Monthly Archives: July 2014

Crossfit, Tough Mudder, and American Ninja Warrior…….

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It is happening. After a recent competition in which I was bested by 4 super ninjas, I had an outstanding conversation that spoke to what seemed to be the sudden uprising of physical events and fitness movements that are happening in our country. Now before you throw Captain Negativity my way I am fully aware of the statistics….69% of us are overweight, and of that 69% half are obese…and it’s not getting better, based on history….I know most of us eat wrong, sit wrong, move wrong, or don’t move at all…blah blah, heart disease rates…blah…cancer…etc… I know how inactive our population is and I know that people, that statistically speaking, our children will not fair any better…these are the things that I know…

….but here is what I Believe…

.. . I believe we are changing. I believe every time I stand in front of an Beginner’s class at my Box, and tell them why we move the way we move, and why we were meant to be humans that move with POWER, and humans that move GRACEFULLY, and how we should eat, and how we should feel…I believe I can reach down into their very heart and squeeze it with nothing but words of truth…words that speak so much belief into their own hearts that they can’t stand to stay way they have allowed themselves to be… You should feel the joy…not see…FEEL the joy from someone who did today what was impossible for them to do 2 weeks ago….I tell you it is tangible… My goal is to infect my community with this feeling. I want people in Williamsville and then Buffalo to realize how good it feels to be BULLETPROOF…to have a body that is sharp and mobile, to have a mind that is awake and calm, and tolerant….to have joy in simply moving themselves the way humans have moved for the last millennia….these are some of my goals…and check this out…..it’s working……

….people aren’t just watching Crossfit, and Tough Mudders and American Ninja Warrior…they are watching thinking…I can do this….and then they are doing “this”…..and that…that is why I get out of bed at 4 am and leave my beautiful family to come to my second home…and it is why I will continue…to push….

I believe we are changing….I believe our populace is starting to remember what is encoded in our very DNA….I believe we are rediscovering the beautiful simple thing that is the human animal…… why not come….uncover your inner bad ass with all the rest of us….

….why not BELIEVE in yourself..

stay classy Buffalo…..

Do something….

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“I want to lose weight”

“I want to quit smoking”

“I want to feel better”

“That Asshole cut me off and ruined my morning”

“I want to stay in bed longer”

“I want to get smashed tonight”

“I want it to be Friday…”

There lies inside us all the seed of something great.  An idea, a dream, an action, a thought, a hope, a love…..I believe that.   I will believe that forever.  I will do my best to find that in everyone I meet and have the honor of coaching, or even have the honor of having their ear for just the briefest of moments.  We live in a society that is begging to be moved, and begging to move.  I could be looking at the world through fitness colored glasses, perhaps I am naive to believe that movement and nutrition could fix many of the problems that we face on a day to day basis….doesn’t matter, naive or not, I am going to go on believing it.  As a matter of fact I can’t tell you the number of lives I have changed simply teaching people how to move, and what to put in their bellies.  Everything from promotions at work, to life long ailments no longer hurting, to vastly improved sex lives, not to mention general disposition changes and more positive outlooks on life….to me movement and nutrition are Life….without either of them you do not have life….

This past weekend I was honored to be a part of Buffalo’s first Ninja Warrior Competition (shout out to Patrick Hall of Hybrid Fitness…check it out downtown Buffalo!!!)   Where I and 47 other high speed Ninjas took on a wicked course..and had tons of fun….it was outstanding…and the support was amazing….hundreds came to watch.  My hope, as I hope was Patrick’s intention, was not that I or my fellow competitors got a moment to be glorified…..my hope is that a ton of those “watchers” had a moment where they thought….  “I can do this”   The obstacle course was great..but the idea of motivating 150 people to push through their own comfort levels and decide, because of one Sunday afternoon of inspiration, that they are now going to do “something.”  That jazzes me up.   That is what wakes me up at 4 am every morning….that is what drives me…this insatiable hunger to show Buffalo and the whole damned country that the idea of  FIT, or getting FIt could not be more clear than it is today…move often and move well, and fuel yourself well……get over it. . If you are looking at that statement and thinking it is more complicated then you are wrong….move move move, and eat to support your movement not to support your hidden inner angst…..

 

With that being said I have developed a cure all for what I like to call Lazyitis….  I have doctor friends who tell me this is a terrible condition that is sweeping the nation…

 

Tips to becoming a Bullet Proof Ninja    (clearly I am assuming you want to be one…..who wouldn’t ?)

 

1.  Move well and move often

2. Pick up heavy stuff every once in while

3. Fix your attitude before your feet hit the ground every morning

4. Decide to be great

5. Know what you know, don’t be afraid to admit what you don’t

6. Find a reason to be

7. Help people

8.Don’t hurt people (it contradicts #7)

9. Sweat everyday

10.  Find time to learn yourself better  (daily)

11.Believe in others

12. Believe in yourself

13. Find a way to not take shit from people that involves #7

14. Decide what will make you happy and pursue it with every fiber of your body.

15.  Be afraid often, and learn how to enjoy it.

 

that’s all for now