CrossFit Athletic Group

The Warren Rec basketball camp is 90 minutes of travelling, double dribbles, tackles, and denying kindergarteners water breaks. In other words: pure joy. This year we had more kids sign up than were officially allowed, and we're short one court for the first half of camp. This means every possible helper we get makes a huge difference.

Bethany hasn't been at camp the past few weeks because she's been eating: like Winnie the Pooh scraping through every honey pot in the Hundred Acre Woods, Bethany ate every single thing in her house - both edible and non-edible - just so Dalton would stop walking into sessions with bread and pop, a noble, unselfish gesture if there ever was one. And, as luck would have it, every Wednesday when she finally looked up it was already half-past basketball camp. So last Wednesday I decided to use my influential powers to text her and ask if she could come to camp. Her response:

I don't think so. I need to take some time for myself after travelling essentially for a month straight.

...........

There are many things in this world that Bubs likes that make no sense whatsoever (not even counting me): Desperate Housewomen of Real Orange County television show, Michigan State University, riding a bicycle in place, and country music are up there, but sitting at the very top of her favorites list is max effort days. She would make sixty sardine sandwiches than miss a max effort day.

So when she walked into the 3:30 session last Thursday to see max effort split jerks, I thought Mrs. Hill, Aaron, Bethany, and Sam were going to get a nice addition to their session. But then Bubs said, "Nope! I'm gonna go home and take a nap instead."

Kuiperpillar: "Take a damn nap Bubs!"

...........

The reason I'm not a fan of fitness testing in sports is because it's not something that athletes will be held accountable to - and for good reason. Anyone want to tell Cecilia she's going to sit the bench because she didn't pass a fitness test? And how bout Zeena: An 8th grader who is probably more athletic than any boy at Warren Mott... is a coach going to sit her for missing the fitness test? They'd get fired.

And yet, in comes Zeena at 6 pm during the week to work on the Beep Test. So when last Friday came around and she was able to make it to the 5:30 session, I figured it was perfect timing because we were doing shuttle sprints and jump rope - both great prep for a sprint test.

But things were lagging during the warmup and I asked Zeena in front of everyone is she wanted to sit out of the workout and do mobility instead. To my surprise, she said yes, citing the Beep Test practice immediately after, followed by a full soccer practice later that night.

...........

The phrase "work smarter, not harder" is one of my least favorite sayings - not because I don't believe there's truth behind it, but because of the context it's often used in. According to Google, the phrase originated in the 1930's in the industrial field, which makes sense; if you can manufacture a quality product in seven steps, why do it in 10? But we would all do well to be careful applying principles from products to people. In fact, J. Cole just came out with a song where he says, "I work smarter and harder."

That being said, Bethany, Bubs, and Zeena absolutely did the right thing. And not only did they do the right thing, but they did it in the right way: Bethany didn't respond, "I'm busy," or "I can't make it," or "something came up," she damn well had the ability to go, she just needed time for herself more; Bubs didn't drive by the gym altogether on her way back from work, hoping it was a workout she wouldn't mind missing, she had the nuts to walk in, check for herself, and walk back out; Zeena didn't say her calf was hurting, or she felt sick, she just said she'd rather go all-out on one workout than half-ass two (sorta, Zeena has never used a swear word to my knowledge).

Guilt is one of the devil's best tools to use against us, and the more we give into it the more we dig ourselves in a hole. As Brian the Trainer always said, one workout will never "make" an athlete, but one workout can definitely "break" an athlete. If Zeena, Bubs, and Bethany made a habit of skipping out for months and years, then they might find themselves going in a dirrection they don't like. But as much positive as they have built up, skipping out didn't set them back at all. In fact, nutrition is probably similar: you're always one meal away from getting back on track.