Serenity Through Sweat

What Gets Measured, Gets Managed.

This quote normally attributed to management guru Peter Drucker had me thinking about some of my fitness metrics. But after doing some research it seems that there is some controversy on whether he ever said it and/or what the overall context was. However the similar quote below applies even better.

“not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

This quote from William Bruce Cameron in his paper A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking has been on my mind as it relates to fitness, Parenthood and our lives in general.

After spending years of my life cutting weight for both wrestling and rowing, I realized that I had been living in a perpetual state of dehydration. So starting to count my water intake was a natural step to help make sure I developed healthy habits.

During my Ironman training program one of my most useful metrics was heart rate and heart rate zone. For all my rides and runs I payed attention to this metric to help me train smarter and longer, especially if I was on a two a day schedule. My resting heart rate also gives me some insight into the quality of my sleep and the amount I’ve recovered from training.

Heart rate and water consumption are two easy metrics to both measure and manage, and provide some real insight into your health and well-being. There are countless other fitness and wellness metrics that can be measured and managed and lots of them are useful, but it is easy to get overwhelmed in the data.

If you have been a reader of this blog for a while you might remember the episode on Zach Bitter (Mastery of the Aircraft) Zach is a world record holder for both the 100 mile and 12 hour distance runs, who trains primarily based on level of perceived effort. Now obviously he is doing something right and level of perceived effort “counts”, but it’s probably a little more difficult to formally measure.

As a parent it is super easy to get caught up in developmental milestones for our children, and that can lead down a dangerous rabbit hole. They are relatively easy to measure (is your child walking, taking, counting, potty trained, etc…) By a certain age. But how much do they really “count”?

I think most parents would agree that their top priority is to make their children feel loved, but how do you measure that?

So, how can we evaluate what is worth counting, and what we should focus on that maybe can’t be counted, in all the various aspects of our life?

I think there are some obvious no-brainers out there, do everything you can to make sure your kids know you love them. After that, I’ll refer you to the wisdom of another quote from one of the songs I listened to on every long bike ride I did preparing for Ironman. In her own immortal words Sheryl Crowe says “if it makes you happy it can’t be that bad”. If it makes you happy to track it, and it helps you be a better version of yourself, then rock on, and manage what you measure.

Thanks for joining me, and stay sweaty my friends.

The Toddler Immune System

Cold and flu season is here in full swing, and my family is feeling the effects. Watching my son actively leave the playground so I can help him with is snot bubbles got me thinking about the toddler immune system, and then as my peculiar brain works, training.

I don’t care who you are, snot bubbles are funny, but they do lose some of their humor when your toddler’s mood and ability to listen to you start going down the drain. That said, he has been in good spirits and is soldiering through this iteration of the cold pretty well.

As I watched him play in the sand in between running over to me to wipe his nose on my sleeve (obviously the only place he doesn’t freak out to wipe his nose) I thought about how this is ultimately a good thing for him and will make him stronger.

Babies inherit certain immune protections from their mothers both in utero and through breast milk. After that, they are a relatively blank canvas and they need to build up their immunity through exposure. They are exposed to some sort of ailment, their body learns how to fight it, and then that knowledge and ability stays with them. So, in order to build a strong and robust immune system, they have to be exposed to a lot of things.

Building yourself as an athlete and as a person is really the same idea. You need to be exposed to a lot of different things in order to be strong and robust. This can mean trying new positions or techniques in BJJ or wrestling. Trying new lifts or lift variations when in the gym. Trying new activities that require a different skill set. Maybe you have a background in football and want to try archery. Maybe you have a background in power lifting and want to try yoga. The point is exposure to new activities, just like new germs, provides new opportunity to sure up our weaknesses and promote growth.

As we approach election season, the same idea applies emotionally and intellectually. Honestly and openly exposing yourself to new ideas is the only way to grow as a person. Even if you come out with the same opinion afterwards, you will have grown stronger from the exposure.

So try that new technique, read that new book, talk to that person from the other political party, because ultimately we are all better through exposure.

Thanks for joining me, and stay sweaty my friends.

Yesterday’s serenity through sweat, lift run shoot while El Duderino was down for his nap

Embrace the Middle Miles

There are a ton of different workouts that make up an effective training program. My Ironman training program consisted of runs, rides, and swims of different varieties including: low impact, interval, endurance, and time trial. Each of these individual workouts has their own important place in the training program and each one has smaller goals and benchmarks associated with it. My favorite goal that spanned across all those workouts, and the one that I find myself coming back to, is embracing “middle miles”

It is human nature to take large complex problems and break them down into smaller manageable chunks. Most of us are generally excited to start a new project or training plan, and approach it with that level of enthusiasm and focus. And, most of us can find that little extra in the tank when we see the finish line ahead. But the “middle miles” when the honeymoon period has worn off but before the finish line is in sight is an easy place to get lost or lose focus in.

The middle miles represent the most challenging part of the activity, but also the most rewarding. The Zen or flow state that runners talk about, that’s only available in the middle miles. But, that state is only available if you can maintain focus and form throughout those middle miles. When new personal records are set, it’s almost always improvement in the middle miles that drives those new records, because there is the most room to improve.

Embracing middle miles can apply to activities outside of fitness as well. That college course, that home construction job, that new project at work, potty training toddlers, are all subject to doldrums in the middle. Embracing that plateau and leaning in to it in the middle is a great way to push through and keep making progress or even breakthroughs.

Next time you find yourself in a training plateau, or you are dragging through a work project, try to embrace those “middle miles” and refocus your effort. There is Serenity to be found in all parts of our life, sometimes it’s just requires a little more focus than others.

Thanks for joining me and stay sweaty my friends

Yesterday’s run focusing on some middle miles, and today’s Serenity Through Sweat focusing on form throwing arrows down range.

Performing for the Family

The main focus behind this blog has been a mix of fitness and fatherhood, and how those two intertwine and intersect for me. Writing about fitness and fatherhood is something that I’m passionate about, but there are so many different approaches and levels, it’s sometimes difficult to know where to start. I hope that you can find similar intersections in your own lives regardless of your athletic pursuits or family situation.

Aragorn’s famous speech before the battle at the black gate. “I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day”.

First of all, if that doesn’t get you all jacked up to train I don’t know what will. Second, I can’t think of anything more motivating to be a better person than to be able to meet your family challenges head on and say “it is not this day that my strength gives out”

This week everyone in the house has been down with some sort of bug. El Duderino had a stomach bug and was vomiting all day Monday. My wife and I are both fighting colds, and with her being 32 weeks pregnant, no one is sleeping.

My wife got up early with El Duderino so that I could have some more melatonin assisted sleep this morning. Then he and I went to the library so that she could get a mid morning nap in.

It’s days like this where I appreciate my first and foremost athletic goal: be able to perform for the family. Being a father and a husband is its own ultra endurance event, and it requires lots of training. Every long run, every bike ride, every Jiu Jitsu roll, all of them have a specific purpose, but they also all serve the same global purpose.

From wrangling a squirming toddler, completing construction projects around the house, or even just soldiering through a day with a cold, performing for the family is an athletic event with constantly changing demands. This is always on the forefront of my mindset when I’m training (or working out). Everything I do should be making me better for my family, and I need to have enough left in the tank to perform for the family when I’m done.

The day will come when we are all tested by the rigors of our everyday lives. Getting into a regular training habit is crucial knowing these test days come around without notice.

Build yourselves a healthy routine of mind and body so that the next time you are struggling through a training session, struggling through a rough family day, or just plain struggling, you can find in yourself the courage and strength to say “not this day” and perform for your family.

Thanks for joining me and stay sweaty my friends.

Yesterday’s Serenity through Sweat a low impact ride and some long overdue time with my Tri bike Layla

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

Travel Tip Tuesday: Amazing Grass

If this is your first time visiting, welcome, and if you are returning, thanks for joining me for another edition of Travel Tip Tuesday. All alliteration aside, today I want to talk about Amazing Grass Green Superfood supplement.

Eating a clean balanced diet is difficult no matter where you are. There are lots of different opinions on nutrition, and you can find research to back up most of those opinions. I think most people, carnivores aside, try to eat a balanced diet and get some fruits and vegetables in their diet. This is sometimes easier said than done, especially when you factor travel into the mix.

Whenever you travel whether it is at the airport or the hotel, think about what food options are always available. You can find a McDonald’s on every corner, and you can always find some form of fried chicken or a burger. But, how often can you find a restaurant where you can get some high quality vegetables and a healthy overall meal, especially if you are short on time? Sometimes it feels like an uphill scavenger hunt to get a healthy meal while traveling.

For me, this is where the Amazing Grass Green Superfood supplement comes in. It is an easy way to make sure I get some vegetables and some healthy greens in my diet. It has a variety of greens, antioxidants, and pre and probiotics. As an added bonus this helps keep me regular, because nothing makes a four day trip feel longer than being backed up.

I normally mix this up with water and chug it with my vitamins after my morning workout. While this isn’t a beverage I would sip slowly and enjoy, the taste isn’t a problem for a greens supplement. If you can’t get over the taste, adding a packet of your favorite flavor of Emergen-C is a great way to combine your vitamins with the supplement and add some fruit flavor.

The 30 serving jar fits perfectly in my suitcase and is worth every inch of space it takes up. But, if space is a huge issue, my recommendation is a ziplock bag inside your shaker cup. Put a few servings and your serving scoop in a ziplock bag and stuff it in your shaker cup in between uses and your supplement is protected and with you where you need it.

If you are looking for a way to get more greens, probiotics, and a good overall supplement, especially while traveling, I highly recommend Amazing Grass Green Superfood.

Thanks for joining me for another Travel Tip Tuesday. Stay sweaty my friends.

Internal Dialogue

Thanks for joining me for another edition of the Serenity Through Sweat blog. Today I want to talk about our internal dialogue, or the types of messages we tell ourselves repeatedly.

I remember as a really young kid the toy that almost everyone had, or had used, was the Fisher Price See n Say. You pull the handle, the farmer spins around eventually landing on an animal, and says “the cow says… moo” or whatever animal it lands on.

This is a great toy for children’s early development. They can associate sights and sounds that go together, and there is some randomness as well as repetition.

Eventually children can remember the sounds that various animals make and reproduce them on command. After a few months my 2 year old son was able to list off the sounds of most common barnyard animals and that is pretty age appropriate and common.

As someone who works on the road, my family and I spend a lot of time on the phone. While this isn’t ideal it is far easier to have a relationship with your family while being away through things like cell phones and FaceTime than it was even a decade ago. Young children tend to model the behavior they see, and even before cell phones were around children have been pretending to answer the phone.

My son pretending the remote is a phone and answering it

To my son anything with buttons is a phone and can be held against his ear and he can have a conversation. I asked who he was talking to and he replied “Daddy”. It was now my picture up on the proverbial See N Say and I was curious what he would come up with when I asked, “what is daddy saying”. His response was “I love you”.

Now besides melting my heart a little bit and being absolutely adorable, this isn’t really a surprise. One of the most important things we can tell those close to us and especially our children is “I love you”. There are no guarantees in life and we only get one time around so I try to use the phrase early and often.

Now in his slightly more than two years on this planet, and slightly more than one of them being verbal, he has figured out that mommy and daddy’s message is “I love you”. That’s what he hears the most (despite the many repetions of “we get down feet first” and “we put our pee-pee on the potty”.

If you had to spin the See n Say and it landed on your picture, what would it say. What is the message that you tell yourself the most, your internal dialogue. For most of us, especially as we get older, I think it is easier and easier for that message to slip away from something positive.

Part of the journey towards Serenity is how we talk to ourselves. Are you encouraging yourself through one more set, one more roll, one last interval? Are you making yourself and your well being a priority? Or are you telling yourself that your diet isn’t important, your sleep isn’t important, your feelings aren’t important, or your time isn’t important.

This internal dialogue can be obvious and loud, even audible (if your a little zany and talk to yourself like me). But it can also be insidious and hide behind the scenes. Our internal dialogue reinforces the habits in our lives whether they are positive or negative.

Next time you spin the wheel and it lands on your picture, what are you going to tell yourself?

Thanks for joining me and stay sweaty my friends.