Fitness Starts At The Base
The more time and effort you put into setting yourself up for health and fitness, the easier it will be to stay there long term.
When picking up my daughter from swimming training one afternoon, I noticed a whiteboard beside the pool displaying a fantastic diagram. (Unfortunately I’m not sure who drew this so can’t credit it to anyone.) It outlined the build-up towards race days, demonstrating where each swimmer’s time and energy should be concentrated.
The base of the triangle, i.e. the bulk of your time, should go towards “training to change”. You need to take the time to establish the correct technique, build your strength and fitness, and develop habits and routines that will improve your swimming. Once you have achieved change, you can train to compete. This is when you place yourself in a competitive environment to see if you are able to continue to apply the technique and skills you have been developing in the “change” phase and do this successfully. Finally, you can train to race. You have your technique and fitness sorted, you have put yourself under pressure in a competitive situation, and you are physically and mentally ready to race.
Although racing is the end goal, as shown in the diagram, this is the smallest part of the process. An Olympian standing at the starting line of their race is coming to the end of a journey that has taken thousands of hours of hard work, sweat and tears. The race is just the tip of the triangle.
“When we witness extraordinary feats … [of sporting or artistic prowess], we are witnessing the end product of a process measured in years. What’s invisible to us—the submerged evidence, as it were—is the countless hours of practice that have gone into the making of the virtuoso performance: the relentless drills, the mastery of technique and form, the solitary concentration that have, literally, altered the anatomical and neurological structures of the master performer. What we do not see is the what we might call the hidden logic of success.” - from Bounce by Mathew Syed.
Of course I am aware that most of you are not going for Olympic gold. However, this theory of training can be applied to any exercise program. If you arrive at your first ever training session and attempt to race everyone in the burpee challenge, you are quite possibly going to hurt something and most likely, never come back. The bulk of your time and energy needs to go into laying a foundation of strength and technique and changing your unhealthy habits and routines before you are ready to race.
TRAIN TO CHANGE
Change takes time: Don’t try to make it happen all at once. Start with small steps such as adding in one training session a week, increasing your vegetable intake, or removing your sugar from your coffee. Take it in small steps and just one at a time.
Focus on the inside out: When starting an exercise program, begin by strengthening the inner core and stabiliser muscles before jumping into the more challenging moves.
Work with professionals: Ensure you have a team around you that is able to guide you through your training program in a safe way with proper technique and form and sensible development.
Be patient: Remember that training to change is the bulk of the triangle. Improving your habits, developing technique, strengthening the deep layer muscles, modifying your running style etc will take time and energy, and you need to return to these basic training systems over and over again.
TRAIN TO COMPETE
Once you are feeling stronger, more confident in your form and technique, and have some healthy habits established, push yourself into more challenging situations. Try some different exercises you haven’t done before, increase your training program, or even sign up for an upcoming event. Find ways to push yourself into situations that are uncomfortable in order to be prepared physically and mentally for whatever is ahead.
TRAIN TO RACE
Now you have put the time and energy into the preparation, you are ready for “race day”. This may simply mean you are feeling fit and strong and are able to cope with whatever life throws at you. Or it could be that you are literally ready to take on a race such as a fun run, triathlon, cycle event etc. You have put in the work and now it’s time to see what you can achieve.
Don’t be discouraged if you feel like your journey towards health and fitness is slow. Change takes time and the more work you put in at the start, the more rewarding and long lasting the end result will be.
by Angie Black
ANGIE BLACK
BLOG CATERGORIES:
