Best of Byers - Comments Edition

I'm taking another rest day, in preparation for returning to work and the blessed normalcy that comes along with it. I am so far off my routine, and it's giving me anxiety. I just want to get back to my boring life of gym - work - home - sleep.

This weekend, I've had almost 5,000 hits on the blog, thanks to my CFJ article. Visitors have poked around and left some really great comments on older posts, so I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorites here.

Props to Adam Drake, who sounded like he was insulting Tucker with the following comment: "Read a book you illiterate son of a bitch. Step up yo vocab." But he was really just quoting one of the lines following, "Step back and peep my scenario", from Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin". Sweet, Adam. But no, you don't get a prize. It's not that kind of blog. Although maybe it could be... Any of my Affiliate owner readers want to send Adam a t-shirt? You'll get some props here in exchange...


Sky put me in some good company after analyzing my Healthy-F Off scale... "This may have just out-ranked the metabolic pathways graph and Coach's Power/Time graph as the coolest CrossFit related chart." I don't know about that, but it sure is more fun to read than any of that science-y, graph-y stuff.


My Dad dropped some Genius after the Public Apology to my Mom. My Dad is the smartest man I know, so when he offers advice on a subject, I listen. And just because he's retired in the Florida Keys and spends all day fishing doesn't mean he's forgotten a lifetime of corporate executive management experience. On the subject of first impressions, my Dad says, "IMO they (first impressions) should always be made in the manner that YOU WANT the person to perceive you for all time, because that is how long they last. Once the first impression is made and reinforced you can vary your interactions and style to match the situation, but you always have the option to lapse back to the style of the first impression and be believed. One of my mentors once stated it very clearly for me. He said, "If you are first perceived as an asshole, you can spend your life trying to change that perception... but the best you will ever achieve is 'nice asshole'."


I read two fantastic new comments on the "CrossFit Enough?" post. The first was from Bill, a Green Beret. He told a story that, while extreme, brought the point home. He says, "One day in a Iraq a foul mouthed fellow Green Beret cursed at and around the Iraqi Commandos we were training. Curse words were the only English they understood and they took it as a mortal insult. Simple curse words (while) training Iraqis for life threatening situations almost led to a complete loss of rapport with our counterparts. Well shit, Green Berets can't always swear as much as most people think they can. The moral of this story is know your audience. If you want to grab the ear of everybody who reads your blog you will write more professionally."


And on the same post, DEFY! CrossFit Affiliate owner Jonathan Sabar said this: "At my affiliate (DEFY! in Broomfield, CO), my general policy is to not censor my members' language... but keep my own talk at PG-13. It all comes down to professionalism - I run a business, and my job is to help people achieve their goals - not to indulge any personal sense of what constitutes 'tough'." I liked his comment so much, I sent him a follow-up email, where he expanded on his message by saying, "Most of my clients are people who would never consider doing anything labeled 'hardcore'. I'm taking it as my job to bring them into the fold. If the two ends of the spectrum are 'Don't do anything too difficult' and 'Suck it up or get out', my message is 'You're stronger than you think you are - don't limit yourself'."

This idea of the "CrossFit coaching spectrum" deserves its own post, coming soon. And Jonathan said he plans to write an article for his newsletter based on the concept, so keep an eye here for our thoughts.

In conclusion, I write this blog for myself, and because it's fun, but I also write because I feel like through this, I am making connections with other like-minded people. I love hearing your opinions, and I really am open to advice, criticism and correction. So keep them coming, and thank you for reading.