Priority vs. Preference

As with the rest of our lives, we often develop patterns and habits in our physical training routine (that’s right folks, I’m actually going to write about training).  Generally, working out with a specific goal in mind is tough.  It usually means that we’re focusing on improving things that we’ve outline as weaknesses (which means we’ve gone through the process of identifying these areas – critical self analysis can be shitty) and identified these as priorities.

Our human wiring predisposes us towards positive reinforcement – that is we are more inclined to repeat actions that elicits a favourable response – so we tend to opt for these behaviours (one of the reasons I suggest not using food as a reward).  So in our “workout world”, we tend to do the things that make us feel good – or make us feel like we’ve had a really great workout – these naturally become our preferences.

Now, here comes the part where I take back some of my previous words…

As part of the Resolution Roadtrip series that I wrote to kick off 2013, I wrote a blog on doing the things that you make you smile, and hopefully you’ve been able to accomplish that to date.  But with about 15% of 2013 behind us, it’s time to buckle down and get serious about the goals that we set (and refined) over the past 8 weeks.

So, don’t get me wrong, feeling great after a workout is motivating.  It increases the likelihood that we’ll come back and have another one.  That’s great if workout frequency is our goal (hopefully that habit has been established), but it’s time to bear down and focus on the priorities - why are we busting our butts in the gym.  It’s time to walk into the gym after a long day of work and say, “I’m gonna bust out that workout that kicks my ass and own it!  Why?  Because in order to achieve my goal, I have to!”

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What do you want to achieve? 
What are you prepared to do to achieve it?

A few days ago, I shared a post from Ido Portal on my Facebook page (this guy has some pretty awesome philosophies on movement – and some pretty amazing ability).  In his post he talks about how we all “want” to achieve certain standards.  We want to lift heavier weights or perform certain movements proficiently, but he notes that so many of us haven’t accurately assessed the requirements necessary to achieve these standards.

Lou Holtz, a famous football coach from Notre Dame encouraged his players to ask themselves the question “What’s important now?” 25 times throughout the day as a means of keeping themselves focused on the task at hand – for them that task was winning the National Championship. 

What’s important for you? 
Right now? 
Tomorrow morning? 
Tomorrow at lunch time? 
When you lace up your sneakers?

** If you’re at the stage where you are just starting out – you might want to go back and read the Resolution Roadtrip, establish a starting point, develop your game-plan and bookmark this post for another month down the road after you’ve had a chance to play a while.