The Secret Ingredient

You know that one ingredient that is always on the tip of your tongue?  You always put it into all your dishes, if I could (lifestyle wise), I would sprinkle freshly baked chocolate chip cookies into all my meals - but that probably wouldn't taste very good nor be healthy at all, but I do have an ingredient for your success. . .



What is the secret ingredient to CrossFit?

Fact:  There is one.

It's you - yes, you.  This isn't some silly, make you feel better, motivational mumbo jumbo.  This is legitimate.

Take a look in the mirror, there is something behind that face.  There is a mind that makes the boundaries, there is a brain that thinks of all the things that could go wrong and can go wrong.  There is a voice saying it can't be done - you know the really silly part?  When we get tired, weak, frustrated or angry - that voice wins.  It drives us to the point where we think of failure and we accept.

Can't do another rep?  Stop thinking and start moving.

Can't run another lap or lift another weight?  Stop thinking and start moving.

Take the first step towards unwrapping your mind about what is the potential outcome and just go.  Let loose, let your body do what you have trained it to do. 

The CrossFit definition is:  constantly varied, functional movements, executed at a high intensity.

The first part is based on whomever made the workout (Constantly Varied) - you have no control, so forget about this and move on.

The second is a matter of coaching and executing (Functional Movements) - you have control, but that control is based on when you practice good technique that each movement is better than the last, therefore, this one is on you (after you've been taught) to follow through each and every time.  And it requires patience and time, I am pretty sure that there are people who practice their squats everyday!

And the last, my personal favorite, executing at a high intensity - that's it - the coach has no control, sure they can motivate, but no control, blood pressure gets high, heartbeat throbs in your chest, lungs burning, legs throbbing and nothing but you there to make things happen. 

You gotta move, you gotta breath, and you just have to keep performing.  This is the secret ingredient, it takes you to the next level time and time again. 

If you had a surgery on your leg that would take you away from walking, it would be part of your job to work to walk again.  You start with a few steps, then work up to a specific distance, at some point you gotta jog, and then comes the run.  Bring on the intensity - bring on the point at which you let the mind-numbing experience take control and you effortlessly fly.

With the key ingredient of intensity, you will never fail, because every time you do something, you are putting a little bit of old you behind and you will begin to develop anew.

“Let a man in a garret but burn with enough intensity and he will set fire to the world”
                     - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

- Coach Tony