***SCHEDULING REMINDER – We will be closed on Thanksgiving Day (running Father Joe’s Thanksgiving 5k), but open for sessions at 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday.***
Workout of the Day:
Run 5k with friends and family for a local charity
Don't over-serve your dingo (or your dingo's favorite aunt) this Thanksgiving.
I am Blessed
Written by C.J. Martin
I am thankful for the unyielding support and love of my friends, family, and dingo. One year ago yesterday, I received the keys to a dilapidated shell of a building in Little Italy and began the process of leaving a lucrative career to follow my dreams.
Invictus - Thanksgiving Day 2008
I have never been alone in this pursuit. A year ago today my family and several friends stood by my side swinging sledgehammers and levering crowbars. We had only four days to perform a complete demolition of the building before construction crews would arrive to start transforming our box into what is now Invictus. I could have done none of this without a lot of help, and it was there in spades. In the year since, nothing has changed. My friends and family are still by my side supporting my dreams, and through their participation, guaranteeing my success. I have no shortage of people and events for which I can be thankful this Thanksgiving.
What, or who, are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?
Whoot!! I am thankful that I was invited to take this ride and live my life and “job” at a wonderful playground aka CJ’s Fun Factory! The experiences I’ve had to date are unimaginable but I do imagine they will only get better as we grow! Each of you are blessings in my life and make me excited to show up at Invictus every day.
P.S. This photo isn’t what it looks like, Sin-Thia!
This Thanksgiving I am thankful for My Family, My Friends, and My Health… oh and one more thing!
Like CJ, this day also marks a special occasion for me – two years ago I was subjected to my first CrossFit workout.
The shock to my system must have knocked a screw loose because I have been addicted to CrossFit ever since.
Prior to CrossFit I was not much of an athlete (not that I am now), let alone active on a daily basis! These past two years have been truly transformative in all the ways a CrossFitter would expect, but also in some surprising ones.
The dear friends that I have made at Invictus mean so much to me, and that makes departing so difficult. I am taking comfort in the fact that I will be back soon enough.
It has truly been amazing to see Invictus emerge from a crummy old warehouse in to the place that stands today.
The strength and conditioning work that we do, the paleo diet that we enjoy, and the lifestyle changes that we practice will pay dividends in to old age – for that I am thankful.
Have a wonderful day everyone!
Michele, I’m putting you on the humane society watchlist. You’ve been warned.
I am thankful that I get to start my day with some of the finest people in the world (especially Barry!) I look forward to many many years with all of you at Invictus.
I am thankful for the support of my loving wife and partner. I am also thankful for the simple fact that I can still workout as hard as I can not even a year out from my shoulder surgeey.
If you look closely, you can see Mike in the background weilding a sledgehammer into the wall of the original office/bathroom (whatever that nasty thing in the corner was). Ha!
CJ, Thanks for taking the chance and for succeeding in building such an awesome community. I am thankful for the friends and family that surround me- Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Im back for Thanksgiving and will drop in sometime.
I forgot about that little wood fence thing you see in the picture. I had a great time christening that building through that wood fence thing’s destruction.
Who is the hot bitch in the photo? Not the one drinking from the mug, but the one with the cleavage?
Beyond family and friends (like having my 91 year old grandma around and enjoying my 15th Annual Thanksgiving gathering with friends from college), I’m thankful for CrossFit Invictus.
Last February, Mikel and I agreed to workout together as often as possible. As luck would have it, we liked using the SAME equipment–not the best situation in which to be…especially as users of an apartment complex fitness center. As such, we ended up working out together less and less. Over time I connected with a trainer who was working with clients around the time I usually found myself in the fitness center. He put me on his schedule for Mondays and Thursdays after 7pm: These twice a week trainings with “independent study” in the form of exercise homework were uninspiring. I wasn’t happy with my progress nor was I happy with the quality of the support/training I was receiving. Plus I’m a morning person. I needed something different (and convenient).
You may not know this, but “Invictus” resonates with me as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. As initiates we memorized the poem and a few other verses such as Kipling’s “If”. So when I saw the slick postcard on the cluttered bulletin board just outside my apartment complex fitness center, CrossFit Invictus simply stood out. With postcard in hand, Mikel and I walked a few blocks over to the “shell” to see if things were too good to be true. I asked rhetorically, “where’s the equipment?”. We signed up and reported back in a number of days for our first group coaching session. To put it nicely: we got our a*#!s kicked. I left for home determined to come back again. Mikel vowed to avoid CF Invictus like the plague and has yet to return.
I’m 6’3″ on a good day with a wing span just over 7′ (yep, that’s the source of the only nickname I’ve been given that I actually like). When folk see me they think “basketball player”. I can’t “ball” or “hoop” and gave up on the game and all sports years ago because my cousins were–and still are–far superior at the game (face it, I can’t dribble, throw, shoot, block, tag, tackle, or catch). You’ll see me tackling Hume and Socrates (I majored in philosophy) before you’ll see me running yards with the pigskin or making a three-pointer from the line. I’ve been plagued with back, neck, and shoulder pain for years (I’ve gone to chiropractors since I was 14). I’ve battled “weak” knees since I was knee high to a nickel (I finally had knee surgery in August of 2007). So it’s no wonder family, friends, and former students thought that I’d lost my mind when they read my Facebook posting: “crossfit invictus day one”.
After my trial membership, I signed up for one-on-one coaching with Nick Hawkes (Snacks, I think). He seemed determined to help me in my quest to succeed and really pushed me. I’ve seen tremendous growth over the months. I’m liking what I see in the mirror–who knew I could tone muscles in so many places at once. I’m comfortable lifting. I’m using crossfit workouts when travel (nothing beats seeing the faces of folk as I inchworm along the hotel hallway). I’m learning to run more efficiently. I’m eating better and better (still not paleo though…). I’m stronger than ever and I’m in the best physical shape of my life (and I will only get better). Nick was really cool about encouraging me to keep going when I thought I’d give up (and I had many days of this).
The truth is, as cool as Nick is, he hasn’t been the only person to offer support, encouragement, and as appropriate, a verbal kick in the pants. Nor is this support limited to coaches. It’s nothing for a fellow 6am-er to point out that I need to brace or to cheer me on as I finish the workout of the day (even if I’m the very last person). I know my middle school and high school PE teachers would pass out to know that I’ve reminded a person to squat a little lower next time or encouraged someone to add a few more pounds to the bar for the next set (I was king of the doctor’s note). Sure, we are individually masters of our fates and captains of our souls; however, we are stronger as a community because we collectively support each other whether we lift like Army Jon and Dani…or like me; or whether we run like a freed gazelle…or like me. This is the community that CJ has built and it runs deeper than CrossFit main (as I call HQ). So thank you CJ and George and Nick and and Barry Cynthiahhhhhhh and Tiffany and…ok, I’m really not good with keeping names in my head, so thanks to the 6am and 7am folk for collectively teaching an old dog new tricks…and ensuring that his a*# gets kicked.
Be well.
tlb2
Tony Lamair Burks II (aka Wings)
(p.s.: pardon any typos since this was typed using my Blackberry Device)
Beyond family and friends (like having my 91 year old grandma around and enjoying my 15th Annual Thanksgiving gathering with friends from college), I’m thankful for CrossFit Invictus.
Last February, Mikel and I agreed to workout together as often as possible. As luck would have it, we liked using the SAME equipment–not the best situation in which to be…especially as users of an apartment complex fitness center. As such, we ended up working out together less and less. Over time I connected with a trainer who was working with clients around the time I usually found myself in the fitness center. He put me on his schedule for Mondays and Thursdays after 7pm: These twice a week trainings with “independent study” in the form of exercise homework were uninspiring. I wasn’t happy with my progress nor was I happy with the quality of the support/training I was receiving. Plus I’m a morning person. I needed something different (and convenient).
You may not know this, but “Invictus” resonates with me as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. As initiates we memorized the poem and a few other verses such as Kipling’s “If”. So when I saw the slick postcard on the cluttered bulletin board just outside my apartment complex fitness center, CrossFit Invictus simply stood out. With postcard in hand, Mikel and I walked a few blocks over to the “shell” to see if things were too good to be true. I asked rhetorically, “where’s the equipment?”. We signed up and reported back in a number of days for our first group coaching session. To put it nicely: we got our a*#!s kicked. I left for home determined to come back again. Mikel vowed to avoid CF Invictus like the plague and has yet to return.
I’m 6’3″ on a good day with a wing span just over 7′ (yep, that’s the source of the only nickname I’ve been given that I actually like). When folk see me they think “basketball player”. I can’t “ball” or “hoop” and gave up on the game and all sports years ago because my cousins were–and still are–far superior at the game (face it, I can’t dribble, throw, shoot, block, tag, tackle, or catch). You’ll see me tackling Hume and Socrates (I majored in philosophy) before you’ll see me running yards with the pigskin or making a three-pointer from the line. I’ve been plagued with back, neck, and shoulder pain for years (I’ve gone to chiropractors since I was 14). I’ve battled “weak” knees since I was knee high to a nickel (I finally had knee surgery in August of 2007). So it’s no wonder family, friends, and former students thought that I’d lost my mind when they read my Facebook posting: “crossfit invictus day one”.
After my trial membership, I signed up for one-on-one coaching with Nick Hawkes (Snacks, I think). He seemed determined to help me in my quest to succeed and really pushed me. I’ve seen tremendous growth over the months. I’m liking what I see in the mirror–who knew I could tone muscles in so many places at once. I’m comfortable lifting. I’m using crossfit workouts when travel (nothing beats seeing the faces of folk as I inchworm along the hotel hallway). I’m learning to run more efficiently. I’m eating better and better (still not paleo though…). I’m stronger than ever and I’m in the best physical shape of my life (and I will only get better). Nick was really cool about encouraging me to keep going when I thought I’d give up (and I had many days of this).
The truth is, as cool as Nick is, he hasn’t been the only person to offer support, encouragement, and as appropriate, a verbal kick in the pants. Nor is this support limited to coaches. It’s nothing for a fellow 6am-er to point out that I need to brace or to cheer me on as I finish the workout of the day (even if I’m the very last person). I know my middle school and high school PE teachers would pass out to know that I’ve reminded a person to squat a little lower next time or encouraged someone to add a few more pounds to the bar for the next set (I was king of the doctor’s note). Sure, we are individually masters of our fates and captains of our souls; however, we are stronger as a community because we collectively support each other whether we lift like Army Jon and Dani…or like me; or whether we run like a freed gazelle…or like me. This is the community that CJ has built and it runs deeper than CrossFit main (as I call HQ). So thank you CJ and George and Nick and Cynthiahhhhhhh and Barry and Tiffany and…ok, I’m really not good with keeping names in my head, so thanks to the 6am and 7am folk for collectively teaching an old dog new tricks…and ensuring that his a*# gets kicked.
Be well.
tlb2
Tony Lamair Burks II (aka Wings)
(p.s.: pardon any typos since this was typed using my Blackberry Device)