There’s a reason we don’t have TVs on our walls. It’s not that we don’t like television, or that they’re expensive, or that we’re worried they’d get broken, or that we’re particularly “hardcore” and TVs would make us “soft.” That all has nothing to do with it. It’s an issue of conflicting interests and priorities.

I’m always a little bit amazed at how many TVs I see in the typical commercial gym. I’d say, without a doubt, a lot of these gyms have more TVs than barbells, and probably all of them have more TVs than squat racks. But I get it. Commercial gyms are weird. They’re giant rooms full of mirrors, equipment you’re not quite sure how to use, people isolated by their headphones sharing only awkward and uncertain side-eye glances with each other, and an all-around feeling of discomfort and uncertainty. And so TVs are the perfect escape. They give your eyes something to look at so you don’t have to acknowledge or engage with anyone else. They give your mind something to be occupied with so you can partially block out the fact that you’re tired and sweaty and uncomfortable. They help distract you from the fact that you’re moving, even though maybe you don’t want to be or aren’t sure about what you’re doing or why.

But we’re not a commercial gym. In fact, we’re the furthest thing from it -- I hesitate even to use the word “gym” in describing CrossFit No Boundaries. We’re not a place where you come to use our equipment and just “get a good sweat on,” or to isolate yourself in your headphones while you do your thing and bang weights around in the corner, or to meander aimlessly from one piece of equipment to another trying to figure out how they hell you piece together some fitness.

What we are is pretty simple: a place to be present. Our focus is on learning as students, growing as movers, and enjoying the process as a part of a like-minded community interested in movement and improvement.

And honestly, this couldn’t happen with TVs on the wall. The very notion of having TVs on the wall is contrary to our purpose and mission. We are here to be together and to focus on what we are doing, whether that’s working hard, or discussing lifestyle, or learning how to move better, or eating tacos, or just spending time as a community. This all requires presence. There is no multi-tasking. We learn when we are aware of our movement, we grow when we are aware of our discomfort, we improve when we are aware of our challenges and triumphs, and we flourish when we do so as a community.

Tune in, folks, because what we’ve got is a whole lot bigger than sweating while you watch the morning news.

- PS

8/17/17

• Stone load - work up to 1rm

• 4 rounds:

• In 60s:

• 100m sprint

• AMRAP stone to shoulder (2-3 sizes down from 1rm load)

• Rest 90s