RE: Back to the Basics (Misanthropy)

Sun, 05 Sep 2004 15:12:26 GMT

Excellent post. A great motivational piece about the basics. Its something we all need to be reminded of. With all the complexities going on in our lives, it always helps to get in touch with the basics and to put ourselves back on course with our goals.

Back to the Basics (cpl)

Sun, 05 Sep 2004 15:02:50 GMT

Everyoneâ€™s had their bad days when it comes to training- Some worse than others. Everyoneâ€™s also had their good days, and their great days- You look forward to your workout all day, you feel great when it comes time to hit the weights, and you feel strong enough to increase your lifts a little more than usual. So whatâ€™s the difference? What makes some days great and others not so hot?

Well, some of the reasons can be beyond our own control. The human body reacts differently to a sunny day than to a cloudy one- Our moods can be affected by things like this, things we have no say in. When it comes to the things we do have control over, most of us tend to overlook the impact they might have on whether we have a good training day or not- And theyâ€™re things we know we should be doing anyway, but perhaps weâ€™ve forgotten how important they are, and why.
Iâ€™ve been having some bad training days lately- Last week, there were even a couple of days where I didnâ€™t feel like working out at all, and I came away wondering why I even bothered- The workouts on those days werenâ€™t even worth doing, I put such little effort into them- So I started thinking about why I might have lost my edge there, and hereâ€™s what I came up with.

I forgot the importance of the basics. As much as I talk about them here on the forums, Iâ€™d been letting each of the big three slip- Nutrition, training and resting. Iâ€™d been eating a little less than I should, when I should actually be adding more calories to my diet. The reason? I was getting sick of chicken. I hadnâ€™t been drinking water steadily throughout those days I didnâ€™t feel like working out. I missed a meal on one of those days, and mistimed my meals on the other. As a result, the workouts were disasters- No energy, I lifted less weight than usual when I should have been lifting more, and I even cut each workout short by a set or two. Then comes the rest- Iâ€™ve been getting into the bad habit of going to bed later than I should, not allowing my body the time it needs to recover- Of course, I told myself that the workouts were so bad I didnâ€™t really have much to recover from anyway.

Now I knew where my problems were. In order to get the most out of your workouts, you need to have those basics covered- Without them, the workouts lose their effectiveness. Think about the tired old physics analogy- A few ounces of lead. Put a few ounces of lead in the palm of your hand, and what can you do with it? Not much- Throw it as hard as you want, it wonâ€™t go very far. Throw it at a piece of cardboard, youâ€™d be lucky to make a dent. Take that same piece of lead, put it in a shell and put some gunpowder behind it- Now youâ€™ve got a bullet- Youâ€™ve just increased that piece of leadâ€™s effectiveness far beyond what it was by itself.

Letâ€™s call the piece of lead our training. Obviously, with training alone, you canâ€™t expect much. Lift weights all week long without the other components, and you wonâ€™t get far. The gunpowder, the fuel that moves our training, is our nutrition- The true force behind our muscle. The cartridge that keeps everything else from falling apart, our rest.

Regardless of what sort of program youâ€™re on, how many reps and sets you do, these three things are undeniably necessary for great results. Take any of them away, and you canâ€™t expect much- If you donâ€™t eat right throughout the day, your energy and focus will be off, and your body simply wonâ€™t have the right fuel to get a decent workout. Rob your body of rest, and itâ€™ll try to rest all day long- There goes your focus and energy again. If you donâ€™t work out- Well, whatâ€™s the point of a good dayâ€™s eating and a nice nightâ€™s rest if youâ€™re not going to bother stimulating your muscles? (With the exception of scheduled training breaks, of course.)

So, next time youâ€™re not feeling your best, try to figure out what the problem might be- Donâ€™t just wait around for one of those great training days, stick to the basics and create them for yourself. If you feel like you are doing everything right and still feel a little run-down, drink more water (Your body thrives on the stuff) Throw some more calories at your stomach (Your body might be telling you itâ€™s time to add more) and make sure you get more rest that night- Sometimes our bodies just need a little extra to keep up the pace. Load your gun with bullets, and make every shot count.