Day 29: 241.9lbs
Exercise: CF yesterday. Maybe a run today but doubtful
Nutrition: Lots of food. Almost all healthy….except for some cheese sticks. 👀
Attitude: Nostalgic
7 years.
Olive Branch CrossFit has been open for 7 years and I have been a member for 6 years and 10 months of that.
I owe this gym so much. So much good in my life is because of this one single place.
Yesterday was rowing. We had a 2,000-meter row and Paul Pinckley was the coach. Paul was there to get me through my first day and he and his wife Laura are still helping me get through life today.
As I was pulling the rower chain and praying for a quick death, Paul came behind me and started yelling at the rower. He was cheering for me and cursing the machine. It took me back to the beginning. I drifted off in thought to my fondest memories of CrossFit.
In the early days of OBCF, we didn’t have shit at our gym, man. We had some rigs, a few barbells and 2 rowers. We didn’t know what the hell we were doing. Whatever it was we were doing, we were glad to be doing it. The coaches were loud, the members were loud, the energy was loud and we were all excited for one another. We were a united front and couldn’t wait to see what one of the members was going to accomplish and the energy that comes along with a new PR or another accomplishment. It was fucking beautiful.
Everyone had to wait their turn, so there was always a cheering section. It was us against us. We were in direct competition with the equipment. It was as if we were in a boxing match and the equipment was the opponent and all the other members had ringside seats every time we laced up to fight. The ego and angst had not had time to mold itself into concrete pillars of resentment. We had not known each other long enough to form unfair bias while creating a narrative the way that the human condition forces us to do in areas that involve comparison. We didn’t have expectations of ourselves which made us too good, too busy, too different, too insecure or too special to work out with the rest of the class. We had 2 coaches, not 20, and the whispers about other members weren’t as loud or as often as time and human nature have encouraged them to be. We all had shitty form so we couldn’t talk about everyone else’s shitty form. Now, we all have shitty form but are better able to criticize everyone else’s shitty form (We have youtube and certifications to thank for that).
Back in the day, all we knew was to show up and get to work and we were excited about doing it. We didn’t know enough to judge the workouts or believe we had a better plan. It was such an exciting time.
We all wanted more stuff. We cried for more coaching, more rowers, more bikes, and more barbells. We wanted things to change because we weren’t happy with the perfect scenario that had been laid at our feet. And then we got it.
Things change.
I complain about things the way that they are, and then I complain about the things that the complaining brings about, and then I reminisce about what was right with the way things were back when I started complaining. That is the way of the machine. I think the trick is to stay ahead of the game and be mindful that these are the good ole days. Right now is the best that it will ever be and the future will be different but it won’t be better until it’s not the future anymore.
Enjoy the now. It’s going to be a great day.
Peace, love and all things, Beef related,
Beefcake
