Excerpts from "The Compromise Lifestyle" by Kazuki Newton

Prologue

            I felt the stiffness overtake my body. Just stay warm, I told myself. Take deep breaths and stay warm. The building was complete chaos: parents, friends, coaches, and teammates alike all yelling out final instructions and words of encouragement, all of which blurred into indistinguishable white noise. The cage door closed, leaving three men inside the cage, three men on this stage: myself, my opponent, and the referee. I couldn’t believe I was the spectacle of this chaos, the entertainment for these hundreds of people. I thought of the gladiators. I thought of how humans have enjoyed spectating combat for years; it’s in our DNA. I felt like I was battling for my life in the Roman Coliseum. My nerves were running high but I used it to fuel my energy. I felt a paradoxical mixture of uncertainty and confidence. Simultaneously thinking, this guy isn’t making it out of the second round along with he looks bigger in person than in pictures (my opponent missed weight by four pounds for the weight class).

            I looked across to my opponent. Although this was not his first rodeo (his sixth to be exact), he kind of looked like he was going to pass out. He was already breathing heavily and sweating and the fight hadn’t even started. I felt a sense of relief; I realized then that I don’t think anybody ever gets used to being the spectacle of a public display of combat. In this time frame of about 30 seconds before a fight, one finds out their true response to the fight or flight question.

            The referee called out to me, “Fighter are you ready?” And then to my opponent, “Fighter are you ready? Fight!”

Efficiency

            If you lead a busy lifestyle and/or operate under a tight budget, the best thing you can do for yourself is invest in home workout equipment. Workouts at home save a tremendous amount of time and money. If you have time and money, then perhaps a gym would be a better route for you. While your true highest potential of results would probably be reached in a gym setting with a vast array of equipment, not everyone has the luxury of time and money; most people have one or the other. For those of us lacking in time and/or money, a one-time investment in some basic equipment is my recommendation. I recommend the following equipment:

§  Door-mounted pull-up bar ($20-35 on Amazon depending on quality and complexity)

§  One set of two medium-weight dumbbells ($20-60 depending on weight you choose). Generally weights are about a buck a pound, with few exceptions. If you have Amazon Prime order weights online because a lot of the cost of weights online is the shipping cost.

§  Running shoes ($20-80 depending on quality)

§  5 lb. dumbbells (2) ($5-15)

            Your total principal investment could range anywhere from $65-190 depending on what you get. It may sound like a lot to you, but keep in mind that for the weights and the pull-up bar, this is a one-time investment (the only thing that could really ruin the weights is rust so try to keep them dry). The shoes will eventually need to be replaced but they still last for several months, if not longer. There is no recurring cost aside from the shoes. Once you buy these pieces of equipment, you own the equipment, as opposed to renting a range of equipment.

The Law of Diminishing Returns

            There’s a concept used mainly in economics known as The Law of Diminishing Returns. The Law of Diminishing Returns is best illustrated on a graph (below); it is the point at which benefits start declining as inputs increase.

                                       
          My economics teacher at Cal Poly explained it to the class in a way that any college student could understand. He said it could be illustrated with taking shots. Everybody has a point of diminishing returns when it comes to drinking. Maybe 2 shots is normally good for you but you decide to go crazy and take 2 more. You feel hyped up and take 2 more and you start to feel a little worse than you did at 4. You take 2 more in hopes to feel better and at 8 you feel worse than you did when you were sober. This is an exaggerated example (I hope), but it illustrates the point very well. The same holds true for working out without the assistance of performance enhancing drugs. There comes a point in a workout, or in a week, where you simply have reached the peak and are starting to make reverse progress. It’s important to find the perfect point where you reach your peak and then you stop. As I stated earlier, for me that balance is found by doing 4 intense 30 minute workouts per week. It’s important to play around with it for yourself and find your point of diminishing returns.