Shoot For The Moon, Never Take Off?
All great things start small
Picture this:
Guy in his 30s, former athlete, a few lbs overweight, not challenged enough in the gym and his mindset is getting softer by the day.
he gives up on the fitness goals he sets
he is surrounded by friends who are living for the weekend
his wife doesn’t see him as the leader he’s capable of being for their family
This person is considering doing a 70.3…
He sees (and wants) all the benefits:
more athletic body
more resilient mind
dominating in all areas of life
But he has one excuse holding him back:
I just don’t think I have the time.
It’s a reasonable excuse.
He may have young kids, a demanding job and barely able to get a few minutes to himself each day.
But guess what?
It’s still an excuse.
And the version of him who conquers a 70.3 does not let these excuses stop him.
Here’s how he turns it all around.
All Great Things Start Small
It sounds nice to flip a switch and become a different person overnight.
For example: training 10+ hours per week for a 70.3 would be great.
But that’s not a realistic starting point for the average guy.
Here’s what is:
Starting with 3 hours per week (6 x 30 min sessions) and building from there.
Would more be better? Sure.
But for some guys that’s just not an option.
Like my athlete Matt for example.
Humble Beginnings As A Foundation
My athlete Matt is a lawyer with 3 kids under 4.
He doesn’t have free time floating around. And doubted he could do a 70.3.
But when I heard how long he’d been dreaming of the goal (3 years) and learned about his background (had done a few sprint tris), I told him we could get it done.
Here’s the approach we took:
Phase 1: building consistency in training and getting simple reps across swim, bike, run
Dec 1 through Feb 29
avg. training time per week: 2:51
Phase 2: ramping volume and making a push to race day
March 1 through May 12 (race week)
avg. training time per week: 5:54
Here’s the most important part of those graphs above:
There is not a single week where he put up a zero.
Building a good foundation (for him/his life circumstances) and staying consistent.
That’s how Matt became a 70.3 finisher.
Shoot For The Moon?
Shoot for the moon, land in the stars?
I’m not so sure…
When I see guys shoot too high with their fitness goals, they often get discouraged and are stuck doing nothing.
It takes humility to say: My goal for the next 3 months is to train for 3 hours per week.
We all know that’s not a lot.
But few realize it’s enough.
Enough to build on, to do something with, to shift your mindset.