I’ve got a confession to make. I have been getting a little frustrated with my inability to make vast improvements in my leaping ability in my recent training. I have made a concerted effort to remain as optimistic as I possibly can, but I have certainly experienced a great deal of frustration as well over the course of the last 23 weeks. I have made steady and discernible strides toward my ultimate goal of dunking a basketball over the course of the last 4 weeks, but I haven’t made any huge improvements.
I am looking for one of those sudden and almost surprising advancements in my training, which I like to call a training epiphany. A good example of a training epiphany for me would be the first time I grabbed a 10-foot rim. It surprised me to find my hand cupping the rim and I was incredibly happy. A similar feat (training epiphany) that most people can relate to would be one’s first pull-up. It almost shocks you, in a good way, the first time your chin gets over the bar.
Now that you have read the first two paragraphs of this post you are probably asking yourself, “Is Ben complaining about not being able to dunk yet? What is the purpose of this post?” Rather than complaining I consider this post more of a form of catharsis. The point that I am attempting to make is that I need to remember how fun this process is and how much I have accomplished in the 23 weeks that have flown by since I began this quest.
The best way to eventually achieve a challenging athletic goal is to enjoy the process. I love coming to the gym, working out and striving to improve in something everyday. That is why I started this quest in the first place, because the only thing that I love more than simply training, is training to achieve a specific goal.
For those faithful Quest for Dunkage devotees who have continued to read the blog and post comments throughout the course of the last 23 weeks—what goal are you training to accomplish? Has your training been frustrating at times? All goals are welcome, even if your goal is purely aesthetic, like losing weight or being able to see your abs.
As Dena Evans the head coach at Point Guard College Basketball Camp says, “Relax through the frustration, tomorrow might be the day that you see a massive improvement in your performance.” Enjoy the process because your next big improvement is just around the corner, no matter how far off it might seem.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I know what you mean. It's easy to make huge strides in the beginning from just putting in a little effort, but after a while it seem like you have to do more and more to squeeze a little more improvement out of your body. Definitely a law of diminishing returns thing. It's almost like we spoil ourselves a little bit in the beginning.
ReplyDeleteSome of my goals are to stick handstands, hspu, and butterfly pullups, which I feel are all within reach if I quit being so lazy about doing the skill work. I totally feel the slow down in progress makes you work harder and want it more. It has definitely motivated me to start eating cleaner, so I don't see it as being discouraging. More of a wake up call to look at my weaknesses and get to where I want to be in a more efficient manner.