Category — CrossFit

It’s about six months post when I was asked to lead my gym’s group of misfits in bettering their fitness to heights that are completely unnecessary in the real world. But for some reason, although there is very little conventional reward in being able to lift heavy sh*t and being fast as f*ck, we do it anyway. My band dubbed me “El Capitan”. And I have to say, I like the name. It reminds me of why I accepted the role. It’s simply the selfish desire to help others be better. Yes, selfish. Because it feels damn good to see others achieve goals and knowing you had a small hand in it. So I take my role as coach/leader/El Capitan and this thing we call elite fitness serious as sh*t! I want these guys (and gals) to be the baddest mofos they possibly can.

Since then, my reach has expanded a bit beyond our little band of super-ninjas. And I’ve been asked to help others in their pursuit of extreme-ability-to-mess-you-up! (That’s a metaphor for lifting heavy barbells fast and furiously.) I welcome the challenge to help anyone who shares the desire to simply get fast, strong and fit for no real reason other than he or she simply has to do it! She is called to do it. Cats that reel in pain because they miss the feel of steel and chalk in their hands. Or miss the sound of the wind blow by their brow as they cut the air with grace and violent speed. I want the cats that love this like I do on my team. The ones that take this sh*t serious too. I’m down to help anyone get better. Cause I know what it feels like and I want everyone to feel it.

If you are of kindred spirit, feel free to contact me about programming or coaching.

I’m getting older. Can’t say it’s all fun and games. Shoot, let’s be real. No part of it is fun. Well, at least not the physical part. Knowing more and more stuff that I didn’t know before is kind of cool. I’ll take that. But the physical changes? Ugh!

I’ll say this though. I won’t age gracefully. I’m going to fight Father Time in a dark alley with a small bat and brass knuckles. He won’t get the best of me. I’ll Rogaine him, fish oil him, floss my teeth every night him. He won’t stand a chance. I’ll even make really random goals like being the strongest old person in America. Whatever, I’m not going out without fight.

[(1 x Abadzhiev + 2 x Simmons)^(DeFranco + Ross + Glassman)/3) + a dedicated athlete] = invitation to @CrossFitGames #CFGames2013 #crossfit

— Benjamin Taylor (@bpchicken) June 2, 2012

I filmed this little video a while back. My daughters and I were on a movie date. My oldest was a little upset with me because we were late. You see, the 2011 CrossFit Games were re-running on ESPN and I made her watch. She was a little less than enthused I was delaying our departure just so we could watch people exercise. Ha! I wasn’t surprised by her reaction but I did want to make sure she saw what some of the women of the Games were capable of doing.

We finally made it to the movies. As expected, due to our tardiness, the line was a bit long. So again, my daughter expressed her displeasure with me. She also expressed the fact that she didn’t understand why I thought the ladies were so great. She said, “They have too many muscles anyway.”

Wait? What??? I told her she had to be kidding. I said, those women are beautiful. And, I told her, they have just the right amount of muscles. I also asked wouldn’t she rather be strong than not? I was actually surprised when she said she wasn’t sure. With that, I’m asking the women of CrossFit and the fitness world to help me convince my daughters that it is ok to be strong. My oldest is in middle school and at a vulnerable age where boys notice her and she cares about how she smells. Ha! But I don’t want that to turn into devaluing or limiting all the things she can be in life to fit a mold that may not be meant for her. Isn’t that the worst thing a young girl can allow herself to do? Diminish her own possibilities?

So again, I’m asking the fit ladies out there to leave a comment for my daughters. Let them know why strong is also beautiful.

I have made half-hearted attempts at going Paleo in the past but now I think I’m really going to give it a go. The hardest thing for me to give up will be the bread, pizza and bagels. (Wait, that’s all bread right?) But I’ve now heard from enough people and listened to their anectdotal evidence to jump in with both feet.

I put together this little example menu inspired by an old diet plan Lee Labrada published years ago. I just fixed up to suit my Paleo and my athletic needs. Sometimes, those two things are in conflict but I try to resolve them as best I can. One thing I definitely took to heart is Cordain’s 85/15 rule where he states in The Paleo Answer,

…if you are 85% compliant with the diet most of the time, significant improvements in your health can occur. The other 15%… are open meals, meaning you can choose to eat a normal amount that fall outside the diet plan.

Trust me. I’m going to take full advantage of that little Paleo loophole. I listed my typical cheats in a section on the diet plan. Let me know what you think of the thing and I welcome any feedback, comments or suggestions.

My "computer" bag.

CrossFit teaches us to be ready for the unknown and unknowable. I guess I’ve taken that to heart somewhat. My computer bag contains everything but the computer. Unless you count the iPad. But it does contain everything I might need in an low-grade emergency. Bandages, athletic tape, books, pens, ground coffee (yes, ground coffee), weapons (non-lethal), overnight garments, toothpaste, ibuprofen and can forget the gymnastics rings and jumprope. You never know when a wod will jump off.

What’s in your bag?