Yesterday after a group training session, a TNT member asked me two questions:
“If someone was going to do a hundred (kettlebell) swings per day for the next month, what would be the best weight to use? And how many reps should be done per set?”
Those probably seem like simple questions that would prompt straightforward answers. But if my response was going to be useful, I needed more info.
Because, ultimately, the purpose behind the questions would heavily influence the answers I offered.
For example, if the primary goal was to develop the discipline of consistency—that is, doing what you say you will do (DWYSYWD, for short)—then the details would be relatively unimportant: Use the weights that are available, mixing and matching or sticking with the same weight each day based on in-the-moment preference. The same goes for reps per set.
Instead of spending time and energy arbitrarily picking and sticking with a specific weight and rep scheme, what would be truly important in this case is simply doing one hundred swings. Every. Single. Day. (And then, for even better results, following up each day’s training with a resounding, “That’s like me!“)
On the other hand, if the primary goal was something more specific, then I’d have even more questions:
- What characteristic do you want to develop? e.g. strength, power, endurance, technical skill
- Are you preparing for a specific event? If so, when is it?
- What else are you doing for training?
- Do you have the time (or are you willing to reschedule other things) to commit every day?
- Based on those answers, are you married to the idea of doing this every day? What if you could achieve what you wanted by committing to a different schedule? e.g. every other day, twice per week
- What weights are available? What are your current capabilities?
- Do you have other criteria for what success might look like at the end of the month?
Knowing these answers would enable me to provide not only a more detailed recommendation, but also one that would be far more likely to produce the desired results.
Of course, asking questions, answering them, and developing a plan (even if it’s a simple one) take time and effort.
But that brings me to the point of today’s tip, which is that our success and enjoyment (in fitness and elsewhere) depend on the alignment of our efforts and intentions.
When our intentions are more general, as in the first example of developing consistency, then spending a bunch of effort planning the minutiae instead of just showing up is stressful, time-consuming, and doesn’t necessarily lead to better results.
Alternatively, when our intentions are more specific, then arbitrarily doing something that seems reasonable on the surface but which might not actually be aligned with our goals often leads to missing the mark and subsequent disappointment.
The sweet spot lies in being clear with our purpose and then paying attention to the appropriate level of detail for the goal.
In yesterday’s case, that involved improving conditioning for hiking after a challenging day of it. I’m sure you can guess which path we took.
Putting it into practice
Consider your current training regimen (or lack thereof) and what you want to get out of it.
Where are you putting in a lot of effort and emotion on the planning and training fronts, when what you really want to do is just have fun? Where are you putting in minimal effort and emotion, when performance is what you’re after? And how might you make adjustments to bring your efforts more in line with your intentions?
Whatever your goal, training will be more enjoyable and results will be better if you can dial that in.