all things mau

The back is fully recovered and stronger than ever thanks to sports chiropractic work in Oakland, a Thai massage in Soma, and low weight, slow deadlifts. My goals are back on track.

Speaking of which, I realize I never mentioned specific goals of this 90 day project. After all, you can’t create a map if you don’t have a destination. There are a few fitness goals that I take issue with, and I am qualified to rant on the subject because I’ve tried the following in the past:

I want to lose x amount of pounds
I want a six pack
I want to gain 2 inches on my biceps

Photo by flickr user darkmatter

Each one of these goals place the cart before the horse. They all focus on a minute portion of the benefits of exercise and negatively distort one’s perception of body. This isn’t to say one shouldn’t track physical progress. Metrics are one of the greatest motivators when it comes to breaking personal records, and hacking the mind to bring effort levels up a notch every session. But activeness dictates metrics, not vice versa. When I focused on gaining those 2 inches on my biceps in college, I created an unstable house of cards and a silly looking, useless, out of balance body. Or as others have humorously put it, “Display model only”.  It wasn’t until I put my personal health and fitness first, that I reached any “vanity” goals. But I tell you what, I’m much prouder of my 1000 meter row time than the 4 lbs I’ve lost getting there.

My goal is very simple. A balanced and active lifestyle. Something meaningful beyond the 90 days of this project. These 90 days are an opportunity to reprogram my mind into a lifetime habit via complete immersion. I’m don’t wanna be a runner, or a biker, or a swimmer, or olympic weight lifter, kettlebeller, mixed martial artist, yoga practitioner, or climber. I want to be them all.

Jack of all trades, master of none.

Today’s workout
3k run (≈1.9 miles)
7 mile bike ride
2400m row (≈1.5 miles)
and
100 situps just for good measure.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 11:02 pm and is filed under 90 days. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.