In the literally half a sec that I've decided to blog about this topic I've come up with two types of inspiration. There are those that jerk the tear strings..Motivating you though triumph over a disability or a life struggle. That ain't the crap I'm talking about right now.
What I'm talking about are those things that you see with amazement and say "Holy Sh!t, did you see that? That's amazing" The type of stuff that puts you right in your place in the scheme of whatever your talking about (strenght and crossfit in the case of this blog) and helps you understand that relative to someone else YOU SUCK!
But, the kind of thing that, for a personality like mine, drives me to want to excel, get better, improve, set goals, train harder.
To say- I WANT TO DO THAT, I WANT TO BE LIKE THAT
Watch this YouTube video from a Japanese show called Ninja Warrior.. If it doesn't inspire you in the quest for fitness, well, in the words of the Obama's #1 pal Rahm Emanual "Your retarded".
NINJA WARRIOR- Click Here
if the link doesn't work for you here is the youtube video address
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAxsFgFY0lM
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Messin' With Your Head
I'm sitting here feeling pretty sore, but in a good way and I started thinking that maybe I have something worth blogging about so here it it.. Sit down and shut up! ;)
Some shit is just hard.. Sometimes its hard because.. IT JUST IS.. Like picking up 500 pounds, handcuffing a fat dude with standard size cuffs, watching Brokeback Mountain (HELL NO I Didn't Even Try), listening to your spouse, listening to your kids, listening to you boss, listening to Obama (I'm just sayin)..
Anyway, some things are just hard by their nature.. Others are hard because your mind tells you they are. You probably have some experience in the past with a stimulant that resulted in a negative perception that you now view the stimulant though every time you see it.. (Does that make any sense?).. Eating asparagus is a great example for me.. Ate it once and hurled now every time I see it.. Well.. Its just nasty shit..
The point I'm trying to get to is the past two days I've done some WODs that in my mind were really hard to push through, but in actuality they were not all that bad and that pushing through that "mind fUk" is worth it.
It started with a wod I saw on CF Football, 5 rounds for time of :315# Deadlift x 7 and Double Unders x 21. Now, my pr on the deadlift is 435# so 315# should be do able but for some reason knowing the number of reps I was going to have to do really messed with me. It made me doubt myself and my abilities to do it. So, I almost didn't.. But, then I figured what the hell, don't be a puss.. I did it yesterday and my time was 13+ minutes.. I did it! As RX'd and with full range of motion.. It was hard don't get me wrong. But it wasn't what my mind had made it out to be..And I almost didn't know that because I was "scared" of it so to speak..
It happened again today when I was doing a metcon workout off of Freddy C.'s blog.. It was 3 Rounds of Box Jumps x 8, 135# Push Press x 6, Pull ups x 5, and 70# Kettlebell swing x 3 for 4 cycles (resting 3 minutes between each cycle).. Anyway, I finished the first cycle and starting asking myself if I should scale it back to 3 cycles.. Again, doubting myself.. Yet, I pushed through and finished the work as RX'd..All 4 cycles..
So, what have I learned and why am I blogging it.. I've said it before somewhere else or on a similar issue: The feeling of just pushing through when you don't think you can is really fabulous and I have no doubt that confidence that you build when crossfitting transcends into other areas..
Walk through it..It might not be as bad as you thought.. But, then again it might! Man up!
Some shit is just hard.. Sometimes its hard because.. IT JUST IS.. Like picking up 500 pounds, handcuffing a fat dude with standard size cuffs, watching Brokeback Mountain (HELL NO I Didn't Even Try), listening to your spouse, listening to your kids, listening to you boss, listening to Obama (I'm just sayin)..
Anyway, some things are just hard by their nature.. Others are hard because your mind tells you they are. You probably have some experience in the past with a stimulant that resulted in a negative perception that you now view the stimulant though every time you see it.. (Does that make any sense?).. Eating asparagus is a great example for me.. Ate it once and hurled now every time I see it.. Well.. Its just nasty shit..
The point I'm trying to get to is the past two days I've done some WODs that in my mind were really hard to push through, but in actuality they were not all that bad and that pushing through that "mind fUk" is worth it.
It started with a wod I saw on CF Football, 5 rounds for time of :315# Deadlift x 7 and Double Unders x 21. Now, my pr on the deadlift is 435# so 315# should be do able but for some reason knowing the number of reps I was going to have to do really messed with me. It made me doubt myself and my abilities to do it. So, I almost didn't.. But, then I figured what the hell, don't be a puss.. I did it yesterday and my time was 13+ minutes.. I did it! As RX'd and with full range of motion.. It was hard don't get me wrong. But it wasn't what my mind had made it out to be..And I almost didn't know that because I was "scared" of it so to speak..
It happened again today when I was doing a metcon workout off of Freddy C.'s blog.. It was 3 Rounds of Box Jumps x 8, 135# Push Press x 6, Pull ups x 5, and 70# Kettlebell swing x 3 for 4 cycles (resting 3 minutes between each cycle).. Anyway, I finished the first cycle and starting asking myself if I should scale it back to 3 cycles.. Again, doubting myself.. Yet, I pushed through and finished the work as RX'd..All 4 cycles..
So, what have I learned and why am I blogging it.. I've said it before somewhere else or on a similar issue: The feeling of just pushing through when you don't think you can is really fabulous and I have no doubt that confidence that you build when crossfitting transcends into other areas..
Walk through it..It might not be as bad as you thought.. But, then again it might! Man up!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Back In Action
So, I finally found the inspiration to plug in an update and it came from the least likely of things.. An ass kicking! That's right, I got a tiny bit of an ass kicking laid on me from a great (and strong) CFer.
NO, YOU don't get it.. I GOT MY ASS KICKED.. I got hit more times than a loose prom date..
Why, might you ask? All in the name of training.. Yes Training.. Cop School to be more specific.. One of these days in the near future the Great State of Texas is going to trust me enough to carry a gun and uphold the peace.. At times there will be violence. I can tell you right now that those who prevail are most likely those that trained for it.
So, CrossFit is training.. Training for what? I found out during that exercise.. When your life is on the line you HAVE to be able to move...preform...function...think...act.. Man, that's what happens in CF.. CF trains you for all of those things..Who would have ever thought some burpees would help you take a licking!
Ok, now that I embellished my story a little to make a point. It wasn't a bad ass kicking but I took 4 or 5 pretty good shots in the nose, face and jaw.. Not all that bad really. Glad he wasn't going full on though.
Will you ever be in a situation where you might have wished you'd trained? If you are alive I'll bet the odds are 100%.. Check out CrossFit.. It might make the difference!
You might also check out CF Football.. There has been some really great and interesting programming coming from there and its been crushing me this week!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Passion....
Whats that thing that makes you feel as though you are motivated by nothing else..That your focus is blinded by raw force and desire for that one thing of the moment. It makes your breathe deep and shallow at the same time..Tense in the core..Tingling on the finger tips.. You can feel the blood surging and swelling up your lips..You hands..Power restraining yet waiting. Craving to get the rush, to be satisfied to the depths..
Passion.............
What is yours????
At the moment..Mine's...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
this shoe..
Inov-8 F-lite
Isn't it bad ass! Can't wait for Christmas!
Passion.............
What is yours????
At the moment..Mine's...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
this shoe..
Inov-8 F-lite
Isn't it bad ass! Can't wait for Christmas!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
HERE Is What Makes Its So Special...........
Besides the crap works....
I finally am back in my routine after a bit of disorganization with being on fire assignment, being sick, trying to get the farm ready for hunting season, etc, etc, etc.. I know CrossFit is constantly varied but I have to be honest that I am a creature of habit and I enjoy having a routine as to when I work out. It helps me stay committed..My time happens to be around 11-Noon or so every day.. Anyway, since I work out at the HS across the street I'm kinda at their mercy and for a while in the summer I'd get out of cop school at noon and by the time I'd make it over to work out they would be wrapping up wanting to go home.. I found work arounds and occasionally they would let me stay by myself which was terrific (NO loud blairing rap music the kids would play..yeah!). So, now school is getting close and the football team is back doing two-a-days and I have a little less pressure to get there as quick as possible..
Oy with the poodles already... So yesterday I'm getting my @ss handed to me doing one rep max snatches and there are two younger kids in there.. I'm guessing freshman but maybe they were sophomores.. I wasn't paying them much attention till I heard one of them start to coach the other...He starts with Hang Cleans, then Power Cleans, then Squat Cleans.. It was pretty cool to see and hear.. The guy getting taught was soaking it up.. The guy training would do a few, then the other guy would do a few..The "kid coach" would tell the other some tip about his form, he would do it again and then they would move on..
It hit me like a ton of freakin bricks sitting there.. I NEVER had anyone take me through a workout and show me what to do until CrossFit did.. I learned how to be fit from CrossFit.. It taught me, not just the how, but the why which is just as important..It IS my coach..
I know it gets talked about in CF circles how trainers don't teach fitness- they would lose their jobs if they did - because then their clientele would not need them... So they keep the client in the dark (aka-stupid). Instead of "teaching" fitness they become high priced rep counters who take you from machine to machine and count reps for you..1...2...3...4...5...6...blah bliddy blah blah...
That is what makes CF SOOOOO Special.. The CF Community strives to teach, to learn more, to be better, to incorporate parts of the best of everything.. Then they push it out.. If you have ANY interest in CF whatsoever pay the $25 bucks a year and get a subscription to the Journal. I don't know of any conglomeration of resources for the how and why of almost anything fitness/nutrition related like the journal. Its an amazing resource that the community created.
Its apropos to have a moment of clarity watching one young kid pass it on to another.. What I saw...while sitting there....was CROSSFIT...One kid bringing another up to a higher level of performance...Fabulous!
I finally am back in my routine after a bit of disorganization with being on fire assignment, being sick, trying to get the farm ready for hunting season, etc, etc, etc.. I know CrossFit is constantly varied but I have to be honest that I am a creature of habit and I enjoy having a routine as to when I work out. It helps me stay committed..My time happens to be around 11-Noon or so every day.. Anyway, since I work out at the HS across the street I'm kinda at their mercy and for a while in the summer I'd get out of cop school at noon and by the time I'd make it over to work out they would be wrapping up wanting to go home.. I found work arounds and occasionally they would let me stay by myself which was terrific (NO loud blairing rap music the kids would play..yeah!). So, now school is getting close and the football team is back doing two-a-days and I have a little less pressure to get there as quick as possible..
Oy with the poodles already... So yesterday I'm getting my @ss handed to me doing one rep max snatches and there are two younger kids in there.. I'm guessing freshman but maybe they were sophomores.. I wasn't paying them much attention till I heard one of them start to coach the other...He starts with Hang Cleans, then Power Cleans, then Squat Cleans.. It was pretty cool to see and hear.. The guy getting taught was soaking it up.. The guy training would do a few, then the other guy would do a few..The "kid coach" would tell the other some tip about his form, he would do it again and then they would move on..
It hit me like a ton of freakin bricks sitting there.. I NEVER had anyone take me through a workout and show me what to do until CrossFit did.. I learned how to be fit from CrossFit.. It taught me, not just the how, but the why which is just as important..It IS my coach..
I know it gets talked about in CF circles how trainers don't teach fitness- they would lose their jobs if they did - because then their clientele would not need them... So they keep the client in the dark (aka-stupid). Instead of "teaching" fitness they become high priced rep counters who take you from machine to machine and count reps for you..1...2...3...4...5...6...blah bliddy blah blah...
That is what makes CF SOOOOO Special.. The CF Community strives to teach, to learn more, to be better, to incorporate parts of the best of everything.. Then they push it out.. If you have ANY interest in CF whatsoever pay the $25 bucks a year and get a subscription to the Journal. I don't know of any conglomeration of resources for the how and why of almost anything fitness/nutrition related like the journal. Its an amazing resource that the community created.
Its apropos to have a moment of clarity watching one young kid pass it on to another.. What I saw...while sitting there....was CROSSFIT...One kid bringing another up to a higher level of performance...Fabulous!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Life is GREAT!
So, I'm chilling out in fire camp, happy as hell to be out of the place I work and doing something that I really love.. I've got a ten day wildfire assignment, there is not much wildfire going on but I don't really care..
The wildfire community is much like the police and regular fire fighter community but I'd venture to say much closer knit than them even. Maybe because its a smaller community or maybe it just the breed of people but its hard for me to go anywhere else and find the sense of singleness and purpose that I fine at fire camp. There's not a ton of politics, almost everyone knows their job and each spoke fits and works.. I love it.. I think my whole demeanor changes the minute I get that resource order and know that I'm going to be headed out.. Then it changes again when I get my demob paperwork..
Why is it that we don't chase our dreams and that we allow extraneous circumstances to dictate our lives.. I suspect its fear.. Fear of the unknown.. Fear of failure.. Fear in all forms is said to be
a corrupting thread in the fabric of our existence.. Its a shame too because its so limiting... Maybe I really need to evaluate this and seek to push through that.. Its obvious that my current career is wrought with unhappiness..
So, what the shit does that have to do with CrossFit.. How many of you have found yourself in fear of the weight or let a workout scare you away because you knew it would kick your ass. Man, I have... One World's blog from a few days ago defined this mental block or Mind F*#K much better that I can.. But that's what it is..
So, what about getting through it? I'm going to start that process right now with my job (or I have good intentions too) and I think what it takes is support.. Family, friends, a support network... A BOX...A COACH..
Into Action You Lazy Bums!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
My Thoughts On CrossFit: Life Changing Shit..Thanks Coach Glassman
BEFORE ........................................................................................................AFTER
Who would have ever thought at 33 I'd become an athlete yet here I sit, sore as shit from the beatings I took this week, aching to get back into the game when lunch roles around. The mark of an athlete - that desire to strive and achieve better, to be better than the next guy, to beat the clock, to boarder on obsessive or travel clean past that boarder in seeking increased performance..
What the hell is this thing which I have found myself controled by for a few minutes a day EVERY day?
CrossFit (http://www.crossfit.com/)
Someone asked me to tell them about this thing a while back. This was my response:
I have never been "into" fitness my entire life.. I did play lacrosse at SWT in the club but I never was really "athletic"... Anyway, I got in pretty good shape when I was fighting wildfire but right before I moved back to Texas a year and a half ago I was pushing 265..On top of that I had really high total cholesterol and ldl.
I started CF when a couple of special forces guys I know came out to WF to teach a night vision class.. One of them was in particularly good shape and I asked him what he did.. He turned me on to CF. That was almost a year ago.Within probably 6 weeks I could SEE the difference CF was making in my physique and my health. I was focused on just being "fit" not to look great or anything else. Just to have some level of good fitness..What I got was much more...
What CF gave me:
1) I'm sitting at 222# pounds and have been there for almost a year...My body fat continues to decrease but because of the lean muscle I stay about the same weight.
2) From a 42" waist to a 36"
3) CF + Zone Diet my cholesterol is NORMAL
4) I can dead lift 430#
5) I can squat 345#
6) I can vertical jump from a standing position over 3 feet high and land standing on the tail gate of my truck.
7) I can horizontal jump 7'4" from a static position.
8) I can run 1.5 miles with .5 of that being backwards in under 20 minutes.
9) I can do 10 dead hang pull ups with out stopping, I can kipping pull up about 17
10) I can row a 10k in 40 minutes.
What does 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10=??? HARDER TO KILL!
It also equals :) because I can pretty much do whatever I want.. If I want to run somewhere I can.. If I want to move some heavy crap I can.. If I want to go stalk after elk in the Rockies, I can..I can do a lot of things and I don't have to train for months to do it.. All I have to do is throw on a pair of shoes and go..Is it hard?? Heck yes.. Is it for everyone?? Heck no.. Is it for you?? Go see.. You won't regret it..
The other part -beyond fitness -is the amazing people you will get to meet.. I have been fortunate to meet some INCREDIBLE athletes that inspire you to drive on..to push yourself harder than you ever thought you would..AND there is always the humbling experience of a girl kicking you ass in a workout..That is not to be missed!
So, THANK YOU Coach Glassman
What the hell is this thing which I have found myself controled by for a few minutes a day EVERY day?
CrossFit (http://www.crossfit.com/)
Someone asked me to tell them about this thing a while back. This was my response:
I have never been "into" fitness my entire life.. I did play lacrosse at SWT in the club but I never was really "athletic"... Anyway, I got in pretty good shape when I was fighting wildfire but right before I moved back to Texas a year and a half ago I was pushing 265..On top of that I had really high total cholesterol and ldl.
I started CF when a couple of special forces guys I know came out to WF to teach a night vision class.. One of them was in particularly good shape and I asked him what he did.. He turned me on to CF. That was almost a year ago.Within probably 6 weeks I could SEE the difference CF was making in my physique and my health. I was focused on just being "fit" not to look great or anything else. Just to have some level of good fitness..What I got was much more...
What CF gave me:
1) I'm sitting at 222# pounds and have been there for almost a year...My body fat continues to decrease but because of the lean muscle I stay about the same weight.
2) From a 42" waist to a 36"
3) CF + Zone Diet my cholesterol is NORMAL
4) I can dead lift 430#
5) I can squat 345#
6) I can vertical jump from a standing position over 3 feet high and land standing on the tail gate of my truck.
7) I can horizontal jump 7'4" from a static position.
8) I can run 1.5 miles with .5 of that being backwards in under 20 minutes.
9) I can do 10 dead hang pull ups with out stopping, I can kipping pull up about 17
10) I can row a 10k in 40 minutes.
What does 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10=??? HARDER TO KILL!
It also equals :) because I can pretty much do whatever I want.. If I want to run somewhere I can.. If I want to move some heavy crap I can.. If I want to go stalk after elk in the Rockies, I can..I can do a lot of things and I don't have to train for months to do it.. All I have to do is throw on a pair of shoes and go..Is it hard?? Heck yes.. Is it for everyone?? Heck no.. Is it for you?? Go see.. You won't regret it..
The other part -beyond fitness -is the amazing people you will get to meet.. I have been fortunate to meet some INCREDIBLE athletes that inspire you to drive on..to push yourself harder than you ever thought you would..AND there is always the humbling experience of a girl kicking you ass in a workout..That is not to be missed!
So, THANK YOU Coach Glassman
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