friday 1.20.17 | CrossFit Route 1

friday 1.20.17

Message from Coach Katie:

So many of you know that I’ve been doing a lot of walking these last 9 months or so. So good for the back/bod, but also for the mind/soul. Especially because, once I got sick of listening to the same playlists and Pandora stations, I started doing books on tape and now Podcasts—I can honestly say I’ve finished every walk feeling better than when I started, having breathed fresh air, gotten muscles moving, and gained at least one new fact, thought, perspective, or strategy.

Anyway, I’m currently obsessed with Invisibilia, by NPR. It’s about the invisible things that impact human behavior. Today’s was about a woman named Amanda who can LITERALLY feel the emotions and physical sensations of other people; long story short, her wires are a little crossed in her brain, but the sensations are very real to her. Just think about the empathy you might have when you watch another person crying and multiply it exponentially.

Can you IMAGINE how overwhelming it would be, to walk through the world feeling everyone’s sadnesses and pains? That was my first thought, too. But, how about the alternative: what if you felt the happiness of a friend recalling a funny memory, or the warmth of two people sharing a hug?

To that end, Amanda talks about how, in grade school, she taught herself a strategy: find the person in her classroom that was most calm, most joyful, most focused, etc, and “melt” into them. She talks about how she often chose a boy named Jessie. Because Jessie didn’t often have sad or anxious thoughts, he was calm, and that was what she was looking for in her own life. She could just watch him, and it would quell the anxiety of the rest of the emotional noise she was being bombarded with.

That got me thinking… am I anyone’s “Jessie”? If I found out that any of you were being FORCED to feel my feelings and how my body was feeling… would that make me happy for you? Would I be PROUD to be that for you, or would I be ashamed of my attitude, perspective on life, or how I was treating my body at that moment… and that you were having to suffer along with me?

So my personal challenge—and one I invite you to join—is to become a “Jessie”: assume that someone around you is having a rough day, and be the person—a beacon—of joy, optimism, strength, honesty (or pick something that is important to YOU) that they can feed off of, and from which they can sense and derive those positive qualities. In the world of CrossFit, are you making the correct decisions/modifications? The ones that you would make for someone else, if they needed you to?

Because at the end of the day, while most of us don’t feel like we are ACTUALLY being pinched when we see someone else getting pinched, or feel REAL tears when we watch someone else crying, or have TRUE pain when a classmate hurts their back or shoulder, we ALL know that attitudes and emotions TRULY ARE CONTAGIOUS. So #choosejoy and #choosestrength. Also, #CFRTE1FAM.

Love you all,

Coach Katie

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1.coaches choice

2. CrossFit Games Open 15.4 (AMRAP – Reps)

8-Minute ARMAP of:3 Handstand Push-ups
3 Cleans, 185#/125#
6 Handstand Push-ups
3 Cleans, 185#/125#
9 Handstand Push-ups
3 Cleans, 185#/125#
12 Handstand Push-ups
6 Cleans, 185#/125#
15 Handstand Push-ups
6 Cleans, 185#/125#
18 Handstand Push-ups
6 Cleans, 185#/125#
21 Handstand Push-ups
9 Cleans, 185#/125#

Etc., adding 3 reps to the handstand push-up each round, and 3 reps to the clean every 3 rounds.

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CrossFit Games Open 15.4 Scaled (AMRAP – Reps)
 8 minutes of:
10 push presses
10 cleansMen push press 95 lb. and clean
115 lb.

Women push press 65 lb. and
clean 75 lb.

"Changing Lives One WOD at a Time"
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