INVICTUS

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

-William Ernest Henley, 1875

I can only imagine the lives of my forefathers. I can only imagine the hardships they must have endured, as everyday life was a struggle to survive. Survival. This word has all but lost its meaning in today's world. At the time of the first humans, survival was literally LIFE. They never knew what would await them when they woke up... what great beast would be waiting to make them their next meal. They had to search out food and water, track prey, kill it, and eat it. They had to climb tall trees to reach highly fibrous fruit (not what we today know as "fruit". They had to forage for nuts and berries, gathering a handful at a time...

Today, we wake up in our heated or cooled homes, on a comfortable bed, go to the grocery store in our cars, buy pre-packaged meat and vegetables, buy nuts and seeds by the bucket-load, cook with pots and pans over a gas or electric stove, and drink potable water from a faucet piped directly into our kitchens. We never have to worry about where our next meal will come from, or if a hungry lioness will try to make us her next meal.

I am not proposing that we revert back to the stone age. What I propose is that we take a look in the mirror and a look at our lives. How hard is it? For me, the answer is: EASY. If you are reading this, then your answer should be the same. You are sitting in front of a computer, looking at words that have been posted on the internet. Wow.

The closest that I can come to the survivalist days of my ancestors is to try and imitate the way they ate... Weak sauce. I try to imitate the way they lived by pushing myself to my physical limits as much as I can bear... A feeble effort at best. I want to take this moment to honor all those who have come before me: those who fought off harsh winters, famine and predatory animals... all those who survived the bubonic plague in Europe, made the trip from there to the Americas and started new lives - unknowing of the future that awaited... all those Men and Women who endured the most brutal landscapes and wars and environments to SURVIVE.

I would not be here if it were not for them. Neither would you. So I ask again: How hard is your life?

I ask you to read this poem again. Try to comprehend what he has so greatly expressed in simple words. Will you encounter hardships? If you are alive, you most likely will. It is your mental attitude - your unwillingness to be conquered by anything - that will make you a man or a woman. Will you be beat down by work, relationships, stress and finances? Will you let your MID get the better of you and tell you that you CAN'T do this, or CAN'T do that because of X, Y and Z? If that is the case, the reality is that you WON'T do this or that, because you have already decided not to. Make the decision to push past the boundaries of mediocrity and be great. Make the decision to LIVE.

INVICTUS.

We Are

We are the coaches of CrossFit Central.

We are no different from you . We wake up every morning, put on our clothes, eat our breakfast and get on with our day. We love what we do. We coach. We train. We experience success and failure. We push ourselves to the limits. We fail. We try again - and again - and again - until we produce results. We sweat and fall and bleed and feel. We are a dedicated team. We are friends. We are family.

Sound familiar? That's because we are you. We have all been where you are and experienced what you are experiencing. You are no different from us... Sure your Fran times might be a bit slower and you might have a little less on the bar on a max rep day, but we have all been there. Some of us are still there.

If there is a lesson to be learned, it is that we all have UNLIMITED POTENTIAL. It is inside each and every one of us. The only difference is that we have made a decision to commit to the LIFESTYLE: healthy eating (lots of it), mental determination in our workouts, and proper recovery afterwards.

However, our development goes far beyond the box... Personal development is paramount to success in life. EDUCATION: Are you a perpetual student of the world? How often do you read? What do you read? Do you listen to motivational and inspirational people? Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, Susan Conrad - these people are a deep well of knowledge: they have mastered the keys to effective communication and life skills necessary for success in today's world. UTILIZE every resource you have (and you have the world and everything in it) to better yourself and those around you.

Make the commitment, take the plunge. No excuses.

EPOC Challenge

CrossFit Central's EPOC Challenge is up and running! Body comps have been taken, goals set and the first WOD is under our belts. Q: Who will have the best results? A: The most dedicated and focused individuals. Period.

8 Weeks - a small amount of time, yes. But in 8 short weeks, with the right diet, crushing workouts and clarity of purpose - anyone can achieve any goal. Time to put up or shut up.

Join us?

We are the insurgents...

There is a war going on for your mind.

In one hand there is hope, prosperity, strength, health and success.

In the other hand there is despair, poverty, weakness, malady and failure.

All of these are choices. We choose the beaten path, or we choose the path less traveled. Every second, every minute, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly we choose. "It's too hard. I can't. He's better, stronger and smarter than I am. I'm too tired, it's too cold or too hot." It's not that you can't. It's that you won't.

We believe that we must train our bodies, but what about our minds? The mind is the most powerful tool that we as humans have. It can overcome any adversity, push through any pain, and achieve the greatest accomplishments, if only we let it.

How often do you train your mind? Do you read? Do you think? Do you plan?

Training the mind is not an easy undertaking... quite the opposite. It is one of the most challenging things anyone can do. It takes an iron will and the process can last a lifetime.

We must recognize when our ego speaks to us, telling us to stop, to slow down and give up. Here is the important part: Don't judge the voice. Acknowledge it, see it for what it is, and then say: "Fuck You" and push past it.

Nothing can stand in my way except for my mind.

Time to revisit my goals

It's time to revisit my goals. If you have never set goals for yourself, it is one of the most inspiring and life-affirming things that you can do and I highly recommend it. It is not easy, however. If you have never done it, I highly recommend listening to Brian Tracy's The Psychology of Achievement. EXTREMELY powerful stuff.

Goals must be realistic, specific and powerful. You must write them down. You must own them and set out a specific timeline by when they will be realized. Where do you see yourself in 10 years - 20 years - 50 years?

Start with where you want to be; who you want to be and then work back to plan out each and every step you will take to arrive there. Then: DO IT. Goals are nothing if action is not taken.

Development is a process. Mental, emotional, spiritual and physical growth takes place over time. You cannot expect to achieve your most difficult goals while taking the path of least resistance... Be ready to invest everything you have: time, money, emotions and willpower.

Are you ready to develop? You cannot develop others without first developing yourself. You cannot lead people where you have never been. You cannot help others if you first do not help yourself and prepare yourself for the hardships that will come with these trials and errors.

The quicker you fail, the quicker you will find success.

Just some thoughts.

Hittin' PR's baby!!!

For the past two months or so my diet has been... well shady at best. I loke to consider myself 100% Paleo (my goal) but I haven't been weighing or measuring food, and I have unfortunately let cheat meals or snacks become the norm. This was highlighted when I started food logging again for the (coming up on a month now).

That being said, I have been hitting all PR's, and I have been feeling stronger and more fit than ever. I am not promoting letting mine or anyone else's diet become slack, or choosing less healthy food options over their more obvious alternatives. I am merely telling my story.

One reason I feel this is happening is that I have been crossfitting now for a year. 1 year!! This first year has given me my base of strength and conditioning. Some of you might say: 1 year just to get a "base" of strength and conditioning??" YES! 1 year.

One year of lifting and running and jumping and repeating - 1 year of soreness and stretching and yoga and crossfit and dialed in diet - to get to where I and you have a complete understanding of what it means to eat right, then eat wrong and see the difference in performance. To work out hard, and rest and repeat, and see the gains however large or small (sometimes not at all). That's what it takes to get a base.

Now I am fine tuning the diet and everything else: my olympic lifting movements, my running, my pullups, my squat -- all this is coming together to help me reach my fitness goals and make me a more proficient and effective athlete.

My body (and more importantly my mind) are able to withstand more pain and punishment than before, thereby allowing me to make solid gains and lower my times across the board. In some WOD's I have only improved by seconds (Elizabeth) and while in others I have shaved MINUTES off my time (Fran, 100 wall ball shots for time), Kelly...

I'm moving on up!!! Where are you going? Let's go!

CrossFit Central

Yes, I am now a trainer at CrossFit Central! This is something I have wanted to do for a long while now - ever since I knew that CrossFit was going to be a big part of my life... I have been shadowing Lance and Big Mike for the past month, learning the ropes and picking up on their training methods and techniques. Needless to say I have had to change my sleep patterns drastically... but I am thoroughly enjoying giving back to people what CrossFit has given to me.

I feel that my two jobs (working at lululemon athletica and now CFC) compliment each other perfectly. Both are in the business of elevating the world from mediocrity to greatness - and that's what it's all about, right?!

My challenge now is to stay on top of my diet... Although I am eating all the right foods (ok ok I definitely cheat sometimes) the quantities are all off. I should be drinking a lot more water, for one, and I should be eating more regularly throughout the day . With a busy schedule, this will be my biggest challenge!

See you all at CFC soon!