July 30 2015
A make up day today so you can enjoy footage from one of this week’s WODs: Monday’s SQT.
We had a great turn out and many fantastic performances. Magnum, Sandman, Brick, Music Man, Dangers, Still Waters, Hard Rock, Dr. T & Fast Trak completed it RX’d. Lots of fast times though none of us would have kept up with the CrossFit Games Masters athletes.
We had a cooler Vancouver day which was perfect for our athletes shuttle sprinting up and down Dunbar Street.
It was a fun day to coach as we cheered on each heat. The snatch is a tough movement for many so I was thrilled by the generally good technique our athletes demonstrated.
My highlight was watching Showtime & Fast Feet attend their first official Group Class with their father, Dr. T. Those boys are athletic just as he was and had no problem crushing the WOD using colour capped bars. Then it was Dr. T’s turn. I asked the boys to count reps for their old man knowing exactly what they were about to witness.
Dr. T loaded the bar to the RX’d men’s weight of 95# which for him is light weight but to the boys looked massive. If you have ever seen Dr. T lifting then you know that no one at Empower can move a barbell quite like him. Watch the video and you will see. He went full beast mode moving that bar at unrivaled speed.
Showtime & Fast Feet stood speechless, eyes wide, mouths agape as they saw a version of their father that they perhaps did not know existed. The speed, the strength, the ferocity – they were impressed.
It was great to see. Every boy should be in awe of his father if only for a little while. Every boy should catch a glimpse of the hero that lies within and the traces of youthful vigour not entirely forgotten.
Soon Showtime & Fast Feet will come into their full strength and athleticism as young, fully grown men. It is good for them to realize that their father once resided in that place too. Monday they caught a glimpse of what once was and what they will one day become and I know they will forever cherish that memory of their father!
Dr. T may have aged, he may have mellowed, but as his sons witnessed, the beast still resides within him not so far beneath that placid exterior as perhaps they thought. Not so deep that it can’t be unleashed upon a hapless barbell from time to time.
And as to fathers and sons so too mothers and daughters. It is great for our children to see us as strong, healthy humans engaged in play. Role models that they can admire, roles that they can grow into with us. Let us set an example of health and vitality and share it with our children. Let them know us not as meek and weak but as live action heroes. And don’t just show them but invite them in to play too and discover their own power!
CrossFit has changed the way we look at fitness, changed the way we look at aging and can change the way we grow and interact with our families. Come out to play. Bring someone that you love.
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