Physical Subculture

As we are slaves to chronology, we usually take this time of year to start reflecting and planning. Today’s workout was a wonderful respite from that, keeping me in the Here and Now and centering my focus on my ability within that moment to push beyond perceived barriers.  As my friend Cody Fielding will tell you, mind over matter is actually the inverse of what needs to happen, since the mind is what can get in the way of the task at hand. The mind tells you what hurts, the mind tells you how heavy or hard or insane the exercise is. The mind will be what tells you to stop. Can we change our minds while we overcome the real, physical obstacle we’re attempting to conquer? No, we must rely on a different type of strength, and to me this means ignoring the conscious doubts and letting something deeper understand that you will achieve your task. This is, as I mentioned in my book, where something non-physical, not quite conscious, can call the shots.  Call it ’spirit,’ or what have you (psychiatry will often utilize less volatile words) it is triggered by intensity, but it does take a bit of conscious effort to acknowledge it.

“‘Spirit’ often has religious or New-age connotations relating to foo-foo guru-ism or far-out fanaticism.   Spirit, though, may be simply thought of as the untouchable, non-physical aspect of what drives our flesh packets.  Fitness, then, is beyond physical.  When our bodies, which house the ethereal essentials as well as the solid vitals, transcend the menial task of just holding everything together (in other words, when your body is fully alive) only then does the wall between flesh and spirit lower.  Intensity, the quasi-tangible prerequisite for accomplishment, helps bridge the gap between body and soul.  When we are pushed to the limits - intense pain, intense pleasure, intense terror, intense joy - concrete “goods” and “bads” fall on their foundations. Inner strength, sense of being, those obvious times when the spirit steps in to run the show, usually can be traced to a sensational intensity.  We push our limits - physical, sexual, artistic, sensational - with a primal, subconscious desire to accomplish the incorporation of the spirit.  But often the mind/body/spirit merger isn’t completed, so steeped are we in just the physical, so content with our insecurities. We pull a “let’s-just-be-friends” with our spirits, achieving only rare and brief samples of our potential in dreams, inspirations and epiphanies.  We’re too secure in our insecurities to accept the spirit through the threshold we often create for it.”    - Lift With Your Head: The Training and Movement Philosophy of the Physical SubCulture

(My buddy Kat’s website has a review of my book on her blog, which means I’ll be reviewing her book on this blog as soon as I finish it)

Today’s workout reminded me of intensity’s role in self realization. Guess which part was the biggest lesson?

(deadboys album… it is, after all, the name of the post)

Max Deadlifts

Sandbag Clean and Presses. 30 reps for time. I used 100 pounds. Brent used 120. We both made it under 8 minutes.

Squat rows/sled drag/box jumps. 10/100 feet/10. 3 rounds.  This was more of a cool down at this point.

If you guessed ’sandbag cleans,’ you were correct.  They taught me a thing or two about myself. Give it a try.