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By
Phil Stevens |
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30 days. One month. A lunar
cycle. One 12th of a calendar year. Or one 936th of an average
American life span. Really it’s a drop in the bucket
but its a something most people just wont give. Or they don’t
think that’s long enough to see an appreciable change.
It’s a drop in the bucket, real change takes time and
commitment.
From my experience any change,
other than the very minute or the very dramatic (ex. Fasting),
we need to devote at the least one simple four week period
of our lives to in order to see any statistical / measurable
difference and give an honest (still partial) review.
Any time shorter then this and
were really not letting anything show its true colors.
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Not giving it and ourselves enough
simple discipline and gumption to stick to and see something we
thought important enough to try a long enough period to show results.
This includes, training, nutrition, rehab, targeting weaknesses
etc.
One month cycles of this type in my
opinion, also hold further benefit. They are also short enough to
be mentally manageable. Easy to cope with and commit to. That way
if something doesn’t work, or has a negative effect you haven’t
wasted a huge period of your time.
There are two kinds of people that
I feel this type of method could really benefit, and those two groups
I would argue make up the majority of people who ever think about
training and nutrition, and possibly even the world as a whole.
#1 - The people who look at the BIG picture and
get overwhelmed.
They look mainly at point B, the end.
Then they briefly see where they are now, point A and think of all
the drastic changes they have to make in their life. They look at
the huge mountain they have to climb, get over whelmed, and largely
never start.
Instead by breaking this down into
a month, a simple 30 day period, they can commitment to something
that seems so much more manageable. You break that HUGE mountain
into a bunch of little rocks. Each will be bigger and smaller in
how far you go dependent on what they decide to bit off, But each
is still a bite big enough to chew, and each at the and of that
30 days will show the person that they are that much closer to that
peak.
#2- Are the people whom are almost the polar opposite.
They do commit. They are dedicated
and committed to diet and training to a fault. Many times these
can be the athletically minded. They know what it takes to get them
to a fairly high level and they stick to their guns hell or high
water expecting that route to be the road straight o the top. They
see only the progress they have made with the methods they have
chosen, and that dare I say, frightens them from deviation from
their plan to try something new.
Many times this can come on from
injury or an unplanned mishap that limits them from doing what they
know works well, and in the stead of making the change they try
and see thing through, or get down right paralyzed not knowing what
to do.
For these people breaking a cycle of training or nutrition into
a month makes this process, again, easier to chew on. Its 30 days.
They can make a small committed changes to fix something (an injury)
or target a weak area or lift with a different method. They are
not having a total deviation from what they know works, but picking
one thing to target and GIVE it 30 days, No less. Then you can see
if this method or habit is something to warrant further attention
and time.
You have that first hand personal
experience. They come out the other of that short period at worst
a bit more educated and informed for trying something new. Even
if it was a complete failure they made their tool box of knowledge
larger, which is a good thing.
Best case they just added yet another
very effective tool to that box which can be used from time to time
to add a bit of spice, freshness, and progress to a routine. A routine
that can get stale, lead to overuse, boredom, and put them in a
very thick walled box, that many who see a good deal of success
can get trapped in.
Pick something...One
little thing...
Sit down and pick out a list of very
important, to you, points that you feel important enough to attack.
Things that are all smaller steps to your ultimate goal, or things
that just may show some promise and variety if you try them out.
Don’t flop your world on its head. Just implement one change.
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Put one specific
area on the high burner and the rest on a hot simmer for a
committed 30 days. Or do something off the wall if you’re
a committed athlete / trainer who has been targeting one specific
goal for a long period. Get out of your box for 30 days and
do something seemingly totally different then you have been
committed to. Either way make that one change one committed
30 day run and see where it gets you.
I think you’ll
be surprised, no matter if you new to the game, or a seasoned
vet who has been dodging and working around some nagging injures.
Give whatever you choose it’s due time and attention
looking for results only after the 30 days, not questioning
and critiquing it only days or hours into the process, and
I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
See ya in a month.
Let us know how it works for ya.
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About The Author
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Coach Phil Stevens is an accomplished
strength athlete with considerable experience in both powerlifting
and strongman competition. Phil is the 2007 APA World Champion
in the 242-pound class (total). He currently holds the APF
275-pound class raw National bench, squat, deadlift, and total
records. Phil’s marquis lift was his 700-pound raw deadlift,
performed on February 14, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Phil has been ranked in the “Top 10” in the deadlift Nationally across all powerlifting federations, also serves as the Arizona State Chair for the North American Highlander Association, as well as the founder of Lift For Hope, an annual strength-competition
with proceeds donated to Charity (www.Lift4Hope.org).
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