Comfort is the enemy

In the beginning of BHIP we stress finding comfort while in a state of discomfort. We all get pretty good at doing that. But inevitably we all somehow reach a "cruising altitude" and get comfortable in it. The workouts still get you sweaty and you might feel pretty wrecked, but the big leap is just missing. This was fairly evident on last Wednesday's workout when people were reverse-curling the bar rather than actually cleaning the bar (one is easy, the other is difficult) and then complaining that the bar was "too heavy".

I truly appreciate hearing that workouts were "hard" "grueling" "challenging" "killer" etc.. but there has to be a certain amount of credibility to those descriptions. Sitting can be excruciating, and anyone who has ever been on a long flight will attest to that.

A huge difference exists between just getting through a workout as quickly and obstacle-free as possible and actually using the workout as an opportunity to build upon already existing strengths. I'm not saying that it's "wrong" to just breeze through a session and I'm not saying that anyone is breezing through them either. It is clear that everyone is working hard; but our focus needs to be redirected. As we try to constantly improve our performance in any way we can we have to use our training time to address our weaknesses and strengthen them along with alread-existing strengths.

Here is an analogy I use when describing training as part of a workout: A "workout" is kind of an obscure term to begin with, but there are 3 types of workouts in my opinion.

1. Exercise: This is when we do something we can and have been able to do and are all capable of doing regardless of training. i.e. going for a jog, walk, gardening etc. Very low on the skill chart. very universal. The analogy here is "exercising" one's rights to freedom of speech. Everyone CAN, and thus DOES it.

2. Practice: This is a workout where one uses ACQUIRED skills in an intense environment. Football practice. One must know the game of football before practicing. Kind of like practicing medecine or law. You first need to acquire the required skill-sets and then implement them at a high intensity.

3. TRAINING: This is where we acquire and refine skills and gradually increase intensity to practice/game speed. This is the time when things get uncomfortable and stressful. Like job training, new demands are placed on the system that require a certain amount of adaptation from the individual to facilitate proficiency. Then the skills are overloaded once more to develop perfection at underload. Training can be extremely stressful and uncomfortable, but that stress is what makes us better, stronger, faster and more capable of handling larger demands. The key is to take advantage of the OPPORTUNITY. he discomfort is NOT a punishment, but rather a stimulus to adapt against. Sometimes the old saying "no pain, no gain" is true. Just remember, the pain is temporary but strength lasts.

I can go on about this forever, and some are probably sick of hearing it, but we all need reminders, so please do whatever you need to do to stimulate yourselves. These are YOUR workouts to make YOU stronger, better, faster, and harder to kill; no one else. So take advantage of them.

On that note, here's something to keep you sweaty:

Episode 245/365: Unglue Your Hips and Thighs

4 x 20 burpees. rest 1 minute in between each set. scale accordingly.

time EACH set separately. Do not deviate by more than 1 second per set. *Foul if you do.

* Foul = 1 minute wall-sit (rest your back on a wall with thighs parallel to the ground).

Enjoy. and please post your times. Thanks