Re: Outside the Gym
11-04-22 04:44 PM - Post#923050    

• AAnnunz Said:

See, this as well. Inspired to take a long overdue break by this great thread, Outside the Gym is rapidly turning to Inside the Fridge. And Inside the Pub.

11-04-22 06:53 PM - Post#923051    

Let me add two further things to my post above:-

The first is my thanks to Dan John, Dan Martin, Kyle Aaron and this whole community for making me a better coach but more importantly a better, happier person.

A really core part of that for me was discovering the importance of being part of a training community. It really is much easier to train consistently and be better (or even just BLS) when you have a group of people you do it with who look out for one another.

The second is the sometimes being too focussed on goals and standards can suck the joy out of what we’re doing.

I had a conversation recently with a 3 x Olympic kayaker who doesn’t paddle any more. He told me that after he retired he did some ocean races on a surfski until one day but found himself a couple of kilometers offshore watching his heart rate and counting his strokes and he suddenly just thought something like ‘I’ve been doing this stuff for 20+ years and I’m done’.

I encouraged him to take up stand up paddle boarding and enjoy being out on the water without any preconceptions or expectations about his performance. There must be a part of him that loves being on the water but the focus on performance and all the expectations around that had stripped all the joy out of it for him.

I had a similar conversation with someone who’s Olympic rowing royalty who now paddles ocean ski. He told me that he just loved being a novice again.

11-05-22 01:38 AM - Post#923055    

german75

If you liked Tim Gallwey's book here are a few others to check out on sports.

https://www.amazon.com/Working-Out-Within-Je rry-Lynch/dp/0874779138

Al Huang is one of the co-authors. I liked Al's Tai Chi book from the 1970s entitled Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain. He said that in China one could stand behind his teacher for 8 or 9 years and imitate him before being allowed to ask questions. That didn't go over in the West so the teaching changed a lot.

Another book I like is Peak Performance by Charles Garfield, a former world class weight lifter, turned sports psychologist who now works with corporations.
https://www.amazon.com/Peak-Performance-Trai ning-Techniques-Greatest/ dp/0446391158/ref=sr_1_1? crid=1...

It's an out of print book so the hardbound is outrageously expensive. The paperbacks are reasonable. You could also find a used one here.
Usedbooksearch.co.uk
Here is the ISBN number. 0446391158
Insert it into the appropriate box and see what appears. There are a number of book sellers. Not all of them have the book actually do so.

Finally, this book on sports looks pretty interesting.
https://www.amazon.com/Sports-Energy-Conscio usness-Awakening-Potentia l/dp/1495445305/ref=cm_cr _arp_d...

I passed by some tennis courts the other day. I haven't played seriously since the 1970s. It would take an enormous amount of work to get back into it. At this stage of my life, I'd rather stick to surfing, skateboarding, and krav maga. If I was a lot younger, I'd pick up tennis again. My father was playing until about 85 when his health failed him. He got a lot more satisfaction from it than I ever did.

Good luck.

11-05-22 05:34 AM - Post#923056    

Love the question "So, what do you all train for?" and the responses.

Even though the specifics may have changed (for sports, for maximum strength, etc), I suppose the main answer has always been mobility (to move as well as possible).

I look at all the 70-90 year olds at my YMCA and they MOVE. I am only 50 but I want to be like them when I get older.

"The Earth has music for those who listen." Reginald Holmes "Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." Mark Twain "It's difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." Upton Sinclair

11-05-22 07:04 AM - Post#923058    

Great thread. As my wife says, "I have to like it." You need to find what works for you and NOT GET HURT.

I do YouTube yoga 2-3 times a week. Age 53. I hate it in a good way. I did the Yoga with Adriene, but her personality is too quirky and I hate doing same flows.

I discovered Yoga with Tim. He's more power yoga and strength. Same amount of time, a little more advanced. I'm dripping with sweat when I do one of his sessions.

The best one for me is Kassandra. She doesn't kill you but the stretching is great in the hips

Outside the Gym
11-05-22 09:37 AM - Post#923062    

• DanMartin Said:

Me, too. It really is all about the joy…which is enhanced greatly if we get to pursue our passion with like minded friends and (especially) family.

Be strong. Be in shape. Be a man among men, regardless of your age or circumstances.

Edited by AAnnunz on 11-05-22 06:42 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

11-05-22 08:46 PM - Post#923075    

Wow thanks for all the amazing responses. I love seeing what motivates you all.

Post of the year to ausdaz. You nailed it.

I can relate to your post about your Olympic kayaker friend. That reminds me of some local guys who got to a high level with hockey, one played a few games in the NHL. They don’t play hockey anymore. It’s not fun for them. For myself it’s weights. I overanalyze. I’ve tried intuitive lifting to try to make it ‘fun’ but I always end up trying to build progress in. Maybe I’ll discover the joy again one day, but for me it’s just not what it used to be.

And then when I get on the ice I can’t wipe the big goofy smile off my face for the entire hour I’m there, even if my team is doing terrible. I just love it. And I love the people. That’s the other big thing. People. Hockey gives what the gym hasn’t in a long time - community. Problem with having a home gym I guess. Maybe that’s what has kept some of the lifetime lifters on this forum going. They train with family or friends, it’s a very social thing.

The joy thing though, that’s what I’m really going for now. There’s just so much dang stress in life as it is. I want fitness, in whatever form it’s in, to be something that gives me joy. When it doesn’t, there’s 1000 other ways to be fit and I’ll try something new. But I’ll agree with Uncle Al here, the joy is likely tied up with the people you get to do something with.

I’m sure the novice thing can play into it to. Yoga is something totally different for me. It’s a big mental refresh and I feel like a novice again. Although depending who you ask I’m still a novice on the ice too ha ha. Maybe that’s why I still like it.

11-06-22 01:01 AM - Post#923080    

Lifting is the only thing i really work hard at.
i only lift twice a week but always try to work hard and try to add reps or weight. my running has no goal other than to keep running. yoga and mobility work i need to do more of but i enjoy the least.
i can't imagine a life without exercise.

11-06-22 07:38 AM - Post#923081    

I found this article from Yoga Journal of 1980 by Joel Kramer, a yoga teacher with an unusual approach.
https://joeldiana.com/downloads/writings/Yo gaAsSelfTransformation.pdf

I haven't read it in probably 40 years and just glanced at it. I think there's some useful information, particularly about directing one's attention, playing the edges, lines of energy, and comparison and competition. This was written at a time when most of us doing hatha yoga saw it as part of a spiritual path.

I was on my way to do a seminar with Joel and got a stomach virus and couldn't attend and never studied with him. Later, I got very heavily into Feldenkrais' work to improve mobility, posture, and coordination etc.. I a did a weekend seminar with him and after his death took the Feldenkrais teacher training course from his original students in Tel Aviv along with a lot of seminars on the method. I've worked with it for over 30 years. I've also gone to physical therapists, massage therapists, and osteopaths if I can't help myself out of injuries, which I usually have been able to.

There are other methods I've used from books and videos to improve mobility primarily these two:
Ideokinesis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideokinesis

Body rolling, as an alternative or complement to foam rolling
https://www.yamunausa.com/pages/about-us

I couldn't believe it when I read that the founder of body rolling had a hip replacement recently. From her videos, she seemed extremely flexible. She must have overstretched for years. Stuart McGill said that the primary reason for hip replacements in Europe is from yoga.

Feldenkrais said that the bones and ligaments of children in India would adapt to sitting in the lotus position, and that people in the West could sit in the lotus position for ten years and then tear a ligament, because their bones and ligaments had been forced into that position for hours on end and never adapted properly.

I don't expect anyone on this board to sit in the lotus position to meditate for hours. I wrote it before, and I'll say it again. Don't strain or push too far. If you pay attention to how you feel while stretching you'll sense when it gets to be too much. There's nothing wrong with backing off and doing less.

11-10-22 06:23 AM - Post#923159    

• Jordan Derksen Said:

Jordan I empathise. When I stopped playing rugby I missed it. I missed the contact training and I also missed training itself.
I wrecked myself with 3 rest pause based training sessions in the gym (never been so big or strong though) and 3 rugby sessions a week (including a Saturday game).

If I could do it all again I would probably only lift maybe once a week as the training sessions were pretty intense too....Try stopping/moving/redirecti ng a 200lb man running flat out at you .... and then do it about 20+ times a game....the ultimate loaded carry haha.

The contact work, combined with lots of stop start running, lifting in lineouts change of direction work. Why I beat myself up with such heavy weights on the other days and now do not know.

But....I loved it.

Since stopping that and having a few successful years of training I now trying more intuitively, but I don't gravitate towards weights anymore.

Richard