LIVING HEALTHY – ANDY BAXTER-I feel immense pride and satisfaction in my clients’ successes and progressions; prevailing over their personal demons, blasting through their plateaus, physical and otherwise, breaking the chains of their seemingly unbreakable, often self-imposed restrictions. The real, whole truth is that there is enlightenment in the physical realm just as there is enlightenment in the philosophical and spiritual realms. In fact I would argue that true enlightenment is the perfect balance of the three. That is my religion, that is what I preach, and that is the topic of today’s sermon.
As discussed in other sections we all, as athletes, have to process information in a specific order to truly “understand” that information. In this case the information is physical movement and the application of strength and then power within that movement. The order goes like this; learn the form first (neuromuscular patterning and reinforcement), then learn strength, and then learn power. Once you have truly “learned” the given task inside and out, backwards and forwards, at varying speeds and resistances then that information is in the body and we can STOP thinking about it. We transfer the information from the brain to the muscle. This is what the athlete does. Any hiccup along the way is identified and addressed before continuing with the learning process. Not doing so will retard not only the learning process but the quality of the end application. If we cheat and ignore the hiccups along the way we only end up cheating ourselves. Ha! Again, what holds true in the intellectual world holds true in the physical. Common hiccups during this process can be injury, weakness, fear, pain avoidance, and probably the most common, THINKING TOO MUCH. When you think too much you get in your own way and your body can’t do its job. When you let go you fly.
Janet is, by my intuitive sense of the human condition, a full tilt boogie one woman brain trust of smarts; Keen of intellect, keen of wit, keen of observation. But the downside to all of that cerebral activity is… a lot of cerebral activity. That internal chatter, as stated, is disruptive. We have worked together as trainer and client for one year now, with consistency and clear goals; get aerobically fit, get strong, get powerful, increase energy and confidence and look good doing it. Her transformation has been remarkable and inspiring, but also fairly text book because she is consistent and focused. She shows up.
Three days ago I saw the first signs of the final stage of Janet’s transformation. Her muscles were starting to recognize that her brain was getting in the way. Her brain had been telling her brain that for some time, but that’s not how we learn, is it? This morning’s workout confirms it. Janet is learning to let go, learning to fly. Janet is an athlete
