Sam on Maui

The two worst tendencies I’ve come across for myself are the desire to over complicate things, and the desire to skip ahead. This can affect many areas of life, and one of the more practical things it sabotages is my health. Be it diet or exercise, these two things are more than capable of robbing one of results and motivation. So, simplify, simplify. Paul “Coach” Wade’s Convict Conditioning is simple and straightforward. Wade, a former inmate of the U.S. prison system, learned and taught calisthenics during his over 19 years of incarceration. Over the years he got the nickname “Coach” for teaching other inmates, and has since systemized his program.

"Slow and steady wins the race" is a rather famous proverb that has gone onto cliche status. Its said and said and said, but in a moment of understanding, I think I'm getting the deeper meaning of it. "Slow and steady" might be more accurately phrased, "patient and disciplined." For instance, right now I'm starting a very basic calisthenics program. The book warns about skipping ahead because you'll lack the necessary foundation for later exercises and programs. Is that necessary? Yes, I think it was a well needed part of the book. Its so simple and "easy" that the temptation to skip ahead is definitely there. Could I? To an extent. However, since I'm basically starting from scratch, its actually a very poor idea. The last time I got injured doing any sort of exercise it was because I skipped ahead. I hadn't worked out in a while, and went back to about where I was before rather than starting at a lower-level. Well, ...