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By
Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley
Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com/ecm8/ezGaffurl.php?offer=xxxxx&pid=1
In the previous article [INSERT LINK TO PREVIOUS ARTICLE HERE] we examined the challenges many of us face when trying to apply the three bedrock principles (progressive overload, variability, and specificity) to your training.
This week, I'd like to challenge you to explore your personal "system" of training, and more specifically, I'd like you to take an assessment of your personal "Values" as pertains to training. In other words, what's your "Training O.S.?"
Before doing that however, it's important to realize that you do already have an operating system. All of us have a set of habits, paradigms, proclivities, and/or beliefs that govern our decision-making under the bar. For example, I've written volumes about a belief that many people hold, which is that pain equals gain: the more something hurts, the better it must be.
If you happen to hold this point of view, you're likely do manage your workouts differently than someone who holds a contrasting belief (for example, that "performance equals gain"). This sequence of events can be visually summated in the following diagram:
Paradigms ' Decisions ' Consequences/Results
Needless to say, if you operate from accurate, productive paradigms, you'll make good decisions that will lead to good results. If you operate from incorrect assumptions, you'll make faulty decisions and suffer unwanted consequences. Let's examine a few common belief patterns so that you'll have a concrete understanding of this sequence of events:
Paradigm:
"John" is (unconsciously) overly enamored by novelty. He's always looking for the newest, coolest training system, diet, or training equipment.
Decision:
Every time John becomes aware of a new system, diet, or tool, he immediately discontinues what he was previously doing in favor of the new discovery.
Consequence:
John never makes any progress because he never does anything long enough for it to work. Interestingly enough, he always has a convenient excuse- his current methods are behind the times!
Paradigm:
"Jenna" believes she is weak and needs to be a tougher person, mentally and physically
Decision:
Every time Jenna encounters pain during a workout, she chalks it up to personal weakness and continues despite the pain.
Consequence:
Jenna is nearly always injured, which reinforces her paradigm. She's caught in a vicious cycle, and she's completely unaware of it.
Paradigm:
"Joe" is fascinated by, believes in, and has extensively studied periodization.
Decision:
Joe plans his workouts months in advance. Every exercise, set, rep, and weight is pre-planned.
Consequence:
When Joe inevitably encounters a workout that he isn't able to complete "by the book," he gets frustrated and immediately starts writing a new macrocycle, convinced me made an error on his last plan. Like John and Jenna, his faulty paradigm is self-replicating.
Like John, Jenna, and Joe, we all have productive paradigms and faulty ones. How then, can we reinforce the former and eradicate the latter? Simply by increasing our own self-awareness. I'd love your input on this discussion, so if you'd like to share your own paradigms- good or bad, current or former, please click the discussion link below. I'm certain you'll find the exercise to be enlightening and transformational.
About The Author
Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.
Click here to visit Charles' site and grab your 5 FREE videos that will show you how to literally FORCE your body to build muscle, lose fat and gain strength with "Escalating Density Training," Charles' revolutionary, time-saving approach to lifting that focuses on performance NOT pain.
http://www.staleytraining.com/ecm8/ezGaffurl.php?offer=xxxxx&pid=1