Do You Have A Management Problem?
“Of all the animals, man is the most unmanageable” Plato
Most people state that they would like to have less body fat, more muscle, less injuries and more time for their training. When they are asked how they are “managing” the processes to gain these results, however, the answer is usually a blank stare. Think of your Health and Fitness as a business. Management is the most important ability that can lead to the achievement of this business’ goals. Whether you are a champion or a challenger, I guarantee this blog will prove that your “training management” skills can be improved.
“Lots of folks confuse bad management with destiny” Kin Hubbard
Below are 5 “departments” of your business that must be managed to be more successful:
#1 Time Management
Rooney Rule: Your success is not a result of natural ability or resources, but simply from how and where you spend your energy and time. Where these are spent will determine your destiny. People often complain that they would achieve their goals if they had more time.
There are 168 hours in a week. If we agree that 8 should be spent sleeping each night and around 8 should be spent working each day, that would still allow 8 more hours every day available for amazing things. How are you spending those extra 8 hours? If TV, internet surfing, computer games, texting friends and or lying around the house is filling most or some of that time, you are wasting one thing in life you can’t have back once it is gone.
TFW Solution: Take an inventory this week of where you are spending your free time and “manage” it. If you are not spending the time toward the achievement of your goals, you must make some simple changes in your schedule.
#2 Energy Management
Rooney Rule: Your success will not be measured by how many days you get to “take off”, but instead by how many of the days you correctly “take on.” Most people forget to “manage” their energy throughout the week. Energy management problems are not due to errors in quantity, but because of the mismanagement of the intensity of training.
Simple signs of energy mismanagement are being overtired, sore, chronically injured, and having less desire to train. To avoid these, you must take a hard look at how you apply the intensity of your training.
TFW Solution: Simple energy level evaluation can help you undulate the intensity throughout the week. For example, if Monday was an intense day of lifting and then an all-out sport training session that evening, you must recognize that if you train on Tuesday, drilling at a lower intensity would be a better choice to let your body do the most important thing: recover. Another piece of advice is not to be afraid to skip a day. Although your mind may think in a week of seven days, your body cares about getting rest.
#3 Caloric Management
Rooney Rule: Eating right or eating wrong is not a “knowledge” thing, it is a “choice” thing. Read a book about that instead of the next fad diet. When discussing nutrition my athletes usually tell me what they eat, instead of how they “manage” the amount and when they eat. What you eat is only part of the equation for weight loss or gain and performance.
Simply put, the law of thermodynamics states that if you consume more calories than you expend you are going to gain weight. So, if you are not managing your calories according to training and non-training days, you are not in control of your weight.
TFW Solution: A way to manage your caloric intake is to make sure that you consume less on non-training days than on training days. A good rule of thumb is to take in 500 calories less on non-training days. Undulating the caloric intake can keep you leaner and maintain your muscle.
#4 Tension Management
Rooney Rule: If you are spending three hours in the gym every workout, you are not probably there to move weights, you are there to make friends. Athletes often tell me “how long” they are in the gym. I like to remind these people that it is not the length of time, but what happens during that time that counts.
The real amount of time you are actually training is the time that is spent putting tension through your body to create a training effect. The best technique to “manage” tension throughout a resistance training workout is by monitoring the tempo of each repetition. Athletes often pay no attention to this important variable of training. Tempo is time it takes to complete a single repetition and is broken down into the eccentric, concentric and isometric portions of lift.
TFW Solution: It is not just the reps and sets that are performed, but also the time it takes to perform that set that can determine results. My simple strategy for tempo management is to follow a pace for every lift. A classic suggestion is using a 3 second lowering on every lift coupled with a one second pause at the stopping phase of the lift and then moving as fast as possible back to the initial position. See if that doesn’t change the weight and “feel” during your next workout.
#5 Injury Management
Rooney Rule: Your body’s fitness is like a valuable coupon that never expires. It is never too late to go to the gym and redeem yourself. If you are not healthy, you cant train. If you can’t train, you cant be healthy. An injury that has been nagging you is an indication of poor management. Athletes press through small physical issues that eventually become chronic big obstacles.
People that train or compete often have some issue with their body, yet rarely do anything to rehabilitate these areas. If you fit this mold, it is time to “manage” the situation better.
TFW Solution: Make an assessment of any area of the body that is bothering you right now. Address the most major injuries now, and prehab your “weak” spots to make sure they stay off your list.
To enhance your Training Division, you need to address the above 5 departments and redefine management from “getting things done effectively through effort” to “effectively developing yourself through your effort.” Translation: Smart work is better than hard work.
