Keep it Simple

What a great saying, "keep it simple." Life, our lives and the social politics that surround everyone and everything create such complexities that I am convinced we would all be much better off if our main goal was to... keep things simple.

One way to do this is to be ourselves. Say what we mean instead of trying to say what we think someone else might want to hear. Say what we mean and if we find ourselves, ah, how shall I say this, if we are not quite correct or accurate in our words then we should just suck it up and eat our words. Maybe we could say sorry or maybe we could say something to set the record straight. Then, we could move on.

What we say, is hopefully a reflection of what we believe. But I can think of a dozen times when for whatever reason I have heard someone say something that they really don't believe is true. Why do they say these things? Well, often it is out of anger or maybe just in the heat of a debate.

What on earth does all this have to do with athletics? Well everything. For example, I hear people dread about a set in swimming that is offered by a coach or a triathlete who is dreading a long bike ride. The say things like, "do I have to?" Quickly my reply is "absolutely not." You do not have to do this. Here is a great word. Want. I love to hear someone say, I want to do that... whatever "that" is. From desire comes want. My hope today is that all of us have a desire to do something active. And from that we want to get out there and do it!

Go forth all!

Coach Dave

Stuff vs Skill

So many times I see people, athletes, get too unbalanced in regards to what they think will help them improve at their given sport. It seems get caught believing that the stuff they buy will help them improve more than building their skill and or conditioning.

It certainly gets a little distracting especially when you see sports like swimming start to go in this direction. Swimmers now have new speedy suits that are pretty much like wetsuits that enable swimmers to float better and thus attain greater speeds. These are a sore subject with me - I'm for banning them. But in my other sports, I see and hear people talk about the products with as much emphasis or even instead of talking about the skills and conditioning and improving these areas which is what is really going to make the difference.

True, it is fun to go out and buy all the latest coolest equipment for your sport. In cycling and triathlon you have everything from whole new bikes, to the parts that go on them. Stuff like super light racing wheel sets, new lightweight groupos (components), aerobars, helmets, wetsuits and every other little gadget. I agree that some pieces of equipment are clearly a must while others are honestly a little beyond what we can really use.

Just today, on my way to the motocross track I was talking to a fellow mx rider and he was telling me that I should get a new exhaust system so that I'd have more power. He continued that there are some good engine mods (modifications) that I could have done that would also boost my horsepower... Funny thing is, I'm not close to stretching my bike to the limit yet. My bike is stock. Additionally, I lent my bike to an athlete I coach who is a pro motocross rider Stephen (Stella). I do fitness training with him. His skill level is far beyond mine. I had the pleasant opportunity to see what my bike is capable of and darn it looked good. He was flying over a nice 100 foot table top jump. He was turning the bike like it was on rails. Poetry in motion to see him ride.

What I'm getting at is that athletes who want to improve should put their resources into getting help with improving their own performance. Coaching and technique lessons on a regular basis will far outweigh even the best equipment. I fully support getting good equipment because after all, it's kind of hard to ride without a bike... But once you have the stuff, like a bike for example. Get some coaching. I'll say it again, get some good coaching. Get your technique checked out and work regularly with a good coach. This is going to make the biggest difference in your improvement and your enjoyment out of your sport.

I'm not saying not to buy all that fun new stuff. That can be a great reward for hard work. Also, safety gear is always good to have. Just make sure that you are keeping focused on improving your skills, your techniques and your conditioning first.

Keep improving!

Coach Dave

I Stand Corrected - A Lesson Remembered

The past two weeks have been absolutely fabulous weather-wise here in Baltimore. This makes it so easy to get out on the bicycle and get some nice miles in. While on one of my favorite routes, at the right time of day with minimal traffic, I felt so relaxed as I rode through one of those almost "to good to be true" moments in time. No cars, beautiful roads, clear good weather, cold water in my water bottles, just ideal conditions. How can it be better?

Don't know what it is, maybe turning the cranks helps my brain turn out some good thoughts but I always have the best idea development while riding. Still, realizing that things can change in a split second, I always urge myself and others not to totally day-dream while riding on the road. But this is not a post on good things gone bad.

It is my recollection of a humorous but potent memory of a lesson that I learned one day at a bike race.

My teammates and I were dressing in our cycling gear, getting ready to warm up for our race which was going to start an hour or so later. At local races, you have all the different categories of racing throughout a day. The original posted timeline for race starts can get totally off track because of races taking longer or crashes for example.

With a vivid memory, I can still hear my teammate asking, "what race is going on now?" I looked up and saw the pack coming around and my reply was, "looks like the juniors out there now." "We still have the girls race next before ours...." Suddenly, as I sat on the ground putting my cycling shoes on, I noticed the wheel of a bike pull in right next to me. A little surprised by the close proximity of the front wheel, which was about 11 inches from my head, the rider of the bike leaned over and asked, in a bit of a biting manner, "what did you call that race?"

My brain scrambled to make sense of what was going on. Then, I realized, it was one of the women racers who, had taken offense to me calling her race the "girls" race. Ouch, what to do?

Well, immediately, I said, kiddingly, "you can call our race the 'boys' race." Well that didn't score any points with this rider. After a short but terse conversation, she rode off and I sat there a little puzzled with myself. My buddies looked at me. We all agreed that she must have had supersonic hearing to catch my words.

A little embarrassed, I quickly came to the conclusion that I agreed with her. Rather than trying to convince myself that she was being overly sensitive about my misguided categorization of she and her fellow athletes. I looked at this situation as a great opportunity to remind myself of the power of words. When we think, we usually think in terms of words. What words we use to describe things, events, people and even ourselves can really determine and influence our world. I enjoy considering the perception and the perspective of those people around me. I'd like to see more of this actually.

So the importance of this lesson is to pick your words carefully. Life is usually better when you feel like you are accurately understood.

In my own athletic pursuits, I want to see what can achieve. And, what I or any of us want to achieve is most likely something that we have never done before. It is a step, or many steps into the unknown. That means we are venturing into the territory of the new and uncharted so to speak. That is often accompanied by a question of whether we can actually attain that goal. We then may not have that same amount of confidence that we usually have. But that is what is what, in my opinion we need to do as often as possible. But, with that, I think it's somewhat easy to get off the track of good self-communication and the positive self-talk cycle that helps to keep pointed towards the achieving any goal.

For the athletes I coach, I can clearly see that I am not the only one who needs to remind himself of keeping on track. It is important as a coach to help athletes through these slips forward progression. It starts with the words we say to ourselves and surely any words that come out of our mouths. When we say things like, "I stink at this..." we create a block from progressing. But when we say things like, "I feel like I'm getting this...." Or even, "that was OK" we avoid holding up our forward progression.

Well, looks like another nice day today! Great day for a ride and more thinking. I hope all of you have the opportunity to do something that is new, exciting and fun. And I hope while you do it, that you will pick the words that you say to yourselves and others that are reflective of a positive direction!

Have fun and say what you mean out there,

Coach Dave

Attitude is Everything

OK, in talking to about a dozen of my athletes over the past week I keep on coming back to one
recurring theme. We've all heard it but it is so true. Attitude is everything. Now I don't mean the kind
of 'attitude' that some people hold - like their sweat doesn't stink... No, I mean that any athlete or fitness seeker can realize success if they have the right perspective.

Success is a definite motivator. So allowing ourselves to acknowledge our achievements however big or small
is a great exercise. Success is fun and having fun leads to success. As I say, the road to achieving a goal is as important as the goal itself.

One of my favorite clients, a great guy named Billy, who has just achieved a 4th degree in Taekwondo is not only a great martial artist, he is a great person. In a conversation he said something that was music to my ears. His words, I thought were a true window to his sole. He said something to me that was so simple but so essential to success. His statement was, "I like to have a good time." This statement is pure and it is what everyone should say. We do the things we do because we want to have a good time. But wait... not always. I constantly witness people loosing sight of the big picutre. It shows in their attitudes that are characterized sometimes by a bit of drudgery or guilt and are often accompanied by statements like, "...ok, I'm going to drag myself through this...." Or sometimes phrases like, "do I have to do this?"

My vision detects a sort of conflict or possibly, said in a different way, I see mixed signals. Why do we want to tell ourselves anything but that which is consistent with the direction of our goal. Sadly, I think we learn as adults to be adults. Adults can do things. When we can'd do things or when something is not familiar to us many of us tend to shy away from doing it. It could be anything from dancing to skiiing to riding a bike. If we are not proficient, we steer clear of engaging in that particular activity. And especially when we are being watched.

How do we break through this. Billy and I love to discuss new training techniques. He will try any new exercise or fitness move I throw at him in the gym. In another discussion he spoke about how we have to be a child sometimes. If you think this sounds like hogwash, you are exactly the person who needs to be more of a child - at times. Let me clarify what I mean. A child of learning. Instead of assuming that you are supposed to be good at something because you are an adult you need to clear that thought out of your mind. You must assume the mind of the child and try that something. Within reason, we need to forget our chronological age and be a child and get out there and do it. (Disclaimer... if it is an activity that is beyond a certain risk threshold, like freestyle bmx jumping... get some instruction first... I say that with humor...)

So today's post, just be a child at heart and in attitude. Especially if it leads to venturing into the unknown of a new and potentially rewarding experience.

Have fun!

Coach Dave



Back to my client