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 One of the things that I notice all the time when training is that when you train alive and you're whole routine is geared towards performance; you begin to realize that it is a roller coaster ride. Your performance is never the same from day to day. On one day you can wrestle, box and do MMA with a group of training partners and feel that you dominated every aspect of each event, just to find a few days later doing the exact same routine that the whole thing has been reversed.
One of the things that I notice all the time when training is that when you train alive and you’re whole routine is geared towards performance; you begin to realize that it is a roller coaster ride. Your performance is never the same from day to day. On one day you can wrestle, box and do MMA with a group of training partners and feel that you dominated every aspect of each event, just to find a few days later doing the exact same routine that the whole thing has been reversed. A few days ago you left the gym with euphoria, really pleased with your overall performance and now a few days later you could kick yourself in the head. Performance changes
I think this is the first point all of us must come to grips with, that performance changes from day to day and what is of utmost importance is not to become despondent but rather to keep consistent. This has really worked for me. I take a bad day at training and rather than getting myself into a slump I note out on paper what I have done for the past few days. How has my eating been, have I had enough sleep, how much stress have I been under and most important how was my mental state before I began training. Almost always I find a reason for my poor performance. Keeping these notes regular every time I have a bad training day, enables me to go back and reflect to see what effects my performance time and time again. This enables me to work on this problem in a positive way and also enables me to understand why I had a bad day at all. Often people fail to do this and just end up packing it all in. Bad eating habits
This must be one of my number one downfalls, I love food. What you eat directly impacts your performance. Heavy, rich foods tend to way you down, make you drowsy and lethargic. I have found that eating two to three hours before a training session in the evening and not eating in the morning before training really works for me. Keep your meals light and healthy. I think this is one aspect that really depends from person to person and everyone should find what works for them. Stay away from spicy foods, I think this rule stands for everyone before training. Lack of sleep
Lack of sleep can drastically affect your performance. When my baby boy was born I found this out first hand. I found it impossible to train the next day once my sleep had been broken time and time again. I started sleeping on the couch on the nights I knew I had to train hard the next day….this really helped. If I know that I will be training hard the next day I visualize just before falling asleep a good nights rest and visualize how my training session is going to be the next day. This has really helped my mental game. If like me some of you split you’re training into two sessions per day, I always suggest a brief nap in the afternoon. Stress
Stress knocks anyone’s performance right out the window. I find training very therapeutic in handling stress. I really concentrate on visualization, moving all my worries and worldly problems out of my mind before I get on the mat to train. This takes practice but it really is possible. When you are able to do this you will be amazed how much better you feel about your stress after you have finished training. I think allot of people who are stressed out tend to think that training in that moment would be the last thing on their minds…..if they only realized by pushing through this, they would feel so much better afterwards. The enemy within
I think this would be the number one obstacle to great performance. I see allot of the guys who train at my gym become overridden with the enemy within. A good example would be when you get on the mat with someone and you have a really hard match. Through the entire match you had to force yourself not to quite, not to give up, you had to confront your inner demons. A few days later you are faced with the same opponent. Do you choose him again or do you choose the guy next to him you know you can beat easily? Obviously the guy you could beat would make your training easier, but I promise you it won’t make you feel better when you leave to go home. Not facing your fears is like a virus that continues to spread the more you ignore it. Unless you face these fears head on, it will just eat you away. I think no matter who you are we are all susceptible to this. I am, I know this, and I make a point though of confronting it. I always feel better afterwards. A good friend of mine who is a BJJ coach told me this story. When he was a blue and purple belt he would get on the mat and roll with anyone. Once he got his brown belt it got harder, he was afraid to loose. And once he got his black belt he found himself avoiding students in the gym he knew would give him a run for his money. It took him and entire year to get over this. If he had not he probably would of quit. "Integrity is the refusal to compromise your talents, your inner sense of self, and you’re under girding values and attributes regardless of the score, the outcome, or different levels of ability between you and your opponent"
-Thinking body, dancing mind Keep your performance integrity! Cheers, Rodney "CHICO" King
http://www.streetbrawl.co.za
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