The Occasional Throw Down
I talk so often about the need to be consistent rather than intense when it comes to working out that I sometimes neglect the fact that occasionally, it’s necessary to thrown down a heroic effort. A gut check, if you will. A test to see where you're at and find any holes in your game. We’re all starting to feel a little stir crazy, at-home workouts are getting tougher, we miss barbells and sleds and gym friends and having an appointment or place to go. A tough challenge workout can get you back on track, inspire you and hopefully, make you realize that your training is actually working.
I experienced this last week, three times actually. First was a run at my favorite spot, Stratham Hill Park. The climb up Stratham Hill is a steep 100 foot climb covered in loose gravel. I decided upon approaching the hill that I was going to throw down, charge up to the top as fast as I could, knowing there would be a great deal of suffering upon reaching the tower at the top of the hill. Since I hadn’t been doing any speed work, or fast running or even getting in much uphill training, I never expected to beat my PR up the hill. I spent the rest of run trying to recover from the effort but I left the park that day feeling inspired - what training I have been doing, let me maintain my uphill power.
The next day I decided to try and lift something heavy. The gears were churning in my head, I wondered if I maintained any strength since I haven’t been lifting heavy on the regular. A spontaneous deadlifting session Friday evening in the parking lot of Gain let me know that my strength is still there, and maybe there’s even more of it than I’ve had in a while. I pulled a near max lift for a casual double.
After a mellow weekend, I realized I had done a short-burst, all-out, power effort and a pure strength effort. I needed to round out my challenge week with an endurance effort. I pulled up Strava and took a look at some of the routes I had run in the past couple months. Upon deciding a route, I headed out the door and down the street to Stonehouse Forest. I completed my loop much faster than my previous time, out of this world progress that left me smiling as I ran back into the driveway Monday night.
I’m sharing this with you, because as I mentioned before, I talk so much about consistent effort, that I neglect the fact that the occasional heroic effort shines a light on how our training is going. If you asked me how training was going before last week, I would have told you it was utterly horrible. I would have told you I’m barely running, never getting in a long run, no speed work at the track, no heavy strength training. I was convinced I was losing fitness everyday. After testing myself, I feel confident in what I’ve been doing, which I assure you, is very little compared to a normal May. I now know that my consistency is paying off, that work I’m doing isn’t going to waste.
If you’re starting to feel like you’re spinning your wheels, I challenge you to come up with a heroic effort to test yourself. Maybe it’s walking for 2 hours, or doing more bodyweight squats in a row than you’ve ever done. Maybe you lace up those running sneakers you’ve been thinking about or find a cool local spot to get out a go on your first hike in a long time. Pump up the tires and dust the cobwebs off your bike. Whatever it is, make sure it’s challenging for you, this is about competing against yourself, not comparing yourself to others. If you’re able to take on a challenge like this, I guarantee you’ll come out the other side feel inspired.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
