Shout out to Coach August! She's a great asset to our team of coaches, and if you haven't learned from her yet, you're missing out! August is a rotating coach, since she's a flight attendant in her other life, and we are happy to have her when she's available!

Message from TJ:

CrossFit Initiative and a little more of my story. Part 2 of 3 (a continuation from last week's message).

I started down the path of peeling away the lies and misinformation I had been fed during career up to that point, and I started experimenting. Before I ever touched a barbell for anything other than benching and curls, I started with Greg Glassman's famous "Fitness in 100 Words."

You will soon see this poster up in all the gyms.

It starts with "Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar."

So that's where I started. I didn't do a burpee or an Abmat situp for three months. All I did was eat the stuff above, read books by Mark Rippetoe, and watch Olympic Weightlifting videos. I think there were 12 of them on the internet back then. I got skinny. Not cut or ripped or sliced or any of that. Just skinny, and that was cool because I was basically fat before that. Not the kind of fat that people notice, but I was. Then I started doing the CrossFit "WODs." That was a shit show. 20-minute Fran, 95-pound deadlifts that hurt my back. Far from "Forging Elite" anything.

Slowly, I got smarter, fitter, and less broken. I met the Starretts. I fixed my shitty movement patterns and kept eating as I was told. I got less skinny and more veiny and muscular. Not Brad Pitt in Fight Club, but not Lance Armstrong, either.

At that time, I started having conversations with my father-in-law about what I was learning and practicing. He is a physician and unfortunately suffers from genetic heart disease. At that time, he was taking some pre-diabetes medications, because, as he put it, he was old, and that's what happens when you get old. I started sending him links to videos and articles, and the next time he came to visit, he proclaimed that he was no longer bringing his staff donuts every morning. Instead he was bringing them bagels.

Ok, baby steps.

The more we talked, the more he agreed, and pretty soon the bagels went the way of the donuts. He dropped 10 pounds, himself (was never a large man), and when his clients would complain about the side effects of their medications, he would tell them about a new protocol that he used to get off the diabetes drugs. Eat, meat, vegetables, nuts, etc. His patients rarely took this option, even while commenting on how good he looked. Sigh.

CrossFit exploded onto the worldwide scene around 2008 when an article appeared in the New York Times Magazine:

Virginia Heffernan - The Medium - Television - Internet Video - Media - CrossFit.com

Soon everyone had heard of it, and everyone had an opinion about it, whether or not they knew what they were talking about. By 2012, CrossFit had 10,000 worldwide affiliates. The target was recognized by traditional gym chains, exercise equipment manufacturers, and, interestingly, by Big Soda (Coke and Pepsi).

As far back as 1916, Coke was preaching that it was the perfect fit for the "active lifestyle." They new they had a problem. The data showing that sugar created disease was already abundant. In the "60's Big Soda started a four-pronged approach:

1. Create Positive Lifestyle Branding around their products.

2. Create and fund reasearch supporting the Calories in/Calories out message.

3. Discredit the opposition before they even existed.

4. Tell everyone who will listen that Dietary Fat is the enemy, not sugar.

By 2012, Big Soda had invested tens of millions of dollars into non-profit health and exercise researchers, educators, and medical professionals. It was time for them to put their money to good use and quiet the loudest mouth in the room using fabricated data. The problem is that they didn't know CrossFit would fight back, sue them, and win.

Fast forward to the latest-and-greatest attack by Coke and Pepsi: Licensure.

In seven states, it is illegal for anyone who doesn't carry licensure through the American Dietetic Association (a 2 or 4-year Nutrition Degree) to give a single piece of nutritional advice. Here are some shocking facts:

1. The American Dietetic Association (ADA) recommends the Food Pyramid.

2. The ADA is funded by Coke, Pepsi, Monsanto, McDonalds, Kellog's, etc.

3. The ADA currently has lobbyists in every single other state trying to get Licensure on the books. Ewww.

A CrossFit coach could be fined and charged with a misdemeanor for telling someone not to eat sugar. WTF? I know you all don't trust big business or government, which doesn't matter to me. I just want you to trust science. Cool?

Part 3 will be a history lesson on how the hell we thought Entenmann's or Snackwells or whole grain bread could be good for us.

~TJ

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Memorial Day is Monday, May 28th

Please note our holiday schedule. Have a fun, safe, and relaxing weekend while honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so we can all enjoy the freedoms we do.

Summer Leadership Academy

We are SUPER excited to announce our first-annual Summer Leadership Academy for Teens at TJ's Gyms. Spearheaded and run by TJ, himself, this week-long program for ages 15-17 will include fitness and nutrition education, workouts, and deep exploration of topics related to the development of leadership skills, personal "branding," and life success. We will have guest speakers of all ages across disciplines to address entrepreneurship, social media use, networking, confidence-building, etc.

This is a great opportunity for your teen to grow in just one week's time! Spaces are limited to eight teens, so we suggest registering right away if you're interested. Email allison@tjsgym.com with program questions. To register, email jessica@tjsgym.com.

TJ’s Gym Lifestyle & Accountability Program (LAP) is now an ONGOING Offering!

$250 for the first 6 weeks of working closely with TJ. Then sort out a plan that works for you!

This program has become quite popular. TJ has FOUR spots available for next month, so act quickly!

Change your life NOW. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Want to change your life? Our 6-week program with TJ is a great jump start. You can start any time. Over the course of the first six weeks of your journey, you will work closely with TJ to get yourself on track to actually achieving some of your most important goals. After the six weeks, you'll have an opportunity to continue with the next level of the program, or go on your way with the tools and plans you've created.

Email Jessica@tjsgym.com to register TODAY!

NEW Teen/Tween Session Started Monday, May 7th.

There's still time to hop on in!

Session Dates (8 weeks): 05/07 - 06/30* *No class Monday, May 28th.

Session Prices

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$160 (one class per week)*

$280 (two classes per week)*

$395 (three classes per week)* We also have monthly options available for our year-round members.

Spring Schedule

*Corte Madera - Monday/Wednesday (12 - 16) 4 pm *Mill Valley - Tuesday/Thursday (12 - 16) 4 pm *Corte Madera -Tuesday/Thursday (10 - 13) 4:30 pm *Mill Valley - Wednesday 4:30 (12 - 16) - Girls only class *Corte Madera - Saturday (12 - 16) 11 am *San Rafael - Monday (11 - 16) 4:30 pm

*Classes expire at the end of the session. Make-ups can happen as needed throughout the session.Please share with anyone who might be interested in joining!

Email jessica@tjsgym.com to register.