- Trust yourself
- Break some rules
- Don’t be afraid to fail
- Ignore the Naysayers
- Work like hell
- Give something back
–Arnold Schwarzenegger, Six rules of Success
People are stubborn. Once they hear something from somewhere (usually it’s a Buzzfeed article they reference) it is very hard to change their mind. I am reminded of this time and time again when I go to brag on the Pure Health athletes only to be told “You should not lift without a belt”, “That is to heavy for anyone over 50”, “Are girls supposed to lift that much”, or “His form didn’t look right.”
You have to remember why you started in the first place. Did you start to impress someone? Did you start to make someone else happy? Did you start to make someone else a champion? Probably not…
You started because you wanted to become a bad ass. You started because you wanted to be great and doing something extraordinary. You started to make the best version of yourself that you could make. YOU DO THIS FOR YOU!
Don’t lose sight of this because all of your friends just don’t understand. Don’t lose hope just because you are injured and right now is hard. Don’t give up just because you are at a plateau in your training.
It is inevitable that people will call you out when you post videos of your PR’s (most likely because the only thing they are interested in is dogs in human clothes). It is inevitable that people will make back-handed compliments about the time you spend in the gym or the way the way you have transformed your body (this is especially true if you are a female athlete). Don’t let it bring you down. Know that they just don’t understand the way you have chosen to spend your free time (and they most likely never will) and just think back to why you started down this journey in the first place.
Don’t look at what others can do that you can’t. There will be plenty of people that are stronger than you. There will be athletes working out around you that are capable of movements you might not be due to injury. Know that this will anger you and might leave you feeling defeated, but this is okay. Let this fuel you to do everything you can to recover from your injury. Don’t let this minor set back defeat you in the long run. Always remember that every athlete takes a different road to get to where they are going. Some of these roads are easy (relative) and some are paved with detours, but if you strive hard enough, you can both end up at the same place.
Plateaus can and sometimes will happen, but it is what you do about this that makes you a better athlete. Change your program, do something different, or go against what “experts” say and try something new. The best athletes in the world don’t follow “textbook” programs, they do things that have never been done before and that is how they become great. At PHP, most of us follow a “Squat Everyday Program” by Travis Mash, which if you have a background in sports science is considered “over training”. I can tell you that none of our athletes on this program have even come close to plateauing and they are about as far from an injury as you can be.
The bottom line, YOU HAVE TO DO IT FOR YOU.
Everything you do needs to be done for you. Not to post for social media or to impress your friends (hell, half the time they don’t even understand what the big deal is). Not to impress your significant other or to look like people you idolize. Your journey is yours alone, you are the only one that gets the high of being on top, so make sure all of your energy goes toward making your person the best possible version it can be!
Now, here’s a flow to help you get warmed up and flexible before picking up heavy things.
Here are the postures included in today’s flow:
Lay flat and stretch out to begin
Seated Forward Fold
Iron Cross stretch on either side (x 3 – 5)
Seated Forward Fold
Reverse Tabletop
Lotus, Forward Fold
Pelvic Rotations
Garland
Rev. Swan Dive
Crescent on each side
Chair
Forward Fold
Garland
(repeat x 3)
Downward Dog
Plank
Superman
Scorpion stretch on either side (x 3 – 5)
Downward Dog
Plank
Chaturanga
Upward Dog
(repeat x 3)
Runner’s Lunge
Crescent Lunge
Warrior 1
Warrior 2
Rev. Warrior
Warrior 2
Warrior 1
Crescent Lunge
Dragon Pose (w/ optional quad stretch variation)
Lizard Pose
Achilles Stretch (leaning forward, knee over toes)
Downward Dog
(repeat on left side)
Downward Dog
Plank
Chaturanga
Upward Dog
(repeat x 3)
Downward Dog
Child’s Pose (w/ Prayer shoulder Variation)
Thread the Needle (each side)
Child’s Pose
If you’d like more instruction or want to increase your flexibility, feel free to stop by our yoga classes on Monday nights from 7:15 – 8 and most Saturdays from 9-10!
Music in the video is Bon Iver – Flume, Skinny Love, and Holocene. We do not own the rights to this music, just borrowing it for our flows.
In gym update news, we are increasing our PHP fashion line with new T-shirts, Tank Tops, and 3/4 Raglans. If you want any of the above, please notify us, as we will be ordering them ASAP in order to try and get them in for athletes to wear during competition!
Also, we are in the process of ordering limited edition hand crafted coffee mugs to go with the release of our “Rise and Grind” PHP Coffee Blend. We will have about 25 mugs and once they are gone, we will not be ordering anymore (it takes about 8 weeks to get them made and delivered, so you have some time). Coffee should be in any day now, and once it is, we will post and get it out to individuals as quick as possible!
PURE HEALTH PERFORMANCE 