REST

Sometimes its good to give yer ol muscles a break. Rest is not only highly important but plays vital roles for your performance, your health, and your sanity. So Remember train hard, but take a little time off every now and then to relax, and re-energize. Take a day to do something fun, ( often Called ACTIVE REST ), or just lay around and play video game,, ( Called, THE WAY I REST ). Any way you do it, use it as an important training tool. Your body will let you know when its time to rest, often times its just muscle soreness, but sometimes you can be real lethargic or tired, or in cases of severe over-training you can get sick. Remember to listen to your body, and of course me..LOL

Fully ALIVE

Some days we are like the buffalo others we are lions. Mostly I try to keep in my mind that we were created to be so much more, and the struggle to be that which we were meant to be, is what makes the essence of life. After all Jesus wouldn't have been remembered if he remained a simple carpenter. Its that life-spark inside us all the call to be something more to do more. Its what drives people to explore, or conquer mountains or run races. Im not talking about the quest for material things, for that is a path that only leads to emptiness. Because you cant take it with you, " Do not store up for yourselves riches on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves can steal, but store up for yourselves riches in heaven where nothing can touch it." You get the idea, no matter what your faith is, there is an inherent fire that burns in your souls to do good, to leave the earth just a little better than when you found it and to help those who you can. Yes I sit in my cubicle every day 8-5 but that will never define me. "Im not the shoes I wear, Im not the things I buy, Im not the house I live in, Im not the car I drive", no nothing this Earth can define me, but by my actions my pursuit of life and all its fullness.
The glory of God is man fully alive. Life will wear you down, and make your actions seem insignificant, but you never know, just one conversation one simple act, one spark can ignite a wildfire. So remember you can and will do great things, everyday, never ever sell yourself short.
Now go out and be Alive.

Train as IF

" Watch the awesome video, its long but totally kick ass." Remember life is a Battle Never quit.

Ok your tired, your legs hurt your knees hurt,your brain hurts, I didn't sleep well, I feel ill, my back..etc etc etc. Humans are great at making excuses, we have grown complacent and lazy. The world around us is a cushy pillowy world of convenience. We need food, bam, there's a vending machine, we need water, bam, there's the sink. I often wonder what would happen if you took your average 21st century schlep and dropped him say 400 years in the past how long he'd last without, his Starbucks, or his McDonald or heaven forbid his high speed internet.
We must constantly keep our bodies and our mind in shape. Train as IF, Train as if you might need to use your strength any minute, you never know when you have to lift something off of someone or you have to run from a mugger or any of the millions of scenarios I could come up with. You must keep your body in a constant state of readiness and alertness. You never know when life will throw you a curve ball, or when the crocodiles will come ( Watch the video ).
Lastly its a state of mind, if you face life each day, with this attitude there is absolutely nothing you wont be ready for, and when life happens you will respond. And don't forget the people around you who are there for support and encouragement, the path of life is never easy but its that Never Give up attitude and that constant state of alertness and readiness that will make you a success. you may not ever be the best at something but you'll damn sure be ready for whatever life throws at ya.
Long winded preachy and motivational. i hope you all like it. :)

Ultimate VIKING "WOD"

Help me to create the ultimate viking themed WOD. These fierce Norse warriors knew how to fight through a grueling workout. Each Exercise has to be 'Part of the Battle'

Part 1- Row to the Battle. a 1K Sprint on the Indoor Rower
Part 2- Arrive on Shore- ?
Part 3- Engage the enemy-?
Part 4- Conquer the enemy-?
Part 5- Return home- 1k row any speed ( Battle is over you win )

And Dont forget them Viking Ladies...:)

THE MENTAL GAME

Ok your halfway through the WOD, your legs are Jello, your Heart is beating out of your chest, sweat is stinging your eye's, you arms are spent. So what keeps you going?
Its all Mental, ok more like 50% mental. Its the ability to tell your brain to just shut up and keep moving. Now Mr brain, will not like this at first and he will try to get you to stop, he will tell you you are weak, he will convince you that its not necessary to work this hard. Mr brain will tell body parts to feel tired or get sore to slow you down. Well tell Mr Brain to go f*** himself. You got to fight him at every step. Our bodies are capable of so much more than we will ever know.
You hear about it all the time, a 100 pound lady all jacked up on adrenaline lifts a car off her son, a man fights off a cougar, 5 fireman lift and move a big ol truck to save someone who is pinned. We can do so much more that we ever dreamed. We just need to first convince Mr brain of that. How do we do this, first, like with any battle we need to realize it, we need to recognize that the battle exists. then we fight back. When you feel that doubt and despair starting to creep in, use whatever tool you have to tell Mr Brain to shut up and keep moving. Sometimes thats all it takes, to just keep moving. When im going through an extremely strenuous 20 minute WOD where I have almost no oxygen in my lungs thats my inner chant, " Keep Moving " just keep moving, if its box jumps, just keep jumping, if its pullups, just keep pulling. Its the ability to conquer your mind as well as your body that will separate the good, and the great athletes.
Me personally I sometimes can get so pissed at that inner voice that I let that Rage drive me, other times I find an Inner calm int he middle of a grueling workout, its like a wave of peace comes over me and I forget how tired I am forget the pain, and I just keep going.
Learning to break through that barrier, and telling Mr brain that you are in control is what will make you better stronger and faster, it will also make you more confident in life as well as the gym.
So How do you tell Mr brain to go shove it?