So, how's your 2020 going so far?
You may have noticed that this site has been quiet, I've not been blogging much at all, even my social media wisdom has dropped away, instead I've simply been showing my training with very little commentary on anything much outside of physical fitness.
This doesn't mean I've been idle.
The online training aspect of WG-Fit has naturally been busier, with many of our members continuing to train from home, taking advantage of the option to get on a zoom call to deal with their more specialist needs.
Now, don't worry, I'm not going to sit here and write a sales pitch for my training services.
That's not my style.
Instead, I want to express some of my thoughts on how and why everyone needs to be training.
If this lockdown and the current rioting and protesting in the USA shows anything, it is that no matter how good we think we have it, it's little more than a glamour.
The things we take for granted can be taken away at a moments notice.
It's happened in the past with natural disasters, wars, riots etc
It will happen again.
There's not a lot you can do about it.
But there's a lot you can do about how you cope with it.
The simple act of performing exercise and training is a huge factor in this ability to cope with adversity.
If you've read my work work for any length of time, you may well have read my admiration for the work of a man named Georges Herbert.
Georges is the man that is attributed with the development of both the military assault course and freerunning.
He had a view of fitness that he broke into categories:
walk, run, crawl, lift, throw, fight, swim, climb
I probably should google that to check, that list is from memory
The point I'm making is that Georges makes no mention of equipment or locations.
He focuses on the human body's capabilities to move well, generate power, display agility and endurance.
All of this combined with the mental strength, mental endurance and mental agility to deal with whatever is put in front of it.
It was about adaptability.
It's about training the mind and body to take on whatever is in front of it.
It's attitude.
There's a great many people out there advocating for individual elements of Georges work.
The strength guys
The movement guys
The martial arts guys
And so on.
Most of these guys are struggling to get their message out as they rely on specific training equipment, time locations etc.
I want you to rely on you.
I want you to be able to train yourself to be adaptable.
To realise that physical strength is a product of your nervous system being able to contract muscles.
It's got nothing to do with being in a gym.
You can lift anything heavy, from kettlebells to rocks, to homemade sandbags, to high intensity callisthenics and isometrics
Mobility is the ability of a joint to utilise and enjoy it's full range of motion, AND the joints, plural, to interact with each other to create a beautiful orchestra of movement.
The ultimate expression of this orchestra?
Walking.
And by extension, running and crawling.
Basically, gait and locomotion.
All animals, ok, all mammals prioritise locomotion, the ability to get from here to there, mostly slowly at a relaxed pace but occasionally with extreme urgency to get away from a lion or to catch a rabbit.
Homo sapiens are no different, that is our history, our evolution.
To return to this way of thinking, o be comfortable walking for time, running a distance and all of sprinting occasionally offers the mind a huge amount of relief.
It means that the aerobic system, our cardio is up to scratch, with all the health benefits that brings.
From the reduction in all cause mortality, to the increased amount of oxygen and fuel feeding the brain.
Crawling on all fours offers all the benefits of walking but with extra muscle load and a different stimulus to the CNS.
Having strength, mobility and endurance gives confidence.
Having the imagination and problem solving ability to find ways to practice strength, mobility and endurance in any given scenario gives confidence.
Having the discipline to carry out the development of strength, mobility and endurance in any given scenario creates the discipline to whatever needs to be done.
you gain independence from those voices in your head that tell you you're not capable, because you have proven otherwise to yourself.
the final link in the chain is to explore skills.
Georges talks about "defend" with is self defence, fighting. He talks about swimming and climbing.
It could also be juggling, cooking, learning a language or a musical instrument or meditating or relearning long division through helping you kids with their homework.
All this shows you that you are adaptable
That you are not a victim of circumstance
That you can and will get through today.
Well rounded fitness requires discipline
Discipline requires you gain a level of control over your mind and emotions
Control of your mind and emotions does not make you a robot, it makes you able to choose when to be big and powerful and when to put that toughness away and be vulnerable.
It allows you to choose.
And when all other choices have been taken away, you still have the choice to choose how you will think and behave.
Your physical training offers this choice.
I hope that during these last few months you have taken advantage of the time granted to you to reset your mind somewhat.
If you not, don't fret, there's still today, there's still tomorrow.
Regards
Dave