Your Training
Pick your most challenging exercise
For this conversation let’s say its the back squat
Now you have mastered squatting your body weight
Good depth, good knee position, good posture
But it is getting real now, I have asked you to put a bar on your upper
back to do the same thing.
What happens to your form when you aren’t sure if you can move the new load
that is now on your back? Mind you I would never ask you to do something
that you aren’t capable of doing. But nonetheless you still aren’t confident of
your abilities.
Inevitably your form goes to shit. You roll your upper back forward, knees buckle in
overall just looks like a train wreck.
The point is that you reverted back to your lowest form of training. Which in this case is
a poorly performed squat.
Another scenario, still involving your training, it’s been a hell week at work. Long hours,
endless pile of work, and coworkers not cooperating. You have been hitting the gym 2 days a week
for the past few months and are happy with that accomplishment. But this week has worn you down.
So, where does your mind go?
That’s right your lowest form of training. Which in this case means “0” days a week to the gym.
The reason the military trains in such high repetition very simple duties is because when the shit
hits the fan their troops will revert back to their lowest form of training which after thousands
of repetitions still keeps them alive and moving in line with the mission.
You can look at your life and any instance when things get tough your mind will revert
back to it’s lowest form of training.
For some it’s eating bad foods when stressed others it’s yelling and screaming at simple daily obstacles.
This is most evident when it comes to a relatively new healthy lifestyle you may be trying to achieve. The
reps aren’t there yet so, that when the going gets tough you stop all the things you have been
doing to feel better. You revert back to your bad habits because they are your lowest form.
Great Doug I get it I’m going to quit when it gets tough.
That’s not the point
The point is self awareness
I tell you this so next time when things aren’t going your way and you start to fall off
you can identify what is going on. You will be able to tell yourself,
“Ok I am not a failure, this is just an obstacle. I am only falling back a little, I can change this back to my new
training.”
Think back, can you remember the last time you reverted back to actions that you aren’t proud of when times got tough.
Binge eating
Losing your temper
Skipping workouts
Lying
Cheating
Being aware of what happened to set you off is half the battle.
The next time it starts to go down that road you have the ability to stop yourself from reverting back.
Identify the situation and make a better decision.
That is how you get your reps in by not giving in to what is the easy answer that instinct takes you too.
No one is immune from reverting back, myself included, when I get overwhelmed with things I revert back
to being short tempered and thoughtless.
And what always happens in my life like yours when you revert back you end up hurting the people that
you said you would never hurt.
Remember that
For that is the real point of this email
Lowest form of training will lead to hurting not only you but the ones who don’t deserve to be hurt.
It’s time to step up your training!
Create a higher lowest form of training.
coach “always training” Doug
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