Sunday Story…Injuries and You and I

Injuries happen to all of us. It's the nature of movement. Sometimes we move the wrong way, pick up the wrong thing in the wrong way, or just turn an ankle. Any number of things can happen inadvertently or accidentally, and then you're injured. Sometimes you're injured, sometimes you have discomfort, sometimes you have a strain, and sometimes you have a pull. There are all kinds of injuries. Some are way more serious than others.

The fact is that I, Ellie, and the other coaches need to know when you are injured, when you're fighting a chronic overuse injury, if you had your spine fused 20 years ago, or if your hip was replaced. We need to know these things. It helps us cue you to move better, keep you safe, and provide a different stimulus to get the same response.

Sometimes we'll tell you to back off, drop some weight, and then see how it moves and feels. Sometimes we're going to tell you to stop, go hop on a bike, stretch it out a little bit. Sometimes we're going to tell you to take a couple of days off, go see a physical therapist like Amanda Anderson at Raise the Barbell or an orthopedic doctor.

I'm a champion at putting my head down and fighting through injuries, and honestly, over the years, I'm pretty sure that's made several things worse than they probably needed to be. It's not the smartest way to go. It's a bad habit I picked up a long time ago: put some ice on it and get back in there. Sometimes that is the best advice. Sometimes that's how we get past the discomfort of doing hard things, and sometimes you need to put some ice on it and sit down.

If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

Sunday Story…Pep, pep peptides!

By now, most of you have heard of peptides. For those of you unclear on them, here’s a quick definition from WebMD:

Peptides are strings of molecules called amino acids. Amino acids are the “building blocks” of proteins. Peptides are short strings of proteins that are about 2-100 amino acids long.

The most common peptide in use today is insulin. Insulin was first used in 1923. Today, probably the most common peptides that we see are the semaglutides, or the GLP-1s, which are being used to treat diabetes, of course, but also for weight loss.

It turns out there are peptides for all sorts of things. You can get them to help stimulate human growth hormone. You can get them to stimulate healing. They can help you get more melanin in your skin, in other words, be tanner.

As with any supplement, the source matters most. Is the source reliable and safe? Can we get them and administer them effectively to get the results we want?

Ellie and I are researching ways to offer these peptides to you. Obviously, we are not going to be prescribing them. We are not going to be administering them. We'll help you find a source and connect you with a knowledgeable medical practitioner who can guide you down that path, if you choose.

Before considering supplements or peptides, dial in your diet, exercise, rest, and recovery. Then focus on options that support longevity and healthspan—living as healthfully as possible.

If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story…It’s almost over

As I write this, it's mid-October 2026. The year is almost over. We have 2.5 months left. Halloween's right around the corner, followed quickly by Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then it's the new year. It'll be 2027. For me, at least, thinking about 2027, and a new decade right around the corner, feels a little jarring. The fact of the matter is that:

1. I've never been this old (neither have you!)
2. As we hit these years, every one of them seems to add more knowledge, more changes, more things of mystery and trepidation.

What do we do? How do we look at these next few years and decades? For many of you who are reading this, you're not 40 yet. You are more than likely to be alive in 2060, 2070. You'll be alive in the last part of this century. Think about that. If you were born in 1990 and lived 100 years, you'd be living in 2090. What's the likelihood you'll live to 100? It's much more likely you'll live to 100 than I am. My mom's 92. Not many people born 92 years ago are still around. My mom's in great health. She's got several years left. A proverb says, "Every day you live past your 70th birthday is a gift." Every day you get up and see the sun rise is a gift, every day, no matter how old you are. The older we get, the fewer sunrises we have to look forward to, so we need to approach each one with gratitude and an eye toward making it count in a way that creates a more harmonious, vibrant life.

If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

 

 

 

 

Sunday Story... Who do you know?

The rest of that question is: Who do you know who needs to be in here? We all have people in our lives that we care about. We all know people who could benefit from getting fitter. Maybe they've even asked what you're doing and why your fitness has suddenly improved so much. You've told them, "Oh, I go to CrossFit over at Odyssey.”

They might feel like they can't really participate for whatever reason. Ellie and I are here to tell you that, whatever the reason, it is simply not true. They can do this. Our oldest client is 87. We have clients that have had strokes, coming back to do things that they could do easily years ago and are now having trouble getting down on the ground and getting back up. We have people come to us recovering from cancer and other debilitating diseases and operations. Several of us here have had knees replaced, shoulders fixed, and hips replaced. No excuse keeps you from coming in here.

Who do you know who needs that gentle nudge to start their journey to extraordinary? Every journey starts with a single step, and that first step is the one that brings you through the door. If you've got somebody in your life who needs to be here, you might have to take them by the hand and bring them.

I know of at least one person who worked on somebody for a year before they graced our doors. Their fitness is improving. Their life is healthier than it was the day they first came here. If you know someone who needs to be here, ask us to reach out to them. You can bring them in, and we will sit down, talk with them, and show them what we do and how we do it. Whatever it takes to make that work for them, we'll do our best to get them on the journey to extraordinary.

If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

 

 

 

Sunday Story…Today's the day.

If you're reading this on Sunday, October 4th, today is my birthday, the official day. It's one of those bittersweet birthdays. Honestly, I never thought I'd see 70. It always seemed so far away. Even 5 years ago, 10 years ago, it felt so far away. My mom's 92, so when I look at that, I still have a long way to go. Maybe not as long as I had 20 years ago, but still a long way to go. For my birthday, and a challenge to all of you reading this, here is my 70th birthday workout of the day:

• 70 calories on the bike to cash in
• 70 pull-ups
• 70 push-ups
• 70 air squats
• 70 box jumps (that's a 24-inch box for the men, 20 for the ladies)
• 70 feet of handstand walks. If you want to do this but you can't handstand walk, you're going to do 3 wall walks and 10 shoulder taps for every 10 feet. That means you're going to do 21 wall walks and 70 shoulder taps.
• 70 GHD sit-ups
• 70 burpees
• 70-calorie row to buy out

There's a 70-minute time cap on this. The time to beat is 54 minutes and 24 seconds. That was my time on Friday afternoon. You can break up your sets any way you like, but you must finish each element before you start the next. In other words, you must finish all 70 pull-ups before you start your 70 push-ups, etc. Other than that, it's straightforward. It's a grind. There's a little bit of suffering involved. It's my favorite kind of workout. Have a great day. I know I did.

If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

 

Sunday Story: Update on some supplements.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about two supplements called NAC and Urolithin A. I'm not a real big pill pusher. I think you should take supplements once you've got your diet dialed in and are doing all the rest of the things that you should be doing.

Here's the deal with these two supplements. My doctor, Dr. Ravipati, at Southwest Mind and Body (https://southwestmindandbody.com/) suggested I start taking these. She's a longevity specialist. NAC stands for N-acetylcysteine, and the label says it supports liver detox and respiratory health. Urolithin A is listed for mitochondrial support. Your mitochondria are like the little engines in your cells that make everything work. As we get older, those cells don't rejuvenate and restore themselves quite as well as they did when we were 20 or 25.

The biggest change I've noticed is in my skin. Before I started taking these, it took almost nothing for me to get a big red bruise on my arm. My skin was thinner and seemed to bruise and bleed for no reason. The bruises lasted days, weeks, and even months. Once I started taking these two supplements, the bruising stopped within a month. Now, if I have a bruise, it goes away in a day or two, and my skin seems tougher or something because it doesn't cut and bleed as easily.

These two supplements, NAC and Urolithin A, are doing something very beneficial to my body. NAC is common; we offer the Thorne brand here, or you can visit here: https://www.thorne.com/products?affid=PR800589&utm_campaign=Affiliate+Programs&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_source=Custom+Link&utm_content=Supplements+%26+Tests. Urolithin A is less common, but here is their website: https://www.timeline.com/. Urolithin A tends to be pricey; it looks like about $100 a month, maybe a little less. NAC, on the other hand, is inexpensive.

The two of them have made a huge difference in my skin and, I think, my energy levels. I recover a little bit faster, so I highly recommend them.

If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story…I don’t wanna!

Like most of you, I also have days and times when I struggle with consistency. When I really don't want to pick up the weight, when I really don't want to go out and do another pull-up or another push-up, it looks like just a task: tedious, tiring, boring.

This is part of the process, part of making progress: realizing that even when I don't want to do it, I'm going to do it anyway. I'm going to pick up that weight. I'm going to hop on the bar. I'm going to do what needs to be done.

The reason for this? I'm looking down the road 5 years, 10 years, 20 years from now, and in my case, 20 years, when I'm 90 years old. What do I want to be able to do? If I don't do what needs to be done today, then 20 years from now, I may struggle to get off the toilet. 20 years from now, I may not be able to walk around the block. 20 years from now, I might be unable to do any of the things I want to do. I would have nobody to hold responsible for that but myself, because today I didn't do what needed to be done.

So, when the alarm goes off, and you wake up, get out of bed, and you say, "Screw this! I don't feel like doing it. I want to sit around and drink coffee and sit on the porch and watch the world go by," realize that if that's your choice, that's also the choice you're making 20 years from today. Finish your coffee, get off the porch, and go to the gym. See you there.

If you're interested in building muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412