Do the bloody reps!

 

Just do the bloody reps!!

The only reason you have not reached your desired realistic objective is because you lack the reps. The 10,000 hour rule is so painfully true it will put most people off actually manufacturing success. 

Let me use some examples of some of the great sports athletes of all time that have been accused of just having extremely lucky genetics:

• Greg Norman (The shark) - Who hit more balls per day than anybody
• Larry Bird (Celtic basketball legend) - Who was the first to arrive at every game practicing shots all the way up to the bleachers.
• Tom Brady (NFL legend) - Every part of his life meticulously planned by teams of experts
• Travis Stevens (Master judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu) - 44 hours of workouts weekly

If you really wish to see the extreme skills of human movement, look no further than Ido Portal, an Israeli movement specialist or what I would call believe it or not: the Shaolin Monk training regimes.

 

The list could go on and on about athletes who have achieved greatness. They all have certain behaviours in common. The one attribute I wish to discuss is the time spent in healthy obsession.

Addictive behaviour can be described as habits that do not serve you in a positive manner and can actually cause you serious harm. 

Healthy obsession on the other hand is what I would call "putting in the reps" to achieve outstanding results that definitely push you towards a more happy productive life.

You will innately migrate towards high achievers. People who entertain you, teach you, inspire you.

As I say with Instagram though: comparison is the thief of joy.

We must admire, but also learn from great achievers. Remember also that if being successful requires 10,000 focused hours, then some of the top .01% that you adorn are the 100,000 hour crowd. 

You have to take a step back and decide what it is that you really want to create. 

What do you need to create a worthwhile happy life?

Start with the basics:

Safety, healthy, happy

• Daily repetition of healthy meals
• Daily hydration habits
• Daily movement reps
• Fun meaningful connections

Don't obsess about the super fancy cross-fit fitness reps until you get the foundation life reps and hours.

You have a natural progression from idea to creation in all facets of you life skills:

You have natural genetic talent, which will push you towards certain skills. 

You then will put in practice and study your trades. Research is now required to advance the skills necessary. Strategies, coaches, mentoring all take on the foundation of the now healthy obsession. It is only when you truly see and sense value in these goals that you decide to put in the continuous reps and hours required to succeed.

So why do so many people never get to this stage of the talent cycle?

There are these notorious road blocks that block your path:

Challenges that force you to problem solve, naysayers that test your self worth, distractions that pull you away from your dream.

Let me throw you some examples of controversial life project success cases:

-Criminal rappers who you can love or hate are still producing successful albums

-Idiot world leaders are still voted in and creating headlines

-Football stars are making more money than they should ever need

-Sweatshops are still producing most of the clothing you wear

So why does any project gather momentum and succeed?

It's the reps!!!

Ronnie O'sullivan just won another world snooker championship at the age of 42. He stated he would have to lose an arm and a leg to fall out of the top 50 in the world. The notion that all the up and coming young players are not really reaching the optimal standard created back in the 80's ??

To me Ronnie found his love for the game and put in the reps. More reps than everybody else. 

My belief and guess with why a lot of people today are frustrated with themselves and are forced into pain clinics, therapy offices and serious addictions is the chronic amount of bullshit distractions and the stronghold they have on your psyche. 

This fast food, Tik Tok, social media disabling world has hold of you.

The fact is, you are probably being controlled by a version of this right now instead of practicing better life reps to reach your dream and live happily ever after.

Are you eating non essential food today?

Do you have a movement plan today to help feel and function beautifully?

Do you have a diary of tasks to complete?

Do you have fun entertainment activities planned?

If you get organised, then the reps are easier to control. 

One of the major stressors in life is the constant switching of tasks all day:

A message on your phone, the work tasks, Facebook checking, conversation interruptions, Emails, etc..

These are not necessarily bad, but your brain is having to stop, start and re-adjust constantly. This creates more cortisol (stress hormone) release and will give your physiology the perception it is running from a lion all day.

Not only will this make you tired, wired and weak, but it also spreads you a bit thin, and reduces the ability to do less tasks at a higher capacity. 

The ability to do fewer things to a greater ability is how more repetition's towards success make you a champion.

Do you remember that one day when you were a kid and you decided to spend the entire day building Lego!. Sorry if you are a millennial or newer. Us Gen X population did not know of fortnite while juggling snapchat and messenger at the same time.

My Lego creations were epic!. 

My son asked me if I could quickly show him how to wood-turn a project for school. I spent 1000's of hours obsessing over this craft in my 20's and describing how long it would take to show him, teach him, inspire him towards a creation did not hit the mark. The art of hard work and putting in the reps is not always understood in our automated modern world. I honestly am blown away at talking to Boomers and how they developed their skills and habits. they had less distractions than us!

So the lesson is really, that if you want success in anything in life, you are going to have to work extremely hard and learn to persevere. Do the time, do the reps, and gain applicable knowledge all the way through the journey.

So you don't need to be the .01% freak. You don't even necessarily have to be the 10,000 hour success story. How about making a list of your values in life and work at ticking off the first 100 reps. See if you like it. The reward chemicals in your body are insane. Try a bit of Dopamine and touch of Endorphin, and maybe a wedge of pride.

On a weekly basis as a Health coach, I work with people in constant pain. This is where people question the need for quick tricks to remedy the problem.

I take a big breathe (a beautiful diaphragmatic of course) and work in to my regular holistic lecture:

It has taken you years of bad habits to develop problems. Posture, food habits, modern shoes, stress breathing habits, and normal life injuries. Do you expect the local physio, massage therapist, chiropractor or one of my magic swiss ball exercises to fix you within 1 week? 

If you are willing to get inspired, to learn movement language, to study the many amazing layers of the human mind and body, and be patient and persevere, then welcome to success for life.

The holy grail of  body freedom is getting strong, really strong, coordinated, integrated, and mobile.

Are you willing to put in the reps?

To change all the tissue in your body, you are going to have to make a really good plan. Not a 12 week plan, not a 66 day plan, a plan for life. A contract with yourself to be a functional, productive adult who values themselves enough to put in the hard yards.

So enough bitching and moaning. You have to find strategies and probably a coach or an accountability buddy to move you consistently towards your flow state or what we may call the groove.

We all get lazy, and just like me writing this ass kicking blog for you, I'm kicking my own butt and trying to find my personal areas of weakness. 

My challenge to you:

Write a list of your values or desires. 

Find a person you trust and start a discussion. If it involves great coffee or wine, even better. 

Cheers 

P.S

Do the bloody reps

Tony Small

Health Coach