12/23/09
Thinking about skipping your workout? Just give me 20 minutes
If you’re dragging your feet about doing your training at times, I ask that you give me 20 minutes before making a decision to skip it.
Category: Training
Posted by: editor
It is not unusual to have a hard time getting motivated to do your workout. Most age group athletes have busy lives and sometimes there seem to be more pressing needs than your swim, bike or run. Your spouse needs your help, the kids have a game, you haven't slept, your right knee aches, you have the sniffles, it is too cold outside or you are just suffering from the plain old “I don't feel like it today”.
Life has a funny way of throwing you a curve ball sometimes: how you react to it determines whether or not you will have success in sports.
The best athletes, whether age groupers or professionals, know one thing for sure: if they don't train they don't win. Period.
This truth rings for them every time they consider skipping a workout. While they aren't training, they can be assured their opponents are. You will see the best athletes riding their bikes in the cold night, swimming before others and running in the worst weather. You will find the best athletes perfecting their skills even when they have other duties to attend to.
Age-group athletes don't face the same amount of pressure to perform as professional ones do. But the laws of effort and results apply just as well: if you don't train you aren't going to perform as well as you hope. The stakes are not as high for you as an age grouper than they are for the professional athlete but you should still make an effort to get all your workouts in.
The next time you are considering using a pretty weak excuse to get out of training, try this: Give me 20 minutes. All I want you to do is 20 minutes of easy effort. No sprints, no power intervals, no lactate sets - just 20 minutes of easy exercise. I want you to take those 20 minutes and swim, bike or run easy. Get the body moving, relax and enjoy the feeling of an easy 20-minute set. Think about how good it feels to move without pressure.
You will likely be surprised to find that those 20 minutes are up before you know it and that you are relaxed and invigorated enough to carry on with your workout. You might even feel so good that you have visions of world championship stripes dancing before your eyes.
And if not, the worst-case scenario is that you really weren't up to a full workout that day but that you still got 20 minutes of easy training done. This is a win-win situation in my book. You confirmed that your body just wasn’t ready for the scheduled tough session, removing any doubts, and you still got in 20 minutes of activity.
Next time life throws a curve ball at your training remember to give me 20 minutes.
Eric Doehrman, Certified ironguides Method Coach – Huntsville, Alabama
http://www.ironguides.net
* * * Your best is our business.™ * * *
Life has a funny way of throwing you a curve ball sometimes: how you react to it determines whether or not you will have success in sports.
The best athletes, whether age groupers or professionals, know one thing for sure: if they don't train they don't win. Period.
This truth rings for them every time they consider skipping a workout. While they aren't training, they can be assured their opponents are. You will see the best athletes riding their bikes in the cold night, swimming before others and running in the worst weather. You will find the best athletes perfecting their skills even when they have other duties to attend to.
Age-group athletes don't face the same amount of pressure to perform as professional ones do. But the laws of effort and results apply just as well: if you don't train you aren't going to perform as well as you hope. The stakes are not as high for you as an age grouper than they are for the professional athlete but you should still make an effort to get all your workouts in.
The next time you are considering using a pretty weak excuse to get out of training, try this: Give me 20 minutes. All I want you to do is 20 minutes of easy effort. No sprints, no power intervals, no lactate sets - just 20 minutes of easy exercise. I want you to take those 20 minutes and swim, bike or run easy. Get the body moving, relax and enjoy the feeling of an easy 20-minute set. Think about how good it feels to move without pressure.
You will likely be surprised to find that those 20 minutes are up before you know it and that you are relaxed and invigorated enough to carry on with your workout. You might even feel so good that you have visions of world championship stripes dancing before your eyes.
And if not, the worst-case scenario is that you really weren't up to a full workout that day but that you still got 20 minutes of easy training done. This is a win-win situation in my book. You confirmed that your body just wasn’t ready for the scheduled tough session, removing any doubts, and you still got in 20 minutes of activity.
Next time life throws a curve ball at your training remember to give me 20 minutes.
Eric Doehrman, Certified ironguides Method Coach – Huntsville, Alabamahttp://www.ironguides.net
* * * Your best is our business.™ * * *