Focus on the Big Picture

I decided to repost this Log that I wrote a few years ago because it is pertinent, and ties in with my message from last week. We talked about the Winning Mind last week and this is a big part of it. I hope you like this and take it to heart if it applies to you. . .   Don't Major in the Minors This phrase is used a lot and should be credited to Jim Wendler. It’s like 531:

• Simple
• Effective
• Genius

Really, how often do you hear people concerned with a hundred things that have virtually no bearing on the majority of their success? I see and hear so much owning a gym for as long as I have and a lot of the times I hear people asking questions/doing things that will have little bearing on their success. Here are a few examples: You see a High School athlete doing 35 minutes of movement prep, tissue work and funky stretches while their cleans and squats look like a monkey fucking a football. They would be well served to spend more time under the bar and get their form nailed down in order to smash weights. They are too focused on the small things that don’t produce the effect they are looking for. What about the guy who has:

• Every
  
  mobility tool on the planet
• 
  
  Knee sleeves
• A $150
  
  belt
• An app
• A Go Pro
• 
  
  Bands
• A catchy
  
  t-shirt about being a Boss or making Gainz and then spends a solid ten minutes doing half-assed squats with 25’s on the bar and then 20 minutes of curls with a pair of 15’s followed by 20 minutes of foam rolling.
• All while filming and entering the data in the app they got or texting their coach every lift in between sets

But wait, there’s more. What about the one who asks you which supplements do they need to make Gainz. You ask them how their overall nutrition plan is and we all know the answer here, it sucks. You tell them to get the food right first and then maybe add in some protein. That’s not what they want to know. They want to know the exact dosage and timing of the newest supplement they saw that some big name endorses. Try and explain that the person doing the endorsing busts their ass and probably eats a ton of actual food that is good for them and it will fall on deaf ears.   Go in, bust your ass, leave. Then eat, food.     OR: They one who needs to know which bar to use for pulldowns, or curls or whatever supplemental exercise they are doing.

I give them the Tate Rule.

The Tate Rule states that you use whatever bar is attached to the pulldown machine (or whatever piece you are about to use) because it really doesn’t matter. Supplement to the Tate Rule: Dave explained this as he is too lazy to change the bar and further explained why. IT DOESN’T MATTER! JUST TRAIN!   I can go on for an hour with examples of majoring in the minors but I won’t. I am hoping you get the idea.

Here is where to spend the majority of your time:

Get in the gym. Figure out what you need to do for mobility/warmup. For the majority of the younger crowd it’s not much.   Do your RPR. A basic dynamic warmup, maybe some rolling to increase blood flow to the working tissue and then start warmup sets. For older, beat up guys, the warm up/mobility part may be where they need to major in order to move properly. Then: Get under the bar and don’t worry about minutia. Follow a good program, there’s a million out there. Work REALLY hard at the main lifts. Do your accessory work and don’t sweat the details. Finish off with some cool down work that is appropriate to you. This may be static stretching, or tissue releases and re-patterning, or any other of the excellent modalities that are out there. On your non-gym days, get your heart rate up and eat good food every day. Avoid the crappy food, get enough protein and healthy carbs and fats. That’s the majors. I am not downplaying putting thought into your training or trying to find the best things to do for you. On the contrary.

I am telling you to stop focusing on things that won’t produce results.

Give that a little thought and take a look at your program, and what you do. If you are one of the examples I listed, stop majoring in the minors.   Find me on Google-search for Total Performance Sports Malden, Mass. The Best Gym in Boston, Facebook too. Oh, yeah, follow us on Instagram too. TPSMalden SHARE THIS!   Did you miss last week's Log on the Winning Mind?

Read it here.  



 

C.J. Murphy

October 24, 2019

  #bostonsstrongest Vincere vel mori