Whole ass

One of my favorite shows on television is NBC’s Parks and Recreation. My favorite character among the mix is Ron Swanson. Other than Ron looking exactly like my uncle, Ron's quick wit, slow delivery and dry humor make me excited all week long for Thursday nights. Recently, when I was watching through last season episodes again on Netflix, one of Ron’s quotes really resonated with me again.

“Never half ass two things, whole ass one thing” –Ron Swanson

No matter how talented a person is at multitasking  work, training, social life, finances, personal time, things will slip through the cracks. The more things that come on to a person’s plate the greater the chance for a half ass job of completion. Until recently I was balancing 3 part time jobs and finishing my masters degree. Needless to say there were times where I had forgotten something or missed out on an opportunity for fun, even with countless sticky notes all over my desk and computer reminding me to do my work. The jobs ended up being half assed.

I have had the luxury of being able to start whole assing jobs due to my new position. I have also made it my top priority. To help ensure that a task is being done whole assed total focus must be done for that task until it reaches a stage of completion. For example when I am lifting, I am lifting. I’m not working, cleaning house or talking on the phone. My undivided attention is at the task at hand. When I truly study I shut down the distractions around me (turn my phone off and don’t have facebook open on the computer) so I can whole ass the material in front of me.

A person may have a billion things to do on their to do list and if they all try to get done at the same time they might not turn out as well as hoped. But if those tasked were checked of singularly with full attention to them they would be done completely and well.

A few options to whole ass life.

• Make a list of big projects and complete one item entirely before going on to the next
• Shut yourself out from the outside world for the duration of time for a task (the world will keep spinning if you aren’t connected to your twitter, promise).
• Get away from your normal surroundings to get a task done (go to a coffee shop or park or library or where you can focus on the task fully).
•  Don’t take your cell phone into the gym to lift (or in any area of the gym for that matter)
• Stick to a plan of getting stronger in the gym instead of trying to bulk/cut weight/ gain running endurance at the same time
• If you have multiple jobs devote certain days and times to one of them and don’t allow the other to interfere.

Whole ass jobs of one item provide much better results than half ass jobs of multiple things at once.

So does trying to be awesome like Ron Swanson.

Try, Fail, Learn

When you talk to any person about what their goals are they talk to you about what they want to be successful at. However what sometimes gets failed to be mentioned is what that person has failed at along the way to finding that success.

Failure is an integral part of finding success, everyone fails at something, some people fail at things once, some multiple times and some never truly find the success they were looking for. But when used properly failure can be the biggest determining factor in creating success.

What determines failure being the determining factor for success or what the biggest hinderance for success?

The outlook on failure.

If a person fears failure because of social or personal perceptions than it will paralyze them into never finding success. On the other hand if a person tries a task, fails at it, and then looks at the situation to see how they can change it to better set themselves up for success they increase their odds.

So I challenge you to be the person who looks at failure differently as a positive, instead of a paralyzing fear. You might even find that failing can be rewarding as finding success.

Try, Fail, Learn.

Wait for it...

I have spent most of this calendar year in a waiting phase. With every hurdle that has been thrown my way while waiting it tested my patience but I knew each experience that was presented was there to help me grow. However after months of waiting the payoff has finally begun. I am currently interning at Cressey Performance for the fall. My nerd out levels of how much I am excited to learn from everyone hear is through the roof.

On my way cross country and getting settled in I went on a few small adventures.

First off I am lucky enough to have the greatest family in the world and my mom was kind enough to drive with me to Massachusetts, which was a huge help for the long drive.

We spent a night in Buffalo and even though we were tired from 2 days of driving we made a point to see Niagara Falls. A word of advice to anyone who hasn’t been there, GO! It is every superlative that I can think of and some that I could make up just for it. I can see why a lot of people propose there, hell I almost did, except for that whole part about being in a relationship, and I don’t think one it would have the same effect with a girl I would have met there that day. Kidding aside, it was a great sight to see, and if you are up for it you can even go visit our neighbors to the north and listen to the Beibs in his native country in Toronto.

Over the weekend we met up with family and some friends and got to see a view of Boston from rooftop decks and observational decks. Let’s just say this Midwest boy hasn’t ever seen so many people/cars/buildings all piled on top of each other. Random note, while seeing Boston from the skyscraper I had the revelation that I have drawn part of the Boston skyline while I was in high school, this was of course when I thought I would be designing buildings these days instead of working with people. But it was an interesting revelation nonetheless.

While the thought of moving halfway across the country was a bit intimidating it has been already worth it from everything I have learned in my first week and the adventures I have already gotten to do. Adventures are needed to keep life exciting, otherwise it gets boring and bland, and it shouldn’t be that way.

Go find adventures to make your life exciting both personally and professionally, whether it is visiting a city you haven’t been to, taking a semester abroad, or taking a new job a different city. Whatever the adventure is it will help you become better and more awesome.

Defeating the lizard brain

Earlier this year, by a recommendation in an article by Jon Goodman, I read Seth Godin’s  LINCHPIN:Are You Indispensable? (this book has instantly become one of my favorites) Among the topics in the book Godin talks about the Resistance, or lizard brain, the part of everyone that prevents them from taking a risk, doing an unfamiliar activity, or shipping one’s work. 

Mine is loud, terribly loud. I have trouble quieting it, but I realize it needs to be quieted and I fight back. A lot of people suffer from this and they might not even know it because their lizard brain has been active and winning for so long. There is hope, because as Godin talks about, when the lizard brain starts to feel pressure it fights, but it would much rather run away. Even when you think you have battles won the lizard brain will try and sneak in and try to steal a victory right from underneath your nose. (My lizard brain is currently telling me not to write this post to stay safe and not spread the idea of defeating it.) 

Defeating the lizard brain can be a challenge because it isn’t easy. The lizard brain will win battles, for no matter what reason; too tired, not enough time, get laughed at, it’s a stupid idea, or the biggest reason you might fail. I say fail with style. Once you learn to fail is when you will learn to succeed because failing gives you the tenacity and experience to make sure whatever you are doing succeeds. My lizard brain hates failing. It hates it because I didn’t listen to it in the first place, and I am less likely to listen to it again when I try a different approach.

Your lizard brain is different than mine is, I know how mine works because I fight back. I don’t know how to beat yours, but it is defeatable. Just like everything worthwhile it takes persistence and work.

Some starters

·         Do a new activity that you have always wanted to do but don’t know how

·         Learn a new skill even though it may not be “masculine” or “feminine” in your eyes

·         Go talk to the person who has caught your eye

·         Get yourself to a gym and lift heavy things instead of being stuck on a treadmill

·         Read and research

Reference

Godin, Seth (2010) Linchpin: Are you Indispensible? Penguin Group.

Doing what you can, when you can’t do what you want

I have been an active individual all of my life. For as long as I can remember my left shoulder has caused problems for me. In recent weeks it has been worse than normal and I have even seen a surgeon to get it looked at. They gave me 2 options cortisone shot, or go in and look and perform surgery. With some guidance I am choosing option 3, rehabbing it and getting it looked at when awesomeness goes into full effect in about a month.

While I have been sidelined with this I haven’t been able to be as active as I would like to be due to pain levels. I have made it my point to make sure to take a good look at my nutrition and get it on a good level.  It has taken about a month of really working at it but I have gotten to a point where I don’t want to eat junk food. Yes I still have ice cream, but I don’t want it all the time, and it is in smaller portions. I am lucky enough to have a large garden at my disposal ripe with fresh lettuce, broccoli,  squash, zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, corn and green beans (there are other veggies too but these are the ones I like). 

Even with the sporadic workouts and indifferent energy level while trying to rest and rehab I have managed to lose weight, because of the change in diet. This gets me very excited for when I am able to get back into longer training bouts because I have spent the time working on my nutrition, that my fitness will be able to pair with it well. I am making the best out of the situation I am in. 

Making a change like this doesn’t happen overnight, it took a month for me. And it isn’t always easy. But sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself while you heal or deal with injury, doesn’t help you heal, it just hampers your mental state, leading to other compounding factors. 

I have taken this setback of pain as a learning experience, I am a nerd of course, and I like challenges, taking the easy isn’t fun, and you don’t get anything out of it. So if you happen to get injured or are hindered from doing an activity you want to do, do what you can to better yourself by focusing on another variable and improving something else.

The best thing I do all week

I work with personal training clients, I coach my swimmers, I study different books, I am exploring different hobbies with my newly acquired free time. While these activities make up a good portion of my week and they are enjoyable and make up my life there is one hour each week that stands above the rest.

On and off for almost a year now I spend my Tuesday nights volunteering with the YMCA Challenger program as a buddy helping with various sports. Out of everything that happens in my week this is the best thing I can do. Through Challenger I have been fortunate enough to get to know a lot of young people with physical and or mental impairments and help them play sports and have fun while doing it. The most important aspect is that the athletes have fun, and I don’t think I have ever seen an athlete leave unhappy. 

No matter how my day or week has been I look forward to Tuesday nights. I look forward to the smiles and happy faces of the kids given an opportunity to play a sport they enjoy with friends. Tonight we were in the second week of our bowling program, and the pins were flying. Earlier in the summer I helped with baseball, and last fall was tennis. The sports create a strong community for kids who might not have gotten a chance to participate otherwise.

I write this post as words of encouragement to promote volunteerism of any kind to help something that is close to you. I have chosen to donate an hour of the week to Challenger, you may choose to help other charities, any amount of help is appreciated. Realize that you always have something to give even if you don’t have the monetary resources to do so. I don’t have the money to give a lot yet but when I do, it will be given to others who need it in my community. Giving your time is a valuable option and it allows you to gain a perspective you might have missed in your life journey thus far. Just my one hour a week has helped me create friendships and help others, this is truly the best thing I can do all week.

I have a Masters... now what?

Last Thursday I finished up my last two assignments for my Masters degree in Exercise Science. Between this last 5 week semester of two classes, work and trying to have a life I was extremely busy. However I will always tell you I would rather be busy than bored.

After I finished up my assignments I took a minute and just sat. I let my mind wander to the places it goes when I let it. This time it started to think about how that could potentially be the last assignments I ever turn in to get a grade for a class. For me that is a tough concept to grasp.

  

In grade school I got work done easily and in high school I was too busy being a big fish in a pretty small pond to focus on my grades, I was complacent, because I didn’t have to apply myself.  I got my reality check quickly when I was in college. I had more freedom then ever but school was actually something I had to work at. For the last 2 and a half years of my college career I worked harder than ever before, I still could have done better but it’s a moot point now. After unsuccessfully getting into Doctorate of Physical Therapy programs, for now two years, last summer I applied and got into an online master of science program from California University of Pennsylvania in Exercise Science, with a concentration in rehabilitation sciences. This program was again an eye opening experience. The program at CALU is in conjunction with the National Academy of Sports Medicine and allowed me to get a certification as a Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES). All and all it taught me a lot about movement which has aided me as a health professional and a personal trainer.

Some of the other courses focused on different aspects of Exercise science, advanced exercise physiology, nutrition, research etc. My favorite among these courses was a leadership class. Like all classes you get out what you put into it, this one was a tad bit different. It forced me to look at me as an individual and analyze what I do and don’t do well. It was humbling but truly necessary for personal and professional growth. That class made me a personal mess and created an uneasy feeling in my stomach when working on some assignments. I mean who likes to be brutally honest with themselves and realize they have a lot of areas they can improve on to be a better person. But after the weeks of exercises and reflections I came out a lot better than when I started. I had realized I wasn’t a very fun person to be around due to the lifestyle change of work and school and living back with my parents. So I applied those changes and started to feel a lot better about myself and as soon as my outlook changed life started to change for the better.

I have been in formal schooling for 20 years. I am burnt out, but yet it has been a constant in my life that is hard to think of being without. I have been finished for 3 days and I am already bored.  I now get to really focus on continuing to learn about different aspects of fitness not present in the traditional educational realm, myofascial release, movement, programming for specific needs, and whatever else I want to read (Batman graphic novels to be specific).

I am still contemplating going back and retaking the pre-requisites I need to try and get into a Doctorate program. But as for now I will bid adieu to formal schooling, I will learn everyday as much as I can, as a professional and a person and summon up all the patience I have to see what lies ahead (more on that later) because it has a lot of potential to be a fun and crazy ride in the near future. 

I’m excited for it

David J Bromberg MS