And My Training Attention Deficit Disorder
I have training ADD. At any given time I have about 5 totally seperate strength training things that I want to do. I probably don’t make as much progress as I could because I am so scatterbrained. In fact, I probably wouldn’t let one of my clients be spread this thin. That being said, I keep getting stronger all the time, go figure.
Contrast this to so many people I see in the gym all the time who are just bored. They haven’t seen progress in months or years, and their training program occurs to them like work. Sure they derive some sort of satisfaction or accomplishment out of slogging through it, but they aren’t excited about it anymore. It no longer inspires them. It’s not any fun.
Right now I’m trying to decide if I want to learn more Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, learn Olympic Weightlifting, start learning Sayoc Kali (knife fighting), do more CrossFit, start learning Gymnastics, or practice Kettlebell Lifting. It’s WAY too much. But you know what? I could probably pick any two of those, put together a fun and intelligent training program, and be much stronger and fitter this time next year. And I’d have a hell of a lot of fun doing it.
Why am I so excited about my training options, and why do your training options suck? Because you are lifting weight and counting repetitions and… well you’re not doing anything else. Like a game of tic-tac-toe, it lacks interest after a short while. If you notice my training options, they all include LEARNING. Learning is inherantly fun, if it’s something that you are interested in. This is what you could call “intelligent training”.
Will I get any strength training done while I am “learning”? Lets take a look at say… Olympic Weightlifting. Oly style Weightlifting is the sport of trying to take the heaviest possible weight from the floor to overhead, in the cleanest most efficient motion possible. Learning that clean efficient motion is an art, that’s the part that’s interesting. Practicing that with really heavy weight is a full body workout like most people have never done in their lives. I’m clear that if Olympic Style Weightlifting is the rout I take, it will lead to my being stronger, more muscular, looking better, performing better in whatever sports I choose, and having tons of fun over this next year. But what if I chose gymnastics? It would have all of the same benefits.
If I choose one of the martial arts, Sayoc Kali or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it will definitely lead to increased overall fitness, body awareness, ect. I’d still include some extra strength training, but regardless of what kind of strength training I did, the martial art would be fun and would be the basis of my fitness for the coming year. I could do the same thing with anything I enjoyed: Climbing, joining a dodgeball league, Parkour, running 5k’s, hiking, bikinng, dancing.
Anything I enjoyed doing, I’d let that be my fuel for motivation, but I’d definitely alternate it with strength trainging so that I stay strong, muscular, and effective at my sport. Without some form of strength training you are bound to be weaker than you would enjoy being, and not looking how you want to look. In many ways, the strength is the gateway to how much fun you can have. Just about anyone has the fitness they need to play on a swing set, but you can play on gymnastics rings if you’ve got an elite level of strength.
Take your workouts to the next level, learn something new this year.