This morning as I made my way back from Manhattan to Brooklyn I was lost in my usual reverie. The city excites, inspires and at the same time makes me quite depressed. I'm not a city guy. The point is that I was present, I was thinking and feeling each moment and movement in my constant pursuit to become more mindful. Mindfullness is not an esoteric practice for me but rather a preparation for anything that may present itself, making me able to adapt and react to everything.
Mindfullness is a practice you should adopt in conjunction with your athletic training.
Being present in thought and feeling is a very important part of Mindfullness. This presence is also a training that you can pick up at ANY time during your day. A few key ways that you can develop this practice include;
-analyzing your breathing, being conscious of each inhale and exhale.
-feeling you body... not in a weird way but rather being conscious of tension, movement, pains, posture.
-Understanding your senses. No matter if you exist in a city or rural environment, you can process what you hear, see, touch, and sense with greater understanding. (This a natural stress reliever by the way!)
Experience happens right? You have the ultimate opportunity to either FEAR or EMBRACE each experience.
Your well spring of emotional and physical energy is finite. That is, each day you are given a certain amount to expend on your life before you crash out, sleep , and begin again. Recently I have been having discussions with friends about visualizing that energy and where you put it. Mindfullness training and practice is all about taking all the energy that is welling up inside you and placing it all in the passion, positivity, experience bucket. If you do not direct your energy in the right way during your day you are essentially throwing it away on Fear and Doubt.
Think about it... How much of your day do you spend expending energy on doubts or 'what could be' instead of just letting exerperience into your life, adapting and kicking ass in a positive way?
Another challenging but essential aspect to Mindfullness training is the cultivating an attitude of 'non-attachment'. Nothing is permenant, and holding onto a moment or a thought/ feeling for too long is only going to create more sadness and fear in your life. As an athlete I tend to hold onto poor performances more than I do my good ones... Why? I legitimize it as a 'learning' tool but all it does is stress me the fuck out! As a parent I am constantly trying to learn this as my kids are constantly testing my patience and if I hold onto moments I would be pulling my hair out all the time. LET GO! Once again the key is to let experience come into your life, adapt to it, and move on.
Be Curious. Not Judgemental. - Walt Whitman
Mindfullness requires compassion, peace, and connection. This is hard for most people because you have to love yourself enough before you can even begin to practice aforementioned practices. We live in a society that does not nurture self-love and therefore it is hard to give back. (That is a general statement, and not the absolute truth... I hope) . Being mindful in practice will not only keep you more flexible to life but you will also be an asset to those that are on their own path towards Mindfullness. Understanding the concept of "giving back" is so powerful yet so challenging because it demands so much buy in form you first.
Being prepared as an athlete and human to life is a simple yet challenging training process. You are all on the way towards optimal physical training but I encourage you to develop the mind das much as you refine the Braun! Keep it mindfull y'all and lets push forward this week!
3/22
Baseline:
Banded Hip Distraction 2:00
Banded Pigeon 2:00
Lunge FLow: Ankle Rotations, elbow to instep W/ Reach, Hamstring Pulses, Hip Capsule Stretch, Pigeon
Power Development:
Using your Front Squat #'s,
8repsX 50%
3X8 @65%
**Each Set is to be done as fast as possible. Rest accordingly in between sets.
-In between each F.S. Set, do `15 GHDsit ups....
WOD:
3X
12 hang Power Cleans 135/85
16 Pistol Squats
32 Double Unders
** Coaches have free reign to scale one or more of the exercises UP (reps) for each athlete depending on what they need to work on. I envision a version of this workout take every athlete 6-8 minutes.
3/23
Baseline:
2X :30 @ Each
Marching High Kicks
Burpee
High Knees
Air Squats
Push Ups
Aerobic Conditioning:
4X 400m Run
-Rest exactly 1:00 between efforts
Skill Development:
10X
5 Ring Dips
5 Wall Climbs
5 Strict Chest TO bar
:30 Hollow Hold
5 V Ups
3/24
CrossFit Games Opens 17.5
