Find the time.

time is not found. it is made.

i used to not be able to find time to go to the gym. now, i make the time.

i used to not find time to recover properly. now, i make the time.

i couldn't be bothered to track my diet, my sleep, my heart rate. now i make it a point.

there are 24 hours in a day. 1440 minutes. each one is a choice. a step in a direction....

enough steps, and a path begins to form. where is yours going? is it were you want it to? is it where you tell people you are headed?

live deliberately.

and take some fucking responsibility.

or don't.

but if you don't, the only reason, the only reason, is that you don't care enough.

everything else is just noise.

live deliberately.

make a point.



-b


special thanks to Rob MacDonald and Rob Fusco for driving that point home.

the heaviest thing i own.

weight is a funny thing.

how much does a wedding ring weigh?

or a newborn child?

there is significance. there is commitment. there is expectation.

nothing adds weight like the confidence of others.

nothing adds weight like feeling responsible for something that is not wholly your own.

this weight is emotional.

this weight is symbolic.

logically, we can ignore it.

we can choose not to give the symbol power.

but at what cost?

keep that logic. remain goal oriented...

what are the consequences of giving these symbols power?

how does the gravity, the emotional attachment, affect your behavior?

easy lives encourage laziness.

too much praise causes us to start believing it.

a symbol. a goal.

a reminder of whats important. of the price that must be paid.

that is commitment.

that is weight.

i am not married.

i have no children.

the heaviest thing i own is a few ounces of ring-spun cotton.

it is a symbol.

it is a goal.

it is a judge.

and it must be earned each and every day...


and i will be better for it.

the great depression.

depressions aren't all bad...

depressions are the impetus for growth. forced into a situation where an indivudial must exibit creativity, self motivation, problem solving, and the willingness to work. the drive to out think, out maneuver, out wit and out work the twenty other guys looking for the same gig. there is no choice. improvise. improve. survive... or don't.


at least that was what my younger sister told her econ professor in geneva.


she (my sister, that is) works in africa. refugee camp in liberia, researching in rwanda. she has seen what it means to work hard. seen the creativity that is born from necessity. hell, there was a kid in africa who build a working windmill generator to operate a water pump out of garbage from looking at pictures in a book in a different fucking language.

hard work. determination. creativity.

i got to spend today at the GYM JONES facility in salt lake city, utah. part of a seminar, this is my vacation. this is my recharge. of all the things i learned today, or learned to see in another way, it is that thought of my sisters argument with her econ professor that is sticking in my head right now.

i am not training for any specific sport. i, frankly dont "need" to be fit. the nescecity is not there. that forceful impetus for growth. consequence. while we are not faced with the constant pressure of economic collapse (at least not yet) we have the choice to raise our expectations. we can choose to expect more from ourselves, from the people who surround us. today i was once again reminded ," we become what we do. and who we hang around."

this weekend is a moment for me to take a glimpse into a shared mental state. to see individuals who have agreed to expect more. to raise the bar. to become better... together.

that glimpse, that spark. it is something that resonates. something i can carry home and, god willing, set a few fires.

and there is still another day...

language is important,

"there is no such thing as over-training, just under-recovery"
-scrawled in my seminar notebook, GYM JONES, august - 2007

language is important.

10 months ago i started working as a personal trainer at a 24 hour fitness facility. it wasnt my idea. i was asked to. that being said, i was pretty stoked. i picked up clients pretty fast, i was working 40+ hours a week. January and all. i was new, i worked the only way i knew, i did. i worked next to my clients. i pulled heavier weights, and i did it faster. just a bit. just so they would try and keep up.

it was great, i saw people improve, saw them struggle to keep the pace i set for them. it made me feel good that i could operate at that level for 12 hour days, and still hit it hard once or twice a week. the volume of training made me get my diet under control. made me appreciate sleep. got my Deadlift up another 15%. occasionally i worried about over training, but didn't see any of the red flags. i pushed on. i got stronger. i got faster.

then it caught up.

my joints started hurting, and while i am usually a bitter and contemptuous individual, i noticed i was getting annoyed at things i used to ignore. my right elbow and shoulder started to feel wrong. i went to see a ART specialist. active release technique. massage and movement. the doctor ran me through some ROM tests. she was not happy. simple diagnosis: over trained. fibrotic muscle tissue. lack of flexibility causing stress on joints. as soon as she pointed out my sticking point i knew ten reasons i was sitting on that table. i could see the holes in my training. in my recovery.

lucky for me nothing is ruined. just have to step back a little. make recovery a habit. use the tools given to me years ago. listen and remain vigilant. my shoulder still feels a bit weak, definitely not where i would choose to be a week out from a second trip to SLC. but i will savor it. remember this bitter taste every time i think i don't have the time to hit the foam roller or the money for a 3rd party assessment.

the question should have never been "am i training too much" but "am i recovering too little"

language is important. take responsibility.

recover.


-b