Everything Flows

“Everything Flows, Nothing Stands Still.”

Heraclitus

Recognise you are entering into a powerful cycle of change, literally remodelling yourself and use adaptation, progression and feedback to keep moving forwards.

Dave is keen, very keen.  He trains so hard that the following day he’s walking around like Robocop without his joints lubed.  He’s pleased with himself and through his grimace tells everyone about it. They stare blankly at him, particularly his Mum, who worries.  A lot.

Each workout is part of a big picture, not the be all and end all in and of itself.

Poor Dave.

Dave’s effort is admirable but he’s got it wrong.  What Dave’s actually doing is overwhelming his capacity to recover and adapt. It’s very difficult to actually change if your body is being pummelled daily like a rugby player or american footballer every time you go to the gym.

Find the sweet spot where you are taxing yourself adequately, enough to trigger the responses you want, then recover properly.

Heraclitus, a seriously clever Greek dude philosopher said “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and it’s not the same man.”  Say what?  This is truly a “movement mantra.” As we develop and absorb the stress of each session, we adapt and increase strength, skill, capacity and mental stamina so we tolerate more discomfort.  We literally change and therefore our environment needs to change also.

As you track your progress, appreciate that each session you successfully learn from and adapt to demands that each subsequent workout changes slightly also, a rep, a set, a new skill.

Keep your eye on your mood, appetite, sleep and stress levels, for you.  Keep an awareness of how your body feels day to day.  Are you stiff and aching all the time?  Is your energy level tanking in the day?  Are you drooling onto your workstation half asleep by ten in the morning?  Keep a log of feedback that should be showing some steady increases in energy, vibrancy and endurance.

No athlete trains maximally every session.  Keep track of your overall wellness level to determine how hard you push and pull from workout to workout, making sure there’s an overall progression.

Poor poor Dave.

Heraclitus wasn’t Roman but I bet Greece wasn’t built in a day either.  The small gains are big if they stay.  The shortest path is the fastest if you never get lost on your journey.

In six months time, the blink of the cosmic eye, you and your gym session will have changed if you’ve abided by Heraclitus “natural training laws” quote.

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