Because I have lifted relatively heavy the last two weeks I decided to lighten the snatch load and give the back a little active recovery. Now don't get me wrong, I'm still training, just going to lighten down to a 24kg for my heavy day.
The Power Circuit
A-1 Gorsky Lunge 20kg 5 x 6/6
A-2 Chin Ups 16kg 5 x 5
A-3 Snatches 24kg 5 x 5/5
20 min Zone
I really enjoy these shorter workouts. It also suits my Lumbar spine recovery well because it limits the total time of each training session and keeps me from overtraining or doing more than I should.
On another note, I recently started re-reading a great book which many of you have probably read, Stephen Covey's classic "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." It's amazing how many different aspects and details of the book I am learning now that I didn't learn or wasn't ready to learn a couple of years ago. Thank God for maturity and the self growth process.
A quick recap of the book. The first three principles are called private victories. The are:
Principle # 1 Be Proactive
Principle # 2 Begin with the end in mind
Principle # 3 Put things first.
Principles 4 through 7 are called public victories and are more related to an indivduals relationship with others and to society. The later principles must be preceded by the private victories and for obvious reasons. Princples 1 through 3 are the internal principles that govern a persons view on life and how they respond to what happens to them. It essentially means you accept the fact that you are responsible for your actions and the outcomes that result from those actions. It is telling yourself, "I am not a victim in life. I do have choices and I can choose how I want to respond to any given situation." What that means is that between STIMULUS...............and......................RESPONSE, there is a space. That space is where your freedom lies. People who successfully live the first three principles are essentially saying that they are responsible for their feelings and ultimately their behavior. The opposite would be like saying, "I couldn't help getting mad and throwing my starbucks coffee in his face, he made me mad." It is allowing external circumstances to govern and control internal conditions.
By truly wrestling and struggling with these principles, you can come to the realization the self growth takes work and is truly HOLY GROUND. But it is the only solution to becomming an effective person and member of society. Until you stop blaming others for your problems and lack of success, you will be like a computer or worse yet, a robot. Someone pushes a button and there is a knee jerk reaction to your behavior. Living the first three principles means:
a) You become a person of character who lives his life according to worthy God honoring principles
b) You do not make decisions based on what others may think of you and on your "feelings."
c) you do not live your life for the approval of others
d) You are Proactive rather than reactive
e) Writing and living your personal mission statement
f) Prioritizing the most important things in your life (family, faith, health, friends, etc..)
I will update more of this book as I begin to disect and devour the content. My challenge to anyone reading this is ask yourself the following Questions:
Question 1: What one thing could you do (you aren't doing now) that if you did on regular basis, would make a tremendous difference in your personal life?
Question 2: What one thing in your business or professional life would bring similar results?
My answer to both questions is very similar. I would spend time daily reviewing and reflecting on my purpose in life (my mission statement) and reviewing my calendar to make sure my daily activities reflect my mission and purpose. I can honestly say that if I did that every single day, I would be a much more effective person. That is my goal, to live my life more ON PURPOSE. I would also say that I need to watch less TV at night and stimulate my mind more...
Anyone else????????????
If you would like to share, please do respond to this post!
Much more to come......
6 comments:
great stuff franz. I think the move back down to the 24 kg is absolutely the right one for your back health and rehab.its strength endurance your back needs for long term health and stability and thats what the 24 is made for.
accepting the fact that you are responsible for your actions(or non actions) is a huge step in self growth and I love how training can so enhance and promot that. its that confromtation. you versus the weight versus yourself.
No one is making you attempt something you never have before but there it is. either do it or walk away too afraid to risk failing.great stuff for building character too.
and yes it is holy ground.and I always stess program minimum just to get the committment part started. just committ, really committ to SOMETHING and keep doing it even when it gets hard. then increase the level of committment.
build the base.then increase the volume.
and as far as question one: I honestly feel I am doing exactly what I need to be doing right now in personal and business. I am on point.
although I could have a better filing system,lol.
great stuff
Franz,
Great post. I haven't read that book yet, but I will now that you have turned me on to it. A friend of mine once told me: "Get busy living or get busy dying!"..sort of along the same vein, enjoy yourself, but have some direction, make a plan and work your plan.
I think that most people spend too much time on the physical aspect of training but the mental and spiritual side is often neglected. I think perhaps that is because it is more difficult to quantify in concrete terms. But there is much validity to introspection, self-evaluation, and mental imagery. You are, afterall, what you think about all day in terms of yourself. It then becomes of paramount importance to find a method of staying focused and clear of purpose and keeping your motivation level high. Each of us will walk a different path, I believe, and therefore respond to slightly different stimuli, based on our own selves. The trick therefore becomes finding what works for you and expanding upon it. Read, study and learn independently. Nice topic. Thanks for sharing that.
Rif, I think you are right about the 24kg being the appropriate bell for me. It's heavy enough to get me strong and like you said, I lack the stability and endurance in my spine/back muscles which is what I need for a healthy spine anyway.
Get that filing system cranking :)
Tom,
thanks for responding. I would agree with that people neglect the mental and spiritual side of things. Ultimately they all effect each other so why try to segregate them? I highly recommend the book, it is a book I believe everyone should read, and re-read.
thanks for sharing your thoughts and reflections. Franz, you are a special person and the world is a better place because of people like yourself. Those who know are fortunate and thanks for doing your part to make as better people by sharing, educating and challenging us with your personal thoughts.
Hi Franz,
I am in the middle of reading that book, the 7 Habits. Excellent work! What impressed me was HOW he came up with the 7 habits. He researched over 200 years of text as it related to successful practices in business and the workplace. What was remarkable was the first 150 years, noted luminaries such as Ben Franklin, and others of their time wrote about working on personal character, honor, industriousness, responsibility, and such.
In the last 50 years, in the 20th century, the focus was on personality, "smile more and people will smile with you" and how to "Win" over people. Is there any wonder that there are so many unethical occurences in big business (Enron, Exxon, most fast food chains, and most, if not all politics).
I often think of when I worked the streets on patrol, I came across so many people who left their futures in the hands of others, or were so apathetic, they did not care what happened to themselves. They were content to blame the system, their environment, or anyone else except themselves for their situation.
The first three habits are HUGE! Being proactive is so simple, yet largely effective once you know where you want to go. If you don't know where you want to go, you can make alot of progress going nowhere.
Regarding your work load, speaking for myself, the workouts were still effective for me even though I was using the 16kg, and 24kg. Keep your spine healthy and it will get stronger.
Stay well, Coach!
Joe,thanks for your thoughts and kind words. Like yourself I am just trying to take accountability for my own actions and hopefully because of that be more ready and able to influence others in a positive light. Keep it rocking! (and yes, we need to talk about sprinting program design)
Pete, once again I want to say I am very greatful and thankful that you are okay after you accident. That is scary stuff.
On the other hand I am pumped that you are reading that book. It has and continues to change my life more than any other book (other than the Bible)and makes so much sense. Interesting points on the difference between trying to "win" people over by external personality techniques rather than "being" a person of character and integrity. But that is the world we live in and what Hollywood and the media teaches society. Look good on the outside, change your outside appearance, look successful, drive the right car, have the right house, and that is what success is. That total balony!
True success is commiting oneself to living a life of Godly principles and not waivering in the slightest. Living a principle centered life is not easy, but is "the higher path" in life!
Thanks for the feedback brothers!
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