IT'S NEVER JUST ONE THING

In lifting, a common idea that gets promoted is that there is always one thing that will revolutionize one's training.  Some new supplement, or exercise, or adding a gallon of milk to one's diet, or eating more peanut butter, or a new mobility drill, or etc etc.  The common theme we witness is the premise that, all things being equal, it is the mere presence or absence of one thing that is the determinant of our end results.

"Dynamic inertia?  All this time my inertia has been non-dynamic, like some sort of chump."

This is of course a faulty premise.  Training is not simply a collection of parts frankeinsteined together into a regimen, but instead a harmonious blending of principles into a symphony.  The whole is not simply equal to the sum of all parts, but instead becomes greater due to the means in which all the individuals pieces compliment each other toward reaching the overall goal.  Arbitrarily adding or subtracting pieces of the puzzle results in a convoluted mess with minimal positive results.  All actions must be carefully weighed and measured.

The issue here is that the notion of consideration and thought being put into one's actions clashes with the instant gratification society that we have become, where everyone is a winner and we all get points for trying.  Rarely is it the case that one needs to invest a great deal of effort into any endeavor to reap satisfaction, and the idea of doing so appears morally offensive to us.  Where is the quick fix?  Where is our rapid solution?  Why can't I just do whatever I want and get my reward?

Perhaps this what they meant when they said getting into Med School was hard

Reality, however, refuses to bend to our will.  In reality, if you have a trainwreck of a program or diet, simply changing one variable will have minimal, if any, impact  If you only eat fast food, throwing a gallon of milk into the mix will just make you fatter.  If you are only doing jumping jacks and curls, occlusion training will only make your limbs fall asleep.  Adding a drop of ocean water into a swamp will not give you ideal surfing conditions, you need to have your foundation strong before you start focusing on minor variables.

Dan John spoke of how he told people not to ask him about nutritional supplements to improve their health if they weren't flossing, and it's a profound point.  So many people want to start focusing on the 1-2% variables rater than taking actions that have the most significant impact on their results.  Nothing exists in a vacuum, everything affects everything else, and you can't expect one variable to overcome the tyranny of all your poor choices.  Every action you take should have a reason behind it, and it should all support the entirety of your overall plan.  If you cannot justify an action and it's placement in your program, it should eliminated until you can.



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While I have your attention, I'd like to note that this blog has been operational for one year, with me providing a new post at least once a week.  I am very pleased with the experience so far.  I may begin holding myself to a less strict timeline for the future, but I am pleased I was able to maintain the tempo for this long.  I will thank my small yet loyal readership for continuing to increase my pageviews each day, your visits mean a lot.