Sunday Story…The Semifinals

The semifinals are over. It was 4 workouts over 5 days. Fitness was tested in some ways and not in others, just like any contest. My performance was good in places, not so good in others, and exceptionally good in at least one. Here is my take: I can only do what I can do. The other competitors will do what they do.

 

The important part to me lies in the following quote from Gandhi: 

"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory."

What this means to me is that I need to follow my own path and not worry about any comparisons. Did I do what I intended to? Was my performance what I expected of me. If I didn’t perform as I expected, why not, and what do I need to do to meet that standard?

Here was my plan:

Be one and done. In other words, I am only going to do each wod once. No do-overs. In a live competition, you only get one shot and I want to mimic that effort.

Move to the standard Every Damn Time. That means getting zero no reps. This is a hard goal. The faster you move, the closer to the edge you stay and the more likely you are to fall off the edge. So, move as fast as possible and as well as possible.

At the end of the workout feel as if there was nothing left to give in that moment.

Based on those objectives I am very satisfied with my performance in the semifinals. Was it perfect? No. I did get several no-reps in 2 of the workouts.

There is always controversy swirling around these competitions. So and so cheated, so and so is on PEDS, that group had an inside track on the workouts. IT DOESN’T MATTER.

What matters is this:

Full effort…full victory.

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

By the way…if you are still reading this, my current place on the leaderboard is 19^th. Which is inside the top 20 that will get an invite to Birmingham for the Games. But we must wait for the video review to conclude before we assume the invite will be issued!

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Story…Hard Things

Every day should bring things that are hard for you to do. Every day I should do things that scare me, even if it’s just a little. Every day I should poke the edges of my comfort zone.

Man is the only creature on the planet that limits his growth on purpose. A tree will grow as tall as it can given the resources it has available. It will continue to grow until it can’t grow anymore and then it will begin to die.

Yet we humans purposefully put limits on our growth. We stop learning new things. We eat food that is not going to assist our health. We stopped moving. We stop doing the things that, for millennia, have made us human.

Your growth isn’t limited to any one area. You aren’t just a body, a mind, or an emotion. Some of the most fabled people in our history faced adversities that many other people let beat them. Stephen Hawking comes to mind. Helen Keller is another. They faced adversity and managed to contribute to our collective growth as a human society. They faced hard things and moved forward.

You have an opportunity today to do something that scares you, even if just a little. Perhaps it is a hard conversation or picking up a heavier weight than normal. Whatever it is you need to get out of your comfort zone and into your growth zone.

The easy path is rarely the most rewarding one. We are often exhorted to “take the path of least resistance.” Yet the most stunning views lie at the ends of the most grueling paths.

 

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

Sunday Story…My Road (so far)

 

Sunday Story…My Road (so far) 

As I prepare for this year’s CrossFit Masters games, many people are asking “What are you doing? How are you preparing for this upcoming test?” And then the next question will be if you qualify what will you do to be at your best in Birmingham at the end of August?

My answer (as usual) is to dance with the one that brought you. What got me here is 5 or 6 days of 15 minutes of mobility, 3 days of 45 minutes of zone 2 aerobic training, 5 days of strength and skill work and 2 intense HIIT style wods a week. Now my definitions may be a little different than some people but that is the basic prescription.

What may be most important here is to recognize that this is the longevity prescription I ascribe to. And the way I just wrote it is how I prioritize the work. This prescription can be modified and scaled for you to your fitness level. My level is just a little different than yours.

Mobility is both strength and flexibility. There are static stretches as well as dynamic movement. Zone 2 training is not mindless rowing and treadmill work. It’s watching your heart rate and your pace and trying to improve both metrics. I continue to work on new skills and stay on top of the ones I already have. Although I rarely chase a true 1-rep-max I do try to work in the 80% range for reps. This keeps me strong. Last is the intensity piece. I vary the time domains, but the key is when my recovery is high, I will hit the intensity hard…like looking for the number of the bus that just ran over me hard.

That’s it. Lather, rinse, repeat.

 

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

Sunday Story…The Arena

If you look on the wall in the restroom there is a small poster with Teddy Roosevelt’s “the man in the Arena” speech. Here is a link to it in case you’ve never noticed it:

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7-it-is-not-the-critic-who-counts-not-the-man

There comes a point where you must step onto the field of play. You can talk about it but talking won’t cut it. Always thinking but never acting holds you back. Planning without action is just mental masturbation. Just imagine if all you ever do is aim but never pull the trigger.

If your goals are important, if you respect yourself enough to create the discipline to do the things required to achieve those goals but you don’t take the ruthless action required to meet those goals how will get where you want to be?

You must step into the arena. You must be willing to risk failing. No one wins every time…the GOAT doesn’t become the GOAT the moment he or she walks on the field. There were highs and lows. There were times when they were defeated…but not beaten. You pull the arrows of self-doubt and criticism out of your armor and step back into the arena.

There is no greater shame than to waste your potential by only thinking and planning but never acting.

Behold the turtle…he can’t go anywhere without sticking his neck out.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

Sunday Story…The Problem with Discipline

A week or two ago I wrote about discipline and why it is more important than motivation. Motivation comes and goes but discipline is what gets you up on the cold dark mornings. Discipline is what gets you into the gym when you really don’t want to be there.

The problem with discipline is this: It isn’t something you can pick off the shelf. You aren’t born with it. No one can pour some discipline down your throat and have it magically start working for you. Where do you find and cultivate discipline?

Discipline is found next to self-respect. If you don’t respect yourself and your goals and aspirations discipline won’t be found. Maybe someone told you you had to be part of the 4 AM riser club to be successful. Yet you can’t seem to get out of bed until 5. You don’t believe that getting up at 4 is important. You don’t respect that goal. Then it begins a downward spiral. I can’t get up when I’m supposed to, so I’ll never be successful. I may as well quit now. Yet there are a lot of successful people who get up much later than 4 AM.

You must be fully bought into your goals and aspirations to find the discipline necessary to do the things needed to achieve those goals. If you want to be a writer to must believe you have something to write before you have the discipline to sit down and put pen to paper.

Once you believe, once you respect your goals the discipline will be found right there. Self-respect breeds discipline. Find things that light your fire, and you will do whatever it takes to do those things.

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

 

Sunday Story…The Comfort Paradox

I rarely do this but the other day I read something that just hit home. It came from Ross Harkness on Instagram. Here it is:

 

The Comfort Paradox

 

The more you lean into comfort, the worse you feel.

The more you lean into discomfort, the better you feel.

 

So that thing you know you need to do? Do it.

 

Do it when you’re tired. Do it when you don’t want to. Do it when it’s raining. Do it when it’s cold. Do it when everyone’s against you. Do it when nobody believes in you. Do it when you feel lost. Do it when you have every excuse not to.

 

Because even if the world is conspiring against you, as long as you do what you know you need to do, you can go to bed knowing you shouldered responsibility, met your standards, and that you gave the world all you could.

 

Make yourself proud.

 

Lean into discomfort and do the thing.

 

--Ross Harkness

 

It has been said that if you want a hard life, do the easy things But if you want an easy life do the hard things. This is the paradox. Comfort leads to dis-ease. Sitting and doing little or nothing will result in a body unable to move properly. It’s easy to sit around and do nothing but the penalty will be a life of pain and dis-comfort.

On the other hand, showing up and working hard in the gym is uncomfortable. But it may mean that you are mobile and vital in your later years. Discomfort leads to ease.

 

Embrace the paradox. Then go to the gym!

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com    

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com 

775-338-2412

 

Sunday Story…Motivation vs. Discipline

 

“Of course motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on a regular basis.”

― Zig Ziglar

 

Zig did have it right. Motivation is not permanent. It ebbs and flows, comes and goes. Some days I am just not motivated. I don’t want to go to the gym, eat right, or read uplifting material. Like a toddler, “I just don’t wanna!”

Do you know what is permanent? Discipline. Discipline is what gets me up in the morning when I really want to stay in bed. Discipline is what puts me in the gym even when I am not feeling it. Discipline is what has me doing the things that need to be done even though I really have no desire or motivation to do them.

Great, discipline. Where can I get some of that? You won’t find it in a book, a speech, or an accountability partner, although all those things might be indispensable to your ongoing success. No, discipline comes from a different place.

Discipline resides within you. There is a well of discipline just waiting for you to tap into it. But just like the difference between a lake and a well you can’t just walk over and grab some. You are going to have to dig in and discover it for yourself. It starts, as so many things do, with a decision and a commitment. It requires an overblown sense of integrity for yourself. You wouldn’t lie to your mom or dad, your spiritual advisor, or your higher power, so don’t lie to yourself.

You decided and you committed to going to the gym 5 out of 7 days. So, go to the gym. You decided and you committed to getting up at 4:30 am every weekday. So, get out of bed at 4:30 am. You decided and you committed to eating healthy clean food. So do that.

That is what discipline is…a decision and a commitment and the integrity to yourself to hew to that decision and commitment. Simple, not easy.

 

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412