ATTENTION all women and even you men with women in your lives. This post is for you!
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You will NOT get bulky from lifting weights. For all those women who are too afraid of going to ‘that section’ of the gym or who tell their coaches they don’t want to lift because they don’t want to get too muscular…or for those men who are afraid the girl they’re dating is going to start getting huge…this couldn’t be further from the truth.
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If you are training twice a day, accumulating 4+ hours of training a day, then you might possibly start to add more muscle mass like the elite athletes. At the level those athletes are at though, they care more about performance than aesthetics. But even us women will still never get as bulky as men because we produce 5 to 10% the amount of testosterone men do which limits the amount of muscle we are able to put on.
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I am also a good example that you can’t get big (even with the amount of training I do). I work out 4-6 hours a day, eat around 3000 calories per day, and I’ve been doing this for 11 years. No matter how strict I am with my diet and training, I am still one of the smaller athletes in my sport at around 135lbs. Everyone is built differently and we are all beautiful in our own body types.
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I promise if you are just working out 4-5 days a week anywhere from 30 minutes to 90 minutes, be prepared to get a lean strong and more powerful body. Not only this, but you will feel better about yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. So let’s stop the stigma everyone, women can (and should) lift weights too!
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PS. If anyone thinks I look too muscular in this picture, that’s because I’m putting in a lot of effort into this movement and my muscles are going to look a lot more muscular than if I’m standing still. That my friends is called hard work. Love you all!

Also Check Out…

The First Time

Broadening Beauty: Women Who CrossFit & Self-Image

Inside Invictus: EP32: Final Day of the 2019 CrossFit Games

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Inside Invictus: EP32: Final Day of the 2019 CrossFit Games
Video by Michael McCoy

Follow the teams and Individuals from CrossFit Invictus as they compete on the final day of the 2019 CrossFit Games. As they sit on the cusp of elimination, Team Invictus is happy to see the first event of the day includes a swim – an area where they are extremely strong. Will they conquer the day’s events to be one of the last teams standing at the conclusion of the weekend?

Meanwhile, the Invictus Individual Athletes are making an excellent showing in both the Women’s and Master’s Divisions. Former Team Invictus members Jenn Ryan – her first time competing at Games as an individual – and Nuno Costa push for the podium in their Masters’ divisions while the amazing Kristen Holte continues her climb to the top of the CrossFit charts again this year.

Watch the video for the final day of competition including behind the scenes interviews with the athletes, Invictus posse commentary and catch a glimpse of the fan experience in Madison, Wisconsin.

Invictus Athlete Online Programs offer training to help you in all areas of fitness. Check out the Sample Training Guide to see what a training day would look like, and pick which program is best for you!

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What is it Like to Have Parkinson’s Disease? 
Video by Nick Hawkes

Ever wonder what it’s like to have a debilitating disease like Parkinson’s? To know that you are deteriorating, losing your mobility, your independence?

In this video, Invictus Coach, Nick Hawkes, interviews his mom about her experience with the disease, reflecting back to the warning signs even before she was diagnosed, all the trial and error in finding the right combination of meds, surgery to have an electrode implanted in her brain, and discovering ways to keep active and not succumb to the disease.

Her sweet nature and honest replies give you an intimate look at what it’s like to take on the battle of your life. Her unwavering strength and determination to keep moving are both inspiring to make the most of what we have and motivating to never stop using your body.

Nick’s mother, Sue, has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for the past 15 years. For those of you unfamiliar with the disease, Parkinson’s attacks the body’s ability to produce dopamine and slowly robs you of your ability to control your own body.

In the simplest of terms, it is a disease that takes away your ability to move freely. It makes simple tasks that you take for granted, like signing a birthday card, extremely difficult. Even leaving the house can become concerning enough for those suffering from the disease to become homebound.

Exercising Takes on a New Purpose

Most of us exercise to lose weight, get that 6-pack, or even train for an event. But when you’re diagnosed with Parkinson’s, you exercise to be able to use your body and so you can keep your independence.

Luckily for Sue, with the help of her son, she’s found a recipe for treatment that includes both medications, brain stimulators, and exercise. Since finding out about his mom’s condition, Nick has been passionate about movement, motor control, and function and has helped create a plan for her that seems to be keeping her at a reasonable level of mobility that is not declining at a rate that many others see.

She may not do her step aerobics anymore but Nick has been creative with ideas for her to try. One exercise modality that she saw great success with was “Rolling the Ropes” which uses a heavier rope than a jump rope but it’s not for jumping. Instead, the rope is used as a tool to enhance rhythm, awareness, connectivity, and linkage. Rolling the ropes allows you to express motion across planes and in various directions. It has been really interesting for Nick and Sue to see the rapid improvements in her movement fluidity in only a few sessions of practice.

The 3 Peak Challenge

To honor his mom, raise money for Parkinson’s research and to celebrate and enjoy his own body’s ability to move freely, Nick and fellow Invictus Coach, Holden Rethwill, have decided to do the SoCal 3 Peak Challenge. Parkinson’s took the life of Holden’s grandfather so this is a cause near and dear to both of them.

This Challenge is an undertaking of the three highest peaks in Southern California – Mt. Baldy, San Jacinto, and San Gorgonio. The combination of these three is roughly 40 miles of hiking! But here is the kicker; their goal is to summit all three peaks within 24 hours!

How to Participate in the Three Peak Challenge

Donate to the Fundraising Page!

Their goal is to raise $3000 and donate it to the Michael J Fox Foundation’s research for Parkinson’s Disease.

Join Them on Our Journey!

If you are interested in joining Nick and Holden in their training or on their journey – please send your videos or email, questions or comments to Holden or Nick.

The post What is it Like to Have Parkinson’s Disease?  appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Inside Invictus: EP31: Behind the Scenes at the 2019 CrossFit Games
Videos by Michael McCoy

Join the teams and Individuals from CrossFit Invictus as they make their way through the week’s workouts at the 2019 CrossFit Games where they aspire to be standing on the podium at the end of the weekend. After placing 3rd on the Team Ruck (Event #1) and 5th on the Team Strongman’s Fear (Event #2) can Team Invictus hold onto their podium position heading into Saturday’s events? Invictus Boston also made a run in the first couple events with a 2nd place finish in Event #1 and a 6th place finish in Event #2 landing them in a good position to make it two Invictus teams on the podium at the end of the weekend.

Invictus Athlete Online Programs offer training to help you in all areas of fitness. Check out the Sample Training Guide to see what a training day would look like, and pick which program is best for you!

The post Inside Invictus: EP31 – Behind the Scenes at the 2019 CrossFit Games appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Inside Invictus: EP29 & EP30: Behind the Scenes at the 2019 CrossFit Games
Videos by Michael McCoy

Join the teams and Individuals from CrossFit Invictus as they make their way from their St.Cloud, Minnesota, training camp to Madison, Wisconsin, for the 2019 CrossFit Games where they aspire to be standing on the podium at the end of the weekend.

After spending more than a week living in a house together and training together, the crew is fully bonded and prepared for bringing their full effort into the competition weekend. Watch to see how the athletes prepare for the day of competition, before each event and catch a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes and out of the spectator’s view at the event.

Invictus Athlete Online Programs offer training to help you in all areas of fitness. Check out the Sample Training Guide to see what a training day would look like, and pick which program is best for you!

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Inside Invictus: EP 27 & 28 – 2019 Games Training Camp
Videos by Michael McCoy

Join the teams and Individuals from CrossFit Invictus as they make their way to St.Cloud, Minnesota in preparation for 2019 CrossFit Games. With the competition just over a week out, all Invictus Athletes reported to training camp for training, treatment, strategizing and team bonding.

With everyone living in a house together and training together, there’s bound to be some shenanigans with this crew. Watch to see how the athletes prepare – both mentally and physically – for the Games and what it takes for CJ, Tino, and the coaches to keep everyone on track to peak at the right time and for Mama Karen and Pops the machine running behind the scenes with the support crew.

Invictus Athlete Online Programs offer training to help you in all areas of fitness. Check out the Sample Training Guide to see what a training day would look like, and pick which program is best for you!

The post Inside Invictus: EP27 & EP28 – 2019 Games Training Camp appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Life and movement are precious and sometimes you don’t realize that until it is taken away. This is why coach Holden and myself are busting out of the walls of Invictus, taking our fitness to the mountain tops, and would love for you to join us!

We have decided to do a Three Peak Challenge right here in SoCal. This challenge is an opportunity to appreciate and combine the gift of movement with our love for the great outdoors. To make this event even more special, we have decided to take this opportunity to do it as a fundraiser to raise money for Parkinson’s research.

Parkinson’s has hit us both pretty close to home. It took Holden’s grandfather’s life, and my mother has been suffering from this disease for the past 15 years. For those of you unfamiliar with the disease, Parkinson’s attacks the body’s ability to produce dopamine and slowly robs one of their abilities to control their own body.

This Three Peaks Challenge is an undertaking (or I guess overtaking since we’ll be on top of the mountains…) of the three highest peaks in Southern California – Mt. Baldy, San Jacinto, and San Gorgonio. The combination of these three is roughly 40 miles of hiking! But here is the kicker; our goal is to summit all three peaks within 24 hours!

This is an awesome opportunity to utilize our fitness and test ourselves outside of the gym setting, both mentally and physically. We both have a passion for being outdoors and saw this as a perfect opportunity to raise funds for Parkinson’s research.

What you need to know about the Three Peak Challenge for Parkinson’s Research

When: Saturday, October 5th

How you can support:
We would love to include as many of you who want to join as possible and there is a host of ways to support.

1. Join us on the trail!

You may not want to do all three peaks, but how cool would it be to hike one of the peaks with us? Our idea is that we have people that help pace, support and heckle us on each peak…well Holden might not need help, but I will need all the support I can get, and then we can heckle Holden together. Some of the hiking could take place at odd hours and/or in the middle of the night.

This is going to be a hard challenge and we will be pushing the pace. However, this will not be a “group” hike. Instead, it will be a hard push for everyone to do their best. In order for Holden and me to make the timeline, we won’t be able to keep everyone together on each peak and that is totally okay! You don’t have to worry about slowing us down because we will need to keep our pace to make the time caps. But you are welcome to join us, keep up with us or set your own individual pace, and enjoy your ability to use your body and explore a bit of what Southern California has to offer!

2. Drivers & Logistics

If hiking is not your jam, that is ok. We will need support in driving us from trailhead to trailhead. We will help coordinate this effort so that it goes down like a special operations mission including time hacks and battle maps! The drive between peaks ranges from 1.5-2.5 hours. Some of the driving could take place at odd hours and/or in the middle of the night.

Three Peak Challenge Drive Times & Hike Distances

Invictus Downtown to Mount Baldy Trailhead: 2.5 hour drive
Mount Baldy Peak via Devil’s Backbone: 12.5 mile hike with 3956 feet of elevation
Mount Baldy Trailhead to San Jacinto Tramway: 1.7 hour drive
San Jacinto Peak via the Tramway: 10.5 mile hike with 2644 feet of elevation
San Jacinto Tramway to San Gorgonio Trailhead: 1.5 hour drive
San Gorgonio Peak via South Fork: 20 mile hike with 4678 feet of elevation
San Gorgonio Trailhead to Invictus Downtown: 2.5 hour drive

3. Donate on our Fundraising Page

Our goal is to raise $3000 and donate it to the Michael J Fox Foundation’s research for Parkinson’s Disease. Please click here to learn more and/or donate.

If you have any questions, want to know more, or read this and already know you’re down for a good time, come find one of us at the gym and we’ll get it all set up!

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Where will your fitness take you?

Always inspired by challenge and endurance events, I’d wanted to tackle a longer thru-hike for a long time, having done shorter trips in Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon in recent years as time away from work allowed.

The big American trails, like the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, have been in my awareness for years, but seemed just-out-of-reach, in terms of the time commitment needed to complete such an adventure. But in researching these I discovered the John Muir Trail.

The JMT lies in the High Sierra largely along the Pacific Crest Trail, stretching approximately 211 miles from the valley of Yosemite National Park to the peak of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States at 14,505 feet in elevation. The trail passes through three national parks in total – Sequoia and King’s Canyon as well as Yosemite – as well as portions of Inyo National Forrest, the John Muir Wilderness, and the Ansel Adams Wilderness.

The total elevation change on the trail is approximately 47,000 feet, including six mountain passes over 11,000 feet: Forester, Glen, Pinchot, Mather, Muir, Seldon, Silver, and Donohue. I honestly had little idea what that elevation profile meant in reality – I just knew it seemed like it might be a lot. But hey, the highest peak in the country? Massive elevation changes? Three National Parks? Some of the most stunning natural beauty in the country? Vintage California? With an attempt possible within a 3-week vacation window? Game on.

At this point, I should mention a few pieces of information for context. The first is that in January I injured my knee. I put off going to the doctor for what I deemed to be a reasonable amount of time (i.e., 3 months), but the eventual post-MRI assessment was that I had a “near-complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament, vertical longitudinal tear of the medial meniscus with a small piece of irregular displaced meniscal tissue in the inferior medial gutter, and a moderate-sized popliteal cyst with partial rupture.” I guess my strategy of just rubbing some dirt on it and getting back in the game may not have been the best plan. I’m also over 40. “Adolescent invulnerability” is not an excuse for doing stupid, risky things anymore. Top Gun words to live by: “your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash!” In addition to that, 2019 was an unusually high snow year in the High Sierras. Snow along the John Muir Trail was reported to be between 150-200% of normal, with many adventurers canceling completely, postponing, or packing an ice axe and crampons to complete the trail throughout the month of June.

All reasons to potentially not do this. On the other hand, as far as my knee went, everything sounds worse than it really is when spoken in medical jargon, right? And besides, the orthopedist said hiking is fine – I don’t suppose it mattered that I just asked about hiking and not about a High Sierra traverse, I was positive that detail was irrelevant. And I was a “weekend warrior” in the Northeast for eight years, I’ve snowshoed and backpacked the New England winter throughout the White Mountains, so I’m not afraid of a little snow. How bad can it be? And my leave dates from work were already approved. I didn’t want to cancel and waste all of my planning.

Most importantly, I felt confident in my conditioning and fitness. Since my initial injury, with the help of our coaches I stayed consistent in the gym, remembering that you should never let what you can’t do interfere with what you can. I learned valuable movement modifications, focused carefully on form and proper technique, and continued to strengthen stabilizer and surrounding muscle. Many people live very active lives ACL-compromised. With the support of the coaching staff, I felt physically as prepared as I was ever going to be.

So off I went, leaving on July 13th, with a plan to head Northbound. The weather reports were for sunny and hot weather in the valley, but trail reports indicated some continued snow throughout the southern passes. But in a dynamic and changing environment like the Sierras in the summer, you can never really know what trail conditions are like until you view them for yourself.

After hiking-in via Cottonwood Pass Trail, approximately 20 miles south of the southern terminus of the JMT, I ran into some very fit PCT hikers who were planning a 1 am ascent of Mount Whitney, to catch the sunrise. I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them, but I asked if I could join them for the beginning – the group would add motivation and an extra measure of safety. They were completely welcoming and agreed, and when 1 am arrived, off we went. I kept up for a short while but dropped-back, knowing that they were well acclimatized and I was only on my second full day in the mountains.

I soon encountered a vast frozen snowfield in the dark, but with GPS and microspikes, I was able to find the trail without too much difficulty. But by about 13,500 feet I was clearly noticing the effects of the altitude (public service announcement: approximately 20% of people experience altitude sickness symptoms at 8,000 feet, with that number increasing to 40% by 10,000 feet). I felt incredibly weak as if I was moving through a sea of molasses, and my heart rate was much too high for the pace I was maintaining, my watch told me 90 beats per minute practically standing still.

Increased heart rate, headache, fatigue, as well as impaired decision making and confusion, are classic signs of altitude sickness – but I didn’t have a headache yet, and I seemed to be able to maintain conversations with the people I was with and whom I was passing (I was deliberately testing this). But by the time I was within sight of the ranger hut at the summit, I was nauseous and counting sets of 10 paces and pausing to rest. I quickly signed the summit log, took photos of the USGS benchmark, and, after a brief appreciation of the stunning view, knew that I should head down right away.

The first test of the trip, and one that made me nervous about the ultimate success of the endeavor – I just learned how my body initially reacted to altitude, and it was a major hindrance. That night I developed a cough, which persisted the next morning. In the back of my mind was a slight fear of HAPE – High Altitude Pulmonary Edema – a condition in which decreased atmospheric pressure causes capillaries in the lungs to swell and leak fluid, resulting in symptoms mimicking bronchitis. The first pass after Whitney, Forester, is the highest in the Sierras at 13,453 feet, and reports from southbound hikers described the approach as snow-covered with some challenging snow cover up to the pass. The plan was to complete passes in the morning, while the snow remains frozen and is more easily navigated with spikes rather than risk trying to climb slush, and that would mean sleeping at altitude the night before. Hopefully, my body would adapt quickly.

The next night, camping at the base of Forester, I awoke startled, heart racing, my tent shuddering in the high mountain wind, suddenly fearful that I left my gear unsecured and that it was all blowing away! I leaped out of my tent to check and everything was fine, everything had been properly stowed, but apparently, the altitude was still playing tricks on me. Sleeplessness and elevated heart rate at night are more signs I was not quite adapted to the elevation yet.

But, with microspikes and digging-in with my trekking poles to climb the snowpack, I made it over Forester Pass early in the morning. Approaching the pass by the light of the nearly full moon was breathtaking. I continued to be unable to eat well – I had managed to get down a dehydrated dinner each evening, but while trekking during the day I was barely forcing down a bar or energy gels, occasionally fighting a gag reflex. One can see how a potentially vicious cycle can develop – loss of sleep and loss of appetite in the context of continued daily exertion. Without proper recovery, the body can quickly start to break-down. But the highest mountain and the highest pass were behind me, and while there was much more challenge ahead, I felt like I was building momentum. And the rewards of the difficult travel were spectacular.

Glen and Pinchot passes followed, and I arrived at the south fork of the King’s River, in the heart of King’s Canyon National Park. Another element of the high snow year is that it translates into more water everywhere. As John Muir said, “the snow is melting into music, “ which was so absolutely true; but the snow was also melting into creeks, streams, and rivers swollen to bursting that all presented potentially dangerous obstacles.

There is a sign posted at the intersection of the trail at the south fork of the King’s River that strongly recommends an alternative crossing 1.5 miles to the North, and the reasons for that are completely clear when viewing the river at the trail: it’s rapids. No one in their right mind would try and cross there. In 2017, there were two deaths at that location. So, proceeding North, about 50 meters upstream, I saw a spot on the river that, with a moment of inspection, looked like a good crossing: the river was divided by an island, appeared more shallow and slower-moving, and had a large log across the opposite bank. I set out across and reached the island in the middle without difficulty. I then proceeded across to the opposite bank, upstream of the large log.

I misjudged the strength of the current pulling under the log. I was very quickly and suddenly swept off my feet. I managed to grab the log and hold on, my entire body and pack submerged with only my face and neck above water, very fearful in that instant that I would be pulled under the log, caught on branches or rocks, and drown. I pulled up against the current and slowly inched back along the log with my hands until I reached slower moving water and could stand. My glasses were fogged-over and I was jack-hammering violently, more from adrenaline than from the cold. My trekking poles were gone – a crucial piece of gear for balance and stabilization across challenging terrain like snow, ice, and water – and I needed to get back from where I’d come. I was still in the middle of the river. Controlling my fear as best as I could I faced the current, bracing against it without additional aid, and concentrated on choosing my steps carefully through my foggy glasses to return to the bank where I began. Somehow I made it. I had slept the night before at a campsite right near the river crossing. Arriving there, I immediately stripped off my wet clothes and put on my mid-layers, kept in waterproof stuff-sacks within my pack. I was calmer once I was dry. The campsite had established fire-pits, and I set about making a fire with kindling and paper from my permit, more for comfort than for actual warmth. After a few minutes some of the guys I camped with the night before woke-up, and, after hearing the explanation for what I was doing, offered assistance, helping me get the fire going and maintain it. All was well.

One of their group was having some knee issues and they were leaving the trail (the irony was not lost on me), and they generously welcomed me to join them. But this would still mean going back over the passes where I had come from. There were two major passes still ahead before my resupply point and things promised to get easier: Mather and Muir. Trail reports of Mather were mixed – apparently, there remained a dicey snow and ice-covered section at the very top of the pass, no more than several feet, but sketchy and potentially dangerous. Muir was not reported to have any risky sections, but to still be six miles of snow on either side of the pass, and a grueling slog. I was concerned about doing both of these without trekking poles. Poles were absolutely necessary on the ascent of Forester, where I used them to dig-in to the snow and ice wall I needed to ascend in the absence of crampons and an axe. And poles make a big difference crossing sun-cupped snowfields. Six miles of that without support seemed daunting. But as I sat by the fire talking to my new friends I glanced at the firewood we were collecting and saw exactly what I had been looking for a moment ago: the perfect hiking stick. I sawed-off a couple of unnecessary limbs and tested it: it had a perfect bend at the top for my grip and tapered nicely to a sturdy point at the base. My morale continued to improve, and I made the decision to press on. I was back on the trail by lunchtime.

Mather pass was challenging, but the ten questionable steps at the very top of the pass proved manageable. Muir Pass was an absolute grind as predicted, but not dangerous – true to the trail reports, it was frozen snow-field after frozen snow-field for six miles, but I could keep putting one foot in front of the other in the absence of the fear of real risk of injury. Amidst all the challenge, pausing and observing the breathtaking and unreal beauty I was surrounded by was immediately rejuvenating.

After Muir, physically and mentally the remainder of the trip was much easier. In an additional week, the snowmelt was proceeding rapidly, and while there were some challenging days, there were none that tested me as those of the first week, and it became increasingly clear that I was actually going to complete the trip. The thumping in my chest when I approached the sound of a fast-moving river dissipated, water running over rocks returned to being a source of relaxation. The time on the trail was broken-up by civilization – Muir Trail Ranch, Vermillion Valley, Red’s Meadow, Tuolumne Meadows – the feeling of Western outposts in the mid-1800s, riding into town off the dusty trail for a hot bath, a hot meal, and the warmth of conversation with fellow travelers. Ultimately I spent seventeen days and an early morning on the trail, covering approximately 238 miles of gorgeous California country, before taking the bus back home. I lost about 10 pounds.

What happens in the Box should absolutely not stay in the Box. At every ability level, your consistent training is developing a broad-based physical and mental functionality that equips you to fully celebrate life with courage and enthusiasm. And the connections you build in the Box and in the broader CrossFit community will raise you up even more. I’m an average gym member. I was definitely not the most “mountain fit” on the trail! But when it counted I was conditioned enough to fight through the altitude, lift myself out of a strong river current when I needed to, concentrate on telling my body what to do when panicked or fatigued, and mentally strong enough to know that one more “rep” is always possible when traversing seemingly endless, climbing snowfields with wet feet. These are all rehearsed skills in CrossFit, and they all apply equally to a day hike at the local park or a planned completion of the Seven Summits. Train for life.

The post An Average Gym Member Attempts the John Muir Trail appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

I fully believe that the lessons we learn in sport— even the lessons we learn in the gym on a day to day basis— are applicable to life on a much larger scale. Competing in CrossFit, both as an individual and on a team, has taught me several transferable skills that I will be able to take with me through the rest of my life endeavors that go beyond fitness.

I have seen the microcosm of human emotion that is the competition floor bring out the very best and the very worst in people. I have seen it highlight my own best qualities, and put my weaknesses on display for the world to see. And in those moments, specifically in those low moments, I have been forced to evolve as a person. After competing is this sport for six seasons now, I can safely say that I have learned the most when things went the worst.

Here is one of those lessons…

You have the most opportunity to grow from the things you suck the most at.

This lesson was hammered into my being at the 2015 California Regionals, I was 19-years-old and this was the very first time I was competing on a large stage as an individual. There were two workouts, in particular, that year that I was dreading more than the rest, and they both happened to fall on the final day of competition. Event 6 had strict handstand push-ups, and Event 7 had muscle-ups. Now, let’s just say I was by no means sitting in a qualifying spot by day 3 of competition, but I was in a solid position to not get last place.

Event 6 rolled around on that Sunday of competition, and I managed to squeak out 2 rounds of the 5 round workout before hitting the time cap. I spent the majority of the 16-minute event failing single rep after rep on the strict handstand push-ups. I knew that I didn’t have great capacity when it came to strict handstand push-ups, but there was a part of me that hoped the fitness gods would bestow me with a newfound strength come competition day. Maybe adrenaline would magically improve my pressing abilities that I had avoided practicing up until that point. To my dismay, this was not the case.

To add salt into the fresh wound from the morning event, Event 7 was a clean ladder with a 15 muscle-up buy-in and a 6-minute time cap. All I saw when I looked at that workout was 15 muscle-ups. Looming over my head through the entire competition were those 15 MUSCLE-UPS. The cherry-on-top of my not so spectacular performance.

As I had suspected, after the initial 10 reps, I ran headfirst into a cement wall. I hit complete failure. Half of the time I was unable to lockout my dips, and the other half of the time I couldn’t even get on top of the rings.

Everyone in my heat moved onto the cleans, and I was stuck staring up at the rings. There is nothing quite like being in an arena filled with people watching you fail over and over again to make you want to melt into the floor and disappear. At the end of the day, none of those people cared, let alone had any idea who I was — but I was mortified. Those were six of the longest minutes of my life. I remember at one point scanning the floor for an exit so I could end my misery early. I was choking back tears. After what felt like an eternity, the time cap finally hit and I ran off the floor as quickly as I could. I headed straight for the portable bathrooms, sat on the floor dirty floor and sobbed.

Upon reflecting on the event, I knew that I had two choices:

1) Give up competing so I never had to endure that humiliation again, or…

2) Acknowledge the things that I struggled with and strive towards improving in those areas.

Though it was the more vulnerable decision to admit my weaknesses, and the more strenuous decision to work towards improving my deficiencies — I chose to persist. Through becoming better at swinging on rings and banging my head into the floor repeatedly, I learned some very valuable “bigger picture” lessons.

Though the many, many…many, many, EMOMs I learned the value of hard work.

• Though the literal blood, sweat, and tears, I learned that I had the most opportunity to become the best version of myself when I chose to tackle my weaknesses head-on, instead of avoiding them.
• I learned that I could survive enduring my most humiliating nightmare, and come out better for it on the other side.
• I learned to be grateful for my failure.

Fast-forward to now, strict handstand push-ups are one of my favorite movements — I actually had my highest placement ever this year on 19.3, when strict handstand push-ups showed up for the very first time in the Open.

Through my struggles with muscle-ups (aka struggle-ups) I have grown to love teaching them more than any other movement. I spent hours researching gymnastics drills, and watching countless videos when I was trying to improve my muscle-ups, which consequently taught me a lot of information that I have now been able to pass on to others.

Not to toot my own horn, but I am kind of like the Thomas Edison on muscle-ups— “I haven’t failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” And with that, I learned how much I enjoy helping other people reach their goals and succeed.

In conclusion, the point of this story is, first, that experiencing failure helped me become a better CrossFit athlete and coach — but beyond that, learning to persist through a setback is something that will carry me through life outside of the gym. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to learn these valuable lessons through competition and challenge everyone to find their own life parallels between what they do in the gym and what they are then able to take with them beyond those walls.

*Also as a coach, my biggest piece of advice if you have a particular movement that you struggle with is to put that movement in an EMOM. It can be as simple as a 10 Minute EMOM of 1 muscle-up on the minute. And then gradually increase the reps as you become more confident in your capacity. Eventually, you can put that movement into a 20 Minute EMOM, alternating between the movement you are practicing on one minute, paired with a conditioning piece like running/rowing/biking/burpees on the opposite minute. This will allow you to accumulate volume while also practicing the movement under fatigue, which better simulates how it will feel in an actual workout. EMOMs are my favorite way to accumulate volume in a lower pressure format, which also allows you to become more confident in that movement.

The post Life Lessons Learned Through CrossFit appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

July 3, 2018.

That date will forever be ingrained in my memory because that is the day my dad lost his battle with brain cancer. When he passed, I felt a part of me died as well. My dad was not a perfect dad. He drank too much sometimes, had financial stresses, had very little patience, and struggled with anxiety and depression.

He did two things incredibly well though. He loved my mom unconditionally, and he believed in me and my siblings wholeheartedly. I grew up knowing what true love was because I saw it every day. I saw how they helped each other out and gap filled the other one’s shortcomings. His belief in me has enabled me to always believe everything was going to be okay.

I remember a specific instance where I had a hole in the bottom of my shoe from playing kickball. I asked my dad if I could get some new shoes. I can remember them to this day, they were some black and grey airwalk shoes from Payless. I thought they were the coolest shoes. Little did I know what Payless was. My parents made me feel like they were an amazing pair of kicks. My dad told me that he couldn’t afford shoes at the moment, but he walked me to the garage where he repaired the shoes at the workbench with cardboard and duct tape. He said that he was sorry that he couldn’t afford to get me some new shoes but that he hoped they felt better and didn’t hurt my feet anymore. I remember being so happy about this moment.

Seeing how my dad was always able to make what seemed like monumental challenges into bite-size chunks made me really admire him. He always did the little things. I remember running football routes with my brother and my dad was the quarterback. My brother was always bigger, faster, and stronger than me and I would always get frustrated that I couldn’t get open against him. My dad would tell me the truth. He would say “figure it out.” If you run better routes and have cleaner lines, you can take better angles to outsmart him. I gradually applied this knowledge and started getting a few more completions. And then as I got older, I acquired the size and skill necessary to win.

The secret is in the little things he would say. It was always the small daily habits. How you spend your mornings. How you talk to yourself. What you read. What you watch. Who you share your energy with. Who has access to you. He ingrained good habits into us at a young age, but more importantly, he lived them. He would wake up at 6 am each morning and get ready for work. He would wake us up for school and leave vitamins for us. He then defrosted meat for dinner that night and went to work while my mom took over the children duties, made our lunches, and took us to school. He would then pick us up from school after basketball practice. Right when he got home, he would change out of his business clothes, and go workout in the garage. After working out, he would play with us in the yard while grilling the meat and my mom would prepare the veggies and rice or potatoes. This is where the competition grew. He didn’t let us win. He roughhoused with us, he talked smack with us, and he truly believed we could “get it done” in whatever aspect of life we chose.

My brother went on to become a doctor and I went on to become a high-level basketball player. The recruiting process was hard on me and my family. So much travel to play in tournaments and gain exposure all while trying to get good grades, be a kid, and still evolve as a high character human being. My dad took me to every single game and was with me through the good games at the bad. He was with me during the late-night running hills, running stairs, getting shots up, working on my dribbling skills, doing push-ups, and in constant pursuit of excellence. He was there when coaches would make massive promises and then under deliver. He was there when coaches would offer scholarships and then retract them after a bad performance. He taught me the value of hard work and attention to detail. But most importantly, he taught me to never get too high and never get too low. He always taught us to keep our head high and maintain strength through adversity. Through it all, the ups, the downs, and everything in between, he always believed in me.

This belief was something that always gave me strength no matter where I was in the world. When I played college basketball, played professional basketball overseas, or began my CrossFit career, I always had his support. I always believed I had an anchor who would tell me the truth without sugar coating. Even when he was battling cancer, I would call him to ask how he was doing, and he would always ask how me, Invictus, and clients were doing. That was all lost on July 3, 2018. The valuable lessons, the character, the special memories, the love, and the challenging moments will always remain, but somewhere I felt like I lost my anchor.

When that anchor was lost, I felt like I had to whole-heartedly serve the world with everything I had just like he always did. In doing so, I lost my way. I developed some of the same anxiety and depression that he dealt with later in his life. Maybe it’s genetic, maybe it’s caused by circumstance as I am by no means a mental health expert. But for many months I have felt lost. I have been searching for an anchor. I have been in search of someone to tell me the truth and help guide me in the right direction. I have been searching and searching for more and more. Come to find out, the magic isn’t in what you gain, it isn’t in what you lose, but in what you let go of.

Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place. My name is Bryce Smith and I am a strength and conditioning specialist turned entrepreneur who vows to make a life of helping others.

But before helping others, I have to help me. Sharing part of my story is me saying that the secret towards enlightenment is emotional vulnerability. By sharing your story to others, you allow people to resonate with similar challenges and it creates a safe space. You by no means have to do this, but I have seen lots of success with myself and others by embracing this vulnerable spirituality. By learning to let go of things, thoughts, and habits that no longer serve you, you make room for the things that are actually meant for you or you carry a lighter pack which is also very cool.

So far in my journey, I have learned a lot about empathy, compassion, and mental challenges people face, but more importantly, I’ve learned that just because you are letting go of the things not meant for you, you can still hold on to the things that are.

I truly believe there is power in emotional vulnerability and that the future of optimizing overall wellness is storytelling. With the growth of podcasts and hearing the many stories shared in a public forum, I think it can help create positive growth for the world. If you would like to share your battle with loss, letting go, challenges with anxiety, depression, or simply want to share parts of your story, feel free to email me at bryce@crossfitinvictus.com. Hopefully, this is the start of something special that can help impact the world in an innovative way.

The post Learning to Let Go Through Emotional Vulnerability appeared first on Invictus Fitness.