Sometimes it takes a specific experience to truly understand the impact of something.  This holiday season gave me the opportunity to better appreciate one of our Empower traditions from the other perspective, the perspective of a member rather than a coach.

Christmas week was a difficult one for me this year.  For me, Christmas has always been a time to spend with family but this Christmas was the first in 22 years that I would spend without our son here since he has been deployed overseas.  To make it even lonelier, it was the first Christmas in 27 years without my wife as HeeHee was away in Vegas with her family and though we traditionally all gather together to celebrate the holidays, I was unable to join them.  So, I found myself all alone in a very empty house.

A couple years ago, as our son became busy with work and school and friends and Sunghee was away a lot for work, I realized I needed a community of my own and so walked across the street to the local Jiu jitsu school where Leon was already a member.  It’s a great community of people and I’ve developed many friends among my training partners.  It is lovely to have this resource for times when my family is not around.  In my youth I grappled to vent my anger but nowadays I just go there for the hugs.  After all, Jiu Jitsu is basically an hour of cuddling matches that end in someone tapping for mercy.  It’s a great way to alleviate loneliness.

If ever I needed somewhere to go and hang out, this past Christmas week was it.  But, of course, the Jiu Jitsu school was closed on the 24th and 25th.  But according to their website they were open on Boxing Day so, on Thursday of last week, there I was, in my BJJ gear, standing outside their doors 10 minutes early and keen to get a good hour of hugging.  But after standing outside for 15 minutes in my shorts and rashguard, I realized with disappointment that the website was wrong and that no one was coming.  Disappointed, I trudged back home alone to an empty house.

It makes sense.  I do not begrudge the owners or coaches for taking some days off to spend time with their loved ones during the holiday season.  It did, however, give me a new perspective on the value of Empower’s never-closed tradition.  During the pandemic many members told us that our Zoom classes helped keep them going but never until this past Christmas week could I properly appreciate how much it could mean to have a community that is always there for you when you need it.  Every day of the year.  This year, I really needed that.

Of course, most people are not coming in to workout with us on Christmas Day, they are spending it with friends and family.  But for members without family in town or those who just want a short break from their families, our doors are open.  This year Leon, Shades, Motor, Cypher, Hammer, Sass and I enjoyed a Christmas morning open gym together.  Later I had some personal training clients in for a Christmas morning workout. I see more members registered to celebrate New Year’s morning with us.

We have had a policy of keeping our doors open everyday but I never before fully appreciated the impact of this policy.  Suddenly it seems so much more important than I realized, not just a quirk of my personality but a mission fueled by a compelling why.  Sad as I was to not get my Boxing Day hugging fix, I returned home feeling very proud of Empower’s dedication to serving our members, members who know that they can count on us to always be available to serve them.  Every day.

Thanks to the dedication of our Empower team of coaches! It fills me with pride to be able to say, we are here for you!  

Monday

Warm Up
2 Rounds
Empower Yoga Flow

WOD
CFHQ 12 Days of X-Mas
12 rounds for time, starting with 1 and adding an exercise each round:
1 wall walk
2 candlestick rocks
3 burpees
4 push-ups
5 walking lunges
6 air squats
7 sit-ups
8 jumping squats
9 jumping lunges
10 broad jumps
11 handstand push-ups
12 single-leg squats

Perform this workout like the "12 Days of Christmas" song. In Round 1, perform 1 wall walk. In Round 2, perform 2 candlestick rocks, then 1 wall walk. In Round 3, perform 3 burpees, 2 candlestick rocks, and 1 wall walk. Continue adding a new
exercise each round.