Back to life
Weird year – too dense in gains and losses. Far my best, in performance. Far the best, in the development of sports projects for social inclusion in Brazil. Far my best in networking with other lifters around the country and around the world. Far the best in the development of media initiatives for the strength sports here. And pretty hard on personal losses.
Federation wars have taken a heavy toll on friendships and fair play in our sport. Fear and the illusion of failure have aborted projects and potential relationships of unlimited potential.
Envy, perverted notions of competitiveness and resentment generated a huge amount of pain. It is not yet the 31st of December, but the year has virtually ended here. Nothing can be effectively decided – neither in business, nor in sports. Competition calendars are loose or unfinished. Projects sit on decision-makers desks gathering dust. All we can do is wait.
It has also been a year of injuries for me, one of witch I barely survived. My joints need care. Maybe the whole body needs some shift in emphasis. So I am restraining myself from squatting, benching and deadlifting. Ah.. Actually I just decided that now – it is just too tempting to see a bench and not press anything. And then it gets tempting not to load the bar… And so on until I sc**w up with heavy training when I should be recovering. I am practicing Tai-chi, which I am particularly enjoying. The good thing about these “different practices” is that you can do them without the risk of overtraining and injury, so when sadness and pain are too hard to endure and you can’t bench them away, you may as well meditate them away. Or at least try it.
I made friends here – Maddy, Jason and others. I will write again before the year ends, but I preventively wish them the best of what can be wished and intentioned, which is basically serenity and a sense of fulfillment. That probably includes heavier loads, less bodyfat – whatever is the person’s goal. For now, I wish my gains and losses curve shrinks back to smaller ranges of variation.
December 22, 2007 at 9:19 am
HI YA , since im new to reading yuor blogs, CAN yuo use a indoor pool or something once a week . ?
give yuor body a gravity break too ,
if yuo getinto deep water about shoulder high and practice Tai Chi. yuo will feel th restiance .
peace , and breathe deep .
December 22, 2007 at 9:44 am
"Serenity and a sense of fulfillment"
I’ll take it! And I wish the same to you! In the end, isn’t that what we are all really after, no matter how we go about looking for it? Best Wishes for 2009! Stay real. Stay inspiring! Give those joints a nice long rest and then come back even stronger and more inspired than before. (As if that were possible?) Tai-Chi…sounds wonderful. Perhaps it will be the yin for your yang.
December 26, 2007 at 10:59 am
So, I take it the lower body fat was for me and the heavier loads are for Maddi?
I’m really looking forward to the next year. I’ve made plenty of beginner mistakes this past year to learn from and will keep learning as I go forward as well. I hope you’ve learned everything you can from your past and this next year will be as prosperous as ever.