The Todd

About a year ago, when I first got back to CA I started training The Todd. Back then he wasn't The Todd yet. He was just Todd. Not to diminish the importance of being Todd, but it isn't at the same level as being The Todd.
Todd had no natural athletic gifts. He knew he wanted to become more athletic and fit, but wasn't certain of the path. Lacking said natural athleticism Todd made up for it with hard work and commitment. 3 days a week, rain or shine he showed up. Even when I was training in that creepy storage room on Geary Blvd. in San Francisco. He made the journey from the water park in SF to Girya in PA. He made the journey from seven very iffy push ups to handily besting his twin brother in a push ups contest by cranking out over forty reps. He made the journey from being hammered into submission by 7 reps of 16 kg. kettlebell swings, to snatching the 24, ten minute sets of 16 kg. snatches and one arm long cycle, and other assorted feats.
The key here, is the work. I know that no matter where you come from, no matter what your condition, no matter what anyone says, if you show up and do the work, and believe in yourself you can do anything.
Well, you can't fly or shoot lasers out of your eyes, but you get the idea. Of course i can do both of those, but that's beside the point.
The point of this is, never quit. Quitters never win because, well... they quit. It's hard to win if you're not in the race. You might get whipped a thousand times, but if you keep coming back eventually you'll win.
Ok, quick story. When I was a kid there was this bully. I swear I'm not making this up. :)
One day it came to a head, and I jumped him. Of course he was about twice my size. He threw me right over his shoulder and onto the ground. I think this happened about a dozen times, no exaggeration. He actually wore himself out throwing me on the ground, and the last time I went down I took him with me and choked him out. I think I was nine.
That's when I figured it out. You can't ever quit, you have to hang in there. Some of you are looking down the barrel at seemingly insurmountable odds. Maybe you need to lose 100 lbs. maybe you need to do a Secret Service Snatch Test. Find a reference point, a star to guide you. Someone close to your stats who can do it. Once you set your compass, push forward.
See how I started this about Todd and it became about me? :)
Check out Todd's blog here.
I love the quote. "As long as you're not crippled we're good." I don't remember saying it, but it sounds like me. Take note that there is a year's lapse in the blog, so you jump from our first week's training right to this week's.