Weight: 225. Goal 200
I tell my sons they’re the sum of their five closest friends. That’s a fancy way of saying, “You’re who you hang out with.” If that’s the case, I’m a lucky guy. My teammates are some of the best people I’ve met in Mississippi. They’re successful, focused, driven — and most are overcoming some life challenges that would knock normal people to their knees.
This morning, we worked out in the field house (not out in the 13-degree weather.) Coach Clark started us out with a workout that made our legs burn. Then our line went to the weights. We did upper body and shoulder work –more burning muscles. We then went into the hallway where we did wall sits and wall runs. For our third station, we did the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet means different things depending where you do it. At JSU, it usually involves running around the Walter Payton Center while carrying a weight. At Madison Central, you run the stadium (my favorite). This morning, thought, running the Gauntlet involved us running a loop around the inside the field house, through a ladder drill and then up and down stairs to the second floor. I was fine until the very end — and I started sucking wind. (I’m still getting past my virus and am not running well.) By the time we got to Coach Clark’s drill, I had hit a wall. I didn’t do the exercise well.
At least not Line 1 worthy.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m not beating myself up. I had a solid workout and a good performance today. But I didn’t do well on my last session. And you’re only as good as your last session. Failures are only failures if you don’t learn from them. They are benchmarks. They teach you what you’re capable of when pushed. When I “fail,” I know where I stand. And I now know I need to improve.
But how do I go about doing it?
Back to what I said at the beginning — you know, “You are a sum of your closest friends,” stuff. I workout with a guy named Bucky. Bucky has lost over 100 lbs. doing PLS and last year won Athlete of the Year. He’s a beast of an athlete — but what impresses me is his will. PLS helped him make the mental transformation I’m seeking. He is focused and dedicated. His word is gold and he puts in the work every single session. He’s no nonsense. You can sense his focus. I tried to keep up with him today. And I can report, I have a way to go. But on the third day of my 12-weeks of working out, I now know where I am going.
I want to be more like Bucky.