A few weeks ago I traveled up to Santa Cruz, California, the birthplace of CrossFit. I wasn’t there to interview the father of “The Sport of Fitness” Greg Glassman. Instead, I wanted an audience with one of his students; a guy that I’ve followed for years and have watched from a distance. Greg Amundson started CrossFit in 2001 at Glassman’s original gym in Santa Cruz. Greg quickly made a name for himself at the gym and he populates many of the early videos on YouTube about CrossFit.
This episode is chalk full of great actionable tips. Here are some of the topics we cover:
– Why I am a professional athlete and so are you.
– The importance of mentors, and who are mentors in Greg’s life. Greg also shares tips on how to find a coach or mentor in your life.
– The importance of teams, and law enforcement as a team sport. Greg’s tips on how to build your team.
– Avoiding decision fatigue and seeking “the space between.”
– Greg’s morning routine.
– Greg’s tips for goal setting
– The power of positive talk and using the positive tense.
– Greg’s 3 truths of life.
It’s very hard to look good next to this guy…
For me, this interview was a treat because Greg’s video on the law enforcement officer as an athlete was my first motivation to seek out consistent physical fitness. Greg has a lot of great content online. You can see most of it here.
Greg served 9 years with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department, During that time, he was gifted ownership of the original CrossFit “box.” Eventually, Greg decided to move onto the Drug Enforcement Agency. He spent several years working the Southwest border where he and his wife at the time opened CrossFit Amundson in the Imperial Valley, growing a 400 square foot garage gym into a 4000 sq/ft facility. Eventually, Greg moved back to Santa Cruz and opened CrossFit Amundson in Santa Cruz.
During his time along the southwest border, Greg experienced an unexpected divorce. When he was able to recover, he began putting his thoughts on paper and out came the book Your Wife is Not Your Sister. There are a lot of valuable insights, takeaways and action steps in the book. I read it before meeting Greg and I identified so much with his experience. Those of us in law enforcement have some unique challenges and we share many characteristics. If you’re married, or one day expect to be in a committed relationship, I can’t recommend his book enough.
Here are some of the other resources we talk about in this show:
Jeff Martone – Kettlebell trainer and founder of www.TacticalAthelete.com
Mark Divine (Cmdr. U.S. Navy Seals) – SEALFIT and Unbeatable Mind
Book: Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”
Video: Opening Day at Crossfit SEB
Greg’s Article Diet Secrets of Tupperware Man (meal prep and nutrition. Crossfit Journal membership required)
Photo: Child’s Pose (this will make way more sense after you listen).
Please take a few minutes after you listen to leave a comment here, or post a review to iTunes about the show and let us know what you think. We’re listening to you and we want to hear from you! You can always email us at squadroompodcast@gmail.com as well.
Stay safe, and watch out for each other.
Garrett
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