So this weekend I spent about an hour suffering through a workout named “Hamilton” It was named after Army Specialist Adam Hamilton:
U.S. Army Specialist Adam Hamilton, 22, of Kent, Ohio, assigned to the 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based in Fort Riley, Kansas, died on May 28, 2011 in Haji Ruf, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He is survived by his father Scott Hamilton, step-mother Connie Hamilton, mother Nancy Krestan, brothers Brandon Hamilton and Nick Krestan, and sisters Shawney and Taya Hamilton.
The workout consisted of:
3 Rounds
Row 1000 meters
50 Push-ups
Run 1000 meters
50 Pull-ups
I felt pretty good when I started, although I was sore from the workouts I did the previous few days.
I was also pretty tired since I didn’t get to bed until almost midnight
It was also pretty hot and humid out (i.e. 91° and ~80% humidity — I’m from the desert, so this sucked)
But I finished every rep and every meter required.
Because I’m not a loser
And by that I mean I refuse to quit on myself.
On that last 1000m run my brain was screaming at me to walk, cool down and catch my breath, but I didn’t… I kept running
This is something I know resonates with my GORUCK brothers and sisters here (Because hours 10 – 12 suck, right?)
I don’t bring this little story up not to tell you all how badass I am (I’m not).
But I bring it up because I’ve seen way too many of my peers, guy and girls in dangerousjobs (especially these days) who ARE in fact losers.
Because they quit.
They get tired and they walk… Instead of shuffling along and pushing through the pain..
They cheat reps or, when they fail to meet the standard, immediately come up with some excuse as to why.
They sleep through training.
They only care about meeting the minimum requirements, they never push themselves to be better.
This is not the behavior of a winner.
And winners are the only people I want to hang around with.
The good news is that you don’t have to come in first place to be a winner.
You just have to fight through and win your own personal mental game.
Step by step
Rep by rep
I know a lot of you guys know this already.
So this is a quick message for those who don’t…
When times get tough (Life, deaths in the family or brotherhood, problems with your spouse, workouts, etc) a winner mindset is all you need to push through.
To quote (paraphrase) one of my favorite lines from a book I think everyone should read:
“You cannot control the things that happen to you, you can only control how you respond” – The Obstacle is the Way
So it doesn’t matter if it hurts
It only matters how you respond to the pain or the problem
You have to face your problems
You have to take control of your life
Because pain is temporary and nothing is forever.
And no matter what life throws at you…
It’s always your responsibility
I’m not big on motivating people, I believe that you’re either inherently motivated or you’re not and no amount of rah rah bullshit, quotes, pictures, or video is going to really make a difference.
But I hope this resonates with some of you guys.
Because you are part of this community and, since you’re reading this post, you have already made at least one winning decision — to learn more about fitness and improve yourself physically.
Because I want you all to succeed and you have a choice
Choose to be a winner