Tag Archives: becoming better

Hope.

by tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Isn’t it incredible to be alive?

Take a walk.  Unplug.  Breathe in fresh air.  Walk through a creek.  Hug someone you love.  Hug someone you don’t love.  Call someone you have been meaning to for a while.   Show your children you love them.   Be grateful for such things.  Be happy.  Choose to be happy.  It’s more fun than choosing to be frustrated.  You work all the time, you don’t feel good, you hate your job, you fight with your spouse, your kids can’t stand you, you look like shit, you feel like shit, you aren’t good in front of people,  you hate your boss, your boss hates you.  What are these things.  What are these thoughts that you give power to on a daily basis.  Why do you let them control you.  Your mind is a computer and either you, or your environment is the programmer.  Absent of you choosing to your mind will let whatever stimulus it comes up against program it.  How scary is that?   Just watch the news, or listen to your “friends” complain…and bam….down that endless road called negativity.  But should you choose to be brave and become the master of your own destiny.  Well then….the world is at your freaking fingertips.   Believe in you.  It’s hard, it’s uncomfortable, but guess what we weren’t put here to be comfortable.  We were put here to grow, to challenge ourselves, that’s how we are made up.  We are literally movers and shakers, to deny that is to deny the very make up of our body and souls.  Give me the crabbiest nastiest human being in the world,…i put them in my class and take them through a Robstacle course and you will see them smile.  Why is that…because your body and mind crave challenge, and they crave movement….  Isn’t it incredible to be alive and be human.  We are the most complex movers and thinkers on earth  (we think)  Why deny it…you can’t ….just let go and get on with life.  I am so grateful for the position I find myself in everyday.   Is it easy….  Heavens no.  It’s not even close to easy.     “Don’t pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a hard one”

I have the strength, and I have the muster, and I have the ability to think better, be better ,move better, and I practice it every single day.  And I am thankful every single day that I have been blessed with my parents, my wife and children, my mind, my body and my community…..and I will do my best to elevate those around me for the rest of my life…..

 

IS NOT  THIS LIFE WE LEAD TRULY INCREDIBLE!!!!

 

Go out and Be Amazing….stop being scared of yourselves…..

3/21/2015 WOD

by tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

….she’s a good one

 

WOD

4 x 5min EMOM’s

1. 7 Box Jumps  ( Slow Mountain Climbers)

2. 10 Hand Release Pushups  (Slow Crunches)

3. 10 Thrusters 35/45  (Seal Jacks)

4. 7 Burpees  ( Breathe)

 

Every minute on the minute perform the exercise and desired number of repetitions.  For the balance of the remaining 60 seconds perform the exercise in the parentheses.

 

Good Luck….she was a bastard!!!

 

Thanks to the 9am Class for letting me fight along side them.  It was a pretty epic one this morning!!!

3/19/2015

by tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

WOD

18 min of Movement
32 Feet- Foot hand Crawl on 2×4
16 Feet Farmer’s Carry on 2×4
and 10 Reverses with KB racked on 2×4

(5 reverses per side)

Continue through these three exercises until 18 minutes has passed

you can click the youtube link below to see an example of the movements….have fun if you try this one.  Slow purposeful and as always mind your movements!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM37K6DHtME&feature=youtu.be

6 steps to changing your paradigm on Fitness and Nutrition

by tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Step 1- Train Movement Patterns instead of Muscle Groups

I cannot overstate the importance of this paradigm shift.  It’s not about your hamstrings, glutes, and quads getting a good burn,  it’s bout being able to squat properly. If you find yourself asking what muscle is this exercise supposed to be working change your questions!!!  Ask if you are moving correctly….that’s the golden ticket.   If you want to feel good on a day to day basis then you must train your body to move well.  The better you move the better you will feel.  If you are 65 years old and you have trouble sitting down on the ground and standing up without using something to brace yourself with then you have no business going to the gym and hopping on a treadmill for 20-45 minutes, sweating your butt off while watching TV and calling that a job well done.  You did nothing whatsoever except cause your heart to beat faster, and improve some of your  “cardio.”  And when you get home that night you will still have trouble getting down to the ground and back up again.  If you are indeed that person it would serve  you much better to practice getting up, and getting down, over the course of 10-15 minutes, along with some basic crawling and mobility drills to help you regain some reflexive strength and flexibility.

 

Sample AT Home Primal Movement WOD

Crawl Slowly for 60 seconds  (on your knees or feet) -Knees under hips, shins stay parallel to the ground (this will keep your but low, and back flat) move your opposite limbs just like when you walk.

Sit down on the ground, and stand up 15 times (try to not brace your hands on your thighs)

Hold the hardest plank you can for 30-60 seconds

Repeat the above Circuit for 3-5 times, rest as necessary, proper movement is more important than speed

for more ideas  youtube movnat combos  …  tons of great stuff on there

 

Step 2- Don’t Eat Dumb Sh@#

I’m not sure I need to go any further with this.  ?  What’s that?   You don’t know what you should be eating?  Ok let’s try this.  Write down everything you can remember over the last week that you have eaten that did not help you lose any weight, or feel better (long term) or get healthier.  Take some time and make that list.  Now walk through your kitchen and do the same.  Everything you see that is not “good” for you write it down.    Now take a look at that list.    Are you ready?   Don’t eat that stuff.  Simple right?  Just remember this.  Your food supply should turn almost completely over every week, food should be perishable…cardboard is not.  

 

Step 3-  Write down Everything you eat, Everytime you Move, and how you feel at night

You may start by not even changing a darn thing, but just recording everything you do.   Writing down your meals and your exercises will page huge dividends and ultimately reveal to you what you are doing  or not doing to be successful.  By a notebook and just start.  Just start putting it down on paper.  You will be amazed at the results and positive changes that come from this step alone.

 

Step 4- Train with as many positive individuals as possible

Group training has  become all the rage.  And for a great reason.  IT WORKS   There is no working out by yourself that can compete with sweating, yelling, moving your best and your hardest, absolutely dying through a WOD, and then looking to your left and right  and seeing 5-15 of your closest buddies doing the same thing.  It lights a fire in you like nothing you have ever felt.  The energy is palpable when you walk into a class environment and it is contagious.  It spreads like a wild fire and does not extinguish until the last athlete yells time.  If you have not experienced it you are missing out and you certainly due.

 

Step 5- Never Weigh Yourself again

Simple.  Stop doing it.  There is no valid reason  (unless you are a fighter or wrestler or some other competitor that needs to know how much gravity they displace) ….let me repeat..there is no valid reason for you to know how much you weigh, or/and especially for you to worry about it.

 

and last but not least

 

Step 6-  Believe in the process, and believe in yourself!!!

You deserve to feel great.  You deserve to look great.  Now, if you take the steps above…if you commit to being better…..if you decide now that this is the worst shape in your life that you ever are going to be….then I have to be honest to you…the sky’s the limit.  Take that step, take the plunge, drink the kool aid and become apart of the revolution.  Take your Body Back!!!!

 

hope you had a good read.  if you are local  (i e) Buffalo area, I will be speaking at St. Greg’s on Thursday night @7pm.  Feel free to stop in and listen, it will only cost you an hour of time, and as always you are more than welcome to attend the intro class at 10am on every Saturday.

Best of Health

3/7/2015 WOD

by tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

chuck-norris-facts-10

 

Warm up

Roll 10min/ Childs pose, up/down dog, lat stretch focus-4 min/ Skinny PVC pipe- 3 min/ Lying Hip Extensions with, big PVC (KB Swing prep)

 

Active- 10 toe touches/ 10 Jacks    3x

WOD

TABATA

Kb Swings/ Deadlifts

Sprinting in Place

Handstand Holds

Hanging Knee Raises  (strict movements)

 

Fun 16 minutes today!!!

 

Themes to follow or reflect on for the week

-being present when you move is paramount to reps.  Pay attention to your body, and improve on movements every time.  i.e., make this air squat better than the last air squat.  The goal is to improve movement patterns, not just do more of them.

 

 

 

2015

by tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Motivation?

by tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It is the New Year.

My wish for all of you is to take charge of yourself and realize, truly realize that you can accomplish all you want and more, and understand how awesome it is that you have the power, in you, to do it.

There are times when this world will knock you down.  It will drop you on your ass.  It will leave you wishing that  you hadn’t even bothered to get out of bed that day…  And then it will hit you again.  That’s the way it is.  Accept it…but know that you were built to handle it.

I have seen people endure the unthinkable and rise above it….never looking back.  History is littered with these stories.  Stories of forgotten souls that were beaten to within an inch of their life, and for some reason they continued to press on and ultimately attained a level of success that literally changed the way the world funcitoned.  I won’t list examples…you can find hundreds on google. In fact I might argue that most of the people you see that have “made” it, have suffered at one time or another and then rose above it, and if that is true, then why would your road to success be any different.  That’s a comforting thought isn’t it?

Whether your goals for 2014 are health, relationship, or financially motivated (perhaps all of the above).  Know that they are within your reach.  Know that you are capable right now.   Know that you have within you all the knowledge, confidence, energy, intelligence, and motivation to make them happen.  You simply have to decide.  Pick who, or how, or what it is that you want, or want to become and decide right now.  Write it down so you can see it every single day…look at that paper when you wake up in the morning and let it be the thing that puts you to bed every night.  Create an intense burning desire around achieving it.   See yourself in that car, with that body, talking with the love of your life….see it so clearly that there is no other option for your mind except to make that happen…..COMMIT.

Do not let this year pass you by with forgotten resolutions, dismissed goals, dreams that have been laughed out of existence.    Take hold of your future and make damned sure that in January of 2015 a very different “YOU” will be reading this blog….

Good Luck Buffalo and beyond…

Stay Classy….