Dear Fellow Tribe Athlete,

My wife and I have been talking about you behind your back.

It’s true.

And what we have been talking about will be of interest to you if you’ve ever finished last in a CrossFit class.

I’ll tell you more in just a moment, but first …

Let’s say you are just getting started with CrossFit 101 and you are a little apprehensive and nervous about your first class.

Or, you’ve graduated from 101 and have been CrossFitting now for a few months.

Right off the bat, you know it isn’t going to be easy.

Just take a look around ….

• You see people running and pouring in sweat as they bolt in and out of the building in the middle of the summer heat.

• You witness young and old, male and female attempting strange lifts you’ve never even tried before.

• You hear ITF coaches barking out orders, making demands and correcting the form of those in the class.

• Suddenly, you wonder what you’ve gotten yourself into.

Gone are the lazy days of the casual walk on a treadmill at your local gym, with your headsets on, as you listen in on the news or sports on the TV.

It’s “goodbye” to a mild pump in your biceps with a set of isolation dumbbell curls.

Spin class suddenly seems like a comforting environment.

It’s all been replaced with a good dose of fear and trembling.

But you’ve been smart about it all.

When you first heard of CrossFit and Iron Tribe Fitness, you did your research.

You made a phone call, went to our website, maybe downloaded our free report … or maybe you just walked in a made a personal visit.

Most likely, you heard about us through a friend or saw an ad in Black and White or About Town.

Then the day came when you made that leap of faith, and you joined.

You felt you were ready for a change …, and you were!

And while you were a little nervous, you were excited about getting started to!

Then on your first day of CrossFit 101, you went through your base line WOD.

That’s the day reality hit you like a cold slap in the face.

Without warning you realized how out of condition you really were.

Half way through the WOD, you began huffing and puffing and feeling like you were going to blow the house down.

Your lungs were burning and your legs started filling with lactic acid.

You even wondered if you could finish the WOD.

That was bad enough, but nothing could have prepared you for what happened next.

Out of your whole class …

You came in dead last.

That’s when you experienced the greatest pain of your day … the sting of humiliation.

Humiliation … it’s an awful word, isn’t it?

It’s just so visceral … like a sucker punch in the gut when you least expect it.

That’s because at some point in our lives, we’ve all experienced humiliations on some level.

Needless to say, we never want to experience it again!

But there you were, feeling it again.

Trust me, I know how you feel, because, well, you see – I know because I’ve been the last one to finish.

A lot of times.

So has my wife, Melody.

And together, we’ve been talking about you … behind your back.

We’ve been talking about what you have felt, (and may still be feeling) and what you’ve been going through.

That’s why together, we want to bring you a word of encouragement today.

She and I want to have a heart-felt conversation with you, best we can in this blog – simply because we know how you feel … when others in your family life, work life and social life have no clue.

There’s nothing quite like feeling like no one understands, or worse, no one cares.

And there is nothing like feeling alone either.

But listen: We want to offer you something incredibly valuable.

We want to offer you hope and understanding.

There are 5 things we’d like you to understand and take away from this blog:

The first thing we’d like you to understand is …

You are not the only one who has ever finished last.

Nope. Far from it.

Consider this; every week, ITF offers 44 classes to our athletes.

Now, let that sink in for just a moment, and process that tidbit of info.

44 classes every week, means that 44 people have to finish last.

The second thing we want you to understand is …

It’s perfectly normal for you to hate being last.

As much as it may not seem like it, that negative feeling can actually be a positive motivator.

It motivates you to get better fast.

It’s true, finishing last could help you improve faster than any other single variable.

Trust me, nobody wants to be last. Nobody.

Women (and some men too) tell us all the time that they didn’t know they were so competitive, and it took CrossFit to bring it out of them.

Self discovery is a wonderful thing.

The third thing we want you to understand is …

Being the last one to finish won’t last forever.

You will get better, stronger, and faster.

You will move large loads long distances faster, and faster as your conditioning gets better.

The beautiful thing about CrossFit is …

CrossFit grows with you!

As you get better … you get better.

Some of those same CrossFit 101‘ers, who were last in the beginning, are now fire-breathers.

And some, like myself, still finish last when thrown into a class of young, athletic and highly competitive athletes.

Yep. I still finish last at times.

Which brings us to the forth thing we want you to understand ….

What is all of this really about, anyway?

When it comes right down to it, I doubt you joined ITF to “not finish last.”

Not finishing last is NOT why you joined this incredible community.

No. You have a much higher reason for becoming an ITF athlete.

Could that reason be (like myself), that you are determined to be strong and healthy as you can be as you age, so you can be vibrant and playful with your grand-buddies?

Or maybe it is to fit better in your clothes … or maybe you are about to get married … or you just got divorced … or you needed to lose weight for health reasons … or any number of other great reasons.

The point is, we don’t want you to lose sight of why you are really here.

Finally, we have one last thing we want you to understand ….

The day you don’t finish last is the day you have a new responsibility in the ITF community.

You now have a “high calling” placed upon your shoulders.

What is that exactly?

Let me answer that by telling you a quick story.

One day, during his first CrossFit 101 class, a new ITF athlete named Josh Pawlik did something very impressive in my eyes.

During his very first class, he finishes close to the top … maybe even finished first …, but he was far from being finished … he ran out the door and back down the street … to encourage – get this – the last person to finish!

He runs beside her the whole way, talking, encouraging, and helping her through the last portion of the run until she finishes her WOD.

Listen up: The day you are no longer finishing last in your WODs is the day you become the encourager to someone who is feeling the very same way you did.

Helping someone else is your reward for finishing before them.

That’s the way life should work … and that’s your call as an ITF athlete.

I hope this helps, and I hope you’ve received a bit of encouragemnet in the process.

I’d love to hear your comments and your stories.

Please tell me all about them in the comments below.

I Did Something That Probably Caused Aaron Crocker More Pain Than Attempting “Daniel” Today.

I forgot to post my Monday morning blog!

Oops. So the long weekend apparently threw me off, and suddenly about 1:30 this afternoon as I was washing my hair after a good workout, I realized it was Monday. I suppose the Rosemary mint in my shampoo woke up my brain cells.

O.k., so we’ve been cranking out copy all week for the special A-WOD edition of the TribeVibe, and in my mind I’d already written the blog, too. All that to say, I just plum forgot. (Saying it that way just makes it sound more quaint and forgiveable, doesn’t it?)

Anyway, so before Aaron calls and says, “baby, how could you do it? What happened to my ace writer? I’m gonna have to dock your pay,” I will submit this quick tale of how I took what we have learned at ITF and created my own WOD today… or as I like to call it, an SOM — spur of the moment. That’s because I don’t know what it will be until I’m doing it.

Shyla has mentioned many times that we can practice our skills out on the street. So that’s what I did, since I wasn’t industrious enough to get signed up for the scheduled class this morning. Not to mention, last night I had some red wine and french fries and felt like I needed to make up for it and sweat all that crap of my system. Can I get an “Amen, sister?” Come on, I know I’m not the only one.

So here’s how it went: Warmed up with 50 squats, 50 situps and 50 double unders. Then ran an easy 1.2 miles to the park. 1 min. rest. Sprint 400m up the hill past Homewood Library. 1 min walking rest. Run another 1.2 miles through Hollywood.

Loop back to Shades Cahaba playground. 10 knees to elbows and 10 “pullups.” Then, 25 jumps using a 16″ ledge that runs around the playground. Run back to 19th street, past Homewood PD, around SoHo, back to 29th Ave. 1 min rest. Sprint up 18th Street (240m; zigzagging around lamp posts). Then run back to park. 1 min rest. Sprint from park uphill 450m to E. Hawthorn. Easy pace from Trinity back to just before Palisades Tunnel. Sprint 340m back to my house. Finish with 50 more double unders.

The entire route works out to be about 5.1 miles. But you don’t realize it as you break it up into sections.

Since join ITF, it’s been very difficult to just do a straight run. And Shyla is right, if you pay attention to your surroundings you can find little obstacles to use in lieu of a box or real pullup bars. In fact, the bars at the playground are actually made for elementary school kids, so you kind of have to tuck your legs in and just make it work. But you still get the arm work.

So the next time you go for a jog or even a walk, look around you for things you can make a challenge. You actually see your neighborhood in a whole new way. In fact, if you find any place that has some suitable natural equipment you can do CrossFit moves with, tell us about it. Maybe we can take a field trip.

So Aaron, I hope I have redeemed myself. You can now go back to enjoying your Labor Day! And Jim, congrats on getting your Cert this weekend. I know you’ll teach us well!

Till next Monday (if I remember),

Janie

I’m here to tell you that I’m not only drinking the Kool-Aid, but it’s officially seeping out of my pours now!

I’ll always remember Labor Day weekend 2010 for my amazing time at the CrossFit Level One Certification in Atlanta (checkout the 9/6/10 CrossFit.com post and click the view image option for a cool group photo from the cert).

Jordan Erwin and I met in my driveway at 4:30 am CT on Saturday morning and headed down I-20 East in the VW with Primal Pacs, Grainless Granola and a private showing of the CrossFit Films’ classic “Every Second Counts,” followed by a study session of our L-1 manuals (which had great review notes thanks to Aaron Crocker).

After arriving at CrossFit Atlanta in record time, Jordan and I met up with our fellow ITF Tribesman, Bebo Fitzpatrick. For the lay person, Bebo is the reigning ITF Awod winner for Most Improved Male Athlete.

Bebo, Jordan and I soaked up an amazing day of lectures, breakout sessions and small group movement tutorials, from CrossFit’s Chuck Carswell and his amazing team of trainers that included ITF friend Russell Berger, who owns CrossFit Huntsville.

We met some great folks from all over the southeast at the event. Men and women from all walks of life, who were paid their $1,000 to be at this certification, with a job or even their own business on the line!

Finally, at the end of day one, we were ready for the WOD; Fran! Jordan, Bebo and I were just three of the sixty people performing. Two heats and lots of stretching got us ready to 3, 2, 1, Go… On our way to PR in front of lots of eyeballs. The adrenalin rush was awesome.

Bebo did his first ever Fran at 7:05, Jordan PR’d 50 seconds with a 3:25 and I PR’d by 99 seconds with a 4:11. The best part, we all got caught up in lines during the pull up portions, so our times might even be better next time!

After recovering from the WOD (I was on the floor for at least a half hour coughing and gasping for air with no ability to extend my arms), Chuck and the CrossFit folks brought out the beer and we hung out… A truly neat CrossFit networking experience for a guy like me, who loves to network!

Day two started off, right where day one left off. From the nutrition segment to the team WOD where Jordan and I finished tops amongst thirty teams, we had a great final day at the event. Finally, it was go time… Test time… The money maker (or spender).

Yes, I passed. And I got my L-1! But, more importantly, I was reminded exactly why I love CrossFit and am so blessed to be a part if the ITF team.

Thanks you Forrest, Luan, Aaron, Tra and Shyla. I’m so excited about the next chapter.

Stay tuned this week for clips and interviews from ITF’s first AWOD celebration.

Before I even get started on my post this morning I just want to say how incredibly proud of my staff I am.  To put together the A-WOD’s in less than three weeks was amazing.  However, their daily commitment and passion for what they do every day is even more amazing.  Thanks team – I’m proud to work with you and call you friends…

Reposting my recent Body Revolution Newsletter

I want to repost a Body Revolution Newsletter that I sent each of you on August 16th.  My software backend tells me that only about 70 of you actually open and read my weekly Monday newsletter so I thought this one was worth repeating.

Especially considering that so many of you are discovering the big CrossFit world out there and that there are others in town who offer CrossFit “programs” and are certainly cheaper than we are.  I will save you my rant on the state of service, facilities and staff in the over 50 CrossFit locations I have visited and let you make your own educated decision.

Here is the newsletter… Stick with me all the way to the end because I address why we opened the doors for 40 Phase II memberships and how it will never affect you or your workout experience.

One of the more curious questions I’ve ever received while signing up a new ITF athlete came from Josh Pawlik, who asked me pointedly, “Forrest, can you give me a justification for value for the price you are asking to join ITF?” A rephrasing of the question might be, “Are you valuable enough for me to join you?” So today, I’m going to talk to you a bit about the value ITF brings to you, and how people make reasonable decisions based upon their perceived value to any purchase … specifically, ITF. (See my article below entitled, “Three Types of Decision Makers.”) And in today’s case study featuring Rachel Tarver, you’ll discover how she came to her own conclusions of the value of ITF. Yours For Health, Forrest Walden P.S. Oh, one last thing. Josh Pawlik did join ITF that day, and later wrote on my office wall the following testimony: “When I first got here I asked Forrest for a “justification of value” to begin this program. After four weeks of sweat, pain, and giving up my favorite foods, the friendships gained and fitness earned is … PRICELESS!” Just thought you might want to know how that story ended.

Three Types Of Decision Makers Each and every client who walks through the doors of ITF for the very first time end up asking themselves a version of this question, “Is there enough value here for me to join?” In order to fully maximize the value of any product or service, you first need to understand the psychology of buyers. For example, a recent study conducted by one of the Country’s leading consumer tradeshow organizers revealed that there are three types of consumers … The “Benefit” Shopper – This is the person who doesn’t even look at the price tag and finds out later when he or she arrives home. To this person, price is mostly irrelevant – only benefit matters. This type of person is about 7% of the marketplace. The “Price” Shopper – This individual buys almost entirely on price. Each and every purchase comes down to price and only discounted or “cheap” items are purchased. This type of shopper is about 10% of the marketplace.  We will also certainly not be a fit for this type of shopper. The “Value” Shopper – This is the person that wants the greatest value, which you can say is the relationship between the benefit and the price. To this person, the price is evaluated in relation to the benefit being achieved. This person is willing to pay a higher price if he or she is convinced that it will result in far greater benefit. Astonishingly, this type of shopper comprises a whopping 83% of the consumers out there! That places YOU in great company with the other ITF athletes who’ve decided that the value we offer our members is more than worth the cost of being a part of Iron Tribe Fitness. And you know what else? It’s the reason why ITF has broken all known CrossFit records for rapid growth – reaching the 200 member mark faster than any other CrossFit affiliate in the world, of which there are 1,700 affiliates. That feat was the whole genesis for the A-WOD’s party that we put together in three weeks.  We were meeting as a staff talking about how to announce and celebrate our goal and the only thing that made any sense to us was to reward you our athletes! We are committed to making your experience at ITF more than just a place that you show up to a couple of times a week to do a workout.  We are building a fit community that you can be proud to call home and have immense pride in being a part of.  Hopefully you see that through events like the A-WOD’s, 300 movie night, free workshops, skill development days etc… We are committed to having the best staff in the world.  Coaches who have chosen to make this their life calling and aren’t just coaching around hours at another job.  If you stop in any other facility in town that is just what you will find.  Look at that picture again at the top of this post – this staff is amazing! So, are we more expensive than other options that you have when you pursue your fitness?  Absolutely.  But, we work every single day to make sure that the VALUE is worth every single penny! Quote Corner “Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded.“ – Jonann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, novelist and dramatist. Case Study # 9 Our next case study brings up such a wonderful point. At the tender age of 22, and as a student at UAB and working a part time job, Rachel had to look at her budget and determine the value of being a member of the Tribe. She could have gone to other gyms and paid less. So why did Rachel decide to join Iron Tribe Fitness? Let’s find out … Name: Rachel Tarver Age: 22 Condition upon arrival: Unmotivated and physically uneducated My previous work out routine consisted of running on the Treadmill/Elliptical and the occasional spin class at the standard globo-gym. This routine was by no means strict or consistent. Branching out to weights/lifting wasn’t really an option in my mind, mainly because I had no idea what to do and would probably hurt myself or others. Also, I just felt weird and out of place going into the weight lifting room with all the guys hanging around. I thought I would make a fool out of myself, so I just decided that wasn’t something for me. As far as eating habits go, I have always been a fairly healthy eater… with a bad sweet tooth. I heard about CrossFit from a few friends of mine over at CrossFit Birmingham, but never paid it much attention because I thought ‘oh that’s a guy thing. I don’t want to look all ripped and manly.’ Then a good friend of mine and fellow Iron Tribe member, Corinne Smith, told me about a new CrossFit gym in town Iron Tribe Fitness. She told me I should check it out and promised I wouldn’t turn into a beastly man. Once I was assured of the non-beastly results, I called and spoke with Forest. He was so helpful and seriously talked to me for a solid ten minutes on the phone about Iron Tribe Fitness. Obviously, if he would take that much time to talk to a complete stranger about ITF it must be something worth my while. After checking out the ITF gym I was surprisingly not intimidated. There was not a single piece of large machinery in sight that required instructions and could potentially crush me, I was ready to see what this was all about. I was confident after seeing the non-intimidating atmosphere and signed up on the spot! Now, let me give you a little personal information: I am currently a student at UAB working on my bachelors degree and I also work part time as a pharmacy tech at UAB hospital. Obviously, neither of these activities generate a tremendous amount of money or gives me a lot of spare time during my day-to-day life. Honestly, I can not think of a better way, not only to spend my time, but also my money. Instead of doing some useless activity or getting some extra sleep I spend my spare time working out at ITF. Rather than spending my money on weekly partying or other frivolous things, I spend it a little more responsibly on my ITF membership. Also, I have not only gained a beyond great fitness regime, but a support system of people that hold me accountable to constantly living a healthy lifestyle and continuing to better myself each day! So you can see the benefits greatly outweigh the time and cost. The wealth of compliments I have gotten from friends, family and coworkers are such a reinforcement to stay committed. Everyone always wants to know what I have been doing and they are pretty astonished when I explain what CrossFit is and that I love it! I suppose they never thought I would become such an avid athlete. My sister says I’m like a walking commercial for CrossFit haha! Seriously though, I love to tell people all about it all the time. CrossFit has made such a distinct and  positive difference in my life, I just want to share my new found fitness program with everyone! ITF is truly a completely different spin on working out. I mean, where else can you find a gym that is so devoted to each member’s fitness that it has a web-site with daily updates, recipes, tips and info (that really do come in handy), photos of everyone at the gym, and your very own, cool athlete profile?! They are always hosting special events to improve your CrossFit experience and Paleo lifestyle. If a question ever arises the staff is always right there to give you an answer or will go to any length to get you an answer. Not only do I have supportive trainers, but I also have my fellow ITF athletes that are always there to cheer me on when I feel like I’m going to throw-up or die. Obviously, this is a pretty sweet deal! ## END ## Thanks Rachel! Phase II Membership Offerings Now, if you are still with me I want to talk further about why we chose to expand our membership offering from 200 to 240.  I initially announced this on CBS 42 on the Friday morning before the A-WOD’s.  That was an accident as I wasn’t expecting that question and was saving the announcement for that evening at the A-WOD’s.  You do funny things when on camera… Even though we have achieved the magical number of 200 we still have numerous classes during our off peak hours that average anywhere from 5 to 10 athletes.  In fact, we have only had 3 athletes in our 8 am and 12:15 pm T, TH class this very week! I have the staff capacity to offer more classes (and staff begging to coach more and offer more options) and new customers dying to get into the program.  On top of that me and my coaches think a small class is just not as much fun and that you ultimately don’t get the same quality of workout. I wanted to figure out a way to satisfy both my staff’s desire for more classes to coach and an overwhelming response of athletes trying to get into the door. Phase II memberships solves these problems and ultimately allows us to offer life changing fitness to even more people.  That’s our core passion and reason for existing. Phase II does allow 40 more lucky athletes into the program but they will only be able to schedule during the slower times that have NEVER sold out.  Those hours are 7:15 am until 4:30 pm.  So, none of these new memberships will increase the size of your class or decrease the quality of coaching or coach to athlete ratio. It is my belief that a well attended (even sold out) class that is well staffed is the most fun and the purest expression of CrossFit.  This program is designed to be pursued in a large group format which offers energy, motivation and good old fashioned competition. My hope is that you can see that these decisions were made carefully with the desire to serve more athletes and continue to offer the best CrossFit training anywhere. I would love to hear any comments or feedback that you have on this very long (and Aaron Crocker worthy) blog post In Health, Forrest

I’ve been totally obsessed with one habit for a couple of years now: drinking a glass of milk before bed. Whole organic milk tastes so good with a big spoonful of almond butter.  On top of the great taste, milk does a body good, right? The FDA and star athletes are huge proponents of milk. And, who can forget what we’ve been told all of our lives: Milk is great for muscle growth and, of course, it prevents osteoporosis like none other. Upon adapting a paleolithic lifestyle I did research on milk consumption. I quickly discovered Paleo man did not drink milk. I instantly thought there was no way I can totally eliminate milk. So, I began to rationalize and believe that if I can stick to a good foundation with the Paleo diet I could continue my milk consumption.

As the Paloe challenge came around I decided to dive in. I was off milk for three weeks and fell off the wagon and started back on milk before bedtime. Once I got back on milk I awoke early one morning with a massive migraine. Nausea, light and sound sensitivity were at an all time high. Talk about a rude awakening.

Following this D-day migraine, I began to think about periods in my life when migraines did not occur.  I started drinking milk routinely right when I started getting these headaches, late teens early twenties. It also occurred to me that out of two deployments to Iraq I only had one migraine headache (I’ve had as many as four in a month in the states). Also another interesting fact, over the past two years the majority of my headaches have occurred while I’m sleeping. So I started to reach a breakthrough on this migraine situation. Could Milk be triggering my headaches? Take a look at the facts: 1) I started drinking milk consistently in my late teens, early twenties 2) My milk consumption was extremely low in Iraq and I only had one migraine over the course of one year. 2) The majority of my headaches over the past couple of years occur in the middle of the night, a few hours after my glass of milk.

I personally feel like I’ve found the trigger for my migraine headaches. Everyone is different. I spoke with my doctor on the situation and he believes in some way everyone is allergic to milk. Some people have intestinal problems after milk consumption. I on the other hand develop severe headaches that are almost blinding. There are great alternatives available like almond milk that supports my late night snack. I strongly encourage everyone to go a month without milk and decide if it truly does a body good.

Almond milk does a body good

I know that everyone of us has found a way to eat out, Paleo, for under $7.  I’m always looking for a way to get better results in the gym, while saving money when dining out.  I would love to hear your ideas, here are a few to get us started…

-Sean Eden told me about Taziki’s; where you can get a side of grilled meat, a side of fresh fruit, and a water for $4.23!

-Jim Cavale mentioned that Urban Cookhouse features the “Down Home” for $6.99 that includes a Meat and two Paleo sides (the Broccoli salad is awesome).

Please post your ideas!

A friend of mine said to me recently ” you would have to be nuts to go to ITF! And you would have to be even more nuts to like it!” …. hmmmm. Well let’s examine the evidence.  1-It’s a facility where you have to go through a month long training class to get in good enough shape to be able to attempt the regular classes. 2- they are proud of you if you throw up during it, and have a creepy clown mascot to prove it, and 3- when you tell them you can’t walk to your car because you can’t feel your legs, they say “well good, that means you did it right.”(yes, Tra, I’m talking to you). And knowing all of this, we come back. Some would say it’s because they like the pain, others would say that it’s because they like the variety, and everyone would say that it works. (I would say that it’s because I’ve been abducted by aliens and replaced with a stronger girl with a better attitude who seems to be up for a challenge- but that’s beside the point). Anything that’s worth having is worth working for, so if that makes us all a little bit nuts, then so be it. Listen, I apparently used to think I could just wish myself fit and thin… Now that’s nuts.

Following is the testimony of Warren Beason.

I highly encourage to read every sentence.

When I asked Warren to write me a case study testimony, he agreed, but wanted me to know that his story is unremarkable.

Warren genuinely feels that way because, well, because this is one humble man.

To me, that shows just how strong, stable and grounded this man really is.

I believe you are going to enjoy what you are about to read.

I say that because I believe Warren’s testimony speaks to so many different kinds of people who would be interested in ITF.

And for all of you who are ITF athletes, what you are about to read is both inspiring as well as showing what can be realistically attained with hard work.

Finally, speaking to you personally Warren, thank you for such a detailed testimony and for the influence I know it will have on the lives of those who read it.

You-da-man!

_________________________________

Trust me, my story is fairly unremarkable.  And that might also just be the reason you should read it.

I am not a former college athlete.  I have known very little about nutrition for most of my life.  I do not work out three times per day.  I have never visited a masseuse or chiropractor.  I have never been a bodybuilder, triathlete or ultramarathoner.  I don’t even own a pair of those cool black leotards that Forrest likes to bust out for special events.  No, generally, the rut of suburban sloth has been my habitat.

In other words, the pursuit of “elite fitness” is a new venture for me.  However, thanks to Forrest allowing me to be one of his early garage-gym lab rats, I have been at this thing for a little over 18 months.  And that is likely the reason Aaron asked for this testimonial.  To answer this question…what really does happen when you slam an average guy into a CrossFit training regimen, in the context of a supportive tribe, combined with an intentional diet?  In other words, for those of you who have joined in the last 6 months, what can you expect out of this endeavor in the next several months?

Don’t worry, I fully realize your time in this article is only beneficial to the extent it encourages you toward what’s possible, and equips you to understand why you will succeed.  My story is not that remarkable primarily because we’re blessed to be in a unique environment at IronTribe Fitness.  Heck, I just might have won member of the year at the Y!  But not at ITF.  My positive results are the norm and expectation.  It’s the simple (and inevitable) byproduct of this system and environment.  Let me illustrate.

I first heard of CrossFit roughly two years ago.  I began what I affectionately refer to as “CrossFake” at the Y.  Those of you who have tried to follow the main site at a traditional gym know what I mean.  When Forrest’s garage opened up, I was on board (although, looking back, perhaps I was some necessary “diversity” in the overall fitness level of the group?!?!).  Frankly, the idea of a group workout was intimidating and uncomfortable.  However, I began to enjoy the competition because it provided interest, encouragement, excitement and a tangible revelation of what was truly possible in each workout.  There is no way to recreate that alone or solo with a trainer.  Long gone were my days of 5 sets of 5 and 20 minutes on the treadmill…drudgery!

Even still, my early commitment was sporadic and really only used as an attempt to counteract my terrible diet (by the way, if you’re wondering, this doesn’t work).  Over time, I slowly became more committed.  When ITF opened its Palace de CF in February, I was ready to go full on.  And, this summer, my diet even became a little stone age.

If you’re still reading, the big question remains…did it work?  If we can be honest (you can, we’re friends), we all love ITF, enjoy the people, revel in the community, etc, but we’re really here for results.  We are not investing our money, time, sweat, blood and effort for anything less than the “Why?” Forrest asked us to identify.  We want to increase our overall level of fitness so that we can improve our quality, length and enjoyment of life, as well as accomplish those goals unique to each of us.  ITF has become our weapon of choice.  Good choice or not?

Rather than give my opinion to answer that question, let’s geek-out with a few stats.

For brevity (good time to start that, huh?), I’ll look at my progress in three areas –weight, strength and speed.  I think those three things pretty much quantify “fitness” for most of us.   We want to look better, be stronger and move over longer distances in less time.

When I started, I weighed roughly 215 pounds (down from my all-time gluttonous high of 222), could deadlift 285 pounds and ran a 5k in 29:30.

Today, after roughly 18 months doing CrossFit with Iron Tribe Fitness (only 6 of that with much thought to diet), I weigh 173 pounds, can deadlift 385 pounds and run a 5k in under 24:00.

If you break that down, I’ve shed roughly 20% off of both my bodyweight and 5k time.  However, while becoming both lighter and faster, my strength increased more than 35%.  When you combine the weight loss and deadlift increase together, you see an increase in my ratio of load to bodyweight of 70%.  That just doesn’t happen in a spin class, doing the couch to 5k program or utilizing 500 different gleaming Nautilus machines.  No, I’m thoroughly convinced that type of progress in all three areas is only possible in our world of expertly derived, constantly varied, functional movements.

Don’t get me wrong, by no means have I arrived.  My current performance is not world-class, or even ITF-class.  In fact, it says very little about me at all.  What it does say is that this program, facility and team are pretty special.  If someone with fairly average physical capability can get great results by merely showing up and doing what they’re told, it means we’ve all discovered something highly valuable.  If you think about it, that’s amazingly refreshing in today’s world of flimsy PR and spin.  Consider again what I just said…you can merely follow along (yes, including a lot of hard work), relax and enjoy the results.  There are no shortcuts or quick fixes, but there is a guarantee of success.  What more can you ask for?

To sum this all up, our faith, family and the legacy we’re leaving in this world are far more important than our last Fran time.  Thankfully, and perhaps uniquely, we’re surrounded by a tribe that knows just that.  However, the fitness level we afford our bodies will in many ways either inhibit or inspire those other areas of our lives.  ITF provides a platform for attainable excellence.  And in excellence, I believe we honor our Creator, as well as those alongside us in this journey.  Worthy aspirations, indeed.

My encouragement: Continue to use ITF for the amazing tool that it is.  I promise, it works!

Fortunately, it wasn’t a kettlebell.

Last Wednesday, I had to come to ITF at 5 p.m. for the “Over 40s” photo shoot. So the 4:30 class was in the throws of their WOD. It is a larger class than ours, so you have to be surefooted as you weave between athletes doing their Med Ball cleans, running in and out the door, and grunting through hand stand pushups. Good thing they weren’t doing kettlebell swings because surely I would have taken one upside the head as I walked toward the back.

That was the first thing that struck me that day.

Seeing how different the atmosphere in that class was, even though they were doing the same WOD our class had done that morning. I’m a regular at 9:30 a.m. And when you go to the same class, you tend to get used to the “personality” of that time slot. If you ever go to another class there is a distinct difference in the energy. One isn’t any better than the other; they are just different. I suppose reflected in the varied personalities of the athletes who come. Watching many people I didn’t know, some who are at a higher level than most in my class, gave me a new perspective on the WODs and something to shoot for.

Then, I was hit by another realization.

In that same vein, I was also struck by how many “over 40″ athletes there were. Many of my own classmates have reached that milestone along with me. Jan, Joni, Teresa, Amy, Keri — we all are defying our age and what some think our generation can accomplish. So when Aaron asked us to participate in the photo shoot, I automatically thought I would know most of the faces… both female and male..

But again, because I come to the same class every day, I had not had the opportunity to meet the host of other athletes who had grown up watching Little House on the Prairie, Charlie’s Angels and the Brady Bunch. And there is a surprisingly large number of us.

I was inspired watching couples like Teresa and Jeff Gasser, who have not only taken on this challenge together, but encouraged their daughter, Shannon, to take up CrossFit as well. There’s Morgan and Dana Wood, Jan and Craig Niedenthal, and of course, Aaron and Melody Crocker who are the poster couple for ITF. After all, it’s one thing for me, as a single person, to push myself and change my lifestyle. But to do it as a couple takes another level of commitment; and I would think, a healthy competitive spirit. I often hear Jan talk about how she and Craig discuss the WODs and compare their performance. Now that’s got to make for some interesting dinner time conversation, rather than the typical, “so honey, how was your day?”

And there are a lot of over-40s who, like me, are doing it on their own. Who took the chance to walk in that door after often being told “you’re just going to have to accept getting older.” Teresa Kirkwood, who won the Most Dedicated Athlete award at the AWODs on Friday, and Amy Young, both leave their husbands to their own devices and WOD at 9:30 with us.

My point is that while I’ve come to think of ITF as my family, there are still more “relatives” I haven’t met; people who I know will inspire me, whether they are in my age group or just starting out. So I would encourage all of you to step out of your class time once in a while and get to know the rest of the Tribe. Come to the events on the weekends or simply walk in and watch another class taking on the same WOD you’re facing. And let the rest of the Tribe know someone new you’ve met in the process.