Sunday Story…Change Your Story

Over the last couple of weeks, we've talked about making small changes to get big results. We've talked about changing our direction one or two degrees and finding an entirely new destination at the end of our journey.

But often, we find ourselves stymied by the stories that we are telling ourselves about our history, about what's happened in the past, the things you could do, things you couldn't do, why you couldn't do it, whose fault it was, and all of those stories that we tell ourselves around what has happened to us.

If we want to change our history, we must change the stories we tell about it. So, if you tell yourself, "I have never been athletic," "I have never been able to get in shape," and then you tell yourself, "I'll never be athletic," "I will never be able to get in shape." Failure isn't fatal, and success isn't permanent. All those things - failures, successes - are all part of the learning process.

We want to shift the stories we tell ourselves: "I’ve never been athletic YET," "I haven't found what works for me in the fitness area." You're going to keep trying until you find something that does work for you, for your life, for your fitness. That's your journey to extraordinary; it's not some destination; it's the learning process; it's the story you tell yourself.

So, let's keep on learning and keep on journeying to the 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

775-338-2412

 

Sunday Story…One Degree

Last week, I wrote about how a small daily action can lead to big accomplishments over time. Here’s another idea.

If you shift your focus, change your steering wheel, or increase your intensity just 1 degree, or 1 adjustment in any direction, your destination will change over time. Think about it. What would Columbus have discovered if he had shifted his course of direction just 1 degree over? Maybe he would have landed in Florida or Venezuela.

At 211 degrees, water is hot; at 212, it boils, and when it does, it produces steam, which produces energy (think steam locomotives). Here is a little movie that shows you how small changes make big differences:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7XqZxsIyks

Where in your life can you make a small change and reap different rewards?

Maybe it’s as simple as saying something kind to someone. You thought the words but didn’t verbalize them. Nothing shifts; nothing changes. But what if those words landed and changed someone’s life? Maybe that person really needed to hear that today, and your words will change the trajectory of their life

We don’t always know when our actions will have an effect far beyond what we planned for or expected. Making a one-degree shift in your outlook could change the world, or at least how you see the world.

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…Small Tasks

We all know that consistency is the key to long-term growth and success. But it is very easy to lose sight of the significant accomplishments that take place from doing small tasks every day.

I recently got a recap from my Whoop strap of my activity over the last year. I am not going to bore you with all the details of my activity over the previous year. Suffice it to say, I found the recap very revealing in the overall progress made. Remember, this was my “knee” year, when I had my knee replaced around Thanksgiving.

Here is my point about consistency and how a small effort can turn into big results. Last year, according to Whoop, I walked about 4.2 million steps. 4,193,741 steps to be exact. Whaat!!! My first reaction was, “There’s no way! 4 million??” That is the equivalent of climbing Mt Everest 46 times! But when you break that down to a daily achievement, it is 11,490 steps every day of the year. Granted, I am probably moving a lot more than most people, but that still seems like a lot. Not 11,000 a day, but 4 million a year.

What did you do last year that surprised you at the end of the year? Did you get to the box over 200 times last year (that’s only 4 per week!) Did you tell your loved ones you loved them over 300 times last year (less than 1x day)? What else?

If you want to end next year with some impressive accomplishments, start small, start now, and do it every darn day! You'll be surprised at what you can accomplish by doing small tasks every day!

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…Goals and Dreams

It's that time of year again. The end of the year, when we start thinking about the things that we accomplished and the things we wanted to accomplish but maybe didn't quite get to.

As we look forward to the coming New Year, what are your fitness goals? Are there any skills you'd like to improve? Skills that you meant to get better at this last year but didn't quite get to?

Maybe some things that you're sure are going to show up here in a month or two for the CrossFit Open, but you're not quite ready. You haven't done the work that you needed to do to be as good as you know you can be. Well, it's time to figure out how to get to them. You can schedule a goal review with Alex. You could talk to Ellie. You could talk to me. We can schedule a private session or two, or if you have some friends that have the same issues, they need to work on the same skills, we could set up a special class on a Saturday afternoon or maybe a Sunday morning and get those skills honed in and ready to show off for the Open.

Maybe it's something even simpler than that. Perhaps it's just "I want to be able to (fill in the blank here). I want to be able to back squat an extra 20 pounds by this time next year. I want to be able to do five strict pull-ups. If that's the case, then we need a plan. You need a plan to make that happen.

If you don't have a plan and a date, all you have is a dream. So let’s set the goals, make a plan, and make it happen.

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…Be Kind!

We're coming up at the end of the year here, which really means we're coming up on the 1st of the year. As you know, there'll be so many of your friends, neighbors, and relatives who are going to make resolutions. They're going to go to the gym. This is the year that they're really going to get in shape. And then, in the middle of February or the 1st of March, that resolution will be tossed into the garbage bin. We need to help those people. We need to give them a path to fitness so they can enjoy the same benefits you all do from the work you're doing.

So, look through your friends and relatives and see if there isn't somebody who needs your help. I'm offering a new class. It'll be mid-morning Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 am. That limits the population. We could be talking about people who have more flexibility in their schedules than those in a regular 9-5 job. But the point is that we're going to get stronger in this class and improve our cardiovascular fitness. We'll be doing that using Zone 2 training, VO2 max training, and sprint training. We'll include all those things throughout the cohort. If we care about these people, we need to show them the path. It's just like you can't make the horse drink water, but you can show him where the water is. Your job is to show him where the water is. Tell him what's going on here, who we are, and what we can do for them, and get them on their own journey to extraordinary.

It's an act of kindness.

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…Indulgences

It's that time of year again, you know? Sweets are everywhere, drinks are flowing, and the resistance begins to break down. You know you can have one drink, but more than one becomes a problem. You know you can have one or even two bites of a sweet, but more than that becomes a problem.

This is where we all struggle: finding the willpower and the desire to continue on our journey, to maintain the consistency of our diet and exercise. It would be a shame if we let one or two weeks ruin all our progress in a year. That's the prize to keep your eyes on. All of the progress that you've made, all of the good things that you've done, you don't want to erase in one meal or one week.

Can you indulge yourself? Of course. Can you overindulge yourself? You can, but you probably shouldn't.

So, look at the table groaning with all those delectable morsels, pick one or two, and have a bite or two of each, enjoying the hell out of every bite. Chew it thoroughly, close your eyes, and enjoy the taste, the feel, and the aroma of the food in your mouth and on your tongue. And then have another bite, and as you do, realize that maybe that second bite wasn't quite as satisfying, quite as good as that first bite, and you know every bite after that won't be as good. After that, it just becomes something to do that you're supposed to do. I'm supposed to eat the whole piece. I'm supposed to finish my plate. You don't have to. There's no “supposed to” here. Enjoy your indulgences, but don't overdo it in a way that sabotages all your progress.

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…Your Fitness

Well, it's that time of year again - the end of the year. We look back and decide whether what we did was what we wanted to do and whether it met the goals we thought we could achieve. I only have one question for you: Are you fitter than you were at the beginning of the year? This is the question we must answer for ourselves every year. How do I measure fitness?" It's pretty simple. You can look at all kinds of different metrics:

• You could look at your 400-meter run time
• You could look at your Fran time
• You can look at how much your back squat is

The fact is, you are more or less fit than you were at the beginning of the year. The hidden part of that question is, "What are you going to do about it this year?" We can’t rest on our laurels, but let's also be kind to ourselves. If you think you're less fit, or maybe you believe you are just as fit but you're a year older, that means you're more fit. You see, every year you're fighting against the ravages of age. The longer you live, the more difficult it is to maintain fitness. Thus, if I maintain the same level of fitness year after year, I am more fit because I'm fighting against my body's tendency to lose fitness.

If you are fitter, pat yourself on the back and get back to work. If you are less fit, get back to work. Either way, GET BACK TO WORK!

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