Don't congratulate me yet please!

As we've been at work, at home, and amongst our family getting excited and talking incessantly about Tough Mudder, lots of people have been saying lots of nice things about how impressed they are with our decision to enter...

Which while lovely to hear, has started ring alarm bells for me after watching this video about how telling people your goals actually makes it less likely that you'll achieve them. Wise words of warning to those of us blogging about the experience of preparation:

I'm almost wishing I was like some of our team-mates who are having friends laugh when they find out, saying "Oh, you can't do that!!!" - And when you see the steely determination in their eyes to prove them wrong you can understand how, in some ways, that could be a better motivator.

Completing the armoury: Making a pullup bar.

As I have undertaken to complete the official Tough Mudder workout three times a week, I needed to make sure I had all the equipment I needed...

Most of it wasn't a problem. We have some adjustable dumbbells. We have some steps and some foam mats if required... We don't have suitable parallel bars or usable chairs for dips, so that's a problem... And we didn't have a pull-up bar...

Well, the pull-up bar I think we can fix - and I'm keen to do so given how important people seem to say that that exercise is.

Of course, the easiest thing would just be to go and buy one. The 'net is filled with the portable, over/in doorframe type, but quite honestly I don't like the idea of putting that weight onto our doorframes, and being 6ft3 it's hard to find a door tall enough!

And of course we could buy a proper bar and install it outside or inside somewhere - But I'm a bit of a tight-wad. And moreso I'm always keen to try and see what we can do with what we have lying around, be it a bit 'green' and so on... And so - a project was born!

Step 1: The bar

My aim with this was to buy as little as possible. So I started by looking around the house to see what could make a pull-up bar. Fortunately, our shed is full of old bicycles we picked up out of hard rubbish 'just in case'.... So - locate the most disposal of these, get out the angle grinder, and bingo! One lovely, French-designed, Peugeot brand pull-up bar.

Step 2: The location

Clearly we want somewhere strong enough for a person's weight, and not in too silly a location that I won't use it. Out on our back deck we have an overhanging balcony - That's clearly strong enough so this will be the spot.

Step 3: The struts

Good ol' pine to the rescue. Found these old offcuts (which I'd rescued from an old office refurbishment we had once) which were the perfect length, and set to them with the hole-cutter. Then a coat or 3 of paint so they'll blend in and not scream "I'm working out!!!" to the neighbours.

Step 4: Assembly

Just a matter of screwing in to the balcony beams, making sure everything is aligned and level, and popping in the bar. I haven't as yet created a method of securing the bar to the struts, but will do so with either some screws drilled into the bar cross-ways, or a threaded rod and some nuts and big washers at either end. Although even without it it's pretty secure.

Step 5: Using it

Hmm... That's the hard bit!!

Motivation and procrastination

Question:  When is the best time to plant a tree?

Answer: 20 years ago.

Question: When is the second best time to plant a tree?

Answer:  Right now.

(Great words courtesy of Justin at Mudder Nation)

Training as a group or an individual?

One of the questions we're thinking through with our work-team is how much training we need to do as a group, and how much can we just leave for people to do on their own.

 

 Clearly, the logistics and practicalities of life lean towards a lot of individual training - We all live in different suburbs, have different commitments, and the usual family obligations. Training together takes precious time out of already busy schedules. 

However a point our work's personal trainer impressed upon us today was the importance of training together - To get a feel for each other's strengths and weaknesses and encourage those who might need a bit more work than most to push harder and lift themselves up to the standard of the group. 

It's also a worthwhile reminder that we'll probably never push as hard on our own as when we're in a group, be that due to competitiveness, pride, or simply not wanting to let the team down.

So as a consequence, our training schedule just got even more complicated with fortnightly group jogs on the weekend, and possibly regular sessions with the trainer once a week.... 

I don't think I've trained so hard and with such focus for anything every in my life!!