I Learned a Thing or Two (Challenge Day 4)

What sparks my curiosity is human movement. I am motivated to learn anything and everything about it. I want to learn it well enough to teach anyone regardless of their understanding, how to move themselves with purpose in this world.

So far my journey as a coach and trainer has led me to so many different types of people, a spectrum of old, young, soccer moms, current and former college athletes, to the obese, and to the skinny and frail.
They all have different reasons for starting, but all just want to be better. Better sons, daughters, fathers, mothers and just better people.

Some things I learned along the way.

I'm there for them. I try my best to put my things on hold every hour I'm coaching. People are there to improve their lives, and deserve to be guided in that journey.

I know one thing for sure, I don't know everything. I'm never afraid to tell someone that I don't know. My best replies is referring them to a professional in a case when a athlete is concerned about something outside my scope, I am not a Dr.
I am happiest when I'm coaching and being of service.

Be patient, even the worst of movement patterns can be corrected. I might enjoy this the most, it's like being a detective in my opinion. People are uniquely different and learn in so many different ways and it's up to me to figure out what works best. If an athlete is doing their absolute best but still don't get a movement pattern it is completely my fault for not finding the best way to teach it. "I'll be damned if I'm not going to figure out this puzzle", I'll tell myself when looking at someone's squat for instance.

Knowledge. I'll keep this one simple. I wouldn't get my car fixed by a dentist. I am a coach it's my responsibility to know a bit about anatomy, the way different energy systems work, and anything that will help me develop human movement.

Passion. I am passionate about helping people and try and make peoples experiences the best possible for their one hour of "me time".

Fun. If I wasn't having fun at what I was doing, I probably wouldn't still be doing it.

Too... (Challenge Day 3)

Something I battle with daily is talking negatively about myself. This negative talk usually shows up in the form of I am too and fill in the blank.

When I was younger it was mostly I'm too fat or too slow. I realized later on, that I wasn't too anything, just really scared of trying.

That fact doesn't stop me from sometimes using that phrase to make excuses for myself. I never started college cause I thought myself to be too dumb... again I feared trying.

My fear of trying has really been a fear of failing. Recently I've been trying to change that.

I completely and utterly failed Calculus 2 a few terms ago! I knew quickly that I would not pass this class, but maybe if I stuck with it I might learn something.

So I didn't drop the course instead took notes, bombed tests and asked questions. After the term I got a letter from the school, warning I could be expelled if I failed again. That letter crushed me, again I felt I was too old and too dumb for school.

Then I took a chance and enrolled for Calc 2 again, this time I got a C! By far the most proud of any grade I have ever gotten.

My point is you are not your preconceived notions of yourself, there isn't a picture  of you in a dictionary with a clear cut definition! You are an infinite amount of possibilities and anything is possible even in the face of adversity. So don't be afraid to be too great! 

Up-Lifting (Challenge Day 2)

A thing I realized right before I enlisted was a need to help people. I truly believe that the way to build strengthen the heart, the greatest exercise you can perform is lifting others up. After my deployments I was left with this unsatisfiable need to serve and help others, something I missed from my deployments. That need was met by becoming a coach in Crossfit.
 

One of the things I am grateful for is the opportunity to coach extraordinary everyday people on how to move their body. I think to myself when I meet a brand new athlete, who has never really challenged themselves is "you have no idea how great you truly are!" All the nervousness, all the insecurities, all the doubt will soon wash away if you reach out for my hand, and trust that I have been in your shoes before. By far the greatest task I have had on this earth thus far.

Challenge Accepted Day 1

So I accepted this challenge to write one blog post everyday for 7 days straight. Probably one of the hardest things I can think of to do, since I'm pretty aware of my weaknesses and writing is most certainly one of them! Besides being a weakness there's the idea of people reading and judging you're thoughts, dreams, hopes, fears, concerns and so on and once you publish it, it's out there forever and there's no take backs!

Well here goes nothing, I want to challenge myself and take chances in all parts of my life and this is the big one for me. I want to thank Lisbeth Darsh for bringing up this challenge and can't wait to see this thing through!

How long are blogs supposed to be anyways? lol... Day 1

                                     

Rough times have not come to stay, they have come to pass!

Fear and doubt gets a hold of us all, it can be a dream killer. It's an ugly infectious dieses that for the most part is held at bay with a strong mind, just as our body has it's immune system to fight it's battles against dieses. Although there are times fear and doubt might overwhelm us, and if we fail it's easy to give up. Greatness isn't reserved for the few and privileged, the greatest have faced fear and fear might have knocked them flat on their ass, but they refused to stay there, they got up over and over again.

There are times we have to prescribe our own medication to help us fight fear to remove doubt. Maybe the Rx is reading a book, separating your self from negative people, putting your phone away, going to back to school, hell it could even be getting up on time, whatever the case maybe you have to face that fear, and say that failure is a chance to do it again but stronger.

When you feel like you just can't bear one more failure, when the load gets to heavy to bear, when you can't take one more step... this is the time to move forward and separate your self and be the best you, you can be. Not everyone will see or understand your struggle, people will doubt you, careful not to let them infect you with, their opinions of you is not your reality. You must see your dream for yourself no one else can do it for you.

I dare you to challenge yourself, become an individual, invest in yourself and invest in your dream. The world will never be the same cause you showed up! Greatness is not for special people, you have to believe you are great. Define your value and you will hold fear and doubt in it's place. You can live your dream!




I remeber fear and doubt creeping in at this moment, I could hear the people that cared about me in the background urging me to pick up the bar. I'll never forget that moment.