When Life Gives You 'Lemon

...Wrap your elite ass in it.

Lululemon knows how to wrap bums.

In CrossFit we constantly seek to improve ourselves in the gym. Without any extra effort, and most times totally unaware it's happening...we soon extend this fitness six sigma to the rest of our lives, often leaving no stone unturned. We become obsessed in a way...ok, not in a way, we're just fucking obsessed. In any case, the drive to extend the influence of our increased performance is as limitless as Kim Jong Il's thirst for power and height. 

There's the big, poignant, obvious stuff like career, family life, health, etc. There's also other, seemingly insignificant things that improve dramatically along with our Fran times, often without us realizing them. Appreciation is a big one. By filtering out all the bullshit, as we do in CrossFit...a la Fight Club we're able to focus more on the things that matter. Even in things that don't "matter" as much, we hold a higher standard than we did before - "good enough" just isn't anymore.

I had such an experience one Saturday afternoon with a fellow CrossFitter in Cambridge Massachusetts, at Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage. As we sat on the street across from the ivy covered iron gates in the shadow of Harvard University, I suddenly began to appreciate the amazing culinary experience that we had engaged. Bartley's makes the best, and most creative burgers anywhere in Boston...and has been a local landmark since 1960. It's a treat for anyone, but I think we enjoyed it a little more richly than the other patrons did that day.

But a small sample of what Mr. Bartley's has to offer.

As crossfitters most of us eat pretty clean diets - yet another example of that constant improvement - so, when we do indulge in something that's about as good for our bodies as a cyanide fizzy, we enjoy it much, much more than we did in our pre-CrossFit lives. You're not going to settle for a shitty burger from McDonald's....you're going to hold out for the good stuff. If you're going to poison yourself with something delectable it's going to be the best of the best of whatever that is - Bartley's Burgers, not BK. If you're going to do something that you'll pay for later, it's going to be worth it. I assure you, Mr. Bartley's is all that and more.

How it feels to put Lululemon pants on.

As we become less accepting of sub-par parts of ourselves, so we do in others and in the things we choose. That could be a burger, a cookie, or clothes. I remember scoffing at people who were paying $100 for Lululemon pants. How I finally bit the bullet on that one is a story for another time, but the end result is the same. You've suffered to forge an elite ass, and now you're looking for something to wrap it in. Burlap isn't going to cut it, and Skidz (definition #2) aren't going to show it off. Enter the Luon(tm) swaddled CrossFit bum. These pants, and the rest of their gear for that matter are pricey...but the quality is unmatched. I've climbed up and down a rope for 2yrs in a pair of those pants, done countless barbell movements, etc. There isn't a rip, pull, or snag anywhere on them. If you're going to spend a lot of time in, on, or with something (or someone), it might as well be the best, and make your ass look fucking amazing at the same time.