Some days I find myself having to defend my philosophy that we ought to move well and have a handle on some basic skills, first, before we load up on more miles or intensity, or sign-up for that first Ironman or ultra-run. In those discussions I often say something like this: "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't make the rules, but I'm forced to follow them just like everyone else."
Now truthfully, movement quality doesn't have to be perfect. The human body IS amazing and the variability and capacity inherent in its ability to compensate in a good way, keeps many in the game. The younger among us or those with a lot fewer miles on the chassis, have an even larger margin of error.
There is no perfect, one-size-fits-all template for how to develop as an athlete, but there are rules that can't be broken without consequences...
To start with, in ANY sport, we must have a balance of mobility and stability, and depending upon the activity we're engaged in, the price we have to pay if we don't possess that balance could be severe...
Have you ever stopped to think about how comfortable your life is today? As noted movement expert, Gray Cook says, "We've gotten way past our needs (as a society) and have been in our wants for (a long time)!"
We've got back problems because we can slouch any time we want to, especially when we sit and stare at our phones. We're only a few steps from anything we need at any time (including the remote), we never pick anything up unless it has a handle, and at the gym we've been taught to sit down on our butts to push and pull to get stronger. Even some of the most "fit" among us would rather use that cho-pat strap or brace on our knee vs. actually owning our core stability. And those are just for starters.
Why, in this day and age, have we become comfortable with the fact that the exercise and training we do to "get fit" or "finish that race" must come with negative side effects, just like the prescription drugs we take?
My inspiration for coaching and taking the time to write is that I want you to not just survive your training and racing, but actually thrive from it.
I want you to not only be able to go as fast or as far as you possibly can, but also age gracefully, maintaining or even improving your ability to have fun playing, until the day you leave this earth due to natural causes. (If you're too young to understand what I mean by that, trust me, it will become painfully more obvious as the miles and gray hairs, pile up).
The way I look at it is, if I'm going to do something that is very important to me, I'm going to do it as well as I can - with integrity, beginning with the basics and fundamentals. It's that simple.
Perhaps the only difference between you and I is that I've exposed myself to a lot of opportunities to make mistakes, learning (often the hard way) the real difference between surviving and thriving.
So how about you - are you just surviving, or are you thriving?
Happy trails!
~Coach Al
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