I am certainly not what most people would consider a “Daredevil.” Sure, I’ve been known to take on a double-black diamond trail or three at local ski resorts, but I’m not the dude who is going to huck a back flip off of a 30 foot cliff. Nope, not even on a powder day.
THESE guys, however, blow my mind. Again, while I wouldn’t say I’m afraid of heights, I would never choose to place myself on a thin rope hundreds of feet above the ground!!! Making the conscious decision to go after putting yourself on a high line and walking across takes a certain amount of mental “zen” and strength that I’m just not quite sure I have.
Life will often times present us with challenges and situations that instill fear in our hearts (such as waiting for the CrossFit Games Open workout release each week.) As they say in the video, though:
“It’s not about eliminating the fear. It’s about finding the courage, within the face of fear, is what matters the most. And then really, it’s just your ability to stand up and put one foot in front of the other. Kind of like how you should do everything else in life.”
Ok, it’s technically the 23rd now, but just assume I’m posting this in California time.
So, while the adults are being boring and working out in the gym, JP does it right and busts a MOVE!
Next time, if his mom doesn’t mind, I’ll get more of his moves to share with you all. If I could move like this… life would be even sweeter! Kids are awesome.
Many of you know, that growing up in Pittsburgh, I am a huge Steelers fan. Almost all of you know that I am also a huge CrossFit fan! This video combines BOTH of those things!
I have always loved kids. I started coaching kids when I was about 13 or 14 years old in swimming, and over the last 15 years have coached everywhere from toddlers to high-school-aged “kids” in a variety of sports.
This video (from Paul McDonnell’s YouTube Page, shared by the crew at SicFit) not only made me laugh from start to finish, remember tons of great stories from the different teams I coached, but also reminded me of the appreciation I have for stay-at-home parents! Anyone who thinks that job is easy needs a wake-up call!
I am a huge fan of “Highlight Reels” for pretty much anything. A professional sports team’s championship run, an extreme sports season highlights, middle school spelling bee finals, I love ’em all!
The crew at Absolute Zero put together a pretty awesome video with some of their best moments from Mountain Biking and Skiing in 2011. Cleverly enough, the video below is called the “Absolute Zero 2011 Reel“.
The very final scene here is one of my favorites that has been featured all over. It is a ski jump “feature” that has 13 skiers going off in formation at almost the same time. Visually, I just find it breathtaking.
As ski season starts to pick up here for a lot of us, many of us have goals to use our training to help get us in better shape for the snow. I hope you like this!
Those are the words I just said out loud… to myself… by myself, in my apartment. It’s not sick as in gross. I’m “that guy” who uses words like sick and epic to describe things he thinks are cool. Think that’s annoying? Deal with it, I’m not ashamed.
Alright, gut check time. I have said a few times over the past few months that I am going to start being more real and more raw on this blog. It all started from a conversation with Alon, in which he commented on a video I made and said, “Tom… how did that topic REALLY make you feel?” As in, “you gave us SOME of the real you, but not all of it. We came to YOUR blog to hear YOUR thoughts. Give it to us, straight.”
So I’m trying.
This commercial that I’m pasting below basically embodies who I THINK I am as a coach, and I freaking LOVE feeling like that! Feeling that I can look at any athlete, regardless of their experience level, ability levels, or confidence level, and TRULY think to myself… Let’s do this. You CAN do anything.
Most (all?) of you who have trained with me know that I hate (yep, hate) phrases like “I can’t.” Instead, I prefer conversations like one that I had with the amazing Casey Polk once:
Casey- “I SUCK at running!”
Me- *Disappointed stare*
Casey- “UGH! I mean… I am excited to have the opportunity to improve my running today.”
Casey- *Sly smile because she realized how much better it felt to say it that way.*
Even typing that has me smiling like a goon over here.
So that’s why I started this blog. I started it to share, and communicate, and interact, and help, and offer resources to you guys. My “readers”, the athletes that I am lucky enough to train, my friends. And to hopefully bring a smile to your face that comes close to matching the ones that you all give me every day.
So here’s to hoping that we can continue to grow these relationships together. Because even though the main goal of this blog is to try and help you, it sure as hell helps me a lot, too! Keeping this a two-way street will make this a lot more fun for all of us. (Otherwise, I’ll just keep posting more Parkour and Snowboarding videos, since that’s what I like!…. and you’ll still get those things, I’d just like to post things YOU want to see/learn/talk about, too!)
You guys are amazing. And like I said above, I really do think you can do anything you put your minds to and believe in. Sometimes I’ll just believe in it a little more at first!
Some of you may not know this yet, but I am originally from New York. Not Utica (no offense, Utica), but Manhattan. I’ve gone back there regularly and had family there my entire life, and have always considered myself a New Yorker. With Hurricane Sandy starting to attack the entire Northeastern seaboard as we speak, checking in with my family last night (and today), has me thinking about New York even more than usual.
You can see just by looking at my desk how I think about “the city” every single day. That’s why, when I saw this video from Red Bull (from their “Where do you call home” series), it made me think about how much of our personalities, outlooks, and aspirations may come from our “hometowns.”
What I look at every day at work.
What do you think? Did your hometown help mold the person you are today? It certainly did for me!
At the end of the day, I’m unwavering proud of where I’m from (and where I grew up – Pittsburgh), and think you should be, too!
That being said, please stay safe, East Coast! I’m sending good vibes from the Mile High City.
Many of you are aware of the incredible feat of the Red Bull Stratos and jumper Felix Baumgartner, this past weekend. For those you who are not, here is the summary directly from the page:
“Red Bull Stratos, a mission to the edge of space, will attempt to transcend human limits that have existed for 50 years. Supported by a team of experts Felix Baumgartner plans to ascend to 120,000 feet in a stratospheric balloon and make a freefall jump rushing toward earth at supersonic speeds before parachuting to the ground. His attempt to dare atmospheric limits holds the potential to provide valuable medical and scientific research data for future pioneers.”
Yes, you read that right. He actually ended up ascending to over 128,000 feet… before walking to the edge of his capsule, and… jumping off! Here is the summary of some of the accomplishments from the mission:
“Felix Baumgartner broke the speed of sound reaching an estimated speed of *833.9 mph (1,342.8 km/h) jumping from the stratosphere, which when certified will make him the first man to break the speed of sound in freefall while delivering valuable data for future space exploration.
Felix climbed to 128,100 feet (39,045 meters) in a helium-filled balloon Sunday morning Oct. 14, 2012. This is exactly 65 years after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier flying in an experimental rocket powered airplane. Felix broke two other world records (highest freefall, highest manned balloon flight), leaving the longest freefall record to project mentor Col. Joe Kittinger.”
Watching this live online was probably one of the coolest things I’ve seen. I was anxious and nervous during his entire ascent as he climbed from the ground to 128,000 feet above the ground! Then, once they commenced the launch process, you got to see all the went into making this jump happen.
Then, at one point… the door to his capsule opened and you got to see just how high above the Earth he was, it was breathtaking. I am sharing a few videos below here, and I ask that you just take a second and think about how awesome this jump was for us to be able to watch.
Videos like this are awesome to me. They combine things that I ALREADY think are awesome (Extreme Mountain Biking, even the Urban kind) with things that I think are …. kinda cool (road biking) … and turn them into something that is REALLY cool (Extreme… Urban… road biking?!).
I think part of the reason I like this video so much is because I have so many friends who are REALLY into Road Biking (some were previously sponsored athletes, etc), and I feel like this can help bring us closer together!
I hope you enjoy this video as much as I do. Martyn Ashton is awesome! (This one’s for you, D’Ardenne and ‘Claw!)
This clip (called the Strandafjellet segment), which comes from the movie “Being There” (last year’s film by Field Productions), blew my mind.
The jumps these guys make combined with the scenery below as they b-line these hits (really big jumps)… wow!
Be warned, especially all of you Physical Therapists out there, at one point Aleksander Aurdal dislocates his shoulder (you don’t see the fall, relax). Their on-site medic helps him pop it back in (CRAZY!) and then… a little while later… he decides to ski AGAIN! Why? Because, as he says,”Can not let this opportunity pass!” Do NOT try that at home folks…
Visually, however, some of these shots are stunning.
As Denver prepares for it’s first potential snow of this season, enjoy!
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