The Impulse Intramural Open, Comparison, Ozymandias and Sisyphus
Upcoming Events
- The Impulse Intramural Open- 27 Feb-13 March. This started last week… and FAM…. I knew we were gonna show out, but had no idea how LIT the House of Gainz was gonna be! absolutely Electric and I hope the next two weeks are equally fun!
- WodHopper is coming next month- We will be upgrading our system of record to WH, Expect a smoother experience, and a minimum amount of Admin support from your side, validating your info and re-inputting bank info in the coming weeks. Details to follow soon.
- Internship Applications are open- We have 1 slot remaining for the spring internship, I’m so very pumped about this class, if you want to be a part of something bigger than yourself, and the term “Servant Leadership” appeals to your soul, in the words of Stuart Scott “holla at a playa when you see him in the street”
Coffee, Ketones, and Random Gorilla Thoughts….
Comparison is the thief of Joy…. yet we do it anyways.
Humans man, we tend to human.. ALOT. It can be frustrating as a Coach to hear athletes compare their chapter 2 with someone elses chapter 10 and say “Man I suck”. Well… yeah, with that scoring rubric… you SHOULD suck! I find this a little insulting honestly, the audacity to think you can compare your year 2 results with someone else’s year 10… I guess you are a magical unicorn who gets results without the years of effort? Boils my blood, tomfoolery if you ask me, straight nonsense. Not to mention we ain’t all the same… I remember Coach Scroggins (RIP) putting his arm around my shoulder and saying, “Miller, you just can’t beat genetics”. Decades later, I’ve discovered that Coach was spot on correct! No amount of meanness or intensity is gonna make me 6’8, it just ain’t gonna happen. All we have to work with are the tools we were blessed with.
So what’s IS in fact, a fair comparison? Well… what’s the best genetic comparison to you, yourself, and yourself…. YOUR PARENTS! Your Grandparents! Why wouldn’t we give ourselves a fair comparison? Do that for me… I’ll bet you’ll find… as I have found… that barring a rare exception, you are likely the fittest person your bloodline has ever seen. Ima say that again, if you are reading my words right now, NO ONE in your families history, was as fit as you at your current age, PERIOD. Quite likely, every single day, you are in uncharted waters from a fitness sense, blazing a trail for your future generations to parts unknown. I know for a fact nobody in my family tree was banging out pull ups at 46 years old, unless some battle axe wielding berserker 7 generations back was fit, I’m working with nothing but unknowns here.
So, in summary, when you’re tempted to compare yourself, ask: am I fitter than my parents or grandparents at my age? Chances are, yes. You’re likely the fittest in your lineage. Celebrate that perspective and focus on your journey.
Ozymandias and Sisyphus…. and balance.
Still reading perchance? Well how about that shit, give yourself a gold star or even two for having 3x the attention span of the average American adult! I’ve been in the lab cooking (the lab is my brain, and cooking is heavy meditation) on Ozy and Sis, the two historical bros that I think about most often. The Poem Ozymandias which you can find here https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias in short, is a meditation on “everything we build, no matter how great, will disappear in the sands of time”. Maybe nothing matters… and that is awesome. It’s not sad, it means, hey, live your life, because nothing will be remembered anyways.
Sisyphus, if you don’t know, was the man in Mythology cursed to push a stone up a hill, at the top of the hill, the stone would return to the bottom, and he would start all over again. Albert Camus’ wrote an essay in 1942 that cast Sisyphus as having a good time! “One must Imagine Sisyphus Happy”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Myth_of_Sisyphus
I feel these two ideas are constantly at work in my life. Building things, processes, relationships, all the while knowing that it will all fall away. Pushing a rock up a hill, day in day out, and finding happiness in pushing the rock. Training, meal prep, cleaning the gym… these thoughts are constantly in my mind.
Ozymandias shows us all things fade, and Sisyphus pushes his stone forever. We train knowing today’s workout will be forgotten—but the smiles, partners, and the moment… that will remain with us long after. Being present is what matters, and showing up—like Sisyphus—is how we find meaning.
Enjoy the moment, clock in and do the work, push the stone, and smile while you do it, the joy was in the effort all along.
-Gorilla