September 1, 2016

“The toughest thing about success is that you’ve

got to keep on being a success."

—IRVING BERLIN

Today we started chipping away at the SealFit Assessment

1. AMREP 2 minutes- Situps to Navy Standards with a partner holding feet and judging reps- Goal 100

2. AMREP 2 minutes- Push-ups with a partner with their fist under the sternum.  Chest to fist every rep- Goal 100

3. Work to 1RM Thruster- You can use the rack for this

4. AMREP 1 Minute- Thruster @ 95 Lbs- Goal 30

August 31, 2016

“What no one could have realized at the time was how much Jeff and his team’s ignorance of the sport would turn out to be an asset”

— But Now I See by Steven Holcomb

This quote is from a book I am listening to and quite interested in.  The book is But Now I See by Steven Holcomb.  Steven is the driver of USA 1 Bobsled and an Olympic Gold Medalist.  He was diagnosed with Keratoconus which degrades vision and became legally blind (while still the driver of a sled going 90 mph).  Not only is this book a great story about overcoming a condition to restore sight, but it also has a parallel story about USA bobsledding that is fascinating to me. 

The USA at one time had to buy their sleds and equipment from the Europeans.  There were no sleds built in the USA.  It was no wonder that we consistently finished poorly, not only off the medal stand, but really never having a chance as we were using outdated equipment and no one was really taking the sport as seriously, in a gear or technical sense, as our competitors.  This all changed when Jeff Bodine of NASCAR was watching the Olympics when Herschel Walker was a pusher and the commentator pointed out this flaw in our team's equipment.  Jeff Bodine decided that he was going to change things.  

He didn't know anything about Bobsledding, but he had tremendous pride in his country and he did know about racing.  He did have a complete garage that could build a NASCAR vehicle overnight.  He committed to a task and got it done...eventually.  

I LOVE this quote above because it embodies my own career and what I have seen from so many others as well.  What may seem like the biggest weakness, challenge, hurdle, or giant mountain in front of you will turn out to be your greatest asset if you stick with it long enough.  In my case, I grew up in Tennessee and had never seen a bonefish, tarpon or permit in my entire life.  I had never been on a guided trip and had never once been to the Florida Keys.  There is no way that you could look at this situation and conclude that I was operating at a distinct advantage over my competition in my quest to become a bonefish, tarpon and permit guide in the Florida Keys.   It certainly wasn't an advantage...for 10 or 12 years. My competition grew up in Key West, they had fathers who were guides, they had been on the water their whole life.  My situation was one of almost complete impossibility, but I did have one crucial ingredient, passion and determination.  I simply wanted to be a fishing guide in the Florida Keys so bad that nothing was going to stop me.  One other asset that I had was a work ethic, an ability to endure pain and a never quit attitude forged by my wrestling background. 

I knew that I had to work harder than everyone else, 10 times as hard, because I had no idea what I was doing.  I had to learn more, faster than everyone else, because I knew nothing. I knew that I had to treat my customers better than they had ever been treated before, because they were the only ones that I had.  This developed a work ethic and passion for learning that became the normal, every day operating procedure.

In Steven Holcomb's book, the fact that Jeff Bodine knew nothing about bobsledding certainly wasn't an advantage at first.  His first sleds were slightly better than our old ones, but still no medals.  However, because he knew nothing of protocol, the way it had always been done or tradition, Jeff did what he knew how to do and used his resources to get a job done.  The result was something that the Bobsled community had never seen before.  Pit crews, engineers, the ability to change things instantly or rebuild the entire sled overnight became their normal operating procedure.

At first, this looked like a circus act and all the competitors watched in amusement, but Bodine and his team stayed with it and did what they knew how to do.  They knew how to make instant corrections toward improvement and they knew how to make things go fast. 

It didn't work right away, but eventually the fact that Jeff Bodine knew nothing about Bobsledding became the Team USA's biggest advantage.  In 2014 at Sochi, the Team USA sled, driven by Steven Holcomb won the Olympic Gold Medal.

Take Home Value:  Do not let ANYTHING intimidate you from doing something that you want to do.  No matter how impossible it seems, if you commit and stick with it, whatever your biggest challenge is today will become your greatest advantage.  This might be your health, your location, your education, your upbringing or your experience level.  It is definitely not going to happen overnight, but any of these things can be corrected and in that process, you may discover your advantage and dominate your competition. 

Do you have a story about how this has been true in your own life or in the life of someone you know?  If so, I'd like to hear it.  Send me an email at Permitfly4@aol.com

This morning 5:45 am

6 Mile Run as fast as possible

I finished 48:32, slower than I had anticipated.  PSC came in around 42:00, Mike D and Alan L beat me by a minute or two.  Good work!

Playing to win

After my scholastic athletic career had long ended, I learned the difference between playing to win and playing not to lose.  Slowly, it became clear to me as I learned the difference between positive and negative statements.  A profound shift in the way that I saw myself in the world happened and contributed to a tremendous amount of the success that I have created in my life.

Once it became clear, I realized that I had been playing not to lose most of my life in sports and in everyday activities and business.  Playing not to lose can be the same as playing to beat the other team rather than playing to win yourself. 

Playing to beat the other team is a negative action while playing to win is a positive.  It is just a slight tweak in your thinking, but it has profound effects on the outcome.  It can be simplified further into the difference between these two statements:

I hate to lose

I love to win

To many, and to me most of my life, these two statements meant the same thing.  As I learned later, they are opposites that sometimes end the same result, but not always.

This is something to think about in your daily business.  Are you playing to win or not to lose?  Are you driven because you want to defeat others or because you want your business to grow and thrive and add positivity to the world?

Check your language that you use.  Do you regularly use words like awful, horrible, struggle, fight or battle often?  Could you replace those words with positive statements like thrive, grow, awesome, terrific, effortlessly, love, fabulous or win?

There is much more to this subject and we will return to it occassionally, but to me, this realization was a paradigm shift in my life for the positive. 

Here is the simple question that I will leave you with: Do you love to win or do you hate to lose?  Do you know that there is a difference?

August 30, 2016

Renaissance Park Loop

This is one of our favorite field trips.  I simply made a loop course 8 years ago and we return to it now and then to see if we can do it just a little faster.  For a long time the record stood at 21:30 with me and Trevor tied.  Today, Trevor came in at 21:00 but was 5 seconds off his all time PR.

PSC was fast too and Mike D and I came in with a photo finish at 22:42

Ren Park

For time:

24 Push-ups at first corner

Crossovers on pier

10 Burpees at end of pier

24 Push-ups in second corner

24 Box Jump 24 in.s on picnic tables

24 Push-ups in 3rd corner

100m Burpee Broad Jump across bridge

24 Push-ups on 4th corner

50 Body Rows on railing by stairs

Go down stairs and come up big steps anyway possible

100m Bear Crawl up hill X2

Second round- All reps by 1/2

12 Push-ups

Crossovers

5 Burpees

Crossovers

12 Push-ups

12 Box Jump 24 in.s on tables

12 Push-ups

100m Burpee Broad Jump across bridege. Take 2 steps after hop

12 Push-ups

25 Body Rows

Go down stairs and up big stairs

100m Bear Crawl up hill

Done!

August 29, 2016

One of my favorites made its way back around today:

The Chief

I felt great and was able to easily complete at least 5 rounds and change on each round and 6 on the first one.  This was an all time PR for me.

Each year in the United States Navy, a highly qualified and elite cadre of Sailors are selected and promoted to the join the ranks of Chief Petty Officer. Since 1893, "The Chiefs" have been relied upon by subordinates and superiors alike for their personal example, technical expertise and above all, their unique leadership capabilities. As the induction process for newly selected Chief Petty Officers is now underway throughout the US Navy, we thought it appropriate to inaugurate "The Chief" in honor and recognition of all past and present CPOs. Thanks to them and their families for their self-sacrifice, ability to adapt, tireless dedication to mission and devotion to country.

The Assessment

SEALs getting it done in tough conditions

I am certainly not a Navy SEAL.  I have never been one and unfortunately, I think I am too old to ever become one now.  I have had the very good fortune to train with some of the Team Guys in SealFit Kokoro, my SealFit Level 1 certification, my Goruck Selection and a few other times.  Each time, I have learned alot and developed a deeper respect for these individuals. I will also say that I have had the good fortune to train with other Special Operators such as Rangers, Green Berets, MARSOC, Marines and others.  All of these guys have my ultimate respect.  They are highly trained, physically extraordinary, operate with extreme discipline and are always seeking excellence.  I have simply had more exposure to the SEALs through my reading and through SEALFIT.  All special operators are extraordinary and many have minimum standards that far exceed anything I am about to write about.  The assessment I am going to describe would be the absolute bare minimum that someone would have to have to show up to training and if you were barely meeting these standards, you better be ready for some serious pain.  The guys who make it far exceed most of the standards listed.

I am a 48 year old guy who has never been in the military.  I train regularly and use these standards to test myself and stay in relatively good condition.  With that being said, here is the Assessment.

SealFit has an Assessment which provides standards that we can strive for to excel at any task in air, land or water.  The standards are aggressive and paint a picture of a very fit person who would be extremely capable. 

Navy Seal, Josh Bridges is among the fittest humans on Earth

The real SEALs will far exceed these standards in most categories.  For those of us who are not SEALs, will never be a SEAL but respect the dedication, durability, and overall athletic standards to which these people are held (this describes me), this assessment provides some excellent goals to strive for. 

When completing this assessment, it requires planning and training.  It is certainly not something that I can do in a day.  Rather, I plan on fully completing the full Assessment by the end of September.  Even this is fairly aggressive with my travel schedule, however, I have invited my friends to do it with me.

The Assessment calls for max efforts in the major lifts to determine Functional Strength or the ability to do hard, heavy work (BW=bodyweight.  1.0=1x bodyweight, 1.5=1.5xbodyweight etc...)

Front Squat Men 1.5BW / Women 1.0BW

Deadlift Men 2.0BW / Women 1.5BW

Press Men 1.0BW / Women .75BW

Bench Press Men 1.5BW / Women 1.0BW

Squat Clean Men 1.25BW / Women 1.0BW

Clean & JerkMen 1.0BW / Women .75BW

then it tests Strength Stamina: Overcoming resistance repetitively with efficiency over time

BW Squat > 120 in 2 minutes All the way down on every rep

BW Push-up > 100 in 2 minutes Full range of motion

BW Pull-up > 20 in 2 minutes Full ROM / Kipping allowed

BW Sit-up > 100 in 2 minutes Full ROM / Abmat allowed

The next section is Functional Endurance: Developing functional LSD competencies in the water, air and land

Run 1.5 Miles in 9:00 minutes

Run 3.0 Miles in 20:00 minutes

Run 6.0 Miles in 45:00 minutes

Run 14 miles to completion

Ruck 26 Miles with 40# Ruck

Swim 500 Meters in 8:00 minutes

Swim 1 Mile in 35:00 minutes

Row 2,000 Meters in 7:45 minutes

Row 5,000 Meters in 20:00 minutes

And finally, they test Power and Speed: Overcoming resistance explosively

Row 500 Meters for time Target 1:30

Thrusters Max in 1 Minute (95#M/65#W) Target 30

Box Jumps Max in 1 Minute (20" box) Target 45

Run 400 Meters for time Target 1.25

Burpees Max in 1 Minute Target 15

Most of these can be completed during normal morning workouts, but things like the swims, 26 mile ruck, 14 mile run will have to be done on a Saturday or Sunday.  I fully expect that we may try some of these more than once, but I have set the end of Sept as the date that it will all be complete. 

I have sent an email to my group of regulars, but if you are reading this and want to complete this with us, shoot me an email at Permitfly4@aol.com and I can send you an Excel or Numbers file that will populate the goals based upon your bodyweight.

Here is my previous post on the Assessment

Aug 27, 2016

Mike, Rusty, Jamey, Will K and I did a 9.5 trail run today.  It was hot but extremely nice in the shade of the Lookout Mtn trees. 

Thankfully, Will and Jamey took it kind of slow.  Trail running is so much more fun that the road.

August 26, 2016

Happy Birthday Michael Lebovitz

Michael .5

Run 400 m

25 GHD

25 Back Ext

x 3 rounds

then

Max set Dead Hang Pullups

August 19, 2016

Great way to start my birthday with 30+ of my best friends and 48 reps of about everything we could think of.

August 18,2016

5:00 am

1.  Wim Hof Breathing- 3 rounds + pushups

2.  RRL Warmup

3.  Snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

4.  Max Plank- Try to reach 10 minutes with excellent form

August 17, 2016

Wednesday's have kind of become our longer running day

Today

Wim Hof Breathing - 3 rounds plus pushups.  94 today!

RRL Warmup

5 mile run

I ran in 39:33 which is about 4 minutes slower than my best on this exact course.  I took it a little easy in the beginning to test the calf injury and as it felt fine, I opened up a bit.  I feel like I can get this under 36 again in the near future.

August 16, 2016

Great morning

Squat clean 2-2-2-2-2

then

EMOM

7 hang cleans/1 Jerk

6/2

5/3

4/4

3/5

2/6

1/7

Do all sets unbroken.  Find the weight you can hold through the entire set.  Start every minute on the minute and rest the rest of it.

Then

Finish with 6 minutes of Gratitude Practice.

August 15, 2016

Great Monday Morning today!  First of all, it is my daughter's 13th birthday!  Congratulations Hanna

How does it get better than this?  A fish on, the Tetons in the background and a hug and a kiss from my favorite girl...all at the same time!

Instead of the Hanna workout, which is a favorite travel workout but requirespair of dumbells for each person doing it, we settled for this awesome one after we did Back Squats 5-5-5-5-5

This is a 2 man team workout.  I had Trey Joyner as my partner.  He stayed Rx throughout, but I had to drop the snatch to 135. 

Only one partner works at a time, except for the partner wall balls, which one partner throws to the wall, the other catches.

We finished in 15:05, not Rx.

Great morning and we had a good group of 17!

August 12, 2016

Good times with a team workout this morning.
It looked like this:
Yoke Carry 50 m
Assault Bike 10 cal
Pushups x 10
KB Swing x 8
T2B x 8
Burpees x 8
x 5 rounds.
We split into 2 teams and leap frogged.
Good times!

August 11, 2016

5 am this morning
RRL Warm up
Wim Hof Breathing
then
33
33 Burpees
33 Thrusters @ 65 lbs
33 Pullups
Run 1 mile
x 3 rounds

I made this one up about 8-9 years ago. Very tough but still a favorite. I always think of Kim Ray when this one comes around. He looked at the board the first time we did this one and said "Wow, that will be tough" and turned his head. He wheeled around and said "Wait a minute...3 ROUNDS!"
Good times

August 10, 2016

So good to be back in the garage this morning.  No morning or day is as good as the one that starts here.  We have created a group of people who is supportive, competitive, and friendly.  Starting here is a win in the morning, which results in a win for the day.

Bravo

Over the weekend, we lost Bravo to a tragic car accident.  Everyone is upset about the loss.  We are getting through it be by being grateful and thankful for the time that we had with him.  He was a funny dog that brought alot of joy to all those who knew him.

This morning was the toughest on me as he was simply absent during our morning ritual.  It was the same every morning.  I would get up and I could hear him stirring in his kennel.  He and Gus would patiently wait until I finished brushing my teeth and getting my clothes.  Then, I would let them him out and they would tumble down the stairs.

The two dogs would give the full yard an inspection and then start playing in the driveway.  They would greet each person as they arrived.

This morning, it was just me an d Gus.  Very sad. I miss you Bravo.

A group 12 strong did this one in his honor

Bravo

Run 1 Mile

Then

10 Pullups

10 pushups

10 hang cleans @ 115

10 Bar facing burpees

x 5 rounds

then

Run 1 Mile

For TIme

We all left our chalk out for Bravo.  He loved to eat chalk. 

We love you and miss you buddy.

July 29, 2016

I got a package in the mail from Wade Priddy.  This is the coolest shirt we will have in the RRL.  It definitely comes from the furthest distance and will get a place of honor in the RRL.  We miss you Wade!

Another Hero workout this morning.

Sham

11 Deadlifts @ 1x bodyweight

Run 100 m

X 7 rounds for time

I finished in 7:54 and felt pretty good. 

Air Force Staff Sgt. David "Sham" Wieger, 28, of North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, a special agent for the Air Force of Special Investigations, Detachment 303, Travis Air Force Base, California, died Nov. 1, 2007, near Balad Air Base, Iraq, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device that struck his vehicle. Wieger is survived by his parents, Michael and Loreene; brother, Michael; sister-in-law, Brenda; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

July 28, 2016

I was honored to be a guest on Jim Harshaw's podcast, Wrestling with Success yesterday.  This is an excellent podcast by a Division 1 All American wrestler and also a wrestling coach.  Jim has a message that I particularly like and that is that failure is essential to success.  We should embrace failure because it ultimately reveals the path to success. 

My career in fishing has had so many failures.  Fishing in itself is mostly failure when I think about it.  We cast and cast and cast with about a 90% failure rate only to make small adjustments that lead to success.  About 90% of the expensive lures we buy don't really work that well and lots of crazy ideas are tried with nothing but complete failure.  In a business sense, my partner and I have failed on our first attempts at lots of things over and over.  We make changes, alter our course and continue to try until we are successful.  We throw out the stuff that doesn't work, keep what is useful and continue to move towards improvement.

Wrestling taught me that you can really only fail when you stop trying or just roll over and get pinned.  Never quit...ever...Never get pinned, always continue to fight.  Pay attention to the failures, learn from them, and move on toward success.  As your path begins to lead to success, guess what... there will be more failures.  Rinse, repeat and complete the cycle again.

Jim and I discussed my career path, SealFit Kokoro Camp, daily rituals, and my workout group.  It was a great discussion that I really enjoyed.  When it is live, I will let you know.

We hit it hard at the garage this morning with a hero workout.

Riley

Run 1.5 miles

150 Burpees

Run 1.5 miles

Wear a 20 lb vest and get after it.  The burpees were more difficult than I thought they would be.  The vest was crushing my performance and I was only able to get in one set of 20.  I had to do sets of 10 the rest of the workout.  The good news for me is that my calf had no issues and I seem to be back to 100%.  Ill slowly add more miles and try to get my running back to where it was earlier in the summer.  40:24 with a 20 lb vest.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Riley G. Stephens, 39, of Tolar, Texas, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), died Sept. 28, 2012, in Wardak, Afghanistan, of wounds caused by enemy small-arms fire. Stephens is survived by his wife, Tiffany; three children, Austin, Morgan and Rylee Ann; parents, Michael and Joann; brother Ken; and a number of family members.

July 27, 2016

Earlier this week I took my son, Hayden, to go fishing in Alabama.  We had an amazing time with a Graham Tayloe.  I enjoyed the trip so much that, not only will I go back, but I fully intend on trying to get together with Graham in the Florida Keys and turkey hunting in the SE. 

Graham was a pleasure to be with because he was so passionate about what he was doing.  I find it energizing to be around anyone, doing anything that has as much enthusiasm and passion as Graham had towards Striper fishing.  Here are some shots from the trip:

Back at the Garage, The guys did these workouts

Monday

Tuesday

And today we had some fun with this one:

1. Wim Hof Breathing = Pushups

2. RRL Warmup

3. Run 2 miles

4. Bear Complex @ 165 lbs/10 m Handstand Walk

Every Minute on the Minute (EMOM) for 8 minutes

5. Mobility work

Great week so far!  Get out there and hit it hard and accomplish some major things on the way to your goals this week.