Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Not doing it because it’s easy – doing it because it’s hard (from Chadron)


Life demands that we be able to work, persevere, and thrive even under the worst of conditions. To that end, I am proposing a workout, rather long and definitely miserable, to be performed sometime this weekend. If you’re in for this, you will receive a text message at some time between Friday at 4 PM and Sunday at 4 PM describing where to be, what time to show up, and any other specific instructions.

I’m going to put together this one and I’m going to be keeping it a secret because not knowing the challenge ahead of time is part of the challenge itself. All I ask is that someone else put together the next one so I can have the same challenge myself. Suffice it to say that the workout itself and the time and the place will be undisclosed until right before. Although I will just go ahead and say that it won’t go down between 8 PM on Saturday and 2 AM on Sunday.

This one isn’t going to take herculean feats of strength. It’s not going to reward the person who can lift the most, run the farthest, or crank out the fastest time in some named workout – but it will help us get better at each of those. Mental toughness is focus of this one. If you put your name on this list, you are making a commitment that you will push through to the very end and you will not quit. You will show up at the right time/place after receiving the message – even if you are tired, hung-over, full, sore, or all of the above. You will carry any other teammate to the finish line if he or she is unable to get there under his or her own power. If you’re not going to be willing to finish because it’s raining and cold, or if because you’ve puked, or because you’re unable to stand - do not respond to this.

Some notes (from Gym Jones):

~Where does this strong will and hardness come from? It derives from recognizing desires and goals and then enduring whatever it takes to fulfill them. A strong will grows from suffering successfully and being rewarded for it.

~Suffering provides the opportunity to exercise will and to develop grit.

~The mind and body adapt to both comfort and deprivation. . . . Relish the challenge of overcoming difficulties that would crush ordinary men.

If you’re in, respond to CLE9m@virginia.edu with (1) a phone number at which you can be reached for a text message (2) any particular time you *absolutely* can’t do it over this weekend (not to exceed a total of 5 hours).

-CPT Eddie

3 comments:

CPT Eddie said...

A quick note to those of you who are in on this:

1. Email me about it or I will not consider you in, CLE9m@virginia.edu before noon tomorrow (Friday).

2. The call/text will not be at a comfortable hour. Suffice it to say the call will be more likley to come at 3 am during a storm than at noon when it's 70 degrees out. Then again, don't rule anything out. Long story short: keep your phone nearby at all times.

3. The call will give you between 45 and 75 minutes lead time before we start.

Bin said...

I was driving on my way back from DC today, and decided to get something to eat while I was filling up my gas. For the past year or so, I've been paying attention to what I've been eating, how it's been made, where it was grown, etc, but I decided to veer off the path a bit. I bought a honey bun, and after realizing it would probably be one of the few things I've consciously eaten with more ingredients than I could count on one hand, I ate it anyway. I also read the back - a total of 40 different ingredients went into flavoring that bun and making it indestructible; it had a porky, aluminum-y aftertaste. Suffice to say, I'll gladly eat grass-fed butter before I touch one of those buns again.

Bin said...

Thursday workout:

As many rounds as possible in 8:00:
12x Deadlift - 185lbs
50 Double-unders

One minute rest

Then:
50 Man-makers - 20lbdumbbells

Bin: 3+ rounds
Chadron: 2.5 rounds