THE SECRET INGREDIENT

Thanksgiving is a time of reflection and food right?

Well, right about now I start thinking forward towards the next year’s goals, but you can’t really look forward without looking back. So I looked way back. I didn't remember when I started with the kettlebells, but I did remember that it was in November of 2007, (Happy Blog - a - versary by the way gentlemen.) so I went back to take a look:

First KB Workout - November 19th, 2007 "40 minutes on the rollers. 3 x 30 second one handed swings alternating."

I’m not really sure what that means. KB swing 3 x 20 after 40 minutes on the bike? That was workout #3 of trying to get back in the game.

Well, looking back...it's...been...a....well, um....a...good....learning experience. Right?

Am I happy about what I've accomplished? Not really.

Is there room for improvement? Yes.

Is there something to be thankful for? Yes, I'm not irreparably damaged, I've made some progress, and I'm having fun. I'm just not as strong as I hoped I'd be. But, I have learned a lot. Unfortunately, I’ve also accumulated a lot of clutter. When I go through my training logs I feel like I continue to take one step forward and two steps back. Some of that is due to injury and some is training ADHD (which is due to not following a consistent protocol, having too many goals, boredom, erratic schedules, and having a trainer who is maybe not quite on the same page. She wants me to move well so that I can get strong, I just want to get strong – realistically, it’s me that’s on the wrong page, but that just means more to do, more choices, more goals. Hey look there’s a squirrel!)

SO WHAT IS THE MISSING INGREDIENT?

Consistency!

Some would say practice. Some would say goals. Some would say incremental resistance. Some would say periodization. But for me, I’m thinking consistency is the missing key to success. Consistency is the missing ingredient to my previous three years.

So what will I try to make consistency look like? First, sticking to the same program. This will be ETK Plus at least through the First Quarter. There’s enough variety. I will be making a few small modifications to the original template, but it will still be ETK Plus. Another key will be not beating the crap out of myself every time I step up to the bar/bell, hopefully to avoid some of the overuse injuries I think I’ve been causing to my back. Again, slow but sure. This is not inconsistent with the ETK Plus which calls for only one “Heavy day” a week, something I haven’t really adhered to.

There will be other goals, but that’s at the forefront of my mind right now.

SO…WHAT’S YOUR MISSING INGREDIENT?