Community and "The Cell - Real Fitness"

Several months ago a new strength training facility concept was established between two friends of mine who share a vision of delivering unprecedented and until now, unattainable levels of elite fitness to the population of Western Australia. The concept has been lovingly nurtured from it’s initial inception through white-hot fire and bone-chilling cold to develop into what will become the premiere strength, conditioning, fitness and health training facility in Western Australia:


As the logo suggests, The Cell is about real fitness - all aspects of fitness, not just the physical. The Cell also brings together methodologies adopted from CrossFit (it will continue to be Perth’s only official CrossFit affiliate), Gym Jones, The Underground Strength Coach - Zach Even-Esh, Ross Enamait, The Diesel Crew and many others.

I know this will be something special as it’s grown so naturally through trial, energy, dedication and passion.  And so it is with incredible pride, zeal and gratitude that I direct your attention to The Cell - www.thecellfitness.com.au.
I was fortunate enough to travel to Australia (I live in Singapore now) to experience this new facility first hand and be a part of the emerging energy of this place (im pictured there on the posting on the 30th January).  Reflecting on the different experience from training in a commercial gym in Singapore to this facility I realised how working out in a training environment such as this can facilitate greater levels of intensity and focus in my training. 
The aspect of “community” is also one that hasnt been explore in an Integral Strength.  My question to the pod is how important is community to strength training in an integral context, what are other experience of working with others and how has a community inspired you to great depths of intensity in your training. 

Damon

Re: Community and "The Cell - Real Fitness"

Damon, 
As usual thanks for bringing this resource to our attention. 
Much appreciated - so glad this important work is moving and shaking out in the world ;-) 

Per your question regarding community within the integral context, here’s a few thoughts. 

Community is an essential part of the equation - obviously community is an “all quadrant affair” however it’s emphasis resides in the LL or the interior collective. 

Within strength training and integral practice community provides to essential functions: Support and Challenge. 

Community, how your relationships hold you, determines so much about how you in response show up in the world and your training. So it’s often ideal to have integrated relationships that understand the intention and depth of your practice and how they can in response support you and challenge you in critical ways both inside of your training and outside of your training. 

With that said virtually everyone on planet earth is training within communities that are largely unconscious to the dimensions of strength being explored here. What does that mean? 

Well, it means in short you’ve got more challenge and less support from the natural communities within most gyms you walk into. This has its benefits and drawbacks however I’ll focus on how I encourage practitioners to leverage this lack of a supportive environment and community into a positive benefit. 

One of the essential dimensions being cultivated here is the capacity to “Self-Author.” Self-Authorship means that you have established a self system that’s able to self generate your vision, intention, goals and so on. There’s much to be said here but to be brief a lack of supportive community forces you to generate more from within. 

Self generate your goals, vision, purpose and intention. Create and manage your state, your focus and the depth of your engagement in the midst of what I often call the “least supportive environment” available ;-)

This ultimately cultivates greater strength - not just of body but of an emergent self-system that’s capable of much more in the world and your training. 

And for those advanced practitioners… surrender baby - let go of this and that and simply train as the Suchness unfolds :-)

Big Love Everyone,
~Rob