It’s the second email on “Pooja” (Madam as the ladies like to call her, so I am too – how dare I not, hehe – but they call her something quite else and UNPRINTABLE her privately – and still BUY from her – funny how all that works eh).
But anyway ...
The cold, wintry conditons. SLEET. Hail. And so forth ...
Brings to mind two things.
One, a time I wrote to you about a few years ago in 2015 in China (southern China) where it NEVER snows, and yet did that year.
A teensy weensy bit as my little girl would say.
Yet, it was enough to send the denizens of the city I lived into “paraoxyms” of joy while simaltaneously bundling up in about 50 different layers of parks, hoodies, clothign and what not.
Like the Artic freeze had shown up or something.
But either way, yours truly went for his usual climb that day.
I dont miss workouts!
And I still remember how COLD it was, and the frosty conditions, but I enjoyed it.
Came home back in one piece.
Which is more than I can say for the next time.
So the next time, it was winter in 2017. Well, no. Early 2018. A couple of days before my 28th birthday.
It “came out as 28”.
But it’s really a decade more, but folks dont beleive me, and maybe thats why It “came out” the way it did. Heh.
But anyway, it wasn’t just cold that day.
‘twas that nasty BONE CHILLING COLD – with RAIN.
Which made it ten times worse.
Oh my. I still remember doing handstand pushups in a deserted park, and doing pull-ups in those conditions on thick and cold metal bars.
Oh my. I still remember taking my jacket off and I Was wearing shorts of all things
Nothing if not a masochist on occasion I am, hehe.
Anyway, finished my climb(s).
And believe me, my fingers were NUMB to the bone (I had to go home and literally put them under REGULAR temperature water to get feeling back – and believe me, regular temperature was COLD! - yet it felt hot – thats how numb they were!!) ...
And amidst all this, I decided to finish off with fingertip handstand pushups.
Bad idea.
OUCH!
My thumb slipped.
CRACK!
I heard it!
Slipped INTO it’s joint, then out, and then luckily back again.
An immensely painfuly injury, and my first thoughts were “will I be able to celebrate my birthday by writing MORE – and working out MORE?
As it turned out, the cold Corona I held that night in my hand was all the healing it needed, but believe me, it was a NASTY injury.
PAINFUL.
And most would have gone to the doctor. Gianni, an ex student and ex wrestler and Army man told me to do so.
Vincent, my buddy told me that thumb would ALWAYS ache in the winter.
And yet, none ofthat happened.
The next day, I was almost back to normal, doing fingertip work no less!
Sure, I didnt attempt more crazy stunts in the cold and rain.
But there are several lessons to be learnt from all this.
One, to be damned careful when doing fingertip handstand pushups. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, and I’ve even said it in the FAQ, which along with the FAQ on pull-ups is now up for sale on the site.
For some reason I was selling on Amazon, but not on the site, so I rectified that last night.
Now, tons of other lessons there.
But let’s talk Pooja ...
She shows up, yes. I said that before, but I omitted an important part.
Perhaps the most important.
... WHEN no-one else DOES.
And that, my friend, is another key to success at life, and working out in general.
She shows up in freezing weather. Thunderstorms. Hail, shine, blazing heat, what not.
Much like youc an count on Amazon to deliver no matter what, you can count on Pooja Madam to badger the heck out of you no matter what ...
Pooja Madam . Madam “ji” as they call her either lovingly or mockingly or a combo of the two.
Female brains are a hard thing to decipher, but I think I’ve cracked part of the code. Hehe.
For reasons I’m NOT going to mention here.
Anyway, lesson learnt?
I hope so!
Keep going out there my friend. Keep doing it.
Because, I tell you.
You never know!
You just NEVER, ever know!
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee aka “Michael” aka plenty of other alter’s you haven’t heard about as yet (but the Chinese all know me as Lahoo or Michael, hehe).
PS – A book that is getting an insane amount of attention right about now is the compilation not on pull-ups - - but handstand pushups and shoulder workouts, and rightfully so. Gawd knows why I took so long to have it up for sale here, but it is now – go HERE to check it out! Truly BARNSTORMING!!
PPS - Oh, and pick up "16 Inspirational Fitness Recollections" right HERE. You that LOVE and can't get enough of these emails will LOVE that little compilation. Volume TWO out soon! (yes, I know. So much to do. hehe).