CrossFit Athletic Group

"And you don't want to let her down / but you too young for the settle down" - J. Cole, Runaway

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Amy Potter came back for workouts the last two weeks and is trying to get back in the swing of things.

Shiny came back for a workout today and is trying to get back in the swing of things.

Madelyn Wesner came back in June and was the surprise of the Summer.

Bubs came back in May and is back for good now.

Dave Banet is supposedly getting back in the swing of things in a few weeks.

Bubs and Amy - April 2013In 2012 when we moved out of Foley I was hoping one day we'd have been doing this thing long enough where we could count on some kids from previous generations coming back to join our ranks on the regular. It appears that we are beginning to see this come to form.

There are two main reasons why the Champions Club has a "not taking new people" policy right now. The first is so we can make sure the current people are getting enough attention, and the second is to make sure we can leave room for the Ghosts of Champions Club past that might be wandering back into our ranks.

The difficult thing about this, from my perspective, is knowing when the time is right. We have a standard and that doesn't really get compromised often - whether it's the form, or the attendance, or fitting the culture in the gym, or stuff outside of the gym. New athletes that come in usually like the Champions Club a lot because new stuff is cool: a new way to be coached, a new family, a new environment, a new way to do push-ups, a new way to eat. Then the longer they're around the more they're able to form their own ideas of what would work for them. This is when the clashing of heads happens, and since mine has been calloused by concussions, they end up leaving.

In all but a select few cases, I've never viewed these separations as permanent. "Gotta give a boy a chance to grow somethin'" is another J. Cole line I could use here. There are very few people that come in here having already gone through the fitness ringer and are ready for the settle down; most are either parents starting a fitness journey, or kids being introduced to formal workouts for the first time in their life. At some point they need an opportunity to be independant in their fitness journey, and if we aren't offering it to their liking, then a change happens.

I mean, wait until Jaylee realizes she knows enough to make up her own workouts in Lamphere's weight room, none of which have to involve running.

As cocky as it sounds, I really believe I have the leverage in the end. But it's good leverage, and hopefully I don't come across as holding it against anyone. I just know it's looking like CrossFit is it. It's THE thing. It's not a fad. It's not just for soccer moms. It's not just for 20-somethings. It's the world's best diagnostic tool. It's the world's most elegant solution to chronic disease. And it's the world's most direct way to elite fitness. That's what I know. My belief is that the Champions Club's expression of CrossFit is one that has the potential to be sustainable for a lifetime. When I say Mr. Carey and Mrs. Tara are lifers, I'm not exaggerating. They signed over their souls at some point during that 40-minute workout.

With this in mind, it only makes sense that once JZ has had enough of the competing-in-CrossFit thing, and once Jacob has had enough of the bodybuilding thing (he's absolutely Jacked now, by the way), and Biff has got her physical therapy school stuff figured out, we're going to see them wandering back around here, just randomly at first, then slowly ratch up the consistency, then all of a sudden it's Summer and it's only 225 for 3 months and "well I guess I might as well." Why? Because once in the Champions Club, always in the Champions Club.

Timing is one of those things I'm appreciating more and more the longer I do this thing. In 2013 I would give every single New Kid on the Block a full Zone plan with measurements and block prescriptions. Now I'll just ask, "is the time right to make a change in your food?" Starting and stopping and starting and stopping just does not seem like it will lend itself well to sustainability. So for that workout teammate you miss, think less "if" and more "when" you'll be working out next to them again.