30 days. One month. A lunar cycle. One 12th of a calendar year. Or one 936th of an average American life span. Really it’s a drop in the bucket but its a something most people just wont give. Or they don’t think that’s long enough to see an appreciable change. It’s a drop in the bucket, real change takes time and commitment.
From my experience any change, other than the very minute or the very dramatic (ex. Fasting), we need to devote at the least one simple four week period of our lives to in order to see any statistical / measurable difference and give an honest (still partial) review.
Any time shorter then this and were really not letting anything show its true colors.
Not giving it and ourselves enough simple discipline and gumption to stick to and see something we thought important enough to try a long enough period to show results. This includes, training, nutrition, rehab, targeting weaknesses etc.
One month cycles of this type in my opinion, also hold further benefit. They are also short enough to be mentally manageable. Easy to cope with and commit to. That way if something doesn’t work, or has a negative effect you haven’t wasted a huge period of your time.
There are two kinds of people that I feel this type of method could really benefit, and those two groups I would argue make up the majority of people who ever think about training and nutrition, and possibly even the world as a whole.
#1 - The people who look at the BIG picture and get overwhelmed.
They look mainly at point B, the end. Then they briefly see where they are now, point A and think of all the drastic changes they have to make in their life. They look at the huge mountain they have to climb, get over whelmed, and largely never start.
Instead by breaking this down into a month, a simple 30 day period, they can commitment to something that seems so much more manageable. You break that HUGE mountain into a bunch of little rocks. Each will be bigger and smaller in how far you go dependent on what they decide to bit off, But each is still a bite big enough to chew, and each at the and of that 30 days will show the person that they are that much closer to that peak.
#2- Are the people whom are almost the polar opposite.
They do commit. They are dedicated and committed to diet and training to a fault. Many times these can be the athletically minded. They know what it takes to get them to a fairly high level and they stick to their guns hell or high water expecting that route to be the road straight o the top. They see only the progress they have made with the methods they have chosen, and that dare I say, frightens them from deviation from their plan to try something new.
Many times this can come on from injury or an unplanned mishap that limits them from doing what they know works well, and in the stead of making the change they try and see thing through, or get down right paralyzed not knowing what to do.
For these people breaking a cycle of training or nutrition into a month makes this process, again, easier to chew on. Its 30 days. They can make a small committed changes to fix something (an injury) or target a weak area or lift with a different method. They are not having a total deviation from what they know works, but picking one thing to target and GIVE it 30 days, No less. Then you can see if this method or habit is something to warrant further attention and time.
You have that first hand personal experience. They come out the other of that short period at worst a bit more educated and informed for trying something new. Even if it was a complete failure they made their tool box of knowledge larger, which is a good thing.
Best case they just added yet another very effective tool to that box which can be used from time to time to add a bit of spice, freshness, and progress to a routine. A routine that can get stale, lead to overuse, boredom, and put them in a very thick walled box, that many who see a good deal of success can get trapped in.
Pick something...One little thing...
Sit down and pick out a list of very important, to you, points that you feel important enough to attack. Things that are all smaller steps to your ultimate goal, or things that just may show some promise and variety if you try them out. Don’t flop your world on its head. Just implement one change.
Put one specific area on the high burner and the rest on a hot simmer for a committed 30 days. Or do something off the wall if you’re a committed athlete / trainer who has been targeting one specific goal for a long period. Get out of your box for 30 days and do something seemingly totally different then you have been committed to. Either way make that one change one committed 30 day run and see where it gets you.
I think you’ll be surprised, no matter if you new to the game, or a seasoned vet who has been dodging and working around some nagging injures. Give whatever you choose it’s due time and attention looking for results only after the 30 days, not questioning and critiquing it only days or hours into the process, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
See ya in a month. Let us know how it works for ya.
No comments:
Post a Comment