Champion Story

I love this picture. That is George on the right with his bling. He recently returned from the World Masters track and field championships after winning medals in three sprinting events. The reason I love this picture is because George is a great guy who displays many behaviors of a true champion.

George came to me after seeing my flyer for the "best run ever" running evaluation. We talked about my experience as a PT, and as a endurance athlete which left him curious. He asked me what a distance runner could offer a sprinter. Good question, I thought. I explained that I work with all clients, athletes and non-athletes, by looking at the body as a machine. A thorough exam tells me where the machine is out of balance from a strength or flexibility standpoint, for example. I reassured George that by doing so I could help him to identify areas of weakness within his machine with the goal of making him stronger, and faster. So, back to what I love about George. It is the willingness to think outside his training box. This is a challenge for most athletes, especially ones who have had some measure of success. A true champion, however, is open to trying new things in training to improve. This is exactly what George did. Over the span of a couple months I gave George a progression of exercises which allowed him to get stronger in a sport specific way. Obviously, for a sprinter, having explosive strength is key. The same should be said for having upper level dynamic core strength because this is what allows a sprinter to use that aforementioned lower extremity strength. Added core and hip strengthening to his training regime helped George fine tune his machine to tolerate more training stress without the wheels coming off. He was able to parlay this new strength into more training, ultimately leading to more success at a very high level.
Just wanted to share the George story as it inspires me to think about my own training. Am I open to changes to get stronger and faster. I think about what weakness I have, and creating a plan to address them. It is common to focus on strengths, but with such an approach I would argue that you are setting yourself up for less true growth.

Though I will likely never have World's medals around my neck, I can still display the behaviors of a champion. This approach will help us to achieve our own measure of success. Here's to a PR at Boston!