In teams of two: 
5 rounds:
Partner 1 – max rep bodyweight front squat immediately followed by max rep 3/4 bodyweight push press
Partner 2 – Complete the same immediately following Partner 1.
Rest 1 min from time Partner 2 finishes

We Coach Athletes.

At Roots, we don’t train clients, we coach athletes.  It’s a small but important distinction for me both personally and professionally.  2012 has solidified this distinction for me as I have watched our athletes and coaches grow.

In the world of fitness, gimmicks, tricks, and easy outs abound.  The perception of a personal trainer or the big box gym elicit thoughts of a purely physical goal.  How will I look, will I be a sculpted figure, will I tone the back of my triceps?

We care about how you look naked, yes, but our belief and experience is that a “hot damn!” reflection in the mirror is the default result of a program where the coach is dedicated to an athlete who views accomplishments as their primary goal.  The result of a program focused around health and longevity rather than quick plateaued results.

I am proud of the coaches at Roots because they get this.  They care, almost with an innate ability, about how those accomplishments help athletes at home, on the trail, and with their family, and how it brings together performance, longevity in the sport, happiness, and the response to the challenges that life presents.  They get when to tell athletes to press the gas pedal and when to hold back, dig in, and develop.

And the coaches want to do this with athletes – not clients.

Taking from CrossFit’s What is Fitness article, “According to Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, an athlete is “a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring strength, agility, or stamina.  The CrossFit definition of an athlete is a bit tighter. The CrossFit definition of an athlete is “a person who is trained or skilled in strength, power, balance and agility, flexibility, and endurance”. The CrossFit model holds “fitness”, “health”, and “athleticism” as strongly overlapping constructs. For most purposes they can be seen as equivalents.””

Back in 2007 when Eric and I read through the CrossFit Journal – this resonated with me.  Isn’t that what we all want?  To get back to the coach/athlete or teacher/student relationship that we were afforded as children, that formed us into the adults we are today, and that helped us thrive?

We, the coaches, are a privileged bunch.  We are privileged in that you, our athletes, allow us to do what we love, to coach athletes who want to be better – for their loved ones, their families, their careers, and for themselves.

Thank you to the Roots athletes and coaches for a year of hard work and incredible accomplishments.