No matter what, stay focused
Rhi Reynolds
“Always make a total effort, even if the odds are against you.” I think that Arnold Palmer was correct about this statement. This quote has pretty much been my life in entirety. Since writing my life story would be about a year’s worth of material, we will just stick with why that quote is applicable to this past week I’ve dealt with.
I let you all know from my last blog post about my decision to deload. One week of no working out. Simply amazing. But instead of really enjoying that time of relaxation, I filled up that time with other tasks. I totaled my car last week, which creates a real situation for me since I live in Long Island about 20 minutes from work. I also had my NATA Board of Certification test on Friday. So if not having a car and having to bum rides off of co-workers and friends wasn’t bad enough, I was studying every second that I had. The test was just like any other: if you pass you’re allowed to actually use the degree you spent 4 years working your ass off for. So, I would be a certified athletic trainer after I find out if I passed or not in another 4 weeks. Talk about waiting in suspense.
Back to my other situation: since I’m a personal trainer at a commercial gym, my schedule calls for me to be there pretty damn early until pretty damn late. I had to get there a lot earlier every day, however, because that was when I could get rides with friends and make it on time for my clients. It also worked like that in the evening. Every break I had in between clients was spent cramming as much information into my skull as I possibly could before heading back out onto the floor. Needless to say, I’ve been on edge.
Anyway, I’ll save you all from my angry, whiny rant about that crap last week. But during less than optimal situations, I think we all learn things from ourselves. I learned that not working out allows those situations to affect me more than if I was training consistently. On the other hand, I found out that I can still handle adverse situations and still be focused on my main goal: the American Open. Complaining about things you can’t control won’t help them get better. You have to shake the obstacles stacked on your shoulders off, and keep moving forward. You must remain focused. I really wanted to train this past week and lose myself so I didn’t have to think about the current issues at hand. But instead I had to look them directly in the face. I had to use the same mental fortitude I display in my workouts and competition as a weapon against petty, real-world crap. And I’m happier now that I could do it.
The truth is; I had to physically rest. It’s going to be so much better to peak for the competition. I’m 6 weeks out from when I compete in the American Open. I know that whole time is going to be a lot on my body, but now I know I’m prepared for it. The programming I will be following is by Outlaw: Spencer Arnold has a special American Open prep through Outlaw Barbell. Actually, I couldn’t wait the whole week…I caved on Saturday.
Saturday was a great day of training. Joe and I decided to drop in at Crossfit Lindy, home of Nicole Capurso and Daniel Tyminski. Remember how many times I’ve said that if you train with the best, you end up getting better? I can also testify the difference in training environment and how that impacts your development. I work at a commercial gym with an Olympic lifting platform and bumper plates, but that doesn’t make it an optimal training environment. Half the time I train someone usually goes to the manager and complains about how dropping the weight “hurts their ears”. I could probably write another blog post about what I encounter each time I attempt to train there. I have to hide my OWN Olympic lifting bar in the building so it doesn’t end up on the bench press or in the squat rack where members commonly go to perform their max set of bicep curls. Don’t get me wrong, I love where I work and am passionate about what I do. I may offend people with this statement, but personally, I don’t care. When you work there all day, it’s kind of hard to get yourself psyched up for a workout when you’re surrounded by mediocrity. That’s not just my opinion, that’s just a fact. If you were to ask any member in that gym what their goal was for the future, they would just say “I want to look good.” They don’t want to be strong, they don’t want to be functional, and they especially don’t want to compete: they want to look good. And if you’re a girl at this gym, it’s gross to be strong. I constantly get asked why I want to compete and why I love training the way I do. I get asked why I want to be so strong. In summary: it gets old when you try to explain your passion to passionless people.
That changed when I walked into Crossfit Lindy. Everyone there has a goal…a serious one. There were plenty of bars and bumpers and room and, and, and…oh, it was just lovely! This is where I can get excited about a workout. This is where I can train with people who have the same goals and want to be the best they can possibly be. So I had a great Saturday workout, going off of what Spencer Arnold posted for the day. It felt great to lift after resting the entire week. It was like my body recovered or something. It felt great to be in a training environment with outstanding athletes like Nicole where I can push myself so much harder. I can’t get too comfy, though. My current plan of action for the future is still training at my workplace during the week. I have to, unfortunately, because it would be impossible to travel back and forth. Especially with no car! I’m not up to bicycling 25 miles in the coming winter months. But on the weekends, I get to treat myself to submerging my mind and physical being into a whole different animal.
During these coming 6 weeks, I am going to make a total effort, as good ol’ Arnold said in his quote above. My total effort will be focused on the American Open. I can’t wait to see the progress I make in 6 weeks of being totally immersed in one single goal. It might not seem like a long time to everyone else, but it’s enough time to make some serious changes. So, let the games begin and the barbells fly! See you all next week!