People, want to be happy.  That is a given.  For most of us that is going to include doing things that you feel comfortable doing.  Most of us use the same bank, shop for our food at the same grocery, even tend to favor one movie theater over the next, not usually because of amenities, but more often because it is where we got comfortable.  The gym and your “gym routine” is not any different.  How many of us are doing the equivalent of punching a card when we step in for a workout?  We take our Ipods (guilty) our cell phones (guilty), plug ourselves in, and even pause in the middle of our “work out” to check facebook, or look for a better play list.  I’ve been involved in the fitness industry, professionally, for over 7 years now.  If there is one thing I’ve noticed it is that people will allow themselves to stay in the same stagnant shape for years, and not particularly care a bit about it.  For some it seems to be a badge of honor just to say “I went to the gym today“  (not excluding myself, I’ve been there)…That’s all fine and dandy but I wonder when we  have a right to challenge someone who is taking so much external pride in that statement.  When can we, as friends, trainers, mentors, say…….”don’t tell me you went to the gym, tell me how you challenged yourself.  Tell me how the workout you were about to do scared the hell out of you, and after you finished you felt like you could hardly move, but somehow felt like you could climb Mt. Everest.  Tell me how what you just did has instilled such a sense of confidence in you that it’s very likely that you will tell your boss tomorrow morning what you think about the meeting he makes you sit through every morning before work starts.  Tell me how the workout has touched you so much that you are going to force all of your friends come try this sh%$ out because it is awesome.   How often do we feel that way?  How often should we feel that way?

 MY GYM….

It’s my guess that we don’t feel that way often enough, and that we should feel that way after every workout. We should feel something, feel engaged, feel that we learned, accomplished, connected, that we were challenged, that we were cared about……at the very least feel like we didn’t go on autopilot….

It has been a dream of mine for the better part of 6 years to help people in bettering themselves through physical exertion.  I have done as much, working for Gold’s Gym, and then moving on to running an extremely successful Tae Kwon Do school here in Amherst NY.  But the time has come for a change.  I needed more…..   And I found more.

5385 Main Street  Suite 4

Amherst, NY, 14226

The lease has been signed, the renovation has begun.  By November 15th, everyone will have a place to come where they will be  cared for, engaged, challenged and not allowed to simply shift into autopilot.  In the Village of Williamsville, for at least the next five years people who want to change will have that outlet….

thanks for your support and for the read….

much more information to come in the future….

Wish me luck Buffalo and beyond…

I have owned a box now for nearly 4 months. And yes. Yes I do Crossfit. I work extremely hard on training my body across an extremely broad range of modal domains. I incorporate flexibility, balance, strength, speed, power, intellect, and even emotion into nearly all of my workouts. I train safely, I train competently, and I train to push myself beyond the limits of what I thought was possible. But perhaps most importantly I train so that I might better relate to all of the amazing athletes that come seeking something better. I train so that when I am telling them how to engage their posterior chain so they can achieve their best deadlift I want them to know I know what I am talking about..not just because I read about, or watched a video about it earlier that day. I also train, perhaps mostly, because when I am 79 I will be moving and exercising every single day, and I know the steps I take to move my body as much as possible through its natural range of motion the “easier” the rest of my life will be. But that is enough about me.

I recently had the pleasure of Coaching two outstanding young ladies who had told me, rather excitedly, that they had indeed “Crossfitted” before. (at a local big box gym that has managed to actually become a Crossfit Affiliate, scary I know..terrifying even)

6 minutes into a fairly intense WOD, they both breathlessly remarked how they had never worked out “this” hard. And I was forced to remark “that is because this is the first time you have ever really Crossfitted.”

Here is the difference. The Globo Gym will never be as good at “Crossfit” as I am.

Wow..what a statement, how can I be so sure, you may ask.

Simple…no matter how knowledgeable, no matter how nice their equipment, no matter how fit the trainer is that was running that class…..they can not teach better than me. Period.

Why is that?

Because they have no skin in the game. Those trainers are getting paid an hourly rate to “teach” a class. Whether five people come or fifteen, it is likely that after they teach a class they are going to go on about doing whatever else they do on a daily basis. School, another job, they are going to move on to their “life”

Guess what my “life” is?
Helping my members achieve their goals. Whatever they may be. When I teach, motivate, educate them, all I am thinking is how can I best help this person get to where they need to be? How can I make sure that I leave them better today than when they came in? Where am I taking them? Thoughts like that permeate my every being. That is how I know….and that is why I am grateful to have been given this chance to help so many people.

Thanks so much Buffalo

We are consumed with the notion that there is only “one right way” to do everything….and too often we feel like the way we are doing, have done, or were taught to do must be the only way for it to be done. So we condemn ourselves to the same course of action as our friends, families or life has taught us. We leave so much potential for change on the table in the name of the path of least resistance…… Diet, entertainment, how we raise our children, what we do on Friday nights, how often we imbibe alcohol….even how we love our spouses/ significant others. My wish is for us to open our minds a bit, and live life a little closer to how a child might. Not necessarily in a naive way, but certainly not in a “I already know everything way” If we can open our minds to change. If we can accept the notion, or even the mere possibility that the “one right way” that we have been doing it may not be the right way….then it opens us up to innumerable possibilities. I am a MovNat certified Level 2 Trainer and a CrossFit Level One Trainer….and I have met people that have drank from the respective ways of fitness and believe that their way is the “one right way” as far as physical exertion is concerned. I have met people who are staunch Vegans, (for a multitude of reasons,) and people who are nearly the antithesis of Vegan…..who both would tell you that the way they eat is correct…..Likewise I have met globo gym goers who believe that the 7 hours they spend weekly at said gym is completely necessary to maintain their physiques…..who is right? I am sure that with a build up like that you would expect me to offer an opinion….heck those of you that know I own a CrossFit Affiliate (CrossFit Williamsville) may expect that I would err on the side of the dogmatic crossfitters and proclaim that it is the be all and end all to fitness and indeed nutrititon (paleo anyone?)

I believe in CrossFit, when it is done correctly and safely, I would argue that when it is not done correctly or safely it is not CrossFit at all. I believe in MovNat. It is not only one of the most comprehensive fitness systems in the world but one that has consistently generated the most smiles from my clients when they are engaging in the Combos that are indicative MovNat.
But in the purest sense I believe in an exercise program that addresses deficiencies, improves on posture, balance, strength, mindset. A program that challenges your mind as much as your body, and a program that promotes healing within your mind and body…..
That is what I am constantly striving for. I want to educate my clients, as well as make them uncomfortable at the same time. I want to give them outlets for how to deal with external stressors and also how to deal with internal ones they create themselves. It is an audacious task and I am far from being at the end of my own education. But I truly believe if you look hard enough for something you will eventually find it.
If you can’t train here what can you do? Push yourself consistently, keep your cup empty, use common sense uncommonly. If it seems easy and not challenging then guess what it is not changing you. If you want to change your life guess what….you have to change your life…..good luck everyone…. happy hunting for that one right way…

As with an early quote attributed to Morgan Freeman, my little brother, unknown to him, linked a quote from “Bill Cosby”…if you have read it before please skip over.

Bill Cosby “I’m 83 and Tired”

I’m 83. Except for brief period in the 50’s when I was doing my National
Service, I’ve worked hard since I was 17. Except for some some serious
health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn’t call in sick in nearly
40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I didn’t inherit my job or my
income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, it looks as
though retirement was a bad idea, and I’m tired. Very tired. 

I’m tired of being told that I have to “spread the wealth” to people who
don’t have my work ethic. I’m tired of being told the government will take
the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy
to earn it. 

I’m tired of being told that Islam is a “Religion of Peace,” when every day I
can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and
daughters for their family “honor”; of Muslims rioting over some slight
offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren’t
“believers”; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning
teenage rape victims to death for “adultery”; of Muslims mutilating the
genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur’an and
Shari’a law tells them to. 

I’m tired of being told that out of “tolerance for other cultures” we must let
Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques
and Madrasa Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia , New Zealand ,
UK, America and Canada , while no one from these countries are allowed to
fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other
Arab country to teach love and tolerance.. 

I’m tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global
warming, which no one is allowed to debate.

I’m tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help
support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ
rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses
or stick a needle in their arm while they tried to fight it off? 

I’m tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all
parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful
mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting
caught. I’m tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor. 

I’m really tired of people who don’t take responsibility for their lives and
actions. I’m tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination
or big-whatever for their problems. 

I’m also tired and fed up with seeing young men and women in their teens and
early 20’s be-deck them selves in tattoos and face studs, thereby making
themselves unemployable and claiming money from the Government. 

Yes, I’m damn tired. But I’m also glad to be 83.. Because, mostly, I’m not
going to have to see the world these people are making. I’m just sorry for
my granddaughter and their children. Thank God I’m on the way out and not
on the way in. 

There is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us
sends it on!

This is your chance to make a difference.

” I’m 83 and I’m tired. If you don’t agree you are part of the problem

 

Humm…??  Indeed.  I’m going to throw a guess out there that it was not written by someone who is 83 years old.  I have to hope that by the time you reach that age that you are not swayed by such things that only can be grabbed from sensational news sources…..I’m guessing it was a tech savvy just out of college, living in their basement, with a useless degree burning a hole in their pocket….that’s my guess.  They are viewing this world with an entirely different set of eyes than me…and I feel for them…mostly I feel sorry for them.  Let me tell you the future I see…..

Every day I am lucky to see people working toward becoming truly better versions of themselves…..I witness it first hand when someone accomplishes something they never thought possible…do you hear me...I see that on a daily basis…that is miraculous…….I’m greeted by hundreds of posts a week about people looking for the right way to eat, the right way to train, the right way to live…..we live in an age right now where information will soon turn into the only form of currency and I must say (though I’m not religious) I feel blessed to be doing what I do, and seeing/ running into so many wonderful people who are striving to help people in ways that I’m so ignorant of.  Some of them I would just love to sit and listen to….The Chris Nentarz, Matt Meyer, and Rich Brown’s of the worlds…there are so many more names I could list….

As far as some of the Complaints that the false Mr. Cosby spoke of above…….Muslim hate….what a tired viewpoint…some of the most honest, classy, kind, and loving people I know are Muslims…..and I am looking forward to a time in our civilization, when like the Dalai lama, we can look at each other as we truly are, one in the same…..that time will come…the time will come when we revert back to taking care of ourselves….and our own communities…..I just hope I am around long enough to see it.  And if not, I know that I will breathe these hopes and wants and dreams into my own children so that they may have a similar outlook, and hope for their future…..As I look at that above one more time I can’t help but feel sorry for that person..imagine if they are 83 and feel that way…what a waste…why not take the time to write something motivating, inspiring…something that will move people to think better, act better, love better…..after “83” years I would think that you could craft a much more compelling call to action than that…..at any rate….let’s take the high road and expect greatness from our society…..