by Dan Hupke, Head Coach, Krave Gym Waukee
On June 29th, 2019, Krave Gym hosted it’s FIRST-EVER off-site Season Championship. The Championship took place at Valley Southwoods freshman high school in West Des Moines, and featured a combine of tests for our athletes, which included a timed 40 yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump, and pro agility. After the individual events, our athletes drew numbers from a hat and were split off into teams to compete in team events. These events included a team med ball throw for distance, a car pull (the rope broke and this turned into a car push, shoutout to coaches Zach Downs and Amber Robinson for thinking on their feet and making it work lol) and lastly, a unique 4×100 meter relay race that ended with a team 100 yard heavy bag carry.
This particular Championship was a ton of fun to witness as a coach, because I saw people feel that thrill of competition for the very first time, and I watched and was filled with a sense of pride watching these athletes rise to the occasion and overcome their anxieties and concerns to compete with some of the best athletes at Krave. And this is, in an essence, is what these championships are all about. And to help you understand even further why we have championships at Krave, I must ask you a question:
Have you ever felt the thrill of competition?
The thousands of butterflies in your stomach create a feeling of anxious excitement, your heart begins to race, and the blood coursing through your veins pounds into your limbs, preparing your body to perform. You could call this feeling a competition-induced adrenaline response, and it is fucking awesome. As an athlete, you are never more focused, more in tune in with your body, and more prepared to take physical action than in the peak moments of athletic competition. And it is these moments that define you as an athlete. But let me make something perfectly clear for you all; What defines you as an athlete at Krave is NOT the outcome of competition, but the process. When it comes to athletic competition at Krave Gym, your only opponent is yourself. The answer to whether you competed or not is not found on a scorecard or on the scoreboard, it is found within you. If you show up to a competition with Krave Gym and truly compete, push your physical limits and give maximum effort, then you are already victorious.
I know some of our even more competitive athletes will read that and think “uhhhh what? I compete to WIN, anything less is just losing!” or something along those lines, and to those athletes, I would say that competing to win is just fine, but not when it costs you the enjoyment of competing. If you are an athlete that finds yourself lashing out, feeling severely disappointed or angry, or making excuses and casting blame on others after losing in a competition, then you need to reevaluate your motivation to compete, because you will find yourself unhappy and disappointed time and time again.
You know what the best athletes in the world do? They fall in love with competing, for the sake of competing. They fall in love with competition itself. And that is precisely what these season championships are all about. Providing athletes with the opportunity to compete athletically.
In a fitness industry that would rather squeeze as much money out of you as possible while giving you as little as they can get away with, here at Krave Gym we are breaking the mold and going above and beyond to provide a better fitness experience, and one that provides athletes with the opportunity to compete athletically. If your current gym or fitness program is not providing this for you, then why are you wasting your time and money there?
You are a fucking athlete. Start acting like it! Join us at Krave Gym to fulfill your need for a team and fan the athletic fire that burns in your heart.