Memento Mori
Forgive me while I put on my philosopher's hat for today, but I recently began something that has dramatically shifted the lens through which I view life - in a good way. I shared it with a few good friends of mine over the past weekend, and it made me realize that many of you reading would benefit from it, too.
I started keeping track of my life using a Memento Mori sheet, and Wow, has it helped me keep my life in perspective. What is it? Well, to give credit where credit is due, I got the idea from Craig Weller, a former member of Naval Special Warfare and also a founder of Barefoot Fitness. Here's what he says about it:
"Since I was about eighteen years old I have been maintaining a tally on this piece of paper. It's 52 blocks wide and 80 blocks tall. On the top left corner is my birthdate, and on the bottom right is the same date, 80 years later. Every week I mark off a block.
I don't write anything or make any kind of notes. I just black it out. The only thing left is the memories I have of that week and reality of how it has affected my life. In the end, the only things any of us have are our actions and our memories.
Doing this keeps my life in perspective. Each time I fill in a block I briefly consider what I did with that week. Sometimes I do so with a feeling of satisfaction. I want mine to be a life well lived. Other times I look back and realize that I frittered away most of my time on things that didn't really further my life, didn't make for any remarkable experiences, and didn't really make me happy.
I don't think that it would be possible to maintain a list like this and work in a cubicle for twenty years. Or even twenty months. Imagine that: 80 blocks filled in with no memories other than a gray wall and the occasional lunch at Applebees.
In fact, most people probably wouldn't want to do something like this at all. It would be too uncomfortable. Self awareness is a pain in the ass when there are so many entertaining reality shows on cable. And excuses are easy. You probably get used to the blinders after a while and eventually don't even know what you're missing.
This weekend I filled in the 25th row on my sheet. The last block in a row always leads me to do some self-assessing. Am I happy with what I've been doing with my life? Have I been wasting time? Why? Where could I be right now if I hadn't? What will I do to make sure that one year or five years from when I fill in the last block on another row I can look back with nothing but satisfaction and happiness? Do I know exactly where I want to be at that point?"
I recently printed out and began filling in blocks on my own memento mori sheet. As I blacked out the first 24 rows on my grid, I was filled with nostalgia as memories long lost over the past years swarmed in to my brain. Some of them were great and filled me with satisfaction and a sense of joy, accomplishment, and fulfillment; others of them...not so much.
There is something very powerful about blacking out that square, and seeing - in a bit more tangible way - what it looks like when just one simple week of your life passes by. Here is my sheet (I just took a picture of it):
Filling out this sheet makes me glad (to put it mildly) I decided to become a strength and conditioning coach. Growingup, I was always a math/science geek, and so I began my college life by majoring in Engineering Virginia Tech. After two years of engineering, I decided that I didn't want to make a career out of it (even though the grades were there). I just couldn't see myself stuck inside an office building all day, chugging away at math equations and/or putting together an algorithm for a particular project. Don't get me wrong: I'm not oblivious to the fact that there are some pretty cool engineering jobs out there, and that there are countless engineers (probably some of you reading this) that are enjoying your jobs. If this is the case, more power to you. However, I didn't see engineering as something that would provide a sense of fulfillment to ME PERSONALLY.
I feel that there are countless people out there living their lives in the same, mind-numbing circuit of events.
Wake up --> Go to a job you can't stand --> Return home --> Eat --> Watch TV --> Sleep --> Wake up (more tired than the day before) and repeat the same thing. Over and over again.
As Craig mentions, I don't think it would be possible for me to maintain a life like that while keeping a memento mori chart, blacking out the squares as the weeks/months pass right by me.
I did not choose a lucrative career by any means. I don't have a lot of extra money to throw around for whatever I please. It was a fairly "risky" decision for me to leave engineering behind and enter a field that sets very few people up for early retirement.
Screw early retirement. Why would I want to sit around playing golf all day, or sitting on a beach all day, year after year? I'd like to look back on my life, knowing I helped as many people as I possibly could. For me personally, this meant becoming a strength coach to help people (athletes and Joe/Jane alike) to improve their quality of life via enhanced physical well-being (which often improves one's mental state as a by-product.
I LOVE my job. I look forward to waking up every morning to start my day (as much during the week as I do on the weekends). I mean, how cool is it that our clientele voluntarily wake up before 7am on Thanksgiving Day to lift with the coaches?
I HIGHLY encourage you to try something like this. It will put your life in an entirely new perspective.
Been putting off that trip overseas? Just do it.
Scared to ask out the attractive barista at the coffee shop? Blacking out another square on your grid should help give you a jump start to action.
Blood pressure rising because someone cut you off in traffic? Pissed off at an annoying coworker? Angry because the person in front of you at the grocery store check-out is taking forever? It's not worth it.
Do you really want the majority of your life's "squares" to be filled with boredom, monotony, and/or frustration?
Glued to your smart phone as you walk out of your office? Take a moment to simply stop. Put your phone away and breathe a few times. Look around outside.
Instead of watching TV all day on Sunday, how about going for a walk/run on a local trail?
Life is happening all around you, don't miss it.
It's another reason that I constantly advocate following a well-balanced training program. It may not be able to extend your grid, but it will at least help to improve the quality of it.
Memento mori is a Latin phrase meaning "Remember your mortality."
I'm with Craig: I'd like to look back on my life and remember something other than the grey wall of an office building and the occasional lunch at Applebees.
Step out of your comfort zone and do something awesome. You only have so many squares.
-Steve
As the weather gets warmer…
A quick tip to keep you hydrated:
The major electrolytes that are lost in sweat are sodium, chloride, and potassium. Slugging back 16 fl. oz. of diluted Gatorade about 1.5-1hr before your game/event/training session will provide adequate levels of the above mentioned electrolytes and fluid. Gatorade also contains the calories and carbohydrates which will provide you energy. Consuming this concoction throughout the competition/event/training session will also be of great importance as your body craves the rapid absorption of lost electrolytes, salts, and fluids due to perspiration. Losing too much fluid (even as little as 2% of body weight) will reduce blood volume (dehydration) which will subsequently require the heart to work harder to circulate blood leading to a significant decrease in performance. Remember, feeling thirsty is in indicator that you are already too low on fluids.
Eating a solid meal steep in nutrients should also be a staple of your pre-game/event/training session routine. Remember to eat foods that are easy on your stomach as you don’t want to have “issues” during the game/event/training session. For me, I always avoided dairy…yikes!
I’d play hockey like a Hanson brother…and not the “MMM-BOP” Hanson brothers….
Chris
Recovery...
If you’re in the midst of grinding through the back third of a spring sport season, the following provides some quick ideas about how you can hasten and improve your rate/quality of recovery between competitions…and generally just stay healthy! -Don’t forget to eat
You must make eating a priority. I remember teammates losing 10-15lbs throughout a competitive season. Coincidence that these same guys were the one’s always nursing something in the training room? They blamed travel, lack of quality food on the road, etc. for their dramatic weight loss. Yes, while these variables did make finding the time for frequent-quality feedings more difficult, it’s certainly possible if you make eating a priority.
I used to pack “road coolers.” I’d stuff that sucker full of fruit, veggies, trail mixes and sandwich accoutrement. Safe to say my processed and fast food consumption was significantly less, meal frequency much more regular, and weight fluctuation less drastic, as compared to my peers.
-Sleep
Becoming regimented with your sleep is also extremely important. It’s important that you try to hit the sack at the same time every night, while shooting for 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. This too was challenging as Madden wars or Poker hands (not for money of course…settle down) sometimes impeded on my desired hour of retirement. For me, melatonin, sleep mask, and a quality set of ear plugs always did the trick.
High-school guys and gals, you have no excuse for this one.
-Ice
I touched on this in an earlier post. You can see what I have to say about that here…
-Soft tissue work
Whether it’s self-inflicted (foam rolling), or delivered manual by a therapist (you can’t beat this), you got to find time to address tissue quality. Restrictions within the musculature will severely impede proper blood flow (and subsequent delivery of nutrients), and also prohibit proper movement patterns. A little bit of preventative maintenance in this area will go a long way, trust me.
-Low intensity cardio/mobility/activation drills
All of these can be accomplished in the same 20 minute session. Blending these components will not only aid in flushing toxins and delivering new nutrient rich blood, but will also help ward off mechanical asymmetries that can crop-up from overuse and the repetitive nature of sport.
It’s important not to overreach during these sessions, as the intent is to aid in recovery, not cause greater disruption. A perfect session might include various sled pulls, crawling variations, hip flexor and thoracic mobility drills, and some glute activation.
Having Adonis DNA helps, too…
Chris
5 reasons why SAPT’s adult onsite and distance coaching training plans are for you…
5. Because rather than perpetuate imbalances with your current 60 minute wander around the gym/sit on the recumbent bike, mouth agape routine, you’ll be provided a thorough individualized training program applicable to your specific needs and goals allowing you to hit the gym with vigor and purpose. Dare I say you’ll experience results? 4. Because you won’t be allowed to avoid the things you hate, the things you didn’t know you hated, and learn to embrace these things as the most important parts of your week (well almost). Learn to enjoy movement prep, mobility, and soft tissues drills designed specifically to improve active range of motion around joints and soft tissue quality. Muscular knots and adhesions don’t resolve themselves through quick, unfocused static stretching routines; in actuality, they’ll typically make the knot tighter leading to further discomfort. Knead those knots and adhesions out with our localized soft tissue techniques and experience improved recovery, less inhibited movement patterns, and a general feeling of relief.
3. Though you’ll miss the SAPT coaching staff and community feel of the SAPT training facility during your offsite training sessions, you’ll be able to pacify our SAPT cravings through our thorough and extensive, mobile devise accessible, SAPT Exercise Database. Enjoy the descriptive prose and meticulous demonstrations to ensure you’re executing with perfect form even offsite, on your time. There’s only one way to garner the intended benefit of a training stimulus, and it’s through perfect execution. Going through the motions will elicit blah training effects, plus it’s kind-of unsafe…You exercise to improve your health, right?
2. To stave off type II (fast twitch) muscular atrophy and neural drive impairment. As one ages, without central nervous system activation, and therefore limited type II stimulation, type II fibers will actually disappear (to never return again) and thus significantly lower strength and power output levels. Not only does this present grim performance and overall functionality implications, but structural repercussions as well. Because type II fibers are more hypertrophy inclined, neglecting their recruitment will overtime significantly speed-up muscle mass decline. Consider there is a 10% decrease in total number of muscle fibers per decade after the age of 50, and it’s a wonder the majority of the “well-seasoned” population hasn’t evolved into soft, slithering, amoebas of goo (HA, I had fun writing that!). Our adult programming safely implements compound movements and drills designed to improve power output to elicit the physiological responses necessary to ward off the dreaded “amoeba of goo” condition. Besides, throwing medicine balls (or should I say health balls), is just freakin’ fun.
1. Because you’ll relearn how to take time for…yourself…it’s okay, you’re allowed.
Your first step towards a more pain-free, stronger, youthful you, starts by clicking here…
You’ll love it…
Chris
My Stupid Decision for the Week - and More!
1. I’ll go ahead and lead off with what I hope is my only stupid decision for the week. Yes, it already occurred, halfway through Monday, thank you very much. A couple weeks ago a colleague of mine at Mason loaned me several fancy little devices called Myotests. These little guys look like iPods from about 4 years ago and provide some phenomenal testing feedback. You can run tests on the bench press, half-squat, several vertical jump variations, and something called “stiffness.” The Myotest provides feedback about each test with precision I’ve not been privy to before. It gives readings like Power (W and W/kg), Strength (N), Speed (cm/s), Ground Contact Time (ms), and stiffness (kN/m).
As is my tendency, I dove headfirst into the world of Myotest data. Before resurfacing I was reminded that the Snatch (especially the second pull) can supposedly generate more power than any other barbell movement. So, I decided to do some snatches – you know, for old time’s sake and to see if I’m capable of generating 3000W.
On Friday, I added a few hang snatches to the end of my lift to remember how they felt. The verdict: not too bad, definitely something to work on. Only thing worth noting: I could feel the stretch on my slightly internally rotated right shoulder. Whatever.
Now for the stupid part: Monday, I didn’t have a lift scheduled. On my off days I’ve been making a habit of doing something, really whatever strikes my fancy, to improve my general work capacity and conditioning. So, I decided to do more hang snatches – singles this time, because I’m thinking clearly. Well, long story short, I pulled something in my neck. I’m 99% sure it’s the upper part of my trapezius. Guess which side the pull occurred on… oh yeah, the right side. Should’ve seen this one coming.
So, what are the take home points in all this? 1. Myotests are pretty sweet, and, 2. When you’re training for a powerlifting meet that requires no overhead movements, it’s not advisable to throw in snatch singles on a whim.
2. Over the weekend I was contacted by a publication referencing an article I contributed to several years ago. I had all but forgotten about it, but was reminded that it’s referenced on about two-dozen other training sites. Here it is: Top Ten Reasons Heavy Weights Don’t Bulk Up the Female Athlete. It’s a pretty good read.
3. Finally, for my “No One Cares” tidbit of the day: Ryan and I discovered that adding a turbo charger to Toyota RAV4’s (like the one we have) is “a thing” in other countries. All kidding aside, you can jack these little guys up to produce between 300 to 500 hp! Check out the video below, if you’ve ever driven a RAV you know how amazing this is. We’re considering building ourselves the ultimate sleeper.
In my Half Squat test I generated 2440W, not bad considering I didn't hurt myself and it wasn't one of the fancy, technical, and purportedly superior Olypmic lifts. - Sarah
How Do You Get A Guy To Want You Back
Text Your Ex Back Free - Last week I was reminded that those of us who work at SAPT are in possession of some pretty special information: Over at Mason I was finishing up with the Throwers and needed to excuse myself to the restroom. No big deal, they w
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ere all stretching and the session was wrapping up – the intern would keep an eye on things. But, to my HORROR upon return, I found the intern instructing the male throwers in the “fine points” of standing biceps curls. I’m sure you’re thinking: “What’s the big deal?” right? Well, it’s a big freaking deal and this is why…
What is shoulder impingement syndrome?
“Pain and dysfunction due to excessive overhead use or abnormal positioning of the shoulder during overhead throwing activities are common and may result from multiple etiologies, including impingement syndromes… Primary impingement has been attributed to abnormalities of the shape of the acromion and other static and dynamic causes… Secondary impingement is a similar entity but is due to an occult dynamic instability (usually anterior), which leads to symptoms similar to those seen in primary impingement.”
Essentially, what happens with overhead athletes and throwing athletes is that the tendons about the shoulder become inflamed from the crazy positions athletes put their arms in for the sake of a kill or an out or the butterfly stroke. Once the tendons become inflamed it requires lots of rest to allow the inflammation to go down. Most athletes do not get enough rest, especially in-season. So, let’s say we’ve got a volleyball player with biceps tendonitis, now we’ve got a situation where the biceps tendon is larger (due to the inflammation) thus not sliding within the shoulder the way it should. This poor sliding or impingement causes excessive wear and tear on the tendon and the joint in general.
What can make shoulder impingement worse?
So, the million-dollar answer – insert drum roll – DIRECT BICEPS TRAINING! Hopefully, I’ve already created some decent imagery of an inflamed tendon squeezed tightly into the shoulder capsule and beginning to show wear and tear. Now, imagine this same athlete with this same shoulder trying to get his pre-party pump on. He is innocently going to town on the biceps curls (because a good biceps pump is, after all, the key to a lady’s heart), but in reality he is effectively causing more inflammation in the tendon via the increased blood flow and direct work.
This additional, unnecessary volume is the culprit and can push a good shoulder into the danger zone of season-long pain and stiffness.
But, Sarah, how can I train my biceps, avoid shoulder pain, and still be a hit with the ladies?
It’s actually an easy and significantly more worthwhile way to spend your time: use compound pulling exercises. Think chin-ups, pull-ups, lat pull-down variations, any and all row variations, etc… These types of movements allow for intense training of the biceps and several other muscle groups. They also effectively allow your body to work in the way it was designed. There is generally no pain associated with these substitutions, however, if you give my suggestions a try and experience pain you should discontinue the movement immediately and try a different variation, angle, or exercise all together.
...Well, to finish my story: the intern clearly had no idea what the problem was and it turned out neither did one of our Mason GA’s. So, this post is for you, Adam and Matt.
These are the kind of details that put SAPT into a class all our own.
If you want to keep your head attached, never, ever add additional workload to my programs. Ever. It’s that important and, yes, it makes a difference. - Sarah
