“...Fredrik never pushes harder (in a workout) than maintaining the ability to be limber and agile.”
Jonas Colting, Professional triathlete and two-time Ultraman World Champion, on his brother's athletic philosophy.
The above quote brought a smile to my face. Having recently stumbled upon the the article containing this quote a few days ago, I was reminded of how profound an effect this short piece had on me upon first reading it a few years back. It is engaging and insightful pieces like this that really motivated and inspire me to enhance my health as well as my fitness. A timely reminder, so thank you Jonas for sharing.
Having spent most of yesterday working as a massage therapist at a Stellenbosch sporting event, a conversation that I had with one of our athletes tied in nicely with the enduring message of the aforementioned piece. The client in question is an elite triathlete, who juggles his sporting passion with a busy career as a sales representative. We got chatting and, as the conversation progressed, I asked him how he manages to strike an optimum balance between work and elite sport, the following pointers being a summary of his reply/philosophy:
- week day training sessions are loosely structured around work commitments and do not follow a set schedule. The timing and duration of these sessions depend solely on business appointment times. Sometimes he trains in the morning (first client call mid-morning) or late afternoon/evening (earlier calls), rarely both.
- week day training sessions are centred around low intensity, social cycling and running sessions, with the emphasis on social. Just thinking about intense track or hill sessions towards the end of a busy work day sends this guy into a tailspin; he says that he just cannot get his mood and energy levels to comply.
- intensity his saved for race day and this guy races a lot; almost every weekend in fact. Bearing in mind that “racing” includes smaller fun events as well as competition in the individual disciplines, he relates how enjoys the social aspect of toeing the start line, the healthy competition being the icing on the proverbial cake.
- quite the operator, recovery – and more specifically massage – forms a critical part of this guy's weekly schedule, but with a twist though. Embracing the ancient practice of bartering, he has a massage therapist friend who attends weekly hight classes nearby his home. In return for his preparing her an evening meal upon her arrival, his studious friend provides a complimentary sports massage treatment in return, clearly a “win-win” arrangement.
This athlete epitomises what many of us tend to forget, either occasionally or permanently. A loose, pragmatic approach to sport is always going to be better in the long run than a frantic, rigid, schedule-orientated philosophy where the process is ignored in pursuit of the end result.
If I were to summarise the the above athlete's philosophy into a few points, the net result could look as follows:
- Unstructured, flexible approach to training.
- Majority of training is performed at low intensity.
- Key influences include mood, energy levels and lifestyle.
- Maximum efforts are reserved for race day.
- Love of the process and the activity.
- Street smarts.
We can all learn from this athlete as well as people like the Colting brothers. Sometimes, all it takes to realise our own shortcomings and re-invest in our personal vitality is to re-read an old article or have an engaging conversation with a complete stranger.
As I write the closing lines of this entry we are experiencing a beautifully hot and sunny day here in Cape Town. Yesterday evening saw me experience one of the best training sessions I've has in a couple of months. Low on energy, I elected to soft pedal around the leafy roads and avenues for just over an hour, taking in the sights and the sheer beauty of the surrounds. The early evening sun was still warm and nary a breath of wind was about. There are many who would scoff at the notion of fitness gains from a hour's “doddle”, but I strongly disagree. By the halfway mark I could literally feel all my energy returning and as I rolled home I was definitely far stronger and happier than when I left. I could have gone on for hours but sometimes you have to cut it right there and then. As they say: too much of a good thing is not a good thing any more.
Training should not hurt and it sure doesn't have to.
*Note: Header image of Fredrik Colting courtesy of Jonas Colting, an interview of which appeared on this blog in 2011.
