BAMF Jeremy Striffler writes:

Six months ago I began my membership at TwinTown CrossFit (TTCF). To mark the occasion, I performed a baseline workout during Open Gym. When I first ran through it with Teddy back in July, I struggled with the 40 squats, huffed and puffed through the sit-ups and pushups and suffered through the pull-ups.

Now after half a year of classes, open gym, Fight Gone Bad and the Winter PR challenge, I improved on my original time by 3 minutes and 17 seconds and did it at Rx. I am excited to be able to quantify the clear changes I have undergone in my strength and capabilities.

More important to me in these last six months than any gain in muscle or physical wellbeing is that I have found a community of friends and advocates who make every WOD seem doable, every lift seem bearable and every burpee seem possible. I realize the reason why is because we are a tribe.

In David Logan’s business tome, Tribal Leadership, he hypothesizes that people have always naturally formed tribes of 20 to 150 people. (Is it a mere coincidence that TTCF recently capped membership around 150 members?)

Logan says that recognizing our tendency to form tribes is a key to understanding our own history: “Tribes helped humans survive the last ice age, build farming communities, and, later, cities. Birds flock, fish school, people ‘tribe’.”

Logan identifies five tribal stages that we all fall within, differentiated by their tribal culture and language. While in his book he applies this to the corporate world, its application can be seen in understanding the experience at TTCF. It can also explain why we have all benefited from the Stage Five culture that TTCF has developed.

Here are the five stages:

Stage One – Life Sucks
In the lowest of the stages, people are “lost, alienated and alone.” It is the stage of gangs and prisons and thankfully one that we at TTCF are far removed from.

Stage Two – My Life Sucks
In Stage Two of tribal leadership, language is focused on the mantra of “my life sucks” and it is where I believe most of us joined TTCF. Left to our own devices, we would skip work outs, make poor decisions about what we eat and drink, and resolve ourselves to the fact that life is great for some people, but not for us.

To some degree, we all inquired about TTCF because we were looking for a way to improve our lives. Whether we wanted to lose weight, increase strength or just feel better about our general health and wellness, we sought out a membership in TTCF for some personal gain. Many of us though that “my life sucks but I know it can be better.” Simply by becoming a member of TTCF, we allowed ourselves the possibility that life could become better at a superficial level thanks to the help of the trainers, the routine and the workouts.

Stage Three – I’m Great
So while we knew life was going to be improved by committing to at least two classes a week, our confidence was still shaky. However, the culture of TTCF quickly raised us out of a mindset of “my life sucks” into one of “I am great.” Time after time, doing push-ups and sit-ups and squats, the trainers cheer us on and applaud our efforts. This is true no matter whether we are using a green band or one hand to do a pull-up. If we work hard, we are encouraged to believe in ourselves and know that with time and sweat we are going to do great things.

This is the stage where most tribal cultures remain. People believe themselves to be great and find ways to compete with others. They say, ‘Did you see how many pull-ups I did?’ Or, ‘Dude, I just dead-lifted 400 pounds.’ As Logan writes in his book, “People in Stage Three tribes try to outperform each other and put each other down.” But this is not the case at TTCF.

Stage Four – We’re Great
The greatest challenge tribes find is moving from Stage Three to Stage Four. However, it was an easy transition at TTCF. The key is that the encouragement and support that we receive does not begin and end with the trainers. Rather, most of the cheers and hugs and high-fives come from our fellow members. At TTCF we are united by our values, which includes having an outward focus.

According to Logan, “We have become a tribe that is aware of our own existence.” Because of this mindset we can do remarkable things. We can motivate and inspire each other to reach new personal records every day. Simply attend a clinic or Fight Gone Bad or the Winter PR Challenge to see it in action.

Further, Logan writes, “In Stage Four Groups, when two members of the group meet, they’re excited about being with another member of the tribe. People are fully themselves. Everyone seems happy, inspired, genuine. The overall vibe of the room is ‘tribal pride’, which is the mood of Stage Four.” Witness the rapport between people at Open Gym or just go to Muddy Waters on a Saturday night, run into a TTCF member and tell me that’s not true of us.

Stage Five – Life is Great
At TTCF, we don’t dwell in a language of ‘life sucks’ or ‘my life sucks’. Nor do we tolerate those who simply think ‘I’m great’ – a narcissistic mindset often employed at chain gyms full of mirrors and preening muscle heads. Rather, TTCF has created a culture that celebrates everyone.

Logan explains, “People who have ever been part of a Stage Five tribe – or even seen one at work – often describe it in the same tone of reverence and gratitude they use to tell stories of their kids.”

I truly believe that TTCF is a Stage Five cultures whose values are not based simply in the language of ‘my’ or ‘ours’ but have a global tone. We have developed an ever-growing network of organizations and groups whose values resonate with our own. TTCF members are active participants in Mud Run MS Minnesota, Bike MS and countless other fundraisers giving their time and money to these great causes. And they support local businesses, like placing group orders for grass-fed cattle, and care about universal issues.

Not to speak in hyperboles but in TTCF we have found a Stage Five tribal culture that focuses on developing the body, mind and soul. And because of it, life is great!