Homeless Pregnant Teenagers and CrossFit

Imagine challenging yourself in ways you've never imagined, breaking boundaries in both fitness and life. Through a compelling reflection on a series of inspirational blogs, we revisit a standout piece titled "Homeless, Pregnant Teenagers and CrossFit." This episode promises to unravel the powerful connections between physical training and life-changing mentorship, where setting ambitious fitness goals can lead to a profound transformation in health, self-esteem, and abilities that rekindle lost joys like skiing or water skiing.

Join us as we share the remarkable journey of Sonya, a new athlete redefining her self-image and embracing the athlete within. Her inspiring work with homeless pregnant teenagers is a testament to the transformative power of setting challenges and achieving the seemingly impossible, both in the gym and in life. This conversation unveils the profound impact of striving for more and elevating self-worth, inspiring not only personal growth but also positively influencing those around us. Tune in and discover how pushing your limits can lead to a life enriched with newfound capabilities and confidence.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hello, welcome back to another episode of Train for a Great Life. I recently came across a document of a bunch of blogs that I wrote. Some of you who've been around the gym for a while will remember. There was a time when I wrote to an email list every weekday for nearly two years. I found a document where I had curated some of the most that got some of the ones that got the most responses, and, anyway, this is. This is what that is. I'm going to read a few of these that I think are still just worthy of getting the message out. So this one was October 1st 2018.

Speaker 1: 0:44

Homeless, pregnant teenagers and CrossFit. No, it is not a new class that we're running, but there may be more in common than you think. Our job in the gym is to challenge you to do things you've never been challenged to do before. It's also to show what those things are, where you're currently at and, perhaps most importantly, how to get there. I want you to be able to do a pull-up. I want you to be able to squat your body weight, jump onto a 20-inch box, run a mile without stopping and put 100 pounds over your head, and I don't want you to stop there either. Really, what I want is advancement. I want you thinking how can I get better? I don't want this message to get confused with you're not enough as you are. That's an entirely different road. Self-worth and who you are deep down is enough. I'm talking about striving for achievement and progress, the drive that gets people to climb mountains, break world records or develop the internet. Remember when the internet wasn't a thing. We take it for granted now and expect crazy fast wi-fi signals everywhere you go. I can't even fathom how creating something like that happens, but I can tell you that it's not by people complaining that it's too hard. If you can do a pull-up, I want you to work toward five, and then ten, and then, if you can hit 20 and you're in a pretty small percentage of the population the same progression can follow for heavier squats, jumping higher, running faster and the ability to put weights overhead. Why? Why do we want this? Because good things come from it. You get sick less. You pay lower health insurance. You're less likely to get injured, both day to day and catastrophic. You're a better example for your kids. You have more confidence. You feel better in your own clothes. You feel better with no clothes. You'll be able to do a bunch of new things that you might not care too much about right now, but also a lot of things that might mean a hell of a lot to you, or reintroduce things like skiing with your family, like Rob did, or being able to water ski again, like Dave did. Skiing is not easy if you don't keep your legs strong.

Speaker 1: 2:50

I was working with one of our new athletes, sonia, last week. We were challenging her to do things she's never been challenged to do before and she's loving it. Everything is tough right now, but she's smiling every day she comes in, and even bigger when she leaves. I told her I want her thinking of herself as an athlete. She nodded along yeah, I can do that. I can't remember exactly how it came up, but she was telling me about a job she used to do. She worked with homeless pregnant teenagers to teach them what they needed to do to keep their kids. Me whoa, that is some heavy stuff. If you don't mind me asking what was the success rate? Like Sonia, it was pretty good. Many of them actually went on to post-secondary education, got into great careers. Nursing was actually a popular one Me wow, how. What made the difference? Sonia? You have to challenge them to do things that no one's challenged them to do before. See you in the gym.