If it’s all in the preparation, then why am I unprepared?
Everyone knows that it’s impossible to teach an old dog new tricks. I’ve been trying to teach my dog Woody for years to “speak,” but he
still hasn’t learned. However, he has attempted to help with the laundry (to no avail). Despite Woody’s apprehension to learn new things I would like to think of myself as more intelligent and able to learn (debatable). So with superior intelligence over the K-9 and unlimited access to information, why do I continue to be ill prepared. And then the old dog, “Woody” showed me the tricks on how to prepare as you get closer to the turn in the Golf game of life. That was my attempt at some fancy analogous…alliteration…I mean I’m getting OLDER.
Have you ever watched an old dog get up after laying around? It’s a production! Woody will typically start off with some “downward dog” go figure. Then he will usually rise up and walk into a nice forward stretch perhaps “upward facing dog”. This is followed up with a nice full body shake. There might even a be a quick lick and scratch session. All of this just to get
up and walk to the next resting spot. Woody understands that he has to mobilize before he takes action. I finally decided to take a page from my fury companion. After all, he is a master at Yoga.
I’ve been struggling with my squat for a couple of years. There have been some sessions that have gone well, but they are few and far between. It wasn’t from lack of trying or research. The benefit of trying to become a stronger lifter nowadays is that there is so much good information available. There is almost no excuse to having poor technique and a lack of understanding of the particular movement. So why is the squat such a struggle? I even watched and read plenty of content about how to prepare for a squat session. However, even armed with information I failed to understand the true importance of preparation and mobilization. I would always do the same half-ass stretching routine and expect the session to be different. There’s a word that describes this kind of thinking…INSANE.
So prior to this last squat session I made it a point (20 minutes) to MOBILIZE. This is a fancy name for rolling around on the carpet and putting your body into multiple unflattering positions. My daughter laughed and Woody left the room. The humiliation was worth it. After some serious contorting and moving I was able to loosen up my hips and back and proceeded to CRUSH my squat workout. I was able to hit proper depth and set a new 3 rep PR.
So what does this all mean? First, I love my dog. Second, It’s important to put as much focus on the preparation as it is the actual objective. You can bring as much intensity as you want, but if your body isn’t ready to go it will not perform. This will end in a major let down and could start to effect your confidence. Thank you Woody for showing me the way to prepare. We may be slow to start, but once we get going, we are still as good as we once were. Now lets go take a nap. All this typing has made me exhausted.
