“There is no shortcut. Victory lies in overcoming obstacles every day.”
“One Cuts Out The Doors And Windows
To Make The Chamber: In Their Nothingness
Consists The Chamber’s Effectiveness”
- TRAINING
- RECUPERATION
- NUTRITION
THE BASICS ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS
By “cutting out the doors and windows” of our body chamber with the basic tools of exercise, we begin to see what’s possible in changing specific aspects of the physique. We begin to see weaknesses and we then take them away with discipline, attention and optimal exercises. What is taken away now serves for “effectiveness,” by means of a lighter, leaner, better balanced, more supple, yet stronger, interconnected and synchronistic body.
If a weakness is present and we learn how to eliminate it, the “effectiveness” of the body is enhanced by what is no longer there. If a weakness is known and not addressed, not dealt with or ignored, its presence is then the limiting effect, and this limitation becomes the Achilles heal of our athleticism. Yet, even if it’s addressed but not fully remedied, at least something was done to take it away and the mind and body are stronger from the effort.
THE BASICS TRINE
TRAINING / NUTRITION/ RECUPERATION
The three main aspects of the Basic program are the Training itself, which should involve both activity in the sport of your participation, and training to counter any weaknesses which need addressing; proper Nutrition with a wide variety of foods and sources of energy to draw from, positive to your sport and lifestyle; and adequate Recuperation, which means resting the muscle groups for adequate periods and also resting the whole body properly. No matter what the regimen is, no matter what sport, what goal, what result you’re after, these 3 aspects must be in place for any and every program to work.
Tennis, triathlon, swimming, speed skating, skiing, bodybuilding, golf – each have a recommended set of exercises that are beneficial to that particular sport and are the basic components every participant should master.
But none of these particular activities will be properly ingrained into your consciousness until you physically get out on the field and participate. You can read about them and analyze them all you want; get every video ever made on the subject, consult every expert; but it means nothing until you get your body into the game and experience it firsthand.
Participation in the sport obviously goes hand in hand with Training for the sport. Do the required stretches, warm ups, plyometric moves, weight training, flexibility exercises and mental rehearsal and your body will register a well-rounded repertoire of intuitive experience before you even get to the field.
Once on the field, pay attention to how the body moves, what you use, any limitations felt, the strengths noted, and what it takes to reach “flow,” a comfort level where you are in and of the game rather than fighting it to get results. Training encompasses mind, body and spirit and if attention to one or two components is lacking, so too will the results.
Proper Nutrition is the most sensible way to involve the internal/mental Basic aspect. Eating right requires mental discipline and will give your body the results you seek by having the proper energy available at appropriate times. Food is a drug and each type delivers its own energy either for action, strength, explosiveness, recuperation, endurance, repair; and too often, nothing, no nutritional value whatsoever. This is also known as the proverbial “empty calories.” Finding what helps and eliminating the “nothing” foods is a huge part of everyone’s life, not just the athlete’s.
The third aspect, Recuperation, is often one of the most overlooked components for optimal training. If you are sore, or tired, or hung over, or overfed, a tendency to let focus drift occurs because mentally, you may feel there is always another day. You let your body down with inadequate rest, you let your mind down with inadequate discipline, and you let your goals down because you’ve chosen to be one step further rather than one step closer to a goal.
There are certain things that can be done every day toward your sport or discipline and certain things that should only be done with 48 hours rest, and sometimes more. Intuition and knowing your own body and its abilities only comes with consistent attention and feedback. You must know when to rest it, and when to talk yourself out of the pain and into the training room to massage the body with blood flow and flexibility.
Full recuperation is also a must, to enable the body to bounce back and often launch into a new level of physicality with greater insights and energy and a fully restored focus that comes from stepping back once in a while to observe, meditate and reevaluate approaches or disciplines.
TRAINING BASICS
You are cutting out the doors and windows of your body by refining your moves to suit your particular goals. If you are bodybuilding or sculpting, you add more shape in one area, take away bulk in another. The spaces between constitute all that needs to remain.
The Training Basics apply to all sports, all bodies. This is what building strength is all about. If you learn only these basics and practice them consistently, you will benefit, mind and body, and improve your sport as a result. If you’re going to do something repeatedly for a better part of your life, you’d better learn what’s safe, as well as comfortable, and what it could possibly do to your body from a structural standpoint, in addition to learning how to prevent injuries rather than repairing breakdowns.