Willie Randolph

I saw Willie Randolph at the bank today. I was getting cash from the ATM and I saw him as I was leaving. Everything about his body language screamed gentleman, and he was bigger in person than I expected. I have to say that he deserved better treatment than what he received from the Mets. I didn't always care for some of his decisions as a manager, but he never deserved to get axed like that. The team has really turned it around since the firing, though. I just hope that this trend continues into September.

Randy Pausch

I was sad to hear that Randy Pausch passed away today. He died of pancreatic cancer, the same type of cancer that took my dad's life nearly two years ago. Pancreatic cancer is a beast. It took less than 9 months from the first sign of symptoms for my father to lose over 100 pounds and become an empty shell of the man he was. I still get numb when I think of the devastatingly quick and vicious way it consumed my dad.

I read Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture on my way to the April 2008 RKC. It was given to me by my mother for my birthday, as my birthday fell on the Sunday the Cert. ended. It's a great little book that can be burned through in a matter of hours, and there is a lot of useful wisdom which is amplified by the fact that it is being told to you by a man that has months to live. It kind of gives you no excuses to bitch about stupid stuff and the direction to focus on the positive aspects of your life.

Thank you Dr. Pausch for reminding me that, "Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things." My prayers are with your family and all families suffering from the loss of a loved one.

Back to Work

I started up my PTTP routine again. Because my left trap was so damn tight, I took a few days off. It's about 80% right now, so I figured I could start deads again with a ridiculously light weight. This light weight, too embarrassing to put into print, allowed me to focus on building appropriate tension and groove the right technique. This kind of stuff really gets into my head. When I get a lift right, it's like lightning in a bottle for me. When I get it wrong, I have to be really careful that I don't let it sink me. The thought that it takes 100 good reps to undo 1 bad one keeps me up at night. Well, maybe I don't actually lose sleep over it, but it does drive me a little nuts.

So how do I feel about some of the other trainers in my area right now? They suck!

Seriously, folks lets take some of the emphasis off of yourselves and what you have done, and start focusing some of that energy on what you can do for your clients. And if you enjoy looking at yourself with your shirt off, don't waste your money on costly bare-chested newspaper ads when you can just look in the mirror.

Furthermore, if you are an RKC perpetuating the myth that kettlebells are just for "strongmen", you are an idiot. I'm not saying we all need to hold hands while we jump on the Goodship Michelle Khai, but you are doing the general population a huge disservice by scaring them away from kettlebells. Take a tip from Mike Stehle, Jim Milkowski, Dave Whitley, Jason C. Brown, Pam MacElree, and Brad Nelson--these really strong people train really strong people and help those who aren't strong get really strong.

I believe the most important thing I learned from the RKC and Pavel's work is that this knowledge can help both those that are super-strong and my 66 year old mother at the same time. That is a beautifully empowering notion, so let's not waste it.