Thoughts and Run-Ons

Most of the time as I sit here at work, I'll start thinking about Crossfit, and I get so amped up.  I just want to go home and hit it!  I'll get up and start pacing down the halls, feeling all this energy.  My only hope is I feel this amped come tonight as I attack two metcons. 

....watching this doesn't help. 

Dang it...it feels good getting stronger.  And as I make progressive gains on a daily basis, and compare my work from last week, I know I'm getting better.  I look at these elite athletes and I realize that they are so good because they've been consistently hitting it hard for several years in a row.  If you look at all of these athlete's videos from years past, like Rich in 2011, he's significantly larger than he was then.  It just shows that hard consistent work does pay off.  And I can't wait to see where I'll be 1 year from now!  And I'm only 3 and a half weeks into consistent training!!  48.5 more weeks to go!

CONFIDENCE: I was trying 225lbs squat clean doubles.  I couldn't get the double part to it, really due to mental block.  But 225 SAILED UP really easy.  That number has always been a mental barrier for me.  Hitting that once was always something I was proud of, and sometimes I would miss.  Now I know it's a staple.  And sure, I have more work, but I've taken a step of leaving 225 for good. 

CONFIDENCE: doubles on split jerk with good proper form went to 195#.  Better than last week. 

Decisions Champions Make....

Katrin Davidsdottir, the 2015 Crossfit Games women's champion, said that success is a mindset.  The difference between being a Games competitor and the Games champion is mindset.  Her coach, Ben Bergeron, gave her the same pep talk before each event, so that she went into the arena confident.  In watching Part 5 of the Behind the Scenes docs of the Crossfit Games, some of the athletes entering into the last day were wanting it to be over with.  They had already settled on a different place other than winning.  They were coasting.  They had already compromised.  A Champion sees each moment as an opportunity to be even better or to obtain the prize. 

I have a champion mindset.  And why not?  Why not just say that?  Put that out there?  "Success is all I envision." Conor McGregor says. 

I look at each item on the daily training regimen as an opportunity.  It is an opportunity to grow.  Each meal I consume is an opportunity. 

This is what usually happens for me........I write the daily regimen of what I am supposed to accomplish that day up on the white board at my home gym.  Usually there is a hard warm up attacking a weakness, strength, metcon, and gymnastics metcon.  That's the cycle I am in with Misfit Athletics.  Most of the time the work is daunting to me at first.  I begin to set up the weights, and sometimes as I do I feel dread.  I feel tired.  I don't want the pain.  I pace back and forth and put off starting the clock for me to begin.  BUT THEN SOMETHING CHANGES.  I am reminded of the quotes I have up on my white board......... "I am one of the fittest in the world."  and "I am the fittest in my city."  I say these things out loud.  I make sure I hear them.  Immediately my faith grows.  Immediately I look at the work ahead of me with eagerness.  I think to myself how the best in the world would view this workout, and how they would ATTACK it!  They would own it.  The metcon would be their bitch in the end. 


Then a thought runs through my mind...... "I have an opportunity here.  If I make the most of this moment, I will be fitter after.  There is opportunity here." 

When I looked at the power cleans the other day, I thought to myself, "there is opportunity to be that much closer to my goals after this workout."  And what happened?  I did 225lbs X 3.  I've never done that before.  That was added to my CONFIDENCE page.  Over the weekend I did a workout that was 7 rounds for time of: 7 thrusters at 100# and 7 burpees jumping to a 6 inch mark.  Before that workout I dreaded thrusters.  But I attacked it, because it was an opportunity to grow in that moment.  I am fitter now. 

Champions grow daily.  I used to think that I wanted to look back on the previous week and be better.  As it turns out my weeks were hit or miss for me.  Sometimes I would be consistent and other times I wouldn't.  I didn't have a champion mindset then.  Now, I look at EACH DAY to become better.  Those who are watching this process are noticing me grow by leaps and bounds.  There are opportunities everywhere. 

Jason Khalipa said during an interview during his last year as a competitive individual athlete that he is PRing all the time.  Almost daily. 

I should not let my guard down for anything.  Even in the midst of my routine, and attacking my routine that I do have set aside for growth, don't just settle for that.  What about the other times throughout the day?  What about at night?  What about when I first wake up?  What about during work?  Is there something I can be doing, that I should be doing, to make me even better? 

Ben Bergeron makes his athletes do active recovery for 50% of whatever time they spent that day training.  So if they trained for 5 hours, then they spent 2.5 hours doing recovery drills. 

If I train for   2 hours a day, then I need to do recovery for 1 hour a day.  Basically, a long yoga session at night would do the trick. 

The obsession that champions have and the commitment and determination that is in them drives them.  They look at weaknesses and the places that are hindering them or weak points.  Instead of letting them be a crutch, or an excuse, they attack them until they are no longer weaknesses but strengths. 

Right now I have two main weaknesses: 1.  excess body fat 2.  flexibility.  I am on the high end of body fat from where I prefer to be.  I prefer to be at 8% or lower.  I am already pretty strong in gymnastic movements.  So having the excess poundage off my body will enable me to excel at them.  when it comes to flexibility, There are two movements where I know me being tight hinders me, and I dread when these movements come up in programming.  They are GHD situps and the shoulder rack with a barbell.  In GHD situps by the time I get to set 2-3, then each movement causes quite a bit of pain in my hips and hamstrings.  It is almost unbearable, and I know it is due to inflexibility.  Otherwise, I believe I would fly through GHD's. 

Now I am being honest right now.........I have not come to that mental conclusion until now about those two weaknesses.  I mean, sure, I have thought about them, especially the excess body fat part.  And I am doing something about THAT........in fact here in 18 minutes I'll be eating 3oz chicken breast, 2 large peppers raw, 7 baby carrots, and 9 almonds.  But I haven't put on paper and actually studied what inflexibility is doing to me.  How much it is hindering me

Nutrition ON POINT...

........I am processing right now............I am meditating on this right now..............I am visualizing me putting in the work on a daily basis............I am really taking seriously how Ben Bergeron makes his athletes recover in 1:2 ratio........how that ratio for me means simply doing a yoga video at night..........how this would also help me build a night time routine to make me better and hit my goals................

...........yep................consider that weakness now in my cross hairs. 

Nutrition To Be My Best

 

When I want to be my best, I have to be precise
 

First of all I am no nutrition expert.  I do have my Crossfit Level 1 Certification, so proper nutrition is covered.  But I certainly do not have a degree on the subject.  But I do know what works for me. 

 

Right now as I sit at my desk, it is 10:30 am, and I am having 7 baby carrots raw, 3 almonds, and 1 oz of grilled chicken.  When I am serious my diet becomes very regimented.  When I am focused, my whole life becomes on point.  Food is on point.  Food creates the most change. 

 

It doesn't matter how hard you train, how many times you train, what intensity you train.  If your commitment does not stretch to what you put into your body, then you aren't making near the gains you should.  And chances are you are still storing fat, still losing your breath and unable to sustain metabolic workouts, you aren't sleeping well, and you aren't recovering at the speed you should. 

 

What I eat is the true sign of if I am truly committed or not.  Everything else is half ass. 

 

On Top of which, I am less confident when I am carrying extra weight.  I don't like the way I look.  I don't like the way I move.  I don't like that gymnastics movements are a freaking struggle.  That I'm high fiving myself when I get a freaking muscle up carrying extra weight.  When in reality I should be streaming 10 together with ease.  I don't like it!  I don't like chubby cheeks. 

 

I DON'T LIKE NOT HAVING SELF CONTROL OVER MYSELF.  I don't want anything to be master over me, except Jesus.  I serve God, and I serve my family.  I do not serve food.  And when I am sitting on the couch late at night, and that craving hits, and I make the walk of shame to the fridge, I am so mad at myself, and I am allowing food cravings to have control over me.  I HATE THAT. 

 

Travis Williams, an elite Crossfit Games athlete, describes in his documentary, "No Excuses, No Missed Days." that he no longer drinks and no longer does cheat meals.  He knows with one cheat meal he will gain around 5lbs by the next day.  So he doesn't fuck with those.  He eats the same things every day.  His nutrition is routine.  He has found what works for him, and it works.  Nutrition is part of the process. 

 

Now one could argue that there is no enjoyment in eating like that.  And there certainly isn't any enjoyment in eating like the pic I have in this article.  They are right and wrong.  They're right in the sense that there isn't enjoyment of sitting down to a plate of food that is 1200 calories, and the 'fun' that goes into eating those kinds of comfort foods.  But there is enjoyment in knowing that after the meal I just had sitting at my desk ,the calculated snack, I'm skinnier now.  I just allowed my body to be in fat burning mode for the next 3 hours until I eat again.  I'm fitter now. 

 

Food is a tool.  And the thing is, when food is used to aid in my goals, I take much larger longer steps toward my goal.  Every day becomes a day of progress.  I become fitter DAILY when food is on point. 

 

 

I know I am obsessed, committed, driven, determined....when I am willing to consume the amount of veggies I do every single meal.  It is hard work to be stuffed and no longer want to eat, to be gagging a little at the thought of eating what's left of the broccoli on my plate, and to count out how many bites I have as reps.  But my mindset is that this plate of food sitting in front of me is a tool, it is a workout, it is just as much a part of the process as killing it in a metcon.  If you remove the intensity of the metcon, or if you remove the intensity of nutrition, the results change. 

 

If I want to be in the top 1% of all Open athletes in 2017, then everything I do matters.  If I am obsessed to the point that I view every meal matters, and every lift matters, and every nights rest matters, and doing yoga matters.........then I will surpass my goal.  And I bet I even scare the hell out of qualifying for Regionals this next year.  I bet you I scare the hell out of it.  THIS IS WHAT IT TAKES. 

 

It's an obsession.  It takes focus.  It takes drive.  It takes even stubbornness.  If I want to be the BEST.  And if you think that the best in the world aren't these things, you're wrong. 

 

So the question becomes, how do I eat?

 

To understand what I eat, you first must understand why.  What are my goals?  My goals are to lean out, to have my body fat percentage around 8%, then to maintain around 8%-10% for the rest of the year's training.  My goal is to maintain the muscle I do have while I am cutting weight.  Then once the level of body fat % has been obtained, to put on lean muscle for the rest of the year, giving my body enough energy and nutrients to recover training with intensity for 2-3 sessions a day. 

 

So how?

 

I follow the Zone protocol of "blocks".  Each meal  consists of a perfect balance of the macronutrients of protein, carbs, and fat. 

 

Right now as I cut, I am eating three 3block meals, and three 1block snacks.  I am also eating precisely three hours apart. 

 

For my protein I am choosing the leanest meats I can find.  Mainly chicken or turkey or white fish.  For my fat's I am getting from nuts and seeds and olives.  And my carbs are almost 100% vegetables, and I am picking the veggies that have the MOST VOLUME I can stomach.  EX...... 1 block of broccoli is 2 cups.  1 block of potato is 1/4 cup.  Which has the most volume per block?  Obviously the 2 cups of broccoli.  Trust me, it is easy to eat one sweet potato compared to 6 cups of broccoli!  You have to be committed and obsessed to want to even try!  However, when the carb selection has the most volume like that, and no sugar, you are ramping up your metabolism faster than when you were a hormonal teenager!

 

Then when the fat is off, I will increase the snacks slowly, taking one week at a time and seeing how I feel, seeing how my body adjusts. 

 

Thankfully, I have a real nutrition expert in my corner.  I hired her last year for a period of time.  She took me to 7.8% body fat.  Lean and mean. 

 

 

 



 

 

Should You Take Something On When You're Not 100% Ready?

Confidence is everything.  Motivation is everything.  MOMENTUM is KEY.

The momentum that comes with consistency in anything positive is how life changes are made.  Real honest to God life changes.  MOMENTUM is where something in my life goes from a fad to something permanent. 

How many times have we all started a diet and quit.  Started a diet and quit.  Started a new training regimen and quit.  Monday is the notorious beginning to anything big.  And Tuesday is the day for failures.  Why does this happen?  It is because there wasn't enough MOMENTUM to push them forward. 

Momentum is the key.  Build up momentum at all cost.  And protect momentum at all cost.  Look at the quote I have under my blog title....

"I am like a snowball rolling down hill.  I am building steam and getting bigger and faster.  If I can gain enough mass of snow and enough speed, then my momentum will turn into an avalanche.  Nothing can stop me then."

Nothing can stop me with enough momentum.  This is a driving force.  This says that based on what I do on a daily basis, based on the pattern of thoughts, based on the pattern of habits, I can look into the future and know what it looks like.  This is momentum.

I can also have negative momentum.  I really need to start going to bed early.  This would benefit me in a number of major ways:
1. I would recover faster for the next day
2.  Enough sleep is an automatic testosterone booster
3.  I wouldn't binge eat late at night, or be tempted to do so, because I'm asleep when those cravings come.
But right now I have the habit of staying up late.  As soon as the kids get put down, my wife usually goes to our room and chills.  Then I usually grab my favorite pillow and crash my butt on the couch, watch Family Guy, and play online WSOP.  I make a few $100k of fake money and I fall asleep. 

Now I know the benefits of what changing my night time routine would bring me.  Unfortunately, the habit I just explained has created enough negative momentum in my life, that it is hard to break.  But it needs to be broken. 

So what am I doing about it?  I have set a futuristic date to prepare for the MOMENTUM CHANGE.  Haha coincidently it's this Monday!!!!

I think the difference of being successful for this paradigm shift of my night time routine and not being successful has to do with PREPARATION.  And this is where meditation, prayer, and visualization come into play. 

If I do nothing with the next few days leading up to this Monday, not even think about it, give it no real thought, then sure I will be a failure at this goal come Tuesday.  So I have an obligation to myself that by taking this goal seriously, and emotionally and mentally prepare, then I may have enough to stop the avalanche that is this negative habit that is ultimately hindering and interfering with my 2017 goals. 

Getting to the question that came with this title..........Should you take something on when you're not 100% ready for it?  The answer is NO.  Not if you haven't prepared for it.  Not if you haven't visualized yourself succeeding.  And spent enough time meditating and thinking about you being successful in order to have a strong enough start. 

Think back to a time when you set out on a goal and finished.  I guarantee the times you were successful, you were excited about beginning.  You were talking about it with anyone who would listen.  You knew even a week before starting that this time WOULD BE DIFFERENT.  You just knew.  And so when the time came to begin....when that particular Monday rolled around, Tuesday came and went and you pushed on to the end.  WHY?  Because you did the correct visualization beforehand, causing you to be confident and prepared.  Negative thoughts were not present. 

PLEASE GET THIS: the more successful you are, the more momentum you have to take on any changes at any time, knowing full well that you will achieve what you started. 

Being successful is momentum.

When a football team has a win streak that goes back 3 straight seasons, don't you think the opposing team is freaking intimidated to play them?!  And what do you think the mentality is for that football team when they enter the field?  How confident do you think the coaching staff is in calling plays?  How about when they make a gutsy play, or the kicker lines up for a 46 yard game winning attempt?  They know they will win due to MOMENTUM. 

The same can be for a losing streak.  It's hard to win with a losing streak.  And the analysts after usually point that their own minds got in the way. 

Taking something on when a person has been losing when they aren't ready for it, when they haven't done the correct preparation in their minds and in their emotions will only add to the negative pattern. 

And the shift of someone turning themselves from a loser into a winner, there is that time frame where they are still vulnerable.  They have been winning.  They have been gaining success.  They have been walking out their new self image, attacking everything that comes their way with a winning attitude, knowing nothing will stop them.  There may have been a set back or two, but they have bounced back.  MOMENTUM is growing.  That snowball has turned into a ball that is now 4 ft tall.  It's gaining speed.  It's gaining mass.  It needs to remain that way.  And taking something on without the preparation needed, especially if it is a lofty goal in the midst of the greater goals at hand, could be damaging.  Momentum is precious and must be protected. 

Momentum must be protected.  Especially when it is driving toward something valuable.  Something meaningful.  Something defining. 

Now should we avoid taking on bigger goals?  Should we risk it?  Or should we feel like we aren't capable?  We should absolutely risk it.  It needs to be done.  Because when that larger thing that once intimidated you is accomplished and you stand triumphant over it, that victory just transformed your 4 ft snowball into a cliffhanger about to cause some serious destruction to the landscape of that mountain!

But take it seriously.  Know that the changes happening in your mind and heart are so valuable, they are so precious, and they must be protected.  Do the prep.  Pray and believe in faith.  Speak faith.  Sit down and visualize yourself.  Faith image yourself.  Practice.  Pretend.  Gain the experience, even if it is just between you and Jesus.  Then when that particular Monday rolls around, hit it with all you've got!



Yesterday's training.  CONFIDENCE: on #3 I pushed so hard I literally had chills after.  I can do this with all my metcons.  I have what it takes to hurt that bad.  To go to that dark place and keep moving. 

I Look Into the Eyes of My Competition

This is a simple exercise for me.  I love to watch videos like these.  I always have.  However, as I watch them now I am visualizing these athletes as my competition.  I am visualizing myself equally as strong if not stronger than they are.  Fitter than they are.  I am looking at them with competitive eyes, NOT as untouchable celebrity athletes. 

I watch this, and I pay attention to my thoughts.  If my thoughts turn to idolization or feeling inferior, I seize it, take control of it, and replace it with confidence and motivation.  I see the end goal as if it is NOW. 

I used to think that Noah Olsen was just cocky and arrogant.  Now I understand him.  He, as a rookie, thought he could beat the best of the best.  And as it turned out, he was among them.  Now he is potentially a frontrunner to be the very best in the world for 2016.  He won the OPEN after all. 

I love what Noah says here... "I used to get rocked all the time by [certain elite competitors], they would crush me with anything that had any weight in it....and in the beginning just constantly getting my ass kicked made me think, someday, I'm gonna be as good as these guys.  Someday I'm gonna compete with them.  And Someday I'm gonna be better than them.....and that helped me to keep pushing and pushing...."

 

 

 

Overcoming Mental Barriers and Discouraging Thoughts

Sara Sigmundsdotter was asked what drives her in her training, since most of the time she trains by herself.  She said, "I just think about what would Annie do?  What would Katrin do? (both of these women are the fittest in the world).  So I just PRETEND that they're next to me." 

Visualization.  Faith Imaging. 

When Sara PRETENDS to workout with these women, who are literally the best in the world, she doesn't pretend she gets beat.  Instead, she focuses on how the best in the world do in the WOD, and Sara tries to outperform them.  She sees in her mind that she is as good if not better than them.  In fact, I would argue and venture to guess, since I cannot peak into Sara's mind, that she PRETENDS she is better than the best in the world.  Because at the time of this interview, which was in the middle of the 2015 Crossfit Games, she was sitting in 1st place and was ahead by over 40 points. 

__________________________________________________________

I must keep my thoughts captive.  I must be deliberate in my thoughts, in my attitude, and the way I think about myself.  Otherwise, they become like runaway trains, turning into something that could very well be destructive and derail my progress. 

Ecclesiastes 7:9 says, "Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit."

Staying motivated has to become a habit.  It has to turn into my default.  But for our minds to be iron clad and indefensible against negative destructive thoughts, it must first be intentional and work, where I am always checking my emotions, ensuring they are where they need to be.  And when a negative thought enters my mind, or a negative emotion, or a negative self image, I must GRAB it and TAKE HOLD of it.  I must CONTROL it, so that it does not gain power over me. 

It is a constant defense.  For the battle is in our minds.  And if I am in a real physical battle, surrounded by the enemy, what happens if I put my guard down?  IM DEAD.  I'm stabbed in the back.  My throat is slit, and my fighting days are over. 

Do I want my fight for the 2017 Crossfit Open to be over with?  NO.  Abolutely not.  Even after a couple weeks of this walk I am on, I would be broken hearted and very disappointed in myself.  I would feel like a failure.  And I would be a failure if I just quit. 

So instead, I keep my defenses up.  The defenses of my mind.  The defenses of my emotions.  The defenses of my spirit. 

James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."

Clearly this verse in context is about everlasting life.  But there is also a principle here that is valid to this discussion.  The more I overcome mental battles, the stronger my mind also becomes.  And the longer that I remain steady in my thinking, steady in my approach, steady in my self image of who I am, then it will turn into concrete.  I am that person. 

I have been watching the behind the scenes to the Crossfit Games from last year.  This is Part 3, and I'm fairly certain they will publish a Part 4.  If I watch these videos and idolize these athletes, seeing them as untouchable, watching what they do as extraordinary, and FEELING THE EMOTION in my mind that I am nothing like them and I will never be like them, then watching these videos are DAMAGING to my mind. 

As I watch these videos, and if those self defeating thoughts enter my mind, and I feel the discouraging emotion try to take hold, I must take those thoughts captive.  I must pause the video, close my eyes, and allow my spirit to be in touch with the Holy Spirit, so that I may see in faith who I really am and who I am becoming.  Then watch the video from a different lense.  Not from idolization, but as my competitors.  And, as Sara Sigmundsdotter did, PRETEND I am among them.  See how I look with my shirt off.  Notice the sweat as I push.  Watch me go tirelessly with the barbell without breaking up the set.  VISUALIZE in FAITH. 

I will be there.  I will get there.  I am that person now.....in faith.  And I will continue to walk this thing out....each day.....getting stronger.....getting faster.....more disciplined.....eating perfectly......

THIS IS ME. 

Day 16 of my 2017 Crossfit Open Prep, how it's going so far, and doing dishes to keep the wife happy

Dan Bailey said in an interview with Julie Foucher that there's no magic recipe to make it to the Games.  It's just hard work and effort.  And sure, you need to know what you're doing in terms of programming, but it's about how much effort you put into it. 

I have committed to this mindset.  This year is different for me, because I am no longer switching back and forth between programmes.  I am no longer second guessing myself or researching other online coaching forums.  I know that Misfit Athletics knows their shit.  They are taking ordinary athletes and turning them into Games competitors.  To the point that I am paying for the membership to see their content. 

I am also splitting their daily regimen into an A.M. and P.M. workout.  It does help that I work out at home and have an incredible space.  That way it doesn't take away from family time.  And my wife has been super supportive of my goals.  She isn't making me feel guilty for going out to train.  Of course I've noticed she's good with my busy training schedule as long as I keep the kitchen clean, make breakfast for the family, and do the dishes.  Shit, I can basically do whatever I want as long as those things are taken care of for her!

Training is going very well so far.  Each week for me isn't perfect yet.  It's only been 2 full weeks, but each week I am getting stronger.  It's almost like I am figuring things out, like I am adjusting.  Taking on competitive programming certainly is a life adjustment! 

I am thinking of every single day, every single programming day as an opportunity to grow.  I want to be better today than I was yesterday.  I used to think that every week I want to be better.  Now I want to be better DAILY.  And why not?!  Even if the growth is technique.  Even if it is just confidence.  It takes a multitude of things going perfect for me to be at my best.  Technique and confidence impact fitness. 

Today I had split jerk 5x3.  I have been dreading split jerk because of the need to go from the rack and catch back in the rack.  It has been hurting my hands, and as I catch in the rack it slams on my left collar bone and bruises it and causes it to swell.  So when it had been coming up in the program, I've dreaded it.  Well today, I gained confidence.  Going deep in the split, and catching it back in the rack.  I only built up to 178# for my triples, which I know is super light.  But it was a technique day.  And now I actually want to go back home tonight and hit it again. 

So today.......fitter. 

I really don't want to miss an opportunity to grow.  I don't want to miss an opportunity to allow the piece in the daily regimen to make me better.  If I sandbag and do not elevate my intensity, then I should just go for a nice walk.  All I did was be active and healthy.  No help to my athletic performance goals.  I told one of my athletes yesterday that if her WOD time was 14:08, and she gave it her all, which I know she did, and an elite athlete did the workout with her at her pace and also finished at 14:08, but their intensity level was 30%, who gained something from the workout?  Her answer was it is a tie.  I told her that she gained.  She became stronger.  The elite athlete should have just stretched and went for a walk.  Active recovery.  Those that give 100% intensity gain.  Those that sand bag it just wasted time. 

One of the things I am struggling with is my diet.  I am eating almost on point up until the night time after dinner.  Then I'm resorting to an older defeatist mentality.  It's time to break it.  So I haven't lost any weight.  I'm still 20lbs over where I want to be. 

When I am down to around 180lbs, at least in the past, gymnastic movements like HSPU and muscle ups become much much easier.  I can link several together without much of a fuss.  When I started training a couple weeks ago I couldn't even get a single muscle up.  I was out of shape and way too heavy.  It is almost like I am wearing a 20lb training vest and attempting a muscle up.

Well now I am able to do ring and bar muscle ups, even with the weight.  I know the weight will come off.  But how much stronger will I be when I lose the weight and have become proficient with MU's at a heavier weight?!  It will only make me stronger! 

In the evening I put Muscle ups in the workout.  I was consistently able to get 1 at a time.  I know this isn't where I want to be.  But where I want to be is the accumulation of steps.  This is a step.