Just keep the main thing, well… as the main thing…

I think we are finally going to make it. This weekend the clocks will spring forward and we can finally shake off the dregs of winter.

It’s like another chance to start again with a more active lifestyle, even it’s just going for a dander in the evening without having to don the hi-viz vest, or maybe getting out into the garden, or even doing something completely different.

Maybe all this spring sunshine has left me a bit giddy with an overdose of Vitamin D, but at the same time, I think we should take advantage of this seasonally induced positivity.

Even though it was exactly the same length as last year and for millenia before that, this winter felt really long, despite being so mild and with less restrictions.

At the Source Gym, I have just completed the fifth week of the six week trial. Just as the daylight has been gradually increasing on a daily basis over the last month, so too has been the progress in the strength training. And like the changing of the season, the physical and mental changes are almost imperceptible at the start.

But it’s not always like this. We all have moments; mornings when the alarms are ignored, evenings when the sofas hold us captive, and our motivation disappears out the door into the harsh winter night. It could also be doubt. Doubts that we are making any progress, or losing focus on what it is we are supposing to be doing or targeting. What’s the bloody point of swinging these kettlebells?

Sometimes I get the full spectrum of malaise, laziness, apathy and procrastination even before the toast has popped, but as my sage and coach Niall from Source, says, “You’ve got to keep the main thing, as the main thing.”

As always, simple words to bring clarity to the maelstrom that can consume the human brain.

It’s about focus, and when the toast is gobbled down, it’s about getting in the door of the gym. That’s 90 per-cent of the hill climbed.

“For some people they get on the scales and they maybe see that they haven’t lost any weight or even gained some and that can be a setback for them,” said Niall.

“But we always stress to people that it is not all about the numbers on the scales. By building strength and muscles, people will sometimes gain a little weight, but what they do say, is how good they feel by being stronger and fitter.

“There are all sorts of set-backs, and sometimes it can be about motivation. Often people lose their motivation, when they lose focus of what their goal is. Maybe they get distracted by some other fad, or they just forget about why they started the gym in the first place.

“Keeping the main thing, as the main thing, is what it’s all about.

“By just getting out and going to the gym, you will have achieved something. And at Source, people can talk to the coaches or others in the class about how they’re feeling and it can really help.

“These moments of doubt will pass, and by just sticking with it, you will get back on track and get the rewards.”

The one thing that Source Gym makes clear, is the ethos that there are no quick fixes for fitness. Niall continued, “People are always going to have dips in motivation and energy, but at Source we can see that people who maintain a good level of attendance and effort in the class, are the ones who will get the rewards.

“What we want to see, is training and health and fitness becoming a life-long habit and that’s when people really will succeed.”

Burn-out or fatigue caused by over-training can be another significant roadblock.

For those, preparing to take on the Omagh Half Marathon next weekend, the wind-down should be well-underway, to give the legs a rest ahead of the 13.1 miles run.

Again, I have few niggling cramps and pains, caused by too many miles, but I still hope to make the start line.

There’s little Niall can do for me at this stage, but his emphasis on recovery is something which I listen to intently.

“Hopefully after this trial, you can maintain the strength training a few times a week, together with the running and this will give your legs time to recover.

“When people are training for events like a half marathon or marathon, increasing the miles is important, but it is just as important to plan the recovery.

“Those rest days will ensure that your legs recover, so that you can keep on going. Just by running more and more miles, doesn’t mean that we become a better runner.

“And it’s same with all training. We have to know how much our bodies can handle.”

Next week, will be my sixth and final week of the trial at Source Gym, and beyond that I will hopefully keep on keeping the main thing as the main thing.