performance enhancing

I don’t write these every Saturday morning. I don’t think I’ve ever written one of these on a Saturday morning, actually. As I write this particular post, I’m sitting in my home office, listening to Art Blakey and drinking my third cup of coffee for the day.

What am I doing as you READ this? I’m in Grande Prairie, Alberta on the morning of a 2-day stint at The Great Northern Casino, playing guitar for an award-winning Elvis tribute show. As this is being posted, I’m preparing to make my way to a local tattoo studio to hang out with a friend who’s in-turn going to cause me pain for a few hours. There’s a vegan bakery / breakfast spot across the street from the studio. Should be a nice lil’ Saturday.

Anyway… following a conversation with a biohacker earlier this year, I decided to rekindle my coffee addiction. Caffeine provides more benefit than detriment – a piece of trivia I have always known, but never thought about in such terms. Caffeine is a performance enhancing drug that is zero-calorie in it’s purest form (which I sully with a carefully measured 1/4 cup of oat milk as of late), and it’s side effects include suppressing hunger, and life longevity. It’s also delicious and makes my house smell fantastic.

Historically, I’ve been a podcast and audiobook guy in my gym-related efforts, but I’ve decided to embrace music streaming, which is something I’m ultimately pretty new to, honestly. I’ve always been a fan of physical formats – vinyl records, especially – but have officially joined the 21st century, and if anything it’s helped me to be more intentional with my record collecting. But on the treadmill, it’s been a game changer.

My favorite maneuver right now is find a record I’m unfamiliar with, or have never heard… or at least haven’t heard in a long time… and get on the treadmill and listen to it front-to-back. There are some things I’ve found that are good, but maybe not good for the treadmill, some things that are good specifically for the treadmill, and some garbage. What’s interesting is how my performance on the treadmill varies.

What should shock nobody is that Rock & Roll is a performance enhancing drug.

Previously, I’d decided for myself that to zone out to music while doing physically demanding things was somehow not ‘living in the moment‘ and while I’m sure that’s still the case, I suppose I’ve concluded that not every experience needs to be meditative. I still prioritize momentary living as best I can, however I do need to acknowledge that I also believe that to entertain people is a noble pursuit, and one that I actively take part in as often as I sensibly can – so allowing someone to entertain ME while I do hard things can’t be as bad as I’d previously thought.

Maybe I’m evolving in my thoughts on this.
Maybe I’m devolving.
Maybe it doesn’t matter.

If I was talking to someone else besides myself right now, I’d tell then to listen to whatever helps them to move their bodies… whatever enriches their lives… and whatever speaks to them.

And right now, rock & roll is speaking to me.
Rock & roll is always speaking to me.