Paleocrossfittingbeast

Religion in Today's Society and Culture

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:05:32 -0400

I strongly believe a woman has the right to choose. In some religions the right to choose is a sin and not even an option. In this day and age there are ways to sneak around that without informing your parents. I come from one of those religions. I am a Muslim American and having premarital sex is a sin, and needless to say, having an abortion is as well. There are many other religions that also have these same beliefs. Where do the people of these religions that find themselves in trouble go?

Many people who come from a more religious background go through more extreme measures to access proper healthcare and reproductive rights. They travel farther to see a gynecologist, if they see one at all and if they find themselves pregnant and needing an abortion they are not going anywhere locally. Proper care may be put off while doing research on where to go. There is a constant worry about someone finding out, telling her parents, or of getting caught.

I know many Muslim women who do not see a gynecologist regularly but are very sexually active. They are putting themselves at great risk for unintended pregnancies if they are not using birth control (oral contraceptives, condoms, etc.) They are especially putting themselves at an increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases. Since sex isn’t something that should be done prior to marriage, measures of protection aren’t discussed in the home.

Out of wedlock pregnancies are a big problem. Given the strictness of the culture and the religion, this can lead to women trying to take measures into their own hands to keep their parents from finding out. I remember skipping school to drive a friend an hour away to have an abortion so her family wouldn’t find out. Women who have to go to that extent may not follow up, as they need to. They just want to get the minimum done to get themselves out of their predicaments. I’ve heard stories of women trying to give themselves an abortion by using a hanger. The health risks of that kind of action are apparent.

The society we live in is constantly changing. What does that mean for religions that originated and are still based from a different time? Islam originated in the 7^th century and the religion hasn’t changed since. Try to imagine what it would be like to live by the rules of the 7^th century. Are we cheating today’s youth by enforcing a religion on them from a time generations of their family did not grow up in? Are we imposing expectations that aren’t realistic with the society and culture we are living in?

Three religions that are pretty comparable are Islam, Judaism and Christianity. All of these religions consider premarital sex a sin. I have a handful of Muslim friends, one of whom I know to be a virgin, is not married. One person still a virgin in a religion where premarital sex is a sin, all others have engaged in premarital sex. I also know many people of other religions who have engaged in premarital sex and it is accepted. They have adapted the behaviors and culture of today’s society. In the religion of Islam, which has not adapted to any changes since the 7^th century, the issues of what to do and how to do it surely become an issue. Especially in a society of love, lust, experimenting and peer pressure there are many girls finding themselves in “trouble” because they have steered away from God and their religion.

Dripping in Awesome

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:45:58 -0400

I sit down to write this blog and I can’t find the words. It’s not that I can’t find them due to writer’s block, I can’t find them because I am left speechless. The heart, determination, success and failures, especially the failures of my athletes have left me speechless. Words can’t even begin to describe how proud I am of each and every single person who competed in the Open and then closed out the Open with Lift 4 Lungs.

You never know how strong you are or what you are fully capable of unless you allow yourself to fail. You don’t have to enjoy that moment of failure, but you do need to grow from it. Open WOD 13.4 was a big one for a quite a few of our girls. Some of you PRd that day and got that weight up over your heads, some PRd and cleaned 95 pounds for the first time, and did it over and over. Those are amazing moments and I was brought to tears. But the best moments are the ones who couldn’t get the weight up (WRONG! She got it up, she just couldn’t get under it!) For 7 minutes I watched my athletes try, try, and try again NEVER giving up on themselves. So you couldn’t clean 95 pounds but you walked away with a valuable lesson. You learned the tools you need to get under the weight (because getting it up isn’t a problem for the girls at Crossfit ACT)

The list goes on and on of all the things we can’t do, toes to bar, chest to bar pull ups, 95 pound power clean, etc. The list of cants is just as important if not more important than the list of cans. If you focus on all the things you can’t do, put all your energy into being better at your weaknesses the list of cans becomes longer as the list of cants becomes shorter. (I know you’re all just going to keep adding to the list of cants and that’s cool as long as you’re willing to work at them)

As if the Open wasn’t enough torture you all made Lift 4 Lungs amazing. For most of you this was the first time you’ve done 3 WODs in one day (fun right?) You came, you competed, you left it all on the mats. You all made me proud, made me proud to be your coach and made me even more proud to be a part of this amazing community. The ACT community that you have all built up. Now it’s on to the next one. Good luck to everyone competing in the Mayhem at the Meadowlands. Coach Shaz will be there to cheer you all on and without a doubt I know you’ll all make me proud!

4 egg scramble with tomatoes, onions, and avocados. Bacon is...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 12:31:55 -0400

4 egg scramble with tomatoes, onions, and avocados. Bacon is already gone

Crossfit Games Open

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:17:33 -0500

This one is for all the awesome people I have had great opportunity to coach this year. It’s that time of year to register for the Open and it sparks fear in people. I start hearing “but I cant do snatches” and “I don’t have pull ups” etc. I know there are things you can’t do but what about all the things you can? Here’s what I tell people: You will be surprised at what you’re actually capable of doing when scaling back is not an option. Many of us do our WODs at weights, bands, and heights we are comfortable with. We never push our limits because we have the option not to.

During the Open we have two options: push our limits and do the WOD as prescribed even if you don’t think you can or let fear take over and not do the WOD at all. I promise that most of you if not all of you by the end of the Open will get through something you didn’t realize you could do. It’s amazing what you can get accomplished when you have no other option, just like it is amazing how strong you really are when being strong is your only option. No offense to any of our members, I think you’re all great athletes with great potential but none of us are making it to the Games but we can continue to grow as athletes. This is a great tool to measure your own progress, measure your own strength and measure your own growth. Take advantage of it. Sign up for the Open and don’t forget to select ACT as your affiliate! It’s time to leave our sweat, blood and tears on the mats beside each other (oh wait, we already do that)

Is Anything Really Impossible?

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:38:54 -0500

In the present moment an idea could be planted in your head and the first thought that pops into your head is “That will never happen.” Time passes and before you know it, whatever you thought was never going to happen is happening. You are doing what you once thought was impossible. Is anything really impossible? Next time you find yourself saying something is impossible, ask yourself if it really is or are you just not willing to put in the work to make it happen. Our greatest and proudest achievements in life tend to take the hardest work. Always remember that when you expect things to just come to you.

Because I'm crazy enough to think I can

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 22:32:42 -0500

Because I'm crazy enough to think I can:

The power of belief is an amazing thing. If you think you can’t do something then more than likely you can’t. If you think you can, it triggers something in your brain to make it happen. Make the impossible possible.

The point of this post is this: Can’t is a big part of people’s vocabulary. People say to remove can’t from your vocabulary. I just choose to use can’t in a different way. I started telling myself this: There’s no reason why I cant do this. This is what I said to myself just before getting my first muscle up and a strict one at that. (I was one arm lock out away from finishing but I got past the hardest part, the transition. Video is attached.) I also said this to myself tonight just before taking my 1 rep max squat snatch and hit it for 45 reps power snatch in a WOD. I told myself that I was crazy enough to get it done and I did.

I’ve been telling people recently to get comfortable in the uncomfortable. Comfort doesn’t get you stronger, comfort doesn’t make you better, comfort gets you by and getting by is not how I want to live. It’s not supposed to be easy, if it was easy everybody would be doing it. Step out of your comfort zone for yourself. Your self is all that matters at the end of the day.

Side note: Love, love, love my friends for cheering me on while doing this.

Speal lives to compete another day! Such an amazing athlete to...

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:13:07 -0500

Speal lives to compete another day! Such an amazing athlete to watch and I hope I can watch him for the third year in a row at the Games!

ARD

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:09:58 -0500

With all the new beasts who have joined our box most recently I figured now would be a good time to post about active rest days (ARD’s) Most drink the crossfit kool-aid, they love it so much they come in everyday. I think that’s awesome, I did it myself when I first started almost 3 years ago now. Here’s the thing, REST DAYS ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS WORKING OUT! You need to rest, give your body time to recover and build muscle thanks to all that hard work you do.

I know there are stubborn people who will not take rest days and like to push themselves until their body physically will not allow them to WOD. I know there are people who have proudly lost so much weight and they think if they take a day off from wodding they are being “lazy”. Wodding while fatigued is a very easy way to get hurt. If you really insist on not taking a rest day there’s what we call an active rest day. An active rest day is where you would come in and do half of whatever the wod is, whether that means 3 rounds instead of 6, or a 10 min amrap instead of 20, or lightening up the load as opposed to going heavy. As I said before, if you’re wodding when you’re body is telling you to rest it’s an easy way to injure yourself. Take the rest day, if not, take an active rest day. There’s no shame in going easy, you’re still working out harder than most anyway, you’re working out more than most, period.

This is what happens when you attempt muscle ups with a false...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:28:49 -0500

This is what happens when you attempt muscle ups with a false grip in a wod. It’s cool, I didn’t need that layer of skin anyway

A Good Coach

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:36:11 -0500

A good coach doesn’t need to brag about the things they do for their clients. Good coaching shines through when the client moves well. Good coaching shows when the client brags about their PR’s or their increased comfort with a movement. Trust me, when you coach someone to be better they’re going to acknowledge it. If they don’t it’s not a big deal because at the end of the day they put in the hard work and you gave them a few simple cues. They got that weight off the ground, not you. If credit, acknowledgment and praise is what you’re looking for, then you probably aren’t coaching for the right reasons. Your coaching isn’t coming from the heart. A good coach knows they’re a good coach when the client is moving better by the end of class than they were in the beginning. A good coach coaches from the heart every time.

World of Technology

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:53:10 -0500

I’m sure it isn’t news to anyone that we live in a world of technology. It’s all about the constant text messages, e-mails, and phone calls coming in, updating your facebook status while sitting in the good company of others and then stopping to check your facebook every five minutes after because of all the notifications you are now getting. Let’s not forget all the games that are now available to play with your friends. I’ve sat at a party where the people sitting at the table were playing a game on their phone with each other. WITH EACH OTHER! Trash talking across the table! I can’t be the only one who sees this as a problem.

Thankfully I am not the only one who sees this as an issue. The last two times I went out with friends we all piled our phones up in the middle of the table and actually lived in the moment. I can’t lie I am guilty of checking my phone while out with friends and having my phone taken away for 2 hours wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I am happy we did it and it’s something I am going to continue to do moving forward. Live in the moment, your phone connects you to friends, unless there’s an emergency there really is no reason to connect with friends through your phone when you have a friend sitting across the table from you.

Family, they’re supposed to love you no matter what, support you even if you are making a...

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 13:47:29 -0500

Family, they’re supposed to love you no matter what, support you even if you are making a mistake. Isn’t that how we all learn and grow anyway? As much as I love my family I don’t exactly feel like I get just that. I try really hard to communicate with them and it always turns into an argument. I try to be honest with them about who I am and it was as if they didn’t have an older daughter.

I know it was hard trying to digest what I was telling them. After all, I had been lying to them for 10 years. I say again, I love my family but I don’t feel they accept that I did not turn out how they raised me to be. Some time has passed and the anger has subsided but now instead of acceptance comes my mother trying to force these things on me that she’s wanted me to be all along.

It frustrates me. I’m trying really hard to be honest here. I’m trying really hard to be true to myself. We don’t grow from the easy things in life. We grow from the obstacles we have to climb over or find our way through. I’m growing and growing takes time and if we’re lucky, the growing never has to stop.

http://saintclairstudio.smugmug.com/Crossfit/Events/CrossFit-Red-Zone-Sandy-Hook/27459468_bxZndM/2309927270_KNzF5vq#!i=2309937255&k=dkj624g

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:02:03 -0500

http://saintclairstudio.smugmug.com/Crossfit/Events/CrossFit-Red-Zone-Sandy-Hook/27459468_bxZndM/2309927270_KNzF5vq#!i=2309937255&k=dkj624g:

A picture of me doing kettlebell swings at the fundraiser for the shooting in Newton, Ct.

Fear

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:49:53 -0500

Fear, its that bastard of an emotion that we let hold us back. It’s what we use to justify why we can’t or won’t do something. Frankly, I think its just an excuse. There’s no better time than in the moment to kick fear in the balls and say “I’m going to do this today, or I’ll at least go down trying.”

Sometimes you have to go workout with strangers for a good cause. And sometimes you have to workout...

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 17:25:18 -0500

Sometimes you have to go workout with strangers for a good cause. And sometimes you have to workout with 800 strangers for a good cause. My CrossFit family, let me correct myself, my family and I were at CrossFit Redzone in Connecticut today to WOD in the name of all those people who died in the school shooting a few short weeks ago. There was so many people there and it was such an honor to represent our amazing box. To my family, love you guys, keep up the awesome work and keep training for the future good cause events.

Nasty WODs

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:18:17 -0500

Do you ever get to the box early and watch a WOD go down and think to yourself “Why the hell did I just do that to myself?” You’re suddenly so aware of how disgusting the WOD is going to be. Even though its been posted on the blackboard all week you don’t quite realize it until A. You’re watching it or B. You’re doing it.

Today I decided I was going to workout for the next class because I didn’t get there early enough to do my personal stretching and warming up. Big mistake on my part because I wanted to throw up watching the WOD go down. The feeling got no better when it came time to do the WOD for myself.

It was ugly, it was brutal, I wanted to throw up but I didn’t want to stop. Does that make me a masochist? Maybe, does it make me stronger? Hell yea to that! You need to push past the mental breaking points, your body is so much stronger and can handle so much more than the mind can. Keep pushing the limits athletes!

Learn to Love the Bar

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:58:12 -0500

Have you ever had such a steamy passionate love that all you want to do is keep it close? Well, it’s time to have that same steamy passionate love with your barbell. What exactly does that mean you ask? Keep your barbell close. Learn to love your barbell.

The closer you learn to keep that barbell the heavier you will be able to lift. You need to learn to trust yourself, if you don’t think you can do it then you probably won’t be able to do it. Don’t think about how heavy the weight is and most certainly don’t doubt your ability to get under the bar.

Learn to love your bar, keep it close and get under it (You’ll have your chance to be on top). The farther you let that bar get away from you, the harder and heavier the lift becomes, the higher the chances are for a failed lift. Let’s get to lifting and let’s set some new PR’s.

My box, my inspiration: A few words to my team

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:08:49 -0400

I want to start by saying how proud I am of everyone who competed, volunteered and helped make the first event of the Nasty Northeast Throwdown what it is. It was a great day and it wouldn’t be so without everyone involved. Know that I am constantly inspired and its because of my Crossfit ACT family.

Big, big shout out to the five teams that stuck it out and had bucket yokes for breakfast with an order of sand on the side and lots of it. For many of you, this year was your first time competing in the Nasty and I was so happy at all the new faces and the excitement you all had going into it. We WOD side by side in the gym on a regular basis, we cheer each other on during the WOD and we all make sure we get the last person through their workout even when we’re long done with ours. I was so happy to see that same behavior during a competition. Some friendly competitive smack talking before hand but when it came down to it we had each other’s back.

Big shout out to the members who weren’t competing in yesterday’s festivities but were standing on the sidelines cheering everybody on. I don’t know about the rest of you but I know that was a big help for me. I especially loved watching these guys jogging towards the finish line helping the team through the last part of what already was an hour plus long workout.

Remember it doesn’t matter if you finish last. This is something none of us have ever done before even if you did the Nasty last year. The important thing is that you did it, you finished, you pushed your body to limits I’m sure you didn’t know existed and you survived. Sore and barely able to move but you survived! I promise you all, the most important thing you could possibly get from this event and all other events is not where you finish but the camaraderie that will only come about when you’re side by side with someone both face full of sand. The bonds that you will form are irreplaceable.

Even though there are 6 different Crossfit ACT teams competing in the Nasty you are all a part of my team. I am so proud of all you guys! Keep training hard and lets represent just as hard! Each and every one of you inspire me in a different way. I hope to be an inspiration to all of you and I hope you guys are inspired by each other. Keep rockin’ the way you do guys and let’s get stronger for the next event in 2 weeks!!

Big Week Ahead

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:57:58 -0400

It’s been one amazing summer, lots of traveling, lots of firsts, lots of growing, and best of all lots of fun! Summer fun is coming to an end and I’m back to school this week. I’m looking forward to it, one semester closer to my degree. This week I also start my first official week coaching with my own classes. Business class here I come! I’m looking forward to coaching and starting school and our beach WOD this Sunday! It’s time to get NASTY!!!

It’s a month full of competitions so let the preparation...

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 13:26:10 -0400

It’s a month full of competitions so let the preparation begin! My bigger competition will be the weekend of the 15th with 4 quite possibly 5 workouts to be tackled over the course of two days. Looking forward to this weekend, our box is hosting the throwdown and we have a coaches team. Super excited to finally represent for our members! I’ve been eating plenty and today starts eating clean. School starts Wednesday so it’s time to get on track. Super excited for the upcoming months. It’s time to get it done!