Foundation Building

Does everyone remember Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs?  I must have learned this a million times as a psych major, but I never applied it to athletics.  But Hillary, the smart lady that she is, reminded me of this when I was really struggling to train.  This idea has wonderful application to athletics. 

In its most basic form, this theory proposes that we must meet our basic physiological and safety needs before we can capitalize on our more cerebral needs of esteem and self-actualization.  So, if you don't have food, you probably won't achieve your greatest results in athletics.  That makes intuitive sense, yes?  

For most of the first year, I was getting less than 4 hours of sleep a day, skipping meals, stressing about work, battling little illnesses with Isla, etc.  You must have a solid base before moving up the pyramid.  How could I get in solid training when I couldn't even eat dinner?  How could I get faster when I couldn't even sleep to recover?  How could I worry about getting in a trainer ride when my job wasn't secure?  How could I leave the house for a S/B/R at 4:30am when my exhausted and overworked husband was resenting me for having to wake up too to care for the baby?

When I started to think of my needs by looking back at this pyramid, I was reminded that first things must come first.  We have to have a solid base in life before we make it to the pointy end.  The same applies to training as we must have a solid base of work before we become our fastest.  So, when training is extra tough or stressful to complete or improve, try to take a bird's eye view and make sure your basic needs are being met, and if that is perhaps a hindrance to your improvement in other areas if they are not being met.  

I know for me, they were definitely a hindrance to my first year of training postpartum.  Now, I really try to look at my resource base and make sure it is as solid as it can be before worrying about what workout I want to accomplish.  Food, sleep, healthy baby and mom, happy dad, work and income...check?  Check.  Train.  I find that when I do this, my training is more productive and less of an interference in my family life.  

And that is what I am doing now.  I am building a strong base and foundation in as many ways as possible.  Last year I was training on a house of cards.  It wasn't sustainable and was wildly stressful from day to day.  Now, I get more out of my training because I plan it when the base it secure, and don't plan it when there are more basic structures that need attention.  I am going to keep building my foundation!

I've come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.

Tony Robbins