Clarification of a Past Entry
A few weeks ago, I posted a link to the following video clip. The blog entry was titled How Bad Do You Want It?
After posting the video, I’ve received several messages from readers who had misinterpreted the meaning behind my original posting. I was not suggesting that we make it a daily habit to train until we collapse. Clearly, we need to push ourselves to improve, but a little common sense goes a long way.
I posted the video to demonstrate the potential of the body and mind. This ‘win at all costs’ mentality is very important as a competitive athlete. You may never need to display this kind of courage, but it is something that great athletes have in their back pocket if necessary.
For a combat specific example, take a look back at the first Ward vs. Gatti bout. The 9th round says it all. These two men were operating on heart and courage. Everything else was depleted.
Clearly, these men didn’t train to this level each day at the gym. The extra reserve was there if needed however. Unfortunately, not all athletes have this reserve. Some athletes have heart, others will break when the going gets tough. It is often heart that separates the great from the ordinary. The physical qualities may be identical, but if one athlete has the drive to push through pain and fatigue, he will come out on top.
And believe it or not, athletes do not worry about health when fighting through an intense battle. The triathlete in the original video wasn’t worried about her health when she pushed through fatigue. Only an athlete can understand. We all know that it isn’t healthy. Life isn’t just about health however. Life involves taking risks and going after your dreams. Some dreams may include danger along the way, but it is this danger that adds meaning to life. As you push through the extreme challenge, you finally feel what it is to be alive. If you quit along the way, you must live with it forever. You can never go back and push through those final moments of pain.
We only have one opportunity to live, and some have different interpretations of the world ‘live’. This is similar to the deadlift thread from last week. Some view the deadlift as dangerous, while others live to pull heavy loads from the floor.
Once again, don’t worry if someone has different interests and motivations. We must all live our own life. Don’t try to live someone else’s as well.
Ross
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I got your point the first time, but some people like to comment on things without putting it in context. They should have the discipline to shut their mouth unless they make sure they understand what the heck they’re commenting on.
Ross, just an observation. I remember going through a combined army basic training and infantry course.
On the first night, we had a tall man, an athlete, removed in the middle of the night because he threatened suicide. He was broken by our first day where, because we started the course one day early for no other reason than we were all day, we had an NCO teach us how to make beds.
I kid you not. The first day was making beds. Granted, with a lot of shouting and aggression and throwing of beds and push-ups and chin-ups. But really, in the end it was learning how to make a bad.
And this tall strong man at least a foot taller than me could not stand the stress. I was not a great soldier; alas, I wasn’t even a good soldier. And I entered basic training overweight and out of shape.
But I refused to quit and passed my course. I saw this same type of thing repeated over and over with different soldiers. Some mentally broke in dramatic fashion like the boy beside me in the mess hall line-up talking about shooting himself with his rifle. Others, no stronger physically, simply didn’t give up and learned to enjoy the stress, challenge, and hard work.
It was just that simple.
*were all there is what I meant to type, not “day”
Ross-
As you experienced being a combat athlete, you begin to respect pain. I am a female semi-pro rugby player, and strength and conditiioning coach at a sports performance facility. Everyday I am in the trenches not only training athletes movement patterns, but the way they percieve training and their sport. Many of our athletes quit our program, because it is demanding, but biomechanically sound. They have difficulty acknowledging their weakness, and most dissapointing quit at signs of failure or new pain thresholds. But, my combat ahtletes, rugby, football, MMA, boxers, lacrosse, hockey..etc.. They are the beasts, they fight through every rep, every set, they make it count. They make going to work awesome. I use quotes from your training manuals, and workout sheets to inspire them. They are simple, no bull@#$% analogies. Thanks you for keeping training simple, inspirational, and functional.