Riding High On Life With Grace!!!

The past couple of months have been crazy and exciting all at the same time! God is good and life has been full of many recent blessings. Our baby girl, Emille, has been growing and getting sweeter with each passing day, Vin is blossoming into a full-time little boy with an agenda of his own, Jenny has recently gone back to work after being on maternity leave, and I've been up to my faux hawk in HOA3 planning and preparation. My head has almost healed all the way from the nasty abscess removal surgery I had last month. I've now got a nice 2 inch scar and a sexy bald spot on my head as keepsakes from the whole ordeal. Way more fun than scars and bald spots is the pick'em up truck I just bought last week! Upon taking my old ride in to get an inspection for tag renewal, I was informed that I'd need around $1200-1500 worth of fixes. Ouch. So, rather than dump more money into the ole' "gangsta-ride" Lincoln LS I've been pushing around for the past few years, I figured it was time to "man-up" with a new Toyota Tundra. I'm loving it and am very thankful to have found a good deal on one.

My training has been going well. I'm still just trying to gain strength and work on having fun with my workouts. I've had a few lingering injuries but I know my body well enough at this point to also know what I need to be doing to fix them. The only problem for me is that I'm really good at knowing and not so great on doing right now. After HOA winds down I plan to get back to yoga and eating a little better and hopefully some of my mobility issues will resolve.

I did manage to PR on "Grace" yesterday which was fun. "Grace" is undoubtedly one of my favorite CrossFit benchmark WODs because it's short and sweet. It had been almost a year since I last did it, so I figured I'd program the workout for CFS and give myself an excuse to pony up and see if I could improve on my previous PR of 1:46. I hit 22 reps unbroken but kind of punked out and dropped the bar in between reps 25, 26, and 27. Had I been able to push through just a little bit more I think I might have been able to pull a sub-1:30 score. Regardless, I'm pleased with bettering my time by 10 seconds. Here's a video of my effort:

If You Chop Them Down, They Will GROW

I have the hiccups. I am speaking to you right now, from the middle of the now, and I keep hiccuping over and over again. It's completely irrelevant to the point I'd like to speak to but it's really pissing me off so I thought I'd just throw that out there. Now that we've cleared that up, I'd like to talk about my many failure's, or hiccups, in life. I know, it's hard to comprehend but, yes, I've screwed up LOTS. And LOTS.

As the firstborn child in my family I frequently suffered from what many would describe simply as a disorder of, "I am the center of the universe-itis." If you too are the eldest of your siblings you might relate well to this condition. Jealousy, selfishness, entitlement, and a tendency towards temper-tantrums are all frequently reported symptoms associated with this typical childhood disorder.

As a teenager in high school, I used my four years at Kickapoo High School to climb to the pinnacle of the failure mountaintop. I've always hated math. My solution at the time was to do everything in my power to find ways to cheat my way through every math class I ever took in HS. Although it got me through, as you can imagine, I learned absolutely nothing. If I'm honest with myself, I graduated from KHS with an underwhelming sense of responsibility and no comprehension of what it means to have work ethic.

In my sophomore year of high school there was one weekend evening where myself and a buddy snuck out of my house and broke into some cars in the neighborhood. We ended up stealing nothing of value but did end up landing ourselves in juvenile hall and were ordered to serve community service.

My bad-boy streak didn't end there as in my junior year-right before summer break- I ran from the police when an impromptu drinking party in a parking lot was broken up. I wasn't so crossfit at the time so needless to say, they caught me and I landed myself in jail for the evening.

It's not that I always maintained a rebellious attitude but for the most part, all the way through my young adult years, I managed to always find a way to screw up in epic fashion. In no way am I proud of any of these personal shortcomings but I have come to realize something quite profound through each of these instances- and the many blunders I've strategically failed to mention to you: I've managed to learn from my failures. I've experienced personal growth which has directly contributed to more decisive victories throughout my adult life.

At 24, after my wife, Jenny, and I were married, I went back to college at Missouri State University to study Sports Medicine and Athletic Training. During my first feeble attempt to receive a higher education I, of course, failed out of school. Never went to class and did nothing but party. This go-around the stakes were higher. Now, I was married and out of the desire to succeed for myself and my family, I resolved in my heart of hearts to do something I'd never actually done: To try. To try with every fiber of my being. I enrolled in classes at MSU and received an academic renewal. I sat in the front of every class. I listened. I studied. Four years later, I graduated from one of the most rigorous (we started with 44 students in my SMAT class; 10 completed the program) undergrad programs offered at MSU.

Looking back, my will to grow as a man and succeed in life was not birthed only out of my desire or duty to be a good husband or family man. It grew slowly and steadily because of many of the consequences of my failures. The community service I did back in high school was spent at a local nursing home. For weeks, I showed up at this nursing home day in and day out to perform janitorial tasks, wash dishes, and help transport beds. Ultimately, I would interact and socialize with many of the elderly folks who were living out their final days and months of life at the facility. They would tell me stories of their lives, of their families, their failures, successes, and what they learned from it all. Again, I listened. More than anything, I was blessed. In doing so I developed a keen awareness of the fact that our mistakes and failures have the uncanny ability to till up the soil in the landscape of our lives. From this state of tilled and broken soil we are given the chance to grow new gardens; new gardens which, if properly nurtured, maintained, and constantly cared for, can bear good fruit and bring forth abundant life.

The thought I would pose to myself and to you is this: When we fail (or maybe just have a hiccup or two) and look down only to find our feet sunken in broken ground, the only way we'll ever have a chance at bringing life back to our barren lot of land is if we begin sowing good seed. It may take time, but with lots of love, hope, patience, and perseverance we'll one day experience the joy of strolling through a fruitful garden rather than the regret of sauntering through an unproductive desert.

I've trained, coached, and competed as a CrossFitter for a few years now and one thing I've noticed is that whenever you allow any fear of failure to permeate your psyche, you immediately diminish the possibility for athletic growth to occur. To make gains in human performance, it's necessary to take risks, to try, and to expose oneself to bigger and tougher challenges. Likewise, in life outside the box, if we are ever to experience sustainable personal growth, we must free ourselves from the paralyzing fear of failure by intentionally giving an honest effort every moment of each and every day. Here's to daily sinking in our roots a little deeper, sprawling out our branches a little wider, and when necessary, breaking new ground and planting new trees!

Where's That Darn Easy Button...

After being stuck at 225lb for over a year, this week I finally PR'd on snatch with a lift of 233.8lb. Here's a clip of the lift:



My training has been going fairly well lately. Each week is kind of hit-or-miss but more than anything, I'm just trying to enjoy myself and enjoy being in the off-season for CrossFit Games competition. I've competed at the regional level each of the past 3 years and each year, gaining strength is the focal point of my off-season training. There's been plenty of action in my life as of late: a beautiful newborn baby girl, 2011 HOA planning, and a recent surgery to remove a nasty infection on my scalp which put 13 staples in my dome...

Balancing family time with work has been tough so, needless to say, my training has somewhat taken a back seat for the time being- which is fine by me. I'm really more concerned with getting my diet cleaned up sooner than later. It's not that I've been eating terribly, it's more that I've just been pretty inconsistent over the past couple of months. When it comes to eating healthy, I struggle with the same issue most everyone else does; I'll do great throughout the week and then I end up crushing everything in sight on the weekend. Which reminds me- it's Wednesday...only 2 more days til the weekend! Sweet.

Community: A Little Less Observation, A Little More Action

Community. It’s the foundation and launching pad for a project Jake, Chance, and myself have initiated called LivXFit. The defining characteristic of any thriving community is shared and active participation by its members. I think Elvis said it best when he sang, “A little less observation and a little more action.” Ok, ok, maybe he actually said “conversation” not “observation” but for the purposes of me making an awesome point, let’s all just pretend he said, “observation”. Thanks.

Not everyone requires being told they're doing a good job when they’ve, indeed, done a good job. I do. I require verbal affirmation along with some type of super secret best friend fist bump/hand shake combo and a toy- any toy will do. But I’m an anomaly of sorts. However, in all seriousness, if we were to be completely honest with ourselves, most all of us would admit our desire for some level of affirmation in life. Words of encouragement build us up, they motivate us, and they give us confidence. We typically establish trust and forge a sense of camaraderie with those who take the time and effort to speak words of encouragement into our lives because it shows they care. It is this very concept that has catalyzed the success of CrossFit as a training philosophy. As co-owner of a CrossFit affiliate, I see the willingness of our coaches and members to empathize, encourage, care for one another and build each other up as being directly responsible for our success. The very nature of CrossFit to be community-based has cultivated the opportunity for CrossFitters to take some form of action in each other’s lives, be it positive or negative action. No matter the size or type of business, organization or community, none has the potential to be viable unless a critical mass of its membership contribute something positive. If you think about it, this is true in every aspect of life and at every organizational level of relationships from an individual basis, to family, friends, and acquaintances. When we pour out positivity into the lives of those surrounding us, it starts a chain reaction similar to the effects of an earthquake; the effects may be most evident at the epicenter, but the shockwaves are capable of carrying a lofty punching power which can be felt for miles and miles.

Outside of having a mohawked Filipino dude conjure up some of the most creative, potent, effective, and dare I say (I do), ingenious WODs in the world, what originally drew most of us to CrossFit was the fact that, at some point, someone engaged us. At CrossFit, we became more than just another faceless name in a stack of signed auto-renewal gym contracts. We weren’t allowed to fall through the cracks, hide beneath a hat, or workout alone in the corner of the room. When we needed to be cheered on to the finish line; someone cheered, when we completely butchered the technique for a movement and needed coaching; someone coached us, and when we needed to know we weren’t the only ones struggling for air; we sat up and looked around only to discover everyone else lying flat-backed as well.

Here’s the bottom-line: Even a little bit of encouragement can go a long way in terms of helping to build a cummunity. The amount of effort required in learning a new members name or by offering someone a well deserved “Congrats!” or “Great job today, buddy!” when they establish a new PR is minimal compared to the substantial impact it may have in their lives. But don’t cut yourself off at the knees by ending your pursuit of taking action within the bay doors of your affiliate’s box. LivXFit’s challenge to you is to not only see what can happen when you intentionally and purposefully infuse nuggets of encouragement in CrossFit settings but to take the concept of pouring out positivity into all those you encounter outside of the box: Your family, your friends, co-workers and acquaintances. In this life, you’re either someone who always wishes things would happen, someone who always makes things happen, or one of those who always ends up asking, “What the heck happened?” Be proactive. Take action within your sphere of influence. Make an impact in your community, one friendly smile, one sincere showing of support, and one super secret best friend fist bump/hand shake combo at a time.

Sometimes You Wear Stretchy Pants.

I rarely post Facebook status updates. Now I'll post links to CFS's site and to my blogsite on FB but that's about it. The thing is, I'm an all-or-none dude. I typically don't do status updates cuz I know if I started posting them all the time, everyone would get sick of hearing the play-by-play analysis of what I just ate and how big my resulting bowel movement was. Oh, but today...today, my friend, the spirit moved me. The spirit moved and I updated my FB account, yo. Maybe it was the hotsauce on my naked burrito from Qdoba. Or, maybe it was the low-pressure system that moved into the Ozarks today, dumping rain on us and then leaving us as cold and wet as a vampire's vajayjay. More than likely, it's all the CrossFit naysayers out there I've had to listen to over the past few years who led me today to post on FB:

To everyone who has ever asked the question: "CrossFit? What's that?"

I say, "Watch ESPN 2 tonight from 7pm-9pm Central."

To everyone who has known what CrossFit is and has said:

"CrossFit? Yeah, it'll be another workout fad that'll be a flash in the pan."

I say, "Watch ESPN 2 tonight from 7pm-9pm Central...then kiss my rock hard CrossFit glutes."

And then like a true CrossFitter I kicked back in my chair at Qdoba, smiled, and kept score as I PR'd on the number of "Likes" I've received off one post. Whew. It's alot to take in...This many FB "Likes" all at once from so many of my Facebook besties. Guess somebody's gotta do it...

One Pound PRs and HOA WOD Testing...

Great Monday at the box! Started out with a canceled client so Grant and I decided to Clean & Jerk 1-1-1-1-1-1-1. I reached 276lb (because of kg, it made it a new PR...kind of) Here's the lift:



Wasn't a great lift but I was happy to reach my previous best. After monkeying around with Cleaning & Jerking, Grant and I took on WOD 1 from the 2009 CFG Southwest Regionals 1:
3 Rounds of 10 155lb Squat Clean & Jerk, Row 500m. My time at regionals 3 years ago was 13:05. Today I did it in 11:06 and felt every bit of the suck this WOD has to offer... big time. After grabbing lunch, training another client, and programming the CFS daily WOD for Tuesday, Grant, Melissa, and myself decided to test out one of the 2011 HOA WODs...I can now officially proclaim: That WOD is gonna be a beautiful, violent, suckfest. I'm confident of it. And it feels good:) Game ON!!!

The Story Of CrossFit Springfield

Over the past few months, I've received numerous calls and emails from individuals asking questions about CrossFit Springfield's business model, our growth, and what has led to our success as an affiliate. As a result, I've been thinking a lot lately about CFS; about where we're at, where we've come from, and where we're going. I figured I'd write it down while it's all fresh on my mind...here it goes...

If you were to document the rise of CrossFit Springfield's growth and influence in southwest Missouri, you'd have to start at the VERY BEGINNING. Before the 12,500 sq ft facility within which we currently reside, before the office space on Lark Street. You'd even still have to look before the opening of The Next Level Fitness Academy at the strip mall behind the Ye Ole Buggy Bath Car Wash on Lark St. CrossFit Springfield's rise to be generally acknowledged as one of the largest CrossFit Affiliates in the Midwest began with a man by the name of Carl Jungers who, after identifying several well respected and talented fitness clinicians training and teaching classes at the Springfield Jones Family YMCA, decided to present an offer to them. An opportunity to start up their own business based on training individuals through multiple fitness related disciplines. Carl would foot the bill and the core group of trainers and clinicians would be responsible for making a business plan and executing it as best they could. Jessi Grove, with her management background, personal training and group training experience would primarily take the lead, while other training domains (eg Boxing, Capo-era, Selah, and bootcamps, hiphop dancing, and personal training) would fill in the gaps and ideally provide additional revenue. The biggest problem with this format was that it left the business with no true sense of direction or solid identity. Next Level Fitness was kind of like "jack of all trades and master of none".

In the winter of 2008, my involvement with NLFA came about basically by chance (and "by chance" I, of course, mean "by way of God's divine plan"). I was in a church life-group with Dr Jami and Rana Jones. At the time I was a full time student in school for sports medicine and athletic training. I had just left the globo gym circuit in Springfield where I had worked for a few different training facilities making peanuts and for the most part, doing my absolute best to provide the clients I was blessed to work with with a quality strength and conditioning experience despite the "fluff" my employers expected me to dole out to them. At this time I had already discovered CrossFit but wasn't yet fully committed to the CrossFit method (mainly because my knowledge base on CrossFit programming was very minimal). Rana and Jamie encouraged me to meet with Carl and Jessi to discuss whether or not I might be able to contribute to NLFA. So I met with them. We hit it off well. Our initial agreement was that I would bring in my established client base, be able to train them at NLFA and in exchange, I would assist in building up and coaching NLFA Team Bootcamp sessions. During this time, Jessi and I realized that we shared the same interest in pursuing the CrossFit method wholeheartedly. In May of 2008, we flew to San Diego and participated in a two day CrossFit Level 1 Coaches Course. It was a phenomenal experience and birthed in both of us the genuine desire to start a CrossFit Affiliate in Springfield, MO. When we returned home from our certification, Jessi immediately wrote to CrossFit HQ and acquired our affiliation. I immediately launched www.crossfit-springfield.com and began structuring and formatting our WOD times, programming CFS daily WODs, and established membership rates. We decided to throw an event; a CrossFit competition-we would throw a Fight Gone Bad WOD challenge and scheduled our CrossFit Springfield launch date for June 28th, 2008. We had over 100 athletes show up to participate. The event went very well and because we offered Charter Membership rates for anyone who joined us on that date, we ended up immediately getting around 30 new CrossFit Springfield members.

Now, at this time both Jessi and I were embedded in Nursing school (Jessi) and Sports Med School (Me). Because of my obligation to my clinical hours and a verbal offer I'd received to be hired by St. John's Sports Medicine after graduation, my concern about committing to the new direction kept me from pulling the trigger on dedicating myself to CrossFit Springfield as a Co-Owner. Looking back, I find it hard to understand why I didn't simply commit due to my wholehearted love for what we were building at CrossFit Springfield. My thoughts were that after having spent so much time, energy, and effort (not to mention, money) at establishing myself as an ATC, how could I just throw it all away to pursue something that was uncertain. It was an obvious risk. The problem for my heart and head was that I knew deep down that CFS was were I wanted to be. I also knew that never, EVER, would I be able to find another business partner as wonderful and skilled as Jessi. Carl told us once that, "You guys are like thunder and lightning. If you two ever decide to pool your talents and your passion for people, you're going to be an unbeatable team."

So, after taking a great deal of time to pray and seek God's will, after taking much time to talk with Jenny, and after ultimately feeling a complete peace in my heart about my decision, I approached Jessi and let her know of my desire to partner with her as co-owners of CrossFit Springfield. Over a long 400m lunge with "Sandy" she oblidged and we discussed our desire to build up something special. Something unique even within the unique world of CrossFit. We expressed our desire for CrossFit Springfield to be a strong community of athletes whose relationships would be forged in respect and love and encouragement. We resolved ourselves to be engaging to every person who stopped by to try out CrossFit Springfield. To learn names. To build people up. To take the time to listen to our members when they had concerns or ideas about how we might improve the service CrossFit Springfield provides.

Today, September 7th, 2011, over 3 years later, we're just as committed to these tasks as ever.
We've had many changes: New members (500+ now), we've had additional owners in Grant and Melissa Wistrom who share the same vision and core values as both Jessi and I, we've moved facilities 5 times in an effort to expand the amount of impact we might be able to have in the community. But the heart of CrossFit Springfield beats on with the same sincere intention to help people achieve more physically, mentally, relationally, and spiritually than they might not have ever been able to achieve on their own or elsewhere. How blessed we truly are to be a part of such a caring CrossFit affiliate that is motivated to take action in their community and in the lives of each other.

Thanks so much for 3 years of great memories, CrossFit Springfield! Here's to many, many more!!

Funny Parts.

The whole "funny parts" business started this evening when Vin kept asking me to fast forward a DVR'd video of the Looney Toons to "the funny part with Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny".WAIT!!! Before you inevitably click on the oh-so-awesome link I have so kindly provided you with (you're welcome), I beg of you, do me one favor: Watch the entire clip with a straight face and try, juuuuuust try to not crack even the slightest smile. If you can do this, my friend, then you were apparently born lacking a funny bone or possibly even an entire funny skeleton. You best get your sense-of-humorless self to the doctor ASAP. I digress. Seriously, I love watching old Looney Toons re-runs almost as much as I love PRing on hang snatch...



ebedi-ebede-ebedu-eba-that's-all-folk's!