As kids get sicker with chronic diseases, school districts cut recess and P.E. budgets, cafeteria food and school vending machines encourage the worst possible nutrition habits, and a sedentary life spent indoors on the couch becomes the norm for kids of all ages, it’s hard not to get discouraged about the future of health and fitness for kids. And the realities are even harsher for kids in disadvantaged homes or communities.

We have run CrossFit Kids programs in our locations and have supported a CrossFit program in our community schools because we know that all kids benefit from the opportunity to participate in the fun, supportive fitness community that we’ve chosen for our families—a community that can shape healthy habits for a lifetime.

The CrossFit Foundation works to bring that opportunity to as many kids as possible through support for a network of charities that provide CrossFit programming to at-risk youth, and by funding schools and school districts seeking to implement CrossFit for their students.

You can register for our event with a $35 donation, which will include a T-shirt and participation on the worldwide leaderboard, or you can just participate for fun along with the rest of the CrossFit community on Sept. 1, 2018, when we program the workout for our Saturday classes at all three of our locations.

All proceeds raised by the CrossFit for Kids: Saved by the Barbell fundraiser workout will support those efforts.

The post Join Us for “Saved by the Barbell” on Saturday, September 1st! appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Mark your calendars: December 18 – 20th.

Each year, we do a FREE 3-day online competition, where competitors can get a gauge on where they stand going into the start of the 2018 season.

Divisions include:
Elite Male & Female
Intermediate Male & Female
Masters 40-44 Male & Female
Masters 45-49 Male & Female
Masters 50-54 Male & Female
Masters 55+ Male & Female

Monday, December 18 – 20, the daily training on the Invictus Athlete Program, Masters Program and Competition blog will be competitive events. Each of the events should be easily performed within the typical training time; 60-90 minutes at most. The events are designed to be challenging, but fun, and provide all of the athletes in our online community with a decent assessment of where they stack up compared to some of the other community members going into the 2018 CrossFit Open season.

Last year, more than 1,500 athletes participated, making for a really fun competition. This is a free, informal and friendly competition. You will be required to do nothing more than post your name and results for the three days of competition. We fully expect that all will be honorable in their movement quality. Since our sponsors have decided to kick in some huge prizes this year, we may be asking the individuals placing in the top 5 and earning prizes to verify results with video.

Please encourage your training partners to participate as well. The more athletes involved in this competition, the more fun it will be! This year’s test is going to be the best one yet, topped with some prizes from our awesome sponsors.

Division Requirements:
Elite division participants should be able to meet the following prerequisites:

• 15 Unbroken Strict Handstand Push-Ups
• 25-Foot Unbroken Handstand Walk
• 9 Unbroken Ring Muscle-Ups
• 9 Unbroken Bar Muscle-Ups
• Snatch
  • Males – 225 lbs or more
  • Females – 145 lbs or more
• Clean & Jerk
  • Males – 275 lbs or more
  • Females – 175 lbs or more

Intermediate division participants should be able to meet the following prerequisites:

• Strict Handstand Push-Ups
• 5-Foot Handstand Walk
• Ring Muscle-Ups
• Bar Muscle-Ups

Masters division participants should be able to meet the following prerequisites:

40-54:

• Bar Muscle-Ups
• Handstand Walk (25-Foot increments for 40-49; 5-foot increments for 50-54)
• Strict Handstand Push-Ups
• Ring Muscle-Ups

55+:

• Ring-Dips
• Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups

Competition Equipment List:

• 20/15 kg Barbell
• Bumper Plates (lbs or kgs – but scores will be converted to lbs)
• Pull-Up Bar
• Wall Ball (20/14 lbs & 55+: 10 lbs)
• Kettlebell (32/24 kg for Elite, 24/16 kg for Rx division, 24/20 kg for 40-49, 24/16 kg for 50-54, 16/12 kg for 55+)
• Plyo Box (24”/20”)
• Gymnastics Rings (suspended high enough to allow for a fully extended hang)
• Jump Rope (for double-unders)
• 25-Feet of Unobstructed Floor Space
• Assault Air Bike (needs to be the Assault brand)
• Concept 2 Rowing Ergometer (needs to be the Concept 2 brand)

Sponsors Include

The post 6th Annual Invictus Athlete Online Competition appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Get Dirty with Us – a Community Event
Written by Kim McLaughlin and Mary Gillcrest

Come one…COME ALL!!! Join the Invictus community for the 8th Annual Del Mar Mud Run! With a wide array of obstacles, this 5K is whatever you want it to be and more. Run the course at a comfortable pace or get competitive with a full out sprint to the finish! No matter what your fitness level, the event is accessible to everyone. Community participation and fun are the goals of the mud run and we all know the Sea of Green excels in both of those areas!

The Del Mar Mud Run along with many of its sponsors acts as a major supporter of the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), a prominent sports and fitness program that aims at benefiting American military personnel, veterans and first responders who have been injured in the line of duty resulting in permanent physical disability. The CAF raises money to fund growing opportunities for these brave men and women who have dedicated their lives to service by helping them regain a sense of self and inspiring them to pursue active, athletic lifestyles by providing access and funding equipment for training, physical training and sports clinics.

Grab a friend…or two…and sign up! Join the Invictus team and have some good old dirty fun! Invictus will also be holding an information booth alongside numerous other health and fitness companies and brands from San Diego and the surrounding areas! That tent will serve as the meeting spot and information center on race day.

Friends, Food, Fun, Sunshine and MUD – what could be better? Get outside the gym, use the fitness you’ve been working on all year and challenge yourself to something new.

On Race Day: Invictus members should plan on participating in Wave 1 of the race. The exact run time for Invictus will not be determined until the day of the race, but runners should plan to be done no later than noon.

If you have not already signed up online, do so NOW! You don’t want to miss this. Use the code: INVICTUS10 for 10% off your registration fee.

When:
Saturday May 13th (Wave 1 ~ 8am)
*Start times may vary but arrive no later than 7:30am to assure you receive your race number and find your teams*

Where:
Del Mar Fairgrounds
2260 Jimmy Durante Boulevard
Del Mar, CA 92014

Sign up at: delmarmudrun.com and register under your gym’s team name:
Sorrento Valley: Invictus Sorrento Valley
Point Loma: Invictus Point Loma
Downtown: Invictus Downtown

Runners Receive:
– Official 5K T-Shirt
– 1 FREE BEER (21+)
– 1 FREE INVICTUS SHIRT
– A GREAT excuse to TREAT Yo’self

Also Check Out…

Essential Concepts Of Efficient Running

Features To Look For In Running Watches

How I Earned My Ranger Tab

The post Get Dirty with Us – a Community Event appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Meet Fafa – 10 HSPU and a Boatload of Fun
Written by Michele Vieux

Congratulations to Fabiola Aviles, aka Fafa, on her performance on 17.4. She’s one of the strongest ladies I know and been working super hard in the gym on attacking her “weaknesses” which really paid off during the Open’s repeat workout from last year. Up until she got off the rower in 17.4, she had never hit a handstand push-up but managed to bang out 10 over the course of this workout – and totally fatigued from the previous stations to boot! What an accomplishment!

I only get to coach Fafa once a week but it is a night I always look forward to. Whether it be watching her in a friendly “squat-off” competition with a classmate (she’s super strong, by the way – I’m always impressed with the weight she has on the bar), pushing herself to her physical limit during metcons even though they are not her favorite, staying late after class to work on skills and weaknesses, or asking profound questions about nutrition and training, there is one common theme which is that hilarity always ensues. And I mean that in the most positive way – this lady is always having a good time and spreading that joy to those around her. I have never left a session or conversation with without laughing or feeling uplifted in some way.

So these props are not only on her accomplishments on an Open workout, but also on being a model Invicti and beacon of light to the rest of us. Keep up the great work, Fafa! Your excitement and for fitness and the community is contagious – we are so lucky to have you as a part of the Sea of Green!

Fafa and Coach Kirsten go in for a chest bump to celebrate Fafa’s crushing of 17.4.

The post Meet Fafa – 10 HSPU and a Boatload of Fun appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Props to Our Members Who Stood Strong Against 17.3
Written by Arielle Bloom

The CrossFit Open is a five-week online competition that takes place in CrossFit gyms all across the world. Every Thursday evening for five weeks, a new workout is released and we get the opportunity to watch top athletes try out the workout on a live feed. These workouts are known to be grueling, featuring movements we all know and love, and they are meant to push us past our limits. The energy that fills the gym as athletes complete Open workouts each week is invigorating and inspiring. Because of the energy of competition, it is very common for athletes competing in The Open to accomplish many CrossFit “firsts.”

17.3 brought us a complex snatch/chest to bar pull-up ladder that required serious focus and calmness. On a running clock, the ascending weight of the snatch coupled with the ascending repetitions of chest-to-bar pullups could have easily led to rushing and burning out way too soon. The members we are highlighting this week were able to stand strong against the stress of the running clock and the pressure of the increasing weight on the barbell.

Congratulations to the following members: Jena Casagrande (Downtown), Shenelle Higbee (Invictus Online Gymnastics Athlete), and Matt Freda and Ruth Laughary (Point Loma).

Jena got her first chest-to-bar pullups during this Open workout, and went on to complete quite a few of them!

Invictus Online Gymnastics Athlete, Shenelle, was able to hit a 155lb snatch because her chest-to-bar pullups improved drastically after working on them with Coach Travis.

Matt Freda, having only started CrossFit in December, not only registered for the 2017 CrossFit Open, he came amazingly close to hitting a 185lb snatch during this week’s workout. He recently signed up for semi-private coaching with Holden, and his coach, Kim, believes he will pass 200lbs soon!

Ruth Laughary had her five-month-old baby girl by her side to support her as she crushed the scaled division of this week’s workout. She was able to hit two snatches at 115lb, and while Coach Kim and the rest of us are impressed, her daughter slept through the whole performance.

Once again, the Open workout has showcased what an amazing community we are surrounded by, near and far. This week we encountered the importance of staying calm in the face of a challenge, and we are all impressed with the level of mental strength each of our members have. Each week our members continue to surprise themselves, and inspire us to continue working to be our best selves. On behalf of all the coaches at Invictus, here’s to the conclusion of another great week in the CrossFit Open!

Also Check Out…

Overcoming Obstacles In And Out Of The Gym

The Warrior Gene

How To Be Successful At The Gym

The post Props to Our Members Who Stood Strong Against 17.3 appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Congratulations to These Muscle-Up Crushers of 17.2!
Written by Arielle Bloom

The CrossFit Open is a five-week online competition that takes place in CrossFit gyms all across the world. Every Thursday evening for five weeks, a new workout is released and we get the opportunity to watch top athletes try out the workout on a live feed. These workouts are known to be grueling, featuring movements we all know and love, and they are meant to push us past our limits. The energy that fills the room as athletes complete Open workouts each week is invigorating and inspiring. Because of the energy of competition, it is very common for athletes competing in The Open to accomplish many CrossFit “firsts.”

This past week, with the announcement of 17.2, athletes across the world geared up to complete the workout with the hopes of achieving their first bar muscle-up. We watched our athletes drill their skill work tirelessly to accomplish their goals within the twelve-minute timeframe of this workout. While not everyone may have accomplished their goals of achieving bar muscle-ups in this workout, we would like to highlight those members whose performance reflects their hard work and perseverance.

Congratulations to the following members: Andrew Sturm and Mike Flesuras from our Point Loma location, Brian Nese from our Downtown location, and Kim Brutzman and Armando Mendoza from our Sorrento Valley location.

Andrew got not only his first bar muscle-up during this workout, but he got two more after. Both Andrew and Mike worked steadily on their muscle-ups during the workout, getting through the first two rounds in roughly five minutes to give them enough time. Prior to beginning the workout, they ran through some drills with Coach Kim, and strategized the workout so that they could have the time during the workout to work on getting their first muscle-ups. Brian completed a whole round of muscle-ups, and chipped away relentlessly instead of moving straight to pull-ups (the modification for those who didn’t have muscle-ups).

When Kim re-did the workout on Monday, she completed 7 of the 16 bar muscle-ups in the second set, which was significantly higher than her previous attempt. This puts her 155th in the world in her age group, and 8th in the Southern California region!

Armando made a second attempt at the workout, and despite tearing his hands had some very insightful words to say about it: “Do not settle for average. Even if being slightly above it takes part of you. Ripped hands are not cool, but last Friday when I did 17.2 I knew 7 muscle ups didn’t reflect how I trained for the past year, so I gave it a second shot. Cleared 3 rounds (16 muscle ups) + 1 rep. Now back to drills and let’s buy some gymnastics grips!”

Armando’s words are the perfect depiction of the CrossFit Open. Regardless of whether or not you achieved those muscle-ups during this workout, it is important to remember that your hard work does not go unnoticed! I speak for all of the coaches at Invictus when I say that we are proud of all of our members for their hard work and mental strength as they continue to work toward achieving their goals. Today is a new day, and it brings a new Open workout for us to tackle!

Also Check Out…

The Story Of Nuno Costa

Pete & Carla’s Invictus Experience

Top 10 Lessons I’ve Learned From Invictus

The post Congratulations to These Muscle-Up Crushers of 17.2! appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Meet FitKid Matteo Toriello
Written by Arielle Bloom

You may have seen Matteo on a Saturday smashing out hundreds of kettlebell swings, or rowing upwards of 1,000 meters with a casual grin on his face while the rest of the class featured the “pain face”. Or maybe you’ve seen him at noon on a Wednesday knocking out burpees to a target or wall climbs and handstand holds.

Matteo is the son of Tasha Toriello, and is a member of our Fit Kids program with the Urban Discovery Academy. Every Wednesday, as school lets out for early dismissal, Matteo and many of his classmates venture over to Invictus to learn about health and fitness. Like many kids his age, Matteo is high-energy and athletic, which makes the Fit Kids program the perfect outlet to utilize these attributes. Over the course of two trimesters in school, I have had the pleasure of getting to know Matteo, and every time I speak with him I learn something new. Full disclosure, I did not actually know any of these kids before teaching the Fit Kids program, which makes learning about them all the more fun and interesting!

Even before the kiddos walk into the gym on Wednesday afternoons, I meet them at the school for lunch, where I check in with them about what’s new in their day, week, and life. As I walk into the crowded lunchroom, full of kids chatting and talking with their friends, I look around to locate my students. Most of the time, they’ll sit together at a table labeled “CrossFit”, and sometimes they’ll spread out to catch up with their friends in different early dismissal programs. I can always find Matteo at the CrossFit table talking with someone about Pokemon, the Guinness Book of World Records, or Star Wars. He comes equipped with new Pokemon cards every week, and the eagerness to explain their function.

No matter if we are discussing Pokemon or deadlifts, Matteo is always eager and willing to explain, demonstrate, or try it out first. This kind of enthusiasm is equal to none, and it further encourages me to keep teaching them new movements and skills. At such a young age, Matteo is developing skills that many of us learned when we started CrossFit much later in life. When asked what his favorite movement is in CrossFit, Matteo’s answer changed weekly, ranging from burpees, to rowing, to kettlebell swings. One thing is definitely consistent; His favorite game to play at the end of class is Pizza Tag. Pizza Tag is a game designed to develop coordination, balance, speed, and control, along with teaching patience, focus, and how to stay calm in moments of stress. Matteo has worked with me over the course of several weeks to develop new rules to ensure that the game is played fairly and effectively, and he takes great pride in that.

Matteo and his classmates are one of the many highlights of my week as a coach with Invictus, and I constantly look forward to working with them each week. Our Fit Kids program runs every Wednesday from 12:30-1:30pm, and works off a trimester schedule with UDA. If you are interested in registering your child into the program, please feel free to reach out to me, or any of our member representatives and we can get you set up! Email: info@crossfitinvictus.com

Also Check Out…

Youth Fitness – Exploring The Need

A Case For General Physical Activities For Youth

Can You Be Stronger And Smarter?

The post Meet FitKid Matteo Toriello appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

The 2017 CrossFit Open Starts This Week! Here’s How to Register
Written by Nichole DeHart-Kribs

It’s that time of year again, folks – the 2017 CrossFit Open starts this week!

For many of our members, this is your first time experiencing this exciting event, and now is a great time to clear up any questions you may have for this week.

How do I register for the 2017 Open?

1. Navigate yourself over to http://games.crossfit.com/
2. At the top of the website, you’ll see a blue box that says “THE OPEN.” Go ahead and click that, then you will be prompted to register.
3. If you signed up for a previous CrossFit Open, you already have a login. So there is no need to create one. Just go ahead and sign in with that information.

If you did not sign up last year for either event, you will need to go ahead and create a login.

4. Once you log in, either with your already established login or with your newly created one, they will ask you some location information and ask for payment; the cost for the Open is $20.
5. After payment is submitted, you will be brought to a screen that will ask you to designate two things; your affiliate and your team.

For your affiliate, select “CrossFit Invictus” and then the “Sea of Green” team from the drop-down if you train at our Downtown location more than 51% of the time, or “CrossFit Invictus Point Loma” and then the “Invictus Point Loma” team if you train at Point Loma more than 51% of the time, or “CrossFit Invictus Sorrento Valley” and then “Invictus Sorrento Valley” team if you train at Sorrento Valley more than 51% of time. There are thousands of affiliates listed in this drop-down, but thankfully it is in alphabetical order. Ours is located roughly halfway down the list.

Are we allowed to scale these workouts?

I know that many of you are hesitant about signing up because you are worried that you are not strong enough or fast enough to perform these workouts. Have no fear! You will be able to scale each workout accordingly and still submit your score in support of your respective team.

How many workouts do I have to do?

When you sign up for the Open, you are only committing yourself to the first workout – 17.1. The 17 stands for the year – 2017 – and the 1 stands for week 1. There will be a total of five workouts, but it is only required that members perform the first workout in order to be registered.

For some of you, this could be your main event for the year. Whether you scale it or do it “RX”, this first workout is a great opportunity for you test your limits and see the fruits of all your hard work over the past year.

And who knows – you may enjoy the camaraderie so much that you find yourself looking forward to 17.2 and beyond!

When am I doing the workout?  

Here’s the beauty of this whole thing – you’ll be doing the workouts whether you register or not! We are planning on incorporating each weekly Open workout into our normal Friday group classes as the “Performance” workout. You will also have the option of doing the workout on Saturday…or you can do the alternative team workout on Saturday. That way, you can perform these workouts with your normal group of Invictus buddies and just have a blast with it. You can attempt it RX, go for a PR or do it scaled – the option is yours.

The first workout, 17.1, will be announced this Thursday night at 5:00 pm PDT and you will have until 5:00 pm PDT on Monday, February 27th, to register and submit your scores.

We are also in need of members from the Sea of Green to help us judge the workouts at Friday Night Lights. If you are interested in helping us, please take the CrossFit Judges Course before the Open starts this week. You can do so by going to this link: https://oc.crossfit.com/course?id=12

If you still have questions or any doubts about signing up for the Open, please let us know! You can submit questions to the comments below, message us privately on the Invictus Facebook page or send an email at info@crossfitinvictus.com.

The post The 2017 CrossFit Open Starts This Week! Here’s How to Register appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

1. It’s okay to fail. Two years ago, in my very first group class, Michele taught me how to bail out of a back squat, and then made me lift heavy enough to have to practice it. Knowing I could fail safely (and with full support from the people around me) made it possible for me to take calculated risks instead of staying in my comfort zone, and to learn from my mistakes instead of fearing them. (As a lifelong perfectionist, this new truce with failing has also usefully carried over to my endeavors outside the gym.)

2. Chest up to recover. I think every coach on staff has sternly told me this at least once over the past two years, but it was CJ who really broke it down for me: When I bend over to catch my breath, I’m making it harder to expand my lungs, I’m letting my body and my focus collapse, and I’m unable to see my gym-mates doing awesome work and/or cheering me on. Chest up + head up = better breathing + better attitude = winning.

3. Breathe and let go. In one of Heidi’s Sunday yoga classes, I was struck by how different the gym felt: no lights or music, no frantic sprinting, no weights crashing. Just breathing and letting go. But then I thought, really, every workout comes down to those two things. The weight on the bar is what it is; all I can control is what I do in relation to it. I can either panic and fight against the workout (and the difficult yoga pose), or I can breathe, focus, and embrace the process.

4. Project confidence. Every workout felt intimidating in my first few months, and I used to let myself get away with a forced smile and a nervous “This is gonna crush me!” Now I know that half the battle is banishing that nagging voice of self-doubt. Aside from fantastic coaching, I’m convinced that nothing has improved my max effort lifts more than my new practice of projecting full confidence as I begin. If I approach my front squat with anxiety, already preparing to fail it, it feels a billion times heavier than if I unrack that bar with some serious fierceness and self-confidence. This too has awesomely improved my life outside of the gym. (Check this great blog post from Kelly Starrett for more on positive self-talk. I reread this every month or so, seriously.)

5. Do your own workout. As one of the tinier Invicti, it’s still pretty rare that I’m able to do the workouts with the men’s prescribed weights, and I used to feel frustrated about that. Then when I did a cycle of performance clinic with Calvin, we talked about calculating lifts in relation to your bodyweight. This totally transformed my perception of my own progress: I stopped comparing my numbers to everyone else’s, stopped feeling like I had to prove something, and learned to set goals for my own body with its own particular strengths and limitations.

6. Don’t clean up until everyone’s finished. Nothing is worse than when you (and by you I mean me) are finishing your last round of pull-ups in grueling sets of singles while half the class is packing up to go home. And nothing’s better than times like the day that most of our 7am class, having already finished the workout, joined the final runner in solidarity for his last lap. I’d never been so proud to be part of Invictus.

7. Treat the workout like a mirror. As much as I look forward to my workout, there are 23 other hours in my day that make it possible. I’m learning to see the workout not as an isolated event that begins and ends at the gym door, but as a reflection of all other parts of my life, including nutrition, sleep, mobility, and stress levels. My work in the gym has become a pretty reliable indicator for whether everything else is running properly.

8. Push at the edges. After a childhood full of being picked last for team sports, I spent my entire first year at Invictus refusing to attend Saturday workouts, because they’re usually team-based. I still struggle with the fear of being left standing alone, and with the fear of letting my partner(s) down, but when I stopped avoiding Saturdays I found that working on a team could actually boost my confidence and help me heal my lingering middle school trauma. Gently but consistently pushing my limits at the gym hasn’t just made me stronger physically, it’s also given me the courage and opportunity to address mental and emotional roadblocks.

9. Have great expectations. A few months ago, as I was gritting through my last round of handstand push-ups, Nuno suggested I start kipping them.
Me: I can’t do the kip.
Nuno: *long, meaningful stare*
Me: Um…I mean…I’m still learning it.
The rephrasing from “can’t” is significant, and not just because it pacified Nuno. It’s the difference between shutting down the very possibility and acknowledging that it’s a work in progress. Maybe I’ll be “still learning” the muscle-up another two years from now, but I’ll never think it’s flat-out impossible. I’ve surprised myself again and again by accomplishing things that I once thought were well out of my reach. There’s something magical about opening yourself up to possibilities, however distant they may seem.

10. Work from a place of high-fives. A while back someone told me their coach approaches workouts from a place of rage. I thought for a minute about a typical workout with Nichole and replied, “My coach approaches things from a place of high-fives.” Different things work for different people (so rage on if you need to), but the high-five has become my tangible reminder to maintain a good attitude, connect with the people around me, and openly celebrate our efforts. The high-five is like kryptonite to frustration and workout anxiety. The high-five is about having fun, reaching goals, and coming back tomorrow. In sum, the high-five is where it’s at. (And on very special occasions, I might even pair that high-five with a high-kick.)

(Editor’s Note – I absolutely love this blog post, and unfortunately, it makes Toby’s move to Oklahoma that much harder. Toby may not be in San Diego any longer, but he will certainly remain part of the Invictus family forever. Toby, we’ll look forward to frequent updates and stories of your success out there.)

The post Top Ten Lessons I’ve Learned from Invictus appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

1. It’s okay to fail. Two years ago, in my very first group class, Michele taught me how to bail out of a back squat, and then made me lift heavy enough to have to practice it. Knowing I could fail safely (and with full support from the people around me) made it possible for me to take calculated risks instead of staying in my comfort zone, and to learn from my mistakes instead of fearing them. (As a lifelong perfectionist, this new truce with failing has also usefully carried over to my endeavors outside the gym.)

2. Chest up to recover. I think every coach on staff has sternly told me this at least once over the past two years, but it was CJ who really broke it down for me: When I bend over to catch my breath, I’m making it harder to expand my lungs, I’m letting my body and my focus collapse, and I’m unable to see my gym-mates doing awesome work and/or cheering me on. Chest up + head up = better breathing + better attitude = winning.

3. Breathe and let go. In one of Heidi’s Sunday yoga classes, I was struck by how different the gym felt: no lights or music, no frantic sprinting, no weights crashing. Just breathing and letting go. But then I thought, really, every workout comes down to those two things. The weight on the bar is what it is; all I can control is what I do in relation to it. I can either panic and fight against the workout (and the difficult yoga pose), or I can breathe, focus, and embrace the process.

4. Project confidence. Every workout felt intimidating in my first few months, and I used to let myself get away with a forced smile and a nervous “This is gonna crush me!” Now I know that half the battle is banishing that nagging voice of self-doubt. Aside from fantastic coaching, I’m convinced that nothing has improved my max effort lifts more than my new practice of projecting full confidence as I begin. If I approach my front squat with anxiety, already preparing to fail it, it feels a billion times heavier than if I unrack that bar with some serious fierceness and self-confidence. This too has awesomely improved my life outside of the gym. (Check this great blog post from Kelly Starrett for more on positive self-talk. I reread this every month or so, seriously.)

5. Do your own workout. As one of the tinier Invicti, it’s still pretty rare that I’m able to do the workouts with the men’s prescribed weights, and I used to feel frustrated about that. Then when I did a cycle of performance clinic with Calvin, we talked about calculating lifts in relation to your bodyweight. This totally transformed my perception of my own progress: I stopped comparing my numbers to everyone else’s, stopped feeling like I had to prove something, and learned to set goals for my own body with its own particular strengths and limitations.

6. Don’t clean up until everyone’s finished. Nothing is worse than when you (and by you I mean me) are finishing your last round of pull-ups in grueling sets of singles while half the class is packing up to go home. And nothing’s better than times like the day that most of our 7am class, having already finished the workout, joined the final runner in solidarity for his last lap. I’d never been so proud to be part of Invictus.

7. Treat the workout like a mirror. As much as I look forward to my workout, there are 23 other hours in my day that make it possible. I’m learning to see the workout not as an isolated event that begins and ends at the gym door, but as a reflection of all other parts of my life, including nutrition, sleep, mobility, and stress levels. My work in the gym has become a pretty reliable indicator for whether everything else is running properly.

8. Push at the edges. After a childhood full of being picked last for team sports, I spent my entire first year at Invictus refusing to attend Saturday workouts, because they’re usually team-based. I still struggle with the fear of being left standing alone, and with the fear of letting my partner(s) down, but when I stopped avoiding Saturdays I found that working on a team could actually boost my confidence and help me heal my lingering middle school trauma. Gently but consistently pushing my limits at the gym hasn’t just made me stronger physically, it’s also given me the courage and opportunity to address mental and emotional roadblocks.

9. Have great expectations. A few months ago, as I was gritting through my last round of handstand push-ups, Nuno suggested I start kipping them.
Me: I can’t do the kip.
Nuno: *long, meaningful stare*
Me: Um…I mean…I’m still learning it.
The rephrasing from “can’t” is significant, and not just because it pacified Nuno. It’s the difference between shutting down the very possibility and acknowledging that it’s a work in progress. Maybe I’ll be “still learning” the muscle-up another two years from now, but I’ll never think it’s flat-out impossible. I’ve surprised myself again and again by accomplishing things that I once thought were well out of my reach. There’s something magical about opening yourself up to possibilities, however distant they may seem.

10. Work from a place of high-fives. A while back someone told me their coach approaches workouts from a place of rage. I thought for a minute about a typical workout with Nichole and replied, “My coach approaches things from a place of high-fives.” Different things work for different people (so rage on if you need to), but the high-five has become my tangible reminder to maintain a good attitude, connect with the people around me, and openly celebrate our efforts. The high-five is like kryptonite to frustration and workout anxiety. The high-five is about having fun, reaching goals, and coming back tomorrow. In sum, the high-five is where it’s at. (And on very special occasions, I might even pair that high-five with a high-kick.)

(Editor’s Note – I absolutely love this blog post, and unfortunately, it makes Toby’s move to Oklahoma that much harder. Toby may not be in San Diego any longer, but he will certainly remain part of the Invictus family forever. Toby, we’ll look forward to frequent updates and stories of your success out there.)

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