Point A, Point B

Where is my Point B?

Examples:
I want to lose 10lbs
I want to achieve 10% body fat
I want to bench press 225 lbs
I want to run a 5 minute mile
I want to snatch 24kg for 10 minutes
I want to earn my Master of Sport Rank in kettlebell sport

These are definitive goals.  They are clear objectives with fairly straightforward methods of achieving them.  Sometimes they require more time in the gym or more attention to nutritional minutia than you previously thought, and that’s just fine.  

Where are you in relation to Point B?  And if you haven’t figured out what your Point B is, how do you achieve it?  

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”


Where is my Point A?

If you are one of the few with clear goals, that is, you know exactly what your Point B is, then what is the problem?  Shouldn’t the road from A to B be obvious.  This is where most people run into a common problem.  Where am I now?  It may seem obvious.  You’re right here, aren’t you?  

If the quickest way from point A (where you are) to B (where you want to go) is a straight line, then this should be easy, right?  Well, we don’t all start at the same place, and if I were you I probably wouldn’t start from here.

Example:
You come to me and you say that you want to be stronger, but you’ve never trained for strength before.  Sure, you’ve done some bench press in high school and likely have plenty of experience doing 15-20 reps on the Nautilus machines at your local fitness centre, but you never used adequate metrics for monitoring your strength or effective methods for creating it.

The fact is, you haven’t the slightest idea where your current 1 Rep-Max for say… clean & jerk is, a classic strength movement.  What’s more is that in order to establish Point A, as it pertains to the clean & jerk, it would require weeks of technical training just to make an honest attempt at a first ever 1, 3, or even 5 rep-max effort.  

As Albert Einstein once said:

“if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”.

OK, so let’s do some technical work.  Easy.

Uh oh, what’s that?  You’ve got adhesive capsulitis?…chronic low-back pain?…poor sleep habits?…the flexibility of Tin Man on a rainy day, and a diet that leaves you feeling tired and bloated all the time?

Rewind.

Your Point A is not where you thought it was, nor is it where I thought it was when you walked in my door.  So where are you?

You’re at a Red Light situation.

You’re weaknesses are preventing you from getting to Point A, let alone Point B.  You need to address those first before you have a fighting chance at reaching either.  This is where most people run into another problem, albeit a self-constructed one.  It is at this point where most people realize that their short-term goals require so many new skills that they just don’t have enough time in the day to learn them all.

Newsflash!

This applies to your nutrition and overall lifestyle as well.

Do not expect to lose 10lbs for that Christmas in Jamaica you’re planning on if you can’t or won’t do the things required to achieve it.  i.e. tracking macros, portion sizing, not missing workouts, getting enough sleep and fluids, being progressive about the process, and most importantly, sticking with the plan.

“The goal is to keep the goal the goal” - Dan John

Well, if you’re at a red light situation then the goal is not the goal.  Everything you need to do to get you to your goal, is the goal.  That means starting the journey from someplace better than where you are.


Resources:
Intervention, Dan John