Wednesday Musings

1) The picture above is from a wedding I recently attended with my brother and sister-in-law. My brother (on the right) was the one who helped me launch off into a regular training program when I was a senior in high school. He told me that the days in which the last thing I wanted to do was lift weights, begin a sprint session, or complete whatever my training program had in store for me, those would be the days that would either make or break me. He said that trials would continue to hit me from left and right, and if I allowed these (be it relationship issues, feeling exhausted from work, feeling demotivated, etc.) to stop me from training, then I had no right to complain about failing to achieve my goals. To overcome temporal, subjective emotion and train to enhance my physical being (which ultimately helps strengthen the mind), is an invaluable way to cultivate character. I have never looked back. I can attribute most of my success to him. I cannot remember the last day I have missed a planned training session. Every time I begin to convince myself that exercise isn't necessary on a particular day, I remember his words.

Do you have a mentor in your life? Someone that you trust, someone that you can be yourself around, and not put on a mask? We all need a support group, or person, that can be there when we are reaching for something. Be it fat loss, muscle gain, dietary changes, or career goals, we need someone to help push us forward and keep our heads up when we're down. Who do you have in your life that can do that for you? They may even be right in front of you, and would be more than willing to fill that role, but you haven't allowed them to. Sometimes we miss what is right in front of us.

2) Over the Summer my girlfriend and I found a small hill to push a car on (pictured below). This is one of the best workouts I've ever done. Pushing a car will tax your entire body, provided you use the right size vehicle for your strength, and find a hill just steep enough so that you can't push it very quickly (we had to take 30s breaks every couple yards as we were moving it very slowly). It's also a great way to spend time with someone. My sister, as well as few of my friends, tried it as well, and told me that they equally enjoyed it (so I know I'm not just insane and the only one that enjoys this sort of thing :) ). I encourage you to find someone over Thanksgiving break and get in a little pre-turkey workout!

Equipment needed: car, pavement, and a partner.

3) I cooked an ostrich egg for dinner (the one on the left in the picture, in case I needed to clarify) with my girlfriend over the summer. Looking for something different to cook for your lady? Try one of these (assuming that she's adventurous):

A note worth mentioning: you'll have to take a hammer (or use a very strong knife and slam it) to the egg to break it. Oh, and the egg tasted identical to that of a chicken egg. There was just a lot more yolk.

4) Did you know that the 300 Spartans chosen to fight at Thermopylae were chosen not necessarily based on their own valor, but on that of their wives? Since the battle was basically a suicide mission, the King wanted to ensure that those left behind (namely the women) would have the strength and courage to hold Sparta together after the death of their husbands.

5) Want to see what some of my training sessions look like? You can expect to see some in upcoming posts!