Whats in a name? Kaizen.

Whats in a name?

I think names are so important. For each of our 4 kids we have spent at least 8 months deciding what we would name the little one. A name carries weight with it. If you ever have 30 minutes to kill, I'll talk to you about our kids names.

Names can have different meanings in multiple languages. Or sometimes even in the same language. The confusion that can be caused in conversation with different languages is incredible. I think it is so cool the differences that are out there.  

In English the word "gift" is something you give to someone. But in German it means "poison." In Italian "pasta" means noodle. But in Polish it means "toothpaste."

Why Trial Built CrossFit?

For choosing our name for the gym it has been a process that took us years to think about. The new name of our gym was added to our list 7 or 8 years ago. Honestly it was the last name on our list. I am so glad it was. 

So many of us have been in a tough situations. We have been through trials we have been through hard relationship issues. The key is choosing what to do with those situations. We can choose to let those things run us over and flatten us out or we can choose to be built by it. That choice is the thing that makes us stronger. Sometimes building that strength requires counseling, sometimes it requires supportive friends, strong boundaries or healthier decisions. 

Trial Built CrossFit is the perfect name for our gym. It is great for many reasons. We love that our workouts are trials or hardships. We are CrossFitters and we choose to do difficult things. What a blessing that this gym has been to us and what a blessing we believe it will be to the members and coaches. "Keep Building" is not just two words I say at the end of an email... It is a reminder to continue choosing to build instead of letting those trials run us over.

Kaizen

This is a manufacturing system that focuses on small improvements over time. Toyota is the most famous company that used this technique. Some people call it lean manufacturing. The basic concept is to look for areas that we can make small improvements in. If we have 100 points of performance in a given business, relationship, workout movements and we improve by 1% in each of them we have now had 100% improvement year over year.

This concept is so important for us in the fitness world. Think of each little gain, each skill learned as a tremendous improvement for your fitness journey. Those things multiply over time. Read this book below. It was a game changer for how I think of improvements. I have applied its concepts to so many different parts of my life. 

Simplifying the concept a bit. Start out by pairing one normal habit you do every day with another that you want to add to your routine. For example if your goal is to workout three days a week. You put your shoes on everyday, so to establish this new habit put your workout shoes on instead and walk around your house as you do your morning chores. Do that for a week then next week add in putting on your workout clothes as well. But we haven’t even made it to the gym yet. Correct. Thats ok right now. The concept seems silly but it’s about building small wins and small improvements towards the destination you want to travel.

Eventually this seems pointless not to just do the full habit. I mean you are already almost there, you might as well just finish the task and get to the gym. Reading this book by Robert Mauer was very enlightening. Some of the stories he told about using this technique made a big impact on my day to day.

The book is available on Amazon One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way

Keep building,

James and Bre Cooper