Set your goals carefully - Small achievement better than big fail!

After my first 15km, I was pretty sure that I can do marathon. Achievements make you so happy and inspire for another challenges. With each next successful workout comes, confidence of success in the next one. But what happens when you can't?

To try something new, is already jump ouside of you comfort zone, and if you are brave enough and decided to participate in competitions, it is already "crazy" level! It is enough to taste once, and you don't want to stop anymore: half marathons, marathons, bosphorus, triathlon. Goal set -> goal achieved -> Pleasure! But how do you feel if you failed, if you are not so confident in success any more?

More goals = More achievements = More pleasure, right? What are another goals, let's see, pull-ups, push-ups, faster marathon, why not! And let's be serious, marathon in 3 hours, 100 push-ups and 50 pull-ups and to lose some weight in between. Because there is one more free hour in your schedule. The best use of it, is accomplishing another goal! Even better would be to find few more hours and add few more goals!

7 habits of highly effective people - Stephen Covey

Desire to be enlightened and continuous seeking for time for reading made me to listen to listen smart audio books. The first was "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Tim Ferrys and I've chosen as the second "7 habits of highly effective people" by Stephen Covey.

As usual, book in audio format and listen on the run.

First 30km of listening remembered me my childhood. That time, on saturdays afternoon, when I wanted to watch cartoons and my parents - movies, preacher was speaking, monotonically describing different topics from bible. The same feelings I had in university, sitting in a large audience and listening for two hours for not the most eloquent teacher. I mean you better don't start it if you are in rush or didn't sleep well :)... The same with this book.

Lot's of times I was running and listening, than switched to my own thoughts, than back to book and realized that the author is providing ninth example of the same, and I've heart first 4, so I missed nothing - as with Brasillian TV series.

The 4-Hour Workweek - Tim Ferrys

Once I asked myself, when was the last time I took a non IT book in my hands and read it? I remembered some years from the past, and not even University times - school years! It was a shame. I felt poor man with low IQ. I had to fix it ASAP.

As I usually do, I did a short research in Internet and found a list of recommended books. One of them was "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Tim Ferrys. It's name was too catchy to leave it for later. As I don't have neither time to read in front of a fireplace, nor fireplace itself, I decided to listen it's audio version.

It was so damn interesting, that I did it twice quicker than planned to do. I was using each chance to listen 5 more minutes.

Running on the ice

Have you ever had the chance to run on the ice? Do not considering puddles. Today was my first time!

It is believed that running on the ice is true check of your running technice efficiency. Sprinters may not be interested in it, cause they need speed, but stiers might want to try at least once.

The main reason why you being a stier should try it is that this type of running exagerates all your mistakes, gaps and weaks. If you need an experienced coach to tell you about your running mistakes on the road, because on your own you don't feel them, on the ice you'll be able to feel each and every... but you still need a coach to tell you how to fix that :).

Before you've decided to try this semi-extrimal activity, make sure you have all you need - gypsum and analgesic winter running shoes with spikes!

50 pull-ups at once (Season 2) - Breaking plato

First season ended up with fail, or Plato.

Note: Plato - is a period of time during your training, when results do not increase, may even decrease a bit, while you are training with the same intensity.

Thus second season I started with thought - I have to break the Plato. Both of them - physical and psychological. Because I simply couldn't believe that I can do more than 30 pull-ups. It was enough to remember feelings after 15 pull-ups to understand that no way!


I've collected recommendations from Internet and my friends, and here are possible solutions:

A month without social networks (almost) - usefull time redistribution

I'm the guy, who can easily jump in a challenge, especially if it is something useful for my body or mind. My friens say that it is easy to make me to jump there, but I strongly believe that each of my challenges is my personal decision.

So, as it usually happens, few factors overlaped and resulted in something new for me: short term assignment in US, good Wi-Fi connection 24/24 and FB and Google+, which didn't manage to generate enough interesting content.

Once, when I was going to sleep, I realized that I'm in bad mood because during the last 30 min I checked my FB 10 times, and there where nothing new... Not the best reason for the bed mood, don't you think?

50 pull-ups at once (Season 1) - Plan doesn't work.

I'm challenge addicted! I understood it just after my first challenge was accomplished. Thats why I decided to add some pepper to my life. Sure, Ironman is very nice dish, but it takes a lot to prepare, and I want to eat during this preparation as well.

Finally I found two appropriate goal: "50 pull-ups in 7 weeks" and "100 push-ups in 6 weeks". In this article I'm gona describe my pull-ups story.

Back in childhood, it were pull-ups showing power of guys in my school or street. Those who could do more than 20 were real athlets in my eyes, and few of then, who could do 30+ had half transparent halo around the biceps, imperceptibly for themself.

I thought it was the order of things, being in business trip in US, to cross free time I've got, admiration from childhood and training plan - "50 pull-ups in 7 weeks". See how it was.