The other day someone told me that I was old school. By their tone it was clearly meant as a putdown. I took it as a huge complement. If old school is holding to your core beliefs, turning those beliefs into action through the principles, then I am definitely old school. I will not blow in the wind following the latest training fads and fancies. I choose to stay the course and keep the compass oriented to true north. I know that is the surest way to the destination and most importantly the means to achieve consistent reproducible results in the competitive arena.
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If old school is having a clear vision of the finished product with a clear understanding of current reality then I am old school. If old school is knowing where you have come from and acknowledging and giving credit to those who have helped you then I am old school. If old school is talking about your failures and learning from them, then I am old school. If old school is following the rules, then I am old school.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. School is open, join me, the school bell ringing loud and clear to start a new session. Respect yourself, and the athletes you workout with. Set high expectations for yourself and those you work with. Strive for the excellence. Pay your dues; you can’t enroll in the Army as a general. Success and recognition take time. Above all keep learning and experiment, but don’t lose the compass. Stick to your core beliefs and turn them into action. Stay the course!

​Wolfie

Hard training definitely has a tremendous physical effect on your body. It makes you stronger, faster, balanced, agile, and builds a lean and strong physique. The physical aspects are obvious when you try on new clothes and you need a better size or when you look in the mirror and notice the changes yourself or when others ask you what you are doing to get into the shape you are in. All those things are great. There is, however, another aspect of training that sometimes is not realized and maybe even overlooked. This aspect is about the mental side of training and what it does for your life. I firmly believe that hard training and what it does for you physically has a direct correlation with your mind and how you feel about yourself.
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Just take a moment and think about how great it feels when you get a new personal record in a max effort lift or you take over a minute off of your last benchmark workout. I bet it feels pretty darn good. You leave the workout feeling tough and confident in what you just accomplished. You get home and feel unstoppable. That feeling can carry over into the other areas of your life. The next day you head into work more confident, you are energized and pumped about how you perform in your workouts and what hard training is doing for your life. That is confidence.

Let's take this from another perspective. Let's say you do not get a PR or your time increases because of other factors that are going on in your life. Some things we just cannot control. You leave the workout defeated and a bit perturbed at yourself knowing that you can do better. Guess what? Sometimes you will lose. Coming back in the next day, forgetting about the day before and ready to tackle another challenge is all about character. Losing a battle (a workout) and winning the war (a lifetime of great health) is what builds character.

Mental toughness is what happens inside of the gym. It is built during the workout. When you feel like stopping and giving up, when you feel the words "I can't" start to creep into your head, and when you feel like you will not win, that is when you dig deep into your soul, find that inner strength, the mental toughness that I know everyone has, and go harder. We all have more inside of us than we realize. When the body wants to stop, it is the mind that keeps us going. You always hear me say to you (especially during burpees) "Next Rep, Next Rep". I do that for a reason, to motivate you to keep going no matter what. It will only make you better. Just keep battling through the workouts and find that mental toughness that is inside of you. Get that last pull-up, explode through that last thruster, and sprint that last 200m like your life depended on it.

All of these 3 aspects, confidence, character, and mental toughness, go hand in hand and build off of each other. Be confident in your abilities and accomplishments, build character through the ups and downs of training, and always believe in yourself during the workouts and find the strength and mental toughness that is within you.

​Wolfie