Bringin’ meal time back.

For years, we have heard that America has a growing obesity epidemic.  People blame all kinds of things: Processed foods. Genetics. Sugar. Exercise (or lack there of)… the list goes on and on.

The reality is that there are many of factors involved, and all contribute to the obesity epidemic in a variety of ways.  However, there is topic that I haven’t really heard people talk about, which I think, deserves to be at least a small part of the conversation:  the loss of the family meal time.

Build your bucket: the importance of a proper foundation

I’m a story teller. Plain and simple. I think it comes from 2 places.  First, as a child my grandparents always told me “tall tales.”  Second, my father (who was an Air Force navigator instructor) always explained things in really long winded convoluted metaphors.  In the spirit of me becoming a dad myself, here is a long winded metaphor to describe a seemly easy topic.

Less is more.

Since I’ve been home from the Appalachian  Trail, I’ve been busy.

I got home on a Thursday and went back to school full time on the following Monday.  I did my last drill and was honorably discharged from the National Guard.  My wife and I are expecting our first child in March, and I’m back to working at the gym part time.  Needless to say, my training schedule was not exactly at the top of my priority list.

Learn and play new sports.

When I first got into this fitness game, the world was changing.

At that time, the world was separated into two camps for recreational athletes one being bodybuilders or “bros,” those athletes who hit chest/tri’s on Monday, and back and bi’s on Tuesday.  The other camp was composed of sport specific athletes: marathoners who only ran until there knees shattered, recreational baseball players who drank beer and ran hard to first, cyclists who spent more time weighing their bike parts then riding… you get the idea.  Either you were into fitness for the sport, or for aesthetics, not both. 

n=1: See yourself as an experiment.

In scientific experiments, “n” is typically used to define a sample size, or the number of participants in a study.  In order for a study to be statistically significant, you have to have a certain number of participants, or a big “n.”  This is what makes much of health research you see reliable, that a certain number of participants had similar results, so we, as a public, can hypothetically generalize these results to ourselves. However, today, I would like to challenge that. You see, we are all actually part of our very own mini-experiment.  You are your your own science project, and in this study, n=1.

I’m on a journey. So are you (whether you know it or not).

On March 19th, 2015, I started  walking at Springer Mountain in Georgia, and began heading north to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. I hike pretty much every single day.  I’ve been hiking through rain, shine, sleet and, on one occasion, snow (not unlike your friendly neighborhood postman). When the weather is nice, I put on my nice dry (although somewhat smelly) hiking clothes, and smile as I hike. There’s not much better.  However, when it rains I put on my wet clothes, carry my wet tent, and sometimes scowl and my unfortunate luck.

Now I know what you’re thinking: “What does this have to do with me?  I already know you’re hiking every day.”  Here’s the thing thing that you might not realize though, my dear reader: You too are on a journey. For some of you, it might be a lifelong journey of fitness, for others, it’s recovering from an injury, training for an event, going back to school, or furthering your career.  If you really think about what your goals are, I think you will realize that everyone is on their own personal quest.  While my journey might be a little more obvious (and seemingly outlandish), I hope that you can use some of the lessons I am learning out here to accomplish YOUR goals.

Interview with a Legend.

Crossfit as both a sport and an institution is only about 15 years old. In that short time, it has grown and changed in ways that people never expected. Let me tell you a story (because I know you all love my stories).

I recently had to go to my 5 year re-certification for my CrossFit Level 1 trainer certificate.

At this class was a familiar face:

Coaches: Street Cred or Credentials?

What is Credentialism?

Credentialism is a reliance on formal qualifications or certifications to determine whether someone is permitted to undertake a task or to speak as an expert.  Basically, do have the letters behind your name to be considered an “expert” in your particular field?

Is it important? Is it a necessary evil?

Thanks for reading so far!!

Happy 2015!!!!!!

Time flies when you are having fun.

2015 is going to be a year of excitement, adventure and according to Back to the future 2, there will be hoverboards.

Firstly, I am proud to announce that in March, I will be getting to live out a lifelong dream. I will be “Thru-hiking” the Appalachian Trail.

Working to live or living to work?

So. I missed the blog post last week.

I know, I’m probably contributing to your abandonment and trust issues and whatnot.

But I have a good reason.

I was on vacation!