TANSTAAFL

There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch...

time. effort. money. faith. health. blood. sweat. tears.

everything costs something, and everybody has to pay.

this should not be seen as a threat.

in accepting that everything costs. that everything is earned, or at least paid for, gives us an framework to own our decisions. to accept and embrace the responsibility of doing what is right for us and those we care for.

act deliberately.

wield the knife, carefully and in full consideration of the consequences.

travel light. travel fast.

it was Heinlein who said that "the most expensive thing in the world is a second-best military establishment, good, but not good enough to win"

it is best then, to think of each day as a battle.

do not waste time on half measures.

if you are going to play, than play to win.

if you are going to rest, than fucking rest.

focus. forethought.

do. learn. fail as hard as you fucking can just to get up and do it better next time.

take what you want. and pay for it.

remember: the price for what you want will most likely include the things you least like to do.

the airdyne leaves no-one wanting.

new students and old teachers.

new students make me thankful for old teachers.

unbelievably thankful.

having the bar set so high. positive stress. proofreading training plans, asking questions, trying to spot weakness and short sightedness. nervous tension. hormonal response. something to prove...

i am so often startled by what people expect of me. from me. from the station. from the work we do.

students often impress me. their willingness. their dedication.

other trainers often depress me. make me ashamed of what has become my profession.

not ashamed, annoyed. annoyed that there are people out there calling themselves "coaches" and "trainers", people diluting the meaning of these titles, these stations that i have come to respect so much.

i sometimes worry, worry about ending up like them. about being a know-it-all, about "leading" from the side lines. about accepting less. about compromising for the sake of business...

this, however, can be turned into a positive. an incentive to work harder. to work smarter. and nothing shakes those fears away like doing. doing it right.

there has been a group of fighters training at the station for the last month. its hard to explain, seeing someone and knowing what to do to help them. when years of small lessons, seemingly disconnected experiences can lock together and help someone correct an imbalance, break past that barrier. the surprised response from these guys when i remind them that the gym is supplemental. that what we do exists to make them better fighters, and not to forget that. they are fast learners, already feeling different, for them the test comes in the ring. for me, the work is the reward.

new students also make me thankful for old ones. for the hard work and dedication. for the trust and willingness to suffer. for making commonplace a level of effort that is anything but. i am grateful for all of this. for challenging me. for asking questions. for forcing me to grow.

to the teachers, the students, the seekers and the workers.

i thank you.

cass and mary are a wonderful example of strength and the benefits of working with a partner

focus. control. will. all these traits are built, shaped, and strengthened along with the body. this should be undertaken mindfully, and deliberately.

a willingness to endure discomfort is also useful.

do everything for a reason. a simple tip that yields incredible results. with only 3 weeks left before a fight, we cannot afford to waste time.

cope. deal. adjust what you can, then take what you need. learn to recover. under stress. under weight. under any circumstances.

the battle to stay in control is one worth winning.

again, waste no time. justify your decisions. make arguments. have reasons.
reap the rewards.

goals

"the goal is not simply to hurt you, but to make it so that no one will ever be able to hurt you again"

the physical stuff is easy. or at least, it is the easy part. you apply a stimulus, a stress, and the body responds. it is cultivation. attention to details. it is a process.

it is surprisingly easy to be mediocre. it doesn't take much effort. much thought.

to change. to excel. that is where it gets interesting.

defining goals. assessing ones ability, ones short comings. correctly assessing the relative merits of certain traits, absent of personal bias....

how strong? how fast? power? endurance? where should the time be spent? what kind of returns can you expect? applied economics, on a very personal level.

traits beyond the physical must, must, be considered as well. discipline. integrity. nervousness. depression. anxiety. fear. overconfidence. patience...

how do these traits factor into your goals?

how can you train these?

how important is this to you?

where is your weakest link?

"training" as we understand it is to work with a dedicated group of peers with the common goal of making each member more effective at achieving their personal goals. we do this by encouraging growth and exposing weaknesses.

denial helps no one.

we ask hard questions because we want to hear honest answers. we surround ourselves with dedicated people because we are actively and consciously raising our standards.

the greatest personal flaw is often the one that we ourselves do not see. we depend on each other to question, to critique, and to criticize. to encourage good behavior and punish the bad. i dont think anyone has achieved greatness by being comfortable.

we push each other. we drive each other. to be critical. to be practical. to give our best. to make it normal. a habit. to make it a minimum. the least we will give, and the least we will expect.

we aim to raise the bar.

-the station

the moment.

everyone has that moment.

the moment. that first time you truly over-reach. the sensation of slipping, of loss of control. when you can't breathe, which makes you panic, to focus on that fact, and make it worse. the negative feedback - the searing limbs that make you want to lie down and cry - the terrifying realization that that doesn't help either....

that moment is the beginning of something new, or at least it can be, if you are willing to learn from it...

to learn that your body was built for this. people have done this since the dawn of time. this sensation is nothing new. people all over the world are working harder than you. it is your mind that has atrophied. become as used to comfort as your legs used to be...

but they changed, didn't they? in shape and tone and response to pressure... your body has begun to crave that acidity, that stress and twitch and hum of power. your mind will change. will thrum. if you let it.

realize that panic is feeding your mental and emotional collapse - and fucking stop it.

realize that lying there having a tantrum is not helping you recover, not creating a space for your body and mind to process what is going on - and fucking stop it.

realize that you are actually in control. that this is the only thing you are in control of. and exercise that for a change.

breathe deep. get up. move around.

the work will never get easier - you will just get harder.

being comfortable is simply realizing how truly uncomfortable you can be and still survive.

confidence, like patience, is earned. one challenge at a time.

pain is about thresholds. about realizing that wall is only the horizon - and there is a whole world on the other side.

this is where the proverbial shit gets real. this is where real and meaningful change happens. this space, this moment is where you learn to do what is right and not what is easy. this is where you learn to push, to shout back at the voices of complacency and mediocrity. this is where you leave your mark. where you make something happen.

by force of will alone.

and to do it again tomorrow.

five minutes with a 44# kettlebell can teach you something about yourself.

the next five minutes with it will teach you more.

smile or bare your teeth. cope how you need to, take notes, and don't fucking quit.

in the end, the motivation can only come from within.

remember that quitting will not make the pain go away, the damage is done, so you might as well finish what you started.

work leaves its mark.

...

"we were born for battle against the tide of compromise."

the long answer.

physical fitness and behavior modification.

"so, what makes your gym different?"

its a common enough question, a question that always seems to have a slightly different answer, depending on who asks. but after a good friend asked this very question, and patiently waited the 4 hours it took me to answer to my satisfaction, i figure its about time to nail it down.



the first, simplest, and most overlooked difference is the fact that we define fitness as the ability to perform a task. this has some rather significant ramifications - we set goals. individual goals. personal goals. this means we must understand both where we are, and where we wish to go. the requirements of our desired task, and where we stand in relation to those.

its better to think of our gym as a process rather than a place.

it is important to understand that physical fitness is rarely the limiting factor. ones constitution. ones emotions. ones habits. ones technical proficiency.... these are all important, often more important than simple strength or endurance.

"why then, even bother with a gym?"

we use work, physical goals, to reprogram habits. we believe one can condition integrity. make a habit of doing everything right. make a habit of working hard. of learning how to force yourself to do something that will hurt, that will not be enjoyable, but will - eventually - make you better. we learn how to cope, how we, as individuals, cope. we learn how to push ourselves, how to exceed our self imposed limitations. we learn to be responsible, to own our successes and our failures. to keep what is useful and trim away what is not. we try to understand our conditioning, to take control of it, and to use it to our advantage.

this is done in a variety of ways. pressure. physical, emotional, social. we cultivate this pressure. we use it. we will match up individuals that bring the best out of each other. we will set up arbitrary tests, challenges, even internal competition if it helps. we court failure. we use it. learn from it. it is all information. we use the tools at our disposal to solve the problems we face. blame. bully. bribe. whatever it takes. when the goal is vital enough, we will do what is necessary to achieve it.

this leads us to study relationships. diet. sleep. stress. attention. we have finite time and energy, and everything costs something. in trying to achieve something at the edges of our ability we must accept the cost. we must realize all the little things in our lives that take more than they give, that are not worth their price. these things may still be undertaken, but no sympathy will be given if they sabotage your goals. you made your bed, now lie in it.

training is the artful application of stress to achieve a specific goal. all stress takes its toll, leaves its mark, and shapes us. high level functioning requires a refined tool, free of the imperfections caused by inattention and self sabotage. we do not demand perfection, only responsibility. own your decisions, pay your bill, and work hard. you will only be as good as you make yourself. others can help in the process, but we, ultimately, bear the responsibility for our own growth.

ultimately, we are different because we accept this premise. because we focus on this. because we will use every tool at our disposal to become better, to improve in a real and meaningful way. because we are focused on what is useful. above all else, on utility. if fitness is the ability to perform a task, then it is only right that a fitness program would be geared towards shaping every edge of the self to achieve that goal. to pursue it wholly, ferociously, and honestly.


to work.

-the station

reflection.

it has been 10 days since i returned from the GYM JONES level 3 seminar. i have been chewing on it. digesting information. evaluating. there were many, many, lessons.

the first lesson came early. during the warmup for the 1st workout, doing narrow grip overhead squats i pinched something in my shoulder. my forearm and hand went numb, and now it was time to work - OHS @ 95# and ring pushups. 30 - 20 - 10 needless to say, i did terrible.

it would be easy to blame my terrible time on a slight injury, but why did i end up pinching a nerve in my shoulder? well - i have been working on correcting a known shoulder imbalance for the last 6 months to a year, but apparently not hard enough. working at that gym, with that caliber of individuals, i pushed myself further than i do on my own. i have been doing narrow grip overhead squats, but not that narrow, not that deep....

confidence is like patience. it is not bestowed but earned - bit by bit, moment by moment, and conflict by conflict.

i did not have the confidence to hold back or did not put in the hours to solve the problem beforehand. either way, i am the only one to blame. this is not upsetting but empowering, because if it was my fuck up than it is in my power to correct. i am smarter now than i was then, i have more experience, and am aware of another of my pitfalls.

not all lessons exacted that kind of toll. we did the obligatory "minute all out" on the airdyne, and while i have spent some time in hard short intervals, the 20 calorie jump in my score since the level 2 seminar has its roots in more than simple fitness. there was a lot of hard work done, some hard information digested. some rough moments of self reflection, and a whole lot of ice.


we assign value in our lives. time is valuable because it is irreplaceable. i am crossfit certified. it took a weekend and $1000. i am ACE certified. it was a $200 test at a local driving school. these things were steps. they had the emotional content of getting my drivers license renewed. my time in SLC has weight. it takes time and thought and self examination. it is a hard look into a mirror and a willful choice to be one of the smallest fishes in a very deep pond. i am honored to have the chance to work with such people. there is a level of integrity, of commitment that is exceedingly rare in today's culture. in a world filled with weekend certifications and experts by mail, the focus and demands required by the individuals who make up GYM JONES truly set a new standard. or perhaps a simply re-instituting an old one.

"show up, ask questions, don't quit" - MFT

amen.

integrity. habit. doing the right thing, alone and unwatched. un-congratulated. over and over.

it can hurt, realizing you are not where you want to be. where you aught to be. but in accepting that fact a path begins to form. the way to achieve your goals. but you must first ask hard questions, and listen to the answers.

also, i must extend the deepest of thanks to Rob MacDonald, your care and dedication are truly exemplary. as well as the rest of the attendees, i could not ask to be associated with a better group of people.

1461

it was 4 years ago today. that morning i woke up in the back of my truck and headed over to a nondescript parking lot to wait. to wait for others, to wait to begin a seminar on how to train. to get some answers....

and answers i got. the good kind of answers. the ones that lead to more questions. some simple phrases i still need to repeat to myself, others proved to be the thread, that when tugged brought the whole picture into a different focus. as i sit today, waiting for a ride to take me back out there, its hard not to compare.

the warehouse is different now, a little bigger, a little more organized. i too am slightly heavier, and certainly more organized. in the last 4 years i have put 100 pounds on my deadlift, near that on my overhead squat, i have watched my capacity - my tolerance for work, increase while my body weight remained almost unchanged.

more than the physical changes, the last 4 years have taught me much about capacity and tolerance. about stretching and about focus. about true cost and what i am willing to pay.

the most interesting comparison, however, lies in motivation. in the uneasy feelings about testing and confronting the unknown. 4 years ago i was worried about the work. about how hard it would be, and what kind of people i would be dealing with. this time, it is not the work that makes me anxious, but the fear of letting people down.

for everyone who has helped me. who has motivated me. who put their faith in me. i sincerely thank you, and i hope i can prove to you your sacrifices were not made in vain.

"onward"

the airdyne is often a case study in coping mechanisms. it has been wonderful to watch mary work, grow and begin understand her abilities. she is running her first warrior dash today, a feat i could not witness because of my travel plans...

integrity. camaraderie. influence. there is power in a tribe. i am lucky to have friends like these.

the question is not how far. the question is, do you possess the constitution, the depth of faith, to go as far as is needed?

"RX'ed"

in the last few years crossfit has popularized the idea of workouts as a prescription, even giving rise to the phrase "as rx'ed" and while the idea of workouts being akin to the corrective advice a doctor hands out is something i support, i feel that many use the term without understanding the implication...

please understand, this is not an "anti-crossfit" post, this is an "anti-bastardization of language" post.

i don't post many workouts on this page. that may change, but my reasoning is this: its not for you. not that i have any secrets, or that i don't want to share.... just that everyone i train is different. they have different goals, different abilities, different histories.... as a result, each workout is prescribed - for that individual, at that point of their growth. without knowing the histories of the players involved, seeing a workout can serve as an inspiration, perhaps even a jumping off point - but can only be useful in the general sense. many warmups are designed to help correct work related stresses, to fix imbalances. old injuries. movements chosen reflect a players skill level. or perhaps their goals. or perhaps lingering effects from a previous session. sometimes methods are chosen to elicit an emotional response, to intentionally make someone uncomfortable - or conversely, to blow off steam or otherwise manipulate a players emotional state to better suit the task at hand.

this brings up two important points. the first is that everything has its place. its difficult for many people to accept that what at one time, is forbidden - at some other date can be essential. we must match the tools to the task and the task to the goal. without dogma. i will even remain open to the idea that dumbbell curls may be the most appropriate exercise in some, strange circumstance. me liking or disliking a certain tool does not rob it of its usefulness unless i let my bias keep me from picking it up and learning how to use it. medicine does not have to taste good, it just has to work.

the second point is a little more esoteric. it is why i take my job so seriously. there is always a dark humor about the gym, about the times that training feels like an abusive relationship.... the fact that many times i intentionally push people into uncomfortable situations. try and orchestrate situations to bring them face to face with a shortcoming, with a part of themselves that i (or in better cases, we) have decided needs to change. training is taking advantage of the adaptive nature of humanity. training is sending the mind and the body a specific message to try and get a specific response. the more focused the trainee, the more vital the goal, the more specific the message. coaches are in the business of sending messages. often uncomfortable messages. occasionally manipulating the emotional state of another to get the desired effect. we push people into places they will not willingly go on their own. sometimes we need to keep them from slamming into a wall, other times we need to push them off a cliff.

this is what separates coaches and trainers. this is why coaches don't deal with many people. it costs a lot. to know what people need. to earn the trust of each individual. to carry that weight. to bear the responsibility.

that is one of the main reasons i continue to visit gym jones in SLC. it is the first place that i have seen that level of dedication to be the rule. the standard. that is, as a result, my standard. i work and i learn. i try and ask the right questions and understand. i try to seek the stress. the stimulus. to act appropriately to bring about the necessary change. to explore. to allow people to see me at my worst. to ask them to find my weaknesses.

realize that this is all information, and therefore useful.

the individual who beats you is teaching you how to win.

the coach who makes you cry, who pushes your emotional limits makes you tougher. makes you more resilient to bad news. to hard news. makes you understand yourself. your limits. helps you reassess and redefine things. to respect things for their utility. to understand cost. to understand how our approach influences our outcome. to not take things so personally. to own our failures as openly and honestly as our victories.

i am honored and humbled to have the chance to work with everyone involved with the gym jones project. it was nearly 3 (correction: 4) years ago that i first stepped into a small warehouse space in SLC, and i never expected how far it would take me...

thank you to all who have helped, i can never repay your kindness, my only hope is to conduct myself in a manner deserving of your faith.

45" box jump. emotional content.

make a mark.

each action makes a mark.
changes things.
makes a difference.
enough marks, and a picture begins to form.
as our actions become more deliberate, more consistent, we refine this image.
our image.
i aim to leave a mark.
my mark.
to change things.
to create, to embody this image fully.
consciously.
deliberately.
to become exactly the person i wish to be.
and to do so, unapologetically.


much work has been done lately. restructuring, refining, re-learning. corrective efforts and questions. there are changes ahead...

hard rows on hot days. these marks bleed through.

suffering.

i apologise if i have misused this word in the past, but please let me be clear, this is not suffering.

don't get me wrong, within these walls, within the context of training i have experienced the deepest and sharpest physical pains of my life. i have experienced emotional pain. self-hatred. anger. depression. defeat.

but that is not the same.

what i, what we feel, it is the bite of sandpaper.

the cut of a file.

the sharp gouge of a chisel.

it is empowerment. it is the creative process. it is the removal of that which we have deemed unnecessary. the shaping, the becoming. the self imposed change of what we have been given into what we will ourselves to become.

too many times i have been asked why. why i train so hard*, why i work so much, why i don't relax more, why i don't go out and "have fun"

simply: i wish to become more than i am.

not only wish, but will. but work.

i am willing to pay the price.

i am willing to use my emotions, all of my emotions, to propel me further, to come closer to that goal.

the gym is a beautiful thing. it is a place where - through will, attention, knowledge and hard work - we progress. the iron does not care who you know. it does not care what your plans are or how you fucking feel today. it does its job, and we do ours. it is a counterweight to our action. something to struggle against. it is a grindstone on which to sharpen our very selves.

i read somewhere that we can be no more or less than what we are.

i believe we can be no more then we chose to become.

what do you chose?

that choosing is what interests me most. that understanding that the battle is won or lost most often before the task has even begun.

this is not suffering.

this is empowerment.









*which in the grand scheme is not very hard at all.

self-actualization

There is pure terror in self-actualization. - dan harm (http://chasingafter2012.blogspot.com/)


amen.

wanting is not enough. wishing is not enough. praying is not enough.

doing. action. ability. this is what we need to deal with.

training is a constant reminder of small steps. of constant pressure. of slow trends and long term gains. training reminds us that what we want matters only as far as we act on it. that even the most perfect plan is utterly useless if left unexecuted.

the terror inherent in self actualization is that there is no one else to blame. time is finite, and fleeting. if you want to truly excel at something it is going to cost. we cut things out of our lives we deem unnecessary. we focus. we weigh and measure and calculate. true cost. worth. we spend our moments like a mizers pennies, knowing each is irreplaceable - but useless in the purse.

wishing things are different does not make them so. do work. and give things the attention they deserve.

it is simple. work hard. work smart. stand or fail on your own efforts. time spent wishing is time wasted.

wishes did not get you here.

pressure and time.

training is like geology. it is the study of pressure and time. and, like geology, it is about utility. it is about function.

many factors impact the athlete, the trainee. physical, psychological, emotional. stressors applied both internally and externally. theoretical models are only useful as a template. a starting point. that which we wish matters little, it matters only as a goal. we do work with the tools we have - for to die with a sword still sheathed is to do an injustice to yourself and those who rely on you. emotion is a tool. it is a conduit to moments and trends that happen too fast or too slow for our conscious mind to grasp. like all tools, it must be guided by a skilled hand. a skill that takes time and effort to master.

i was once told that anything worth doing is worth doing badly until you can do it well. to use a crutch when it was needed, and to hate every minute of it. to constantly want for more, but to use the tool that the moment calls for. threats, rewards, competition.... i would love to operate at my highest levels without those things, but i am not there yet. until that moment, i will orchestrate these things. i will test my self, arbitrarily at times. i will occasionally compete, even if its just against myself - with a goal, and a punishment for failure. to me, at this juncture, a test is the easiest way to create the intensity i desire. to impart the emotional content necessary for me to break out of bad habits, to stay on schedule, and to give every ounce.

this is a step. a station. a snapshot.

get inspired where you can.
get angry if you must.
but only as far as it helps you progress.

this is about function. it is about utility. this is about purpose.

use what you have. everything that you have. or else never know your true potential.

work is done. it costs. time, money, and discomfort. be it scars or art, it leaves its mark.

make it count.

the dance.

we struggle with emotions the way a dancer struggles with gravity; diligently, methodically, and ultimately hopelessly. for the final goal is not to conquer this adversary, but through the deliberate application of pressure, of time, and of Will, to absorb and reflect its strength. to attain through our own efforts the knowledge and grace to turn its strength into our own, to know when to bend and when to leap - when to bow out and when to hurl our passion like buckets of paint across a stage. to give every last drop of our selves, not for the critics, not for the spectators, but in gratitude of a worthy adversary, a constant friend. a force that, at the same time, refuses us our goals and forms the only tools to attain them.


so work hard. work smart. this fight will last the rest of your life. and you will be better for it.


-the station.

romantic genius

http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog/2010/jul/26/secrets-of-success/

an interesting argument.

i dont remember if it was gladwell or goleman who stated that excellence has an entry fee (of IQ or talent), a minimum level of "gifted-ness" but after that it is social conditioning, it is grit. that to be great, one must have a bit of "natural" ability, but that after a certain tipping point, it is all about putting in the hours, about doing the work.

i never really played sports as a kid. i was a loner. i was out of shape. i read books and looked at athleticism as something for "other people" , "talented" people. i never tried because i had already made a decision, i had no room for growth (at least in that direction) in my self image. moreover, i did not understand it. i did not love it.

i believe that is one of the reasons why the idea of "gifted" and "talented" is so prevalent, its easy to separate yourself, us and them, gifted and not. "i wasn't born with the talent so i can never be good so i don't have to try", its a bit harder to say "i wont be any good because i don't want to try" or simply "i don't care enough to try"

people who excell are obsessed. it is a constant. the hours of work. the attention paid. call it love or madness, but the people who get it done are the ones who show up. day after day. and work. the people who dream of their work. who sit and think of new ways to push themselves. people who sit and probe themselves for weakness, who seek out tests to expose those weaknesses, to highlight what needs to be fixed. people willing to do what is hard, to do what is smart. and to pay the price.

depression led me to self examination. to the methodical measuring and excising of self. to keep what is useful and cut out the rest. this served me well and after a few months i had pieced myself back together into something better. leaner, lighter, and more focused. driven. training, working out, only made sense to me after it was filtered through that experience. only after was it explained to me in those terms that i understood, that i felt passionate about, did i make any meaningful progress. love or obsession, it is about emotional content. it is about driving force. it is about the will. get to know that force, it will be your greatest ally, through it you can supercede yourself. understand it. train it. test it and flex it. and do it often.

flame out.

warm up with wall squats and SOTS presses
work up to heavy KB swings, OHS form and some jumping

then:

5x OHS (light)
5x box jump (high)
15x cals on airdyne
5x KB swings (heavy)

max rounds in 25 minutes.

there were some variations, Nate did front squats (OHS form is still a bit shaky so we don't want to set any bad movement patterns that we will have to correct later)

Chris did step ups and "hard style" push-ups (and i think he would like to thank Rob MacDonald for that one)

i did Slosh Pipe OHS and 20 cals on the airdyne.

chris and i also worked for 30 minutes, good fun was had by all, and everyone hates the airdyne just a little bit more.

improvement.

there has been a conversation going around at the gym - it started when i was in SLC and i brought it back home to see how others interpreted it. its an old problem really, a toxic mix of faith and focus.

converts make the fiercest zealots. when we find something that helps us (physically or mentally) we give it power. we, as in humans, are so quick to give ourselves over to this tool. to allow it to, eventually, use us.

it is the dieter who looks for tweaks in micro-nutrients to get better athletic performance.

the yoga practitioner who looks to increase flexibility to loose weight.

the overly-academic trainer who reads more books to get better.

while there is nothing wrong with tweaking ones diet, with reading and collecting more data, but it has its time and its place.

we love success. we attach ourselves to strategies that work, we develop faith and it becomes our solution to everything. whenever we struggle, it is easy to blame it on an improper micro-nutrient balance, on poor flexibility, on a lack of good training data. on the things we know, that we are good at, that we know how to work with.

the hard thing to do is recognize that the tool that got you from point A to point B may not be able to get you from point B to point C.

that armor that saved your life in battle will kill you in a sinking ship.

to be honest.

to be critical.

to look without faith or romance at your strengths and weaknesses, at your abilities and your shortcomings.

to find the problem, and to fix it.

is my diet what is holding me back? or is it just the easiest thing to adjust?

its fine to honor your victories. to give credit where it is due. remain vigilant, but don't waste tomorrow fighting yesterdays battle. there are many fronts, countless approaches, and chances are there is one or two that are being neglected.

simply put, big picture : find out what you are bad at, and get better.

find out what is holding you back - and correct it.

i heard the goal of the GYM JONES seminar summed up simply as "to teach you how to think" and while that may initially feel like some sort of affront, the growth that comes from listening with an open mind to a variety of driven, talented, curious and intelligent individuals is invaluable and immeasurable. check your assumptions with your ego - or be willing to watch them die in front of you (and others).

in the words of a friend -

struggle well.

-b


warmup:
10 min row

5x clean hi-pull + 5x box jumps - 5 rounds

95# - 24"
115# - 28"
135# - 32"
135# - 34"
135# - 36"

2k row for time - 7:09.3

knee jumps, however, feel like an exercise in faith.