Phase I of the gym remodel is complete and the gym is open. Welcome back everyone!

The gym will be closed this weekend for construction. The gym will be closed on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (5/11 through 5/14). Lots of exciting changes are coming, so be prepared.

Also wish Jeff and Jessi good luck this weekend at the CrossFit Games Central East regional. Make sure to catch it on ESPN 3!

Thank you for your continued patience and general awesomeness. And a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who helped move equipment today. You all are the best.

/George

We are going to meet at CFBR at 6am Saturday and leave for the competition by 6:15am. We'll need to get there early to claim some space in the competition area for spectators and in the waiting area in between events. Bring some food, snacks, pillows, first aid supplies, or whatever else you may need and be ready to cheer your heart out!

Be sure to check the calendar online for schedule changes during the holidays. There won't be any drastic changes, just a few cancellations for Christmas and New years.

Good times and good friends!

This means George and I will have to complete some crazy workout for you all to watch and enjoy our torment, which will take place next Saturday after the 11am class. The social committee has organized this workout and I have no idea what it's going to be, but I'm sure it'll be amusing to say the least...

There was a prize for the 2 people who brought in the most items to donate, which was a private training session with me. Everyone did such an amazing job and so many people went above and beyond with their generosity, I've decided to extend that prize to everyone who donated 40 items or more. That's about 16 people! I can't thank you enough for your generosity in helping out Gleaners Food Bank. Great job everyone!

Our 6' tall food tree!

Announcing new class times! As of Tuesday, December 20th we'll be adding a 9am and 12pm class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We are looking for a babysitter for the 9am class so spread the word!

The canned food drive is in full swing, and you guys have already done one hell of a job! I'm really impressed with the giving spirit of our community. So far Jeff and Mary have donated 60 food items and several others have donated 15 or more! You guys rock! We're on our way to our 1000 item goal, so please donate what you can to help out Gleaners food bank. They have some specific items they need including:

• Beef stew, tuna and other canned meats
• Macaroni & Cheese and other boxed dinners
• Cans of soup
• 100% Juices
• Applesauce
• Canned vegetables
• Peanut butter
• Canned fruits

Get in the giving spirit, and help out those less fortunate. Our goal is 10 items from each member, so please bring in your food items to help out Gleaners food bank and get in the running for our top donator's prize!

"Good morning fellow competitors!  
I hope I'm not speaking out of turn here, but I wanted to piggyback on what Jeff said about our competition mindset and mental attitude.....
 
Like Jeff said, we should be doing this for fun.  Crossfit should be a stress reducer, not a stress inducer.  We all have enough stressors in our life to deal with and this should NOT be one of them.  We should be walking away from the gym everynight with a smile on our face.  There is no reason not to.  Great workouts with even greater people, what more could we ask for?!
 
However I think some of us are nervous about the fact that we are competing against other people and other crossfit gyms.  We're worried how we are going to stack up against the competition.  Who's going to notice that I struggle with certain events, etc.  We've allowed the fact that we are nervous about this to turn to anxiety, which in turn has caused us to stress. 
 
When we committed to competing a couple of months ago, we all signed a contract saying we would come to the gym as much as possible, give everything we have etc.  When I look down the list of what we agreed to, it's nothing this group didn't do before.  WE WERE ALREADY COMPETITORS.  We just didn't have anyone to compete with!  We all bust our ass nearly everyday in the gym.  We break PR's everyday.  Shit, this group of people tends to shatter them.  We've all overcome weaknesses in our abilities.  There's no reason, if we keep it up, we won't overcome the weaknesses we have left.  I know this for a fact.  It took guts to walk into the crossfit gym for the first time.  We all had to walk through that door to the unkown at some point.  Either at Forged Fit or CFBR.  We all watched on while the members of the class before our INDOC collapsed to the floor.  I remember thinking "what am I getting myself into?!"  Now look at us.  We're simply taking the next step into the unknown.  We're a little scared but we should all be confident that it will all be worth it in the end. 
 
As for the actual competition goes.  Here is what I'm guessing is going to happen. There's going to be some studs and studettes.  But I'm guessing there will also be a lot of people in our shoes.  They'll have weaknesses, they'll have strengths.  No different than any of us.  And for those worried about what others are going to think of you, I'm guessing noone will really be paying attention.  And if they are, it's probably because you're kicking their ass.  We do it everyday, we look at the whiteboard and see how everyone else did....................and then we forget what everyone else did.   
 
I'm extremely proud to be competing with all of you.  We push each other to the limit everyday.  I think what we've helped create here is pretty special.  And I think that's an accomplishment we can be proud of today. 
  Have a great day and I'll see everyone Saturday!" - Tom Duffy

 Competitors, put your hands up.