by Craig
Gratisfaction – The Significance of Training Partners
Gra·tis·fac·tion
noun
Something that causes a state of thankfulness though satisfaction.
Last Post
It’s likely this will be the last post of this year, so within it I aim to encapsulate my thoughts for 2010.
It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times
This year has been a series of highs and lows, as with all our lives. My year started in a pretty standard fashion, but on closing it has become the most emotionally draining of all time. Crushing if you will. Significant deaths, huge personal relationship upheaval and the constant foreboding panic of an unknowable future have led me to the highest stress levels I have ever encountered. This is normal. This is what happens to us all. It’s called life and we as humans are ill prepared to deal with the psychology of trauma and yet we survive. This post is dedicated to the thing that I feel is key to that survival.
Two Thousand and N(othing really)ine
2009 ended with a fairly significant stall in training motivation and progress. The reasons behind that have and are becoming clearer with time, but deserve a post unto themselves. Let’s just say that ‘training in all directions’ is fucking stupid. If you do it, you will eventually get to the stage when your lack of progression in anything actually measurable with leave you dispassionate, bored and finding it difficult to sustain a good mood.
Now Then
On the other hand, this year sees me now in the best shape of my life. The standards by which I quantify that are my own. That is the only standard that matters. The classic Robb Wolf “look, feel and perform” measurement has improved in all directions. I now have some lifetime training goals in sight that I would have never thought possible, I am capable of more athletically that I had previously hoped and it’s all down to one key factor.
A Training Partner
Most of the people I admire are strong as fuck and have always trained by themselves. They create programs that dominate, they lift things that would shatter the bone, snap the sinew and tear the muscles of ‘normal people’. Others move with the grace and speed of a wild cat or freight train, depending on the situation. I realise that many of you train by yourself. I did it for years out of necessity. My best friend has always been my teammate from time to time, be that preparing for a marathon, a 42 mile trail running epic, a 100 mile 24hr offroad bike ride or simply strength training in the gym. The problem has always been his work schedule and life versus mine have seldom been compatible. We love to train together, but rarely is it possible. His circumstances are now such that I barely see him. And so, most of my time under – or over – the bar was spent solo. As one does. This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time. Go lift something heavy.
Significant Others
In the summer, Pure Gym opened in Glasgow. This was very convenient for work. I would be able to train there in the morning, have breakfast at work and then begin my day. It was at this point that a couple of colleagues showed an interest in learning to lift, as did someone I would occasionally banter with on Twitter. This is where everything changed. I had a consistent, show up (nearly) on time, same mindset, same goals, same level of commitment partner that would never let me down. Though my life outside of the gym and work was in turmoil, I could always go back to the assurances of confidence in my ability to grab one more rep.
At the same time, Twitter has really taken off. There is a micro-community of Strength & Conditioning and Paleo people, dotted all over the world that help to keep one upbeat and in sight of the big picture when you’re drowning. This is again, significant. I cannot put too much emphasis on the fact that as we strive to improve our health and longevity through thick and thin, the fact that we can now communicate with like-minded individuals all over the globe means that something (like Paleo) which up until recently left you feeling isolated and ‘screaming into the abyss’ or as Robb Wolf puts it, “feeling like the crazy guy in the toolshed with the tinfoil hat”, now you can chat freely about and not meet with the same confusion / hostility / derision (delete as appropriate).
Back to the point
A training partner. The soul reason I have progressed this far is because of their existence. We have seen good days and bad days in the gym, but when elements outside affect us inside, you can be given reassurance enough to make the only thing of any importance be the here and now.
The lift or miss.
The “Do, or do not.” As a little green guy once said.
This has made a massive difference to my approach, zeal and ability. The fact that you owe it to someone else to show up creates a loyalty to your own training that will sometime falter when training solo. It causes you to investigate things more. Working out, through and around sticking points, suggesting and receiving form tweaks, the reduction and removal of bad habits are all benefits many of us never have, because it’s likely we spend out time training solo or coaching others. The beauty of coaching someone well is when they can turn around and point out a fault with your own lifts. Now THAT is what creates gratisfaction. Someone looking at, after and out for you. A comrade. A team mate. A brother. A sister. A loved one.
As I said at the start, this has been the hardest year of my life. It has also been the most rewarding. When you have nothing else, if you have someone that will show up bleary-eyed at 08:00 on a freezing Glasgow Winter morning, ready to chalk up and shift mountains, ready to cause the problems you have outside of the gym to dissolve into insignificance, then you, my friend, have won at life. Although this year has SUCKED. Having a training partner has meant solace, banter, hilarity, extreme aggression, joy and a lot of what we call ‘going into the future‘.
To You
If you are reading this and think there’s a chance you helped me with my training, if you think you listened to me when I gave advice, you gave advice to me, you celebrated in my successes and dismissed my failures, reassured me, congratulated me and bantered with me – you’re right. This is a letter to you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Stay Badassed,
Craig, 00:48, 12/12/2010