Recently I’ve been blessed to have a bunch of athletes come on as new clients – either doing swim lessons and/or coaching.  I love the start-up phase.  It’s exciting to help folks acclimatize to doing things in ways that are often very new & VERY different from what they’ve been used to.  The first few weeks are especially chaotic as we start to refine & hone things like:

• Schedules
• Training Concepts
• Techniques & Skills
• Nutrition & Hydration
• Recovery
• Tracking & Accountability
• Adherence
• Expectations

As we work step into any one of these areas, I find that there is one thing that holds folks back:  when to act vs when to be patient.  What often happens is that we don’t know when to hold ’em…or when to fold ’em (kudos to Kenny Rogers!).  We wait when we should act & we act when we really ought to be patient.  It’s a strange dilemma & it inevitably delays our progress.

Here are a few examples.  If you’re like me you’ve done one (or more of these)!

We Wait…When We Should Act

1. I want to get better at _____! 

I don’t have enough fingers & toes to count how many times I’ve done this.  Here’s the situation.  You want to fix something, change something, make something better…but instead of asking for help, you hesitate & tell yourself that you just need more time, more effort, more practice, more whatever.  Sound familiar??  I hear this all the time because athletes often come for help only after they’re frustrated…or worse…AFTER they’ve been through an injury.  What we ought to remember is that the fastest way to get better at something is to get regular, objective feedback.  Therefore, if we’re really serious about fixing, changing, improving, the 1st thing we should do is ask for help!

2. I have this pain in my ______!

This scenario is classic:  You just finished a big workout & your knee is hurting.  What’s the 1st thing that goes through your mind?  “Oh, I’ll give it a week of rest & see what happens.”  Then a week goes by…it’s a bit better…but not 100%…and we think…”I’ll give it another week.”  Meanwhile we keep trying to do any sort of exercise that doesn’t directly aggravate it.  While this may seem a wise methodology (and I do applaud the “rest” part), putting off action (i.e., going to see a Physical Therapist, for example) can have unfortunate consequences.  Things like…

1. One becomes two – When we have pain, we don’t move normally; we compensate to avoid the pain.  If those abnormal movement patterns go on too long, we can develop new aches & pains in previously unaffected areas.  Now our one issue has turned into multiple issues.
2. Full-blown injury – If we continue to aggravate that ache or pain, it can easily turn into an actual injury.  Once we hit the injury stage, we’re looking at drastic reductions in workout volume & intensity, longer healing times and, if it’s bad enough, more drastic treatments like surgeries.
3. Multiple treatments vs a one-off – I’ve heard Physical Therapists talk about a 1:1 ratio between time injured & healing time.  In other words, the length of time that it’ll take to heal an injury WITH TREATMENT is equal to the length of time that you’ve been injured.  I’ve taken this concept to heart.  If my ache/pain isn’t gone in 1-3 days, I’m at the PT’s getting treatment.  While that may seem hasty, I’ve proven to myself more times than not that aches/pains, if caught early, can be eliminated with 1-2 treatments.  Just remember that the longer that injury is allowed to settle into your body, the harder it is to heal it.  Once again, action is preferable to waiting!

We Act…When We Should Wait

1. This program isn’t working! 

How long do you give a program before deciding that it “doesn’t work”?  Days?  Weeks?  Months?  Years?  For many, the answer is all too clear in January.  Only 14% of people who make New Year’s Resolutions keep them for 3 months!  The cynical joke among regular gym-goers is that you just have to wait until mid-February & then things will be back to normal.  Sad, but true.  It’s important to remember that your body needs time…time to adapt, time to integrate, time to adjust, time to reach a new equilibrium.  Too often we try things for a few weeks only to get discouraged that our outcome goals have not yet happened.  With my coached athletes, we spend the 1st year getting to know each other, the 2nd year we make small tweaks to their training programs…and we really don’t develop a solid individualized program until Year 4 or 5!  So, patience, young grasshopper.  This stuff takes time!

2. Why do you want me to work on ______ when it doesn’t look anything like my final goal?  

Picture these two scenarios:

1. You want to learn to swim better, but Coach is giving you drills that look nothing like swimming.
2. You want to get faster at running, but Coach is telling you to slow down & go easier.

Believe me, I feel your pain!  I’ve had these thoughts many times when working with my strength coach, my piano teacher, my business coaches.  In these situations, we get frustrated because we don’t have the whole picture.  We only see where we currently are & where we want to be…but we can’t see the steps along the way.  If we could see those steps, we’d already be taking them & we wouldn’t need the coach!  So, how do we avoid frustration?  Two ways.  Realize that change takes time (see #1 – This program isn’t working!) & 100% trust your coach to get you there.  Besides, what’s the downside?  If you don’t follow your coach’s plan, you’re no worse off than when you started.  But, if you go all-in & do your work, I guarantee you’ll improve!

Happy training & to paraphrase Kenny: “You gotta know when to hold ’em…or when to fold ’em”!

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