CrossFit Watertown, Oakville, CT

Me, explaining yesterday’s workout to the 5pm class.

Recently, we hit 1,000 posts on this blog. That’s pretty cool for something that started in my garage. When CrossFit Watertown began back in the fall of 2007, it was me and Melissa and Mary and a handful of others in my garage, trying some crazy stuff. CrossFit was a lot smaller then. We were around the 250th affiliate.

Now, there are 2,000 CrossFit affiliates worldwide and the applications for more keep flooding in. I know this because I read and vote on those essays in my position at CrossFit HQ.

We’ve seen a lot of changes in CrossFit and at CrossFit Watertown. First, the garage. Then 1600 sf. Then 4400 sf. And, certainly, we will see more changes in the future. But that’s okay. We’re still CrossFit Watertown. We’re still committed to the ideals started in that garage. All for one. One for all. Functional fitness to help you live your life better. And to help you become a better person. Like I said long ago in this same spot, if I only help you to become better athletes, then I have failed. My goal is, was, and always will be to help you become better people. I hope I’ve succeeded in some small measure.

If there’s one thing I know, it’s that change is inevitable. It’s going to come, whether you want it to or not. The only question is whether you grow from those changes. Hopefully, with good and true coaching, you do. And I don’t mean just coaching in the gym. I mean coaching in your life. Your friends, your family, your community — these are all important factors in how you accept change and grow.

With that in mind, I urge you to join me on Sept 25th in doing Fight Gone Bad to benefit Wounded Warriors and cancer survivors. Sign up and send a few e-mails and see if you can raise a few bucks. I know these are hard times for some, but imagine if you were a wounded vet or facing cancer — life would be even harder, huh? For every time that you feel sorry for yourself during a WOD (”It’s so hard”) or during a lift (”I just can’t get it right!”) remember that someone out there is facing a bigger obstacle, a higher hurdle, harder times. And they’re carrying on. So, if you’re complaining, just stop. Resolve today to complain no more. And just go do. And watch how life instantly improves for you. Thank you and I’ll see you at the gym.

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” — Goethe

Jules looking at . . . what?

Our eyes wander sometimes. And so do our minds. Especially during CrossFit. We forget where we should look and we forget what round we’re on or what rep or what our middle name is or whether we are black, white, or Asian.

Okay, maybe not that, but you get my point. The workouts can be confusing and you can get so rattled trying to remember every cue and piece of instruction.

So, here’s the trick that will work in the vast majority of situations: Look forward.

In the gym, and in life, if you want to get better at anything or want your life to be better, then look forward. Looking down isn’t going to get you anywhere. (Except maybe in the deadlift, but still your neck is actually in neutral position, it’s just that you’re looking at the floor.)

Eyes forward, chest up, breathe. You can pretty much use that as your mantra for whatever you have to face today, in the gym or in your life. Eyes forward, chest up, breathe. And don’t worry so much. Or overthink everything. You’re going to be just fine. Now, get out there and kick a**.

Bobby and Jackie take the leap.

Professionalism. It’s a word, it’s an action, it’s a commitment.

It’s our commitment at CrossFit Watertown to provide you the most positive, powerful learning center that we can.

It’s creating a place where you always feel welcome, and the energy is always high, and the attention is unwavering.

It means concern, and caring, and compassion for all.

It’s the commitment to each and every athlete that their needs will be met, their expectations will be exceeded, and that they will go home tired, but exhilarated and certain they learned at least a thing or two.

It means providing a gym bereft of drama and gossip and all the poisons that exist in the rest of the world. This place must be a haven. A place where you can go and feel relief from the world, not more tension.

It means everyone is in the boat. Everyone is cared for. No one is left to their own coaching.

If we ever fail on any one of these levels, please speak up. Address your concerns with a coach, or if you feel more comfortable, come to me. My door is always open.

Professionalism is key to learning and growing. Let us help each other to learn and grow.

(Words by Lisbeth Darsh/CrossFit Watertown.)

The Saturday morning class has at it.

It’s September in two days. The kids in town went back to school today. Time for changes and to look forward to what we’ve got coming up.

Schedule Alert: This is the last week of the 9am class. Please make your plans to join the 6am or noon (or 5 or 6 or 7pm classes) next week.

Reminder: Competitor WODs are Tuesday at 7pm and Fri at 5pm.

Reminder You Don’t Want to Be Reminded Of: Albany Competitors have entered the “No Alcohol” Zone. Yup. You know it, so stand strong and kick that crap to the side for a while.

BIGTIME Reminder: Fight Gone Bad 5 is Saturday, Sept 25th. We will be joining this very important, massive worldwide effort by CrossFit affiliates to benefit Wounded Warriors and the Livestrong Foundation. All you have to do is join us for the workout and maybe get a few friends to kick a few bucks to some really worthy causes. Here’s a message from Chris, who is our FGB5 Team Captain:

To register and join the CrossFit Watertown FGB team, go here. From there, click on the “Register” button on the right-hand side and create a RapidGiving account. During the registration process, you’ll have an opportunity to join a team. Enter “CrossFit Watertown” in the search bar and our affiliate should pop up for you to select. From there, you can personalize your page title and fundraising target. Let’s get out there and raise some money! Thanks everyone!

Cheryl and Pam support Ray after he finishes “Hanson.”

This isn’t the best photo ever, but it is.

Huh?

The photo itself isn’t great in composition, or lighting, or clarity or color, or any of a hundred different criteria you could use to analyze, dissect, and critique the end product. A team of “experts” wouldn’t give it a second look.

What does it have?

Compassion. Love. Kindness. Strength. Fortitude. Perseverance.

You see, Cheryl is married to Ray. And when Ray headed into the last round of sit-ups, he was fried. Cheryl was already done, so she did another round with Ray. Pam coached him through that round. And he made it to the finish. It wasn’t pretty (sorry Ray!) but it was done.

Form and technique are important for sure, but sometimes heart is what you really should be looking at. It sounds stupid but sometimes it really is easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees.

Nice work, Ray and Cheryl. See ya at the gym!

This is my gym.

These bars are my bars. When I put more bumpers on the ends, I get stronger. But when I take heavy weight off, I can go faster.

These rings are my rings. When I am strong, I can hold my arms out farther and test my strength. But when I am weaker, I draw everything close and just hang on.

This iron is my iron. The weight I try to lift in this life. It hurts me but it makes me grow. I’m stronger now than I was a week ago, a month ago, a year ago, a decade ago. And I’m only getting stronger.

Does that scare you? It should. My power is legendary, my strength is inspiring, my life is a testimony to the heart that beats so strong in me and the soul that goes so deep.

I am a CrossFitter. And this is my gym.

(Words and photo by Lisbeth Darsh/CrossFit Watertown.)

Melissa finishes a power clean.

Pick a priority today. One thing that you want to do better. Today and today only. Not for tomorrow or next week or next month or next year. One thing you want to improve today. Just one day at a time. Focus.

SCHEDULE ALERT: Competitors WODs on FRIDAY at 5pm and SAT at 11am.

Time for bear crawls.

I can’t make you a better athlete. I can’t make you skinny. Or fat. I can’t make you a better person. I can’t make you a better friend, a better lover, a better mother or a better father.

I can’t make you run or row or front squat or L-sit or do handstand push-ups.

I can’t make you do anything.

You are the person with the power. The person with the choices. The person who makes the decisions. Only you can make you do anything.

All I can do is provide expert instruction, an outstanding facility, a phenomenal community, and an accepting atmosphere where it’s safe to f*** up and try again.

And results. Lots of results if you’re willing to work for them.

You have to decide if you’re ready to accept that challenge. You have to decide if you have a warrior’s soul, if you’re a CrossFitter.

I am a CrossFit coach. I am a CrossFit affiliate.

What are you?

(Words by Lisbeth Darsh/CrossFit Watertown.)

Nate.

No big words today, no expansive thoughts. No ramblings, no ruminations, no stories.

Just hard work ahead. And some simple questions: How are you going to deal with that work? How are you going to meet life today? Are you going to embrace it? Grasp it? Run with it? Or are you going to cover up, hunker down, and decide that you’re finished before you start? Decide that you’re never going to get that snatch, never going to lift that bar, never going to get that pull-up. Decide that trying is just not worth it.

Our lives are decided in the small moments. Decide to live. Decide to grow. Decide to change. Decide to try. Because if you decide that you’re beaten before you even start, then you really are. And that’s a shame, because life can be pretty glorious if you just try. Breathe. Lift. Live.

SCHEDULE ALERT: Competitor WODs this week are TONIGHT at 7pm, FRIDAY at 5pm, and SAT at 11am. Please make note of these changes! (The Friday 5pm class is now changed from a Team workout to the Competitors Workout. This is a permanent change. As always, there is no 6pm class on Fridays.) Keep your ears open for more schedule changes coming up as we transition from summertime into fall.

Adam gets ready to attack the Prowler in the rain.

You know this look. You’ve had it before. When something hard and tough is looming before you and you’re digging deep to find some energy, some nerve, some wherewithal to survive the sh**storm that you know is coming.

It’s called CrossFit. And it happens every single day here.

We can see it in all of you — the stare, the look, the mental bracing. Everyone has a different way of preparing, of coping, of bringing up the guts to do what they have to do. I’m a starer like Adam, but only briefly, because I also suffer from impatience (not always the best quality, trust me). Barry looks at things out of the corner of his eye, like a cat getting ready to pounce and kill some unsuspecting mouse. Becky might dance up to the task at hand, while Rockstar will sashay, almost daring the challenge to resist her charms.

Everybody’s different, yet we’re all the same. We’re all scared. Really. Scared that we will falter, that we will fail, that we will end up bloodied and bruised and shaken.

But we tackle the task anyway. We have to. It’s almost not a choice for us anymore. The harder the task, the more we want to try it. It’s a sickness we all have. An illness that has infected all of us, not just here in the gym, but in our workplaces, our schools, and our homes. We embrace tests of our strength, our mettle, our heart. We long to find out what we’re really made of. It’s a disease that doesn’t harm us, however, and that oddly makes our lives better and more thrilling, and the conquering of that fear and those tasks makes us feel more alive. It’s a virus that we have passed from person to person . . . and it’s called CrossFit.

(Words by Lisbeth Darsh/CrossFit Watertown.)