Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world.
- Cat Stevens
Reflecting
The world isn’t normal. It is more approximately log normal. We love normal distribution curves because we have the computing power to model them, not because they accurately describe our natural world. It is funny in market panics how breathless journalists will say that something that should happen once every millennium happened several times that week. In natural disasters, it is often described as being unseasonable – even when referring to winter freezing or summer heat. But such constant confusion and surprise presupposes normalcy. Reality is messier and wilder. Panic causes panic. Earthquakes cause earthquakes. Either be ready for the world to be wild or be ready to be constantly surprised when it is.
When I got certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), one of the things that the instructor would say was
Plan your dive. Dive your plan.
We’d meet, map out where we were going, focus on potential issues especially with currents or other factors that could throw us off, and then commit to staying at each depth as long as we planned. This saved our lives on at least one occasion.
The problem is that once you dive, especially deep dives, you see wonders and want to go a bit further. You also get narced. Nitrogen narcosis is reversible, but consciousness altering. We did some basic IQ tests on our white boards at depth to prove the point that we were partially anesthetized. Our minds were sound enough to stick with our plan but not to make up new ones. On one deep wreck dive, my instructor had to rescue a father/son swim buddy team who were narced, too low on Os, and swimming deeper to see the rest of a ship.
When it comes to anything potentially consequential such as dives, flights, or climbs, you can choose the amount of potential risk and reward that makes sense for you, but then be your own dictator. Don’t ever deviate from the plan because you’ll be at your most emotional and least logical in the middle of the action. Plan your dive. Dive your plan. My favorite books movies on health and fitness.
Training
This morning’s white board:
21-15-9 Deadlifts 225 lbs.
21-21-21 Dips.
21-15-9 DBall Squats 100 lbs.
25ft Crab Walk before and after the dips.
Then if the weather holds there’s a 28 mile bike ride this evening:
Fueling
Leeks, eggs, and camel meat. Worth a try but I don’t particularly recommend camel. Also, as of this writing, the best protein shake on the market is 19% off its typical price. My favorite foods and stuff for food prep.
Supplementing
Day one of adding bovine colostrum to my protein shake. Tasteless, easily dissolvable, small portion, and looking forward to seeing what results, if any, it offers. I’ve recently simplified my supplement stack; here are the most useful supplements.
Measuring
I’m not consistent about recording my CrossFit WODs but think that I should be. I’m very consistent about going and pretty consistent about Rxing workouts when I’m not injured. But this past weekend, I was partnered with someone who consistently records hers so we were up on the Leaderboard. She was the fastest female Rx athlete. I was third among the men. It was okay. I did each exercise at my best but really could have improved my transitions.
It was five rounds of a 40 calorie ski, 20 100 lb. DBall over the shoulder, and 30 100 lbs. bench press with dumbbells. But staring at our 21:35 time, I just thought about all the ways I could have shaved off more time to move up one or two places. One of the culprits: stupid chivalric pride at going over my share of the skiing when a bit more humility would have had me quit at my share and save that energy for the Dball. You only care about what you measure. Here’s what I use to measure.
Recovering
I love baths. They’re part of my recovery (and for trail runners a good chance to soak off layers of mud, blood, and bug spray while checking for ticks). I just upgraded them with a new magnesium soak which absorbs better than Epsom salts. Rest is where you make your gains. Here are my tools for rest and recovery.
Closing
What do you do when you’re away from the gym? I love my routine at home (which checks out since it is pretty much by definition stuff I want to focus on). So it is hard to want to get away and only the best adventures are worth it. I love places that offer resort activities for the family and also backcountry alternatives for me (who is less happy around crowds and particularly loathes standing in line).
Three standouts include Jackson, Chamonix, and Mallorca; in each, my family has civilized options and I have uncivilized ones. There are world class resorts where one can respectively ski the Grand Tetons, climb Grand Capucin, or hit amazing DWS sites while the others are still in bed, on the chairlift, or by the pool.
Another option is a hiking or biking trip. A trail running friend just got back from a Scotland hiking tour with HillWalk Tours; you pick the distances you want to cover and they handle bags and logistics. She loved it. Backroads is considered one of the best biking tour operators. One particular advantage for families: you can bike and everyone else can get an e-bike, allowing everyone to stick together and put in as much or as little effort as they feel like. Here is my equipment that is compact and light enough to carry on when you’re traveling.