The amount of times I have heard something along the lines of "I'm not going to go outside today, it's too (insert almost anything you'd like here)" is freaking depressing. Isn't the whole point of training outside to enjoy, um, outside? And all of its wonder? I do understand peoples issue with it all, but seriously, what have we all become when the only time we'll go out and do something outside is when it's 75 degrees with light humidity and not a cloud in the sky? To experience all the craziness nature has to offer is the whole damn point of being out in nature in the first place (at least in my mind. Shoot, maybe I'm just insane, I don't know). The way I look at it, if it's too cold, too hot, to wet, too sunny, too muggy, on and on, for you to go out and do something, you have become a lazy human being. You have become someone who depends solely on man-made comforts such as couches, air conditioning, cars and so on. Now I am not about to claim that I do not enjoy all those things, hell, I love the feeling of walking into a wonderfully air conditioned house when it's 100 degrees outside. But I do not rely on these things to make sure my life is constantly as comfortable as it can be. To me, there is a certain excitement of getting out there in less-than-ideal weather conditions to explore and/or be active. In fact, most of my most memorable workouts I have ever done have been in extreme conditions. An interesting point on "comfortable training": as most of you know, the whole concept of CrossFit is to get out of your comfort zone and try anything and everything; but, when I was at Regionals this past weekend, I heard from three different people how happy they were that the workouts were not outside (an additional point, our Regional is the only one so far that has not had some form out outdoor-ness to it). In addition to that point, I heard over and over and over again abut how damn hot it was in the arena we were in. Holy crap, are elite level CrossFitters starting to become picky about their training? granted, they were all a TON better at me at the competition, but, if we HAD had the event outside, I am willing to bet I would have finished a lot better. Yes, this is a bit of a rant. And i know I am a little more sensitive to this now that I am back living in an area with some pretty extreme weather conditions (and and area that for some reason is known for not being able to adapt to extreme weather conditions. Have you seen people try to drive when it snows here? Go into Rock Creek Park on a day like this, or any day when it rains and it will be deserted). But come on people! If 100 degree weather is too hot for you to go outside, well, I'm going to just say it: you are a wimp. Learn to hydrate on a more regular basis. spend more time outside so your body can actually handle it, and be more active so the idea of struggling with something besides a moderate to heavy weight, or a slight hill on a run is not too daunting to you. If you can't handle weather, that's on YOU, not the weather.So, that's my vent for the day. And yes, today was hot as hell, the heat index was up at 105. I ran the Billy Goat trail, it freaking rocked! Bouldering when you're literally pouring sweat is a whole new ball game! I met up with an old client, Stephen for a beast strength workout in The Garage. Then I rode my bike up to baseball practice (I am coaching a team of 14 year-olds this summer, damn good ball players too!) before meeting up with 6 athletes at the track as the sun set. Given my obvious annoyance at people who slack off in bad weather, I have the utmost respect for all these guys. For the past 4 years I have had an awesome collection of athletes make no excuse to do what it takes to get better and that fires me up so much! So, when all was said and done, I had a pretty good day!I hope this post doesn't make me sound like some sort of elitist pig. I just refuse to sympathize for people who make excuses like this. Unless you have some serious condition, your issues with weather are self-induced. Plan better, and toughen up a little bit. Enough said.Never Stop, GET FIT.Josh Courage
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