I had a lot to write about before I sat down to write. That happens often to me. My mind goes blank, or changes shapes so the puzzle pieces do not fit. It is frustrating and the chief reason why I do not finish what I start writing, and why I eventually stop writing altogether. Maybe this time I will run with it, or if it transforms into some kind of enormous weight, I will drag it. If it transforms into that squeaky, complaining voice often found dominating the mind, perhaps I will stifle the sound with a million falling pebbles. When it shifts to an external force capable of fighting, I hope I will bludgeon it with truth and blind it with deception. In any event, I hope I win.
Sometimes I wonder how far people are willing to go. What are people really willing to do? I think most people have an idea of how far they can push it, but probably do not have a realistic expectation. Most people that think they are willing to go far tend not to know just how far they have to go.
Example.
Athlete: "Coach, I want to get to nationals this year. I want to be an All-American."
That is great. It is what every coach wants to hear.
Coach: "That is great. What have you been doing to get there?"
Athlete: "I have rolled around a couple days a week with guys from my high school at open mats."
Coach: "And?"
Athlete Response #1: "I have not had a lot of time this summer because of work."
Athlete Response #2: "There are not a lot of places to wrestle around me."
Athlete Response #3: "And?"
Coach: "You roll around a few days a week with high school kids."
Athlete: "Yes."
Coach: "Have you been lifting?"
Athlete: "I am going to start up on Monday."
Coach: "Running? Swimming? Biking? Surfing? Any form of conditioning?"
Athlete: "I had to work a lot, and I hurt my <insert irrelevant injury>.
Coach: "How many tournaments have you entered? Did you wrestle at nationals, or regionals this Spring? How many matches have you wrestled from March until now?"
Athlete: "I took a break after the season, but I wanted to wrestle at nationals but I couldn't get time off work, and I also did not have the money. I want to set up times for my workouts when I get back to school."
There is usually no response after the coach tells the athlete the minimum he or she has to do to even be competitive, never mind elite. To me, the minimum amount of quality work one must complete in the offseason (beginning two weeks AFTER the season ENDS, and running into September) is somewhere close to 10-12 workouts a week. That includes 3 lifts (Olympic lifts, squats, deadlift, etc...all the hard stuff that meatheads neglect), 2-3 runs/bikes/swim/etc; wrestling 3-4 times per week. That only adds up to 10, and that is not nearly enough to make you elite. Also keep in mind that this does not mean go to the gym and do back and chest on Monday, light jog on Tuesday, arms and shoulders on Wednesday, another light jog on Thursday, and legs on Friday...all with "open mats" a few nights a week where you essentially fool around and wrestle live for an hour and a half.
How far are people willing to go? You have to be willing to go further than you are comfortable with. And you have to do it right. Correctly. Perfectly. It is not easy, and there are no shortcuts. You have to be consistent (read: you have to do it correctly every time, all the time, in regular fashion).
Turns out this post was about reaching goals. There is another side of "how far are you willing to go" that I will explore next time, or some other time. This is the side that really interests me lately, and it is a bit darker. And scary.
In the meantime, check out this picture of a huge waffle:
