Back in the Kyokushin days, we used to have a 45-day training camp before any tournament.
Every athlete has a seasonal training schedule – while they do train off-season as well, it is when competition is a few months away, that peak training happens, day after day, over extended periods of time.
The Kyokushin camp is similar. 45 days of grueling training, morning and evening…training happens even after the body stops – the spirit takes you through the last 10-20 minutes. And then exhaustion.
But strangely enough, we had more energy the next day, and the next, and the next.
It’s as if we grew reserves of energy. rather than depleting them.
I’m 47 now, and there are constraints physically – I can’t do what I used to when I was 20…but yes, the spirit still exists in full flow.
And this is what makes a physical challenge successful – you try to push your body, but end up energizing your spirit instead. The spirit of training consistently, of not giving in to that voice in your head that says it’s ok to skip a day, and the muscles in your body that scream exhaustion, but in reality release the lactic acid that gives you the sweet after-pain…it is the will power in your head that you wake up during these training camps.
My strategy today has been simple. Break down my training into 3-4 easy to digest bits of 15 minutes each. Warm ups, karate, a bit of weights and high-intensity bursts, nothing fancy, yet enough to get the body prepped for the bigger challenges ahead. The goal is to get into the set routine, not just to move one’s hands and legs for 30 days and then go back to status quo.
No. 30 minutes should be the status quo – the standard – every single day of your life. I know it is difficult, though it does sound easy:) But here is where willpower will help you sail through.
Once you decide, internally, deep inside your mind, that you are committed, nothing will shake you. I promise.
The only issue is – it’s very very difficult to make this small decision:)
Are you up to it?