Tony Scott has been one of the most determined and ambitious athletes we have had at MBS. Coming from a very athletic background (he may or may not hold a world record, but he insists on not boasting), he has thrived as a CrossFitter. He competed in the Colorado Open, the Masters Colorado Open, the Turkey Challenge and, more recently, the CrossFit Games Open. There is not one skill Tony hasn’t attacked at full throttle. A year or so later, Tony is leaner, meaner, and, well, fitter!

For many, CrossFit becomes more than a gym or a workout. Even if a CrossFitter doesn’t compete or open his/her own gym, a CrossFit box helps build confidence, community, and even a new life! In Tony’s case, he ordered the whole package! We are excited to wish Tony all the best as he opens his own gym, Anchor CrossFit! Congratulations, Tony! We will definitely see you around!

5:30 PM CF1 class in multi-color bling and showing big guns.

versus

6:00 PM crew in matching red gear

I found this article the other day and found it to be a great point for many of our beginning CrossFitters to take in. CrossFit, at first is intimidating, but after about 6 months of doing it, you realize you are pretty much invincible, and you now want to do EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE!!! Well, you can try and get your muscle up, handstand pushup, 300# clean and jerk, and your 5k run down to sub 20 minute all at once, but I bet you are going to have a rough time doing it. You would probably be better off focusing on one or two things, and completing them before moving on.

(Courtesy CrossFit Lisbeth)

Figuring out what not to do: that’s a skill too. Something we forget about the importance of focus selection in our rush to do so much. And sometimes, that lesson takes a lifetime to learn.

I remember, soon after college, excitedly telling my sister about some saying like “Life is decided by what you do, not what you don’t.” I expected some big smile and nod of agreement. Instead, she turned to me with that special look — you know the one reserved for wayward puppies, or Grandpa when he has food on on his chin at Sunday dinner. “Lis,” she said, doling out the words like medicine crushed up with applesauce on a spoon, “That’s not you. You will try to do everything. The key to life, for you, is going to be deciding what not to do.”

As much as I hate to admit it, my sister was right. Have to guard against that Pacman attitude daily. Have to figure out what I should not do today, and what I should focus on instead. This is hard because, you see, all the candy in the store looks good. Whether I’m in the gym or the bookstore or at work, everything looks fantastic and I want to try it all, do it all, be it all.

Maybe that’s you too. Everything in the gym looks like fun, everything needs work, and you’re going to get stronger, faster, more agile all in one day. Or you’re the coach and you’re going to fix all 14 things wrong with that squat in 15 minutes.

Whoops. No, you’re not. Refocus. What to do. What not to do.

Stop. Think about it. Pick one thing to improve today. Work on it.

Breathe.

The gym will be there tomorrow. Improvement is a multi-step, multi-day, often multi-year process. And so it will be for your entire life, if you’re lucky.

Decide: What to do. What not to do. At least for today.

Barbeque, Pep Rally, and Hangout tonight 6:30-8:00
Join us for some food, drinks, and games tonight after the 5:30 CF1 and 6pm WODs. We have some Minute-to-Win-It inspired games…and there’s rumor to be potato-sack races. Food is free until it runs out!

New t-shirts are in. Yes, finally! We have a few different designs in a few different colors. Rock MBS gear at the regionals next weekend.

Which class has the most team spirit? Wear you MBS Best on Wednesday! Class with the most spirit wins! Why? Regionals is super close. Let’s keep the fire going!

Also, join us for our Regional Kick Off BBQ Wednesday at 6:30!

MBS rocks. Let’s shine this year!

Join Team MBS in the August Thunder Challenge!

I wanted to get this out to everyone in case you haven’t seen the posters in the gym. Rusty (nooner) and some buddies have been hard at work putting together a series of elite warrior inspired run courses, one of which will be here in Castle Rock on August 4-5th. Rusty is offering MBS’ers a discounted registration. Our team is listed as “MBS CrossFit.” We have the discount code on the Events Board in the gym. Visit Thundrpro.com for more info and to sign up. The MBS’er discount ends this month, so sign up soon!

Say hi to our newest On Ramp Graduates. This group went through all the fundamental movements before the sun came up!

Remember your On Ramp/Elements days? Many of you come in with knee problems, post shoulder injury problems, or just generally unsatisfied with your fitness. How are you doing these days? Here is a story I hear a lot:

“I joined up around Thanksgiving of 2011, I was 235lbs at the time, and recovering from a torn MCL and Medial Meniscus. I WENT NON SURGICAL-going with PRP and Stem cell regenerative treatments-I attribute my total recovery and rehab of the knee to the expert re-training on how to properly do the squat movements from all the badass coaches at MBS!

Shortly after finishing elements and getting into the WOD’s on a weekly basis I broke my rib and had surgery on my hand (grip) and was sidelined for the month of December, a rough start for sure…I decided to talk to Pat about diet, specifically Paleo. I decided If I’m not training I am going to lock down my diet and improve by lowering my body weight. Pat was awesome and gave me excellent Paleo guidance. I am still relatively strict on it 4 months later (even the occasional teaspoon of coconut oil!) And I’m down to 212lbs!” -John S. (Tall John, Johnny Mod)

First thought: What an awesome journey since John was in Elements!

Second thought: It’s true-knees love deep squats. The CrossFit method works. Booya!

Note: All items in the lost and found will be donated tomorrow. Take a look to make sure you haven’t lost something!

There are a few fun stories from our athletes stepping up their game. After Steve Merschel finished Elements, he decided burpees were a goat he was not cool with having. His solution: take on the 100 Day Burpee Challenge. He got his buddies Keith and Brian B. to join him, who then got Keith’s coworker Kate involved, and before you know it, we have a Band of Burpee Slayers! Starting with day 1, they did 1 burpee, day 2, 2 burpees, day 3, 3 burpees until they reached 100! Any WOD with burpees is going to be cake for this lot! Without a doubt, these athletes’ burpees improved, but they now have the satisfaction of successfully achieving a big goal! Following through with a goal is a lot easier when you have someone beside you. It would have been WAY harder for any individual in this group to succeed alone.

Also, the 7 AM crew deserves a shout out since they went on a Paleo Challenge on their own accord. Jake and Tom, coworkers and MBSers, decided to the challenge on together. One step closer to being where they want to be, and they didn’t even need a coach or a pool of money to do it!

So what are you up to?

Alright, MBS! The time is now! The Regional WODs have been announced and we are more than excited to represent May 4^th-6^th! We are a family, and your support means so much to us. We have a couple challenges for you!

1. Let’s fill the stands with MBS fans! Buy your Regional Tickets here.

2. CLASS CHALLENGE: Which class has the most team spirit?? Your challenge is to get all our classmates to wear their best MBS garb. We expect to see some painted faces. Photos will be taken in the AM (6:00, 7:00) Lunch (11:00, 12:00) PM (4:00, 5:00, 6:00) classes on Wednesday, April 25^th.

3. Also, on Wednesday, April 25^th, we will host a Regional Kick-Off BBQ. $5 will get you some grub and the money raised will go towards feeding the team over the weekend of Regionals. Join us after evening classes, at 6:30.

4. Share your stuff! We could use some items for the event, such as tents and tarps. Look for a list on the Upcoming Events board where you can sign up to bring equipment. Then you can just dump it at the gym by Wednesday, May 2nd. We plan to set up camp in Castle Rock Thursday morning.

We know not ALL of you can’t be at Regionals, but we want you to be a part of the fun! We have the best gym and team around. As locals, we have the BEST opportunity to pull together and show the Southwest Region how we roll. Like a boss.