Get Strong

When you exercise, what motivates you? Do you want better health; to lose weight; to look good in a bathing suit? Do you have a concrete motivation that you rely on to get you off the couch and out the door? One that will last past beach season?  I think one of the most lasting motivations you can have is to be stronger.

There are myriad reasons to get strong. Most people don't think of themselves as needing strength, but in reality we use our strength every day. We carry groceries, play with kids, and help friends move sofas. You don't think about needing strength until you go to lift something and it doesn't move. Strong people are generally more useful than weak people.

In addition to being more useful, strength helps you avoid injury. If you're strong, you will be able to handle challenging situations that would injure a weaker person. Look at football players. These guys take some serious physical abuse, yet they (usually) get back up and keep playing. If the average person took just one of those hits they might never get back up. They can take so much punishment because they are strong. Their muscles and conditioning protect their organs, joints and the rest of their body from serious damage.

Being strong also facilitates increased confidence and mental toughness. Knowing you have physical abilities that allow you to do things other people can't gives you a confidence that will spread to all aspects of your life. If you regularly improve your strength and physical ability you will reap the benefits of self confidence and a strong mind.

Finally, being strong will ultimately aid you in surviving the zombie apocalypse. When the dead walk the earth, there will undoubtedly be plenty of things to move, lift and carry. The weak will be the first to go.

Seriously though, being strong is always preferable to being weak.  Whether you are a business person, a home maker, a fire fighter or a special forces operator, strength is an essential trait. Here are some of my favorite ways to build raw, useful strength;

• Farmer's Carry - Pick up something heavy (dumb bell, kettlebell, suitcase full of bricks, etc.) and walk until you can't any more. Rest and repeat.
• Clean - Find an odd shaped object (sandbag, log, suitcase full of bricks, etc.) and lift it from the ground to your shoulder. Put it down and pick it back up.
• Pull-up - find anything you can hang from (bar, tree, rafters, etc) and pull your head above your hands. How many can you do?

There are many ways to get strong. Challenge yourself by working on your weak areas. It's better to have strength and not need it than to need strength and not have it.

Jack

PS - Today's Gameday Games were a doozy. We watched the afternoon RedZone games (Eagles at Broncos, Jets at Titans, Redskins at Raiders and Cowboys at Chargers). Every point we did one plank V-up with feet on the swiss ball (160 total). Every first down we did 5 sumo deadlift high pulls with a kettlebell (29 total, but we only did the ones showed on the Redzone coverage. There were many more.) Every turnover we did one minute of wall sit (8 minutes total). Every sack we did one minute of bridge (9 minutes total). What were your Gameday Games?