Years ago towards the end of my baseball days I had a few seasons I struggled as a hitter.
I didn’t understand why this was the case. Throughout my years, and even before the more competitive seasons, I tended to hit in the 3 or 4 slots due to my consistency and power.
Baseball is such a mental sport and it’s amazing how strong confidence at the plate translates into your stance, swing, and batting average.
It’s incredible to go to a Twins game now and see how these hitters can stay consistent with a person on the mound tossing 90+ mph balls that bend and break in every direction.
According to Google, from the release of a 95 mph pitch until it reaches the plate, the batter has approximately 425-450 milliseconds to decide to swing or not.
That is insanity!
Though confidence is a huge piece, practice is an even bigger piece of the puzzle.
Eventually after a few stressful games in my baseball years, I had a one-on-one session with a hitting coach. This coach specifically focused on building a routine to approach the plate.
Walk up, tap the top right corner, smile at your coach, give a little booty shake and get ready to crush the ball.
This helped a little, and I did feel more confident in the next batch of games, but it wasn’t the secret sauce. I didn’t connect the dots back then, but I think it’s funny because this is a lesson I look back on now as a 24 year old kid.
In recent years I reflected on the differences between the successful hitting seasons and the poor hitting seasons.
The years I crushed the ball were the years when I had an unlimited batting cage membership during the winter months. I’d visit the cages weekly throughout the entire winter, and crank out rep after rep on those machines. I didn’t have the latest technology bat, new Nike’s that gripped the dirt better, or a routine that would help me say “namaste” and hit a home run.. It simply came down to practice.
It’s so simple but why do we neglect this even as adults? Instead of implementing small changes or consistent steps to work towards the outcome we want, we read blogs on how Kombucha is good for gut health, buy fat loss teas, and a million other things that act as a temporary bandaid. Constantly avoiding the foundation we need to build, that will eventually lead to the change we desire.
How do I apply these foundational pieces now? Glad you asked!
Right now I’m training for a half iron man and to be transparent. It’s been on my mind more and more. I’ve even had a few dreams about it! I know the last two months I haven’t been biking or running the miles I need to put in to flop across that finish line.
I can read about half Iron Man strategies, buy the most aerodynamic bike diaper, and supplement with the best snacks on the planet, but that won’t do it.
If that’s the approach I take, I’ll show up race day with my high end bike suit and powders, but I probably won’t finish.
It’s mid March right now, and the event is roughly 10 weeks away.
I’ve found a ‘super simple’ plan and I will follow that until race day. Just crossing off each piece to make sure it’s all hit regularly. The bike miles, run miles and swim laps will stack up the reps I need to be confident going into race day.
I think one of the keys here is the simplicity of the plan. No crazy strategies, just setting up the foundation to help me succeed when May comes around.
Last fall my friend, Ben, and I chatted about how we would train for this event. We wanted to keep CrossFit consistent, balance work/friends, trips that we each had, and other obligations.
So far I can tell you that we have done a mediocre job keeping up our CrossFit and swimming fairly consistently in the mornings. However, we are lacking on the other legs.
There was a rough outline in place: swim Tuesdays & Fridays, bike Saturdays and run Sundays.
Weekends have been the challenging piece and I can tell you from experience, it doesn’t matter what Netflix movie is on, biking indoors is not the most glamorous training.
The Athlete Lab has community workouts and competitor classes on the weekends, and these are classes I really try to prioritize. They are special classes that I don’t get during the week, and it’s a way to de-stress, feel productive, and work on the abundance of movements Crossfit requires.
Recently I heard a quote that stuck with me: “aim low for your goals.”
I really like this because, like previous posts have mentioned, one of the major reasons people stop tracking towards goals is because it’s such a swing from their previous daily decisions.
Aim low to set a sustainable foundation, and once you consistently reach that mark, challenge yourself by bumping it up.
It can be as simple as setting 4,000 step target for the day.
Keep it fresh in your mind by hitting that regularly, and bump it up when the consistency is there.
Small steps turn into miles. Build the base.