An Angery Average Joe

An Average Joe’s Anger…

I am very upset at the fact that Crossfit boxes just keep popping up around existing boxes- on the same streets – in the same towns... We like to talk about community but it has become who has the biggest box, the most monetary support and a who’s who of games competitors and athletic sponsorships - How can we build a community when we are becoming exactly what we despise -The globo gym... Crossfit Headquarters kindly accepts our affiliate fees every year with absolutely no return like protection from other pseudo crossfit globo boxes looking to clean up with shitty programming, over-crowded classes and with little regards to community, personal development and goal accomplishment... Congratulations Crossfit Headquarters... we have become over-crowded, non-coached, unsafe, nonfunctional movement CROSSFIT GLOBO!!! Coach Glassman should be proud of what his Crossfit model has become… An organic community of Mice and Men...~The Pissed-off Average Joe

The Average Support Team

Every Average Joe needs conviction, perseverance and a toolbox full of other helpful factors when conquering this thing called life. More importantly, everyone needs the a support mechanism that can be tested and relied on in many ways. I should be more appreciative with my support team. I always believe that behind every strong individual is an army of supportive individuals who make that person endure.

Here is a sample of one of my support team. This is a very short but inspirational message I got. I am so thankful to have this opportunity to touch lives and to be touched by individuals doing what they do as Average Joe’s…

Just some basic advice from the avg danni: i tell my students and often remind myself, when somebody is making fun or taunting you always take the high road and NEVER let them see that it bothers you bc that is what they want and you will be beating them at their own game:)

Watch Us Win!

I knew opening Elm City Crossfit with my very formidable buddies would bring a great deal of satisfaction. I learn just as much from my athletes as they do from me. But the biggest surprise was the one is soon discovered when the WODs roll out and the suffering begins.

At Elm City Crossfit we are bonded by various motivating factors but the one that keeps individuals coming back for more is the community - what I like to refer to our team. This is a trend that I have witnessed two years in the making. I see people of various abilities, backgrounds, sexes, interests and of course opinions come together everyday to suffer together. And for those who suffer together bond together. It is sediment that is felt not only with the athletes performing the exercises, but also anyone who ever walks into our box. We are a band of brothers brought together for individual goals.

Each day at Elm City Crossfit, athletes are exposed to a workout which each individual will perform during the course of that particular day. There is a since of both competition and camaraderie when each set our on their journey to complete the day’s test. Our athletes are motivated and comforted by the simple fact that the team will be victorious, standing together against the day’s challenges. Even though our results are individually based and our goals are very personal, the means and the medium are very much team driven. Our team is less concern with physical prowess or appearance, we are concern with how our team fares. Participation, pride, perseverance, passion, poise – this is our team – watch us win! ~The Average Joe

Same Old Sh%t!



While others run from the rain - Banjo and I run in it!



Same Old Sh%T right? Wrong. Here we challenge the human spirit. Here we step out of our comfort zones for just the opportunity to be great. Success or maybe failure – at least we shine at our opportunity. We are not defined by what we do but more importantly – how we go about doing it.

I had a great conversation with my friend and partner Vin Lindsley – Head Trainer, Elm City Crossfit and nutritional guru the other day. We were discussing the general negativity and disregard felt in the general public for meat eaters and especially the Paleolithic position for proper eating habits. We both reflected on stories of woe and how nonresponsive individuals can be regarding healthy food choices. We both agreed to continue the good fight – one that entails continuous and constant reminders to those who inquire on how the body reacts both positively and negatively to what you put into it. It is a path Vin had been working on over the last two decades. After finishing our bitch-fest to each other Vin stated “Same Old Sh%t” – Same message, same questions, same lack of belief and buy-in but he will continue to speak the nutritional gospel.

It is my personal goal to uphold Vin’s underlying challenge. No matter how many times people ask you the same question or even challenge your position. No matter the number of times we sculpt and contour our nutritional views – No matter the barriers to our message – I will continue. I actually view it as a challenge. So I challenge you! I challenge you to dig deeper. I challenge you to ask why. I challenge you to go against the same old sh%t and do your own thing. ~ The Average Joe

What is Crossfit?

What is Crossfit? – Through the eyes of an average Joe…

Yeah- we have all seen the thousands of versions of the definition of Crossfit which can be found on nearly every single blog site on this planet. But have we ever really decided what the definition really is. In my humble opinion – it is constantly varied! Now of course, I can reference the ten attributes of fitness or talk about general preparedness. But I think it is much more complicated and individualistic.

First of all I think Crossfit is a state of mind. I find people lost in a world of failed diets, long oxidative running and a general public that is completely misinformed to what true fitness looks like. Crossfit gives us the opportunity to see it first hand. It is a presence. It is excitement. It is a mission only defined by those who make the commitment to participate. It is home to many walks of life. There is no standard body type. There are no prerequisites required. It is by the people for the people who commit to commit.

I think Crossfit is our team. I never thought in my wildest dreams that Crossfit could rekindle the camaraderie that brings us all back to the days of childhood sports. The innocence, the teamwork, the suffering – the kinds of bonds that exists from individuals who suffer together, work together and win together. This winning comes in the form of goal attainment, the exiting of one comfort zone and entering into an arena where hard work is celebrated not by individual accomplishments or finishing times but by the opportunity to participate with your team and hold up your end of the intensity bargain. This celebration is exemplified each and everyday.

I think Crossfit is our social network. Where else can you have your own lingo, language and share so much of yourself with your teammates. It is more than a fitness center. It is a platform for continuous interaction, a bond that is shared by like-minded individuals who care less about aesthetics and more about accomplishment and participation. We cannot be bothered with TV – we are our own reality sitcom – setting the stage each and everyday for the struggles and fight that comes with our individual quest for fitness and happiness.

Crossfit is our political platform. Our arguments do not revolve around foreign policy or the unemployment rate. Our arguments are centered on proper technique and standards. These are the standards that are designed to keep us consistent, safe and uniform. Our allegiance and alliances lie with those who exemplify integrity, consistence and class. It is our opportunity to stand as individuals and educate ourselves on positive choices as it relates to eat habits, movements and general wellness so that we can participate and educate others who are interested in our position.

Crossfit is a theme. It is a position that cannot be defined or contained in a simple Webster definition. It is an answer to your question. It consists of the very matter that makes us all – it is individual. It is a hibernating answer to those questions about yourself that you have been waiting to voice. It is an opportunity – your chance to further your position, your theme, your platform, your network, your team, your state of mind and most importantly your life. What is your Crossfit? Only you can answer that ~ The Average Joe