Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Sweat the small stuff

I’ve been traveling a bit on the East Coast USA, and yesterday caught up with a cousin in Connecticut who I haven’t seen in quite some time.

Catching up was nice, but I could tell he had fallen into one of those life traps that so many people do.

He asked me what I did for workouts. I told him I’m not as hard core as I used to be but maintain consistency.

He said he doesn’t work out any more, there’s no time and he has 3 kids to drive around to school, soccer practice, etc.

The problem is, our bodies don’t take into account this idea of “not having time”.

Back in paleolithic days, humans had to move, lift heavy things, chase things, and run from things just to survive.

It’s only in modern times that we have the luxury of “not having time” to exercise.

And we age ourselves faster in the process, as well as make ourselves susceptible to getting sick, and becoming weak and frail in our old age.

The answer to all of this is building habits through consistency.

Monday does not have to be a swim, bike or run day, it just has to be a day where you do something.

That something can be anything. Today it could be a sprint workout.

Or it could be a 30 minute run.

Maybe you’re just starting out, and doing 1 mile is a nice mini-habit to commit to.

With swimming, consistency is even more crucial. You may not feel like swimming 3000 meters, but can you commit to 300? Or even just getting in the pool?

These are the small things that make up the habits that save our health and our training.

It’s the little things that add up.

If my cousin could just commit to the small stuff, he would start making gains.

Walking daily. Running a block. Even putting running or workout shoes on.

The little things are where the gains are made, where PRs are set, and where the races are won.

What can you do to “sweat the small stuff” in your training?

Some ideas for swimming:

  • Count strokes
  • 1 good high elbow pull
  • 1 50 sprint
  • Deep breathing before getting in the water
  • Vertical kicking for 2 minutes

You can make up your own to continue your consistency and self motivation.

This stuff really works, little by little, you will get there and achieve the best shape of your life — but if you ignore the small stuff, you may end up going for years without getting to your goals, and sacrifice your health in the process.

Befriend the water!

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