On Strength - Vernon Gambetta (Fri 19 Dec 2014)

Flower Detail - Monet's Garden / Girverny (Wed 17 Sep 2014)
Vernon Gambetta (*) asks a question on Strength (*):

How much strength is enough?

via Evolution of Strength Training – A Personal Perspective - 51 Years of Experiences (Part Three) (*) by Vernon Gambetta (*).

Beyond Boundaries, Limitations and Barriers - Vernon Gambetta (Wed 05 Nov 2014)

It's Kind of fun to do the Impossible (*) - Gozo / Malta (Tue 23 Sep 2014)
Vernon Gambetta (*) writes:

Most of us limit ourselves because we believe in boundaries (*), limitations (*) and barriers (*). There are no boundaries and barriers! Get out now and do it better than you did yesterday. Action not words!

via Getting Better (*) by Vernon Gambetta (*).

On Numbers and Performance - Vernon Gambetta (Thu 23 Oct 2014)

The Numbers - GPS Results for an Outrigging Training Session - (Thu 23 Oct 2014)
Functional Path Training (*) writes on Numbers (*) and Performance (*):

Numbers need context. Numbers are one dimensional, human performance is multidimensional. We must focus on the human element, the athlete; they are not integers in an equation.

via It’s Still Just A Number (*) by Vernon Gambetta (*).

The numbers always tell a story if you know how to look at them.

The trained eye can see more than the numbers. They see the elements that create them - the environment, human performance and emotion they reflect. I've learnt so much from the numbers and I know how to read them for the sport I have been participating for almost ten years now - an example (*).

I've also seen how the environment, physical and mental reflect their way into performance and as a result, the numbers. I guess it's called experience. You can sit back and let experiences pass you by without even noticing. But if you stop and reflect on the experience, you will remember the how's and the why's of the result. They feed back into future experiences and you will improve.

I do know what Vern talks about though. The numbers are a guide and should not be the be and end all. You have to be there to see how the human element influenced the performance, which are reflected in the numbers. It's the context Vernon talks about.

On Racing - Vernon Gambetta (Thu 03 Jan 2013)

Running - Grand Palace / Chiyoda / Tokyo (Tue 18 Sep 2012)
Vernon Gambetta (*) talks On Racing (*):

[..] the medals are won by those who can race. Those who are race hardened, who understand tactics and are fully adaptable to variety of race situations.

via Lessons from 2012 - Part One (*) by Vernon Gambetta (*).

Preparation, Fate and Chance - Vern Gambetta (Mon 27 Feb 2012)

Hop On, Hop Off Bus - Red - Battery Park / New York (Thu 11 Aug 2011)
From Vern Gambetta's 1000th Post on Typepad (*) ..

If you have done the preparation then you are in control and you have given yourself a chance.

If you want to be ready look at how you are preparing.

Are you preparing or just hoping that luck and fate will favor you?

It doesn’t work that way, it is not the hand of fate that will touch you rather it is your fate that is in your hands.

I remember when Vern went over to Typepad and I really can't be believe I have been reading his words of wisdom and inspiration for that long. Congratulations and thank you Vern.

Experiences Matter! - Vern Gambetta (Sun 29 May 2011)

Experiences Matter! - Vern Gambetta (e) (Sun 29 May 2011)

Experiences Matter!

It is not so much about the number of years of experience one has, the depth is what really counts.

Depth comes from experiences.

[It is p]ossible to have one experience many times over, [it is] more valuable to have a rich and varied [set of] experiences.

Here are some photos from the 2010 Asian Dragon Boat Championships, a great experience for us all, particularly Joanne and myself:

Team Photos (All Smiles) - 2010 Asian Dragon Boat Champioships - Wujin / China (Sun 01 May 2010)
Team Photos (All Smiles) - 2010 Asian Dragon Boat Champioships - Wujin / China (Sun 01 May 2010)
Team Photos (All Smiles) - 2010 Asian Dragon Boat Champioships - Wujin / China (Sun 01 May 2010)
Joanne, Serge and Geoff - 2010 Asian Dragon Boat Champioships - Wujin / China (Sun 01 May 2010)

Winning the Workout by Vern Gambetta (Thu 18 Nov 2010)

Winning the Workout by Vern Gambetta (Thu 18 Nov 2010)
The above is a short video Vern put up on Youtube on 18 Nov 2010. He talks about the importance of Winning the Workout, a term he first heard at a conference.

He expands upon Winning the Workout here.

Some more background from the following post ..

Win the Workout by Vern Gambetta (01 Sep 2006)

I must admit when I first heard Wayne Goldsmith, an Australian sports scientist, speak about this I was a bit put off.

My thought was how can focus on winning the workout and still have something left for competition?

The more I thought about it the more sense it made.

Before I can ever think about winning in competition I must win the workouts consistently.

It is a mindset that each athlete must bring to every training session.

It is a convergence of psychology and physiology that accumulates over time.

An athlete who is confident in their preparation is an athlete who has a chance in competition.

To win the workout it must meet the following criteria:

• The workout must be completed with concentration on the task at hand.



• The workout must be done with the effort required, nothing less. This should be a given.



• The workout must be done with intensity. Effort does not equal intensity



• The drills and exercises must be done precision and quality



• Finally the athlete has to be accountable for their performance during training.

Three Steps to Athletic Achievement by Vern Gambetta (Tue 23 May 2011)

Three Steps to Athletic Achievement by Vern Gambetta (Tue 23 May 2011)
Vern shares his ideas on what it takes to grow as an athlete in order to be able to achieve at the highest levels. Vern seeks and encourages our feedback. A great podcast - the first of hopefully many more to come.

Being the Best – Take Action Now by Vern Gambetta (Wed 06 Oct 2010)

Vern follows up on his post Thoughts on being the Best (11 Nov 2011) with the following:

Being the Best – Take Action Now (Wed 06 Oct 2010) ..

• Be Smart - Work on something specific each day. Have a plan! Train with a purpose. Improvement is incremental. Does not have to be big. Small steps lead to big steps.
  
  ACTION: ...



• Pressure is what you make it! Embrace it. Put yourself in pressure situations to learn. Use the pressure to make you better, internalize it and use it as a positive influence.
  
  ACTION: ...



• Belief – If you don’t believe in yourself who will? Think you are the best and you are on your way. Confidence, believe in yourself, your preparation and in your support system.
  
  ACTION: ...



• Routine – Great athletes do the same thing, the same way, at the same time each day. Regularity. You can set a clock by the routines of the great ones.
  
  ACTION: ...



• Work - Everyone works. The great ones work smarter with a sense of purpose. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses objectively. Then work to minimize your weaknesses and optimize your strengths. Bring your weaknesses up to the level of your strengths.
  
  ACTION: ...



• Choices - It is always about choices. Make the conscious choice to be the best. Life is constantly about choices.
  
  ACTION: ...

Without ACTION these are all just words. Take ACTION now!


He expands with the following:

In bold are the qualities with an explanation, but those are just qualities. Underneath each item you see the word ACTION. [..] Over the years I have learned it is too easy to set goals or to talk about being the best, unless those goals are followed up by specific actions it just is a very temporary feel good process. Each individual needs to take control and decide on the they action they will take. They must establish ownership. Do not recommend or assign an action for them.

As always, Vern has a great blog and it is always worth following his posts.


Jenny two weeks after liver resection - ERG Practice - Bank Street / Sydney (Sun 03 Jun 2007)
Jenny two weeks after liver resection - ERG Practice - Bank Street / Sydney (Sun 03 Jun 2007)
Jo ready to crack 400m for 2min - ERG Practice - Bank Street / Sydney (Sun 03 Jun 2007)
Joanne, Geoff and Jenny - Masters Men and Womens 500m Silver Medalists - IDBF World Championships / Sydney 2007 (Sun 23 Sep 2007)

Thoughts on Being the Best by Vernon Gambetta (11 Nov 2008)

Thoughts on Being the Best by Coach Vernon Gambetta (11 Nov 2008). A repost to get this to come up on the Tampa 2011 Label. It is also worth having a look at some of the other posts I have collected here.

Control what you can, not what you can’t! Be Smart. Work on something specific each day. Have a plan! Train with a purpose. Improvement is incremental. Small steps lead to big steps.

• Pressure - Pressure is what you make it! Use the pressure to make you better, internalize it and use it as a positive influence.



• Belief – Think you are the best and you are on your way. Confidence, believe in yourself, your preparation and your support system.



• Routine – Great athletes doing the same thing, the same way, at the same time each day. Regularity. You can set a clock by the great ones.



• Work - Every one works. The great ones work smarter. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses objectively. Minimize your weaknesses and optimize your strengths. Bring your weaknesses up to the level of your strengths.



• Choices - It is always about choices. Make the choice to be the best. Life is constantly about choices.



• Improvement - Michael Jordan, as good as he was, got better every year he played! He would pick one aspect of his game each off-season and set out to improve that aspect with relentless determination.



• Perfection - The perfect game has yet to be played, in fact it will probably never be played. The perfect race has yet to be run. That does not mean we should not strive for perfection, it does mean that that we should strive for perfection but not be frustrated when we do not achieve perfection. Take chances, risk, try a new move in a game, take on a defender. Make things happen!



• Mental Toughness - Physical preparation gives mental strength. Push yourself, do not give in. Go the extra step and the extra mile.



• Effort - Performance may vary, but effort is a constant. You have control over your effort. Make it high energy, high level and purposeful. Consistent effort will level out the peaks and valleys in performance.



• Goals - It is about goal achievement not goal setting. Anyone can set goals, but few can achieve goals! Dreams are private. Goals are public. Share them. Find people to support you to achieve your goals. Be specific both in setting your goals and the means to achievement. Constantly visualize yourself achieving your goals!



• Focus - No rabbit ears! Program your inner voice to respond only to what you tell it. Only listen to your positive self-talk. Filter out the negatives.



• Evaluation - Self-assessment is a constant for those who chose to be great. Be objective. Look at the positives and the negatives. It is an ongoing process. Evaluation and self-assessment are a series of stepping-stones necessary to climb the staircase of success.

Be yourself and true to yourself. You are great and will get better!

A copy of a blog post that I always come back to. Learnt a lot from this and all of Vern's writing.

Geoff an Jim Farintosh Canadian Senior Mixed/Open Coach and Sweep - Racice Prague - Fri 29 Aug 2009
Always take the time to say hello to Jim Farintosh from Toronto. First met him at Sydney 2007 when he coached and swept the Canadian Senior Open and Mixed Teams. Next said hello in Penang in Aug 2008 where he coached and swept the Toronto area "Mayfair Predators". Decided in Prague to finally get a photo with him after the Senior Open's 200m medal presentation. A top coach and a person who is obviously highly regarded by his peers.

Good Training - Bad Training - Vern Gambetta (Tue 02 Mar 2011)

A brilliant post today by Vern Gambetta. It is great to live what he writes. Got off the water last night to read this morning ..

Good Training – Bad Training

Good training is elegant in it’s simplicity.

Everything is planned.

The execution is crisp, clear and focused.

There is no fluff.

The emphasis is on the need to do exercises, drills and movements that produce results and meet the objectives of the workout.

Everything is manageable, measureable, and motivational.

Manageable in that it can be done efficiently in the time available.

Good training will effectively use the personal and facilities available.

Good training is measurable in that results are recorded, what can be timed and counted is counted.

The results are evaluated to gauge progress and adjust volume and intensities.

It is motivational in that the athlete and coaches see the results and are driven to go forward in pursuit of the training and competition objects.

They know what they are doing will produce results in the competitive arena. It is not entertainment.

Each workout has a clearly defined specific goal and objective.

Each workout is in context with the workout that preceded it and the one that will follow.

Last but not least the training session is coached.

This clearly implies that the coach is active in the process, providing clear concise instructions, correcting when necessary and praising when warranted.

Evaluate your training or that of your colleagues in this context, it will be very clear if it is good training or bad training.

Good training works, it produces results where it matters, in the competitive arena.

Good Training - Bad Training - Vern Gambetta (Tue 02 Mar 2011)

Improving Yourself - Vern Gambetta (Sun 13 Feb 2011)

A great post from Vern about Coaching that can also be applied to the athlete and life in general:

A few thoughts on improving yourself as a person ..:

• Search anywhere and everywhere for ideas, inspiration and guidance. Borrow and connect seemingly unrelated ideas to create new ones.


• Look for surprises and uncertainty, get out of your rut and make yourself uncomfortable. Don’t be afraid to try new things, push the envelope


• Look at the same things with new eyes. Be a kid and see with childlike eyes and curiosity. Look for similarities and differences.

No matter what you do .. keep it fundamental, basic, directed to the point and take the journey step by step.

Posted from iPhone. Photo to be added later.

Using the Past - Some Advice from Ken Burns, Vern Gambetta and LottieP

The following three quotes are about the past and future, and how we might relate them to each other (if that makes any sense). There is some good advice in all three quotes and I thought that I put them here for future reference, so that they will become part of my past :-). Here they are:

As you pursue your goals in life, that is to say your future, pursue your past. Let it be your guide. Insist on having a past and then you will have a future.
Ken Burns - 2004 Commencement Yale Class Day Speech (as pdf)

Vern Gambetta wisely adds:

Be careful that you are not living in the past, learn from the past, use it as a reference point.

And finally, LottieP warns:

"nostalgia is the enemy of the future"

With the past in mind I thought I would dig into archive.org and drag out something from my past (it might explain the where eljeiffel came from). Here it is:

elj.com (Eiffel Liberty): Two Years On .. by Geoff Eldridge (04 Jul 1999)

Today is Indepedence Day in the USA which celebrates the 223rd birthday, being founded on 4 Jul 1776, with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This also represents a time of reflection for myself with elj.com (Eiffel Liberty).

It is two years ago since I registered elj.com. The name Eiffel Liberty was easy to come up with. It represented a vision and a hope for Eiffel that somehow it might be liberated from its miserable place in the language landscape (I thought how could such a great contribution, be so categorically and overwhelmingly dismissed by the programming community). Also, Emma Lazarus's words struck a chord with me, particularly

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost, to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Just as America provided opportunity for many from other lands, I thought Eiffel could provide the same kind of opportunities for the syntactically and semantically battered from the other language landscapes :-)

Also, the name Eiffel Liberty made what a I thought was a nice connection between two famous landmarks that Gustave Eiffel had contributed to, being the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty "Eiffel undertook the challenge of creating the steel structure because of the enormous challenge it afforded him".

The 4 Jul 1997 was to be the launch date for the Eiffel Liberty Journal. However, I came down with a very bad cold (too many late nights preparing for the initial launch) and I decided to publish the launch issue of the Eiffel Liberty Journal, not from my newly acquired elj.com but from my progsoc web pages (this would remain the case for another six months).

It was fun putting together the first issue as I received cooperation from all I contacted. These included:

• Bertrand Meyer who allowed to me publish some small extracts from OOSC2.



• John Potter (my Software Engineering Lecturer who introduced me to Eiffel in the spring of 1993) who specially wrote an article on
  Project Bruce: Translating from Eiffel to Java



• Victor Putz who wrote a great article titled Toymakers and tools: Why one game developer is switching to Eiffel. Victor is a game programmer by night and a helicopter pilot/instructor by day. I remember Victor making a special trip (about 30 km each way) to send me the article because of flooding in his area which made his normal internet access impossible. BTW, I have found that Victor shares and
  articulates (much better than I ever could) my own vision for Eiffel.

Also Bertrand Meyer's classic newsgroup posting from early May 97, Avoiding the second historic mistake (I remember Bertrand once referring to this as collective hypnosis :-) gave the opportunity to publish a few articles from the newsgroup thread that ensued - eg Jeffrey Stulin's If Eiffel is so great, why isn't it popular? and Thomas Beale's Eiffel: An Industry Experience.

I was delighted when Bjarne Stroustrup allowed me to publish Why C++ is not just an Object-Oriented Programming Language and Melier Page Jones allowed me to publish Object Orientation: Making the Transition

Two years on, elj.com has changed from a random journal to a daily random news update covering the Eiffel and related worlds. In many ways elj.com is really just a log of the links and resources I have stumbled across and that I might learn from (or even get a laugh from).

Eiffel certainly enjoys a wider exposure than it did back in 1997. I hope elj.com has helped in a small way. It is hard tell what impact elj.com has had as there is little feedback. However, occasionally I do get a note saying that elj.com helped someone get started with Eiffel, which seems to make it all worthwhile. I guess elj.com could have been much more effective but there is only so much time.

For a number of reasons I renamed Eiffel Liberty to elj.com Extraordinarily Large Jumble in Feb 99 (some of the reasoning behind this was that elj.com was and still is, an Extraordinarily Large Jumble of seemingly random links and more significantly there was little or no Eiffel news). Fortunately, there now appears to be more Eiffel news than I can handle/report manually and I am making efforts to address this through a more automated Eiffel news feed at elj-daily.

elj.com has amassed an incredible amount of links, quotes and resources relating to Eiffel and related worlds. The time has come for elj.com to be able to extract the information from this mass. A keyword/search facility is on the way.

I believe that for [open source] projects to thrive, information needs to readily at hand. I hope the new elj.com that you will see over the coming weeks/months (depends on how much time I get to work on this) will reflect the ability to provide this information efficiently and effectively.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support that Jenny has given me over the last few years. She has had to cope (in more ways than one) with more than anyone should reasonably have to tolerate.

Funny to read this after all these years. Shows how strongly I felt about the Eiffel programming language and method (and still do, but not just as visible). I even chose to start this blog with some posts on Eiffel - not the language, but it's inspiration, the Eiffel Tower and it's creator, Gustave Eiffel.

I had better stop here as I think I might be getting a bit nostalgic. Anyway, hoping all of this might help me find the inspiration to get a future project off the ground.

Winning by Design, not by Chance - Vernon Gambetta (Wed 22 Dec 2010)

Winners are winners because they choose a path less traveled. It is not a path of comfort and complacency. The challenge to all of us is make the choice to pursue the journey to excellence. It is a journey that never ends. Enjoy the journey, it is journey filled with adventure and surprises.

From Winning by Design, not by Chance by Vern Gambetta (Wed 22 Dec 2010).

I liked the bit about the Journey.

First post from my iPhone while waiting at the Airport to Board my Flight.

A Simple Paradigm - Time For Adaptation by Vern Gambetta

A Simple Paradigm - Time For Adaptation by Vern Gambetta (05 April 2010)

When you think about going for the quick fix, just quickly run this simple paradigm through your head. It all relates to time for adaptation. Nothing complicated. Don’t over think this. This is a just a general guideline, a reminder, that the process of adaption to training takes time.

• Flexibility improves day to day


• Strength can be improved from week to week


• Speed (A fine motor quality) improves from month to month


• Work Capacity improves from year to year

Based on the law of reversibility

• You can lose flexibility from day to day


• You can lose strength week to week


• Speed declines month to month


• Work Capacity declines year to year.

Another favourite blog post from Vern Gambetta.

Something worth remembering when starting out on a new activity. Also particularly worth remembering when having a voluntary break (between campaigns, etc) or forced break (injury say) from your activity.

Thoughts on Being the Best by Vernon Gambetta (11 Nov 2008)

Thoughts on Being the Best by Coach Vernon Gambetta (11 Nov 2008).

Control what you can, not what you can’t! Be Smart. Work on something specific each day. Have a plan! Train with a purpose. Improvement is incremental. Small steps lead to big steps.

Pressure - Pressure is what you make it! Use the pressure to make you better, internalize it and use it as a positive influence.

Belief – Think you are the best and you are on your way. Confidence, believe in yourself, your preparation and your support system.

Routine – Great athletes doing the same thing, the same way, at the same time each day. Regularity. You can set a clock by the great ones.

Work - Every one works. The great ones work smarter. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses objectively. Minimize your weaknesses and optimize your strengths. Bring your weaknesses up to the level of your strengths.

Choices - It is always about choices. Make the choice to be the best. Life is constantly about choices.

Improvement - Michael Jordan, as good as he was, got better every year he played! He would pick one aspect of his game each off-season and set out to improve that aspect with relentless determination.

Perfection - The perfect game has yet to be played, in fact it will probably never be played. The perfect race has yet to be run. That does not mean we should not strive for perfection, it does mean that that we should strive for perfection but not be frustrated when we do not achieve perfection. Take chances, risk, try a new move in a game, take on a defender. Make things happen!

Mental Toughness - Physical preparation gives mental strength. Push yourself, do not give in. Go the extra step and the extra mile.

Effort - Performance may vary, but effort is a constant. You have control over your effort. Make it high energy, high level and purposeful. Consistent effort will level out the peaks and valleys in performance.

Goals - It is about goal achievement not goal setting. Anyone can set goals, but few can achieve goals! Dreams are private. Goals are public. Share them. Find people to support you to achieve your goals. Be specific both in setting your goals and the means to achievement. Constantly visualize yourself achieving your goals!

Focus - No rabbit ears! Program your inner voice to respond only to what you tell it. Only listen to your positive self-talk. Filter out the negatives.

Evaluation - Self-assessment is a constant for those who chose to be great. Be objective. Look at the positives and the negatives. It is an ongoing process. Evaluation and self-assessment are a series of stepping-stones necessary to climb the staircase of success.

Be yourself and true to yourself. You are great and will get better!

A copy of a blog post that I always come back to. Learnt a lot from this and all of Vern's writing.

Geoff an Jim Farintosh Canadian Senior Mixed/Open Coach and Sweep - Racice Prague - Fri 29 Aug 2009
Always take the time to say hello to Jim Farintosh from Toronto. First met him at Sydney 2007 when he coached and swept the Canadian Senior Open and Mixed Teams. Next said hello in Penang in Aug 2008 where he coached and swept the Toronto area "Mayfair Predators". Decided in Prague to finally get a photo with him after the Senior Open's 200m medal presentation. A top coach and a person who is obviously highly regarded by his peers.