Training for Life!

Little bit of another rant but it’s been awhile since Skye’s last one……On a fairly regular basis we get asked “what are you training for”??  Skye and I’s favorite response is most often:  “FOR LIFE!”  We move, we crawl, we jump, we run, we push, we pull and we train so we can do the things in life that turn us on!  The things in life that make us feel like we are truly living!  We are not training to look good, to sculpt any random part of our bodies, nor do we train to be serious workout people, to crush that WOD or to kick someone’s ass at something.  Not to say that any of those things aren’t fine reasons to train, and yeah…. on occasion, those may be one of our many reasons but certainly not our main mission.  Mainstream media and the mainstream fitness world would have us believe that we have to train for something, that we have to push through the pain for an end result, that we have to wear “workout clothes” and have the workout “look”, that our ultimate goal should be to have that sculpted body.  But wait, if you still can’t do the things you love to do then what’s the point?

I want to train so I can boot pack through thigh high snow to get up the mountain to that secret stash and carve some sweet turns down without feeling like I am going to die in the process!  Last week I got the opportunity to do just that with the snow fall.  And I ended up going back up a second time because it felt great and I wanted more!

This week there was some big swell in the water…We want out bodies to be prepared to paddle out hard, duck dive over and over again and drop in on some heavy waves to experience that incredible sensation that surfing brings.  There are times when I know I am in over my head (no pun intended) and the waves are just too big for me…so I will continue to train in the water and out of the water so I can grow, so I can learn, so my body can be prepared.  Skye played around this past weekend in some wild swell….he woke up real early before heading out and started moving; started preparing his body to get out into the water.  He wants his hips to be open, not tight, so he can get low and get in that barrel, he wants his whole body to be loose and limber so he can pop up and drop in on that heaving wave, so he can slash some turns and then go back out for more.

We train so we can ride….so we can peddle hard, so we can take the downhill impact on the forearms, the knees and the back.  We practice rolling and falling and tumbling so if we crash (which you will do when you are pushing yourself or learning something new) our muscles have remembered how to roll out of a crash without getting hurt or as hurt!

We train so we can explore..we navigate terrain and learn how to navigate new terrain.  We move in ways that support this play…we strengthen our entire body in a dynamic and always varied way.  The environments we play in are so varied so our training must be as well.

We push ourselves and we learn as much as we can…that too is training.  We listen to and protect our bodies so we don’t have to stop playing!

It’s not cool to be hurt from your training…yeah it happens from time to time but if you are training right and listening to your body, the chances of that will be slim.  There is a difference between pain and discomfort.  Pushing through the discomfort can open you up to going to that next level which is so beneficial and an incredible feeling…but if your back is hurting, your knee is in pain and someone is telling you to push through, then they may need a good smacking (or maybe you do)!  Maybe you need to stop, adjust, modify, take a break, recover or learn the right way to do something instead of being a bull in a china shop and just pushing on through. There is a lot we can prevent and some things we can’t.

What is the point of training until you get hurt?  Then you won’t be able to do the things in life you love, you won’t be able to train for awhile…I don’t know about you but for me that is unacceptable!  If I’, gonna get hurt it’s going to be on the downhill trail on the mountain, or in the ocean in heaving waves…while adventuring that is not “training”.  There is alot we can prevent and some things we can’t.  Take time with your body, listen to your body, move dynamically and in a wide variety of planes…not just forward and back.  Not just the same routine over and over again…life doesn’t give us the same routine over and over again or even slight variations on the same routine over and over again…so why train like that.  Mix it up…your body, your spirit and your soul with thank you for it!

Oh yeah we live in Vermont…so obviously we got to train so we can chop and haul wood, shovel and all the other tasks that life gives us….that we don’t want to have to pay others to do, mostly cuz we be broke but also so we can save that money on traveling to new places for new adventure!

And yeah it is super fun to put that training to the test from time to time….

We train so we can play, so we can continue to have adventure in our life!  And we train so we can share that with you!!!  It brings us so much joy to see others moving in ways that make them feel alive, moving with purpose, learning new skills, new things about their bodies and what they are capable of….getting on mountain bike for the first time for instance and smiling from ear to ear after that first ride!

Mocean365 Adventure Camps are beginning again….Yesterday we started the first of a 6 week series in Jeffersonville, VT…met up on the Notch and got started!  Keep your eyes and ears peeled for more in your area (East Burke, Vt and the seacoast area of NH are on the list) or hit us up if you are now jonesin’ for one in your area!! Hit Skye up at mocean365@gmail.com for more info!!  Let’s get in MOCEAN!!