I just got in from coaching the morning classes and am all a-buzz with the great performances I am seeing.  BFG just completed a 2:17 handstand hold!  We are in the 3rd day of February and the Personal Best board is already filling up!  Monday we saw a lot of new 5 rep max Back Squat personal bests.  Yesterday I hear Doc Disc killed the WOD and there was an amazing race between Still Waters, Quicksilver & G-Money.  Aquagirl posted a 7 minute squat hold.  Super Mario got 211 consecutive single unders.  The month has barely begun and already our Dunbar Street crew is tearing it up!

And why not?  January was another great month for Personal Bests with all kinds of records being set by so many people.  This momentum started in August and hasn’t slowed at all.  If anything we are picking up steam.  To what do we owe our success?  Consistency.

One of my business mentors a long time ago riddled me this:  “If you dig a 1-foot deep hole every day, how long will it take to reach five feet deep?”  Think about it for a bit.

Meanwhile let me share my January highlights:
CrossFit Empower Dunbar Vancouver PB
1st Place: Dauntless.  Like many of you Dauntless finds the box jump challenging.  Not physically – emotionally.  It is damn scary.  But as her name suggests, Dauntless just does not give up.  And in last week’s Fight Gone Bad she was facing her box jump nemesis once again.  Round one she barely managed a couple timid jumps.  But round two she fought her way back and owned that box and in round three she came back and gave it more of the same.  Her performance impressed more than a few of our veterans and is probably the most talked about and praised feat of the month even if she didn’t write it up in the board.

2nd Place: Shine’s Triple Unders.  Perhaps owing to Coach The Touch’s great video capture this performance garnered a lot of Facebook likes from all over Vancouver.  That was an excellent triple under.  The execution and effortlessness makes most of our triple unders look very silly.

3rd Place: Shades’ Ring Dips.  There was no video for this and it occurred during an Open Gym so witnesses were few so it probably did not get the attention that it deserved.  Not only did Shades get her first unassisted ring dip, she then went on to do several more over the course of the WOD.  As a coach I recognize how much strength this requires and how few folks have the strength to do one – never mind several – of these.

Honourable mentions: G-Money, MK & Quicksilver started off the year with their first handstand push ups and Brick with a gym record of 175# Shoulder Press!

Of course each one of your personal bests deserves celebrating but I need to get back down to coaching in a few short minutes.  Rest assured I took note of your great break throughs and am thrilled with each one even if I failed to mention it.

And the secret to your success is consistent effort.  It is the secret to success in every endeavour.

So how long did it take to dig that hole?

Well, it depends on if you dig in the same spot every day.  If you start a new hole every day you will never reach the goal of a five foot hole.  In five days you will just end up with five one-foot holes.  And that is how most people approach fitness.

They will train for a few months or a year, realize some fitness gains and then stop.  Until they get too out of shape again, then they will recommit to a fitness routine after a health scare or an embarrassing moment, get some results, stop and start over.  And each time it gets harder.  Each time they get a little less fit.  Each time they know they really won’t stick with it.

Not you, you are on the Personal Best board because you haven’t stopped digging, each day in the same place.  I am proud of you, you have earned the right to celebrate.  Keep digging!

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