Fitness Junction

This week:

• Knowledge Corner: 4x4x48 Reflections

• Monthly Challenge Update: Planks on Planks

• Meme Center: Re-rack your weights

Quick Note: I will be taking next week off in observation of Spring Break. The Fitness Junction will be back March 20th!

Knowledge Corner: 4x4x48 Reflections

It was brutal but we did it. Ran four miles every four hours for 48 hours.

I was asked multiple times why I would do this. First and foremost, I was raising money for a good cause: To block the release of another Indiana Jones reboot. Second, I did it because, as legendary philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche and Kelly Clarkson tell us, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

The most remarkable thing I observed during this challenge was how adaptable my body was. The difference between miles 13-28 and miles 29-48 were night and day. From 13-28, my body had no idea what was going on. It couldn't decide if it was supposed to focus on running, cooling down, digesting, or sleeping. It felt like a bad hangover that wouldn't go away. But after the start of the second half, my body began to figure out the rhythm of this challenge. At that point I got into a grove which allowed me to finish stronger than I started. This is all anecdotal and there could've been other reasons for my increased performance towards the end (holding back less or warmer weather), but I was still impressed by how quickly the human body can adapt itself to new demands.

If you are considering doing a long-haul endurance event, here are some things that helped:

• Consistent warmup and cooldown routines. Always giving extra love to areas that needed it.

• Nutrition: Chunky soup was highly rejuvenating after chilly night runs. Morale was also boosted by breaking into leftover Halloween candy that I swore I wouldn't touch until next October.

• Buddy System: Shout out to good buddies Dave and Eric who participated with me (virtually). The sharing of memes and 80s music was crucial - Living on a Prayer, The Final Countdown, etc.

When you do an event like this, you hope to come upon some sort of wise epiphany on the human condition or the meaning of struggle. I have never found that to be the case. Instead, the toughest challenges only reaffirm what the greats have always said: That if you show up, play some good tunes, and put one foot in front of the other, you'll be be just fine.

Trivia

Which African animal do scientists estimate could run a marathon twice as fast as humans?

• A. Impala

• B. Gazelle

• C. Bongo

• D. Ostrich

March Challenge: 2min Daily Plank

This one is as simple as they come. No excuse not to get it!

Meme Center

Thank you for reading this week's Fitness Junction! If you aren't already, subscribe here and share the newsletter with anyone you think will enjoy it. Click the button below to learn more about Natural Function Fitness and our services.

Trivia answer: D. Ostrich. Whizbang scientists at Popular Mechanics estimate that an ostrich could run a marathon in 45min. Betcha I can outwrestle one though.