Young Warrior

My father was the master of the backhanded compliment.

He had a hard time saying something nice and often got a little dig in there just to keep you on your toes.

One of my dad’s favorite wisecracks was “you made a mistake and did the right think.”

The implication is that you since screw up most of the time, when you finally do something right, it’s a fluke.

I thought of that phrase today to describe something that happened at my gym, only in a slightly different context.

Okay, so three days a week I hike up to Harbor Fitness Go on 87th Street for my morning torture sessions.

I start off with the strength training, which includes a couple of turns on a long stretch of astroturf with the weight sled.

It’s just what it sounds like—a sled where you stack barbell plates and push or pull it (ideally both) along a flat surface.

And, of course, if you look on YouTube you’ll find tons of variations.

Weight sleds were initially designed for specific sports, like football, and training with them has become increasingly popular since 2015, partially due to their availability in Crossfit gyms.

Of course, people have been using sleds for century for transportation and work. I like them because you can work a lot of muscles in a short amount of time.

Push-Pull

Sled pushes are said to be about as effective as a barbell back squat for training the quadriceps, hamstrings, and core, with higher calf activity and lower activity in muscles near the spine.

The sled push also works the chest, arms, and shoulder muscles--you can’t beat that with a stick—another one of my father’s favorites.

So, on Thursday morning, I was getting ready for my sled routine of two sets of pushing the damn thing and two sets of pulling.

You need a cable for the pull portion of this abuse, which you hook on to the front of the sled.

And you have to be a little careful as you’re walking backwards, and you don’t inadvertently stomp on somebody while their working on their abs.

The cable was already hooked on the sled and that’s when this young fellow stepped up and removed it.

I was a little surprised at what I thought was his audacity by just taking the thing of the sled. But then he rolled it up and put off to one side.

“I’m going to need that pretty soon,” I said, “but that’s okay.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said, all shades of embarrassed. “I thought you weren't using it.”

“It’s okay and thanks for thinking of me.”

I was so impressed with his thoughtfulness that I shook his and he told me his name was Marcelino, which, I learned, means “Young Warrior.”

He told me he has to work early so he’s in the gym by 5 AM and we both agreed that sucked, but at least you get it out of the way.

Yes, he had misjudged the situation, but his heart was in the right place, and in and increasingly heartless world, people like him are a gift.

He was probably though this old boomer, he's so cluess that he can't unhooked the cables. No matter.

Today is Mother’s Day and I think all the kind things my mother did for us and just anybody else who needed a hand. She was so sweet soul, and I am still missing so much even after all this time.

So, yes, I guess Marcelino made a mistake and did the right thing—and the world is a better place for it.