December 13, 2015: Keep Learning

Today's post is going to be short because my family is busy getting ready for Christmas with cleaning, decorating, addressing cards, and in general enjoying each other's company. However, I wanted to share a very interesting discussion about growth and success.

One of my favorite podcasts is Barbell Shrugged - a podcast about fitness, Crossfit, and getting strong. Their hosts share a lot of insights into various aspects of fitness and life and have fun doing so. This particular episode resonated with a lot of what I have read in the past about success as well as some new and fresh insights that I found helpful personally. Warning: Some explicit language, but otherwise incredibly informative.

One of the impressions I got from this episode is to always be learning. Even if you are very experienced in something, there is always a different way to look at it or some detail that you may have overlooked in the past. All extremely successful people in all walks of life are constantly learning.

For read about it and some discussion on their website, check out: http://daily.barbellshrugged.com/the-common-qualities-of-amazing-athletes-coaches-righteous-human-beings/

I am applying this in my current training for the indoor rowing competition. I am having my friend from high school (who has coached rowing at the collegiate and high school level) look at my rowing videos. He will help me correct my technique and improve in a school that I have done for a while. I have the humility and clarity to see that I have plenty to improve upon so his insight and help will be very important and much appreciated.

So keep learning about all areas relevant to your life. For fitness and health, it may include nutrition, exercise programs, specific technique, mental training, or sleep and recovery. For other areas of your life, it may include relationships, communication, parenting, housekeeping, and a multitude of other areas that will be helpful to you. Enjoy the process along the way! God bless you.

December 13, 2015 Workout

Time of workout: 4 PM

Location: YMCA

Warm-up - just some loosening up before I bench pressed. I probably should have taken a little more time, but I was pressed for time as well.

Push-ups: 5 reps x 3 sets 

I stretched in between as part of warming up for bench press.

Bench Press: 

1. 95 x 5

2. 115 x 5

3. 135 x 5

I cut it short here. I was pressed for time, but also, I wasn't feeling mentally sharp. I think the volume of the rowing is affecting my lifting a little. I will consider if I should do anything to change, but one thing I will be working on is getting more sleep and making sure I'm eating enough as well as eating right. For the time being, I also may want to focus more on the quality of my lifting as opposed to the quantity since I'll be putting in a lot of rowing volume.

Rowing:

Warm-up: 5 minutes, 1053 m

The video below is a minute or so of hard rowing between my warm-up and my main workout. I wanted to get a side angle to highlight the body angles at the catch (the beginning) and the finish (the end) of the stroke. My technique is pretty good overall (although I'm having my friend coach me and may have some corrections for me when he gets a chance to look at it) and you can see how I initiate the drive with my legs and hips while my arms and back form a solid connection between my seat and the handle. Then you see towards the end of the stroke how the handle accelerates into my chest at the end of the stroke. I then return the handle back along a straight path and it passes over my knees before my knees break. The return to the beginning position is called the recovery, and it should be smooth and slower than the drive portion of the stroke. 

20 min. UT1 (Hard aerobic) 3887 m (2:34.3/500m; ~20 s/m)

This felt pretty good overall (as in it was a great workout). I focused on keeping my form solid throughout. What I'm feeling good about so far in training is that I am able to keep focused mentally. I am using kind of a 10-count method to focus on each 10 strokes. Sometimes, I will give myself a cue. For example, I'll focus on driving through my heels for 10 strokes or keeping a strong back during the drive for 10 strokes. This type of mental exercise during the piece I think helps keep me consistent throughout.

Cool-down: 3:12, 522 m

I just rowed until I felt loose again then I stretched.

Stretching: 10 minutes