Had a pretty interesting conversation with someone today about how they get tired of doing certain things while working out. They need something new to keep them engaged.
ViPR PRO… Seen it, done it. NEXT!
TRX Training… Yeah, I’ve done some curls on those straps… NEXT!
WeckMethod Ropes… Yeah, I get it. Be good with your hands… NEXT!
Kettlebells… Turkish Get-Up. I’ve done it with a 16kg… NEXT!
Here’s the thing. You are training. When you train, you are trying to become either proficient at something, or… better than you were. There is a continuous journey for better.
A lot of the reason people don’t have interest in something is because they aren’t going to be good at it when they start it, or they have no interest in being good at it, and don’t know how it will benefit them. Another reason is because they think they are “good enough” at that particular thing. All of these reasons are valid, I suppose.
But when we are TRAINING (working out), we’ve made an agreement with ourselves for the pursuit of better. I don’t squat once, and say “I’m done with that” or “I’ve already done that before. I need something different”. I squat, and then I find out how I can make my squat better, so I can go heavier, or harder, or under more control, or add a jump to it, or turn it into a one leg squat, etc.
When we do the WeckMethod Ropes, for example, it isn’t just about doing it. it’s about getting BETTER with them. Once I get better, I can now enhance my workout. I can make it more intense, I can advance on the difficulty and I can BENEFIT from the new challenge of the skillset I have gained. BUT, if I never take the time or have the patience to LEARN a new skillset, I can’t really take advantage of all that skillset has to offer.
Continuing with the ropes, if I’m good with them, I can do that same skill FASTER, intensifying the movement. If I’m not patient enough to learn the skill in the first place, I can’t make it challenging on a DIFFERENT level. I can only make it challenging at the very novice version of it. If I get good with a certain pattern, the variations of challenges are endless. If I don’t, I can’t expand.
I think you could say this is the case with anything. If I learn how to plan a SMALL event, it may give me 1) The opportunity to plan ANOTHER small event or 2) A better understanding of how to plan a more complex, bigger event. If you make money planning events, this is a good thing, because the more challenging the event, the better payoff, for the most part.
I’d say it’s the same with movement. The more you connect with your body, the easier MORE connection becomes. if you aren’t TRAINING patterns and getting GOOD at them, then the benefit will be lost on boredom, because you are always trying to work through the same things, putting an invisible ceiling on how challenging you can make your exercises. But IF you do the small things well and progress on those small things, you can allow yourself bigger challenges, which in turn enhance your enjoyment of exercise through fulfillment and benefit.