Learning From Fitness Failures (Now or Later)

“To err is human, but to really screw things up requires a computer.”  I learned that (again) after failing to save this article the first time – now I am making it even better.  It is true, we are all experts at failing and one thing life throws at us are opportunities to fail, but eventually – IF YOU KEEP GOING – you will find the path to success and learn how to do things better / smarter along the way.  Here are many common mistakes we all make in fitness. I recently asked a group of people on social media a simple question: 

What are some of the biggest mistakes you have made with your fitness and health? 

Before I explain their answers, I recently saw this quote and it inspired this entire journey down the rabbit hole of success and failure:

You will never know until you try...and try again.

Too Much, Too Soon, Too Often – For me, it has been a journey in learning my limits before with too much weight, too many miles, too many reps, or too much speed that broke me for luckily only nagging injuries. Starting a running program with little to no foundation or doing high repetition calisthenics without a steady increase week after week has led to many cases of joint tendonitis, foot, shin, knee, leg, hip, and back pain over the years. Training too much without recovery days also was a lesson learned.  In hindsight, have more mobility and flexibility time during the week IF you are training hard and pushing normal training standards and limits.  Logical progressions and mobility / recovery days have to be part of the training cycle if you want to avoid training injuries that derail the best intentions.

Ego Lifting – It is not uncommon to see people in the gym with their training partners pushing perceived limitations. Nothing is wrong with that – that is how we get stronger and more confident in our abilities.  However, there is a fine line between pushing hard and stupidity.  One of my friends sent this in: “Ego lifting with poor form. Caused a 100% bicep tendon tear that required surgery to reattach and took me a year to recover from.” I have seen this one in my Spec Ops buddy circles when doing weighted pullups.  Already doing 220lbs pullups is tough on big guys, add 80lbs to a weight vest and a 300lb pullup can separate that bicep tendon right from the bone. These belong in the too much category.

Too Big – Many of us in the gym are on the bigger, faster, stronger train and it is fun!  However, there comes a time when you eventually get to a point where you have reached your height / weight potential.  Can you get bigger SURE – should you?  Well - that depends.  Here is a great one for all us gym rats out there:  “Letting myself get too heavy pursuing lift numbers. Once I dieted the fat off, I had exactly the same amount of muscle mass on frame. We all hit a genetic ceiling at some point. My mistake was thinking I could blast through that with food and heavier weights. Yes. I pushed more weight but was not good for my overall health and performance.  As you age this extra weight you put on in the gym gets harder and harder to work off and walking up steps becomes a cardio workout.  Too Much category again.

Fitness IS NOT a Destination - For some, achieving a goal puts them at a dead end - whether it is a racing event, a 1RM, or a PT test, even.  Many are lost without the next goal to chase. One friend said,"Not sticking with it once I hit a point when I'm strong, fast and flexible then i get comfy in putting it off until i have to start back at day one.  Fitness is a journey, NOT a destination - keep on moving - even if in a maintenance phase. 

Big and Strong - But That Was It - Often, if trying to be a well-rounded tactical athlete, the big lift numbers can force you out of cardio shape if you are not careful and make running hurt even more than it does already.  One long time friend said, "The biggest was pushing my weight up for the sake of chasing higher 1RM numbers. While my big three were marginally better at 205, running was miserable. Once I dropped back down to 185, running became comfortable again, my joints were happier and I was much more versatile. Also, not focusing on mobility and recovery until my late 40s slowed progress down. Do not forget to do the things you may not really like to do, IF you want to be well-rounded. My knees thank me when I run under 200 lbs these days. 

Not Enough Recovery – On this journey of training hard, you will find that MORE is not the answer when training hard already. However, LESS IS MORE should start creeping into your training cycles, and the focus on sleep, nutrition, and water is the 1-2-3 combination to improving performance. More is not the best answer – even exercise needs moderation.  Here is a good statement from the group: “Not taking sleep and recovery as seriously as I did training. Mostly overdoing everything I do and not focusing on recovery enough. Constantly trying to figure a good balance between food, sleep, hydration, recovery, and training is my new focus and I still get it wrong, but I am getting smarter after 30+ years of training.” Have you noticed you should start learning from other people’s mistakes yet? This one belongs in the too often category as training too often without proper recovery only leads to diminished returns, over-training, and injury. You will learn one way of the other. 

If you do not actively Pursue Recovery, Recovery will pursue you - One of the group wisely commented, "Not recognizing signs of tendonitis and continuing to train without any modifications, leading to long term pain and recovery and surgeries." Recovery, cooldown periods, stretching / mobility are all part of the game - skip them at your own peril.  Never Skip Mobility Day.  Seriously, adding this simple mobility day in the middle of the week is LIFE CHANGING for any age. 

I will never master mobility / flexibility but by constantly assessing them, I will stay on top of the aches / pains that can stop you in your tracks - Stew

Not Enough Research - Not Understanding Nutrition / Supplementation – It has taken me a lifetime of athletics, spec ops training, competing, and coaching, and I have finally found what works for me at my age now. Understand that the journey from teenage athlete to a 50+ year old man trying to work out hard involves evolving needs and abilities to maintain your full potential. What works for one person may not work for you, especially if there is a significant age difference between you and what the other is doing. Get smarter or remain broken. You can eat differently as a teenager and well into your 20s, but in your 30s, 40s, and 50s, you need to make changes because outworking a bad diet is no longer possible. Imagine having a good diet in your teens and twenties—where could you be? This situation falls into the category of relying too much on the same old approach without researching the options available to you, and THEN testing those options to determine what is right for you to achieve optimal performance.  

Not Putting It All Together – We all know how to train hard, eat right, sleep well, hydrate, and what we need to do, but have you considered taking training notes of peak performances or even more importantly poor performances? Can you put them ALL together? Writing down the foods, drinks that you consumed, how well you slept, and the training day accomplished can be the perfect formula if you have one of those days where you PR in everything you try. Just by writing these details down may offer you the perfect GAME TIME prescription for you being at your best. Do the same when you suck or have no energy to train as well.  You may find the answer in your notes and most likely you did too much of something or not enough nutrition / recovery / sleep and screwed up your next training or testing day.

Motivation and Discipline – There is a difference.  Many people start training programs and are highly motivated. After a few weeks, that motivation starts to fade and if you did not build good habits during that motivational period, you may not have created any discipline in the training.  Your initial inspiration and motivation to train for something hard will die and you only will have your habits and discipline to rely on when the days start early, and you do not feel like training. You must be able to say, “Today I am training BECAUSE I do not feel like it.”

Your training will NEVER be perfect; life has a way of making this so. But you can strive to put it all together and make it work for you perfectly – some days. Personally, the best part about this journey is that there are days the weights win and there are days I win, but gravity always wins in the end. Nothing will be perfect, but it can be a constant challenge to make it perfect. Enjoy the journey to building the ideal you and challenge yourself every decade of your life until it is your last.

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