El Puma/Warpuma Chronicles

[El Puma]

““Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge. A warrior cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges.” ([Only registered and activated users can see links])”



Goals

Level 1

-Russian spec-ops pull-up standard of 18 dead hang pull-ups with 10kg attached to you.

- Army RANGER running standard of 2 mile run in running shoes in 15:12 minutes or less

- 25 straight pistols (one legged squat) holding a 45 lb plate

-25 straight one armed push ups

-Handstand clapping push ups with no wall assist.


March 2nd 2009



Worked on one armed push ups using the ladder (1,2,3,1,2,3 etc) and greasing the groove methods.

working on pull ups using various grips (chins, hammer grip, thumbless grip) while using a deck of cards to determine my number of reps and work towards finishing before the end of the day.

Plan on running later and posting supplement intake.

[RDJ]

:happy

[BlackWater]

Badass :good

[El Puma]

March 3rd


“Courageous, untroubled, mocking and violent-that is what Wisdom wants us to be. Wisdom is a woman, and loves only a warrior.”



Woke up pissed ,motivated, whatever. I feel it again. It came back like a long lost love and grips me like a drug addiction. I know I know, you wont let me go gently into that dark night.



The time has come. You know it in your soul, for I am your soul... You cannot escape me. You are puny, you are small, you are nothing--a hollow shell, a rusty trap that cannot hold me. Smoldering, I burn you--burning you, I flare, hot and bright and fierce and beautiful. You cannot stop me, not with wine or vows or the weight of age--you cannot stop me, but still you try. Still you run. You try to drown me out... But your voice is weak.



Alright, I kick the dust of self pity, doubt and age off my soul. I ask myself how deep my passion for war goes. The tingling in my fingertips gives me the answer I seek. Deeper than bone.


-Tornado training on treadmill (Piss poor performance after punching bag.Only 1.27 miles at a moderate pace,yuck. Just wasn't the day for it I suppose)

-One arm dumbbell cleans at 70-75lbs 3x3 ( did 5 reps of 70 lbs on the first set and finished the last 2 sets with 3 reps at 75lbs)

-Punching the bag ( The power is impressive but the fluidity and overall body movement needs much more improvement)

-Burpees using a 20lb vest and a deck of cards ( crapped out despite lots of sleep and mucho caffeine. I must have left it all in the lifts and the punching. Will have to change things up and keep it short and sweet since fights are not marathons. Good lesson to take from today)

-Jump rope using the H.I.I.T method (canceled)




I'm not alone and if your reading this and it clutches you like it does me, then you know, we are not alone and we walk the path warriors of years and eras gone by treaded. This caught my attention and makes me that much more brave and reckless yet, closer to the peace I seek within thyself.

Reading The Dark Knight Returns had woken up something or someone inside me. It had woken up my own Dark Knight, I suppose, the part of me that yearned to take on the universe, walk on the wild side, live dangerously, leap knowing full well the net would never appear, that its not appearing was precisely the point. Suddenly I craved to become a specialist in the Leap of Faith, to plummet headlong into my unknown destiny at twice the speed of death, to be a regular predator feasting for the duration of my short mammalian existence on fate’s tissues

[Primadonna Kool]

March 3rd


“Courageous, untroubled, mocking and violent-that is what Wisdom wants us to be. Wisdom is a woman, and loves only a warrior.”



Woke up pissed ,motivated, whatever. I feel it again. It came back like a long lost love and grips me like a drug addiction. I know I know, you wont let me go gently into that dark night.



The time has come. You know it in your soul, for I am your soul... You cannot escape me. You are puny, you are small, you are nothing--a hollow shell, a rusty trap that cannot hold me. Smoldering, I burn you--burning you, I flare, hot and bright and fierce and beautiful. You cannot stop me, not with wine or vows or the weight of age--you cannot stop me, but still you try. Still you run. You try to drown me out... But your voice is weak.



Alright, I kick the dust of self pity, doubt and age off my soul. I ask myself how deep my passion for war goes. The tingling in my fingertips gives me the answer I seek. Deeper than bone.


-Tornado training on treadmill

-one arm dumbbell cleans at 70-75lbs 3x3

-Punching the bag

-Burpees using a 20lb vest and a deck of cards

-Jump rope using the H.I.I.T method




I'm not alone and if your reading this and it clutches you like it does me, then you know, we are not alone and we walk the path warriors of years and eras gone by treaded. This caught my attention and makes me that much more brave and reckless yet, closer to the peace I seek within thyself.

Reading The Dark Knight Returns had woken up something or someone inside me. It had woken up my own Dark Knight, I suppose, the part of me that yearned to take on the universe, walk on the wild side, live dangerously, leap knowing full well the net would never appear, that its not appearing was precisely the point. Suddenly I craved to become a specialist in the Leap of Faith, to plummet headlong into my unknown destiny at twice the speed of death, to be a regular predator feasting for the duration of my short mammalian existence on fate’s tissues

Yes!

[El Puma]

March 4th 2009

So I awake achy, unmotivated and with a lack of energy. It's a rather dreary day and quite frankly staying in bed is not something that many would find fault in. That's the problem, thinking like the other 97% of people and you remain in the very same spot you swore to rise from.


So I'll rise, work on my technique after jump roping, and give thanks for being in such a weakened state. It is only in times like this that the true passion,the true person emerges. After all, a diamond without intense pressure and heat is merely coal.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me. —The Sith Code [src] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

[Mohak]

Army RANGER running standard of 2 mile run in running shoes in 15:12 minutes or less

Really? Is that it? Not to sound like a twat but I thought it would be harder than that.

[El Puma]

Really? Is that it? Not to sound like a twat but I thought it would be harder than that.Indeed. That is what i copied and pasted off their website bit that is actually the bare minimum requirement. It has been stated that to be competitive, you must push for a much lower time.:good

[Mohak]

Indeed. That is what i copied and pasted off their website bit that is actually the bare minimum requirement. It has been stated that to be competitive, you must push for a much lower time.:good


OK. Just wondering since I'm asthmatic and unfit but can do 1.5 miles in 9:44 mins and The Parachute Regiment (UK) Recruit Selection cut off time is 9:30 or under, which I'm not happy about. Fuck knows how I got though selection. Anyway, good luck with the training. :good

[RDJ]

OK. Just wondering since I'm asthmatic and unfit but can do 1.5 miles in 9:44 mins and The Parachute Regiment (UK) Recruit Selection cut off time is 9:30 or under, which I'm not happy about. Fuck knows I got though selection. Anyway, good luck with the training. :good

Thank god you're not defending my country :-(

:D :lol:

[Power]

im confused lol.......

[RDJ]

im confused lol.......

Fuck Mohak!

Hope that clears things up :smoke

[Mohak]

im confused lol.......


Fuck Mohak. Go El Puma. Simple. :D

[El Puma]

Fuck Mohak. Go El Puma. Simple. :D:lol: "Mooooohaaaaak!!":good

[Primadonna Kool]

"Every man has a war to fight"

Mr Primadonna Kool

[El Puma]

"Every man has a war to fight"

Mr Primadonna Kool
Because the war never ends. So I fight, until the day the sun goes down in my eyes. But until then, I fight.



-Planche push ups with a back pack filled w 20+ pounds

-Gorilla pullups w same bag.

-Hill sprints.


It's not a means to an end, these feats. It's an extension of wanting to go as high as I can given my position in life and never succumbing to the ghosts of the past or what could have been or should be.

[RDJ]

War puma!!! Don't knock your opponent down, pick up the world and drop it on his head!

[El Puma]

War puma!!! Don't knock your opponent down, pick up the world and drop it on his head!
I better just toss him through another planet instead. Picking up the world may awaken Flump and well, that's my ass getting whooped right there.


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

Gorilla pull ups w weighted backpack.

W 5x5 ladder system (1,2,3,4,5-set 1 1,2,3,-etc)


5sets of 5 weighted back pack planche pushups.

went for a run and ran a few hill sprints.

[El Puma]

I wish I could tell you that today was a great training day. It was not. I felt down, tired and just downright feeling sorry for myself.

The writing was on the wall yesterday during training at which point I decided to take a few days off from running. True to my stubborn nature however, I went out to run hill sprints.

It sucked but for a few moments I felt good. I know now what I have to do to recover from the assault I put on my body since the 6th. I had to see how far I could push and still recover in time. I had to know.

I have but 20 days left until the "event" and conventional wisdom says that I am going to suffer greatly and die a little from it.

I will tell you this much. I say fuck conventional wisdom. Sometimes, you just have to go with the fire in your soul and see how close to the edge you can play it.

I will rest and I will come back stronger.


"The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard."

[ShamrockNapalm]

I will tell you this much. I say fuck conventional wisdom. Sometimes, you just have to go with the fire in your soul and see how close to the edge you can play it.


Great quote:good

A quote that I always try to keep in mind when training is "Pain is temporary, pride is forever".

[El Puma]

Looks like...I found my first mountain of 2011 to climb.

[/URL]Chicago Lakefront 50K Spring Ultramarathon
Illinois - IL
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[URL="[Only registered and activated users can see links]"]USA ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

[Only registered and activated users can see links] Chicago Lakefront 50K Spring Ultramarathon
USA ( Illinois - IL ) | 50 km | Trail | 7 Hour Time Limit | Single Stage | April | Approx Runners: 150
Official Chicago Lakefront 50K Spring Ultramarathon Website ([Only registered and activated users can see links])


Along with going for the top spot at the Lakefront 50 miler in October '11

I have more time to prepare. I have to be smart and put into play the training protocols I had in mind for the 50 miler that I did not use.

What those are, you will soon read about as my training progresses.

[El Puma]

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

I would like to start by sharing an article I have in my training archives by a wrestling coach. The sports may be different but they both involve the same concept of strength,speed and endurance.

We had a philosophy the permeated every wrestling drill and competition we had. Everything we did was based on these three elements of our philosophy:

1. Pressure
2. Position
3. Motion

These words were said, by me, to our team maybe 100-200 times at each and every practice. I will explain what their meaning is!

1. Pressure. The wrestler must keep pressure on his opponent every split second of every match he wrestles. This is whether he is on top, bottom, or on his feet! Pressure, pressure, pressure! Unrelenting pressure must be applied. The wrestler must also be able to handle pressure mentally and physically when it is applied to him. Referees will make mistakes. The crowd will taunt him. The opposing coach will say negative things at times. The wrestler must maintain his cool. He should never show emotion of any kind! Stone-face and stoic! When you show emotion in competition, the heat of battle, it is compared to a shark smelling blood! If you display emotion during the battle the shark will smell the blood and attack that weakness. We taught our wrestlers to search for physical and mental weaknesses in their opponents and attack them! If you are to have success with pressure then you must put all three portions of the philosophy together. And it must be implemented into every drill and scrimmage during practice sessions. There is no way you will pressure in a match without practicing pressure in every drill in practice.

2. Position. If the wrestler applies pressure to his opponent while being in poor position he will surely not have good success. All strength is angle specific. A great wrestler puts himself into positions of strength. This is whether he is on his feet, bottom or top position. Having good position is not just being in an athletic stance. It is his position in relation to his opponent. Cutting distance down so he can work his offensive technique and also be able to have a good defense when his opponent attacks is paramount. This is true in all sport whether it is strong man competitions, Olympic weightlifting, Power lifting, tennis, golf, football, basketball or wrestling. In the lifting sports it is gravity, resistance and the object to be lifted that is your opponent. The great wrestler continues putting himself into positions of strength in his sport. This is why being a strong strength room guy is not as important to him. The strength you receive from the strength room will only benefit the athlete if he has paid the price with technique of his sport. There are a lot of wrestlers that don't appear strong. However, they realize their strength potential in wrestling by putting themselves into positions of strength. Teaching a wrestler how to use his body with total body power and strength lifts will help him use his strength in wrestling. Out of season we would focus on the power cleans, hang cleans, squats, standing presses, chins, dips, etc. In-season we placed more focus on lifting our partners within the technique of the wrestling drills. That way we hit two birds with one stone. We worked on our strength specific to the sport of wrestling! However, in-season, we still did our lifting two days per week.

3. Motion. A wrestler is not in good position if he cannot move. A wrestler cannot run as fast or move as fast on his knees, butt, back, sides etc. as he can while he is on his feet. Shooting takedowns and staying on your knees will stop your motion. I am not saying you should not shoot to your knees. However, don't stay there if you cannot finish quickly while there. Learn to hit on the knee and get off of it quickly or work on your takedown technique by not going to your knees. We found we had more success by not allowing our wrestlers to go to their knees on double leg and single leg takedowns. Their technique for the setups and penetration was much better by doing this. We did allow them to go to their knees while doing fireman's carries.

There is one other thing we did at UT Chattanooga that no other wrestling team did that I am aware of. We made our wrestlers bow as they entered and exited the wrestling room. This was not done as some religious sort of thing. . The only clothing we allowed our wrestlers to wear in the room was t-shirt, shorts, jock, socks and shoes! No sweats or rubber gear! We emphasized to our wrestlers that they need to come into every practice with the intent to leave the room in some way better than when they walked in. Did they get better at technique, stronger, better condition, more mentally tough? Better and better everyday was our motto. A wrestler cannot get better if he knows everything. He must come in with an empty glass to learn and improve. If he walks in with a full glass, if he knows everything, he will not make changes needed to become a champion! Bowing as you enter and exit the room promotes humility. Humility allows the humble to learn and get better!

[El Puma]

The following tabata squats(I recommend you copy the asian girl in white top's technique) w your weight vest will yield tremendous results and I have supplied a tabata counter/music to assist you w getting the correct timing.


[Only registered and activated users can see links]


[Only registered and activated users can see links]





You will follow these every other day either in the AM or PM for 1-2 weeks (w or w/out weight depending on your body feel) We will soon work up to everyday and twice a day before we taper down as your match gets closer.

As for strength training. You will follow the SWAT strength training program w the exercises I post to give you strength pertinent to your sport.

Good luck and Godspeed. We will now begin.

Nutrition will also be posted tomorrow.

[elcasoshaun]

That little lassie on the Tabata squats video is fantastic in every way imaginable! Thanks for that. Will do this as a finisher later today after doing a bodyweight session. I look forward to seeing how you're going to incorporate quality intense sessions into your bigger mileage. Best of luck.

[El Puma]

That little lassie on the Tabata squats video is fantastic in every way imaginable! Thanks for that. Will do this as a finisher later today after doing a bodyweight session. I look forward to seeing how you're going to incorporate quality intense sessions into your bigger mileage. Best of luck.
:thumbsup Thank you and yes, I have something planned for the long runs indeed.:good Stay tuned.

[El Puma]

E-

This particular part of my training is a modified version used for the S.W.A.T teams in the western states.

I keep it short,simple, and on a budget so anyone can do it.

I stress that you use the high-tension technique of staying tight throughout the move and keep the rest periods 3-5 minutes long.

Another point I would like to make is to adjust the weight according to body feel. If i cannot finish a 4th set of ''Pistols" (one legged squats) with a 45lb kettle bell, I will finish with the 35lb KB or just bodyweight alone. You will have days where you will feel stronger than others and it is here that the "Greasing the groove" method comes into play.


3-5 Exercises

3-5 Sets

3-5 Repetitions

3-5 Minutes of rest between the sets


Below are the exercises that I use.

'Pistol' or one-legged squat

One armed pushup

Pullup/chinup combined with a leg raise at the bottom of the movement

Deadlift

Kettlebell clean and press

One arm dumbbell clean and push press




Keep it simple,short and intense and your strength gains will go up quickly to compliment your combat training. This is the first in a series of routines I use on a daily basis and will post them as I go along. Thanks and I hope you benefit from this as I have

[Mister T]

“Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge. A warrior cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges.” ([Only registered and activated users can see links])


“Courageous, untroubled, mocking and violent-that is what Wisdom wants us to be. Wisdom is a woman, and loves only a warrior.”

Woke up pissed ,motivated, whatever. I feel it again. It came back like a long lost love and grips me like a drug addiction. I know I know, you wont let me go gently into that dark night.

The time has come. You know it in your soul, for I am your soul... You cannot escape me. You are puny, you are small, you are nothing--a hollow shell, a rusty trap that cannot hold me. Smoldering, I burn you--burning you, I flare, hot and bright and fierce and beautiful. You cannot stop me, not with wine or vows or the weight of age--you cannot stop me, but still you try. Still you run. You try to drown me out... But your voice is weak.

I'm not alone and if your reading this and it clutches you like it does me, then you know, we are not alone and we walk the path warriors of years and eras gone by treaded. This caught my attention and makes me that much more brave and reckless yet, closer to the peace I seek within thyself.


Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me. —The Sith Code [src] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Because the war never ends. So I fight, until the day the sun goes down in my eyes. But until then, I fight.

It's not a means to an end, these feats. It's an extension of wanting to go as high as I can given my position in life and never succumbing to the ghosts of the past or what could have been or should be.


I will tell you this much. I say fuck conventional wisdom. Sometimes, you just have to go with the fire in your soul and see how close to the edge you can play it.

I will rest and I will come back stronger.

"The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard."

:thumbsup:amen:clap::thumbsup:amen:clap::thumbsup:amen:clap::thumbsup

Amazing quotes bro. Some real inspirational shit right there.
I especially liked the Sith Code one. Is that from KOTOR?

[El Puma]

:thumbsup:amen:clap::thumbsup:amen:clap::thumbsup:amen:clap:

Amazing quotes bro. Some real inspirational shit right there.
I especially liked the Sith Code one. Is that from KOTOR?
Thank you Mister T.

The Sith Code is one I came across while catching up on the Star Wars EU story lines.

I will put more up since you enjoyed the quoted ones.:thumbsup

[El Puma]

When you go into any modern day gym, it is hard to recognize what the true reason for physical training is. Everyone is talking about burning calories, building specific muscle groups, maximizing their workouts with scientific date, etc. Now don't get me wrong, burning fat and building a functionally muscular body are great goals. I just think we could learn something from Ancient Warriors that would make out training even better.


Modern Training Has Lost Its Roots


The truth is, the history of physical training, or working out, is based in war. Ancient warriors would train so they would be prepared to protect themselves, their families and their property from attack.


Their training was not so much about looking better, but performing better. I think modern day exercisers should take this cue from Ancient Warriors.


Physical Training Is Initially About Survival


Training, and getting the physical improvements from training, was not about looking good in spandex or taking your shirt off at the beach. Their motivation for training was nothing less than SURVIVAL. If you were unfit, you didn't survive!


Talk about a great motivator to use the best methods and get really great results! If they failed to have the physical abilities necessary to defend themselves... they would pay the ultimate price. Imagine workout out as if your life depended on it. (By the way it does, just most people have lost sight of it or don't view it with any urgency).


The Reason Combining Bodyweight And Dumbbell Workouts Is Best


When you think about Ancient Warriors, what image comes to mind. For me, I see a strong fit individual with some type of weight objects (weapons) in their hands. So, if you were training to be a better warrior, how would you train? Does combining bodyweight exercise and dumbbell training come to mind?


Forget about what the bodybuilding community tells you about training muscles. Exercise is really about movement. Two types of movement really... The movement of your own body AND the movement of objects.


Bodyweight calisthenics are the best way to train your body to move in the way it most naturally moves. Every movement of the body can be trained and improved with bodyweight exercises.


On the other hand, dumbbells are the best way to train the body to move objects. You can use dumbbells in unison, one limb at a time or in an alternating manner. These movements with weighted resistance are closely related to the way you move in the real world. So, training with dumbbells leads to more improvements you can actually use to meet the challenges of sport, work and life.


Just like an Ancient Warrior, combining bodyweight and dumbbell workouts are the best way to build a strong, attractive and functional body.


If you want to get real fitness, fat loss and physique building results you can use in the real world, combining bodyweight and dumbbells is a great option. Forget about strapping yourself into some machine that has no relation to any movement you'll do in the real world. Act as if you life depended on getting results (it does), and use the best tools for the job.


If I needed to get results, I would do what the Ancient warriors instinctively knew. Combine bodyweight exercises and hand help weighted resistance to build a strong, body that performs well regardless of what life throws at me.

[El Puma]

Sharpen the knife


Forget about body parts and think of your body as one piece. Think of your body as a functional weapon. Really.


Sitting around at dinner with some buddies 5 months ago I started to tell them how I wanted to be after the challenge was over. I said I wanted to be and look dangerous, like a sharp knife. Chiseled and athletic.


Now maybe you're not crazy and weird like me and you just want to lose belly fat. This will get you looking strong and lean fast.


It's this simple: Pick up weight from the ground and put it above your head. Rinse and repeat. Do exercises that work everything at the same time: Deadlift, squat, press, dips, pull-ups, clean and shoulder press. Train the body as one. Notice you don't need some fancy machine or gym to do this. Train your body as one piece anywhere.


Sleep like a baby


I like staying up late like the average guy but I had to end that after I learned how important early sleep is in the fat loss muscle building game. It's vital.


Turns out your best recovery occurs when your body releases this amazing thing called human growth hormone. it's released during your deepest sleep cycles. Simply put, it builds muscle and reduces fat while you sleep. This is crucial to seeing fast results naturally. Get to bed bed early tonight and get your 7-8 hours.

[El Puma]

“The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives. That's the only lasting thing you can create.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Choke

[El Puma]

“Don't do what you want. Do what you don't want. Do what you're trained not to want. Do the things that scare you the most.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters


“People fall so in love with their pain, they can’t leave it behind. The same as the stories they tell. We trap ourselves.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Haunted

“The lower you fall, the higher you'll fly.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

“If we can forgive what’s been done to us . . .
If we can forgive what we’ve done to others . . . If we can leave all of our stories behind. Our being villains or victims. Only then can we maybe rescue the world.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Haunted

“Maybe you don't go to hell for the things you do. Maybe you go to hell for the things you don't do. The things you don't finish.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Lullaby

“In a world where vows are worthless.Where making a pledge means nothing. Where promises are made to be broken, it would be nice to see words come back into power.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Lullaby


“When we die, these are the stories still on our lips. The stories we’ll only tell strangers, someplace private in the padded cell of midnight. These important stories, we rehearse them for years in our head but never tell. These stories are ghosts, bringing people back from the dead. Just for a moment. For a visit. Every story is a ghost.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Haunted


I know some of this will touch certain people. I am fine with being a ghost. I am fine and happy with the people that accept me as such. I will continue to show others that they are stronger than they were trained to feel or think. I will die someday. I accept that. What I won't accept is leaving this existence without showing that we as humans are not beyond saving.


“This wasn't any mere song and dance; here was a bold, blaring declaration howling itself into the empty face of death.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Tell-All

[MrSmall]

don't make this a thread of cliches, quotes, oneliners buddy, it will sell you short, lots of guys do that, and they end up doing nothing. they are good and fun, but try to make the training more than the philosophy!
lets see some training posted brother!

what was this update about anyway?

[El Puma]

don't make this a thread of cliches, quotes, oneliners buddy, it will sell you short, lots of guys do that, and they end up doing nothing. they are good and fun, but try to make the training more than the philosophy!
lets see some training posted brother!

what was this update about anyway?
Very true. But as oppossed to typing my training, I am currently making videos of it and will be answering questions through in sunsequent vids.

The update in of itself was to do what most programs and trainers fail at in the long run. Inspire to rise above self imposed limits. No matter if an external source claims you to be weak, you have the choice to accept it or not. The videos should be out by Wed, the latest.:thumbsup

[MrSmall]

word G!
:)

[Primadonna Kool]

I think all the other training threads are pathetic, and uninspiring. And you learn nothing from the person, you want to learn about.

CARRY ON, doing what you do EL PUMA.

[El Puma]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

Benching 275lbs, squat is sitting well at 365lbs 3x5. This video is after the gym and it employs a "ladder" system of reps for additional strength work using only my bodyweight.



[Only registered and activated users can see links]


“Each person who ever was or is or will be has a song. It isn't a song that anybody else wrote. It has its own melody, it has its own words. Very few people get to sing their song. Most of us fear that we cannot do it justice with our voices, or that our words are too foolish or too honest, or too odd. So people live their song instead.”
― Neil Gaiman ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), Anansi Boys ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

[El Puma]

“All the effort in the world won't matter if you're not inspired.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Diary


“It's creepy, but here we are, the Pilgrims, the crackpots of our time, trying to establish our own alternate reality. To build a world out of rocks and chaos.
What it's going to be, I don't know.
Even after all that rushing around, where we've ended up is the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night.
And maybe knowing isn't the point.
Where we're standing right now, in the ruins in the dark, what we build could be anything.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Choke


“People think dreams aren't real just because they aren't made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes.”
― Neil Gaiman


Happy Halloween, girls. Daddy loves and misses you...

[El Puma]

“To absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists; and may each and every one of us always give the devil his due.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman: Season of Mists

“Do not lose hope — what you seek will be found. Trust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped to help you in their turn. Trust dreams. Trust your heart, and trust your story. (from 'Instructions')”
― Neil Gaiman ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), Fragile Things ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

[Juxhin]

I think all the other training threads are pathetic, and uninspiring. And you learn nothing from the person, you want to learn about.

CARRY ON, doing what you do EL PUMA.

Prima training logs are not made to show to everyone, they are made to see your personal progress in your training and see in the end of the day how hard you have trained :)

[El Puma]

Prima training logs are not made to show to everyone, they are made to see your personal progress in your training and see in the end of the day how hard you have trained :)
To be fair, I've never been one for conventional methods. Welcome to ESB:good

[Juxhin]

To be fair, I've never been one for conventional methods. Welcome to ESB:good

haha yea, honestly i like ur style and its an inspiring log, keep it up

[El Puma]

haha yea, honestly i like ur style and its an inspiring log, keep it up:thumbsup

[El Puma]

Authenticity means being true to your character; it's being exactly what's claimed, free of hypocrisy.

Bravery: When I use this word, I don't mean the ability to bear pain. Granted, being able to bear pain is courageous if it's done in order to complete some heroic task, but lacerating your femoral artery while cutting out pictures of underwear models for your latest boner collage and refusing to go to the doctor isn't brave and it isn't manly, only stupid.

Bravery comes in many forms. It can come in the form of physical self-sacrifice or emotional self-sacrifice. It's going against popular opinion, standing up for injustice when it might damage your standing in your community.

It's boldly facing bad news instead of avoiding it. It's realizing that everything worthwhile has some sort of pain associated with it.

Confidence: Cockiness is different from confidence. One is a false front, enacted to protect your self-image and one is self-assuredness in your abilities, thoughts, and actions.

Confidence allows you to consider other people's opinions without having your ego damaged. Unfortunately, most guys hunt for opinions that match their own:

"Geez, that guy agrees with me. He sure is smart!"

Honesty: I'm convinced that every third thing said by the average man is an exaggeration or a downright lie. Again, it's all an attempt to preserve or project a false self-image.

I suppose this category links closely with authenticity, but there are some obvious distinctions. Honesty also has to do with not stealing and not cheating, which are merely other forms of parasitism. Manliness means relying on your own talents and skills to acquire the things you need. It also means saying "no" occasionally to those things you might want but don't need. (Tiger take heed.)

Purpose: Unfortunately, most men don't have any purpose in life, other than recreation and, in general, distractions of all kind whether they be sports, cars, gaming, or collecting Snapple bottle tops.

A man's got to have some purpose or purposes, whether they're internal (pertaining to emotional growth, personal growth), intrapersonal (family and friends), or external (occupational).

Maybe you want to be a truly qualified trainer or coach whose hunger for getting better never dies. That's a fine purpose. Maybe you want to be the best husband or father or friend that you can be, constantly giving energy to people you care about. Also a fine purpose. Or maybe you just want to develop the inner you, discovering your motivations and purposes, while uncovering your contradictions and curing your own neuroses, which is a very fine purpose.

Men are truly content when they're learning something new or accomplishing some task. Boys are content when they're playing.


Rock-Fucking-Solid Human Beings
Oddly enough, these manliness "virtues" are also what makes a good woman a good woman, which brings into question the whole manliness term.

Another problem is that we use the terms manliness and masculinity interchangeably. Tearing fish guts out with your teeth would definitely be deemed masculine. Chugging beer after beer and engorging on greasy animal meat is pretty solidly masculine, as would using your dick instead of a hammer to frame a house. Likewise, cheating on your wife again and again and again could definitely be labeled masculine, but that, or any of the preceding masculine traits, has nothing to with true manliness.

Maybe we need another term for manliness, one that satisfies the man/woman thing and one that doesn't get so easily thrown in the muck with masculinity.

It's a tough one. Maybe we should just call them rock-fucking-solid human beings. Sure, from now on, people who are authentic, brave, confident, honest, and purposeful are rock-fucking-solid human beings.


-TC

[El Puma]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[MrSmall]

lets see some squat vids brother!

[El Puma]

lets see some squat vids brother!
Solid! Will do tonight! =) Thank you for the suggestion:good

[MrSmall]

excellent! how much you weighing? looking lean and mean!

[El Puma]

excellent! how much you weighing? looking lean and mean!
157lbs.

Thank you. I am incorporating wind sprints at an incline.

[El Puma]

'The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will'

"The truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

[El Puma]

lets see some squat vids brother!
I started Crossfit today. You would have been proud of me with how low my squats were.

I'm very happy about the first session so I'll wait to make a long term decision and assessment on it until the time I paid for it is up.

That and of course more videos and hopefully some from the class =)

[MrSmall]

can't condone crossfit for very much my friend!
onwards.
sleep is keeeeeeeey!

[El Puma]

can't condone crossfit for very much my friend!
onwards.
sleep is keeeeeeeey!
It's quite liberating. The pain,exhaustion and sense of becoming. We did "Fran" today/ 21-15-9 of thrusters w 90lbs and pullups in just over 10 minutes.


I was told I am CrossFit Games caliber on my first individual day.

"What is good? All that heightens the feeling of power in man, the will to power, power itself. What is bad? All that is born of weakness. What is happiness? The feeling that power is growing, that resistance is overcome."

-Friedrich Nietzsche


Having said that, sleep is indeed good. Goodnight and Godspeed.

[ShamrockNapalm]

Good stuff Puma, really enjoy the quotes. I don't think enough people realize how psychological fitness can be.

Good vids as well. Keep it up man.

[El Puma]

Good stuff Puma, really enjoy the quotes. I don't think enough people realize how psychological fitness can be.

Good vids as well. Keep it up man.
Thank you. This is what my training log is mostly about. The mental. The will to act. It all begins there and without it, the training is nothing.

This is also a call to arms. For all of us who are brave enough to look beyond our own limitations and shortcomings. And to dare act upon bettering oneself. It's not an easy road and it is made much more difficult to traverse and easier to quit when the result sought is superficial.

“Having done what men could, they suffered what men must.”
― Thucydides ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

This is path. The wish for strength makes strength a journey as it is not a destination. Know yourselves and always hold true to your thoughts by mirroring them with action.


“Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”
― Thucydides ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War ([Only registered and activated users can see links])



My path lately,has gotten rougher and the sky darker. I have to lead by example by fighting hardest when there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I am not a warrior because I feel invincible or invulnerable. I am a warrior because I make myself vulnerable and am willing to fall for that which I believe in.. I wish you all the best.

"We must remember that one man is much the same as another and that he is best who is trained in the severest school."- Thucydides

“They whose minds are least sensitive to calamity, and whose hands are most quick to meet it, are the greatest men and the greatest communities.”
― Thucydides ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

[El Puma]

Deadlift 3reps (touch and go)

10 reps of push ups on gymnastic rings

150 meter row

5 rounds 4 minute rest in between.

Round 1 0:00-1:16 225lbs


Round 2 5:16-6:22 275lbs

Round 3 10:22-11:37 295lbs

Round 4 15:37-16:44 305lbs

Round 5(I wrote "come out fighting" on my sheet...) 20:44-21:41 310lbs.

57 seconds to complete last round.

Felt good to deadlift w an Olympic bar since '08


Narrator ([Only registered and activated users can see links]): When the fight was over, nothing was solved, but nothing mattered. We all felt saved.

[El Puma]

WOD: 3 Rounds for time of:
15 Push presses, 135#/95#
10 Overhead walking lunge steps, 45#/35#
30 Abmat sit-ups
10 Overhead walking lunge steps, 45#/35#


Had to drop to 115lbs in the first round after 8 reps of the push press. Long day coupled by a short rest period equaled "Oh, fuck meeee."

Quivering legs at the end. All is well in the world tonight.

Quotes from Coach Greg Glassman
"Come to me with tales of a 900 pound back squat, and I know already of some very serious limitations to your fitness. Come to me with a 4:15 mile - I am suspicious of your total capacities. But, if you tell me you've got a 650 pound back squat, and with a twinkle in your eye, about a 4:50 mile - I know we've got a monster."


I'm working on it...

[El Puma]

"CrossFit is in large part derived from several simple observations garnered through hanging out with athletes for thirty years and willingness, if not eagerness, to experiment coupled with a total disregard for conventional wisdom. Let me share some of the more formative of these observations:

* Gymnasts learn new sports faster than other athletes.
* Olympic lifters can apply more useful power to more activities than other athletes.
* Powerlifters are stronger than other athletes.
* Sprinters can match the cardiovascular performance of endurance athlete even at extended efforts.
* Endurance athletes are woefully lacking in total physical capacity.
* With high carb diets you either get fat or weak.
* Bodybuilders can't punch, jump, run, or throw like athletes can.
* Segmenting training efforts delivers a segmented capacity.
* Optimizing physical capacity requires training at unsustainable intensities.
* The world's most successful athletes and coaches rely on exercise science the way deer hunters rely on the accordion."

[El Puma]

"How long will you let the pain and loss define your life? Walking around chasing bad guys is very heroic and attracts attention, but at the end it all accounts for, as a means to deal with the pain of a huge loss," he said of how Bruce has dealt with the death of his parents.

"We agreed that Bruce Wayne is absolutely sincere as Bruce Wayne, and as Batman utterly sincere," he continued his analysis. "But Bruce Wayne, the playboy, is a pure facade, it's a lie he has, somehow, to control one side of your soul that's not really under control. In fact, only Alfred knows who he is. It's time for Bruce Wayne to face the pain, that has always stirred his life."

-Christian Bale



I too am facing mine. I want to finally live again. It will be time to say goodbye to many painful memories soon enough.....

[LancsTerrible]

Yo man. I couldn't find you on my Facebook so I wanted to share this with you (which you may very well have seen). That being said, for a runner such as yourself, it maybe epic.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

Yo man. I couldn't find you on my Facebook so I wanted to share this with you (which you may very well have seen). That being said, for a runner such as yourself, it maybe epic.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
No worries, mate. I deactivated my account. It's a distraction and one I don't plan on coming back to for a good long while. Having said that, the video is indeed inspirational and I can now say with great pride that I am a CrossFitter who runs.


"He's like the perfect student"

"You made that look so easy.."

"You're CrossFit Games caliber. Seriously, you should consider doing it."

"If you are planning on coming here as much as you said you would, Open Competition to qualify for the games begins in March if you are interested because you already have the potential"


I went in to use CrossFit as a means to improve my Ultra runs and came out with a need. Is what they told me true and what I have felt brewing inside me all these years real? I have to know.



I have to know.


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

Half Marathon today on 3 days training. The will is everything.


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

Not hate, not anger, not despair, not coffee, not hard stimulants.

Will. There may be a day where the world will have given up on me. I will never give up on me.

Believe

13.1 miles in 1 hour 56 minutes

#PlaceNameBib Group
PlaceGenderAge Age Gun
TimeChip
TimePace 1:406 Carlos Garcia ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) 48341 M 30-34 M 32 01:56:17.20 1:50:54.88:28


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[IntentionalButt]

EP, your attitude is infectious. :good

[Mohak]

Many moons back when I considered entering a regional Crossfit comp this site really did help out with workouts, mentality and nutrition. Epecially the Thursday Throwdown stuff and other intense stuff. It's well worth digging the older pages for sound ideas: [Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

EP, your attitude is infectious. :good
:thumbsup
Many moons back when I considered entering a regional Crossfit comp this site really did help out with workouts, mentality and nutrition. Epecially the Thursday Throwdown stuff and other intense stuff. It's well worth digging the older pages for sound ideas: [Only registered and activated users can see links]
I'll look into it. Thank you:good

[El Puma]

[as he's pointing a gun at Erik's head]
Charles Xavier: You sure?
Erik Lehnsherr: I'm sure.
Charles Xavier: Got it.
[he goes to pull the trigger and can't]
Charles Xavier: No! No, I can't! I'm sorry. I can't shoot anybody in point blank, let alone my friend.
Erik Lehnsherr: Oh, come on! You know I can deflect it.
[he takes Charles's hand that's holding the gun and points the gun at his head again]
Erik Lehnsherr: You're always telling me I should push myself.
Charles Xavier: If you know you can deflect it, then you're not challenging yourself! Whatever happened to the man who's...who's trying to raise a submarine?
Erik Lehnsherr: Well, I can't! Something that big, I...I need the situation, the anger.
Charles Xavier: No, the anger is not enough.
Erik Lehnsherr: Well, it's gotten the job done all this time.
Charles Xavier: It's nearly gotten you killed all this time.


Charles Xavier: You know, I believe that true focus lies somewhere between rage and serenity.

[El Puma]

Quotes of Don Juan Matus, On Being a Warrior

A warrior acknowledges his pain but he doesn't indulge in it.

The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is
that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary
man takes everything as a blessing or as a curse.

A warrior is a hunter. He calculates everything. That's
control. Once his calculations are over, he acts. He lets go.
That's abandon. A warrior is not a leaf at the mercy of the wind.
No one can push him, no one can make him do things against himself
or against his better judgment. A warrior is tuned to survive and
he survives in the best of all possible fashions.

Acts have power. Especially when the warrior acting knows that
those acts are his last battle. There is a strange consuming
happiness in acting with the full knowledge that whatever he is
doing may very well be his last act on earth.

A warrior must be willing and ready to make his last
stand here and now.

A warrior cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless
challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad.
Challenges are simple challenges.

Self-importance is man's greatest enemy. What weakens him is
feeling offended by the deeds and misdeeds of his fellow men.
Self-importance requires that one spend most of one's life offended
by something or someone.

The hardest thing in the world is to assume the mood of a
warrior. It is of no use to be sad and complain and feel justified
in doing so, believing that someone is always doing something to us.
Nobody is doing anything to anybody, much less to a warrior.

A warrior takes his lot, whatever it amy be, and accepts it in
ultimate humbleness. He accepts in humbleness what he is, not as
grounds for regret but as a living challenge.

The worst that could happen to us is that we have to die, and
since that is already our unalterable fate, we are free; those who
have lost everything no longer have anything to fear.

A warrior must learn to make every act count, since he is going
to be here in this world for only a short while, in fact, too short
for witnessing all the marvels of it.

When one has nothing to lose, one becomes courageous.
We are timid only when there is something we can still cling to.

[El Puma]

The posting of my physical training aside from the CrossFit workouts will be left out of this thread.


"Typically the worlds best athletes are minimalists when it comes to their training. They work hard and fast with few exercises. They master the fundamentals and work with them for years. This is the secret that no one wants to hear."


I will however, post results from events (Whatever those may be) I compete in.


This journey i am taking is about the mind and the will to act. But every journey has an end and my goal is to inspire you to change for the better and become stronger as a result.


“We are a nation of physical animals who have forgotten how much we enjoy being that. We are cushioned by this kind of make-believe, unreal world and we have no idea what we can survive because we are never challenged or tested.” Chuck Palahniuk


It's the same each time with progress. First they ignore you, then they say you're mad, then dangerous, then there's a pause and then you can't find anyone who disagrees with you.—Tony Benn



Thirteen Warrior Precepts
1) Know Thyself
2) Nuture the ability to perceive the truth in all matters
3) You create your own reality
4) Develop a sense of right action
5) Do not be negligent, even in trifling matters
6) Your body is your temple. Care for it!
7) Minimal appearance, maximum content
8) Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye
9) Power with
10) Who dares wins.
11) The Gods cannot help those who will not help themselves
12) Be Creative!
13) Do not engage in useless activity

[El Puma]

What a humble ass kicking I took home today...

Strength: max weight OH squat for 20 unbroken reps (bar must remain locked out overhead during all 20 reps).

WOD: 500m row for time. Rest 10 minutes. Repeat.


65lbs seemed so...punishing. Must work on upper back flexibility and get body used to movement.

Rowing seemed decent with times under 2 minutes.


"Our warm-up is your workout"

-Coach Glassman


He's not kidding.


CFJ: How many times should someone do the Workout of the Day (WOD)?



Coach Glassman: Yeah, we actually get this question every once in a while. When it comes up we know for a fact that either they’ve not tried the workouts or they’ve tried them at a leisurely pace. Done right, they have a horrific impact; they’re designed that way. No one comes out standing much less looking for another one later.
What the WOD does allow for is learning and practice of sports. Juggling sport and the WOD requires careful modulation of the intensity of the WOD or overtraining is a certainty.

[Mohak]

WAR!!!!!!!!!!


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

WOD: AMRAP in 5 minutes of:
Clean and jerks, 155#/95#
Scaling options are posted at the gym. You want to get at least 10 reps. If you do not think you can get 10 reps with a given weight, scale down accordingly.
-
Bonus: 5 rounds for time of:
5 Burpees
20 Double unders.
3 minute time cap


Finished 20 reps with 135lbs.

Finished bonus with 30 seconds left.



"Suffer in silence"

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.

Friedrich Nietzsche


"I am the master of my fate:I am the Captain of my soul"

I still have a soul...............




[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

WOD: "Death By Pull-ups"
With a continuously running clock do one pull-ups the first minute, two pull-ups the second minute, three pull-ups the third minute...... continuing as long as you are able.
Use as many sets each minute as needed. Post number of minutes completed to comments.
-
Bonus - If you complete less than 10 full rounds, perform 150 push-ups for time. 10-15 rounds - 100 push-ups. Over 15 rounds - 50 push-ups.


Today, I was humbled. Today, I suffered. Today I smiled at the end.

"The mind and body adapt to both comfort and deprivation. The difficult experiences of mountaineering may appear irrational and risky from the comfort of the armchair, but learning to deal with them is essential. Relish the challenge of overcoming difficulties that would crush ordinary men."

-Mark Twight




I have such a long way to go and I can't wait to get my ass kicked again. Nothing precious comes easy. No one should go through life without experiencing the full limit of mind and body and coming back to exceed it.


"Where does this strong will and hardness come from? It derives from recognizing desires and goals and then enduring whatever it takes to fulfill them. A strong will grows from suffering successfully and being rewarded for it. Does a strong will come from years of multi-hour training runs or do those runs result from a dominating will? There is no right answer because will and action feed one another. "

-Mark Twight

[El Puma]

Surely the fiercest survivor; the purest warrior.....



"A "good" attitude allows and spurs the athlete to conceive and achieve a goal. Such a psychological state does not have to be positive or balanced; personal torment has inspired great efforts. Confusion and questioning, anger and doubt may be fountains of creativity and initiative. What an individual finds dissatisfactory about him or herself is often the bridge to something greater. When combined with the self-discipline required to maintain momentum any motivating state of mind can produce an astounding work of art and action.

The mind - no matter how troubled - must be open because conviction about the inevitability of a particular outcome affects the outcome. Certainty regarding the righteousness of the current path can blind one to other paths. It may also foster confidence in validity of one's actions; the consequence of conviction depends on the attitude with which it is held. Plenty of folks surf the site and conclude that they know and understand what they are seeing, that there is nothing here but a shtick, a "slash and burn" posture, without meat, or bones or results. These passersby are balanced by those who look through that same window and recognize what the individuals here have accomplished through attitude and hard effort, and determine that the bones at Gym Jones hang heavy with meat. Some viewers are able to imagine what they might achieve by adopting - at minimum - the attitude and commitment expressed here.

Commitment, you either have it or you don't. Saying you have it means nothing. Talk - Action = Zero. The uncommitted rarely make it through the door. Those who lose their commitment are asked to leave until they recover. Stress and hardship clarify commitment: those who have it relish difficulty and intensity. The committed are aware and mindful every minute of every day so they enjoy the results that such rare dedication and effort deliver. "


-Gym Jones

In Dune, Frank Herbert called it "the attitude of the knife," cut off what's incomplete and say "now it has finished, for it has ended there." So finish it, and walk away, forward. Only acts undertaken with commitment have meaning. Only your best effort matters. Life is a Meritocracy, with death as the auditor. Inconsistency, incompetence and lies are all cut short by that final word. Death will change you if you can't change yourself.

"If I can change one, then I can change two. If I can change two, then I can change four. If I can change four, then I can change eight. If I can change eight, then I can change."

One Minute Silence, "If I Can Change"

[El Puma]

Rest Day/Make-up Day

Miss a workout this week? Make it up today. Otherwise, work on stretching, mobility, and a skill or two, but no heavy metcons. Recover from the previous three days and be ready for tomorrow...



Good easy day. Strength training and hill sprints tonight.

Mohak, I want and am going to get a 7 minute mile pace for that race in January. Win or lose in whatever I do, Going forward, I will always be able to say I got to the starting line.

Pearl Jam sang it best...

I Am Mine




The selfish, they're all standing in line...
Faithing and hoping and to buy themselves time.
Me, I figure as each breath goes by,
I only own my mind.

The north is to south what the clock is to time.
There's east and there's west and there everywhere lying.
I know I was born and I know that I'll die.
The in between is mine.
I. am. mine.

And the feeling that gets left behind...
All the innocence lost at one time...
Significant behind the eyes, there's no need to hide.
We're safe tonight.

The ocean is full 'cause everyone's crying,

The full moon is looking for friends at high tide.
The sorrow grows bigger when the sorrows denied.
I only know my mind.
I. am. mine.

And the meaning that gets left behind...
All the innocence lost at one time.
Significant behind the eyes, there's no need to hide...
We're safe tonight.
Wooh!

And the feelings that gets left behind...
All the innocence fucking with lies.
Significant between the lines, we may need to hide.
And the meanings that gets left behind...
All the innocence lost at one time.
We're all different behind the eyes.
There's no need to hide, yeah.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

“I shall die here. Every last inch of me shall perish. Except one. An inch. It's small and it's fragile and it's the only thing in the world worth having. we must never lose it, or sell it, or give it away. We must never let them take it from us.”
― Alan Moore, V for Vendetta

Love>Fear

[Mohak]

Rest Day/Make-up Day

Miss a workout this week? Make it up today. Otherwise, work on stretching, mobility, and a skill or two, but no heavy metcons. Recover from the previous three days and be ready for tomorrow...



Good easy day. Strength training and hill sprints tonight.

Mohak, I want and am going to get a 7 minute mile pace for that race in January. Win or lose in whatever I do, Going forward, I will always be able to say I got to the starting line.

Pearl Jam sang it best...

I Am Mine




The selfish they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind
The north is to south
What four o' clock is to time
There's east and there's west
And there's everywhere life
I know I was born
And I know that I'll die
The in between is mine
I am mine

And the feeling that gets left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
Significant behind the eyes
There's no need to hide
We're safe tonight

The ocean is full cause everyone's crying
The full moon is looking for friends at high tide
The sorrow grows bigger when the sorrow's denied
I only know my mind
I am mine

And the meaning that gets left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
Significant behind the eyes
There's no need to hide
We're safe tonight

And the feelings that get left behind
The innocents broken with lies
Significance between the lines
We may need to hide

And the meanings that get left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
We're all different behind the eyes
There's no need to hide

[Only registered and activated users can see links]



''Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.'' - Theodore Roosevelt.



Always keep striving for greatness.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

''Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.'' - Theodore Roosevelt.



Always keep striving for greatness.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]





Batman:Venom


In a few simple sentences: Nobody ever becomes an addict to ruin his or her life. Addiction always begins with a desire to be better. Stronger. Smarter. Suaver. Richer. Braver. More.

The promise is always of less pain and greater fulfillment, and the promise is always a lie. It's a lesson millions of people are learning, particularly on the streets of our cities-An agonizing, intensely human lesson, and as such is appropriate as the theme of a Batman story because, despite his flamboyance and epic adventures, Batman is the most human of the great comic-book heroes

-From the introduction of Dennis O'Neil

[MrSmall]

whens the next competition, broski?

[El Puma]

whens the next competition, broski?
I have another half marathon in January. I am training for it now and am looking to run down the comp that isn't top shelf. Weighing in at 153lbs solid.

[El Puma]

Strength: Deadlift 5-5-5-5
WOD: 5 Rounds for time of:
25 Abmat sit-ups
25 Air squats
250m Row

Last 2 sets at 295lbs.

It always hurts when you go as hard as you can....

[El Puma]

5 minutes at each station groups of 3

Wall ball throws with 20 lbs. (20 reps)

55lb one arm dumbbell push press (40reps total) 1st set 10-2nd set 10 each arm


55lb kettlebell swing (two hands) 40 reps total


Box jumps (24 inches)


Walking lunges


"After all, if he ever stopped to wonder what difference one man can make
- there would never have been a Batman._
Batman: Cataclysm_


"You believe you can change the way of things, Batman. It is why you are
who you are."

Nightwing: Anyways, why are you so much tougher on her than you are on,
say, Two-Face? You always hold out hope that he can be
rehabilitated. So why so hard on Catwoman?
Batman: Because I expect more from her.
Nightwing: Yeah, well - not everyone can live up to your expectations.







"That's what you have to hold on to. All of us are what we are because
we lost something we thought we couldn't live without, and were proven
wrong. We can survive without parents and without walking and even
without always being able to protect the people we love. But we can't
survive without knowing in our bones that we're not like them, not like
the ones who stole from us."

Gotham Knights_

[El Puma]

whens the next competition, broski?


''Well, the 2012 Crossfit Games are drawing near! The Crossfit Games Open will take place from February 22 to March 25. The Open is an online competition that will consist of one workout per week during those five weeks.''


It will be here before I know it. Already the fears and doubts start to creep towards me like a shadow. Having researched the comp and what it takes to hang with top shelf competition, I am left with thoughts of "Not enough time..." "I may be too small..." I don't shake them. I invite the doubts over and let them stay there because the end result is up to me and I have a choice. Sink or swim.


"Maybe his constant doubting of himself is finally the best indication
that the Dark Knight is sane. Maybe we don't have to be able to make
sense of the world in order to choose our reactions to it. Maybe the best
way to absolutely know that our own instincts are trustworthy... is to
give up on the notion of absolutes."
_Gotham Knights_




I am going in because I believe in myself and I believe in my capabilities. I believe in my cause to better myself through trials by fire and inspiring others to do the same for themselves. I believe in falling and rising back up with renewed effort ,strength and knowledge. I believe in me even if it feels the rest of the world does not. I believe in the value imminent death gives our short lives to dare in matters of love,will and striving.

Believe.

It's about identity. As long as you can choose that,
choose who you are in the world... you can choose to call yourself sane."
-Batman, "Gazing Back,"
from _Secret Origins of the JLA_

[Rakim]

Puma, if you spent less time waffling about bullshit from Batman films and more time doing squats you'd piss all over this Crossfit competition.


Riddle me this,
Riddle me that,
Who's afraid of the big, black, bat?

[El Puma]

Puma, if you spent less time waffling about bullshit from Batman films and more time doing squats you'd piss all over this Crossfit competition.


Riddle me this,
Riddle me that,
Who's afraid of the big, black, bat?
:rofl I'm putting on my tights to go train as I type.:thumbsup

[Rakim]

:rofl I'm putting on my tights to go train as I type.:thumbsup




:lol: Best of luck in the competition, mate. How are you finding crossfit, btw? It seems to be a bit of a joke to a lot of people, going from what I've read about it, but whenever I watch the WODs on youtube I can't help noticing the crossfitters are fucking beasts.

[El Puma]

:lol: Best of luck in the competition, mate. How are you finding crossfit, btw? It seems to be a bit of a joke to a lot of people, going from what I've read about it, but whenever I watch the WODs on youtube I can't help noticing the crossfitters are fucking beasts.
:yep

CrossFit is what I have been looking for in terms of all around elite fitness. If you have the opportunity, I would give it a test drive.

The numbers I will put up in future comps outside of Crossfit will be a good measuring stick to go by, imho.

[Rakim]

:yep

CrossFit is what I have been looking for in terms of all around elite fitness. If you have the opportunity, I would give it a test drive.

I'm ridiculously unfit at the moment. No chance.



The numbers I will put up in future comps outside of Crossfit will be a good measuring stick to go by, imho.


Definitely. Keep us updated on that one. I'll be interested to hear the results.

[El Puma]

I'm ridiculously unfit at the moment. No chance.




Definitely. Keep us updated on that one. I'll be interested to hear the results.
I was as well. I was very strong when I started but immediately found I was lacking in flexibility and conditioning. I highly recommend it as everyone checks their ego at the door and work as a cohesive unit to be the best they can be at whatever it is they do outside the gym.

It has played a large part in helping me be the happiest I have been in months with my training and very much looking forward to my Half Marathon in January.

:thumbsup

[El Puma]

Power snatch, 3-3-3-3 (touch-and-go reps)

Clean and jerk, 2-2-2-2 (can be power or squat cleans)


125lbs.

Technique suffered as a result of it being to heavy. I kept muscling it up as opposed to one fluid motion. Many years of lifting is going to have to be reprogrammed real quick if I want to be competitive in the open.




WOD: 3 Rounds for time of:
15 Toes to bar
10 Kettlebell swings, 70#/55#
5 Burpees


Used a 75lb KB (Thank you, Mario) and achieved a time of 5:10

My toes to the bar sucked and I will be putting in some serious overtime on them to improve.

What are toes to the bar?


These bastards right here...

[Only registered and activated users can see links]




The goal is not the thing itself. Broadcasting it is not execution. The fellow I wrote about in the Self Delusion essay on the public site confuses announcements about his goals and plans with the actual doing of things. I don't ever say "just do it" (it's trademarked anyway). I say shut-the-fuck-up and do it. Then you can write your blog. Internet declarations of intent carry as much weight as the excuses used when one falls short. Besides, you can always do more than you think so announcing your intentions can be self-limiting.

What the world needs is less talk and more action.


-Mark Twight



WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mohak]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

WOD - "Barber" (from the Again Faster "Beat the Team" Competition Series)
2 Rounds for time of:
15 HSPU
20 Pull-ups
25 Box jumps, 30"
30 Deadlifts, 185#
35 Burpees

20:42 2nd fastest in class

That was the most brutal impact my body has taken since October 2010 (50 mile Ultra) With everything that has happened and all the work I have been putting in lately, I collapse against the door and with tears rolling down my cheeks, I let out a long laugh that walks the razor's edge between pain and happiness.



"No one moment can provide the measure of a man. The champion knows that, and so should we all. A man—especially a man who runs ultramarathons—can only be evaluated over the long haul. A single moment is seldom what it seems. Instances that seem easy are hard, and the greatest triumphs follow the most painful lows."

[El Puma]

WOD: 15 Minute AMRAP:
200m Row
5 Front squats, 185#/125# (no racks!)
2 Rope climbs, 18'

Only 2 rounds. I can't tell if i am getting sick or just allergies but I got the snot kicked outta me by today's session. I sucked today.

First time ever climbing a rope and tore a bit of skin off my fingers. Almost got a muscle-up on my third try during our warm up.

I thought for a second about taking tomorrow off. It was a second too long...


I didn't get this far in life taking it easy.



For the goal-oriented individual falling short leads to an unsentimental self-assessment, and the bigger the failure, the deeper one must cut to root out the cause. And the harder one works to turn it to advantage. A former climbing partner once wrote that, "staying focused while truly opening oneself to actual risk of total failure beats specks of gold out of the dross* that comprises the bulk of modern man's existence."

-Mark Twight



*dross
Pronunciation: 'drås, 'dros
Function: noun
1 : the scum that forms on the surface of molten metal
2 : waste or foreign matter : IMPURITY
3 : something that is base, trivial, or inferior

[El Puma]

Rest Day/Make-up Day

Miss a workout this week? Make it up today. Otherwise, work on stretching, mobility, and a skill or two, but no heavy metcons. Recover from the previous three days and be ready for tomorrow...

Nothing much but practicing my Muscle-ups and doing pull ups on the gymnastics rings. Picked up valuable tips from Emmit. More mental than anything else today.


I. Am. Mine. "Surely the fiercest survivor,the purest warrior.."

All great accomplishments began with a thought within the soul, married the will and gave birth to action.

“I know of no better life purpose than to perish in attempting the great and the impossible.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

“I assess the power of a will by how much resistance, pain, torture it endures and knows how to turn to its advantage”
― Friedrich Nietzsche


"Batman himself knows that he is more than just a man in a mask. He has
become a legend, a symbol, a force. He has made his priorities clear to
those who would aid him... and allowed them to make their own choices.
And he doesn't have time to waste over wondering whether or not this is
fair."
_Gotham Knights_

[Mohak]

18:14 with a 35lbs DB. What was your time with the circuit?

[El Puma]

18:14 with a 35lbs DB. What was your time with the circuit?
Sweet! I have not tried it yet. I had Farmers walks and double unders on the schedule today. looking to try this on Sunday.

[Mohak]

Sweet! I have not tried it yet. I had Farmers walks and double unders on the schedule today. looking to try this on Sunday.


Good stuff bro. My time sucks! :lol:

[El Puma]

Worked as a 4 man team to (try) achieve

-100 reps Clean and Jerk with 115 lbs

-200 knees to elbows on the bar

-300 wall balls with a 20lb medicine ball

25 minute cap

Alternating stations while someone is on the rower

We came up 19 short on the knees to elbows and 20 short on the wall balls.

Our team bested everyone else on total calories burned on the rower.


It's been 3 weeks thus far into my training. I'm happy and feel I am where I belong. The Open and Ultra Marathons will be here before I know it. Will I be ready in time? It doesn't matter. I am going at it like everything else I am passionate about.
Rain,snow, heat all out, death be damned. Blood,sweat and tears; my story will echo through the years.


"That's right, Bruce. you do. You fight until it's done. And then you die. When they can find a body, They..They put you in a coffin. Until then you keep fighting. because you have to. Because you can't stop it from happening again. Because no matter how many lives you save, you can't bring us back."

-Martha Wayne.


“Change hurts. It makes people insecure, confused, and angry. People want things to be the same as they've always been, because that makes life easier. But, if you're a leader, you can't let your people hang on to the past.”

Richard Marcinko quote

[El Puma]

WOD: 5 Rounds for time of:
15 Back squats (no racks!), 135#
10 Burpees
5 Weighted pull-ups, 45#

(Last set of pull ups were done body weight only)

under 14 minutes


Fear,pain,exhaustion. It was a damn good session today. But not good enough.

My legs felt like jello as I took to the road to begin running. I stopped and thought about how little sense it made to be doing this after such a harsh training session.

"It's impossible" said pride. "It's risky" said experience. "It's pointless" said reason. "Give it a try" whispered the heart.

I wanted to experience more. More fear, more pain, more exhaustion. I wanted to overcome.I want daily assurance that whatever I can set my mind to, I can achieve and tell you firsthand that it CAN be done. That is the attitude you have to face the day, face the pain and face fear with.

I am the Alpha and the Omega of myself. You can doubt me, but you can't stop me. Because I can take it. I. Am. Mine.

The hill sprints were a baptism of sorts. I felt free and alive.


“The most spiritual human beings, assuming they are the most courageous, also experience by far the most painful tragedies: but it is precisely for this reason that they honor life, because it brings against them its most formidable weapons.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche


Girls, daddy loves you.

[El Puma]

Tuesday, December 13 2011
Bring Your Running Shoes

It's going to be 45 degrees today, so grab your running shoes and a long sleeved shirt - we may not get another chance to run outside for a while.
WOD: "Michael"
3 Rounds for time of:
800m Run
50 Back extensions (we will be doing 50 straight legged deadlifts instead)
50 Abmat sit-ups


As we burst out the door, a thought came over me as i looked at the two runners ahead of me. They are built and run like Gazelles and I, a puma. Things are as they should be for now. I was no more than 5-6 seconds behind them as we came back into the building. I finished the floor exercises and burst out the door in second behind the last Gazelle.

No more than 4-5 seconds behind him, I run into the building and begin the floor exercises and every now and then, glancing at the Gazelles progress. I burst out the door in first while Akon is blasting in my ear

Akon:]
Hey Hey
I don't care what nobody say
I'm a be me (be me)
Stay hood, stay raised in the streets
(Cause I'm out here grindin')
Ni**as talk about greatness whenever they speak about me (Cause I'm out here grindin')

I burst in the door and yell "TIME!" but apparently I still had one set of floor exercises left:oops:

As I am finishing up, I feel this surge in me and burst out the door as my theme song seems to get louder with every hard beat of my heart. As i am coming back to the building, I see no other runner and wonder what the hell is going on.....:patsch Turns out I did an extra 800 meter run:lol:

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

I smile and collapse to the floor while i hear the Gazelle tell me I am an animal for running an extra set. Hearing the word "animal" reminds me of Hemingway's Leopard and as everyone comments on how much today's session sucked, I laugh as I watch the steam rise off my body and say "That was awesome"

Just over 19 minutes and only 3 other people from all the classes beat me by less than a minute.

"Kilimanjaro is a snow-covered mountain 19,710 feet high, and is said to be the highest mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called by the Masai "Ngàje Ngài," the House of God. Close to the western summit there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude."



Every hero needs a theme song...."The Heavy - Short Change Hero"

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

"We do your stuff nearly as well as you do, you can't do ours very well at all, and we do everything that we both don't do much better than you can. Not very humble, I know, but true."

"CrossFit is in large part derived from several simple observations garnered through hanging out with athletes for thirty years and willingness, if not eagerness, to experiment coupled with a total disregard for conventional wisdom."

[El Puma]

WOD: 3 Rounds of:
5 Shoulder presses, then immediately to
Max chin over bar hold (seconds)
Rest 1 minute
Max rep strict pull-ups, then immediately to
Max overhead bar hold (shoulder press grip, using same weight from above, in seconds)
Rest 1 minute
-
Use a weight for the shoulder presses that is challenging for 5 unbroken reps (not a 5-rep max weight), and stick with it for the remainder of the workout. If you cannot do strict pull-ups, do kipping. If you cannot do kipping pull-ups, use a band and do strict reps.

125lbs

1st round 9 pull-ups

2nd round 6 pull-ups

3rd round 7 pull-ups

Didn't keep track of the time I was doing the static holds but I felt i did fairly well, holding on until my body was trembling and then hung on a bit more after wards.

I am highly appreciative of our coaches.

CrossFit State Of Mind

"If you think you’re beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you’d like to win, but think you can’t,
It’s almost for sure, you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost.
For out in the world we find -
Success begins with a person’s will,
It’s all in the state of mind.

Full many a race is lost
Before a step is run
And many a coward falls
Before the works begun

Think big and your dreams will grow
Think small and you’ll fall behind
Think that you can and you will
It’s all in a state of mind

If you think you’re outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself
Before you can win the prize

Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man
But, sooner or later the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can,
It’s all in the state of mind"

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

This is a story about overcoming. It's also about faith... forgiveness... and fighting for yourself

"If I advance, follow me. If I retreat, kill me. And if I die, avenge me."



"All stories have endings. They are not meant to last forever. People change and grow, they can live or die and they can succeed or fail. I will not spend the rest of my natural life in a hellish borderland of mediocrity that tells you that, no matter how good you are or how hard you try, you will always fail."

Never again.

[El Puma]

Rest Day/Make-up Day

Miss a workout this week? Make it up today. Otherwise, work on stretching, mobility, and a skill or two, but no heavy metcons. Recover from the previous three days and be ready for tomorrow...


Pretty easy day. Single leg squats while holding a 45lb plate, pull-ups on the rings, one-arm push ups and fine tuning my muscle-up.

"Remember that pain has this most excellent quality. If prolonged it cannot be severe, and if severe it cannot be prolonged."
- Seneca

It is better to live one day as a lion than one hundred years as a sheep.

Do that which you fear and the fear will die - Emerson


"The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it."
- William James

[El Puma]

Took the day off from CrossFit today so I could concentrate on strength training and hill sprints. I also have an announcement.


December 16, 2011

Thank you for submitting your entry for the January 14, 2012 Team Ortho Chicago Polar Dash: Polar Dash Half Marathon.

ESB members,

Thank you for your continued support and for those who have followed me,helped me and believe in me...this race is for you.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

There, they sat in folding chairs and listened to Mr. MacDonald give a lecture. The class members, some of whom had traveled from as far as London and New York, took notes and followed along with a 135-page study guide.

“You can never get rid of endurance work,” Mr. MacDonald said, stabbing at the board with a marker. “If you need to get rid of something in your workout, it needs to be the weight room.”

He put the cap on the marker. “And always — always — be prepared to go to a dark place,” he said. “Now, who’s ready to work out?”


"Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk."

-Unknown

"Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for."


-Dag Hammarskjold





"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds."

-Edward Abbey

[El Puma]

Team of 3.

10 Wall balls 20lbs

10 Ring Push ups

10 Sumo Deadlift High Pull 95lbs

Counts as 1 set. Do as many sets as possible in 15 minutes

My individual score was 7 sets + 10 wall balls=220 reps.

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."


-Unknown

4 more weeks until the race. Go hard, rinse, rest, repeat.



"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that ? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained."


- Marie Curie

[El Puma]

I'm sorry you don't think what I do is normal and is harmful for my health. I don't begrudge you and I still and will always love you, my little brother. Wealth is not health for me.


"Lance always has been motivated by people who don't believe him or doubt him."


"To all the cynics, I'm sorry for you, ... I'm sorry you can't believe in miracles. This is a great sporting event and hard work wins it."
- Lance Armstrong


"If children have the ability to ignore all odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them. When you think about it, what other choice is there but to hope? We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or Fight Like Hell."
- Lance Armstrong

[El Puma]

Strength: Power clean, 3-3-3-3-3

1st set 135 lbs

2nd set 165lbs

3rd set 165lbs (Failed 185lb attempt)

4th set 165lbs

5th set 165lbs

WOD: AMRAP(As Many Rounds As Possible) 10 minutes of:

200m Run

10 KB swings, 70#/55# (I and other as Norberto put it, "heroes" opted for 75lbs lol. Thank God for IB profen)

10 Chest to bar pull-ups

With as much as my stomach is shrinking for the upcoming race, I should have known better than to eat pre-workout as much as usual. I paid for it with cramps, but lesson learned.

4 rounds completed

"...when you have a sense of your own identity and a vision of where you want to go in your life, then you have the basis for reaching out to the world and going after your dreams for a better life."


-Stedman Graham


Now I have to crunch time in to study for my eventual CrossFit Level I Certification and condition my body for a dip in Lake Michigan after my Half Marathon with the other crazies next month.


"To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, that is to have succeeded."


- Ralph Waldo Emerson





"If you're never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take any chances."


- Julia Sorel

[El Puma]

Tuesday, December 20 2011
Strength vs. Endurance

For the next 6-8 weeks, we will be attempting to focus a bit more on strength training; however, endurance alternatives will be provided for those who would prefer more endurance work. It is highly recommended that you complete the strength portion if you are planning on entering the CrossFit Games 2012 Open.
Strength: Back squat 2-2-2-2-2
Or
Endurance: Row 250m for time. Rest 3 minutes. x 3.
-
WOD: 5 Rounds for time of:
10 Jump squats, 95#
10 Ring dips
20 Double unders (Did 60 singles each round instead. My double unders suck...for now.)

Time: 9:27

Topped off my squat at 255lbs. Will have to work on that but it's a thin line between losing weight and gaining strength...

No. Just fucking do it.

CrossFit is the truth. I found my salvation.

"I walked away from the grave
some kind of zombie
I will never be afraid
some kind of zombie
I gave my life away.
I'm obliged and obey
I'm enslaved to what you say. "

I needed more, tonight. I needed to know just how powerful an engine I was building for the upcoming races. Devil's Lake....



"The time has come. You know it in your soul, for I am your soul... You cannot escape me. You are puny, you are small, you are nothing--a hollow shell, a rusty trap that cannot hold me. Smoldering, I burn you--burning you, I flare, hot and bright and fierce and beautiful. You cannot stop me, not with wine or vows or the weight of age--you cannot stop me, but still you try. Still you run. You try to drown me out... But your voice is weak."

Seemingly endless stamina between short 7 second sprints. Tonight felt like a baptism of sorts with minimal clothing and the cold wet air blanketing me. I am mine. I am all that came into this world with and that is how I will leave. But in between, what i do, will live on long after i am gone from this earth.

“Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly. ([Only registered and activated users can see links])”

-Neil Gaiman

[El Puma]

WOD - 5 Rounds, each for time of:
5 Deadlifts
15 Burpees
Rest 3 minutes between rounds. Increase weight each round if possible.


I'm warmed up...shake my arms, lick my lips, I'm ready to break metal warmed up.

I think of all those yesterdays....

1. 225lbs

2. 255lbs

3. 275lbs

By now, thoughts are distant. Focus is locked in. I summon the effort I put in for others and keep it for myself.

4. 295lbs

Sometimes...it's good to be selfish.

I take my shoes off for the last set.

"I'm Gonna fight 'em Off
A Seven Nation Army couldn't hold me back"

I heave with as much perfect form as I can muster, double my body weight and I feel the screaming that starts in my intestines travel out my throat. All those yesterdays....in 5 reps. I did it.


5. 315lbs 16:37


“I wanted to write about the moment when your addictions no longer hide the truth from you. When your whole life breaks down. That's the moment when you have to somehow choose what your life is going to be about.”

Chuck Palahniuk

[El Puma]

"Pain, I came to feel, might well prove to be the sole proof of the persistence of consciousness within the flesh, the sole physical expression of consciousness. As my body acquired muscle, and in turn strength, there was gradually born within me the tendency toward positive acceptance of pain, and my interest in physical suffering deepened."

[El Puma]

Strength: Push jerk 1-1-1-1-1


Topped out at 175lbs after failing a 185lb attempt. I am pleased I have video footage of this since my form needs work with the second dip in the movement.

WOD:
Tabata intervals of the following:
Wall ball, 20#
Box jumps, 24"
Toes through rings
Row for calories
20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds rest counts as 1 set. Perform 8 consecutive sets of one movement before moving on to the next movement. Add your reps/calories from all 32 sets for a total score.


208 total

I felt like dying. A small taste of what "Fight Gone Bad" will bring when it gets here.


Training for the marathon has been spot on. No complaints in the strength department as I am following what Brian MacKenzie preaches for endurance athletes in CrossFit Endurance. "UnScared"


All in all everything is coming together for the better. The future looks as bright as the past is distant.


"And there's things I would like to do
That you don't believe in
I would like to build something
But you'll never see it happen"

Motorcycle Driveby - Third Eye Blind

[El Puma]

Feel the speed through intersection
Sheets of rain I seek out cars
Hands in gloves, grip handlebars
Ride alone to the pub in the dark
I get a little wet but I don't have to park
And the lights start flashing green and red as I ride
A car turns left and I slide
I can't turn back, I make contact
Blinkers smash to mosaic
Then I start flying

Always think we get more time
Now flying through the air
Maybe living, maybe dying
In this motor crash it's you who comes to mind
Don't we always wished had more time?

I'm thrust slow mo through time and space
Details smash, I protect my face
And then I see yours
And go to a time when we just knew
Mister death in the car below
Doesn't even slow and away he goes
In the majesty of a motor crash
Skid into my darkness forming
Sex and death, heartbreak and strife
But they give no warning

Always think we'll get more time
Now I'm flying through the air
And it's you who comes to mind
In the red lights and Cathedrals there's a sign
Don't we always wish had more time
Here it comes
My hit and run

Always think we'll get more time
Then you're flying through the air
With someone on your mind
In the shattered glass reflections there's a sign
'Cause you were there
And I wish we had more time

I come down hard and roll to my feet
And rain washes blood now off concrete
People turn away and I just had to laugh
'Cause I'm still flying
Living and dying

Always think we get more time
Flying through the air
With someone on your mind
And this motorcycle crash it is a sign
'Cause you were there and I wish we had more time
You were there

And I'd like to thank Mister Death now for what he's done
'Cause I got to walk away from my hit and run
Mysteries are not so empty now as they seemed
'Cause I saw you
At my hit and run
At my hit and run

My Hit And Run-Third Eye Blind

"...may you always find the inspiration you need to succeed"

[El Puma]

Team of 2

Tri and I

4 reps of Clean and Jerk @ 135lbs

8 Hands off floor push ups

4 Burpees over the bar

Counts as 1 round. As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 minutes.

Though tired and sore as we may have been, we jumped at it like the lions that we are. Fatigue be damned, we gave it all to the end.

16.5 rounds later, we lay in a puddle of our own sweat with glazed eyes. There was no better way to spend Christmas Eve this morning.


Thank you Tri.


Resist
<3
Pain feels good
has someone taken your faith
you
They all died in the fire I started
Help me
I pain
your faith
Goodbye

[El Puma]

Tired, sick, heart racing with very little exertion. Very happy to have had the day off because this is what I had ahead of me...


Run 400m
31 Overhead squats, 75#
31 Push-ups
31 Deadlifts, 185#
31 Pull-ups
Run 400m
31 Overhead squats, 75#
31 Push-ups
31 Deadlifts, 185#
31 Pull-ups
Run 400m


26:33



"May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to bring you joy."


-Unknown




[Only registered and activated users can see links]



[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

Tuesday, December 27 2011
Paleo Challenge?

Who's up for a 30-day paleo challenge beginning January 2nd?


WOD: 5 Rounds, each for time of:
3 Push presses
15 Toes to bar
200m Row
Rest 3 minutes between rounds. Increase weight each round if possible. Racks are allowed. Post loads and time to complete for each round to BTW.


Pain was my friend today. Last second decision to go was not regretted.

135#

155#

155#

165#

165# 24:00 2:38 to finish round

Almost did not get the last rep....came back down and amid the loud encouragement, I muscled that motherfucker up, locked it out and held it.


Fuck limitations.

Now...hill sprints and a tempo run.


Live the lifestyle instead of paying lip service to the lifestyle. Live with commitment. With emotional content. Live whatever life you choose honestly. Give up this renaissance man, dilettante bullshit of doing a lot of different things (and none of them very well by real standards). Get to the guts of one thing; accept, without casuistry, the responsibility of making a choice. When you live honestly, you can not separate your mind from your body, or your thoughts from your actions.

Tell the truth. First, to yourself. Say it until it hurts. Learn the reality of your own selfishness. Quit living for other people at the expense of your own self, you’re not really alive. You live in the land of denial-and they say the view is pretty as long as you remain asleep.

[El Puma]

Strength: Back squat 4-4-4-4

1. 135lbs

2. 185lbs

3. 225lbs

4. 245lbs
or


Endurance: Row 500m for time. Rest 5 minutes. Repeat.
WOD: 5 Rounds for time of:
7 Weighted pull-ups, 45#/25#
14 Second chin over bar hold (no weight)
14 Box jumps, 24"/20"
28 Double unders

Starting the Paleo diet while also running fried me out. Pathetic showing on the last two sets of pullups which I did w no weight. Double unders are still poor.

18:35

I have to modify Paleo because eating like this and simultaneously doing endurance and strength training has me spread very thin.

I'll make it work. Because I choose to.

[El Puma]

Looks like I can't post my video from my CrossFit last night. ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

If you have me on Facebook, it's there but I won't post the WOD here and probably not today's session either.

My race is coming up and I am becoming more quiet and intense. Training has been good. I have not posted everything I have been doing but this isn't really what this thread is about. Take from my logs that which you deem useful and apply them in your life. Overcome past limitations to face the upcoming challenges and changes.

Live your legend.

"Feels like i'm stuck in a dream and can't get out. And still everyday I wake up to feel the absence I've yet to get used to. There is still so much left I have to do..."

-Puma

[El Puma]

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.”
― Neil Gaiman

[El Puma]

"Fran"

6:03

I love my improvement thus far.

"If a hurricane that wreaks havoc on a whole town can be Fran, so can a workout."
-Coach Glassman

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

My dreams during state of sleep haunt and taunt me. They are fragments of dreams I've had while awake. I stopped daydreaming and I stopped thinking of things that can never be. I work with what I have and accept what life has given me and go from there. There is no room in my life for dreams.

My ambition is to live my legend. Expressing my spiritual self through the physical plane on and at some of the world's toughest arenas (Ultramarathons, CrossFit competitions,etc) Surrender myself to an ideal. And ideal based on inspiring people to climb their mountains.


This is a story about overcoming. It's also about faith... forgiveness... and fighting for yourself. I have and will continue to use each ordeal, each heartache and failure, to become a better man, in the service of others.



Fears? I have one. Not getting back up to fight after being knocked around and down. I've committed many mistakes in my life because of who I am and aspects of my life have blinded me from seeing something important to the situation at the time. More often than not, I have always found the solution...but with great loss.
This will never change as this is what life is about. I have to keep going despite knowing full well that the higher the mountain, the harder the fall will be. Sometimes...it's only pain and sadness that makes us who we are.



The kind of mark I wish to leave is to have been able to inspire if even just one person to change how they live their life for the better. That none of us are beyond saving. Because we are all worth it.


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

Started 2012 off with "Barbara" and CrossFit Games marathon on ESPN2. It's going to be an epic year indeed.

-20 pull-ups
-30 push ups
-40 sit ups
-50 squats 5 rounds with 3:00 rest between rounds.

[El Puma]

Day off from work. Took advantage by doing "20 pieces of Angie" I have to say...they are brutal on me but I love the women CrossFit has brought into my life.

20 rounds for time of

5 pull ups

5 push ups

5 sit ups

5 squats.

17:30

I think as a I get closer to the CF Open, I will do 2 a days 2-4 times a week.

We will see how today's WOD at class goes.

[El Puma]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

Now for the fun part, what is the first WOD of 2012?
20 Min AMRAP:2 Rounds of "Cindy" (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats equals 1 round)1 Round of "DT" (12 deadlifts, 9 hang power cleans, 6 push jerks @ 155#/105#)



Nothing like a good suffer fest to break in the new building.


Had to go lower than RX (135lbs) otherwise, I'll be stuck at "DT" longer than necessary.


"People think it's an obsession. A compulsion. As if there were an irresistible impulse to act. It's never been like that. I chose this life. I know what I'm doing. And on any given day, I could stop doing it. Today, however, isn't that day. And tomorrow won't be either." - Identity Crisis

4 rounds with time stopping me at my 2nd air squat in the 1st round of "Cindy"

I also am going hard core Paleo today for 30 days. However it affects my runs, I have to push through it.

Fuck impossible.


I'm going out for my run. I have promises to keep and goals to meet and exceed. I can't stop now, it has to be who I am.


"Bruce: This can't be real
Ego: Reality isn't the issue. Whether this is happening in the far reaches of space... or on the head of a pin is irrelevant. what you need to know is... I WILL NOT be dismissed." Batman: Ego

[El Puma]

WOD: 10 minute AMRAP
5 Shoulder presses, 115#
5 Strict pull-ups
30 Double unders (90 singles)

6 rounds and change!!!! :happy:happy:happy:happy(2 shoulder presses)


It was a good night and I made a promise to myself to hold off on the running until tomorrow night in order to taper properly for the race.

As I perused the Lounge today....I came across a few threads that included posters who have had bad relationships with women. While I have had some bad experiences (fault at both ends) I do not share their attitude. I mention this because some of you reading this know what I have been through lately. Sometimes....there's no turning back once you choose the road the rest of your life will follow.


[At Bruce's parents' grave]
"It doesn't mean I don't care anymore. I don't want to let you down, honest, but... but it just doesn't hurt so bad anymore. You can understand that, can't you? Look, I can give money to the city - they can hire more cops. Let someone else take the risk, but it's different now!
[thunder and lightning]
Please! I need it to be different now. I know I made a promise, but I didn't see this coming. I didn't count on being happy."



Batman: "I tried to save you."

Catwoman: "Seems like every woman you try to save ends up dead... or deeply resentful....Maybe you should retire."



Sounds about right. I lost the light of the sun and the moon, so I have to be my own candle and light my own way. And the beat goes on...


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

I know I have not posted for a bit. The training has intensified and i have been killing the workouts.

I did two WOD's today. "Mary'' 7 rounds and change in the morning and "Cindy" w a 15-20 pound loaded backpack. 16 rounds plus change. Both were 20 min AMRAP.

Time for hill sprints. I will update when I can.

Believe.

[El Puma]

"Make friends with pain and you will never be alone"

The following is from the 50 miler in Chicago I ran in October 2010. I finished the last leg with a person whose heart and drive exceeded my own in that he helped carry me to the end. I will always appreciate him and his family for that. Thank you Graham.

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[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

([Only registered and activated users can see links])

[El Puma]

WOD: "Exploding 15's" (side note - I can't believe I actually named this WOD and thought it was cool - it's from way back in 2009)
5 Rounds for time of:
15 Squat jumps
15 Chest-to-bar pull-ups
15 Clapping push-ups
15 Toes-to-bar

Fuck me.....that was a lot of fun. If fun was painful and in need of an oxygen tank like someone suggested. lol Let's do it again =)

21:26 (?) 2nd fastest in class. I don't know it's in the video on my Facebook.

Little bit of a cold but one more intense day and I can rest for 2 days prior to the half marathon. 2 weeks later another half marathon, the CrossFit Open at the end of February and the Lake shore 50k at the end of March.


"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult."


- Seneca





"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."


-Alan Cohen





"There's no better place to search for hope than the future; a concept that gives everyone in existence a reason to live."


- Amy Newak

Live. Your. Song.

BELIEVE.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

Wednesday, January 11 2012
INTENSITY

I googled "intensity" images, and this poster came up. Arnold was best at what he did because he brought the intensity during his workouts. The best crossfitters on the planet definitely bring the intensity. If you want to reach that next level of fitness, then you have to bring it as well. Today's WOD is no exception. Running a mile can be fairly easy if you relax and pace yourself through it, but your gains from running that comfortable mile will be minimal at best. Instead, run as fast as you can, make it as uncomfortable as possible, and leave nothing in the tank. Do this each time you workout, and you will see and feel the difference.

WOD: Run 1 mile for time. Rest 10 minutes. Repeat.

Sub 2K Row for run if needed.

My main competition were my Saturday teammates. both 6'3 maybe 6'4 and built like gazelles. Yeah, I had quite the task ahead of me but all those hill sprints and all those yesterdays were about to pay off.....


I started off like a rocket but slowly Joe reeled me in with his smooth stride and long legs. I didn't panic as I actually anticipated this happening. I set a furious pace and now I got to play the part of the hunter.

A voice from the past sounded off in my mind "Just pick them off, one by one."

I only had the one. And I was right on him with our respective shadows overlapping.

Final stretch...it was on. Took the final sprint for best in class.

6:10

2nd mile I started off again like a rocket and Joe seemed to have taken a page out of my book in the sense that he waited for me to tire before trying to overtake the lead. I think of all the people that gave up on me and why I fight for the rest of you. I remember all that I've lost and why I refuse to quit.


"He understood how Skywalker was getting stronger. Why he no longer spoke. How he had become a machine of battle. He understood why Sidious had been so interested in him for so long.

Skywalker was a natural.

There was a thermonuclear furnace where his heart should be, and it was burning through the firewalls of his Jedi training. He held the Force in the clench of a white-hot fist. He was half Sith already, and he didn't even know it.

This boy had the gift of fury."


Leave nothing. Fuck impossible.

I take the last 100 meter sprint and edge him out by a second.


2nd mile 6:27 1st place overall

Oh and I ran them in my Nike skater shoes lol:happy:happy


I'm ready for Saturday. It's the path I've chosen for the rest of my life.



"Blessed with no sense of time, the crow can live simultaneously in the past, present and future. With such freedom, a being can freely navigate between the worlds of light and darkness. It takes such a mystical and cosmic perspective to 'create the world', which is what the crow accomplished in the belief system of the Athapaskan people in Alaska. His special talents are equally required to lead souls on their final journey through the darkness. "

[El Puma]

The explosive 15's video from a couple days ago.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

Ugh...stupid snow. My half marathon was postponed until next week and we have a day off at CrossFit.

Might as well post some more Youtube goodness from class.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Mohak]

Keep pushing mate. Strive for greatness.

[El Puma]

Keep pushing mate. Strive for greatness.
Thank you. I kept your post in mind going into today's session.


We'll need to run a few heats during each class to get everyone through this WOD, so show up on time today and register ([Only registered and activated users can see links])! Reminder - no 7:30pm class on Friday's for now...
WOD: For time:15-12-9 reps of

Deadlift, 315#

Walking lunge steps holding KB overhead, right arm, 55#Walking lunge steps holding KB overhead, left arm,

55#-Then complete ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) 30 - "2 for 1" Wall ball shots, 20#


Leave nothing. Fuck impossible.

Head went light and lost consciousness for a split second after the last rep of deadlifts before waking up to me falling to one knee. I hustled towards the kettlebell and finished my lunges. Only one thought in my mind. Finish RX and finish first in class.

17:23 1st in class.

I wondered how I did today overall and found my time to be higher than the leaders. Amazing times, one was in the mid 11 minutes. I'm working on it.



I struggle each night not because I compete with people that excell or match me in strength and conditioning, but because I am fighting an unbeatable enemy. I'm fighting hopelessness. It more difficult and interesting when the struggle is of resolve or of a philosophical nature.

The magnificence is not in the triumph, but in the struggle towards it.

My obsessive commitment to my physical training is an extension of my resolve due to inner conflict and the ongoing fight for my soul and redemption.


As I walk towards my door home, my head hangs and thoughts swirl around loved ones lost and the toll the journey takes on my body.

"We mourn lives lost. Including our own."

I refuse to entertain the thought of quitting. I made a promise that I would rid the hopelessness that enter people's lives by inspiring them. No matter what that hopelessness looks like or becomes. I believe someday I will make good on that promise. I have to. I believe in El Puma.

[El Puma]

Yesterday was perfect weather to run in. It was champions weather. The snow mimicked what I will be facing at Devil's Lake in July. The cold air made my lungs work harder and the lactic acid build up quicker. It was perfect.

This morning's schedule consists of 10 rounds of 12 burpees and 12 pull-ups for time. Followed by another run to further acclimate the body to this weather. There's no such thing as harsh weather or hard times, only soft people.

Joker: "Don't you see it? Everything anyone has ever valued, or struggled for... It's nothing but an absurd, sick, demented gag! So why can't you get the joke?? Why aren't you laughing ?".

Batman: "Because I've heard it before... and it wasn't funny the first time".

In hoc signo vinces

"in this sign you will conquer".


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[El Puma]

Monday, January 16 2012
Paleo Challenge - Day 14

Two weeks down in the 30-day paleo challenge! On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being perfect, how would you rate your overall compliance?

Easily a 9. Not one spoonful of peanut butter. Have not felt this good in .....ever

Strength: Power snatch 2-2-2-2-2
WOD: AMRAP in 8 minutes of:
1 Clean & Jerk, 185#/135#
2 Strict pull-ups


Couldn't pull the 185# I'm a bit light in the ass (152lbs) for that so I stuck w 165# and went 8 rounds plus a set of C&J. Pleased with my progress so far and I am looking forward to the races.

Stronger. Faster. Lighter.


How I do this year at Ultras will determine whether or not to do Leadville next year.


"What does a man want? What does he reach for? Bigger better faster taller
quicker stronger better. Does it exceed his grasp, to want so much?
Towers, monoliths, empires and men... if too big, all have a tendency to
fall. Does man's reach exceed his grasp? Depends on what he reaches for."
_Batman & Poison Ivy: Cast Shadows_

[Mohak]

It's war season!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAR PUMA!!!!!!

[El Puma]

It's war season!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAR PUMA!!!!!!:happy:happy:happy:happy

[El Puma]

Tuesday, January 17 2012
Gut Check

What did you eat yesterday? Post everything to comments. Don't be shy, lay it all out there...
WOD: AMRAP 12 minutes of:
20 Double unders
10 Ring dips
5 Front squats (no racks allowed)
-
Pick a weight for the front squat and stick with it the entire WOD. The heavier the better. Post rounds/partial rounds to BTW.


6 rounds with 165# for front squat.


Looking forward to working with Emmitt one on one for 4-6 weeks on top of my regular CrossFit classes. I told him I wanted to take first at Devil's Lake for the 50 miler and he is researching a game plan for me (He's CrossFit Endurance cerified btw)

Some of you may be wondering what Crossfit is so the following from a Men's Health article is for you.


"IT TOOK JUST A FEW CLASSES TO UNDERSTAND why my ex was crazy for CrossFit. As bad as it feels when you're halfway through a WOD, you know it'll be over soon. And you know you'll make it to the end because no one is allowed to quit. That's one reason it's so exhilarating. Another is the camaraderie. You're not really competing with your fellow CrossFitters as much as competing against yourself, and everyone in the room wants you to win.

But at the same time, you have to abandon whatever ideas you had about fitness being a linear pursuit toward a measurable goal—whether it's strength, size, or weight loss. Traditionally we're told to first define a goal, then find a program designed to reach the goal, and finally work toward a series of adaptations that will bring us closer to that goal. If you want to grow stronger, for example, your traditional program should help you increase your strength incrementally over time.

That's not how CrossFit works. The workouts aren't typically programmed. You jump from one hard thing to the next, with the goal of becoming better at doing hard things. The approach mystifies many fitness experts.

Glassman becomes specific about why CrossFit works the way it does. "Nature will punish the specialist," he says. "I want to be a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. Specialization is for insects. I'm looking for breadth of experience, and anyone who is at all wise realizes that being a specialist represents a compromised position."

He illustrates his point with a parable about a guy who can run a 4-minute mile and a guy who can squat 900 pounds. "What a 4-minute mile implies is that you've whittled away enough body mass that you're no longer strong by anyone's estimation. And by the point that you can do a 900-pound back squat—brother, you even walk funny. And to see you run is laughable."



I'm not an addict. I'm a Crossfit beast being trained to be unleashed at Ultra marathons and whatever the world throws at me.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

Wednesday, January 18 2012


WOD: For time:
25 Toes-to-bar
500m Row
25 Ring push-ups
25 Box jumps, 24"
50 Abmat sit-ups
25 Box jumps, 24"
25 Ring push-ups
500m Row
25 Toes-to-bar

14:03

Little fatigued from this week but I took second in class today and finished with the upper echelon of Crossfitters. Looking forward to having 2 days off before the race this weekend.

I can't wait for Ultra season to start.

"My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture such as you cannot even imagine."

"I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other."

- The Frankenstein Monster

[El Puma]

Motivation.

What is it and where does it come from? What type is it?

What is the drive? Looks? Abs? Being more attractive to the opposite sex? Filling a void insecurity has left within ones soul?

Maybe the following will help you.

"Motivation is the inner power or energy that pushes toward acting, performing actions and achieving. Motivation has much to do with desire and ambition, and if they are absent, motivation is absent too.

Often, a person has the desire and ambition to get something done or achieve a certain goal, but lacks the push, the initiative and the willingness to take action. This is due to lack of motivation and inner drive.

Motivation strengthens the ambition, increases initiative and gives direction, courage, energy and the persistence to follow one's goals. A motivated person takes action and does whatever it needs to achieve his/her goals."


My motivation comes from people like you. I am motivated to inspire you to reach and surpass your goals. I use CrossFit and running as my stage to perform and to move you.

"A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding."

Everyone should experience the following.

“At the peak of tremendous and victorious effort, while the blood is pounding in your head, all suddenly becomes quiet within you. Everything seems clearer and whiter than ever before, as if great spotlights had been turned on. At that moment, you have the conviction that you contain all the power in the world, that you are capable of everything, that you have wings. There is no more precious moment in life than this, the white moment, and you will work very hard for years just to taste it again.” -- Yuri Vlasov, Soviet Weightlifter

The other part of my motivation stems from fulfilling a need, an inner beast, to reach my potential and to show those who thought so little of me, who gave up on me, that...they are not always right. See...I have this gift. It's not physical and can only be activated by pain and misery. Sadness and abandonment.

It's the gift of fury.

: extreme fierceness or violence

: an avenging spirit

: a state of inspired exaltation

In the past, I have used this irresponsibly and hurt many loved ones. Now, they are gone, only adding to that which fuels it. I've learned to control it to the point of using it for training. For competition. Recently I've learned that I cannot use it to directly motivate as it hurts some most then others.

You are here because you care enough about what you seek and took my challenge not as an attack, but as a different point of view worth exploring.

Find your own way, seek methods that suit you to help in your goals. Find your inner mantra. Repeat it out loud and in your mind when things get bad. I will share mine.
Before

"I'll put you through hell, but at the end of it all we'll be champions."

During

"Surely the fiercest survivor; the purest warrior.."

After.

It's the same each time with progress. First they ignore you, then they say you're mad, then dangerous, then there's a pause and then you can't find anyone who disagrees with you.

Godspeed.

[El Puma]

"Once, someone asked me what pleasure I took in riding so long. "Pleasure" I said. "I don't understand the question." I didn't do it for pleasure. I did it for pain.
- Lance Armstrong

"It always hurts when you go as hard as you can."
- Keith Bontrager

[El Puma]

A little over 2.5 hours before the Half marathon. The goal is to beat my previous time of 1:50.

Time to bring the pain.

Leave nothing. Fuck impossible.


Pain is good. Pain tells you when you're doing something hard right. It lets you know it's something you'll remember and appreciate forever. Learn to love pain. Don't fight it; accept it. Pain, despair, frustration, rage, sadness are just as important to making life beautiful as their brethren components: love, happiness, joy, contentedness, and satisfaction.-Unknown

[Mohak]

Good luck out there mate. :good

[El Puma]

Good luck out there mate. :good
:thumbsup I told you this one was for my family and friends

Thank you for your part in motivating me.



I brought the pain. The sub 20 degree weather with it's lake effect snow added to to the beauty.
[Only registered and activated users can see links]


"The best ones are those who fall hard, but get up even better"
2012 Chicago Polar Dash Half Marathon

Carlos Garcia Age: 32

1:43:43


10K Split 47:31

10K Split 47:58



7:56 per mile


57 percent

67 out of 737 overall

55 out of 368 Males

13 out of 62 Males in the M3034 Age Group






Muscles tight to the point of pain, steam coming off every part of my body, face frozen to the point of not being able to speak properly. The effort and the love shown from family and friends makes me smile. Thank you everyone.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]



Some people endure pain better than others. All things considered, the ability to withstand—or even deny—pain would seem to be a valuable ally for the long distance runner in search of significant improvement. In truth, it is probably a double-edged sword, since medical experts tell us that pain is the body's warning signal to back off, and that to ignore such schedules is to roll the dice with both body and mind."
Mark Will-Weber, The Quotable Runner


I train my ass off so when the ante gets raised, I can bet when others fold.

[Mohak]

Proud of you mate. Facta Non Verba.

[SlickMick]

^^JTF-2 motto?

I just started reading your journal, I like the quotes, it's motivating. Please keep it up. :thumbsup

[Mohak]

^^JTF-2 motto?

I just started reading your journal, I like the quotes, it's motivating. Please keep it up. :thumbsup


Latin for 'Deeds Not Words'. JTF 2 uses it as it's motto too. Been using that mantra myself in recent times.

Puma is inspirational. :deal

[El Puma]

Proud of you mate. Facta Non Verba.
Thank you. You came to mind after reading the following.

But within the willingness to die for family and home, something inside us longs for someone to die beside, someone to lock step with, another with a heart like our own.".

-Matthew Axelson

^^JTF-2 motto?

I just started reading your journal, I like the quotes, it's motivating. Please keep it up. :thumbsup

Will do and I'm happy you are motivated by the posts. It's something I take great pleasure in doing for those who want to walk the path.


I've also read some of your log. This one is for you. Godspeed.

"I will act now. I will act now. I will act now. Henceforth, I will repeat these words each hour, each day, everyday, until the words become as much a habit as my breathing, and the action which follows becomes as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to perform every action necessary for my success�. I will act now for now is all I have. Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy. I am not lazy. Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. I am not a failure. I will act now. Success will not wait. If I delay, success will become wed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the person."
- Og Mandino

[El Puma]

Monday, January 23 2012
2012 CF Games Open - One Month Away!

For those of you planning on entering the CF Games Open, we have just one more month to prepare. Today we start two-a-day training. This is not recommended for everyone, but only those that have been crossfitting for several months and are ready to take on the additional work. For the next 2 weeks, we will have an additional workout for Open participants two days out of the week, and then the following 2 weeks we will shoot for two-a-days 3 times per week. Due to time restraints, we understand that you may not be able to get in the additional work on the recommended day; however, you are more than welcome to complete it at a later time if necessary. Good luck!

Snatch, 1-rep max
WOD: For time:
12-9-6 rep rounds of:
Muscle-ups
Clean & Jerks, 165#/110#
-
If you cannot do a muscle-up, perform 2 pull-ups and 2 dips for each muscle-up.
-
2012 Open participants, rest 10 minutes after completing above, and then perform 3 rounds of the following for time:
10 hang power snatches, 95#
15 Box jumps, 24"


Today was my day to struggle. Today my mind was scattered like dropped marbles. Could it be that my half marathon and long run last night caught up to me tonight?

I felt the onslaught of fatigue begin to weigh me down towards the end of the second WOD. I kept going...even if only one person depended on me finishing, it's plenty for me not to quit. Not like how I dropped at Devil's Lake.

1st WOD 165# 2 pullups/dips for every muscle-up

19:29


2nd WOD 95# 24inch box

5:50


On the plus side, the rest periods in between were shortened thanks to my cardio system being worked overtime. My mind is still wavy...but I will still push. I will bet when most everyone else folds.


"What if your fears and dreams existed in the same place.
What if to get to heaven you had to brave hell.
What if everything you have ever wanted cost you everything you have ever achieved.
Would you still go there?"

Yes. Because the sweet is never as sweet without the sour. People need to be inspired. They deserve more.

[El Puma]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]!/profile.php?id=1628907341&viewas=100000686899395&returnto=profile&sk=wall

If you guys are on Facebook, this is a video of me after the race. I left it open to the public on my wall and if you send me a friend request, please include your user name.

"Bathed in sweat, bent over and gasping for breath, lungs burning, the athlete might have wondered aloud if this is what death must feel like. In time, this same athlete will surely realize the opposite. Indeed, this is what life feels like."

[El Puma]

Tuesday, January 24 2012
CrossFit Games North Central Regionals Scheduled for May 18-20

Event location will be posted in early February - keep your fingers crossed that it will be held again right here in Chicago!
WOD: 5 Rounds for total reps of:
Row 300m
Deadlifts, 225#
-
You have 3 minutes to row 300m and then complete as many deadlifts as possible in the remaining time. Rest 3 minutes between rounds. Post total reps to BTW.



I came in tired and a bit unmotivated. But as I started to remember the email from 3 months ago I read today...it began to surge in me.

1. 17 reps

Turns out the words the words they use so lightly, have been used on me as well. It would be nice to see words come back into power. For action to match or exceed the sound preceding it. What better way I thought, than to be the change I want to see.....

2. 22 reps

I become silent, focused and tuned in to my anger and pain.

"Now remember, things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. 'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is"

-The Outlaw Josey Wales

3. 22 reps


4. 20 reps

Last round. Leave nothing. Fuck impossible.

5. 21 reps


I ended up finishing 3rd overall on the leader board with one class left tonight. If I make it, I will post a pic. A lighthouse if you will, for all of you. Remember that a diamond is just a coal who stuck to their job longer than the others.


Going out for a run. Because I'm not doing this just for myself.

Believe.


The Laughing Heart
by Charles Bukowski

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

[El Puma]

For all who pass through this thread.

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your hearts longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams or for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your sorrow. If you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fit it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with the wildness and let the "Meatheadedness" fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself, if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. I want to know if you can be faithful and trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not there everyday, and if you can source your life from its presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still shout stand on the edges of a lake, river or mountain and shout to the silver of the full moon. Yes! I'm a Meathead...

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for someone you love.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and truly like the company you keep in the empty moments of your life and still remember me...

Orignally by Oriah but this verson is quoted by John Blais, 2005 Ironman Finisher

[El Puma]

“At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable.”
- Christopher Reeve

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. “
-Helen Keller

“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson


Carlos Garcia - 13th Annual Chicago Lakefront 50k George Cheung Memorial Race

Confirmation #:


Confirmation Message
Ultra Runner, Thank you very much for running with us at the 13th annual Chicago Lakefront 50K George Cheung Memorial Race. We look forward to seeing you at the race start on Saturday, March 31st at 8:30 AM, 2012 at the Foster Ave Beach House on the beautiful Chicago Lakefront. Pat Onines & Tom Hepperle - Race Directors

[El Puma]

Ask not alone for victory, ask for courage. For if you can endure, you bring honor to yourself. Even more, you bring honor to us all.-Unknown

"If I advance, follow me. If I retreat, kill me. If I die, avenge me."

[Filmnpuck]

I ate two pop-tarts today. Then I came in this thread and felt like killing myself.

[El Puma]

I ate two pop-tarts today. Then I came in this thread and felt like killing myself.
:lol: It's never too late to turn it around.

“Recognize that competence lies on the other side of slogging failure. Make your preparations, and assault your target, never forgetting that victory is the end state of persistence. “ – Jon Gilson

[El Puma]

Took two days to concentrate on 2 a days for my running. I have a new route for sprinting that has a deceptive incline and is quite scary. I will take video and post it for you guys. This I feel, is going to make a huge difference between a top 10 and a top 3 finish at my upcoming 50k.

The runs have felt great since I am training harder than I did for my 50 miler in October '10.The races I signed up for in 2012 are critical as 3 Ultras are 2013 Western States 100 qualifiers and one marathon is a '13 Boston qualifier.

Roll the Dice
by Charles Bukowski

if you’re going to try, go all the
way.
otherwise, don’t even start.

if you’re going to try, go all the
way. this could mean losing girlfriends,
wives, relatives, jobs and
maybe your mind.

go all the way.
it could mean not eating for 3 or
4 days.
it could mean freezing on a
park bench.
it could mean jail,
it could mean derision,
mockery,
isolation.
isolation is the gift,
all the others are a test of your
endurance, of
how much you really want to
do it.
and you’ll do it
despite rejection and the
worst odds
and it will be better than
anything else
you can imagine.

if you’re going to try,
go all the way.
there is no other feeling like
that.
you will be alone with the
gods
and the nights will flame with
fire.

do it, do it, do it.
do it.

all the way
all the way.
you will ride life straight to
perfect laughter,
it’s the only good fight
there is.

[El Puma]

:lol::lol::lol: Fucking Forrest:lol:

This brings to mind that incline I typed about earlier.

“Just know on the inside that you won’t quit. That’s it. There is nothing else. Shakespeare said, ‘To thine own self be true’. I don’t know what the @*$% he meant by that, but just don’t quit on yourself. It’s worth it. The juice is worth the squeeze. I assure you.”

- Forrest Griffin

“It would be good if some of you people learned that comfort and ease are not often associated with progress and accomplishment in any endeavor.” – Mark Rippetoe

"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty... I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well." - Teddy Roosevelt

[El Puma]

Today is the second two-a-day workout for the week. If you are planning on completing both workouts, you need to be ready for the first WOD 20 minutes after the start of class. Once the first group has completed the WOD, we will run the second group (those not completing both workouts). The first group will then complete the second workout.
WOD: "Elizabeth" (15 minute time cap)
21-15-9 rep rounds for time of:
(Squat) Cleans, 135#
Ring dips
-
2nd WOD: For time:
30 Push presses, 135#
30 Chest-to-bar pull-ups
-
There will be a 10 minute time cap for the second WOD. Each time you drop the bar during the push presses, or each time you fall off the bar during the pull-ups, you must complete a 5 burpee penalty before you can continue. You do not need to do burpees during the transition from push-presses to pull-ups.



First WOD went well. I finished first in class with RX no less.

10:42

Then came the second WOD...


I got my little ass handed to me. BAD. With a 10 minute cap, I ended up with 27 push presses.

Not enough food, too much running is what went through my mind. I came home and devoured a whole chicken along with 2 bananas, chia, coconut oil and honey. Sat on my ass and decided that I was going to rest from running. To lament that I was off by 3 reps in making the leader board on Wed.

I wanted to believe conventional wisdom that says pure strength and endurance cannot mix. Every "sane" person would agree that a day off would serve me well.

Until I read the following....

“You’ve got to drive the body to the last inch of energy then go on! You gain nothing by just going up to where your body says you’re tired. The body will build and grow only to fit the demands the mind makes upon the lazy body. If all you do is exercise until the body is tired, the body will get lazy and stop a bit shorter every time. You must go to the point of exhaustion, then go on. That way the body figures out, “We’ve got to build up more strength if that crazy mind is going to drive this hard!” If you always quit when you are merely tired, you will never gain. Once you let the body tell the mind when to quit, you are whipped for sure. You can not gain by listening to the body. We can become much stronger if we drive the body. We use about on-tenth of the available strength of our bodies and less than that of our minds.”

-General George Patton



I believe in El Puma. Believe.

[El Puma]

What we choose to fight is so tiny!
What fights with us is so great!
If only we would let ourselves be dominated
as things do by some immense storm,
we would become strong too, and not need names.

When we win it's with small things,
and the triumph itself makes us small.
What is extraordinary and eternal
does not want to be bent by us.
I mean the Angel who appeared
to the wrestlers of the Old Testament:
when the wrestlers' sinews grew long like metal strings,
he felt them under his fingers
like chords of deep music.

Whoever was beaten by this Angel
(who often simply declined the fight)
went away proud and strengthened
and great from that harsh hand,
that kneaded him as if to change his shape.
Winning does not tempt that man.
This is how he grows: by being defeated, decisively,
by constantly greater beings.

-- Rainer Maria Rilke
Reply With Quote

[El Puma]

To every man upon this earth
death comes soon or late
and how may a man die better
than facing fearful odds
for the ashes of our fathers
to the temples of our gods

[Mohak]

I believe in El Puma!

[Mohak]

Someone needs to start making 'I believe in El Puma' t-shirts. (no Hammond)

[El Puma]

I believe in El Puma!

Someone needs to start making 'I believe in El Puma' t-shirts. (no Hammond)
:thumbsup They can be this year's "wolf shirts":lol:



This morning has included a nice medium distance run in the snow followed by CrossFit. Had to take a nap after wards as this past week's workload has caught up to me. Overall I feel good and am counting the days until my 50k.



"This is a natural consequence of having been told from childhood, “you are a unique snowflake.”
Well you’re not and I’m not. If you weren’t given the gift you can’t get the gift so the best you can do – if your goal is important – is work as hard as you possibly can, pay attention every hour of every day and then maybe, maybe if you’ve done enough and been smart enough you’ll emerge from the muck of mediocrity to shine a bit brighter than you shone before. Then, upon reflection you might decide your goal is a bit more important so you’ll start paying attention every minute of every hour of every day. You’ll find people who are better than you and you’ll take an empty cup when you meet them.





Their example will destroy or inspire you and if it’s the latter you may stay and learn. You might imitate, doing as they do because you’ve already accepted that you do not know best – if you did you’d be leading the group they were trying to join. Perhaps being exposed to their superior ability will drive you to work harder than you thought possible, or necessary. Maybe you’ll overcome your self-imposed (or worse, society-imposed) limitations and shine even more brightly. Wow, you’re getting it: positive reinforcement for hard work and suffering.


So maybe you give your goal even more significance and you begin cutting away the ideas and the expectations and the people who you believe prevent you from achieving it. Now you become a real selfish prick, and you begin paying attention every second of every minute of every hour of every day, and you sustain your awareness for weeks and months at a time. You no longer think yourself a unique snowflake, you’re a steel-edged blade shaped like a snowflake and you’re spinning at warp speed. You’re the biggest fish in the pond. You’re a badass."




-Mark Twight

[El Puma]

Devil's Lake Ultra

July 14 2012.....


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

The video of the incline I do sprints on. If someone can come up with a cool name for it I will use that as the title on youtube. Quite scary and it brings the lactic acid as quickly as it takes your breathe away.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Mohak]

The video of the incline I do sprints on. If someone can come up with a cool name for it I will use that as the title on youtube. Quite scary and it brings the lactic acid as quickly as it takes your breathe away.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]


'Street Without Joy'. It's a term I picked up when reading up on the French Indochina War of the 50's that discribe a road that was often ambushed by the enemy. Vicious, bloody battles took place on these roads and in the end lost the French the Indochina war. I name my own cross country running trail the 'Street Without Joy' since it's something that's painful, arduous, unappealing and hard work but must be accomplished at whatever price to reach my goals. If not you will lose your own personal war and not achieve the fitness levels you want/need and fail when test day arrives. You do it not because you enjoy it, far from it, but to get you that little bit close to your main objective. Victory.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Mohak]

A photo I took of a part of my own 'Street Without Joy'

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

'Street Without Joy'. It's a term I picked up when reading up on the French Indochina War of the 50's that discribe a road that was often ambushed by the enemy. Vicious, bloody battles took place on these roads and in the end lost the French the Indochina war. I name my own cross country running trail the 'Street Without Joy' since it's something that's painful, arduous, unappealing and hard work but must be accomplished at whatever price to reach my goals. If not you will lose your own personal war and not achieve the fitness levels you want/need and fail when test day arrives. You do it not because you enjoy it, far from it, but to get you that little bit close to your main objective. Victory.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

A photo I took of a part of my own 'Street Without Joy'

[Only registered and activated users can see links] love it. Thank you old friend. I'm going to use it and I am on the verge of announcing something huge.

Something that has me fearful but wanting to overcome.

[El Puma]

New video of my 20-16-8-4 reps of one arm push-ups and one legged squats x2 a week.
I break them up in manageable numbers so as to trim time and keep from frying my CNS.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

The announcement is tonight. Have to officially confirm it before I can do so.

"Facta Non Verba." -Mohak:thumbsup



"Attitude not Aptitude determines your Altitude"

[Mohak]

Hardcore. 'Facta Non Verba - Deeds Not Words' :thumbsup

We wait for your announcement with bated breath. I believe in El Puma.

[SlickMick]

I believe . :thumbsup

[El Puma]

“Nothing fires the warrior’s heart more with courage than to find himself and his comrades at the point of annihilation, at the brink of being routed and overrun, and then to dredge not merely from one’s own bowels or guts but from one’s discipline and training the presence of mind not to panic, not to yield to the possession of despair, but instead to complete those homely acts of order which Dienekes had ever declared the supreme accomplishment of the warrior: to perform the commonplace under far-from-commonplace conditions.”
― Steven Pressfield, Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae

The following race is a qualifier event for the Superbowl of Trail Running. The Western States 100. The belt buckle you receive for finishing under 24 hours has a mountain lion on it. I will earn it.

Name of Event: Potawatomi 50
Distance: 50.00
Measurement: Miles
Date: Saturday April 14th, 2012
Start Time: 6:00 am
Special Instructions:

If you don't like mud this is not the event for you.

Displayed below are the 53 participants that are registered for this event ordered by descending date of registration.

Name

Race Day
Age

Sex

State /
Province

Hometown

Date
Registered

53 Carlos Garcia 33 M Illinois
Jan 29, 2012


My youngest daughter will turn 7 that day. 7...always the number 7. I'll see you and your sister again one day. Take care of and listen to your mom in the meantime. Daddy loves you, girls. Daddy has always loved you and always will.

“The opposite of fear," Dienekes said, "is love.”
― Steven Pressfield, Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae

[El Puma]

Events below are official qualifiers for the 2013 Western States Run.

An event that is not on this List cannot be used as a 2013 qualifier, and any applicant using an unlisted event as their qualifier will not be entered into the lottery. Please refer to the Qualifying page for details.

NOTE: While every effort is made to ensure that this information is current, complete and accurate, WS cannot be held responsible for any loss, injury, claim, liability, or damage related to your reliance thereon. WS reserves the right to determine all WS qualifiers.


Looks like....my schedule is pretty full.


Potawatomi 50m Pekin Illinois Mid-W

Dances with Dirt - Devil's Lake 50m Baraboo Wisconsin Mid-W

Ice Age Trailan UltraCup event 50m La Grange Wisconsin Mid-W

Dances with Dirt - Hell 50m Hell Michigan Mid-W



This is only to qualify for the lottery to get into Western States. The list does not include the two 50 milers in October or the Half and Full Marathons. I am also shooting for the Boston Qualification which is just under a 3 hour marathon.


“Like us, those vanished warriors planted their standards in the sands of their own self-summoned extinction.”

[El Puma]

“A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.”
― Steven Pressfield, Do the Work

The words they use so lightly....

[Mohak]

Faith and fire. I believe.

[Mohak]

You were born a fighter
In the birth a mighty warrior
Driven by desire
Glory calls, it's waiting for you.
When they try to break you down
You can take it
That don't shake you
When your backs against the wall
The thrill of the fights
Got you standing tall

Never surrender
Never say die
You've got the heart of a hero

Never surrender
The will to survive
Your standing strong
In the eye of the storm
Something keeps pushing you on

To Never surrender
Never surrender

There's a burning passion
Deep inside a silent power
With a quick reaction
Lightning strikes, you fight for honor
Winners have a price to pay
You can taste it
That don't change it
Your not there to take the fall
You'll fight til the end
And you'll take it all

Never surrender
Never say die
You've got the heart of a hero

Never surrender
Keep it alive
Your standing strong
In the eye of a storm
Something keep pushing you on

To Never surrender
Never surrender

You'll never stop till you number one
It's only a matter of time
You'll never give up
You'll never run
Your layin your life on the line!!!:ibutt:ibutt:ibutt:ibutt :ibutt

Never surrender!!!:ibutt:ibutt
Never surrender
Never say die
Don't stop
Never surrender
Got the will to survive
Never surrender
YEYEEEEEEEAAAAAAHYEYEEEEEEAAAAAH!!!!! :ibutt:ibutt:ibutt:


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

Thank you Mohak. You're gonna love the tribute I pay you at the 50k =)


Ok, I finally had surgery tonight to remove a cyst. I have to wait 9 days before they remove the stitches so that means no CrossFit and no running in that time because the Dr. does not want me to risk opening the wound and it getting infected.

However, I am using that time to do low rep strength work and researching the muddy 50 mile course in April. Research has also included the best gear for trail running (shoes ,compression shorts, compression calf sleeves)

I am fine tuning my technique and cross matching this years starters with last year's finishers to see who I am up against. The field is getting faster each year and I expect this one to be no different. I need to finish a sub 9:21 to place top 5 judging from last year but, like I stated before, they are getting quicker so 9:21 is the bare minimum.

My training will no longer be half ass and last minute like last year. I will no longer settle for being an upper level mid pack runner. I am as obsessed as my heroes (Batman, Lance Armstrong) in prepping my mind and body for anything the trails throw at me.

I want the runners that finish ahead of me at events to feel me.I want them to know they had to run at their absolute best to beat me.

If I get beat, I want it to be in a way worth remembering. My way.




Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.
Steve Prefontaine ([Only registered and activated users can see links])



“When you win, you don't examine it very much, except to congratulate yourself. You easily, and wrongly, assume it has something to do with your rare qualities as a person. But winning only measures how hard you've worked and how physically talented you are; it doesn't particularly define you beyond those characteristics.

Losing on the other hand, really does say something about who you are. Among other things it measures are: do you blame others, or do you own the loss? Do you analyze your failure, or just complain about bad luck?

If you're willing to examine failure, and to look not just at your outward physical performance, but your internal workings, too, losing can be valuable. How you behave in those moments can perhaps be more self-defining than winning could ever be. Sometimes losing shows you for who you really are.”
― Lance Armstrong, Every Second Counts

Steve Prefontaine: There’s always someone trying to talk you out of what you believe in. Anybody. Everybody. Your own mother.
Mary Marckx: Why is that, do you think?
Pre: All I know, is that if you do believe in something, you tend to make people very, very nervous.
Mary: Do you believe in God?
Pre: I believe in myself.

[El Puma]

Time heals all wounds they say. I think of that while running my fingers across the stitches on my sternum. It also brings to mind hurt I've caused others in my life. They also say if you really love someone, let them go. It's been over 2 years since I made that difficult decision....

Believe me when I tell you that everything happens for a reason and everything has a purpose. Those that say otherwise, have neither. Open yourself to the fact that not having something you want more than anything in life now, does not mean it could never be. It simply means you are needed elsewhere. Love always finds a way and a father's love never dies.


"I know the rage that drives you. That impossible anger strangling the grief, until the memory of your loved one is just poison in your veins. And one day, you catch yourself wishing the person you loved had never existed, so you'd be spared your pain. Your anger gives you great power. But if you let it, it will destroy you"


"He has a nightmare sometimes. He dreams that the surface layers of his life are stripped away, peeled back like an onion skin. No more Bruce Wayne. No more secret identity to hide behind. No more games. There is only the flame that burns at his center–the flame that has driven him for so long–the flame that makes him what he is. Sometimes he dreams that it flares up to engulf him, filling his entire being, consuming him, driving out all other thought, all other feeling.

Other times–worse times–he dreams it has faded and died."



It's not all anger, sadness and pain. There has to be some sort of balance to what you do and how you feel. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. We all have those negative thoughts of doubt creep in once in a while, making us wonder if just for a second what if any difference we are truly making in life.

We also have have things to remind us, that yes, we are. Whether it's a positive or negative one, is up to you.

She didn't have to send this to me. Not after deciding I was better on my own.
It goes to show that more often than not...with time...the positives you worked for outweigh the negative.



"No matter what you may have believed or at least wanted to believe I have never forgotten about you or stopped believing in you...I knew that at some point you would figure out what you wanted and make it happen...the difference between you and other people out there is that you work hard for what you want- other people are lazy and don't like the thought of working hard- therefore all the things you have accomplished- are without a doubt more meaningful and something YOU should be proud of."

[Mohak]

You came to mind when I heard this;

''Letting go is not an easy thing
Time to heal before new life begins, and grows''


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[El Puma]

You came to mind when I heard this;

''Letting go is not an easy thing
Time to heal before new life begins, and grows''


[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Good song. Thank you.

"Some scars, are meant to be worn with pride"


I know I said I would wait until next week to run due to the stitches and risk of infection....


So, in the absence of binding words, I try to
show you who I am in action. And I find I can't stop moving."
-Nightwing, _Gotham Knights_



Nice l run tonight. Felt good. The air was perfectly cool and crisp and had my furthest distance in training so far. Clocked in at just under two hours.

Tomorrow, CrossFit. I can't stop...I won't. People need this...reminder. Faith in self but more importantly, faith in something bigger than yourself.


“Courageous, untroubled, mocking, and violent — that is what Wisdom wants us to be. Wisdom is a woman, and loves only a warrior.”

— Friedrich Nietzsche

[El Puma]

Started my day off with 14 rounds plus 5 pull ups of "Cindy" in 20 minutes
5 pull ups 10 push ups 15 squats counts as 1 round. I had a weighted (12 pounds) back pack as well.

Helped in training an old classmate for the 8k Shamrock Shuffle


16 mile run followed later in the day. Went out on an empty stomach and devoured two bananas, an almond Snickers and a blow pop from the hunger.

I even stopped and chatted with one of the CrossFit trainers when he saw me running. Damn good night indeed.

Thankfully the stitches held up while running a route I have not been to in months.

Life is good, great new friends and breaking previous strength and conditioning PR's.

But..I still don't have you girls, do I? It's ok...I get it. I know what I have to do...for the greater good.


“Make friends with pain, and you will never be alone.~Ken Chlouber, Colorado miner and creator of the Leadville Trail 100 mile race”
― Christopher McDougall, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen


“There are two goddesses in your heart,” he told them. “The Goddess of Wisdom and the Goddess of Wealth. Everyone thinks they need to get wealth first, and wisdom will come. So they concern themselves with chasing money. But they have it backwards. You have to give your heart to the Goddess of Wisdom, give her all your love and attention, and the Goddess of Wealth will become jealous, and follow you.” Ask nothing from your running, in other words, and you’ll get more than you ever imagined.”
― Christopher McDougall, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen



I won't fail you guys. I will go until I drop. There will be no more DNF's. There will no longer be any hope lost. To the last breathe and heartbeat. Always.


“There's something so universal about that sensation, the way running unites our two most primal impulses: fear and pleasure. We run when we're scared, we run when we're ecstatic, we run away from our problems and run around for a good time.”
― Christopher McDougall, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

[El Puma]

5 sets of

5 weighted pull ups

5 pistols

5 one arm push ups.

Nice 8+ mile run on a beautiful night.

I felt like Teflon during my run. The physical and mental pain slid off into the crisp winter night as I opened my arms toward the sky, and for a moment.....I felt I could fly.


"The iron ore thinks itself senselessly tortured in the blast furnace: the tempered steel blade looks back and knows better."

The average is the borderline that keeps mere
men in their place. Those who step over the line are heroes by the very
act. Go. --Henry Rollins

That's what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong, that decency will somehow triumph in the end. --Lise Hand

[El Puma]

WOD: 5 Rounds, each for time of:
Row 250m
20 Push-ups
15 Weighted sit-ups w/ KB, 55#/35#
10 KB swings, 55#/35#
-
Rest 2 minutes between rounds.


It felt good walking back in the door. It was only a week but it was the most I've missed something in years.

Did 15 swings instead of 10 the first 2 sets (I swear I have fucking ADHD) so of course that added to the time. It was time to floor it and leave everyone behind. I've worked too hard not to.

I fight the urge to fall into catatonic hysteria: I do not want to sit frozen in fear until the end comes. Focus, I tell myself. Focus and get moving." -from Deep Survival, by Lawrence Gonzales.


"You can puke, you can pass out or you can die, but you can't quit."

20:05 1st in class and 3rd overall. Will this finally be the time I get on the leader board?

We'll find out this week....


I didn't get there on my own. You are all possessed with a power greater than the pain. You are stronger and more enduring than you think. I'm going to show you.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling,, which thinks that nothing is worth war, is much worse. the person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself"
john stuart mill

[Mohak]

I believe.

[El Puma]

Wednesday, February 08 2012
2012 Reebok CrossFit Games Open is 2 Weeks Away!

Make sure you register if you plan on competing. Also, be sure to choose CFR as your home gym. We are putting together a team to compete at Regionals if we qualify, but you cannot participate if you are not part of CFR. There are still a lot of unknown answers to how the team competition will work this year, but we will update you as soon as we know.
WOD: Tri's Birthday Request - "Nasty Girls"
3 Rounds for time of:
50 Squats
7 Muscle-ups or 14 pull ups and 14 ring dips
10 Hang power cleans, 135#


Itching to get at it....feeling like a killer . I gave myself tonight. All of me.

11:06


I've been blessed lately....but I still fight the killer in me. I know if I can overcome that, I can overcome anything.\

Time for a run.

"You unforgivable, you don't talk to me of pacts.
There are no binding oaths between men and lions;
wolves and lambs can enjoy no meeting of the minds,
they are all bent on hating each other to the death.
So with you and me. No love between us. No truce
till one or the other falls and gluts with blood."
- Homer


Not Lost Lyrics: B.o.B ft T.I.

[Chorus - B.O.B]
Just because I’m losing doesn’t mean I’m lost
They gave me nothing but doubt
first they waited then they hated then they counted me out
Just because I’m losing doesn’t mean I’m stuck
They say I lost my way
but first I showed em then I sold em right in front of their face

[Verse 1 - B.O.B]
Well this is the World that we live in
one minute you the hero the next you the villain
we got up in this game just to try to make a living
we hit you with the truth while you watching television
but still these are the cards that we dealt
they kick you on the ground when you most need help
until you dried up and they sit you on the shelf
then you start to cry because you all by yourself
so just know if you wanna wear the belt
the only way to excel is the soul that you sell
so I could care less about the clothes on myself
I’m trying to drive straight on a road made of nails
yeah, I got to pay the toll if I fell
or else it’ll be another story to tell
I’m getting to the door I can tell
I’m just waiting on the day till the glory prevails

[El Puma]

I normally don't type this late about my runs but tonight is different.

A car stalled near a street corner I was about to cross. I helped push his car up an incline and about 40-45 yards overall. As I walked back, a black cat crossed my path. I couldn't helped but notice there was a full moon out as well.

I pondered for a few moments and came to the conclusion this world is resetting itself as I am getting stronger and readying it's greatest weapons against me.

I smile before starting my run again. I wouldn't want it any other way.

"Marathoning is like cutting yourself unexpectedly. You dip into the pain so gradually that the damage is done before you are aware of it. Unfortunately, when awareness comes, it is excruciating."

John Farrington, Australian marathoner


“People think I'm crazy to put myself through such torture, though I would argue otherwise. Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness. Dostoyevsky had it right: 'Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness.' Never are my senses more engaged than when the pain sets in. There is a magic in misery. Just ask any runner.”
― Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner



"Pushing your body past what you thought it was capable of is easy; the hard part is
pushing yourself even further ... past what your mind wants to let you. That’s what
ultrarunning is all about; introducing you to a self you’ve never known.
– Rex Pace

[SlickMick]

Cheers El Puma. You change bad omens into opportunity for yourself and poetry for others.:happy

[MrSmall]

Added you on Fb, dude.
Don't read too much into crossfit for life bro kinda lifestyle, its circuit training marketed very well.
your own plans and progress are special to you, though, and unique!

[El Puma]

Cheers El Puma. You change bad omens into opportunity for yourself and poetry for others.:happy:thumbsup Thanks you. I hope to keep inspiring all of you.

Added you on Fb, dude.
Don't read too much into crossfit for life bro kinda lifestyle, its circuit training marketed very well.
your own plans and progress are special to you, though, and unique!
Thank you and will do. I am customizing what I am learning at CrossFit to fit my trail running needs.:good

[El Puma]

Another run tonight. Colder than usual and fried my senses breathing in too much. I still finished well.

"Perhaps the genius of ultrarunning is its supreme lack of utility. It makes
no sense in a world of space ships and supercomputers to run vast distances
on foot. There is no money in it and no fame, frequently not even the
approval of peers. But as poets, apostles and philosophers have insisted
from the dawn of time, there is more to life than logic and common sense.
The ultra runners know this instinctively. And they know something else that
is lost on the sedentary. They understand, perhaps better than anyone, that
the doors to the spirit will swing open with physical effort. In running
such long and taxing distances they answer a call from the deepest realms of
their being -- a call that asks who they are ..."
- David Blaikie