The Athlete Manifesto

An Athlete is driven by an intrinsic desire to be better than yesterday.

They strive daily to be stronger, faster, fitter.

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Athletes find motivation in achieving their own personal greatness, never in comparing themselves to others.

They recognize the only thing within their control is their own attitude, their own effort, their own growth.

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Athletes are inspired by the community around them, to represent and to celebrate the bonds of fitness that tie us.

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Athletes never ask for permission to chase their dreams.

They work in the early morning.

They work in the late of night.

They know the work they invest in solitude will be rewarded under the lights.

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Athletes are motivated in knowing that everything they have, they’ve earned.

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If you ask an athlete why they compete, they’ll tell you—this is for themselves, no one else.

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Athletes…

Define their own destiny.

Create their own luck.

Make no excuses.

Realize their competition makes them better.

Place no blame.

Know failure is never fatal.

Believe everything is earned, not given.

・・・

I am an athlete.

Photo Cred Dustin Stokes

A Season of Heroes

Summer is coming and here at Steel Fox CrossFit that also means that Hero WODs are coming.  Beginning in May we will be doing a Hero WOD every Friday, and of course Memorial Day Murph.  While many of you are familiar with Hero WODs, I just wanted to take a few minutes to talk about what they are and why we do them.

What is a Hero WOD?

Much like the “girl WODs” that we are all familiar with, Hero WODs are WODs that are named after specific people.  The major difference is that the HERO WODs are named after service members that have lost their lives in service to their country or community.  Many of these are named after military personnel but there are some that are named for police officers and firefighters.

Why do we do Hero WODs?

While Hero WODs can be used as a repeatable benchmark like the “girls”, that is not the main reason we do them.  The main reason we do them is to perform a difficult workout with a certain person in mind, and to use it to honor them and remember the great things about our life.  When you are slogging away through yet another 400m run during Hotshots 19 it provides you with a chance to think about what those firefighters must have been going through running into those wildfires and how what you are doing is not so bad in comparison.  It also gives us a chance to think about all the amazing things we have in life.

What is the best way to approach a Hero WOD?

These WODs tend to be heavy, long, difficult, high skill (or all of the above) workouts.  So what is the best way to approach a given workout, especially if it has a movement or a weight you can not do?  As with any CrossFit workout, scaling is always an option, so scale the weight to weight that is doable for you, scale the chest to bar pullups to pull-ups.  But that being said, this is also a chance to push yourself and challenge yourself more than you are used to. These workouts are meant to mentally and physically challenging.

As we kick off into our “Season of Heroes” I look forward to seeing everyone in here sweating and pushing hard in honor of these fallen heroes.  

~Coach Ryan

The CrossFit Games Open is over . . . Now What?

Well we have just finished another CrossFit Games Open.  What are we supposed to do going forward? The Open, while often a great experience filled with PRs and firsts, can also be a greatly humbling experience for many.  A spotlight is shown on your weaknesses and areas that you have ignored in your training for the past year. If you couldn’t do double unders in 2017, why were you still unable to do them in 2018? Did you set a goal to acquire them and then work tirelessly to achieve that goal? Or did you give up on learning them when the process proved to be frustrating?

This is a great time of year to set some fitness goals for yourself moving into the next phase of training.  But even more importantly than simply stating a goal, is having a plan to achieve that goal and sticking with it.  Skills, and strength, take time to develop and even longer to master, they are only earned through hard work and dedication, not wishful thinking and picking up a jump rope for 5 minutes every 2 weeks.

So what are your goals? Double unders? A strict pull-up? A better engine? To be stronger? If you are like many of us, your answer is quite possibly “all of the above”. The mistake many people make in goal setting at this point in time is trying to get better at everything all at once.  This leads to lack of focus and frustration when you seem to not be getting anywhere. My suggestion to you is to make a list of every goal you have, BUT to then prioritize that list by what is most important to you to achieve. Focus on the 1 or 2 things at the top of the list until they are accomplished, learned, or improved to a point that it is no longer your one glaring weakness and biggest goal.  Then move on to the next one. Even spending 5 minutes every day on your double unders or 10 working on shoulder strength and pull-up exercises every day you come to the box will add up over time, and lead to you making those weaknesses into strengths.

If you have any questions on the best way to approach your goals please do not hesitate to talk to me about it!

~Coach Ryan

Healthy Desert Options

Healthy Desert Options

Looking for a healthier version of a dessert you can take to your holiday party? I got you covered. Now let’s get one thing straight. A dessert is a just that, a dessert. Although there are healthier versions of things out there, it is still something we should have in moderation. If your going to indulge, use the best quality ingredients and make it beneficial to you. Substituting certain processed ingredients for more natural ingredients is a way to achieve this. Your body knows how to break down the natural foods, it does not know how to process things that were not meant to be put into your body. Here are a few options. Enjoy!

3 ingredient Peanut Butter Fudge (12 servings)(keto friendly)

Ingredients:

1 cup all natural peanut butter. (Unsweetened)

1 cup coconut oil

¼ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Optional pinch of salt if your peanut butter is unsalted

Optional 2 teaspoons vanilla liquid stevia or or desired sweetener to taste

Optional ½ cup enjoy life chocolate chips

Directions:

Slightly melt/soften the peanut butter and coconut oil on low in a saucepan, stirring constantly.

Add your peanut butter and coconut oil to a blender along with the rest of the ingredients and blend until combined.

Poor into a parchment lined loaf pan.

Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

If using chocolate, melt the chocolate chips in a sauce pan and drizzle over fudge before placing in fridge.

Macros: Per 2 pieces. Calories = 285

Fat = 29    Protein =  5.5   Carbs = 4

Chocolate Blueberry Clusters (serves 15)

Ingredients:

1.5 cup semi sweet all natural chocolate chips, melted

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 cups of blueberries

Sprinkle of course sea salt for garnish

Directions:

Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, mix melted chocolate with coconut oil.

Spoon a small dollop of chocolate on the parchment paper, and top with 4-5 blueberries.

Drizzle chocolate over blueberries and sprinkle with sea salt.

Freeze until set, about 10 minutes and serve.

Macros: (per one cluster) Calories = 24  Fat = 1g Protein = 1g   Carb = 3.5g