The neurotic obsession line hit hard - realised I'd been speed-running my training for months trying to hit arbitrary milestones before some imaginary deadline. The paradox is that rushing usually means you end up restarting from injuries or burnout, so you actuallylose time. Been forcing myself to ask 'whats the hurry?' whenever I feel that itch to push harder just to see faster results, not because the work demands it.
After all of the hullabaloo over high intensity training and doing workouts for time — not an ideal situation for certain temperaments — I hope it has finally settled into the understanding that over-under with consistency (regarding various thresholds) produces far better long term results than the whole "rush to get it right now" ever could. Keep asking and answering that 'what's the hurry?' question ... as we should all be doing. 👊🏻
Nice Mark. Unfortunate that the concept of “conditioning" got lifted into its shallow domain, for most, of aerobic work haha. Early in my athletic journeys and studies, James “Thinker" Smith tipped me to the insight of even the simple phraseology used to title the industry is redundant, strength and conditioning instead of what he would refer to as physical preparation, mental prep, spiritual, nutritional etc and that really the division of labor in this regard amongst coaches, teachers, furus and all the rest only highlights the ignorance. Whereas a better approach is to have a globally knowledgable person overseeing the totality of things in order to apply correct doses. Anyway…yawn
Alas, after “getting it" early on, you could imagine that I ran my head into many a brick walls during those times trying to reach more of my potential in spite of the specialized myopic egomaniacs who would attempt to be a coach and assert positional authority.
After some laps of my own R&D, and never planning on ceasing that exploratory approach of largely an N of 1 lifestyle, I finally scraped some uncomfortable bottoms and have the great fortune of applying that principle of ‘conditioning,’ to the level of my current interest and understanding, to my own person as I leave some ships behind for good and aim for a fresh representative of self. Challenging, but I'll be damned if not enjoyable thus far. What could I do if free? This drives the whip and sometimes just that curiosity, with no agenda, no specific end, is enough to maintain the juice all the way through, because I certainly know well what I can do if not free and you know, I'm just not interested in that no mo
One reason I stopped training people was because the Socratic method was overrun by those self-proclaimed coaches asserting "positional authority", declaring they had the answers, and offering them for sale. The price could be money but more often than not they sought regard and respect for that authority, to be called leaders, etc. At the end of the day, for a thoughtful, curious person, the N of 1 sure seems like the best way.
The neurotic obsession line hit hard - realised I'd been speed-running my training for months trying to hit arbitrary milestones before some imaginary deadline. The paradox is that rushing usually means you end up restarting from injuries or burnout, so you actuallylose time. Been forcing myself to ask 'whats the hurry?' whenever I feel that itch to push harder just to see faster results, not because the work demands it.
After all of the hullabaloo over high intensity training and doing workouts for time — not an ideal situation for certain temperaments — I hope it has finally settled into the understanding that over-under with consistency (regarding various thresholds) produces far better long term results than the whole "rush to get it right now" ever could. Keep asking and answering that 'what's the hurry?' question ... as we should all be doing. 👊🏻
Sorry I couldn't resist sharing some relevant poetry from Professor Neil Peart...
It’s not how fast you can go
The force goes into the flow
If you pick up the beat
You can forget about the heat
More than just survival
More than just a flash
More than just a dotted line
More than just a dash
It’s a test of ultimate will
The heartbreak climb uphill
Got to pick up the pace
If you want to stay in the race
More than just blind ambition
More than just simple greed
More than just a finish line
Must feed this burning need —
In the long run…
From first to last
The peak is never passed
Something always fires the light
That gets in your eyes
One moment’s high
And glory rolls on by
Like a streak of lightening
That flashes and fades
In the summer sky
Your meters may overload
You can rest at the side of the road
You can miss a stride
But nobody gets a free ride
More than high performance
More than just a spark
More than just the bottom line
Or a lucky shot in the dark —
In the long run…
You can do a lot in a lifetime
If you don’t burn out too fast
You can make the most of the distance
First you need endurance —
First you’ve got to last…
"First you’ve got to last…"
The Professor speaks 👊🏻
Truth.
This is similar to the article you wrote years ago about training Vincent Regan and the need for minute by minute mindfulness.
As I age, I realize I need to be in it for the long haul.
“Personal reconstruction is art.” Love that line. Stopped me in my tracks.
Thank you. This piece surprised me with a couple of turns and phrases that hit me after it all flowed out.
Thanks Mark. Still True.
Nice Mark. Unfortunate that the concept of “conditioning" got lifted into its shallow domain, for most, of aerobic work haha. Early in my athletic journeys and studies, James “Thinker" Smith tipped me to the insight of even the simple phraseology used to title the industry is redundant, strength and conditioning instead of what he would refer to as physical preparation, mental prep, spiritual, nutritional etc and that really the division of labor in this regard amongst coaches, teachers, furus and all the rest only highlights the ignorance. Whereas a better approach is to have a globally knowledgable person overseeing the totality of things in order to apply correct doses. Anyway…yawn
Alas, after “getting it" early on, you could imagine that I ran my head into many a brick walls during those times trying to reach more of my potential in spite of the specialized myopic egomaniacs who would attempt to be a coach and assert positional authority.
After some laps of my own R&D, and never planning on ceasing that exploratory approach of largely an N of 1 lifestyle, I finally scraped some uncomfortable bottoms and have the great fortune of applying that principle of ‘conditioning,’ to the level of my current interest and understanding, to my own person as I leave some ships behind for good and aim for a fresh representative of self. Challenging, but I'll be damned if not enjoyable thus far. What could I do if free? This drives the whip and sometimes just that curiosity, with no agenda, no specific end, is enough to maintain the juice all the way through, because I certainly know well what I can do if not free and you know, I'm just not interested in that no mo
One reason I stopped training people was because the Socratic method was overrun by those self-proclaimed coaches asserting "positional authority", declaring they had the answers, and offering them for sale. The price could be money but more often than not they sought regard and respect for that authority, to be called leaders, etc. At the end of the day, for a thoughtful, curious person, the N of 1 sure seems like the best way.
You scratched my soul on this one. Good stuff brother.
Thank you. This one got me too. Maybe even motivated me to dive deeper, back into the water, we are all still trying to navigate.