 July 14 is the 8th anniversary of True Spirit CrossFit. It's hard to believe that we've been in business eight years! We started with such humble beginnings. We had only one half of the space we have now. We had only 3 coaches, Leslie, James and Noah. The first month we had only 6 members and we had 2 classes per day just 3 days per week. We've come a long way! I established this daily blog from the very first day and wrote about ideas, methods, strategies and tactics to help us all improve our lifestyle, physical and mental health. To celebrate our eighth year, I'm revisiting some of my favorite blogs. Here's a reprint of a blog I wrote our first month about how to make sure you get to class. All too frequently we have the best of intentions to "get to True Spirit CrossFit & Yoga three times this week," or "eat 5 home cooked Paleo meals this week," or "only drink 3 glasses of wine this week."
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 We have an Independence Day tradition at our gym. We celebrate our Independence by honoring women who have died in service to it. We have done this since I opened the gym 8 years ago, and we continue this year. Today we start honoring our Nation's Heroines with White. U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ashley White, 24, of Alliance, OH, assigned to the 230th Brigade Support Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina National Guard, based in Goldsboro, NC, died on October 22, 2011 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked her unit with an improvised explosive device. Lt White was a member of an US Army Cultural Support Team. Cultural Support Teams were deployed in small detachments with male infantry units in Iraq and Afghanistan order to collect information from families and communicate with women without breaking cultural taboos. Women Marines and Soldiers received special combat training in order to be detached to infantry units. These women proved themselves admirably in combat situations and were instrumental in collecting intelligence that was unavailable to their male counterparts. If you would like to know more about the women in combat and specifically Lt. White's story, please read Ashley's War. She is survived by her husband Captain Jason Stumpf, her parents Robert and Deborah, brother Josh, and sister Brittney. “White” was the first CrossFit female Hero WOD, first posted on the CrossFit Main Site as the workout of the day for Tuesday November 8, 2011. CrossFit’s next female hero WOD, “Jenny,” was first posted in 2014 and you will honor her on Tuesday. Rest in peace, Ma'am. I've got the watch.   The women in the 5:30pm class are strong and fit! As is often the case at our gym, I recently coached a class that was all women. After the workout, we hung our for a bit discussing the importance of fitness for women. We all agreed, fitness is a feminist issue. We explored what it means to be fit, to be female and to be feminine. All too often women are portrayed as weaker, softer, "less than." We agreed that CrossFit has changed our perspective of fitness. ALL. OF. US at one point in our lives wanted to be smaller. WHY? Smaller thighs can't carry a backpack uphill, smaller arms can't carry the groceries, smaller butts can't help us balance on slippery river rocks. Yet, all of us wanted to be smaller before we started CrossFit. Now, we all just want to be able to run, jump, climb, throw, push and pull hard and fast. The fitness we get from CrossFit makes us more capable. We can rely on our body to do whatever we ask of it. Load the kayak, canoe or skis on top of the car? No problem, shoulder presses and jerks make us able to do that. Carry a backpack with a rope, climbing gear, food and water uphill for several miles? No problem, squats and sled drags have trained us for that. Carry our kids at the county fair? No worries, sandbag carries enable us to do that. CrossFit makes us capable. Being capable makes us useful. Being useful makes us relevant. My mission is to help people find their power. I am especially passionate about this for girls and women. When we find our physical power we find our voice. When we find our voice, we can change the world. Who knew a fitness program would have such an impact on womens' lives? How has CrossFit impacted your life? Please share in the comments.  I love watching all of you do things you never thought you could "What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?"My dad asked me that question several years ago, and it planted the seed of owning my own CrossFit Affiliate.
Until then, I had assumed that I would continue in public service until I retired. It was the path I set upon when I finished active duty in the Marines. I figured I'd work for the government for 30 years. I never, ever, ever, thought I would own a business. I dreamed of it, but never thought I would be good enough, or I wouldn't hustle enough, or I wouldn't be smart enough. I wouldn't be enough. I put many barriers in front of my dream. I allowed myself to fail before I ever even tried. Have you ever done this to yourself? I have the great privilege and pleasure of watching you all do amazing things in the gym. On the flip side, I hear many of you talk yourself out of greatness before you even try. "It's too heavy," "I'm not in good enough shape," "I can't do it that way." Really. How do you know these things? You, my friend, are 20% stronger than you think you are! You are capable of way more, and the only way to find out what you're really made of is to set yourself free from mental slavery. Really, I'm not just quoting Bob Marley for fun. The most profound adaption to CrossFit occurs between the ears. It's not your heart & lungs, muscles, and bones that get stronger. It's your resolve, your mettle. You have an incredible opportunity, every day you're at the gym, so see what you can do. To see what you can lift, pull, how high you can jump, how fast you can row or run. Where else in our lives do we have such freedom to explore our innate awesomeness? Free your mind, allow yourself to go "there." Be an explorer on the terrific journey to see what kind of person you really are. I can tell you, from where I stand, I see greatness. |
Special EventsTSCF RE-Open: Aug 1, 8 & 15
BTWB Level-Up Challenge in September Record your WOD on Beyond the Whiteboard.
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