What I learned from the Redskins…

While at the gym today I was watching the Redskins play the Giants.  The giants who in 2010 had a 10-6 record and made my Redskins look stupid during both of their regular season games, just didn’t have “it” today.

“It” being that intangible presence, or air of superiority

The game started with the Giants scoring quickly, which made me start to feel, like it would be another season of Dan Snyder’s cursed ownership.  As the game went on I noticed that players on the Redskins kept playing, they kept fighting.  Quick scores by the Giants, and mistakes by the Redskins didn’t affect the play of the Redskins. 

In past years Redskins fans disillusionment with the team was highly predicated by the lack of effort which was obvious from the players, especially when things got tough they fuckers would just quit.  Albert Haynesworth’s shenanigans on and off the field were manifestations of the symptoms within the organization. 

For most people my age we grew up as kids watching Joe Gibbs win multiple Super Bowls, then for the bulk of our adult lives we have watched this entire organization flounder in shit, and implode on an annual basis.  You could almost time the fall season with the implosion of the Redskins, once the disaster reached its peak you knew it was Christmas time.

Today I saw something different for the first time in many years.  When things got bad or the plays weren’t going the Redskins way they kept playing.  Which made the mistakes seem miniscule, in years past they would have given up, and we as fans would have watched them fucking quit while the game was going on. 

It would piss the ever living shit out of me, so much so that I stopped caring.

It made me realize that after 1 full year with Mike Shanahan as head coach that something has changed within the culture of the team.  The attitude of the players has changed, I know Shanahan has cleaned house and gotten rid of many of the problematic players, but he has also instilled a new attitude and culture within the team which was visible today

They don’t expect to fail, they expect to win, which is why they were able to fight through a close game and prevail.  Now the season is just beginning, and it will be interesting to see how long it takes for this paradigm shift to become permanent, the seeds are clearly there, and I am excited as a fan. 

I am not such a blind homer that I think they will win the Superbowl this year, I don’t.  The positive change which I have been praying for many years appears to have begun. 

It made me think about my own battle against the proverbial bulge.  If I constantly expect to have bad weeks, then I will, I need to change my attitude and shift it in a direction that fuels my successes rather than mire myself in self-doubt or self-pity.   I am going to work to change how I approach my weight loss, not in what I do or how I do it, but in why I do it.

It’s not about being pissed with not losing weight one week from the next but about creating consistent progress wherever that maybe.  I have to expect to win, I have to expect to succeed each week, and not just in the big picture. 

This won’t be easy, because I am my own biggest critic, but if I could change my approach to one that expect to win, and succeed perhaps I won’t allow my attitude from finding ways to block my progress.

Good Job Redskins…don’t fuck it up!

09/11/2011 Recap

We left the DC area this morning at 6 AM, that’s right I left for the Eastern Gambling Mecca with my kin at 6 AM.  Why I don’t know, but I won’t say it’s because certain members of my family should attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings, we won’t say who, but it’s not me, no really it’s not.

When we arrived at the Borgata around 10:30 AM, that’s right I set foot on the floor of a Casino at 10:30 AM, you know I learned quickly today Casino’s suck when you are not gambling.  They really do, we checked in as soon as we arrived but the place was busier than anticipated and I wasn’t able to get into a room until 3:00 PM.

I was such a wet blanket with my family, I should have brought my Ipad, or a book, but I didn’t give it a second thought and checked all this stuff with my bags.  Let’s just say many hours of boredom made me a completely pill to be around. 

I hadn’t worked out yet, so I couldn’t just get shitfaced either, so in a casino if you are not gambling, or drinking there really is nothing to do…

When I did get to my room I took a nap, and woke up around 4:30 PM.  After I was awake for a few minutes I got dressed for the gym, and headed to the elevators.  Once in the gym, I warmed up doing an EMOTM (every minute on the minute) of 3 power cleans, 3 overhead presses, 3 push presses, and 3 jerks, I did this for 12 minutes. 

The workout I did was from the Potomac Crossfit website, the workout was designed in honor of September 11^th 2011.  It included four movements (the four planes), 11 reps and 9 rounds of work.  On the Potomac Crossfit website, before the part of the prescribed workout Brian one of the owners of PCF, posted a short article about Lance Cpl. Michael V. Postal.  Postal was a Humvee driver in Iraq, a somewhat thankless job which is essential to the militaries operating protocol in Iraq.  He was Brian’s driver for a short period of time.    

Postal died driving the Humvee a week after Brian was rotated to a different region of Iraq.

In the post Brian rights a thank you and dedication to Lcpl. Postal, and many of the other Marines who often get forgotten because their jobs aren’t necessarily the most heroic, yet they exemplify what it means to be a Marine, they do what is necessary and don’t ask for acknowledgment, they just “do” because that’s their duty.

You can read the entire dedication here.

So the 9/11 workout was prescribed as follows:

9 Rounds of

• 11 Push-Ups
• 11 Box-Jumps
• 11 Pull-ups
• 11 Wall Balls

I had to scale the workout a bit partially because I’m still a big fat load, but also because my finger prevents certain positions.  With the push-ups I ended up doing 3 rounds of standard push-ups and the last 6 some rounds I did a combination of regular push-ups and scaled ones on my knees. 

The Box jumps were all done on a bench, which was about 18” high, and I did back rows using a smith machine instead of pull-ups, I wasn’t able to get the bar very low because any position which required me to completely hang from the bar caused too much pulling on my stitches.  With the wall balls I used an 8 lbs medicine ball to throw into the air, because there was no wall I could bounce it off of, I had to just aim for the ceiling.

The first three rounds went quickly.  I was surprised to find that I was moving at a pace which was taking less than 2 minutes per round.  Rounds four through 7 were a grind for sure; my box jumps started falling apart.  I wasn’t able to bounce right back up on the bench, I had to jump up and then step down.  My ankles felt weak so I was trying not to roll them, which would have pissed me off. 

Rounds 8 and 9 required quite a bit of effort, during round 9 I developed a quick burst which allowed me to finish the box jumps, and back rows faster than I had done previously in any workout.  When all 9 rounds were over I had only used 20 minutes, looking at today’s times of people at PCF who had done the workout as prescribed I clearly had gotten an advantage with the level of my scaling.  I decided to add 5 rounds of abdominal work doing 10 sit-ups, and 5 hip thrusts (you lie on your back and point your feet to the ceiling thrusting your hips upward).  When I finished the additional abdominal work I had used a total of 26 minutes. 

It would have been nice if I stopped here, but feeling fat drunk, and stupid is no way to lead one’s life a wise man once said, so I decided to do a session of Mountain on the Elliptical machine.  Mountain is that cardio workout which includes 12 increase of intensity each one held for 3 minutes each.  In all total I spent 45 minutes on the machine, reaching the resistance level of 25 at the end. 

After my workout I went to dinner with my family at Michael Mina’s Seablue.

Seablue by Michael Mina The Borgata:

This is my fifth trip to Seablue, and I have to say I love this place.  It’s hard to do seafood right, and to charge the prices they do while getting away with it, without a kick in the balls from a PIA like me.

To start we had grilled octopus with salami, and potatoes, with this dish we also ordered their bone marrow appetizer.  The octopus was cooked well, coupled with the salami it tasted awesome.  For some odd reason octopus, and squid go well with pork, there are many Korean dishes which use this combination.

The bone marrow was like crack butter.  I had to have some refined sugar because bone marrow on a slice of toasted bread is like the first hit of heroine; you aren’t sure if you just came in your pants, or if your brain has tripped a neurological function, and all you feel is endorphic bliss (not that I know from experience, come on people if I did heroin weight would be the last thing I would have to worry about).  My new found heroin was served along with a braised bit of the beef which used to be attached the bone, along with capers, radish, and cloves.  I’m sure fat people have started wars for less.

Our entrees were good; we shared and tasted each other’s dishes.  The turbot which was the special of the day was good, and the halibut dish which is one of their seasonal specialties was fantastic.  A plate of their charcuterie was shared as well; they have some pates which are equally as addicting as the bone marrow.

At the end of the meal the check coming my way was a foregone conclusion, so when I got it, I laughed and charged it to my room.  In no other place in the world would I spend that kind of money on a meal, but casinos have this strange way of making you want to over indulge.  If they had an ass scratching service somewhere here I’m sure I would pay for it.

Overall the restaurant is hip, but probably dated now by a year or two, but that’s what you get when build ultra trendy restaurants.  The service staff was friendly, and the wine selection is paired nicely with their dishes. 

A good place for a date, or a family meal, it all depends on whether you get a booth or a table.  If you are a cheapskate like me, be prepared to pay $15 for a salad with no protein on it, and choke on your check. 

Fight Gone Bad Double Dollar Days!

Thanks everyone who has donated!!!! I reached my initial goal of $2,000 on Saturday…Then my parents offered to match every dollar up to $500.00.  I have exactly two weeks to come up with another $500.00, which will turn into a $1,000.00 donation because of my generous parents. 

That’s right contestants, now until the 24^th every dollar you donate will help generate another $1 from my crazy Asian Parents—And if you act now!!! Not only will shipping and handling be included but the guilt you feel from not donating to this guy who has supported you in a similar endeavor (you know who you are!) will be forgotten.

Thanks everyone who has made some awesome donations, I am amazed at the generosity people have shown, especially in the cases of people I haven‘t seen in many years, thank you so much.  I want to again say thank you, thank you everyone.

Now let’s show my silly parents we mean business…

If you don't know already…

I'm Involved With Fight Gone Bad!  A CHARITY WORKOUT WHERE YOU RAISE MONEY FROM PEOPLE YOU KNOW!  SO I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU WOULD HELP ME!!

Fight Gone Bad is a workout named by an MMA fighter who when finished with it said it was like a fight gone bad, and Crossfit has dedicated a day this month for all Crossfit affiliates to get together and do the workout while raising money for three charities. 

Fight Gone Bad Consists of:

The following five exercises for one minute each, with a one minute rest between rounds and three total rounds.

1. Wall-ball: 20 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
2. Sumo deadlift high-pull: 75 pounds (Reps)
3. Box Jump: 20" box (Reps)
4. Push-press: 75 pounds (Reps)
5. Row: calories (Calories)

The charities invovled are:

The Special Operations Warrior Foundation

Camp Patriot

The Crossfit Foundation

The event is supposed to be on the 17th of September, yet my affiliate Potomac Crossfit is holding the event on September 24th 2011.  In an effort to overcome feeling like a fat guy I am going to do the event.