Something to think about!

My boy Lance "Stavo" Cantu just made a great post showing the Scalability of Crossfit. This is something we always preach for our clients since obviously we all have to start somewhere.
Now I'm thinking to myself, if this is a program everybody can do, why the Hell isn't everybody doing it?
I hear way to often that Crossfit is only for a select amount of people and not every is going to do it. We like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and say that its okay if people don't want to do it because it is difficult and there mind and bodies are just not able to endure this type of program.
Can I be the first to call Bull$#*%?
All people are doing by saying that is giving everybody who thinks it too hard an excuse not to challenge themselves to do their best in something. This is way to common this day in age. People do not need a pass from somebody else that it is okay to not do their best in all things possible. Every individual should be out pursuing their best in all realms of their lives. If They are not doing that then they are out FAILING in areas.
I'm not saying that we do not all fail or make mistakes or ignorantly limit ourselves in many ways. I know we do. I am saying though that we do not have the excuse to continue the pathway of Failure.
Crossfit is a program that demands your best. Your Best is all we ask and will always be good enough. The truth is that it is Hard.
The lie is that it is too hard or that it is not for you. Your body and your mind can overcome the restrictions that say otherwise?

You know about this stuff and you are not doing it... Its time you start doing and stop making excuses. I've seen way to many people do just that to let any body else tell me they can't for any reason unworthy.

The Show must Continue!

My first post. I didn't know what I was doing when I posted this. I didn't know anything about the market in fitness and who I was trying to attract. I was told to that my blog had to sell people. I never knew how to sell people anything and I never plan to.

I have always blogged because I could express myself. That has not changed. Workout out with me if you want results. If you don't, I could care less. I represent truth and what I do works. You want some bull... Look somewhere else!

http://oakfreak.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html

Move you body! That is what is was made for!

Functional Training.... Why do we need to do it?

Why the Hell do I care if you perform pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups and squats or just walk and run everyday? Isn't it adequate to exercise doing the same thing everyday?

The short answer to this is no.

Our bodies are designed to move in a variety of different ways and have the ability to do allot more outside work than simply shuffling paper and step on the gas peddle.

The complexity to our development is essential to the importance of a true healthy and fit body. Fitness is an absolute component of being healthy over the long hall in general.

Some people think that exercise is all about looking good. Once they get to looking a certain way of maybe even achieving a certain goal (feel better, meet somebody, etc.) they stray away from these movements and workouts.
It is a much different mindset. These movements are functional when taught to perfection will enable the body to achieve levels of strength, coordination, flexibility, balance, agility that can be achieved in no other manner.
Watch a child when in as it grows. I cannot count the times I've seen Stone push himself away from the ground to move about the floor or Savannah and Jackson squat deep just to look at something on the ground.
Functional movements are a part of our DNA and should never be neglected. If they are for long enough your body will forget how to do them and become disabled for the avoidance. The 4 pillars of movement in, which I've learned from Juan Carlos Santana , promote a lifetime of moving well and living with ability. Having you body fall apart as you age is an avoidable occurrence. Training these movement patterns is something you owe to yourself and to all those around you who would rather not push you around in a wheel chair for not being able to walk in your future.

Follow the Leaders

A boy grows up watching people around them. People who are doing things beyond ordinary grasps that boys attention. A boy will notice a man who has qualitys outway the seemingly normal and imagine himself also with the ability to mimic the accomplishments of that man.
Every young boy has a role model and will strive to be the mirror image of them. My first real person I can remember thinking of as a hero was this man in this video. I saw what he did and desired to be just like him. His team was my team and his accomplishments were my dreams.
Greatness is to be followed. I no longer aim to be great in the sport of football, but I do desire to reach greatness in other areas of my life. The things Joe Montana once did on the field still inspire me to do comparible things in my line of work.

All men can be Heroes, and only few will choose to be.

Strength

 

Crossfit's approach is total fitness. We have no niche. We do not specialize in anything. That is why we do not believe it is possible to really be "FIT" with any limited scope of training.

One component we train, and take a whole lot of pride in incorporating is strength. By no means do we aim to be the strongest lifters alive, but we do lift intentially heavy. Today we are getting off the track and cycles and hitting the gym for a day of raw and boundless strength testing. We will not get our heartrate up to try to burn alot of calories. We will not see if our lunges will colapse today by moving faster than we ever have. We will simply pony up with one heavy ass barbell, get set in a solid position, and see what we got for on rep!
Are we stronger than we were 3 months ago the last time we did Crossfit Total? That is all that matters today. Strength is a vital component of Crossfit Training. We will not shy away from lifting heavy at our gym. We are a fitness program and any program that promotes fitness without adding strength is missing the boat.
A strong body is a much healthier body in the long run. Just look at any runner, cyclist or triathlete who has neglected it and is over 45. I promise you catch-up is the only thing they are doing to try to regain their health.

Come and put on some muscle with us... I promise it is OK!

What does it Take?

 

Crossfit Central just completed yet another amazing event at our facility. 11 coaches participated in a challenge in which we took a total of 66 clients and created a team workout that the winning team (1 coach/6 clients were rewarded with a grand prize of a night at any of the best restaraunts they choose.
77 people worked out at our gym in aim to win a challenge that was built up over 6 weeks of preparation.

This event was one that will truely launch more and more of greater altitude. The community we are surrounded by in Austin drives us to bring it bigger and better everytime.

Crossfit Central isn't just an affiliate. We are a family. Our crew has been fighting battles and showing love to eachother much longer than than the 3 years we've been establish. 3 siblings and 3 best friends are the core of this group. We don't believe in giving less than the best in anything we do. We will deliver the most exciting challenges, events and celabrations for us all to enjoy!

This Affiliate is the best in the country. Our desire to improve what we have done so far will never end. Fitness is what we do and we want to impact as many people as possible. Austin is our home and we will not be satisfied outside of having a direct positive impact on this city on a large scale.

To all that work out here... Thank you!

The Beginners Advantage

 
Most of the time starting something new can seem very intimidating. Starting a Crossfit class is especially hard for the person who has never done it and the feeling of being so far behind everybody else can be frustrating and almost impossible to understand how you get to a higher levels the class moves at.
All I can say is this... You have to start somewhere.
The newbie is a step ahead still. Starting in a fitness program, especially Crossfit, is a sure fine way to get yourself lifted to a better lifestyle. Many people want to start and don't because they are too concerned or make too many lame excuses. A Beginner here may not be up to par with everybody, but the are very much at a total advange of taking charge of their life.
They have chosen to take part in a community of individuals who fight for constant improvement of self. Usually it is seen in a physical sence, but entirely is based around a stonger mental fortitude.
Welcome outsiders. You may not know what you gotten your self into, but you are in it for the right reason!

Coaching -- Right or Wrong Way?

 

Crossfit or Sport... Whatever you pursue for your own interest or Desires requires alot of motivation. Usually when you are self motivated to do something or learn something you do not need much external push from anybody else.

JDP posted a Blog from Jon Gilson a couple days back. John Gilson is a Crossfit Instuctor up in Boston who has a tremendous talent for creative/ motivating writing and also a solid ability to teach the movements that we perform.
He has a way of training that is his own and in this article he shares his ideas of his client and their need for him.

I've also been able to evaluate and learn from many other trainers and coaches over the last several years(Our's Included). The one thing that I've noticed is that eveybody has there own approach in the way they work with people. My way is different then Lance's or Jeremys. Crystal trains different than Randal. Zac and Carey do it their own way. We are all our own personality and will all have a different approach to teaching.

The Beuty of it is... its all good! We are all effective instructors and will get people doing safe and efficient training the best way we can. We will encourage and challenge in our own way. We will provide great instuction as we go.

Gilson's article and overall philosophy are solid. I respect what he does. I can guarentee you though that as I read that, this is far, FAR away from my approach to teaching Crossfit and working with my clients. In my class, I expect hard working, motivated individuals. I aim to keep you excited to continue to come back. I know my clients need me there so they can learn and become better movers, but by no means do I believe that they do not have it in them to go harder without me. I want succesful athletes in my programs. I believe that my programs develope more success to all who come.

Becoming greater is your choice... not mine!

Why do we do it?

 

If it were easy then everybody would be doing it. Its shown that the things everyone else does usually doesn't get you very far. We Do things that nobody else is willing to do because we like to take ourselves a step ahead of the crowd.

We Crossfit! You should too!

Great Coach!

 
Adrian Bozman of Crossfit San Francisco was a main instructor at this weekends certification. This guy is bar none one of the most knowledgeable individuals that I've ever met in the realm of Fitness (Funtional Movement). If I could take the time I would likely go out to San Francisco for a couple months to be around this guy. Learning from the best is somthing I will continue to aim for. If you want to be the best at something, you have to see what the best are doing them and mimic them!

I would like to thank you "Boz" for your commitment to your profession and helping people like me in mine!

TX Boys in CA

 

Texas again shows up at another Crossfit Cert. Spencer from Crossfit Dallas Central and Jeremy from Elite Crossfit (San Antonio) and myself of Crossfit Central (Austin) all attended the Level 2 at One World Crossfit. These guys are solid Crossfit instructers and I recomend you get with them when you head to their neck of the woods.

Alll eyes on you!

 

I Teach groups. I see faults in movements. I correct what I see.
The cert I just attended focused solely on my ability to do this effectively. Actually I was graded on a scale that messured how close to doing this perfectly I could do this. Talk about pressure. This cert was tedious and my focus had to be on point. I learned alot and I am coming back better!

I aim to be the best fitness instructor in Austin.

So to you I promise effective training and attention to detail with everything we do.
I will get better and better everyday and expect the same from you.
If you train with me... you will be in good hands!

Couldn't Settle!

This is a song that came out when I was in Highschool when Making decisions that were going to lead me into a successful future was supposed to be of the most importance.
I had been hearing messages through music that were similar to what this song is relaying for years and years.
In my life I heard work hard and make the grades. All that matters is that you get a good job that will pay you.
I struggled in between the thoughts of doing things or living at places I hated. Some people who I love dearly told me that life will make you do things that you don't really want and that you don't really have much of a choice.
I could never grasp that. Even though for many years I had no real answer, I knew that I could not pursue a better future doing things I never loved.
I stuck to close people who I knew I could learn from and once the time was right my wisdom would guide me in the right direction.

It worked! Now I can do, be and live and have whatever I'd like.

Out in Cali

Wow! I get on a plane and immediately my head is clear. Getting away for a second is always key to help you realize what exactly has happened over the period of months and months of blinders down type of work.

Building Crossfit Central has been an amazing journey! I cherish the opportunity that I've had to be apart of it.

I have an opportunity this week to attend my 7th Crossfit Certification. This time with nothing in mind but to get my Level 3 title as an instructor of this fitness phenomenon!

I remember going to my Level 1 and 2 certs so vividly. I had no clue what I was getting myself into. Now I feel like I'm coming to see my Crossfit family! This is what I do and a continued Expedition of my ongoing journey to bring more and more people to the eye opening experience Crossfit is.

Crossfit and I will Revolutionize the Fitness industry!

I am Crossfit!

Breathe!

It all good!

I will never understand why people overdramatize things. If everyone could just learn that everybody is good and has good intensions, than they would never question the goodness that is within them.
Obviously people make mistakes but why let something little make such a huge impact.
Our friends, family, and relationsionships are goodnesses in our lives and we must learn to appreciate them at all times!

Doing your own thing.

The last few days I've had a great opportunity to train a student that attends UT who has been doing Crossfit on his own for the last several months. I know that a whole lot of people are doing this now more and more. I believe this is a great thing and is in a very large sense, one of our main objectives. We want to see as many individuals stepping out of the way of the big mirrors and the silly cadio/ calorie burning classes at the big Globo Gyms and start doing efficient functional exercise in there homes, at parks or neighborhood schools.
Everything about what we do is to enhance the quality of peoples lives through better mobility.

With that in mind, there is a major component of Functional exercises that is a must when a person is performing the movement that is called technique. Crossfit.com is attracting a whole lot of attention from a whole lot of arenas especially in the fitness industry. Unfortunately some of this attention is negative because of the thought that our workouts are unsafe.

I must admit, when people who are not well taught in our training styles and understand the importance of our safety first approach, will likely risk injury through inefficient technique.

The young cat I have been working with had some serious red flags with some of these movements, especially as he attempted heavier loads. Without my guidance he could have been up shit creek by over challenging himself to do something he is not yet ready for. Luckily he knew this possibility and decided to come in for the training to get him in the right track to success.

My job is not to run around the gym and call everybody a pansy for not working fast enough or lift heavier weight. When they need that encouragement I will but I will always prefer to see sound quality training that will support quicker results.

If anybody in This city is Crossfitting on your own, I commend you! I do however you coming in to our gym to learn our elements of training to get you on a better path to the results you seek. Our intro Crossfit program is something I believe is a give away to anybody seeking better fitness. We charge a Tenth of the cost of a Crossfit Cert and deliver as good of the instruction that you would receive at one.

All I know is that if you do this stuff... Make sure you understand it!

We got next!

Eventually your workouts will look like ours. This program is so good there is no way it will not take over the way fitness is being done do.
Your gym is old news. Crossfit is new school.
We are die hard about our workouts
Your routine is a struggle to get to.
We are excited.
You are distracted
We challenge ourselves to do more.
You shortcut you way to the finish.

Crossfit is next.
Crossfit Central is pushing Austin to a new heights in fitness expectation.
Our Governor wants this city to be the fittest in America.

I say he better get us on board!

Upper, Lower and Core Strength

This is me holding myself in a Flagpole after the UTB yester. John had a supper close shot so you can't see my feet. The hold didn't last that long but it was legit non the less. Randal has me inspired to get my gymnastic strength up. I will be aiming to hold this and a unassisted hand stand for 10 seconds a piece. I am also working on my back lever on the rings. The crazy strength these moves require is held by very few people but I will not count myself out of the possibility of obtaining it. This stuff is sick and I'm out to catch myself up on these weeknesses.

My man Joe

Joe is another one of my PT clients. I love training this guy because I feel like he is very much like myself.

We are about the same age. We both love what we do and I believe are very good at what we do. Joe motivates me as a young entreprenuer to be on top of my game and be feerless in my approach to work.
Keeping our vision on the task at hand as well as the future ahead is something we share and I enjoy his presence for that reason.

This guy sent me an email about a year ago before we met saying who he was and what he was wanting to do for himself physically. He came into the gym as a beginner with a long way to go. He has been steadily increasing his fitness level with days and days of coming into the gym .
Joe is no stranger to being smoked to the point of having to make his own sweat angels. In fact I am not sure if we have had one workout where he didn't have to lay flat on his back by the time we finished.

He is going heavier and harder every workout. this kind of work ethic is all I could ask for from any client. Come in. Shake everything out of your head and 3...2...1 GO!

Give your best and Get some BadAss Results! Right Joe?

Thanks Robb Wolf

When I went to the Crossfit Games this year I told Robb Wolf that I wanted to get him to help me dial in my diet. Turns out the guy has givin so much information to me that I already had that I didn't need him to help me personally. My body needed me to make a few changes and I did. Without Robb though, I may still be listening to all the other crap people are teaching.

What I've done differently. Its called the Paleo diet! Since I started 2 months ago I've cut out most dairy (cheese, milk, and yogurt)and increased my nutrient dence carbs(veggies and fruit). My fat consumption is higher too!

What is the result? My workouts are better, my recovery is faster, and I'm even leaner than I've ever been!

Everybody I talk to veiws nutrition the way that I used to. Grains are good for you and Fat is bad for you.

Guess what... This is wrong. No question about it. Healthy and strong bodies are chosen through our nutrition!

Thanks Robb Wolf yet again for another confirmation.

Read Insight from Robb about the right way to eat!