What Does YOUR Reflection Look Like?

Welcome to week 7 of the whole life challenge! We have 2 more weeks left, the end of the tunnel is in sight. This week we take a deeper look at reflections, and no I'm not talking about mirrors.

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Starting Saturday, you will spend 10 minutes each day writing in a personal journal

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I have never been a big fan of writing my entire life, even as a young kid I can remember HATING writing assignments. I think most of my dislike came from being a pretty terrible writer and finding frustration when I would read things that my peers wrote and comparing it with things that I wrote. This dislike stuck with me for a majority of my high school and college years and even into post grad life. I never seemed to be getting any better at writing, but then again, I wasn't writing very often.

Journaling is a practice that doesn't have a particularly profound effect on your physical life but I know from experience, it sure does help with your ability to communicate effectively with others. This might seem unimportant or irrelevant but concise communication is a skill (yes, it must be practiced) that is often overlooked and makes others stop and listen. If having your voice (not literally a quite voice) heard is something that you have struggled with then writing in a journal is a practice that could end up improving the way that you communicate with others and communicate with yourself. 

For those of you who pride yourself on your writing skills, you might already keep a journal, but if you don't, give this practice a try for a week and see if it is a practice that adds value to your life. 

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Beach Body Yoga Studio 

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This past weekend I got to have a really awesome experience helping out a friend of mine Ted McDonald owner of 5 Point Yoga here in Malibu. He has recently joined the Beach Body Online team and has been creating yoga routines to share with hundreds of thousands of users around the world. This routines are rehearsed to perfection and have an entire production team come together to shoot the routine almost like they would a movie. 

I got to be a part of his yoga team to shoot yoga for runners, yoga for cyclists, and yoga for the weekend warrior, that's right! I am going to be in a couple of the videos that will be released in April! This day was a total blast. I have never been on an official "set" like this one. we were treated with breakfast and lunch, and have outfit changes for each of the shoots and even "hair and makeup" between each of the sessions. The yoga routines were fairly straight forward but were definitely still challenging. If you would consider yourself a yogi, I challenge you to check out the Beach Body Studio online and take a class or two from your living room! Here is the link: Beach Body On Demand

DISCLAIMER, NO I DON'T MAKE ANY MONEY FROM THESE VIDEOS SO THIS ISN'T A SALES PITCH

Here are some photos of my time in the Beach Body Yoga Studio

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Wound up for winding down

Saturday marks the half way point for the Whole Life Challenge, Congrats on making it this far! It is something to be proud of, the road to better health isn't always the easiest road to be on. You might be starting to notice changes in your habits, in your cravings and maybe even some changes in your body. Now is about the time that we start to see changes start to happen, and unfortunately it is also the time that we all start to get a little weary about the challenge. We might have had a couple days that you didn't get any nutrition points, or didn't exercise for a few days. I am right there with you. 

I took some "points" over the weekend in almost all of the categories. . . I had In'n'out, Panda Express, lots of sugary snacks, a hand full of beers and a couple glasses of wine, not to mention the lack of sleep and poor water consumption. 

So I had to log quite a few 0's on my scores the last few days. . . 

It had me thinking that I could take one of a couple roads from there (see what I did there?)

I could say, "screw it" and go back to how I was eating pre-whole life challenge (if you read my blog post about donuts, you know they are my weakness), or I could get back on the road to better health.

And I really want to get back on track, because I feel awesome when I'm on the right road. My body feels so much stronger when I treat it right. 

So I wanted to share some ways that I get back on the road after missing a day or five of one of the habits. Check them out and hopefully you can find them useful when you're eating the rocky road ice cream.

One Perfect Day:

This is super simple, wake up in the morning (or night before) and make it the days goal to have a full points day, 100% in EVERYTHING for 24hrs. Eat, sleep, drinking water, working out, stretching, lifestyle practice, and writing my reflection.

I find this super helpful for several reasons. First, I've cut my "rocky road" behavior right off and gotten back on the right road. Second, when I am doing everything well, I am more motivated to keep doing well. Third, it keeps me focus on just one day at a time. I stop worrying about the long road and just take one step at a time. 

Remember Why:

When we started the challenge, we were asked why and to put it in writing (even if you didn't write anything down, you did have a reason for doing this challenge.) Remembering this reason and actually writing it down can be a powerful tool to re-dedicate yourself to the challenge. 

My goal for this challenge is one that I have wanted to do for the last couple challenges but never remembered by the start of the next challenge. I want to stack the lifestyle practices each week starting with 1 challenge and ending with 8 challenges. ( I have even gotten off track this challenge ) so here is to me re-dedicating this goal in writing for everyone to see. 

This goal is important to me and everyday I can move closer and closer to achieving this goal. Maybe you write out what your goal is and make it public to have others help keep you accountable, or keep it private and put it somewhere where YOU will see it everyday and be reminded (mirror or computer screen) 

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I hope these techniques for getting back on the road to better health are helpful to you- and if you have one that I didn't share, I'm sure that everyone else would love to hear! 

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Winding Down Before Bedtime 

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This weeks lifestyle challenge is to spend 5-10 minutes purposefully and intentionally winding and calming down before bed. Often times we go all day and stay busy through the evening and go to bed in a rush with a ton of things still on our mind. This can create some anxiety before bed and even cause you to lay awake, taking away from a restful nights sleep. 

Try reading a book for pleasure or doing 10 minutes of meditation, or maybe it is a great time to spend 10 minutes stretching on the floor. Whatever you do, the intention is to wind down. Post some ways you used that were helpful for YOU to wind down before bed!

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Remember me talking about falling off the health wagon and getting a few 0's on nutrition, yeah well here is a little video I took over the weekend of our trip. 

Stronger in Numbers

This week I want to talk about the lifestyle challenge for week two: Supporting your teammates on their reflections. The actual requirement is quite simple, comment on 3 different players' reflections each day. What can come out of the act is far more than a little bit of social interaction. 

This lifestyle challenge starts on Saturday Jan 28 and goes until Saturday Feb 4th. For those of you not doing the Whole Life Challenge, I still encourage you to compliment 1-3 people a day for the next 7 days. 

When you dive in and read some of your teammates' reflections, you create a stronger connection to each of them and can understand how the challenge is going for them. This can ultimately help you better understand how the challenge is going for YOU.

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COMMENT ON 3 PLAYERS' REFLECTIONS EACH DAY 

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I heard a story the other day about teamwork. It really stuck with me and I wanted to share it as soon as I heard it. The story goes like this: a Belgian work horse can drag 8,000 pounds by itself. That is a massive work horse. Now if you put two of those horses side by side and test their ability to pull, you might assume that it is double the dragging power, or 16,000 pounds. I assumed the same thing, two of these horses, never trained together before, never even seen each other before, when put together, can actually pull 24,000 pounds THREE times what one horse could do on its own. The even cooler part about this story is if you train two of these Belgian horses together for a time and really get them figuring out how to work together they can pull a staggering 32,000 pounds between the two of them. FOUR times the pulling power of one horse with just two horses that learn to compliment and work with one another. I think this knowledge can be applied to us and those we surround ourselves with.

I want to challenge you with creating your comments to others on the team to be thoughtful, encouraging, and uplifting. When we play like a team more of us can win, more of us can benefit, and I think that you will find that your own pulling power will be increased.   

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What is CrossFit?

On a separate note, for those of you who don't know what I do for a living, here is a video of me explaining what CrossFit is. I believe in what I do! Is this different than what you thought CrossFit was? 

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Movember: Men's Health Awareness

Thanks Josh Chan for the awesome photo

This week is about a little different kind of health. It's about men's health and how badly men can treat themselves (usually not on purpose of course). I have started a group on Movember.com and would love for you to join and spread the awareness or donate to help me reach our goal.  

The Movember Foundation is an organization that utilizes it funds really efficiently that go directly to programs that impact men's health. Check out their site at: www.movember.com

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In the United States alone, the male suicide rate is 3 to 5 times that of female. 

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Men seek psychiatric help 3 to 5 times less often than woman. 

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I have participated in "no shave November", and "mustache November" and "Movember" the past several years trying to raise awareness for men's health. But I only participated in the fact that I didn't shave my face or I grew a dirty mustache, which is totally fine and surprisingly I got to have A LOT of conversations with people about men's health, or the lack there of. 

So this year I decided to get a little more involved and sign up to participate on a team that I created and make an audacious goal of raising $500 in addition to getting to talk about men's health. I do need Mo'Bros and Mo'Sistas to help me spread the word and get involved so I would love it if you joined my team or shared this post on Facebook or through email. If you would like to join my team (no donation required) click the button below. 

Go see a doctor, talk about your feelings, do YOUR part to learn how to be healthier. Let's close the gap and live as long as women. 

BE A MAN.

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The state of men’s health is in a crisis. Men experience worse long-term health than women and die on average six years earlier. Prostate cancer rates will double in the next 15 years. Testicular cancer rates have already doubled in the last 50. Three quarters of suicides are men. Poor mental health leads to half a million men taking their own life every year. That’s one every minute.

Our fathers, partners, brothers and friends are facing this health crisis and it’s not being talked about.

We can’t afford to stay silent.

The Movember Foundation is uniquely placed to address the crisis at a global level. We’re funding ground-breaking programs all over the world and engaging with men where they are to understand what works best, to help make change happen sooner.

Our goals are big, but the impact of doing nothing is bigger. We need to act.

By 2030, we’ll reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25%.

This is all taken directly from the Movember page and I hope you are willing to man up and help men talk about their health. 

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HERE IS WHAT I NEED FROM YOU

IF YOU JUST WANT TO DONATE

IF YOU JOIN MY TEAM

- click the donate here button above 

- sign up to join the team through the button above

- read about the programs that Movember funds and how they allocate ALL of their money

- share this post on facebook or email

- make your donation and share on facebook or email and encourage others to speak up about men's health! 

- come enjoy the event at the end of the month 

- feel my smile as I thank you for making a difference for a cause we can all get behind

- grow your mustache or beard and commit to talk about men's health whenever questioned about your hair

- if you feel so obliged, you can donate to our team as well. The more steam we get rolling, the bigger impact we can make. 

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Malibu 5K run get outside and play

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This past Sunday I got the privilege of running the Malibu 5k with several friends and co-workers at an absolutely beautiful venue. Afterwards I got to stick around and lead some foam rolling for race finishers via Lululemon. Running isn't always fun, but with friends and this view, it could be a lot worse. The beautiful smell of early morning, saltwater, and slightly sweaty people really just makes me enjoy life more.

It is held at Point Mugu, also known as "The Rock" where they created a road though the mountain and shut down the old road that went out and around the rock on the cliff-side.  Enjoy these photos and just imagine the saltwater smells, warm sunlight on the skin, and the heavy breathing post-race that makes you feel alive. 

Sugar, Take a Step in The Right Direction

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“We expected change, but we were
astonished by the magnitude of the
changes.”

— Dr. Robert Lustig

fall is an amazing time for change...

We all are well aware that sugar isn't good for us. One thing that we might not be aware of is how much sugar is in the foods that we eat everyday that we don't even think about! reducing the amount of sugar we take in each day can have a big effect on our everyday health and wellness. With thanksgiving coming up around the corner I want to challenge you to be more aware of the food you are eating, not even changing them. 

A lot of CrossFit boxes and other health and wellness establishments are jumping on board in trying to help others reduce the sugar intake of anybody who is willing to give it a try. These events can be called many different things from detoxes, to challenges, to diets, cleanses. When first thinking about the change to a low sugar, or no sugar diet that jump seem insurmountable! I think that these events help those of us who are a little bit timid of trying something so new. If we can do it with some other people, then maybe it won't be so bad. After doing a version of these called "The Whole Life Challenge" I feel like I am better equipped to keep sugar intake at an all time low in my life. 

When I participate in this challenge, my energy levels are higher, I sleep better, I workout harder, and I find myself more productive every day. On top of this, my body composition also changes for the better. (I am not out of shape by any means but it still makes significant changes in my performance and appearance.)

I have no doubt that with as small of a change as taking sugar out of your everyday diet you will feel lasting effects for the better. This weeks article talks about the addiction we all have to sugar (even if we don't admit it) and what it is like to start the journey away from it. By no means is it easy, but it is plausible. Plus, doing things with a group of people makes it seem a little bit easier, whether its because we all can complain to each other, or keep each other accountable, or it gives us all a shared struggle to overcome.

If you are interested in doing one of these "challenges" to put you on the road to better health please feel free to email me or text me and I would be more than happy to talk to you about the one I par take in, "The Whole Life Challenge" and how it isn't as scary as you might think and how you can get started! 

The link to their site is HERE

Clink the button below and read this weeks article on sugar, what it is like to cut it from your diet, and the effects on your overall health. 

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Mid-week Colorado trip

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This past week I got to make a short trip to Denver, Colorado. One of the coolest impromptu trips I have ever taken. It was one of the first times that I have gotten to see a "fall", and boy was it beautiful! The crisp morning air reminded me of mornings in Arizona but with so much more beauty. The colors were vibrant and the sky was so blue!

I spent a little time up in the Red Rock Amphitheater, just a twenty minute drive from the city is a cool little museum and concert venue carved right into the mountains overlooking Denver. Then not too far from there is a little town called Evergreen, where you guessed it, there are thousands of evergreen trees! got to cruise around the biggest public ice skating rink on a lake in the USA. Of course it wasn't frozen when we saw it but I can imagine in the winter how beautiful it must be! 

Then I made my way to Littleton to visit the gym that a few of my friends (Jordan Smith and Erin Lee) work at called Project Move, you can check out their website HERE. Their facility was AWESOME. They have created a space not only for CrossFit classes but sports performance of any kind, teams, individuals, kettle bells, and even have several doctors offices in the same building that are a part of the team, chiropractors, physical therapists and foot doctors. If you are ever out in Denver, I highly recommend that you check them out! 

I also ate in downtown Denver at a brunch place called Snooze, one of the most hyped about brunch restaurants in the area. You can see a few of my selfies at the Union Station that has been converted to a hotel over the past few years and the trains have moved underground. The downtown is nice because unlike LA, it is WAY less chaotic. 

I really enjoy a good cup of coffee and boy did I get a pleasant surprise at THE coffee place called Corvus coffee. Awesome atmosphere and amazing coffee Definitely  a place to check out if you are a coffee fan or are around the area. Take a look at their website to learn about the cool things they are doing for the world. HERE is the link to their site. 

Enjoy these photos and remember you can click on them to make them bigger! 

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Treat People Well

“When it comes to being happy and healthy, she says, “There’s no secret. Treat people well. They treat you well. We all care about each other, and now the world’s a better place.”

— Leanda Keahi-Bevans

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Sometimes I am not going to be able to say something better than someone else. I am posting a video from the CrossFit Journal this week and please, please watch it all the way through. You'll understand why afterwards, and this doesn't necessarily have anything to do with CrossFit. 

So much of health and wellness seems to be divided into several complicated components and I want to challenge that perspective and help others (and myself) discover that often times simple changes put you on the road to better health. See what I did there? ;)

This is my goal with what I am currently doing in this stage in my life. It is awesome to know that I am not the only one who has this desire to treat people well.

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Pepperdine Alumni Water Polo

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Soccer field above the Pepperdine pool

This Past weekend I got to play in my first alumni water polo game for Pepperdine University. I only have one photo from the experience afterwards but holy smokes was this a blast. I played water polo for Pepperdine from 2010 to 2011 before being told (by no ones fault, a story for a another day) I could either take financial aide or I could play. I chose to take the money and finish school at Pepperdine University where I was so incredibly lucky to be able to attend. This who event threw me into a strange rut that has kept me out of the water and from playing water polo for many reasons, until this weekend. 

The alumni all got to play the current Pepperdine water polo team for fun. I am definitely out of water polo shape even after all the things I do to keep myself fit, ouch! Nobody on the alumni team stayed in for more than a couple minutes at a time so we got plenty of rest ;) It felt like a lifetime ago that I had been in the water playing the sport that I spent 11 years playing. It was truly a blast to get back in and play again. 

After the game (of course, we won) they had a big BBQ gathering where we got to talk and hangout with all of the Pepp alumni ranging from graduating in '77 all the way to '15! It was also amazing to see some of the guys that I personally got to play with and the guys that I spend obnoxious amounts of time with. We shall see what this weeks brings for adventures! 

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Not just for kicks and giggles

“CrossFitters see physical education as a primary vehicle
for teaching virtues essential for achievement. For us,
the world of physical challenge and achievement have
become metaphors for harvesting life’s riches and battling
its plagues.”

— Greg Glassman, CEO, CrossFit

Often times when I am asked why I do CrossFit I have about a thousand answers that go through my head but I get to say one before someone loses interest in what I am saying, so most of the time my answer is, "because it works." only because I try to be as concise as possible. I try to use the least amount of words to mean the most I can. But I will talk about a few of the other reasons I do CrossFit under that "because it works" realm. Greg Glassman is quite the speaker and knows how to be extremely concise and is very eloquent with his words, so I highly suggest that you read the article that he wrote back in 2005 about why he created CrossFit. Here and Below. 

"Because it works" I want to talk about a couple ways that I feel this statement is true concerning CrossFit. First of all, observable, measurable, repeatable, means we work for results and can see them not only in person but on paper as well. CrossFits community tends to bring people together, whether it is for a WOD or for a dinner, or backpacking trip. When people live in community they thrive. People inside the CrossFit community change and see themselves becoming better people, they achieve their goals quicker, they become better parents, they become more disciplined with their habits, and you could even say that they smile more. I am not saying that if you don't do CrossFit that you don't get any of these, in fact there are MILLIONS of people who have nothing to do with CrossFit who are achieving these things. What I am saying is that they are all present within the culture of CrossFit. 

Results, results, results. It is undeniable that CrossFit delivers tangible results. Not only results that you can feel, but results that are observable, measurable, and repeatable. The scientific method is applied to fitness where through good recording habits, your results in fitness are obvious. Stick with it and you will run faster, squat heavier, jump higher, do more pull ups, touch your toes better. The further you get into your training the wider the breadth of your physical results will be. We write in journals every workout and write exactly how it was done so that if we were to repeat it, we would replicate it exactly. We do exactly that, every so often we will do a workout that has been done in the past and because we can look up the date and repeat it exactly how it was performed before. We get to test our fitness. 

The community is something else that CrossFit offers that I believe supports my statement "because it works". A supportive community is something that is vital to everyone's overall health and wellness. It is encouraging in times of hopelessness, it is demanding in times of lacking, it is fun in times of sadness, it is understanding in times of brokenness, and it provides in times of need. I am not saying that these are not things that you can find in other communities outside of CrossFit but it is sure easy to find it within the CrossFit culture. So often are people planning crazy awesome adventures with other members, housing members who are in need, doing fundraisers for causes within the community, and supporting each others goals and hard work inside and out of the gym. 

The last portion here is what Greg talks about heavily in his article, about becoming better people. When you spend time within one of these environments, that you are driven toward success, toward achievement. He talks about fitness developing your will. Your will is such a key to your success that improving it only brings you to a better version of your self. One of the biggest things that I have been learning lately is that in order for you to give, love, and support others you have to give, love, and support yourself. I feel better equipped to do that because of CrossFit and the confidence it gives me, the capability, the fitness, the knowledge, and the love that I receive from it. Go hang around a box and tell me that you don't feel more driven. 

Now its time for me to get out there and give to you. 

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If you're willing to take a few reads through this short article I promise you that you will take away some great information and be inspired to be better. 

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If your wondering what I did this week I won't waste your time by typing some explanation. Just take a look! I will try to take more photos and videos so that you can experience these things with me! Enjoy! oh, and it was amazing to have my family in town for the weekend. They are from Arizona, and God has blessed me with some pretty amazing people. 

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The Road to Better Health

Are you interested in taking small steps to improve your overall health? Think that changing too much at one time will be to overwhelming? Wondering whether not your life fits in this realm of Healthy Living? You are in the right spot. 

My name is Kolby Krystofik, I am going to start to write more and more to share my experience and my story with anyone who wants to listen and hopefully learn a thing or two. 

So often I am talking with friends, family, or strangers about what I do as a CrossFit instructor and heath coach eventually the question arises:

"Why would anybody pay for any of that? Can't you just exercise and eat better? Anybody can do that for free." 

Most of the time nobody wants to hear my long answer after I tell them my short answer: "Because it makes sense."

But I am going to do a brief explaining right now. The long answer is that it makes sense. When presented with the topic of health, what it means to be health, and how to be healthy, people fall ALL over the spectrum as to how much info they know to how much they actually apply. 

I am going to compare learning how to take full control of your health to something that I relate to very closely here on this site; learning how to surf. 

Learning how to surf is an acquired skill. Now don't get me wrong, absolutely anybody (within driving distance to the beach of course) can buy a surf board, go to the beach, and learn how to surf. sounds simple doesn't it? Until you get to the water and are confused as to why nothing feels right, and you get out of the water significantly more frustrated then when you got in the water. 

This is how I learned to surf and from experience, a lot of the time it wasn't fun to go out with your friends and just get thrashed by the ocean and even a little frustrating when they seemed to be having so much fun. Having a coach would have saved me an insane amount of time, and stress. I would have had more fun sooner (gotten better results, faster) if I had someone teaching me. 

Now think about this for a second. You hire an instructor that loves to teach what you are trying to learn. (this aspect is incredibly important) Before you even meet for the first time, he (or she) tells you what kind of surfboard you would learn best on, and he might even have one he would be more than happy to lend you. He tells you what kind of wet suit you should get or if you should even both with a wet suit. Then you show up for your first session and they talk about ocean safety and how to get the most out of your learning experience, they talk about things you should be thinking about to break the information into understandable and applicable pieces. Then you finally get in the water and take it one step at a time.  

Then you get out of the water with a good teacher and understand why they charge money for what they do. Their knowledge in this field far exceeds yours, they know the best way for you to reach your goals, and they have a lot of experience with the learning process and how it works. 

The way I see it a fitness/health coach,  is no different. They are somebody who has spent a lot of time expanding and enhancing their knowledge of the subject they are teaching, They know the most effective you for you to reach your goals, and they have a lot of experience in making small steps to living a healthier life. Their goal is to get you better results, faster. 

I am someone who is so passionate about what I do for others and what I believe in that I am giving it away. I want to be able to help who ever is willing to make a change. 

"Because it makes sense." we need change in this world and I am willing to help.

After all, being healthy isn't just about going out and running a few miles each day. 

Follow my blog each week to learn a little about heath and what you can do this week to put yourself one step closer to a healthier life.