Sunday Story…Detox

It’s that time of year when I hear people talk about detoxing and cleansing. And how they are going to take this or that potion or magic formula that will erase the last few weeks or months of immoderate living. Here is a news flash…although those things may make you feel better, they aren’t going to have your body detox any faster than it would anymore.

Your liver and your kidneys are miracle workers in the detox field. It is what they were designed to do…detox your body. Now, if you abused their workload and crippled their ability you may have to wait for them to get back up to speed. So if you have been eating poorly and hitting the bar more often than you should, you are going to need to get your body on a track to help those organs back to optimal functionality.

It is simple. Stop eating crap and quit drinking alcohol. Let me put it in the positive…eat high quality natural food and drink lots of water. As you wake up now in the morning you know you don’t feel as good as you could. This is your body trying to get out from under the workload of poor diet and excess alcohol. If you want to get up in the morning feeling like you can attack the day something has to change.

There is no magic pill. There is no potion, no magic formula that is going to override dissolute and habitual poor choices. You already know this. It doesn’t stop any of us from looking but we all know in our hearts and our heads that we are on our own. And the path is known…eat real food, drink fresh water, sleep well, get off your butt and get moving.

You can’t out exercise a poor diet and you can’t eat your way to fitness. You have to do both and do them diligently. Do that and you will detox naturally and without potions or poisons.

Get back on track. You can do it. I can help. Let’s get it done.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Writing

Writers write. Runners run. Artists make art. If you want to be good at something you need to do that thing.

This Sunday Story thing has been a project since 2008. Every week (except the summer of 2013) I have posted a story. That calculates to something over 300 posts. You can find most of them here:
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
Originally I had a goal of 1000 words for each post but a while ago someone told me the briefer was better. That I should see if I could say what I wanted to say in as few words as possible. So I cut the goal down to 500. And then I stopped worrying about it. If the message could be out in 100 words then so be it. I have never been able to do that…I guess I am just too verbose!

I also try to hit certain numbers on a reading scale. This scale tells me how easy what I have written is to read. So this one is 253 words and a 75.4 ease (Reader’s digest is 65! And larger is easier to read) score on a 5.3 grade level just in case you were wondering!

So:
Shorter…simpler…more direct and to the point…pithy and poignant, if you will.
Yet:
Inspiring, informative, entertaining, thought provoking, humorous, and transformative.

I get a fair amount of feedback and always welcome more.

Thanks for reading, thanks for being out there for me.

A writer, writing.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Work it

You’ve got goals…lose 10 pounds, drop 5 inches from your middle, improve your back squat by 10 percent, start a new business, or write the great American novel. You’ve made them S.M.A.R.T…specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. You are ready to go to work. This is your year; you are going to crush all of your goals this time. But…how?

You need some help, a program, a coach. You need a road map. You need to find people who have done something similar to what you want to do and then follow them. And finally you need to pull on your big boy pants and go to work.

I know how smart you are. I know you know all this stuff about what you want to do. I know you are different and you are a special situation. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard something like one of the following:
“I know what I need to do. If I do __________, ____________, and ________ I will ___________ (fill in goal here).”
“That doesn’t work for me because my _________ is different.”
“I’ve tried ___________ before and it didn’t work.”
Yet here is an expert who has taken many an expedition down the same river you want to travel. But you are going to do it your way because you know better. The question is this…How has that worked in the past? You have been saying that nonsense for a long time. Here’s an idea…give all that up, put yourself in the hands of an expert, do exactly what they tell you to do, when and how they tell you to do it. No more…that doesn’t work for me (because you are special); no more…I know what I am doing (because I read up on it on the internet); no more…I tried it that way and it didn’t work (because you really didn’t).

Take the program and do it exactly. If it doesn’t work it doesn’t work and you are exactly where you are now (which is where you are going to be anyway if history has any bearing). You can always try it a different way after giving the program a legitimate attempt. And by legitimate I mean a 100 percent all in, no questioning, just do it attempt.
You have goals. You have a road map. You have a friendly native guide. Now you need to trust your guide and put in the work. Get up in the morning knowing exactly what you are going to do that day to move yourself forward. Tomorrow do the same thing. Repeat until the goals are reached or it is obvious the program is the wrong one for you and your purpose.

You have to do the work, the hard work, after you have set goals. You must get up in the morning and approach your goals like you a professional would…in other words you do it with 100 percent focus and energy even on the days you don’t want to.

Plan your work, work your plan.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Alcohol and CrossFit

Don’t mix.

Ho hum. We all know that being fit and putting poison in our bodies is a bad idea. We all know that having a glass of wine or two is probably not going to kill us unless it’s a 16 oz glass or two every day. And I am pretty sure we could all agree that having beer and burpee contest would be a recipe for bad things happening.

That isn’t what I am talking about here. Yes you can a have an occasional glass of wine or a beer or a cocktail. If you are healthy it probably isn’t going to kill you.

No, this problem is much more insidious than just a simple little drink. This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed before anymore athletes end up with a very big-stop training-for a few weeks sort of problem.

Here is the back story…You started CrossFit. Maybe you weren’t in great shape, maybe you wanted to get some of that collegiate fitness back, maybe you just wanted to lose a couple pounds and have some fun. Then you got serious. The inches came off, the pounds got lost, you got strong, really strong, and CrossFit became something bigger than just another exercise thing you did.

You shared your experiences, you instagramed photos of you and your box-buddies moving weight and sweating and smiling. You were all in. You could do things you forgot you could do. Your coach told you about all of this fitness stuff being functional and being able to do things outside the gym walls. You bought it all.

So…you took your big bad fit self out with some friends and had a few drinks. Maybe a few more than you are used to or than you should have. But you can handle it…you CrossFit. And someone says…”let’s race to that telephone pole” and they say it with that look…you know the look I am talking about…the one that says you can’t do it, the one that doesn’t believe you are really an athlete. Without another thought to your footwear (inappropriate), your warm up (non-existent), or your field conditions (it’s dark), you pick up the gauntlet. Someone says 3-2-1 Go! And just like Pavlov’s dog you are ON IT! Maybe about ½ you realize your hamstring is a little tweaky but you go anyway, or you slip on a rough patch and twist your knee (blowing out your acl), or you fall and skin your knee. You finish…first of course…but you know something ain’t right.

When you get up the next morning and realize what you have done…because you fall out of bed on that missing acl, or your hamstring is blown, or you have rocks and glass embedded under your skin…you are faced with an awful truth:
CrossFit and Alcohol don’t mix.

Be safe out there this holiday season. Don’t let this sad tale be yours. We love you and want you to keep wodding forever.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…2015

We are entering the last month of the year. It happens every year around this time. Thanksgiving has come and gone, there is crispness to the air, and our focus turns more inward with the deepening dark.

In 21 days or so the days will begin to lengthen and we will enter a new year. It is time to take stock of the last year, to savor the victories and assess the not-victories; to analyze what worked and what didn’t; to look back over last year’s goals and figure out what worked and what didn’t.

Too many of us will wait until 12/31 to start making goals and setting forth a new path. This isn’t enough time to really take into consideration all the good and not so good that went on last year. I am here to tell you need to start looking at it now.

You need to start formulating a plan for next year now. You might have your goals in mind but you need to write them down. You need to make them concrete and measurable. You need to have a plan of execution. You need a support team to help you. Goals are great. Written down goals are better. Written down goals with a plan of execution are even better. And the best is goals written down with a plan of execution and a timeline for achievement.

The hardest part of any of this is the getting started part. That’s why you should not wait for 12/31 or Monday or some other contrived date. The time to start is now. Write down on thing that went well last year. Then write down one thing that wasn’t so hot. Then write down one thing you would like to see happen next year. Boom! You are on your way. Lather, rinse and repeat. Remember perfect is the enemy. This doesn’t have to be perfect. If we wait for perfect, nothing ever gets done. Start; fix u it up later; say to yourself, “Self this is just a rough draft. It doesn’t have to mean anything and I don’t have to stick to it if I don’t want to.”

The next thing you know you will have a list of all the good and not so good of last year, goals for next year and a plan of attack and most importantly a timeline for getting those things accomplished. It really is that simple. Just get started…now. Stop reading and open a new document and start writing.

Go now. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.00. The life you want is waiting for you.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…3 Food Truths

It’s that time. You know the one…where the cognitive dissonance of eating clean and healthy, your training schedule and the holiday party season come into full blown conflict. All of your favorite foods you remember from your childhood days will be in evidence. These foods aren’t necessarily the best or worst for you but they are filled with memories.

Food isn’t just about calories or chemicals. Food is about emotional triggers and imbued with meaning, right or wrong. The right smell will send you to cloud 9 and the wrong one will put you in a funk. A bite of watermelon might send you back to a lazy hot languid summer afternoon with friends and family. The taste of a particular soup brings up a meal time of strife and stress.

Here are 3 things you need to know about food that may make these next few weeks easier to get through and not blow your entire regimen up for the New Year.
1. Fat doesn’t make you fat and neither do carbs. That’s right…a high fat, low carb diet isn’t going to make you fat and neither will a high carb low fat diet. Obviously something else is at work…if you eat too much based on your energy expenditure you will get fat. If you drink too much sugar (soda or juice or alcohol) you will get fat. What really matters is what your overall diet looks like. Lots of junk food? Loading up on spinach dip and bread before dinner? Pounding handfuls of salted roasted (in Trans fat) nuts watching the game? Not a recipe for healthy results. Have a bite of spinach dip or 1 handful of nuts (pass on the Trans fat though!) and enjoy every guilt-free morsel. Just don’t put on the feed bag at the hors d’oeuvre table.

2. Food marketers are liars. Well, not exactly liars. They just don’t tell you what you need to know. They tell you what you want to hear. Whole grain cocoa puffs are not any healthier than regular ones. Froot loops are froot loops and it doesn’t matter if they are organic or not. Gluten free isn’t necessarily healthier, it’s just gluten free. Let’s start recognizing this BS for what it is…a way to get you to buy more products. They don’t care if it’s healthy or not, their purpose is to move calories off the shelf. You get to decide if those calories fit your particular needs.

3. Eat when you are hungry. It you aren’t hungry don’t eat. Don’t confuse hunger for thirst. Drink lots of plain water throughout the day. Sit down and eat. Give thanks for whatever you are eating and the people you are eating it with even if it is with strangers in a restaurant. Approach each mouthful with pleasure and an attitude of gratitude, your gut will reward you.

When that big holiday meal shows up or that buffet or office potluck you get to look at those offerings and decide how best to serve your current health needs. Have pie alamode if you want but you don’t need a whole pie or a half gallon of ice cream. Get your frontal lobes engaged and stop the lizard brain from devastating the buffet table.

If you don’t know what you should be eating let’s figure it out. If what you are doing isn’t working let’s do something different. Call me, write me, send out a smoke signal but let’s get the ship righted before it sinks.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Start to be Great

Every person who walks through the door at CrossFit Odyssey is an athlete. Outside the door they may be a Doctor or Lawyer, mom or dad, brother or sister but once they grace our door they become an athlete.

You might think of yourself as weak or out of shape but in here you are an athlete. In here you are unpolished marble waiting to be molded into something amazing. You are meant to move. You are a human aligned with the natural world…top of the chain baby.

You might get up in the morning and put on your uniform for your designated job but once you step in here your job is simple…be an athlete. And that translates to world changer.

When you change yourself you change the world. It is that simple. Are you going to drag the world down by sitting on the couch all day long? Or will you lift us up with your positive attitude and kind words, your hair on fire enthusiasm and no obstacle too large thought process?

It is never too late to get up and get going. You can always be more than you were just a moment ago. You can always choose to change your attitude. You can always choose to be better. You can always decide to be benevolent and give people the benefit of the doubt. Life is a series of choices.

You walked in my door today. Some of you did so literally…you showed up here in the box and did work. Some of you did it ethereally…you opened this email and read the words. And I am standing in front of you telling you can do this…you can change the world by changing yourself. You can be bigger, more powerful, more charitable, friendlier, stronger, healthier, more fit…if you would only just start.

You don’t have to be great to start.
You do have to start to be great.

Walk through the door, put on the uniform of athlete, great parent, model employee and get started. Don’t worry about doing everything right…you won’t, mistakes will occur. Don’t worry you aren’t good enough…you are doing battle and it is the one in arena who matters, not the critic, not the nay-sayer.

Get dirty, hot, sweaty, and if necessary bloody literally or metaphorically. But get in the fray. Do not allow yourself to be beaten by negativity, by disbelief, by poor attitudes. You are great. You walked through the door.

Fall down seven. Get up eight.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…5 answers to healthy eating

You notice I didn’t say diet. You notice I didn’t say 5 ways to lose weight fast or get the pounds off for the holidays. This isn’t about any of that. And it is all about that. These are the 5 answers you must have to successfully shift your eating from unhealthy (it’s killing you) to healthy (it supports your life.)

#1…Know where you are.
What do you weigh? What is your body composition? What are your measurements?
If you don’t know where you are how on earth will you know if you have gone anywhere?
Suck it up, get on the scale, get your fat percentage measured, get the tape out and get it around your hips but get those baseline numbers. And the more numbers you have (data) the more comparisons you will have to measure your progress.

#2…Know how much and what you are eating.
What are you eating? When do you eat it? How much are you eating? If you don’t know the answers we can’t make changes. If you are taking in 2000 calories and I adjust your eating to say 2000 calories we probably won’t see much movement on the metrics.
Keep a food journal, use an app to measure stuff but do it now. Once you write it down it becomes real and you will begin to understand exactly what you are doing that isn’t life enhancing.

#3…Know how much you are moving.
What are you doing for exercise or training? You better know if you are walking or running those 3 miles. What is your time? How much weight did you lift? How many pushups did you do? Again we can’t tell you to more if we don’t know how you are moving now.
Keep a training log. Again write it down or use an app to track it but do it one way or another.
#4…Understand the process.
You won’t proceed directly to your goals without some side trips. You will have some time where it feels like nothing is happening. You will have setbacks and fails on your way to healthy eating. There are going to be hurdles to get over and setbacks to endure. And the answer isn’t going to be more, harder and faster.
Looking at your progress and making adjustments is a critical part of this process. What worked in the beginning is going to change over time, be ready with your data and be ready to analyze it.

#5…Be in it for the long haul.
This isn’t a 30 day trip or a 90 day plan to a new you. This is a commitment to your life and health and that doesn’t end in 6 weeks. That is the beautiful part of this trip, once you are on the path the destination is there for you to grab every day. You are arriving all the time at better health, more clarity, and a happier attitude.

It is simple. Not easy but worth it. There is lots of help out there but get it from people who want you to be healthier for the rest of your life, not just lose 20 pounds in 20 days.

You can have everything but if you haven’t your health you have nothing. And health starts with the food you eat.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Gain

I have frequent conversations with people that start something like this…” I want to lose some weight.” Or, often, “I need to tone up and lose…” Rarely does this conversation start with the sentence like”I want to gain a better understanding of food, or “I need to gain some strength.”

We are, as a society, conditioned to have a love-hate relationship with the losing things, especially weight. What you weigh always seems to always be the question. I have seen very healthy people obsess over 10 pounds on the scale. Frankly, unless you are participating in an event where you must “weigh-in” to compete in a specific division, what you weigh shouldn’t matter on a day to day basis.

The real question is should be what do you want to gain? Not what you want to lose. Losing is a problem. Whatever it is we are trying to lose is going to fight tooth and nail to stay. Your mind has us doing battle against those last 10 pounds or that image we have of ourselves as that fat uncoordinated kid in the 3rd grade. Your mind and your body are going to hold on to those things…they are invested in keeping the things we want to lose…and getting them back once they are gone.

What you need to gain is a healthy relationship to food.
What you need to gain is a better health.
What you need to gain is better mobility.
What you need to gain is more strength.
What you need to gain is the ability to move how you want when you want.
What you need to gain is a self image that says it’s OK to be strong (and not skinny).
What you need to gain is a thought process that says failure is just a learning process.
What you need to gain is the feeling of joy that comes from movement.
What you need to gain is happiness at learning something new.
What you need to gain is an appreciation for your victories.
What you need to gain is happiness for the accomplishments of your friends and neighbors.
What you need to gain is a willingness to ignore years of social conditioning about your weight.
What you need to gain is the ability to look in the mirror and love what you see.

Honestly I don’t care if you come in here to lose weight. I’m going to just nod and smile while I start plotting how to get you to gain whatever it is you really need to gain.

Get strong. Get healthier. Get fitter. Get better. Get happier. Get transformed.

Get in here.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Your ‘Tude, dude

In “Man’s Search for Meaning” Viktor Frankl states the only true freedom we have is the freedom to choose our attitude about what happens to us. We can be locked up, beaten, everything taken from us but we can still choose our attitude.

I had the good fortune last week to have dinner with a friend who is the living embodiment of this freedom. Wendy Tustin and I go way back…probably close to 30 years. We have seen our kids grow and start their own families. We have had ups and down and times when we didn’t always speak or see eye to eye. Our friendship was forged on martial arts mats and cemented through the bonds of shared suffering, sweat, and strife.

Wendy is battling cancer. She has beaten it back a couple times but her opponent is unrelenting. Given enough time I don’t doubt she will beat it in the end. In the meantime she fights the fight with a smile and an attitude of hope and good fortune. Her spirit is strong. She is never going to be defeated even when it looks as if the battle may be lost. She is having the most fun she can have, laughing and crying, giving her friends the strength to face the small things in their lives with aplomb.

We all have stuff in our lives; stuff that gets us down, things that make us blue. Sometimes it feels like that stuff is too much, sometimes we think we just can’t take any more, that we have reached our limit of calamities in our lives. We feel sad and angry and hopeless over all the crap heaped upon us.

When you get to that point it is time to change your attitude. It is time to look over and see Wendy laughing and smiling and enjoying everything life is giving her. Yes, you read that correctly…everything. She says “it could be worse. I’m still here and I’m still fighting and living.” Whatever I am facing in my life is nothing compared to the road she is traveling.

Life is as hard as you make it. It is going to have ups and downs. It is up to you to decide the attitude you approach it with. You can take a look and decide you can’t handle it and life sucks and you don’t want to deal with the pain. Or you can take a look and decide to smile and go full steam ahead. Your attitude will decide your mental state from moment to moment. As Henry Ford once said…”if you think you can or think you can’t, you are probably right.” If you think life sucks it probably does. If you think life is grand it probably is.

So Change your attitude and Change your life. Now go out make your life be what you want it to be.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…3 reasons you get hurt at CrossFit

There is a huge amount of bad press about CrossFit hurting people. I hear about Doctors and physical therapists who claim CrossFit bought them a new Porsche or a new boat. I am going to let you in on a big secret…CrossFit doesn’t hurt people. CrossFit doesn’t cause injuries. CrossFit is a benign being. As my friend Kelly Starrett says,” CrossFit is a laboratory for finding and fixing bad movement patterns.”

Injuries are part of life. At least a life lived off the couch and out in the world. Here’s a partial list of mine…torn meniscus (Brazilian jiu-jitsu exacerbated by running), broken (displaced) finger (snowboarding), boxers break (hand) (fighting), dislocated thumb (martial arts), several non-displaced finger and toe breaks (martial arts), at least 10 concussions (football mostly & snowboarding & car accidents), cauliflower ears (BJJ, boxing, wrestling), and some more I don’t remember. This does not count any of the multitudes of sprains, strains, pulls and tweaks. Notice anything about this list? CrossFit did not cause any of my injuries. Now that I have said that I can say that my current shoulder and elbow issues are CrossFit related but they come under the tweak category and have not required surgical or medical diagnostic intervention. They are also most likely related to one the 3 reasons listed below.

But if CrossFit doesn’t hurt people, how come we read about all these injuries on various forums?
It’s simple really…and here are my top 3 reason people get hurt doing CrossFit:

You are a bleeding idiot.
You don’t know how to do a movement but you see someone else do it and now you are an expert. So you load the bar up, jump up on the rings and give it a whirl. And Bam, the whip comes down, your shoulder is torn or your back is tweaked. I mean watching someone jump off a cliff on snowboard doesn’t make you an expert does it? You haven’t been off the couch in a decade and now you are going to try giants on the high bar? Really? Don’t be that guy.

Your coach is a bleeding idiot.
If someone’s idea of a good work out is to leave you on the floor puking your guts out, run don’t walk out the door. If the instruction consists of a really strong and fit dude or dudette doing an exercise 3 times and then walking off and telling you to go for it…get out now. If the “coach” is paying all his or her attention to the hottie in the first row, get your feet moving.

The community is made up of bleeding idiots.
They all have one speed…all out. The all want to “win” the wod or see how close they can get to Froning or Khalipa’s time. The want you to prove your worthiness before they will acknowledge your presence. The programming is designed to break you down and spit you out…day after day. The work outs really are random; there is no rhyme or reason to how they move you towards your goals.

So…here is how you don’t get hurt at your CrossFit Box…
Be smart. Understand your limitations and your fitness level. You aren’t as fit as you are going to be and you are nowhere near as fit as you remember being.

Be Coachable. Listen to what the coach (qualified and caring) is telling you. Ask questions and correct bad movement patterns. Just because someone else can do it doesn’t mean you are ready to do it. Progress up to the movement before you hop into the middle of a train wreck you just created.

Find like minded people. Find people like you who want the same things you do out of a workout. Find a tribe you can commune with, people you want to hang out with, folks you like.

Scale your work. Make it fit into your fitness level and abilities. There is always a work around when you have mobility or mechanical limitations. Don’t assume that you have to do it just the way it is written.

Have fun. Get Fit. CrossFit is for everyone…if you, your coach and your community all work together to get you the results you want. 3,2,1…GO!

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…3 things to have more money, more success, more sex

Now that got your attention, didn’t it? The big 3…money success and sex…always gets your ears to perk right up. So sorry to bait and switch you like this but this post is not about money, success, or sex. Besides everyone knows the answer is squats, more squats solve all the problems of the universe.

I am going to be on a radio show this week. The hosts want me to give their listeners 3 tips to start getting in shape, more fit, healthier. So I thought I would distill my thoughts here on paper for you.
1. Eat Real Food
2. Move
3. Sleep
That’s it. It is really that simple. It doesn’t take a degree in advanced rocket science; it doesn’t take a personal chef, a million dollar gym membership, or special immersion sleep tank.

You already know what to do. The real question is why aren’t you doing it? You know drinking 6 cans of soda a day isn’t good for you (you do don’t you?) So why don’t you stop?

You know sitting around all the time and not moving is hurting your health. So why don’t you get off the couch and start moving? (Ask your doctor if getting off your a#s is right for you.)

You know going to bed earlier will have you feel better in the morning. So why don’t you do it?

Our entire world is beset by diabetes and obesity. We are a society that is over fed and under nourished. We work ourselves into early graves. We eat ourselves into early graves. We are tired all the time.
Yet in the face of all that we don’t change. We rarely begin and even more rarely do we continue. So what is up with that? Is it that hard to eat real food, move, and rest?

The simple answer is this: (no, it isn’t squats) it is easy. Are those three things hard? Not really but it is easier to eat crap, sit on your butt and spend endless hours surfing 500 channels on TV or watching cat videos on the computer. We want to take the path of least resistance. We want it to be one pill and the problem is fixed. Sorry to burst your bubble.

There is no magic pill. The path of least resistance is the one that has you sliding, fat, dumb and smiling into the grave. Skipping one night of drinking isn’t going to end your world. Walking up the stairs won’t be the end of the world and you aren’t going to have a heart attack if the TV gets turned off once in a while.

Decide the pleasure is going to be greater than the pain of letting old habits go. The pleasure of being healthy and fit is so much greater than you realize. You will never know how good you could feel since you don’t know how bad you feel now. Your energy levels could double or triple with proper rest, nutrition and exercise. All the little things we lay on the doorstep of getting older could disappear or dissipate by finally implementing those 3 little steps.

Eat Real Food
Move
Rest
Go get some.

Namaste

John Mariotti

www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…When was…

The last time you did something for the first time? I heard this phrase yesterday at the start of the Dallas Tough Mudder. It reminded me of the quote from Eleanor Roosevelt…”do something every day that scares you.”

So really…When was the last time you did something for the first time?

I’m waiting…waiting…waiting…been a while hasn’t it? Many of you are taking on new things this fall…eliminating alcohol or sugar for 30 days for instance. Or eating clean or making sure you get to the gym 4 days a week. These things count. They don’t have to be huge, earth shattering things. Just do things you have never done.

Here is the challenge…can you do something for the first time every week for the next 52 weeks? Maybe culminate the 52 weeks with a really big scary thing like sky diving or a marathon or a Tough Mudder?

Getting out of your comfort zone is a habit and a good one to develop. Growth happens outside of your comfort zone. You can’t change and develop into something new using the same thoughts and activities that you used to get where you currently are. You must utilize new thought patterns and do different things and the only way to do that is step out of the box you are living in. The box confines you. The box defines you. The box keeps you safe and secure.

Getting out of the box allows you to become something more, something new, and something that hasn’t existed before. Yet you will still be you. Just a bigger you…a you with the habit of trying new things and new experiences. It’s going to be a little scary, I admit. It’s going to be a little dangerous. Things might go wrong. They might not turn out quite the way you planned. No matter what happens…you will learn things, you will grow, and you might even have a little fun along the way.

You have to try. You have been trying new things all your life. Walking, running, and talking were all new things at one time. We want our kids to try new foods. Maybe you should too? Don’t like eggplant? Find a new recipe and try some. Afraid of running? Of lifting weights? Of what? Why? Fear is unreasonable and usually unfounded on anything in reality. It is usually a reaction to something we anticipate happening…which may never happen.

Go do something you haven’t done before. Brush your teeth with the other hand. Jump off the high dive at the pool. Take a new route on your run. It really doesn’t matter what it is…it will develop the habit of doing new things.

See you out of the box!

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…80/20%

There is an old saying that 20% of your efforts will yield 80% of your results. This is known as Pareto’s principle. This law is probably named after some guy named Pareto who spent a lot of productive time studying other people’s productivity. Sadly this means that you are spending 80% of your time in non-productive pursuits, just spinning your wheels. Most of you already know this and I am not going to re-hash it here.

Last week and many previous weeks we have been talking about food. It is often said if you can be 80% compliant with your eating (and drinking) plan you will be OK. And that is true…if you just want to be ok. But it is in that last 20% where the magic lurks!

You see when you lapse that last 20% your body begins to expect those not so healthy choices to appear and it begins to dial down the optimum response. It is in that last 20% the part where you want to be where you are going to get the results that you really want.

I understand it is hard to stay on the path 100% of the time. But just do this math…if you get 80% of your results in that 20%...the extra effort of just 2% is going to yield massive results in proportion to the effort it takes. Your first 2% gets you very little but your last 2% are going to turn your world upside down.

What are we talking about here? In the course of 1 week you have 7 days of meals…if you are 80% then there will be 4 or 5 meals you will go off course. Instead of 5 “cheats” or not so great choices what would happen if you only had 3 meals like that? That would be an exponential improvement. And how hard would it be? It isn’t going to be any harder to make those choices…after all you are doing it 80% of the time and now those last 2 meals just aren’t that hard. And in those 2 meals you will find results greater than imagined.

We aren’t talking about perfection; we aren’t talking 100% compliance. We are talking about 82-85%. You can do that. You want to do that to have your results go from blah to Boom. Just 2 meals that’s all I am asking for.

One small change for a few weeks, a massive shift in results for your entire life.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Food (again)

Yesterday the Hydrostatic Fat Testing truck showed up here. Many of us hopped into the tub and got our lean muscle mass measured (notice how I changed the wording on that?) Some people received a rather rude awakening and others a pleasant surprise. Hopefully, the results motivated you in some way to make some changes, especially around what goes on in your kitchen (and what goes in your body).

The problem most of us have is that we look at those changes as being on or off. I am on a diet or not. I am eating clean or not. I am doing Paleo or not. When I am on I am doing what I think I should. This will get you results but it won’t get you permanent results.

Increasing your lean muscle mass (and decreasing your fat %) is not a sometime proposition. It isn’t something that we do once and forget about. Once we get where we want to be we need to maintain it. You don’t fill your car up with gas just once do you? Or change the oil? You maintain your car regularly. You need to maintain your body regularly as well.

Rather than going ON a diet or eating plan, decide you are going to commit to nourishing yourself for life. Rather than just slogging through another 12 week challenge of abnegation and self-denial decide to explore and adjust the way you are eating. You don’t have to be perfect but you do need to learn what works for you and your loved ones. If something doesn’t work you learn what doesn’t work, it isn’t a failure, it is a learning experience.

By using this way of thinking you are deciding to make the effort to integrate your new habits with all of the other parts of your life. If your family always has Pizza on Friday night is there a way to make the pizza better, healthier, or something else? A tradition only becomes a tradition because you make it one. There was a time when you didn’t eat pizza on Friday night. So do something different…your family will still love you!

Find ways to enjoy the journey, embrace your new culinary skills, learn to love your fitness community, find a community that supports your goals rather than thinking fitness is something we do once like putting gas in the car, it is exactly like putting gas in the car…something we must do regularly and often in order to enjoy the life and the body we have been given.

On the concrete side:
Eat more protein
Eat more healthy fat
Eat less refined carbohydrates
Eat real food (all the time!)
I leave you with this:

The professional arms himself with patience, not only to give the stars time to align in his career, but to keep himself from flaming out in each individual work … He conserves his energy. He prepares his mind for the long haul. He sustains himself with the knowledge that if he can just keep those huskies mushing, sooner or later the sled will pull in to Nome. — Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

Namaste

John Mariotti

www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Get it done

I have written about commitment before. Let’s face it…commitment is hard, held back by the twin demons of finite time and hard work (as in I don’t want to do it.) There is no way to success without commitment. There is no change without commitment. There is no goal that gets achieved without commitment.

Once we have committed to change some things are going to change in order to get what it is I say I want to get. You can’t stop drinking in a bar, starting a diet in an ice cream shop is ill-advised, and becoming fit isn’t going to happen sitting on the couch with your friends. You are going to need to change your environment and your time allocations.

So start with the easy stuff; look around you. Are you surrounded with people who are positive and supportive of your goals? Is your life filled with people who, even if they won’t join you, will be on the sidelines cheering for you? If not you are going to have to fire those people. You need to be in an environment that raises you up, not pulls you down.

When we look at time the mistake so many of us make is to add the new thing. This is a huge error. You need to subtract something to make room for the new things. Trade television watching for your new work out time. We all get 168 hours a week. There are some things you must do…sleep, eat, and work. If you are going to be truly committed you are going to have to take the carving knife out and cut something out to make room for the new ones. Be brutally honest with yourself but there are sacrifices to be made on the way to getting your goal achieved.

Environments are going to need to shift. If it is fitness you are after you need to spend some time in the gym, on the road, in the pool. You can’t avoid it but if you think you are going to knock out a 40 minute workout in the corner bar, you are kidding yourself. You need to create an easy path to success. Clean eating takes planning that is going out the window as soon as you are tired from working a 12 hour shift and that double mocha macchiato with a cupcake calls your name because you failed to prepare a meal in advance. You can’t change by wishing it so, it is going to take planning and making sure you set up an environment of support.

You are going to need to do the work…the down and dirty work. When the alarm goes off, when it is time for class, when practice is scheduled you strap on your grown up pants and go get it done. You need to start. You don’t have to be great or perfect to start but you have to start. It won’t always be fun and sometimes it will suck but you do it in the face of no guarantee of success. You do it because it committed to doing it. You do it because you made the time to do it. You do it because you planned on doing it.

Want success? Be committed. Follow that commitment with a blueprint for making it work. Cut out stuff to make time for new, more important stuff. Set yourself up for success by doing advance planning. Get down in the trenches and do the work.

This will not be easy, there is going to be sacrifice, struggle and pain. It isn’t going to come any other way. But there is no time other than now to begin. Slaughter the unnecessary, slash the time with impunity, create new by removing the old and do the work.

You can beat mediocrity. You can be better. You can change your life. You can change the world.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…It's Duckie

A friend of mine used to gauge interest in something by what was known as the “duck” index. This index was very simple…think about a small child, maybe 4 or 5 years old, who is at a pond where there are lots of ducks. And the child is feeding the ducks pieces of bread and laughing and giggling and loving every second of the experience. Watching a child do this is an expression of unbridled joy and happiness. So when an activity is high on my “duck” index I am all in for the experience.

If you think back on your life you have had some experiences that were pretty darn high on the “duck” index. Skydiving was like that for me the first time. When I stepped out of that airplane in the first milli-second my “duck” index was off the chart. In the seconds before that my heart was in my throat, though.

This is often the case with things that elicit a high response. There is some fear and trepidation before going stepping off the ledge…whatever the ledge it for you. The ledge could be asking out that person you have wanted to ask out for so long. The ledge may be signing up for a race, or a class, or committing to a goal. The fact is simple: if it doesn’t scare you a little it isn’t big enough, hard enough, or challenging enough.

Living a life of mediocrity, of average experiences is not going to move the needle on the “duck” index. You need to find things that are going to hit your “duck” index. Things that excite and scare you. Things that when you finally get done you will know they have a permanent residence in your memory banks.

I don’t need the video from my skydiving excursion to remember it. There is a tape I can play in my head at any time. My walk to work this morning I forgot before I was here. No “duck” index on this one.

Find your “duck” index…your “heck yeah” factor. Call it whatever you want but find it. Then find experience that will put that index over the top. It is passion that will fuel your life and success. It is being a little (or a lot) scared right before you jump that will get your life out of the mundane and into the extraordinary.

Do something today that will raise your “duck” index. Have fun with it!

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…It’s Time

Time is one of those things we constantly talk about…”I’m so busy,” “There isn’t enough time in the day,” “I could use 25 hours a day and still not get everything done.” We say these things all the time. They aren’t really true. We all get the same 24 hours, the same 168 hours in a week.

How I spend my time is the true issue. We all make choices everyday in how we spend our time. It may start first thing in the morning…do you get up early and get your workout in? Or do you hit the snooze button 3 or 4 times before dragging out of bed with barely enough time to shower and get out the door in time for work. Same thing at night…sitting and watching television for 3 or 4 hours? or working on your education? or connecting with your family? Same time different priorities.

It’s time to decide on what is important to you and stop complaining about not having enough time or being too busy. We all have the same amount of time. Everyone is busy. The question is this: Are you spending your time on things that are important or are you spending time on things that are keeping you busy. The two things are not the same thing.

Ask yourself how the truly amazing and important people in the world get things done. They probably didn’t spend an hour or two watching reality TV or playing video games. They didn’t spend their time facebooking or testing inane things to all their friends. Nope, they spent all their time on moving forward on their goals, dreams and aspirations. They didn’t start out as billionaires, or famous writers, or world class athletes. They set a path to their goal and then stayed on that path until they got where they wanted to go.

You can be great. You can be everything you want to be. Your life can be an amazing testament to your vision and hard work. It is up to you how you spend the time you have been given on this earth, in this life. You and I have the same amount of time every day, week, month, year. The difference is how we choose to spend it.

Get started now. It is time. It is overdue. The world awaits your greatness.

You don’t have to be great to start but you have to start to be great.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Stories

The stories we tell ourselves about the things that happen in our lives are of greater import than the things themselves. Victor Frankl in “Man’s Search for Meaning” says very clearly that man is a meaning making machine. The only freedom we have is the freedom to choose our attitude about what is happening to us. No one can take this freedom away from us. It is what sustains people through horrible inhumane situations…their attitude about what is going on around them.

I was 17 years old and the second seed at the district wrestling tournament. I had completed a very successful football season (honorable mention prep all-American defensive back) and had a couple colleges sniffing around. I was looking forward to a berth to the Washington State wrestling championships where I was considered one of the top candidates for a title. 2 weeks before the tournament my appendix almost ruptured and I was hospitalized to have surgery to have it removed. It was a butcher job and I still have a visible 4” long scar. I thought I could still compete but they wouldn’t let me and rightfully so as the stitches came apart and you could see inside my abdomen. Needless to say I was devastated. I didn’t go out for track that spring. And I left high school before my senior year and went to Gonzaga University. That event informed so many things over my next 40 years it is frightening. As a matter of fact going into the CrossFit games I was sure my body would betray me again. I was super paranoid about getting hurt or something worse. It sucked. Now that I went and did well I feel like I have finally buried the demons that I created.

The decisions we make now can often have far reaching ramifications that inform our lives for years, and in my case, decades. We all have had things happen to us, it is part of life. What we tell ourselves about those things forms our life.

Maybe you didn’t get the bike you wanted for your birthday. And that meant what? You weren’t loved or weren’t seen? Or that someone loved you enough to get you the gift they could afford and thought you would enjoy. Maybe your parents beat you. And that meant you weren’t good enough or you have no purpose in life other than to be a punching bag. Or that you were strong enough to take those blows and survive and nothing else in life will ever be that bad?

You get to decide what those things mean to you. The younger you were when you gave those things meaning the more likely they are to need revising. You get a chance to change history. What happened is what happened. The meaning you assign to it is up to you. And the meaning you give it should show you how great, powerful and worthy you really are.

Namaste

John Mariotti

www.crossfit-odyssey.com

www.martialartsnevada.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

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Sunday Story…Stressed Out?

One of the most forgotten aspects of living a life of optimum health and fitness is stress.
Stress is a two-headed beast. On one side too much stress will kill you. And on the other side not enough stress and you won’t achieve anything. The key is to find the middle ground…be like Goldilocks…not too hot, not too cold, just right.

Way back in the day, we humans had to deal with very real stressful situations…finding enough food and shelter on a regular basis, not getting eaten by other large predators, or being attacked by other hominids who wanted our food or shelter. But these stresses (mostly from external sources) came and went. In today’s world our stresses, although seemingly less dire, are constant and coming from both external and internal sources.

In today’s world we are under constant attack. Work, home, and everything in between hit our system with little bits of stress. That cup of joe (or 2) in the morning hits my adrenal glands with a little zip of stress (that’s how caffeine works by the way). My morning commute sends my blood pressure soaring. The deadlines at the office, or the financial challenges my business poses hit my system and my breathing races. Maybe I get home and get hit with relationship challenges with my children and spouse. As modern humans our stress levels are constantly high. It is as if we are constantly under attack by saber tooth tigers and running for our lives.

Too much stress causes huge health problems. Everything from cardio vascular events to skin eruptions to depression to auto-immune disorders can often be linked to an over stressed system. We often respond to stress in non-productive ways as well…alcohol abuse, drug abuse, emotional eating, and other self defeating behaviors. The real problem with these responses is that they often cause additional stress on both our physical and emotional systems. Drinking too much is not good for your physical body as well as being hard on your relationships.

Not enough stress makes us complacent and lazy. Not having goals that excite and scare us (just a little) has us staying fat and de-conditioned. We need good stress in our lives.

The real trick is to develop the skills to handle the day to day stress of modern life in a healthy way. There are some very real things we can do to combat the toll stress is taking on your health. The big 3 are (you already know this!)…exercise daily and intensely, eat right, which means eating real food prepared well and eaten with purpose, and sleep 7-9 hours a night. If you do these 3 things you will be several steps ahead in the management of your stress.

Here are some other strategies and tools you might find useful:
Meditate or sit quietly without an agenda…when we sit and just let things be without trying to force an outcome our body gets a signal that is ok to relax and can come off of hyper alert status. A lot of the stress we experience arises from the chattering of our “monkey mind.”

Pray…experience your connection with the divine, something bigger than you and all the mundane concerns we have day to day.

Get outside…find your place in the natural world. Sometimes our stress arises from being disconnected with the real world. The world of plants and animals and other natural phenomena can have a calming effect on your mind and body.

Do something for yourself…get a massage, take a soak or whatever will feed your inner selves and have you feel love and connection with yourself.

I am sure you can think of some others that will serve you in taking care of your stresses. The important thing is to take the time to do them! So get out there and do nothing for a change!

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…My Father

Last Monday my Father passed from the world. It wasn’t unexpected; his health had been failing for some time. I feel sad he won’t get to see what amazing people his great grandchildren will be and they won’t get the joy of having his wisdom and humor in their lives. Every time I spent any time with him over the last 5 or 6 years I made sure there were no unsaid things between us. I never knew if that time would be the last time so I made sure to say what ever needed to be said and to tell him I loved him.

My Father taught me many things over my 56 years and those things have molded me into who I am today.
My Father was a teacher for most of my life. He taught me many lessons from how to love to how to work. The example he set for me in all areas of life set me on the path I am currently on.
I didn’t always listen as well as I should have and I certainly didn’t follow his advice as well as I should have but he never made me wrong for going my own way (even when it was messed up!)
He taught me how to value other people based on who they were and what they did, not the color of their skin, their religion, or social status.
He taught me about compassion and serving the world through his own giving.
He was a quiet man; his actions spoke volumes about his character.
He taught me that if you were hired to do a job, you had an obligation to do that job as well as possible. If you were going to do something, do it right.
He taught me it was more important to do the right thing than the easy thing.
He taught me to set goals and stay the course until you get to the end. You are finished when you have completed the goal, not when you think you are done.
He taught me that what you did was not as important as how you did it.
He instilled in me a love of sport and competition and the daily training those things involve.
My father taught me to be a man of my word.
He loved his family and made sure we were supported.

All the good things I have become I credit my father (and mother). The messed up parts are all on me.

Daddy I miss you deeply and will every day. The impact of all the lessons you taught have been spread far and wide. Your legacy of duty, kindness, and hard work will live forever.

Thank you for being my Father and I love you.

Namaste

John Mariotti

www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…The Road to the Games---Aftermath

I’ve been home now for almost a week. I have had time to process all the experiences and happenings over the 8 days I was in Southern California.

It was an amazing experience. Reebok kicked out with some amazing apparel for all the athletes. I felt respected and honored the whole time I was there from picking up my gear to competing and after. It takes a huge number of people all working together to have an event of this magnitude come off the way this one did. If you watched any of this on TV or the computer you saw about 10% of what really happened. And a large portion of it was done by volunteers. My hat is off to both Reebok and CrossFit HQ for an event well run and spot on.

As many of you know this has been the culmination of a 2+ year quest. In April of 2012 I thought I could get good enough at this CrossFit thing to go to the games. At that time it meant I had to be in the top 20 in my age group in the world. For 2+ years this was my over-riding goal. Last Thursday the quest was complete. I finished the last workout and ended the quest #6 in the world. Did I want to be #1? Of course I did, no one does the work and shows up wanting to be #18.

I got to work out with some of the greatest guys I have ever had the pleasure of working with. 99% of my workouts are done alone. Here were 18 guys, all good, and all skilled and talented, and 18 guys happy to get to work. They were competitive and helpful. There weren’t any head games or blatant rudeness that I saw. In 4 days we created a community that will continue past Thursday. I look forward to seeing all of these guys in the future.

People have asked about nutrition and sleep and other preparatory tasks. I tried to eat exactly what I always eat and at the time I eat them. I brought my own protein powder and made sure I had avocados. I made sure my hydration was spot on…this is one place where it would be easy to fall down but I went out of my way to drink plenty of liquids. I slept well which was surprising. Normally the night before competing I would not sleep well but this time I was fine. After the first day I was exhausted…4 wods will do that. I think because I was just focused on my own performance I wasn’t feeling the pressure of competition. Bottom line is you don’t want to try new things in competition. You try to keep everything as close to the same as always…the warm up, the pre-workout food and the post workout ritual. This is part of the home field advantage that gets discussed…it is much easier to maintain your routine at home rather than on the road.

One of the unusual things that happened to me occurred on Friday. I slept in and got up with a sense of unease. I felt unhinged. It took me a while to realize that I had completed my quest and no had nothing on my plate. It was an unsettling feeling. The goal had been accomplished and there wasn’t a plan, a schedule, a drive for the next thing. It was an oddity. By Saturday I had found my balance though and was perfectly content with the world.

I was very happy with my performances. I went into the week wanting to leave on Thursday with no regrets. To be able to say I did everything I could do with tools I had. I can say that. I wanted to stay on track as the focused and confident athlete I am. I didn’t want my head to get in the way of my physical performance. I stayed out of the leader board, stayed focused on one workout at a time and got the job done.

Knowing what I know now there are things I would do differently if faced with the same tasks. Just little tweaks…like not going out so fast on the run rope or picking up that 70# medicine ball before hitting the playing field…little things like that. But overall I was so proud of myself for staying in my game plans and remaining focused on my performance and no one else’s.

At this writing I have had 10 days of rest. The most I have had in 2+ years. I feel strong and healthy. And tomorrow we begin again. The quest for constant and never ending improvement is always in front of us and so are the 2015 Reebok CrossFit Games. The Open is 7 months away!

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.
Mahatma Gandhi


Namaste

John Mariotti

www.crossfit-odyssey.com

www.martialartsnevada.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

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The Road to the Games…Day 5

It is the last day of competition. My body feels good. I had to go out and buy some gloves after yesterday’s 100 pull ups. There were 2 workouts today.

I had no idea going into today’s competition of who the leaders were. I had a pretty good idea who they weren’t though! I knew I was #6 going into the WODS though.

Today was hard. The “up down” did not go my way. I fell off the box on the 3rd lateral jump (got the rep though!) so I modified how I was jumping from lateral to straight on and off. These boxes are much wider than what most of us have been used to. I did some in the warm up area and thought the lateral felt right but in retrospect the size of the box was just a bit wider than I could handle and be at optimum efficiency. My rhythm on the toes to bar sucked and the wall balls were even worse. A clear target and the sun behind it really made it challenging (for everyone!). I think I no-repped at least 10 of these. The dips were good for me, although by this time I was pretty whacked and kept the sets down to 5 instead of 10. On the way back it was just embrace the suck. And suck it did, especially missing the last toes to bar…I never miss toes to bar but my grip was going and I just flat out missed. 17:26 minutes of fun and it was over.

In the final WOD I was excited…burpee muscle ups! I had practiced these just recently and was very happy with how they went. Sprint 100 yards…no worries until my left hamstring caught a hitch about 30 yards into it which slowed me down a bit. I laid into the burpee muscle ups with a vengeance and then I missed the last muscle up! AAAArgh. If you do muscle ups you know how bad it sucks to miss one. I tried again too soon and missed another. Waited and got up and just ground it out to the lock out, it was ugly but done. I grabbed the bar to snatch and lost the weight behind me (another thing that almost never happens to me!) I had forgotten about the hamstring and it hit me as I gripped and ripped…a tactical error when snatching. I settled and got the 5 snatches for a 2:27 time.

When the dust settled I finished 6th in both of the wods and finished the week in 6th overall. I was very pleased with my performance. There were some things I could have done better in retrospect but based on what I knew on Monday I felt I put out a full effort. Which translates to full victory…woohoo!

Next up: The aftermath of the games.

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.
Mahatma Gandhi


Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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The Road to the Games…Day 4

The second day of competition is finished.

Today was only 2 workouts…18 or 19 minutes in total… a longer one and and a very short one.

I was very pleased with my performance today. The second workout used an implement I had never seen before…a 70# medicine ball picked up and tossed over the shoulder. But not a hard ball, it was sort of squishy and when it hit the ground is plopped and went sort of flat. It was an interesting thing to do 45 times or so. And then with everyone’s favorite..burpees!

I still haven’t looked at the leaderboard. So I can’t tell you where I am with any exactitude. I am executing my game plan in every workout. I feel joy as we take the field. The sun is shining the breeze is fresh. The competitors are a fun group who really enjoy the process of finding comrades their own age to workout with and compete with…no matter the outcome. This has been a truly delightful and amazing experience that I will distill into much longer memories and stories. Oh, but make no mistake, everyone wants to do well and is trying to get on that podium.

I have been told I am #6 at this point. That is very satisfying but not really the point. The point is to go out and give 100% every time…in other words to walk off the field knowing I did everything I could do in that moment and left nothing back to regret.

Which leaves us with this:
Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.
Mahatma Gandhi

And now to bed.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
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The Road to the Games Day 3

The first day of competition is done and in the books. 3 workouts. 3 different energy systems and 3 different tests. Honestly, and this is a big departure for me, I have not looked at my results in relation to the rest of the field. Normally I would be obsessing over my position and what it is going to take to move up the leaderboard. Today, I only care about putting my absolute best on the field.

That being said…I finished the first event with a 50# personal best. I won the second event by a large margin. The 3rd and 4th were somewhere in the middle of the pack. I have been told this puts me in a tie for 7th overall but I have not looked. These results are very satisfying. They tell me I belong here, that I am more than good enough to be here.

I am looking forward to tomorrow’s events with anticipation. I am focused and confident.

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.
Mahatma Gandhi

And now to bed.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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The Road to the Games Day 2

Things are heating up. After landing and getting through the athlete check in yesterday, the rest of the day was spent relaxing and some light movement. I swam a bit and ran a bit. I ate.

The folks at Reebok have really out done themselves. Name and number on all the gear, the right sizes and the new shoes….the shoes! Athlete check-in was smooth and effortless, the people (volunteers?) were happy and helpful and made it easy from start to finish. They handled a lot of people and made it seem like they were all there just for you. I ran into a number of guys I have competing against in the virtual world. I have seen their results, in some cases I have seen their pictures. To a man they are gracious and welcoming. The field is shaping up to have some interesting results.

Today we had our first briefing. This is where we are told about what to expect over the next few days and more specifically, how the events are going to go tomorrow. Probably the most impressive thing is the amount of equipment and organization an event like this requires. There are tons of (literally tons) of weights, bars, and equipment. The number of people putting in hours of work to make this happen is huge.

Bottom line?
These events will test the fitness of every participant. They will test pure strength and power (dead lift), balance and coordination (hand stand walks), speed and power (sled pull), strength and cardio respiratory endurance (running and rope climbing). They will test time domains…a dead lift every 30 seconds, 2 minutes of walks and pulls, and an open workout with a 16 minute time cap. All of the energy systems will be tried and taxed. There are sprints and strategies, and one pure lift. And this is just day 1! This is truly what CrossFit is about, movements that will test all the facets of fitness…coordination, agility, speed, strength, power, cardio respiratory endurance, stamina, balance and flexibility.

Coach CJ Martin is here and we are ready to roll!

Let the Games begin!

Namaste
John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…The Road to the Games Day 1

Dallas-Fort Worth Airport

It’s real now. The plane leaves shortly. Next stop is Los Angeles and the Manhattan Beach Marriott to the athlete check-in. The preparation is in the bag, all done. I have done everything I can do to be ready for this week. The time to perform is coming in just a few short days.

I run into a fellow competitor, Cliff Lewis from CrossFit Heath, as we await boarding. As a 4 time games competitor he had some great insights into the experience that looms in front of us. I must admit to some nervousness as the departure time approaches. Up until this point it has been all about the training, the daily grind of looking at today’s work and getting after it. Now is the time to put all those hours of work into action in 3 days.

Self-doubt is one of the things that always hangs over any of as we get ready to do anything important. Obviously our day to day tasks should not cause trepidation, but the big things in life? The marriage proposals, the big speeches, the really big decisions? Those things have us self-talking and often talking in the wrong ways to ourselves.

You are ready for the moment in front of you. You are the right person, doing the right thing, at the right time. There is no one else but you who can do what you can do. Only you are ready to do this exact thing. Everything you have done before this moment has led you to this exact moment in time. It is incumbent upon you to set aside all other thoughts, all doubt cast aside for the only thing in front of you. In my case there is the work out ahead, nothing else. No room for anything other than that.

The ability to cease debilitating self-talk is crucial to your success. Before you start, in the middle of performance, and post-performance you must be able to talk to yourself in ways that are uplifting and positive. It is ok to be objectively critical. It is not ok to be judgmental and destructive to yourself. Improvement will happen through careful objective analysis not by beating yourself up.

What you say to yourself is more important than what others say to you. You are your worst critic. You are also your biggest cheerleader. So who do you want to be talking to you? The critic or the cheerleader?

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Gratitude

One week from today I will arrive in Los Angeles to participate in the 2014 CrossFit games as a Masters competitor. This would not have been possible without a lot of people who make up a community of support.
I would like to thank each and every one of them as much as I possibly can. I am sure I will forget someone in this piece but I have not really forgotten you or your assistance in this quest. Your words, actions, and thoughts have impacted me in so many ways and I will never be able to express adequately my gratitude to you.

I am going to start with my mother, DeLores Mariotti. She has always supported me in all of my ventures, business, athletic and others. She has helped mold me into man I am today. She has supported me financially over the last few years as well. She has seen the vision and gets it. Or at least she trusts me that I get it. Thanks Mom!


My business partner (the best I could have hoped for), Ellie Mckenzie, has supported me and believed in my vision and dreams for years. She helped convince me to come to Texas and start brand new. She has allowed me to train and put up with my moods (especially bad when I don’t eat enough carbs) and helped me stay on track and keep my eyes on the prize. Thank you from the bottom of my heart Ellie. You are the best and you have helped me to discover these people:

The Odyssey community. I could name each and every one of you but there isn’t enough room in this blog to do that. I am blown away by the support this community has given me in the short time I have been here. All of you have me feel like I can take on the world. I feel your love and prayers every day. Thank you.

My daughter Michelle Mariotti who I don’t get to talk to often enough but is always supportive of her Dad’s craziness, including this quest to be the fittest man of his age. She has gotten over her embarrassment to some degree! Thanks Shell.

My Coach, CJ Martin and all his people at Invictus. He took me on a year ago and has never wavered (at least to me) in his belief that we could get to the games. His programming has created huge gains across all my modalities. Thanks CJ and see you in a week Coach.

My Olympic weight lifting Coach, Dutch Lowy at Black Box Strength and Conditioning. Ellie and I have felt so welcomed and at home in his gym even though we are crazy crossfitters! He has been patient and firm, and yes entertaining. Thanks Dutch and kill it at Nationals next week!

Drs. Landon Webster, Nick Speegle, and Clayton Hall at Webster Chiropractic and Rehab. Without these guys I would be a cripple. They have seen me through some very trying chronic use injuries and have been treating me weekly. They are the best and if you are in Dallas you should be on their doorstep! Thanks Docs!

The Dallas CrossFit community has been nothing but supportive and helpful. Loaning me equipment and space and hints and tips all along the way, you have been great friends.

And my Reno roots…Alena Yancey, Jason Swanson, and Adam at Battle Born CrossFit, the crew at CrossFit Initiative, Coach Jim Fitzsimmons at the University of Nevada, Reno who helped start this crazy path and all of the great people there as well. My first Olympic weightlifting coach, Drew Canavero, who in his garage, taught me to truly love and hate the snatch. He is out there killing it with SF Fire of the NPGL, so happy for you buddy!

I am sure I have forgotten so many more names. I apologize. You are not forgotten, your contribution as been vital to this journey.

Starting on Tuesday July 22nd the competition will be on live stream at www.crossfit.games.com . You can see me and all the competitors get after this crazy thing we all do. There will be some amazing performances, mine included.

Thanks to all of you for your support and help over these last few years…knowing you are out there is inspiring.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Training

I often get asked how my training for the games is going. Or am I ready? Or how much do I do on a daily basis? Here is a little synopsis for those of who really want to know…
I train at least 5 out of 7 days, usually 6 of 7 with one of those days dedicated to just Olympic weight training and at least one of those days is a double work out day. We don’t recognize holidays usually so the schedule holds out over anything and everything else.

This means that unless I am near death or something similar the workout gets done. This is probably the biggest difference between where I am now and where I was 18 months ago. Nothing interferes with the regimen. Nothing. I work through and around injuries, I work if I’m tired and I work even when I don’t want to. I don’t quit because I want to I stop when I am finished.

There are parts of the workouts I loathe. There are days when I don’t want to pick up the barbell or strap on my running shoes. It doesn’t matter I do it anyway. Sometimes the workout is short…only 30 or so minutes and sometime it is long…2 hours or so. And that is the working time, not warm up or cool down time.

There is no overriding theme at this point. We still work on skills, strength and conditioning. In other words there will be part of the training that is not timed, it consists of mobility and stability practice, and skill work to understand and improve the movements. Another part will be moving weight in different ways. I am still getting stronger (I set a personal record last week in the front squat). And there will be the conditioning part that is timed and done for speed and efficiency. CrossFit, the sport, requires the athlete to be good in all areas of athleticism…speed, strength, balance, agility, coordination, cardio-respiratory endurance, power, flexibility, accuracy and stamina. You can’t be bad at anything. On the other hand you don’t have to be great at any one thing either. Obviously it will help to be really good at all things!

As we near the games, the training volume will taper a bit to give the body a rest to recover and build a pressure to perform. As an example…my workout on Friday was just 40 minutes but Saturday was just under 2 hours…today I rested, tomorrow I work about an hour and Tuesday will be a double. Yesterday included tons of strength work some of it done quickly to condition the body and mind to work heavy under pressure and then a grinder of 3 different movements including 2 bodyweight gym-nasty sorts of things (100 ring dips and 50 chest to bar pull ups).

Yes there is a method to this madness. My coach watches my results and programs according to what he sees as weaknesses and “holes” in the game. I am fortunate to have someone else do these programming tasks. It would be too easy to gloss over my low points and just work the “fun” stuff.

For now we are 14 days away from go time. More announcements will follow as well as some much needed and public Thank you shout outs.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

Sunday Story…So you want to…

Yesterday I saw a promotion for the CrossFit Games Open. For my regular readers, you know, the open is the first event of the CrossFit Games season and it is inclusive and anyone could win. So, yes, you could compete and beat the one of the fittest people on the planet. In the promo, the guy at the bar claims he is going to beat Khalipa (the #2 guy last year) in one of the workouts. Of course, Khalipa shows up behind him and the guy is a bit embarrassed. It is a very funny promotion.

I get a lot of people who say they want to get in shape, or get ripped, or___________ (fill in the blank). The facts are really simple…you can do anything you want to do if you are willing to pay the price to do it. You cannot solve a problem with the same mindset that caused the problem and you cannot get the results you want doing the same things you have always done.

In the world of fitness, or exercise, or improving your body composition, or losing weight, or improving your job or career (just about anything!) there are a few must dos. Here are 5 of them:

#1 Commit. There is an old story about the difference between a chicken and a pig at breakfast…the chicken (who lays eggs) is involved in breakfast, and the pig (slaughtered for bacon) is committed to breakfast. Be a pig. Be committed to your goal like the pig is to breakfast.

#2 Dial in your diet. It doesn’t matter what you are trying to do…go to school, lose weight, get ripped, beat Khalipa…you better feed your body and your mind good high quality food. This is critical to your success on whatever journey you are on. You can’t put crap in your body and expect a high quality performance any more than putting diesel in your gas car is going to work.

#3 Get some sleep. Sleep is a priority. We live in a society where lack of sleep is so prevalent that it is the norm. You need to figure out your sleep and how to get it done. It is just as important as eating right.

#4 Hire an expert. Seek out someone who knows how to get you where you want to go. Get a coach, a teacher, a mentor. Listen to them, do what they tell you to do and follow their instructions to the letter. Trust the training.

#5 Keep your eyes on the prize. You must have an unwavering gaze on where you want to be. Let nothing get in the way. There will always be something that tries to pull your attention away from what you say you want. This is the universe testing your resolve, testing you to see if what you say you want is really what you want. If you let those things get in your way, allow them to distract you, to pull your focus away from your goal you will never make it.

It doesn’t matter what your goal is, or what arena you have decided you want to play in. Eat right, sleep well, get help, commit and stay on track. Simple, not easy. Hard but worth it.

Now go get some.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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