GENERAL TO SPECIFIC

General to Specific

You don’t know what you don’t know.

Some learn better by reading, some listening, some watching. 

All of us learn by doing. But sometimes the doing is the biggest barrier to entry. Seems unsurmountable. Unattainable.

I have read so many books on matters of training, productivity, philosophy and all sorts of other topics. 

The ones that have had the biggest impact on me, are the ones that I actually took something away, and implemented it. 

Got into the weeds.

Theory is great, but change and growth do not happen just from knowing how to do something…You actually have to apply it.

You can read about how to get strong, learn the correct reps and sets needed to drive adaptation, but it does nothing without getting into the gym and starting to do the work. Trial by fire. You not only start to get the changes you seek, but also start to understand more about yourself and your actual abilities along the way.

You learn how to move better, your body becomes stronger, you can lift more weight then you could before, etc…

You don’t start out specific…You don’t come off the couch or into some new area with a detailed plan of tiny little nuances and progressions that have no context to your current set of circumstances. 

Too much expectation, too many hoops to jump through. Too much idealistic and usually over estimation of what can be accomplished.

Better to start small in expectation. Start a general goal, nail that down first. Run it till the wheels fall off. If progress stalls (years later, or maybe never), or you desire to change course in search for something that has piqued your interest along the way, then start to niche down. Get more specific.

This is more true in our field than ever before. General strength and conditioning is the ticket. But it is not sexy, our industry is littered with specific claims of fixing arm pump with a gadget or supplement, doing some super “secret” core workout to enhance your moto lap times. Touting, the only way to train is by my “patent pending” high intensity interval circuit. 

Fear mongering…If you lift weights, tomorrow you may wake up so jacked that you will be closer to standing on a stage with all your clothes off then standing on a podium with a #1 plate in your hands. And god forbid you do anything with your arms, I mean, if you even think about doing a set of bicep curls or tricep extensions you may as well throw away the rest of your riding career for being stupid.

Maybe, if I always get fatigued from holding onto the handlebars I should try to get stronger? And since my hands are attached to my arms, which hold onto the handlebars, it would seem like getting my arms to be more efficient and stronger would help manage fatigue? I know, crazy idea…Or, maybe I should work on my riding positions and technique? Maybe I should be more intentional in my approach to improving my cardiovascular fitness so I get better blood circulation and oxygen delivery to the working muscles?

Nah, screw that. I heard there is one and only one way to do things…And it clearly has nothing to do with general qualities, it is specific to me. And until I learn what that secret is, I should not waste my time.

General qualities include: Strength, power, muscular endurance, stamina. Mobility and flexibility. Anaerobic and aerobic fitness. Tendon stiffness and compliance.

That is general! You could write a book on each category, hell, probably a hundred books on each category! 

You could spend your life working on those qualities and become a monster, never deviate, never lose sight of why you are doing them, and continue to make progress.

Start general, build competency in all areas, become familiar with what they do, what it feels like to build fitness and competency in each, then once it is warranted…If specific adaptations are still required, because sometimes they are…Then niche down and go all in on what you want to really geek out on. 

Tip of the spear is important, but not before building a foundation from which it can be launched. 

Josh