Why I Do What We Do

These are the reasons I ShopGym.  And of course so I can push 180lb sleds across the boulevard ;P

Highway to Hell or should I say Highway of Hell

So I was creeping my niece's pinterest boards this evening and came across this one that I thought was so fitting to what the last couple days have been for me in the fitness aspect of my life.

Ever have one of those days when you're a bit down and having a "party for one" in the pity department?  Well that was me on Saturday so I decided to use the best endorphin booster that I know of.  Exercise!  Strapped on the old running shoes and headed out to sweat my badittute out.  Tunes cranked.  Began by walking at a fairly brisk rate.  Walked a little further than normal.  A lot further than normal.  Began to jog.  Ya know, that running thing, she can be such a moody beeatch when she wants to be.  You never know what she's going to throw your way.  Those of you that run on a fairly regular basis will know exactly what I'm talking about.  One day she's your best friend and you can run like Forrest and the next time she is the devil!  Saturday she was Lucifer himself and I felt like I was running on a highway of hell.  I ended up going almost 4 miles but it was the WORST RUN EVER.

Why am I telling you this?  I'm sharing this story because it applies to so many aspects of our lives.  When we're in the box @ ShopGym, there are times when I can let my mind go all the way to the extreme of "I'm the worst, slowest, crappiest ShopGym athlete ever!" when really all it was was I didn't get more than 1 pullup on the black band.  Big deal!  It's only 6 months ago that I was on ORANGE!

If we allow our minds to go to these places where we let "one bad workout make us feel like the worst athlete that ever lived" we are destined to fail.  The mind or the mental game is by far the biggest aspect of what we do, how we do it and why we do it.

I decided after my run to just forget about it and move on.  If I never run again...oh darn *insert sarcasm*.  The point here is that the decision I made to keep plugging along and allow myself to have a crappy run gave me the permission to move ahead mentally and when I got a message from a friend to workout on Sunday morning, I was totally ready to dive right in because I wasn't festering on "being such a loser" the day before.  Bonus to all this was that I got to work out with a good friend and I got to share my new PR of a 65lb SNATCH with him. What good is a PR if you can't share it right?!  Just thankful that I was in a mental space to enjoy it!

Like success, failure is many things to many people.  With positive mental attitude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, a plateau at which to get your thoughts in order and prepare to try again.  ~ W. Clement Stone

Keep putting one foot in front of the other my ShopGym friends :)

B

Mother of Mercy...what an awesome Saturday!

Community.  Webster's definition:  a unified body of individuals

This past weekend me, Mel, Crystal and John headed out to CrossFit 204 to help out with their Classic competition.  There were athletes competing from all over Canada and we were all so stoked to be a part of it.  Mel, me and Crystal a.k.a. The ShopGym Girls were there pretty much to marshal some of the running portion and to load sleds.  John, on the other hand, worked with Paleo Nick on roasting a good old fashioned hawg ;)

First of all I just want to say that Mike from CrossFit 204 is such a class act.  I don't know the guy from Adam but every time I had a question or he was instructing us on what to do he just had this aura about him that made me feel so welcome and so not stressed about what we needed to do.  Thanks so much Mike!

I was also witness to something while I was waiting in line in the lobby, I won't go into details about it but I have to say that I walked away with a smile.  Just being able to witness the basic kindness and gentle spirit of one of the competing athletes as she chatted and thanked a spectator for coming to support her.  Crystal KP, you are a class act as well.

One of the things that CrossFit often talks about is community.  The unified body.  I have to say that on Saturday I witnessed this first hand.  The sense of unification was palatable.  No matter where you were from or whether you knew the athlete on a personal level or not, everyone wanted everyone to do well.  There was no egos nor attitudes, it was just pure rooting for the next guy.  Obviously there is a sense of competition in the air, as Ricky Bobby says "if you ain't first you're last!" but it just isn't that "dog eat dog" mentality.  It's community.  The guy standing next to you has no problem chatting with you about the events or how heavy those snatches were or how hard the athletes work to get to where they are.  There's no judging or backstabbing, it's just genuine respect and kindness for people.  It just really makes me think about the what ifs.  What if we all took a little bit of this mentality and used it in our everyday lives?  What if we rooted for the other guy once in awhile instead of ourselves?  What if we all took the time to be thankful for the people in our lives that are our "spectators"?  I don't know, I think it would be interesting to see the tiny acts of goodness trickle into something so much bigger than ourselves.  Something to think about anyway.

Thanks go out to Mike and CrossFit 204 again.  We really felt like a part of la famiglia!  Just wish I would've worn my Iron Maiden shirt....next time :)

~We sometimes feel that what we do is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.  Mother Teresa.

Peace out my community of ShopGymer!

B

Certified callous care??

I want to start off this post with a huge CONGRATULATIONS to John, Mel & Crystal (Mitch will be certifying in Vegas in October) on getting their Level 1 certifications this past weekend in Minneapolis.  I so admire the dedication of our coaches. The time it takes and the amount of cash it takes to become certified is a big deal and I'm so thankful that we have them in our box.  Here's a picture of the class.  See if you can spot our ShopGymers.  I'm actually quite surprised the ladies aren't right beside Jason McDonald in the picture as it sounds like  he was demonstrating a lot for the ladies ;)

Ok, enough about that.  Down to bidnezz.  "Callouses!  I love them especially when they rip" said no one ever!  Yesterday's WOD of 15 DL then 8 rounds of 8 HSPU & 16 TTB followed up with a 15 DL chaser was an absolute killer on the hands.  I will admit that my hands are a little bit a lot a bit on the sensitive soft side.  Never had a callous rip in my entire life and yesterday I had one on each palm rip right off.  No big deal right?!  Until I put my hands into the bathtub last night.  Mother father, that was some serious acid-o-skinarama.  Jimeny crickets!  So here is a helpful video which we probably could've used prior to yesterday but whatever.  Better late then never I always say :)

Enjoy the tutorial on callous shaving.



Reason #39 on why we do what we do at ShopGym:  'Cause 60 minutes on the elliptical won't do you a damn good in a bar fight!

Peace my friends.

B

21-15-9 Shades of Games

I can't believe it's been over a fortnight since I last posted.  Confession:  my nose has been stuck in a certain trilogy and I'm embarrassed to say it has taken up some all of my spare time.  We won't mention which trilogy it was as this isn't that kind of blog.

So much as happened over the last 2 weeks.  Hello?!  CROSSFIT GAMES 2012!  Needless to say, I was glued to my laptop the entire weekend.  One of my favorites was when it was announced that the individual athletes would be participating in a mini triathlon and not only that but TWO WHOLE DAYS PRIOR TO WHEN THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO START!  Holy crapoly!  I can't even imagine.

A lot of the events this year were track based, which I actually enjoyed quite a bit as it showed a lot of diversity and allowed for anyone, small or large, to have a fighting chance.  The final event was my favorite.  A combination of the Girls.  Elizabeth, Isabel and Fran.  Oh Isabel, how I loathe thee yet these ladies and gents made it look like a walk in the park.  So jealous!


Here's a look at the female winner, Annie Thorisdottir and male winner, Rich Froning.  First two to ever win the Crossfit Games 2 years in a row consecutively.

http://games.crossfit.com/video/annie-thorisdottirs-victory

http://games.crossfit.com/video/froning-champion

If you have some spare time on your hands, google either one of these athletes because guaranteed, you will be motivated!

And don't forget - Strong people are harder to kill...and more useful in general. ~some random crossfitter.

Rock it out peeps!

B

Four Five Six...it IS about the food!http://shopgyminc.blogspot.com/

Nutrition.  Hot topic these days.  80% food 20% exercise.  Is it true?  Is it just "one of those" stats?  It's funny because over the last week or so this seems to be a topic of conversation for me in multiple different groups.  Perhaps it's a sign.  Nahhh!

Here's what I think.  For those of us that have these twisted "crazy" hangups with food, any mention of a "diet" or "nutrition challenge" sends us over the deep end.  It's like someone just announced that we can never eat anything but spinach and brussel sprouts ever again FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES!  It's an instant feeling of panic!  "I better eat like an absolute HOG the day before because starvation nation is soon to arrive."  Stupid?  YES, I know!

So after today's WOD of 21-15-9 box jumps, kb swings then run 400m, I was absolutely gassed!  I even had a woozy pukey feeling.  "Why?" I asked the group.  "Why do I feel like this and why do I feel like I'm giving it everything and I still end up last??"  To which the Wodfather a.k.a. Johnny replied, "well, what did you eat yesterday?  How did you sleep last night?"  Lightbulb moment!  And yes, I am a slow learner.  It's the food!  Which I guess I've known subconsciously all along but didn't want to commit to better ways.

This is what I've decided.  There will be no diet.  There will be no nutrition challenge.  What there will be is wiser choices!  I will fuel this temple with what it deserves!  And I will know that what I put into my body, my body will return back to me.  Simple as that.  A wise man once told me, "keep it simple stupid!" and that is what I shall do.  Baby steps.

And remember ShopGymers...

The odds are it's not food if it arrives through the window of your car ~author unknown

B

**Disclaimer:  I am in no way knocking "nutrition challenges" or "diets".  This is just what works for me personally not ShopGym as a whole.  No offence intended.

For those about to rock (or WOD), we SALOOT you!

Yesterday was a HUGE day for ShopGym.  We officially ended our very first Intro class and it was awesome!  We had 13 people sign up for the evening class and 3 or 4 for the early morning class.  We covered everything from flatulence to flat abs.  (I love you mom!  I'm sorry John!)

One of the things that struck me most was how open and receptive people are to learn new things.  Every single one of our newbies (box) jumped in with both feet ;) and succeeded!  Who knew you could all do a pullup?!  Modified or not, it's still a pullup!

About half way through our Intro Class sessions one of our ladies had a horrific loss happen to her family yet she persevered and continued to come.  I cannot imagine how hard it was for her to do that.  I want to personally take this opportunity to thank her for allowing us to share that evening with her, through tears and sweat, I believe our bond just got that much stronger.  ShopGym prayers will continue to go out to you and your family.

As all good things must come to an end, I hope that we will WOD together again in the near future my ShopGym newbies!

Remember peeps:  Eat Clean, Train Mean, Get Lean!

B