My CrossFit- Year in Review

It was last year in the middle of October when I was first introduced to CrossFit. I was watching ESPN2 and the CrossFit Games just happened to be on- from that moment on I had no idea what was about to rock my world.

I graduated college in May 2011 at age 23. I played 4 years of collegiate basketball. Sports were my life for the last 20+ years. I was an athlete. I love competition and thrived in those moments. But after basketball ended-- I just remember the empty feeling of "what is next". I trained for the next 3 months for 5k runs and also did a 15k race. I remember getting up 5-6 days a week getting ready for my "run" and just having the thought of "I'm ready for this to be over". I mean, don't get me wrong, I have a ton of credit and respect for distance runners and I know the time that they put in and the hard work that goes with it, but it just was not for me. I remember talking to others and telling people I don't know what to do now-- as far as keeping my love for competition and training. 

Then came ESPN2 and the CrossFit games. I had honestly NEVER heard of CrossFit before then. I had no idea what type of workouts (or WODs) that they do, what type of equipment they use, etc. I was a lost sheep in the CrossFit pasture. But when I watched the games on ESPN2 I remember thinking to myself-- "I can do this. I can swim, run, do pushups, pullups and air squats---> how hard can this program be?" 

So I committed on November 1st 2011 to start a 30 day challenge of all CrossFit. Again, I loved being in the gym, working out, and lifting weights so I was very familiar with most of the lifts. I talked to some people at the gym I work out at and there was not a whole lot of information that could be given about CrossFit. So I said what the heck, tried to follow www.crosssfit.com for the entire month as best as I could and other CrossFit sites and also benchmark WODs for the entire month. I told myself I have nothing to lose in giving this a shot.

I can honestly say, after 2-3 workouts I was sold! I loved this stuff. Taking a chance on CrossFit has changed my life in the fitness world. I am a fitness guru so I started studying, reading, watching videos, how to's, asking questions, etc. CrossFit hooked me from the beginning. 

So whats the point of this? Am I trying to get you hooked on CrossFit or hooked on some sort of diet... no... that is not my intentions or my goals. But my ultimate goal is to challenge you to become more fit and to live a healthier / happier life. How did that happen for me--> through CrossFit and through committing to something. That is why I am so gung-ho about 30 day challenges. There is such a pay off in life when you commit to something whether physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc. You can become such a better person in so many deeper aspects of life. You can truly find a bigger picture for life. A reason to get up every morning ready to make a difference... ready to impact others and try to motivated people to become better then they were yesterday...

No one wants to live in a state of homeostasis (constant)... we want change. We like change. We like to be better. We like to see increases. Thats what CrossFit and this 30 day challenge did for me.

I wanted to include in this post a quick video of my journal. The first part of this video is from a CrossFit competition in January. Obviously I was no where near the level I hope to be or want to be, and my efficiency is terrible on these "double unders" (jump rope passing 2x per jump)-- the 2nd part is a video from this month and 100 straight double unders. This isn't posted to brag, or boast  or to show off by any means-- but its to just put the icing on the cake when I challenge you "to commit to something and you will see such a positive difference" 

So what do you want to do? Where do you want to become better? What will you commit to for the next 30 days. 

I had no idea that my 30 day challenge last November with CrossFit would hook me for the rest of my life. But thats what it did. And to celebrate on a personal note, I just registered and invested into getting my CrossFit certification! I will be attending the Level 1 Seminar in Columbus OH come December! I am more then excited and cannot wait to learn more, dig deeper and just continue to keep my passion at such a high level in hopes of impacting and changes other people's lives!
I did get to compete in the 2012 CrossFit Open (1st stage before making it to the Games) but failed to qualify for the regionals. I am also training for the 2013 CrossFit games and other competitions--> which is where my competition bucket has been filled to the top once again! So my personal goal for year 2: qualifying for regionals. 

I appreciate you taking a moment to hear about my last year in review. Now its your turn....

Here's your challenge. Step up and DO SOMETHING.

GM 

Giving respect where its due...

i know its been a while since i have posted but the month of may has been an awesome month that hasnt really given me too much time to post. and today is no different- but its the last day of the month and i want to give some love and some respect where its due.
i have talked over and over about challenging yourself and the importance of setting goals to ever see growth in your own life and experiences. i have many times challenged people to attempt something for 30 days and see exactly what time of change they see and the fun you can have when you truly commit to something. one person that has truly take grasp of this and has ran (no pun intended) wild with this concept.
the person that i want to give a quick shout out to is patrick glasser. (ps. he has no idea about this so hopefully he wont mind someone giving him a social media pat on the back). at the beginning of this month patrick text me and said that his goal for the month of may was to run 60 miles. i thought "heck yea man, thats awesome." and told him whatever i could do to help or to show encouragement to let me know. well to make the month and this post short- i just received a message from patrick that said "it's done, may challenge just got killed".... i loved hearing that. so to you, patrick, job well done! you deserve it man!
so with that, i offer up a challenge. tomorrow is day 1 of june. we have 30 days ahead of us for the next month that i want you to do something that challenges yourself...something that you will have fun with but also at the same time push yourself to see improvement and changes! we should never want to be in a standstill or want to be apart of the "norm" that society has termed--- we should always be in pursuit of goals, growth, excitement, impact, change, passion, love, improvement, etc etc etc.
give it shot. 30 days. thats it. do something different. you have nothing to lose. after this 30 days, 2012 will be half way over--- what are you going to do to make the rest of the year great? set yourself apart from the norm.
when you decide what your 30 day challenge is... i challenge you again to let me know. i want to be apart of it however it is. to encourage, to help with, however else. and hopefully at the end of this month you give me a reason to blog about you. thats what i want. do it.

#BetterEveryDay #LiveWithPurpose #2012breakthrough

breakthrough.
gabe.

a gift while i traveled...

so this past week i had the opportunity to travel to virginia for a long weekend. it was a great relaxing time with family! the purpose of the vacation was just to get away. we went with no agenda (except we did plan to visit washington dc one day). i will have to say, going out of state for 5 days and not having an agenda, not having a plan, not knowing what you were going to do each day-- was quite nice. it was perfect just to get up each day and to truly take a moment to appreciate the day ahead. i wont go into a lot of details pertaining to the trip but what i do want to make note of one of the two books i had the opportunity to read while away. as most of you know, if you have read any of these, i am a person who is passionate about many things. one of those things is trying to make more of an impact on the community that i am apart of however that is. so the book that i read talked about the steps to success. how to become more successful in your life. i wasnt quite sure what to expect with the book but i love recommendations and figured id give it a shot! and man, i will tell you what i am glad i did.
so here is my recommendation to you. go read, the travelers gift by andy andrews. it is truly a remarkable book and truly outlines the steps to success in a different yet amazing way! i dont want ruin the book for you in hopes that you go out and read it. but i do want to address one of the things that he talks about. the outline of the book is he has 7 steps to success. the main character travels and he given this "gift" of steps to success from 7 different people. he then explains at the end, once all steps are revealed, that to be successful you must incorporate each action! you cannot be successful by just working on 1, or 2, or 3, but you must truly devote to studying, learning more about, and incorporating all of them!
one step that i will quickly touch on, and i cannot give it justice like the writer does, but the 3rd step in the process is "I am a person of action. I seize this moment. I choose now". how relevant is that with our lives? whatever situation you are in, whatever you face on a daily basis we need to attack it with an attitude of action. we are blessed with many opportunities in our lives and each day--- and for those situations to truly be maximized we make take action and seize the moment. the story that andrews talks about during this step is awesome and basically life changing. its really changed my attitude and thoughts as i approach the day. and thats what life is about. for any of us to truly make an impact, to help others, to challenge others to jump on the wagon--we must take action. this is about at church, at our jobs, in our homes- wherever you find yourself! what kind of attitude do you have? do you have an attitude of attacking the situation? to truly maximize what is in front of you? if not, you need to first ask yourself why dont you? what is holding you back? why dont you want to take action? and then once you have that answer, change! do whatever it takes to seize the moment. and once you do, trust me, you will be on the path of living a life that will impact yourself but more impacting you will be on the path of impacting others.
so enough blabbing, go get the book. seriously. now.

breakthrough.
gabe.

7 days with no tv... Makes one weak?

I sure hope everyone has had an amazing weekend as that everyone is fired up to tackle as attack this next week! What a great opportunity we have tomorrow-- to face another Monday head on and own it like never before... I sure hope that is your attitude about this next week. If you are worried about it, or dreading going to work tomorrow, or whatever it is that you are thinking about-- change your thought! Be ready to make this the best week possible! However that is. I don't care if it's suppose to be the worst week of the year-- don't let that happen. It's up to you. You have the power to make the week whatever you want. And it all starts with your attitude and how you approach tomorrow morning! So be different. Be weird. Be unique. And get pumped up about tomorrow and attack it head on.
Want it to be a different week? Want to challenge yourself? Want to try something crazy. Here's what I'm doing this week-- yesterday I challenge myself to go the next 7 days with zero tv. That's sportscenter, Espn (Thats about all I care to watch) but it also includes any tv show or movie. I'm not going to turn the tv on until at least next Sunday. Why? Because after much thought I feel that I waste to much time in front of it. I mean, what does it do for me? How does watching a tv show that has no sentimental meaning going to help me make this the next year ever? I couldn't come up with an answer. I reasoned that I could spend more time doing other things-- like today instead of watching tv I went on a bike ride- easy enough. But seriously what about you? Think about what you could accomplish if you gave up something as simple as the tv. I am honestly very excited about this challenge. I know it's going to e tough and there will be those temptations but that's where the personal growth is going to take a turn for the better! So for me it's the tv, what's it for you? What can you do different this week? 7 days. That's it. Why not give it a shot and see where it gets you--- you might actually get a little more accomplished and feel a little better about yourself! I don't know-- but until next time.

Breakthrough.
Gabe.

calling all challengers...

where does time go? man- i tell you what, its tough to find a few moments every now and then just to sit down and to write about whats going on where you dont make it a priority. so thats what i did today. i stopped making excuses and got on here and have a few things to share. hopefully, ill keep this quick but also get my point across.

i ran across this quote today and it caught my attention right off the back:

"Don't be afraid to fail. Don't waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It's OK to fail. If you're not failing, you're not growing."

can you truly say that is your mindset? but think about the personal growth that you could develop if it was. what if we truly werent afraid to fail? that can be with many things... life, eating habits, workouts, journaling, etc... but thats not my point here, my point here is to even have a chance of "not being afriad to fail" we have to have something to "not be afraid of". how many of us just go through the days with the same ol' routine as yesterday. where the heck is the excitement in that? where is the excitement of trying something new? doing some fun? learning more about yourself? challenging yourself? thats what got me stuck on this 30 day challenge routine for myself (i hope if you have read any of my previous posts that you have caught on to this). tomorrow is the end of my 2nd round of challenges. this go round was fitness related, my goal at the end of 30 days was to be able to 1) do a 5:00 plank 2) 100 consecutive double under jump ropes... when i first started this challenge, i knew they were going to be tough- esp. the plank. but i committed to working on them for 30 straight days in hopes of achieving my goals... and you know what-- im not afraid to fail!! because i know that i have put some time into something and committed myself to attempting these-- and its been fun over 30 days to truly see differences in particular with these two exercises.. so whats holding you back? whats keeping you from challenging yourself? whats keeping you from trying something new? maybe giving up a certain food/drink for 2 weeks, or starting a new workout routine, or starting to journal for 30 days... stop making excuses, dont be afraid to fail- and challenge yourself.. the personal growth that you will see during that time will totally exceed your expectation. and it will keep you from going day in and day out with the same routine because each day you wake up you know that there is a new challenge out there even if its the smallest of changes--- its still something...

im serious though. try something new. see where it takes you. you might enjoy it and actually see positive changes and growth!

breakthrough.

gabe. 

on a mission..and its called life.

its been a while. so welcome back- if anyone is here.
the last couple of weeks have been up and down for myself. ive learned a lot about myself, my friends, and more importantly my family. first, i want to say thank you for everyone for the thoughts, prayers, and condolences sent to our family for the passing of my grandpa. he was a great man- as i heard over and over from many different stories from many different people. i definitely learned a lot more about him and about my family over the last weeks. i knew my grandpa was a devout christian, good man, a hard worker-- what i didnt quite grasp or understand until lately is the fact that he: was a great friend, a man who truly loved his job, someone who put others before him, knew what he wanted to do in life, set goals and set out to reach them, was a mentor, and so many other things. the one fact that so many people told me and the one thing that stuck with me is the comment that "i might not of been your grandpa's best friend, but i tell you what, whenever i ran into him or whenever i got the chance to talk to him, he made me feel like i was the most important person on earth- he made me feel like his friend." wow. for real? how amazing and how awesome is that. im envious of that. i want to strive for that. i want to be able to make people feel that way. my grandpa was a genuine man! i challenge you to do the same. how often do we just go through the motions as we "talk" to someone on a daily basis? how often do we reply to the question "how are you doing" with a quick "im good" and then walk around not thinking twice about it? im at fault- more then once. but thats not what we are called to do. that should not be our mission. our mission should be to reach out to others- "to treat every single person we pass as the most important person in the world-- treat them like our friend". we should take time to listen to them, to truly ask them and to truly care "how their day is going"-- instead of just passing by through the motions. thats my challenge to you. thats my challenge to myself- to strive for that. to strive to be like my grandpa.
so over the last week, i have been thinking about my life- and about my life's mission. what exactly do i want to be? its not so much what i want people to say about me or think about it, its more about what i can do for people. i dont care what people say about me or think about me--- if im living out my mission then that will take care of itself. so i came up with my life mission. i sat down and thought about it- i brainstormed exactly what i crave for, what gets me fired up, what i truly love to do... and i came up with this statement:
"I'm here to add positive value and effectively influence others' spiritual, physical, and mental growth."
thats it. one sentence can sum up what i want to pursue. and thats what im going to do. have you ever thought about a mission statement for your life? if not, do it! right down exactly what you want from yourself. it not only is exciting to do, but its a challenge and it keeps you on track. so stop reading and go and think about it. write it down. post it somewhere. let others know. and then, go out and make a difference. life is a mission and we are called to be on.
ps. one way that im striving toward my mission is im going into the twitter world. so follow me if your on there- i will be sending daily, weekly, honestly whenever i think about it- tweets (is that what they are called?) to motivate, to educate, or just to have a good laugh. but for real, follow me: @gm1ll3r


until next time. 
breakthrough.
gabe. 

feedin' your body

so here is another post about fitness. its not about motivating you to go workout or posting workout examples for you guys to try-- i want to talk about nutrition, about what kind of food you are putting into your body. theres a quote that states, "tell me what you eat and ill tell you what you are".
i think that is exactly right. in todays society all of the hoopla that is put on fitness and working out can easily be subsidized by what people are putting into their bodies. so what i want to do in this post is to give my top 5 food choices- i dont know if they are the best choices, but they work for me. when your body breaks down food, the macronutrients (fat, protein and carbs) are used basically for energy. so think about that for a minute-- what you are putting into your body correlates with what type of energy you have. take care of your body and it will take care of you. so again, below is my list of top 5 foods-- snacks, dinner, lunch options-- they are what work for me. whats your top 5? let me know!

Top 5 Foods:

1) Peanut Butter
"-Why it's good for you: At least five major studies confirm that eating peanuts can lower risk for    coronary heart disease. So it's no leap to think that peanut butter confers the same benefits. "Suffice it to say that eating peanut butter or peanuts has been associated with lower total cholesterol, lower ldl or 'bad' cholesterol, and lower triglycerides, all of which are associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk," says Richard Mattes, Ph.D"


2) Lean Turkey
"-Turkey is an excellent source of lean protein. One serving of turkey provides more than half your body's protein requirement, with half the fat of beef and 30% fewer calories. Also contains selenium, niacin, and Vitamin B6."


3) Chocolate Milk
"-Studies now show that chocolate milk aids the body in recovery, most importantly the muscles"


4) Beef Jerky
"-Part of the jerky-preparation process involves trimming away excess fat, so jerky may provide a heart-healthy way to enjoy the taste of red meat...Animal protein, such as red meat, contains all nine essential amino acids, making beef jerky a high-quality protein."


5) Sweet Potato (plain)
"They are high in vitamin B6, a good source of Vitamin C, contain Vitamin D, iron and also magnesium."






again, this is just my list of some of my favorite foods/snacks that i have found work for myself. to get some of the best results for this year, keeping tabs and paying attention to what you are feeding your body is huge. take it for what it is.


breakthrough. 
gabe.