Tag Archive: jim rohn quote

1. The #1 Recovery Supplement

   13th May 2014 8:33 am 2 Comments

   As you can see from the picture, if it was sold in a can, marketed and advertised in all the health and sport magazines, this would be much more talked about.

   Instead, it is free, so no one makes any money from it. It also requires some good habits and that other free supplement (self discipline) to ensure that you get a good night’s rest.
   There are many reasons why sleep is not easily available:

   • environment
   • new babies
   • poor diet
   • hard evening training sessions
   • caffeine
   • stress
   • anxiety

   and these require attention and sometimes outside help to improve these areas.

   But simply staying up late to play computer games, sit on facebook for hours at a time or going out nightclubbing are not good reasons to forgo sleep.

   Similarly, all the supplements, special clothes and extra massages, will not help recovery without sleep.

   Just because it is free doesn’t make it any less worthwhile. Shakespeare called it “Tired nature’s sweet restorer” and you can’t argue with that.

   Thanks to Brian Ellicott for the picture

2. Juking the stats 3- recovery

   31st January 2014 3:10 pm Leave a Comment

   Not all that can be measured is important, and not all that is important can be measured.

   I keep mentioning this, but it must be borne in mind when we consider what we are doing.

   Recovery is an example of this. Everyone recognises the fact that if we train we must recover in order for adaptation to take place. But is recovery an active process that we can accelerate, or is it just the absence of training, in which case should we call it rest?

   If we train harder or faster or longer, then the recovery should be proportional, but no good indicator of the recovery process has been found. For all the talk of sleep, ice baths, massages, vibration platforms and the like, it still comes down to personal management.

   Is it possible to quantify the recovery process?

    Some ideas might include:

   • hours of sleep
   • a subjective scale of sleep quality
   • non sporting enjoyable activities taken part in
   • number of times you have laughed today?
   • amount and timing of food and fluid
   • urination- amount and colour
   • bowel movements- changes to normal.

   None of these could be scientifically measured, some amount to common sense, but that doesn’t mean that they are not important.

   I put the number of laughs in there because again this could be an indication of fatigue and general state of mood. Also, if we fail to have time to laugh or smile, then what is the point?

   There is a pretty good review of the recovery literature  (this is the abstract- the full article goes into detail) and the summary is that no single indicator has still been found that identifies the current state of recovery.

   I never get athletes to report on this stuff to me, instead I make them aware of the things that may be affecting them, and how to measure their own feelings. Trying to quantify it on a spreadsheet is just making work for all concerned.

   • The athletes guide to overtraining free ebook 
   • Recovery strategies 

3. Toughness training for life- review

   15th November 2007 9:01 am 3 Comments

   “Stress management is more than removing stressors from your life”

   That is simply unsustainable. Instead, it is about becoming more adaptable and resilient to the stressors that are inevitable in life.

   This book approaches stress looking at physical, mental and emotional balance. The author, Jim Loehr, draws on his experience working with athletes and outlines practical and easy to understand plans that everybody can implement.

   Train the mind

   In physical terms, you train, rest and you become a bit fitter. Too much training will lead to breakdown, too little and you become lazy and apathetic. The same applies to mental and emotional capabilities. Instead of avoiding challenges, Loehr describes how looking for events and actions that allow you to be stretched. This is then balanced by a suitable recovery period to allow you to adapt. This constant stress\ recovery cycle is natural, too much of either leads to sub optimal performance.

   This theory of looking for challenges is a bit different from current societal values that seek to avoid challenge, and protect the young from risks and failure. This leads to an unhealthy development; it teaches avoidance and dependence. When the young person does face a big challenge that is unavoidable they are ill prepared for it.

   Summary

   Having studied and practised the mental and physical side of things a fair bit, this was more of a refresher for me. I hadn’t really thought about the emotional side of stress\ recovery before in this context and it makes a lot of sense.

   I would recommend this book for all athletes, coaches and people who wake up in the morning and groan at what lies ahead. A good read.

   Read more on how to develop Mental Toughness here