The *E-volved Trainee

Posted December 25, 2012

Last week I posted Rob Miller’s article “The Map of Athletic Performance”. It was sports-specific and based on, you guessed it, performance! The performance-driven trainee is a person working towards a goal to improve a specific skill or sport and pushing hard for it. You may even consider your health secondary because your goal is something you’ve always wanted to achieve or it may be that you are being paid for your sport and are making sacrifices.

For those of you who not only want to achieve performance goals, but also want to do so in good health with a quality of life for the long haul, I will be posting a series of articles that will help you do that. Expanding your performance to include strength, health and happiness will change the game a bit, but will not compromise your goal, rather, it will be enhanced! First, let’s find out who you are…

You might be ready to be an *E-volved Trainee if:

You’ve been working out for a long time and now question the direction your training is taking you.
You love the concept of training hard, but you’re getting sore more often than not.
You’ve done marathons, mixed modality workouts and triathlons more times than you can count on one hand. You can overhead squat, you’ve nailed the muscle-up, and you consider yourself refined in the gym arena.
You’re eating great and exercising, but your improvements and body composition are at a standstill. You might even be gaining body fat.
You love the concept of training hard, but you are getting sore more often than not, and wonder where this journey is taking you.
You have been injured doing your mode of training.

You are NOT ready to be an *E-volved Trainee if:

You just want a mode of working out that is fun, social and gets your “sweat-on”.
You still show up for the workout, even though you are exhausted, because your workout buddies expect you to be there.
You think it is cool when you tear your hands doing pull ups or scrape your shin when box jumping. (You post grizzly photos of your injuries on social media.)
You think you didn’t get a long and hard enough workout at the gym, so you go for a run later in the day.

If you are not an *E-volved trainee, it’s cool! You are probably stoked to be in the gym and totally excited about your training modality! Go for it! We’ve all been there, and one day you may decide that you are headed towards a change. The concept of the *E-volved trainee, is just part of a process. If you think you ARE an *E-volved trainee, remember that the way to total health may not only involve adjustments in training perceptions, but also a focus on general lifestyle. This will include working on sleep, nutrition, and what I like to call “internal silence.” It is a bigger picture and I invite you to stay with me and read my future articles. My hope is that they will help you learn some solutions for a future in Strength, Health and Happiness!

Best Wishes For this Holiday Season and The New Year!

— Eva T.
* The E (is for Eva) -Volved Trainer!