Modality Shifts

I have enjoyed the last three years of competing in powerlifting. As a lifetime learner and someone who loves the dynamic relationship between body and mind it has been a wonderful avenue to channel my curiosity into a physical representation. Using myself as a personal experiment in training efficacy has offered me joy, pain, some light existential crises, and ultimately an ongoing impassioned pursuit of strength and personal development. There is immediate application of what I learned in my line of work. Whether you are training the body or the mind, many principles remain the same. For a click into a few of these, take a look at my “Raising the Bar” series

In early 2023, I watched as my progression velocity in powerlifting slowed. Three years of similar exercises, similar aches, similar planning, quarterly contests started to feel a bit robotic. Unfortunately, I am a human ??. Cognizant of the human need for variety to maintain training enthusiasm and with an awareness of multiple physical training dimensions: Strength, Endurance, Hypertrophy, Power, Speed (it can get pretty technical), I felt it was a good time to split the focus for a time being to hopefully come back to re sensitization of stimulus later. This is important to any long-term pursuit of mastery but is especially important in physical training. When I start to feel stagnant, I quickly think through my options. Thankfully I live in Texas, which has a thriving strength community and is literally home to some of the world’s strongest people. After a solid day of thought, I signed up for a local strongman competition.

This training endeavor fits several purposes: novelty, powerlifting re sensitization, strength endurance, power, and speed development. Powerlifting is a dimension of strength and requires, generally, single planar movements for the big three lifts: Squat, Bench, and Deadlift. Powerlifting has “implements” which can be anything from tossing sandbags to leg pressing a Volkswagen for time. ?It would help diversify the strength and general fitness portfolio. Also, throwing sandbags after a rough day at the office may be the ultimate stress release. The problems literally soar away as the bag flies over a 14 foot gate.

As a planner, I knew I needed to work with a coach from a completely new sport and “empty my cup” to allow the new modality to truly thrive. It was fun being new at something again. Thankfully, the coach I had was also a lifetime learner and spoke the training language. They knew about the abstract concepts of training, and we were often nerding out over modalities and speaking about the body as a hardware layer that adapts drastically, based on its software (mentality).

We uploaded a ton of new software in the 90-day prep. It wasn’t a surprise that I progressed rapidly considering the foundation and guide I had. I also love training “for” something. I let go of what I thought strength was, used what I knew about other sport training to communicate, and asked questions often. It was a blast. For any Amazonians curious about the impact data. I took third in my division for this new endeavor (no I am not completely happy with that outcome, and I am not done with strongman).

In December after getting back into my powerlifting training I added 70lbs to my total after a three-month period, compared to a good increase of anywhere between 20-50lbs during the course of a good calendar year at my training age of 19 years trained. My back, a source of nagging pains, was stronger than ever and pain free for the first time in years.

It is important to step outside of the zone that you are comfortable with every year. For most of us, we work to maintain a long track record of skill in a particular area for our jobs or simply for the sake of comfort. I have an interest in developing random skills that I use in a multitude of ways at work. Sometimes in a random skill I have that someone notices or when I can help someone learn a subject quickly even though I know only a handful of information about it. Sometimes it’s my affinity to manage an abstract problem and quickly find the threads I need to pull. I love the process. I try to instill this into the people I meet and work with. This science really is the best thing you can learn.

“If you know the way broadly, you see it in everything” Miyamoto Musashi

I have dedicated a significant portion of my life to the concept of training and mastery. I think its why the cloud industry has been a perfect home for a continuous iteration mindset. It really does require you to shift your foundation and start new constantly. It’s not for everyone. So, the next time you’re feeling a slump in your regimen, consider trying something new. I might recommend, sandbags.