“How’s it going?” I asked, trying to gauge her energy. “Good, right? Nice pace.”
“All good. I’m getting in the flow,” Leyla replied confidently.
We both know the importance of the words we speak.
No room for complaints here. I love her spirit.
“Just another 10K to go,” I added.
“OK, easy.”
Yesterday, my daughter and I tackled a grueling 22km Spartan Beast Obstacle Race in Barcelona.
If youโre unfamiliar with Spartan Races, let me break it down for you:
You run 22 kilometers, this time with over 1,100 meters of elevation gain, all while facing 30 ยดfunยด obstacles.
We carried heavy loads, climbed ropes, crawled under barbed wire, waded through endless pools of thick mud, and tackled complex monkey-bar-like obstacles.
Itโs a true test of both ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐๐ต, attracting some of the fittest people around, especially for this longer race.
They call this one ยดThe Beastยด for a reason.
Leyla, at 17, was the youngest competitor at this distance. I, on the other hand, was one of the oldest. Typical ๐
But despite the odds, we pushed through, finishing in 4 hours.
For a race like thisโespecially with minimal specific trainingโwe were more than satisfied with our result.
๐ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐๐น๐ฒ
People often ask me, “How do you stay fit?”
And my answer is always simple. I live by one rule. Just one.
I need simple rules to guide my life.
๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฐ% ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐.
Four lousy percentโthatโs just 1 hour by the way. Minimal.
Not walking, not stretching. (although I do those, too)
I mean working out: cardio, interval training, strength, or a mix of it all.
โIs it better to have rest days?โ Maybe. I donโt really know.
Iโm a simple guy, and I keep it simple.
โI just did a hard race yesterday, maybe I should rest today.โ No, every day, at least 4%.
โIโm jet-lagged, maybe I should skip today.โ Nope, every day, at least 4%.
This rule gives me ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ด๐๐ฒ.
Itโs become a non-negotiable part of my life, and it keeps me healthy, fit and strong.
I hope it can do the same for you. Give it a try!
You might be surprised how well this simple rule can work for you.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐๐น๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฌ-๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ-๐ข๐น๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ง๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒโ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ง๐ผ๐ผ!
