Sometimes...

Life asks you to chop down a tree too...gotta have fire wood...

Throwin' Hay...

For those of you that don't know, my parents have horses on their property.  Two of their own, and a third horse that a friend owns and stalls there.  Horses eat hay, and lots of it.  So, a couple times a year, we load up in the truck, hook up the trailer and head deep into God's country to pick up and replenish their stock of hay.  We (Me, My Dad, My Brother) made another one of these trips on this past Saturday.  We hand loaded 137 bales onto the trailer, drove back home and unloaded all 137 into the hay barn.

If you have never done this kind of work, it is not easy.  Especially not when you attack it the way we do.  Bottom line, we want to get it done as quickly as possible.  This process involves a lot of stacking, throwing, crawling, climbing, etc.  The bales are cumbersome, unevenly weighted, inconsistantly shaped and generally not built for convenient handling.

So, if you are still with me, this is where CrossFit comes in.  I cannot think of an activity that measures your funtional fitness in the real world any better than "throwin' hay".  After the day's work, my family was quick to point out how easily I seemed to throw and stack the bales in comparison to past trips, not to mention the pace I kept.  The particular loading process this time required throwing the bales a fair distance to eliminate double and triple handling each bale.  What can I say, the bales just felt lighter and flew farther.  I was assurred these bales were not any lighter than previous trips.

CrossFit works.

As a CrossFitter, I train for the sport of life.  Sometimes life requires you to "throw hay".  Don't you want to be ready?

Thanks for reading.

-Shane

The New Improved Gibson Garage Gym

Measured to the bottom of the boards, the ceiling rafters are over 10ft high.  You can go overhead with a loaded barbell under the garage door and garage door opener with plenty of clearance.  You can do muscle ups inside without your head getting anywhere near a board.  I could go on and on...look at the picture, the possibilities are endless.  I have a few more ideas to make some improvements, more to come.  Thanks for looking!

Thanksgiving

Davey working on the rings.  By the way, his feet are not on the floor.

Lately, I have felt so blessed.  I guess it took some time and some maturing to realize just how great life is no matter how good or how bad it seems to be going at the time.

God has blessed me and my family so much, I am overwhelmed.  Let's all take this opportunity of Thanksgiving to remember how blessed we really are as we think about what is really important...Faith, Health, Happiness, Family, Friends, Thankfulness...  And remember to do what you can to be a blessing to others with your thoughts and actions so that they too can be reminded what this life is really all about.

I send my sincere thanks to everyone out there who has been a part of my life in anyway.  We are all on the path...enjoy it.

On another note...Karen PR'd on deadlift yesterday!  Pulled 225lbs and I can tell she has a lot more there as her confidence builds.  Great job Karen!

Tell me...what are you thankful for?

We've Moved! Literally...

Okay, so we have been pretty quiet for a while...because we have been stupid busy selling our house, packing up and moving out!

We are very fortunate in that our house sold so quickly, but this was very unexpected as we were not sure that our house would sell at all in this market.  So my Parents opened their doors to us and have let us move in with them while we take our time selecting our next home.  This way we don't end up in another house that we outgrow and want to sell in under 4 years.  I can't thank my Parents enough, they are really amazing.  Pretty much 90% of our stuff is in storage, but we are just about completely set-up and settled in at their place.  My Parents were also so kind as to basically give me full reign in their huge garage which has allowed me to set up an awesome CrossFit garage gym.  We now reside in Porter, TX which is just north of Humble which is just north of Houston.

I finally did my first WOD in the new set up yesterday.  It was great.  I am going to take pictures this weekend and post them up.

Much more to come!  Hopefully we will get back to more regular updates now.  Thanks for reading!

-Shane

"Leap" - RePost from CrossFit LA

Written by Andy Petranek, originally posted at http://www.crossfitla.com/

"Leap"

Leaping into the abyss... the unknown, the future, a place full traps, sinkholes, obstacles, danger, and uncertainty. We've all lept at some point in our lives, but for many of us, it's been a long, long time. Why? Are you simply comfortable and content with what you've got? Or, are you afraid of "rocking the boat," getting hurt, or maybe even of failing?

By not leaping, you're missing the world that children frequent every day - a world full of wonder, possibility, aliveness, fun, excitement, energy... life! So if it's been awhile, or if you avoid taking the leap in certain areas of your life in which you're playing it safe... here's an invitation... LEAP!

Halloween WOD 2009 - Gibson Garage Gym

Had Vic Zachary and Webster Smith over to do "Nate" today.

"Nate"

AMRAP 20 minutes:

2 muscle-ups
4 handstand push-ups
8 kettle bell swing, 2 pood (70#)

Vic = 17 rounds!  Friggin' amazing to watch.
Shane = 13 rounds.

Webster = 7 rounds, but more importantly he defeated his muscle up demons.

Had a bad-ass time having these two monsters over for a WOD.  Vic is just damn impressive, he killed it.  Webster broke down some barriers today and got his muscle-ups figured out, he is well on his way to being a serious force.  I started having some serious muscle fatigue issues towards the end of my WOD which cost me several muscle up failures and brought my party to an end, but all in all I am satisfied with my performance.

I love CrossFit.

Karen did her "Nate" like this:

AMRAP 20 minutes:
2 pull-ups
4 parralette dips
4 self assist handstand push-ups using 28" box
8 kettle bell swings (she started with 1.5pood)

She did awesome, 14 rounds + 2 pull-ups (7 with 1.5pood and 7 with 1pood).

Davey Getting Some Squats

While playing the other day, Davey just up and started doing air squats.  He had done dozens before we got the camera out which distracted him a bit, but we still got some of the action.  I guess he really does soak it in when he is watching us WOD.  Really opens your eyes to the power of setting a positive example.  We are so proud.

The Future

~2030 Future CrossFit Games Champions

This picture of Alexis Smith (daughter of fire breathers Webster and Lindsey Smith) playing with my son David Gibson II inspired my thoughts and hopes for the future of CrossFit...

At 30 years old and having only discovered CrossFit a little over a year ago, I spend a fair amount of time thinking, what if I had known about CrossFit for 5 or even 10 years?  What could I have done, what kind of athlete would I have become?  I like to believe that I would have thrived.  Now, I know CrossFit has only been around a relatively short time and that all of today's champions and fire breathers are probably thinking the same things...What if?

Well, what if you grew up in a world where CrossFit was there from day one?  What kind of athletes and CrossFitters will we see 10-20 years from now?  The thought boggles my mind.  For those of you familiar with the UFC, you know there are many parallels between mixed martial arts (MMA) and CrossFit in the sense of mainstream awareness, where it started, what people thought and where it is now.  I see another parrallel in the athletes we are seeing in the UFC today and will see in future CrossFitters.  Yesterday's champions in MMA were boxers, wrestlers, Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioners, etc that started training mixed martial arts when it became a sport.  Today's top performers in MMA were raised and trained as mixed martial artists from day one, not specializing but focusing on all aspects of the game, and they are dominating the field.  I see the same thing happening in CrossFit.

Today's top performer's at The CrossFit Games are ex-division one athletes in various sports, former football players, traditional weight lifting/cardio enthusiasts, etc that started CrossFitting when it became a sport.  I am talking about amazing athletes here, but athletes that specialized for the vast majority of their life before altering their fitness towards CrossFit.  Of course there are exceptions, but you get the idea.  What if these same people had been CrossFitting for 15 years...or since they could remember?  What kind of "Fran" and "Murph" times would we be seeing?  What kind of performances will it take to dominate?  I, for one, can't wait to find out.

My son, Davey, and many other children like him are being raised in households that CrossFit and in communities with a CrossFit box within driving distance.  Not to mention the diet and nutrition awareness that comes with it at family meal time.  At just over 13 months old, my son already picks up my warm up PVC from the floor in both hands, grunts, and yanks it over his head with a huge smile...it's normal to him, he sees it all the time.

At 30 years old, it is far from over for me, but I am reasonable in knowing that I am getting older and the sport is getting better, everyday.  The future looks awfully bright, and I can't wait to see it and be a part of it in every way I can.

Thanks for reading, I would love to hear all your thoughts.

-Shane

Week of 10/19 Paleo Menu

Sorry to be posting a weekly menu on Wednesday, this week has been a crazy week and I don't see the craziness going away anytime soon!! Our menu will be pretty simple this week.

Monday - Shane's Paleo Scramble (He will have to let us know how to make this)
Tuesday - Beef Scramble
Wednesday - Lemon Dill Chicken
Thursday - Grilled Chicken with steamed veggies
Friday - Beef Patties with mushrooms

Hope your have a great rest of the week!!

1st Annual Oktoberfest Obliteration

What an incredible event!  I want to start off by saying, I love CrossFit.  I continue to meet amazing people and have great experiences with this one of a kind community.  Matt and Pam of CrossFit Champions did a hell of a job hosting this event and I send my thanks out to them and all of the volunteers and judges for their efforts and great job.  This competiton was a special day for me as it ended up being my greatest CrossFit victory to date.  No, not my less than stellar performance in WOD1, but in watching my wife, Karen, do things she didn't think she could do.  Karen competed in the women's scaled division and this was her first CrossFit competition, and her first anything competition since highschool.  Karen started the day placing 9th in her division in WOD1 which qualified her to move on to WOD2 later in the day.  And I know Karen would want me to send specific thanks to Vic Zachary of Bayou City CrossFit.  Vic was Karen's judge for WOD1 and he did a badass job motivating her through the WOD.  You should have seen her face when she found out she had to do another WOD!  She went on to a 10th place finish in WOD2 and on the day, but she showed grit and determination toughing through 2 tough WODs and going hard and giving her absolute best.  I am so proud.

Karen and I are at home garage gym CrossFitters, and I have the joy of being her trainer, writing and scaling her WODs and teaching her everything I can about CrossFit standards, movements, intensity, etc.  This basically makes me her coach and trainer.  Not only did I get to see my wife make a major breakthrough in mental and physical barriers, but I got to watch an athlete I trained do it as well.  This has been an overwelmingly rewarding experience for me.  But this isn't about me.  Since giving birth to our son 13 months ago, Karen has dedicated herself to raising our son and living a healthy lifestyle.  Her hard work and dedication was on display for all to see this past Saturday.  Karen has put in the hard work, and it shows.  Keep it up baby!  The results speak for themselves.  You are making everyone proud!  Congratulations on a successful showing at your first competition, you deserve it.

A few quick words on my performance on Saturday...it was yet another disappointing one for me.  I had a couple of extra obstacles factoring in, but I don't want to make excuses and at the end of the day, my mental game failed me.  I have my best performances in my garage, when it doesn't matter.  And I tend to have my worst performances when the world is watching.  By my own calculations, I think I ended up with a 16th place finish in the men's standard division.  I am going to refocus on my mental game and find a way to turn "it" on for game day.  Next time my mind WILL be steady.

Week of 10/12 Paleo Menu

This week we have our best friends coming into town so I am only cooking Monday through Thursday. Friday will be Chuy's!!

Monday - Stuffed Green Bell Peppers
Tuesday - Pork Chops with Spaghetti Squash
Wednesday - Beef and Spinach Scramble
Thursday - Taco Soup or Steaks

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

October 5th, 2009: Shane & Karen, 7 Years Married and Counting...

An old pic of Karen and I, but one of my favorites.

Yesterday October 5th, marked our 7th wedding anniversary.  Many of you may be suprised to find out that Karen and I are highschool "sweethearts" and we have actually been together well over 13 years.  What an amazing experience it continues to be to share my life with Karen, and it just keeps getting better.  I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank my wife for sticking with me through all the good times and all the bad times.  Any one that knows me, also knows that I can be quite a handful at times and stay pretty amazed that Karen has been able to put up with me for so long!  I have the best wife in the world!

Karen, I love you and I thank you.  You are everything I could ever ask for and more than I deserve.  Happy 7th Wedding Anniversary!

Happy 1st Birthday Davey!

As many of you know, my son turned one year old on September 10th.  We were supposed to have his party on Sept 12th, but Davey had other plans as he was sick that entire week with a stomach bug of some sort.

So, we rescheduled his party to our next open Saturday which was this past Saturday October 3rd.  What a blast.  Everything went great.  I send my sincerest thanks out to my parent's for hosting the party at their house, as well as for all their help with set up, clean up, etc.  Special thanks to my Dad for spending half of his Saturday grilling up his famous ribs for the party, they turned out great as always.

I also want to thank everyone who took time out of their weekend to attend and/or be a part of the party in any capacity.  It means a lot to us to see all of you that care about our wonderful son.  He is the highlight of our life, so bringing everyone together to celebrate a great and healthy first year was very special to us.  I know Davey had a great time, we had a great time and I hope everyone who made it out had fun as well.  Thanks!

Happy birthday to my little man!  We love you Davey!

Week of 10/05 Paleo Menu

This week we are trying some more new recipes!! And some that we have had before that are really yummy!!

Monday - Coconut Ginger Steak and Shrimp
Tuesday - Lemon Dill Chicken
Wednesday - Beef Roast in Wine Sauce - Crockpot Recipe
Thursday - Basil chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
Friday - Spaghetti Squash with Tomato and Beef Sauce

If you wondering why a lot of what I make has a sauce. One reason it makes it taste so much yummier and also I start preparing and cooking when Davey is having a snack at about 4pm and then he eats at 6 and Shane and I don't eat until 7 or 8. Having a sauce for the meat to sit allows it to not get dried out during the time we are working out and having some family time.

Week of 9/28 Paleo Menu

This week has a couple of new recipes that were going to try out.  And also I will go into how we plan our breakfast, lunch and snacks.

Monday - Stuffed Chicken Breast with Apple-Thyme Sauce
Tuesday - Isola Baked Pork Chops, from the Paleo Diet Book
Wednesday - Beef & Spinach Scramble, from the Paleo Diet Book
Thursday - Rosemary Pork Chops
Friday - Beef Patties with Baked Tomatoes

Ok, we are always asked what we do for breakfast, lunch and snacks.  For breakfast, we have eggs and something mixed into them. It is usually some meat that we may have left over after making all the lunches or it comes from a steak or chicken breast that we have grilled up for our snack. Sometimes we add some kind of veggie, like bell pepper. And for lunch, what we do is we cook enough food at dinner to feed a family of 6 or 8 and that way Shane has his two lunches, I have a lunch and a little left over for Davey. And yes Davey eats as much of a Paleo diet as a one year can.  He has his calcium and I like to give him some grains.

Making that many meals can be time consuming to prepare but it keeps you out of the restaurants at lunch and keeps you on the Paleo path. As I mentioned, we do cook a steak or chicken breast for a snack, but we also have fresh veggies, like broccoli, carrots, bell pepper, cucumber, and fresh fruits, are just a few. And we also add in some seeds and nuts, Shane's favorite part of snack time. We either mix our own from the bulk section at HEB or we buy it from My Fit Foods. If you do mix your own from a grocery store you need to watch out for the salt, oils and other chemical additives.

I can't wait to try out more new recipes; I will post them in the comments section, after we have tried!! Hope everyone has a great week!!

Fight Gone Bad 4!

Me, Vic Zachary & Mark Cournoyer at FGB4

Fight Gone Bad IV at Bayou City CrossFit was awesome. I didn't do as well as I hoped to, but I had a great time. Huge thanks to Vic at BCCF and the whole crew there and everyone that donated their time and effort. I ended up having to start on the rower which was not ideal, especially considering that wall ball is one of my weaknesses, it would have been nice to do it as rx'd and start at wall ball. Anyway, I came up with 277 reps, so not a good day, not a bad day, but a great workout and a great time for a great cause. Ended the day by heading to College Station with my wife Karen and Mark & Jeanna Cournoyer to hang out with my little brother Cruz (he is a sophomore at TAMU) and eat and drink things I shouldn't have. But hey, I feel like I earned it, I had been a good boy for over a month.  I need these types of breaks to keep my sanity.

I am back on strict Paleo now.  It is amazing the impact that one day of eating "regular" food and having a few drinks can have on you.  I still don't feel right and it has been almost two days.  The more I take these "breaks" though, the better decisions I seem to make during those breaks because I find that it usually is not worth it.  I find myself making conscious decisions to not eat or drink certain things because I just don't want them as I know what they will do to my body and my hormones.  I try to tell myself it is worth it so I can cut loose, but I don't know how convinced I am anymore.  There is just no substitute for a healthy Paleo diet that has you feeling great all the time.  But hey, I am human, and sometimes I have to cut loose even if I know I will regret it...the trick is to learn not to do it as often, and then when you do it, keep everything in perspective and in moderation.  Not only will you feel better, but you will feel better about yourself as well.

Time to saddle back up for the next run...stay tuned, my son's 1st birthday party is coming up this weekend, soon followed by a CrossFit competition and a much anticipated visit from my best friend Ben & his family where Ben and I will be heading to San Antonio for the CrossFit Olympic Lifting Certification!

Pre-Fight Gone Bad

From Left to Right after the WOD: James, Mark, My Son Davey & Me

Since I have the Fight Gone Bad Fundraiser this Saturday at Bayou City CrossFit I decided to do a practice run through at about 90% yesterday along with my daily WOD.  The past several days of hard work without much rest left me pretty sore and broken down, but we toughed through it.  We didn't count our reps, just went hard and enjoyed the pain.  Sometimes I find it refreshing to not keep score and just give it your best.

My buddy and fellow CrossFitter Mark Cournoyer and his friend James came over so we could enjoy this together.  James has a long history of rowing so we were able to benefit from his knowledge and critiques of our rowing technique.  James is a very knowledgable guy and I really appreciate his input and help.

This was James' introduction to CrossFit.  James is fit from rowing and from Krav Maga, but having the pleasure of introducing him to CrossFit is pure joy to me.  I love this stuff and being able to share it with others is awesome!  Thanks again to Mark and James for coming over and suffering with me!

After 4 straight days of tough WODs and doubling up on two of those days, I am looking forward to a rest day today.

On a related note, I am very honored to be a part of the FGB4 Fundraiser this weekend.  It has been a pleasure to prepare and raise money for such a worthy cause.  I hope my performance on Saturday is worthy of those I am fighting to help.

Week of 9/21 Paleo Menu

This week we are trying a few more new recipes that I came across and changed up to be more Paleo. If you’re wondering how to go about doing that, I go through the many cookbooks that I have gotten throughout the years and just find recipes that look like they have ingredients that could easily be taken out and changed up to something more Paleo. For example one of my recipes calls for a half cup of salted chicken broth, I could try to find a salt and chemical free chicken broth or make my own. Some days I just don't want to spend half my day in the kitchen making chicken broth and then my main meal. So I just take it out or add an all natural fruit juice, like orange or apple juice. Ok, here's our menu for the week:

Monday - Grilled Fish (Halibut, Sea Bass, Salmon) with Blueberry Sage sauce
Tuesday - Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast with Apple-Thyme Sauce
Wednesday - Sirloin Hamburger Patties with Mushrooms
Thursday - From The Paleo Diet book by Loren Cordain Ph.d, Las Margaritas Stir Fried Ground Beef and Peppers
Friday - Spinach Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cranberry Sauce

And each day is served with a seasonal veggie like a squash or green beans.

If it's a new recipe, on the day that I cook it and if we like it I will post the recipe for everyone to try out. If you are interested in the recipe before I post it, let me know and I can get it to you. As we go on, I will talk more about Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks.

Howdy & Welcome to the Gibson Garage Gym!

This is our first blog post of many to follow. Here we will journal and record our fitness training, diet, thoughts, ideas and news about exciting things to come from the Gibson family.

Expect many cool things and exciting news as we get this ball rolling. Please feel free to tell any of your family and friends about us that you think would enjoy coming along with us on our self improvement journey.

Thanks for stopping by, be sure to check in regularly for new and exciting stuff!