Piece Of Shit

09 Apr 2019

“Don’t be a piece of shit, Matt”

For over a decade now, I’ve been lucky enough to pursue one of my biggest hobbies as my profession.

As a first guess, you’d be (almost) correct in assuming that hobby was fitness - but in fact, my true passion is learning and teaching.

Fitness (and health and movement) certainly rank high on my interests, but my true passion is pursuing a deep understanding of topics and then sharing the lessons learned from and through that pursuit.

CrossFit was the catalyst for embracing this passion and changing careers away from architecture way back in 2008. What drew me towards crossfit was its rigorous questioning of assumptions in the fitness world and their willingness to openly share their findings; especially the contrarian views.

As an organization, CF would pull inspiration from all sorts of backgrounds and seek subject matter experts to expand their understanding of fitness. This ‘lateral’ investigation style has strongly shaped how I have developed my education.

Subjects like barefoot/ forefoot running, breath work, strongman training, cold water immersion, nutrition and intermittent fasting, mobility, Olympic weightlifting and meditation are some of the ideas that have shaped our program at Free Range.

About 9 years ago a person by the name of Ido Portal popped up on my radar. He was based out of Israel and had a well-researched blog mostly centered around capoeira-inspired training and hand balancing. By chance, literally within the same month of discovering his blog, we received an email at my previous gym CrossFit Southwest informing us that Ido would be traveling through Arizona. They inquired if we’d like to host him for some of his workshops on strength and capoeira and hand balancing. In the spirit of growth in unexpected places, we agreed and booked him for a week.

The educational experience I received during that week remains one of the most impactful of my life. Ido’s no BS approach to learning and teaching was refreshing and well-received. His idea that we aren’t “made of sugar,” and that we can handle the hard truth about our limitations and approaches to development struck a chord with me. His message and methods came with a certain philosophical underpinning that reminded me of the early days of CrossFit.

The title of this post is a quote that lives in infamy in my mind. As I struggled to complete the final muscle up in a ring routine sequence in front of several of my athletes from CrossFit Southwest, Ido shouts, “Don’t be a piece of shit, Matt!” Meaning: finish the routine all the way! His brand of both encouraging and issuing a challenge at the same time. Haha, well, how could I not complete the rep after a comment like that!?! That experience has always crystallized Ido’s approach in my mind: Do the work; don’t half ass it; if you’re going to play, play like your life depends on it.

Fast forward to today…

My primary personal goal this year is to become a better student. Part of achieving this goal has been to recognize my shortcomings in teaching myself and appreciate the value of trusting a good teacher. So, I decided to hire Ido’s team to coach me through their online platform. I’ve used the comment above as a challenge to go deeper into the subjects I pursue and perhaps even flirt with going “too far.”

And lastly, as I write this I am 29 hours deep and on my third flight on a trip to Thailand. I’m traveling to study with Ido, his team and the Movement Culture at their annual week long Movement Camp.

While I am not entirely sure what this week will entail, I am going in with an open mind and an empty cup. I am certain, though, that the education and experience of this trip will deeply shape my personal practice and what we do at Free Range.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make this trip a possibility. Especially to my encouraging and supporting wife, AB, who has been behind this idea since day one! And, to our awesome coaches Butters, Skip and Caleb for continuing to provide top notch training at Free Range while I’m away!

Have a great start to April, Free Rangers - I’m excited to share my experiences and learnings when I get back mid-month.

Oh yea, I almost forgot…

Don’t be a piece of shit. ;-)