Ow

"The only thing worse than having a coach screamin' in your face is not having a coach screamin' in your face," says Chris Lytle. The gym cleared out and it's just me, Lytle, trainer Pat McPherson and Muay Thai instructor Adam Wilder talking about the importance of being motivated by someone else. Lytle jokes that when he trained himself it was too easy to cut workouts short or come up with a reason not to push himself. The mind is incredibly weak and incredibly strong at the same time. It tells us to avoid pain and discomfort at any cost, yet it can allow us to power through intense pain in the pursuit of an objective.

Wilder and McPherson worked me out for an hour. Wilder breaks each technique into the smallest mechanics and hounds me to do it correctly. McPherson provides motivation. I did a round of walking knees, three rounds of shadow boxing, ten sprawls, 50/50 kicks (50 Thai kicks with each leg while), 100 skipping knees on the bag and a lunge-walk/push-up calisthenics routine at the end. I had a hard time regulating my breathing and by the time I got into the lunges my lower back was screaming, locking up and throwing me forward in an attempt to alleviate the pain/tension. I wanted to quit real bad. I was unsteady on my feet and every movement was torture. But when I got to the last two laps I suddenly found my stride. I wasn't as weak and exhausted as I had convinced myself, I was just listening to brain too much and not letting my body do what it could.

On a side note, I was nervous all afternoon like a kid showing up to his new school halfway through the semester. It's probably friendlier than a lot of MMA gyms, but it's still weird walking in to a place where there is an established dynamic and routine - and you're not part of it.

Diet Not enough water, feedings were "eh" until after I worked out - a chicken breast and black beans sauteed in olive oil over rice with a mound of steamed vegetables.
Conditioning See above.
Skills See above.