I’ve been fortunate, or unfortunate in some ways, that I’ve enjoyed a number of different sports in my training history. Going from one end of the spectrum to the other. From Body-building to obstacle course racing you see similarities in how large portions of the participants go to the extremes and don’t reach their full potential.
Each has its own subculture.
Those who will defend its basic fundamental principles with their last breath.
The body-builders can view each and every workout with a savage brutality and failing to improve on the previous one is sacrilege. So much so that all manner of cocktails are consumed pre-workout to fire up the Adrenal glands and Central Nervous System to the point similar to the Berserker’s of old. The race to get the maximum muscular skin splitting pump is all consuming. Every workout is gauged upon its success or the fact that you’ve pushed yourself so hard that remaining upright or are throwing your ring piece up in the toilets can be viewed as bragging rights for a product or training methodology that works.
Running on the other hand can be summed up for a lot of people by the ever increasing amount of miles pounded out on tarmac/concrete each and every week. The notion to prove your worth as a runner by running on every single day possible even Christmas day and in all weathers. The thought of missing a run and suddenly loosing fitness can be all consuming and quite blinkering at times especially those who are constantly carrying niggling aches and pains. Believe me when it comes to aches and pains running wins hands down in everything I’ve ever been involved in.
The main thing I’ve observed from participating and watching both these sports is that people purely focus upon a single workout without giving any thought for whether their bodies can replicate or better the next time without the need for a loss of form/technique or the intake of copious amounts of stimulants. It hamstrings so many’s ability to progress and maintain a healthy body. Watch people working out in gyms and you’ll see this happening as they tire during a set and use all manner of body movements to complete a rep. Look at runners as you’re out and about and it becomes obvious that their running form is atrocious. It becomes more of a shuffle with little foot lift, locked hips and arms gripped tight against the ribcage as they fight rotation and that classic one foot point forwards and the other twisted outwards at anything from 30 to 45 degrees. Make no wonder it has roughly 80% of runners achieving an injury every year.
Both pass times seem to be entrenched in “BroSciense” and ways of training that are outdated and outmoded and founded more on hearsay than scientifically sound training principles in large sections of each community.
Spend time researching your chosen pass time from a variety of sources. Its not all about pushing yourself further than your previous session/workout you have to be able to replicate that time and time again to entrench success within the body.
Exercise to stimulate not annihilate.
Steven A Barlow, Co founder www.spartan-warriors.co.uk and founder of Spartan Runners “because we don’t just run” © 2015