I want to clarify something I said some time ago about something being better than nothing. It is still true, something will always be better than nothing, especially when it comes to exercise and movement. What I’m hoping to move more people to is from something, to something slightly better. My job as a coach is to find an appropriate challenge for my athletes and clients. That is what I am hoping for more people to do. It’s a sliding scale really. If we are talking about a very sedentary person that is super detrained (0), then getting from 0 out of 10, to somewhere between 1 and 3 is a perfect start. I think a ton of people live in this range which is OK if they can manage to stay with it. It is human to want to challenge yourself, if for nothing else, to prevent the lack of boredom. 0- Very sedentary 1-3- Walking, some body weight training, beginner yoga, host of other things 4-6- Fitness classes, small group trainings, jogging (see blog about either sprinting or walking, but some people still get here), novice strength training, again many other things 7-10 High end athletics and super intense workouts (building towards some sort of competition usually) So let’s say someone finds a low barrier form of exercise like walking and they get to the ‘3’ I referenced earlier. Should they themselves stuck on the proverbial hamster wheel, they may think about what’s next? Do they start to jog? Do they start doing a fitness class? Maybe look up a random weight workout on YouTube? Whatever it is, I’m my new hope is for more people find how to move to that 4-6 range without getting too frustrated. The reason is because most of the activities that will get someone into this 4-6 range are going to have either a community or a coach, sometimes both. Those two things right there will help them find the appropriate challenges for themselves for their entire lives, should they choose so. Even if it’s temporary and just want to go back to the walking, they now know it’s there. Also, coaches and communities tend to help folks to stick with it for the long haul.
My point is, I want more folks go from 0 to 1 AND from that 3 to a 4. It will help them sustain their fitness regimes for a longer period of time. IF you are one of those people looking to go from a proverbial 3 to a 4, please reach out to myself or your friendly neighborhood coach to get help moving to your '4'. Thanks for reading today friends, have a fun Thursday and great weekend!
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Last week many of us had a laugh and some fun with this post from my good friend Michael Anderson, who you should all be following to have a laugh and cut through some BS. Where was I? Right, boot camping teams into the ground. Before I go further, I am not disrespecting the military, any other their instructors or the like nor have I served so Iâm not writing this from that perspective. Iâm writing this from a thoughtful coachâs perspective that both works with his team in the off-season and coaches them through their season. Also, letâs all agree that comparing any athletics to battle and/or serving is just plain foolish.
The problem with this idea, is the coach is trying to put on a show for the public with their team and doing so at the detriment of said team and their S&C staff. The result that some well-intended coaches may hope for, when bringing in such a person, is likely some sort of team building or team bonding.
There are a few ways Iâd prefer my team to bond than running them into the ground and having them screamed at (neither of which makes someone tough so if youâre in that school of thought, you know where the door is). Have competition of sorts within the team- When I say this, I donât mean play another game of the sport your coaching, I mean other things, like capture the flag or dodgeball. Thereâs plenty of more creative things like that, use your imagination. Have a reward for the winning team something like food or maybe a day off? Use those brain cells, itâll be more productive. Problem solving activities- Iâm a fan of doing this for the entire team together and then splitting it up into groups. The simplest thing that comes to mind for me is some sort of scavenger hunt, anything that makes them think through the problem together, then act. I've seen things like human knot have a good result too. OK, letâs address the idea of âmental toughnessâ that some coaches could be after when they do this stunt, for lack of a better term. There is no amount of screaming, there is no high intensity workout that is going to prepare an athlete for the pressure situations coaches likely desire this âmental toughnessâ in. Mimicking it in some practice scenarios is possible, itâll never do it justice though. The only way to get them use to it, is to get them in it, in a game, and prepare them for it the best you can otherwise. In conclusion, the boot camp thing is over done and probably yields something positive maybe once out of 10000. Does that make it worth, the time, effort, pain and suffering it takes to do this? Not even a snowball's chance. There's many ways to achieve the desired results, use that cranium and watch what happens. Thanks for reading today friends, have a good one. This is one of those fun times of the year where we all want to be social, but also are looking to squeeze in training while we can. All this while trying not to run ourselves down and stay as healthy as possible. Building and Maintaining Strength- Yes, even in busy times of your life, you can build some strength. Even if you’re not quite getting the training in that builds your strength, you’ve likely taken a lot of time and care to build your strength, you don’t want to go back to square one if you can help it, right? Just 1 training session a week, though I’d recommend 2, can help you at the very least maintain what you’ve built. Stress Management- When you’re in a busy period of your life, you will undoubtedly be stressed out. Unless you are perfect when it comes to managing your stress on the, then you are going to need take time to relieve it to some degree before you have some sort of break down. Strength training might not be the cure all, but it does the job well for most. You exert yourself, you get back some of your confidence, release some of those endorphins, pretty good stuff if you ask me. Keep the Sick Bug Away- Not unlike above, when you train during a busy block of life, assuming you don’t train to absolute train-wreck-failure, you can keep that little sick bug away that tends to pop up when we overdo it and our body breaks down. Adjust the weights and your intensity of your training to match your energy, and you’ll keep your immune system in good shape, let alone your body.
Hope you find these little bits helpful for you as we get into the New Year as well. Have yourself a week and great end of the year fam! |
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AuthorJarrod Dyke, CSCS Archives
December 2023
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