Roll the Dice

(H/T @fitcornpop)

Roll the Dice

by Charles Bukowski 

if you’re going to try, go all the way.

otherwise, don’t even start.

 

if you’re going to try, go all the

way. this could mean losing girlfriends,

wives, relatives, jobs and

maybe your mind.

go all the way.

it could mean not eating for 3 or 4 days.

it could mean freezing on a park bench.

it could mean jail,

it could mean derision,

mockery,

isolation.

isolation is the gift,

all the others are a test of your

endurance, of

how much you really want to

do it.

and you’ll do it

despite rejection and the

worst odds

and it will be better than

anything else

you can imagine.

if you’re going to try,

go all the way.

there is no other feeling like that.

you will be alone with the gods

and the nights will flame with fire.

do it, do it, do it.

do it.

all the way

all the way.

you will ride life straight to perfect laughter,

it’s the only good fight there is.

 

This is Here

I had the opportunity to see Henry Rollins speak this past weekend (which I highly recommend to anyone and everyone I meet; poignant and hilarious shows) and blatantly stole the title of this entry from that performance. Henry told a story about traveling to Tibet and the woman who served as his guide. When she would arrive at a place of high importance, she would start her explanation with the phrase "This is Here". This has been stuck in my head ever since I heard it. It's an incredibly meaningful and profound way to describe a place and an even better way to describe a moment in time.

Whether you're at work, at home, the gym (bike/mountain/track/wherever), out on the town, etc; that's your moment. You can choose to actively disengage from wherever your physical self might take you...and in 2011 you have a plethora of ways to bail out on your present situation! In an increasingly interconnected world, the line between engagement and distraction becomes a little blurry; it becomes a question of physical engagement vs. conscious engagement i.e. where I am isn't exactly where I "am". Due to this fragmentation of our attention, the biggest statement we can make to someone (and to ourselves) is by being present, engaged and owning your moments. Consistent focus and legit engagement is becoming rarer than a Cubs World Series ring.

This splitting of our attention isn't inherently a bad thing, but it can detract from the statement that you make to those around you by being there in the first place. You can also completely derail yourself from the current moment. One of the most powerful things I do to non-verbally communicate with people (as well as to myself) that "I'm HERE" is to make a point of turning off my phone. Conversely, there is no easier way to get someone to consciously "check out" than to check your phone when they're saying something or expressing themselves. And it isn't just me: 14% of men have taken a call while on a first date; of that group, 61%  didn't get a second date (per Men's Health magazine). I'm willing to concede that there may be some unaccounted variables but that's still not a good sign for all parties involved.

Don't get me wrong: this isn't a diatribe against the smartphone, the digital age and the interconnected world by any means. Social media (in all its forms) has given me the opportunity to interact with people and places that I wouldn't have even known existed 10-20 years ago; plus the irony of blogging about disconnecting is like screwing over virginity. Just a quick reminder to be mindful of your moments as well as the impact that your engagement (or lack thereof) has on yourself and those around you.

Wherever you are, this is here.

Fasting? Really?

I'm trying a new approach based on intermittent fasting and an underfeeding/overfeeding cycle (books I'd recommend include The Warrior Diet and Eat Stop Eat). The switch to a plant-based diet caused some problems with fueling and recovering from training; I did a bad job initially of replacing the calories lost from removing the majority of meat from my diet. Also my new(ish) job doesn't work all that well with eating meals throughout the day as I'm busy straight through the day. My answer has been to fast/eat lightly during the day, snack pre/during/post-workout and then gorge at night. I'm attracted to the simplicity and not having to concern myself with packing meals for work and checking out the clock for timing meals. This feels much more intuitive and natural; much like it felt to switch to a plant-based diet.

It goes against basically every bit of data I was taught in school but there are some very interesting studies that have emerged in the past few years regarding intermittent fasting (overview article in LA Times here). There have been a number of endurance athletes that have successfully used this practice but I'm unaware of very many strength athletes that use this approach (admittedly I got the idea from Michael Keck at Elitefts so that's one). I'll detail my workouts and eating once I get it a little more fleshed out.

I'm thoroughly surprised by how much I'm enjoying not having to write my own programming. I've discussed here that I'm currently following a Russian weightlifting plan for the majority of my training.  I do make some alterations here and there (additional upper body work//Highland games and strongman-specific events/less bar work on GPP days/band work) but I'd say 80-90% of my work is specifically from the manual. Part of this is time management (not a lot of free time to program) and part of it is a lack of expertise (or laziness depending on whom you ask). My background in physical prep is for rugby, football and track; I would call my knowledge of specific training for Olympic weightlifting mediocre at best. In looking at what I've been doing, it's clear that I never would've thought to do this much lower body work and certainly not squat 3-5 days/week! It's been a struggle to keep my upper body "caught up" with my lower body but it's coming around.

Link of the Week
Mobility WOD
-I got this one from Dr Lisa at Lifesport Chiropractic in Boulder. If you have any kind of issues with mobility, flexibility or any other kind of sport-related "ility" issues then I encourage you to check out the Mobility WOD blog. I'm working through these in an effort to help with some general mobility issues as well as improving specific mobility at the thoracic spine/ankles/hips for Olympic weightlifting.