lately, i've been alone a lot, having time to think. I've been thinking about my purpose. I've come to the conclusion that i've been thinking a lot about becoming good to great in many sports, even though i had to focus on my exams. So that means quite a lot i think, that my purpose isn't educational prowess or something. Now that my exams are finished, i want to start focussing on my purpose and training as many sports as possible. Those sports include but are not limited to: different types of weightlifting (hypertrophy, strength), calisthenics, athletics (as many disciplines as possible, from 100m to ultra-marathons, from long jump to shot put), arm-wrestling, climbing, chess, football, basketball, gymnastics, skating, swimming, cycling, martial arts (boxing, judo, mma), etc. Every sport interests me. In order to do so, i will be watching loads of educational videos on the topic, and if i need help, i will contact a trainer. For team sports, i will obviously join a team if possible. i will not only focus on training, but also recovery, mentality, flexibility, diet, tactics, anything really that can help me in my quest. I do not have to start from, fortunately, as i'm already in quite a good shape from going to the gym for over a year. And i have quite an athletic background from experimenting with different sports in my youth. If you have any advice, questions, motivation, recommendation for me, please let me know. I will consume any information that can help me improve!
24.08.23 I forgot to write this yesterday, i will usually write at the end of the day, not in the morning i went to the gym again, after a break of 2 days, which is long for me. Leg workout. My leg workout consists of: - Squats 4x6-10 - sitting leg curl 2xdropset - single leg calf press 3xfailure - hack squat 3x12-15 (close to failure) - lying leg curl 2xdropset - calf press 3xfailure - leg extension 2xdropset I don't really go to failure on squats because i don't like the idea of taking the weights of, reracking the bar and then loading the bar again. My squats and hack squats are close to failure, i usually have like 2-3 reps in the tank i guess. Also, when you train quads to failure, my legs get way more sore than from this workout, so i can't function properly the day after. I've been experimenting with calf press: i now only do the lower part of the movement. I read some good things about it so i wanted to try it. The movement is just from full stretch to the normal position, not going all the way up. It's on a test period right now. Today i also played chess again. I wanted to figure out what my baseline ELO is, without training, just on raw talent. It's around 500. I will now watch videos and read books on how to get a higher elo, study openings, etc.
25.08.23 did some stretching in the morning, about 10 minutes. Followed along a youtube video. I need to find the best stretching follow-along routine on youtube. I will try out different ones. Pull work-out today. Had to switch up some exercises from single arm to both arms and vice versa. But i'm flexible, i like getting to know the feel of different exercises. My pull work-out: - single arm rows 3xfailure 1xdropset (normally this is with both arms) - lat pulldown 2xfailure 1xdropset (normally this is single arm) - face pulls 3xfailure 1xdropset - preachers curls on a machine 2xfailure 1xdropset - superset: inc db curl, db curl, hammer curl 2xfailure (every exercise to failure and straight into the next one as you can lift more on the exercise after) - reverse curls with ez bar 3xfailure - db shrugs 3xfailure - rows with a bar 2xfailure (just to get a different grip) The new exercises felt great, although i'll be sticking with my normal exercises for a while because i like them. Played some chess, just to figure out my elo on a new account as i had to create a new one. No studying yet. Did some ab exercises, the same stretching routine and some foam rolling on my legs in the evening. My legs feel a bit sore.
I've been trying to make a list of skills that are almost essential to any sport; things that are universally necessary. Physical: - low body fat (i'm aiming for about 10-12%) - flexibility - agility - good core strength - fast - explosiveness - strong (relative to bodyweight) - high/long jump - grip strength Mentally: - willpower - motivation - discipline - mental clarity - resilience - tactical vision - hunger to learn/improve I will add to this list as i come up with new things
26.08.23 i felt a little pain in my posterior knee so i didn't go to the gym that day. I did some stretching (mostly for my knee) and ab exercises in the morning. Then i did 6 rounds of 3-minute boxing, just throwing punches at my boxing bag, nothing fancy. No focus on technique and so on yet. I've decided to join a martial arts gym in January. In the afternoon, i went for a mountainbike ride. It felt hard, my legs were on fire most of the time when climbing. I did 23km, so yeah, quite good for the first time riding my mtb again.
27.08.23 i did absolutely nothing today. I had a hangover for the first time in a year and i felt really shitty. So i took a complete rest day for the first time in a couple of weeks. I feel recovered now.
I've heard about sports "freaks" like Dawid Goggins or Robert Karaś. I know that many athletes of this type do not refuse medicine prohibited in professional sports. But I know an instructive story. I once met a man whose dream was to become an Olympic marathon and ultramarathon runner. When I met him, he was in the process of saving up for a year to prepare for his first official competition. He wanted to perform as well as possible to attract the attention of sponsors. He approached the topic very methodologically. Najpier assessed his chances by comparing his figure with that of runners. He consulted his amateur private records with coaches to assess whether he had the predispositions or not. The results he obtained were promising. He collected money and went from home, where he had favorable conditions for training. But something went wrong. He crashed during training and ignored the pain in his groin. He figured it was just a mental test, and that if Goggins ran with a broken finger, he could too. He figured he would just get over it. The injury resulted in a tendon rupture and prematurely ended his enthusiastic career. It's a pity, because who knows, maybe I would watch my friend at the Olympics one day? I am writing this so that you remember that pains are not just tricks of the nervous system, but real warnings. This is important for people with iron sports determination. My friend did not take care of a sports doctor, and his diet was very low in collagen and other compounds supporting muscle regeneration. Despite good preparation and a strong psyche, he lived his dreams, made terrible mistakes and has not yet fully come to terms with it. Best regards and I wish you every success.
Yeah what success said about keeping caution close at heart. it’s easy to get injured and hard to stay healthy yet health is the greatest treasure thus the most important part of exercise is to find a way to balance. Making progress maintaining it and staying healthy. the gym is lower risk than contact sports usually. I’d recommend just doing whatever keeps you healthy and safe. I tend to be at my best at a normal gym. Working out at home usually doesn’t work for me for some reason. Probably the sub par equipment I end up using off Amazon or the limited space. Or lack of motivation don’t end up like me having tried mma for years only to be in my thirties with a lingering back injury please. Don’t do stuff that’s injurious some people get by just fine without injuries doing mma for years I wasn’t one of them. If you’re trying a new sportnn bb or exercise go light and play at a low level while you assess for safety
Hybrid Athlete - Can you do both? (youtube.com) Random short from my fav proponent of your perspective... Hurrah for hybrid athleticism- strength and flexibility aren't mutually exclusive!
