My original post about my first experience at Orangetheory Fitness didn’t save properly. I’ve been having a few technical glitches for the past couple of days with my blog. I should have been saving more often (moving to hit the button now). Okay, let’s do this again.

Orangetheory Fitness is a group workout built on the research that 12 minutes of work spent at the upper end of maximum heart rate (what they call the orange and red zones) will produce an increase in metabolism for a longer period of time after the workout (what they call the afterburn) that isn’t possible with a low intensity level of exercise. Add a little resistance training and boom, you have an effect full body workout that takes about an hour.

I was asked to arrive early for paperwork and orientation for my first workout. I signed the customary waivers of liability, received a tour of the place, and then offered a body scan to determine my body composition. Nothing like seeing the numbers to snap you out of complacency with being slack with your diet. Wakeup call received. Time for me to tighten up my food habits where I’ve gotten too slack. The picture below is the summary.

No time to cry about my body scan results. They strapped a heart rate monitor on my arm and it was time to go. So, each Orangetheory workout session is predetermined and led by a coach. This takes all the guesswork, planning, and preparation out of having a consistent workout routine. The day I was there the coach called it a “Run-Row” workout. There were about 16 of us present for that workout. We were divided into two groups. The first group started with the treadmill and rower, and the second group started with bodyweight and dumbbells. I was with the second group.

The bodyweight and dumbbell movements were somewhat familiar to me. Not the specific moves, but they were all variations of movements I have done lots of times in the past. I choose weights that I taught would be moderately heavy. I wanted a good workout, but still leave a little gas in the tank for whatever came next. Glad I did. I spent the entire 30 minutes of that resistance session in the gray zone. That all changed rather quickly when my group moved to the treadmill and rower circuit though.

When the coach explained the treadmill base/push and incline/speed combinations before we started the workout, it seemed simple enough. When the music started bumping and I was jogging up and down though, I couldn’t read anything on the instruction sheet. I’m going to blame that on the orange lighting, not my eyesight. Could have been a little bit of both. So, I decided to run until I got my heart rate up into the orange zone and then just try to keep it there for the predetermined 0.6-mile distance. It wasn’t the designed protocol, but it worked. Since I only recently started running again, nothing seems to increase my heart rate as fast. The coach came to check on me a couple times as everyone’s heart rate was on a big screen in the gym. I assured her I was alright, but I was really glad to get on the rower. It was only a 200 meter row and a very welcome break for me from the more intense running on the treadmill. 

The Orangetheory app is a good addition. It automatically synced the workout to my phone. There are also some follow along workouts you can access for free if you want to try some of their workouts at home. Nice little app. Here’s an export from the app of my in-studio workout:

Overall, I was impressed with the Orangetheory Fitness program, execution, and environment. I thought the loud music would bother me, it didn’t though. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. It was the kind of upbeat inspirational workout music I used to listen to when I was a gym rat about 10 years ago. It really has been a long time since I’ve been in a gym. When I moved to Thailand, I didn’t have easy access to a gym. That being the case, I got used to home workouts. Continued with the home workouts after returning to the US just out of the convenience. It was nice to spice things up with a little Orangetheory.

There I was sinking into self-pity, being tossed about by fierce winds of confusion, and up to my neck in the rising water of lost hope. In 1985, US Army Ranger School was a 58-day course with an average weight loss of 25 pounds and an even higher attrition rate. After day number 23 of the course, I was set to become a part of that washed out number. The prospect of having to go back to my Ranger Battalion without graduating, without that little piece of cloth known as the “Ranger tab” on my shoulder, filled me with dread. Before I give you the whole story, let me give you the bottom line of why Ranger School is the best leadership school in the world right up front. It was there that I learned to always overdeliver, and how true leadership is inspiring others to do the same.

The funny thing about coming to a major fork in the road of life is seldom do we recognize the significance of it until we have long since pasted it. I was barely 20 years old when I reached a major fork in the road at Ranger School. I had been sent back to Fort Benning (now re-named Fort Moore) after the Mountain phase of training because I failed all three leadership positions I had been assigned. It was a long four-day weekend with nothing to do except ponder my situation. I was told that after the weekend, the recommendation that I be dropped from the course would be submitted. It didn’t seem like a fork in the road at the time. It seemed more like the end of the road.

That was one of the longest weekends of my life. I remembered what it took for me to get to Ranger School. I remembered how I was the last one among those who graduated from my Ranger Indoctrination Program to be sent to Ranger School. I remembered the day I had to bang the head of one of my Ranger buddies on a wall locker just to get him off my back. I remembered how I had to take whatever my squad leader dished out until he became convinced that he could not break me. And I remembered how I had to tell my Platoon Sergeant that if he didn’t want me to be here, he needed to DX me (kick me out) because I wasn’t going to quit. Going back to my Ranger Battalion without my Ranger tab would be more than just my personal failure. It would mean giving an occasion to celebrate to all those who never wanted me to be there in the first place.

I would be given one last opportunity before my fate was sealed. First thing after the weekend, I had an appointment to meet with the Ranger School Command Sergeant Major (CSM). I would then be given one chance to convince the CSM to allow me to stay in the course. But what would I say to him? I don’t remember asking, but I was offered two very different counsels that weekend. The first was from a black Staff Sergeant with a Ranger tab who was also a member of the cadre. He told me there is no prejudice here. Every Ranger candidate takes off their rank so that everyone is equal and treated the same. I think he honestly believed this, but it just didn’t jive with my personal experience. The second unsolicited counsel came from a black lieutenant who was also facing the likelihood of being dropped from the course and flunking out just like me. He went on and on about how it doesn’t matter what we do, they would make sure that most of us never made it through this course. I listened to him because he was older and better educated. He was an officer, and I was just a private first class from a tiny little town in the second smallest state in the country. He was a big city college graduate, and I just barely graduated from high school after having dropped out twice. And then there was my own lived through personal experience that seemed to support all he was saying.

No way both of these counselors could be right. To believe the first one, I would have to live what I knew to be false. On the other hand, to accept the other’s point of view was to take up residence among the defeated collective convinced that resistance is futile. Frankly, I could accept neither position, which only made my already too heavy rucksack even harder to bare.

I remember anxiously waiting in the hallway for my turn to see the CSM. I couldn’t hear what the cadre’ or the guy who went in just before me said to the CSM behind the closed door. I certainly heard what the CSM thundered at him though. “And I I’m going to call your unit. They will be waiting for you when you get back. Now get the ____ out of my office!” That guy came out of that office like a little puppy dog looking for a place to go hide and lick his wounds. My senior cadre followed him out, pointed at me and said, “you’re next.”

I got up, marched into the CSM’s office, snapped to the position of attention, and gave the proper hand salute and greeting. “He’s had three patrols, Sergeant Major. He was a no-go on all three due to a lack of supervision. We recommend that he be dropped from the course,” said the cadre. The CSM looked up from the written report in front of him and said to me, “you are not ready. I’m going to send you back to your battalion so you can watch and learn from you leaders.” The very axe I had been dreading for the past four days was now poised and ready to strike. I settled myself and said, “CSM, I’ve learned that it isn’t enough to give a task and what is necessary to complete it. You also have to go back and make sure the task has been completed to standard. If you give me another chance, I know that I can do this.” He told me to go outside while he talked with my cadre. 

It was just a momentary delay of judgment as it wasn’t very long before I was called back into the office. “Would you be willing to go back to Day 1,” said the CSM to me. “Roger that, Sergeant Major,” I said without even skipping a heartbeat. It wasn’t because I was some kind of glutton for punishment that I agreed to go back to the beginning of Ranger School after completing nearly half the course already. It was just that sometime during the last day of that past weekend I had an epiphany. I realized that the truth was somewhere in between the extremes of my two would-be counselors. I accepted the fact that I would sometimes have to work twice as hard as the guy standing right beside me just to get by. This was and is liberating. Not because it is fair, but because how hard I work and how well I do things largely depends only on me. This concept of being better than you have to be and always striving to overdeliver has served me well in all the years since. It is not however, all that I learned in Ranger School.

Back to Day 1 of Ranger School I happily went. It wasn’t the least bit easier the second time around, but I was much more successful. I reached the final Florida Swap phase having passed every patrol in which I was evaluated. The rules changed in Florida though. Everyone had to successfully pass a leadership evaluation (get a go) in Florida regardless of how many other patrols were passed in the prior phases. Throughout the entire Florida phase, the cadre won’t tell any of us if we had passed or failed after each evaluation. After the leadership assignments for the last patrol were announced, everyone who was not put in charge sighed in relief. It is understood that the final patrol during Ranger School is given as a last chance to those who have not yet passed a patrol in the Florida, and everyone else has essentially earned their Ranger tab already. When the assignments were given, I was to be the weapons squad leader for that final patrol. Once again, it was do or die time for me.

Being in charge of the last patrol in Ranger School is a nightmare. Everybody was suffering from all the prior accumulated weeks from the lack of sleep and food. We were tired all over. The natural thing that everybody wanted to do was to curl up ball somewhere and wait for things to be over. Still, I was running around fueled by adrenaline alone, kicking and screaming trying to get everyone to wake up and do what they needed to do. Sure, that worked while I was kicking them, but as soon as I turned around, they went right back to sleep again. This turned out to be another one of those forks in the road for me. “Look guys, I know you are hungry, tried, and can’t wait for this to be over. And all of you already have your Ranger tab, but now I’m asking you to help me get mine,” I said. That worked so much better than kicking and screaming. Many leaders never learn that. So many ascribe to the weak leadership philosophy that essential says, “do what I say because I’m in the boss, or else.” Ranger school taught me many years ago that a good leader inspires cooperation rather than depending on coercion. 

When we the reached the objective on that final patrol, one of my ammunition bearers left the machine gun ammunition back on the boat. I was the weapons squad leader and when the gun ran dry, I got the no-go for a lack of supervision. Turns out it really didn’t matter though. I had already gotten a go from my first patrol in the Florida phase. In fact, everyone in the squad was tabbed out before that last patrol. However, somebody had to be put in charge of that final patrol. Why they chose me I will never know. I wasn’t so happy about it back then, but I wouldn’t change a bit of it now. 

Why is Ranger School the best leadership school in the world? Always over deliver! Whatever your hands find to do, do it better than you have to. Be it a butcher, baker, or candlestick maker, the job itself is less important than how well you do it. Some have very prestige jobs while others not so much. Mere window dressing compared to what really matters from the two-day old employee all the way up to the CEO. Doing what you do well is the one important thing, and there is honor in all honest work well done. Knowing this is the beginning of lasting freedom, and being able to inspire it in others is real leadership. Just one place on earth to learn all that in only a few short months, and that’s the US Army Ranger School. Happy Juneteenth everyone.

My big sister told me about one her of experiences in basic training that I’ve never forgotten even though this was about 30 or more years ago when she told me. She said that they lied to her in basic training. “They told me that things would get easier, but after three days things were still hard,” she said with a straight face. She always could brighten up my day with just a few words, and even now this memory still brings a smile to my face when I think about it. Three days is certainly enough time for fish to get smelly, but after three days of working out, it is still going to be hard.

So, I’ve repeated the same jog/walk workout for three days in a role now. I was sore in the legs, butt, lower back, and more from the very first workout. Still sore, but it is the good kind of soreness though. The kind that brings the gains, not the kind that signals you’re injured or stop before you get hurt. I would love to say that my savings from having once been a well conditioned runner has kicked in, but that’s not the case. Today’s workout wasn’t any easier or better than the previous two. I did consider taking an additional lap…so, maybe that is a little progress. By the way, I dismissed the additional lap idea almost as soon as it ran across my mind.

I am planning on changing things up tomorrow. Not smelly or hard, just time to hit some different angles.

How long it’s been since I’ve run further than across the street, I really don’t remember. It’s been at least five years or more. I remember saying to myself “after I retire from the military I’m not going to run any more” because frankly, I was never that good at it. I was always in those special units were everyone seemed like they could run like deers all day long. It was always painful for me just to keep up. This is why I thought that went I finally got a choice of not running, I would drop out of running for good. That was over 13 years ago, and other than a few sprint sessions here and there, I had completely stopped running. I was okay with that, until a couple of years ago when I was no longer able to run because of my back. Just like the fox who couldn’t get the grapes, not being able to run sparked in me the desire to start running again. Still, I haven’t really been able to run for the past year and a half. In fact, my doctor would probably like to keep running on my prohibited list forever. I’m just not ready to raise a white flag and sit down in a rocking chair among the old toothless dogs on the porch just yet.

I came across some information from one of the popular longevity gurus about how VO2 max is one of the single best predictors of longevity. I first heard about VO2 max years ago when it was pretty much restricted to being tested in a lab with specialized equipment. That was long ago way back in the day. This guru also stated that today it was possible for VO2 max to be fairly well estimated with just the AppleWatch. So, I opened the Activity App on my phone and sure enough there was a VO2 max estimation. That was the good news. The not so good news is that my VO2 estimation was well below average for my age. So, adding to my fairly strong desire to start running, was now a fairly strong indicator that I needed to run.

Why running? Since VO2 max is essentially measuring aerobic endurance capacity, the best way I know to improve it is with the tried and tested military practice of running. I went to bed last night with the plan of getting back to running in the morning. I’m no spring chicken. Therefore, I planned on starting slow, easy, and gentle like. A short 2 miles around a quarter mile track alternating easy jogging with fast walking. Well, at least I thought it would be easy.

Today’s Workout Description

Date: 24 April 2023 | Start: 8:13 am EST | Finish: 8:30 am EST

It was a beautiful day, warm without being hot, and sunny without being overpowering. I started the first lap with an easy jog. I was probably just a little over the first 400 meters when I realized that running a mile even with breaking it up with a mile of walking was going to be far out of reach for me to do while keeping it in the easy category. I quickly decided to cut the original plan in half. Not that it was easy, but at least it wasn’t a max effort that would take me a week or so to recover from.

A far cry from the lean-mean-fighting machine I used to be when I was pushing myself to the max with every workout in this place. That seems like a small forever ago. I’m not upset about that though. Just before getting out of the car at the stadium, the thought about how God promised to shake everything that can be shaken so that only what cannot be shaken would remain came to mind (Hebrews 12:26-27). Somewhere between gasping for air and catching my breath, the meaning of this Scripture became clearer. Blessed is the one who God teaches not to lean on things that can be shaken. If we lean on our physical strength, don’t be surprised when we are made weak. If we trust in money, don’t be surprised when it all flies away. When we rely on our success, don’t be surprised when we suddenly fail. The epiphany is this: all that can be shaken must be shaken so that we learn to trust in only what cannot be shaken. Then and only then do we come to understand how weakness becomes strength for those who trust in Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:12-13; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

It took me nearly 17 minutes to jog/run that one mile today. Not going to break any records anytime soon, but I do plan to repeat this little baby-step of a workout tomorrow.

The NPC Charlotte Cup was a couple of days ago and I didn’t compete in it. I’ve known for a few weeks now that I would not be able to compete. I could talk about lot’s of reasons, tiny little things that got in the way. I could, but I won’t. Bottom-line is that God has let me know that it is not yet time.

I fully realize the tightrope I’m walking when I talk about hearing a personal message from God. There is ample reason for suspecting any such statement as there have been plenty of nut-jobs in history who have justified all sorts of evil with such. Should we then not seek to hear God based off of the possibility of falling into this dangerous error? Think of what we miss out on if we don’t seek the promise that His sheep will hear His voice. Only the fool rushes in without proper care and safeguards. I press forward to the promised fullness of God with fear and trembling.

I was not able to compete, in fact, I have barely been able to even workout these past six weeks or so. Still, I’m not disappointed in the least. I know Him in whom I believe. Even in weakness and failure the heart that trusts the Lord still wants to praise Him. I know that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13-14).

Today’s Workout Description

Back in the USA Date: 24 April 2023 | Start: 4:10 am EST | Finish: 5:10 am EST

Warm up: Nothing except starting slowly.

Main Work: Focused on legs. Hamstring and knees need strengthening. Used bodyweight only.

1. Single-leg deadlift: Touched the floor 45 degrees to the left, then to the front, and then to the right. Hand on same side first, then hand on opposite side in all three positions. Switched leg and repeated.
2. Cossack squat: Ten reps on each side. Alternated side-to-side and toe up/ toe in line. Felt a good pain in the hammies after this one.
3. Repeated single-leg deadlifts as stated in #1 above. Balanced was more challenged after doing the Cossack squats. I consider that an extra bonus.
4. Knees over toes split squat: Ten reps each side.
5. One last set of Single-leg deadlifts repeating technique described above.

NOTES: Working on knee strength without causing myself pain in normal activities for the next few days. There is a sweet spot and I have learned the hard way that it is better to error on the too little side than it is on the too much.

Cool Down: No cool down. Finished the workout with 40 minutes on the stationary bike listening to The Christ-Centered Preaching of Martin Lloyd-Jones on audiobook. Only about half way through this audiobook and I have already decided that I will be listening to over again once I have finished it. In deed, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

This is a really good hip opener.

I’m going to re-think my one rest day of the week. I woke up earlier than I wanted to this morning. Stiffness, aches, and pains disturbed my inner peace and sleep. Maybe I need to do some easy mobility work on my rest day. Just to get the blood moving a little. My age doesn’t make me feel old. Feeling stiff all over is what makes me feel old. Going to focus on mobility work today and get this stiffness out of me.

My hands and feet also feel like they are swollen. I suspect this is because I’ve been eating a lot of restaurant food. Pretty sure that means more sugar and salt than I normally consume. Add to that the fact that the plus 100 degree heat has made staying hydrated a challenge. Planning on taking a good old fashioned South American siesta during the hottest time of the day in a nicely air conditioned room.

Going to watch what I eat today and my water intake. Plan seems solid. Time to get the workout started.

Today’s Workout Description

Thailand Date: 27 March 2023 | Start: 05:11 | Finish: ?

Warm up: Started with about 10 minutes on the stationary bike. Nearly finished listening to Jean-Pierre de Caussade’s Abandonment to Divine Providence on audiobook. Parts of this book were like a kiss on the lips. There were other parts however, that I thought lacked a proper balance. I will need to think more about this one.

I was very deliberate with 1 pound Indian Clubs after the bike. Pain in my left shoulder as I was sleeping is part of what woke me up so early.

No jump rope today….just didn’t have the juice.

Main Work: Mobility work on the floor. It’s been too long since I’ve done this sequence and it felt like it too. I should probably look to do this at least once a week. I didn’t track the time, but it usually takes a little less than 30 minutes to do these exercises.

Cool Down: Not much of a cool down needed. I when outside and repaired the fence, put a little paint on the gate, and cleaned up around the yard. That was all I could do as the sun was starting to get high, so it was time to get back into the house before it got really hot.

Count 2, 4, and 6 of the 8 Count Bodybuilder

I’ll start with a confession. I’m writting these blogs to be a trail of breadcrumbs. I’m not what I used to be, but I am not yet all that I can be. An overnight success is a person who has no record of what has lead up to their success. This blog is my record. I have been pretty consistent over the last 10 years or so with Bible reading, devotional writing, and exercise. Please understand that my divinely inspired devotionals are first of all my strongest exhortations to myself. Today’s devotional is a good case and point. I’ve been in Thailand for about 2 weeks now. I have lots of free time on my hands. I’ve spent far too much of it doing things like watching movies when I have tons of books to read and pages to write. I’m not suggesting that anyone should be working around the clock. There is a big difference however, between resting when you are tired and lazing about without being tired from work. Today’s devotional helped me to acknowledge my need to do better at sticking to the basics.

Today’s Workout Description

Thailand Date: 24 March 2023 | Start: 04:30 | Finish: 0535

Warm up: Started with about 10 minutes on the stationary bike while listening to Jean-Pierre de Caussade’s Abandonment to Divine Providence on audiobook. It’s been so long ago since I purchased this audiobook that I’ve nearly forgotten about this Christian classic. Listening with new ears and a sense of the timing being right.

Continued my warm-up with my 1 pound Indian Clubs. Getting back to the circular motion designed to lubricate the vital natural function of the shoulders. I have found nothing thus far that does that better than these ancient little clubs.

Last part of my warm-up was 10 minutes of the ropa-dope. That’s what I call jumping rope Muhammad Ali style. I realize that is a dated reference. My beard is more sliver than black, but I’m totally okay with my age. I was catching the rope almost as much as jumping it though. Uggh! It seems I have a bit of muscle memory of how to get it done, but I’m a far cry from being able to perform it anywhere like the younger me. Nothing to do with old age and everything to do with not having practiced it for a long time now. I think I will make this a part of my daily warm-up while I’m here.

Main Work: Going to call this one the 787 Workout

I started thinking about this workout yesterday. This morning I actually decided to do it. It is literally the hardest I’ve worked out in a very long time. Injuries more than my age have gradually pushed me to almost all easy exercise sessions. While I have discovered the benefits of easy exercise, my desire to go hard has been increasing for the past few months now that I’m able to go hard again. Today’s workout fit the bill, and balance is always desirable.

It consisted of 7 Hindu Squats, followed immediately by one 8 Count Bodybuilder. That was one round. I completed as I could in 7 minutes. So I call it the 787 Workout. Seven minutes doesn’t sound like much I know, but it didn’t take long to get my heart rate up to about 154. I was breathing hard and all noodled legged. Just the right amount of hard without sending me to bed for the rest of the day to recover, I did a totally of 13 complete rounds. I will try to beat that next week. Going to shoot for doing this workout two times a week. That should increase work capacity nicely.

Cool Down: Did an additional 10 minutes on the bike listening to Abandonment to Divine Providence. Best workout I’ve had in a few weeks.