Fitness Training: It's Not Easy Anymore

by La Rue Briggs

Remember when you were a kid and wanted to run all you had to do was put on a pair of sneakers, lace them up, hit the sidewalk and start moving your feet at a fast clip. Well, those innocent years of youth are now gone.

Today, things are not so simple. After getting well-constructed running shoes that have proper cushioning, ample support and sturdy soles and finding the appropriate seasonal running gear, you then have to decide whether to run in the morning or evening and where to run (grass, hills, sand, etc).

But that is just the beginning. You must avoid the ultra-violet rays of the sun and not become dehydrated in the heat. You need to eat an adequate number of calories before and after your training runs and load up on carbohydrates before long distance races. And what about raising your max VO2 (the highest volume of oxygen the heart and lungs and circulatory system can make available to the muscles)?

Running has gone from something you used to do naturally and spontaneously to practically an art form. And knowledge of these things will most certainly make your running more successful, more pleasurable, and more trouble free. But don't you just miss those years when as a youngster all you had to do was take off running with your U.S. Keds blazing down the street as you ran so fast that not even the wind could overtake you? (Or so it seemed.)

Even though your competitive urges remain a driving force in your life, you may find that the hardest part for you, presently, is training for an athletic event. And it never seems to get any easier, regardless of how long and how many times you've done it.

Think back for a moment to yesteryear when you were in college, unmarried and working part-time. Although you had things to do, you still had tons of free time on your hands back then. Now you're forever busy with the wife and kids, religious and civic activities, and social outings. At work, you're involved with one project after another. You barely have enough time to get in your base thrice-weekly workouts for 20-to-60 minutes, let alone train for an athletic event!

The above scenario may seem somewhat overstated, but it's a fairly accurate depiction of how many conduct their lives as hardworking, responsible adults. In this hectic, constantly changing, pressure-filled environment, many find little time to spare, and training seriously for an athletic event would be highly inconvenient. Trying to balance sleeping, eating and working out with what you already do is not always an easy undertaking.

Nonetheless, if you decide to bite the competition bullet, you will have to commit yourself to living a very disciplined lifestyle. Each morning as you awaken at the ungodly hour of five o'clock, the mind and body will rebel against the Herculean tasks they're going to have to perform at the gym. Though you won't want to leave your bed, you're going to have to turn off the radio/alarm clock, get up and get moving so that you'll have enough time to work out and prepare yourself for your day.

When your body was younger and stronger, and the whole Joe or Jane Jock experience was something new and different, exercising was more fun, definitely not boring or tedious. If you did tire of one routine, you just energetically and enthusiastically went to another. Training for an athletic event really was the ultimate: giving your life direction, purpose, structure and a challenge. In preparing for your event, you experienced anxiety, fear, isolation, perseverance and, then, the delicious feeling of gratification and personal pride from attaining your goal.

But it's not the same now. You know that you're not going to be in the Olympics and that no major sports team is going to sign you to a lucrative, multi-year contract. You work out primarily for its sundry health benefits, its ability to keep your weight down, its capacity to keep you looking youthful and fit, and its tendency to stroke your ego when you win or make you humble when you lose.

When preparing for any physical endeavor, however, you must train to be successful, and training is hard--a test of your dedication and will. On good days, you handle your workout regimen with relative ease and usually leave the gym feeling as strong as a bull. On tough days, if you do everything you set out to do, you feel a sense of accomplishment, yet you're glad the whole thing is behind you. If it's a bad day, you do what you need to do, or can do, then quickly get out. On these days, don't chastise yourself, submit to sensations of guilt, or any other kind of negative emotion that makes you feel worse than you already do. Everyone has a bad day now and again. Just do the best you can.

You will spend many consecutive days and weeks getting ready for that single distant event you want to do well in. You will put in many long and laborious hours lifting weights, running, bicycling, or swimming. You will concentrate on remaining aggressively driven, intently focused, exceedingly patient, and doggedly persistent.

In very basic terms, you must be dedicated, obsessed and sometimes a tad crazy. Still, you must use some common sense and take off occasional days to keep from burning out, to recover from a heavy-duty training session and/or give an injury chance to heal. Don't' make excuses for not training, however, and get back to your routine as quickly as possible.

A key to learning how to stay with a training program is to master the art of effective time management. To this end, you should give some thought to the following suggestions:

You should first and foremost select a training program. Today, a multitude of books, magazines and newspaper articles give advice on how to train for and compete in just about any type of athletic event. Find one that suits you and stick with it.

The time of day that you work out is less important than picking a time that won't be an interruption in your daily activities; a time that's compatible with your other commitments and obligations.

Keep track of your goals and subsequent progress toward them after a workout session by recording what you have done in a journal. A written journal acts not only as a quantifiable history of your workout sessions but also tells you how much you've improved over the weeks and months.

Find a friend to be your training partner, or ask family members to help you get ready for the athletic event. For example, you could have your wife swim with you on Mondays, your son lift weights with you on Tuesdays, your daughter bicycle with you on Wednesdays, your dog jog with you on Thursdays. On Fridays, if your employer is one of those who offers a training facility to its employees, you might work out at the company sponsored aerobics class. Besides providing you with companionship, a training partner can motivate, encourage, or push you to strive for a higher level of achievement.

You do have a life outside of the gym, and since working out can cut into many hours of your week, training with kinfolk is a good way to maintain contact and strengthen family ties. Moreover, training with your offspring is an excellent way to share a common experience as well as pass along a positive behavioral pattern to the generation of the 21st century.

About the author: As a nationally certified fitness instructor, La Rue Briggs has conducted exercise and bodybuilding classes for the YMCA and other organizations and was an instructor/trainer for the Michigan Heart Association, a board member of the Metropolitan Detroit Health Education Council, and a member of the YMCA Physical Education Committee. He is a long distance runner, swimmer, bicyclist, and former physique competitor. La Rue spent more than a decade in media as a radio talk show host, television moderator, freelance writer, and model and has written on modeling, fitness, and health. He is a Detroit native with a BA in English from Wayne State University. Visit his web site.