You can read all you like about training, bibles worth of routines, written by the purple robed high priests of training doctrine, and it wont do you the slightest bit of good. That’s how they make their money, one such guru boasted to me, that he earned 300 quid for a bout five sentences of stuff which was randomly surrounded by guff, and then he’d recycle it every few months. He is still doing it! And his name is….why don’t you guess.
Without motivation you cant tie your shoelaces, in fact my generation started that fashion, anyway get going, go training!
Have you read those mags on weight loss, or giving up fags, or whatever, just get started.
Lack of motivation affects everyone but if you want to make it a bit easier, learn the tricks of the trade. Look forward to it, don’t dread it. ‘Its good for you’, repeat’ its good for me’.
What do you want? Do you want to do 7a, 8a, and the magical 9a? Actually they are all magical numbers, they are faraway horizons, waiting for you to traverse, to the next mist enshrouded range of aspiration. Don’t make training, the Hamster exercise wheel it is for most people, Be happy, if you train well with good motivation, rest well, loose a bit of flab, you will assuredly do your 7a, 8a, or 9a. So get going.
Here are a few tricks.
Smile and laugh when you train.
Ask yourself this question. Is it really worth watching that shite on the smelly TV. OK you have to work, but what about all those other hours, minutes?
I had a shitty job -make that plenty of shitty jobs, and I made them more interesting by doing something weird, on the hour, every hour.
A good trick is to make your aspiration official. Admit it to yourself, admit it to others, promise yourself, promise your Mum, swear it on the Ashes of your Fathers.
Write your destination down at the bottom of a lined piece of paper. Now every line becomes a training session on your journey to that oh so far away place. Every time you do a session, tear off that line, or cross it out in heavy ugly crayon. You can do this in your mind, or in an expensive Filofax, Ipad, or whatever else they have dreamed up to steal your money.
Six months ago I was talking to one of the toughest mountain runners in the world, talking training, cos I needed the motivation. It cost me two big portions of ice cream. His capacity for eating ice cream is off the scale. Anyway he was doing training miles, twice my capacity! How did he find the time? He made time. Climbing training is so easy compared to mountain running, that it is a cheap present.
So my bargain with you is this, I will sketch out some easy; or short training thingies, and if you see me, buy me some ice cream, Ok.
For those of you, who have read my training articles in Climb Magazine, there wont be any great surprises, but I might, if people are really nice, give away a few tiny secrets.
So, tip number one, spoil yourself, make your training a treat, think of it as cream on the cake, its not long, only half an hour or so extra. Think of the reward you will get, when you get your climb! If you need fancy nick knacks buy them. If you want a bit of a change, try a change. Try cleaning your life up, physically and mentally. You don’t need to do it all in Seven days! Take it easy but do it.
