We all have our pride. We hold our heads high and remind ourselves of just how awesome we are, and just how hard we work to be that awesome. Every day. We build our self esteem, our social aptitudes and our relationships with others based on how we feel about ourselves. I mean, if you had little or no self worth, you probably wouldn't be very motivated, nor would you be any fun to talk to. It's good to talk to confident people, ones that motivate you. Even if the motivation is rooted simply in the fact that they seem proud, and happy, based on their accomplishments. Whether is be a college degree, a good job, a successful year of training, it reflects in our mannerisms just the same. Whatever it may be, you often wear a bit of that pride right ot there for all to see. In the workplace, we all know who the kayaker guy is, or who the traveler girl is, oh and there is that guy with that 69' Mustang he's always talking about. The naturalist, the journalist, the hobbyist, and the veteran. They are allvery proud and will gladly tell you of their exploits in their given field. They may even talk your ear off about it. I myself have a bit of a reputation for being the "kettlebell guy" at work. I may be better of being known as the guy who works the hardest, but I like the designation that has become my reputation. I will gladly talk for hours about kettlebells and strength training in general. Because I am proud of where it has taken me over the years. And I want to share that knowledge. But what about when that pride gets away from you. When it becomes a burden and not a positive boost in confidence? What about when you become so obsessed in your pursuit of one thing that you neglect another, all in an effort to reach those goals that you can be proud of. Well, any number of things can result. Today we'll talk about the three main things you cannot out run, no matter how fast you think you are. Things you cannot out lift, out swim, or out swing. Things that are pivotal to your success, no matter how much pride you have in your abilities or accomplishments.
What is the greatest deterrent to your athletic goals? What one single thing can really make or break you as an athlete or as a fit person in training? Well, I'll give you a hint, it is also the one thing that can propel you towards your goals at an alarming rate all while making you feel better and giving you energy all at the same time. That's right, your diet. You cannot out run your diet. It always catches up to you eventually. It can go many different ways too. If you want to get big and gain lots of muscle, but you are a skinny little guy. Well then no matter how much you lift, and how strong you may become, you will never really put on the weight until you get your diet right. You must eat, and eat often, not only providing your body with lots of fats and protein, but with some extra carbs too. Of course you will get a little extra fat going, but you can burn that off later. You just can't workout all the time and never eat! It works the same way for those losing weight. You can work out 7 days a week twice a day (not recommended by the way) but you will never reach your goals without a proper diet. You must consider your portion controls, and keep close track of what it is you are putting in your body. And making sure it fits withing the parameters you have set for yourself. Just like the guy trying to build his body, the one trying to transform it must be just as diligent with their diet. Nobody is setting any land speed records putting diesel in a gasoline engine. You must have the proper fuel. Not only for weight gain/loss, but for the nutrients the food provides, as well as the pride, and the confidence that comes along with knowing you are doing the right thing for your body.
So you are dieting right, and working out hard! You goals must all be within easy reach at thing point right? Not necessarily. So you want to get your time in a certain timed wod down below a goal time. You have been training and eating right for weeks. But you just can't make it happen! What gives? Well what if you have a new baby that keeps you up at night. Or a big project due at work or school that has been cutting into your slumber time. Anything that cuts into your sleep time is going to affect you athletic performance. maybe not immediately, but long term, the results of constant sleep deprivation are terrible. You body uses that time to repair it's tissues, your brutally ravaged muscles, and your brain itself. It needs that time to recharge after the long hard days you put it through. In our modern culture we work longer hours, stay up way too late, and generally avoid sleeping if anything "better" is going on. There are countless books on sleep, what goes on during sleep, and how important it is for the body. With a good sleep schedule, you will think more clearly, have more energy, and be less dependant on stimulants (Another misfortune of modern cultures) like coffee and energy shots etc.. It is also incredibly important for your mood. i well rested person is almost always in a better mood than a sleep deprived one. Who do you think is going to be in the right frame of mind about what they eat that day? Or whether or not they work out? My bet is on the person who got some damn sleep. It's easy, just do it!
The final sgemnt of this little post is one that is very subjective. There is no definitive "right" way to do it. But it is pretty easy to rule out what you shouldn't be doing. We're talking about your training. Seems logical that you can't out train bad training. But there's more to it than that. You can injure yourself, you can waste precious training time (and your own time, you only live once!), and you can really hold yourself back. The first mistake many people make is to fall into the wastelands of the chronic cardio fools. You know the ones, the rows of people at your local gymspnding 90% of their training time on a treadmill or a bike. Not to knock these modes of exercise or anything, but if you are gonna run, do it as a warmup or actually go outside and run! Same for a bike. You are in a gym. Train! Unless of course you are training for your first ironman triathlon, in which case you should probably not be reading my blog. Triathlons suck. If you want to be that bored, go to the park and watch the grass grow. Aside from that, overdoing the cardio thing eventually builds a very efficient machine. Your body adapts pretty quickly to needing to last for vast amounts of time without depleting it's energy stores. So eventually, as time passes, cardio becomes a less and less effective fat burning endeavor. Lifting on the other hand rapidly depletes muscle glycogen stores and very swiftly leaves your body scrabling for the energy reserves, the body fat. If your body fat is your body's fuel, and you want to burn body fat, then why would you want to build a body that sips at it's fuel, lasting hours and hours? If you wanted to be fast and strong would you build a body like a Toyota Prius or one like a Chevy Camaro? I'm guessing the latter. Nobody got lean, fast, and strong with a treadmill.They do sweat alot, get to watch their favorite shows on the tv, and waste a tonof training time however.
On the flipside, there is the tank top trainers of the world. Training for aesthetics alone. What a waste of time, I know, but we are humans and we like to look good So people will do what they do. Doesn't make it right though. The rows and rows of fancy machinery at your local gym that allows you to "lift weights" in padded comfort either sitting of laying down seem like a great way to get fit right? Well, not exactly. I can't remember the last time I had to preacher curl a laundry basket. Or had to do a leg extension to accomplish any task. It's just plain irrelevant stuff. The basic core (not your abs, think.. fundamental) compound movements lend themselves best to developing strength and power. They employ the entire body as a chain of musculature, rather than isolating particular groups of muscles. This allows for beter stimulation of the CNS and overall strength and physical development. Balance, and stability also come with it. You must stand there on your own two feet and stabilize the weight as you lift it. Talk about an ab exercise, do a couple good sets of overhead squats. You won't crunch at all, but your abs do alot of work, they'll be smoked! Simply by including them in the chain of musculature. I won't harp on the metrosexual bunny lifters much in this post, we all know how I feel about all that dribble. Another point involved with ineffective training is inconsistency. You must pick a program and stick with it for at lease a couple months before modifying it. Give things time to work. And by time, I mean planty of it. If you constantly change your methods you will never get anywhere. I know I teach that you must constantly vary your training, and this is true. So every month or so we mix things up. But we follow basic fundamental movements the whole time. You will always see swings and presses etc.. We just change up the intensity or weight. Always the same goals and methods. You won't see me changing my philosophy in two months and start posting about pilates will you? Heck no. I'm not going to drop my kettlebell and pick up a yoga brick anytime soon either. Consistency. Get with the program.
Obviously there is so much more that can effect your training and healthy lifestyle. But those are the big three you must avoid. Keep your diet straight and narrow, get some damn sleep, train effectively and consistently. You can out train genetics, you can out run opponents, but you cannot out do these three things. They will catch up to you, and hold you back. Why let things you can easily change effect your training? Snap to it and reach your goals!
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