the pain diaries: starting strength

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Day 481...iT's hArD tO gEt sTrOnG...

Today was a BUSY day. I had to work ALL day off and on...starting at 6 AM and ending 12 hours later. So I was up at 4 AM to shower and "wake up" before I had to talk to and train people. I am just NOT a morning person, so it takes me a while of being up and going before I can handle serious interaction. The morning class was pretty full and went very well. After I got home and got all the kids off to school, I headed back to the gym to workout myself.

I'm doing the "Starting Strength" program 3 days a week and doing MetCon workouts in between. I have to say...IT'S HARD TO "GET STRONG"! My body is tired and achy and it takes time and willpower in the gym. It was kinda boring and a bit of a struggle at times, but I did it and I'm gonna KEEP doing it. I'm also gonna be stronger when it's all said and done...sore or not...hard or easy...no matter what.

MY "STARTING STRENGTH" WORKOUT TODAY:

CARDIO
---------
3 MILE RUN

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Day 455..."bAsiC bArBeLL tRaiNiNg"...

Today...J and I went to the first day of Barbell training with Coach Mark Rippetoe. This was a certification that I really wanted to attend...but it was also one that I was nervous about. Coach Rippetoe is an expert...a published author...a man that has been both practicing and teaching these lifts for over 20 years. It was scary today. To say that doing those lifts under Rip's "watchful eye" is intimidating...would be an UNDERSTATEMENT. I wanted to please him...to do well...to learn. I learned alright. I learned that I've been doing A LOT of things WRONG. At one point I was feeling a bit discouraged internally and a little defeated, but soon it passed. I realized that as much as it sucks to hear constructive criticism...I'm glad to hear it...to have the tools I need and the opportunity to change and become better..stronger...more efficient in my lifting. I have some work to do when I get home.

BARBELL CERTIFICATION
BACK SQUAT
45 LBS X 5
45 LBS X 5
65 LBS X 5
85 LBS X 5
105 LBS X 5

SHOULDER PRESS
45 LBS X 5
55 LBS X 5
65 LBS X 5
75 LBS X 5
80 LBS X 5

BENCH PRESS
45 LBS X 5
65 LBS X 5
85 LBS X 5
95 LBS X 5
105 LBS X 4 (1 FAIL)

..............WHY?...............

This is my training log...my "workout diary" if you will. It is mostly for ME, but if it motivates someone else, that's great too! I write everday as a way of being accountable to myself. It's a way to track my progress, correct my mistakes, and a way to look back and view my day to day struggle to continue to work towards being the best possible version of myself. Sometimes, I am tired or lonely or unmotivated. Sometimes, I am "powerful beyond measure". Sometimes it is fun...easy. Other times, it is almost unbearable. I use to have my trainers to push me...but NOW I am on my own.

QUOTES THAT INSPIRE ME TO PUSH HARDER...GO FASTER...AND TRAIN LONGER

"SOME DEFINE OBSESSION AS NEGATIVE. I SAY IT'S HOW YOU GET THINGS DONE."

-MARK TWIGHT

"PAIN IS TEMPORARY. IT MAY LAST A MINUTE, OR AN HOUR, OR A DAY, OR A YEAR, BUT EVENTUALLY IT WILL SUBSIDE AND SOMETHING ELSE TAKES IT'S PLACE. IF I QUIT HOWEVER, IT LASTS FOREVER."

-LANCE ARMSTRONG

"TO BE TRANSFORMED BY EFFORT, ONE MUST DIG DEEP...SURPASS ONE'S EXPECTATIONS OR SELF-IMPOSED LIMITATIONS...RISK FAILURE...BLOW UP, AND 'GET THE FULL DOSE'...IT ALWAYS HURTS YOU GO AS HARD AS YOU CAN."

-MARK TWIGHT-"GYM JONES" WEBSITE

"TO GIVE ANYTHING LESS THAN YOUR BEST IS TO SACRIFICE THE GIFT."

-STEVE PREFONTAINE

“PUNISH YOUR BODY TO PERFECT YOUR SOUL.”

-MARK TWIGHT

“ONLY THOSE WHO WILL RISK GOING TOO FAR CAN POSSIBLY FIND OUT HOW FAR ONE CAN GO.”

-T.S. ELIOTT

"THE BENEFITS OF FITNESS ARE NOT MERELY PHYSICAL. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF A SERIES OF DIFFICULT, SHORT-DURATION, HIGH INTENSITY EFFORTS BUILDS SELF-ASSUREDNESS IN A WAY THAT VERY FEW OTHER ACTIVITIES CAN. TOUGH WORKOUTS THAT PUSH AN INDIVIDUAL TO THE VERY LIMIT OF HIS OR HER CAPACITIES MAY BECOME THE GATEWAY TO HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS. AND THAT AWARENESS OFTEN LEADS TO CONFIDENCE."

-MARK TWIGHT

"WHEN A PERSON TRAINS ONCE, NOTHING HAPPENS. WHEN A PERSON FORCES HIMSELF TO DO A THING A HUNDRED OR A THOUSAND TIMES, THEN HE CERTAINLY HAS DEVELOPED IN MORE WAYS THAN PHYSICAL. IS IT RAINING? THAT DOESN'T MATTER. AM I TIRED? THAT DOESN'T MATTER EITHER. THEN WILLPOWER WILL BE NO PROBLEM"

-EMIL ZATOPEK

"GIVE IT EVERYTHING AND LET THE CHIPS...OR WHATEVER...FALL WHERE THEY MAY. IT WON'T EVER GET EASIER, BUT YOU MIGHT GO FASTER, OR LAST LONGER."

-MARK TWIGHT

“A LOT OF PEOPLE RUN A RACE TO SEE WHO IS FASTEST. I RUN TO SEE WHO HAS THE MOST GUTS WHO CAN PUNISH HIMSELF INTO EXHAUSTING PACE, AND THEN AT THE END, PUNISH HIMSELF EVEN MORE. NOBODY IS GOING TO WIN A 5,000METER RACE AFTER RUNNING AN EASY 2 MILES. NOT WITH ME. IF I LOSE FORCING THE PACE ALL THE WAY, WELL, AT LEAST I CAN LIVE WITH MYSELF.“

-STEVE PREFONTAINE

“SUFFERING PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXERCISE WILL AND DEVELOP GRIT… THE MIND AND BODY ADAPT TO BOTH COMFORT AND DEPRIVATION… RELISH THE CHALLENGE OF OVERCOMING DIFFICULTIES THAT WOULD CRUSH ORDINARY MEN... LEARN TO SUFFER.”

-MARK TWIGHT – excerpts from "Extreme Alpinism - Climbing Light, Fast and High"

“SOMETIMES IF YOU WANT TO BE A WINNER, YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO BEAR THE SCARS FROM THE FIGHT.”

-PETRA SALVAJE

'EACH OF US GIVES WHAT WE ARE ABLE AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, WILLING TO GIVE TO LIFE. HOW WE REACT WHEN OUR CAPACITY AND WILL FALL SHORT OF OUR EXPECTATIONS DETERMINES HOW WE VIEW OURSELVES...".

-MARK TWIGHT~"GYM JONES" website