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After a brief hiatus due to the Athlete Open we are back to making our way through the CFA core values. For those of you that missed my original article on CrossFit Austin’s Mission and Core Values take a few minutes to read through it for context on today’s article.  Just to review, here are the CrossFit Austin mission statement and core values:

CrossFit Austin: The Catalyst for Personal Evolution

• Purposeful Training

• Community

• Excellence

• Integrity

• Fun

Today’s concept is simple, commit to excellence and strive to always be better.

Excellence is about never settling. Never settling for good enough, not being content with average, always looking for avenues to learn more, and work harder.

Excellence is about commitment. Commitment to always reaching a little higher, learn a little more, push a little further, and work a little harder. Doing what others won’t. Perfecting the little things.

Excellence is putting your absolute best effort in whatever you are doing. Whether you’re training, coaching, or just walking the dog.  100% effort is all we can ever ask of ourselves, and is always what’s expected.

Ultimately we want everyone at CFA to be the best version of themselves everyday. To find their perceived weaknesses, the things that make them uncomfortable, and have the courage to fight through them to achieve excellence in all they do.

-Coach Wes

We are taking a quick break from the Beyond the Bar Podcast to get a few more articles in about our Core Values this week. Again, for those of you that missed my article on CrossFit Austin’s Mission and Core Values take a few minutes to read through it for context on today’s article.  Just to review, here are the CrossFit Austin mission statement and core values:

CrossFit Austin: The Catalyst for Personal Evolution

• Purposeful Training

• Community

• Excellence

• Integrity

• Fun

Today we tackle community.  Community was something that we wrestled with including in our core values simply because it’s become such a buzzword and lost a lot of its original meaning.  But, the more I dug in, the more I realized that the community of CrossFit Austin is still a major driver and motivator  for folks.  Our community has most assuredly grown and evolved over the years.  So much so that I’d say our community has several “neighborhoods”. Regardless, it remains a source of pride and motivation for those that are a part of it. But, why?

Ultimately we all want to be something bigger than ourselves. We want that “tribe” feel where everyone holds each other accountable, works incredibly hard, and commits to never giving up. At a primal level we all have a common goal of bettering ourselves, and the people that surround us are the ones that ultimately push us through the difficult times and over the bumps in the road on the journey towards that goal. As Adrienne so eloquently put it, the community is here to  “support each other even with something as simple as a welcoming smile”.  Whether we call it community, teamwork, or family, it’s when hard work is directed at the well being of the collective that the power of that work greatly outweighs work or actions that are selfishly driven. Thats how we put power back into a silly buzzword like “community”.

-Coach Wes

Once again I was given orders to write something informational like, “3 Ways To Improve The Aerobic System” and “Muscle Spotlight: Shoulder” (I promise I will get to it!).  In my defense I  have a severe case of ADD.  So, instead, I will write about what currently has my very short attention span.  Which is…

The Blend of Art and Science.

I am obsessed with minds, both past and present, who have seamlessly blended the two.  Examples could be Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, etc.  All of them had the ability to blend Art and Science, and make it look easy.  As if we are all capable of such a thing.  Then I came across this video:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/iWhO4cwriL0[/youtube]

My aha moment came.

You see, my job is to make sure our programing has meaning and is achieving the desirable results for you, our client. Both from a numbers standpoint in strength and endurance, but also biomechanically in regards to movement quality.

Wes, Thomas, and I are always questioning.  Looking for better practices and monitoring the numbers.  Maybe we are looking in the wrong place?

Science is cold and controlled. Art is alive and free flowing.

When the gym is empty, it is cold.  Only when you guys come in does it breathe life.  Yet, we continue to monitor our performance in our controlled setting, the gym!  Maybe you, as clients, only monitor your own fitness in our controlled setting?  Numbers, Numbers, Numbers!

It is similar to the story of the man who buys a sports car just to keep it in the garage.  Most of us fall into the routine of work-gym-home, or some combination of the three.  Our fitness never sees “life”, which is the art.  Use a hobby, recreation, or play in nature! Take the sports car out and let it rip!  Then let us know how it turned out, and how it felt.  Functional fitness is not in the gym.  It is in life!