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Fresh Start

This week I write with a slightly shorter time frame because I edited my last blog post to include the latter half of my business trip to Puerto Rico. That being said, being back home and settling in has gotten me thinking about things with a new frame of mind. From work, to leisure, to lifting, to travel, I feel like this week has marked somewhat of a transformation in my life. (I hope you enjoyed the Step Brothers joke)

Personal/Life Updates

Part of what I was looking forward to regarding the trip to Puerto Rico was an opportunity to take some time off and let my body heal. If you look at the Goals section of this site you will see that two of my goals are directly related to my physical strength in the weight room. Unfortunately, I have been held back from these goals in recent weeks and months and my progress has slowed dramatically. Going from a point where I was certain I would achieve them ahead of schedule, to a point now where I am struggling to match my numbers set two months ago is pretty challenging mentally.

After going through a summer of being stuck at home without adequate weights to maintain and build strength, I had the opportunity in South Carolina to access a full gym, and in two months, I not only got back all the strength I had lost, but also got to be in the best shape of my life, and pound for pound stronger than I had ever been by a large margin. I was making great progress, increasing my maxes by 10-20 lbs per month, on track to hit my goals before the end of the spring. Once I came home after a few weeks that all changed. I tweaked a muscle in my rib and now have not been able to barbell bench in nearly 3 months. I made tremendous progress on my squat just 40 lbs away from my goal when I hurt my hip and had to dial it back completely. I had a period where just bodyweight squats or simple pushups could not be completed without pain.

Each time I tried to take some time off, got better, then jumped back in, and got reset back to square one. I was hoping that going to Puerto Rico and letting my body rest for a full week would help me show some signs of improvement, but sadly that was not the case. Not being able to do these crucial lifts has been pretty devastating to my path to accomplishing these goals and has left me feeling pretty bummed out. That is why this week, in conjunction with some other areas of my life, I am going to change my attitude. I have now accepted that these injuries will not go away anytime soon, and as such I will have to face them head-on. 

One quote that has really stuck with me from a motivational talk by Erik Weihenmayer was something along the lines of "I am successful not in spite of adversity, but because of it." I would recommend looking into Erik's story if you are unfamiliar. Part of taking a step back this gap year, and even in taking a short trip away, has been the ability for me to gain perspective on my life. Many of the things I would worry about day to day a year ago today matter so little, and I realize how powerful changing my attitude, and investing incremental positive time on activities can be in the long run. Even just taking the time to listen to a book or a podcast on a drive or trip to the grocery store has already had some profound impacts on my life, and I am excited to see how much of my potential can be released as I start to incorporate these small changes into my life.

Books/Podcasts

Starting on the plane ride back home on Wednesday, I have read one book per day since being home. In addition, with the extra time traveling I was able to catch up to the present on the podcast I have been listening to which is very exciting (over 350 hours of this podcast over the past month and a half). In the past five days I have gone through Blink, Atomic Habits, Talking to Strangers, Predictably Irrational, and Can't Hurt Me. This week's slew of books was very psychological in nature. I have been very interested in Psychology for a while now, specifically in the power of our subconscious mind. I find that the more I learn and discover about the mind and how it works, the more I want to dive deeper. Each of these books has taught me some very important lessons that I think will stick with me for quite some time.

Specifically in reading Can't Hurt Me, I feel like the timing could not have been more perfect. If you do not know anything about David Goggins, I would encourage you to do some research on him. I had heard some of the stories of his life before, but something about this book delivered the message in a very meaningful way and laid out a framework for harnessing mental toughness and the power of the mind. Some of the stories may seem ridiculous and unnecessary, but they just show to illustrate how powerful we can be when we let go of self-doubt and refuse to listen to our limitations. I feel like I could not have read this book at a better time in my life. I had actually decided on the theme of this post before deciding to read that book, and it worked out very well.

Gratitude

For this week's gratitude post I have decided to focus on health. Over the past few months, I feel like I have struggled with nagging injuries that have held me back from performing at my peak. Any athlete can tell you how frustrating that can be, especially not having games or practices that have caused the injury, but rather random tweaks in the weight room that likely could have been prevented. Every time I get injured I always think of how close I was to not getting hurt. If only I had moved my arm, if only I got up faster, if only I fell forwards or to the side instead of backward, if only, if only, if only. Getting injured and held out of competition makes you make promises to your future self, that “once you are better you will do 1000 pushups, run 5 miles, do extra stretches all every single day," and when the time comes we slip into old habits and laziness.

Coming from my current perspective and being injured right now, I want to take a step back and be grateful for all the things that are not wrong with me right now. Being a part of the so-called “me” generation, it can be easy to get caught up in all that we do not have, especially seeing friends and peers posting about all they are doing on social media daily. There is a selection bias in this. Nobody likes to post when they are hurting, or upset. Seeing all the posts of success, happiness, and great times can often make struggling with injuries or mental health all the worse. That is why while I am currently unable to do a lot of the steps I need to take in order to accomplish my goals, I will instead focus on those that I can do. 

I could be so much worse off, every day I am sure there are hundreds of things that could hurt me or leave me unable to perform. I currently have good health, I am able to do some exercises, and have the ability to rehabilitate. Instead of looking at this as a negative, I can take advantage of this opportunity to focus on some of the auxiliary activities that I often neglect when I am focused on hitting numbers and making times. I can focus on my stretching, pre-hab, and recovery so that once I am back and able to start lifting normally again, I will be able to jump right in and build upon these foundational habits that help to reduce the chances that I am held back from performing down the line. Just like in my first post I was grateful for the pandemic, I guess in this case, in a strange way, I am thankful for my injuries.
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