The Genuine Gracious Competitor

                                        Source: bellafayegarden.tumblr.com via Dynamic Edge on Pinterest

There's something to be said about a genuine and gracious competitor. You know, the kind of person that will annihilate you in the competitive arena, or at least try to, yet after it's said and done, wishes the best for you, encourages you, and supports you in a genuine way? Not in a phony way. Not in a vicious way. Just a person with an amazing heart with respect for competition, including a push in a positive and healthy way that points you in the right direction. These types of people are few and far between, in my opinion. I seek those kind of competitors.

Competitive by nature. I've always had the competitive bug or spark. Whether it was in athletics, school, on the playground, or adventures in life. By nature, events and life experiences have turned into a competition for me. Competition inspires me and motivates me whether I'm good at something or not. Now, this definitely can be and has been destructive at times in life, but it has also been a wonderful character trait. The challenge has been trying to find BALANCE within this trait to make sure it does not turn destructive and doesn't eat away at the psyche.

Wisdom learned over the years. As time goes on, I've learned to find the balance and be more acceptive of embracing where I am right now in life. Sure I've got goals and aspirations that I am motivated to achieve, but I can only focus on what I can control at this point in time. It's a daily challenge, and I'm determined to make progress here even if it's imperfect progress. It's finding a way to give yourself grace and be ok with where you are in life right now even if the competitive spirit finds you fell a little short.

Gratitude and empowerment in motivating others. I want to be a positive example for others. I love coaching, encouraging, and celebrating others successes. Sure I love to set the bar high, but why wouldn't you want to reach for it? It brings me joy and a rush of excitement when I see what maybe you couldn't see in yourself. I love seeing the confidence grow in others and the strength in their spirit thriving. I want to celebrate your successes no matter how significant or insignificant you may find them! To me, there is more joy and gratitude in that celebration, than what I personally may have accomplished in the competitive arena. Honestly, there was a point in life when I couldn't say that. Does this mean I'm a big kid now?? :)

                                      Source: strengthfromstruggle.tumblr.com via Dynamic Edge on Pinterest

 

Don't get me wrong. I will continue to compete with you, but I will drag you alongside me if you aren't giving the effort to keep up. I will not let you stop. I will not leave you behind. I will yell at you if you are self deprecating. I will shake you silly if you don't believe in yourself. I will give you a big kick in the heiny to get you up that hill (and you may also have to drag me to the scooter store to keep up due to my decrepit joints-minor detail...). Once you pass me or if you were always ahead of me, I will also genuinely praise you, and encourage you to better yourself. Keep going! I hope in return you take me along for the ride as well. I will always try to keep up.

In the grand scheme of life, we're all just trying to be better people. I hope you choose to identify, embrace, and share the genuine, gracious competitor in you. Don't be a phony. Be real in a gracious way. We all could benefit from what you have to offer.

**A special shout out to some genuine, gracious competitors who have influenced me as of recent-- Thanks to Trish, Dave P., Camille, and Ms. Tali. You inspire me, motivate me, and challenge me in multi-faceted ways!

 

Unbroken Heart

Mike after doing WORK! “Crossfit isn’t for everyone, but anyone can do it.”

Dizzy. Hazy. Off. Strange. The sound of blood flowing fluidly through the chambers of the heart. Wait! Uneven. Broken. Staccato. Heart attack!

That was September of 2012. “It had been one week and one day from starting CrossFit. I wasn’t feeling well. I felt hazy, had some shoulder pain, and what seemed like, indigestion. I thought my shoulders were sore from the week of workouts,” Mike Fitch says. He blew off the other symptoms. The symptoms continued, and Fitch said he “just felt off.” A visit to the doctor confirmed he was having a heart attack.

The doctor informed Fitch he didn’t have any abnormal heart conditions, and it appeared to be a rare instance of a piece of plaque breaking off in his artery that created a blockage and thus the heart attack. A stent was put in, and he was prescribed blood thinners for a year. After a month of recovery, Fitch was given clearance and encouraged to continue CrossFit from his doctor. His doctor informed him to take it easy, and ease back into the workouts.

Mike Fitch is like many Americans. He was extremely active up through his mid-thirties, and then marriage, work, and family took over his time and priorities. Now at 56 years old, and after a 20-year hiatus from fitness, Fitch was looking to regain his health back. He was ready to make a change and quit letting life get away from him. “It was like my 40s just blew past me.” Fitch walked into CrossFit Loomis off the street and inquired about the program, ready for a fresh start. His daughter has been an active crossfitter in Korea and had suggested he give it a try.

After seven months, Fitch has lost over 52 pounds and is getting stronger every day. His mobility has dramatically increased and he’s motivated to take his health back.

Throughout the CrossFit Open season, Fitch has been driven like none other to leave his mark in his first experience with the open. He’s dedicated, consistent, and reaping the benefits of his change in lifestyle. He’s reclaimed his physical, mental, & spiritual health, as well as, his life back.

Coach Dave Pabalate shared, “Mike Fitch’s story is a perfect example of what is available through this program.” He’s a father, a husband, and trying to regain his health back. He is like many others out there. Pabalate states, “He has worked through the psychological process in coming to the gym. He is continuing to conquer the fears and stereotypes of what CrossFit is.” Just making it to the gym on a regular basis is progress. Progress is also learning functional movement again to conquer what life throws at you.

“Mike is an entrepreneur and he knows what success is,” states Coach Pabalate. Fitch owns two businesses and knows what kind of work it takes to be successful. Without a doubt, Fitch is a fighter and will continue to fight for that success. 

Most would take a step back with Fitch’s health scare. With a HUGE heart, Fitch is NOT broken and will continue to fight on in getting better along this journey of life.

Mike with his CrossFit Loomis community

Harlem Shake - Kenya Style

Many of you are now familiar with the Harlem Shake craze. Although many of us still don't get it, I just saw this posted from my Kenyan friends I got to visit last fall. By far, my favorite version! Love & miss those kids.

So fun! Consider following Living Positive Kenya organization via Facebook HERE.

Find The Beauty In The Battle

3-2-1… Go! The red seconds on the black timer ticked off like gunshots in the ensuing battle. Two competitive athletes, one male and one female, were going toe to toe on the Hero WOD “DT”. You could feel the tension in the box because neither athlete would back down. Rep was matched for rep. The female athlete assumed she was the favorite and had this in the bag, but the dude would not go away. In the last rounds the heavy barbell weighed down the favorite, and the male athlete, seeing this, reached deep and manhandled his bar to victory.

Hold up! While this glorious clash wouldn’t appear to be a sight uncommon in the field, the circumstances must be viewed closer. Upon further examination, it was discovered that the male athlete had one leg in a medical boot propped up on a bench to attack that WOD. It was a nail biting carnage in a restrictive boot. Yep, the female athlete just ate humble pie as she was served a beat down in warfare by the one legged wonder.

Six weeks previously, Matt Lantz snapped his tibia and fibula in half with a complete break at the ankle in a freak accident at the box. His injury required immediate surgery that included two plates and 12 pins. The doctors informed Lantz it would be four months before he would be back walking, let alone participating in regular WODs again at the box.

“Prior to my injury, I felt stronger and faster than ever,” Lantz says. He had previously been making huge strides and progress over the last six months as a new CrossFit athlete. Lantz would not be discouraged, and he would not back down. He was determined to keep up his strength and fitness levels, and not let this be a disparaging setback.

After five weeks of laying low for recovery, he was back at the battleground with his infamous knee scooter. His warhorse scooter helped him zip around almost Matrix style, while he fluidly set up barbells and made his own battle zone on the pull up bars.

Lantz owned one-legged deadlifts, one-legged push press, and L-sit pull ups! If there were a way to modify the movement without weight bearing on his injured war leg, he would find a way. People would discredit his ability to do the exercises for a while, and his reply, “actually, I can.” He was determined and driven to not let this setback take out his fitness and health progress.

His first attempts back at the box on his warhorse scooter weren’t all pride and glory, as could be imagined. Lantz felt like his “lungs were the worst. I had fire lungs and sticky spit from 2-3 minutes of work.” He has continued to keep clawing away for progress, eventually becoming more comfortable with the workloads.

With the experience of Lantz’s war wound, he has had an abundance of time to think. Through reflection of this assault, he has learned some valuable life skills and nuggets of wisdom to continue the fight. He gained perspective, evaluated his priorities in life, and examined his healthy habits. Lantz realized, “This injury made me have healthy habits. I acknowledged that I truly needed to focus on my mobility and also my nutrition.” Mobility would be critical to his technique, and key to being more efficient and safe in daily WODs. Nutrition would be key to fueling his performances. Both are crucial to fighting the daily fight.

The battle isn’t over, and the warrior spirit hasn’t disappeared. Every day Lantz gets healthier and stronger. He has chosen to positively learn and find the beauty in the war wounds, and strives for continued progress in ensuing battles to come.

The Rest In The Music

 

Source: google.ca via Amber on Pinterest

Time to get a little personal. A friend sent me this quote along with some well-needed words of encouragement. There are times when many things don’t go as planned. Recently, I had a setback with an injury that is going to take some time to heal. It requires more rest time than I would prefer, and requires more patience than I care for. No, no surgery, and truly not the end of the world. Many others have experienced far worse than what I have endured, but when you are in the thick of it, it just feels like a sh#@ sandwich.

Wisdom earned and lessons learned. I learned a lesson and life perspective back when I was 17 and 19 years old. Sports are not all pride and glory, and they do not define me. Yes, this seems silly to state now because, DUH! Of course not!, but as a young teenager that was what I thought did define me. I was the athlete. Most who knew me, knew that was what I was about. Athletics. Or so I thought anyway.

A serious knee injury took out that pride and glory for me. I was a senior in high school. Just like that, I didn’t know who I was without athletics. The plans for college and athletics wouldn’t be what I thought they were. After a different college direction occurred, and a return back to the sport I loved, once again another injury took out my identity. Or did it?

At that point I learned to realize there is more to who I am than athletics. It wasn’t the plan or path I would have chosen, but then again I wasn’t in charge of the master plan anyway. Once you surrender to that, it is so freeing. Plans always change. How will you react? Will you see glory in the rest time as well as the music?

Choices. We all have a choice in how we will react to our situations. There’s a choice in how we react to adversity and what life throws at us. I learned a lot about who I was in my early 20s, as most of us do. At that time, I truly found the person I wanted to be was much greater than the athlete I thought I was. I had more to offer than that. Plus, I learned how to grow out of the selfish sh*@ that I was.

Fast forward, I sit here in a situation that feels familiar, years later, with feelings touching back to that teenage girl. Glimpses of that place years ago. Frustrated. Pissed off. Not going according to plan. Different now though, as I know I have a choice on how I can react to it. It doesn’t mean I didn’t have my brief meltdown (sorry you were the recipient Vince). I was entitled to get that out and I’m OVER it.

I'm wiser now. I'm more patient with the learning process in these years, even if I don't like the situation. I'm a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend, and I have more to offer to those around me. I make a conscious choice to offer my gifts in a different light. Yes, many times it is still offered through sport, but just from a different lens and perspective. Sometimes you think you play one role and then you are required to play another. 

You see sport and athletics are what renew me (thanks for those words Tali), yet they don’t define me. I am truly passionate about what they can offer and the others around me, but athletics are just the vehicle through which I can share my gifts. Life experiences are learned and nuggets of wisdom are shared through this wonderful vehicle of sport. Tools that help me navigate through life.

As I glance forward, I commit to living life by being intentional and training with purpose. I choose to be thankful for the forced rest time, even if it wasn’t part of my plan. Sometimes the man upstairs has a way of knocking the legs out from under you to refocus your direction and get new lenses to see a different perspective. I relinquish the selfish part of me to enjoy the rest in this song that was given to me.

                                                       Source: donrathjr.com via Jenny on Pinterest

Watch out! When this forced rest time is over, I will be hungrier than ever and I have a renewed perspective and passion that might be contagious. The rest is part of the music. Here’s to the continuation of the song by making music as if no pause was ever there. It might even rock your world!