Lose It

So today I got more shirts. It started off with two pairs of shorts and two tee shirts, but my collection has quickly morphed into a hodge-podge of shirts and shorts decidedly larger than two of each. At first it was fun seeing what new shirts I could get so I only needed to do laundry once a week. Unfortunately, now I have a lot of shirts and a lot of shorts, and it bugs me. Having things just for the sake of having things is terrible. If there isn’t a reason to have something, in my mind, it is only holding you back. Excessive consumption, even if it has little to no financial cost, clutters the house, the mind, and the spirit. 

Another Switch

Today I was with totally new groups, which was fun, because I got to meet totally new kids. Some of them I had seen around the gym and not had a chance to introduce myself yet; others were totally new. Either way getting to know new people is definitely something I immensely enjoy. Meeting new people is a mental exercise. You need to remember new faces, names, and fact, but, above all that, you get create new social bonds. It’s a great feeling when kids seek you out to say goodbye, or give you crap when you’re with a different group during the same time as them. I know I’ve created a strong social bond, one that will last for at least eh summer, when something like this happens. Creating strong social bonds won’t just bring you success in the fitness industry, it will bring you success in life.

On Today's Menu

Today Eric, one of the interns at the house, decided to try and do all of weekly grocery shopping at Whole Foods instead of Costco. This is because the two of us want to eat more organic and local food, because it’s better for everything except our wallets. Usually, we would just go to Costco and buy things as they looked good, but today we planned a menu for the week. Unfortunately, due to obscenely high price of organic bacon, we had to change a lot of our meals around, and in the end we were both happy with what we purchased: close to 90% of the food was organic and nearly 50% was produced in New England. However, none of this would have happened if we weren’t flexible with our plans. Bacon was one of our staple foods, but we had to replace it with grass-fed organic liver. This saved us a ton of money and probably adds a ton of nutrition to our diets. Going into events with a plan is generally a great idea, but, in all likelihood, something will come up that derails the plan and leaves you hanging. I think that it’s best to hope that your plan will go through as directed, but don’t be afraid to do some informed freestyling when it doesn’t.

Welcome to the Good Life

So today we had to leave the epic lake house. It was a great time, and I wouldn’t change a thing from these past couple of days. However, I am not at all saddened to leave for a couple of reason. The first reason is there is a ton of stuff to get done tomorrow.  Besides grocery shopping and cooking for the week with a new menu, I need to do laundry, type up some articles and these posts, and read a couple hundred pages. This would be next to impossible if I had to do a two hour drive tomorrow morning. Similarly, I think leaving social situations a bit early is always the wise thing to do. It guarantees you will never overstay your welcome, and it helps people realize a bit of your social worth. The last reason I am happy to leave is the fact we are going to buy lobsters at $4.90/lb. A lobster dinner will be a great way to cap off this amazing 4^th weekend.

Lend a Hand

Today at Jack’s house, I offered to help his dad, Steve, make a quick repair on his boat. Even though I knew it was going to be an easy repair, it never hurts to have an extra set of hands when making repairs on a boat. I didn’t really do much in terms of helping, but one thing that I’ve realized is it never hurts to make yourself available to help. Lot’s of times you can learn something new, but, most of the time, you’ll end up learning a ton about the people you are working with. I learned a ton about what Steve was doing now, what he had done in the past, and what his plans were for the future. It’s incredible how much people are willing to talk, when their minds are mildly preoccupied with some other task.

Cruisin

One reason America is so great is the roads. You can learn so much about an area by driving on its roads. Little tidbits about the geography, the flora and fauna, the weather, and even the people all float along the roads. All of this was especially apparent while driving through Maine. This had to be one of the best drives I ever made. There was so much green and the traffic moved so freely. In my mind, in order to truly know a place, you must have driven through it. But along with this, be in the moment during the drive. So many times people view the car as a means to an end, when the journey itself can be so informative and truly enjoyable. Roll down the windows and savor what’s passing you by.

Aww Yeah

Tonight we are going to celebrate the Fourth of July Boston-style, so I’m going to make this short. Wherever you are, enjoy the holidays in the style of the natives. It’s been done that way for a reason, and I think celebrations are the only things we haven’t messed up too much.

Long Breaks Ahead

So the short week is over, and it didn’t end on a much better note than it started. The kids were still super tired, and some of the staff was gone. However, I made sure to have a whole lot of pep and be on my game, because of the greater portion of this week each day had. I’ve had my days during some past weeks where I wasn’t on my game, but I only had to be on my game for two days to be at 100% awesome for the week. Short weeks are a great time to work extra hard, because it takes extra willpower to not get sucked into what is coming up. It is a lot easier to stand out when everyone is sucking, and you aren’t.

Two to Go

So we only have a two day week this week. Everyone is super excited for it, and I think that’s contributing to a bit of sloppiness at the gym. The kids are dragging, and you can see it in everyone’s eyes that they are just waiting for the long weekend to get here. While I’m totally with everyone about the Fourth of July excitement, I think it’s a great idea to keep the future in the future. The kids should view this as two days to bust ass extra hard, because they wont be there on Wednesday or Thursday not as a week to goof off because it’s short. You can have the future right now at the cost of the present, and that seems totally ass-backwards.

Shut It Off

Well today is going to be kind of a bum around day, and we are going out after that. I don't really plan on reading or writing much, but I do plan on talking my mouth off with all of my roommates. I think a great way to cement what you've learned and to help give your mind a break is to engage yourself in wonderful conversation with great people. So I'm going to follow my own advice and go talk.

When You Have The Time

One quote that really sticks with me is “You are the same today that you are going to be in five years from now except for two things: the people with whom you associate and the books you read.” Today was a day where I focused on the latter. I am a firm believer that reading actively makes you a better person in every single facet of your personality. While I don't want to go through all of reasons and facets right now, I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone intelligent who disagrees with this sentiment. Reading gives someone a pair of unsharpened scissors, or any other unfinished tool for that matter, and practicing with people sharpens the tool or gives you a better understanding of how and when to use that tool. I generally like to have three books on rotation at any given time: a piece of fiction, something professionally oriented, and something that is a hybrid between the two. Right now I am reading "Walden," "Special Strength Training Manual for Coaches," and "The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nuitrition." Every time I hear someone say I can never find anything I want to read, I always tell that person the exact same thing, "You are missing out and you haven't looked wide enough." The world is full of too many great minds to not find a single piece of print that interests you.

Go With the Flow

For as much as everyone dogs hipsters, they have done kind of a lot for the cultural fabric of big cities. They encourage growth of small businesses and want people to follow their passions, both things I can get behind. However, I'm a firm believer than sometimes big popular things are big and popular for all the right reasons. Today while we were in Hartford for a strongman competition, we stopped at a burger joint featured on some TV show. The meat was seasoned so well and the over easy egg on top melted into the tastiest pretzel bun you could imagine. This place wasn't small, in fact, there are two other locations in the Hartford area, but who cares when the food is so good! This is kind of the same with MBSC. There are two locations in the Boston area, and I don't think anyone would complain that the gym is expanding as long as the product is good. I would have no problem dogging someone who sacrificed the exact qualities that helped him reach excellence in the first place, but as long as you maintain your standards, don't be afraid to get big if that's what you want to do.

Closing Time

So this has been my first week where I have been in charge of closing the gym. It's pretty fun, because the dynamic of the gym is way different at the end of the day than it is in the beginning of the day. There aren't two hundred athletes running around, and the opportunities to get to know people, staff and clients both, are much greater. Being there in the morning is great for accruing a lot of coaching experience but being there at night is better for accruing people experience. We have to read "How to Make Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, which I highly recommend everyone read, and it is during these later hours that I can get a lot of practice in what he preaches. You can get to know people in a group of twelve, but it's a lot easier to get to know that same person one-on-one. Most people are more comfortable in that kind of setting than in a group. People like to be the center of attention, regardless of what they might say, and there is nothing wrong with that if you can get to know each other a little better in the process.