Who are you Fighting for?

I've seen this video a couple of times and every time I see it, it gives me chills. Winter Vinecki a 9 year old from Michigan decided that she was going to complete a triathlon to raise money for her dad's fight against prostate cancer. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/122156.php

Winter Vinecki did what she could to fight for her dad. Crossfit Central and the rest of Austin Crossfit Affiliates are teaming up to do our part to fight prostate cancer. On September 26th the Workout Fight Gone Bad will be showcased and the money raised will go towards the fight of Prostate Cancer and the Wounded Warrior Project. We all have a part to play in this fight...Who are you fighting for?

Be Water!

Inspiration comes from all sorts of different sources; quotes, movies, books, people or from your own thoughts. I often wonder what is it that motivates people. What is it that makes people want to get up and run at 5:30 in the morning or come to a crossfit workout that early in the morning. Why do people put themsleves through these grueling workouts? So then i started to think a little bit about this and had to ask myself this very question. What is it that movitivates me?

Before just about every workout i get this crazy butterfly in my stomach feeling. The kind of feeling you get when you're 16 and going on your first date. For guys its picking the girls up at her parents house and having to meet her dad. For girls... well i'm not really too sure what it is for girls. I'll have to get back to you on that one. Either way, before the workout i get nervous and anxious at the same time. For a split second the workout flashes in my mind and I ask myself what am I doing? And then 3,2,1 GOOO! No more time to think just go!

At the end of a workout lying on the floor, lightheaded, out of breath and with my body screaming at me "what the heck did you do that for" that's when it all makes sense to me. I don't workout for the pleasure of working out. Who would put themselves through this and consider it pleasure? I definately don't do these workouts because i want to stare at myself in the mirror either. No, I do these workouts simply because I can. Because when people see these workouts we do and what we put ourselves through they think we're nuts! Because not very long after a workout i think to myself "i could have gotten one more round in, or one more set in."

My motivation is simply being the best I can be at everything I do! I don't have to prove anything to anyone except myself. I know if I've pushed myself to the limits or not. So many thoughts go through people's heads when they're at globo gyms. Maybe even at crossfit gyms. "Am I doing this right?" "Are people staring at me?" "Do i belong here?" "I don't think i can finish this workout!" Don't think just go! "Be Water!"

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

And so it begins!

Attention to Detail

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Dutch Lowy of CrossFit ATM who will be in Austin holding a training seminar throughout the weekend. In town a few days early, Dutch stopped by the Crossfit Central Gym to review some Olympic lifting techniques and introduce a few new movements with the Central coaches. With every demonstration came a correction and then another correction and then a "that's it" or "that just felt right" comment from either Dutch giving a nod of approval or one of the coaches just knowing their form was right on

I think its good to have someone like Dutch stopping by the gym. It gives the coaches and the rest of us a fresh pair of eyes to look for the little things that we might be over looking.

Throughout the couple of hours of the oly lift training i was constantly hearing things like "eyes up", "be patient" or "you're jerking that off the ground." These are normally things that the coaches are saying to CFC clients and here in turn they're being told these corrections. That's what makes them better athletes, trainers and people in general. Not everyone can take constructive criticism and then implement it, but by doing so it allows us to learn. I think everyone who attended the training today learned something that can be incorporated into workouts and coaching.
Thanks to Dutch for coming out and spreading the knowledge.

My Turn

Before I moved to Austin I checked the Crossfit Central Website along with the coaches and associates blogs religiously! I wanted to know what was going on, who was training what client and what personal bests that everyone wrote about. I use to get upset when i would check every one's blog and no one would update! I would ask myself "how hard can it be to update a blog?" Well...now I'm on the other side of the blog. I joined the Crossfit Central team about a month and a half ago, and now I'm responsible for blogging, and keeping our clients and the rest of the community informed on myself, CFC activities and what goes on "behind the scenes" at the gym. I got called out today because i haven't blogged in months. So here is my start...

I am very fortunate to have stepped into a position that many people would love to be in. I'm surrounded by Amazing people who on a daily basis push their limits, and in doing so help others around them push themselves to do things that were once thought to be impossible. I have seen changes in myself not only in my workouts but also in my attitude and the way that I approach things. On one of my visits to Austin before i moved here i remember having a conversation with Lance Cantu. In this conversation Lance told me something that to this day has stuck with me. He said "bro you are the people you surround yourself with!" I'd say from the clients at the gym to the coaches that i work with I've got a pretty amazing surrounding!