PracticalPaleolithic.com » Fitness

CrossFit – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Kettlebell Swing…

Adam — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 15:40:00 +0000

Sigh… What a week… A Wise Ape once told me if I wasn’t getting hate mail, no one was reading my stuff. Well, people are definitely reading my stuff… This past week, I leaned heavily on my faith and asked myself many times WWTGD? (What Would The Gorilla Do?).

I think I’ve turned a corner on Practical Paleolithic – I think this blog – and my blogging – has evolved beyond the raw rants I was doing last year and become more intelligent. Sure, the sharp sarcasm remains and my usual brilliant and charming wit , but the ranting just isn’t as fun as it was. Or, maybe all the yoga and the uber-spiritual, hippie-in-remission girlfriend are just making me go soft… Either way, I think my writing and YOUR reading on this blog evolved beyond the pseudo-negativity of the massively sarcastic rant. Time will tell though…

Either way, CrossFit is seriously taking off and, IMHO, some really important parts of it are getting left behind. This happens. It reminds me of the Ninjutsu boom that happened in the 80′s or the Kenpo Karate boom the decade before. Remember how there were Martial Arts guys in black masks in EVERY movie, TV show and Cartoon back then? That happened because there was an explosion in popularity and fascination with the Ninja and their Martial Art. So, Ninjutsu went from being this devastatingly effective combat art with a pragmatic Buddhist spiritual side to being something that showed up on Cereal boxes and Saturday morning cartoons. From there, there ended up being all sorts of arguments about who the actual Grandmaster of the art was (it was and is Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi) and if he was even for real, if his technique was any good and on and on…

Then new “Masters” showed up and opened competing schools (Sounds kind of like the “bootcamps” that are popping up everywhere to take some of the CrossFit popularity spillover, huh?). It got to the point where everyone was a “Ninja Master” and there were “Ninja Schools” everywhere. Then people started saying Ninjutsu wasn’t a “real” art. All sorts of arguments started about “effective” martial arts and who’s “Ninjutsu” was better. There were arguments that Ninjutsu “didn’t work” and counter-arguments that it was the most effective fighting art known to Man. This kind of stuff has been around in Martial Arts for a LONG time and you can actually make a case for these arguments being the basis of the original UFC events in the 90′s. In fact, I think there was a “Ninja” in the first UFC and I’m pretty sure he got his ass kicked…

Just like in Martial Arts, I think the TEACHER and the SCHOOL are everything when it comes to CrossFit. In CrossFit the teacher is called a “Coach” and the school is called a “box,” but it’s the same thing. At this point, the name “CrossFit” doesn’t necessarily indicate guaranteed quality anymore. At the same time, NOT seeing the name “CrossFit” on a “warehouse-style” gym doesn’t automatically mean it’s NOT a good gym either. It could be one of the many former CrossFits that either lost it’s affiliation or chose to disaffiliate. Some of those “original” CrossFit people like OPT, Melissa and Dallas from Whole 9 and Robb Wolf would make OUTSTANDING coaches if they were near you – regardless of whether or not it says “CrossFit” over their door.

Yes, I hate CrossFit and, yes, this blog is about YOU…

You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you? Don’t you?

- Carly Simon

I guess the 21st century version of that song is “You probably think this blog post is about you…” The point is NO I don’t hate CrossFit and NO I didn’t write this post about any gym or anyone in particular. No more than writing that I eat some brown rice or goat yogurt once in a while means I hate Paleo and Robb Wolf…

If I routinely quote Glassman and have been saying we lost our way from stuff he said back in 2002, I’m probably not a CrossFit hater now, am I? In fact, maybe I should call myself a CrossFit Fundamentalist and run around thumping old reprints of CrossFit Journal…

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: CrossFit is an AWESOME methodology and community. It’s done some great things for training and it’s connected a lot of great people. Some of my best friends – and my girlfriend – are CrossFitters.

Above would be my girlfriend Michelle – yes she’s a CrossFitter and CrossFit Coach, yes she agrees with me on what I’m saying in this post, yes she uses AND teaches great form and, yes, she’s a real redhead (I’ve checked ) . BTW, she also has a great – and heretical – blog here: Chalk and Chi. And no, Wild Gorillaman, I won’t send you a pic of her ass for the next “No Butts About it” Update… (SHE however, can send you as many as she wants – if she so chooses. Just make sure you spell my name right… )

Those NEW to CrossFit, take note…

I believe CrossFit should ALWAYS be about Elite Fitness. Not so much always elite PERFORMANCE, but always Elite Fitness. What is “Elite Fitness?” Well, as it happens, Glassman wrote an OUTSTANDING paper called “What is Fitness?” back in 2002. I’m routinely amazed at how many “CrossFitters” haven’t read that incredible article and how many “CrossFitters” don’t even know who Coach Glassman IS…

It doesn’t really matter where you START when you come into CrossFit. The point is: where do you go and what’s your attitude? If CrossFit truly IS Elite Fitness – and is going to remain so – the people involved in the sport need to check their motivations. Yes, CrossFit changes lives and it’s great that it can scale and be accessible to all. I’m all for diverse groups of people seeing the benefits of CrossFit. But I think that CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT is a cornerstone of what CrossFit is all about.

************************************

“Master Chen was renowned for his skill in Taijiquan, perhaps the greatest teacher of his day. At the end of a long life, surrounded by students, Chen lay dying. Chen gestured for his chief student. The student approached and kneeled by Chen’s bed.

‘Yes, Master,’ asked the student.”

‘It is a pity,’ whispered Master Chen. ‘I was only just learning how to punch.’”

************************************

(Thanks to my awesome Facebook friend Robert for digging up that quote for me!)

Here’s the thing: I’ve been a coach for a while now. Something I feel I’m exceptionally good at is seeing the potential someone I’m training has – even if they can’t see it themselves – and moving them toward that potential. All of us can always be better than we are today and it can be surprising how small the daily changes are that add up to BIG changes over months and years. (This is true in LIFE, not just training, BTW…)

But what about the people aren’t pushing the edge of their potential? What about the people who don’t care about pushing the edge of their potential? Or, what about the people who would push the edge of their potential if they had a coach who could help them do it and lend them some vision for who they could be? And, beyond that, what about the coaches who need to be pushing their OWN potential on TWO fronts – their own training and athletic ability AND their coaching ability?

Far from saying I think we should exclude new people from CrossFit or have some massive performance standards, I ACTUALLY think new people should get MORE coaching and MORE attention and A LOT MORE encouragement to SLOW DOWN until they’re ready to go faster and move bigger weight. As coaches or just those who have been in CrossFit for a long time (and training for an even longer time), we have a very big responsibility to teach people stuff the right way right from the beginning.

Everyone is Watching and There are No “Do Overs…”

I’d like to see our community continue to be elite – IN QUALITY – and not have us start looking like a bunch of clowns in knee socks and Vibrams pounding the shit out of ourselves with bad form and too much weight way too often. The truth is, I think there’s a fork in the road and some of us are going one way and some of us are going the other… Time to choose a direction, folks…

There’s a REAL danger of CrossFitters being the 21st Century version of the Ass Clown Gym Guys in the stupid pants who EVERYONE thinks of when you say “bodybuilder.” (Credit to Alysha for the “Ass Clown” terminology…) I sure as hell don’t want THAT to happen. If we’re going to avoid that though, we need to make sure our community stays on track and doesn’t get swept away and wrecked by this latest popularity surge. The world is watching us CrossFitters (Paleo people too…) and we need to step up and do the right thing. We need to show the world our BEST…

CrossFit is MORE than MetCons…

One of the big factors that drew me to CrossFit back in 2008 was that it incorporated so many different disciplines AND had fast and effective methods for teaching them. CrossFit incorporates running, Powerlifting, Gymnastics, Olympic lifting and a WHOLE LOT of other cool stuff. But the fundamentals in those disciplines take YEARS to develop…

Maybe not years in CrossFit, but years in training them. A runner coming into CrossFit is going to be AWESOME at running and likely have not-so-great barbell skills and be lacking a lot of other stuff. A Powerlifter or bodybuilder will have (hopefully) some really good barbell skills and probably not be able to run to his car and back to get his whey protein recovery shake. The beauty of CrossFit is that it is AWESOME at exposing your weaknesses and showing you where you suck currently. But, once you know where you need to improve – PLEASE start systematically working on improving!

One of the things that’s happened in CrossFit – and I started seeing it when I ran my own affiliate – is that people think the MetCon IS CrossFit. They expect – and demand – that every workout crushes them and leaves them in a pool of sweat and vomit at the end. As a coach, you walk a line because you can be seen as “soft” if you dial people back and make them hold back some adrenal capacity and recovery. I’ve actually used a Gymboss Timer to enforce longer time between sets in the Powerlifts with people. As in, Max Deadlift for 5 sets of 5 reps with 3 MINUTES between sets. You should see everyone go NUTS wanting to grab the bar after about 30 seconds! Three minutes feels like an ETERNITY to a CrossFitter who’s been doing a ton of Metcons…

My point is, a “CrossFit Workout” can be skill work with the Barbell Snatch followed by a few singles with 60% of max. It can be a WALK with a weight vest. It can be an hour or two of rolling in Jiu Jitsu. YES, the crazy MetCon stuff is COOL and it DOES increase your capacity (as long as you don’t drastically exceed your capacity and then come back for more before recovering – and then take a two mile run after coming back before recovering…).

What I’m starting to see is a lot of newer people coming in to CrossFit and thinking it’s ALL about the MetCon. There is a tremendous amount of complexity and depth and BEAUTY within CrossFit that has NOTHING to do with MetCons and vomiting in chalk buckets. But, people see stuff on YouTube and think the MetCon IS CrossFit. Then they want to “do CrossFit” so you end up with people running before they can even walk.

If you can’t do a technically VERY GOOD Barbell Snatch or Clean and Jerk, you really have NO business doing those movements in a MetCon with high reps and a focus on speed.

Specializing in not specializing isn’t the same as specializing in sucking…

As far as I’m concerned, CrossFit is like a Martial Art in that it involves – and demands – constant practice, refinement and learning. First off, you better have an EXCELLENT coach is committed to lifelong learning and improvement herself or himself. Second, YOU need to take personal responsibility for your training and learning and improvement. The thing about “not specializing” is another VERY misunderstood deal in CrossFit…

Even though CrossFit doesn’t “specialize” in anything, this doesn’t mean there’s no point in being good at anything. Here are the three standards of fitness in Coach Glassman’s own words from “What is Fitness?”:

“CrossFit makes use of three different standards or models for evaluating and guiding ﬁtness. Collectively, these three standards deﬁne the CrossFit view of ﬁtness. The ﬁrst is based on the ten general physical skills widely recognized by exercise physiologists. The second standard, or model, is based on the performance of athletic tasks, while the third is based on the energy systems that drive all human action.”

Here, he expands on the First Standard:

“There are ten recognized general physical skills. They are cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, ﬂexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. You are as ﬁt as you are competent in each of these ten skills. A regimen develops ﬁtness to the extent that it improves each of these ten skills. Importantly, improvements in endurance, stamina, strength, and ﬂexibility come about through training. Training refers to activity that improves performance through a measurable organic change in the body. By contrast improvements in coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy come about through practice. Practice refers to activity that improves performance through changes in the nervous system. Power and speed are adaptations of both training and practice.”

Note the use of the words “competent,” “training” and “practice. The sports and activities CrossFit draws from are diverse and we don’t “specialize” in any one of them. But we do – or should – strive to be very, very good at any of the training modes we use as CrossFitters. This requires time and practice.

And, here, Coach expands on the Second Standard:

“The essence of this model is the view that ﬁtness is about performing well at any and every task imaginable. Picture a hopper loaded with an inﬁnite number of physical challenges where no selective mechanism is operative, and being asked to perform fetes randomly drawn from the hopper. This model suggests that your ﬁtness can be measured by your capacity to perform well at these tasks in relation to other individuals. The implication here is that ﬁtness requires an ability to perform well at all tasks, even unfamiliar tasks, tasks combined in inﬁnitely varying combinations. In practice this encourages the athlete to disinvest in any set notions of sets, rest periods, reps, exercises, order of exercises, routines, periodization, etc. Nature frequently provides largely unforeseeable challenges; train for that by striving to keep the training stimulus broad and constantly varied.”

Here again, Coach is saying “performing well at any and every task imaginable.” Performing tasks “well” isn’t the same as just barely being able to perform them – or not being able to perform them at all without being injured. And, if someone can’t perform a task somewhat “well,” they have no business performing that task in a timed workout (MetCon). At least not with the Rx’ed weight…

Bringing this all together, Glassman goes on to say:

“Our ﬁtness, being ‘CrossFit,’ comes through molding men and women that are equal parts gymnast, Olympic weightlifter, and multi-modal sprinter or ‘sprintathlete.’ Develop the capacity of a novice 800-meter track athlete, gymnast, and weightlifter and you’ll be ﬁtter than any world-class runner, gymnast, or weightlifter.”

But, remember, the “capacity of a novice weightlifter” is still pretty high in both technique AND raw poundage. Even if we aren’t at this level, it’s at least a level we need to aspire to in our training and in setting our goals.

The Martial Art of fitness…

My martial arts teacher, Chris Wright-Martell, told me recently that his core purpose in running his school is to touch everyone who comes to train there in as positive a way as possible, for as long as possible. That’s what HIS teacher taught him because that was his teacher’s ideal as well.

So, I’m not advocating we become a bunch of elitist douchebags who don’t respect or nurture the improvement of EVERYONE who comes to train with us. But I DO expect that we – as coaches – instill rock-solid fundamentals and safe training habits in those we train. If you spent 5 nights a week at a martial arts school I’d expect you to have a good grasp on some basic fighting and self-defense techniques after 6 months. If you told me you were training MMA kickboxing for 6 months and, when we squared off to spar, you had your chin up and out (a nice way to get knocked out) and kept dropping your hands (leaving your face and head open to get hit), I’d wonder about who your coach was and how serious you were about your training. It can be the coach, the student or both.

This really IS Elite Fitness and we really DO need to have a higher standard. I don’t think that’s a raw performance standard as much as it’s a standard regarding heart, commitment, desire and attitude. Some part of that – in my opinion – is a commitment to constant learning and improving in everything your chosen athletic activities entail. One of the things I LOVE about CrossFit is that it can scale and virtually ANYONE can get a great workout that challenges them mentally and physically. But scaling is very different from having lousy form.

If the WOD is Grace (30 Clean and Jerks for time), I’m going to expect – and enforce – outstanding form. And I’m going to drill a whole bunch of movements that are foundational to the Clean and Jerk in the warm-up – Deadlift, Clean, Front Squat, Strict Press, etc. – so that we all know the weak points in each student’s lift and so that I know the weight everyone needs to do the WOD with. If you can do the Rx weight, fine. If you can’t do the Rx weight – with strong form – then you need to use the weight that WILL allow you to use exceptional form so you can start training in proper movement patterns. THAT is scaling. Too much weight with lousy form is bad for everyone – the coach, the trainee AND CrossFit as a community AND as a business.

I wrote this article about coaching my friend and the wife of my Jiu Jitsu teacher through her first run-in with Grace. That workout was after a few MONTHS of working her Clean, her Rack and her Jerk to the point that I could put her on the clock and push her with regard to the weight. CrossFit – especially the weighted and barbell stuff like Snatch, Clean and Jerk, Kettlebells, Strongman, etc. – IS NO JOKE! You CAN get hurt and you CAN mess yourself up long-term doing things wrong. You may not feel it today and you may not feel it tomorrow, but you WILL feel it sooner or later and it likely won’t be pretty.

Incidentally, I STRONGLY believe the COACH should be setting the weights for each individual when getting ready for a WOD as opposed to the athletes – particularly in the beginning. I’ve had people train with me who were choosing their own weights almost immediately – with maybe some gentle suggestions from me – and I’ve had people who I ALWAYS prescribed weight for based on form, strengths and weaknesses, what they were working on currently, how tired they were, number of workouts that week and a bunch of other stuff. And, it wasn’t always about going LIGHTER either. Some people need to be encouraged to go HEAVIER once their form improves – in that case, it’s about “lending them your vision” as a coach and seeing where they can go.

It’s time to raise the bar…

CrossFit is really something great and unique in the athletic world. The fact that it’s spreading and growing and reaching the mainstream could be a really good thing. And I think it’s up to EVERYONE in the community to keep the standards high and make the community and the methodology accessible to everyone who comes into it. It’s also up to us to keep CrossFit from becoming another “Everyone is doing it, no one does it anymore” kind of thing. We’ll know it’s over when Spencer Gifts is selling CrossFit T-Shirts right next to the UFC and Tapout stuff. If that happens, I’m out…

Some people have gotten pissed and said I made it sound like CrossFit (or me personally) doesn’t want new people to come in. Absolutely not. But, at this point, you need to be DAMN careful about where you train. Check out as many CrossFits as you can in your area and don’t commit to one until you’ve really gotten a good look at it. AND, check out the videos on CrossFit.com so you know what GOOD form is on a lot of the exercises and see if people are doing that same form at the classes you’re checking out. Someone just coming into CrossFit with little past experience doesn’t know what a good rack looks like in the Clean or not to round out their back in a Deadlift. They shouldn’t get 10 minutes of instruction and then feel pressured to go as fast as possible with as much weight as they can handle. THAT’S NUTS!

In fact, if you’re new to CrossFit – or not so new – you should be LIVING on CrossFit.com. There’s more information on there than you could consume in a lifetime or two and there’s some really educational and awesome stuff to be found. I’ll never forget when I first got into CrossFit with my friend Merle McKenzie from CrossFit Relentless‘ encouragement. I stayed up half the night reading “What is Fitness?” and a bunch of other stuff from CrossFit Journal. One of the things I loved about CrossFit – and that made me decide to jump into it – was that it offered exposure to so many diverse training modes. Instead of having to “choose” to specialize in Powerlifting, for example, I could train the power lifts within a more broad program. It meant I could train to be good at a wide range of stuff while still having a single overarching training methodology AND a great community of like-minded people around me. Sold!

Put it this way, if you buy a guitar and take three music lessons, are you a musician? No. And would you really want me to throw you on a Moto GP bike after a few quick rounds of “here’s the clutch, that’s the front brake, don’t lean over too far, look where you want the bike to go…?” Of course not. This stuff is HARD! You don’t get good at it overnight. It takes a while!

“CrossFit” on the sign above the door IS NOT an automatic indication of quality training and coaching the way it used to be. Beyond that, it’s very important to realize that EVERY CrossFit gym will have a different culture and feel. Just like one Jiu Jitsu school can be VERY different from another right down the road, some CrossFits are GREAT and some are not so great. You might need to drive an extra few miles to get a GREAT one, but it’s worth the trip…

So, for all the new people who flamed me about making CrossFit sound “uninviting” or “elitist,” the CrossFit I’m proposing would actually be the best place for new people. They’d get A LOT more instruction on form and they’d be encouraged to train at a pace and load that was appropriate for them. Really, who would you rather train with: Someone like me who has devoted the last several years of his life – full time – to learning everything he can about coaching and training CrossFit and Kettlebells or someone who thought CrossFit looked fun and lucrative and went off and got a Level 1 a few months ago instead of doing that online Certified Personal Trainer course they were thinking about.

Look into the people who own and coach the gyms you’re looking at and thinking about investing your time and money in. Read their blog posts (hopefully they HAVE a blog) and make sure you like their ideals and ideas.

Incidentally, when I was coaching full time, MY affiliate was where a lot of people came AFTER they got hurt at another box and realized they needed more hands on instruction with form and technique. I heard that story a bunch of times during the initial consult… (A little quality time with Google will tell you what kind of gym you’re getting involved in ahead of time.)

Elite fitness isn’t just about going “fast” or “heavy.” It’s about great form and technique, health on all levels, building a healthy and sustainable lifestyle and strengthening your body for the long term. It’s not about grinding the hell out of your joints and endocrine system for a few years and then suffering for the rest of your life. As coaches we have a responsibility to teach people how to do stuff RIGHT and we have even more of a responsibility to know what RIGHT is.

Where’s the fun if no one is getting hurt?

Something I’ve learned from Robb Wolf and Dr. Mark Cheng (among others) is how fragile the human body can be when it’s not fed well and moved properly. I think there is A LOT of underestimation of the damage we can do to ourselves with poor movement patterns and bad dietary practices and lifestyles. And a lot of this damage doesn’t show up until it’s too late and there isn’t a lot we can do about it or it’s a lot of work to correct.

I don’t want CrossFit to be associated with bad form, funny looking shoes, people getting hurt and some fad “low-carb” diet. It’s as simple as that.

ttys

Adam

10 Things That Will Make Your Training BETTER…

Adam — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:02:07 +0000

A big part of my personal journey recently has been about improving my training. I’ve come at this goal from a bunch of different directions and used many different tools and ideas from a wide range of disciplines and areas to make it happen. Not everything I’ll suggest is typical, but it IS something that’s improved my training on some level and that I think can improve yours too…

1) Set Goals – I talk a lot about setting goals. And I think goal setting is a HUGE step in the process of improving your fitness and improving your life. One of the best programs I’ve ever worked through on goal setting is “Time of Your Life” by Anthony Robbins. It literally changed my life. If you want to see the method I use to keep track of and refine my goals, check out this video blog I did on goals and creating a fitness vision. You don’t need to take it quite to that level – though I think doing so will greatly improve your results AND your life – but the process is something you can use to get yourself on track and get a vision for where you want to go that’s bigger than where you are currently.

2) Add Some Active Recovery Training – This can really be anything from yoga to basic stretching to joint mobility work to committing to using a foam roller regularly. Currently, my active recovery stuff is yoga, meditation and walking around the beaches here in Saybrook Manor (sometimes with a few pounds in my weight vest). The point is, you NEED to “put something back in the tank” when you’re training hard regularly and pushing your limits. I’m always amazed when I see people – particularly CrossFitters – who train themselves nearly to death in their workouts and do virtually NO recovery stretching or “body maintenance” type stuff to help the body recover and improve flexibility, range of motion, etc. If you need some suggestions for this area, check out “Yoga for Dummies” and “Yoga on the Edge” by Sara Ivanhoe and also mobilityWOD.com by Kelly Starett. BTW, things like yoga and mediation have some massive additional benefits that I talk more about in number 10…

3) Learn and Refine a Sport – For me, this is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and, to a lesser extent, Mixed Martial Arts. It can really be anything you want and are interested in though. I have a few friends who are into cycling, lots of friends who do martial arts, some who are into Olympic lifting or Powerlifting, etc. The point is, when you choose an area to focus on that has a “constant improvement” or “competitive” aspect to it, all sorts of good things happen. It also helps focus your training because now you’re training for performance in a specific area – it gives you “yardstick” to gauge your progress. If CrossFit or “Sport of Fitness” is your sport, you can still choose a “sub-division” to train, refine and specialize in for a period of time. Find a CrossFit cert that’s interesting to you or nearby and commit to training that particular area for 6 months to a year. For example, you could do a Rowing Cert, Running Cert, Oly Lifting, etc. and then train the techniques you learned. Either way, when you start really training yourself in a focused and specific area, your body and mind respond in a way that’s different from when you’re just “training to get in shape…”

4) Periodize Your Training – This one is HUGE for me. Like most “exercise addicts,” I LOVE to train. I feel weird and depressed when I don’t train and that makes it really hard to take rest days and cycle my training in a way that works LONG TERM. CrossFit is a place where this is particularly important because the usual idea is to “go hard” all the time. My opinion – and guys like Robb Wolf will back me up – is that you need to cycle your intensity by scaling workouts or changing the “perceived intensity of effort” in a regular way. If you look at the Powerlifting world as an example, you’ll see that NO Powerlifters train all out, all the time. In fact, they usually only “peak” their training poundages a few times a YEAR with an absolute maximum effort. Look at the Westside Barbell program by Louie Simmons or Wendler 5/3/1 to get a better understanding of what I’m talking about. Both of these programs cycle intensity and take a very long-term approach to progress. I’ve also talked about this topic at length in my blog posts “Strength Training and CrossFit” and “CrossFit Workouts and Becoming More Efficient.”

5) Clean Up Your Diet – This one is just SO important. By now, everyone probably knows I’m pretty much sold on some interpretation of Paleo. But, seriously, if you haven’t tried REALLY cleaning up your diet for 30 or 60 days – and I mean 100% CLEAN – you’re cheating yourself. I recently recommitted myself to eating 100% clean for a month and you know what happened? I felt so good when the month was over I committed to doing the ENTIRE SUMMER 100% CLEAN. I’m not even going to have a birthday cake for my birthday in July – I’d rather FEEL AWESOME on my birthday and the days after! Clean up your diet and you’ll see that commitment and focus expand into other areas of your life – and you’ll feel great besides. BTW, if you need some REAL WORLD information on diet – Paleo or just healthy eating in general – check out my eBook “The Paleo Dieter’s Missing Link.” It’s over 160 pages of unbiased, hard-hitting, no BS information on eating for health!

6) Choose a Short-Term Focus Area – I touched on this one a little bit above. Choose an area you’re going to focus on for a 3, 6 or 9 month period and work it HARD and CONSISTENTLY. It could be Pull-Ups, Double Unders, Gymnastic Skills, Running or a certain technique in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu like Arm Bars or Side Mount. This particularly effective when it’s something you currently SUCK at. The point is, if you “drill down” into a specific area or two, you can likely become nearly expert at it in a relatively short time period. It’s just a matter of focusing your efforts. When you focus on a technique or skill or two like this for a time period you’ll actually make much faster progress than if you try to train “everything” for the same period.

7) Choose a Long-Term Focus Area – This one is different from what I was talking about above. You need to also decide on your LONG TERM training focus. This is your MAJOR area of focus and is probably going to be the area you’re most passionate about, the best at and the most committed to improving over a lifetime. Especially when into “everything” like I am and lot of others are, you have to decide what you’re going to become OUTSTANDING at. For example, if you’re a Martial Artist and you’re into Kettlebells and CrossFit, you might decide that Martial Arts are your lifetime focus area where you commit to becoming world class over the course of your lifetime, kettlebells are something you excel at and CrossFit is something you enjoy the benefits of because it improves your other training and makes your Martial Arts better. I talked about this topic in detail in my post “You’re Only as Strong as Your Foundation.” The point is, you simply CAN’T be awesome at everything you do and you need to choose where to focus your limited resources. I think it’s also really important to take Seth Godin’s advice and choose an area that you can actually become THE BEST IN THE WORLD AT. Read his incredible book “The Dip” for more on this and check out this tiny little post by Seth called “Make the World Smaller.”

8 ) Do Technique Work – This goes along with 3, 6 and 7 and has a lot to do with the blog post I mentioned in 4, “CrossFit Workouts and Becoming More Efficient.” It blows me away when I see people training movements like the Powerlifts or Olympic Lifts and they have ZERO understanding of the technique fine points. Do you REALLY think – because your “trainer” or “coach” showed you how to do a movement for 10 quick minutes as part of a warm up before the WOD – you actually “HAVE” that movement and don’t need to practice and refine it? Some athletes spend AN ENTIRE LIFETIME perfecting movements like the Front Squat, Deadlift, Clean and Clean and Jerk. A freakin’ lifetime! There is ALWAYS room for improvement. If you don’t believe me, check out this short little article by Coach Glassman called “Fundamentals, Virtuosity and Mastery.”

9) Create Hard Deadlines – This is a great one to put positive pressure on yourself to really deliver over the short or medium term. This can be anything you want. Enter a local CrossFit competition, commit to a 30 0r 60 day Paleo Challenge at your box, enter a Powerlifting competition or whatever. I just recently did this when Jason Lambert from the UFC was coming to teach a seminar at Modern Self-Defense Center last month. I committed to eating 100% clean and being in the best possible shape I could be in for the seminar – and I organized my training for the 5 weeks leading up to the seminar accordingly. When you have a hard deadline to be in shape and feeling good, you make different decisions and you bring a greater intensity to your training.

Me with Jason Lambert in May of 2011

10) Learn to Quiet Your Mind – This might be one you weren’t expecting. I’ve been working with the concepts in Eckhart Tolle’s incredible book, “The Power of Now,” for over a year – and they CONSTANTLY take on new meaning for me and lead me to deeper and deeper understandings of myself, my spiritual side and so many other things. If your mind is constantly “chattering away” and you’re not in control – or at least conscious – of your behavioral patterns, motivations and, particularly, the places where you screw yourself up, you’re going to have a really hard time making progress. Beyond that, I think TRUE HEALTH happens on EVERY level – Physical, Emotional and Spiritual. There’s a lot more to being healthy – things like having a life you love and being able to function in your work, your friendships and intimate relationships. Health isn’t just about having abs and a good Fran time…

That’s if for now. Below is a little bonus for you if you feel like picking up a new book or two this week.

ttys

Adam

Three Books (That Have Nothing To Do With Training) That Will Improve Your Training…

“The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle
Some good fiction like “The Dresden Files” series by Jim Butcher – I first received the advice of reading fiction at night to wind down from Tim Ferris in “The Four Hour Work Week.” I am a HUGE fan of light fiction reading at night to reduce stress and improve sleep!
“Full Catastrophe Living” by Jon Kabat-Zin

It Probably Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Does…

Adam — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 21:51:12 +0000

I’m on another emotional and spiritual growth spurt. I HATE these! I mean, I love them, but I hate them too. It’s great to grow and evolve – constant growth and evolution is really a foundational principle of my life. But, sometimes it would just be nice to coast for a while and enjoy the progress I’ve made. It seems every time I feel like I’m at a place where I can rest a little and enjoy the fruits of my labor, God or the Universe or whoever decides I need to grow. Again. Oh well…

Besides my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, CrossFit and Westside Powerlifting training, I’ve been doing a lot of yoga and meditation. I’ve also been reading some good books like “Emotional Alchemy” by Tara Bennett-Goleman and using some self-hypnosis stuff by Hypnotica like “The Attractor Factor.” All this yoga and “New Agey” stuff tends to stir stuff up and make you think about stuff differently…

It Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Does…

Yesterday, I had a pretty startling realization: The meaning I give to certain aspects of my training – and probably certain aspects of my LIFE – aren’t really accurate. Something I’ve been working with over the last few weeks is slowing down my thoughts and watching them – using “Mindfulness” in other words – and trying to identify what my internal dialog is. You know, the stuff you say to yourself when you probably don’t even realize you’re saying anything…

What I realized when I slowed down my thoughts and heard what I was telling myself is this: I have the erroneous belief that my “lack” of performance in certain areas – whether it’s getting pounded by one of my friends at Modern Self-Defense Center on the mat in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or having Bryce from CrossFit Religion FINISH Fran when I’m still working on the 15 part – means more than it really does. I caught myself thinking I was lacking something fundamental in ME and THAT was why I wasn’t as good at rolling in BJJ or as fast in a classic CrossFit workout as I “should” be.

But, what it REALLY means is I just need to put in more time. More time, more learning, more repetitions, more dedication and MORE WORK. That’s it. It just means I haven’t done everything I need to to get there yet. It’s just about time and focused and intelligent training. That’s it…

The Limits Are WAY Beyond Where You Think They Are…

I spent several years deeply immersed in the – for lack of a better term – “self-help” community. I traveled from Connecticut to Boston every week or two, had several mentors who were more experienced than me and I mentored a few younger guys who had less experience than me. A thinking technique I learned during those years was called “Reframing.” Reframing is a way of changing your perspective or the “frame of reference” you’re using to look at something.

I’ve been following the CrossFit Regionals on Facebook this weekend and, in particular, my friends from CrossFit Relentless who were competing. I just found out today that the CrossFit Relentless team finished 6th overall for the Regionals!

And I didn’t even know that my friend Brenda was on the CF Relentless team until I saw these pics of her…

Sure, they’re great pics. But here’s Brenda just about a year ago in a post on the CrossFit Relentless Blog…

If THESE pics don’t make you want to go out RIGHT NOW and train I don’t know what will! I’m more inspired to train and make great progress today – because of Brenda’s example – than I have been in a long, LONG time!

So, here’s the Reframe: Next time you’re thinking that you have to be a natural athlete or younger or have started training sooner – or that you have to be anyone other than WHO YOU ARE at this moment to make the progress you want – think about the above example and all the other success stories like Brenda’s. There’s no secret. It’s about HARD work, good coaches, sacrifice and dedication. That’s about it. I remember a time when Brenda couldn’t do a Pull Up! A few years later she’s competing at the Regionals!

So, the next time you’re down on yourself about your “lack of talent” for CrossFit or whatever sport you’re into and you’re thinking the big performers in the sport have something you don’t, just ask yourself this: “Do I know of anyone who started off without the best foundation and without the best performance and made MASSIVE progress over the course of a few years?” And now, you can say that you do…

So, get to work on your goals and MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN in the weeks and months ahead! I’m going to!

ttys

Adam

Health, Fitness, Paleo and CrossFit – A Long-Term View…

Adam — Sun, 22 May 2011 12:14:33 +0000

This question came from Donald by email and is about the results one could expect from 12 weeks on a Paleo Diet and CrossFit program. Here’s Donald’s question:

“Hi Adam,

Thank you for the free downloads I got from you.

I have been doing Body for life recently, well I did it a few years ago, lost weight, then stopped(crazy but I did) and put it all back on again PLUS extra.
Had a moment when I stepped on the scale and it said “error”. Stupid thing only goes to 330 pounds, yeah right stupid thing. Man that made me wake up real quick. So anyway in about 6 months I have dropped about 25kg or 50 something pounds.
I have been enjoying BFL because it is structured and I don’t have to think too much. Just do.
I have also started looking at crossfit, A LOT. Obviously at 125kg pull ups and burpees are not my favorite or even possible, but you got to start somewhere right?
I have SINS on FB that’s where I found your stuff.
So I went to a nutrition seminar at the local crossfit, obviously all paleo. And as I am new to this is am trying to find what/where how etc. Breads are my weakness, hell anything from a bakery. So I am keen to get into the Paleo style of eating.

The 1st 12 week challenge on BFL I lost a lot quicklym,, then I had very slow results for 8 weeks, and the last challenge finished last Saturday I only lost 6kg in 12 weeks, and I was busting my ass in the gym, but I suspect not doing well in the kitchen. I say I suspect because most of the time I actually thought I was doing well, I didn’t pid out on freedays, I don’t drink booze at all so no liquid carbs, it just gets demotinvational when you really try hard for 12 weeks and have a poor result. Lets be honest at 130 kg I should of lost more than 2% fat, and that what my measurements add up to, so that why I’m thinking crossfit and paleo, change things up completely.

Ok so now I’m going to ask how long is a piece of string, so I wont hold you to your answer, I’m just asking for an “guesstimation” based on your experience.

If I started doing paleo style eating(note I didn’t say diet) and sign up at crossfit and do a WOD 5 days a week what sort of weight loss would be fair to expect in 12 weeks.

I’m 6 foot tall, have arresting heart rate of about 65, run 2 miles in about 20 min.

I know I’m asking you a hard question, I just need to dial a number in my head and be happy when I get it\, because I’m really bummed at what I achieved in the last BFL challenge.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks
Donald”

Thanks again for the question, Donald!

Here is the link to the “What is Fitness?” article from CrossFit Journal:

http://journal.crossfit.com/2002/10/what-is-fitness-by-greg-glassm.tpl

ttys

Adam

IMPORTANT! Adam Farrah is not a doctor or medical professional. This information is based on my own opinion and is not meant to be medical advice or to treat, diagnose, cure or prescribe in any way.

More on Yoga Timing with Other Training…

Adam — Sat, 14 May 2011 12:24:42 +0000

Today’s question is a follow up from Troy on yoga timing and Wendler 5/3/1. Here it is:

“Adam,

Thank you so much for replying I have one more timing question.

My yoga class will meet Mondays and Wednesdays at 2 p.m. On Mondays, it will be no problem lifting in the morning and practicing yoga in the afternoon.

On Wednesdays, I work from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., so I don’t have time to work out in the mornings. (I would if the gym opened earlier than 6 a.m. ) Would I be too drained for yoga if I just did Wendler’s main lift and maybe some chins right before yoga?

Just wondering if you have further insight. This is something i can find out for myself.in August. ”

Thanks again for the questions, Troy!

(BTW, Troy’s original question and my answer is here: http://practicalpaleolithic.com/paleolithic-diet-blog/adding-yoga-to-a-strength-program)

ttys

Adam

IMPORTANT! Adam Farrah is not a doctor or medical professional. This information is based on my own opinion and is not meant to be medical advice or to treat, diagnose, cure or prescribe in any way.

Kettlebell Fundamentals Nobody Tells You…

Adam — Sat, 07 May 2011 14:58:16 +0000

Today’s question comes from Tiffany on Facebook. Here it is!

“Hello Adam

I have been a follower of SINS for awhile now and would like to say thank you for the information, inspiration, and motivation that is put out there. If you have a minute, I was hoping you could give some advice or point me in the right directions?
I have been doing P90X for a year now and would like to move on to something new… I have been researching kettlebells for a few weeks. I just purchased an instructional video by Pavel and “The Kettlebell Goddess workout”. As far as an at-home workout, is this a good place to start? After reading the comments on the kettleworx infomercial I definitely do not want to make the wrong choice. I’m sure taking classes from a certified instructor would be better, but I cannot find any kettlebell classes in the Cincy area. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Tiff”

Thanks again for your question, Tiff!

Here are useful links that I mentioned in the video:

International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation

Dragon Door

Dr. Mark Cheng and Kettlebells Los Angeles

ttys

Adam

IMPORTANT! Adam Farrah is not a doctor or medical professional. This information is based on my own opinion and is not meant to be medical advice or to treat, diagnose, cure or prescribe in any way.

I’ll Never Be Good Enough…

Adam — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:03:25 +0000

I’ve realized this morning that I’m never going to be good enough. At least, not as long as I’m playing by the rules of society and our fucked up culture.

I really shouldn’t care. But I do. It’s not even that I play by the rules anymore, but a lot of people I know still do. I’m VERY clear about my goals and who I want to be and what I want my life to look like. VERY CLEAR. The “problem” is that that isn’t what most people want. Maybe it’s not truly what they want and it’s what our TV and internet culture told them they should want. Probably that. I’ve met VERY FEW people who have thought through every aspect of their lives and made decisions based on their own internal desires and standards.

How many books have YOU written?

I love how everyone tells me how much I need to relax and have fun and “let loose.” That’s all nice – and I KNOW I could do a little better in the “relaxing department.” (Particularly since, ONE DAY into my “no computer in the morning and yoga first thing in the morning” habit I’m writing this instead of doing yoga…) But I know what I want and where I want to be and who I want to be – and you don’t get there by relaxing. I also know that when the muse appears I need to write. She will likely be gone if I wait until later… Welcome to the wonderful world of being a wacky creative…

I talked about what it was like to drive my book “The Paleo Dieter’s Missing Link” to completion last week in the post: “My SINS Challenge Update – Late is a Lot Better than Never.” IT WAS HARD. So was getting a Chemistry degree 10 years ago. So is making good progress in weight training and martial arts – I know these two are hard because I’m currently making SHIT for progress. Nothing worth accomplishing is easy! NOTHING!

But, it’s a lot easier to find creative ways to distract yourself from what you really want or tell yourself you’re happy with the way things are. And, unless you are surrounded by exceptional people, most everyone in your life will be thrilled to tell you you’re much better served drinking with them or eating garbage with them than you are working on what matters TO YOU. Misery loves company…

There was a great quote in the book I just started reading, “The War of Art.” In it, Pressfield says:

“When we drug ourselves to blot out our soul’s call, we are being good Americans and exemplary consumers. We’re doing exactly what TV commercials and pop materialist culture have been brainwashing us to do since birth. Instead of applying self-knowledge, self-discipline, delayed gratification and hard work, we simply consume a product.”

I wasted some of the best training years of my life in my early 20s trying to “have it all.” I was out “being social” instead of studying or resting for my workout the next morning. I was letting others decided what was best for me instead of doing what I KNEW was right in spite of the fact that no one else was doing it and in spite of the fact that all my friends encouraged me to “let loose” and not be so “intense” all the time. And what was the final outcome of that period of my life? A train wreck. If I had it to live over again I wouldn’t even answer my phone when people called me to hang out. I’d train and rest and study and let the world go fuck itself. Maybe a few more pounds of muscle or a bigger deadlift or better health isn’t what our culture values. But, it’s what I valued then and it’s what I value now – and THAT’S what’s important.

But I can only live in The Now…

I can’t go back there, though. I can only live today and apply the lessons of yesterday to what I do now.

And here’s what I know today:

I want to be a better writer and blogger
I want to write the best fitness blog IN THE WORLD (Yeah, the world…)
I want outstanding health, strength and fitness
I want many, MANY people to buy, read and LOVE my new book

That’s just a start. I wrote out a bunch of other goals here: “My OWN SINS Challenge Goals.” None of these things happen by being balanced, they don’t happen by relaxing and they don’t happen by accident. They happen when you put in the hard, HARD work and break through your own – and society’s – resistance.

I’m done with it all. Nothing I want or do or accomplish will ever be good enough for anyone else anyway. I’m going to continue to focus on ME and what makes ME happy and what I value. If people like me and admire me for it, great. If it’s not good enough for someone else, I don’t care.

YOU shouldn’t care about anything but YOUR OWN standards either – as long as they’re TRULY YOURS. Think about THAT for a while…

ttys

Adam

If It’s Not Working, Try Something Different…

Adam — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:26:44 +0000

I tried something different today. It’s not something I haven’t THOUGHT of a million times or SAID I’d do a million times, but it’s something I really haven’t DONE before. I did yoga this morning. This morning. Not at noon, after 6 hours of drinking coffee and screwing around on Facebook, THIS MORNING. As in, around 8am.

What’s the big deal with yoga in the morning?

The big deal with yoga in the morning is that my stress level is WAY too high. Like, it’s off the charts high. Finishing my book didn’t really change anything. I barely felt any relief when I finished it and I just moved on to being stressed about all the other stuff I can be stressed out about – the stuff I was putting off so I could finish my book.

Enough is ENOUGH! I’ve had it with feeling stressed. I had a somewhat stressful situation that I had to deal with yesterday and it totally crushed me. My baseline stress level is WAY to high and I need to fix it. At this point, I feel like all my goals – especially the training ones – are getting held up here. If stress is high, digestion is compromised and cortisol will be high. Not good. Add to that, when I get really stressed I completely lose my appetite. Training progress is hard to come by when you’re under-eating. And, yes, my stress level is high enough that I consistently under-eat.

It’s Not Just About Stretching

Yoga has kind of a double benefit. It’s great for stretching and recovery, but it’s also great for your MIND. It not only connects your body and mind in a different way than hard training, it calms the mind too. It can slowly help shift your consciousness out of the past and the future and into the present moment. Life is moving faster and faster for everyone and a practice like yoga is becoming more and more essential just to keep from losing our minds. I’ve talked before about how fast things move in modern life. It’s not good and I’m damn sure it’s not Paleo…

It’s amazing to me how you can lose hours or even DAYS pointing and clicking and texting and checking and Facebooking and Tweeting and whatever else. IT’S SCARY! I LOVE technology and I LOVE Facebook and all my friends on there. What I don’t love is that the online world NEVER SHUTS OFF. If you don’t set clear boundaries AND get them integrated into a SOLID routine you’re going to have problems. I’m currently having problems…

A NEW Routine and A New Beginning…

So, this morning, I got up, fed Scamper and sat down with my coffee – AND my copy of “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. I’ve read that book several times and, EVERY TIME I read it, I have a major shift in my perception. It’s been that great for me. I’m hoping this time I have the same fortunate experience…

Slowly, Gently and CALMLY make things better…

I want things to be better. I want to be better. I have so many goals and things I want to learn and do and get better at. Not too long ago, I wrote about some of these things and my struggle with the process in “It’s Always Right There…” What I’m working on doing currently is getting better at stuff in a more calm way. Avoiding what you should be doing is ONE form of resistance. Charging off into what you should be doing like a mental case is another form of resistance. Yeah, you’re doing what you should be doing, but you can’t sustain that energy long term. It’s just another ego deal when you get all wound up and motivated and go after something with a vengeance. Why? Because very little happens in life or training as the result of one heroic effort. From what I can see, the heroic effort is putting in the SMALL efforts day after day, month after month and year after year. You don’t nail a PR or build a business or create an outstanding life by getting all caffeined out and angry and making a HUGE effort ONCE. Maybe a little of that is good at certain points in the journey, but there is A LOT of calm, patient preparation and “showing up” that goes on before that big, angry push is needed to get the goal. The big, angry push is the little bit that puts you over the top – it’s not where you need to live to really make things happen…

If you don’t believe me or don’t think I’m qualified to tell you this, please know that my LIFE was one big, angry push up to about a year ago. It can get you some short-term results and can even work OK for you when you’re young and can recover more easily, but it’s NOT the way to go long term. Even if it worked really well in the long-term, I think the results vs. the energy expenditure would make it uneconomical. But, it DOESN’T work long term…

So, today is about creating a new routine that I live every day.

Here is my new routine:

Wake up and have some fresh-ground, organic coffee
Read something, while enjoying the coffee, that focuses my mind on The Now – No computer books, no Facebook, no “how-to” books. ONLY something that makes me feel thankful for being here, now. Nothing that makes me feel edgy and needing to “get to later” or get to some other time period besides the one I’m in.
Do a yoga DVD or a yoga routine I already have down, some qigong, joint mobility and/or meditation – I’m not going to be super strict on what I actually do yet, the main thing is to do something that helps recovery, is nurturing and focuses my attention in the moment
Drink AT LEAST a liter of water after practicing
Do this routine DAILY

I don’t think there’s any other way to do this. If I start writing or get on the computer first thing, I get all spun up and stressed and it’s extremely hard to pull myself away and do yoga later. It’s like, I HAVE to do it while most of the world is still asleep. If I don’t, it’s like I can’t tear myself away from all the “important” stuff that’s happening. In fact, I was supposed to start this routine yesterday and checked my email right before – and there was a mess I needed to deal with that I was alerted to and that was the end of yoga and nurturing myself… For God’s sake, don’t check email before yoga – EVER!

And, I have a crush on Sara Ivanhoe…

If you’re wondering where I do yoga, I do it at home and just about always have. I’m a big fan of the yoga DVD and I’m a massive fan of Sara Ivanhoe. I found her when I bought the DVD “Yoga for Dummies” several years ago. She’s an amazing teacher and is SERIOUSLY hot I know, not really necessary for a yoga DVD to be good, but it doesn’t hurt – especially if you’re a male… Actually, Sara’s “hotness” is more about her vibe and how patient and in the moment she is. It’s really inspiring to experience. SHE’S something inspiring to experience. I can’t really explain it. If you get one of her DVDs you’ll see what I mean, I’m sure.

Today I did the second practice on her “Yoga on the Edge” DVD. I can’t say enough good stuff about that DVD or her instruction in it. It’s a little more advanced that the “For Dummies” one, but most people with a little fitness can probably do it pretty well the first time.

BTW, Sara also writes a pretty cool column for The Huffington Post.

Now that I’m done crushing on Sara, I’ll get back to the important stuff. But really, my crush aside, her stuff ROCKS!

My favorite thing about Sara is that she coaches you to be in the moment and be where you are. She encourages you to just do the practice and not worry about being perfect. This is GREAT for me because I’m such a perfectionist mental case. Having someone continually give me permission to be not so good at something really helps. Probably in part due to Sara’s DVDs, yoga is one of the very few things I don’t demand perfection of myself in and don’t obsess about. I got a yoga DVD from another popular yogini a while back. She was COMPLETELY different – all intense and mental about form and serious and rigid. YUCK!

OK, NOW I’m done crushing on Sara…

We’ll see what happens…

That’s pretty much it. I’m going to work on this for the next week or two – EVERY DAY – and see what happens. My hope is that I’ll feel calmer, more in control and my creativity will improve. I’m also hoping I can get – and stay – in the moment easier. And I really, REALLY hope the morning stressing and pointing and clicking and tweeting and checking nonsense goes away permanently and is replaced by a much healthier habit…

ttys

Adam

It’s Always Right There…

Adam — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 13:49:38 +0000

I laid out my goals for the SINS Challenge a week or so ago. I’m working hard on them – although I’m still on THE FIRST ONE! My book WILL be out in the next few weeks. In fact, I have the structure and organization finished – FINALLY. I’m really just in the final editing stage now…

I did so much writing in college and in my science and business career that I really didn’t think writing a book was such a big deal. Well, IT IS! The fact that I want to do something REALLY special and outstanding is also making it take longer than I wanted. BUT it’s almost there! And when it’s done, that will free up a lot of time for blogging and training and focusing on my diet and rest. So, I’m more or less on track with my SINS Challenge goals. More or less

I had kind of a wacky day a few days ago…

I’ve had some hard days. Whenever I do high-focus creative stuff – like writing a 100+ page book – I get kind of wacky. My stress level goes up, I can’t focus on anything else and the project is always on my mind. I’m not a “balance” person. I’m an obsessive, manic, hyper-focusing creative type. All I can do is FINISH things so I can get back to feeling normal. If I’m working on something I think is important I get kind of nutty until it’s done…

I’ve been FORCING myself to put the writing aside to train the last week or so. The ONLY thing keeping me on track is knowing that I have other goals that won’t happen overnight and waiting to get moving on them until the book is finished is going to put me too far behind.

So, I dragged my ass out into the garage…

The “voice in the head” was particularly angry today. I was having a hard time focusing and my thoughts kept drifting back to my book and a million other things that are stressing me out. I pushed myself though. I know the weather will be nice in a few weeks and I can either be healthier, more fit and closer to my goals or I can be further away from them.

I dropped my water bottle into one of the Gladiator Bins I recently installed and that felt good. I didn’t really notice it though – like, it didn’t register. I practiced some handstands – which I COMPLETELY suck at – and then worked on jumping rope for 6 – 1 minute sets with a minute break between each. And I also SUCK at jumping rope.

When I got to kettlebell swings I set the Gymboss timer and clipped it to the other wire bin – at the perfect height and the perfect angle – without even thinking about it. Everything fell into place for about a second – the “should’s” and “have to’s” stopped. The angry voice in my head that tells me what an out of shape loser I am stopped. And – for just a second – I was thankful to have a nice place to train that has more than I could ever need.

This morning I was pissed because I want a Log Bar. And because I “should” have already made some Atlas stones – I’ve only had the mold from Slater’s sitting in the box it came in for a year. And the dishes “should” be done and my truck needs to be washed and waxed and my book was supposed to be done last week and I need to do yoga and stretch my shoulders out thoroughly because tomorrow I’m doing 20 Rep Squats and LAST week I had to stop at rep 17 because my shoulder really hurt.

But it’s always right there…

But I can always only be where I am. I want things to be “better” but they’re not. They’re the way they are. I can be mad about it or I can practice jumping rope – even though I completely SUCK at it and keep tripping on the rope every few jumps. Yup, it’s “wrong” and I “should” be better at it but I’m not. I can STAY bad at it or I can keep doing it – and sucking at it – until I don’t suck anymore.

It’s just what it is. This blog post sucks because I’m not focused enough while I’m writing it and my book sucks because it’s not done yet and this chair I’m sitting in sucks because I can’t afford the one I want (it’s like $1200) and whatever else sucks… IN FACT, even though I’m half joking here, I’m realizing right now that I could spend THE REST OF THE DAY listing everything that sucks in my life and all the stuff I want to be better at and “should” be better at. Wow. How’s THAT for a revelation? Focus on the negative much?

But I’m where I am and for that split-second I was feeling OK with where I was – SUCKING AND WORKING LIKE HELL TO GET BETTER. If you can just shut the voice in your head up long enough to see it, you can accept that you are where you are and want to be better – AND WORK ON GETTING BETTER. Or you can drive yourself completely NUTS about how you “should” be there now. That sounds REALLY silly now that I write it. If it was REALLY supposed to be different it would be. When you’ve MADE it different it will be. In the meantime, thinking it “should” be different is just a waste of energy that could be invested into getting you to stop sucking sooner.

That’s about it, I have some stuff to go suck at now…

ttys

Adam

Blogs for the SINS Body Transformation Challenge…

Adam — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:06:07 +0000

Here’s the current list of blogs I have for the SINS Body Transformation Challenge. If you’re not here, leave a comment below and I’ll add you to my list!

Here are the details of the SINS Body Transformation Challenge. Get involved. Get motivated. Make the best progress of your life!

http://yourbodyinmotion.webs.com/
http://outerstrength.wordpress.com/
http://krazykat9876.wordpress.com/
http://paleoandoverload.blogspot.com/
http://www.crossfitmommeghanphilpot.blogspot.com/
http://megsbodytransformationchallenge.blogspot.com/
http://myhealthychallenge.wordpress.com/
http://www.fitnessjunkieblog.com/
http://mypaleochallenge.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/my-sins-challenge/
http://mini-tee.blogspot.com/2011/02/one-sixty-one.html
http://bullcitycrossfitters.blogspot.com/2011/02/5-3-1-week-one.html
http://lkorpi.blogspot.com/
http://onearmstrength.com/