S06E188 The Coaching-Competing Balancing Act: Individual vs Coaching Goals with Guest Bobby Wallum
What happens when your passion for coaching collides with your desire to compete at the highest level? In this raw and revealing conversation, coaches David Syvertsen @davesy85, Sam Rhee @bergencosmetic and Bobby Wallum @bigbobbybowwow tackle the universal struggle of balancing personal athletic aspirations with professional coaching responsibilities.
The trio dives deep into time management strategies that make both roles possible, challenging the common excuse of "not having enough time." As David pointedly remarks, "I rarely have any sympathy for anyone who says they don't have time... you're probably just wasting a lot of time." Their candid discussion exposes how digital distractions rob us of potential training hours and how disciplined focus can reclaim that time.
Beyond practical time management, the conversation evolves into a profound exploration of purpose versus passion. "Passion brings you to the gym, passion brings you to going to the assault bike and starting the workout. But purpose is what gets you to finish the workout," David shares, illuminating why some coaches maintain their commitment through challenges while others burn out. This distinction between what initially attracts us to fitness and what sustains us long-term offers listeners valuable perspective on their own fitness journeys.
Perhaps most touchingly, these competitive coaches reveal their struggles with prioritization. Despite their competitive drive, they unanimously agree that their coaching impact ultimately provides greater fulfillment than personal accolades. As David poignantly states, "I don't want, at my funeral, to be like 'Do you guys remember that one year Dave made the Games?' I want to be remembered for doing my best for Bison, the community, and helping others compete at a high level."
Whether you're a coach balancing multiple roles, an athlete with competing priorities, or someone trying to fit fitness into a busy life, this episode offers practical wisdom for walking your talk while honoring your personal goals. Subscribe now to continue this journey of balancing fitness, coaching, and life with the Herd Fit team.
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S06E188 The Coaching-Competing Balancing Act: Individual vs Coaching Goals with Guest Bobby Wallum
TRANSCRIPT
Speaker Names
David SyvertsenHost
00:05
Hey everybody, welcome to the Herd Fit Podcast with Dr Sam Rhee and myself Coach David Syverton. This podcast is aimed at helping anyone and everyone looking to enhance their healthy lifestyle through fitness, nutrition and, most importantly, mindset.
David SyvertsenHost
00:21
All right, welcome back to the Herd Fited podcast. I'm Coach David Syrton, I'm here with my co-host, dr and Coach Sam Rhee, and for the second straight week we got Coach Bob sitting in between us and we are going to go into episode two with Bob and I think all three of us have some really important feedback topics, questions for each other, and this is really going to be about blending your individual goals with your goals as a coach or owner or employee, whatever, because we are three individuals here and we all three have individual goals within CrossFit. It could be performance, aesthetics, health, wellness, mental health. We all have reasons why we come to the gym. We have things that we want Bison to give us right Me and Bobby especially, it's. It's our job, our income's gym. We have things that we want bison to give us Right, me and Bobby especially it's it's our job, our incomes coming. We want this place to do well so that, yes, we can bring home money to our families and support, you know, our children as they grow up and pay our bills Right. But we also have competitive goals that we want to really pursue on our own.
01:21
I'm entering age 40 to 44 years. It's always been in my scope to kind of pursue the competitive scene for it. Once I got there, bobby's at the young part of the 35, 39 bracket, so he's obviously going after a little bit. But we're both coaches and I think if you really put us in a dark corner, I think we would be honest in that, saying, like we do know that the coach, the work side of this place, is probably more important than us qualifying for the games and spending three grand to go and compete somewhere. But that that is.
01:50
They are hard to mesh with each other, but I have always been a very firm believer that the two can feed each other. You know you have an individual goal. If you really are present, it can actually make you a better coach. And if you are a better coach, if you try to be a better coach, I think it can make you a better coach. And if you are a better coach, if you try to be a better coach, I think it can make you a better athlete. I've been on that train since I've started coaching. So, bob, going into this really kind of getting into how to you prioritize what is truly most important to you as both a coach and athlete, how do you put much thought into that, or is it something that just naturally comes to you?
Bobby WallumGuest
02:24
Well, um, initially, when I started this whole journey out of, uh, crossfit, I was, you know, I'm going to make it to the CrossFit Games, you know, and I think a lot of people have that, uh, that thought, and some make it there. And then I have saw some of these guys and see their times or the weight they lifted and I'm trying to calculate in my head how is it even possible to do that many reps in this amount of time Like this? It's not making sense to me. And then I quickly realized, okay, I'm probably not going to make it to the CrossFit Games, but when my time is here, when I'm a master, I might have a shot. So that was probably like six years ago. I made that realization and now we finally made it here.
03:03
So right now I do have that as like a little bit more of a realistic goal maybe, um, but in terms of, you know, what's important really for me is just doing something every day is like it's more of like a mental thing for me, right, right. So I need to do something, I need to move. Um, it just makes me feel better and as long as I'm feeling better, then I'm going to be my best self, yeah, and that that will make me a better coach, a better husband, father, everything. So it just being able to do that, whatever it is, might be 10 minutes of just, you know, riding a bike doing some bicep curls because they're awesome, yep, it's. You know, riding a bike doing some bicep curls because they're awesome, it's you know, I'm going to feel better, yeah, so that's, that's, that's like the most important thing for me, just doing something.
David SyvertsenHost
03:52
I love that, yeah, so you're doing something for yourself because it makes you kind of better outside. Sam, do you feel that when you go to work like you work you're you've always been a morning workout guy. You have a pretty serious job that takes a lot of just like skill and intelligence to you is part of your motivation of working out in the morning. That it's kind of set you up for success later in the day uh, yeah, it's for health.
Sam RheeCo-host
04:10
I mean no doubt, like if I miss more than two days, I know I don't feel good yeah um, of course, if I work out every day all week, I don't feel good either.
04:20
So it's kind of a little bit of a balance here. But I think think the issue is really you know, can you? You know, because performance goals and achieving at a high level is very selfish, like when I went through to become you know, during my training, I was singularly focused on me getting through this challenge, which was whatever it was was you know, graduating or finishing my training or whatever. Very selfish, yeah. And I think most athletes, when you're really focused on achieving a certain goal, you have to be selfish. It's not about giving to others or being present for this, that or the other thing.
04:58
I think you see, most elite athletes, they're really focused on self, and so I always felt like there was a little bit of a conflict with being in service to others, which is what coaching is. You're in service to others. So I always listen to you, dave, about being in service, being an elite athlete, performance, helping others and you can marry those, and I think I always love hearing that, because I want to hear there is some inherent conflict and I always want to hear the solutions on how to actually make that happen. So, as a coach and as someone who's on the brink of making the CrossFit Games, like, how are you pulling the time together for yourself, making sure you are performing at your elite level but then also fitting in? Like you said, you can't ignore being a father, you can't ignore being a husband, you can't ignore work, right? So what do you do to like make that happen?
Bobby WallumGuest
05:58
Well, I think you kind of have just like snuck it in there. It's time management, right, as you have to be able to manage your time well, and this is something I learned for sure. You know I followed, um, I've been following Invictus' competition programming for 12 years, you know, for a very long time. At this point, and when I first started doing it like they would have part A, b, c, d, e, f Sometimes they throw a G in there I'm like, you know it's like okay, so I have to do all this. I'd be in the gym for, you know, three hours at that. But I again, I was.
06:29
I was 12 years ago, I was a 23 year old kid, um, I had a little more time to do that. Now I'm like, oh, um, I'll do part B and then I'll do some of my own stuff and that that's it. Like I'll just you know, maybe it's just lifting and like a short metcon, but I I'm able to now, just kind of, I know myself much more, so I'm able to do what I feel I need to do and what's necessary for me, um, but it's it's a little bit less usually, but I'm also, like I said, do something every day, so if I'm missing something, some accessory work on a Sunday, I could come in and do that and, like you know, I'm all good, I'll, I'll fit it in. But, as, like I said, every day I I need to do something, but it only might be 10 minutes a day and it might be chest to bars and, you know, pushups, whatever, whatever that day is.
Sam RheeCo-host
07:20
It sounds like, dave, you kind of had the same philosophy with that sort of thing.
David SyvertsenHost
07:23
Yeah, I mean, I think that time management is a lost skill because of how many distractions are at our disposal now, Like the amount of time we waste on our phones. Oh yeah, I remember this is years ago, where I didn't even know this was a thing. It was during COVID, where you could check how long you spent on Instagram every day. I'm not very tech savvy, as Sam knows, but I didn't even know that was a thing and I remember going there and it was during COVID and it was like hour 41 minutes. I'm like what that's? A full-blown training session right there.
07:54
And before Instagram was a thing. What did you do with that time? And we probably were more productive, or I would say it was easier to be more productive back. And it's not just Instagram, it's all technology, it could be YouTube, it could be Twitter, it could be the amount of the ability to stream television shows and movies, like it's just easier to go find entertainment. And I do think at my peak training days was also pre pre-kid, but I had some, uh, some good training regimens. After Brock was born as well. It really came down to being disciplined with the time that you did have. It wasn't I have two hours of training to do, it was I have 37 minutes and I'm going to maximize 37. So I'm not. I'm not going to talk to my friends, I'm not going on my phone in between sets, it is just working and it's amazing how much you can get done.
08:43
I was just about to say that same thing that in 37 minutes you can get a lot of work done smoke like you can get smoked, and you don't even need 37, to be honest with you no so one thing I did was, after my coaching schedule was set, like, uh, this is pre bobby, but I've oh, I made, I was made in charge of the schedule for 10 years, basically until liz became head coach, right, and I always lived under the philosophy, that kind of give everyone what they needed. And then I would basically fell in the cracks and I there's good and bad about that and there were struggle points and great points about that as well but I always would get that schedule set and be like all right, that period I go into coach at four, 15, I'm free from one to four, I can go in at two, I can get a long training session in. Oh, hey, I have to wake up early the next three days. I hate working out after a coach in the morning, it's just I just don't respond well to it. So that I would use that eight to 9.30 period that you have on Tuesdays to program and like I would just find regimented ways to get work done so that when I don't have to program on Fridays anymore, I can use that to train Long-winded way of saying.
09:47
I rarely have any sympathy for anyone says they don't have time and like there's a good shot that if you tell me you don't have time to do something, I'm rolling my eyes Because and it's not a disrespectful thing, it's you're probably just wasting a lot of time. I do think we have a lot of time to get a lot done. Dal Sierra was with him the other night and he goes like I really do think I could have four full-time jobs and get it done and people can't do one because they just waste so much time. And you know the I don't exercise, we don't have time. You have 10 minutes. Go do 10 minutes of burpees. It's not fun, but you giving yourself the grace to not do ABCDEFG, do ABCD and like hey you still have moved the needle in one way or another.
Bobby WallumGuest
10:55
Last thing I'll say is when you are or lack of will show up because of that, but it's not the time, I think the victim mentality is what hurts us there. A lot of times they say oh, you're gym owners, oh, you'll never be able to put enough time in, you're not going to be able to work out at all. Dave's just breaking that mold, you know, before our eyes. So it is impressive.
David SyvertsenHost
11:11
And I think the like elite athlete, good athlete, whatever I mean, it's all a subjective term. Like I've always said, I'm not the elite athlete. Like I've always said, the elite athlete are the one that can qualify for the CrossFit Games. I've never gotten there, but I have no shame in saying I've tried to become one for 12 years. I have no shame. It's never an ego thing. But one thing I have in my dark days have thought about and, bob, you can answer this. Sam, I want you to answer this as well, because you're a very busy guy yourself. Do you ever fall victim to the mistake of saying, man, if I didn't have all this stuff going on, I would be there in those shoes, if I wasn't coaching all these early morning classes, I would be a better athlete and I would be at this level? And be honest, do you ever catch yourself saying that, like Sam, I would have reached this level if I didn't have all these three jobs to do and all these responsibilities?
Sam RheeCo-host
12:01
I think people have told you that. Yeah, they have said, dave, if you offloaded some of your responsibility, you could perform better. I have some thoughts on that and I know that those are discussions that people around you who care about you and support you have said Absolutely Yep For me.
12:17
I feel like I was all in on my job for such a long time and then at some point you feel like it's different than being an athlete and being an individual achieving a certain goal. Like you know, I think, in life you have certain goals you want to achieve and you check off those boxes. Right, I want to own a gym. Right, I want it to be successful, I want to do this. So doing those things is different than saying I want to score in the top 20 in semis and make it to the games, like that is a very objective, hard number that you have to hit.
12:54
But every other goal in life is multifactorial. There are different ways of achieving that, and so for me personally, I've sort of achieved a lot of the listen. Do I want to be sitting there doing certain things on a weekend when I could be just like hanging out and whatever? Yes, but I honestly, at this point in my life, I don't think I could. If I just sat there and did whatever, I would be like I'm bored, I need to find something to do. So I'll see, probably, what. So I so whatever fills your cup is great and you know, for a while I actually very, was very performance oriented.
David SyvertsenHost
13:41
You know, five, six, seven years ago, sam was one of the uh, the og age group online qualifier from this gym.
Sam RheeCo-host
13:46
Yeah, stanton made the first, kathleen made it the first, and then I was like, wow, like that year you made it was one of my funnest years coaching.
David SyvertsenHost
13:54
It really was I had. I had so much fun. When you left me I was like boy, it could be done.
Sam RheeCo-host
13:57
And then so, like you know, that was really really, really hard. So I have a little inkling of what it takes to push to get those extra 10 seconds on that performance, yeah, to get that extra two reps, you know, at that weight To hit that. You know, 315 front squat another time, or something crazy like that. Like it's really really really, really, really, really hard, yeah. And so I don't know if you know, if, if I didn't have a full time job.
David SyvertsenHost
14:29
Yeah right.
Sam RheeCo-host
14:30
Like maybe if I like had literally said and I've known people like surgeons who didn't they're like I'm taking a year off to to climb Mount Everest, that's awesome. And I've known people like surgeons who do that. They're like I'm taking a year off to climb Mount Everest, that's awesome, and they've done it. Yeah, you know, I've talked to them and I'm like you're crazy, but that's great. Like if I said I'm taking six months off and I'm doing nothing but training, yeah, like would I make it to the games? I don't know, like it would be such It'd be a fun ride to take just to see how far you could actually get.
14:56
And so I kind of wonder, when you guys are at the cusp right now to say let me drop everything else, let me put everything that I got into this, you know, for a short period of time, could that actually?
Bobby WallumGuest
15:06
happen. It's really dark like doing all that Because I have so like there's so many times in my head that I just think like why am I doing this?
David SyvertsenHost
15:18
Yeah absolutely.
Bobby WallumGuest
15:19
You know I'm doing these assault like intervals. It's always the assault Like what am I really doing here, like I'm fit enough, right, I don't really need to do this. But then, you know, I have that little voice in the back of my head like Bob, come on, stop being a bitch, you need to just go a little harder, just push this.
David SyvertsenHost
15:39
There's definitely some of the don't be a bitch mindset, but one thing that I hope can inspire you is and I think about this all the time is if you quit or if you are a little bitch and you do kind of back off of it, other people are going to do that too, because, as a coach, this is one of the unique opportunities that a coach has or any leader or a parent even right like I'm full-blown parent game now where the people around you they're going to follow you, and not all of them and I'm not saying they're anointing you. You don't have, they don't have a statue of you outside their house, but you do. As a coach, you do set the tone and I know for a fact I've had people say this to me, I've had people say this to another coach that we've had on the podcast before when you do be suffering consequences that come from it, including tears, if I know, it's going to help someone push towards their goal and that's a huge part of coaching to me 100%.
Bobby WallumGuest
16:50
And I will tell you right now that I have those thoughts. Yeah, I have never quit a workout. Yeah, one time maybe, and that's because I almost had a heart attack doing it. I think it was 110 degrees with 9,000% humidity.
David SyvertsenHost
17:03
Bobby hasn't been here in the summer yet.
Bobby WallumGuest
17:05
Yeah, after this I could do anything, and I think that was the only one that I was probably in 2016. Wow, and I was legit. Death was knocking on my door and other than that I've I've never quit one um, and I don't anticipate, even if you know you finish up, it's a little bit slower than you might, absolutely yeah, it happens yeah, but you give it everything you have, and that's, I think, um what I ask of members too.
17:29
like you don't have to give 110 every day, you just have to give 100 of what you have that day. That might be 75%, but that's fine, that's what I want. Then you don't have to always go super hard. You give what you have that day and that's a win.
David SyvertsenHost
17:46
And this is what walking the walk is and this is why I do like the idea of a coach pursuing their own goals. I've had some really good conversation with people I respect a lot. I listen to, I go to advice in and out of the gym and that line has been said. It's like, hey, that coach should never put their goals above you know the goals of coaching others and I do agree with that. If you had to say black or white objective, this or that, yes, the goal of especially in, like my position, I want to always put others and the gym before me. But, yes, there are times like I'm here for me, like when I usually come, even come work out in class, like I ain't here for any.
18:22
Like I want to work out and but, with that said, it just circles back to what is your why? What is the purpose? Like passion brings you to the gym, passion brings you to going to the assault bike right and starting the workout. But purpose is what gets you to finish the workout. Purpose is why you don't quit workouts and if you can always put purpose before passion, you're good forever. Because if you're only relying on passions, our passions change. Like I'm not, I'm not as passionate about crossfit sport as I used to be same I. I'm just not like dallas and I you know I pick up, keep bringing up this conversation I just had with dallas a couple nights ago. All we talked about for years were crossfit workouts. Like we like all we talked about and it was just like you had nothing else going on, but we were so passionate about it I think that's all.
Sam RheeCo-host
19:15
We still talk about.
David SyvertsenHost
19:19
Or I used to get really upset about not doing workouts, and I can see it in people here, you know, redoing a workout because they were two reps shy of finishing a workout and like I'm not again. We've already talked about repeating workouts. Not against it, but the purpose to me is just deeper than like what the workout is, and part of my purpose and I hope it's any coach's purpose is like there is, there are things going on around your workout that are not just about your workout, and when you have that purpose underlying it's, it can really just answer a lot of questions for you. Should I finish this workout, you know? Should I try to move well? Should I scale if something hurts? Should I not do this workout because I'm in pain? Because if you keep doing that, you don't think that people are going to follow you at some point. You know, it's like I think that's something that we can always kind of reflect on a little bit.
Sam RheeCo-host
20:05
Have you ever felt burnt?
Bobby WallumGuest
20:06
out. Good question, Absolutely yeah, there's been plenty of times that I felt burnt out, and you know that's some of the times where I've thought like, oh, what are you know? What am I doing?
Sam RheeCo-host
20:15
Yeah.
Bobby WallumGuest
20:16
I'm not so much these days because I just feel like I know how to modulate myself much better so I can really like push when, when I need to back off, when I know that I need to back off a little bit, but I'm still going hard. It's not like I back off to a point where I'm just, like you know, going through the motions, which still sometimes is better than nothing, but I'm. I'm always giving you know what I have that day and I just can tell better now, knowing myself much better and doing this for so long, what what that day is going to look like. Um, and like you know, if, if my knees bother me, then I'm just I'm not going to squat that day. You know where years pass. I would push through that and I set myself up for failure. So just I think knowing yourself is a really big aspect in this, in CrossFit and fitness in general. So I think I can maintain a much better base level of fitness for longer now.
David SyvertsenHost
21:14
maintain a much better base level fitness for longer now, coming up with your own system of you know again, blending your goals with the goals of others, with the goals of the gym. You know, with your family, everything and not necessarily schedule like a schedule, and who's coaching your classes and when you have to coach, like more. Here's a tough question because I don't know if I have the answer for someone like you, bobby. I know I have the answer for someone like you, bobby. I I know I have the answer for someone like me, but we're we're different but we're also alike in some ways.
21:42
You have followed the same program for 12 years and that's really rare, like, really rare like there's so many program whores like you. Just like, like, every year you're like, on this, you want to start a new program because that's what's preventing you from getting to the games. It's the program, it's the coach, right, and it's never you. It's always, it's always a program. But yeah, um, you were. I don't want to say you were. It was pretty easy for you to do that at hudson river, your previous stop like, go in and do the workout. All right, at great white and we've talked about this a few times where I'll? I only want to support you in whatever goal you have.
22:17
I never want to get in the way like whether it's working out with you, working out against you, you know, writing up a program for this or that, but I also I don't want to F with what has worked for you. So how do you blend? Because I have fought this battle in my head for so many years when I had, I had paid a coach for a couple of years and like it was a full blown program and I still did four by some lots a week because I didn't. I wanted to be part of the crew and I didn't want to ever feel like I was, you know, not cooking, not eating what I was cooking. When it came to programming how, what is your plan? And in in regard to staying on that program, which has done immense work for you, but also being a part of a community that you're coaching, is this tough?
Bobby WallumGuest
23:04
No, I think um again. That just comes down to be like knowing what I can do, and I've you know, I've been blending it already.
23:07
Yeah, you have and I think that it's just kind of being able to pick like, okay, especially weak weakness, yes, like things where Bison's program stuff that I'm like, ooh, I'm not that strong with that, like I'm going to fit this in Um, and just being able to to mix and match a little bit, like I don't need to now do every single Friday that Invictus programs. I just don't, right, so I can way more easily navigate that and fill in days. Yeah, um, that's the answer. Yeah, yeah, it's. It's just being able to to fit in what makes sense and not overdo anything, right, I'm not going to do, uh, muscle ups two, two days in a row or three days in a row, like I'm not gonna do something like crazy, like that, but as long as I can fit like the strength of one day in, if, whether it's bison or um, invictus and then mechon one day in and it makes sense, yep, I there's.
David SyvertsenHost
23:58
It's actually quite easy, I think yeah, just like massaging it week to week and listening to your body too. Yeah, it's a big part because I do think there's value. I talk to dan code about this all the time. Like you know the amount that I'm programmed for him right now and he wants like morning and afternoon sessions and he's got pretty high capacity and I this week alone I think I changed three bison workouts for him because of other stuff we're doing and which is fine.
24:22
But there is a value to kind of being in a class environment sometimes or having times on a whiteboard from athletes here that you're getting to know. I'm like, oh, I'm gonna go after that after that time and try to beat this or run away from that. Yeah, describe some of like the pros and cons of training by yourself. You know, and you've done it for a long time and it's a skill that you developed but also benefiting from the intensity that you get from being in an environment and doing an open workout against Mike and Kenny that we all got to watch. That was so much fun.
24:50
Yeah, but just kind of touch on that a little bit.
Bobby WallumGuest
24:54
I mean, it is definitely way more fun doing it in a group aspect. That being said, I don't love being watched when I work out. Okay, it's just like not something, because I don't hate people like cheering me on, but there's sometimes I'm just like Good to know, good to know. I hate people cheering me on. Sam does too. I know Good to know I hate people. Sam does too.
25:16
I know if I'm going slow, I know I'm going slow. Thank you, I know I need to pick up the pace. I'm trying here so I get you're coming from a good place. Honestly, I probably need it sometimes. Yeah, you know what I should be pushing harder here. I think that does help, but in terms of being in a class and everyone working at the same time, it really does like motivate you to go a little bit harder. Maybe it doesn't, I don't know. It must, though, because I feel like it does yeah, and I feel like when I'm on my own, it's like yeah, no, I think I'm going as hard. But am I really? Maybe, but probably not. So it's definitely a lot more fun doing it within a class setting, or at least just having like people who have done it before me, seeing them do it. And yeah, it definitely helps you push a little bit harder, I think.
Sam RheeCo-host
26:07
I wanted to circle back on letting some of these responsibilities go and delegate. Yeah, Like you know, you said you had some answers in terms of everyone sort of bugging you about that.
David SyvertsenHost
26:17
Yeah.
Sam RheeCo-host
26:17
And in terms of, like, how much better your individual performance could be.
David SyvertsenHost
26:22
Yeah.
Sam RheeCo-host
26:22
If you sort of you know, drop some stuff.
David SyvertsenHost
26:25
I mean, I'm definitely so. You know me and Sam. Well enough, bob, you're getting to know me. I'm never, ever going to point a finger at something or someone to say that's why I haven't made my goal. I'll never do that. Okay, but I also will. At the same exact breath. A different breath, the same breath, I will say I've always put the gym before myself when it comes to competitive stuff and I'm not bragging about it.
26:47
If anything, I feel like I should do that right, like that's how you know I was brought up, that's how my father was, that's how a lot of my brothers are like. Like you, I always do subscribe to the thought that leaders eat last. So I don't get what I want here. I don't get, but not a victim to it. That's what I should do in my role, and if I can't do that, I shouldn't, I shouldn't be in the role. I should give the role to someone else and bow out. But the um objectively do I think I'd be a better athlete if I had a better training regimen schedule based on absolutely 100% Um, but to me I I don't stress about it and I don't consider myself a victim to it because I chose this path. Like this is what I want to do.
27:27
You know like I don't want, at my funeral, to be like do you guys remember that one year Dave made the games? What an accomplishment that was. You know that's it, but I do want that. I want it for myself. So you know I have accomplished things in this cross sport that I'm really proud of, but and I I know all the work and all the process that went into it. And there are times you get even a little emotional about it, like I remember the one when I won in San Diego at Legends like Kathleen was there. It was like a really a weird emotional moment. I was like holy cow, that just happened. But it still is secondary to what I want to be remembered for. Like I do, I want to be remembered for, like you know, doing my best for Bison, the community and helping others compete at a high level. Like I'm already trying to think about ways this weekend at a high level. Like I'm already trying to think about ways this weekend and, if Bobby does make the games, like what we're going to do with the schedule so we can train. Like I am already thinking about that. That is what I want to do, and it's not because I'm trying to be a good person. It's like I actually feel like that's what I'm here to do.
28:25
So like we can go down this path of saying I could have been the 18th ranked CrossFitter instead of the 24th ranked CrossFitter if I made other people do things that I'm supposed to do right, and I don't think it would make me happy. I really don't. I think I would feel too guilty that other people are doing things that I should be doing. Now you get into the finances hey, you're being paid to do that then it's, you know, that takes some of that brunt off, right, like, if someone but I, I I struggle to ask anyone to help me clean the floor, like, let alone coach my classes for me. So, um, you know, we, we, that's just how I'm wired, that like, and that is what. At the end of the day, we're just trying to make ourselves happy. Right, I make myself happy by by living like that, but, yes, there is a fire inside of me that I've had since 2012 that I just want to go compete there, because I do know I can perform when I'm in person, like looking people in the face.
Sam RheeCo-host
29:20
Let me flip it to the other, complete other side, so there might be people listening who are like OK, so Dave, bobby, elite guys yeah, you know they're worried. You know they're filling their cup in terms of their individual performances. They also do coaching, but they're trying to lift up all the other elite people at the gym. But I'm just the guy who wants to show up and move a little bit. And what are they doing for me? Like great, so they're just spending all weekend doing bison quarterfinals and, and you know, getting ready to help people get to the games. And you know, I'm just here at 7am and I'm like, I'm just like they're not really spending any time focused on what I'm doing, or how I can get health.
Bobby WallumGuest
30:05
So this is actually my favorite kind of person that comes in, not the elite athlete. Like you know, I and there's I always say say this like the most impressive thing for me is like a woman doing a rope climb or like a muscle up. I think that is the coolest thing.
Sam RheeCo-host
30:19
Right, and and I I'll keep the gender part.
David SyvertsenHost
30:22
Like you're walking that line so I'm just gonna be like an average person doing a rope, something that you normally wouldn't see publicly at a different. No, yeah, yeah, I'm just.
Bobby WallumGuest
30:31
I'm just building, the building, the Okay ready, that's like the most impressive thing. Okay, but in terms of like, just someone coming in right and you're brand new, yes, you're my favorite person because now I can work with you and I can like teach you things how they should be done and I can keep you, you know, safe, doing it the right way. So now, like you're going to get better. You're not coming from a place that, like you've already done something this way. Right now, like I like working with these people much more and it's it's much more fulfilling. Like I know how hard. This is, right, it's hard for anybody, whether you're an elite or you're someone that's just coming in. It's probably harder for the person that's just coming in and, you know, with not much experience. So I love working with these people and I don't know about you, dave, if you feel that way or not, but for me, that's my favorite type of person. It's my favorite kind of member.
David SyvertsenHost
31:23
You know this, the people that are I don't want to say keep to themselves. I don't want people to keep to themselves, but the like, I'll say, high-end athletes you know, videotaping this weekend like they, they require a lot of maintenance, a lot of extra psychology work, right, and they're a lot more demanding on your time, and that's why a lot of elite athletes go get personal coaches that they meet with every single week, right, and that's part, it's part of what you pay for. And every now and then I have these moments where I'm like I wish I was Ron coming at 5 am, just comes in four days a week, does his workout, goes home, goes about his day. And those I've found those are the people that last the longest. You know, they have no issue scaling. They don't give an F where they rank, they don't care about RX.
32:16
And the people that do pursue performance and high-end performance and high-end aesthetics, even they they crash and burn and they're out of here at some point and I I think that I don't know if they want more attention, right? Other than, how are you, how's your weekend, how's this feel? Let's come up with this scaling option level one, level two, level three, right up your score on the whiteboard. I don't think they want more than that. But I also think, weekend, How's this feel? Let's come up with this scaling option Level one, level two, level three write up your score on the whiteboard. I don't think they want more than that.
32:40
But I also think, at the same time, you have to make sure, because you're giving so much attention to those high end athletes, because they literally need someone to videotape their workouts, and that has its own culture, that's own vibe when you're doing something like that. But I think it's just making sure that they know you see them, you know. That's part of the reason why we write scores on the whiteboard. It's like I'm I saw what you did today. I know what you did today. You might not think I'm giving you as much attention as someone else, but different goals need different demands for coaches to give attention. So you know, do we have that?
Sam RheeCo-host
33:27
that persona. Sam, bob and Dave like to train at the highest and possible. They will push their bodies. Does that hurt their image in the eye of? Come up to the whiteboard and say you know what? I was able to RX this one too, I still remember RX this so much and I feel like I love our elite athletes because I just not because of the performance but because the joy they take out of it.
David SyvertsenHost
33:52
Yeah.
Sam RheeCo-host
33:53
But I also worry because injury is always run, Like you're running the ragged edge every time you train for performance Yep, and I've seen it, and so it scares me a little bit. But every person who comes in and is like you know what I really didn't want to snatch, but you know you got me to try it and you know what I gave it a go Any one of those guys makes me happy and I think, if you're always thinking about elite, elite, elite I know you guys don't, but I also want you guys to remind everyone that this is exactly your holistic mindset in terms of working with everybody.
Bobby WallumGuest
34:33
Yeah, and I think that's one of the coolest parts about crossfit in general. Like you have the elite athletes doing ring muscle-ups, handstand walks, and you have, you know, the members that just walked in doing ring rows, and you know a bear crawl or something along those lines, and you can work together and blend them and and it's awesome, and everyone is working like getting the same stimulus, doing the same thing, just to a different degree. Right, and that's crossfit. Everyone is working like getting the same stimulus, doing the same thing, just to a different degree. Right, and that's crossfit.
David SyvertsenHost
34:57
And that, that's what the beauty of it yeah, that and I the last thing on that that I would say it's important to have coached. Uh, this is where I think having a bigger staff can help is that you know there are certain coaches that the high-end athletes want to work with more and they want them to be watched. They want all this attention. They want their splits from every single run. And should I row 143 or 142? Right, it's like that specific. But you and coaches some coaches have that skill set that you also need the coaches that are not that person. They don't want to tell you what your 1k row should be compared to your 2k. They want to really focus on your posture and your breathing habits and how well you're moving and start asking about your kids and all that stuff. You need to have a versatile staff and I think that's one thing that we get asked. Why does this person coach but not this person? Well, it's not always the people as individuals, it's do they balance what the rest of the staff already has, and I think that's a huge part of what we do, and even the room we're sitting in, sam, right now.
35:58
We have more content coming out, more episodes coming out on what Outlast is going to be. But to me, if anyone did question, it's like are you guys too into the performance side? Like, come take a look at what? A what we're spending for this spot and B what we're actually trying to do, like this is literally for the people that don't want to really perform that much or they're getting banged up and they need a break from crossfit. Yes, we're going to have people coming in from the outside that won't ever walk to a crossfit, but this is for that person. And you know, if we made this a competitor room, hey guys, you know, only the semi-finalists from 2024 can come train in this new gym.
36:36
Now we're barking up the wrong tree, but I think a lot of our actions again, actions over words I think that they have proven and will continue to prove that there isn't better or worse here, but there are different approaches to every kind of athlete there are here and different demands, all right, all right.
37:00
So, guys, that's kind of like how we like to blend our individual goals with who we are as coaches. And I think, to sum it up, if you guys want to chime in at all, um, the number one thing I would want to say is that I'll never want an any individual coach or athlete to completely push everything they want aside just for the sake of being a coach. The only thing I would ask is that just always understand what is more important, and I'm not going to tell you what that should be, but there should be a priority list what is more important for you and just work off of that. You don't have to ignore the other side, but I do think the priority needs to be known both in your head and the people around you, because that's what can make everyone easier to work with. Any thoughts, guys?
Sam RheeCo-host
37:42
Agreed 100% All right?
David SyvertsenHost
37:44
Thanks Bobby, thanks Sam. We'll see you guys next week.
David SyvertsenHost
37:49
Thank you everybody for taking the time out of your day to listen to the Herd Fit Podcast. Be on the lookout for next week's episode.
