Being a Coach

Today I had the distinct pleasure of coaching 4 classes back to back.  It made me reflect on how much I enjoy coaching/training/teaching others that want to learn/improve.  I had just as much energy in the fourth class as I did in the first because I got it from those great athletes that showed up this morning.  We did cleans for max weight and I think about 8 people, at a minimum, got PR's.  There is so much positive energy running around you can't stop smiling.
Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that coaches enjoy the hell out of the people that they train and love to watch improvements in.  It gives them a great sense of accomplishment, plus it is fun as all get out.  The class that I regularly attend is coached by Shannan and you can tell she has a great time with her Cereal Killers (they think it makes them sound scary) and they have a great time giving her a hard time(all in fun of course).  If one of our athletes has a bad day, we think about it and wonder how we could have improved their WOD/morning/whatever.  I think our only regret is not being able to give everyone the same amount of instruction.  If we didn't spend much time with you today, that means someone else looked like they needed it more and you were doing pretty good.  We go to the areas where we feel we have the most impact.  If we missed you today, don't worry, we will give you more than enough attention next time (probably when you least want it - getting that full range on burpees).  To all those awesome CrossFit Champions athletes...YOU GUYS AND GALS ROCK!  THANKS FOR LETTING US TRAIN YOU!

Anthony lost 11 lbs in 24 days!

My buddy Anthony took the 24 Day AdvoCare Challenge with me and helped to keep me on track.  Accountability is a wonderful thing.  He posted some outstanding results that I wanted to share.

                                 Starting Stats                              Results                   Difference
Weight                       252                                            241                       11 lbs lost
Right Arm Flexed       17 3/8"                                        17 1/2"                  1/8" gain
Waist                        50 3/8"                                        47 1/2"                  2 7/8" lost
WOD                        19:09                                           15:12                    3:57 improved perf.
The WOD was 3 rounds for time of a 300m run, 9 clean and thrusters with 95#, 12 jumping pull ups and 15 box jumps at 20".

He did a great job following the challenge along with a Paleo diet.  It was the first step in the right direction that everyone always has trouble with.  Anthony finally found out what it was like to eat clean, feel good and have the performance that resulted in almost a 4 min drop in a workout - IN LESS THAN A MONTH!  He has committed to eating Paleo the majority of the time to continue to lose weight and feel good.  He added some of the pre-workout supplements after the challenge and just started using a 24 " box jump which is amazing - no going back now.....(insert evil laugh here)  His only continued challenge will be staying away from the beer (he is a bigger beer snob than me) but we will get there together.  Great job bud, I'm proud of you.

AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge Results

Today is the 24th day and the results are in....
                             July 9th              July 31st         Total lost/gained
Weight                    193                   184                   9 lbs lost
Right arm flexed       14.5"                 14.75"              1/4" gained
Waist                      41"                    39"                   2" lost
WOD                      14:11                 12:28                1:43 improved performance
-The WOD was 3 rounds for time of 300m run, 9 squat clean thrusters at 95 lbs, 12 pull-ups and 15 24" box jumps.
I am very pleased, of course I would have liked to have greater weight loss but I have to remember two things. 1. It was only 24 days and I ate a lot of high caloric meats (pepperoni, bacon and more bacon). 2. I actually gained muscle, 1/4 inch in the arm.  I think any guy would love to gain a quarter inch :)

This was a great 24 day challenge.  It had structure, you had to spend some money which made you commit to it and it has jump started me back on the right path to fitness.
Before                                                                                              After

After