Hello Everyone
I got two topics I want to talk about today in this blog. First up, I spent the weekend in Toronto at the Crossfit Gym on Gladstone Ave taking my Level Two Kettlebell Trainer’s certification with Agatsu Inc. and Shawn Mozen. Shawn Mozen is the owner of Agatsu and is one of the best examples of how strong you can make your body and mind. Shawn is not a very tall or big man. He stands at 5 feet 5 inches just like me. But he has a lot of power and strength for his small frame. He inspires me to train harder all the time.
Anyway I spent 16 hours learning new Kettlebell techniques, practicing old skills, learning new techniques with various other pieces of equipment, lots of bodyweight exercises, and various other things. Shawn had us do various circuits with Kettlebells as well as using ropes, bodyweight exercises, and plyometric boxes. Also throughout the weekend we had six physical tests that we had to pass in order to pass the course. We had tests on one legged pistol squats, ring push ups, pull ups, hanging knees raises to your elbows, double kettlebell jerks, and the snatch test. All very challenging tests. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses and these tests allowed people to use their strengths and to find out what their weaknesses are. We as experienced trainers also had to present a few exercises to the other trainings. This allows us all to learn from each other. We also had one final challenge at the end of day two but I won’t tell you what it is. Take the Level two course yourself if you want to know. So after two days of very physically demanding work I can happily say I passed the course and I am now a Level Two certified Kerttlebell Trainer with Agatsu Inc. The top kettlebell certification course in Canada. I will say one more thing about the course and that is you have to be physically and mentally tough to get through it.
Okay now for the second topic of today. It’s all about putting 100% effort into what you do at any given moment. I hate seeing people not put any or very little effort into what they are doing. Life will only gets better if you put forth the 100% effort that is needed to succeed at whatever you choose to do. Take an elite athlete for example. Most of them never compete at 100% healthy. They all have some sort of injury, pain, or whatever that can slow them down. But these athletes never let these little annoyances bother them. They give it their full 100% effort in spite of the challenges they face. Yes they may perform better at 100% but if their body is only at 90%, they give 100% effort of that 90% that their body allows. Makes sense? I hope so.
Quite frankly it is annoying, demeaning, and demotivating to workout or work with people that just kind float by and not try at anything. When someone you are working with is really working hard, it gives you the extra energy to work harder yourself. I have had some of the best workouts while training with training partners and then sometimes just working out by myself as other partners don’t motivate me. If you are working out or working with someone, put 100% effort into what you are doing. Push each other to do better and better. If you are not 100% all there or 100% healthy, work at your 100% of that given moment. Push forward. Inspire others. Don’t demotivate others. If you can’t do that on a given day, don’t drag others down with you. take a break and come back stronger.
Remember people are going to remember the days when you were being lazy and how you made them feel less motivated because you didn’t put the effort into it. People do not want to be around people that can’t cut it. We certainly did not have any problems like this on the weekend. Everyone trained really hard and motivated each other to work even harder. I know my black belt family and my team wolverine inspires and motivates each other to work harder and push ourselves further then we have gone before. That’s part of what life is about.
I would like to finish this blog by thanking Freddie Williams, a two time Olympian for doing a nice 5 minute motivational speech on this topic last night for my adult taekwondo class. Thanks Freddie. You are inspiring to us all.
Master Jonathan Field
Cobourg Tae Kwon Do
