Dwell in the real.....

You are better off dwelling in the real rather than wasting time searching for the ideal.

 The actual quote is the mature lifter is better off dwelling in the real rather than wasting time searching for the ideal, taken from this post at Dave Draper's forum.   

I read that the other day and it has stuck in my mind.

Dwelling in the real

So much of the health and fitness world is about fleeing from who we are.  Sometimes this is hidden or reframed as achieving a goal, changing our appearance.  Often though it is a case of a deep unhappiness with who we are.

There comes a time when we need to stop that and simply dwell in the real, to adopt some reality about who we are, what we can aim for.   There is nothing wrong with seeking improvement but we need to be realistic.  At 45 I will never play professional football no matter how hard I train.   With my bone structure and metabolism I will never be a competitive bodybuilder or powerlifter.   With my VO2 max and endurance I will never run a 3 hour marathon.  Aiming for such things will be a recipe for failure and more than that discontent.

However....I can be a good enough runner and better than most people.  I can develop a good physique, appropriate to my structure;  I can be leaner than 90% of guys my age; I can exhibit endurance to jog or walk for 20 or 30 miles.

I can do things which are excellent for me and for my potential.  The model that I can aspire to is not some shredded physique which is probably built on drugs and through superior genetic.  It is not a sub 3 hour marathoner.  It is me.

I think the word that sums it up is "contentment".  Being happy with what you have and making the most of it.

Identity

This identity thing is also present I think in all of the mad diets.  It is when people start to identify themselves with a diet.

• I am paleo
• I am gluten free
• I am primal
• I am low carb
• I am vegan
• I am a clean eater

No you are not;  you are you.  If you are "paleo" grains erode your identity.  If you are low carb, that pasta dish will take away from who you are.  As vegan you cannot eat those eggs and still be who you are.

It is all rubbish.  You are not your diet....or your training (I am a Crossfitter, a runner, a HITer)

Michael Moore on walking

I am no particular fan of Michael Moore's films or politics, but this piece on walking that I came across the other day is very good.

Michael Moore on Walking

I like his approach that walking is about the experience, the liberty to walk.  It is about the act, not the result.  Process, not outcome.  Yes, there will be changes, but they are not the focus.

box jump fail

Those box jumps that I post on here are not always successful.....

you can't teach speed?

Someone tweeted me this study and I thought I'd share it here.

The point that they are promoting is that good sprinters are born that way.  Those who are elite do not achieve that through working hard and hitting the 10,000 hours of practice that seems to have been accepted as the key to achieving elite status.  Sure practice helps, but in reality the true elite are perhaps elite before they really start to practice?

I don't think this totally invalidates the idea of developing exceptional ability through practice, at least where that is based on skill.  However perhaps it emphasises that it is worth pickin your field of endeavour to focus on one for which you are ....... gifted.

You Can't Teach Speed: Sprinters Falsify the Deliberate Practice Model of Expertise

Abstract:      Most scientists agree that expertise requires both innate talent and proper training. Nevertheless, the highly influential deliberate practice model (DPM) of expertise holds that either talent does not exist, or that its contribution to performance differences is negligible. It predicts that initial performance will be unrelated to achieving expertise and that a long period of deliberate practice — at least 10 years or 10,000 hours — is necessary and sufficient for achieving expertise. We tested these predictions in the domain of sprinting. Study 1 reviewed the biographies of 15 Olympic sprint champions. Study 2 reviewed the biographies of the 20 fastest male sprinters in U.S. history. In all documented cases, sprinters were exceptional prior to or coincident with their initiation of formal training. Furthermore, most reached world class status rapidly (Study 1 median = 3 years; Study 2 median = 7.5). Study 3 surveyed U.S. national collegiate championships qualifiers in sprints and throws. Sprinters recalled being faster as youths than did throwers, whereas throwers recalled greater strength and overhand throwing ability. Sprinters’ best performances in their first season of high school, generally the onset of formal training, were consistently faster than 95-99% of their peers. Collectively, these results falsify the DPM for sprinting. Because speed is foundational for many sports, they challenge the DPM generally.