Olive Branch CrossFit

I have had the privilege this week to Coach morning classes at CrossFit Memphis.  Yesterday I coached the 5 and 6 am classes, and today I got to coach 5,6, and a 7 am “Fundamentals” class for people that were new to CrossFit.  This morning as I stood and watched a class of about 10 athletes working on their Clean and Jerk 1 Rep Max I realized one of the really cool things that I love about CrossFit gyms.  The  members and their stories.  Many times you do not even know it, but the guy or gal training right next to you probably has an amazing story to tell you about their fitness, their goals, what they have accomplished and what they’d like to accomplish.

The really cool thing about most of these people though is that besides their dedication and determination to get to the gym for an hour a day and eat right, there is not really anything about them that sets them apart from any other person.  They are College Students, Moms, Dads, Bankers, IT guys, lawyers, doctors, etc.  Regular people that do incredible things and work really hard to accomplish their goals.  There may be a Mom that takes care of the kids all day and when Dad gets home she heads to the gym to spend an hour working to PR her Squat and destroy a WoD.  There might be a Lawyer that gets up early to slam some bars around and clear his mind before he goes and spends all day in Court.  Maybe there is a Paramedic driving around, answering calls all night and saving people’s lives that looks forward to ending her shift so that she can get to the gym and do the workout she saw posted on the website.  Athletes come from all walks of life in every color and shape.  They all have one thing in common though.  For that one hour every day they are teammates.  They are working together, encouraging each other, competing with each other, and holding each other accountable.  The 40 year old IT guy that might not otherwise ever talk to the College student strikes up a friendship and friendly competition with that College student.  Walk in nearly every CrossFit gym in the world and you can find these people.  Lots of them.  Seriously, just walk in and ask the first person you see about how they got there.  They’d be happy to tell you how they found CrossFit.

This is what I’m excited for the most about getting our gym open.  What stories will we hear?  What accomplishments will we be privileged to be a part of?  We’ll watch lives change, people lose weight, athletes get better, watch people run marathons, and complete their first triathlons.  The stories are out there just waiting to be written, and we can’t be any more anxious to start reading them.  We are looking forward to your one hour everyday in our gym!

-V