With the Shield or On It

Top 10 Movie Inspirations

Reflecting

It is funny how mundane the origin stories are of many of our country’s top military heroes.  When you ask Navy Seals when they first heard of the Seals, there are a lot of pop culture references; the most common include the novel Men in Green Faces and the movies Navy Seals and Tears of the Sun.  Inspiration doesn’t demand sophistication.  Sometimes it is just an image or phrase that sets up part of your life’s direction, especially when it hits you at a young age. 

I previously wrote up my top ten advantage plays on film.  Here are my top ten movie fitness inspirations that made me want to be able to lift, run, and fight.  What are yours?

1. 300 “Return with the shield or on it.” and 300: Rise of an Empire “It begins as a whisper, a promise, the lightest of breezes dances above the death cries of 300 men. That breeze became a wind. A wind that my brothers have sacrificed. A wind of freedom, a wind of justice, a wind of vengeance.”

2. Braveheart “Every man dies, not every man really lives.”

3. Gladiator “Ultimately, we are all dead men. Sadly we cannot choose how but, we can decide how we meet that end, in order that we are remembered, as men.”

4. The Patriot “Aim small, miss small.”

5. The Last of the Mohicans “They do not live their lives ‘by your leave’. They hack it out of the wilderness with their own two hands, burying their children along the way.” Lots of good running scenes.

6. Troy “Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed.” (My long-suffering wife likes Fight Club Brad Pitt but he’s actually just lean in that one and got far stronger later).

7. Westside vs the World “Weak things break.”

8. Just. One. Mile. “Don't give pain a voice.”

9. The Fittest and all the movies in the Fittest series. “I'm gonna do today what other people aren't willing to. So I can do tomorrow, what other people can't.”

10. Creed / Creed II / Creed III “One step at a time. One punch at a time. One round at a time.” Good fight scenes and even better training scenes.

Training

CrossFit was particularly fun this morning.  A transformer blew, knocking out all the power in the area.  I flipped on my truck headlights to shine a bit of light into the gym and threw on a headlamp.  The dark was no factor but the box got hot without working fans.  White board —

AMRAP 30:

• Run 400m

• 10 Strict Pull-ups

• Rest 1:00

• Ski 400m

• 20 Lunges 50 lbs.

• Rest 1:00

One can’t do everything and I try to not be disappointed that there’s opportunity cost but instead try to be happy that there’s more than one cool thing to do.  Wednesdays CrossFit conflicts with trail running.  Here’s what the others were working on – Workout Wednesday—Blue Repeats:

Are you looking to amp up your running? Add hill repeats and speed work on Wednesdays at 5:30 a.m. This week, meet at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Kimberly Bridge Lot, at 5:30 a.m., for 90 minutes of Hill Repeats. At a 13% average incline, the Blue Hill segment is one of the steepest in the Rez and the perfect training ground for any upcoming race. The .6 mile uphill contains just over 400 feet of vertical gain while the downhill is a great quad-shredding exercise. If you need to train with poles, this is a good course to do so.

Then boxing in the afternoon.

Fueling

Venison, Chanterelles, onion, garlic, bacon, and spinach:

I’ve shifted my meal schedule so I no longer eat a morning breakfast.  But if you do, there’s good evidence that eggs > cereal for controlling hunger over the subsequent hours.

Supplementing

Hit and miss –

• Hit: I love everything I’ve tested from Ancient Minerals topical magnesium.  Going to stick with it (but be careful if you have scraped up legs from trail running – literally rubbing salt into wounds). 

• Miss: Gotten good reviews on Axe & Sledge The Grind EAA's + Hydration, ICEE Cherry as a post-workout. Liked the label but couldn’t stand the taste and texture.  Thought it would be good over ice nuggets but… isn’t.

Measuring

Recovering

Intermittent fasting is helping my sleep.  Individual schedules will impact what works for each person, but for me noon through six PM is the perfect window for my first to last bite.  I think about food less as I remove the topic from the other eighteen hours of my day.  It takes staying away from snacks and having mineral water, black coffee, and mastic gum handy as snack substitutes. 

Closing

New here?  Welcome!  Here are the top 10 Vale Tudos so far:

1. T

2. Not Weak or Weary

3. Before

4. The Blueprint

5. Sky Runner

6. 3 Word Hacks

7. No One Cares; Work Harder

8. 2.5 Pound Edge

9. Discouragement and Revival

10. High Agency