Life is an AMRAP

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/