Krista Stryker I did my first handstand in 2013 and quickly became obsessed. But like many pursuits, whether it’s chasing a hobby, pursuing career goals, or building a relationship, I eventually found myself at a crossroads: Should I persevere or pivot? My journey into the world of handstands began earnestly. Every day, I dedicated a chunk of …
I was talking to a friend the other day about mastery and how different it is trying to master something as an adult compared to when we were kids. So much of it has to do with our concept of time. As kids, our sense of time is so strange. Months feel like years, and …
Next week will be my one-year anniversary of training jiu-jitsu. What a journey it’s been. I’ve been a “fitness person” most of my adult life—beginning after college, I started working out to counteract all the sugary drinks and pastries I’d been consuming as a Starbucks barista. Though I originally got into fitness for appearance reasons, …
mind The bell rings, and my training partner and I fist bump to start the round. We circle, both of us in a fighting stance, right foot forward, bent over slightly. I fake grabbing his collar with my left hand, only to grab it with my right immediately. I switch my left grip to the …
A few days ago, I was attempting to write an article, and my brain just wasn’t working. I sat staring at the screen for a good hour, repeatedly tweaking two sentences and liking neither until I finally declared my efforts were pointless and slammed my laptop shut. I grabbed my jump rope and boxing gloves, …
I attended my first Brazilian jiu-jitsu class a little over seven months ago. If you don’t know much about it, jiu-jitsu is a martial art based on ground fighting and is one of the fastest-growing combat sports in the world. Jiu-jitsu attracts a passionate and dedicated community, which is one of the reasons I first …
Happy Monday, Last Thursday, I had what I can only call a bad day. Everything that day felt hard. My writing, my training, my personal life — in all of it, I felt lost, frustrated, and unsure of what to do next. After struggling through one thing after another, I began to wonder if I was …
Happy Monday, How intentional are you about how you spend your time? Maybe this is typical of getting older, but in the last few years, I’ve become increasingly aware of how quickly time passes — and how deliberate I need to be if I want to use it well. Of course, thinking about time forces …
Happy Monday, I have a mixed relationship with the holidays. I love what I do, and I don’t look forward to taking time off. I feel the most alive when I’m writing, training, or working toward goals I care about. I pretty much live by this quote by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, one of my favorite psychologists …
Happy Monday, If we’ve learned anything from the last few years, it’s that things don’t always go according to plan. And, unsurprisingly, this same lesson applies to our fitness journeys. Plans and goals are incredibly useful tools — they help us focus our attention and give us priorities to organize our lives around. Making a …