Message from Coach Caleb at CrossFit Invigorate:
I greatly appreciate you taking the time to sit and read this blog post. This post is not about finding the right gym, what to eat, or how to break through your challenges. This is just my inner thoughts and feelings about how the summer of 2024 at CrossFit Invigorate has gone. It is late August now, and here in Alabama, kids are getting back to school. Long summer days are becoming shorter. The air is becoming less heavy to breathe in. CrossFit Invigorate will push forward into the fall, but I would be amiss if I did not reflect on what the gym and this great community have been up to.
When I think about this past summer, the first thing that comes to mind is the in-house competition we hosted just a few weekends ago. Getting to watch everyone compete, challenge themselves, and cooperate in pairs was a blast as a coach and gym owner. For me, the day looked a little different. The 4 a.m. alarm was music to my ears as I got to the gym early to make sure everything was set up properly for the activities I had planned for my members. I wanted this year’s in-house competition to be bigger, better, and more organized than last year’s. For me, the day consisted of making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be, shaking hands with a smile at all the family members and friends who came out to watch their loved ones compete, and making sure everyone understood the workouts and what they needed to do. Most importantly, I wanted to ensure everyone was having a good time and enjoying themselves. It was an easy thing to do. If you know me, you know I am a standoffish person. I do not like large groups or meeting new people. I typically do not care what others are doing as long as it doesn’t affect my God, my family, or me. That day was different. It was my event. My hard work and effort were on display for others to enjoy. To be able to finish the day when I planned to, and do it with some of my favorite people, was a true blessing. I do not think I even had to pick up a single piece of equipment all day, thanks to all the help from the members of my gym. It gives me great pleasure in that part of my summer.
A few weeks prior to that in-house competition was a different competition—one in which I had no major role, and honestly, when I attended, I felt out of place. The Team Rocket Tri-Club hosts the annual Huntsville Sprint Triathlon every year at the beginning of August. This year, one of my personal training clients decided that she wanted to complete it. With no previous experience, a rough idea of what the distances for each movement were, and not even owning a bike of any kind, she signed herself up. As her coach, I was a little taken aback. She had never done anything outside of CrossFit workouts off and on for the past few months. Getting her ready in time was going to be a challenge, but this was a goal she had. I am all about helping people achieve their goals. I was in her corner, and I never let my doubt show. I always put up a confident front, but I was always wondering in the back of my head, “Is she going to stick with it and finish?” Those negative thoughts dissipated quickly as we started to train for it. This was different. She was dedicated. She ate the right amount and type of food. She trained hard and pushed herself to the breaking point. Finally, race day came, and I was honored to be able to watch her throw down with everyone. She did not just complete the sprint triathlon; she crushed it. It brought some of the greatest joy to my coaching experience to watch her cross the finish line. To see all the months of hard work, doubts, worry, and stress come to an end the moment she stepped across the finish line—how cool.
The last event that happened at CrossFit Invigorate this summer is not an event at all. It did not have a crowd cheering it on or an award for the victor to celebrate all the hard work that was put in. The last event that sums up this summer is a simple weigh-in. For one of my nutrition clients, it was time to step on the InBody scan to see the results of all his hard work throughout the summer. We had a baseline weigh-in where he told me all about his goals and aspirations. “I just do not want to be on medication because I am obese,” he told me with no confidence in himself at all. He was pre-diabetic and flirting with getting placed on high blood pressure medication as a result of his lack of activity and poor food choices. When he came to me looking for help, that was the most vulnerable he was with me. We set up goals and sub-goals. I reminded him constantly that I could only get him to a certain point, and that he was going to have to actually put forth the effort for these goals to become a reality. I would have multiple check-ins each week to see how he was doing. Some weeks were better than others, but he was always honest with me. I appreciated that. It is hard to tell where someone is when they just smile and nod to all my questions, suggestions, and criticisms. When a nutrition client of mine is honest with me, I can really know how they are doing with everything. Two weeks before his weigh-in, he had a doctor’s appointment. He came to me with a smile across his face. “I am down 16.2 pounds, and I am not being placed on blood pressure meds.” A smile broke across my face as well. Two weeks later, we went to do our own weigh-in and see where that weight loss was coming from. “The scan shows you gained about a pound of muscle and lost four percent body fat. I do not love how they show body fat percentage change as part of the actual weight change. Do me a favor and look at your old scan and tell me how much weight you actually lost.” Later that evening, I received a message from him telling me it was a little over twenty pounds of fat mass loss from the first scan to the second one. I congratulated him on all of his hard work and effort and told him to buckle up for the next step in the process. We are not done yet.
This is the summer I have had being the owner, coach, general manager, and member of CrossFit Invigorate. I am blessed to have a fantastic job that I care deeply about and would never give up. The people I have the pleasure of having in my gym are like family to me. I will defend them, push them, carry them, and pick them up when they are down. Every day is not easy, but if it were easy, everyone would do it. I thank you again for taking the time to read this blog post. You didn’t have to, just like the members in my gym didn’t have to choose CrossFit Invigorate, but I am sure glad you did. I hope you have a blessed day!
