Brave New World

Welcome to the new age of physical fitness – where the prescription supersedes patience, perseverance, pride and accomplishment. We live in a world of numbers, where statistics and gross median averages rain as a dominance towards success.

If we are living in a world of standards and averages, then everyone should expect to make $49,000 per year, married with 2.1 kids, drive a white Ford Focus, sleep for 6.82 hours and consume over 50 gallons of soda daily. Where did our identity go? Since when should life be AS RX?

We are individuals who come in all different sizes, styles, taste, motivation, backgrounds and pasts. Fitness is individualistic. Preparation and results are not driven by standardization of repetitions and weight. Goals are realized by individuals who understand the meaning of patience and genuine hard work. We are not a world of generic – one size fits all fitness. We are a culmination of people bound together for a common interest – To be better, to be different and to get results – whatever those results may be. Celebrate your gains – celebrate your individuality.

So the next time you are judged for not meeting a standard performance level or your effort was perceived as not prescribed, you should be happy. You should celebrate! You should be honored not for being the same but for being different. True to yourself – True to your perseverance and true to your accomplishment. I have to take a great tag line from one of my good friends, Elm City CrossFit’s Vin Lindsley – Train smart, eat clean and smile often. So in this world where we are taught to live life as RX – I say XRX, who needs prescriptions anyways. ~ The Average Joe

Don't be Afraid to be Great

As a coach, I am constantly surrounded with individuals with varying backgrounds, pre-existing issues and the pursuit of individual goals. I have often commented that I enjoy coaching the average athlete over the elite. I enjoy mining down to the core of an individual and helping them reach their goals. It is both rewarding and gratifying partnering with an athlete as they embark on their journey. The plan, the strategy, the tactics and the best maps are constantly changing. It is those people who identify, rectify, plan, act, follow-through, repeat, learn, comprehend and stay vigilant to the process who will endure.

One of my personal favorite athletes, who I have had the pleasure of coaching for years, now, is my good friend Teddy. I have known him for many years and I have watched him grow into the solid young man he is today. I see a lot of myself in Teddy – the athletic and social underdog. So when Teddy went off to college he soon joined the college rugby team. A decision that made me happy as I followed a similar path. This camaraderie and team bond is the perfect stepping stone for Teddy.

At the end of his freshmen year, he came back home and entered Elm City CrossFit with one single goal – he wanted to show up for his sophomore year and secure a starting position on the college rugby team. Teddy and I worked the entire summer and I set him up on a program that was a bit non-traditional and in some cases down-right crazy – but he endured. Teddy lost over 20 pounds in one summer and was ready to head back to college a new man.

While leaving the gym last night, I received a phone call from Teddy. He was calling me from school. He called to tell me that he had been selected to the starting team (the A side). I could not have been more proud of Teddy and what he accomplished. He put in some really hard work and it paid off. I am further honored to have been a part of his great journey that is surely only just began. You deserve it Teddy. You have done an amazing job. The thing that I am most proud of is that you never gave up and even though life has a way of putting us all down, you stood up and took every opportunity to make a difference in your goal. You were not afraid to be great. ~The Average Joe