Happening This Week – August 20, 2012
The RKC begins this Friday! I keep focusing so much on the 5 minute snatch test on Sunday that I almost forget that I’ll be getting 2+ days of additional training and information.
“Snatch a 24kg 100 times inĀ 5 minutes and receive 2+ days of additional training information free!!”
Almost sounds like a late-night infomercial…for someone looking to get strong while also being a little crazy (crazy in the sense that I consider the training and snatch test fun!)
Today I went to Ambition Athletics for another training session. Honestly, I was not feeling 100% and could have easily napped all day if needed. I’m not experiencing any major IBD symptoms at all right now – just the occasional random malaise that IBD can bring. Sometimes living with IBD can be a downer and really annoying. But if I stayed at home whenever I felt tired I wouldn’t get much done.
Sometimes it feels like IBD is it’s own philosophy. I’ve noticed that several other people with IBD have this unique positivity and acceptance of how things are. Not a resignation that things cannot improve but instead a pragmatic awareness that sometimes things will be great and sometimes they will not.
There is a sense of understanding that all the work and effort to make things great can feel disproportionate to how easily things can turn bad. People ask me why I spend so much time, energy, and resources on living a healthy life. The question surprises me. How could I not invest so much of myself into finding my own strength – inside and out?
Those that live through tramatic events (IBD diagnosis, illnesses, etc) quickly understand the value of things once they are taken from you. Health and strength aren’t that important until you cannotĀ digest baby food or go to the bathroom like a normal person or have trouble feeling light-headed walking up a flight of stairs.
Maybe that’s why I consider all the training I have been doing this summer fun. This is fun stuff because I get to do these things.
- I get to do muscle ups
- I get to swing a 48kg kettlebell
- I get to snatch a 24kg kettlebell
It feels so much better than the alternative. Feeling ill and weak aren’t much fun. And just because I have found kettlebells and weight training does not mean they are the only path back to strength and health. I think they can help though, just like any other useful tool can help you improve in life.
Explore what other avenues of health are available and pick one that you enjoy. Have fun with it. Enjoy that moment.
All I want out of this is for you to think about finding your strength and to value it.
~With Strength and Nutrition