Please don’t join a gym this New Year.

Alright, alright. That was a cheap ploy to grab your attention. But, seriously, let’s explore this a bit.

Last year, NPR’s Planet Money put the fitness industry on blast.

Here it is in a nutshell:

• Most gyms can only service around 5% of their membership. In other words – if you don’t show up, you’re their best customer
• Gyms prey on New Year’s Resolutions to attract people who are motivated to sign a contract, but won’t stick around for the duration.
• If people actually went to gyms, they’d be way more expensive. Like 20x more expensive.

Yes, there are plenty of gyms out there that are co-invested in your success. You may not be ready to join one. That’s cool.

So, I’ll make you a deal.

We’re constantly trying to change the face of our industry. We despise long-term gym contracts and know many people will get wrangled into one at the first of the year.

So, we’re offering FREE workouts. It’s simple: Couch to CrossFit is a free, 12 workout program that can be completed by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Our challenge is that you complete the 12 workouts, then join a gym. You’ll probably start to see some results and get past that initial motivation hump. Then – if you choose to sign a contract somewhere – you’ll at least have some momentum behind you AND some workouts to do. Cheers.

Try Couch 2 CrossFit Free

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

With all the noise out there, it’s tough to get sound nutrition advice.

At Memorial Hill, we’re extremely fortunate to have some very smart scientists (looking at you, Sabrena) on the team to help us navigate the waters. But, just as important as sound science, is a sound behavior philosophy. After all, this is where the rubber meets the road. Below are our non-negotiables for nutrition:

1. There is no end date – health is a lifestyle change
2. Food should not be approached as a “Challenge” – this leads to disordered relationships with food.
3. Tasty – you should enjoy the foods you eat.
4. Food should fuel your goals.
5. Change should be incremental and adjustable (based on goals).
6. Any changes you make should improve your relationship with food.

Interested in digging deeper with NutritionNOW?

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/ehmp-LfmWc0″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

I’ve never been one for burpee penalties, but this may be the one instance wherein I institute a “drop and give me 10”.

Let’s get them all out of the way…

Here are the top “I’m the _____est one in the room” s I’ve heard in the last 90 days:

• Oldest
• Youngest
• Fattest
• Most out of shape
• Strongest
• Weakest
• Busiest
• Poorest
• Least Competitive
• Only Competitor
• Thinnest
• Slowest

We’re all the ____est. What now?

I didn’t sit down intending this post to be the “tough love” post. What I do intend is to provide a little perspective. As the filter for all things good and bad in the gym, I have the luxury of a bird’s eye view.

For every 55 year old established professional complaining about being the oldest in the class there’s a 22 year old rockstar athlete up to their eyeballs in student loan debt – underemployed – looking up to the 55 year old’s career success.

So, while you’re looking around comparing yourself to others, they’re seeing your best attributes. Here’s the tough love part – get out of your head. We’ve all been the ____est. Dwelling on that is narcissistic. Know that for every quality you look up to in another athlete, there is someone looking up to your best qualities. Celebrate that.

To perform a more efficient kettlebell swing, pay attention to your starting and finishing positions.

Let’s get real honest – no one knows what the hell they’re doing. I don’t trust anyone who says they have it all figured out. For a long time I let my own self-confidence be bridled by the perception that others knew what they were doing to a much greater degree than I; that I had no business attempting anything meaningful.

Acting as if…

I love radio call in shows. It’s a total guilty pleasure. Guy calls in with a problem, host delivers a single piece of advice, and hangs up. It all seems so simple. It helps me imagine that the caller took that 1 sentence from the host and turned a complete 180 – it’s total B.S. though.

Until I heard this one piece of advice – act as if. Guy called in after a nasty high school break-up. The host simply said: “Act as if you’re fine. Go on walks. Listen to music you like. Do cool stuff. You’ll wake up one day and actually be just fine.” 

We are creatures of habit. We really enjoy the perception of complete free will, but we will always fall into habits. The great thing about habit is we can create new ones. Make them fake habits at first – I don’t really care. But ask yourself: “What would be best version of me do in this situation.”

One day you’ll wake up and be that much closer to that version of yourself.

A comfortable and sturdy front rack is essential for a successful front squat and clean. Here is a stretch you can do with a band and a pvc pipe to improve your position easily.

“A short memory.” I first heard this phrase to describe a good baseball player.  Sit on this for a moment – the best batting average in all of baseball history is held by Ty Cobb at .366. To translate that stat, 64 out of 100 attempts were unfavorable. 

How’s your fitness memory?

Chances are, you’re just coming off Thanksgiving holiday. If your’s was anything like mine you overindulged and over-imbibed a bit with family. You’re probably struggling with feelings of un-doing all the indulgences in the gym. Or maybe you’re feeling a bit of guilt over all the pie.

You have a much higher batting average.

Here’s the thing – you’ve already won the holiday battle. You’ve been building habits and anchor points around health, wellness, and momentum. You’ve already put in the hard work over the last several months. You have all these great habits and people in your life to push you toward your goals. And here’s the awesome thing – you’re probably batting .800. 8/10 decisions are a win. 

So, don’t beat yourself up; keep up the hard work. And – most importantly – have a short memory. After all, momentum is more powerful than gravity.