There's nothing like a bunch of yoke carries and back squats to get the testosterone flowing. Right now I just really want to push an Escalade up a hill. Thanks Erin!
Expanding on what I wrote the other day, I was thinking about the times in my life which I felt the most alive. I'm thinking of one time in particular. It was Fall 2000. What made that time so special for me?
Well, it wasn't the money I was making--barely enough for a single guy to live on. The car I was driving was a 1991 Honda Civic with 150,000 miles and no power steering and no air conditioning. I had just enough money to pay for rent, food, and if I budgeted well, a beer every now and then and a jar of protein powder--the good kind. My younger sister and most of my friends from school--both high school and college--were working and were making money, a lot more than I was making at the time. I was broke.
And no, I wasn't even dating someone at the time. And yet, still, I was really really happy.
Anyway, that fall I was finishing up my last year in graduate school and I was writing my thesis. What a crazy time it was! Besides making next to nothing, I was working 70-hour weeks. My days consisted of coming into the office at 9, staying until 5, leaving go home to eat and then to work out at the university gym, and then coming back at 9 and staying until 1. I worked on Saturdays and Sundays too.
If I was working so hard and had no money then, no life, and no girl, then why was I so happy? I was working hard on a project was I totally engrossed in. My thesis was on an esoteric topic that someone wouldn't care about if they weren't a mathematician, but that didn't really matter. It represented all I ever wanted to do at the time, which was to make a contribution to science. To be the first to figure something out. I was doing exactly that. And so I worked my ass off to make sure that it turned out as great as it possibly could.
And there were also the relationships that came from all this. My friends in graduate school who were working alongside me on their projects. I love the joking around, the endless discussions, and the occasional leaving to go get a beer. Working with my advisor Rao. See he and I are both really stubborn, and we clashed sometimes. But I think that this conflict only added to everything. I loved working with Rao on this.
Thanks to email, I even had colleagues on different continents!
There is also something about trying and working really really hard to get something, having no success at it, and then suddenly, at the most unexpected moment, it just finally comes together. Maybe it's what they say about we human beings being suckers for variable reinforcement, but I was sucked in. You never know when inspiration would kick in, and I kept working for it. I had that happen a bunch of times during that fall. Once when I was home in Rhode Island running on the beach in Westerly on the sunday during Labor Day Weekend. I was scribbling out my equations in the sand like a madman. A couple other times that fall, sent out a few adrenaline-fueled emails at 2:30 in the morning. My European colleagues would be reading what I wrote over their morning coffee I suppose.
No, all this was not a sustainable nor was it a healthful lifestyle, long-term. Spend all of your time focused on one thing for too long a period and eventually it will hurt you (e.g., burn-out). I just couldn't keep up that pace forever. I couldn't go back to that life today. At least, not totally. But for the time being, it was perfect. I was pursuing my passion.
Anyway, I feel some of this working out now. Some. I might never compete in the Games in July, but still, this is all making me grow as a person, physically and mentally. How I am doing something I am excited about. When I started CrossFit, I couldn't do a muscle-up, and now I can do several strict. And CrossFit has led to this blog. Which has led to me understanding myself better and hopefully, to write something that serves you reading this.
And there are the relationships that have come from CrossFit. I have gotten to become friends with some awesome people whom I never would have met otherwise. There is something about going through something so physically challenging that bonds people together. I'm hoping by this time next year to become an instructor myself. I want to lead other people through that physical transformation.
**************
On a lighter note, Whole Foods coffee tastes really good cold. I got myself a large hot coffee last night--don't ask why--but then I decided that it would be better if I didn't drink it. So I absentmindedly left the cup in the center console of my car. When I sipped it the next morning it tasted really good. Like really strong, good, ice coffee.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The CrossFit Open and some milestones....
I signed up for the CrossFit Open this past week. I have no idea what to expect for it really, but I am looking forward to it. And I celebrated by kicking ass on my last two workouts.
Tonight was a lot of fun--5 rounds of 3 TNG power cleans (TNG = touch-and-go, as in the bar is on the ground for less than a second before you start your next rep of the set), 7 burpees as fast as possible, and then a 200M sprint (with a 4 minute rest between rounds). I start with 155 pounds on the bar for the power cleans for the first round. It's typically a fairly heavy weight for me. I fly through the first set. Too easy. So I add 10 pounds for Round 2--I weigh 165 pounds so that is my body-weight. Still too easy. So I add another 10 pounds to make it 175 pounds total for Round 3. I had never done a set of 3 TNG power cleans at 175 pounds before today. I actually do it for Round 3 (new personal record) but it was challenging. I was tempted to drop back down for Rounds 4 and 5 but I decide against it. I put the weight on the bar, so I have to live with it. Anyway, I get through Rounds 4 and 5 with 175 pounds on the bar. Awesome.
I had an interesting interaction with a newcomer. He saw me bang out a set of muscle-ups and he said "I could never do that". I told him the truth--even though I got 6 strict in one set, a year ago I couldn't even do 1 muscle-up, not a single one, not even with a kip. And a year ago I still had been doing CrossFit for a year. So I was over a year into CrossFit before I got my first muscle-up.
My first muscle-up was in April 2011, and it actually pretty ugly with a lot of kipping and writhing. And I am still not even sure if it should have counted, because during my attempt, the left ring actually was a little loose and slid down maybe an inch or so. Maybe that inch that the left ring slid down was the difference that allowed me to get myself through the transition and settled over the rings. Still, it was a really cool sensation, finally getting through the transition and being above the rings like that. Anyway, to assuage my guilty conscience, I did go back in a couple days later and attempt it again, and this time the muscle-up was fully legit.
It was still several months after my first muscle-up last year in April before I actually became proficient in muscle-ups though. I used to attempt muscle-ups before (and sometimes after) class during the summer of 2011. Through August I usually would be able to get only something like 3 or 4 and that would be it. And they would all be singles--only one in a set--as in I could do one and then I would have to come down off the rings and rest before I could do another--and all kipping. I finally started to string them together in September, and then in October, I finally got them strict. By the end of October I could do 3 or 4 strict muscle-ups in one set. Now in February I can do 6 strict in one set. I hope one of these days to be up to 10 strict. When I get there, maybe I will post a youtube video.
Anyway my point of this is that time and persistence is a powerful ally. Improve 2% in a week, and you will improve 100% in 50 weeks which is about a year. Embark on a journey and if you stick with it, who knows how far it will take you.
Tonight was a lot of fun--5 rounds of 3 TNG power cleans (TNG = touch-and-go, as in the bar is on the ground for less than a second before you start your next rep of the set), 7 burpees as fast as possible, and then a 200M sprint (with a 4 minute rest between rounds). I start with 155 pounds on the bar for the power cleans for the first round. It's typically a fairly heavy weight for me. I fly through the first set. Too easy. So I add 10 pounds for Round 2--I weigh 165 pounds so that is my body-weight. Still too easy. So I add another 10 pounds to make it 175 pounds total for Round 3. I had never done a set of 3 TNG power cleans at 175 pounds before today. I actually do it for Round 3 (new personal record) but it was challenging. I was tempted to drop back down for Rounds 4 and 5 but I decide against it. I put the weight on the bar, so I have to live with it. Anyway, I get through Rounds 4 and 5 with 175 pounds on the bar. Awesome.
I had an interesting interaction with a newcomer. He saw me bang out a set of muscle-ups and he said "I could never do that". I told him the truth--even though I got 6 strict in one set, a year ago I couldn't even do 1 muscle-up, not a single one, not even with a kip. And a year ago I still had been doing CrossFit for a year. So I was over a year into CrossFit before I got my first muscle-up.
My first muscle-up was in April 2011, and it actually pretty ugly with a lot of kipping and writhing. And I am still not even sure if it should have counted, because during my attempt, the left ring actually was a little loose and slid down maybe an inch or so. Maybe that inch that the left ring slid down was the difference that allowed me to get myself through the transition and settled over the rings. Still, it was a really cool sensation, finally getting through the transition and being above the rings like that. Anyway, to assuage my guilty conscience, I did go back in a couple days later and attempt it again, and this time the muscle-up was fully legit.
It was still several months after my first muscle-up last year in April before I actually became proficient in muscle-ups though. I used to attempt muscle-ups before (and sometimes after) class during the summer of 2011. Through August I usually would be able to get only something like 3 or 4 and that would be it. And they would all be singles--only one in a set--as in I could do one and then I would have to come down off the rings and rest before I could do another--and all kipping. I finally started to string them together in September, and then in October, I finally got them strict. By the end of October I could do 3 or 4 strict muscle-ups in one set. Now in February I can do 6 strict in one set. I hope one of these days to be up to 10 strict. When I get there, maybe I will post a youtube video.
Anyway my point of this is that time and persistence is a powerful ally. Improve 2% in a week, and you will improve 100% in 50 weeks which is about a year. Embark on a journey and if you stick with it, who knows how far it will take you.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
It's been a while.... (Happy New Year!)
Forgive me for the time away. It's been a crazy two months. I have actually been without a computer for the last month. Anyway, it's good to be back.
Anyway, I have thought of what it means to be growing as human beings. I know that I find myself battling two issues. One is my drive to make my dent in the universe. Another is quite frankly, my laziness. As I mentioned earlier, I love love love sitting on my keister....
I believe that the drive to make a dent in the universe is something we all have. Some are more in touch with it than others though, and some use it for evil rather than good. But I really do believe that this is something we all share. See we are on this planet for only a limited time. And yet, we still want immortality in some sense--something that will live on after we pass. This drive to seek out immortality takes on a bunch of different forms. I believe my sister found it in motherhood in her devotion to her son (and my nephew--he is now 1), and maybe to an extent in her career as a PA. (I hate ceding control, but man, if I ever got sick and had to go to the hospital, I'd gladly let her do the talking to the doctors for me. I saw that when my dad got sick last fall, in how she handled everything. And also in how much respect the surgeon--whom she actually worked with a few years in that very hospital before that--respected her. I'd bet that they would have hired back right then and there if she had wanted to come back. Her shifts were so tightly run--she always made sure that both the doctors AND her patients had the relevant information in a timely fashion. Her patients were so grateful that they were inviting her to barbecues. I could never do as good as job as she did! I'm just not that organized...)
I felt that drive to make a dent in the universe when I was submitting my first research paper for publication. I was taking a long trip the next day, and I just had to get it in the night before. What if I lost my life in a crash? I still wanted that paper to get published, and to be out there. The specific topic isn't really that important here--it is my contribution to science, and I wanted it to live on.
Anyway, a big part of making my dent in the universe relates to physical fitness and CrossFit. I think I said this before on here but I will mention it again: I really feel there is something at least metaphorical about expanding one's physical capacities. I feel a lot more confident, and that confidence translates into going for what I want in other areas of life.
*********************
I have been away for another reason. My UC has been flaring, and it has been keeping me out of the gym, at least I haven't been going to the box that often. I am now finishing a course of prednisone. Did I tell you how much I love that drug? It's a total deal with the devil because the long-term side effects are so nasty, but as far as stopping the flare, there's nothing better. I love the feeling of not having to deal with the occasional sharp twisting pain in my gut--that feeling that my intestines are being wrenched and poked with a screwdriver, of not having to deal with feeling like an asshole just for having a beer--alcohol is better avoided when flaring, of not always having to find out where the bathroom is "just in case", of not feeling like I am going to lose it--on both ends of my GI tract--after a really tough WOD, of just wanting to go to bed at 9 PM because I feel so run down. Seriously, when I am flaring, I take "Uncle P" and the lights just come back on for me.
Anyway, I am going on Remicade. It is injected--once every several weeks you go in for two hours and they hook an IV up to you, and meanwhile you get to relax on the couch. Sounds fine to me. I hope it works.
*************************
Meanwhile I signed up for the Crossfit Open. I am excited to see how I have progressed! I haven't felt like an athlete since college. I have strung together 6 strict muscle-ups, and am decent on the strength stuff, at least relative to body weight. I have holes though--I don't really have a double-under. We will see in a couple of weeks.
Anyway, I have thought of what it means to be growing as human beings. I know that I find myself battling two issues. One is my drive to make my dent in the universe. Another is quite frankly, my laziness. As I mentioned earlier, I love love love sitting on my keister....
I believe that the drive to make a dent in the universe is something we all have. Some are more in touch with it than others though, and some use it for evil rather than good. But I really do believe that this is something we all share. See we are on this planet for only a limited time. And yet, we still want immortality in some sense--something that will live on after we pass. This drive to seek out immortality takes on a bunch of different forms. I believe my sister found it in motherhood in her devotion to her son (and my nephew--he is now 1), and maybe to an extent in her career as a PA. (I hate ceding control, but man, if I ever got sick and had to go to the hospital, I'd gladly let her do the talking to the doctors for me. I saw that when my dad got sick last fall, in how she handled everything. And also in how much respect the surgeon--whom she actually worked with a few years in that very hospital before that--respected her. I'd bet that they would have hired back right then and there if she had wanted to come back. Her shifts were so tightly run--she always made sure that both the doctors AND her patients had the relevant information in a timely fashion. Her patients were so grateful that they were inviting her to barbecues. I could never do as good as job as she did! I'm just not that organized...)
I felt that drive to make a dent in the universe when I was submitting my first research paper for publication. I was taking a long trip the next day, and I just had to get it in the night before. What if I lost my life in a crash? I still wanted that paper to get published, and to be out there. The specific topic isn't really that important here--it is my contribution to science, and I wanted it to live on.
Anyway, a big part of making my dent in the universe relates to physical fitness and CrossFit. I think I said this before on here but I will mention it again: I really feel there is something at least metaphorical about expanding one's physical capacities. I feel a lot more confident, and that confidence translates into going for what I want in other areas of life.
*********************
I have been away for another reason. My UC has been flaring, and it has been keeping me out of the gym, at least I haven't been going to the box that often. I am now finishing a course of prednisone. Did I tell you how much I love that drug? It's a total deal with the devil because the long-term side effects are so nasty, but as far as stopping the flare, there's nothing better. I love the feeling of not having to deal with the occasional sharp twisting pain in my gut--that feeling that my intestines are being wrenched and poked with a screwdriver, of not having to deal with feeling like an asshole just for having a beer--alcohol is better avoided when flaring, of not always having to find out where the bathroom is "just in case", of not feeling like I am going to lose it--on both ends of my GI tract--after a really tough WOD, of just wanting to go to bed at 9 PM because I feel so run down. Seriously, when I am flaring, I take "Uncle P" and the lights just come back on for me.
Anyway, I am going on Remicade. It is injected--once every several weeks you go in for two hours and they hook an IV up to you, and meanwhile you get to relax on the couch. Sounds fine to me. I hope it works.
*************************
Meanwhile I signed up for the Crossfit Open. I am excited to see how I have progressed! I haven't felt like an athlete since college. I have strung together 6 strict muscle-ups, and am decent on the strength stuff, at least relative to body weight. I have holes though--I don't really have a double-under. We will see in a couple of weeks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)