Tim Dymmel

Don't Quit - by: Edgar A. Guest

2010-11-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
when the funds are low and the debts are high,
and you want to smile but you have to sigh,
when care is pressing you down a bit - rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow - you may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man;

Often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup;
and he learned too late when the night came down,
how close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out - the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
and when you never can tell how close you are,
it may be near when it seems afar;
so stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - it's when things seem worst, you must not quit.

Motivation

2010-09-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

I love waking up to this video.

Leave No Doubt

2010-09-12T20:56:00.000-07:00

I have a tendency towards extremism when it comes to certain things. Ideas that there is a gray area in everything get me fired up and fighting mad. It’s black and white! Can’t you see that?!

Leave No Doubt on your range of motion. I’ve stopped watching the countless videos of people doing less than full range of motion in workouts. I post video of people in our classes doing strength work or met-cons without full range of motion. Sure I do. They are working on it. That’s the point. But I’m not putting it out there as a legitimate claim to any kind of “Hey, look how fast I went!” Because it’s not LEGIT! I know that and they know that. My integrity and belief in full range of motion or “the spirit of the lift” demand that I take the time to do it right. Even if it’s slower. The point is to get functional. If someone questions my hip crease on a squat or lockout on an overhead, I am hurt, insulted, worried what others might think about me and my gym’s practices. And so, I must suffer. Because we are surrounded by Clock Whores. I can’t change it. I can’t make a Games Champ re-dip on a power clean because the WOD calls for power clean. He’s going to muscle clean it. Is that faster? Yep. Is it beneficial? Nope. A clean needs a re-flex of the hip. That’s one of the core facets of it being athletic. Hip extension on a muscle clean, check. Hip flexion? negative. So how does that prepare for life or sport when I need to have strong hip flexors? It doesn’t. And that makes me sad. We may never have a Games Champion from our gym, and that’s OK with me. Because all our people will Leave No Doubt as to their integrity in respect to the range of motion and spirit of the movements.

Do people know who you are? When they make a judgement about you, are they right? Is it obvious what you are passionate about? I say “Leave No Doubt”. Live your life like you want people to see you. Want your wife to think you love her? Show her. Not how you THINK she’ll know. Show her in the language she speaks. Am I good at that? Sometimes. Most times, no. So I’m working on it. But you know what? Getting up at 4:15 Monday through Friday and going to bed after 11 most nights because I am working so she doesn’t have to ever go back to an office and can stay home with our 3 awesome kids shows her in a language she understands that I love her and our family. Will it always be like this? I hope not. But I’ll do it as long as it takes. And do other people notice this work? Do others see that despite being a 600 square foot gym, we try to be professional in everything we do? You bet. Do they see new equipment every month? Do they feel important when we limit class size to make sure they get attention? Do they feel like a priority when we put every extra cent into getting a new facility so they can climb ropes and experience new things? You better believe it. Does it make a difference when every other team in a league ISN’T wearing the SAME shirt? When our team has a Team Physio? When we subsidize the cost of competing so they can experience something new? Gosh, I hope so. But I think they see it. I spend every minute of every day thinking of how I can prove to people that they are important. I will leave no doubt in the minds of others that they are important to me.

Do people see a difference in my belief structure? Do they see Jesus? I hope so. I want to welcome everyone, just like He did/does. I want to love on people so they know they don’t have to settle for going through the pain of life alone or unguided. Am I in your face about it? Maybe, but mostly not. But my goal is to Leave No Doubt when you wonder about my beliefs. And I will change my approach in a heartbeat if I’m called out and I’m in the wrong. Does that hurt? Is it hard? Absolutely. But it’s always worth it to Leave No Doubt.

John Wooden won 10 National Championships at UCLA. In all his years of coaching, he RARELY spoke about winning or about beating your opponent or opposite number. All he wanted was your best. If you gave your best and left no doubt as to whether you did or not, that’s enough. Dave Ramsey says, “All you can do, is all you can do. And all you can do is enough. It has to be.” Otherwise, you’ll go crazy. My brother would get so fired up when people talk about giving 110%. He’d say, if you have 10% extra to give, you’re only giving 90%! But if you give 100%, that’s it. You have to have some point where you’re understandably satisfied with your effort. When that happens, more times than not, you win. It’s kind of like training for functionality vs. form. Being functional helps you look good. Looking good doesn’t make you functional. Another great thing about Wooden is that he never studied his opponents. He focused on what his team was going to do. Let the opposition worry about you, but not vice versa. So Leave No Doubt as to whether or not you gave your best. It’s all I ask for. I don’t need our team to win the Weekend Warrior Series. It’s not about winning. Would it be nice? Fun? Sure. But our team can win in life by giving 100% in a workout and carrying that over to all the other parts of their life.

Leave No Doubt. Leave No Doubt as to your range of motion, your image, your beliefs and your effort.

Leave No Doubt

Never Let It Rest

2010-08-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

"The pressure makes us stronger. The struggle makes us hunger. The hard lessons make the difference. And the difference makes it worth it."

Fireflight - "For Those Who Wait"

Play The Game

2010-08-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

I haven’t blogged in a really, really long time. In tech speak, that means it’s been since 2006. I’ll not be delving into my whole history or why I am here doing this. In fact, I’m still working that out. But I am, and you’re reading it. So keep reading and maybe you’ll figure out what I’m about. And I want to be like Web Smith of CrossFitChron when I grow up. He writes beautiful stuff and it’s motivated me to share the ramblings inside my brain.

I had a breakthrough last Friday. I was pretty tired, sore, etc. from a couple tough workouts earlier in the week. Then I programmed the 2008 CrossFit Games Deadlift-Burpee workout for the gym. I hadn’t planned on doing it, as I was scheduled to train with a friend on Saturday and wanted to thoroughly crush myself before going to the Santa Clara County Fair with my wife, kids and in-laws.

But like I always say, “Peer pressure and shame are great motivators, and I’m not above using both.” Well, the tables got turned on me and I was pressured into doing the workout after the 5:30pm class and before the 6:30pm class. I had no warmup (typical) and was feeling pretty jacked from a full day. But I wanted to throw it down. AND, I had been watching the video of Chris Spealler doing it in 2:41 all day, so I was fired up. Here’s where the epiphany hit.

CrossFit has evolved into a sport. And sports are meant to be played. So why have I always treated my workouts as workouts? Why not treat them like games, or even practices? You sprint all out in practices and games and still have energy to burn, so why not with CrossFit? Sports are meant to be fun to play. It should be fun to go fast in a WOD. Shoot, it should be fun to just DO a WOD! So I did. I threw myself into this workout with more energy and reckless abandon than ever before. (As a note, of the 3 other times I’ve done this workout I never broke 5 minutes. 5:02 was my PR.) I got 3:42! WHAT?!!! Really? People were telling me I did the first two rounds in less than a minute. That’s Speal pace. I couldn’t hold onto that, but I was there. This was huge!

The best part is that I enjoyed it. I LOVED moving fast! I have the ability to move large loads long distances quickly. Sonofagun, who’d have known. Now, it wasn’t as if 275lbs felt light. Or the burpees were effortless. It wasn’t and they weren’t. But I experienced CrossFit in a whole new light.

This was a game. And I’m pretty good at this game when I want to be and when I want it to be fun. So daggummit, I’m gonna start having some fun with these wods. Not so serious. Not as much worry about doing this or that. Just gonna do some kick-butt wods and have a ton of fun doing them.

That’s all for now.

The 10 Components of Fitness

2009-03-25T11:14:00.000-07:00