CrossFit

The best advice I could give my younger self is to stop trying to impress people and just focus on the path that I have chosen.
 
Transcript: "I think I've always been very envious of people who are just kind of unabashedly themselves and they're able to sort of let things roll off of them really easily. So I would say maybe as young people are always trying to figure out where they fit and I think that the best advice I'd give my younger self is to stop trying to impress people and just do whatever you're going to do and try to keep your head down and focus on the tasks that you're doing and the path that you've chosen and not worry about the rest of the noise because people will come around. But yeah, maybe just not trying to impress people."

Three of the most significant decisions I have made in my life so far were to get married, have a baby, and pursue sport while I was in school. I remember sneaking off to do qualifiers and competing in other states during breaks to increase my skills. These decisions have had a huge impact on my life and I am grateful for them.
 
Transcript: "I'd say the three most significant decisions I've made in my life so far would be to get married to my wife, to have a baby. Those ones are really obvious, but probably to just kind of pursue sport while I was in school and spend all my free time kind of doing that. That's something that led to, you know, a whole other career and a whole other world and a whole other life that I never really imagined or envisioned. So I remember kind of sneaking off and doing qualifiers and things like that in my free time before going out with friends and things like that in university. And yeah, in hindsight, those were the best decisions I ever made. I would be on holidays with friends and I'd have to run and find a local gym and do a qualifier workout or something like that and go away for a weekend over a March break and go compete in another state or something like that to just get on the competition floor more often. And I think that boosted me a lot and allowed me to grow quickly in the sport. But yeah, it was sort of something that I barely knew what I was doing and nobody else really knew what I was doing, but I didn't let that deter me and I just kind of kept doing it because I liked it and now here I am. So that was definitely a very big game changer in my life."

To make any big decision, it is important to talk about it with as many people as possible, and then trust that you have made the correct choice once a decision has been made.
 
Transcript: "I think my wife is actually better at this than me, but I think what we try to do for the most part is talk about it lots. Any big decisions we have to make, talk about it, talk with lots of people about it. I tend to kind of make decisions as I discuss things with people. You know, I can start to kind of talk my way in any direction and you just sort of reveal your own thoughts through discussion. And then, you know, once you kind of come to a decision, close the door and don't look back. And that's where my wife's definitely better than me. I think when she makes a decision, she leans right in and that's it. That's all she wrote. And I still, I sometimes grapple with what could have been. So I think having lots of discussions and not being afraid to talk about any of the pros and cons of whatever decision is super important. Talk about it with lots of different people, get lots of different viewpoints. And then, you know, once you make the decision, you've checked under every surface. So you know all that you're going to know. So you have to have faith that you're going to make the right decision for yourself."

I train 5 days a week with double sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Thursday, I swim for active recovery. On Friday, I run and bike for my second session. My first session is usually a 3 hour gym session.
 
Transcript: "Yeah, right now I'm training basically five full days a week with one active recovery and one day off. My day off, I work a full day in the clinic. So let's say so Monday I work all day, Tuesday, Wednesday are double sessions. Wednesday also work. Thursday, I just swim for active recovery. Friday, Saturday, Sunday are all double sessions. So I swim Thursdays, I also swim Sundays. I run Tuesdays. I also run Fridays, Saturdays, Tuesdays and Saturdays. And then I usually bike Wednesdays and Fridays for my second sessions. So usually it's one big gym session that's about three hours. And then my second session is usually something just aerobic, whether it's run, bike or swim. So that's kind of what it is. Five days of double sessions, one easy sesh, one work day. And that's it. So no real days off. I'm doing something every day."

CrossFit can be dangerous due to a combination of factors such as adults having an ego and not being exposed to new skills, minimal training for coaches, and the risk of injury inherent in any sport. However, this can be avoided with a good coach and atmosphere.
 
Transcript: "I think it's because of a combination of factors. I think it's a place where anybody can come in and train and they're exposed to a lot of new skills. I think as we get older, people expose themselves less to new skills and our learning is maybe not as good as it is when we're kids and our bodies aren't quite as resilient. That combined with adults who are going to work out having a little bit of an ego around what they can and can't do and also the fact that it's not that challenging to get certified as a coach. There are varying degrees of levels of coach that might be there observing. In a large class, you could have someone who has minimal skill, high ego, exposed to a new skill they have no business maybe doing at the level they're trying yet and a coach who's got a whole bunch of people to watch for who's maybe fairly new. That combination can lead to some form of risk of injury but any sport has risk of injury. You go play beer league, anything, and there's lots of that stuff that happens. I don't think it's inherently dangerous but I think that poor decision making can lead to injury in any context. We do see some of it for sure from time to time but a really good coach and a good atmosphere can help people avoid that."

I usually take a few days off from the gym every couple of weeks to rest an injury or strain. I modify my training when necessary and slowly build it back up.
 
Transcript: "I'd say for regularly, you know, taking you out of the gym for a period of whatever, a couple days a week, a little more. It's often overused stuff, like you just have a, you strain a muscle a little bit or you get a little bit of tendonitis somewhere. And you know, you have to work around it for a period. So we tend to not completely turn off, but I'll change my training a little bit, talk lots with my coach and we'll modify things so that I can recover those things that I need, especially if there's competitions coming up. You know, we deal with a lot of overused stuff, tendonitis of the knees, elbows, and then the odd time if you're lifting heavy or you're doing lots of work, you just, you can strain a muscle and that happens occasionally. So when it happens, you just try to deal with it. You're smart. You dial back the training, you work around it a little bit and then you build it back in slowly and then it doesn't take too long."