Sunday Story…It’s your Job!

There's an old saying, "Youth is wasted on the young." And the older I get, the truer that appears to be.

When we're young, we look and feel immortal. 40 looks so far off. 50-60 is a region for older adults and grandparents. 70, 80? Absolutely ancient.

Here's the problem: The older we get, the more work we have to do to maintain our youth and vitality. When we're young, it's there for us anytime we want it. We heal faster. We move more easily. As we age, those things don't come as easily.

Now, however, staying in shape and working out is your job, and just like any other job, you get paid for results. If you don't treat working out like a job, it becomes just something you do occasionally. You must be committed to it, just like you are at your job.

You've heard me write about it a lot over the last few months. You must attack your fitness just like you attack anything else worth doing. This means:

• Lifting weights
• Working on your cardiovascular fitness
• Working on your vast twitch muscles (in other words, sprinting)
• Working on your VO2 max (in other words, how much oxygen can you uptake over the course of any amount of work)

All these things are necessary for your fitness. All these things are now your job.

The key to health span, in other words, how well you're going to live as you age, lies primarily in your fitness. There are other things that you must do: sleep well, eat well. But if I don't have fitness, those other things are not going to get me the results that fitness will.

The bottom line is do the work, reap the benefits. Enjoy your life as you become older because getting older is not an option. Being old is a choice.

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Story…69

As you know, last Saturday was my birthday. And I have to admit that I've been struggling with this particular number, sixty-nine. When you turn forty, even sixty-three, it's not that big a deal. You really don't think about what that number means. But in this particular case, this number seems to carry at least some significance for me.

You see, after sixty-nine comes seventy, and I've got to admit that seventy sounds really, really old. Older than sixty-nine. Older than sixty. Old. Now I know that this is just my own perception, my own stuff around aging, right? Maybe for you it's sixty, or it's fifty, who knows? But I can tell you that when I look at turning seventy next year, I'm a little bit disturbed—or perturbed, something.

So, I've been thinking about that, and what is the why? Why do I perceive seventy as being old? Why not eighty? Why not ninety? Why not a hundred? I intend to live a long, healthy life until I can't anymore. In other words, I want my health span to be at the top of the game all the way through. So really, seventy is just another number. Still, I have all of this baggage that I'm carrying around with it, and I'm just kind of wondering as you're reading this, what kind of baggage are you carrying at sixty-eight, seventy-two, eighty-six? How is that working for you?

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength (and find discipline), sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

 

Sunday Story…Happy Birthday to me!

If you're reading this on Sunday, yesterday was my birthday. I'm celebrating 69 years on this planet. And I thought I would leave you with a couple of thoughts. As you can see, the picture posted is of me doing some regular old work with a shovel. And this is why I do what I do in the gym every day. So I can do the regular things - gardening, digging, walking - all those things that make life worth living.

Physical training isn't just about doing push-ups and pull-ups; it's also about developing overall strength and endurance. Physical training at this age is about how good I can feel after I do all the things that I want to do. It does no good to go out in the garden if I'm going to pay a price for that activity the next day or the next two or three days or weeks. The only way to prevent that is through regular physical training. You need to lift weights regularly. Most of the professionals we see these days claim to strength train two days a week, and I would agree that this is the absolute bare minimum - two days a week. I lift weights five days a week.

Most importantly, you should do hard things regularly, whether that means hitting Kilimanjaro or Machu Picchu (as Ellie has taken groups and plans to take another one next year to Portugal, I think) or spending a day with your kids or grandkids doing all the things they want to do. The only way to do that as we get older is by continuing to train our physicality. Doing nothing is worse than doing something hard.

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

 

 

Sunday Story…Change

 

If you are reading this, you should already be aware of the importance of discipline and commitment. And, hopefully, you have already committed to your fitness journey and are showing up when you say you will (discipline!).

That’s great. Good on you! But there’s more, a lot more. You have begun the fitness part of your journey. The physical part. Perhaps you've already started improving your nutrition. And of course, your sleep. There's also your stress management. How are you managing your stress? Both at home and at work? How is that working for you? Once we get those things in line, we are on our way to an extraordinary journey. But that's not all.

Other things are not so obvious, things that are not so easy to pinpoint and change. The things that may be ingrained in you over years and decades of your life. Some of these aspects also require examination. How are you showing up in the world? How are you with your relationships? How are you showing up in your relationship with the universe? With divine spirit? These things may be as important as your physical journey, if not more important.

I often say that we would like life to be harmonious. By that, I mean we aren't looking for balance. Balance indicates non-movement, stasis. What we want is harmony. I can become obsessed with one thing or another, such as my career, my kids, or something else, but what I really want, even when I'm overly focused on one thing, is to have the rest of my life in harmony. It's just like an orchestra, sometimes the timpani drums are the big mover, and sometimes it's the horn section, the strings, or the woodwinds. It works as a harmonious whole, but the emphasis can be on one part or another. My question to you is, how harmonious is your life?

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Catch some Z's

 

Sleep is the most overlooked component of your fitness journey. I know we've discussed it before and written about it at great length, but as more studies are conducted and research emerges, the importance of this topic becomes increasingly apparent.

When I was a young adult (back in the late 1900s), we were told to sleep less. Well, now here we are all these years later, and we realize 4 hours isn’t enough.

We also need to have high-quality sleep. In other words, we need to pass through all the various components of an evening's sleep: REM sleep, deep sleep, and light sleep. They all help us restore and recover from our daily work. What we often overlook is how many small factors can impact our restorative and rejuvenating sleep.

There are all kinds of things that can affect your ability to fall asleep, stay asleep, and experience an entire night of restorative sleep.

Little things like:

• Changing my pattern of activity before I go to bed
• Having caffeine a little too late in the day
• Being over-stimulated before I went to bed

How can you improve your sleep consistency? Can you go to bed at the same time every night?  I see many of you at five and 5:30 in the morning, so I know you're getting up at the same time, 4-5 days a week. The hard part is getting to bed at the same time every night. Between social and family activities, it can be hard to get into bed.

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story…Discipline is the glue

We discussed the importance of consistency and the need to show up every day to do the work, but what happens when you're just not feeling it? What happens when you get up and it's, "I don't want to do that today?"

This is where discipline comes in. Discipline is where you do what you're supposed to do because you are supposed to do it. You don't have to like it. You don't have to want to do it. But you are going to do it anyway because it's what you are committed to doing.

There's a vast difference between motivation and discipline. When I am motivated, I want to act. I'm excited about doing it. I'm happy when I'm getting ready to do it. I'm happy while I'm doing it. I'm happy when I'm done doing it.

Discipline, however, is what gets me through the times when motivation isn't there. Discipline is what will keep my consistency going in the face of non-desire. Discipline frees me from the chains of motivation. Discipline and all the surrounding rituals that discipline requires frees me from the shackles of choice.

Discipline is found deep inside of yourself. Discipline arises from the need to do what needs to be done. It's not concerned with external factors such as the time of day, the temperature outside, how you're feeling, how much you slept, or what you've eaten. Discipline is the glue that holds actions together.

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength (and find discipline), sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary results.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Story... How You do anything?

How you do anything is how you do everything. This saying is one we've heard many times over the years. The idea is to help us maintain high standards and uphold a high level of integrity throughout our lives.

It's a slippery slope when we allow our standards to become compromised. Once we're on that slope, it becomes increasingly easier for those standards to become non-existent. This is why it's so important to know what your standards are and to maintain them. Whether it's in a movement pattern like a squat or a pull-up, or in how you will allow people to talk to you, or how you allow people to talk around you, these standards are in place to help keep you safe and to guide you forward in the direction you want to reach.

Keep in mind that although standards can often be objective, they are often subjective as well. An objective standard is one that we all agree is the same, regardless of who applies it. I must squat below parallel. My chin must go over the bar if I'm doing a pull-up. These are standards we all agree upon.

An objective standard is one that I set and is applicable to me alone. I get to decide what my standards are for the people around me, for my relationships, for my career. Those are the standards that I get to set.  What is a standard for me may not be a standard for somebody else. In terms of subjective standards, it's okay if they don't match up with the people around you, but you are going to experience some cognitive dissonance that you will need to correct. And by that, I mean you will either have to change your standards or change the people around you.

Again, do it correctly. Do it correctly the first time. Do it correctly every time.

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412