Intervals

The Pugilist at Rest

I don't know much about art. Well, next to nothing, actually. But I like this. I became aware of the sculpture by reading Thom Jones' story of the same name. I don't necessarily like every one of his stories that I've read, though I believe that I've probably read most of them, but he has some themes which resonate personally with me and some of them are excellent in any case. This one is at the top of the list and I would recommend it to almost anyone, but I digress. In a passage from his story, Mr. Jones describes the sculpture as follows:

"Theogenes was the greatest of gladiators. He was a boxer who served under the patronage of a cruel nobleman, a prince who took great delight in bloody spectacles. Although this was several hundred years before the times of those most enlightened of men Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and well after the Minoans of Crete, it still remains a high point in the history of Western civilization and culture. It was the approximate time of Homer, the greatest poet who ever lived. Then, as now, violence, suffering, and the cheapness of life were the rule.

The sort of boxing Theogenes practiced was not like modern-day boxing with those kindergarten Queensbury Rules. The two contestants were not permitted the freedom of a ring. Instead, they were strapped to flat stones, facing each other nose-to-nose. When the signal was given, they would begin hammering each other with fists encased in heavy leather thongs. It was a fight to the death. Fourteen hundred and twenty-five times Theogenes was strapped to the stone and fourteen hundred and twenty-five times he emerged a victor.

Perhaps it is Theogenes who is depicted in the famous Roman statue (based on the Greek original) of "The Pugilist at Rest." I keep a grainy black-and-white photograph of it in my room. The statue depicts a muscular athlete approaching his middle age. He has a thick beard and a full head of curly hair. In addition to the telltale broken nose and cauliflower ears of a boxer, the pugilist has the slanted, drooping brows that bespeak torn nerves. Also, the forehead is piled with scar tissue. As may be expected, the pugilist has the musculature of a fighter. His neck and trapezius muscles are well developed. His shoulders are enormous; his chest is thick and flat, without the bulging pectorals of the bodybuilder. His back, oblique and abdominal muscles are highly pronounced, and he has that greatest asset of the modern boxer - sturdy legs. The arms are large, particularly the forearms, which are reinforced with the leather wrappings of the cestus. It is the body of a small heavyweight - lithe rather than bulky, but by no means lacking in power: a Jack Johnson or a Dempsey, say. If you see the authentic statue at the Terme Museum, in Rome, you will see that the seated boxer is really not much more than a light-heavyweight. People were smaller in those days. The important thing is that he was perfectly proportioned.

The pugilist is sitting on a rock with his forearms balanced on his thighs. That he is seated and not pacing implies that he has been through all this many times before. It appears that he is conserving his strength. His head is turned as if he were looking over his shoulder - as if someone had just whispered something to him. It is in this that the "art" of the sculpture is conveyed to the viewer. Could it be that someone has just summoned him to the arena? There is a slight look of befuddlement on his face, but there is no trace of fear. There is an air about him that suggests that he is eager to proceed and does not wish to cause anyone any trouble or to create a delay, even though his life will soon be on the line. Besides the deformities on his noble face, there is also the suggestion of weariness and philosophical resignation. All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. Exactly! He knew this more than two thousand years before Shakespeare penned the line. How did he come to be at this place in space and time? Would he rather be safely removed to the countryside - an obscure, stinking peasant shoving a plow behind a mule? Would that be better? Or does he revel in his role? Perhaps he once did, but surely not now. Is this the great Theogenes or merely a journeyman fighter, a former slave or criminal bought by one of the many contractors who for months trained the condemned for their brief moment in the arena? I wonder if Marcus Aurelius loved the "Pugilist" as I do, and came to study it and meditate before it."

Both the passage and the sculpture captured my imagination and I view the object as near to perfection.

Cross-Training

Workout Schedule

Running:

4 days/week. Start and end each workout (except Saturday) with a 1 mile (or 10 minute) warm-up and cool-down.

• Monday: 5 X 3:00 fast (as fast as you can maintain)/3:00 slow (walk/recover). Try starting @ 7.6 mph (8:00 mile)-speed up from there. Total workout is 50 minutes.

• Wednesday: 10 X :40/:20 (sprint for :40/walk for :20). This doesn’t work very well on a treadmill, for obvious reasons. Total workout is 30 minutes.

• Friday: Run as fast as you can for 10-20 minutes. Total workout is 30-40 minutes.

• Saturday: Go for a 1-2 hour run.

If you’re using a treadmill, set the incline for a 1% incline in order to simulate running on flat ground. I’m not sure what your treadmills display, so…

6.0 mph = 10:00 mile

6.7 mph = 9:00 mile

7.6 mph = 8:00 mile

8.0 mph = 7:30 mile

8.6 mph = 7:00 mile

10 mph = 6:00 mile

Lifting:

I usually start out with 20 minutes hard on a stationary bicycle as a warm-up and cross-training for my legs. Do each exercise once. Go directly from one exercise to the next without rest. No need to rush, but there will nearly be an aerobic quality to the workout and it will kick your ass. Remember, exhale w/exertion, inhale w/recovery on every repetition. This should take 30 minutes or less.

• 1 max set (to muscle failure) of push-ups. Try putting the tops of your feet on a 30” exercise ball.

• 1 set pec/fly machine to muscle failure (12-15 reps). Try 80# to start.

• 1 set incline dumbbell press to muscle failure (12-15 reps). Try 30# dumbbells to start. Have your fingers facing forward (like your holding a barbell). Only bring your triceps parallel to the floor (90 degrees) and press straight up.

• 1 set lateral raises to muscle failure (12-15 reps). Try 15# dumbbells to start. Hold dumbbells in front of your waist, like you’re holding 2 pitchers of beer (your arms will be slightly bent. Raise them up to the sides, parallel to the ground. Keep your thumbs slightly elevated (don’t want to spill the beer). You should be able to see the hollow of your inner elbow in the mirror the entire time.

• 1 set shoulder press to muscle failure (12-15 reps). Drop immediately from lateral raises (sit erect on a bench) to shoulder press, using the same dumbbells. This will burn your shoulders but good. Start with the dumbbells next to your ears, with your fingers facing forward. Your triceps should be parallel to the floor. Press straight up.

• 1 set (forward grip/wide grip) lat pull downs to muscle failure (12-15 reps). Try 90 pounds to start. Have your hands no wider than to the bend in the bar. Pull in front of your head to just below your chin. Go directly to…

• 1 set (reverse grip/narrow grip) lat pull downs. Same weight, same technique. Just come in one hands-width on the bar and reverse your grip. No rest.

• 1 set dips to muscle failure. Keep your head up, your elbows in close to your sides and pointed behind you. Only bend your elbows to 90 degrees, no need to go all the way down.

• 1 set tricep extensions to muscle failure (12-15 reps). Try 60# here. See if they have a rope instead of a bar for this exercise. This is probably a station on a universal machine. Stand erect (knees slightly bent, hips under your shoulders). Start with your forearms parallel to the floor. Press down. If using a rope, fully extend the rope on both sides of your hips-you should feel this in your forearms as well.

• 1 set seated row to muscle failure (12-15 reps). Try 10# less than the lat pulls. Keep your back straight, your knees slightly bent and try to pinch your shoulder blades together when you pull back.

• 1 set curls to muscle failure (12-15 reps). Try a 40# barbell. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your knees slightly bent, your hips under you and your shoulders back. It will feel exaggerated. Watch in a mirror. Keep your elbows close to your sides and curl straight up. Do not move your elbows. Your elbow should point directly down your hip and should not move. Do not bring your elbows forward at any point in the range of motion.

• 1 set leg extensions. This is the best thing I know of for working the quads. Try 60#.
  

• 1 set leg curls. Can you work the glutes, hamstrings and calves too much? Match the weight for the hamstrings to the weight for the quads.

• 1 set of lunges or step-ups w/dumbbells. 12-15 reps. Try 20# dumbbells to start. It should feel light as your hamstrings will likely cramp until you get used to this range of motion. You may be in pain and have trouble walking for a couple of days. OR…

• 1 set of squats. 12-15 reps. Try a 45# Olympic bar and a squat rack. Start with 25# plates. Again, it should feel light. Again your hamstrings will probably cramp and you’ll be in pain for a couple of days. Get help with the proper form and technique. It’s easy to get injured here, but if done correctly, will be very beneficial. Feet shoulder width apart, chest wide, head up. Don’t go down past parallel.

• 1 set of toe raises. Just use the same squat bar and do twice as many toe raises as you did squats.

• Abs: Ball crunches and petal pushers are good. Work up to 2 X 25 ball crunches and 2 X 50 petal pushers (count and exhale when you extend your right leg), keep the small of your back pressed to the floor. It will take a while to get there, if done correctly. You’ll probably start out w/1 X 15 ball crunches & 1 X 25 petal pushers.

It’s tough, but you’ve got to make it happen. I lost 10 pounds and 3% body fat in 30 days following this routine. I lift Tuesdays/Thursdays, but you could do it 3 times/week. I usually rest on Sunday. There are no bad foods, only bad portions. Don’t eat until you’re full, except maybe on your rest day. It’s not bad, because you see that all workouts are less than an hour, except for Saturday, if you can actually run for 1-2 hours.

What?

I didn't say that will be all there would ever be.

Thank You

That will be all.

Current Events

I admit that I'm not exactly up to speed on current events. The reasons are thus: I'm not very well connected to media. The recurring sameness of it all - and I realize that this sounds terrible - bores me. I once counted myself among the NPR nerds of the world. I listened to Morning Edition on my drive to work and All Things Considered on my way home. I had the web page pulled up on my monitor. I found the various dispatches so interesting and the journalistic integrity so refreshing that I looked forward to seeing what was going on in the world. I considered the reporting to be balanced and unbiased - like it's supposed to be. I liked that after listening to a piece on, say, prison health care I would have to decide for myself the right thing to do, having been given all sides of the complex issue.

I'm not sure what happened. I suppose that I got caught up in the here and now, which can be a truly wonderful place and time, and found that I tired of hearing about which childish side had most recently retaliated in the middle east 'peace' process. Likewise, riding the daily Washington spin cycle just feels ridiculous. And, hey, I recognize that there's a lot that I don't know about the way the world works and so I'm hardly qualified to speak on some of these issues, but I just can't truly care about which role a given Capitol Hill actor is playing on a given day.

Take Idaho Senator Larry Craig for instance. First of all, I'm no one to judge to anyone. I've lived long enough to know that people make mistakes and I've sure as hell let people down in my own life. But that's not my point. If you're not aware of Larry's particular problems, then here's one perspective of the situation. You get a little bit different feel for it here. Regardless, his particular actions and belated ownership are not my real concern because, to me, it's just another example of an elected mercenary holding up whatever symbol will be recognized by the most people - today.

Yeah, I know that this post is mostly just grousing. It points out the problem without offering a solution and that's not really productive. And, no, there is nothing new under the sun. I just wanted to get it off my chest.

Sunrise Thursday

What the heck...I was up.

Here's the thing...

I've been working on something. It's a little bit longish. And I'm not really sure where it's going, but it feels good. I want to complete it and post it and see how it looks and reads. I want to know what people think. I suppose that in order for that to happen, people would have to know to look. But never mind that. The thing is that I've been working on it for a while now, pecking away here and there, thinking about it even when I'm not working on it, trying to give it shape and direction. I don't mean to actually compare myself to a great writer, but like Flannery O'Connor I suffer from a debilitating need to edit and re-write. It reads differently to me every time I sit down to it. I would hope that I'm working toward a better product each time I start reading it from the beginning, but I can't be sure. Maybe I'm just bending to my present frame of mind and not really achieving improvement at all. It's worrisome. I confess there's an outside chance that I'm afraid of ever actually getting it right because then I might actually have to let go of it, post it and let it stand on its own and be done, saying, "There. That's the best I could do". Because of course it never will be. That being said, it's late and I'm now tired. Also, the baristas want to close up shop. So it is that I must let this post stand on it's own because it is as good as it's ever going to be.