What does it mean to have a good week of training? When we highlight the events of the past week, what makes something noteworthy or not? If you frame everything by reaching objectives, coming closer to goals, or fulfilling some quantifiable metric, you may find that some weeks will be “good” while others will be “bad”. The next question is, is this the most productive way to view training? I would say no.
Much of our performance can be outside the realm of our control. The natural fluctuations in your daily capabilities are influenced by a gentle interplay of your genetic potential and your interaction with the environment. These two factors can combine to produce some unexpected results at times. This means that you can have some surprisingly good performances and some surprisingly disappointing ones. So what are we to do if consistently good performance is hard to come by? Focus on what you can control every day and enjoy the activity that you are engaged with for its own sake.
My Cardio Lab classes are great. I have the tendency to play games. Games are a way to tap into our natural ability to problem solve, meet challenges, and be curious. My position is that cardio training doesn’t have to be miserable. It doesn’t have to be a chore. It can be a source of joy and self-discovery. If we get our heart rate up, seek out and overcome challenges, have fun during the process, and reinforce the incentive to return to class, I have succeeded as a coach. If this interests you, you might like my Cardio Lab classes.
My personal training clients are numerous, so I’ll just give a quick shout out to each.
Ashley Koltonski- Ash came back from surgery this week. Ash is driven, but what really makes her stand out is her love for training. It shows with how willing she was to come back and train. We talk about philosophy and yoga. Or as Ash puts it, “woo woo” stuff.
Kyle Hartenstein- Kyle has made tremendous improvements over the last couple months. His physique has exploded in a short amount of time. He works his tail off. Some of my best moments during the week are when we update each other on what episode of Gilmore Girls we are watching. Judge us. I dare you.
Nate Kimel- Nate is such a huge personality and a ton of fun to be around. He’s extremely coachable and pushes the limit every day. The strength he has acquired has been impressive. We both have significant others that simultaneously befuddle us and fill our lives with immense joy and contentment. We talk and laugh about their unique idiosyncrasies and how lucky we are to have them in our lives.
Andrew Tennenbaum- Andrew is wicked smart. He’s coachable and a hard worker. He’s patient with results, and he keeps making incremental gains in strength. Usually Andrew blows my mind with some obscure and insane project that NASA worked on decades ago. Or we talk about how birds are government drones that are programmed to surveil us (it’s a joke, relax).
Eric Price- Eric is great to train. He’s honest with his effort, and he brings it even when he’s traveled extensively during the week. He’s seen some significant gains from his recent efforts. Recently we’ve been talking about how his Eagles have been riding the struggle bus this season.
Kim Canfield- I just started working with Kim this week, but she brings a great attitude to training and she gives great effort.
