A
Better or worse approach - Why Good/bad does not exist.
This
principle is perhaps the key element underpinning how to maintain
a Rugby fitness programme month after month. It drives me crazy
when I hear people say ”that XXX is bad” or “XXX
is good”.
Statements
such as above are unhelpful and cause more harm than good. Let me
illustrate. First ask yourself these questions about how the following
activities impact your rugby performance and whether they are good
or bad:
- Eating
cereal for your breakfast
- Running
10 km
- Drinking
protein shakes.
- Spending
20 minutes in the gym.
- Being
18 stone (115 Kg, 250 Lbs)
I am
sure you have gathered the answers to these. Call me sneaky but
you cannot answer the above questions. Do not get me wrong, you
will find a million experts on TV, radio and amongst your friends
happy to tell you that the above behaviors are good or bad for you
and your rugby performance. The truth is the above behaviors cannot
be answered as good or bad.
Life
is relative – nothing is absolute.
The
strange thing in life is everyone is desperate to label things.
People want to label you as a certain type of person, people want
to label things good or bad and people want to label your behaviour.
The
only way to deem something good or bad is to compare it (silently
or subconsciously) to something else. Therefore if it is compared
to something else you are talking better or worse. Let me explain
why this is important using the above statements:
Eating
cereal for your breakfast –
The
TV adverts tell you this is the way to go but what if you are intolerant
to milk and / or wheat? Would it be better to have no breakfast
rather than cereal if this is the case? For most rugby players they
would also need a natural protein source at breakfast. Does cereal
provide this?
The
truth is some people will do awful having breakfast for cereal each
day and not achieve their goals. However some people will do ok
on it. It is neither good nor bad as a general term.
Running
10 km –
If
your muscles are not working efficiently then the joints are not
protected and running such distances will cause more harm than good.
Whether
10km is ideal for rugby performance is relative again. Compared
to doing nothing definitely. It also depends how you are covering
the 10 km , are you using intervals or slow steady pace? You cannot
say running 10 km is good nor bad until you consider the other questions
around the issue.
Drinking
protein shakes.
The
magazines would have you believe that protein is the key to getting
bigger, faster and better at rugby. Protein shakes serve a great
purpose for many athletes. The question is are they more effective
than eating natural food? What would happen if you didn't have them?
The answer will be different for different people and may be surprising
to you.
Spending
20 minutes in the gym.
It
sounds way too short but compared to nothing it is surely a huge
benefit. If you only have twenty minutes then how could you structure
your training differently to get results?
Though
it sounds too short 20 minutes can still make a huge impact on performance.
Would taking longer be more beneficial? It would depend on what
you did with that extra time. If you were to just stand around and
chat then maybe it wouldn't be better. A 20 minute workout is neither
good nor bad.
Being
18 stone (115 Kg, 250 Lbs)
Being
18 stone is irrelevant unless we know what that weight is comprised
of. Many people try to judge a goal weight regardless of whether
it is fat or muscle. How do you know what weight you play at your
best? Different player will suit different weights for optimal performance.
There is no good or bad weight.
View
the world as better or worse
I must
reiterate this as it is one of the most important principles in
being able to maintain a long term rugby fitness programme. Often
you will be short of time and may have to do just 30% of the usual
training. Adopting this better or worse approach will free you to
continue this reduced training and keep you on track.
You
can learn more about applying this principle through my
rugby performance course which will transform your physique
and rugby abilities.
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