The black Warrior t-shirts are now fully stocked in all sizes.  The shirts are heavyweight cotton (6.1 oz).  The design can be seen below:

Front

Back

The text on the back of the shirt reads:

RossTraining.com

Bridging The Gap Between

Ordinary and Extraordinary

The price for each shirt is $11.95. For more information, please refer to the link below:

RossTraining Warrior T-shirts

In addition, I’ve received several questions regarding some of the currently sold out styles.   It is unfortunately difficult to stock more than one or two styles at once, so I may need to discontinue some of these styles (at least temporarily).  If and when additional shirts are stocked, I will post updates to the blog.  I’m sorry for the inconvenience, as I know many have been waiting for some of the older styles to be back in stock.  I hope to work something out with the vendor in the near future.

As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to email me.

Thank you,

Ross

Throughout this blog’s history, I’ve highlighted several inspirational stories.  Inspiration has come from different faces and different places.  There are those who have overcome adversity, others who defied the odds, and others who have performed at the highest level.  We all find inspiration from different sources (and for different reasons).  What is inspiring to one may not light the fire for another.  I therefore strive for variety within this section.

Today’s story is one that is quite unique.  The individual performance of Mark Covert at any given time may not be record setting, but the cumulative total certainly is.  Mark Covert has run a mile or more every day for over 40 years.   Assuming he continues, he will soon close in on 15,000 consecutive days.

He has run every day of my life.  Talk about consistency!  Can you imagine running for 15,000 consecutive days?  I’m fairly certain we’ve all had bad days.  I’m sure Mark has had his share, yet nothing has stopped him from getting up and heading out the door.

As stated within this article from 2007:

He’s run hours after hemorrhoid surgery and aboard a cruise ship while a tropical storm hit. Then there was the day 20 years ago when he broke his left foot. Although he managed to get home and to the hospital, his foot “was so swollen they couldn’t even put a cast on it,” Covert recalls. “So the next day I wrapped it in an Ace bandage, put on a makeshift boot, and hobbled through. I wasn’t going to miss my run.”

ABC news recently covered Mark’s journey.  The full video can be found through the link below (it will play after a brief commercial):

Mark Covert’s Story (Video)

And despite the impressiveness of Mark’s streak, he is not alone in his “streaker” quest.  There’s actually a United States Running Streak Association that was founded in 2000.  Within the association’s web site, a list is maintained for active streakers.  There is a long list of runners who have run every day for 30 years or more.  The full list can be found below:

Official USA Active Running Streak List

Notice within the list that you’ll find people from all walks of life.  It isn’t as if these are aimless runners who don’t have anything to do but run.  The great majority of those included are professionals with full time jobs, just like the rest of us. An abbreviated list of included professions includes the following…

Software developer, dentist, attorney, professor, real estate agent, doctor, finance manager, accountant, banker, systems analyst, operations manager, school principal, financial planner, landscaper, etc.

These real life examples have essentially crushed the “I’m too busy” excuse.  As I’ve mentioned before, the busiest people in the world are still dealing with a 24 hour day.   No one has the ability to stop time.  The clock is always ticking.  We are all busy.  Get over it…

It’s also nice to see individuals who have defied conventional wisdom.  Who would have thought it was possible to run every day for 40 years?  What about all the warnings uttered about overtraining, overuse, injury, and soreness?  How have so many ordinary folks gone against the grain?

Could it be that we as humans are in fact more capable than most realize?  Could it be that YOU are actually capable of doing things that you don’t currently believe?

At the end of the day, no one can tell you what you can do.  Everyone is welcome to an opinion, but opinions are not written in stone.  As Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) once said in a movie, “Opinions are like assholes, everyone has got one.”

I myself regularly receive emails from keyboard jocks who tell me I shouldn’t be doing this or that.  I love it when a teenager writes in and tells me that what I’m doing is dangerous, and will lead to injury.   I honestly can’t remember any significant injury that I’ve ever endured in the gym.  The only injuries I ever had were hand problems as a young fighter.  I’m now a father of two in my 30’s. I work 6 (often 7) days a week.  I sleep less than most and train harder than most.  I don’t do it for any other reason than the simple fact that I enjoy it.  I wouldn’t be waking up at the crack of dawn to train by myself in an old garage-converted-gym if it wasn’t fun.

And no, I’m not suggesting that you wake up today and run for the rest of your life.  The point to this entry is that we as humans are extremely capable, particularly when we become consistent with our efforts.  I myself prefer to target my efforts in different, regularly changing directions.  I may not run 40 years in a row, but recognizing that it is possible does benefit me in other ways (specific to my own interests and needs).

There is much to be drawn from Mark Covert’s example.  As Bruce Lee once said, “Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own.”

In the past few weeks, I’ve made several references to homemade exercise equipment.  I’ve also linked to this page from the forum (where instructions for several tools are listed).

Another popular page from the Training Equipment forum is the Let’s See Your Home Gym thread.  There are hundreds of posts under this single thread, many of which include pictures of home gyms from around the world (from members of the forum).

One such member recently put some of these pictures together into a brief Youtube video.

I realize that most of us have unique goals, interests, and living arrangements, but you can likely find some useful ideas within the forum and video.  It is useful to see how others make the most of their space if or when you plan to do the same.

Thanks to Lenny for the video (along with all of his help on the forum and blog).

If you’ve ever met someone who believes they are too old for exercise, consider passing along the following video:

Aside from the obvious impressiveness, I enjoy this video for the simple fact that the man seen throughout does what many from today’s era would consider too much.  So often we are told what NOT to do as it will lead to overtraining, pain, soreness, etc.

We are unfortunately taught to baby the body, rather than use it.  Limitations are imposed by people who have no idea what the body can or cannot do.  Reading a book will not tell you what you can do with your body.  A large part of the discovery process must occur in the gym.

Lono Tyson is a prime (real life) example of the body’s potential.  I hope to be as active as him when I hit 80!

There are some recent updates available at sandowplus.co.uk (great site for those who are new around here).  Updates are regularly posted at the link below:

http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/whatsnew.htm

For example, Bob Hoffman’s 285 page Functional Isometric Contraction book is now available in its entirety.  It can either be read online, or downloaded as a PDF.  Scroll to the bottom of his archive page to find relevant links:

Bob Hoffman Archives

I’ve also updated the isometric link seen below with links to Hoffman’s book.

Homemade Isometric Tool