Howdy My Friends,
I received this weekly email from Chris
Carmichael, former pro cyclist, personal coach of Lance Armstrong, author,
and Founder of Carmichael Training Systems (CTS). I found the email
insightful and encouraging. As I have been working at being a stronger
and healthier person, I never thought of myself as an athlete, until my wife
called me one after a long ride where I was giving her a run down of the ride
and how I overcame challenges and pushed hard on the difficult sections. Shannon
Sharpe's ideology and outlook should be the foundation of every person's mental
outlook as we all work to be stronger, better versions of ourselves.
Enjoy the email/newsletter and add your
comments below or contact me at mindbodyandbike@gmail.com or follow on
twitter @mindbodybike.
This week I had the opportunity to spend
some time with 3x Superbowl Champion and NFL Hall of Fame tight end Shannon
Sharpe, and he’s a very impressive guy. He visited our Colorado Springs
facility for a battery of physiological testing: lactate threshold, VO2 max,
body composition, and a 3D Bike Fit. He’s a big man, especially compared to the
skinny runners, cyclists, and triathletes we typically see in our lab. And he’s
also in great shape, quite lean, and looks like he could suit up for the
Broncos and play right alongside Payton Manning when the season starts up.Jim
Rutberg, our Media Director, asked him about his motivation for staying in such
great condition now that he’s no longer playing in the National Football
League. The entire video interview can be seen here. I
found Shannon’s response very interesting. He said, and I’m paraphrasing, that
he doesn’t want to walk past a father and his son and have the father tell his
son that Shannon once played football, only to have the son ask his father
whether Shannon was a defensive or offensive lineman. Now, maybe there’s some
vanity in that rationale for staying fit, but there are also some very
important statements about identity and legacy.
Shannon said he still wants to look like
he could play, even though he knows he can’t. But he also said that he can’t
see himself letting himself go to the point where fitness isn’t a major part of
his life. (As you can tell from this photo gallery, he hasn’t let himself go.) And
his actions and routines are indicative of someone of who values performance as
much as, if not more than, appearance. He’s lean and very muscular because he’s
continued to train consistently, and with a lot of intensity.
I hear it every time I travel. “I’m not really an athlete.” Yes, you are. an athlete in every body. Every single one. Sometimes you’re in training and sometimes you’re not. But everyone is an athlete. People believe they are not athletes because they think there’s some unwritten minimum threshold for weekly mileage or training hours, or maybe it’s some arbitrary performance marker, but below that level they no longer qualify as an athlete. That’s just self-deprecating horse- umm, let’s say ‘manure’. Speed, distance, and power output don’t make you an athlete. If you’re getting out there, getting it done, and having fun, you’re an athlete.
Of course, you could be a better one;
which is why we train, recover, fuel up properly, and work with coaches.
Improving your performance level strengthens your identity as an athlete – to
yourself, regardless of whether it changes how others identify you – and that
has a positive impact across other areas of your life. When you identify
yourself as an athlete, you act like an athlete. You eat like an athlete, sleep
like an athlete, carry yourself like an athlete.
When you allow your athlete identity to
whither, it’s more difficult to continue eating a healthy,
high-performance diet. It’s easier to migrate over to junk food. When you no
longer see yourself as an athlete, it’s more difficult to find the motivation
to exercise. It’s easier to stay on the couch. When you don’t think of yourself
as an athlete, what is going to fill that void? Unfortunately, some people
discover that unpleasant parts of their personalities rise to the surface when
they turn away from being an athlete.
I found Shannon Sharpe’s visit to CTS very
refreshing because of the perspective and positive attitude that he brought
with him. Here’s a man who reached the top of his sport and spent a long time
at the top. But rather than rest in comfortable retirement, he’s still pushing
himself; not for money or glory or endorsement deals, but because he’s
genuinely passionate about being an athlete. In case you’re wondering, that
underlying passion is the difference between good athletes and great ones, and
if you can tap into that passion in your own athletic pursuits, you will be a
better athlete for it as well.
Have a great weekend,
Chris Carmichael
CEO/Head Coach
Carmichael Training Systems
Stay the
Athlete!!
Until the next
time,
Keep your mind
sharp, body fit, and pedal hard
MB&B
