Brandon's Rules of Training: Rule #3

FOCUS
"Concentration is the secret of strength" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Random acts will lead to random results. I have talked about being consistent and about bringing a high level of effort, but both will be greatly enhanced by focusing on the task at hand. Just randomly going thru the motions of a training session will get some results, however by focusing on the task being performed those results will be improved.

Often times you will hear people refer to the "mind-muscle" connection, but isn't everything in the human body connected already? In martial arts, and in the kettlebell world, there is a focus on internalizing training. What this is is a deep rooted focus on the movement or the lift being performed, which ultimately leads to a higher quality of movement.

In our world,we get kids that come in to train with us after spending 8 hours at school, or from practice, or from something else that todays kids do. They are tired and mentally drained. On top of that, they are adolescents with an attention span that is alreay short on a good day - let alone when they are tired from other activities. This is reason #1 why we start every session with crocodile breathing. This is a moment to relax, and prepare for what they are about to begin - to "Re-focus" on the task at hand.

Focus gets better results than training volume. Actively being engaged in an activity is significantly different than mindlessly going thru the motions. This is a big reason why our programs tend to be shorter than expected - once the kids lose focus, the quality of movement begins to deteriorate and they are then just going thru the motions of the training session. Quality trumps quantity 100% of the time, and as soon as quality is gone it is better to move on to different things in the training program. This is one reason why we have a low athlete to trainer ratio - this gives us more contact with each kid so that we can modify programs as needed each day for each kid. Another reason why the workout of the day approach is flawed.