Thriving vs. Surviving

Survive and advance has become the motto of the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament.  However, I believe the teams that thrive, not survive, are the one’s that advance.  Surviving suggests doing just enough to get by, while thriving suggests owning an opportunity and being better off because of the circumstances.

The term survivor is used to describe many who have made it through adversity: cancer survivors, Holocaust survivors, and sexual abuse survivors to name a few.  While surviving is certainly the first step in overcoming adversity, perhaps thriving should be the focus.  Allow me to explain.

He is considered one of the greatest hockey players of all time.  In 1993 he had a streak with at least one goal in 12 consecutive games and was on pace to lead the league in points, when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer.  He missed two months of play and his team struggled.  However, on his final day of radiation he returned and scored a goal and an assist.  Even while missing two months of play he ended up winning the scoring title by 12 points.  Following his return, the team went on to win 17 straight games.  He went on to play for a total of eight more years, while coming in and out of retirement.  Today he is co-owner/chairman of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have been one of the best organizations in sports during his ownership.  Mario Lemieux is not just surviving.  He is thriving.

In 1944, because he was Jewish, he was placed in a work camp in Auschwitz where he became inmate “A-7713”, which was tattooed on his left arm.   He was separated from his mother and his youngest sister, who were killed in gas chambers, while his father was beaten to death at a work camp.   After living in France he moved to the United States where he has written over 40 books (57 total in his life).  In 1986 he received the Nobel Peach Prize.  He has received the Congressional Gold Medal, The Presidential Medal of Freedom, and serves as a Professor at Boston University.  He received an honorary knighthood in London.  Elie Wiesel is not just surviving.  He is thriving.

Starting at the age of nine she was molested by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend.  The abuse eventually led her to run away at the age of 13.  From there she went on to earn a full scholarship to Tennessee State University.  Since then she became the host of her own TV show and became one of the premier interviewers in the world.  She is an actress, producer, businesswomen, writer, philanthropist and publisher.  She currently has her own TV network, magazine, and radio channel.  Lastly, she is a billionaire and one of the most powerful women in the world.  Oprah Winfrey is not just surviving.  She is thriving.

These examples are not meant to minimize the tragedies that each experienced.  All of them had to battle to get to this point in their lives.  Yet their ability to thrive in the face of yesterday’s adversity allows each of them to be great today.   The old saying, “what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger”, certainly rings true for all of them.  So, when your time comes and adversity hits, as it does for all who live, how will you react?  Will you be satisfied with surviving and advancing or will you challenge yourself to thrive?  Surviving isn’t always a choice, but thriving is.

Conrad Mann at the USPA Larry Garro Memorial Powerlifting Meet

Whether it’s a third grade spelling bee or the Superbowl, putting yourself into competition takes a ton of courage.  At 64 years young, Conrad of SAPT fame decided that it was time to enter into his first powerlifting meet (why not?).  Even a double knee replacement wouldn’t keep Conrad from competing, and he decided to enter into the bench-only meet.

Here’s how it went down.

The Weigh-In

Conrad was competing in the 164.9 weight class.  He was concerned prior to the meet that he might not make weight, but ended up stepping on the scale at a whopping 159 pounds.  He came prepared, however, with plenty of fluids and snacks to get properly hydrated before he stepped on the platform.

The Wait

The typical sequence of a powerlifting meet is 1)Squat, 2)Bench Press, and 3)Deadlift.  The lifters will have 3 attempts at each lift, and with two flights of competitors in the squat, we had plenty of time to relax and watch the squat attempts.  We saw lifters of all shapes and sizes squat one after another.  It was awesome to see all the different leverages people possess and the different styles of squatting they chose to utilize.  High bar, low bar, Olympic shoes, Chuck Taylors, wider stance, narrow stance, long femurs, long torsos- basically every variation of a barbell back squat that you could imagine.  Anyone interested in biomechanics should definitely check out a powerlifting meet just to see the infinite variations in the same basic movement pattern.

Towards the end of the second flight of squat attempts we decided it was time to start prepping both body and mind to push some heavy weight.

The Warm-Up

Taking the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” attitude Conrad went through the same general warm-up as he does prior to a session at SAPT.  Mobility work, scap pushups, face pulls and external rotations were all part of the ritual.

Just as important as getting physically warmed up for the bench attempts is getting mentally focused.  At this point, Conrad’s level of raw strength was out of our control.  The strength-building portion came from weeks of hard work on a brilliant bench specialization program designed in the top secret laboratory that is Steve Reed’s mind.  However, this was the time where it was critical to take charge over the factors that we can control, of them being 1)Techniqu0e, and 2)Obeying the commands.  The head judge gives three commands after unracking the bar (start, press, rack) during each attempt, and failure to obey any of these commands results in a “no good” lift.

Following the general warm-up we got on the bench.  We started with light triples and progressed into heavier singles, ensuring that each rep was crisp and clean.  The bar touched the same spot on his chest with every press, the elbows were nicely tucked at the bottom, and each command was obeyed as I yelled them out during the warm-up.

Go Time!

Having successfully primed his central nervous system to its fullest capacity, Conrad was warmed up, suited up, and ready to go.  He was in the first flight of benchers and stepped on deck for his first attempt in a powerlifting competition.

Conrad opened at 85kg (187lbs).  It was a solid opener, and flew up at lightning speed.  Undisputed three whites from the judges for a good lift.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nw78bHsOqI&feature=youtu.be

His second attempt was 92.5kg (203.5lbs).  Another easy bench for Conrad and three whites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0dQ6bO8x48

Third attempt here was 97.5kg(214.5lbs) for a PR.  Again another solid, clean lift that received a well deserved three whites from the judges.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z-L2EkKSXU

Wrap Up

IMG_0769

To sum it up, Conrad walked away from the meet three for three on his attempts, a PR, no torn pecs, and shoulders still in-tact!  Can’t ask for much better than that.  Congrats Conrad, way to represent SAPT!  Big thanks to Ron, Jen, and Sondra being part of the SAPT support staff, and a double thanks to Ron for taking videos of the attempts!

Mirror Test

Last week Alex Rodriguez became mitigated to a cheerleader when his team needed him most.  A-Rod, as he’s known, is one of the best hitters of the past 20 years, yet his success occurred during the heart of the steroid era.  He has dated Kate Hudson and Cameron Diaz, owns a Mercedes dealership, is a 12-time all-star, has made over 325 million dollars, and has won a MLB championship.  Yet, I wonder what A-Rod sees when he looks in the mirror?  Does he think, what if?  Is he happy? He came into the Majors as a phenom, as the first pick of the draft, and was very successful early in his career.  What if he stayed away from steroids?  How much money and fame would he sacrifice to know that he played the game cleanly?  How much does he strive for acceptance and desire to be well liked by his peers, the fans, and the media?  We will probably never know the answers to these questions, but these are relevant questions for us everyday.

Similarly Lance Armstrong has not only dominated his sport, but has made an even bigger impact with his fight against cancer.  Armstrong’s continued denial of taking performance enhancement drugs has caused many to question his integrity.  At what point would Lance have sacrificed some of his success to avoid having to continuously lie to others and himself?

When is it appropriate to sacrifice integrity for greatness?  How fulfilling is winning when you know you cheated to get there?  Is your satisfaction solely due to the end result, or because of the journey along the way?  41% of National Lottery Winners in the UK continued to work despite their newfound financial windfall.   Many lottery winners have committed suicide or figured out other ways to rid themselves of their wealth.  What do you see when you look into the mirror?

Knowing who you are, your identity, and what you believe in is often what defines our self-satisfaction, which greatly impacts our happiness.  And happiness counts.

Linear Periodization (Yawn...?)

Grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable. I'm about to talk programming and, more specifically, my personal experiences with linear periodization: My go-to programming style is, and always will be, the conjugate sequence system. The reasons are many, but to simplify, I just plain consider it the most effective and safest way to improve strength, power, and athletic performance in most advanced athletes while ensuring that serious CNS fatigue stays at bay.

Plus, because the BULK of my programming experience has been for sports where the goal, from a S&C perspective, is to allow the athlete to perform close to their best for upwards of 2-months in many competitions that are all equally important. The constant cycling of compound lift variations and set/rep schemes lends itself quite well to these types of sport.

So, when I began working with track and field, who are only interested in peaking twice a year, the seeming simplicity was almost too much to bear. I found myself working with coaches who implemented their own linear periodization on the track and wanted the weight room sessions to mirror in terms of both volume and intensity.

This meant *gasp* that I would have to resort to programming bench pressing and squatting at repetitions that sometimes exceeded sets of 10. I know that sounds kind of silly, but for women who squat in the 300's and men who hover around 450, a 4x8 back squat session can get pretty out of control.

My first year with track and field I spent many painful hours trying to unravel the mysteries of linear periodization (mountain out of a mole-hill? I'd say so). I even went so far as to get a USATF Level 1 coaching certification in an effort to find some solid footing.

Well, fast forward a couple years, and we've won our conference the last three years and had numerous successes on the road to nationals each season.

Despite this success, I still had a problem. I couldn't accurately identify with the athletes as they trudged through what I believed to be an extremely intense training program.

I've always prided myself on personally experiencing virtually components of every program I've ever implemented. This is critically important because it helps me communicate and relate to the athletes better than if I have no experience with what they're going through.

Why had I never done this with the track program? I've actually got a couple good reasons: Baby #1 followed by Baby #2. But, no longer being in the pregnancy cycle, I figured I could probably manage my way through the sprinters and jumpers weight training program. That or I'd hurt myself trying.

In my next post I will dive into the details of this training plan and how I've been progressing.

Here are a couple teasers: 1. I haven't experienced this much muscle soreness in at least 5 years. 2. I'm amazed the team hasn't attempted a full blown mutiny given what they do on the track is followed immediately by my program. Remember, the programs mirror each other in volume and intensity. 3. My lift today really almost made me throw up. Happily, my iron stomach once again proved to have the upper hand. 4. I'm getting much stronger very quickly.

Until next time...

I Love My Fear

One of my favorite quotes is from Dave Tate.  He said, “Real fear makes men do amazing things they would never do without it.”  I’ve done a lot of reflecting over the past couple of weeks and what Dave said has really stuck with me.  As I lead my life in other directions I look forward to but also fear the future.  I fear falling into “that’s just the way it is” mindset, I fear defeat,   I fear feeling I put myself in a situation where I can’t make a difference, I fear that I’m leaving a one-of-a-kind place.  But just as Tate says, I love my fear.   Is that weird that I feel that way?  Is it weird to say that yes, I do love my fear.  If I was just a normal person who had never set foot in SAPT’s doors then maybe it would be.  However, as I leave SAPT I feel ready and able to embrace my fears. Reflecting back on the years at SAPT I remember vividly entering the facility for the first time and being in awe.  I was in awe of the work ethic, the drive, the training, the coaching, it was all amazingly overwhelming.  I felt like I couldn’t hang with any of them; the coaches, the athletes and clients, they were all above me.  What could I offer these people?  As I’ve gone on these past couple of years those fears have gone away; I’ve become a good coach and an even better man for being at SAPT.  The coaches who I now call family and the athletes and clients I’ve worked with have made me understand that if you embrace your fears you can make a difference.  I don’t know if the coaches and people of SAPT understand just how important they’ve been in making me the person I am but I hope they do.  I hope they realize how thankful I am to all of them for everything they’ve given me.  Leaving SAPT is extremely hard for me and I want everyone to know that I am eternally grateful and I truly wish you all nothing but the best life has to offer.

As I said before I fear the future,  I fear falling into “that’s just the way it is” mindset, I fear defeat,   I fear feeling I put myself in a situation where I can’t make a difference, I fear that I’m leaving a one-of-a-kind place.  However, in reflection I’ve come to understand that I am not truly leaving SAPT because SAPT is not something you leave.  Once you’ve been there it becomes a part of you and it is a place that will be with me always.  With all this said if there is one thing the people and coaches of SAPT have taught me it’s that, you have to love your fear.

How Will You Succeed?

I stumbled across this on Facebook the other day.  Normally I just scroll through things like this; it doesn't usually make a huge impact on my day.  For some reason though this one stuck when I saw it.  I'm not entirely sure why but it just struck a chord with me, and I really liked it.  I believe it was the first line that might have done it for me, "I succeed because I am willing to do the things that you are not."  I have a lot of changes going on in my life and this line made me think about all the athletes and clients I've worked with over the past couple of years at SAPT.  The large majority of which have succeeded or will succeed in the near future.  Is this because of me or the other coaches at SAPT?  I say no.  The coaching staff at SAPT is merely a vehicle our athletes and clients have used to travel on the road to success.  It's something they posses within themselves that has gotten them to where they are.  As I said SAPT was just the vehicle, it was up to them to turn on the car and drive down the path.  The people I look back on and also the ones I currently watch train now have something their peers do not. They succeed because they are willing to do the things their peers are not.  They are willing to wake up in the early morning during their summer break to come train hard.  They are willing to come in after a long, hard day at work and get after it.  They are willing to train through and around injuries.  They are willing to hold onto hope that they will get past those injuries, even when it seems like all hope is lost they still do not ever give up.  And they are willing and able to understand that success does not happen over night but only through hard, grueling work.

When I think about the kids, teenagers and adults I've worked with I am in awe of their drive, their tenacity and most importantly their heart.  I am forever grateful to them for the inspiration and motivation they have given me and the other SAPT coaches.  They will never stop getting better, they will never give up... Ever. That is why they succeed.

How will you succeed?