each day, and your ability to keep planning effectively and generally getting shit done will improve and evolve over time.  And that will manifest itself in an improved level of physical and mental fitness that others will marvel at.
So next Sunday make a plan.  Carry it out throughout the week.  Look back and feel good about it.  You’ll be ready to go again!
 

This year has been great for CrossFit Kent Island.  We have had lots of great special events, lots of great participation and success in the CrossFit Open, and lots of great new members.  Many of our newer members have also been admiring and marveling at our experienced athletes who seem to be able to lift way more weight than seemingly possible, and fly through workouts with grace and ease, barely stopping on their way to new PRs.  I get the question all the time, “How did they get so good at this?”  The simple answer is that first they focused on technique, and then consistency, and then intensity.  It can seem like a long process to get through, but if you are patient and keep your long-term goals in mind, it will pay off.
CrossFit is known for being an intense workout regimen.  Pairing weightlifting and gymnastics in a 5-minute all-out-effort workout like “Fran” is a great example.  But before you can safely move with intensity, you need to be very well versed in the proper techniques.  Before loading up a barbell with 95 pounds, you first need to understand and be able to execute a Thruster with a PVC pipe.  Then we move to an empty barbell, and gradually add weight until we notice flaws in your technique and we correct them until the movement once again looks solid.  Focus on technique, striving for virtuosity in your movement first, before adding the intensity of added weight.  Those firebreathing athletes you see in the gym that seem to be able to move flawlessly have put in the time practicing those techniques and getting feedback on their movement to the point where there is not a lot of thought involved anymore, and they understand the weights they can lift without risking injury.  This all starts with our On-Ramp program, and continues with our warm-ups and skillwork before daily workouts.
When you have developed a solid foundation of technique, the next piece of the puzzle is consistency.  Even if you understand the entire repertoire of CrossFit’s weightlifting, gymnastics, and conditioning techniques, if you only make it into the gym once per week, you will not be able to effectively add intensity to your workouts because your fitness level won’t allow it.  Get your body used to working out consistently, and the muscle soreness associated with new movements will fade and be replaced with the adaptive physical and mental stamina required for an intense session.
Finally, once the technique and consistency have been established, we are ready to add intensity.  Intensity in CrossFit is measured by your power output, or more specifically your ability to do more work in less time.  If we use “Fran” again as an example, finishing the workout in the same amount of time but with more weight on the barbell would produce more intensity.  Finishing the workout with the same weight but 1 minute faster is also more intense.  But as you can imagine, that sort of increased intensity, resulting from increased work capacity or power, does not happen automatically.  It stems from your ability to execute the movements with precision and grace, and your body’s adaptation to doing those movements consistently over time.
So all you beginners out there, stay focused on technique and consistency and gradually add that intensity when you are ready for it.  Your coach will let you know.  And for those that have been around the CrossFit block but find yourself stuck at a plateau, there’s a simple answer too – re-double your efforts to master the techniques, find the extra time to get in the gym and consistently practice, and you will move more efficiently and find the increased intensity you’re looking for.
See you at The Box!
Ryan
 

“So, why did you start a CrossFit gym?”
I get that question all the time.  And if you only have a minute, I’ll let you know it’s because I really love CrossFit and wanted to take the opportunity to do what I was passionate about.  And that’s true, but it’s not necessarily the whole truth.  If you have a few more minutes and a couple of beers, I’ll get a little more into it.  More than being passionate about fitness, it has to do with family, friends, and my own personal purpose.
Family
When I was growing up, my dad wasn’t around a lot as he was traveling around Europe for work, and my parents ended up getting divorced.  I realize that is nothing out of the ordinary in today’s times, but for me that was a big deal, and having understood that boys tend to turn into their father, whether by genetics or upbringing, I made a conscious decision as I settled into family life to not follow the same path.
My first career brought me out on the road, traveling to hospitals around the country for 9-month projects.  After my second son Oliver was born, I realized it was about that time to take the different path, and started soul-searching and brainstorming other careers.  Once again, I was passionate about CrossFit, having been a devoted follower for a few years, and I pitched a CrossFit gym to Denee and she agreed.  So, I started a CrossFit gym because I am passionate about CrossFit.  But even more than that, it’s because I wanted to be close to my family.
Friends
As our CrossFit Kent Island community has grown, something has happened that I truly did not anticipate.  Our clients, people that were paying to be members at our gym, became our friends.  And not just acquaintances or workout buddies, but close friends that have become like family.  Maybe it helped that before we opened the gym we didn’t have any friends on Kent Island, having only lived here for two years with tiny babies at the time!  But more than likely it’s because when we started the gym, we did it because we were passionate about CrossFit, not making money.  And CrossFit is about fitness, but it’s even more about community and friendship.  So, I started a CrossFit gym because I was (and still am) passionate about CrossFit.  But an especially powerful reason that keeps me going is because we have made the best friends.
My Purpose
As the gym matured, I started to reflect back on why it was in the first place I became passionate about CrossFit.  What was it about the intense workouts, or close-knit fitness culture, or even the political incorectness and rejection of popular opinion?  Maybe it was all of it.  Actually, I’m sure it was all of it.  And the reason I’m sure of it is that it all lines up with what I originally thought of as my goal in life, to be a Navy SEAL.  It was very strange, but when halfway through my college experience a fraternity brother who was in the Navy asked me if I had considered joining up, I locked onto it and wasn’t able to think about doing anything else with my life.  Anyone who has been close to that community can tell you that the characteristics of the CrossFit community line up very well with the SEALs or any military special ops team.  They workout harder than anyone else, they stick together, maybe at the expense of other relationships, and they just don’t care about whatever else the world is talking about because they know they’ve found the answer.  That career goal eventually slipped away from me, but when I made the mental link of the CrossFit community with the elite warrior community, I suddenly was at peace for the first time with not achieving my goal, because I was fulfilling my purpose in life in a different way than originally imagined, but all the same this was it.  I’ve never had an intense desire to go to war and kill people, although I was steeling my mind to the thought.  What I really wanted was to be a part of an elite community, one that knew what it’s ideals were and would be willing to sacrifice a great deal for them.  And I found it in CrossFit Kent Island.
So, yes, if you’re asking, I started a CrossFit gym because I’m passionate about CrossFit.  But I’m passionate about CrossFit because I’m passionate about my family and my friends, and because through CrossFit I’ve found my true purpose in life.
I appreciate you all reading these blogs and giving me feedback.  Please let me know if there’s anything you’d like to hear about!
Ryan