Rooting for the Overdog
Ignoring the crybullies
Reflecting
Self-pity is the worst emotion because it turns you into a miserable loser. It is no fun. It isn’t Stoic. Feeling sorry for yourself – for either real or imagined reasons – kills productivity and competitiveness. But it is becoming more pervasive as cultural elites encourage people, especially young people, to think of themselves as victims. Vertex, an International Baccalaureate high school in the Bronx, takes a different path. Founder Ian Rowe said,
There are no victims in our school, only architects of their own lives.
His students are required to learn the definition of their four cardinal virtues:
Courage: I reject victimhood and boldly persevere, even in times of uncertainty and struggle.
Justice: I uphold our common humanity and honor the inherent dignity of each individual.
Temperance: I lead my life with self-discipline because I am responsible for my learning and behavior.
Wisdom: I make sound judgments, based on knowledge of objective, universal truth.
Empathy and inclusivity are virtues. Being nice is… nice. But they’re getting a lot of air time and they aren’t the only virtues that matter. When there’s a battle to be won, intruder to be stopped, or fire to be fought, you might be in the market for strength and courage. While so many other students are being taught victimhood, Vertex students are being taught how to be the victors. They’re more likely to get on top and stay on top. The underdogs are shopping for sympathy, but there’s nothing wrong with earning your way to be an overdog. I root for those that do because sometimes we need their strength and courage.
Everyone should be respected for being on the right path, whether they’re ahead or behind you, but no one should be given deference for their envy or bitterness. The crybullies who want to garner status from victimhood will shriek but should be ignored.
Training
This morning’s white board –
AMRAP 20:
9 Hang Cleans 155 lbs.
11 DB Bench 50’s
1 Rope Climb – alternated between leg locked and legless
Then hour with my strength coach and half an hour of sauna in the sweatsuit.
I’m particularly excited for tomorrow’s workout which is one of my favorites:
5 Rounds not for time:
3 Sumo deadlifts as heavy as possible with a dead stop
12 GHD Sit-ups
50ft Sled Push with 495 lbs.
Next run:
Fueling
This is hilarious. The company that made millions of dollars convincing a generation to buy a sugary drink for sports instead of water is marketing… water. This is reminiscent of Amazon’s recent foray into opening book stores.
Supplementing
Near-term goals is >1000 ng/dL total testosterone. Not there yet but working towards it.
Measuring
My BMI is fairly steady around 25. This index judges obesity by height and weight. I am 6’ tall and weight 184.8 lbs. I am shooting for 200 lbs. so by this stat, my BMI would go from average to above average.
Recovering
Don’t cut it close. Give yourself one extra hour of sleep opportunity (time set aside for sleep) so that you don’t get frustrated if you take a few minutes to drift off or wake up in the night. See how you feel with nine hours for sleep. Does it serve your needs? Do you feel better the next day? With the extra hour of sleep opportunity you can collect your thoughts from the day and prepare for the morning without the subject of sleep becoming self-defeating.
Closing
This is essentially my personal health and fitness journal, but I’ve enjoyed sharing it with others for some mutual encouragement. These words of support are so heartening,
Thank you for your fine inspiration, Chris. And of course for StW also.
(Also, I get to live vicariously through your travails and trails (lol).)
Thank you for the Overdog lesson from the Bronx: Very encouraging for these times!