AMRAP means As Many Rounds (or Reps) As Possible. For the
uninitiated, it is a type of Crossfit work out which requires you to complete
as many rounds of a particular set of exercises, or as many reps of an
exercise, as possible in a set time period.
For example, a round may require 15 dead lifts, 15 pull-ups, and a 200 m run; you will need to
complete as many rounds as you can of that in 20 minutes. It aims to make you work as hard as you can
for a set period, and pushes you to your limits with the aim of increasing your
work capacity. It drives you to work
harder because every rep, and every round, counts toward your total achievement
for that workout. The ability to pace
yourself is an important part of the workout.
You’ve got to be able to work throughout the whole 20 minutes. There’s no point using all of your energy in
the first 5 minutes and having nothing left for the last 15. You’ve also got to carefully pick your
weight. You might be able to deadlift
100kg, but can you do that 15 times, then 15 pull-ups, and a 200m run? Can you
then come back and repeat the circuit over and over again for 20 minutes? Or are you better off lowering the weight so
that you can last the distance? It’s
hard work, but the sense of achievement at the end when you know you’ve given
all you’ve got and smashed out 8 or 10 rounds, or however many you can, is
fantastic. Having your coach and fellow
athletes encourage you on and congratulate you at the end is awesome, and well
worth the work!
Life is a bit the same.
We all have things we are called to do, tasks which are set out for us
to complete in a set period of time.
We’re not told what that time is, it may be 20 years, it may be 100
years, but we know our time is limited.
The fact that we don't know the time gives us even more impetus to put
the work in. Just like in a Crossfit
workout, you have to prepare before you can accomplish your given task. The first thing you need to do is find out
what your AMRAP entails. What exercises
are you required to do? As a Christian
that means connecting to my "coach", God, to find out what he wants
me to do with my life. The Bible teaches
that he has plans for my life (Jeremiah 29:11), so I need to know what those
are. And just like in an AMRAP there are
going to be multiple things we need to be doing; we aren't defined by one
task. For example I'm a social worker,
but I'm also a child, a parent, a sibling, a friend. I need to be ready for each of these
roles.
The next step before you tackle a workout is warming up and
stretching. You need to go through the
exercises to make sure you know what you are doing and your technique
right. In life, we need to learn from
those around us, we need to allow ourselves to be taught, and "warm
up" by starting with smaller things and building up to bigger things. We may need to do specific training to get
our technique right. We need to make
sure we are as prepared as possible for the challenges we are going to face;
this goes for all the "exercises" we need to do. You're not going to complete many rounds of
an AMRAP if you focus on only one exercise and neglect the others. It's the same in life, if we only focus on
one aspect and neglect the others; the amount we can achieve will be greatly
reduced. We need to approach our lives holistically, putting time into work,
family, and friends. In an AMRAP you
also need to have a wide variety of fitness levels. You need to be physically strong, have good
cardiovascular fitness, and good endurance.
In life, we need to be similarly prepared across multiple areas of our
lives by eating well, exercising regularly, and looking after ourselves
mentally, emotionally, and spiritually so that we are as prepared as we can be.
Finally, it is time to tackle the AMRAP. It's time to get in and give it all you've
got, to put all of your preparation into practice. This still takes discipline and thought; you
have to pace yourself, you've got a whole workout to complete. It's important that every time you pick up
that bar, you do it to the best of your ability. You need to focus on your technique and
effort for each and every rep. But there
are times when you need to put the bar down for a moment, to rest and recover
long enough to give you the energy to pick it up again and keep going. Putting the bar down for a moment isn't
weakness, it isn't failing; it’s human.
Putting the bar down doesn't give you an excuse to walk away or get
lazy, it's a chance to catch your breath and prepare for your next effort. Life is the same; sometimes you need to rest,
recuperate, catch your breath, and prepare for the next challenge. But you can't give up, you can't stop. Once you've had that rest you need to get
back into it.
As you progress through the AMRAP, the number of reps you can
do between rests may also change. You
may start out being able to do 20 unbroken.
At times during the workout this may change, you may have times when you
can only do 10 or even 5. Then you may
get a second wind and be able to more again.
As things progress and you get towards the end, the number of reps may
drop down again. You may even tire to
where you can only do a couple at a time.
But that's ok, every rep counts, remember the workout is As Many Rounds
As Possible. You still need to make sure
you maintain your technique and do each rep to the best of your ability; in
fact, this is even more important when you're tired. And when it comes down to the end you may
not complete the round, but the reps still count. Life is similar. Whatever we are meant to achieve, we need to
get as much of it done as possible.
There may be times in life where we are achieving tremendous amounts,
and then other times when we slow down, or don't seem to be achieving as much. But that's ok, we just need to keep going and
keep chipping away, because every rep counts.
We can't give up, walk away, get lazy, or forget our good technique. We
can't neglect our relationships, our health, or our holistic well-being because
we may get that second wind at which time those things will help us achieve
even more. Stay focused, stay
determined. Keep going.
Finally, when your time is done you look back on what you
have achieved: how many reps you managed to push out, the impact you have had
on those around you, what you have built, and the legacies you will leave. If you've given all you've got, worked
effectively and to the best of your abilities, you get the congratulations of
your coach and your fellow athletes. You
have the satisfaction of knowing you have done your very best. As a Christian the Bible tells me that I'll
get to Heaven and hear the words "Well done my good and faithful
servant". It's a day I look forward
to. But for now, I need to keep working,
to keep pushing out rep after rep, for round after round, so that I know I have
successfully completed my AMRAP. That I
have given all I can for my allotted time.
I live with determination so that I can finish with satisfaction. I approach life holistically so that I know I
am ready for whatever comes at me, and I hope you'll do the same.
P.S. I've been honored enough to be asked to post my blog on the i2imovement website, so will be moving over there. I'll still maintain this for a while and posting here too, but www.i2imovement.com will be the place to be. Head on over there and check out there awesome stuff. Here is the link to my post on their site: http://i2imovement.com/life-is-an-amrap/
