Stay on Offense Climb Mountains

Attacking Adversity

Bookish Weapon Number Eighteen

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We are all going to die or as John Ortberg puts it, “Old Man Wrinkle is coming for everybody.” Ortberg has a unique way of reminding us of that fact and adding a twist or two in his book, “When The Game Is Over It All Goes Back In The Box.” That is one of the best titles for a book I have seen and contains a bookish weapon we can all use daily.

The title is a reminder that while we play this game, winning and losing at times, when it is all over all the pieces and the board go back in the box. It could be that the “box” is a coffin.”

Reality

“The reality of this world is that I was born into Someone Else’s kingdom. My life came to me as a gift I did not choose; it is suspended from a slender thread that I did not weave and cannot on my own sustain.”

Here is a meditation Ortberg quotes:

I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health.
I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

Then he says Jesus added one more to this: “I am a ceaseless being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.”

He also adds this much needed quote from Bernie Siegle:

“I’ve done the research and I hate to tell you, but everybody dies – lovers, joggers, vegetarians and non-smokers. I’m telling you this so that some of you who jog at 5:00 AM and eat vegetables will occasionally sleep late and have an ice cream cone.”

Meaning

A vacuum cleaner is built to clean. A knife to cut. Ortberg says, “We are built for meaning the way Porsches are built for speed.” He goes on to discuss how all of us have what Martin Seligman calls “signature strengths.” And of course goes on to encourage us to use our signature strengths in the service of something larger than ourselves.

You are most likely familiar with the book “Mans Search for Meaning” where Victor Frankl points out that we can put up with anything if we have a big enough why. We can find meaning in even the worst circumstances.

Go Hiking If You Want To Feel Young Again

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Climbing a mountain every week is certainly not a comfortable way to spend one of your two weekend days. It would be much more comfortable to take in a movie or go to the beach. Mountains are steep. The uneven terrain challenges your muscles.

The Season

My hiking season begins the first of March and ends either at the end of August or September. The reason it might end in August varies. By the end of the summer it has taken its toll on my body. Every weekend no matter the weather or how tired I might be the night before, I head up the trail. It isn’t easy doing it every week.

One Sunday morning I sat in the car listening to the rain pelt the hood and really not wanting to get out of that nice warm space. But then I remind myself of one of the reasons I do it. To feel younger!

Be Bold – Begin It

Goethe said, “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and magic in it.”

Once my feet are on the ground and I am heading up the trail I feel like a twenty year old. Someone said my breathing resembles a stove pipe. Maybe it is because of Asthma I suffered as a child. Every once in a while I will wheeze if I push myself particularly hard, but the noise makes me feel like I am a train chugging along. Maybe it is an old smoke belching train, but still powerful. It might even keep the bugs away.

Of course when the hike is finished I feel that surge of youth again. Like “magic.” I did it one more time. I am still vital and strong. It combats those thoughts that older people have telling them that they should act their age or that they shouldn’t be doing such and such at their age.

Yes, hiking makes me feel younger, but it also keeps me physically younger as well. So all you chronologically “older” people get out in nature while you still can and go hiking!

Bookish Weapon Number Sixteen

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When I wrote about having sore legs in one of my hiking posts, I mentioned Kelly Starrett. Well, he wrote a book called “The Supple Leopard,” and Jill Miler wrote a book called “The Roll Model.” If you read and apply what is in these two books you will be Superman or Superwoman. These two also got together to create a CD which I highly recommend called, “Treat While You Train.”

These are all weapons in and of themselves. So I suppose each of these books deserve their own post, but I am going to concentrate today on Starrett’s book. It is a huge book, but I will pick a couple things for your consideration. Keep in mind that this book is filled with pictures so you really need to get it and go through it.

Stability

If the first part of the book Starrett explains his system. Then in chapter two he gets into Midline Stabilization and Organization. He gives you sequences to practice, breathing mechanics, and much more. In chapter three he focuses on the “One Joint Rule,” where “if you see flexion or extension anywhere in the spine, it is an error.” You want to have a braced neutral spine and he shows you how to get that.

In chapter four he covers the Laws of Torque. Want a stable hip position, then “screw your feet into the ground, spin your feet as if they are on dinner plates, spread the floor and shove your knees out.” Hence, law number one – “To create stability when your legs or arms are in flexion, you need to generate external rotation force.” Then law #2: “To create stability when your legs or arms are in extension you need to generate an internal rotation force.”

There are torque tests for hips, shoulders, etc

Movement

In chapter five he covers movement hierarchy and then a whole list of movements including the right way to do a back squat, pushup, deadlift, etc. He breaks them down into category one, two and three movements.

This book is almost 400 pages of color photos and text that help you move better in and out of the gym.

Good luck with all this. It will help you prevent injuries.

Go Hiking And Your Legs Might Get Sore

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Soreness is guaranteed if you are my age, but I have heard younger folks complain about sore legs too. Of course we all get sore and for some the soreness will last several days. So what can you do about it besides stoically accept it as part of the territory. After all, some of us search out the “burners” just so our legs will hurt.

Stretch

Well, you don’t have to be so defenseless, go on offense. Do some stretching. I highly recommend the Kelly Starret’s “Couch Stretch.” It opens up the hip flexors and does a nice job on the quads as well.

If you cannot do it correctly use a big Swiss Ball to lean on. This works for me.

Roll

Those foam rollers work. After climbing a mountain and driving back home, when I get out of the car I can barley walk. Foam rolling along with the stretching really helps.

When you use the foam roller, be sure that after you have rolled back and forth, you stop and put pressure on those muscles. Tense them and then release. Put pressure on the areas that hurt, which is usually pretty much everywhere. Once you finish this couch stretch and rolling you will be able to walk again.

Cramps

Sometimes when I hike over six hours I get cramps. If you are older you will most likely have more problems with this than younger people. The is because your are old!

There are many things that help. Putting something bitter in your mouth for example. Salt pills can help a lot, especially those with potassium in them. However, I have found that magnesium malate helps the most. It has eliminated night cramps for me.

Go Hiking and Climb Kendall Katwalk

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Depending on where you look Kendall Katwalk is between 10 and 12 miles round trip. I believe it is 12. It is an easy hike in terms of the elevation gain of only 2,600 feet, but it is a long hike, especially if you extend it. You can hike as far as you like on the Pacific Crest Trail and it is tempting.

So Easy

The trail begins flat and continues that way for a while. Then there is a gradual increase in gradient, never really getting “steep.” If you go early enough so you are hiking at sunrise you will see light shine off peaks in ways the take your breath away.

It is almost like strolling through a park until you get past the avalanche shoot. Then it gets a little steeper.

Rocks

Yes there are rocks, but not like Mt. Pilchuck. Still you really need some good hiking boots for these things. You will probably hear or see Marmots.

The rocks and the distance do wear on your feet, so even though it is not steep, it is challenging.

From Civilization To Wilderness

For most of the hike you can hear or see the Freeway. There are great views of peaks and even Mount Rainier. You can look down on the Snoqualmie Ski slopes. However, I never really feel like I am in the mountains until I get to Kendal Katwalk. Once you cross over to the other side it is a whole new experience and as I mentioned, you can continue the hike for miles. I have gone as far as Joe Lake, which makes the trip about 20 miles round trip. Extending it just a couple miles will bring you to a couple of beautiful lakes that make it worth it.

Bookish Weapon Number Eleven

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Robert Greene’s book “The Laws of Human Nature,” is 586 pages. It took me a while to get through it. There are stories about people throughout history, people I had heard about, but I never knew the details of their lives. He captures how they dealt with their human nature.

In my opinion, and maybe it is because I am as old as I am, the last chapter is the best, because it deals with death. Always a fun subject.

Uncertainty

He quotes a 14th century Japanese writer named Kenko who said, “If a man were never to fade away like the dews of Adashino, never to vanish like the smoke over Toribeyama, but lingered on forever in the world, how things would lose their power to move us. The most precious thing is life is uncertainty.” The bold emphasis is mine.

We all want to be in control even if it is just perceived control and much of the time it is just that. I have always liked the picture of the fiddler standing on a roof top in the movie, “Fiddler on the Roof,” because the main character refers to his life as being as precarious as a fiddler on a roof.

The Law

Greene’s title for this chapter is “The Law of Death Denial.” It is a law of human nature he says, but I would say it depends on culture. I think that the west is much more guilty than other parts of the world.

He begins this chapter by telling a story about Mary Flannery (1925-1964). She had been given an early death sentence and she used it to her own ends says Greene. She pushed herself because she knew time was limited for her.

Greene says, “It is a fate we all share and should draw us closer for that reason. It should shake us out of any sense of feeling superior or separated.” I have heard Kate Bowler make the observation that “we are all on the losing team.” I really like that and I might just feature one of Kate’s books here at some point as well.