The period between work and rest.

The trick to kicking ass is to look like this at the end

The beginning of a training program is always the hardest part of any life changing journey. Remember those first workouts where you do so little, yet it provides enough of a stimulus to make you sore for the next 5 days?

This hits home even harder for those who off been sidelined for a while due to injury, personal events, lazy,etc. We all know what it feels like to be fit as an ox, no matter how little we exercise, because there has been a time in our lives where we have been active for quite a while.And in that constant schedule of activity and healthy habits, we become focused,driven, fit. Then when you come back a week,a month,a year later to the beginning of that very same regimen you once started, it’s as if you have never even done something like that before. It sucks but you know that if you can get through the training for 2 weeks, you’ll be back to your former self.

That’s what i’m feeling like right now. It feels good to be back into the swing of things, but there is one area where i need to brush up on: The Work/Rest cycle. In crossfit, their are task-oriented WODS and Timed WODS. Your performance depends on your intensity and technique. And the directly relates to your work/rest cycles. If you work for 1 minute, and rest 1 minute, that’s an example of 1 cycle. The longer the rest, the more time you kill and the slower your pr’s get. Now that i am working out by myself, and especially since i train upon waking, i find that my work/rest cycles are lopsided. I would work for a few repititions, and it would take me double the time to rest. While i do manage to get rocked in the wod, i know that i could better and rest less because i still have more left in the tank.

My main goal is to workout hard enough so that my work/rest cycles imrpove. Which means more work, less rest. If i can accomplish that, then it means i’m that much closer to breathing the all-important fire.

When it comes down it,however, it’s mainly a mental game. Just like weight loss. Many times, we get tempted to take a break, or eat a bite of cheesecake, or even to compromise who we are just to feel more comfortable with ourselves. But in the life, improvement takes courage. Fitness means enduring the discomfort and fighting the urge to give up. Weight loss means having to sacrifice smartly for the greater good.

BEING WHO YOU WANT TO BE REQUIRES HAVING BALLS!(Or girl balls if that tickles your fancy)

Doing what you have to do is something i’m learning this year. I’m not taking my body or my studies lightly anymore. Because if i do, i’ll just end up being the same guy who f’ed up life last year. And now i know that i am much better than that.

So work to get better at decreasing your periods of rest/comfort.Your body/mind will thank you for it.

GET STRONG LIKE BULL!