Here We Go…..

This final cycle before undertaking the test was to be 6 weeks. Due to insanity in the last 2 weeks, we were flexible and gave it an extra week (of continued insanity) to finish up the program. 4 days away and we will test our mettle.

Ideally, when preparing for something like this you want to have your program laid out just so, with proper nutrition and sleep, to ensure you are in your best form to take on the challenge you’ve set out for yourself. Well, we were talking about it and came to the conclusion that it was actually better the way things turned out. We are testing ourselves. There is something to be said for getting tested when conditions are right……and then there is something to be said for getting tested when everything else is off, out of balance, in less than ideal conditions. And thus this test will be for us:)

Also, we’d decided, in conjunction with completing the test, “300″, we would officially change our weblog from “Not Gym Jones” to our name “Gym Jane”. We’d originally put up “Not Gym Jones” because at the time there was so much hype around the movie and Gym Jones’ role in it. And with that came all kinds of people jumping the bandwagon, coming out with their “300″ and “Spartan” workouts, etc. In starting the blog, we just really wanted to be sure that we gave credit where credit was due and that our intentions were not mistaken or taken out of context. We were not out to be “another” Gym Jones. We were just inspired by them (and have enough of a sense of humor about where we are really at;).

We feel we’ve been around long enough now, that it is pretty clear who we are and what we’re about and that neither of those is pretending or trying to be Gym Jones. We also felt that with the completion of the test we had set out, from the beginning, to undertake, was the perfect time to make that switch over.

Til 4 days from now……….

s.

Week 28 (Oct. 22-28)

DAY 1 (Rest/Hike)

c – off (sick)

s - Hiking in the Mohave Desert:)

“Boy’s Are Back in Town”

As I’d mentioned in “Week 27″, I went down to Las Vegas, Nevada for a two day intensive kettlebell workshop. I’ve been working with kettlebells for a little over two years now and felt it was time to take it up a notch, in terms of my knowledge base and skill level, and ensure I’ve laid down a solid foundation. Also, most of my learning has come from some books I found in the library, clips on the internet (it is the beauty of this age) and 2 DVD’s I picked up last year. There really is only so much you can get from those sources, for physical endeavors at least, though they are a great way to get started.

The workshop was held at the Philippi Sports Institute , with featured presenters Mike Mahler, Steve Cotter, Steve Maxwell and Nate Morrison. They were 8 hr days, with 10 – 15 min breaks here and there, a ton of power bars, Gatorade and water and loads of learning. Rather than go into what we covered, you can check out the syllabus here. Sure seems like alot of material, huh? Well, we covered about half of it. And not for lack of trying. To their credit, those 4 guys did their absolute best to give us everything they could within the 8 hrs a day we had available to us. And let me tell ya, there was alot to soak in. Goes to show the wealth of knowledge and skill each of them represents. Not to mention their open, generous natures. These guys gave of their time outside of the training as well, bombarded by non-stop questions before we started, during every break and after we were finished, answering each individual question thoroughly.

Another thing that made this workshop so great, was that they really came from a place of unified vision, in terms of the underlying principles to training that they shared, but came at them from very different directions. So rather than just hearing alot of the same stuff mentioned over and over again, we got something unique from each of them, greatly broadening our learning platform.

Something that was also of real value for me, as a young Dad who had picked up the kettlebell to continue to maintain my fitness efficiently while being an active part of my family, having learned thru library books and internet clips, was getting the opportunity to work and learn alongside many industry professionals who use kettlebells as a primary training tool…..and not do too badly;). It was fun being with a group of folks who spoke the same “language”. I met some cool people that I look forward to bumping into again somewhere down the road.

Training with the “Boys” was the best money I’ve spent in a long time. In fact, it was of such value, I don’t even think about what it cost. Now THAT’s a purchase you don’t make every day. But more importantly than the “what” was taught, was the “how” it was taught. This is a group of class act gents with principle, passion, generosity and integrity that I count myself lucky to have trained with……and look forward to again in the future.

Week 27 ( Oct. 15-21)

So for the next 2 weeks it gets even crazier. On any of the days that we both worked out, we never actually worked out together. It was a little tough, what with the end of this 6 week cycle coming up and the test to come (something we’ve been working up to for the last 6 months). But we touched base when we could and managed to stay on top of accomplishing the workouts.

DAY 1 (Power)

c – WU-SJ + 2HSW (#35 KB) x 20

WO- “Tire Me Out” x 5, R 1min/rd, 5 rds

End: TGU (#35 KB) x 3, 2 rds

s - Off

Week 26 ( Oct 8-14)

Our schedules were a little off this week due to conflicting work times.

DAY 1 (Endurance)

A half marathon…..up a mountain….

Well we finally got out on another hike. Life’s been a little crazy for both Chris and I and we haven’t had as much opportunity to get out for our weekly hikes. We’d been talking about hiking up to a place called Lynn Lake for the last couple of months. With Canadian Thanksgiving (Oct. 8th) and having that Monday off, we took full advantage of what nice weather we had left to head up to Lynn Lake. And when I mean nice weather, I’m talking sun is out and it’s not overcast. Over the last year of consistent hiking, Chris and I (as a pact with ourselves to never let crumby weather deter us from getting out, otherwise we’d never get out over the winter) have always found ourselves on these big adventures to new places when it’s overcast and raining. Now we can handle the wet and we can handle the cold (cold and wet…..these are the descriptors for a Pacific Northwest winter), but in those conditions, up in the mountains, we can never see anything! I’d been up to Lynn Lake once before and it’s gorgeous up there. So we wanted to have one day, just one day, where going on one of our big hikes, we’d actually get to see what it looked like. And see we did.

It was an amazing day to get out. The first portion of the hike is the same route we use heading up to Coliseum Mtn. and the Hanes Valley to Grouse Mtn. After the first hour and a half, it turns into pretty rugged trail. Then for about a third of the hike (the middle third) we have to hike right up the middle of Lynn River itself. This was the really fun part, as we’re jumping and negotiating from boulder to pebble to boulder (we even managed to stay dry the whole way). Then, just as you get “close” (the final third or so of the hike, the angle all of a sudden turns sharply up, just to remind us we had to earn our way there;).

And there it was Lynn Lake, as peaceful and serene as I’d remembered it. It was funny how I could feel myself calming down once we were there and realizing that I’d been feeling my energy quite accelerated. This was more than likely due to hiking up the center of a fast flowing, loud river. It’s amazing when you open your awareness to your surroundings (which naturally seems to start happening when you get out in nature), you can begin to see just how much of a profound effect the energies of your environment can have on you. Keep that in mind the next time you’re feeling way out of wack. Look at your surrounding environment and see whether there is something that can be adjusted to assist you in getting yourself back on line.

We hung out for lunch for about a half hour and then started the trek back down. Down is always a little more of an effort, had to be a little more focused. When we’d gotten back to the parking lot, the distance to Lynn Lake and back had jumped into my head (I usually don’t think about the distance). It was 21.8 km. And it occurred to me, “hey, we just did a half marathon up and down a mountain…….in fact every time we do one of these long ones, we are doing a half marathon”. I mentioned that to Chris and he said “yeah, that’s what Richard (our father in law who runs marathons) said when we went to Crown Mtn., only he said this was harder”.

I tend not to think of it that way, but when put into that context, it left me with an energy that fueled me the rest of the day (not saying I didn’t still feel it the day after;). To get a glimpse of increasing capacity in oneself, it sparks reflection on increasing capacity in other aspects of ones life and gives you a sense of moving forward.

It was cool, to think that when we go out for a “hike”, we’re in fact doing half marathons….up and down mountains.

Week 25 (Oct 1-7)

DAY 1 (Strength)

c – WU-SJ + 2HSW (#35 KB) x 20

WO- DL, #135 x 5, #145 x 3, #155 x 3, #160 x 3,   Handstand PSU x 2   3 rds, R 1min/rd

End: RT (#60) x 3/side,   5 rds

s – WU-SJ + 2HSW (#35 KB) x 20

WO-DL, #135 x 5, #145 x 3, #155 x 3, #160 x 3,   Handstand PSU x 2   3 rds, R 1min/rd

End: RT (#60) x 3/side,   5 rds

Note: HST PSU’s were done back to back with the first 3 rds of DL.

In Honor of Lt. Michael Murphy

I was on the Cross Fit site today and on one of the W.O.D.’s there was a link that said “Lt. Michael Murphy receives medal of honor”. Anyone who is familiar with Cross Fit knows they have one of their workouts, “Murph”, named in honor of Lt. Murphy, who was an avid Cross Fitter himself. So I klicked on the link and there was a small video of his parents accepting the honor. Ending off the clip are some thoughts from his father, a Vietnam War Vet himself, on the tragedy of losing someone like his son pre-maturely. And those thoughts struck such a cord with me that I felt moved to share it with others. Take a moment:

Lt. Michael Murphy receives medal of honor

I’d like to share a passage from the Baha’i Faith I read, which speaks to what Lt. Murphy’s father was saying at the end.

“…….there is increasing recognition that the world is in urgent need of a new “work ethic……Unlike animals, which depend for their sustenance on whatever the environment readily affords, human beings are impelled to express the immense capacities latent within them through productive work designed to meet their own needs and those of others. In acting thus they become participants, at however modest a level, in the processes of the advancement of civilization. They fulfill purposes that unite them with others. To the extent that work is consciously undertaken in a spirit of service to humanity….”

(Baha’i International Community, 1995 Mar 03, The Prosperity of Humankind)

For the healing of the family’s of those who have selflessly sacrificed their lives in service to their fellow man, and in honor of the very men and women that did, I wish to offer this prayer:

“Thy name is my healing, O my God, and remembrance of Thee is my remedy. Nearness to Thee is my hope, and love for Thee is my companion. Thy mercy to me is my healing and my succor in both this world and the world to come. Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

- Bahá’u'lláh -

s.

Week 24 (Sept. 24-30)

DAY 1 (Strength)

c – WU-SJ + 2HSW (#35 KB) x 20

WO- 1LDL (#35 KB) x 3/leg + Incline Tricep PSU x 5,     4rds, R 1min/rd

End: FK x 50,   3 rds

s – WU-SJ + 2HSW (#35 KB) x 20

WO-1LDL (#35’s Dbl KB) x 3/leg + Incline Tricep PSU x 10,     4rds, R 1min/rd

End: FK x 80,   3 rds

The Fight

The fight with oneself. This is something that is commonly talked about by many people as related to all aspects of their life. The fight against weight, the fight against our negative qualities (like anger or selfishness), the fight against our inactivity, the fight against our desires which do nothing to serve us or anyone else beneficially, the fight against our ego (which alot of these fall under). It is a war we wage with ourselves on a daily basis.

I just recently read an article about a fitness company and the positive results their training methods bring about. There was good feedback from the participants and then the article ended with the Head Trainer saying: “We’re all at war. The biggest battle we face is ourselves.” Now I’ve heard this before, but this time it just left me with a really odd feeling. It was completely contradictory to what the rest of the article was saying. The article touched on things that were being learned: “improved their conditioning and leadership skills”, “teamwork”, “help establish friendships”, “learn self-sacrifice, be team players and motivate others”, “become more……confident”. I may be way out in left field here, but aren’t these really positive things. Where as these are what are associated with “war” and “battle”: conflict, hostility, contention, undermining, fighting, opposition. As far as I can tell, these are pretty negative and seem contrary to the positive aspects trying to be developed.

And in a war, there is always a loser (in fact, many will contend there is never even a winner). So to be at war with oneself means you are battling against you, which means that one of you is going to lose and that loser will be……you. So even if what you’re fighting for is positive, you still lose. And we wonder why it’s so hard for people to stick with a consistent, healthy exercise program. Fighting is exhausting and no one likes to lose.

It was interesting, I took a look at the history of the word War. War can be traced back to the Indo-European root *wers-, “to confuse, mix up.” And the meaning of other words with the same origins suggest the original sense was “to bring into confusion”. For an industry that talks an awful lot these days about fitness being a source of creating balance and wholeness, there sure is alot of this “win the battle against yourself” still being thrown around. In fact, in the very same article the Head Trainer also stated: “Fitness is an aspect to get to the mind because the mind will get you where you want to be”. So, thru fitness, fighting the battle with myself will overcome my weaknesses and put my mind in a state that will get me to where I want to be. Which if I’m fighting, means into a state of confusion.

I’m not knocking the head trainer of this fitness company (it was just the article that triggered this). Because it’s not just him, it’s everywhere. I hear it around me all the time. What it is, is a reflection of the state of mind of humanity right now. We are all still thinking in terms of “fighting” for those things we believe will bring about positive change in our lives and the lives of those around us. And the truth is, it can’t happen until the fight stops. Once we learn to stop fighting AGAINST ourselves, and rather work WITH ourselves (no one said it was going to be easy;), we will then learn to stop fighting against others and start working with them. It’s a paradigm shift.

So next time, you are in the middle of a really tough workout (or any challenging time in your life), take a moment to see whether you’re in fact fighting with yourself. If you are, take a breather. Say “self, I need some help here. It’s going to take all of me to get thru this one. Let’s work together and make it happen”.

s.