“Training is like moving a big pile of dirt. Some days you use a shovel, some days you use a spoon, but as long as you move some dirt every day you’re headed in the right direction.”
- John Welbourn
Today was a great example of moving the dirt. Do what you can, with what you have. If you worked hard enough, the sets got longer and the work turned into more of a grind. Some people call it fitness, we call it fun.
Meet Pawel for instance. Pawel joined us recently, and showed up for the first and last class of the day. He also did some extra core work and asked me about drills for muscle-ups after that last class. When I asked him during the workout what he was aiming for on the bench press he replied: "I don't know, I never bench press. It is not a competition, but it feels light, so I will keep adding weight". Pawel casually benched 100kg on his last set. Pawel moved some dirt. With a shovel.
One of the things I really enjoy about coaching is seeing the change that athletes and teams go through in workouts like this. You see some strangers fist bumping after a heavy bench press. High-fiving on the switch between the hand-release push-ups and the bike. Sitting down in sweat after the workout and continuing the conversation about more than working out. I get it, most of us think fitness is fun. But the real reason we keep coming back day after day, year after year, is because of these relations you build with some shared suffering.
At the end of the day, the whiteboard was once again filled with names and scores that are the result of some sustained effort. Good push today guys! Keep it up.
Sleep tight!
Thaddeus