"The life unexamined is not worth living." - Socrates

“When Thompson hit seventy, he decided to change his lifestyle completely so that he could live longer.  He went on a strict diet, he jogged, he swam and he took sunbaths.  In just three months’ time, Thompson lost 30 pounds, reduced his waist by 6 inches and expanded his chest by 5 inches.  Svelte and tan he decided to top it all off with a sporty new haircut.  Afterward, while stepping out of the barbershop, he was hit by a bus. 

As he lay dying, he cried out, “ God, how could you do this to me?”

 And a voice from the heavens responded, “ To tell you the truth, Thompson, I didn’t recognize you.”

Now that we are at the end of 2011, taking some time to examine the year past is a good idea.  I’m not talking about a nostalgic aimless look back on the year.  Nope.  I want you to look at your year past with an aim to the future.

Why is looking back with a focus, important?   If there is no focus, there is only memory without context.  That’s why I think many people don’t like to look back: they don’t have a purpose to look back and so they are flooded with memory and emotion but no context or purpose.  But there are jewels in our past waiting to be used for future benefit. 

What did you learn about yourself this year? 

Some of the greatest lessons I’ve learned have been from mistakes or failures.  Here’s a mistake I learned from in years past.  For most of my workout career I would go through a terrible sequence in my own workouts.  I would train as hard as I could for about 2 months and then I would stop.  Yep.  I couldn’t or wouldn’t want to look at a weight to strength train, a class to do yoga, a bike to ride, or a sidewalk to run on.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was burnt out.  I OVERTRAINED.  Usually my training would lead to an injury or worse neurological burn out.  I'd feel tired all the time.  I'd have difficulty focusing on normal tasks.  I couldn't get a good nights sleep.  I was irritable.   We see this all the time in the gym. 
 

Why did this happen to me?

I learned (about 5 years ago) about periodization.  Basically this is planning a workout for a specific amount of time.  Included in the plan was RESTITUTION or Rest.  Rest is active rest.  If you’re a runner, you’ve probably heard of tapering.  The concept is to introduce stress for a specific period of time and then to allow for the body to adapt to the stress.  Adaptation can happen in a variety of ways depending on the stress and the individual’s ability to recover.  

Active rest for a strength training program can include changing some variables:  Volume, intensity, rest period, or movement selection.  I use any and all of these in order to create positive adaptation. 

Including restitution into my workout plan has allowed me to succeed beyond my wildest dreams.   I’ve been able to stay more active for a longer period of time.  It took me some time to develop restitution into my workouts.   In April of this year I will have consistently worked out 2-6 times in a week for the last 3 years.  No injuries, no lack of desire.  I may also add that I’ve played in several baseball leagues and even run a Spartan Race (an endurance obstacle course) with my youngest sister during that time.   How did I prepare?  I kept active and included time for active adaptation to my workout schedule.   I subsequently include it for my clients.  The results have been stellar!

SO: Examine your year and determine what you’ve learned that you can help put forward a great foot for 2012.  

Mo-Tate.  Motivate your life to MOTION!