Sunday Story…Act Your Age

Not really. At least not the age the world thinks of at a certain age. Let’ be honest, you and I know that when we think of someone 70 or 80 years old we don’t picture health and vitality. We picture decrepitude and dotage. We picture someone in the twilight of their days, one foot in the grave and the other foot dragging along.

This isn’t you. At least it doesn’t have to be you. But you better do something about it and you better do something about it now. This is one of those things that pays an compounding dividend over time. The rewards are not linear but progressive. Just imagine if you had been in serious pursuit of your health and fitness from age 20. You could have years of health and fitness under your belt. But when you start is not as important as starting. If you start now in 10 years you will have 10 years of chasing health and fitness. But if you wait until you are a certain age, you will have lost all of those years from now until then.

Don’t act your age. Act the age you want to be. This doesn’t mean you have to repeat all the mistakes and angst you had at 25 or 35 or whatever. This means when you get up in the morning you take all the wisdom of your years and apply them to creating the life you want. When I look around at the average almost 59 year old I do not see myself. When I look in the mirror I see an example of shining health and fitness.

Show up today. Tomorrow you can look in the mirror and see more vitality, more health, and more fitness. 10 years from now the rest of the world will see someone 10 years younger than you are instead of the opposite. When you hit 60 it really will be the new 30 for you because you spent decades optimizing your health and fitness.

Stop acting your age. It was good advice when you were 8. It isn’t so good when you are 38 or 48. Start acting like you are in the peak of health, like you are at the pinnacle of fitness. There is only way to get there. Show up. Do work. Repeat.

See you tomorrow!

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John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday–stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…What you Want

There are 3 things that are going to get you where you want to be:
1. Know what you want.
2. Know that it is possible to get what you want
3. Know you deserve what you want.

Let’s talk about that first one. The first one, knowing what you want, will stifle everything else. Do you really believe you know what you want? Do you know what you want like you know the sun is coming up tomorrow, like you know you are going to take your next breath?

Too many of us are conditioned to want certain things or to want them in a certain way. Just like every kid wants the same toy at Christmas, we, as adults, are conditioned by marketing, peer pressure, and the media to want certain things.

But being told what to want is not the same as really wanting. We are told we need to look a certain way…our bodies need to conform to certain ideal. Our faces need to be characterless caricatures of real life. My face tells a story. My body carries all the starts and stops of my life, all the chapters of the book my life is writing. It is mine.

So how do I sift through all the messages and decide what it is I really want. Not what my family thinks I should want. Not what the collective wisdom forces upon me. Not some idealized version of me and my life (Ken & Barbie, Ozzie and Harriet, etc.) But what I really want.

It’s simple, really. When you write that thing down your heart sings. When you imagine yourself as that person you smile and nod with satisfaction. When you see the work involved, the sacrifices to be made, and the effort to be expended you roll up your sleeves and say “bring it on!”

Quit being a slave to other people’s expectations for you. They aren’t you. They aren’t living in your body. They haven’t had your experiences, your depth of life. You and only you can decide what you really really want.

When what you really want is something you want like you want to breathe…then you will get what you want. There won’t be room for any excuses. There won’t be any vacillation or whining or cutting corners. Your goal will loom in front of you like a rising full moon and you will drive yourself to hang that moon yourself.

Figure out what you want…we will work on the rest later.

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Commitment vs. Motivation

I often hear people say they need to get motivated. But I suspect that isn’t what they really mean. Motivation is easy. Motivation just means you decided to do something.

You are motivated to work out. You are motivated to eat healthy food. You are motivated to get more education. You are motivated to be a better spouse. You are motivated to do lots of things. Motivation comes easy.

All you need for motivation is a decision. I need to work out or whatever you decision is. Maybe you finally got the message that healthy food is better for you. You decide to eat better. Making that decision, getting that motivation is, for the most part, simple. Motivation often arises from an external source. I read about the benefits of exercise and get motivated to do some. External sources and rewards are excellent choices for finding motivation.

Where the rubber meet the road is around Commitment. Motivation is like taking a shower; most of us need to do it every day. Commitment is part of your being. When you commit to a course of action you are going to get that action done no matter what. Nothing is going to stand in your way once you are committed. If the water is cold I may lose my motivation to take a shower but if I am committed? Cold water showers are my friend. If there is no shower? A garden hose will work. I am committed. Motivation comes and goes but commitment is here to stay.

You say you want to be healthy. You do the research. You see the Doctor, the trainer, the therapist. You are motivated to get healthy. But somewhere deep down you aren’t really committed. Deep down you don’t believe in your soul that health is yours for the taking. You need to take that first step…Get Committed. Decide to listen to the Doctor and DO what he says. Decide to listen to the Trainer and DO what she says.

We all know how smart you are, already. But if you were so smart why haven’t you already done this? Get out of your own way and get committed to a course of Action. Action is the visible result of commitment. You can say you know what to do all day long but if you don’t do it, you don’t really know.

Lose your motivation, Find your commitment.

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sundaystories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Peak Experiences

I have been fortunate in my life to have had many “Peak experiences”. I define a peak experience as a high point in life where I have felt ecstatic and more alive and whole than is usual. Jumping out of an airplane comes to mind…that moment when you step out 10,000 feet above the ground is unparalleled.

These moments sometimes need to be looked for and cultivated. Other times they just need to be noticed. Obviously skydiving is an experience that I planned and went out of my way to experience. But that sunset the other night, or the moment when you spy the mountain lake at the end of a long hike? Those things require you to be present and notice them.

What happen when the peak becomes mundane, everyday? What happens after you jump from the plane 100 times? Is it still a peak experience? Could it or should it be? Is there every a time when we should be immune to the experience of wholeness when the moon rises full again?

You get to decide. You get to minimize those amazing experiences or exalt in them. Your choice. Remember when a small child sees something amazing for the first time? Those squeals of delight and amazement, the wide eyes, breath taking jumping up and down excitement. You could have that same depth of feeling if you choose to allow it in. But you will need to set aside your adult indifference and apathy in order to find it again.

Are you living without peak experiences? Why? Those experiences are all around you. Are you too old, too tough, too hard, and too grown up to see life, all of your life through the lens of child like amazement? Why would you rob your psyche of that joy?

I am going to suggest you start looking for those moments when you find that ecstasy, that alive-ness, that whole-ness in your daily life. Let’s be honest, you might not find it on your daily commute but isn’t it possible it is there several times a day and you just aren’t focused on finding it. What we look for we find. Ever buy a new car and then see all the cars on the road just like yours? Same thing.

Look for those moments…they are everywhere. We live in an amazing natural world, populated by amazing people who do amazing things.

So be amazed!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Dad

There is a phone call I can’t make today. Over the years my Father and I had a good relationship. I never felt judged by him for doing some of the odd stupid things I have done. I am fortunate I got to say all the things that I needed to say to him before he passed from this world. Not everyone gets that opportunity.

Everything I learned about being a man I learned from my father. All credit goes to him for the good things I know and do. The responsibility for all the stupid screwed up things I have done are on me. He inspired me to be the best at anything I tried my hand at. He taught me hard work is always worthy. He taught me that a day’s work is valuable no matter what work you were doing…sweeping floors, picking fruit, teaching a child…all work is important.

He taught me that people were to be valued. That each person in the world has gifts and we should look for and find those gifts. Don’t judge a person’s worth by the color of his skin, his occupation or his standing. Look for and find the good in each person. Get an education.

If it’s worth doing then do it well. If you take a man’s money, do the job he paid you for. You don’t have to win every time you play but you have to play to win every time. Practice hard. Enjoy yourself. Eat good food. Stay connected to the earth. Be kind to animals but don’t let them live in the house (didn’t take that one to heart, Dad).

My father was a good man. He raised 4 sons who turned out pretty well. I felt loved by my father. I was very fortunate.

If there are things you need to say to your father, do it today. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to any of us and you don’t want to spend the rest of your time needing to say something you could have said easily today.

I love you Dad. I think of you every day and when I am faced with a decision I always ask myself what my dad would do. Thanks for all your love and guidance over the last 57 years. I wish you were still here.

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Active Recovery

We know to eat right, get lots of sleep, and work out. You are on your way to being more, to being the person you were designed to be. There is another element that is too often neglected on our way to being a better athlete: Recovery

Although recovery is considered part of rest it should be treated as thing in and of itself. The purpose of recovery is to allow the muscle to repair itself and to use muscles that are tired or sore from a previous day or period or hard training. In general, active recovery is defined by feeling better after exercising than before you started.

When we talk about active recovery we are talking about engaging in low intensity exercise after workouts. There are two different things here: one is immediately after you finish a cool down phase after a hard effort. The second is in the days after a competition or workout, a day of “rest”.

This is not the rest where we lay on the couch, watch TV and eat chips. This is the rest we call active recovery. Here are 5 things you can and should do regularly to recover.

Self-Myofascial release (SMR)---Foam rolling is one form, using a lacrosse ball or other specialty tools in an effort to massage the muscles. We are trying to increase our range of motion, decrease tone in over-active muscles, and release adhesions in the muscle tissues. Hit all the major muscle groups, avoid joints and bony areas. If you find a trouble spot hang out with those areas a little longer. You should feel better after doing this.

Walking---burn some calories, get outside and connect with the world around you. There is something else besides the gym!

Hiking, Swimming, Biking---all 3 of these should be tempered by your current fitness level. Keep it slow and keep it enjoyable.

Yoga---moving slowly through a range of motion, being in connection with your body and breathing deeply is very restorative.

Play---get out and play a game for fun. No keeping score, no going all out, no intensity, just play.

A large part of this is the mental recovery from hard, intense training. Letting your mind reconnect to your body in a non-competitive atmosphere and being around people and places that are different than your usual will re-energize your training time.

Active rest will allow you to recover and maintain your fitness level. Just like when we eat dessert without guilt we need to walk or ride or relax without a clock or set outcome…just being human from time to time will allow you to be a better, faster, stronger athlete both physically and mentally.

So get out and rest…Do it now!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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Sunday Story…Your Abs

Are waiting. They are lurking right there…just below the surface. Sometimes when the lighting is just right, you’ve done just the right amount of work and you have eaten the right stuff they show up for just a fleeting minute. But that’s all…just a brief moment and then poof! Gone again.

The conversation goes on all the time…the bikini body…the beach body…the elusive smooth and flat midriff. It’s a bench mark that is easy for the world to see especially this time of year. I have the answer for you and you aren’t going to like it, not one little bit.

The reason you don’t have the abs you want? You have really good excuses.

You read that right. You know what to do. I have told you, other people have told you. You keep coming up with excuses why you aren’t doing what needs to be done. You don’t want abs more than you want that next cocktail, or the next TV show, or the next piece of chocolate cake.

You want the visible washboard abs? Quit drinking alcohol, get more sleep, and fix your diet. That is all there is to it. You will never out-work a bad diet and the older you get the harder it is going to be.

I can hear you already…what about_________ (fill in the blank)? All alcohol. Quit all alcohol consumption. But_______ (insert famous person here) drinks a glass of fermented rattlesnake wine every day and look at them! I don’t care. Want abs? Quit drinking. Period, end of conversation.

I know you NEED to watch Game of Thrones or the Late Show or whatever mindless pabulum shows up on your idiot box at night. Turn it off and go to bed. Early. Get 8 hours of sleep tonight. Don’t tell me you can’t. You can, you just won’t. Want abs? Sleep more.

I get that you don’t like to eat vegetables or that cooking your own food is too hard, or too expensive. Get over it. Diet is simple…eat real food that you shop for and cook. Eat meat and vegetables, maybe some starch once in awhile, some seeds and nuts, a little fruit. Restaurant food is never as healthy as food you prepare. Want abs? Eat real food.

Quit making excuses and start making abs! By the way this is true in a bunch of places…You can have results or excuses, not both!

See you (and your abs) on the beach!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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