Happiness and such!

Hi everyone! It's Christina here! Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

Something amazing has occurred to me. It's unreal how the little actions we choose to do, or not do, in our daily life effects us to the core. 


This past couple weeks I've had some very center shifting realizations, when I choose to live an active, healthy life I am a happier person. I know this may be hard for those of you who have always been active to understand, but for someone like me who hasn't always been active, it is life changing.


Now as a busy mom of 3, believe me, there's not much sitting around. My house is always being cleaned and I'm always running laundry up and down the stairs but I'm talking about going swimming and heading to the mountains for a hike. Those kinds of activities just seemed exhausting to me. I'm going to be very honest, often times I felt jealousy when I saw others living the active life that I didn't think I was capable of living! Now I should mention, I've tried lifestyle changes in the past but I've never felt the happiness I feel now.


 About 6 years ago right now, after the birth of my first child, I decided to get a personal trainer. He was a great personal trainer, I lost about 30 lbs in 12 weeks and was stronger than I probably had ever been but I can say wholeheartedly I hated every minute. He told me that if I stopped working out that I would miss it and I can say with great certainty he was wrong! Ha! At the end of my sessions with him I found out I was pregnant with my second child and I remember one of my biggest feelings was one of relief because it was my "out" from having to workout (or at least it was an excuse I could be happy with). Other the next 6 years I tired many different weight lose attempts and nothing felt life changing.


Nothing felt like it was something I could do forever ... Nothing until now! Right now I'm not even putting a lot of focus on my weight but focusing on how I'm feeling. As I stood talking with Coach Swagar yesterday she said something that really hit home for me:


She told me she was teaching me to be able to live an active life on my own! I can say I'm getting to a point where I can do a really good workout by myself. That's a big accomplishment for me and I'm so grateful to Coach Swagar for helping me get to this place!

Last Friday morning I did a early morning work out with my workout buddy Carina. It was a hard one! It was a 20 min AMRAP and I really had to push. I did well and felt a lot of accomplishment from it but when I got home I went upstairs to my bedroom where Greg was and I sat on the bed and just started crying ... Like real, ugly, crying!


Greg was confused as I had just told him how good the workout was and to be honest I was just as confused. I told him I thought part of it was a realization of the long road I have ahead but I also told him that I'm not scared or discouraged by it. I very much embrace that I have a long journey ahead and I never want my journey to end! When the weight road ends I want to make a turn on a new road to a new place!


I texted Coach Swagar and told her what was going on, that I was crying for no apparent reason but couldn't stop it. She told me to feel what I need to feel, cry if I need to cry and just go with it. Friday ended up being a great day and after an amazing weekend with friends I had an awesome Monday morning workout! I came home from that workout feeling amazing and bouncing off the walls with excitement! It seems everyday is a new adventure. I find myself more willing to try new things and be more spontaneous (although I still have a long way to go before I'm where I want to be).

Life is good and I'm excited for more! Next post I promises to add a picture or two! :)

Back On Track With Corrective Exercise

Back On Track With Corrective Exercise

Bent over a crumpled female athlete crying on the ground, I said, with an assertive tone “ you need to stop crossfiting, it should not be painful.” Then I got a plastic bag and ran outside and put some snow in it so that she could ice her back.

This athlete soon became my first corrective exercise client and my dear friend. She has helped me develop a keen eye and a dedication to form and correct movement. From that day on I dove into learning more about how to help people correct their imbalances and bad biomechanics.

My new passion for form and correct movement became a curse. I would watch CrossFitters move, picking out weaknesses and improper patterns. I saw so many clients that should not have been doing what they were doing. It truly opened my mind to form leads function and one of my many Swagarisms of “ just because you can do it, does not mean you should”.

I will introduce my crumpled female athlete, Carina Huggins. She had been a CrossFitter for a year before she fell to the pain.  Her problems were vast from a motor vehicle accident she was in two years prior to CrossFit. From the accident, she had developed problematic muscle imbalances and extensive compensations. Carina had multiple pain areas and structural imbalances. Her road to corrective movement was going to be long, so I sat down with her rehabilitative team and made a plan.

Pain management was our first battle and EDCUATION on what she needed to be doing to stop this pain.

Education was a big part of the first months with Carina. She is a very intelligent person who wanted to know what we were doing and why. So we needed to educate her and inform her every step of the way.

This is now a philosophy that I maintain for all my clients. If you take the time to educate them as to how and why you are doing things they are more likely to succeed. However, it is a choice. Many people want the quick fix the magic pill. Sorry to say, but there is no pill or magic when it comes to Corrective Exercise. It is a long process.  It takes time and hard work, discipline and attention to detail. It takes motivation and internal strength. This lends to another Swagarism “Rome was not built in a day.”

Coach Swagar

CrossFit MOST Community: Aaron Johnson

What’s shakin’? My name is Aaron Johnson. 



Jenn and Dave have asked me to chat a little bit about life, living, and G rated loving on their Blog page for their new Crossfit Box. Crossfit MOST. That being said, please do not take anything I say as their words. They are being dreamt up in my noggin’, and therefore are my words. Although I do hope that they agree on some of it.

(There, my warning shots have been fired! Please take cover.)

I figured I would just start out quickly today by sharing with you how I met the Swagars. From there I will post randomly about the 3 topics mentioned above, and many of my personal experiences that I feel may give you a little insight on how to deal with them if you happen to find yourself in similar circumstances. So if you have any questions or comments, please do leave them, as I love feedback.

Okay, let us get this party started.

When people ask me what Crossfit is all about? Or what makes it so good? A few things rattle through my gray matter like an old trusty locomotive. Crossfit’s definition is one. “Constantly Varied Functional Movements, executed at high intensity.” “It is just F*@king awesome and honestly life changing.”  is two. Actually that is probably the first thingJ and just the way I like to speakJ (sorry if it offends you) And the list goes on and on. Anyone that knows me, or has even met me for that matter, quickly finds out that I love to chat, and tend to let one story lead into another with no real direction of where it first was intended. I think that it is caused by my mouth starting to talk before my brain has had a chance to react, or even process what I am saying. Point proven.

Anyhoo. Of all the things that go choo chooing through my brain, the one that sticks out the most to me, and probably why I hold Crossfit so close to my heart, is the community. You will here it again and again from everyone that is involved with it. Sure it is a fabulous way to stay in shape and maintain a healthy body for years to come. And sure it has a competitive outlet with the Crossfit Games side of things, if that is something you choose to do. But the real meat and potatoes of it, or at least in my opinion, is the community.

As defined by Dictionary.com

com·mu·ni·ty [kuh-myoo-ni-tee]

noun, plural com·mu·ni·ties.

a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists (usually preceded by the ): the business community; the community of scholars.

This community is like extended family. I will dive into this whole “community” topic on another post, but wanted to use it as a segue into how I met David (Dave as I call himJ) and Jenn (Swags) Swagar. And their beauty of a family I might add.

Like most great relationships throughout life, my relationship with the Swagars has been very organic. From initially meeting Jenn at CFAI and then being introduced to Dave a short time after, our friendship has grown into something that is quite dear to me. Not only do we share the same passion for fitness and maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle, but also the same morals and values when it comes to life in general. That life is precious and helping people out is far more important than making a buck. That family and friends are the true treasures in life, and the moments that we can spend with them are what make this life worth living. That taking the time to improve someone else’s life, while expecting nothing in return, improves who you are and makes the world a better place. That time is precious, and to spend it doing things that are truly meaningful to you.

Since initially meeting both of them, I have “spent” many hours over a couple drinks and food (more food than drinks for sure!) Chatting about all sorts of topics that interest us, long boarding or going for a run with Dave, being educated on the human body and proper movement, or just having a good laugh over something that was funny and then realizing it is 2am and we all should be in bed. Perhaps that is why it was so funnyJ All I have to say about the time I have spent with them, is that is was “time well spent.”

Wishing you both, Dave and Jenn, all the best with your new box/business, and I feel privileged to be along for the ride.