As part of the company reward trip we had our annual biathlon or run-race. Having learned from past triathlon efforts I opted for the run section. It was a great day with calm waters in Hawaii. About 15% of us on this trip decided to have a go at the early morning fun. Best part is giving back on trips like this to the local community. Today with the biathlon we raised $25,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Maui.
WOD – Cool 2-mile fun uphill run
I finally succumbed to island time and lost track of time zones, obligations and schedules for a while. In the morning I took my girls on an hour ocean kayak ride and soon I could barely feel my arms from paddling. It is amazing how far they let you go out on a small raft in this bay. Today was my last full workout before the Crossfit Open as tomorrow is a company-sponsored charity 3-mile run near the hotel…
WOD – Random Island Distractions
– 60 min Ocean Kayak – medium intensity…
– 10 min double under practice
– 20 wall-balls
– Bench press 1-1-1-1-1 (200 lbs)
– Deadlift 3-2-1-1 (410 lbs)
– 2 min max pull-ups: 53
Early morning we went to Maui Upcountry for a Ziplining adventure. We soon learned that when Hawaiians say rainforest they sure mean it. The rain was pouring down on us most of the morning and the tree canopies offered only limited protection from the elements and the cold. After having explored all the acrobatics with my girls from spinning to hanging upside down over the trees on a 1000ft stretch, we realized we needed to find out where the longest zipline is in the world (it is 2000m long in Sun City, South Africa)…
The afternoon found us back on the beach with my slight detour to the hotel gym where the staff insisted on me wearing tennis shoes and not barefoot for my back squat lifts. They didn’t care if barefoot was safer, tennis shoes are cleaner. And clean wins over good form at the Grand Wailea…
Strength
Back Squat 3-3-3-3-3 (265lbs)
Cashout
60 clean and jerks (70lbs)
Traveling 12 hours to Hawaii was well rewarded on our first day in the ocean. Even though the waves were 3-5 feet high we were out there on paddleboards sometimes standing but mostly kneeling to face the elements and balance the board the best we could. This was truly a surfing-with-paddles experience as the boards repeatedly shot above the crest of the waves and crashed down on the beach. We also tried the ocean kayaks which were better in this windy weather but admittedly less interesting and much less fun.
Before all of this the jet lag had me at 5am in the hotel gym doing a morning WOD with all the trimmings. The Grand Wailea’s gym has not only free weights but medicine balls, jump ropes and plenty of open space on two floors. This way I could invent a fun chipper as a self-inflicted wake-up call.
The food was a little challenging as the resort promotes salvation through full-grain living and the token protein came in the form of some over-processed smoked salmon. Whatever meat you wanted for lunch had to come in a bun with chips, splashed with soy sauce or ketchup by some misguided local pre-Paleo wisdom. I’ve yet to see any Hawaiian macadamia nuts in the hotel…
WOD “Waves of Wailea”
100 rope jumps
90 body pulls
80 pushups
70 situps
60 dips
50 wall balls
40 pullups
30 knees to elbows
20 cleans (70lbs)
10 shoulder presses (70lbs)
5 burpees
1 handstand pushup
TIME: 16:43
Preaching rarely works when trying to inspire friends and family to follow our crazy ways. Passion and setting an example do. Some friends and my two daughters joined me in the Crossfit world and (mostly) adopted Paleo as well. They all wanted in after they saw the changes in my life. Since points of view on exercise and nutrition border on religious fervor it is almost impossible to have a rational conversation with my buddies stuck on treadmills or munching rice cakes. So the high road is to set out to follow our Xfit passion and let others be inspired (or turned off) by the result.
Funny how the same holds true in who we admire in business as well. Steve Jobs or Warren Buffet never told anyone that his way was the only way to success. They never sold inspirational tapes on the subject, yet many want to follow their footsteps.
I believe all CrossFitters are leaders in their own way. They break through their own limitations first, then exceed the expectation of their peer group. In the end their lives change in ways they least expect and have little to do with physical exercise. They break through at work, in their relationships and their own expectations about what is possible. This is exactly what others see and want to be part of…
