Here's To New

I'm a gorilla. I'm a skinny little gorilla. I'm also a caveman who's desire to run, jump and throw things is growing by the day. To this day I maintain, there is no greater joy in life than lifting heavy things and putting them over your head, then throwing them to the ground as chalk dust clouds the air like an ac/dc concert. It makes me feel good knowing I'm getting stronger and faster. Suffering through a blistering workout with olympics rings and pull sleds only to beat my old time by a matter of 5 seconds is man's finest hour. It makes me feel like a triumphant caveman because I'm good at it.

There is nothing caveman like about pilates. In fact, I would go to say if girls are typically afraid of lifting weights because of the ridiculous myth that they will get bulky, this would be the counterpoint for men. We fear things we either don't know or are not great at. I know most men won't get off of the weight machines because they will look silly picking up real weights no matter how great the reward may be. Today I was handed something new. Our fantastic trainer Britney, suckered me into her pilates class...which I readily accepted. When I say readily I mean I hesitated for a good half hour, weighed my options (there were none), and sacked up. It was brutal on my hereditarally tight hip flexors (thanks dad) and my once thought balanced core strength.

Once again, I was humbled for the whole hour and was reminded of one of my favorite sayings..."PUNISH THE SPECIALIST!" It reminded me that fitness is not a specialty field. It's not a heiarchial order. It's a circle. Strength training cannot survive without attention to mobility and coordination. Wellness cannot survive without nutrition. Conditioning cannot survive without nutrition, mental fitness, mobility or strength. A failure to approach a variety of training approaches will certainly leave you wounded one day and affect your longevity. Tomorrow is another day to get better and I can't wait to go get it. So here's to pilates, here's to you, and here's to new!