Old School Pic of Jimmy Oct 09
This weekend one of our CFSF Stud’s, Jimmy Leyse, will be attending the Navy Seals Camp Weekend Course in Corondo, CA.
Jimmy and I have been talking about this camp for well over a year. Lately it has received a lot of press within the CrossFit community.
It is designed to stretch your mental and physical capabilities to the LIMIT!
To get an idea of what in store for Jimmy. Read below:
“The Kokoro camp was 50 hours long, no sleep, few breaks, plenty of water and snacks, and non-stop physical and mental training. I’d detail out the whole weekend but that would be long and redundant so I’ll try to summarize what I mean by physical and mental training. On the grind: cement square at base camp, we’d do push-ups, sit-ups, burpees, squats, lunges, jumps, bear crawls, commando crawls, mountain climbers, and one workout with sandbags. Log PT: teams of 4-5 people shoulder log, walk/jog with it, do thrusters, squats, presses, overhead holds, sit-ups, bench presses, pushups with feet on, push it with feet to ocean and back up to shore, push with hands, wade into ocean, etc. Beach PT: On the beach sometimes with 40# pack sometimes without we’d do running, stairclimbs, pushups, squats, run to water and “get wet”, run to shore and “get sandy”, bearcrawls, walking lunges, partner carries, partner drags, run and stairclimb holding 30# rock, etc.
First night we also did “Murph” with our 40# packs on. The second night we did a 22 mile hike up and down a peak with about 3000′ elevation gain. I’d say out of the 50 hours 42 of it was spent moving, working, and exerting energy. It was the hardest 2 days I’ve encountered physically, and the mental side of it would have been much tougher if I had not been well prepared by college football coaches and various life experiences of overcoming adversity.
If I had to pick a favorite part of the weekend it would have to be the 22 mile hike from 9pm to 5;30 am on Saturday night. Not because the hike was particularly fun of scenic, although I did have some great hallucinations, but because of the lessons learned during that time. I learned more about teamwork and dealing with pain and discomfort that night than I had learned my previous years on this earth. I was chosen to lead a group of 6 men up and down the mountain. Within the 1st hour we were slowed by my buddy Rob, who had been peeing blood in the morning and was really struggling to keep up. I immediately unloaded the sandbag out of his pack and put it in mine, because I was better conditioned for long hikes and was feeling fine. For the next hour I had a 70# pack but it wasn’t an issue because I was more concerned about Rob’s health and didn’t have time to think about the weight. I was happy Rob was keeping up and feeling better. About 2 hrs into the hike another guy named Miles was falling behind and was complaining about bad blisters on his feet. Rob was feeling better so he took Miles’ pack. About 2.5 hrs in Larson had to stop because of blisters, he took off his shoes, bandaged up his heels, and put his pack back on. I asked him how he was doing and he replied, “they hurt real bad but I’ll be fine.” Larson didn’t ever complain again after that. Rob trudged on, probably more concerned with me and my 70# pack than he was with his own discomfort. I kept moving because there was nothing else to do, all I could think about was that I was glad I didn’t have blisters and that i wasn’t pissing blood, I could care less about the pack. There were probably two brief moments when I thought about how heavy my pack was, during those moments everything hurt, my shoulders ached, and I wanted to take the 2nd sandbag out. As long as I was focused on keeping my team moving, and worried about their well-being I was oblivious to the discomfort. Larson kept moving and didn’t complain for his own reasons, he was tough. Miles continued to talk about his blisters, and his flat feet and how he was in pain. He was the only guy in our group without a heavy pack on his back, yet he seemed to be in the most discomfort. I truly believe that just by vocalizing something, you affirm it and make it a reality. If I can talk about how good I feel, how nice the weather is at 3am, and how much I can’t wait to get to the beach and watch people surf while I do bear crawls, then I don’t give myself any room for negative or destructive thoughts. If I can focus so hard on the 5 other men in my group, their safety, well-being, and comfort, then my own discomfort becomes irrelevant and non-existent. The next day some guys were walking around with shoes off. Larson (non-complainer) had 2 huge, nasty blisters on his heels. Miles (complainer) had one small visible blister on his foot.
When working on a team, whether it be at Crossfit, at work, in sports, in a marriage, or as a part of a family, I think the same universal rules appply. I believe that when a person can shift the focus from themself to others, they can accomplish much more. I think that people can give great efforts on their own, but the most amazing feats of human performance have come when failing the person next to you is just not an option. I think the story of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae is the best example. There was not one great warrior searching for glory. There were 300 men who refused to let the guy next to them down. Think about this next time you are in a team environment, or leading a group, or sacrificing for your family. Instead of thinking about what you’re losing, think about what your team is gaining.”
Found at: http://utecrossfit.com/?p=466
Best of luck Jim! It sounds like you are gonna need it.
Post some love to Jimmy as he embarks on this amazing weekend.
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