What the breaking point really means to me

Everything and everyone has a breaking point. Let's make that plain and clear right now. If you think you are immune to injury than you are only kidding yourself and setting yourself up for a huge defeat. Picking and choosing your battles isn't as important as it is to realize what is on the table and to minimize your loses.

I am competing in a 24 hour endurance event where i will cover upwards of 60 miles. Am i aiming to win? yes, of course i am. Am i okay with not being the fastest? yes, i am prepared to win the night miles challenge or the fastest lap challenge as well. Could i win all 3? it is possible, but i could also win just 1 of the events and i would still come out the other side of this challenge a stronger person.

This mindset applies more to my life than it does when relating to fitness. I am not one to have prized possessions, and if i do, i see them as broken right off the bat. Being able to see something as broken always me to cherish the object while it is whole and unbroken. When it does break i am not heartbroken, i enjoyed the object and it suited its purposes just as intended.

“You see this goblet?” asks Achaan Chaa, the Thai meditation master. “For me this glass is already broken. I enjoy it; I drink out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass on the shelf and the wind knocks it over or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, ‘Of course.’ When I understand that the glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious.”

Workout 9-24

5 reps - Toes 2 Bar (Knees 2 Elbows)

10 reps - Ball Slams (20# 10# Ball)

15 reps - Goblet Squats (18# or 35# KB)

2 Mile Recovery Run

Do this set as many times as possible in 3 minutes, Rest for 1 minute after. Repeat this for 5 rounds

Keeping your head up, Mentally and Physically

No matter the situation, there is always something that will make you smile. That smile sparks a firestorm of emotions and sensations that radiate outwards in all aspects of your life and the lives of those around you.

"Anyone who has a continuous smile on his/hew face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening" - Greta Garbo  

Have you ever tried smiling at a stranger? you either get someone who gives you a dirty look and you know that they will then wonder for the next few minutes why you smiled and why they didn't smile back. Or you will receive a gift in return, another smile from a stranger. This is a gift that cant be monetized or returned, just know that the net happiness in the world increased at that moment and you took part in it.

If you are mentally in the game (life) everything else works out around you. Use the tips and tricks i have shared over the past months and change your world. Sell all the clutter, get rid of the people who bring you down and throw caution to the wind and do new things, meet new people.

Along with smiling to strangers, there is no better way to face an opponent then with a smile across your face. At first they will think your joking, but then they will start to get bothers deep down inside. And then they will be broken once they see that your serious and that the smile wasn't a joke. This also works for anyone that wants to see you unhappy; Smile until they no longer wish negative things towards you.

Today's workout is based of a classic Crossfit benchmark workout.

Barbara (5 rounds for time)

• 20x pull ups
• 30x Plyo push ups
• 40x Decline sit ups
• 50x Jumping air squats

Get after it! work hard and keep smiling. 

Keeping Your Fitness In Check!

Being great at one thing doesn't quite justify as being "Fit" in my book. And i think a lot of professional athletes agree with me on this one. If you are a great football player, you have good strength, speed and endurance. If you play volleyball your skills are in agility, strength and the ability to jump higher than most people.

This trend of multifaceted ability stands true across the board. I am not going to say that any one skill is more important than any other. Use your time wisely in the gym and become a well rounded individual. If you stick to doing one thing, you will miss out on a world of opportunity in the fitness community.

Don't just run, or bike, or swim. Do them all in a rotation that keeps your body guessing on what is next in your training.

Put it this way, if you had advance knowledge that in 365 days you would be in a fight for your life. You don't know what your opponent will be, or what will be asked of you. The logical thing to do would be to increase your overall strength, endurance and speed. This should be your mindset every day because you never know if your life will be in danger or what you will have to do to survive.

Workout

Complete 5 rounds for time of:

• Run 400m
• 15x overhead squats (95#/65#) or 30x Air Squats 

Work hard and get fit
-Mike 

Do something about it

Get ready for a hard week everyone. take today to prepare yourselves for the journey. 

- Mike

Core Stability. Not just abs.

 

 

If you can do a movement sitting down OR standing, always pick standing. This added force you use do the movement and keep stable is a huge benefit to your core.

Also picking movements that are done over head, or force you to have a weight transfer from from your hands to your feet will help build the REAL core that you have wanted.

Some examples of these useful movements and weight transfers are hand stand pushups (see above picture), Olympic lifting, standing dumbbell curls and standing shoulder presses.

keep working hard everyone! here is a great upper body core workout for you.

Workout 8-1 

Complete 7 rounds of the following for time…

• 7 x triple unders (21x double unders or 63 singles)
• 7x chest to bar pull ups
• 7x Power snatch (95#/65#)
• 7x handstand push ups

If you need an alternate to these movements. post in the comments!

-Mike 

Tuesday Gym Tips (it is a numbers game)

Sick of using the same reps/sets/exercise patterns? well stop using them. Lets make things interesting by using some great techniques and creative thought to make your workout more interesting.

A majority of the fitness population have heard the same advice when it comes to strength training. 3 sets of (some amount of reps), why not 4 sets? why not 2 sets? Lets talk numbers.

Take a few minutes before lifting to figure out what area of your body you want to improve that day.

Get to the gym and warm up with body weight exercises and stretching (10 minutes).

Pick the major muscle groups you're going to be hitting and start warming them up with light sets of movements that work that specific muscle group. Doing these light sets are important and will reduce the possibility of injury.

Since you have hit the major muscles, your secondary muscles are now warmed up and ready to be focused on. since they will be partially fatigued at this point but still feeling ready for work, hit them hard. Drop sets/ ladders/ pyramids/ partial rep sets with light weight burn sets/ heavy low rep sets.

now that you have hit the major and minor muscle groups to be focused on. hit some of the weak points you missed, calves, forearms, core, lower back.

At this point you should be pretty well roasted and praying that it ends soon. This is the point where you can walk out, or keep going for that extra mile.. literally. Follow up your workout with intense cardio, (double unders, interval sprints, sprint a mile, high box jumps, tabata style interval training". 

Now that you have put in all the possible energy you could expend. Be sure to spend the next 30 minutes and eat and drink. Consume the amount of calories you need to replenish or eat slightly less if your looking to lose weight. Water is just as important and food, drink plenty of water to ensure you aren't dehydrated.

Workout 

21 - 15 - 9 Reps

Wall Ball Throws ( 20#, scale down to jumping air squats)

pushups 

Between each round, run 400m with wall ball, or 10# weight 

Go hit the gym!

It is always a good time to get fit

          I don't want you to be concerned with getting a beach body. I don't want you to be looking to get fit for you 10 year high school reunion. It is time to get in shape for you and for the reason of you deserve to be happier.

         Everyone will find a weakness in their life that they can either face right then, or put it off for later. When that weakness is something to do with health, putting it off may be the worst option you could choose.

       You are stronger than you think you are. You just need to take some time and think about what your doing. Once you convince yourself that you can do it, you will. It won't be a quick process, over time you will struggle and need to be pushed but that is life. Keep up the hard work everyone. Get ready for a hard week of training! 

- Mike