I was watching a video with Greg Glassman, founder of CrossFit, the other day and he said something enlightening. (If you have watched at least one other video with him in it you will know this is not uncommon.) He said, “I know I am going to make you better.” I wrote something similar to this a month or so ago, but I thought I would write a quick blog on this particular video because I feel it is something that everyone should understand. When you come into our gym, our goal is to make you better. Better by definition is, “of a more excellent or effective type or quality.” Glassman elaborates, “Do functional movement at an intensity that’s a match for your psychological and physical tolerance, restrict your carbs, get adequate protein, enjoy fats, and see what happens. You’ll come out better.” This is the exact prescription to getting better....

Recently I finished the book How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It is a self-help book that I listened to on the way to work and back for the last couple of weeks. The book was published in 1936 but still has application today. Because this is a CrossFit blog, I will give you a few of my favorite points that may help you be a better person in your community and build better relationships with your classmates. There are plenty of thoughts in this book that could also help you in your professional career, so if you have not read (or listened) to it yet, I highly recommend it. Let’s start with an easy one, a SMILE. Smiling is one of the easiest things you can do to build rapport with someone. Walking into a room with a smile on your face will completely change...

Athlete Spotlight: Linda B. As I put in Linda’s answers I realize that I have made a huge mistake of not sharing her story sooner. Linda has been a member with us for over FIVE YEARS! She could run circles around most of the people in this town and is twice the age of most ladies at our gym. She is a motivation to anyone that meets her. If you have ever done a class with Linda you know that she makes you feel like you can do better, not only through her constant cheering but the amount of effort she puts into each workout. Linda is a fighter. If you’ve met her you see a soft-spoken super sweet lady and you would not get ‘fighter’ as your first impression, but read her backstory and watch her workout and you’ll understand there are not many people in this world who...

One of the most commonly asked questions I receive is, “When can I expect to see results?” Of all the questions I receive, this is one of the most reasonable questions. Unfortunately, there is no real answer to it. I say this because I have had people lose 30-40 pounds in a couple of months and then I have had people lose 10 pounds in a year. There are things like diet and genetics that play a role outside of exercise that affect how much or when you will start to lose the weight. But here are a few things that everyone should focus on to speed up those results! The first suggestion is YOUR DIET. Following the CrossFit’s suggested diet of: “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat,” will help...

From time to time I will start writing a blog and then abandon it. I just run out of gas. However, every once in a while I will come back and finish it. This is one of those times. Initially, I had written this blog a month or so ago after the NBA Finals and the constant talk of Lebron James but could not figure out how to link it back to exercise or CrossFit, but yesterday Rich Froning, who is the Michael Jordan of CrossFit, posted this on Instagram. Those that do not follow the CrossFit Games as closely as I do may not understand why he posted this. Rich and his team took second place last year. Rich has won every CrossFit competition he has competed in since 2011, and last year was his first time in six years to not finish on top. Rich took responsibility for...