Archive for November, 2010

If I were to tell you that you were about to get into a fight with the toughest opponent the world has ever faced, how would you prepare?

You’d probably learn some martial arts, do some combat training, get stronger, faster, better conditioned, hire instructors and formulate a strategy to take on the opponent.

But what if I told you that all the kicks, punches and chokeholds won’t work against this opponent? It’s invisible. Your instructors can’t help you.

That’s the reality of facing cancer.

I bested cancer. Twice. Most people don’t survive the first time. I have no idea why I was given these extra days on this planet, but I treat them like a gift.

Prior to my bone marrow and stem cell transplant I had to undergo a battery of fitness tests. The treatment itself is so brutal, you need a certain level of conditioning before the doctors will even consider doing the treatment. They did heart tests, lung capacity tests, and a ton more.

I passed the tests and entered the “fight” and won. I didn’t think much of it until after being in remission when I met a young girl who was facing the same transplant situation. She said, “Oh wow! You got the transplant — that’s amazing!”

I have to admit that I didn’t feel that amazing.

She went on, “I need to get one but I can’t pass the tests. I’m not in good enough shape to survive the procedure right now.”

That’s when I realized the horror of her situation. She, while fighting cancer, needed to improve her fitness, so that she could win.

How does a cancer patient get in shape when he or she is being bombarded with a malignant disease, chemotherapy, drugs, and radiation? It’s an uphill battle for everyone, but cancer patients are starting well behind the starting blocks.

I knew then that I had survived in part because when the disease hit me, I was in condition. I was strong. I had muscle. I had cardio fitness. I had gritted my teeth and grinded out a heavy last rep, or a max effort sprint.

My body could handle whatever the doctors were going to throw at me. Cancer couldn’t.

Because cancer didn’t train the way we train.

I started weight training to improve my martial arts competition skills. Who knew that the lessons learned in the ring, and the qualities developed under the bar would save my life?

–
AC
PS – make sure you are keeping up with me on Facebook — > Alwyn Cosgrove Facebook Page

*This was my portion of  a compilation article I recently contributed to at t-nation (full article HERE)

My Taekwon-do instructor taught me years ago — almost everything you want to know has already been written. All you need to do is access it. It really stuck in my head that reading is an essential part to growth.
I always think it’s odd that some people don’t read much, or even pride themselves on not reading! Because after all – people who don’t read books get the same education as people who CAN’T read…

I read a LOT. I try to get through two books a week if possible (more if I’m traveling).
Here’s a wee look at what I’ve been reading recently:

As you can see – lots of business books there.
I try to rotate between training books (but I’ll confess there are very few good new training books right now), business, sales and customer service books.

Recently I’ve been downloading more and more stuff to the Kindle which is pretty cool (as I can take 10 books on the road with me!)

–
AC

A new TRX training program has been added to the Fitness Anywhere download library – featuring TRX founder Randy Hetrick and UFC light heavyweight contender Brandon Vera.
You can check it out here: TRX for MMA

–
AC
PS – make sure you are keeping up with me on Facebook — > Alwyn Cosgrove Facebook Page

Essential Hip Mobility Warm-up

Guest blog by Jim Smith, CSCS

You Are Going to Get Injured.

Yes, you will.

Sooner or later, the choices you make in the weight room will lead to injury. A severe injury or something minor is in your future, trust me on that!!

But you have a choice and if you act on it, you will see immediate results.

And you must make it immediately! You must take action right now without hesitation!

Change your workout. Change it NOW! Read the rest of this entry »

Whether you like ColdPlay or not – this video shows just how much PASSION Chris Martin has for what he does…