Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 6:48PM Warmup: The Animal Kingdom and Its Discontents
Hinge Happy: 10 minutes Swing, Plank, Passthrough (20/20/20)
Brian, underneath Team India.Strength: Press
Men 5-3-3-3+ (50, 60, 70, 80%)
Women 3-3-3-3-2 (40, 50, 65, 75, 85%)
Conditioning: "Making Time"
7 minutes, on the minute every minute
7 dumbbell thrusters
7 burpees
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 6:18PM Warmup: Clean, 3 pulls
1) First pull--leg press
2) Second pull--hit and catch
3) Third pull--tall clean
Power/Skill: 3 pull Cleans
We're running a body recomposition project this year at Woodshed, and we've had some fantastic results so far! Later for specifics; right now I want to talk about one of the folks hitting this challenge.
I'm going to keep this person's name to myself for now, but I know two things about him/her:
1. He/she is absolutely going to succeed in hitting his/her goal. I know this. It's not even a question in my mind.
2. More than that, I want this person to hit his/her goal so goddamned badly I can taste it. I want everyone to succeed, of course, but this person...I REALLY want him/her to succeed.
Why do I know this person's going to succeed, and more interestingly, why am I rooting so hard for him/her? I think that the answers to these questions are pretty intertwined and really important things for all of us to think about...
1. He/she wants it. Badly. This is hard to quantify, but you know it when you see it. He/she wants it badly enough that he/she has been following my suggestions nearly to a tee since Day 1. There was no hemming and hawing, there was no period of self-flagellation, there was a decision, and there has been action ever since. This is a pretty big component of success. Decide, then act. And this makes it pretty darned easy to root for this person.
2. He/she seeks out help and asks for it in plain, specific terms. "I need you to help me figure out how to get my x grams of fat for every meal." Specific questions get specific answers, and specific answers beget specific plans of attack. And listen, we're all human: when someone asks us for help it feels good (unless you're a sociopath, I guess)--we want to help them and see them succeed. Easy to root for this person in that regard as well.
3. He/she listens to and implements suggestions. This is HUGE. I am constantly baffled by folks online who ask for help with their programming or diet; three weeks later I'll read something like "well, I did about half of what you suggested." Why would that person want to help you at all in the future? Seriously!
So anyhow, why should this matter so much to all of us? It's simple, really. Woodshed is an incredibly collegial gym--at any given moment, you may be training with four or five people who have made the exact same mistake you're making, or struggling with the exact same thing you're struggling with. And our peeps are awesome...we have an incredible group of folks who want to help you. So be the kind of person that we want to root for: want it (nothing makes folks want to root for you and help you out more than seeing how badly you want to succeed)...ask for help (you're paying someone a huge compliment by asking for their help)...and LISTEN!!!!! (if someone offers you a suggestion, for God's sake don't snap your gum and give them a thousand yard stare...they've gone out of their way to help you--listen up and repay that kindness!).
The more we want to root for you, the more we want to help you, and the closer you'll bring yourself to success. This is a huge deal in a small, community gym like Woodshed. Set yourself up for success by being coachable and approachable!
