Renaissance Blog

We spend a lot of time in CrossFit training our intensity. 

By definition, CrossFit is constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity 

There is huge value in this, and it is one of the things that we are here to help you find.  

Most people don’t know where their redline is, and we help you find it. 

But there is more to life. 

This is why we also care about endurance.  

ENDURANCE: The power to withstand pain or hardships; the ability or strength to continue despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions 

I also call this Grit. 

Sometimes, we need to tune back the intensity. 

Sometimes we need to learn how to put our head down and grind through. 

Sometimes we need to practice the act of enduring. 

Life does not always just come at us in short bursts that we can blast through. 

Life is sometimes also about the long haul. 

We are here to make you stronger, fitter, tougher, and ready for anything life throws at you. 

You are building character traits that translate into every other part of your life. 

If you can do this, you can do anything. 

This is why we have Endurance classes every Sunday. 

There is nothing to fear. 

Endurance class just means that we skip the skill section of the hour and have a longer WOD.  

A WOD where you pull back some punches, and learn to put your shoulder into it instead. 

Try them out, you will surprise yourself.  

Then come Monday you will have a little more Grit to face the week with. 

Inspiration: Squat is my favorite movement – it defines me 

I love to squat. 

The movement represents who I am. 

I am complete when I am squatting. 

The barbell is heavy. 

As it presses down on my shoulders and I tense my body 

The steel and I become one  

We move together. Fluidly. 

I don’t resist gravity. 

I flow with the gravity and use it to let me lower into the squat. 

The gravity helps me build the tension to rebound 

To Launch 

Every movement is intentional. 

Every fiber of muscle and mind are aware. 

I am present. 

Focusing on position and form 

The iron body drops into the hole 

Then I choose. 

I choose at that point if I am going to get stronger today. 

I choose that I will do the work. 

With intensity and intention I drive up  

Always moving. 

Always progressing 

Through the difficult points 

Not suppressing the inner demons. 

But recruiting them 

They are part of who I am 

They are on the team. 

We work together. 

A guttural yell 

Heart spiking 

The rest of the world is black. 

It is just me and the squat. 

Hips open at the top.  

I breath in  

The world comes rushing back 

More vivid than ever 

More real than ever. 

Rack the bar. 

Sit down. 

Too tired to show it 

But smiling on the inside. 

I love Olympic Lifting.  

Because I hate Olympic Lifting. 

It beats me up. 

It beats me down. 

It is demoralizing. 

I can count a handful of times in my life when I felt the amazing fluid pull and catch of a perfect Snatch. 

But those times were AMAZING. 

They made me feel more alive and more human than any other movement. 

Those perfectly executed snatches made me feel like an athlete

Why is that? 

There are Ten Fundamentals of Fitness: 

1. Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance. 
2. Stamina. 
3. Strength. 
4. Flexibility. 
5. Agility. 
6. Balance. 
7. Coordination. 
8. Accuracy. 
9. Power. 
10. Speed. 

To be a fully functioning physical human being – you need all of these components. 

See if you can hit the perfect snatch without any one of them. 

Is the Snatch actually a functional movement – no. 

But you will be hard pressed to find any other single movement that teaches you the complex neural pathways to combine more of the ten fundamentals than the Snatch. 

Want to be a better physical human and only able to do one thing? Snatch. 

Then get ready to spend the rest of your life perfecting it. 

Are you a champion? 

Are you winning? 

Have you found success? 

You’ll notice that I did not specify at what, or where… 

There are key principles and behaviors that lead to success. 

They apply to all high achievers.  

This is why we believe that creating success in one area of our lives  

Improves ALL areas of our lives. 

I know that most people will tell you that you can’t have it all. 

That’s an excuse based on fear of failure. 

You can have everything you want. 

Within realistic expectations.  

Don’t be limited by your beliefs 

But accept real limitations.  

Decide what you truly want. 

Determine what success means to you. 

Be fierce and be efficient. 

Be focused and be centered. 

Be strong and be flexible. 

Be honest and be kind. 

We will explore more over time. 

First, I have an assignment for you. 

What do you want most? 

What is your perfect day? 

What is you angry, raw, red, center? 

What is inside you? 

Driving you. 

We all have one. 

It’s a hunger. 

Sometimes hard to put our finger on it. 

But I know you have one. 

There are many ways to bring it out and to use it. 

Sometimes it is not what you think. 

Once you find it, you may deny it. 

Sometimes it is not what you want to admit to yourself. 

Once you find it, you may hide it. 

Sometimes it is not what you will share with others.  

But it is still there. 

Once you figure it out, you can use it. 

Use it to accomplish more.  

Use it to focus yourself. 

Use it to give you energy. 

Once you find it, use it like the warp core of your starship. 

It is a powerful force that must be managed. 

It is probably not something that you listen to directly. 

Or you will degenerate into chaos. 

I know what mine is. 

I have told very few people. 

Your ARRC is a very intimate thing. 

Mine is simpler than you might think. 

But it drives me to do more and be more. 

In the gym. 

At home. 

At “work.” 

Out in the world. 

What is yours? 

It does not have to be a noble cause. 

But you can use it to power noble pursuits.  

The sooner we know ourselves. 

The sooner we can make a change in ourselves and the world. 

What is your Angry, Raw, Red, Center? 

We talk a lot about goals.  

Goals are awesome. 

They help give us direction when we are lost. 

They remind us why we do what we do. 

They serve as a guidepost while we navigate the boulder field. 

They serve as a beacon when we are treading water. 

But that is all they do. 

Goals just sit there. 

Calling you. 

Sometimes taunting you. 

They have no real power. 

They are not going to reel you in. 

You still need to do the work. 

Formulate a goal. 

Remember your goal. 

Don’t dwell on your goal. 

Some people spend too much time thinking about and dreaming about their goals. 

Sitting around, visualizing what life will be like when they get there. 

Remembering all the things that got in their way in the past. 

Convinced they have a nice clear shot now. 

Because look – it’s right there in front of me … 

Goals can be hypnotic.  

We love to dwell on them and think about them. 

It makes us feel good to imagine how great our life will be when we get there. 

They can be a seductive mistress. 

But while we are dwelling. 

Life passed us by. 

Another day without progress. 

Another week. 

Another year. 

It is time to make progress! 

Your actions NOW will lead to your RESULTS. 

Don’t think about it anymore. 

Don’t talk about it anymore. 

Take action. 

Any action. 

3,2,1, GO! 

Picture of a Michelangelo statue 

“I want to lose 20 pounds” 

“I want to look good naked” 

“I want to be stronger” 

“I want more energy to keep up with my kids” 

“I want to be able to go for hikes without getting winded” 

“I want to feel better” 

“I want to move better” 

These are all great reasons to come to the gym. 

These are easy, measurable goals.  

What we don’t realize going into it, is that they are not actually the biggest benefits we get for our lives. 

“I became a better Father and Husband” 

“I made friends who truly know me, respect me, and challenge me” 

“I went to work with a clearer mind and accomplished more in one hour than entire day, then got promoted” 

“I discovered that I am capable of far more than I ever imagined, nothing can stop me” 

“With each year, I just get better – not older” 

“I am Happy” 

“I am Whole” 

We don’t set out to reach these targets.  

We can’t set these as Goals. 

In many ways they are secondary effects.  

But they are the real end game. 

Do you want to look good naked? 

Yep – we can do that. 

But don’t be surprised when you get so much more out of it too.