Author: Vernon Gambetta
Gravity – Think About it!
Use Gravity – Don’t abuse it Tough to live with – Impossible to live without it You can't see – But you know it is there Enhance Gravity – Don’t chance it Resist Gravity – It will persist You can cheat Gravity, but it’s tough to beat it!
Thought for the Week – Marginal Gains
The majority athletes and coaches that are searching for marginal gains, that final one or two percent that get them to the top of the podium would be better served redirecting their effort to the first 98%. Get that right, know the basics master the basics and touch on the basics daily and the marginal gains will come. Nothing magic, no secrets, no special exercises just sound well planed productive work.
Being the Best You Can Be
If you want to be the best you can be then get started now, don’t wait. Commit and go for it. No holding back, no restraints, do everything that is necessary and do it now. No talk, just clear action oriented goals. Use setbacks as stepping stones, mistakes and failures as opportunities. Just like the Little Engine that Could, keep saying: "I think I can, I think I can" and YOU WILL!
More is Better Blues
Volume is a seductive trap. At younger training ages virtually anything an athlete does will make them better. The more they do, the better they get – up to a point. That point is something we recognize as the point of diminishing returns. But despite the diminishing returns it is very tempting to continue on that path because that is what got them to that point. This is where the more is better blues occurs in the form of stagnation, performance plateaus or injury. Now what? More is not better, better is better. The emphasis must shift to quality training and perfect effort.
Rethinking Cooldown
Let take a close look at the cooldown. Obviously it comes at the end of the workout. Too often it is an after thought consisting of some mindless activities to get rid of lactate or some such nonsense. Instead it should be considered an integral part of the training session. Don't think of it as the end of the current session, think of how you can use the time to set up the next training session. As an alternative to cooldown I have started using the term reset to better describe what I hope to achieve. A well thought out and structured cooldown will reset the system so that the next session can start at an optimum level. I structure the reset to be more active than passive. For example I would prefer hurdle walkovers instead of jogging, an orchestrated series of yoga poses rather than static stretching or left handed throws for a right-handed thrower. Look closely at activities that will help reset the nervous system, are a logical extension of the current workout and that will setup the subsequent workout.
Thought for the Week – Being Comfortable
Progress and learning do not happen when we are comfortable. True growth occurs when we are outside our comfort zone. High achievers, winners, are comfortable with being uncomfortable all the time and they make others uncomfortable as well. If you are comfortable maybe you need to rethink where you are if you aspire to be the best.
The Answer(s)
I am quite wary of someone who has the answer and even more wary of someone who has all the answers. I know there was a time early in my career when I thought I had the answers. However it did not take long to be humbled. I quickly realized that those who I was learning the most from and those who were most successful where not the people with the answers but those with the questions. As I have progressed in my career I have see this reinforced daily. I know now after 45 years of coaching and 68 years of life that learning is all about asking questions. Asking pointed intelligent questions will not always lead to answers but may lead to more questions and that is OK. That is the joy of discovery and learning to improve ourselves to make our athletes better. The words of Gertrude Stein come to mind: “The answer is there is no answer.”
Thought for the Week
You play and compete the way you train. If you want to change how you compete then look closely at your training. Why are you doing what you are doing when you are doing it? Don't try to replicate the game, distort it to make the game slow down.