Monthly Archives: January 2015

Motivation…seems fitting being that it’s January

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gym-motivation-mohammad-ali

I believe….have to believe….that the desire to do better, be better, live better,  and indeed move better exists somewhere inside (deep inside for some) of all of us.  My life’s work is founded on that very principle.  Finding  people that are hungry for a change, hungry to move as they did when they were children.  People that are tired of feeling tired, are angry at what they see they have let themselves become, are sick of getting sick, are not happy with the lack of passion in their marriages,  are done with droning around in commercial Gyms, sitting on machines and “zoning out” instead of stimulating their minds and bodies with proper, intense movement.  They are my people.  And in truth, I believe I can help every single one who walks through my door.

I should preempt this by saying,  it’s not easy to be well in our society.  You should see hear the sneers and see the looks I get from patrons and bartenders alike when I order a glass of ice water when I am out to drink with my buddies.  It’s as if I have committed some sort of heinous act that has directly insulted everyone around me who has a beer or drink in their hand….crazy.   You will get the same at dinners when you refuse to eat something because it will hurt you, the people who have cooked it for you might take it as an insult that you would rather not eat than put something in your body that hurts it.  Strange society we live in for sure.

Perhaps these reasons and others that are similar in nature are what make some of the commitments/ dreams/ goals/ resolutions that were set just over a week ago fall by the wayside so soon.  Perhaps.  So I asked myself,  Rob (often that is what I am referred to by me)… I said Rob old buddy, what can you put down in black and white, that will inspire people to get off of their couch, that will keep people away from their couch/ home after work for one more hour….what can be typed on here that will wake somebody up and have them pacing their living room waiting for the proper time to leave and come to their first class.  What in the world can it be?

Nothing.

If you do not want it, it does not matter what I write in this blog.  It does not matter how often you diet,  how many pounds you lose in the next 30 days.  If you are not willing to look at the biggest picture.  Take a step back and look at what you have done to get where you are, and what you truly know you must do to get where you want to be….if you can not look at that honestly then I can not help you.   You must realize that it is not about Paleo/ Crossfit/  Exercise/ Recovery/ Supplements/ weight loss/ abs/  etc……     It is simply about one thing

You.

Here is the Rub…

You are 100% Responsible for the condition you are in right now.  It is your fault.  Accept that.  (no more whining)

Here is the cool part.  There is only one person, out of 7 billion, than can fix all of your problems, and again, it’s

 

You.

How empowering is that!!!!!  It’s freaking awesome.  Only you have the power to change, you have the power to become what you most wish and hope, what you stare into the mirror and miss about yourself, you, only you can reclaim that!!

What can I do to help?

Well if you are ready.  If you want to be different.  If you want to move well, feel well, and attain the youthful movement that you celebrated when you where a child then here is all I can offer you.

Belief.

 

Our Box and the Community within it will show you how awesome you can be.  We will show you how to move, how to work hard and smart, how learn, how to believe again….in yourself.  We will build Belief in your strength, in your power, in your body, in your happiness, in your goals, in your life!!!!

Come Visit…..

Why I work out…..and why you should….sobering words.

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I want to feel better, I want to look better, I enjoy training hard, I like competing with friends, I enjoy testing my physical limits, I like getting better at a movement skill that I am not good at, I need to set the example for my box that I am striving to be the best I can be on a physical and mental level…. all very valid reasons for me to train and exercise…but not 1/10th as compelling of reason as my “why”

To Keep the Body in good health is a duty…otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.
-Buddha

In our country a shameful thing has happened. We have, through our mostly sedentary lifestyles, invented a system for the elderly that clearly states; When you get on in years you should have to be taken care of by the younger/ healthier members of your family or put in a home/ facility that will see this happen. We have, through lifestyle choices made in some of the most “active” and important times of our lives seen to it that when we are older we will become a burden to our loved ones. It is looked at as a normal thing for “grandma” to get old, get fragile, and end up being taken care of by her family. That is incredibly sad. We are the only animals in the world that work this way. If a squirrel dies in its sleep tonight of old age that same squirrel was jumping from tree to tree this morning chasing nuts, like it has done its whole life.

My recent moment of clarity smacked me in the face over the holidays. My grandfather, “Pap” to me, is 76 years old and is unfortunately very close to the end. We have thought this for the last 5 years. He has smoked since he was 13 and as a result, has had numerous complications and lifestyle restrictions, and over the course of that recent time Pap has been in and out of the hospital countless times. He is coherent some of the time, but cannot even make it up a flight of stairs without needing oxygen, and he is, without a shadow of a doubt became a stress on his wife, my grandma, his children and even his grandchildren. I have had to watch the man who was, in my memory, strong, confident, witty, and caring, become someone who fuddles over his words, can barely move, and seems as if he is just waiting to die. It is incredibly painful for me to put this down on paper. But it was after watching this first hand this holiday. After witnessing the toll, both physically and emotionally, it has taken on Nan, my grandmother. I came to a realization. The condition he is in is not an accident, and it was not caused by old age. It was caused, very deliberately, though obviously not on purpose, by the lifestyle choices he made. It is 100% Pap’s fault that he is in the condition that he is in. This moment caused me to completely rethink my reasons for exercising and wanting to be healthy.
I have always professed in my Box that my goal for myself and my members was to be able to make it to 75 years old and have the ability to move and play with my great grandchildren. I must admit, until this holiday, those reasons were very selfish in nature. I wanted to be able to see my grandkids, and play with my grandkids. The big change for me now, is…..as I stare in the face of my children, or think about my wife…I know in my heart…it is not their responsibility to take care of me when I am older….it is my fucking responsibility to take care of myself now…to the best of my ability…so they don’t have to take care of me later. I will not have my children, push me around in a wheel chair, and cart me between doctor’s appointments when I am 80 years old, all because I wouldn’t give up shit food, alcohol and sitting on my ass from age 30 to 60…….I will not let that happen!!!

I encourage you to join in with me, and take responsibility for the body you have been given, so that your spouse, or children don’t have to….

2015

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gratitude

noun
the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness

Words cannot express my feelings of gratitude in respect to the year 2014. I am thankful for my wife, my children, my parents and friends.  The community at the Box is growing and moving and doing so well that I, in truth, can hardly contain my excitement for what 2015 promises to bring us.  There is no telling how far you all will go, how hard you will push, how amazing you will feel.  The PR’s that will be set, the hours spent sweating and swearing and gearing up for another WOD, or another rep, or simply cheering on that last effort.  It promises to be awe inspiring. I am grateful to have shared those moments in the past and am already feeling enormous gratitude for the year that is to come!!!!   Thank you all for being a part of it.

Perhaps this Post New Years Day Post could end there and it might do a better job conveying how full my heart is, rather than have me prattle on for the next 800 words or so (gross estimation).  And yet I’m still typing. (and perhaps more miraculously you are still reading) When  I look back on the year I am forced to  realize that the good times were amazing, the hugs the happy tears, the congratulations, the praise, the “atta boys,” the hand shakes, the kisses….they were so many, so celebrated, and indeed so amazing, but somehow those aren’t the ones that stick out in my mind, it is in actuality  the uncomfortable situations that are foremost in my memory.  Uncomfortable situations, code for  saying the times that I messed up….acted like  I shouldn’t….reacted like I shouldn’t…said what I shouldn’t..didn’t think things through….offended……hurt….upset….let down…made cry……etc….you put it there I am fairly sure that I was the cause of it, plenty of times throughout this year. And some moments were devastating, and in truth it is of those times, those rough uncomfortable moments I am most thankful.  Truly.  Without them I would not grow as much, I truly believe that.

When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure. -Peter Marshall

I believe it is in addressing these difficult moments, how I handled them, how I could have handled them, and indeed how I should, and plan to handle them in the future….it is only then that I will continue grow in a way that the good moments can’t possible push me to…only then will I be able to reach and touch on what my potential is….only then will I start Becoming Bulletproof.

I am a very goal oriented person, and have been for the better part of the last ten years or so, and I have been known to have lists of resolutions by the ends of previous Decembers….set and ready to go for the next year.  Some I have achieved and yet many others I have not.  Things like physical goals, monetary goals, family oriented goals….all well in good….I think in one such goal last year I even had a set number of people that I planned to help in 2014…..(how in the world does one track that) They were all good intentioned and all of, perhaps, very substantial meaning….yet ultimately….the good most of them…are crumpled up and tossed away a few weeks into every year….I suspect that most of you are no different.  In fact if you are someone that accomplishes all of your resolutions every year than you and I should  meet for some coffee sometime..I need to hear and learn from you.  But if, indeed, you suffer from your resolutions/ goals being far to big for you self to accomplish I am going to suggest something simple this year.  It is what I have committed to, and must say for the last 2 days has gone on rather swimmingly.

Know Thyself

Or put in a perhaps much more now time lingo  (now time?)  How about we just get comfortable with…

Be Completely Honest With Yourself

Let truth be the principle that guides your decisions for the year 2015.  We have become so accustomed to lying to ourselves, or family, our bosses, our loved ones, and most importantly to ourselves.  We can end it this year.  Look at what you “say” you want to accomplish and be honest with yourself.  Push yourself to do what you say you are going to do.  Back up the claims….stick with the programs, the workouts, the eating, the sleeping, the family time.  Stay honest, stay on course !!!!  I believe that it will only be through this truthfulness that you will find your best successes in 2015.

Important to note, nowhere above did I say anything about being perfect….or expecting easy….or thinking that 2015 was going to be all sunshine rainbows and my little pony reruns.  It sure is hell is going to do it’s fair share of striking you out, throwing you curveballs, and maybe even sacking you a few times  (this switching from Baseball to Football is uncomfortable I wish I would have the metaphor police come down on me)  But if you stay true to yourself, stay honest within the situation  I firmly believe that you may make it a truly wonderful and fortunate 2015.  So here is to your 2015, may it impress the hell out of people that write the history books!!!

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act

-George Orwell