Which Is More Important -- Knowledge or Self Motivation?

When I began this blog site, I envisioned it as a credible resource for technical aspects of health and fitness -- workout protocols, exercise technique, rest and recovery, physiology, nutrition, etc. -- with a smidgen of psychology and self-empowerment thrown in.  I envisioned this becoming a sort of "online fitness professional," with teaching so thorough that you'd be able to train yourself effectively. . . with or without a trainer in your physical presence.

Instead, it's evolved into the inverse -- a whole lot of psych and self-empowerment with a smidgen of the technical stuff -- and that's surprised me.

It's made me wonder if I have as much technical knowledge as I thought.  I mean, if I did, wouldn't the "obvious topics" be the first to come to my mind and be written about?  I wondered what was wrong with me, and if I was qualified enough to share my philosophies with you.

And then it hit me.

Maybe I haven't focused on the physical aspects of exercise because, deep down inside, I feel none of that information matters.  As a matter of fact, it's worthless.  Knowing the finer points of every aspect of training is not the holy grail that's going to lead you to improved health and fitness.  Look at all the individuals in our world who proclaim, "I know EXACTLY what I have to do to get in shape. . ." and yet continue to live unhealthy, unfit lives. 

Think about this:  There's endless literature out there that discusses the merit of different exercise regimens -- one set vs multi-set training.  "Functional" training.  Strongman training.  Super-slow lifting.  Power lifting.  There are countless web sites with geniuses spilling their knowledge about sets, reps, tempo and progression. Or about anatomy and biomechanics.  Then there's discussion about nutrition:  Atkins, Zone, Weight Watchers, nutrient timing, supplementation . . . blah, blah, blah.

These topics can be regurgitated over and over again, analyzed a million ways and understood to the N-th degree.  And none of that knowledge does any good if it's not applied.  None of this technical information is worth a dime when we don't even comply with a can't miss program that's been put together for us.

You might be asking yourself, "Is this guy really crazy (stupid?) enough to say that the technical aspects of training are insignificant?  Is he actually saying that learning the "how to" of how to train effectively is a waste of time?"

Of course I'm not.  I'm not implying that doing research, learning the details or conveying the technical aspects of fitness isn't important at all.  Of course it's important.  Very important.

• It's important for me and the other trainers to know so that we can train ourselves to get results (that whole "practice what you preach" thing).

• It's important for me and the other trainers to know so that we can effectively guide you to reach your goals. 

• It's important for you as a client to know so that you can understand what to do (and how to do it), especially if you're training on your own.

But what's MORE important is the psychology that serves as the undercurrent for successful training (and life, for that matter).  What's important is the stuff that, when you hear or read it, is so obvious and smack-you-in-the-face common sense that it's not given the attention it deserves or requires.  What's important is that you're conscious of the fact that if you don't apply the technical knowledge you've attained, you're going to come up short.  If you don't have the DESIRE to apply it, that knowledge is essentially "worthless." 

Gather knowledge.  Internalize it.  Talk about it.  More important, get up and do something with it.

Comments

[lizh]

this is so true. The road to good health begins with the mind set first,.. healthy diet and exercise program to follow. Without the proper mind set, nothing else will work.
...Well done!