Burn the boats workout!

I was just reading about an interesting concept that can easily be applied to training in this wet weather. 

Many people will have heard the old tale of the Greek Commander, who upon landing his army on the shore, would give the order to burn all of the boats that they had sailed to the battle on.  This would eliminate the soldiers option to retreat, forcing them to fight with everything they had in a true fight for survival.

How does this apply to training?

It got me to thinking?

How often do people make an excuse not to train when the weather isn’t quite what they had hoped for?

The truth is it happens all the time.  And it happens whether people plan to train outdoors (i.e. - going for a run etc…) or indoors (i.e. in a gym).  Walk into any gym on the Gold Coast and look at the numbers on a day like today….I guarantee they will not be as busy as a normal day.

How to “burn the boats”

So the alternative to making these excuses is set yourself up to “burn the boats”.

Here are some suggestions to ensure you keep training through the excuses.

1. If you are going for a run, get someone to drop you off a certain distance from home, or from your car.  That way you have no option but to run home.  Alternatively you could walk…but that’s only going to take longer in the wet weather!
2. Organise to meet a training partner at the gym.  Try to make it a close friend or relative that you can create some kind of rivalry with.  If either of you pull out of a session, have a forfeit fee or prize (shouting the other person dinner).
3. Have a checklist of all your training sessions in full view of family or work colleagues.  Tick off each session as you complete it.  You won’t want to see to many ‘unticked’ boxes appear, in fear of the fact being highlighted by others.

Hope this helps.  Now get out there and BURN THE BOATS!!!

Cheers,

Chris van Hoof
Chisel Fitness Director and Head Trainer