Marshall Ramsey

It’s PLS Friday — or the last day of the training week. Tomorrow, we have the day off. I am running five miles in the morning to celebrate.

Want to knock me down? Take your finger and jab my triceps. They are so sore that I would crumple like a house of cards.

I’m sore.

But I’m supposed to be sore.

And if I wasn’t after today’s workout, I’d be Superman.

Eight stations in an hour. Clark (who has a bionic stomach) on core work (60 sit-ups, six-inches, bicycles and more). Pushing the boards — (bent over pushing a plank down the football field 5 times x 40 yards = 200 yards.). Cone drills. Lunges. Jumping jacks with hand weights. Inchworms. Bear crawls. The gauntlet up and down the Madison County Football stadium stairs. Run run run. The boards were a challenge. I have a GREAT line to motivate me, though.

Add to it, another glorious sunrise.

I finished strong. And then I showered and drove to Meridian where I spoke for an hour at 9:15 a.m.

Week one is out of the way.  It was a tough week — Paul isn’t playing around this summer. We hit the ground running full speed. But that’s OK. It’s why I am out there.  I’m on the way to being in the best shape of my life.

It’s dark. You’re sore. Paul Lacoste is yelling. But off to the east, a faint ray of light cuts through the darkness. Your heart pounds and your breathing is labored. Part of you, mainly your muscles, is wondering why the hell you are out there. But your heart knows. You’ve turned off your brain. You do what the coaches tell you. And if  you don’t do it well, you hear from the them. Paul yells some more.  He fumes, cusses and cusses some more. A drill sergeant would blush at what he screams.  Your body is hurting but you’re focused on what you are doing. You’ve turned over an hour of your life to this. Precious time. You lean on your line-mates for support. They are going through the same hellish workout as you. They feel just as bad as you.  But before you know it, the hour is up. You’ve invested an hour toward your health. You know the investment isn’t easy. But the long-term payout will be worth it.  You will be rewarded with energy. With confidence.  Twelve weeks of hard work will forge you like steel.  The sun finally rises and you walk off the field.

That’s PLS. That’s the training I do every morning.

I know Paul as a coach and as a person. He has chewed me on the field. He pushed me until I nearly broke when I was 248 lbs. And he has shown me nothing but kindness off.  I consider him a friend –because I know he does what he does because he cares. I wouldn’t be there if I believed otherwise.  I am very human — I don’t particularly like pain. But I know if I suffer a little now, I will be able to have the stamina to achieve greatness.  It’s about discipline. Sacrifice. Goals. And rewards.

Today was Day 3 of the training. We ran the T-drill (cones shaped like a T ), a mile run, did speed work through tackling dummies and did hand drills to improve our speed. I got know my line-mates better and am honored with who I am in line with. They work hard and motivate each other. And they motivated me.

This is going to be a strong 12 weeks. I’m on the way to being in the best shape of my life.