Month: May 2018

“Do not waste time dreaming of great faraway opportunities; do the best you can where you are. Open your petals of power and beauty and fling out the fragrance of your life in the place that has been assigned to you.”—Orison Swett Marden

Accept your path.  Be satisfied where you are.  You are where you are supposed to be.

It is a struggle sometimes, but when I consider where I am right now—moreover how I got here—I am able to trust that I am where I am supposed to be.  It may not be for me, per say.  Indeed, it probably is not.  It is quite likely that my circumstances are for the lives I touch—and which touch mine.

I am third.  I am not the center of the Universe.  If I should dream about “great faraway opportunities”, I am doubting my Purpose.  So, as challenging as it can be, I am where I am supposed to be.

When we doubt our lives, as we often will, accept it—live it.  Live it for others.  Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

I was excited to learn today that a former student would be joining Gymnast Mindset*–an extension of Wrestler Mindset developed by Gene and Jeff Zannetti.  Whether we are gymnasts or wrestlers, athletes or nonathletes, current athletes or former athletes, great athletes or average athletes, we all need to have the right mindset to succeed.

I honestly wish I had more of a Wrestler Mindset when I was wrestling.  When I wrestled, I was a wrestler trapped in a basketball players body—6’3” and 185 lb (down from a football weight of 215 lb).  I never saw a future in wrestling.  It was a sport I loved, but never wholly committed.  It would not be for several years after I graduated that the sport would restructure the weight classes to include divisions to which my body was more suited.

Unfortunately, we often go through life feeling “unsuited” to the things we love to do.  This puts us on what I refer to the “successful side of mediocre” (a good description of my wrestling career)—an attitude that I struggle to avoid.  We often lack the mindset to dare to challenge ourselves—to believe in ourselves.  Contrary to our self-doubts, we are quite well-suited to do what we are passionate about.  Sometimes, it just takes a little more effort and confidence.

I write mostly to myself.  Perhaps it is the “successful side of mediocre” in me that thinks that is because I am probably the only one reading it.  Deep down, though, I feel I have something to say and a calling to say it.  The challenge for me—the challenge for us all—is to listen to this voice and calling.  To listen and to act.

Congratulating my friend on her new role with Gymnast Mindset has me thinking about my own mindset and unfinished Purpose.  What is holding me (you) back?  It is only the mindset.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

*https://gymnastmindset.com/about-us/

I am increasingly frustrated with the division in our communities.  I am bothered by the labels we put on others and ourselves.  Labels divide and cause discord.

Perhaps the label has some truth, but the reality is that the label does not fix the problem.  More often, it exacerbates the problem.  I could discuss a rather lengthy list of examples, but, in the process, would surely offend someone—one who is looking to be offended, as so many are today.  Rather, I prefer a solution based approach.  (Something that is so logical, but so absent in our society.)  The first step in any solution-based approach is to acknowledge that there is a problem.  This is the biggest obstacle to growth and change in our communities.  In too many cases, admitting that there is a problem is only one-sided.  Societal problems, however, are never one-sided.  The deepest-rooted problems are often the least well understood or accepted.  So, we deny them or excuse ourselves as “not responsible”.  Surely, few of us are the actual root cause of the problems in our communities.  We are all, however, the solution.

Whatever divides a society is artificial.  It is man-made.  Thus, we can solve any problem, if we try.

Two things have to happen once a problem is acknowledged. 1. The involved parties have to accept responsibility (not as the cause—at this point, who cares who is at fault?)  We must all accept our responsibility to fix the problem.  2. The involved parties have to have a conversation.  Personally, I am tired of the protesting and finger pointing.  Neither brings any solution to the problem.  Rather these further the rift in our society.  We who are willing need to initiate the conversation and welcome all voices to the table.  We have to be willing to listen.  Moreover, we have to be willing to accept that the solution is out of our scope of experience.

There is a riddle: What is a four-letter word, ending in ‘k’ that means the same as ‘intercourse’?  Think about it.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

The pursuit of “well-centered fitness” is not always easy.  Change is hard.  Growth is even harder—as it must be.  I spend my morning getting centered and building positive momentum to start my day.  Not long after, I am bombarded with forces that would counter this momentum.  I think I spend most of my 1-hour commute trying not to completely reverse my attitude.  It is all part of the process.

Attempting to cultivate love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control is not unlike tilling the soil of a garden (hence, the notion of cultivating).  There will be hard soil, rocks, roots, and other obstacles.  Is not just water and sunshine that are necessary to cultivate growth.  Sometimes, it takes a bit of fertilizer—manure—too.

I have a choice on my commute.  I can let the weeds invade and avoid the hard labor of cultivation, or I can get dirty and sweaty and deal with the hard work of resolving my weakness (‘cause I am never going to affect the other drivers on the road).

Many days, I am drained of my positivity before I arrive at work.  (Honestly, most days, it is before I get onto the highway.)  Next, of course, I have to deal with a day of work and the return commute.  It can be exhausting.

Well-centered fitness is a constant effort—Spiritually, Physically, Intellectually, Emotionally, and Socially.  I like to say that the same principles of adaptation in exercise science apply—overload, progression, specificity, and, no doubt, reversibility.  Recovery and rejuvenation are also important.  We must make the time for the things that recharge us—that allow us to recover.  There is no benefit is avoiding the stresses and aggravations in our lives.  We are best to face them and learn and grow from them.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

Today is my 14th wedding anniversary.  I am blessed to be married to a wonderful woman, who complements me in every way.  I don’t believe in marriage equality.  I believe in marriage equity.  Two who are equal will be competitive in the marriage rather than mutually submissive–yes, I used the s-word, but notice I preceded it with “mutually”.  Equity in marriage suggests the sharing of roles on the basis of talent, interest, and capability.

I am third in my marriage–my God is first, my wife is second, and I am third.  In life, I define I am third as “my God is first, my family and friends are second, and I am third”.  Specific to marriage, my wife is second ahead of all others.

I have shared the “Resolution” I adopted from the movie Courageous and the book by the Kendrick brothers in previous posts.  It hang for my family to see on the most frequently passed wall in our home.  I like to share it frequently as a reminder and to remain exposed to accountability.  On this, my wedding anniversary, I share it, again.

“I do solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself, my wife, and my children.

1. I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home.

2. I WILL be faithful to my wife, to love and honor her, and be willing to lay down my life for her as Jesus Christ did for me.

3. I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength.

4. I WILL train them to honor authority and live responsibly.

5. I WILL confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy.

6. I WILL pray for others and treat them with kindness, respect, and compassion.

7. I WILL work diligently to provide for the needs of my family.

8. I WILL forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.

9. I WILL learn from my mistakes, repent of my sins, and walk with integrity as a man answerable to God.

10. I WILL seek to honor God, be faithful to His church, obey His Word, and do His will.

11. I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides to fulfill this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.”

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, PAM!!

 

In certain gym circles, you will often hear talk of one’s “PR” (or personal record).  Very often you see these shared on social media.  There is a good and bad of PRs.  The promotion of PRs can create healthy or unhealthy competition.   PRs can be motivating (tracking progress is certainly beneficial).  Quite often, however, PRs demonstrate the poorest acceptable (sometimes unacceptable) form, which make these videos lousy teaching tools.  Much of me would prefer to see personal records kept “personal”.

I do admit to finding videos of competitive lifters impressive.  These are generally quite technical and motivating.  (When PRs are shared in kilos rather than pounds they are always more humbling and inspirational—especially when the kilos are my pounds.)  The elites and the pros have something to show.

Whether I like to see PR videos or not, or whether one wishes to post a PR or not, matters very little.  What is important to consider is what really constitutes a PR.  In other words, the question has to be asked: Is it a PR, if the technique is horrible?  (How bad of technique is acceptable?)

Proper form is always important—for safety and bragging rights.  For most of us pushing (or pulling) a true maximum in training is unnecessary and risky.  Competitors rarely go for true one-repetition maximums (1-RM) outside of competition.  Why get hurt for a number that is only “personal”?  Thus, most “PRs” are going to be training maximums that gauge progress—e.g., a 3-RM or 5-RM (often a hair shy of a true RM).  Technique, then, should be nearly impeccable.  Save the slight deviations in technique for competitions where the risk is “warranted”.

Don’t concern yourself with what other people are lifting.  Push yourself.  Be your best today, and train to be better tomorrow.

Progress.  If there is any reason to track “personal” PRs, it is to track progress and set goals.  If the goal is to lift X by a certain date, then it important to set specific milestones (call ‘em “PRs”, if you must) along the way.  Be careful, though, to track legitimate progress.  If your ATG squat becomes a “not so near parallel” squat as you progressively add plates over time, you have not achieved a PR.  In the long run, the best progress is honest progress.

Wherever you are in your training progress, celebrate the gains.  You’ve earned the right to share your PRs, if you want.  I believe it was Spock who said, “Lift well and prosper.” (Or something like that.)

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

It is getting to be that time of year.  Most of us have put our upset with Punxsatawney Phil behind us and are looking forward to summer.  Summer, though, mean beach and bathing suit season.  Winter has, perhaps, added a few extra pounds of fat.  (Hopefully, we have been training and added a few pounds of muscle, as well.)  So, it is time for most of us to cut some fat.

I have plans to go in the BodPod to have my body fat measured on June 1^st, so not only am I looking to combat Dunlap’s disease* but I am also targeting a specific percentage of body fat.  I am hoping that the lean tissue has gone up and the body fat is less than in previous tests.

So, we want to lose fat and we want to lose it fast?  What should be do?

Be Patient.  Weight lose takes time.  Don’t buy into the “30-day transformation” mentality.  Have a long-term plan and expect modest, sustainable results.  Typically, 1-2 lb a week is ideal.  Much less is hardly progress, and much more is not sustainable and likely going to include hard-earned muscle mass.  Unless one is significantly over weight, 10 lb of fat over the next ten weeks will actually be quite a change to one’s physical appearance.  Progress throughout the summer rather than crash-dieting leading up to the start of summer.

Eat less.  Hopefully, we are already eating healthy.  If that is the case, great!  Now, just eat less.  Losing fat weight is as simple as that.  There are no secrets.

Baby steps.  Look for the little changes with cumulative effects.  Cutting 20-, 30-, 50-, 100 kcals here or there will be much more effective than making wholesale changes in one’s diet.  Add a little more activity and remove a few more calories.

Watch the macros.  While total calories are most impacting, what you eat will make considerable difference.  Protein is important for muscle and cell structure.  It plays only a small role as an energy source.  Unless one is training quite intensely, protein need not be extreme.  Even those training intensely with weights and cardio are good with about 1 g per pound of body weight.  This is much more than the average person need, but is an easy gauge.

Fats and carbs are a cause for fighting among some.  Sure, going full-keto diet will drop pounds quickly, but performance will likely suffer—less so if you are more sedentary.  If active, carbohydrates will be necessary, depending on activity level.  Carbs should be nutrient dense and have a low glycemic index.  For most 0.5-1.0 g per pound of bodyweight will meet our energy needs for exercise while keeping the diet hypocaloric.  Fats are important to our neuroendocrine system and should be of a heathy variety (e.g., avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, and range-fed better).  Lower fats to cut calories, but use fats to increase satiety (i.e., delay hunger).

Manage binges.  Plan meals to restrict uncontrolled eating.  Most of us can avoid (over)eating while at work—if we really want to.  Keep snack foods out of reach.  Drink water.  Keep too busy to eat.  Save calories for the end of the day when you might be more inclined to over indulge.  One trick I like is buttered coffee—especially in the morning.  The calories are, surprising, not high.  (I use a teaspoon of grass-fed butter and a teaspoon of coconut oil in my morning coffee—approximately 220 kcal—and I can go hours without eating.)  A high carb breakfast can be less satisfying and have more calories.  For example, a serving of oatmeal with a half cup of skim milk is healthy and 340 calories.  It is also likely have you hungry again within hours (and most American breakfasts are higher in calories and worse on the glycemic index).  By dinner (and an evening snack), you will have a greater amount of reserve calories to consume.

Lift heavy.  Avoid the temptation to go crazy with cardio and push some weights.  Heavy lifting builds muscle and boosts the metabolism.  Don’t be tempted to lift light “toning” weights for high repetitions.  Go big (with proper technique!) and grow muscle.  If time is a factor stick to three days a week and the ‘basic 5’ (squats, deadlifts, bench, rows, and presses) for 5×5 (5 sets of 5 repetitions—excluding warm-up sets).  If you must, do accessory work (e.g., abs, arms, etc.) on alternate days.  A common split it to alternate a. squat + bench + rows and b. squat + press + deadlift.  Do some HIIT on the alternate days.  For greater calorie expenditure add some light cardio activity on the lifting days (preferably separate from the lifting).  There are countless workout schemes and set/repetition combinations.  Do what you like, but keep the intensity up and progress!

Be patient.  Did I mention it?

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

*Dunlap’s disease—the condition where the belly dun lap over the belt; present to some degree in 9 out of 10 males over the age of 50.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34, NIV).

I had a conversation recently about regrets—it is an ongoing conversation in this circumstance.  I persist in the idea that our past is what it is and any thought of changing it is futile.  Good or bad, disappointing or blessed, it has brought us to where we are today.  Personally, if given the opportunity, I would not change a thing.  I am who I am and have what (and who) I have for all that has happened in my past.  I am—for all of it—grateful.

Why should I worry about tomorrow?  First, there is no guarantee that I will even have a tomorrow.  Second, I can only affect tomorrow with what I do today—in this moment.  Carpe momento.

A former student posed a question: “Knowing what you know now would you still go straight to college out of high school?”  Seems rather benign.  Of course, there are things I might have done different.  Specific to the question, I could have saved money by delaying my freshman year, moving in with one of my older sisters, and establishing in-state residency (and, thus, in-state tuition).  I could have saved for college—and save a significant amount of college debt.  Were it today?  I would do this in a heartbeat (and I would suggest anyone preparing for college consider such things).  I could also have gone to the University of Chicago and played football.  The recruiter suggested I could get a degree in geology and that it wouldn’t be much to continue after to get my degree in mine engineering.  I was intent, though, on getting my degree in mine engineering in 4 years at WVU.  Of course, I finished with a degree in geology!  With all this in mind, though, I would not change a thing.  Delaying college for a year would have affected the relationships and experiences that have shaped who I am today.  I might not be an exercise physiologist had a classmate not suggested it to me in my Geology Field Camp Experience the summer before my senior year.  My life would be significantly different had I gone to Chicago instead of Morgantown.  No regrets.

I had a business that failed four years ago.  I remarked, today, that it didn’t kill me—“That which does not kill me makes me stronger” (Nietzsche).  Indeed, had it, it would have been financially better for my family (I have life insurance), but it would have been significantly different for my wife, children, and an indeterminable number of people.  Having gone through that experience has made me stronger.  I am a better person.  I am a better teacher (experience can bring so much to a class that is not in the textbooks).  I formed lasting relationships that I value greatly.

Today?  Today is all I have the power to affect.  More specifically, I have the power to affect the moment I am in right now.  What I do now will affect tomorrow.  How?  This should not be of great concern.

Today?  All I can do is my best.  I trust that my best today will make me better tomorrow.

Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is dependent upon today.

Carpe momento!

So, Pope Francis tweeted: “Do we really want peace?  Then let’s ban all weapons so we don’t have to live in fear of war.”  Once I got passed the lack of proper punctuation (I am really no fan of Twitter), I was saddened by the Pontiff’s seeming lack of understanding.  I am all for peace.  I pray for peace.  Seemingly, however, Pope is not bible literate.  Likewise, he appears blinded by politics and unable to see that the problem of war is not the presence of weapons.  Rather ours is a Spiritual warfare.

The answer to peace is not to eradicate weapons.  Sure, we can dispose of bombs and nuclear weapons.  We can melt down our guns to make plowshares.  UNLESS there is a change in the heart of man, there will be cause for war.  As long as there is cause for war, man will find his weapon.

I had in my mind that Cain killed his brother with a knife.  (I remarked to others—“Take my steak knife from my cold dead hand.”)  Apparently, I have forgotten some of my bible study, as well.  We don’t know with what weapon Cain killed his brother.  It is a sure bet, though, that it was not a gun.  A rock, perhaps?  (Good luck banning those!)  David slew Goliath with a stone.  Maybe it was a farming tool?  We don’t know.

Samson comes to mind.  He killed a thousand men with a donkey jawbone (Judges 15:16).  A thousand men!  A jawbone!

It seems pretty clear to me that we can’t legislate peace.  Man will always find the tools to kill, if that is his desire.  The same tools that might be used to kill can be (and mostly are) used for good.  Dare I make a list.

Pope Francis, if you (we) want peace, you (we) must lead the hearts of the people to the path of peace.  If any of us wants peace we must first be peaceable.  We do not overcome evil with evil.  This is true.  We overcome evil by doing good (Romans 12:21).

We cannot take out of context the words of Jesus, when he said: “Do not suppose that I come to bring peace to the earth.  I come not to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10: 34).  Those who “draw the sword will die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52, NIV).  I believe the sword in Matthew 10 to be metaphorical.  It is a sword of the heart to overcome evil—much of which there is in this world.

The mere banishment of weapons (as if this were possible) is not the path to peace.  Of course, neither is an arms race.  There must be a third way to peace—one that can only come from discourse and standing up to evil.

To “speak softly and carry a big stick” (Theodore Roosevelt) need not imply that one must use the stick in a violent manner.  Indeed, a big stick can be used to pull one up, as well as to knock one down.  It is not the tool itself but how it is used that makes all the difference.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

I often write about growth—specifically, having a growth plan for “well-centered fitness”.  I also consider one’s Purpose.  While the two might be considered independently, I think it is important that the two remain inseparable.  After all, what is the purpose of growth and continuous improvement (kaizen) if not for something greater than self—i.e., without a Spiritual foundation?

I believe I am to be better today than I was yesterday.  I believe that “I am third” (My God is first, my family and friends are second, and I am third).  These are not unrelated by any means.  I am better—I seek to be better—not for me but for others.  In this sense, we take care of ourselves that we may better care for others.

I wrote yesterday on the idea that Purpose or Calling is fulfilled through the interrelationship between genetics, environment, and soul.  It is for Purpose or Calling that we pursue growth.

If our goals seem shallow, perhaps they are.  Perhaps, we need to reconsider.  Perhaps, we need to revise our growth plan to pursue that which will benefit others beyond ourself.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!