There is a certain Zen inside the black and white world of weightlifting and, on a more broad scale, measurable fitness. When it comes to a 250lb clean, you either can make the lift or you can’t. As for running a sub-7 minute mile… You either can or you can’t. 10 pull ups? It’s a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’ kinda question, isn’t it?
IPG and Tyler embrace the warmup oddities.
If this seems harsh, rethink it. If this seems negative, I’d like you to look a bit deeper. At no time did I make the connection of can and can’t with right and wrong. It is just what is so.
You may be wanting to ask, “What’s the use in being so black and white?” Or, perhaps your wanting to scream, “Come on, man! I’m trying. Big deal if I can’t do something.”
The sooner you can allow yourself room to fail, the sooner the things you can’t do will become things you can do. Understand that this is hard. It’s supposed to be. And, if it wasn’t, you wouldn’t like nearly as much. I promise.
Being relentless in learning your boundaries is also to grow those boundaries. The surest way to avoid improvement is to continually do the same. If for some reason you’d like your training and fitness improvement to be redundant:
1. Always choose the same weight.
2. If you’re comfort zone is 4th gear, never go to 5th. God forbid 6th.
3. Always, always, always listen to the little voice in your head.
4. Avoid failure at all costs.
The benefits of training in our respective “Red Zones” are endless. Our “Red Zone” is that place right at the edge of our capabilities. It takes experience to know where that is for you. It takes courage to go there. And, it takes extreme focus while you’re in it. Improved body composition, fitness adaption, metabolic conditioning, and cognitive function are all side benefits of training in this space. And, it’s time to learn to go there.
If all you experience is success in your training, you’re missing the boat. If you’ve never tried and failed at a rep, you haven’t begun that quest for knowledge of yourself. Embrace failure on your path to successes!
Logan Gelbrich
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Wednesday’s Workout:
Relay Team WOD:
30 Med Ball Slams
30 KB Thrusters
30 Butterfly Sit Ups
30 Yard Crab Walk
30 Tuck Jumps
30 Med Ball Cleans
400m Run
& Back
**An athlete can only advance to the next station after it is vacated by his/her teammate. First team to bring there entire team back through the chipper wins.
