Fitness – Page 9 – Serenity Through Sweat

Smooth Seas

There is an old proverb that says “smooth seas do not make skillful sailors”. When I think about Serenity through sweat, this is something that always comes to mind.

Obviously hard times make hard people. Some might say when the going gets tough, the tough get going. There are a dozen other cliches we can use to say the same thing. The bottom line is, we are made stronger by the challenges we face. Those can be challenges that we take on willingly, or challenges that we are forced to take on.

We are living in the most advanced and prosperous time in human history. Obviously there are still problems, and many of has have struggles, but most of us (especially if you are reading this with on your smart phone with a roof over your head and a full belly) have only first world problems.

With a society suffering from mostly first world problems, where does a prospective sailor go to find rough seas on which to test himself?

I’ve always found a unique sense of fulfillment in pushing my personal limits athletically. From long term goals that require training and preparation, to just grinding out that last interval or roll, pushing our own personal limits is a great way to manufacture rough metaphorical waters. Most athletic endeavors tend to be a controlled environment, with only small sections of chaotic variables, and the result is stormy seas on which to test ourselves without the metaphorical drowning risk.

There is no denying that people coming back from war, refugees forced to flee a homeland, patients who have to fight a terminal illness, are all forced to navigate rougher water in life than most of us, and will probably come out better people for it. But for the rest of us, (the vast majority) manufacturing our own struggle in a productive manner is a safer, and essential step in the right direction towards Serenity.

Thanks for joining me, and stay sweaty my friends.

Modern Ideas of Self Care

I’m very blessed to have a job with a flexible schedule that makes it easier for me cultivate good self care habits. Getting to the gym, finding ten minutes to meditate, reading material that challenges you intellectually, is all easier if you aren’t pressed for time.

As it does for us all at some point, life catches up and gets in the way. There simply aren’t enough minutes in the day to accomplish everything and some things need to be dropped. The question is what are we dropping, and why are we dropping it?

I’ve always been of the opinion that I’m a better person, father, husband, friend, etc… when I am consistently training (or at least working out, if you read my last post). Physically, mentally, emotionally, I am in a better place and better able to meet the other demands of my life.

If you have the flu and the doctor told you that you needed to rest, no one would look down on that decision. But physical exercise, intellectual growth, spiritual/emotional strengthening activities aren’t afforded the same societal ranking.

For some reason reading a book, or taking time to go to the gym, has become classified as an indulgence. I have to go to work, I have to finish the honey-do list, but I might get to go to the gym if I move fast.

Self care is the most important thing you can do and should be elevated in our thought process from an indulgence, to an essential daily routine.

I challenge all of you to carve out a small chunk of your day for positive self care. It could be ten minutes of meditation. Maybe listening to an audio book instead of the radio. You could use an educational app to learn a language instead of scrolling social media. Maybe it’s a couple of push-ups waiting for your coffee to brew in the morning. Whatever it is, make the time to invest in yourself.

It isn’t always easy and sometimes life gets in the way, but changing our perception of self care will be one step closer to Serenity Through Sweat.

Thanks for joining me, and stay sweaty my friends.

Working Out or Training

When I was preparing for Ironman Florida in 2013, I remember enjoying telling people I couldn’t stay out late, or have another beer, or whatever the activity was, because I had to train in the morning.

People that knew about the traithalon community or where familiar with the race understood, but inevitably, someone would ask what are you training for. For me this was a little bit of a way to brag on myself, but it was also a carefully chosen word.

I had a training plan, that was well designed and crafted. I had specific short and long term goals, I was measuring, logging, and assessing key metrics. These were not just a series of physical activity done for their own sake, these were goal oriented, focused, purpose driven workouts.

And there in lies the conundrum. If I was doing an interval ride, or a tempo run, those were both workouts. So when do we cross the line from workout to training? Can an activity be both, or one without the other?

This is a question I think a lot of BJJ practitioners struggle with/can benefit from, and something wrestlers (in my humble opinion) do a lot better with.

In generic terms, here is how I view the two. Workout: an activity done to improve physical fitness. Training: an activity or course of action undertaken in preparation for an event. So the key difference is the specificity of the goal, and I think both are important and both have their place.

Let’s say you are getting ready for the local BJJ tournament. You might set up a training plan that has four days a week in the gym rolling and two days a week with some sort of cross training, lifting weights or running. These could all be considered training because they are planned out, specified, and helping you towards your goal of preparing to compete in a tournament. They are also all individually workouts.

Now let’s look at an individual BJJ class where you don’t have a tournament you are planning for. Based on our earlier definition, it is clearly a workout, but can it also be training? The answer depends on how you approach it. Are you putting yourself in specific positions or situations repeatedly? Then it is probably training. Are you just letting the roll take its own form? Then it is probably a workout. Both are great, just understand what the value of each is.

The same ideas apply to running, riding, lifting weights, etc… Sometimes it just feels good to sweat. (I do a lot of that incase that wasn’t clear, and I’m a huge fan). Other times a more measured and calculated approach is appropriate, and will probably help you reach your goals better.

As January starts to close out, and those new year’s resolutions start to look a little hazier, ask yourself. Are you working out, or are you training? And is that the right choice for today?

Thanks for joining me, stay sweaty my friends.

Today’s Serenity through Sweat: throwing arrows down range at Orlando Archery Academy and then rolling with my homies at Orlando BJJ

Fundamental movements

Thanks for joining me for another edition of the Serenity Through Sweat blog. Today I want to talk about fundamental movements, things that we all do and we all “know” how to do. Or do we…

One of the lightbulb moments in thinking about fundamental movements came when my son started learning how to walk. He was a little later to the party than some of his cousins taking his first steps after his first birthday. As soon as he took his first steps, he wanted to pick things up and carry them.

Parents of small children will instantly recognize the position of a toddler picking something up. It is the functionally correct “ass to grass” neutral spine deep squat. The butt touches the ankles and there is enough stability and power in the position, for someone who literally just started walking, to pick things up and put them down. This motion requires proper hip and ankle flexibility and mobility, and proper sequencing of muscle movement, yet it is fundamental and I would even say genetically programed. Most parents have lost this mobility and flexibility so they aren’t teaching it and the toddlers can’t be modeling a behavior if they haven’t seen it before.

So if proper squat technique is pre programmed and we are born with that mobility and flexibility, what happens as we get older?

The next obvious step for toddlers as soon as they get the smallest bit of confidence walking, is running. Now, unlike squatting most toddlers have seen running and a lot of it is of questionable form. Running is a weird one right. Running is a fundamental movement, but how many people run, and how many people run. Toddlers and the vast majority of us run, but go watch a national track event or an ultra marathon and you can tell there are people running, and they are on a different level.

The vast majority of us have lost the flexibility and mobility that was our genetic inheritance, and have never explored the plethora of information available to enhance these most fundamental of human movements. The good news, is that this is the best time in history for the dissemination of information and there are more resources to improve human performance than ever before.

Whether it is diet/nutrition, running, martial arts, or just basic mobility and fundamental movements, there are plenty of experts who have dedicated their lives to providing education and resources to help us all be better people.

Right now I’m working my way through Dr. Kelly Starrett’s book Becoming a Supple Leopard, and it is a step in the right direction that I would recommend to everyone from aspiring athletes to couch ridden grandparents.

With a little bit of effort we can all start to get better at some of the fundamental movements that define us as humans. What can you do to be a better human today, tomorrow, and the rest of your life? The only way to reach Serenity is through constant forward progress, and probably a little bit of sweat.

Thanks for joining me and stay sweaty my friends.

Today’s Serenity through sweat was a 10k run including a Tour de stade of Doak Campbell stadium

If you drop the cake…

Happy New year, and thanks for stopping in to Serenity through Sweat. I hope 2020 finds you all in good health, happy disposition and appropriately sweaty.

I was training Jiu Jitsu with the owner of my gym the other day and he said something that has stuck with me well beyond our roll

Brad is a business owner, a black belt masters world champion, an incredibly gifted athlete frequently training with people half his age, and he likes to talk. It’s not uncommon for our training rolls to be 60% rolling 40% talking. And most of it is pleasantries or whatever the topic of the day is, but this particular comment has me thinking about its value beyond a grappling context.

Brad had asked our new head instructor Alec (new to our school and fresh off an ADCC competition) about how to escape a position and Alec replied (I’m paraphrasing) “sometimes if you drop the cake you don’t get to just pick it back up, you have to go back to the kitchen and make a new one”

From a grappling context I totally understood the idea. The best defense for some positions is to never be put there to begin with. We need to learn to sense the danger in positions before it is too late, and if we don’t, then you tap, reset, and try to learn for the next time. But what about outside Jiu Jitsu?

How many times in my personal or work relationships have I “dropped the cake”? And then my initial reaction is that everything is fine, I’ll just pick up the cake off the floor. I know when I screw up, especially if I’ve hurt someone I care about, I want to fix it ASAP. But the cake is on the floor and baking a new one takes time and effort, (plus I’m not a great baker so probably some more practice)

On the same note, if someone I love “drops the cake” am I giving them the opportunity to go back and make a new one, or am I kicking them out of the kitchen?

With the arrival of the new year the majority of us probably have some resolutions to better ourselves, improve our relationships, etc… How are we going to respond when we inevitably drop the cake on one of our new resolutions?

Forgiveness is a tough ask and a two way street. Whether you are forgiving a friend or co-worker, or even forgiving yourself, or you are asking for forgiveness, at some point we all drop the cake. Finding serenity is a much easier journey if we can learn to forgive ourselves and others, (and stay out of any leg reaps).

Thanks for joining me, and stay sweaty my friends.

today’s Serenity through Sweat was 30 minutes with RobinNYC on the Peleton and then some one handed 24kg swings

Redefine the relationship

With New year’s right around the corner I’m thinking about New year’s resolutions. Most perennial gym members hate this time of year. The gym is full of fresh faces that often lack gym knowledge and/or etiquette and will most likely be short lived members. And while this is a real source of frustration, I would urge you to use this time to redefine your relationship, not just with your gym, but across many areas of your life.

The idea of redefining the relationship came to me earlier this year while participating with Joe Rogan and his buddies in Sober October. If you aren’t familiar with that tradition, basically abstain from booze for the month of October and then generally make better choices about your health and well being. The idea being at the end of the month you can look back and redefine your relationship with booze, food, fitness, etc…

For my sober October I decided to refrain from drinking but also anything with added sugar for the month. I then called off the month with a 24 hour fasting period.

For me it’s not uncommon to have a beer with dinner and another while winding down after my son goes to bed. It’s also not uncommon to have a small piece of chocolate or a mini Klondike bar for dessert (I know they are garbage calories but they are so good, and as the saying goes there is a long list of things I would do for a Klondike bar). The first 10 days or so without beer or sugar I felt somewhat grumpy and irritable at night. Like I was entitled to something for making it through the day and now it was being taken away.

The beer I would normally have wile winding down after my son went to bed I replaced with hot tea, this gave me something of a nightly ritual and something to look forward to, instead of just removing items I was replacing them. I also noticed I was sleeping better, and my resting heart rate was about 2-4 beats per minute lower on average over the course of the month.

October came and went (the 24 hour fast was not a great idea but more on that later) but at the end of the month I no longer felt like I was owed a couple of beers and dessert every night for successfully adulting through the day. I still enjoy craft beer, and my wonderful wife made me an advent craft beer calendar, but celebrating and counting down to Christmas feels different than popping a top because I finished a day. I still enjoy dessert (probably more often then I ought too especially during the holidays), but it feels like my relationship with both has changed after taking some time away from them.

Back to New year’s resolutions. They are what you make of them, and even if you only stick to something for a short time, maybe it can help you redefine your relationship with it.

Hate exercise but made a resolution to get in shape, maybe you can find an activity you enjoy and change your relationship with fitness. Have a sweet tooth and want to stay off sugar for a week, a month, a year. Maybe you don’t make it all the way or you slip up occasionally, but redefining your relationship with sugar is progress.

Maybe you you are that perennial gym goer who is angry at the world because someone is doing curls at the squat rack. Can you redefine your relationship with your gym peers. Maybe take someone under your wing in a helpful and non-condescending manner (I know that’s a tough ask if they are curling in the squat rack but come on we are all trying to get better around New year’s)

I hope the new year brings all of you happiness, health, success, obviously some serenity through sweat, and a positive paradigm progression. All alliteration aside thanks for joining me, happy new year, and stay sweaty my friends.

Today’s Serenity through sweat, 4 miles on the sand in Panama City beach.

Mastery of the Aircraft

Whenever training on a new aircraft, pilots are put through a rigorous training program consisting of aircraft systems knowledge, training procedures and flows, and ultimately both normal and emergency operations in a simulator. There is a whole slew of things that evaluators look for including ; knowledge, skill, good judgement, proficiency, and mastery of the aircraft. That last item, mastery of the aircraft, is obviously a subjective term, but I think we all know it when we see it, someone who is calm and in control regardless of the scenario, and who can think a few steps ahead.

I was listening to JRE episode #1392 the other day with ultra runner Zach Bitter and it got me thinking about this concept as it applies to athletes. How much training and experience does it take for a pilot to be the master of an aircraft, and how much time do we devote as athletes to being masters of our own bodies?

On the podcast zach talked about his recent 12 hour and 100 mile record breaking performance, as well as his diet and training plan leading up to it. The thing that surprised me the most about Zach was his training based on perceived effort which is an arguably more subjective criteria as opposed to something more objective (like heart rate zone training)

The difference of course is that Zach has put in the time, energy, and effort, and has the discipline to be a master of his body and can honestly and accurately assess his training based on perceived effort. How many of us age group traithloners, or casual BJJ practitioners, can say we have the discipline and understanding to do that?

Yoga practices often remind us to be aware of our breathing and tune in to what our body needs. I’m relatively new to yoga and after about twenty minutes in the hot room the only thing I feel tuned in to, is how much longer I can hold chair pose before my yoga mat has transformed into a slip’n’slide. (Incase the blog title didn’t give it away I’m a pretty sweaty dude) I can’t tell you how many interval runs or rides I’ve done where I’m unable to maintain my interval pace through the final interval. Even with a wrestling background and a lot of competition experience, I still remember going out way too hard in my first BJJ tournament match and almost running out of steam.

Part of the journey towards Serenity through Sweat is being aware of our lack of knowledge of our own body and working to better understand this vehicle we have through life. Working to develop the discipline and putting in the effort to become masters of our “craft”. For me anyway, that journey makes me a better husband, father and friend, and it’s a journey I’m happy to share with all of you. Stay sweaty my friends.

Today’s Serenity through Sweat was my first time through Pavel tatsoulini’s Simple and Sinister kettlebell workout followed by 15 min on the spin bike.

The Lion and the Sheep

We just got done running the Christmas Cookie 5k here in Orlando. It was a beautiful fall morning and the temperatures were perfect for running especially in matching elf costumes.

We ran as a family, my son in the the jogging stroller with me pushing, and my wife setting the pace at 24 weeks pregnant. My son was very excited by all the costumes, the Christmas music, and the promise of cookies at the end. As we bobbed and weaved our way through the crowd, he would alternate between saying walking and running. Personally I won’t try to analyze the word choice of a two year old, and I’m sure there was no malice in it, but, I understand why my wife said she felt bad for people we were passing, who had to watch a pregnant woman cruise past them while her toddler said “walking”

*WonderWoman with baby elf on board and Santa’s helper El Duderino dancing to some Christmas carols to warm up*

My first reaction was very Game of Thrones, “the lion does not concern itself with the opinions of sheep” there is no reason for my wife to feel bad for going out and running her race regardless of the other people around her. (She is my Wonder woman and she is pretty freaking awesome)

At the same time, comparing yourself to someone else and going to a negative place is not productive habit. In some races, or in some gyms, you might be the lion, and in others you might be the sheep. But you can always work to get faster and stronger, and control your reactions to those training around you. You can choose to be negative, or you can choose to be inspired.

Finding Serenity through Sweat is a much more rewarding journey when we feel good about ourselves and when we celebrate the accomplishments of our peers, and the two are not mutually exclusive. Thanks for joining me, stay sweaty my friends.

Sweat through the small $h!t

I remember as a kid one of the first times I flew looking down and thinking how small everything was. And then my next thought was once you’re up in the air, things on the ground don’t really matter anymore even if only for that short period of time.

Looking back on that memory helps me understand what keeps me coming back to aviation and why I look forward to going to work. Being both something I’m passionate about and enjoy as well as a space for me to compartmentalize all the other drama away is almost like a mental vacation, how many people can say that about their job. As aviators we tend to be very good at compartmentalizing our problems to complete the mission, but those problems or worries are always waiting for us on the ground like a checked bag you wish you didn’t have to lug through the parking lot.

The very heart of Serenity Through Sweat, is that most of the time once I’m done exercising, that drama is gone, or at least toned down. The blood starts flowing, the heartbeat elevates, the sweat drips and then whatever background bull$h!t that seemed important before is lifted like a morning fog to reveal a beautiful day.

Last night I got sucked in to a super negative conversation. Every time I tried to exit I got pulled back in and kept slipping further into the weeds. I didn’t sleep great (the hotel bed didn’t help), and I was thinking about it almost immediately when I woke up.

Getting on the bike first thing was the best mental therapy I could think of. After a few tabata intervals everything else is background noise and even if it does come back it comes back muted. I was able to find Serenity even if only for a few moments through sweat. I hope you can all find your own moments of Serenity, stay sweaty my friends.

My morning Serenity Through Sweat: a peleton tabata ride where instructor Robinnyc helps me get reaquainted with my hustle

You gotta begin to begin

Welcome, and thanks for joining me on the journey towards Serenity. I’m enjoying my post run coffee in a small cafe in downtown Greenville thinking about how to start this blog, and I’m struck by the wisdom of Pete the Cat.

Now if you aren’t familiar with Pete the Cat I can tell you he is one groovy dude (and you probably don’t have young kids). But Pete the Cat has been an essential part of convincing my almost two year old to sit on the potty long enough to actually pee. In one particular episode Pete the Cat is procrastinating instead of writing a new song for his band. Pet gets some advice from his older brother Bob and finds the inspiration to write. The episode ends with Pete the Cat and his band playing the new song “you gotta begin to begin” which is esoteric in it’s context of a children’s show but also brilliant in it’s simplicity.

Often times this idea of beginning to begin is the hardest part of working out (or writing a blog, or doing anything that we deem challenging). Once you get the running shoes on one foot follows the other. Getting in the car and driving to the gym is often times the hardest part of the workout. Newton’s first law of fitness (it’s legit you don’t need to fact check it) is that bodies in rest will stay at rest unless compelled by an outside force. But it also says that bodies in motion will stay in motion.

Sometimes you just gotta begin to begin. Strap on those running shoes, throw on your gi, get back in the saddle, or throw around some iron. I’ll bet my last dollar that if you do, you’ll feel better and we can all get a little closer to Serenity through Sweat.

If you want to follow along on my journey towards Serenity through Sweat check out my Instagram @triflyjitzfad. Get out there and find your own Serenity, and stay sweaty my friends.