Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Mind Over Matter

Success in fitness is a mind game. Plain and simple. Control your mind or it will control you. You need to learn to use many different techniques in order to achieve this but this is the key success. I consider myself blessed with a positive mindset and a never quit attitude but it was not always this way. It took yours of small successes in life and fitness to believe that anything was possible. And believe me anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Two recent stories of personal courage, sacrifice, and determination have caught my attention in recent months.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34325633/ns/today-today_people/
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21020571/ns/us_news-life/

Both of these stories show that we can push our minds to incredible feats when and if we need to or want too. These people found them selves in extraordinary circumstances and had to reach new heights in the mind game. This may be cases of extreme examples however when put into context they show that we can achieve what we never thought possible. A saying that I always believed to be true is that the mind will give up long before the body. The keys to controlling the mental aspect of training is the key in the pursuit of perfection.

First you need to believe what you are doing is possible. Millions of people have run marathons so to say you "can't" run a mile is not true. Second you need to accept challenges and commit to hitting them head on regardless of how tough it may seem. Know that if you enter a race or do a workout that those same things have been accomplished by many others before you. Next you need to visualize success and what that feels like. Go on Youtube and search extraordinary feats that will motivate you for future workouts. Finally realize that what you are doing is the right thing and that while you will not live for ever you want to live your life healthy and happy.

I truly believe that most people do not accomplish what they can in life because they don't believe in themselves. Take challenges that are put before you, and extend beyond your comfort zone to tackle ones that you put before yourself.

“[Luke:] I can’t believe it. [Yoda:] That is why you fail.”

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Learning the game

"If you are failing to plan, you are planning to fail."


In my opinion having a plan is the most effective way to succeed at anything. If you do not have a plan, I guarantee you will fail. It is so simple, but people consistently do not come up with a plan before they start a exercise program. Successful people do not just take life as it comes and try something here and there and hope it works. That is a recipe for not reaching your true potential. Even the slightest plan can up your odds of succeeding. You must have a direction of travel if you are going to reach your destination.

I respect my father and what he has accomplished as a runner in his time. However in talking to him more and more about the sport of running it is clear he never had a plan. And by never having a plan he probally never reached his full potential. Now the outsider looking in would say that I am crazy. My father was consistently in the top ten of all the local races he ran for a good number of years. Could he have gotten to the podium with better planning? I believe that although he was not a Olympic caliber runner his drive and determination took him only so far. With knowledge of proper training techniques and laying out a plan for a entire season he could have peaked for certain races and cracked the top three.


"In war, you win or lose, live or die - and the difference is just an eyelash." Douglas MacArthur


This quote from our countries most famous General speaks of the difference between success and failure. A plan can be that eyelash that is the difference. Obviously MacArthur's quote is in relation to war but the comparison to life and death can be applied to a fitness program. Having a plan of attack applies to both war and fitness. Plans can be as simple as, attempt to fun for 10 minutes 4x a week or as elaborate as qualify for the Boston Marathon. Either way you have to have direction or more often then not you will find yourself straying. Also included in a plan it is not a bad idea to write down how your workouts are going so you can look back and track your progress.

Bottom line is that in the pursuit of perfection we are only accountable to ourselves and no one else. If you are not honest with yourself then you will not be honest with those around you. So do yourself a favor and plan ahead and set goals (some that are easy and some that are a stretch) and hold yourself accountable. Also be sure to track your progress in some way so even small hurdles can be looked back on and considered successes.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Genetic Potential










"You may have the genetic potential for being a champion athlete, but if you live a lifestyle of overeating and no exercise you are unlikely to achieve that potential."

So I am at the gym yesterday doing some strength training and somehow I started to think of this topic. Obviously it was not just a random thought but one that had been brewing in one form of another for some time. Usually these things come to me on longer runs when I skip the ipod and just let my mind run free. However this one was more based on some stuff I have seen and experienced recently. Yesterday on another blog of a popular professional triathlete that I follow she posted a picture of her first Ironman finish. For those that don't know the Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike, and culminating in a 26.2 mile run, oh and then you get to brag for the rest of your life or so the saying goes. Well it was a picture from her first Ironman and this Sunday she will be competing in her 40th Iron distance event. Their were actually two pictures when from then and one from now. What a difference in body makeup between the two pictures. Anyone whom saw the current picture would say oh she probably always was a skinny minny growing up (she was a collegiate swimmer at USC) no surprise now that she is a top professional athlete. Well it would not be further from the truth. Not to say she was fat or clearly out of shape in the first picture but the comparison of the two is a clear indicator of what she has earned over the last few years of making her self into a professional athlete.

I always have this talk with my little brother about how if I knew then what I know now I could have been something alot different then I am now. I use this as motivation for him to make the effort now to realize his potential before it is too late. Now don't get me wrong for the most part I would change nothing in my life. I have my dream job, a wonderful fiance, everything materialistic I could ever need and live a fairly comfortable life. However in the athletic aspect of life I could have had greater success than I achieved. Now that doesn't mean I have some grand illusion that I could have been a professional athlete or something like that but I know that I never reached my ultimate potential. Also limiting me was the fact that I never ventured out of my comfort zone and tried other sports besides baseball. I played baseball almost exclusively and looking back sure I could have gone further with the sport (i.e. college) if I had worked harder, realistically I just was not a top baseball player. However I do feel that other sports were more geared to my "genetic potential" than baseball.

Alas it never came to fruition and I never ventured out of my comfort zone to try other sports. Now I try to teach him that although we all have a genetic ceiling that may limit us to a certain degree and that most of us will never come close to what we could truly achieve. Whether it be a weight issue or simply a time constraint we need to push ourselves beyond what we believe possible if we want to achieve greatness. Greatness is not always what you believe it to be either. I personally will probably never win a road race or a triathlon (unless nobody shows up) but I will always be in the top 20% of those races in which I compete. Genetically I am not built as a "runner or triathlete" but I guarantee within the next few years, with me putting my all into this sport I may crack the top 10%. However that does not mean I am a failure or that I do not put as much work into it as the next guy. It just means that greatness or "winning" is not the same for all of us. Watch the biggest loser TV show and you will see how people transform their lives, simply by being shown that what they thought was their limit is not their limit at all. I realize I will never be perfect (it is genetically impossible) but that does not stop the pursuit of perfection.










Friday, November 27, 2009

Post Turkey thoughts

Yesterday was the first Thanksgiving road race and a new PR for me. Ran a solid 35:10 for 5 miles and despite it all did not feel to bad. Biggest thing I have found is learning to control the breathing aspect of the run. If your breath gets out of control then your mind starts to fail you and next thing you know you will do anything to make it stop. It was ONLY 5 miles (distance is the same for all) so I could wrap my mind around the fact that the burn could not last for ever. Overall I have found that I prefer the running portion of Tri's to straight road races because I feel my advantage is strength over endurance right now. It was my last road race until Feb. so I kinda felt I should let it all hang out.

Another first was my sister and her bid to become a runner/fitness enthusiast. She really seems open to the idea of it all but still deals with the road blocks most face when they start something new. The unknown can cripple people into A.) not tri-ing new things and B.) causing people unnecessary injuries due to a lack of knowledge. Also had the little bro running in the 2 mile addition of the race and I think despite his poor attitude these experiences will shape him well into the future. On the ride home I called him out on his lack of motivation for new challenges and hope he takes it to heart and takes a different approach going forward. Regardless proud of them both for the effort.

And lastly It was the first thanksgiving in probally ten years in which I let the day dictate my eating and not the other way around. I owe this one to my new passion for endurance sports. When I was strictly "weight lifting" I always knew the power of food good and bad. Now with the constant cardio involved with tri's I am working on life balance. Going forward with a pending marriage and children withing the next five years I need to learn to balance my needs with that of others. This is a work in progress but all part of the pursuit of perfection.

Now I am off to the gym to try and figure out how to lift weights and not get big like I have been trying to do for ten years. Bulk is not conducive to fast races so core work/high reps it is.