Saturday April 1, 2023

Happy Birthday Caleb!

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WOD

“April Fools” [TEAMS OF THREE]

AMRAP 25:
15/12 Calorie Row
5 Front Squats (135/95)
1 Rope Climb (15′)

* Waterfall Style (Row Always Going)
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Daily Mindset

“You’re remembered for the rules you break.”

~General MacArthur

There’s something oddly intoxicating about fitting into a group. By falling into cultural norms. It’s truly in our DNA – to connect with others through similarities.

That is an amazing thing. But at the same time, it can be a dangerous one. We can take the limits of our surroundings, for the limits of our own. This can often happen without even a conscious realization.

These “unspoken rules” that society lives by can hold us back. The “unspoken beliefs” that we should live life a certain way. With genuine respect, we sit humbly at the feet of anyone we can learn from. Yet, we must keep our minds open to possibilities outside of the confines of our norm. Some rules are just meant to be broken.

Friday March 31, 2023

Sean is working through his heavy 10 rep Front Squat!

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Good luck to all the age group qualifiers this weekend!

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WOD

Part 1: Deadlift

Build to a heavy single

Part 2: “Sugar Rush”

3 Rounds For Time:
1,000/800 Meter Bike
21-15-9 Deadlifts (225/155)

Time Cap: 10 Minutes

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Daily Mindset

“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying”.

~Andy Dufrense, The Shawshank Redemption

Last week, we thought through the meaning of how “Crisis” is written in Chinese. Two symbols, translating to “danger”, and “opportunity”.

A third word to add comes from the Greek “krisis”, where the English word originated from. In Greek, “krisis” translates to “choice”.

Adversity will change us, but how it changes us is the “krisis” – the choice. As we move through our day, when we approach those inevitable challenges and frustrations… we’ll have that choice. To be bitter and upset, or to learn.
Danger, Opportunity, Choice.

Thursday March 30, 2023

Kristen is working through the Thrusters of the “Beep Test”!

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WOD

“Stiletto”

AMRAP 20:
15 Air Squats
10 Push-Ups
5 Toes to Bar

Every 2 Minutes [Starting at 0:00]:
200 Meter Run
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Daily Mindset

“Action is the fundamental key to all success.”

~Picasso

There is no substitute for action. This is not breaking news.

Everyone has big plans. Big aspirations. The blueprint to “get there”. As integral as it is to have a plan, this is the easy part. And it’s where most stop, because it’s about to get hard.

A famous old American cartoon, “G.I. Joe”, finished every show with a saying: “Knowing is half the battle”. Despite the right intentions behind it, we recognize now it’s a false statement.

Knowing is not half the battle.
It’s not even a quarter.
It’s the first 10%, if that.
Action is 90%.

Wednesday March 29, 2023

Bryan coming in from a fun run!

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WOD

Part 1: Barbell Complex

1 Power Clean + 1 Hang Power Clean + 2 Push Jerks

Part 2: “Gwendnesday”

For Time [15 Minute Cap]:
1,000/900 Meter Row

Into…

15-12-9 Clean & Jerks (135/95)*
30-24-18 Box Jump Overs (24″/20)

* Every Break: 200 Meter Row
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Daily Mindset

“I was complaining I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.”

~Confucius

A short story to share.
A man walked into a shop to order some flowers to be sent as a gift to his mother, living 200 miles away.

As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars.” The man smiled and said, “Come on in with me. I’ll buy you a rose.” He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother’s flowers.

As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, “Yes, please! You can take me to my mother!” She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.

The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the gifting order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother’s house.

At times, we can take many such relationships with our family and friends for granted. A humbling reminder to value what we have.

Never whine, never complain, never make excuses.

Tuesday March 28, 2023

Saturday Tabata Sit-Up Cash Out!

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Happy Birthday Landan!

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WOD

“Spin Class”

5 Rounds For Time [30 Minute Cap]:
60 Double-Unders
400 Meter Run
20 Alternating Dumbbell Snatches (50/35)

Rest 2 Minutes Between Rounds
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Daily Mindset

“There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.”

~Derek Jeter

Whether we believe in talent or not is irrelevant.
Everyone, however, should believe in hard work.

When we were born, we looked just like the next baby. We didn’t have any skills, any separating “talents”. Nothing. We learned everything, from scratch.

Yet, there is a time in our lives that we think we can’t learn anymore. That we’re too old to learn new tricks. In that moment, remind ourselves…. nothing has changed but our perceptions. It’s a self-imposed limit that goes directly against our greatest strength, and what makes us human. Adaptability.

The difficult pill to swallow is that when we chalk it up to not having the “talent”, it’s really an excuse. An excuse that we don’t want to put in the hard work. When we can see it from that angle, talent doesn’t matter. All that matters now, is how hard we’re willing to think, plan, strategize…. and work.

Monday March 27, 2023

Alia is showing us what a Kettlebell Swing should look like! 

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WOD

Part 1: Front Squat

Build to a heavy set of 10

Part 2: “Bergeron Beep Test”

On the Minute For Max Rounds:
7 Thrusters (75/55)
7 Pull-Ups
7 Burpees 🙂
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Daily Mindset

“Belief is irresistible.”

~Phil Knight

Inspiration can move us for a couple moments. Motivation might have hours. A day at most. They both run out. Belief however, will never. Belief is unending.

When we believe to the core of our being in something, failure is not an option. It’s just not a possibility in our world. We can get kicked down, beat up, thrown into the mud over and over… but it won’t matter. Because we’ll get back up, every time smarter. Belief knows nothing but to try once more.

Yet one of the greatest tragedies in life is that we don’t believe.
We don’t believe we have control over our lives.
We don’t believe we have the capabilities, or if we ever will.
We don’t believe we’re the right person.

Yet one thing we can believe – that is it us, and only us, that can create the life we want. And if we can take that to heart, then there is nothing else to do, but to try once more.

Sunday March 26, 2023

The 8am crew are getting their sweat on!

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Reminder: There will be Open Gym today from 8:00am to 10:00am. Come get your weekend WOD on!

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WOD

“Sweaty Sunday” [PICK ONE]

[Row]
10 Rounds:
500 Meter Row

Rest 1 Minute

[Run]
10 Rounds:
400 Meter Run

Rest 1 Minute

[Bike]
10 Rounds:
1,000 Meter Bike

Rest 1 Minute

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Daily Mindset

“Success at anything, will always come down to this. Focus and effort. And we control both.”

~Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)

Often our world looks at individuals such as the Rock, and chalk them up to being “gifted” or “naturally talented.” Yet HE would put it a very different way.

Focus and effort. Because we don’t see the painstaking hours behind closed doors, the long nights and early mornings, it looks so natural for him. So easy. But as Vince Lombardi once said, “The man on top of the mountain didn’t fall there”. Nothing in life happens by accident.

All that matters is two things:
Where do we want to go (focus), and how hard do we want to work for it (effort).

Saturday March 25, 2023

Donette is looking strong as she works through her Dumbbell Presses!

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Happy Birthday Dan and Scott!

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WOD

“Team Macho Mile”

In Teams Of Two, Complete 4 Rounds For Time:
400 Meter Run (Together)
6 Rounds of “Macho Man” (135/95)

1 Round of Macho Man:
3 Power Cleans
3 Front Squats
3 Push Jerks

*Switch partners after full round of “Macho Man”

*30 minute time cap

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Daily Mindset

“Success at anything, will always come down to this. Focus and effort. And we control both.”

~Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)

Often our world looks at individuals such as the Rock, and chalk them up to being “gifted” or “naturally talented.” Yet HE would put it a very different way.

Focus and effort. Because we don’t see the painstaking hours behind closed doors, the long nights and early mornings, it looks so natural for him. So easy. But as Vince Lombardi once said, “The man on top of the mountain didn’t fall there”. Nothing in life happens by accident.

All that matters is two things:
Where do we want to go (focus), and how hard do we want to work for it (effort).

Friday March 24, 2023

Laura is looking calm as she works through her Rope Climbs!

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Happy Birthday Cyndi!

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WOD

Part 1: Barbell Complex

Build to a heavy Power Snatch + Hang Snatch

Part 2: “Hallucinate”

AMRAP 14:
2 Rope Climbs (15′)
4 Burpee Box Jumps (30″/24″)
8 Alt. Dumbbell Snatches (70/50)
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Daily Mindset

“I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”

~Jacob Riis

We crave confirmation of progress. Whether that be weekly increases in weights, continual raises at work, or anything between. It can be in our nature to seek out those signals. Yet we can learn something from the stonecutter.

When a stonecutter addresses his next task, splitting a giant stone in two, he starts hammering away. One blow at a time, he lines up each and every strike with meticulous precision. 10 strikes pass by, and there is no visible change to the stone. 50 strikes go by, and still no visible change. No cracks, dents, or any indication of… anything. 100 strikes pass, and, the same. On the 101st strike, it splits in two.

Through the 100 strikes, there wasn’t an external signal or sign that this was working. But beneath the surface, invisible to the eye, the stone was splitting with each passing blow. It wasn’t anything different about the final strike… it was instead the culmination of all 101 blows. Impossible without a single one of them.

True change takes place from the inside out. And much like the stonecutter, we have two options: to spend emotional energy worrying if we’re making progress, or to have full faith in the process, spending every ounce of focus we have on that next strike.

Thursday March 23, 2023

Dr. D is showing the power of the beard as he crushes his Handstand Push-Ups! 

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WOD

“Wilson”

For Time:
1000-800-600-400-200 Meter Run
50-40-30-20-10 Wallballs (20/14)
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Daily Mindset

“Enthusiasm is common. But endurance is rare.” 

~Angela Duckworth

How often do we see a friend start a goal, only to fall off in a matter of weeks (maybe days)? Enthusiasm or motivation is quick to come by, but also quick to go.

Motivation and short term goals can’t change us. They can’t even move us. What does, are reasons. It’s not the goal of “losing 5 pounds” that drives her forward… It’s because she wants to set the example to her daughter that we’re not “genetically predetermined” to be overweight, even if the entire family has always been.

Reasons are what wakes us up in the morning. Reasons are what drives us to go the extra mile. It’s where we draw our endurance from.

Goals and enthusiasm aren’t wrong to have, but they can’t be our backbone. Enthusiasm can be broken. Reasons on the other hand, are impenetrable.