Don't have a big New Year's resolution? Neither do I. But I'm excited for these 'mini-challenges' that involve books, handwriting and a horizontal bar.
Added The Formula to my list! I’d share The Inner Clock from Lynne Peeples about circadian rhythms. Absolutely fascinating. The grip strength challenge is great. I was able to do it at a crossfit evaluation for about 50 seconds at 300 lbs. Got to try it again at 260 :)
These are great challenges! I'm 50 and a follower of Attia. I found you through Michael Easter. Love your mission and we are similar. I'm in residency in Internal Medicine -- 20 years older than most of the other residents. I want to practice primary care with an emphasis on prevention.
Question about the weight carry -- does it have to be in one hand or can it be split? So if I need to carry 87#s I can split 45/45 right and left? I live in an old house in New Orleans and my pull up bar will only fit on a bathroom door so I have to take it up and down. Maybe one of my resolutions will be to find a permanent way to install one.
Hi! Welcome to N2L! That is fantastic you are in residency and 20 years older. I love your goal of emphasis on prevention.
At first I had a door pullup bar — and like you, I eventually resolved to get a permanent one, which I did and put in the garage. When that bigger bar arrived, it was a test of my marriage, but that's another story as told in my book ... :)! I now keep the door bar at my parents' house for when I travel to see them.
In terms of weight for carries - yes, you split 45/45 into right and left hand for farmer's carry. When you get into higher weights than that, or if you prefer it, you can use a trap/hex bar. See the comment discussion with Marshall earlier in this thread.
We have a semi-permanent section on our home gym whiteboard with everyone's PR dead hang times on it. Embarrassingly, my 10-year-old son's time is longer than my own at last test. I'll be taking inspiration from this challenge to add regular dead hangs back in the schedule (and not as an afterthought after a deadlift day :D)
Nice. Honestly, I think sometimes we take the dead hang for granted as Spartan racers. Truth is, we aren't hanging for that long on most of the obstacles. I was shamed when I recently re-tested mine. So, I'm digging in — and +1 to "not as an afterthought."
When I first started working on cursive writing, I was afraid I had some sort of neurological problem. (Well, maybe I do, but…) I could not draw a smooth line to save my soul. Everything looked like I had palsy. I’m happy to say it appears I lacked fine motor control. The weird thing is my printing was good. I’m not going to claim my cursive script is beautiful but the lines and curves are reasonably smooth. My hands and fingers can still learn. Who knew? Practice, practice. Thanks for introducing this challenge Gwendolyn.
I have been reading Jim Henson’s biography; it’s excellent. He had a great appreciation of making the most of one’s time on earth. And, it’s neat to see how all of the moments in his life, even at an early age, influenced his creativity and trajectory. He also kept notebooks detailing events and decisions in his life. Jim Henson: The Biographyhttps://a.co/d/9ZySreg
OK, Gwendolyn the writing is a good idea, but the cursive writing has caused me to remove you and your mother from my holiday gift list. I pulled out some letters my mother wrote, her writing is perfect. Somewhere I went (waaaay) wrong.
I carried 360 lbs today on a trap bar for two minutes. I have a couple of observations that may help those going for heavy carries. One, getting to a standing position is harder than the carry. Be sure you have good form during the lift. Get some help. It is easy to injure your back with poor form. Two, pick your shoes carefully. Cushioning that works at your body weight will likely be unstable at higher weights inducing a wobble that will make lifting and standing more difficult. Don’t make the lift more challenging than it needs to be.
I have pretty much removed myself from my own gift list for thinking up this handwriting challenge. My only consolation is that my lower-case 's' and 'r' are showing small green shoots of improvement. Good point on the shoes for that trap lift. I also find that too much cushioning throws me way off on trail runs too.
Unintended consequences! My mother often said a promise made is a debt unpaid. So the writing challenge was a promise I made to myself and then I was suckered in to doing the writing in cursive. OMG! I’m having to rewire my hands and my brain. I knew I was old, I just didn’t realize how old. I just ordered two practice books. I’ve reverted to a 5 year old. You asked us to look foolish. I’ve delivered. As soon as my handwriting is legible I’ll be writing to Santa demanding you be expunged from his good person list. …your mom too.
You just upped the stakes with the practice book. I actually can feel my brain straining when I write cursive. I'm going to believe that's a good thing.
Excellent - and good query. Here's my take on measurement (others will have their own):
Good = Finish the 4 books
Better = Finish the 4 books, write down quotes that matter (by hand)
Great = Finish the 4 books, write down quotes that matter (by hand), and pinpoint one way each book changes a behavior, mindset or interaction you have in a positive way.
OK, I’m trying to read what I hand wrote using cursive in my notebook. I now know why it’s called cursive.
I’ve selected a book, Nassim Taleb’s Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. It explores the concept of antifragility, which describes systems that grow stronger from stress, shocks, and volatility. It’s something I know nothing about and God knows I’m far from antifragile.
One day we can compare cursive in our notebooks — see if you can read mine and I can read yours. Talk about a stress test. And on that note, a great book recommendation. I'm adding it to my list. Also used a trap bar for the first time at the gym today thanks to you. I like it.
I owe you an apology Gwendolyn. When I read your original post, I thought why is she linking us to a PDF showing what curs(e)ive writing looks like? Well, now I know. I’ve forgotten how to form some of the letters, particularly how to link them to the next letter. Embarrassing!
On a happy note I loaded a trap bar with 265 lb this morning and walked with it for a minute. I can’t say it was easy, but it wasn’t all that hard either. I weigh 170 pounds. I don’t think 75 lb more will be a challenge but I’ll not rush into it.
Impressed on that trap bar carry. Meantime, yeah, I linked to it because when I first tried to remember how write a "k" and an "s" and a "z" .... well, it wasn't pretty.
Love the mini challenges. What a great idea. I particularly love/hate the writing challenge. Clearly I should have been a doctor— that’s the only thing clear about my handwriting. Game on!!!
A suggestion for the farmer’s carry: use a trap bar. In my case, for example, 85 lbs in each hand is an equipment challenge. No big deal with a trap bar. (Bettrtt
I sense you’re being influenced by Attia. He’s an F1 junkie.
Readers, Wendy’s being merciful to us. Here’s what she left out from Attia on the farmer’s carry: “There’s a standard out there that basically says the definition of exceptional strength is being able to walk with twice your body weight for 30 seconds.“ Attia permits us to drop 10lb/decade. I for one refuse to bow to age allowances.
LOL. Yes - excellent point on the trap bar. If people have access to that, it's a terrific idea, particularly when the weight gets heavier. And you are correct on my conveniently leaving out the "walk with twice your body weight for 30 seconds." Thanks for not letting me off the hook. That's what it's all about here.
Added The Formula to my list! I’d share The Inner Clock from Lynne Peeples about circadian rhythms. Absolutely fascinating. The grip strength challenge is great. I was able to do it at a crossfit evaluation for about 50 seconds at 300 lbs. Got to try it again at 260 :)
Good share w/ The Inner Clock. I'll get it. That's great about 50 secs. I bet you get to 90 pretty quick — especially at 260. Happy New Year Mike.
These are great challenges! I'm 50 and a follower of Attia. I found you through Michael Easter. Love your mission and we are similar. I'm in residency in Internal Medicine -- 20 years older than most of the other residents. I want to practice primary care with an emphasis on prevention.
Question about the weight carry -- does it have to be in one hand or can it be split? So if I need to carry 87#s I can split 45/45 right and left? I live in an old house in New Orleans and my pull up bar will only fit on a bathroom door so I have to take it up and down. Maybe one of my resolutions will be to find a permanent way to install one.
Hi! Welcome to N2L! That is fantastic you are in residency and 20 years older. I love your goal of emphasis on prevention.
At first I had a door pullup bar — and like you, I eventually resolved to get a permanent one, which I did and put in the garage. When that bigger bar arrived, it was a test of my marriage, but that's another story as told in my book ... :)! I now keep the door bar at my parents' house for when I travel to see them.
In terms of weight for carries - yes, you split 45/45 into right and left hand for farmer's carry. When you get into higher weights than that, or if you prefer it, you can use a trap/hex bar. See the comment discussion with Marshall earlier in this thread.
Thank you! LOL I just ordered your book.
We have a semi-permanent section on our home gym whiteboard with everyone's PR dead hang times on it. Embarrassingly, my 10-year-old son's time is longer than my own at last test. I'll be taking inspiration from this challenge to add regular dead hangs back in the schedule (and not as an afterthought after a deadlift day :D)
Nice. Honestly, I think sometimes we take the dead hang for granted as Spartan racers. Truth is, we aren't hanging for that long on most of the obstacles. I was shamed when I recently re-tested mine. So, I'm digging in — and +1 to "not as an afterthought."
When I first started working on cursive writing, I was afraid I had some sort of neurological problem. (Well, maybe I do, but…) I could not draw a smooth line to save my soul. Everything looked like I had palsy. I’m happy to say it appears I lacked fine motor control. The weird thing is my printing was good. I’m not going to claim my cursive script is beautiful but the lines and curves are reasonably smooth. My hands and fingers can still learn. Who knew? Practice, practice. Thanks for introducing this challenge Gwendolyn.
That's awesome. I feel the same way. Early days were awful! But getting better.
Now Kyle suggests we only use our non dominant hand, to include writing. My head is going to explode.
@kyleshepard10 - you've upped the stakes and you're exploding heads. This really does require a resilient mental state ...:) https://substack.com/home/post/p-156729919
I have been reading Jim Henson’s biography; it’s excellent. He had a great appreciation of making the most of one’s time on earth. And, it’s neat to see how all of the moments in his life, even at an early age, influenced his creativity and trajectory. He also kept notebooks detailing events and decisions in his life. Jim Henson: The Biographyhttps://a.co/d/9ZySreg
Great - thanks for the tip. Will add this one to my list.
OK, Gwendolyn the writing is a good idea, but the cursive writing has caused me to remove you and your mother from my holiday gift list. I pulled out some letters my mother wrote, her writing is perfect. Somewhere I went (waaaay) wrong.
I carried 360 lbs today on a trap bar for two minutes. I have a couple of observations that may help those going for heavy carries. One, getting to a standing position is harder than the carry. Be sure you have good form during the lift. Get some help. It is easy to injure your back with poor form. Two, pick your shoes carefully. Cushioning that works at your body weight will likely be unstable at higher weights inducing a wobble that will make lifting and standing more difficult. Don’t make the lift more challenging than it needs to be.
I have pretty much removed myself from my own gift list for thinking up this handwriting challenge. My only consolation is that my lower-case 's' and 'r' are showing small green shoots of improvement. Good point on the shoes for that trap lift. I also find that too much cushioning throws me way off on trail runs too.
Unintended consequences! My mother often said a promise made is a debt unpaid. So the writing challenge was a promise I made to myself and then I was suckered in to doing the writing in cursive. OMG! I’m having to rewire my hands and my brain. I knew I was old, I just didn’t realize how old. I just ordered two practice books. I’ve reverted to a 5 year old. You asked us to look foolish. I’ve delivered. As soon as my handwriting is legible I’ll be writing to Santa demanding you be expunged from his good person list. …your mom too.
You just upped the stakes with the practice book. I actually can feel my brain straining when I write cursive. I'm going to believe that's a good thing.
LOVE the books challenge. I am trying to do that, but now I will MEASURE it. HNY, Gwendolyn! :)https://thegoldenmean2040.substack.com/p/lend-me-your-mind
Excellent - and good query. Here's my take on measurement (others will have their own):
Good = Finish the 4 books
Better = Finish the 4 books, write down quotes that matter (by hand)
Great = Finish the 4 books, write down quotes that matter (by hand), and pinpoint one way each book changes a behavior, mindset or interaction you have in a positive way.
And maybe a fifth? Excellent = Write something about each one!
OK, I’m trying to read what I hand wrote using cursive in my notebook. I now know why it’s called cursive.
I’ve selected a book, Nassim Taleb’s Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. It explores the concept of antifragility, which describes systems that grow stronger from stress, shocks, and volatility. It’s something I know nothing about and God knows I’m far from antifragile.
One day we can compare cursive in our notebooks — see if you can read mine and I can read yours. Talk about a stress test. And on that note, a great book recommendation. I'm adding it to my list. Also used a trap bar for the first time at the gym today thanks to you. I like it.
I owe you an apology Gwendolyn. When I read your original post, I thought why is she linking us to a PDF showing what curs(e)ive writing looks like? Well, now I know. I’ve forgotten how to form some of the letters, particularly how to link them to the next letter. Embarrassing!
On a happy note I loaded a trap bar with 265 lb this morning and walked with it for a minute. I can’t say it was easy, but it wasn’t all that hard either. I weigh 170 pounds. I don’t think 75 lb more will be a challenge but I’ll not rush into it.
Impressed on that trap bar carry. Meantime, yeah, I linked to it because when I first tried to remember how write a "k" and an "s" and a "z" .... well, it wasn't pretty.
Love the mini challenges. What a great idea. I particularly love/hate the writing challenge. Clearly I should have been a doctor— that’s the only thing clear about my handwriting. Game on!!!
A suggestion for the farmer’s carry: use a trap bar. In my case, for example, 85 lbs in each hand is an equipment challenge. No big deal with a trap bar. (Bettrtt
I sense you’re being influenced by Attia. He’s an F1 junkie.
Readers, Wendy’s being merciful to us. Here’s what she left out from Attia on the farmer’s carry: “There’s a standard out there that basically says the definition of exceptional strength is being able to walk with twice your body weight for 30 seconds.“ Attia permits us to drop 10lb/decade. I for one refuse to bow to age allowances.
As always Wendy, thanks for spurring us on.
LOL. Yes - excellent point on the trap bar. If people have access to that, it's a terrific idea, particularly when the weight gets heavier. And you are correct on my conveniently leaving out the "walk with twice your body weight for 30 seconds." Thanks for not letting me off the hook. That's what it's all about here.