Your First Day at CrossFit Austin

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Do you have a friend or family member who wants to join but is too scared?

 

If I had a penny for the number of times a client has gotten my hopes up by saying, “I have a friend who wants to join,” (yet that friend, or sister or husband never ends up showing up) I would be a rich coach.

 

I talk to people outside of the gym world all the time. Some of the most common reason folks don’t start improving they’re fitness is because they’re “intimidated” or aren’t “in good enough shape.

 

I have also learned in 9 years of coaching that the hardest part for many people about joining a gym is just walking through those doors on their very first day. The fear and apprehension of the unknown can be crippling.

 

So I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m about to reveal exactly what the process will look like from the moment you contact our website and the end of your Day 1 one-on-one introductory session with a coach. Here goes:

 

After you contact our website, or call us, we’ll get back to you within 24 hours and you will be paired up with a coach. You’ll likely have a back-and-forth e-mail with this coach, or better yet, a phone call. You’ll compare your schedules and will settle on a day and time for your intro day.

 

Then, you will walk, drive, bus to the gym and damnit, you will walk through the doors.

 

You will be greeted by your coach. At some point you’ll probably sign a waiver, but more than anything you will talk. That’s it—talk!

 

You won’t be weighed and measured (unless you want to be), and you won’t be thrown into the fire of a group class workout with experienced athletes.

 

What will you talk about?

 

To a large degree, this will be up to you. But the end goal is simple: To see if you’re a right fit to train with us.

 

To do this, we will ask you about your wants and needs, and what brought you into the gym. The only thing we ask for is honesty on your part. If we’re going to help you, it will help if you let your guard down and be a bit vulnerable (that might be the scariest part of the whole day for you).

 

Why are you really here today? What do you really want to get out of this? (We dont want the PC answer; we want the REAL answer).

 

The reason we do our intro days in a one-on-one setting with one coach and one client is to allow the two of you to get to know each other and truly discover if you will work well together. Discovering this in a group setting with 8 to 10 new athletes all sweating together chaotically is next to impossible—and is what sets us apart from many other gyms in the area.

 

If at the end of your conversation—be it a 20-minute, 45-minute or hour-long chat (some people are chattier than others)—if you want (and if time permits), you will be put through a short fitness assessment—just some basic pushing, pulling and squatting. Or if you prefer, the fitness assessment can be done during your second session.

 

The assessment will give your coach a chance to see where you’re at physically, and will help him/her decide approximately how many personal training sessions you will need before you’ll be able to graduate to group classes (This decision will be made together based on your wants and needs).

 

Then if you’re game, you’ll book session number two and then the real fun begins…

 

That’s it. That’s as scary as walking through the doors is going to be.

 

If you have a friend or family member who has been considering joining, but is terrified to take the leap, dont hesitate to forward this to them if you think it might give them the nudge they need to get fit.

Push Up Man 2016 – Michael Page!!

On Tuesday, we shared with you the words from our Push Up Woman of the Year, Leah Alter. Today, we’d like to introduce and give you the pleasure of getting know our 2016 Push Up Man of the Year, Michael Page!

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“The Push-up Man and Woman of the Year exemplify everything that we love about our athletes, our community, and the human spirit. Not only do these people walk through the doors of CFA day in and day out, and work hard to improve themselves; they go out of their way to lift up everyone around them. They make their friends and families a priority over themselves. They lead and encourage by words, actions, and example. They represent the burning spirit of what makes our little South Austin gym unique and special. We at CrossFit Austin can humbly bestow no greater honor and we give our utmost heartfelt thanks that you both have chosen to make our gym, business, family, and lives a better place!”

 

When did you join the CFA community?
I started CFA 6 years ago.

What is one of your most memorable moments from your early days at CFA?
At the old CFA building they had the best WOD times and lifts on the wall. The Great Wall of Records was intimidating, but also inspiring. As one of the “old guys” in the gym, I knew it would be challenge, but I was determined to get on that wall amongst the young whipper snappers. One day “Karen” was the WOD, and if you don’t know Karen she’s mean, ugly and known to make men cry. But that morning I somehow fought back the tears and pain and scored a time worthy of the wall.

Any ‘newbie’ stories you’d like to share?Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling
I bent a barbell while doing box squats. Pretty sure that’s never been done before.

What is it about CFA that you love or that is different from other sports/programs you’ve tried?
What I love about CFA is how it’s an individual sport that’s achieved by a group effort. Everyone shows up to work on their own fitness goals, but we motivate and encourage one another to accomplish the challenge.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time to when you first started CrossFit?
I would say, “Hey, focus more on correct form than throwing up big weight.” But then my pride would probably say, “Whatever. I’m going for two PRs.” Then we would exchange countless insults.

How did you create long term fitness/CrossFit success for yourself?
I had to be consistent with my workouts. Coming in 4 times one week then once the next week doesn’t work for me. I realized staying fit was not easy. It’s a job. And I was ready to put in the work.

What keeps you motivated?
Being healthy for my wife and daughter keeps me motivated. My family has a history of heart disease and strokes at an early age. My brother, who’s an avid Crossfitter and only 40 years old, recently had a stroke. I’m pushing 39 and hell bent on beating the genetic card I’ve been dealt.

What makes you come in and train on days when you don’t want to? Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling, people standing and sunglasses
Mornings I don’t want to come in usually involve a workout I hate. But I make myself do it anyway, because you can’t get better at something while sleeping in.

Recent PRs?
Fran. I owe it all to my coaches. They convinced me to change up my strategy and just like that – my time dropped dramatically.

Current training goals?
There are two movements I have yet to achieve: Butterfly pull-ups and muscle ups. Those are my goals this year.

Tell us about an obstacle you have had to work through in your training. How did you work through it?
I’ve battled a low back injury for the last 2 years. I had it worked on at Airrosti, picked up a few stretching movements from my coaches and corrected a few lifting movements that might have caused it over the years.

What is your cheat meal go to?
Cheat meal or meals? To be honest, I’m really good at eating healthy during the week, but the weekends are brutal. It’s so hard to ignore queso when it’s staring you in the face. But since we’re talking about one meal, I would say a Mighty Fine cheeseburger and fries.

What does the Push Up Man title mean to you?
It’s a great honor. I see so many people killing it in the gym. Making great improvements. To be recognized amongst them is quite the achievement.

Thoughts upon winning the title?Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling, indoor
Honestly, I was completely shocked. Especially since I couldn’t make the party. So when my wife put me on FaceTime to accept the award over the phone I was stunned. Speechless. And needed a drink.

How will you use your new found Push Up Man glory?
I’ve tried to use it at home with my wife. I get as far as saying, “Hey, I’m the freaking Push Up Man! I’m kind of a big deal! So there’s no reason I should clean the dishes!” It has yet to work.

Leave the fine folks of CFA with some parting wisdom.
When life shuts a door… open it again. That’s how doors work.

Push Up Woman 2016 – Leah Alter!

If you missed the CFA Holiday/8th Anniversary Party, you might not have heard about our 2016 Push Up Man and Push Up Woman of the Year! We offer our sincerest congratulations to Leah Alter and Michael Page for their outstanding actions that lead to being the recipients of our Push Up Man and Push Up Woman of the Year awards. We are honored to present to you a look into the lives of these two beginning with Leah’s interview. Stay tuned for an inside look at Michael Page later this week!

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“The Push-up Man and Woman of the Year exemplify everything that we love about our athletes, our community, and the human spirit. Not only do these people walk through the doors of CFA day in and day out, and work hard to improve themselves; they go out of their way to lift up everyone around them. They make their friends and families a priority over themselves. They lead and encourage by words, actions, and example. They represent the burning spirit of what makes our little South Austin gym unique and special. We at CrossFit Austin can humbly bestow no greater honor and we give our utmost heartfelt thanks that you both have chosen to make our gym, business, family, and lives a better place!”

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When did you join the CFA community? September 2011
What is one of your most memorable moments from your early days at CFA? Any ‘newbie’ stories you’d like to share? My very first day at CFA and the workout was a 1 mile time trial. It was about 104 out. Miguel was the coach and I was the ONLY person in class. As you can imagine this day did not go well for me. Miguel was very encouraging even though I couldn’t even run 1 mile. I couldn’t wait to come back as I was determined to never get back to that place again in my life.

What is it about CFA that you love or that is different from other sports/programs you’ve tried?
CFA is just a special place. No matter what is happening in life, I know I can go to the gym and sweat it out with great friends. I always feel better when I leave.
What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time to when you first started CrossFit? Check the ego at the door.
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How did you create long term fitness/CrossFit success for yourself?
What I love about Crossfit and weightlifting is that you can always get better…
stronger, faster, smarter. I am always learning and that keeps me hooked.
What keeps you motivated? Long-term health. I’m turning 40 in March and I am the strongest I have ever been in my life.
What makes you come in and train on days when you don’t want to? Shout out to the ladies of CFA! I absolutely love training with you. We push each other but most of all are each other’s cheerleaders. It’s awesome! No offense to you gentleman, you’re all badass too J
Recent PRs? Squat clean, front squat (those pause box squats work, y’all!)

Current training goals?
Train without pain 🙂fullsizerender4
Tell us about an obstacle you have had to work through in your training. How did you work through it? I have unfortunately been injured a couple of times. It’s hard because in many cases it is when you are hitting your stride in a training cycle or training for a competition. But I think the most important thing is to find something you CAN do while injured and get better at that. It has taught me to be adaptable, which helps in and out of the gym.
What does the Push Up Woman title mean to you? To me, the answer to this question is about the Push Up Women who have be awarded it before me. They are all smart, strong, passionate women who have given a lot of themselves to this community. I am so honored to be included in this group.
Thoughts upon winning the title? It’s pretty swell.

What is your cheat meal go to?
It’s never the same meal. I just like food too much to only have one meal. Top 3? Burger, fries and milkshake (post weightlifting meet), Pizza or chips and queso.

Leave the fine folks of CFA with some parting wisdom. My resolution for 2017 is to be more present. I want to spend less time on my phone/computer and more time connecting with people. This community gives me that opportunity every day and I am so thankful for you all.
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5 Steps to Make it Happen This Year || Coach Gen

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With the New Year upon us everyone’s minds are buzzing about goals, resolutions, and how 2017 is going to be different! We all know that for the first month or so our minds and intentions are in the right place, but as the year goes on those goals tend to become less of a priority. So how do we do it? How do we finally reach that goal we’ve been setting every year (some of us for years…)? Below are a few tips to help you follow through and meet those goals this year.

1)      Ditch the mindset of a New Year’s Resolution. If that helps to motivate you, awesome, but don’t make your goals dependent on the new year. Why should you only set goals for yourself when the calendar is rolling over? This automatically allows you to procrastinate on taking the necessary steps to reach your goal. It also limits you in that, “if you didn’t put it down on January 1 it’s not going to happen this year…” BS! Goals are just as evolving as you are and as you get closer to the finish line, you should continue to grow that goal. Your work isn’t over when you reach the goal… There’s more to accomplish! Start now and don’t stop!

2)      Establish your ‘why.’ Why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to hit that # in your back squat? It doesn’t really matter what the ‘why’ is, just that you know the motivation behind your goals. The ‘why’ gives them purpose and knowing your ‘why’ will keep you moving toward them.

3)      Set realistic goals and have a solid plan to reach them. It’s one thing to say you want to reach a goal, but to be successful you have to really think it through and put it into action. Set a goal that is realistic for you and your timeline. Set small goals along the way to your ultimate goals. Use them as stepping stones toward your big goal. However you go about it, create a plan so you don’t end up missing your goals because you got lost along the way.

4)     Prioritize your goals and avoid roadblocks. You know that thing you’ve always wanted to do, but you didn’t have time, or it was too expensive, or excuses, excuses, excuses…. If you truly value this goal enough you will find time, finances, or whatever else is needed to make it happen. If there is a will, there is a way. It’s up to you to figure that out. Things come up in life that you make time and money for and your own goals should be no different.

Even if you have taken all the steps to set yourself up for success, there will always be speed bumps along the way. Some of them are unavoidable, but there are steps you can take to help keep yourself on track. It’s important for you to identify the things that may cause you to get off track. Be aware of them and avoid them if possible. Making smart choices along the way will get you to where you want to be.

5)    Don’t take yourself too seriously. Half the fun of reaching a goal is the journey you take to get there! Surround yourself with like-minded people who will support you and keep you going, even on the rough days (and trust me, you’ll have those occasionally). Reward yourself when you reach milestones and find ways to make getting there interesting. It’s easy to go down the rabbit hole when you’re working toward something. If something goes wrong one day, wipe the slate clean and keep moving forward. It’s not the end, it’s just one of those speed bumps.

Ok, so get to it! Start now, make a plan, and make some cool shit happen! Whether your goals are fitness related or otherwise, the process is the same. I can’t wait to see all the amazing things you cool humans accomplish this year!


-Coach Gen

Congratulations To Our Award Winners!

Well, 2016 is coming to a close and we are so honored to have these incredible humans filling our space (and our hearts!) day in and day out! It is impossible to express our gratitude for our community’s support and hard work over the years, but we must be doing something right to continue having that support 8 years in! We have some exciting things coming up in 2017 and hope to see continue progress and growth in our community as well!

But first…. We have to recognize the winners of our 2016 Bitter Burpee awards and honor the always coveted Push Up Man and Push Up Woman of the year winners!

Our Push Up Man and Push Up Woman of the Year awards go to Michael Page and Leah Alter! 

THANK YOU for representing our little South Austin community so wholeheartedly. We are honored to have you two in this role and hope to continue supporting your journeys for many more years.

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“The Push-up Man and Woman of the Year exemplify everything that we love about our athletes, our community, and the human spirit. Not only do these people walk through the doors of CFA day in and day out, and work hard to improve themselves; they go out of their way to lift up everyone around them. They make their friends and families a priority over themselves. They lead and encourage by words, actions, and example. They represent the burning spirit of what makes our little South Austin gym unique and special. We at CrossFit Austin can humbly bestow no greater honor and we give our utmost heartfelt thanks that you both have chosen to make our gym, business, family, and lives a better place!”

 

***Stay tuned for an in depth interview from both of these folks after the new year. We can’t wait to hear all about what makes them tick!

 

 

 

Bitter Burpee Awards – As we all know.. Burpees suck, and so do these awards 😉 Image may contain: 25 people, people smiling, indoor

Golden Shoe Award (Kicks on point!)
Matt Milldrum

Blood, Sweat, & Cheers
(Most Accident Prone, Sweatiest, and Cheerleader)

Blood – Matt Carlson
Sweat – Austen Dyer
Cheers – JoAnna Brand

Mighty Mouse Award (May be small, but they pack a big punch!)
Kim Peabody

“Mr. & Mrs. Liftmas” (Gym Couple)
Lauren & Bobby

“Old Balls” (Veteran Members of the year)
Lane Lowke & Mr. T

“Yoda” (Mentor Member)
Brian Wei

 

 

Finding Balance During the Holidays || Coach Wes Kimball

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Its officially holiday time. Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are now 10 days deep into December.  This also marks the time of year when the internet starts to tell you how to “Survive the Holidays.”  Basically there are a few schools of thought on how to manage holiday season.

 

  1. Go ape shit crazy, you deserve it! YOLO!
  2. Go against the grain and start your New Year’s Resolution today. Firebomb this holiday season with discipline and self-righteousness.  
  3. Find a balance that allows you to enjoy important time with friends and family with out completely undercutting your fitness goals.

 

As you can a imagine we’re going to make a case for number three. As I’ve stated here before many obstacles in life and fitness can be overcome by creating awareness around the things that are actually holding us back and devising a plan to overcome that obstacle. In my experience there are 3 main obstacles encountered over holidays that can negatively affect our health and fitness goals.

 

Social outings

While your social life always seems to be competing with you fitness goals, the shear volume of social events increases seemingly exponentially during the month of December.  Office parties, and Christmas parties with friends and/or family all squeeze themselves on to the calendar in December. Generally these parties include free booze and plenty of poor nutritional options.

 

Travel

If you don’t have to spend significant time in an airport or on the road  in December, consider yourself lucky.  Let me just tell you there are very few “healthy” options in between Wichita Falls and Amarillo and even less in the Amarillo airport. Couple that with the fact that you are away from the gym and normal training routine and we have potential holiday landmines here.

Big Family Meals

Finally, we all love our Mom’s delicious home cooking. Unfortunately that 5 lbs of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and pie isn’t going to help our six pack, or shave a minute off our mile time.

So what’s the answer? Well first of all I’m of the opinion that you should enjoy and maybe even indulge in all of the “problems” above. Why? Because they are all part of interacting with and participating in the lives of people that are important to us. We as humans are by nature social creatures, and the effects of isolation and loneliness can be just as detrimental to our health as lack of physical activity or poor nutrition.  Establishing and maintaining personal relationships is incredibly important and why the holidays should be enjoyed not stressed over.  So below are some ways to mitigate the damage done by the above obstacles while still enjoying and being thankful for the time we have with our friends and family.

 

Exercise Consistently

This is priority number one. One thing the holidays do bring is some extra time off from work, so commit to exercise 30-60 minutes 5-6 days a week. Trust me you have time. If you’re on the road go for a run, do one of our travel workouts , drop in to a CrossFit box, or even just help pops shovel snow for an hour. Exercise is the one thing you can have 100% control of during the holidays. Heck, you can even throw in some double days with Zone 1 work when you’re off from work.

 

Plan Workouts before and after big meals and social events

This is a simple, yet underutilized way to offset damage done by parties and big holiday meals. The post workout state simply put, allows the body to find productive uses for the calories we take in and mitigates the likelihood those calories will just be stored as fat (for a more detailed explanation of this check this article out). You should always train the day after (preferably in the morning) a big social outing or meal. While this doesn’t sound or feel appealing after a late night at the office Christmas party, it helps you mentally deal with “being uncomfortable” and not allowing that state of uncomfort to affect your training schedule. It also ensures that your training consistency is not negatively affected by social outings, and eliminates excuses from your vocabulary.

 

Reduce Calories outside of  big meals, and parties

Counting calories has a bad a wrap and rightfully so, but it does have some advantages especially this time of the year. The important thing to remember is that calorie counting on a micro level (per meal) is largely inaccurate. So stressing about the exact number of calories you take in per meal is counter productive. However, having an idea of how many calories you’re taking in over the course of the day has benefit to overall fat loss.  So on the days that you know you will take in a good amount of calories, reduce your intake by eating smaller meals earlier in the day or doing some intermittent fasting.

 

So there you have it! How to enjoy yourself over the holidays and not go completely off the rails! Enjoy yourself and your loved ones this month, and hopefully these tips will help you stay consistent with your training!

-Wes Kimball

Prep To Move: Deadlift

Hey all! Last week we talked about the movement of the deadlift and a few focal points to maintain a great position.  Here, we will touch on a few things you can do to to get yourself aligned and primed before beginning the lift. We can think about this preparation in 3 phases;

1)Soft tissue work

2)stretch

3)activate and tie together

Soft Tissuescreen-shot-2016-12-12-at-6-42-03-pm

We can begin our prep with some soft tissue work, targeting several key areas. We can spend a minute or
two per hip on the foam roller, as well as the hamstrings. If you’re like me, it may be somewhat difficult to set yourself up and find an effective position for those hammies on the foam roller. An alternative that I like to use, requires you to place the bar on the J-hooks with the hooks set around the upper ⅓ of your thigh. Looping one leg over the bar, place the belly of the muscle on the bar. You can manipulate how much pressure you need, simply by bending your grounded leg and/or bending your arms. Settling over the bar, you can gently extend/flex the leg or “tac and floss” by rolling the leg side to side.  Again, we don’t really need to spend long bouts of time here, :60-:90 should suffice. However, it can prove helpful to come back to these soft tissue drills in between sets as we warm up and build our bar.  

2)Quick Stretchscreen-shot-2016-12-12-at-6-42-14-pm

Since the deadlift requires us to hinge from the hip, unlocking the hips and ensuring that the femur can move properly within the hip capsule is a must. One stretch that allows us to do this is the pigeon stretch, or a variation thereof. We perform this stretch by placing one leg in front of us at roughly 90 degrees, placing weight into the “grounded” hip.  Variations of this stretch can be done off of a box or using a band to help assist in un-impinge the hip.

3)Activate

Waking up the core is also a crucial component of movement prep for the deadlift. Completing 1-3 short rounds of this circuit is one way to achieve this;

5 Iron Cross/side

5 scorpions/side

15 hollow rocks or :15-:20 hollow hold

There are multiple approaches for preparing for this lift. If you have been missing movement prep as part of your practice or have been in a rut with your current practice, give these a try!

-Coach Tim

Back to the Basics: The Strict Press || Coach Gen Schmidt

Last week, Coach Tim taught us how to lift a heavy load from the ground via the Deadlift. Today we’re going to break down a lift that allows us to move a load from the shoulder to overhead; the Strict Press. Being able to move a load from the shoulder to overhead and vice versa is a skill that transfers directly to daily activities. The most direct example would be loading a carry-on into the overhead compartment on a plane. The opposite is true when taking an item down from a high shelf. Without proper technique and support these actions could prove to be very difficult, in some cases even resulting in injury.

The Strict Press is a phenomenal lift for developing upper body pushing strength and mid-line stability. So, let’s take a look at the components of the Strict Press and how we can most efficiently perform the task.

We can also break this lift down into 3 steps as we did the deadlift.

  • The Set up
  • The Execution of the Press
  • The Return

The goal of the Strict Press is to move the weight from the shoulders to overhead in the most efficient way possible. The bar path should travel along a straight line both on the way up and during the return.  Proper execution of each step is crucial to a successful lift.

The Set up:

  1. Begin with the feet hip width apart and the bar resting on the shoulders in the front rack position. The_mg_4371 forearms should be vertical with the elbows slightly forward of the bar and hands fully wrapped around the bar with a tight grip. The hands should be slightly wider than the shoulders.
  1. Before executing the lift it’s important to make sure your body is prepared to move the load. With the feet planted firmly on the ground, squeeze the quads, the glutes, the core, and the lats creating tension throughout the body.
  1. Take a deep breath in and brace through your core in preparation to move the weight.

 

The Press:_mg_4379

  1. In order to keep the bar traveling in a straight line, we must first remove an obstacle; your head! Begin by pulling the chin back. Think ‘double chin’. This will create the space necessary to keep the bar on its path.
  1. Driving through the heels and using the torque you’ve created, push the bar upward, directly in front of your nose, until you’ve reached full extension. Make sure the bar is directly over your mid-line and you’ve returned your head to a neutral position.
  1. You should finish the extension with the elbows locked out and active, externally rotated shoulders. Be sure that you are still bracing through the mid-line by squeezing the core with the rib cage down and glutes tight._mg_4377

The Return:

Once you’ve successfully lifted the weight to a fully extended overhead position, you must bring it back down! Efficiency in the return is just as important as the initial press. We have the same goal in the return that we did on the way up; a straight bar path.

  1. Begin by pulling the chin back, once again creating the ‘double chin’ position.
  1. Keeping the external rotation in the shoulders, begin to pull the bar back down along the same path that it rose until it meets your shoulders.
  1. Finish with your head in neutral position. The elbows should remain slightly in front of the bar with the mid-line tight and feet gently screwed into the floor, repeating your strong set up position.

There it is! You’ve performed the Strict Press. This lift is a foundational movement that will transfer directly into more complex lifts like the Push Press and Jerk. By perfecting your movement in the Press you’ll be setting yourself up for success in future lifts.

The main points to remember are:

  • Create tension throughout the entire body to support the lift. It starts from the ground up! Mid-line stability is key!
  • Full range of motion is important. We want the arms fully extended in the overhead position with tight, active shoulders.
  • A straight bar path during the extension and the descent will result in the most efficient lift.

Happy Pressing!

-Coach Gen

8 Years, 8 Lessons

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I’m going to depart from our normal health and fitness related info to talk a little about life and business. Today is somewhere close to our anniversary (we’ve got about three different anniversary dates for when CFA “Started”) and I wanted to share with everyone some lessons I’ve learned along the way.  

  1. Change is constant, change is inevitable. People change, people’s priorities change, markets change, new knowledge and experiences are gained, and the landscape will never remain static. People generally do not like change and clients and coaches have come and gone over the years due to change. But I’ve learned to embrace change and some of the most successful people I’ve met have seen the need for change far before the masses recognize it.
  2. Humor is the great equalizer. If you can make someone laugh and / or smile many of your other flaws will be overlooked. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing but it seems to be a thing.
  3. Priorities are shown through actions, recognize if your words and thoughts match your actions.   My priorities are in order my family, my employees, and our clients.  My decision are always processed in that order, and I believe that ultimately business owners have to think in this matter for long term success.
  4. Most people are under competitive or over competitive.  Most under competitive people don’t push hard enough to find their true limits. Most over competitive folks bite off more than they can chew and eventually stall out or burn out.  Its rare to find the sweet spot between the two. My theory is that once you realize that immersing yourself in the process and journey is more powerful than being motivated by competition you start to make lasting meaningful progress.
  5. A Toyota Prius is an incredibly valuable asset to own. Mine has a 150,000 miles on it and never once had to be worked on. You only have to change the oil every 10,000 miles and can drive 450 mile on about $15 – $30 depending on gas prices. I can confidently say CFA would not exist in its present state if I did not own a Prius.
  6. Being the smartest person in the room is far less valuable than being the most effective person in the room.  Nobody gets paid for their ideas or their IQ. People get paid for results.
  7. To this day the greatest piece of advice I’ve ever received is this: “Expect the expected”.
  8. Lastly Success seems to mainly be a product of motivation, consistency, and hard work. It’s a simple concept that applies to business, training, nutrition, work, parenting, the list goes on and on. Gadgets, hacks, “going down the rabbit hole”, “deep diving”, etc only seem to be aids that can speed the process along. These things (and myriad of other concepts designed to help one succeed) are 100% contingent on a person’s ability to stay motivated, to work hard, consistently, forever.