Our Greatest Fear

As athletes, and for that matter as humans, fear is something that we must deal with constantly. Typically, inspiring fear in the hearts of others is a whole lot more fun than dealing with our own demons and insecurities. It seems to be that there is plenty to be afraid of in the world, whether it is a fear of heights, spiders, snakes, public speaking, injury, or failure. I believe that there is one fear that comes in ahead of all of these and that is the fear of succeeding. Sounds silly right? If you take the time to to consider it there is probably little to laugh at. I am going to take the liberty of assuming that all of us have the desire to succeed in what we do. Why then do we find ourselves complacent in pursuing the achievement of our goals? Why so often do we find a way to sabotage ourselves as we reach the cusp of our aim? Fear. If we do well, we can not return to our status quo and feel fulfilled because we then know that we can do better than our status quo. We will have exposed ourselves to ourselves and to others as being amazing. The truth is that it is hard for most of us to believe that we are phenomenal; that we can excel beyond our wildest imagination. This is far too big for us to contemplate so it scares us. In sports, it is similar to the curse of the number 1 seed. If you are out front, everyone will no doubt be gunning for you and attempting to knock you off the pinnacle. This pressure is a little more intense than the idea of pursuing success seems to warrant. Most people at this point begin rationalizing, talking themselves into the belief that they are happier where they are and have no need to go any further. Though I have done this more often than I would care to admit, I say giving into this fear is bullshit! Just like everything else, all we need is genuine belief backed by
effort to break through our perceived complacency. Maybe I'm simply mad but the idea of having fears in my life that have not been overcome is problematic. If you share my belief, I encourage you to bite off more than you think you can chew and then rise to the occasion. Fearing success is a nasty one but it can be overcome as is evidenced by many who have, specifically the founders of crazy games like roller derby and the women that play it. Think this over and thank the people who made skating possible for you as you jam out 60 min of moderate to intense cardio!!! I'm just saying.

Enjoy!

J

Basics

Today is going to be pretty simple and straight forward. We will only have four exercises and 20 min of cardio so enjoy!

5min warm up
Stretch
3x 20 push ups
3x 20 lunges (each leg)
3x 20 overhead presses
3x 20 bent rows
20 min. Cardio
Stretch

Enjoy!

J

Not In The Mood

We all have days where the last thing in the world we want to do is go to practice, or even worse, the gym. Today I don't want to be here and I practically live in the gym. Working out doesn't sound appealing and I'm sure that this thought will resonate with many of you today as well. What should we do in this situation? Here is the solution I am going with: I am going to add some weight to each of my sets, do exercises I hate a little more than the rest at a higher intensity than typical, and crank out some music that I can get lost in for a while with hopes of forgetting how much I don't want to do this today. When it's over, we will all feel better. Hope your day I going a little smoother!

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
4-2-1 tempo
3x 12 push ups
3x 12 squat to over head press
3x 50 meters of lunges
3x 12 inverted rows

no tempo
2x 50 meters skipping for distance
2x 50 meters skipping for height
2x 20 squat jumps
4x 30 sec plank
2x 25 crunches of your choosing
5 min cool down
Stretch

Here is the playlist I am going with:

Bad Day- R.E.M.
Cinnamon & Lipstick- FM Static
Thanks For The Misery- Reggie and the Full Effect
Wagon Wheel- Old Crow Medicine Show
Lover- Sonia Dada
Promises- Face to Face
Killing Me- Graham Colton Band
You Are A Tourist- Deathcab For Cutie
Not In Love- Crystal Castles
Epic- Faith No More
Bulls On Parade- Rage Against The Machine
Bitte Ein Kuss- Jonah's Onelinedrawing
Simple Math- Manchester Orchestra
Dixieland Delight- Alabama
Like A Prayer- Madonna
These Things- She Wants Revenge

So Here's The Deal

This past weekend was something else. First off, Nashville was an incredibly hospitable host for the KC girls. Thank you Music City! Yesterday was back to work with some strength training and today is cardio, but for anyone who is recovering from some sort of injury, take the day off. I am talking about a legitimate pull/sprain/worse, not just some sore muscles. It struck me this weekend that not only are roller girls athletes, they are real people as well. This sounds funny to say but in my whole career as an athlete I never felt like, or was treated like, a real person. Most athletes who are playing at the very top of their sport don't have to. Roller derby is not the same at all. The women whom I was with were athletes, good ones at that, but they were also women who have jobs and lives and responsibilities to families who count on them. There were no agents, no security guards, no extreme preferential treatment, or entourages to deal with. These were just real people who happen to excel in more than one area of their life competing against each other. I loved seeing my girls get stopped on the street or recognized at a restaurant(hard to miss everyone who is dressed the same. I'm just saying) and asked for a picture or congratulated on playing a great game(which they all did). These are the types of athletes that I would love to see more of rather than a bunch of bitchy prima donnas like myself and the people I played with. Ladies, I had an absolute blast and I am very proud of you!

Have a great day!

J

P.S. If you are not injured 45 min of cardio at a moderate, consistent speed is the plan for today!

Gotta Love It!

5 min warm up
Stretch
4-2-1 tempo
2x 20 stab. ball chest presses
2x 20 inverted rows
2x 20 overhead press
2x 20 single leg squats

2-0-2 tempo
3x 12 straight arm twists
3x 12 speed skaters

1-0-1 tempo
2x 20 tricep push ups
2x 25 meters lunges
5 min cool down
Stretch

Long weekend with the derby girls and a new appreciation for what it means to be one. Right now, I am wrecked and have to go to work but we will discuss some of the finer points tomorrow! Have a great day!

J

Active Rest

Today is a day of rest,active rest to be exact. That means that I am asking you to do something that involves moving around and being active, but not something that is specifically designed as a workout. Yesterday was the perfect active rest day here in KC. The air was thick, like a good hug that lasts almost a little too long. Rainy and overcast, it was the kind of day that can trick you into staying in bed if you let it. I say trick you because it is on days like this, where the air is so thick it can't hold the water back anymore, that things take on a little different light. I was walking through the city with a friend of mine, drinking coffee, wrapped up in a sweater. My friend said "This is Seattle weather". He's from there so I'm going to have to take his word for it as I have never been. The city here sits on top of a hill and there is hardly a flat street downtown. For a few hours we just walked, took in the day and discussed life. That is just one example of active rest. I've got to say I am also excited to be catching some derby bout's in Nashville this weekend. Good luck to all teams playing!

Enjoy!

J

K?

5 min warm up
Stretch
4x 100 meter sprints
4x 400 meters @ 120 sec. pace
30 min moderate cardio movement
2x 25 single leg bridges
2x 25 neg crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch

We are fully into the down hill of the week and I for one am ready to put this one on the books. It has both flown by and dragged on simultaneously, which is one of the ironies of time I guess. As this week draws to a close, we are going to lighten up just a little and allow the body a little room to recover. Remember: Ice to reduce pain from swelling (i.e. injury type pain), heat to revive muscles and alleviate soreness. Hydrate and make sure that there are good dietary sources of potassium in your system. I say dietary because potassium as a supplement is not really something that you want to mess with. Potassium is a mineral that your body needs to keep functioning properly. A lack of this mineral may contribute to muscles cramping or being sore. Too much or too little can have much more drastic affects on the body (potassium is administered in large doses to carry out executions, not such a good thing if you intend to continue living). This is nothing to be concerned with if you are eating food that has potassium in it such as broccoli, brussell sprouts, swiss chard, kale, papaya, or of course bananas. Today, work hard, eat well, and suck the marrow out of life. Why not?

Enjoy!

J