Yep, confident I would lose that fight, there is so much strength in stillness. And all forms of strength and discipline always intrigue me. We are a culture not encouraged to be still. We are not encouraged to be present and have single mindfulness. Multi tasking is good right? The more things we can do simultaneously the better. Therefore many of us struggle a great deal with channeling all of our energy into one thing. If one is to focus only on one thing, first one must be able to focus on no thing, which is where meditation has tremendous value.

I wasn't sure exactly how to frame my recent trip to the Zen Mountain Monastery into a Firm website article. So many aspects of the experience I wish to share, and need to pick one that is fitness appropriate. I retweeted the following from the Dalai Lama a couple weeks ago, yes the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism has a twitter account, he has over 900,000 followers, yet follows no one. I never grow tired of saying that, still makes me smile. Anyway, the quote was as follows, "Unlike physical progress, which is subject to natural restrictions, the qualities of the mind can be developed endlessly."

We have our theme! None of us would argue the importance of the mind when it comes to sports performance. I have said for years that the mind fails first the vast majority of the time. One of the most basic tenets of Mark Twight's philosophy at GymJones is that the mind is primary, and that the mind drags the body along behind it.

I am all about performance enhancement at all levels, and would eat a lizard if I was convinced it would make me stronger or faster etc. So I am already intrigued by any form of mental training that will make me better. So this was the initial draw to practice of Zen Buddhism. However having said that, the deeper I have gone, the more sense it makes to me on a much less superficial level. And one educated on the topic would argue that using this training for such a purpose only means one does not truly get it. Having acknowledged this fact, let's move forward.

My friend Mark Diehl described it best when relating his expectations when he visited the Zen Mountain Monastery for an intro to Zen training years ago. "I was expecting a sort of zen dude ranch." Sure, that makes sense, give the average Joe a taste of what the concept is all about while making them comfortable, and charge a bunch of money. Nothing could be farther from the truth regarding the reality of this place, which lies a bit over 100 miles north of New York City. This is a working, functioning monastery, whose full time residents have committed their life to this practice, many having lived there for multiple decades. If one does opt to visit, for a very minimal fee, one is immersed in this way of life. Physical comfort is not how I would describe any aspect of the experience, at least certainly not on the surface. However, I did become surprisingly comfortable in the environment as time progressed. The last night there I had one of the most restful nights of sleep I have had in recent memory. And this is in the bottom bunk bed, with 5 other guys in the room.

Two hours after our arrival and after an introduction talk, Marisol looked at me and said I want to go home. This was my idea, and I asked he to go with me in exchange for a stop off in NYC on the way home to which she agreed. However, on Sunday she asked me if we could come back. So needless to say, there was a transformation on her part as well.

The core concept of Zen is Zazen, which is a seated meditation. And a great deal of our time was spent in this practice or discussing this practice. This is done in a very specific manner, and there is a specific place called the Zendo, where it is practiced. We have two sessions per day in the Zendo, which begin with a 35 minute seated meditation, followed by a few minutes of a walking mediation (stillness in motion is true stillness) and finishing with another 35 min session seated. Ideally one would adopt the lessons learned in seated meditation and apply them to all we do. Meaning total focus and presence on the task at hand regardless of what that happens to be.

In addition we are given care taking duties on a daily basis, which could be chopping wood or washing dishes, these are done in silence and treated as meditation. I recall watching a janitor cleaning an airport in Japan years ago during my trip to an Ironman. I could not help but notice how focused he was on the work. He was not just cleaning the floor, he was making perfect squares and was totally immersed in what he was doing. I knew nothing of meditation at the time, yet was mesmerized by watching him. This was 2004, and I flashed back to him while at the monastery, wonderful real world example of stillness in motion.

The manner of sitting is very specific and has been in place for thousands of years. The most ideal position is a full lotus, which I cannot not even get close to right now. Marisol was able to get into a full lotus the first time she attempted. Several variations are acceptable, as is what is referred to as the seiza position, which is Japanese in origin and how many katas in Kenjutsu begin. This has always been my choice, and has one sitting on ones heels. If one has physical limitations, sitting in a chair is an option.

Of course, ideally one is not sitting and daydreaming or thinking about all sorts of things. The objective is a still mind, and the suggested way to do this is count your breathes. If and when a thought comes in and hundreds will, acknowledge it, let it go and return to your breath.

One of the full time residents, and the monitor of the zendo is a woman named Zuisei. My initial feeling towards her was not one of compassion. I found her a bit scary. She was borderline mean to anyone who made a mistake in the zendo. And the vast majority of us have no idea what we are doing, and are making an effort to learn and respect on the fly here. So needless to say, mistakes are being made. Zuisei, is probably in her mid to late 30's, 5'5",115 lbs with a totally shaved head. Very slight in stature, but just exudes strength. She gave a yoga demonstration and mentioned she was a runner at one point. Zuisei has been a full time resident since 1995. The transformation I made regarding her is a bit of a microcosm of the whole process. I went from being a bit apprehensive towards her, to finding her the most intriguing person there, and the one worthy of the most respect in a matter of two days. Seeing her in Zazen, was an awesome display of strength. I know it sounds odd to speak of strength and sitting, but anyone who has done this can relate. For me to challenge her to a sit off, would be like my 85 year grandfather challenging me to deadlift. The gap is that wide. I am confident she could sit motionless for days.

One of the most significant moments for me came on the second meditation session on the second day of the retreat. The first 35 minute session went very well, and I was all settled in for the second, giving myself props regarding the first one. However, moments into the session my quads began to just sizzle. Focus on the breathing, you can get through this I kept telling myself. I did not see this one coming, the last session was perfect. I caught myself looking around at everyone else in the zendo, probably at least 60 people in the this beautiful room. All looking so calm and focused on the task at hand and I am in quad cramping hell. As stated, we have several sitting options, but once you pick one, you are committed for 35 minutes. I glance a Zuisei, she is deep in meditation. I am confident, I can slowly and gently change positions and she will never know. Feel I have no choice in the matter at this point. The entire shifting process probably took less than a minute to gently move into an accepted modified lotus.

Crazy relief! I pulled it off, no way anyone could have detected that. Wrong! within seconds Zuisei is standing over me. I never even heard her get up or approach me. Damn it, busted! And once again, I have seen her rip people for sniffling during meditation and I just committed a much larger breach of protocol. She leaned over me and in an incredibly compassionate voice whispered the following, "Paul (everyone knew our names from the very beginning, way impressive) we only have a few minutes left in the session, would you like a chair?"

Wow, could she have slapped me any harder? This woman who really does not know me at all, could not have said anything that would have scolded me more than that. Getting hit with a stick or yelled at would have been preferred over being offered a chair. Yes, ironman boy needs a chair. She knew exactly what she was doing, way too much intuition to be a random comment, of course I thanked her and declined. Seconds later the bell sounded for the end of the session. You could have made it you whuss, was the first thing that popped into my mind, the fact that I failed and was mentally / physically broken by sitting shortly followed.

Wow, the everest challenge did not break me this year but Zuisei did. I recall a talk she gave on pain during meditation earlier in the day. Acknowledge the pain, see it and let it go. If that is no longer possible, allow it in and immerse yourself in it. However, do not attach anything to it. Just see it for what it is and continue. Major slosh pipe training value in that talk.

Fortunately we had one more session the next morning, and you can imagine how motivated I was to not fail on this one. I might as well have been getting ready for an Ironman that morning. Was as focused as I would have been on any race morning. The last session of the retreat was effortless, and I was surprised that 35 minutes had passed both times I heard the bell ring. Interesting how something that on the surface can seem so simple, can be some unbelievably challenging and have so much value in other areas of our lives. I nodded to Zuisei as I exited the zendo, and a hint of an acknowledging smile was received in exchange. I found that fraction of a second extremely gratifying.

I do plan on returning to the monastery in the very near future. And would highly recommend the experience for anyone. www.mro.org Needless to say, much larger issues are addressed. And the more I learn, the more all that the practice represents makes sense. Stay in the moment, avoid attachment, be completely present in all things you do and don't cause harm to others. So many lessons learned in a mere weekend a few miles from Woodstock, NY.

Good morning all,

As most of you know we have been playing with the notion of a 135 deadlift x 100 in one set. Could Gorgo deadlift be done in one set? Sounds incredibly daunting. Many of us have done 50 reps in 300 and that seemed like a lot at the time. 100? Way too much pain. However since none of us have ever even attempted it we don't really know.

Marisol planted the seed for me last week when she did 135 x 50 in one set. 100 has got to be doable. However the first 3 guys that went missed. This one gave me as much pause for thought as anything has in a very long time. I truly believed I could it, but the suffering has got to be just immense.

The following Mark Twight quote came to mind however. "For some reason, my bias and the lens I see through, favors relative strength and repetitive expression of will. I find this tells me more about my character and also that of others. Within an effort like the 20 min deadlift test or the everest challenge one has plenty of time to look inward, to shine, to reflect and to negotiate whether to continue or not."

Perfectly said, one rep maxes only teach us so much. The weight either comes up or not. Longer efforts give us plenty of time to think about the suffering, which typically causes more mental anguish than the event itself. We all place limitations on what we can do and what is possible.

There are many of you in here that can deadlift 135 lbs 100 times in a row. Don't think 100, think this rep only. Marisol is going to give this one a whirl, possibly as early as today. She understands staying in the moment and has as strong a will as anyone I have ever known. I would not bet against her, if she gets to 80 consider it done. Who's got next in the 100 club? It is gratifying and not nearly as hard as one would expect. Of course having said that I am just wicked sore today.

I am sure all of you have significantly better things to do than watch nearly 4 mins of deadlifting but felt the need to record this one. Will also be on the website later today. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheFirmFitnessCenter

Have a great day,
Paul
 

Good morning men,

Time to get the band back together again! We know the off season is rowing season. This is being sent to those who have met the firm rowing club criteria, which is 10 x 500 on 60 seconds, all sub 1:50.

However, am copying a few others who have shown promise, but have not yet earned membership and all of it's privileges. Dale, Blair, Ed, Ted and myself are still the only members thus far. However we welcome any and all who can meet our tough standard.

I am thinking we need a women's version as well, thus copying a few super star women. 10 x 500 under 2 mins?

Got on the nasty concept 2 bright and early yesterday am as a "warm-up" before training with Ted today. Opted for 10 x 500 and build all 10. Wanted work, but not slaughter, given this was merely a prelude.

1:58.7

1:56.9

1:56.4

1:56.2

1:55.9

1:55.7

1:54.9

1:53.0 (cut this one close)

1:52.9 (and again)

1:50.2

Gotta love a bunch of builds. Truly keeps you focused on the task at hand.

Then Ted showed up for a short sweet main event. Despite the fact that I am not looking forward to it, I need to contribute to the ski erg world champions. And I have not skied in recent memory, two reasons, crazy painful and I stink. However, tons of value and have a great deal of respect for the ski erg and those that can bust it. We need 20 participants to ski 1000 meters on the 11/12-11/14 to be eligible to win a skier. So let's see if we can get that many. And Dale has a legit shot at an age group world championship. This is going to be fun!

So Ted and I did the following together. Of course if he kicked my butt here, you know I am going the play the "I already rowed" card. Guess I just did that anyway huh?

500 meter ski / as many ball slams 25# ball in the amount of time it took to ski 500 meters / 3 rounds and we take turns.

Given the fact we are taking turns on this one, we get quite a bit of recovery time. Much more than I would give a client. So we better bust this! A bit of my own medicine here. I have given a few fortunate clients a similar session and it is just mean. The ski erg and the ball slam are so similar that the same muscles get just bashed relentlessly.

Round 1. Paul  1:59.2 ski / 48 ball slams. Ted 1:55.0 ski and 49 ball slams

Round 2. Paul 1:59.6 ski / 54 ball slams. Ted 1:58.2 ski and 53 ball slams

Round 3. Paul 1:59.6 ski / 60 ball slams. Ted 2:00.9 ski and 57 slams.

162 total slams Paul

159 total slams Ted

This combo is just wrong! Put us both on the floor in the last round, but really effective training. I highly recommend you give it a whirl, if you haven't already had the pleasure.

Future rowing newsletters will only be sent to club members, but we are always open to tryouts! Will send the email this week for the inter-gym row challenge. Looking at early December for that one.

Enjoy your weekend folks,

Paul

 Volume 1: Lessons from Death Valley