Why Me?

Second "workout" day today. Started off with the run and stretching as on Sunday, but did the "B" workout instead:

--Depth Jumps
--Single-Leg Deadlifts
--Swiss Ball Pushups
--Towel-Grip Pullups
--Hindu Pushups
--Swiss Ball Russian Twists

Problem was I set these all to do three sets of 15 reps for each exercise. Like I could even do that. Had to crap out on the last set of Depth Jumps, chiefly because my lower back did not appreciate dropping from height onto concrete and then immediately jumping to the ceiling. And if you can do three sets of 15 pullups with towel grips, then just book your flight to Japan right now; I did three sets of AMAP ("As Many As Possible") and felt good enough about myself.

Caught the latest rerun of Ninja Warrior on G4 last night. I watched some Olympic gymnast from Poland DQ on the second obstacle, the Curtain Slide, where you grab an industrial strength shower curtain and...slide. Sounds easy, right? How does an Olympic gymnast (Leszek Blanik who took home gold at Beijing) fail so epically? And if an Olympian can't make it, then how could an over-the-hill suburban dad stand a chance?

Look at the guys who do well. The guys who make it all the way. Only three guys in 26 seasons: two fishermen and a shoe salesman. Anything in those backgrounds particularly qualify someone to run an obstacle course? Hardly. Now, I'm sure these guys trained like crazy. Which is the point. Most sports don't translate too well to this game show. So you can come from any background, if you're willing to train long enough and smart enough.

Thirty-six weeks should be long enough. Am I training smart enough? Not sure, but I'm willing to change as I learn.