I had never heard the name Tim Gabbett.
At least until I found out a co-worker was hosting one of his workshops and was encouraged by both my co-worker and my boss to check it out and bring back some intel to Roux.
To give you a little background, Dr. Tim Gabbett is a High Performance Consultant. He works with athletes and teams to create training plans and monitor them to maximize performance and reduce the risk of injury. That’s it in a very tiny nutshell, the man clearly does so much more. Just to tell you a little more, he has worked with multiple Olympic teams and New Orleans was a brief stop between meetings with both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the LA Lakers.
So. You could say he’s pretty legit.
And I will be very transparent with you fine folks and tell you I felt very underprepared going into this workshop. I was by far the least certified person. I was surrounded by physical therapists and strength and conditioning coaches, some working for great college programs. But I did go in with an open mind, so I’m going to count that for something.
And it was GREAT.
I came back with a wealth of knowledge and a lot more confidence. And while I may eventually write about the workshop in more detail, I wanted to share 3 things that I think apply to YOU. That’s right, you. The average gym goer, the weekend warrior, the mom of two. 3 points made that I think can help any individual across the athletic spectrum.
1.Train Harder AND Smarter
What? That’s the name of the blog. This tells me nothing.
Wrong. Stay with me, grasshopper.
We toe a fine line when we decide to become active. Under-training can lead to an increased risk in injury. Over-training can lead to an increased risk in injury. And if you’re just starting out, that may make you feel like you’re in a lose-lose situation. I get it.
All of this, for the average person, comes down to not getting too excited when they join a gym that they try to go from couch potato to wannabe track star in a month. Give yourself time to slowly ramp up. And also do your best to mix it up. Show up, workout hard, listen to your body, check how your body responds, and either push forward or scale back.
2.Injured? Only STOP training as a last resort.
Dr. Gabbett talked a lot about finding yours or an athletes “floor” and their “ceiling” and that good training should take you from the floor to the ceiling safely.
The floor is your current capacity for whatever activity you do and the ceiling is where you want to get, or for athletes, the demand of competition.
For most of us, we are training for life. As in, just to improve our health, get a little fitter, and stay alive a little longer. We may not have a “ceiling” in mind or some type of competition we are training for. We may just be training to raise our floor, to raise our current capacity. And that’s how it should be!
But if you are injured and you don’t seek appropriate treatment or make a plan and just put your training at a standstill, you’ll end up lowering the floor. You may even come back to the gym in the basement. What? Yep. You will probably come back at a way reduced capacity compared to what you had before. AND if you start trying to pick up where you left off, then you potentially face a situation where you are chronically injured and chronically frustrated.
3.Ultimately it doesn’t matter.
I bet lots of dollars you weren’t expecting me to go there.
But when we started talking in the workshop about what makes a great team, that point came up. Not to say your health and living longer doesn’t matter, but it doesn’t always on a day-to-day basis.
Give yourself some grace. There are a million important things that can keep you out of the gym or slow you down. Know that it is OK. We are constantly pulled in a million directions. Sometimes work will need more attention, sometimes your mental health will require you to slow down, and sometimes your friends and family need you to make them top priority.There’s times where you can’t give your fitness your full attention and always remember that this is fine. It is OK. It is normal.
Because what’s the point in training for life if you don’t make sure to live it now and then?
Whether you are just starting your fitness journey or a seasoned pro looking for something new, we’d love to meet you! And guess what? Your first class is on us. Click HERE to schedule your FREE Jumpstart Class and let us show you what makes Roux Fitness different!
