Workout of the Week #81

Half-hour Pyramid. Select 4 to 7 calisthenic exercises. Less is harder because you'll do more reps of the same exercise! So beginners = 7, intermediate = 5 or 6, advanced = 3 or 4. Set timer for 15 minutes. Climb the pyramid until the timer beeps. Finish the set you're on, then try to climb back down before the half-hour is done.
Heavybag Compass Drill. Set a timer for 4 rounds of 2:00/:30 or, if your round timer won'd to fractional intervals, use 3:00/1:00. Resist the temptation to do longer rounds -- you'll start pacing yourself, and that's not the goal. Round 1 focus on Form. Go slow and make your body mechanics as perfect as you can. Round 2, focus on Accuracy. Pick your targets carefully and try to hit them perfectly. Round 3, go for Speed. See how many shots you can throw before the timer beeps. Round 4, go for Power. Make every shot a knockout blow.
Blood Compass Meditation. Set a timer to beep every 3 minutes. Assume your meditative posture of choice, regulate your breathing, close your eyes and start the timer. You're going to do 4 segments of 3 mins each as follows:

1. Visualize a chalice hovering in front of your forehead and imagine that it contains the the blood of your chosen god or goddess. Think about where you look for guidance and what you worship -- not in theory but in practice. Are you are properly demonstrating and directing your devotion? When the timer beeps...

2. Imagine the chalice descends to hover in front your lower abdomen and that it contains the blood of your ancestors and kin. Think about what you've inherited biologically and emotionally from your ancestors. Are you using discernment to determine what you're carrying that's positive and what's negative? Are you passing on the good an jettisoning the bad? Are letting go of emotional baggage? When the timer beeps...

3. Now the chalice hovers near your right shoulder and it contains the blood of friends and heroes. Who do you associate with? Who do you aspire to become? Are you associating with, and looking up to, the right kinds of people? If not, why is that? What can you do to sort that out?

4. And finally, the chalice moves left and hovers near your left shoulder and it contains the blood of sacrifice and nourishment. Are you making sacrifices for the benefit of yourself, your family, your community and your nation? Are you respecting the sacrifices of others? Do you respect the lives of the plants and animals that have died to nourish you? Are your meals more sacred or decadent?

When you're done, record your thoughts and realizations in your training journal and add action items to your To-Do List.