Friday, June 26, 2009

What are you WORTH?

I'm on vacation right now. And I see lots of folks with fancy cars, expensive clothes, and trendy lifestyles. And I frequently see them swimming in the ocean, or any other number of physical endeavors.

And it came to me as I saw some overweight fat cat walking along the beach.  He had on nothing more a watch (worth more than both of my cars), a Tommy Bahama swimsuit, and a 3-day tan. I asked myself exactly what this guy was worth.

Not "worth" in the sense of how much stuff he had amassed in his life. Or how much his salary was. No. I estimated his measured worth by different standards.  My sense of worth comes from how well a person can handle stresses, failures, obstacles, and hardships.....mentally, emotionally, and of course physically speaking.  

With my focus on physical fitness, I asked myself, "If a wave just broadsided this beer-bellied man, how would he handle it?" His physique said it all. He was obviously WAY out of shape. I doubt he could swim. I doubt he could run.  I chuckled at his fancy sense of fashion and jewelry and answered, "If that happened, all that stuff wouldn't matter in the least." No it wouldn't. All that would be taken into account was how well he had conditioned his body to survive. How well programmed was his anaerobic power, his swimming skills, his endurance, his mental attitude?

Then I thought the same of myself. Without the tools of my trade or anything but my own body, how would I handle the same stresses?  I encourage you to ask the same....

What are you really worth??




Sunday, June 21, 2009

Competition in Training

com*pe*ti*tion (kom-pi-tish-uhn)
  1. The act of seeking, or endeavoring to gain, what another is endeavoring to gain at the same time;
  2. common strife for the same objects;
  3. strife for superiority; emulous contest;
  4. rivalry, as for approbation, for a prize, or as where two or more persons are engaged in the same business and each seeking patronage.
There is much to be gained from physical fitness training and conditioning that is surrounded by a competitive atmosphere. Competitors do not just go through the motions of a workout. They push themselves to their limits, and then some. Why? Because competitors want to WIN.

Workout partners tend to push me to my limits. They make me want to dig down deep to rip out an extra repetition, or go a little faster. This is especially true when my partners and I are going through the particular workout simultaneously. The challenge of beating someone forces a better performance. For me, my competitor is not even always in the same room. Knowing a partner of mine is going hard in his/her gym is enough to push me. I recognize I'll have to email or call him/her with my results when finished...so I go hard.

Then there is that inner competition. It's a contest against yourself. For some, it's weight loss. For others it's reaching a personal record for a certain benchmark workout. Others set out with lofty goals to accomplish. (On some days, that 500# tire is my challenger.) Online jounals such as Beyond The Whiteboard or Logs It All keep soloists pushing for more. An inner fire drives the competitor to reach goals and maximize performance.

Competitors do NOT simply do it for the pure sake of doing it. They have a purpose, a plan, and a commitment to excel. Competitors wake up early or stay up late to exercise. They know their competition is not hitting the snooze button. Competitors work through the discomfort, the pain, and the gasping for air. Why? Because somewhere their adversary is doing the same...and maybe harder, faster, and longer. Competitors win! even when they lose...

If your workout sessions are not fueled by friendly competition, you are missing a critical piece to the puzzle.


Thursday, June 18, 2009

Equipment: Five Fingers

I couldn't resist any longer. With only a handful of retail stores in Illinois that actually carry Vibram Five Fingers, it wasn't that easy to get my hands on them. But I finally did.

I was down in my old stomping grounds of Champaign last month, and knew of a store that retailed VFFs. Since they are sized in European numbers (and with the oddity of slipping individual toes into their pockets), I really wanted to try them on first. I got exactly what I wanted: VFF Sprint, red, size 44.

With my background in kettlebelling, these shoes are damn near perfect. They give a feeling for the ground that I usually only got by going barefoot. The problem with going barefoot is of course the cleanliness...not to mention the odd stares from onlookers. With the VFFs, the odd stares continue, but now they're combined with inquiries of "What the hell are on your feet?"

Like I said, the main advantage to the VFFs is the solid stance on firm ground. A firm plant is necessary for deadlifting, clean&jerking, overhead pressing, and squatting of all sorts. If you're wearing well-cushioned running shoes while doing some of these lifts, try going barefooted or sock-footed. You'll immediately see the difference in your plant with the ground.

No matter how silly my VFFs look, they're here to stay. I can deal with the jokes about "monkey toes" for now....

Monday, June 15, 2009

Saturday's visit from CFKMSF

Yes, it was raining. I used to bag my workout if it was even sprinkling. Now I consider keeping with it during downpours. It's only water....

On Saturday, I met up with some cousins from California. They get their fix at CrossFit Krav Maga San Francisco (CrossFit KMSF). They were in town for a family party, and we both knew we had to squeeze in a stair workout! So it was raining when I picked them up at their hotel...big deal.

Shared hardships....they really do promote stronger bonds.

Monday, June 8, 2009

The Trinity, Renaissance, Arete, and Samurai

Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

I've always appreciated the challenge to excel in multiple fields and aspects of life. The name of this blog TRINITY TRAINING GROUP is a testament to the triad of life: Mind, Body, and Spirit. The Christian Trinity is my way to envision and explain a human's completeness and balance.

I've also spoken and written about being "Renaissance men and women." The concept of being Renaissance is knowing a lot about a lot. It's related to the French root of the word renaistre, which means "to be born again." The period in Europe known as the Renaissance was a cultural rebirth in many intellectual pursuits, such as science, theology, music, and art to name a few. The "polymaths" of the Renaissance period were known to be those men who had a broad and universal knowledge, spanning many disciplines and fields.

The Greeks use yet another term: ARETE. The word arete translates poorly into modern language. Its ideal of "excellence" is almost just as foreign to modern culture. However, ancient Greeks held firmly to this ideal of virtue and excellence in all aspects of life: physical, emotional, ethical, intellectual, courage, discipline. It was deemed to be noble to strive to reach one's fullest potential on all fronts. Spartan warriors exemplify arete.

In the East, they identify these same ideals within the samurai. These highly literate and educated fighters were sometimes known as warrior-poets. These samurai were closely held in the same hand with strict philosophical movements, as well as extreme loyalty to the nobility.

Most every culture (both ancient and modern) has a word, phrase, or concept that embodies personal excellence. Being a Christian, I was pointed to the idea of the Trinity during high school. However, the concepts of Arete, the Renaissance, and the Samurai just as accurately portray my life's direction of balance and excellence. I find constant encouragement from the teachings of many cultures and time periods.

I have been blessed with many successes in life. As I look around, I find many of those who subscribe to a holistic approach to life share many similar achievements. Likewise, I find those with this same inner balance who strive for excellence can contend with failures, setbacks, illness, and injury better than those without the same foundations. For me, living as a Christian has been extremely rewarding, even in times of disaster and failure. Some of my life's greatest lessons have come after disappointment, sadness, and hardship. I'll argue to my own death that my strength of spirit has done more for my life than any summation of physical or mental strength.

In school, much of intellect is measured by way of tests, grades, and report cards. Much of physical ability is measured in sport, by way of a stopwatch or referee. However, one's emotional/spiritual health and stability is rarely graded or evaluated...(I'm not saying it even should or could be measured). It's easily argued as the most abstract of the three. And with its mystery comes neglect and ignorance.

Our emotional health includes many topics: purpose, competition, greed, self-absorption, self-esteem, courage, worth, ethics, integrity, attitude, honesty, loyalty, desire, respect, compassion. The list goes on and on. For as much stock as I put into physical fitness and education, it pales in comparison to that focus I put on spiritual health.
For those believers out there, I stand tall knowing you have my back on the stance that Belief brings peace, contentment, and success. For those skeptics out there, you will always be looking for those qualities somewhere else....even though it's surrounding you. Go ahead and keep ignoring it.

Personal excellence has many recipes. They all contain three main ingredients: Mind, Body, and often-neglected Spirit. Pick up all three pieces and see where they take you.....

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Monkey Bar Gymnasium

I continue to promote functional fitness facilities, wherever they may be....  The Monkey Bar Gym originated in 2000 in Madison, Wisconsin. MBG prides itself on using an absolute minimum of equipment, instead relying on the natural movements of the human body. Here is a quote from their site:

The MBG focuses on intuitive, skill-based movements that do not require any machines and can be performed anywhere, inside or outside a gym. The staff of the Monkey Bar Gym trains members to rely on their instincts for the basics of movements to train. These basic movements include; running, jumping, crawling, climbing, rolling and reacting.

Chances are that MBG is not geographically near you. But I still make mention of it because of their website and unique workout formats.  For the past few weeks, I have toyed with their "30/30 workout." The 30/30 is simple: set a timer for 30 seconds, and alternate work and rest periods for a set amount of total time.  I have been picking some exercises and incorporating them into this format.  I've picked 24 minutes as my total time. For each of three 8-minute phases, I pick two exercises that I alternate between. (Ex: 30 sec of Ex1, 30 sec rest, 30 sec of Ex2, 30 sec rest, etc....)  Here are some of the pairings I've found to compliment each other nicely:
  • sandbag squats & KB swings
  • semi tire flips & sledgehammer strikes
  • ring rows & KB presses
  • wallball shots & sumo deadlift high pulls
  • deadlifts & MB chest passes
  • plyo pushups & walking lunges
You get the idea.  If you think 30 seconds of rest is too long, just try it first.  I'd swear the rest periods get shorter as the clock ticks away.  Another MBG format allows for a 40/20.  These are all similar to the Tabata method of 20/10.   The rest periods allow the participant to work within a super high intensity for a very short duration....just the thing for that anaerobic training I keep praising.

Click on the "Workouts" tab on the Monkey Bar Gym's website.  I'm sure you'll find a few workouts that will pique your interest.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Exercise of the Week: Dot Drill

Below are four video clips of Dot Drills.  The top video is probably the most popular sequence.  The other three videos contain progressions of different patterns.

I spraypainted the 36"x24" markings onto some pavement. I've been using the Dot Drill (and variations of it) within my warmup routine. It doesn't take long to get faster and more accurate! You might be surprised how inaccurate your hops can get...