Getting Out Of The Truck
MidState CrossFit programming is designed around the idea of “General Physical Preparedness”, the term is meant to convey that at any time, life can throws curveballs at us, and due to the nature of our training we can meet those challenges head on and without fear, because we are “generally prepared for anything”.
It means that when we go on vacation or when we have some free time during the weekend, we can rely on ourselves to participate in life without any major worry. Yosemite, let’s go! Pick up all the groceries, one trip, no problem, be the calm when family life get’s hard, CrossFitters are prepared.
Recently, I had a conversation with the beautiful Ruby and Serina Castillo…
A little bit about Ruby. She came to us along with her kind and equally lovely daughter Serina with a classic goal, “Serina is getting married and we got to get wedding level fit.” What they did not realize at the time though was that what they were signing up for was, not exactly, a training methodology focused on aesthetics and physique but rather performance, health, and “general physical preparedness”
Serina, spent her youth and college years being the local outstanding athlete, both in softball and golf. Like so many of us, once she got a taste of the coach-athlete relationship, something we focus on so much here at MSCF CrossFit, she was all in. She has grown significantly in the last year. Her squat from a year ago is barely the same and we are now through “First Wave Adaptation.” Serina’s growth in her body awareness and athleticism has significantly improved. Once an athlete always an athlete.
Over the course of this year, they have both accomplished so much, which brings me back to Ruby. With those goals of “look amazing in a dress at my daughter’s wedding energy” she has been very consistent. Coach Erin, Ruby, and I were all at the kiosk the other day. Erin and Ruby are old friends, and together we were admiring Ruby’s legs (have you seen them! <3), of course all things were totally PG, no need to alert Gabby.
At that moment I felt it was important as a coach to communicate with her that reaching her “aesthetic and physique” goals is amazing but there is a bigger purpose to all of this. I wanted help her (our athlete) to realize these outward signs of better muscle tone is indicative of improved bone and muscle density, she is not in possession a healthier body, she now has more vitality and is more capacity to live life.
Then without prompt Ruby said something back that made my heart happy. Ruby said, “Yes, I am really feeling so much better...I no longer rely on my family to reach or do things for me, I instead do it myself! I can get out of the truck without issue” ...Essentially I am feeling stronger and more mobile, I can do things I no longer thought I was capable of doing!” This my friends is CrossFit, this is General Physical Preparedness (GPP). This is our why!
We want to build in our athletes such a large capacity to do work that any goal or any hardship is manageable.
By embracing a burpee, we know that at any time if we fall down, we can get back up. When we perform stretches like the runner’s pose and pigeon we are building flexibility in our hip capsules. When women begin weight training, they build bone density and resolve. This all means that on any given day we can get ourselves out of the damn truck! Not to mention, how glorious it is to be able to workout and train with your mom or your daughter. Having something in common with your adult child, building bonds around equal parts hard work and laughter, embracing hard work associated with physical fitness as a family. There is something truly magical about that.
So thank you Ruby and Serina, thank you for walking this walk with us. Thank you for embracing “General Physical Preparedness” . You're wonderful and are going to be the fittest, most beautiful bride and mother of the bride.
Update: Serina got married, they both looked incredible. Now, just over 1 year later they are still both kicking ass and Ruby is now the 2024 GOLDEN BEAR, LET’S GO!!!
