You Are An Athlete.
- RJ Training
- Aug 4, 2023
- 7 min read
Sitting and concentrating on something is an athletic endeavour. Sure, someone sitting to write an important email is not as exciting as a track athlete running a sub-10-second 100m, but they are both athletic endeavours. Let me explain.
The sprinter and the one writing an email must actively engage in the activity to complete the task. Both of them care about the outcome and want to be successful. The one writing the critical email is focused on communicating clearly and concisely like the sprinter is focused on executing the phases of their 100m sprint. What we ask of ourselves is our sport. Our sport is the story we want to write for our lives, whether it means being the best CEO, dancer, artist, parent, etc.
Training our bodies is less about becoming bigger, faster, and stronger and more about the kind of training that will assist in a person engaging in their sport in the most effective way possible.
For the grandmother, their sport is being actively involved in the upbringing of their grandkids and for the CEO, being emotionally available to support a weeping employee while still finding time to complete critical tasks before the end of the day. You are an athlete and need to start training like one. The wrestler trains in the gym to be better in the next competition like the mother of two gets up before sunrise to work out so that she can parent with compassion later that day.
Regardless of your sport, I firmly believe that a sound training plan done consistently over time will support your story. Matching the physical training to a story is vitally important. A program can have all the science and the latest greatest exercises, but it will fall flat if it does not help tell a story for the person following the program. As a personal trainer, I have coached CEOs, parents, grandparents, entrepreneurs, artists, medical professionals, basketball players, football players, rugby players etc. No matter how different one person is compared to the next, one thing remains the same; they all have something that matters, and happiness results from when their bodies are best prepared for the tasks that impact their story.
Matching the physical training to a story is vitally important.
Why do you bother getting out of bed in the morning? Answering this question can be effective depending on the person. Alternatively, knowing what gets you most excited in life and then letting that be the anchor for any training program. In the same way, an NFL player trains all year anchored to the excitement of being able to play in the Superbowl; the parent trains their body consistently every year anchored to the excitement of witnessing their children grow and experience life. Someone wants to be good at their job so they do not get fired but is excited most about portaging on weekends. Getting stronger and improving their aerobic capacity will help them not just do the activity but partake in it with no reservations or worrying if their body can handle it. There is freedom in that, and I want to share a few elements a training plan should have to support you in doing what excites you the most.
Three keys to an impactful training program for any human story.
1) Carry: Recently, I have started walking into the gym I work out of, loading up a trap bar and taking it for a carry. Usually, when you carry a weight in the gym and walk with it, it is referred to as a farmer carry. One thing I like about this exercise is the full-body integration needed to walk with a heavyweight. I also like the idea of doing farmer carries without a warmup because, in life, we do not go warm up for 15 minutes before we carry the groceries to the car.
Going back to the full-body integration idea, I believe any exercise requiring your whole body to organize and execute the movement is vital to any life task. The farmer carry is something I insert into every training program, and one benchmark I try to build every client up to is carrying their bodyweight either loaded on a trap bar or with two dumbbells, one in each hand, each weighing 50% bodyweight. The goal is to carry your body weight for 100 yards or accumulate a total time of two minutes. I will say it is easier to do with the trap bar, given how the weight is distributed, but whatever equipment you have available, try and pick up your body weight and take it for a stroll.
This should go without saying, but just in case, please build up to the body weight farmer carry. If you are not a frequent gym dweller like me, do not just go in and load up a trap bar with your body weight and try to lift it. Chances are you will be able to do it, but a task like this should be repeatable over time. This is not something you do once, blow up your low back and then have to recover for two weeks. Now, if you train frequently and are confident with your deadlifting technique, do yourself a favour and program this once a week. One set for max distance/time carrying your body weight. Best to program this at the beginning of the workout because the time you get is representative of your readiness to train. I will go into readiness to train in another blog post, but the short of it is this; if one week your carry is with bodyweight for 2:04 minutes, and then the following week you go with the same weight but only hang on for 1:02 minutes then chances are your body is not ready for a super hard workout. It does not mean you can't work out after a shorter carry, but it is worth considering not to put high expectations on yourself to perform to your maximum that day.
2) Get-ups: This is another exercise that requires full-body integration. Are you starting to pick up on a trend here? These three key elements are not in any particular order, but get-ups would be number one if I order them. As we age, the ground starts becoming a scary place. Being able to get up off the ground requires the whole body. As kids, we repeatedly fell to the ground and bounced back up. In adulthood, falling down sucks, but we can manage. In our later years, falling down can be the difference between stumbling and catching ourselves or a trip to the hospital.
One series I like is the get-up Matrix, and I was first introduced to this by Dr. Perry Nickelston. The series consists of getting up and down from the ground without using your hands. Then it starts to get interesting when trying to get up while holding one of your knees. The crossover is the toughest. This is when I have my left hand on my right knee and keep it there while I get up from my back, from my left and right sides and the most challenging one when trying to get up is from being on my stomach.
There are so many ways to get up and down from the ground, and the fact it requires no equipment, I recommend everyone does some version of this every day if you want to keep your system in life-fighting shape. One easy way I do this daily is by getting down on the ground to cuddle my dog, Hendrix. Even if you must use your hands to get up and down, do it! Start somewhere with getting down to the ground today so that tomorrow you will still have the ability to get back up.
Even if you must use your hands to get up and down, do it! Start somewhere with getting down to the ground today so that tomorrow you will still have the ability to get back up.
3) Isometric holds: Well if I am known for something in the gyms I train out of, it is this. I teach many group fitness classes with 5-20 people in a class at a time. One surefire way to get everyone into their bodies is to get into a lunge position and stay there like a statue. I love doing this at the beginning of a training session, as it is a great way to feel your body and check in on the state you are in that day.
Here are some standards I expect all of my clients to be capable of:
Lunge hold: 3 minutes straight on both sides
Push-up hold: 1 minute in the bottom position
Single leg long lever hip bridge hold: 1 minute per side
Active hang from pull-up bar: 1 minute
There are many isometrics holds to choose from, and the ones I do with clients depend on what they do in life. If I train a runner, I will ensure they can hold single-leg positions, like a single calf raise for 2 minutes per side. Think of isometric holds like this; the ability to maintain a specific posture over time. From a postural perspective, isometric holds lend themselves to everything we do. Sitting behind the wheel of a car is a posture, and being able to stand in a long lineup is a posture. Building your ability to embrace the suck of isometric holds will make everyday life postures easy and stress-free. Additionally, it is a form of endurance not only for the body but also for your mind. Our minds are constantly running from one frame to the next, and a sneaky benefit of isometric holds is its impact on your ability to focus. Focusing our minds is critical to fully engaging with what matters most. A focused mind allows us to live our story fully.
Closing thoughts: I got pretty philosophical there for a minute, but I believe in being able to attach to a desirable story and then having the possible exciting outcomes dictate your actions. I always want to move toward what I want from my life; it is to feel empowered and strong in my body. I can tell you I do not feel strong after a night of alcohol or empowered if I miss out on going for a long walk after a busy day. The roadblocks I face to attaining a healthy and vital body will differ from yours. Still, the attachment to a desirable story and being able to identify what brings about excitement is where we are the same. Identify with your story and what you want most from life. What you do in physical training is a byproduct of you living your story.
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