That happened, part 4

Monday, March 12, 2012

Mobility:
Wrist Mobility
Hip Mobility on Box, 2 minutes each

Warmup:
Jog 400 meters
40 Double Unders
Bear Crawl, 40 meters
10 Parallette Shoot Throughs
10 Hollow Rocks
10 Pistols
L-sit, 10 seconds

Skill:
Practice Handstands for about 5 minutes

Workout of the Day:
Tabata L sit
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Pistols, alternating
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Handstand Hold
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Hollow Rocks
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Double Unders

The Tabata interval is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 intervals.
Tabata score is the least number of reps performed in any of the eight intervals. Unit for the L sit and Handstand Hold is seconds.

Cool Down:
Jog 1 mile
Sampson Stretch, 30 seconds each
15 Wall Extensions
Foam Roll Calves, 1 minute each

March 2006, Enjoying one of our late night favorites:  Pulled Pork Sandwich with Fries and as much hot sauce as we could handle at the Caribbean Saloon!

Please read Parts 1, 2, and 3 here if you would like to know why I am writing this story:)

Martina stepped off a plane in San Diego from the Czech Republic on January 16, 2000, speaking no English and no clue what her future in the United States held for her. Like so many other aspects of this story, there were a series of seemingly random events that led Martina to the Virgin Islands and into my life.

She stayed in San Diego for just over two years, where she learned to speak English fluently by working in a coffee shop and restaurant. Eventually she started up her own company with a friend, selling coffee beans for espresso. The success of her company brought her to Portland, where she stayed for another couple of years. After the company eventually dissolved, Martina made a decision to combine her desire to travel and adventure by getting a seasonal job in Denali National Park. After arriving in Alaska, a chance encounter with one of the manager’s got her promoted from waitress to bartender on her first day! As the six month season was coming to an end, and no plans moving forward, some of the other workers told Martina about working in the Virgin Islands during the winter season. Denali in the summer, Virgin Islands in the winter. Sounded like a plan! Martina landed in St Thomas in 2004 and ended up staying for almost two years.

We had lived on the island simultaneously for about a year before we finally met through a co-worker of mine. We only had three months together, as I had already booked my flight to Los Angeles, but we made the most of our time. We attended a wedding in Boston, where she met my family. We spent a few nights in New York City and saw SNL. We never left each other’s side and by the end of that brief time, I was already announcing to my friends that Martina was the love of my life. I swore that even though I was going away, no matter what happened, we would be together in the end. For now, I had to leave to pursue my Hollywood dreams.

Martina moved off the island almost six months later. Acting out of denial, she decided to move to New York City to be as far from me as possible! We spoke daily but rarely had the time to visit each other over the course of the next year. As the winter months began taking their toll, my acting career still in development, and the stress of an almost two year long distance relationship, Martina told me that she would be willing to move to LA.

We had been in each others physical presence for three months when we first met, endured a long distance relationship for the next year and a half and then in August of 2007, we moved into an apartment together in Santa Monica. I was about to learn a lot about myself and the definition of commitment.

Martina and I shared similar passions for travel, adventure and life. We had an idealistic vision about our future together that quickly ran into reality. After about six months of living together, we found ourselves asking hard questions about our careers, creating a family and our future together. I will never forget the moment it happened. February 2008, Martina and I were in an argument about something that didn’t make sense to me and Martina announces, “How are we going to have a family?!” Behind all of our idealism and dreams, that was a great question that I had never bothered to consider. How long was I willing to attempt my hand at being an actor? How were we going to achieve this amazing adventurous lifestyle that we both wanted? I had always planned on having a family, but how was I going to support them? I realized that this was something Martina had been thinking long before it came up in that conversation. We had no security or plans what-so-ever.

This was all during the same time that I was struggling on how to justify ending my acting career. The thought consumed me. Day and night I thought about what I could do. I considered moving to another destination location and living simply on the beach and figuring it out when I got there. I spoke with old friends about what they could imagine me doing. No one could imagine me working a 9-5 job and I would never settle on a job I didn’t believe in. My dad thought I was a natural born salesman, but what would I sell? This went on for the next 3 weeks until it finally dawned on me…I was going to open a CrossFit gym!

I was constantly talking to my friends, family and coworkers about CrossFit already. I truly believed that it was the wave of the future. I believed this is what they should be teaching in PE class. I was always trying to find more time to do CrossFit. There were only two CrossFit gyms in LA and millions of people. My skill set from working in the restaurant and hotel industry would work perfectly and I would be able to make a positive impact on peoples lives! I announced this thought to Martina and I think she said something like, “Great. Do it.” It happened just like that, with no clue what she was getting herself into, we have never looked back.

The next day I booked my Level 1 Certificiation for April 2008. I had already watched every video they had ever released and read the CrossFit Journal regularly. The big stumbling blocks: no savings, no experience training others, no idea how to run/open a business, knew nothing about nutrition.

As I waited the next three weeks for my Level 1 Certification, I began looking up fitness related jobs on Craigslist, I contacted the only CrossFit gym in the area to see if I could intern, I emailed my friends that were in the health/fitness industry to ask their advice and I asked my restaurant job if I could become a manager to gain more business experience and gain a steady income instead of working for tips. The only thing I really got out of all of this was the manager job, but it was a start.

I began my long steady acquisition of equipment through Craigslist and Play-it-Again Sports. Purchasing a concept 2 rower, a couple medicine balls, barbells and kettlebells. The certification was still the main key and it was right around the corner.

At the certification I had a chance to meet Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit, I did my first muscle up (as it was the first time I had a chance to use rings), I met Brian Mackenzie who was just starting CrossFit Endurance, and many other young optimistic people just like myself that wanted to open their own CrossFit gyms. The weekend was over in a flash, and they finished with this message, “Now go out there and train somebody! You will never become a coach by watching videos or coaching yourself! Contact your friends and family and start coaching! Good Luck!”  The coaching journey began that same night!