Renaissance Blog

That was a great year! 

We started 2016 with no expectations of taking on more than what we had. 

If I remember correctly, we were trying to simplify… 

I love how life has a way of throwing all of your plans a left curve. 

Adapting and accepting new opportunities that come along is what makes each new year interesting.  

It is what makes us grow. 

The time has flown by since August 1st when Laura and I took over CrossFit Bothell. 

It has been a wild ride.  

Scary, Fun, Stressful, Rewarding, full of frustration and laughter. 

Thank you everyone for going through this transition with us. 

We could not have done it without you. 

We would not have wanted to do it, if not for you. 

I think we are finding our groove. 

Now it is time to double down and improve. 

In 2017 we are committed to you – the CFB Community Members 

We want you to get an amazing workout. 

We want you to reach your goals. 

We want you to enjoy hanging out at CFB. 

The gym has always been our community.  

Our friends, our family. 

Our fitness is the cornerstone of our sanity. 

CFB was our home away from home. 

Now it is so much more. 

Thank you CFB, for taking us in, and letting us lead you into 2017. 

Are you motivated right now to reach your goals? 

Great! Let’s use that! 

Come in and get started. 

Now let’s be realistic.  

You are not going to feel motivated every day.  

You are not going to feel motivated most days.  

Motivation comes and goes. 

Motivation gets you in the door to the gym the first time.  

For some people, they are cranked up and ready to go at their No-Sweat consultation.  

Then after they walk out the door back into their regular life they lose it. 

Don’t be that person. 

Don’t rely on motivation alone to get you to your goals.  

You are smarter than that. 

Motivation gets you in the door. 

Dedication carries you to your goals. 

Motivation comes and goes. 

Dedication is consistent and guarantees results. 

Be dedicated to yourself. 

Be dedicated to the process. 

Be dedicated to results.  

This is your life! 

Make it an Epic Journey! 

Not a series of fits and starts.  

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! 

There is a sign in Woodinville that reads “Gobble till you Wobble” 

I love this phrase because it is catchy, creative, and I have never see it before. 

Call me a word nerd – but I love that stuff. 

We are having a ribeye roast, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole. 

Then Laura’s famous pumpkin and apple pies.  

Swing by if you want to hang out – there is plenty of wine! 

Many people who are trying to make a positive change in their diet and body composition dread this day. 

I have seen people flat out avoid events because of the fear or ruining their plan. 

Please. Please. Please just enjoy the day! 

Get out there, spend time with your family and friends.  

Enjoy their company. 

Enjoy a savory meal. 

… and maybe even a treat. 

Just maintain a little moderation. 

You will only maintain this lifestyle if you learn balance. 

Balance means letting go sometimes.  

Balance means not letting one part of your life ruin another part. 

Balance leads to consistency. 

Hard core restriction in the long term leads to resentment. 

You have the strength to get back into your routine on Friday. 

I believe in you. 

We are here to help. 

Live your life, and enjoy your day tomorrow.  

Friday, get into the gym and get back on a balanced lifelong diet 

Forget about the old adage “You can’t take it with you when you go” 

I prefer the phrase “Die Empty” 

Those of you who know me, know that I intend to live forever. 

That is just one reason I manage what I eat and I bust my ass in the gym. 

I refuse to die. 

I have too much I want to do, and too many ideas to pursue. 

I will not be ready to go until I am empty.  

Empty of ideas. 

Empty of goals. 

Empty of causes. 

Empty of drive. 

As far as I can see, these are all growing bigger and bigger for me, not smaller and smaller. 

Every day I learn a little more. 

Which spawns new ideas. 

Every day I meet someone new. 

Who helps me understand humankind better. 

And gives me another cause to care about. 

Every day I see a new problem to solve. 

And I make a goal to solve it. 

How about you? 

Do you have more you want to do? 

Are you the person you want to be? 

Have you seen everything you want to see? 

Don’t give up now. 

Don’t give up ever.  

Try to use it all up, try to die empty. 

I’ll bet you find that you can’t. 

I’ll wager even more that you will find that you have lived more in the process. 

When you get up in the morning, do you sit and debate brushing your teeth. 

Do you think “Nah – I brushed my teeth yesterday,” or do you just do it? 

I guessing (hoping) that most of you said “No, I just do it.” 

Why is your workout any different? 

Make coming in to the gym part of your routine.  

Some decisions are a no-brainer.  

Your physical fitness is just as important as your oral health. 

You know you will feel better, and you know that you are getting results. 

All you have to do is get your butt there. 

We take care of all the decisions and planning for you.  

Show up, do the work, get the results. 

But please brush your teeth first. 

I believe that the most important ingredient for success is the people you associate with. 

This is what makes CrossFit work. 

You Inspire Me CrossFit Bothell 

When you practice a movement over and over.  

When you dig deep and push for just one more round. 

When you are tired, beat down, fighting for air, but you walk up and grab that bar. 

When you finish last, and smile with pride that you finished strong. 

When you ring the bell loud with a huge smile. 

When you ring the bell timidly, but still ring it. 

When you finish first, and ring that bell. 

When you finish, just happy to have survived. 

You Inspire Me, CrossFit Bothell 

You are why we keep coming back to the gym. 

You are why, after years of training, we still see improvement. 

I love to hear your stories. 

About your work, your kids, your life. 

About the time you drove a golf cart into the creek. 

About the Spartan Race you finished. 

About the half marathon that you didn’t. 

I am a story collector and CFB is full of them. 

What keeps us coming back is 50% the workouts and 50% the people. 

We chose this gym because of the type of people in the community. 

You Inspire Me, CrossFit Bothell 

You make me want to be a better coach. 

We already have amazing coaches, and we recently had the opportunity to add another. 

I don’t personally need to coach 

All our other coaches are better at it already 

I have 30 years of fitness, health, and nutrition training 

I have 20 years of career and personal growth mentorship 

I used to just use it for my own gain. 

I have recently discovered that I love to share it with you. 

I love helping you get better. 

I love guiding you on your own personal path. 

You helped me find new meaning. 

You Inspire Me, CrossFit Bothell 

It has been one year since we took over as custodians of CFB. 

Out of all the things that I have learned. 

The most clear is that this Community is a Living Organization 

Just like each of its individuals. 

We don’t control it. 

We guide it and nurture it. 

It will continue to grow and change as long as we feed it.  

Members join, members move away.  

The Members point us where they need to go 

We follow and serve. 

The Community will always survive and the community will always thrive 

As long as we nurture those who contribute to it.  

Everyone here is on a journey. 

Each journey is a little different. 

Each is fascinating and exhilarating. 

Where do you want to go? 

Are you making progress to get there? 

Are you helping others on their journey? 

The greatest stories come from those who have struggled, and helped others in the process. 

Share this message with a friend who is struggling to find their way. 

You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. 

-Zig Ziglar 

Laura and I are very transparent.  

We don’t waste time with smoke and mirrors.  

We are old enough to be honest without fear. 

This leads us to an openness with gym members. 

We will share everything, and we enjoy discussing the front end and the back end of the business. 

Let’s talk a little bit about the role of a coach. 

Your Coach is not your cheerleader.  

Cheering each other on will always feel better anyway. 

Your Coach is not your motivator. 

Real motivation will always come from within. 

There are four parts of a coach’s job 

In order of importance: 

Safety, Service, Show, Efficiency 

Safety: 

This is the primary reason that the coach is there. 

Rule number 1 at CrossFit Bothell is maintaining the integrity of the movement.  

This is for safety and efficacy. 

While you are lifting, or in a WOD, your coach is watching you. 

They will always modify a movement or a weight, if something looks unsafe.  

This is unequivocally their most important job.  

Notice the rules in the wall.  

Leave your ego at the door. 

Listen to your coach. 

Service: 

It takes a heart dedicated to service to be a good coach. 

This is not a job. 

This is not a hobby. 

This is a passion for serving people. 

I never used to get this one.  

I did not understand.  

Some people are born with this drive as part of their nature. 

Some of us develop it later in life. 

Good coaches want you to succeed,  

and derive pleasure from your success. 

Show: 

Let’s admit it 

Your coach is in front of a group of people. 

Those people can be participants 

Or hecklers 

They listen intently sometimes 

And act like 5th graders sometimes 

Coaches are putting on a show  

They will make this the best hour of your day 

Play along 😉 

Efficiency 

This is a balance.  

The gym is a business 

You are getting very personalized training in a small group class 

The Coach’s role is to be efficient and effective as they help you 

What is that one thing that you need to hear today? 

How can they give you the perfect cue for your lift? 

How can they brighten your day with one comment? 

They get to see you for a small part of your week 

But they will make the greatest impacts in that time 

Where are you? 

We want to know. 

We miss seeing you at the gym. 

Maybe you only missed a few days in a row.  

We noticed. 

There are the excuses that we tell other people. 

My meetings ran late. 

The kids needed me to drop them off. 

I did not sleep well last night. 

Traffic was bad. 

And there are the deeper reasons. 

No one will notice if I skip just this once. 

I feel awkward there and don’t perform well enough 

I don’t like the WOD 

I don’t need *that* workout 

I am burnt out. 

But why are you coming to the gym in the first place? 

To look good naked? 

To feel better every day? 

To be able to climb the stairs without getting out of breath? 

To hang out with the community? 

To become a better, faster, stronger athlete? 

To be better than the “me” of last year? 

These are BIG reasons, these are important reasons, these are powerful reasons. 

Let the power of your intent defeat the tedious excuses.  

Consistency is the most powerful tool you have to achieve your goals. Come to the gym. Move. Do something.  

You can come in and row for 20 minutes and go home if you have to.  

You can come to the gym and talk to the coach about what hurts, they will help you with ideas to work on it, then you can go home.  

Just take that first step. Once you are there, you will feel better that you made it that far and there will be no guilt hanging over you later. Then maybe, just maybe, you might just jump in on that WOD after all… 

Many of you know that I was an avid long distance runner before becoming a CrossFitter.  

I spent twenty years of my life fine tuning my training regimen and diet to optimize for long distance running performance.  

Very early in my running career I was deeply inspired by a mantra from Dr. George Sheehan:   

“We are all an Experiment of One”  

As an Engineer/Scientist I carried this mantra into every aspect of my life. It added variety to my training, and enabled me to push beyond every limitation I found.  

When I quit running marathons and spent time in Triathlon and Weight training, the same mantra applied.  

Now, after six years of CrossFit, I can tell you that the theory applies even more than it ever has. 

We are all different. 

We all have very different bodies,  

very different responses to stimulus,  

very different reactions to foods,  

very different psychologies,  

very different schedules,  

very different backgrounds,  

and very different goals.  

CrossFit is about pushing you and testing you. Body and Mind. 

We experiment with different programming, and we experiment with different nutrition. It is constantly varied not only to provide differing stimulus, but also to help you find the best option for YOU.  

There has been a lot of research on optimal fitness, but none of it was performed on you. OK, maybe a few of us did some wild experiments in college, but those don’t count … I have some great stories from my days in Biomedical Engineering in college that I’ll share in another post.  

The CrossFit Bothell community is a unique mix of people. This is why we don’t just follow main site WODs. The programming will be catered, as best as possible, to serve THIS community, OUR people.  

You are an experiment of One. Take an active part in this experiment with us, and help us adapt it to your needs, your body, and your goals. At CrossFit Bothell, you are an individual, and you will receive personalized, attentive, caring coaching from a staff that knows how to help you optimize for your goals and your body where it is at today. They will help you modify and scale down, or up, based on YOU. 

You are an experiment of One. Come in and try something new.