Purpose and Focus

With Fall being upon us and the competition season approaching, I thought it would be appropriate to bring up a few points I have been contemplating for a couple of weeks.

Many athletes at CFD are here to simply be better human beings at accomplishing functional tasks—a large majority don’t really care about ever being competitive or have aspirations to be a competitor.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with that mindset!  I want to make perfectly clear from the onset—not caring about being competitive does not put anyone on a ‘lower priority’ than someone who does aspire to be a competitive athlete!

With that said, hours spent training will differ drastically depending on an individual’s goals.  Think about what it takes to be an athlete who simply wants to be healthy and fit:  out of the 168 hours that exist in everyone’s week, a vast majority of us here at CFD spend between 3-5 hours of time actually working out within the walls of CFD.  That’s it!  3-5 hours out of 168.  That’s literally 2-3% of your LIFE.  Granted, the rest of your lifestyle has to support the hard work you’re putting in the rest of the hours of your day by staying hydrated, fueling appropriately, sleeping enough, etc.  That lifestyle support structure has been addressed before in previous blogs.  However, this time I want to address that 2-3% of your life when you’re actually subjecting yourself to a controlled amount of stress in order to create adaptation in your body—your time spent working out.

Now, let me make something clear before I move on:  I am in no way suggesting that 3-5 hours a week isn’t enough!  If your goals are simply to be fit, healthy, and have longevity with your fitness, spending 3-5 hours per week is certainly adequate, assuming you apply yourself appropriately when you are in the moment.  Which leads me to my next point..

How do you approach your workouts every time you come to CFD?  Are you focused and do you have purpose behind what you do?  Are you legitimately trying to create the appropriate stimulus in order to get the desired adaptation that I and the coaching staff at CFD are there to help you achieve?  Or are you a bit scattered in your thoughts, less-than-focused and present in the moment?

We see it day after day, and it’s been said before:  you get what you put into it.  I don’t care if you’re a brand new athlete who simply want to be fitter or an aspiring competitor training 12-15 hours per week.  I encourage each and every one of you to be present in the moment and give your best effort every time to achieve the response that’s intended for you.  Progress isn’t achieved in a short amount of time; it’s accumulated over long periods of time with consistency.  Come with purpose.  Be focused.  The other 97-98% of your life can be spent enjoying life and being a positive part of the community.  However, when you’re in the moment, go after your goals with a vengeance.  Go for that number you thought was impossible yesterday.  Be extra conscious of your range of motion and technique with each and every rep.  That’s the tiny sliver of time during the day you are committing to getting better, so own it.  You have the rest of the day to space out, socialize, and have fun.  Leave it all on the table and have no regrets about your performance today…and tomorrow….and from here out!  I’m not even talking about committing MORE time to your training, I’m only suggesting committing more focus and purpose to the time you already allot in your busy schedules to better yourselves.  You will be amazed at how much faster you can progress with a little extra purpose and focus!

Keep up the great work, CFD.  You make me proud to be a part of our strong and healthy community!  It is legitimately my greatest joy about what I do to see everyone, regardless of your current health or fitness level, improve those markers and be proud of their accomplishments.

RLTW <1>

—Coach Phil