You’ve probably heard or read Coach Stephan say GOOD when he, or someone else is faced with a challenge because in the end, it’s all about how you respond.
This is a tactic made popular by former Navy SEAL commander Jocko Willink. Everything about this guy is tough as nails- he gets up super early in the morning to work out (4:30AM) simply because it’s hard to do. His stories from his time in service are no joke. He narrates his own audiobooks with exactly the grizzled deep voice you’d imagine, multiplied by 10. And- his name is JOCKO. Come on.
Steph is obviously a big fan, as am I.
It’s all about mindset.
Tough experiences create tough people, would you not agree?
It’s being in the middle of the tough part that sucks.
We want out. We want to seek comfort.
I’m sure you’ve heard this:
“Wahhhh when is 2020 overrrrr. I’m soooo over it.”
But how ’bout this?:
“You know, this year has thrown me some challenges I’m not certain I could have handled- but here we are. I’ve learned that I’m a stronger person than I thought I was, capable of adapting to challenging times. While I can’t wait for this pandemic to be over- I have most certainly learned to value the little things. I look forward to being able to travel again and will appreciate it much more. I’ve learned how valuable my health actually is and that I need to have it at or near the top of my priorities. I’ve seen confrontation and the ugly side of human beings, and value being kind to one other more than ever.”
Maybe that’s just me- there’s a lot of shit not really going my way right now. But I’m done complaining about it.
With that said- let’s talk about masks for a second.
Before going any further- elevation training masks are a real thing. They’ve been around for years and at one point earlier in the decade were quite popular.
While they don’t change the partial pressure of incoming air (like actually being at altitude), they do restrict the total amount of airflow to the lungs. This creates a hypoxic environment (less oxygen) and can actually improve the strength and endurance of the respiratory system by asking it to work harder to get the same effect.
Would I wear a mask to work out if I didn’t have to? No, probably not.
Can I adjust to make the best of a situation. You’re damn right.
Yesterday I worked out with the noon group- with a mask on for the first time ever. I knew I’d have to slow down. I knew my output wouldn’t and couldn’t be the same.
I talk all the time about setting micro goals during workouts.
Do you know what one of my micro goals was yesterday?
Don’t touch the mask.
It’s being in the middle of the tough part that sucks.
We want out. We want to seek comfort.
We want to go outside and take the mask off to breathe in between intervals. We want to pinch it an inch away from our face just slightly to get a bigger breath in.
I get it- but this is the opposite of GOOD.
We’re trying to seeking something that isn’t there, rather than just settling in and quietly saying to ourselves I got this.
You’re resilient. You can adjust. I believe in you.
Here is some advice on how to attack your workouts with a mask on and how we’re adjusting in the gym:
Strength training, muscular endurance, etc shouldn’t really be affected- and we’ll be adjusting our programming to a bit more of a strength bias, and using intervals to allow everyone to recalibrate in between efforts.
Your cardio-respiratory system on the other hand doesn’t know the difference. It just knows that we’re getting a little less oxygen where it’s needed.
We have to start off slower, and adjust accordingly.
Put in other words your regular 85–90% effort may be a “full send”.
Times will be slower, scores will be lower- but the benefits are absolutely still there.
Mindset.
We got this.