Beyond Mountains...
There is a saying... "Beyond Mountains, there are more Mountains." A very intuitive saying indeed. In a nut shell, life never stops and it never gets easier. you climb one mountain just to see another in the distance. Life never seems to stop because well, it doesn't. There's always more work to do, there's always something awaiting your attention, there's always a project or a problem or an activity and it all seems to get in the way of each other. I wish there was a simple solution, or a "weird" trick to make your schedule lighter or more effective. But there isn't. Sometimes you just need to rise and grind out the day, put a smile on your face (or not) and just make it to tomorrow. Some days, it can't get any easier. The only question to ask yourself is are you going to struggle up the mountain, or are you going to conquer it like you were meant to...
Fitness training does more than strengthen your body, it fortifies the mind as well. When you deal with and overcome the difficulties of lifting the heavy weights or enduring the entire hour of running, you teach yourself winning habits, you teach yourself that you are capable of working hard and surviving. The more you do this, obviously the easier it becomes, then you push yourself, and the cycle goes on and on! Success is a habit!
Training, in the general sense, accomplishes this mental outcome of teaching habits of success, training prepares your body physically for the kinds of challenges you are going to place it under. The important question to appropriately approach training is: What kind of "mountains" are you needing to climb?
Physical strength comes in many shapes and sizes and can greatly effect the outcome of the challenges that face you. A good personal trainer or a well versed gym buddy won't just give you a program to follow, they are going to get to know you and see not just where you could use some muscle mass or maybe better cardio, but what in your life needs a little boost as well. Routines are easy to come by, but every so often, you need to do what I like to call a "soul searching workout." For me these come in the form of long swims, or interval circuits for time. For others... AMRAP's, others... Max Lifting, These kind of shock and awe sessions remind you to get down and work hard, to remind yourself of the strength you've gained and that you still need. They prepare you mentally for a rough day or week, and also shock the body into a response to grow the skill you are developing as a goal. Routines come and go, there will always be another good routine out there determining the amount of sets and reps with a combination of exercises to get you fit for your goals, but I encourage and practice with all my clients some real soul searching workouts that leave them completely exhausted, yet invigorated by the tremendous effort and ability to succeed. I encourage you too, to every once in a while getting down and dirty and just working hard. No real plan just a plan to grind away!
Every Day... A Little Stronger
