And he is totally right.
We live in a highly stimulatory, fast past, results driven, get things NOW
environment.
Our bodies need the opposite
Most of us have seen the Karate Kid where Mr Miagi gets him to practice a move repeatedly for weeks on end.
'Wax on...Wax
off'
(admit it you say this every time you clean the car/ windows etc...or is that just me!)
This is a powerful message as a young, immature athlete learns about how he wants to move onto the next level, yet the wise sensei knows that the kid needs slowing down and his body
and mind needs to move at its own pace.
Exercise sessions are repetitive and boring at times to us.
Again, they are NOT this way to your body as it does the hard work in the background making us stronger.
A good coach may sometimes annoy you as they seem to be 'holding you back' and you can't get 'lean' like in that stipulated time period the program you read about.
Foundationally strong, mobile and fast bodies take a LONG time to build with continuous effort...
....yet built this way they are built to LAST
Being impatient and expecting your body to do what you want in a short space of time is, to be blunt, short-sighted.
Your body makes changes every day when you keep the challenges coming..99.9% of these changes you can't see in the mirror!
I would go as far to say as you 80% of the improvements you are making now you won't see the benefit for MANY years.
The gym session this morning and subsequent sensible progressions ongoing will be what stops that knee replacement in 2025.
The boring, repetitive plank holds that pesky PT gets you to do every day could mean the difference between constant back pain from 65 onwards...or
not.
Your body and mind are a system that has taken millions of years to evolve.
It is perfect.
I will say it again, YOUR body is
PERFECT.
You woke up today, you walked downstairs with no pain and can smile at your kids as you know your body will give you the energy you need to be awesome all day long!
Want to keep this?
Your body is adaptive, it will build strength and power that you cannot imagine with good balanced, patient training.
It will also switch off and reduce anything you don't use to save energy.
Muscles, strong tendons and string bones are EXPENSIVE to the body
Read that bit above again^^
Use it or lose it!
If you don't challenge your body regularly it will take back the resources.
You can start now my simply moving a bit today, and then a little bit more than that tomorrow...
Hang in there, enjoy
the journey and every time you feel a bit bored, disheartened and feel like it is going nowhere remember that this feeling often comes just before the next level up....
Remember the old Japanese proverb:
'Fall
down seven times...get up eight'
The amazing athletes we have just seen in Rio know this, and have the same struggles as the rest of us.
They get up again and never give up...just that 1% extra every day should cut it?!
J
