Today, I saw my gym's culture.

As I write this, the date is September 11th, 2024. The 23rd Anniversary of a massive, direction changing day for the world, the country, and countless people on this earth's lives. Everyone who was alive that day has an experience tied to it and we will never forget. As is the custom in a CrossFit Gym on a military specific holiday or a day with national significance, we had a workout to honor the firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. My noon class was sparse today (four people: Brooke, Brian, Delana, and Stan). A few of my regulars texted me their reasons for not signing up, but the workout wasn't super sexy so I would have understood even if I hadn't received genuinely acceptable reasons for their absence.

Teams of 2, For Time:

343/275 Calorie Echo Bike

*Starting at 0:00 and every 3:00 after, perform 11 synchronized burpees.

*Time cap is 33:00.

If you've been a member of mine for a decent amount of time and experienced a Hero or Memorial workout, you've heard me say it. "This doesn't suck, it's not the worst, and I do not want to hear you dishonor a workout named in the memory of the deceased. Lean into it, use it. It is supposed to be hard and difficult. The moments of discomfort you are going through pale in comparison for the inspiration for the workout." So, I said it again today. When I was done, a hand went up. The hand belonged to Stan, who is 68 years old and works his tale off every day he is in the gym. He is always positive and always encouraging. He shared that a grand niece passed away a few years ago and today is her birthday so it has always been a hard day for him since. He almost didn't come but wanted knew that every day can be hard and he needed to work out.

Workout starts, we are maybe 3-4 intervals in. I am standing near Stan and his teammate, Delana. I see the burpees starting to add up and slow everyone down. Stan stays on his hands and knees as Delana finishes a rep.

Delana: Come on we can do this.

Stan: I'm tapping out, you keep going.

Delana: Nope, we are in this together.

Stan gets up and finishes the eleven reps and D jumps on the bike. I walked over (full of pride in both of them) and ask Stan what he needs to keep going, she's going to pull him through this thing like it or not. We settle on a 12" box to do a modified, incline burpee to a plank.

The workout ends and nobody finished. I am so stinking proud of the room, I turn the music down and tell them they did everything I could have wanted. They never stopped, they never complained, they helped each other. Brooke and Brian share with the rest of the room what I already knew. Prior to class, the pair(two very dedicated afternoon members) had told me they were at the noon class because they had spent the morning with their 10-year old dog who it had come time let pass after getting a year more than they expected. They needed to work out and not be sad all day. I know what I do matters to people and is important. Sure, I want to help people lose weight and live better. But some days you guys just need the workout.

The group stayed together after the workout ended, after the hour had ended, and we just talked. We all shared stories of beloved pets that had come and gone. We threw the ball for Mickey. It was a shining moment of lots of things I wish for the gym and one of the coolest classes I have coached in a long time. Just four people, and a reminder why I am here.