CLEAN YOUR POOL - The work done before improving health and fitness

It’s May 1^stand we are officially one month away from the start of pool season. Where areyou at with your “2024 is going to be my year” goals? Same spot you were at in2023 at this time?  
Well, You’re in luck!  The best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago ortoday, and since today is all we have, it’s time to clean your shit up, we needto get the pool ready! Clean your pool!  These are the steps everyoneskips over and the reason why goals seem to come and go. There’s work that needto be done ahead of time, some hard work! Most of us do zero planning,zero clearing the way for new habits, we just the add on new random shit thathas no chance of sticking/lasting because it’s piled on top of all of our oldshit.  This leads to frustration and the eventual slide back into the oldroutines.  The very same routines that had us frustrated and looking fornew ways of doing things.
 
So let’s start cleaning!  If I was getting a pool ready for the summer, Iwouldn’t just go put a hose in, fill it up, throw in a cup of chlorine, andexpect it to be ready to go.  I have to drain and clean that fucking thingfirst.  Some of you might be saying “that’s a bit aggressive language fora pool analogy” Well if you’ve ever actually cleaned a pool, you know that’snot too aggressive, it’s a hard, gross, and a not so fun job.  Cleaningyour “dirty pool” or your current lifestyle/habits will be no different. However, once done, it will make for a beautiful clean refreshing pool to swimin for the rest of the year.  Also, remember, depending on where you’reat, even when the pool gets clean, some of you are still going to have to stayin the shallow end with floaties on for a while.  No worries though, you’llbe swimming in deep end and going off the diving board in no time!
 
So let’s drain the dirty pool water.  What in your life can you get rid ofthat is going to get in the way of your pool being crystal clear?  Ifcleaning up your finances is a goal, what equals dirty pool water that cango? 

• Daily $6 Starbucks habit     (will also clean up your fitness/health pool)
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• High cable bills (time and     money waster)
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• Monthly re-occurring bills     (when was the last time you sat down and looked if there were lower prices     for all the stuff that pops up monthly? We saved over $2000 for the year     alone just by switching garbage and internet companies)

*Now I’m definitely no financial expert, but I am an expert whenit comes to health and fitness.

 
Nutrition Pool Water

• Starbucks again – lets be     perfectly clear on this one, not only will you save money, but stop lying     to yourself and saying you are buying coffee.  Starbucks doesn’t sell     coffee. Unless you drink your coffee black, like an adult, they are selling     you caffeinated sugar. 
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• Soda (EVEN DIET) All of you     that thought you were off the Starbucks hook because you don’t drink     coffee, you drink soda/diet soda.  Well this is worse.  Adults     drink water and black coffee, they don’t drink soda.  No one should     drink soda, not kids, not adults, no one! Not regular, not diet, not in     between, nothing, stop drinking soda!  
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• Glass of wine or bourbon     during the week (this is like peeing in your pool, you don’t need this,     save the drinks for the hot tub (weekend) keep them to a minimum and stop     drinking like you’re in college, be an adult.
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• “I have a sweet tooth” so     does my 9-year-old.  If you’re still eating chocolate eggs from Easter,     it’s time to clean them out.  This also applies to any other “treats”     you have in your house, we are cleaning the pool and getting ready for     summer!

Fitness Pool Water

·       “I don’t know what to do” - Findsomeone that does. They should live and look how you want to. They should alsobe doing the fitness routine they are selling you! If Rick at Cycle ColorTheory is 22 years old and goes to a different gym to do his workouts andspends multiple hours a day to look the way he does, why would you waste yourtime and money with that person. *Disclaimer – I own a CrossFit gym. I dobecause it works! I follow the programing, workout 1 hour a day, and I am fitas fuck, not just look fit, I am truly fit.

·       “I don’t have time” – Bullshit! Youdon’t make the time. Get up early, you don’t have shit going on at 5am. I knowit’s hard, but you have the time. Either choose to make the time for yourhealth and fitness now, or be forced to give up the time later when it’s toolate. Aging is inevitable, decline is controllable, it just takes work!

·       “It costs too much” – If you think amonthly membership working with a professional costs too much, wait until youget the doctor’s bill because you didn’t invest the time and money in yourself.And what about the money you’re already spending? It isn’t normal to be onmultiple daily medications. You just think it is because the majority of peopleare. This is back to trying to put chlorine in dirty water, it masks thesymptoms, but never address the problem that your pool filter isn’t workingproperly. The goal should be to get off of all that shit, not to keep throwingdifferent chemicals into the pool until you find one that works

Now that the water is drained, what is left isbig pile of rotting leaves and muck at the bottom of your pool.  This isall the bullshit that rattles around in your mind.  This too must becleaned out.

• I’m not good enough.
• I’ve always been overweight.
• This is hard.
• I don’t deserve this.
• Who am I to do this?

 
Oh shit! Is that a dead squirrel in all that muck? Those dead critters are allof the excuses, and yes, these must be cleaned out as well. You’re going toneed a shovel, a bucket, and possibly some help.  These tend to be hard todeal with.

• I have bad _______ and can’t     do _______
• My doctor told me not to     _______
• _______ runs in my family so     I can’t ____________

 
All of this cleaning isn’t easy and is going to take some major elbow grease onyour part, but it must be done.  Again, if you don’t, you’re just going tobe putting clean water into all the dirty.  It might help it look a littlebetter, but it’s still going to be brown and have shit floating in it. Also, it takes time to clean a pool, be prepared to do some work, get some helpdoing it, and remember, even when the pool is clean, the water must be checkeddaily to make sure it stays clean, and the occasional leaves will need to beremoved.  Oh yeah, those damn squirrels also fall in when the pool isclean.  
 
Next, we’ll start to talk about how to get the pool ready once you’ve cleanedit.  Until then, go put your work clothes on, this is a dirty job!
 
In Strength,
 
Eric Karls M.Ed.
CrossFit Conductor
Chief Awesomeness Engineer
Certified Level 3 CrossFit Coach

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