Hitting and breaking plateaus
This is a very very VERY common occurrence in any any ANY field or activity you find yourself participating in. In fact, its so common, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t faced some plateaus that made them question their interests and resolve. I have a long history of becoming interested in something, falling in love with that thing, and dropping it in a relatively short time. Full disclosure, that is kind of my preferred method of operating because I am interested in learning a broad spectrum of patterns; I sit back and watch as they cross over with each other and benefit me in ways that are far deeper and more profound than surface level. An example of this is how, in my strange mindbody, yoga and meditation (2 years), Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (1 year on and off), capoeira (1 year), calisthenics (4 years)/gymnastics (3 months), bouldering (1 month), and chess (few months) all connect and make me more fluent as a human being. But this is a topic for another post.
I truly believe suffering and adversity are necessary for human development, luckily plateaus provide us with both of these in a pretty safe environment. Think of it this way, it is better to face adversity and learn about yourself in an environment like a dojo or gym where the stakes are low and your safety is the number one priority. It is worse to face adversity when real life issues come into your world. Financial problems, mental health issues, relationship struggles, muggings. These are not necessarily the environments you want to be learning how you react under stress and possibly to react in a way you never knew you were capable of. If you get stuck on a certain weight for your squats or always get tapped out, this is your space to face that same raw anger and aggression, befriend it, and work with it. Trust me, I’ve been so frustrated I wanted to scream and cry. One time, after 45 minutes of being dominated and submitted by grown men and women in BJJ, I nearly began crying on the mat. After class, I went to a park, laid in the grass, released my emotions, and tried to reconcile. The grief, frustration, and fatigue were so intense I wasn’t sure if I would continue training. Next day, I was back in class with a new flame in my belly and a new understanding of myself!
The Tao Te Ching says:
“a man who knows others is intelligent,
while a man who knows himself is enlightened”
Use every opportunity as a stepping stone to enlightenment.
Tactics to combating plateaus:
Back to the basics-
o This is where you just take a step back from whatever you are doing, take a deep breath, and work the fundamentals. Never ever has someone been worse off after reaffirming proper technique in their craft. Climbers can go to low grade routes and climb up, down climb, and make the routes harder however they choose. Doing these easy routes will give you time to sharpen your technique, and might even show some flaws you haven’t yet recognized.
· Cross train/ supplemental training:
o Nature abhors a vacuum, so naturally, vacuums don’t tend to exist (and if they do, not very often). We, as moving beings, are certainly not in a vacuum. Cross training is often very beneficial. Maybe begin doing yoga if you practice capoeira. You’ll begin to notice many of the postures in yoga correspond with positions in capoeira finding grounding and strength in these positions will make you a better capoeirista.
· Believe in yourself:
o As corny as it may seem, sometimes you really just have to believe in yourself. Mental barriers to success manifest physically. If you learn to believe you can lift more or climb harder routes, you can actually change the game!
· Meditation:
o Often times, finding a calm center allows you to function better when you are doing your thang. Having a clear mind is just a better way to be. This makes flow states easier to find because you are better at being concentrated and devoting 100% of your attention to any given task.
- Taking a break
- Sometimes taking a break from what you are doing is the best thing. You take your mind off of it for a while, do some other stuff, live your life, and try again in a few days or a week.
Resources:
· Bodybuilding and weight lifting- http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/7-ways-to-bust-any-plateau.htm
· Believing in yourself via my first YouTube mentor, the man, the legend, Elliott Hulse- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7l47rXqRo0
· BJJ, (you’re welcome in advance for introducing you to chewjitsu)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODE3MfyFRlM
· Rock climbing and bouldering- http://www.climbing.com/skills/training-never-plateau-again/
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