TRAINING IS UNCOMFORTABLE

For the majority of us our training is not our job or what defines us in life.  It’s meant to be enjoyable, social and in some cases a way for us to release the pressures of daily life , job, kids, money, family, friends etc.

Whatever you are training for be it CrossFit, Martial Arts, football, rugby or running there is one thing that should feature in your training, and that is pressure in the training environment.  A small bit of pressure does wonders for your confidence so that you can deal with real life events.  You will only grow as a person from your training if you operate at some point dealing with the feeling of being uncomfortable. You’ll recognize this feeling as you might want to stop the workout, give up training or you'll be making all the excuses of the day.  Training doesn’t have to be hell on earth all the time but you should feel the need to have push and fight through some sessions.  When it becomes easy and you don’t feel wary about going to train you want get the best results you are capable of.

Getting through a tough uncomfortable session that you can talk about at a later date with teammates is a great feeling.  If training is occasionally punishing then you can draw on this experience from the training environment when you encounter something stressful in life.

Marcus

Strive for progress, not perfection

So you start training in whatever discipline you can think of. You seek out a role model and aim to be like them. You then beat yourself up as after a few weeks or months you don't look like them, play like them or fight like them. Keep in mind most of us will choose someone at the top of their game to idolise. That individual is paid and it is more often than not their profession to do what they do. Now you work 37 hours a week, have two kids, a wife, husband, maybe a second job and you need to fit all your training around that. YES, it can be done but don't quit too early.

Understand that little but often gains are good. Strive for progress, not the perfection you idolise. Small, regular amounts of weight loss, the ability to shift heavier weights over bigger distances. Learning and applying new techniques or being able to string more combinations together, even just surviving to the end of a class.  These are all good indicators of progress. I think the main thing to take from this is not to give up too early. I spoke with a guy last week who I train with and he told me that his girlfriend was going to start training. He told her she needs to give it at least 3 months. That's only 12 sessions to give it a fair shot. 

Remember in the early stages the warm up can feel like an exercise class, you have jargon and your body is being asked to move in a way that might be alien. Just don't give up and jack it in, be stronger than that and I hate this term but man up. Imagine, as a toddler you fell over and went well I'm not walking again, I fell over and I am not great at it the first time I tried it. So I am going to sit on my behind forever and shuffle. The same can be said for training. Stick in there, train hard, learn new skills.  It will change your life, I promise you for the better and for those around you.