Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The deck of cards...

Today's 22 mile run puts the 2012 run miles over 1,000 miles!

On another note, recently I have had a few people ask about the daily deck of card routine that I do for push-ups and pull-ups as my pre-run warm-up, so I thought I would touch on it in a blog update since I am not up to my 26.2 miles per day yet of running, this is my chance to talk about other things.  I started this many years ago because I wanted a way to keep my upper body in shape and I wanted something I could do without going to a gym because I was traveling a lot at the time.  This really is a great routine anyone can do anytime, anywhere.

Take a deck of cards - each card tells you how many reps to do. For years I have done a "set" every two minutes. So for me, that means doing two cards at a time. You can shuffle the deck for variety, start at king work to ace (aces equal 1 rep) or start at aces work to king. Every two minutes do a set. This is great core work and great way to slow down in a very fast world we live in.  I say that because the routine takes 52 minutes each day.  Before you say you don’t have the time, you make the time.  I do my routine while getting the kids ready for school and I am done by time I take them to school.

Oh yeah, do this every day.   Keep track of the days.  I have almost 1,700 days in a row on the push-ups, I have competed 340 pull-ups every day since March 31st, 2009 and 340 push-ups every day since July 6th, 2007.  The momentum makes you unstoppable. Takes how I feel at the moment out of the equation. There is always a reason not to do something. This takes care of that!

For the skeptics that may find it hard to believe that a 41 year old can complete over 10,000 push-ups AND pull-ups every month, keep in mind, I start with Kings, doing two cards at a time (20 reps) with pretty crappy form and work my down to aces.  Somewhere in the middle the form gets better until by the end on the final sets, which matter the most, the form is full extension flawless.  Both exercises pretty much hit the entire upper body and work the core just by focusing on that area.  As far as the legs, I run 22 miles per day!

And for the skeptics on the time investment every day, this is a routine that you can also use as an opportunity to incorporate deep breathing and relaxation between sets. 

How to start - The idea is to make it so easy that you cannot fail - you must be able to say with sincerity, "I can do THIS" - remember this is a long term goal - the idea is minor improvement - so minor your body does not notice it. MOST PEOPLE NEVER FIGURE THIS ONE OUT -any worthwhile goal is about microscopic improvement CONSISTENTLY.

My question to you is - how patient are you?
My challenge to you is Start with whatever is easy for you to do. Then just add a card a day.  Remember - the time WILL pass anyway.
Keep me posted if you actually do this.

Jeffrey J. Miller 
Extreme marathoner
Soon to be New York Times best selling author
@jeffreyjmiller1
jeffreyjmiller1970@yahoo.com

If your are interested in helping me complete a full marathon every day, there are two ways you can help, first and foremost, order the book, secondly, tell a few others about what it is that I am attempting to do.  We can make a difference one person at a time.  

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