Below this is a Re-Post about my weekend at my Crossfit Level 1 certification a year ago.

Since that certification I hit the ground running and haven't much looked back. I have been group training for a year consistently. Almost no breaks. Well except to get married and go on a Honeymoon. I almost did Fight Gone bad on our wedding day but was forbidden by my now wife :-)

The Beginning:

After the Certification, literally the next week, I started out training in a park with my neighbor and friend Jeremy. I had a Kettlebell, a Med ball, some Dumbbells and the ability to wake up at 5am to do it all. 

Jeremy was an awesome first client/athlete. Mainly because he is a longtime yoga instructor/Massage Therapist and gave me a lot of teaching tips for running group classes, being sensitive to a clients needs, and most importantly what not to say. I traded a killer workout for his teaching experience and it worked out great.

I made a ton of beginner mistakes in the first 6 weeks that we trained together. In the beginning I wasn't aware of what I was saying, where my words or intentions were coming from, or how to effectively convey them.

The Level 1 certification only gave me the framework in which to instruct a good Crossfit style workout. But I had to get out there and figure out how to put up the walls, what color to paint it, and who was going to live inside the concept of this framework.

Just getting a certification did not give me the right to be a trainer. I really felt like I needed to earn it by playing with it, learning, testing and ultimately telling myself that I was good enough to do it.

I would like to thank all the mentors I had to get to this point:

Mark Davis - The Boston Martial Arts Center

Ken Savage - The Winchendon Martial Arts Center

Neal Thompson - Crossfit Boston

Jon Gilson - Again Faster / Crossfit Boston

And Most importantly my Wife who helped to Kick push me into the light

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
Henry David Thoreau

http://www.mountainstrength.com/home/2009/3/23/crossfit-level-1-certified.html

"...by design, broad, general, and inclusive."

Last weekend I took a wonderful drive down to New Jersey to partake of the Crossfit Level 1 Certification that was held at Crossfit Montclair.

The box is pretty sweet. Lots of room with plenty of pullup space to accommodate all us crossfitters in the pic above. The experience was pretty intense for me. As I was introduced to Fran for the first time

"Hi, I am Fran, Please hyperventilate and go crawl in a corner okay?"

The workout is a crossfit staple, kinda how guys in the gym ask about how much they bench.

Fran: 21 - 15 - 9

95# Barbell Thrusters

Pullups

Doesn't look so bad. I know I can scrict press 115# 5x5.

And I know I can do 100 pullups when needed (or when Jon Gilson is screaming at me)

But the one component that I left out above is the TIME component.

You do this workout for time. You move that 95# barbell FAST!

From a front squat to overhead press 21 - 15 - 9

I Believe the record holder can do this under 2 minutes. It's on video too. You should go check it out. I will wait.

Can't find it? Here watch this, it's only 1:53 mins long:

Jason Kaplan Does Fran

Jason Kaplan from Crossfit Montclair, Great guy we talked for a bit.

My time was no where near that at 9:24.

I received something during this workout, well lots of things really. Pain, dizziness, loss of awareness, etc etc...

Most importantly I realized how strong my will was. I wanted to quit, wanted to give up and go puke in a corner. But I didn't choose to give up and neither did any of the trainers. Todd Widman of Crossfit Flathead stayed in front of me the entire workout. He kept encouraging me. Especially to breath. In my limited vision I could see Jon Gilson and EC Cheering me on.

I finished and I phased out in a corner for about an hour. It Felt like the very first time I ever gave my all in the 800m race in track. A race that you can never give an inch because it's over so fast but long enough to hurt. No strategy, just run as hard as you can. Sometimes that is what life hands you and you have to survive.

I know I can survive when pushed.

Do you?