Saturday, December 26, 2009

It's Not What's Happened To You.....

But what you do with what's happened to you......

Brilliant words, by a brilliant man, my husband Mark. Before I get into what this blogpost is about, let me just say a couple of things.....

Every day, every day, Mark and I talk about training, and how training is about life. And I swear, I wish I could write down, fast enough, all of the brilliant things that come of of his mouth.

So....tonight a couple of things came up.....the first is something totally freaky that happened in my swing class this morning. One of my students misjudged, or somehow got ahead of the swing combination, and actually came down, with the KB on her knee....well, actually her shin! Swear to God! Here's the piture to prove it. lol! I've never witnessed anything like it before, but I saw it happen.

I jokingly said something like, I thought this particular student was too hardcore, mentally, and it just hadn't caught up physically! And I wasn't kidding. I'm so impressed with level of conditioning that this student has been able to build up in such a short amount of time, not to mention how quickly she picked up perfect swing AND snatch form......I really think her mind is so far ahead of her body, given her previous athletic experience of discipline and dedication as a rower.

Sometimes life interrupts.....

Wrestlers and rowers, just a couple of naturally hardcore athletes......no body trains harder. Nobody is more willing to go train alone.. They're up at the crack of dawn getting it done. You know if they're a wrestler or rower they're tough....mentally and physically....they'll get it done every single time.

Those that get back on, and get back going, because life always interrupts. That's the excuse everyone gives "I can't train because life interrupted"....."I got a tummy ache", "I hit my knee with a kettlebell", "I lost my job", "I got a divorce"..."It's too hard".....you still have to train... or it'll always be something.....training keeps you strong enough to handle all of those "somethings"......it doesn't matter that life interrupts.

Hardcore.....heart and spirit, it's not about workout routines. Molly is hardcore, and it's not for everybody. It's not being afraid to see your edge....to know your limit....because you know you can make it beter. It's not about falling down, it's about who gets up....and up....and up...and up....and up....and up....and up....and, sometimes, up again.

Mark had had some recent setbacks that have involved his back, yet today he snatched a modified version of Max Vo2, AND 2 sets of 100 continuous reps with his clubbell.....not the 2 lb clubbells, the 15lb clubbells.

And here I am.....bitching about a silly 15-20lb weight gain from the past few years....but you know what? I get back up....and up....and up. I still haven't missed, or canceled, one kettlebell class, or missed one yoga class because I felt "fat", or unworthy, or defeated, or embarrassed.....even though I've had all of these feelings.....every-freakin'-day, practically.

Doing it anyway....that's hardcore.

Let me add one more thing. Up until recently, the last few months, I've trained, at the crack of dawn, in my garage gym...barefoot.....freezing......I never missed.....and I don't plan to anytime soon. Holidays, grandkids, cats, weightloss, weightgain, hangovers, no one watching...no one caring.....but me.

7 comments:

mollyfn said...

I'm so hardcore! LOL! Hopefully I'll be fine for Monday because I'm just going to keep on showing up. That's my master plan. Thanks Tracy for that inspiration and motivation.

Tracy Reifkind said...

Molly,

I know I have a tendency to be dramatic.....no, really!

I wrote this post mainly to express this point,

"Hardcore.....heart and spirit, it's not about workout routines."

The nature of the word 'hardcore' leads many to forget the 'heart and spirit'.

Mark Reifkind said...

my love

you define hardcore. You always keep suiting up, showing up and getting it done, no matter what. THAT's why you have made the progress you have(that and tons of smarts and talent too,lol).
The smart students follow your lead and inspiration and are thankful that you still lead from the front; so few do.
You Rock!

Meg Lloyd said...

Even some of us hardcores need some leadership and that's why we so appreciate the fact that you'll be there and you'll show us how to make "showing up" worthwhile....

Diana said...

Training alone is the only way to go!
I have my own spirit, my own "how I think it should be" thoughts, my own music, my own reasons, my own being.
If things fail, no one to blame but moi, not that "I" will ever fail, but just saying!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Meg....I'll see you in about 2 hours! 36/36!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Diana,

As I wrote in a recent blogpost about having to train by myself again one day...."Good news...I get more done!"

There are advantages to both.