Pain?

Lately I have been fixated on pain.  I am not for sure why, but I keep pondering the questions : What is the purpose of pain? and Why do I enjoy pain? Now for some of you the second question will confirm your opinion that I am crazy, but we will get to that later.

What is the purpose of pain?
A dictionary definition of pain is
               1) physical suffering or distress
               2) mental or emotional suffering or torment
Neither definition really explains the purpose of pain but definitely makes it sound like something you would want to avoid. But I think by avoiding pain we are cheating ourselves of growth.

Pain develops character
"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3-4

Look at the people that we admire in the world.  The inspirational people are those who have overcome significant pain and have achieved great success (Aron Ralston, Lance Armstrong, Oscar Pistorius, etc.) The internet is filled with inspirational videos and success stories of athletes who defy the odds. We look to them and are inspired to be more, because if they can do it, then so can we. The pains and sufferings that they faced forced them to either quit and give up or perservere and be who they wanted to be.  This perserverance develops an intense character that does not know how to quit and can also have hope that they can overcome anything that comes their way.

If pain develops character, wouldn't we want to experience this and push through it whenever we can.  Every serious athlete has accepted pain as a normal experience.  The great ones look forward to the opportunity to prove that a little pain can not deter them from a goal (Ironmans, mountain climbers, strongmen, etc).

Every one of us enjoys pain to some extent. Every time we step into the gym we are confronting a soon to be painful experience, that in the end we can either relish in the fact that we dominated that challenge or ponder why we failed to perservere. We choose to put ourselves through things that "normal" people would never understand or choose to do. If we can overcome these trials on a daily basis, when something major comes a long we will be a little more prepared for it and know how to handle the "new pain".

So maybe I am not crazy for enjoying pain, but if I am so are you.

More inspiration

Here are a couple more of my favorite videos.

Favorite Motivational Videos

Sometimes some simple media clips will help get you the motivation you need to keep going.  I sometimes watch these before some workouts that I am having trouble getting up for. Enjoy!

 

And for those of you that can imagine, here is one of my all time favorite commercials (the kids like it too).

Keep staying at it, you jackwagons!

Decathlon Results

		2 minute	2 minute	2 minute				145 lb.	2 minute
Male	1 Rep DL	Situps	Pushups	Box Jumps	Chins	Hang	1 Mile Run	Farmer's Hold	Burpees	Pop a Shot
Benji	405	47	57	90	22	:46	6:34	1:03	35
Brandon	435	60	51	63	32	1:25		1:47	32	47
Dan	335	54	40	65	15	:35	7:28	1:12	23
Davido	365	53	53	108	23	:49	6:41	:52	28	58
Drew	300	63	27	94	17	:42	8:01	:36	29	45
Frank	455	50	52	56	21	:42	7:44	1:27	30	56
Matt	285	34	35	67	15	1:13	7:34	:32	33	71
Michael	100	53	36	44	3	:27	7:42	-	22	56
Mills	255	58	32	69	22	:31	6:48	:25	25
Nicky	395	71	52	83	27	1:08	6:55	1:05	31	83
Sean	305	80	39	73	15	:58	6:44	:35	36
O	515	83	53	105	35			2:04
Erdy		63	36	63	8	:22	7:06
		2 minute	2 minute	2 minute				75 lb.	2 minute
Female	1 Rep DL	Situps	Pushups	Box Jumps	Chins	Hang	1 Mile Run	Farmer's Hold	Burpees	Pop a Shot
Emily	135	68	22	56	1	:23	8:33	:59	19	24
Kayla	205	80	22	54	2	:37	8:59	1:13	17	81
Lil Kayla	85	63	36	52	3	:26	11:01	-	24	30
Maria	175	55	28	48	0	:24	8:38	1:27	22	62
Megan	170	75	27	64	3	:34	8:13	1:29	22	39
Susan	220	78	32	50	9	:33	7:37	2:55	23	48

December Decathlon

The Sanctum Gym is up and running and now we are trying to be hi-tech. The results for the December Decathlon will be posted here and updated as individuals complete some of the fun.  Hopefully all will enjoy and this will be an annual tradition. (Maybe this year some of you college kids actually lifted more than the first month of school!)