The Beginning

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy Fourth of July!  Check out the BBQ details on the schedule!

Warm up/Pre hab:

Jog 400
DROM
10 Burpees
10 Ring Rows
20 Squats
5 Pullups

Notes:  During this time, fine someone that will have a similar mile time as your partner. Having the same pullup/pushup variation is not as important, but it is more fun that way!

Conditioning

Partner ‘Murph’

For time:
1 mile run
100 Pull ups
200 Push ups
300 Squats
1 mile run

In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.

     Notes:  This will be a team version of Murph.  Both partners will run 1 mile.  The pull ups, push ups, and squats may be partitioned however you would like, but you must perform all the pull ups before moving on to the push ups, and finish all the push ups before moving on to the squats.  Only one athlete may work at a time.  Your time will be determined when both partners have finished their second mile.  If you’ve got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it.

Cool down

Sampson Stretch, 30 seconds each
Lat stretch, 30 seconds each
10 Wall extensions
Go to the beach!

 
What is Bernal staring at?

I met Diso by sheer chance in 2008.  I and a bunch of friends (CrossFitters of course) were driving down this road we never take near some Santa Monica middle school.  Not sure what was going on within their track, my buddy says it’s CrossFit.  I don’t believe him.  But another look revealed wall balls and box jumps and running.  We turned around, parked, and introduced ourselves.  

I don’t remember much of the specifics after that.  It was dark, and he was busy coaching who I found out later was Martina and another friend Peter.  But I do remember how nice and approachable he was.  How open and welcoming and . . . smiley . . . he was.  Very easy going and natural to talk to.  I knew he and I would meet again someday for the sake of CrossFit.

We didn’t actually meet again until mid 2009, when my roommate wanted to join CF and Diso was running it literally a mile away from my house.  He trained her and a few other of his new people, and afterwards we talked.  For hours and hours, day after day, week after week, we talked.  About CrossFit, life, the future.  He was the first person I talked to in the morning and the last person I talked to at night, much to Martina’s chagrin.  It wasn’t long afterwards that my roommate informed me he might make me an offer soon.  And on the first day of my last semester at school, Diso and I met at Maxwell’s Cafe on Washington for breakfast and the guy suckered me into agreeing to teach noon and 1pms at his new space.  

That was the beginning of my journey with PCF.  My first official class teaching CrossFit was in our old box on Glencoe Avenue, an 800 square foot, 10 foot ceiling, bedroom sized box with no windows.  The WOD was Elizabeth and I had a whopping 2 athletes to train, my buddy Sean and Sondra (before that moment, I was only training one on one with friends from school, spending literally hours at a time with one of them)  The class ran way over time, around an hour and a half.  No one showed for 1pm anyway.  I was nervous as hell and made all kinds of mistakes and was having the time of my life.  Here was a chance to do the thing I loved doing, potentially get paid for it, and do it all the time.  It was beautiful.

To understand the light however, you must also understand the dark, and there was another side to this story.  When I said yes to him, I and a bunch of my friends were smarting from several negative experiences at my former box.  With this groundswell of disgruntlement and support, Diso and I opened our box to a handful of experienced and hungry CrossFitters.  But doing this resulted in me being viewed as a betrayer by one people, while being seen as almost a savior by another people, when I wanted neither role.  It is not a story I like telling, especially to new clients, and it is also not an experience I ever wish to repeat again.  Like, EVER.  Diso and I immediately knew we balanced each other out from every aspect, and we intuitively understood that our differences would serve to help the gym for a long time to come . . . (to be continued next week) 

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“The Agony and the Heresy:  Brian MacKenzie’s Controversial New Approach to Marathon Training”, Outside Magazine

“The U.S. Says Good bye to Cursive Writing”, by Margaret Galatzin

“Creative People Say ‘No'”, by Kevin Ashton

“How To Be Prolific:  Guidelines for Getting it Done”, by Joss Whedon