And so it begins
The bugle sounds, the charge begins...we're off. The first couple of days of the burpee ladder are under our collective belt and with our Australian contingent getting us off to an early start, we're all present and correct.
For most people the first day (or couple of days) are a bit anticlimactic. We're talking about burpees after all and the 100 day ladder is a big deal...so what's with the damp squib? Well, to quote Egg Chen in Big Trouble in Little China
You see, for all that the duration and end point of the challenge puts people off, it builds incrementally. The first few weeks are barely worthy of commentary (the exact point it starts to become more of an effort varies with individual). That's kind of frustrating if you want to shout about it, I mean, it's a bit of a hollow brag to whoop yourself up over a small handful of burpees.
But that's where some of the growth lies. At this stage in proceedings, the only other people watching are the others on the ladder and right about now we're only building that daily habit. Creating that groove of doing a little bit every day, building the tendency to movement, overcoming that initial inertia. Without time invested in your foundations, any enterprise is off to a shaky start.
Somebody asked me if I'm already rounding up to 100 per day. No, no I'm not. I'm out of burpee practice. Like everybody else, I will be looking to build not only the mental practice but also the physical tolerance for doing day after day of them. The incremental progression on the ladder is the thing that makes the total volume doable and minimises the risks of overuse injuries (clearly, there are no guarantees in life...other than a) the taxman will always want more; b) you'll never please everybody and c) we're all only here for a limited period). That's one of the reasons for not allowing more than one day to slide by without a catch-up...saving us from ourselves.
So at this stage, it's doing a little work while knowing that few people are looking or care. That in itself is quite an unusual experience in our age of extensive social media interaction (I am aware of the hypocrisy of flagging that in a blogpost!)
We've got a good group together on Facebook (again with the social media! - if you're out there doing this on your own, and want to join the community, have a look for the burpee ladder 2016 on Facebook or drop me a line), casting a net from Australia to Canada and a lot of territory in between). While it is early days, I'm looking forward to sharing some of our experiences over the coming weeks and months.
Until then, burpee on Wayne!
For most people the first day (or couple of days) are a bit anticlimactic. We're talking about burpees after all and the 100 day ladder is a big deal...so what's with the damp squib? Well, to quote Egg Chen in Big Trouble in Little China
"That was nothing. But that's how it always begins. Very small."
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| Big Trouble in Little China (20th Century Fox Films - tongue in cheek 80s classic) |
You see, for all that the duration and end point of the challenge puts people off, it builds incrementally. The first few weeks are barely worthy of commentary (the exact point it starts to become more of an effort varies with individual). That's kind of frustrating if you want to shout about it, I mean, it's a bit of a hollow brag to whoop yourself up over a small handful of burpees.
But that's where some of the growth lies. At this stage in proceedings, the only other people watching are the others on the ladder and right about now we're only building that daily habit. Creating that groove of doing a little bit every day, building the tendency to movement, overcoming that initial inertia. Without time invested in your foundations, any enterprise is off to a shaky start.
Somebody asked me if I'm already rounding up to 100 per day. No, no I'm not. I'm out of burpee practice. Like everybody else, I will be looking to build not only the mental practice but also the physical tolerance for doing day after day of them. The incremental progression on the ladder is the thing that makes the total volume doable and minimises the risks of overuse injuries (clearly, there are no guarantees in life...other than a) the taxman will always want more; b) you'll never please everybody and c) we're all only here for a limited period). That's one of the reasons for not allowing more than one day to slide by without a catch-up...saving us from ourselves.
So at this stage, it's doing a little work while knowing that few people are looking or care. That in itself is quite an unusual experience in our age of extensive social media interaction (I am aware of the hypocrisy of flagging that in a blogpost!)
We've got a good group together on Facebook (again with the social media! - if you're out there doing this on your own, and want to join the community, have a look for the burpee ladder 2016 on Facebook or drop me a line), casting a net from Australia to Canada and a lot of territory in between). While it is early days, I'm looking forward to sharing some of our experiences over the coming weeks and months.
Until then, burpee on Wayne!
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