Show Up

I stood in our gym today and imagined watching my athletes for the first time.... like as a spectator that had never seen a group of people work out at their level.

It is really something to behold. And I would imagine a bit intimidating.

I wonder sometimes the newbies understand that, for the most part, the vets they see killing it hadn't done much in the way of weight training before coming to Tribe. Most had never even touched a barbell and very few could do pull-ups.

But the beautiful thing is, if you stumble your way into our facility and you really settle in..... and then work your ass off (literally) you too (Yes! YOU!) can do what they do. They earned every PR with time in. They showed up every day, pushed themselves every day, asked questions every day, and plugged in with each other every day to very slowly, over time, grow into the animals that move around in there like it's their very own jungle.

And so my plea to those of you who are looking for some place to work out and call home: Just show up.

And to you all that already call yourselves Tribe athletes: Just keep showing up.


We have a solid half and half mix right now of vets (peeps that have been around for six months or longer) and newbies, some of who have just started this past week. And as a coach, I've had to carefully think about how to handle that in terms of the workouts, my level of coaching aggression, how cussy I'll be with four brand new people standing there trying to figure out why I'm teaching back squats in booty shorts (aka "itty bitty workout panties"), all the while the filthiest of music floating around in the air (along with all the damn chalk.)


What's a girl to do?

Well, we've come this far with a white board full of death. And a coach who asks you to "look down and see if your biznass is splitting the line on the floor". This "me" is what works for us.

Intense. Real. Bossy AF. And takes no shit.

But also, will love you. Cry with you. Bleed with you. And die on those mats with and for you.

We are Tribe because of how we have done things for the last several years, starting with our tiny corner of the CHK strength floor and the two-car garage on 143rd street. And our numbers stay high because I continue to stay focused on what matters, and that just so happens to be the folks who show up dark and early, or mid-morning with cranky littles that want a nap and more peanut butter crackers (NOW!),  or on their precious one hour lunch break, or at the end of the day when all they wanna do is go home and climb in their beds.

Here's the deal: If you walk in the door with the "T" on the front and look at me and say, "Yes. I want to be a part of all of this", you matter to me. And the longer you stay, the more I'll fall in love with you. And I hope you'll begin to realize you've stumbled your way into a very unique group of people: The kind that will unleash a power in you that you had NO idea existed.

Your Mondays can be full of magic. You just have to show up.