Today I don't have any hard science for you. That's coming soon, so check back regularly if you are waiting on an explanation of the controversial Thoracolumbar Sling (it's not controversial to biomechanists and strength coaches - just to the internet and its crew of pseudo-intellectual semiscientists - but we'll get into that later). Today we're talking about work and fun.
A thread in a facebook group I'm in got me thinking about the need to base training on performance needs rather than how enjoyable the training is. There is an idea held dear in some circles that everyone who works out should be having fun first and foremost and that discipline and results should take a back seat to enjoyment. This has bled heavily into the field of nutrition as well as dietary flexibility has become the cause du jour. But it's the wrong attitude if you expect success in sports.
Don't take this as an attempt at machismo or stoicism. I'm not against fun at all. In fact, I love what I do. I love my sport and my job and can't think of a better way to grind through life than by hanging out with fantastic athletes and lifting heavy things over and over. But I'm flabbergasted by the idea that if your training isn't always fun it's missing something. Articles abound extolling the benefits of this or that exercise, imploring you to add more and more variety to your ever-expanding exercise selection. This, supposedly, will keep things fun and fresh while covering all your needs more effectively than a less varied routine can. After all, seeing how many movements you can gain proficiency in and constantly changing training elements is more exciting than slogging through another session of heavy competition drills. If you exercise for general health and have no specific goals then this may be for you. As far as non-athletes are concerned there is something to be said for covering the work with a bit of light fun. Moving and exercising is the end goal rather than the performance adaptation being held paramount. Simply going to the gym and doing some work is beneficial to health, and enjoying it might make casual exercisers more likely to stay with it.
But I'll be very clear to the athletes in the audience. If you try this as a way to stay sport-ready, you will fail. Not a little bit. Miserably. You will get crushed into oblivion by a competitor who wants nothing more than to beat you. This individual would rather succeed than get an "epic training sesh, bruh." Fun in training hasn't been considered. It's all about the present competition and whether preparation has been adequately undertaken. Athletes who can't achieve this mindset don't tend to fare well. As my coach and mentor is fond of saying, "step up or get stepped on."
The fact is that searching for variety and requiring fun, regardless of the intent, are great ways to avoid the hard and repetitive training that actually makes you better. You can get wrapped up enough in recreation that you become lax in the overall discipline and specificity of your training. It's the job of your coach to call you out on this bullshit and make sure the work you do has purpose. Let me know when they add lateral raise dropsets with band tension and a 20 degree lateral lean to the powerlifting total. And we can do all the circuits you want when they add a CrossFit round to pre-judging at bodybuilding shows. Until then, you're better off spending your time and effort on things that are relevant, even if they don't leave you ecstatic. Let's forget the nonsense. We came to the gym to get better. If that means a workout is difficult and unpleasant, so be it. If that means additions or subtractions to training, make it happen. If it means training more or less, do it. If it means selecting different movements to train with... you get it.
Those of you who read my training logs know how mind-numbingly boring some of my workouts are. I do what's needed and no more. I follow this rule for all my athletes. Training doesn't have to be exciting. It has to lead to improvement. There's nothing wrong with training in a recreational fashion if if meets your needs and wants but if you have any serious athletic aspirations you need to divorce yourself from the idea that it's just for fun. It's a tool. A means to an end. A way to achieve a goal. And sometimes it isn't fun. But you know what is fun? Setting a personal record, achieving the best shape of your life, placing or winning at a competition, losing the weight, fixing the health issues, or getting the girl/guy. Have fun - yes have fun! - but remember what you're in the gym for and do what you need to do to make it happen. I can guarantee the way forward lies in the work and discipline shown by the successful competitors -not in the fun you'll have in a workout you won't even remember next week.
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