Are We Having Fun Yet?
Kicking this whole thing off with a new mentality. Train everyday and have fun. It’s tough to achieve when training feels like work…
I don’t know how long we can keep it up for but I’m all for getting into some new habits. This whole idea is coming from a Joe Rogan Experience interview with Firas Zahabi that really resonated with me.
In the clip Firas discusses working to get in a state of “Flow” while training everyday. I recommend it if you’ve got 20 minutes.
Flow
The idea is that volume is worth more than intensity – and an example is given with two fighters who both train for two hour sessions when they train. One trains three times per week with very high intensity. The other trains five times per week at medium intensity with intermittent rounds of intensity throughout the year.
At the end of the year – the fighter that trained five times per week has 200 extra hours of training under their belt. While also gaining an understanding of what it is like to train with high intensity throughout the year.
The key is to make things fun – and that’s what I’ve also learned is necessary with younger kids and basketball. If things are too hard – it’s quitting time. If things are too easy, it’s boring.
It has been very difficult to get things “just right.” But that is the journey I am embarking on.
Consistency Over Intensity
With youth basketball I have totally fallen into the trap of ratcheting up the intensity in some work outs to try and force a new skill or concept. And I can say that it has almost always lead to failure in the form of either tears or resentment back and forth during that moment.
I have also learned that I can introduce a new skill that may be too hard at first… but just working on it for five minutes per session over the course of three sessions is almost always enough to make it enjoyable.
Which ties into a number of cliché life lessons that I want my kids to take away from practice.
- You can do things that you set your mind to
- Don’t quit on yourself
- When the going gets tough, the tough get going
But aside from those, I think that just learning to believe in yourself through failure and mastery leads to a quiet confidence on the court.
Training Log – March 2, 2020
Today was short and sweet, because it was the first day back to tennis. I’m getting back into 100 push-ups per day because I fell off that horse and I talked to C about what he’s able to do that isn’t too hard.
I’ve totaled it out below but we did three sets of five push-ups, three sets of 10 air squats, and three sets of 10 form shots laying on our backs. I would go to demonstrate and then he would go.
We were able to do it together in his room, which was cool – and I was trying to get in the garage to get some dribbling in but that didn’t happen tonight.
