I was reading a Gym Jones post the other day and he was talking about returning to Chamonix, France after having been away for many years. Chamonix is the birthplace and center of modern alpinism, extreme skiing, paragliding, base-jumping and many other sports. Mark Twight spent many years living there and it was beyond influential to him as a climber. What he mentioned was that some places, like Chamonix, are a Site of Power. Simply by agreeing to participate in your given task in one of these places, you have walked into a world where the bar is higher, and if you decide to raise up to that bar, then you will be better for it. Chamonix is not alone, many sports, disciplines and ways of life have Sites of Power, from Jerusalem, to Fenway Park, to Pebble Beach, to Pipeline in Hawaii. Most Sites of Power are not created they just are. But others are created, through hard work, community, and a shared willingness to suffer. In our world, a Site of Power is a place that makes you better; because you have to be. It is a place that where egos are crushed, but believers are made. A place where your best isn’t good enough, but where effort is measured. A place where you learn from failure, but lack of preparation is not an excuse for failure. A place where you can be who you are, as long as you bring all that you have. It is a place where weakness is exposed and then becomes strength. A place where the shared experience drives you harder, faster and longer. I believe CrossFit Albuquerque is a place like that. This Site of Power is not a place of bumpers, or medballs or pullup bars, it is place of people, of athletes raising the bar, driving higher and crushing mediocrity at every step. I feel stronger, more motivated, and sure that I need to do more, every time I walk in the gym, not because of the workout but because of the people that are there with me. CrossFit Albuquerque is you. I thank you for that, everyday.
