Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Video Brief: https://youtu.be/Gad2q3HIMpI

“I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” – Jacob Riis

We crave the confirmation of progress. Whether that be weekly increases in weights, continual raises at work, or anything between. It can be in our nature to seek out those signals. Yet we can learn something from the stonecutter.

When a stonecutter addresses his next task, splitting a giant stone in two, he starts hammering away. One blow at a time, he lines up each and every strike with meticulous precision. 10 strikes pass by, and there is no visible change to the stone. 50 strikes go by, and still no visible change. No cracks, dents, or any indication of… anything. 100 strikes pass, and, the same. On the 101st strike, it splits in two.

Through the 100 strikes, there wasn’t an external signal or sign that this was working. But beneath the surface, invisible to the eye, the stone was splitting with each passing blow. It wasn’t something different about the final strike… it was instead the culmination of all 101 blows. Impossible without a single one of them.

True change takes place from the inside out. And much like the stonecutter, we have two options: to spend emotional energy worrying if we’re making progress, or to have full faith in the process, spending every ounce of focus we have on that next strike.

WARM-UP
Bike Warmup
2 Minutes Easy

Bodyweight
30 Shoulder Taps
10 Alternating Bird Dogs
5 Inchworm to Push-up
:30s Side Plank
10 Glute Bridge
5+5 Single Leg Glute Bridge
5 Glute Bridge Walkouts

Barbell Warmup
5 Good Mornings
5 Back Squats
5 Elbow Rotations
5 Strict Press & Reach
5 Romanian Deadlifts
5 Front Squats

MOBILITY
Turn Back Stretch on Wall: 1 Minute Each Side
Pigeon Pose + Wrist Stretch: 90 Seconds Each Side

“Dia-bolical”
For Time:
500 Meter Bike, 21 Deadlifts (225/155)
500 Meter Bike, 42 Hand Release Push-ups
500 Meter Bike, 15 Deadlifts (225/155)
500 Meter Bike, 30 Hand Release Push-ups
500 Meter Bike, 9 Deadlifts (225/155)
500 Meter Bike, 18 Hand Release Push-ups

Competitor: 21-15-9 Kipping Handstand Push Ups

KILOS
102.5/70

HOME GYM
200 Meter Run, 42 Double Dumbbell Deadlifts
200 Meter Run, 42 Hand Release Push-ups
200 Meter Run, 30 Double Dumbbell Deadlifts
200 Meter Run, 30 Hand Release Push-ups
200 Meter Run, 18 Double Dumbbell Deadlifts
200 Meter Run, 18 Hand Release Push-ups

Skill Accessory
10 Rounds For Quality:
8/6 Calorie Ski Erg
8 Alternating Pistols
2 Legless Rope Climbs

1-2 Minute Rest Between Rounds