# 2nd Annual RMAX Transformation Challenge



## rutherford (Feb 22, 2007)

A training incident last year which left me with two hyper-extended elbows forced me to reconsider some of the beliefs I had about my personal conditioning.  Rehabilitating from the injury was a difficult process and led me to raise the priority of personal fitness and my health so that I could prevent such an occurrence in the future.

  My first efforts were slow, and it wasnt until I had to move away from my Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu training group that I really received the kick in the pants to get seriously focused.  Most recently, I participated in a 28-day fitness challenge.

*WHAT DID I DO?*

  All nine participants in the challenge had to follow the same exercise and nutrition guidelines and blog their daily food and exercise logs to a private forum.  The exercises followed a 4 day cycle which featured a Moderate, High, No, and Low wave of intensity.  The Moderate intensity day featured a circuit of 4 exercises repeated 5 times, and the High intensity day similarly featured a circuit of 4 different exercises again repeated 5 times.  The No intensity day was a day of joint mobility and the Low intensity day had about an hour of Prasara Yoga.  This 4-day cycle was repeated 7 times, for 28-days total.  Each time the circuit repeated the exercises got a little more complex and the rest periods decreased.

*WHAT HAPPENED?*

  Physically, I have become stronger than I'd thought possible in such a short amount of time. I'm doing exercises now unassisted that I've struggled with many times before. I've had to become fearless about taking each exercise to more sophisticated levels as the program marched along. My recovery time has dramatically shortened. During high exertion activity, I got to the point where a hard exhale to reset the system was all I needed to start moving again even when the last movement felt like a maximal effort. After the workout, I found my body returning to a relaxed state much more quickly.

Mentally, I've learned to believe in myself. This is the first training cycle I've completed without missing a single day of exercise since I was a teenager. There were times I didn't feel like I could come up with the effort on High Intensity days. There were times when I didn't think I had the focus to give my attention to Low Intensity days. There were times when I just didn't think I had the time and what would it matter if I skipped a No Intensity day. My ability to see things through to completion, my determination, and my will to succeed have all been increased. 

Spiritually, I am more at peace. I am less worried about the future, what it holds, and how I will play my part. My successes have given me confidence. My friendships have provided me with the love we all need to grow. I am more at home in my body, and feel a deeper connection with life. I am learning to let myself be happy and know joy.  

*WHY DO I WANT TO WIN?*

  At the beginning of this competition, I just wanted to take part and give my absolute best effort. Winning was something I measured simply by the physical prize that would be rewarded. In the middle of the competition, winning meant completion and I knew that we'd all win and push each other to perform beyond the limitations we unknowingly set upon ourselves. Now, I know that if I dont push to win with the absolute best effort that I have, then Im not truly honoring the competition.  

  I honestly believe that every single one of the competitors is deserving of winning the challenge.  Of the course of the event, each of them became my friend and I was happy to get to know them better.  The current front runner is a remarkable woman who works for a nonprofit organization that supports the Filipino community in California and is active in pushing for progress in lesbian/gay/transgender/queer rights.  

  Having made it this far, Ive already gotten more out of the challenge than I ever expected.  All thats left is the glory given to the one who rises to the top and must accept the challenge of inspiring the competitors for the next competition and all who take part by witnessing the achievement.  The top prize is a free trip to a certification seminar as an instructor in this fitness system.  Certification is in no way guaranteed, and anybody who does put forth the work only has the further responsibility to pass on that knowledge and work harder in the future.

Personally, I do plan to take my certification exams this fall.

*WHAT DO I WANT YOU TO DO?*

  Voting for the champion is currently taking place on the RMAX forum.  Id like you to take a minute, register for that forum, and vote for me: Jason Bell.

  Heres the thread where the voting is taking place:

http://www.rmaxinternational.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14139

  I held off on doing something like this for the first week of voting because I didnt want to stack the deck or win for any reason other than my performance in the challenge.  Then last night I had an interesting discussion with Charl, who asked some interesting questions about the voting process.  The reason he asked those questions is because he was asked by a participant to come and vote in the challenge. He only registered for the forum to vote for a friend, but has since posted to the Welcome Mat and is interested in bringing RMAX training philosophy into his life.

And I realized that coming out and asking for votes in this manner is another way that I can spread the word about Circular Strength Training and the transformative capabilities of physical culture.  Every person who hears about this challenge is another person who might be inspired to make a similar transformation in their own lives.

If you feel I honestly don't deserve to win, then by all means vote for another competitor. Like I said, they're all great people whom I hope to know for a long time to come. I wouldn't have made it through the challenge without their support and having them push me to work harder. This is my way of continuing to push them, and the whole movement, forward.

  Thanks for your time, and Id appreciate anything you can do to help.  If its just to bump this thread, well thatd be pretty swell.  Voting ends on February 28.

If theres anything I can do in return, just let me know.


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## terryl965 (Feb 22, 2007)

Jason I'll vote for you since you have gone the extra mile and now believe in the training you did, proves enough for me to help another member here win something they deserve.
Terry


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## bydand (Feb 22, 2007)

terryl965 said:


> Jason I'll vote for you since you have gone the extra mile and now believe in the training you did, proves enough for me to help another member here win something they deserve.
> Terry



I'll second that thought as well!


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## LuzRD (Feb 22, 2007)

less than a week left everyone!! cmon get to it! 
i can tell, he would do it for you. so get with the gettin (that means "go do it")


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