Common Purpose

Doing hard, painful things together

Reflecting

Health and fitness are relatively new pursuits for me.  In my 20s and 30s, work came first.  Only in my mid-40s did I pivot to CrossFit and other fitness efforts.  My friend Katy saw me haphazardly try a few things in New Canaan, cornered me and told me that I’d like CrossFit.  So, I tried it.  Much of the effort has been in throwing myself into health and fitness while managing a business and raising a family.  Many friends are dealing with the same things, so I started writing about it as well, not as any sort of expert or specialist, just as a dad with a job in finance who wants to be stronger and better and is figuring it out as he goes.

Most of my friends work for hedge funds or are neighbors.  CrossFit is really where I threw myself into a community of all sorts of people.  I love it for many reasons, but one is that everyone should have friends who wouldn’t care about your work if they understood and wouldn’t understand your work if they cared.  Another: we have every conceivable superficial difference but a common purpose.  We’re not in a back-alley warehouse at 5 AM by accident – we’re there to get better.  We do hard, sometimes painful, often frustrating things together.  The common purpose uniting us makes for real friendships and a real community. 

We program for the best and scale for the rest.  That means that the workouts are hard, the weights are heavy, and the exercises are often technically tricky.  Not everyone can win, there are no participation awards, and there’s a daily leaderboard.  But everyone can try.  Everything has a scaled version.  Everyone is welcome to compete.  It is fun, energetic, and pushes everyone to become the best version of themselves.  I sometimes wear a heartrate monitor and my heart rate soars not when the workout starts but when the music roars and the ten second countdown begins. 

CrossFit elite athletes competing for podium spots at the annual CrossFit Games are the only few dozen people with a highly specific, desirable outcome.  For most of us it is an infinity game.  Every occasional victory gets celebrated for a good five seconds or so before it just becomes a puzzle piece in the next goal.  A pull-up is just part of a muscle up.  A handstand is just a handstand walk before you walk. 

Big gains in the gym take months.  But nutrition works much faster.  Abs are made in the kitchen not the gym.  And eight hours of sleep makes you feel better and stronger tomorrow.  It all fits together.  If you’re lurking around a big fitness goal that you haven’t started and you’re mapping out a plan, nine hours for sleep (in which you’ll get eight) is probably the right first step, followed by a nutrition plan with some broad themes – for me: prioritizing protein, cutting out processed carbs, refined sugar, and alcohol and instead mostly eating single ingredient proteins and produce then stopping eating after dinner. With some rest and the right fuel, you’ll be ready to start getting faster and stronger. 

I’m a passionate evangelist for CrossFit, trail running, and jiu jitsu. I love how much more co-ed sports generally have gotten especially strength sports and martial arts.  And yet my long-suffering wife has withstood countless invites from me (starting at 4 AM most mornings).  That said, it is great to have some non-overlapping time with spouses.  We get a chance to miss each other and have stuff to talk about.

Some of the happiest moments in my life have included kids wanting to join me in activities I love. My youngest son now has a CrossFit coach and is taking it increasingly seriously.  Sunday morning at 5 AM he was in Pound Ridge Reservation doing hill repeats with me.  One trick that I love for dads whose young kids wants to join them before they can fully do something is to bring a weight vest and rucksack.  I have a 20 lb. vest and 60 lb. ruck so can grab one of those depending on the kid and activity.  Two and a half hours of weighted hill repeats was plenty for me by the time I’d worn out my 9-year-old!

Kids aren’t the excuse; kids are the reason.  Even babies can come to the gym (with ear protection) and toddlers can sit on your lap when you’re on the rowing machine.  They love it, you get in a workout, and you instill lifelong habits.  You can choose to have kids and choose to let yourself go, but those are just two unrelated choices.

My kids are the fourth generation that has spent summers on the south shore of Rangeley Lake in Maine.  It is the one place away from home and work where I can totally relax because everything is set up for me there with a full office so that I’m not behind when I get home.  Summers are endless rounds of running/ swimming/ shooting/ kayaking/ sculling/ hiking.  I want to do everything I can to keep up with my kids.  I hope their kids and their grandkids will be able to do the same and that I’ll be able to keep up with them, too. 

Training

This morning’s whiteboard:

30 Rounds with a partner --

• 3 100 lb. D Ball Over Shoulder

• 6 Push-ups

• 9 Cals on any machine

Next run:

Fueling

Something great about a local butcher that you get to know is that they can special order and specially prepare exactly what you want, even stuff that is less commonly available at supermarkets.  I love bone marrow and can get bones sawed up however I want from the new local butcher across the street from my office.  Bone marrow is a delicious source of collagen.  Try it. 

Supplementing

The amino acid taurine may improve health and longevity according to a recent study described in Science.  If you’re deficient, you can take it as a supplement.  I find the significance of taurine compelling, but don’t supplement as I get enough in my protein focused diet and get more in pre-workout drinks.  Vegetarians should take taurine supplements; it is about 0.1% of the body weight of animals but is nearly absent in plants. 

Measuring

Vale Tudo is almost one year old (first anniversary on June 13^th).  Here are the top ten most popular posts by views:

1. T

2. Quoth the Raven: Not Weak or Weary

3. The Blueprint

4. Before

5. 3 Word Hacks

6. 2.5 Pound Edge

7. Discouragement and Revival

8. High Agency

9. Cold Comfort

10. Unhedged

Recovering

I’ve been consistently using the sauna several times per week after the gym and feel as if it is helping recovery.  Looking at one to potentially buy today. 

Closing

I’d like to write a one year anniversary post on Tuesday answering any questions about the first year of this effort.  Please comment below or shoot me any questions that I can answer at ccdemuth@rangeleycapital.com.