Let Them Eat Cake!
Getting Ship-Shape Again After the Christmas Pudding
By Chris Walker
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Happy New Year to you all!
Dear Diary: I had a great Christmas and New Year celebration. I ate, drank and was merry… then I blacked out!
Now I am back to reality. Having eaten so much and vegetated in front of the television for so many hours there is no doubt that, for every mouthful of Christmas pudding (and I don’t feel guilty) there is a price to pay!
When all your buddies and less serious squash opponents were enjoying the Christmas festivities and you wanted to join in, what did you do? I am sure some of you had a battle of wills: didn’t want to eat too much but at the same time wanted to relax and stuff their face.
I wonder how many of you thought about what your squash opponents were doing while you considered consuming yet another mouthful of peanuts or chocolates?
What’s the secret of escaping from this dilemma? Well, why not beat them on the squash court and join them for the festivities? If you want to eradicate those feelings of guilt and enjoy the food and drink the simple thing to do is plan it into your schedule. In that way you can have a clear conscience: work hard and play hard!
Even as you are reading this, it’s not too late to get back on track even if you feel the Christmas binge has been completely overwhelming. (By the way, I must apologize…I should have put this article in the November issue to prepare you rather than now, after the fact!) The good thing is you can put this theory into practice at any time throughout the year when you want to let you hair down!
Designate some ‘fun time’ in your calendar and plan the training around it.
I believe you can find an upside to any situation—it’s just a ‘mind set.’ If you have a problem you can either solve it or worry about it. And the process of solving and successfully carrying out the solution is a great personal achievement and good for a healthy mind.
When you get into a routine for too long there is a danger of not pushing your limits. It is easy to slip into a comfort zone of potential stagnation and complacency even when you are following a schedule. A fellow squash player once extracted a statement from one of those booksof quotes to remind me to keep on my toes. “Complacency sows the seeds of defeat,” he said, and that is so true. We have to keep pushing the envelope to achieve our goals. It’s really a case of quality not quantity. You will get more out of a 40 minute session giving 100%, than a two-hour session giving 80%.
Along that line, if you feel it’s time for a break, it may be just the thing you need. It is, and should be, an absolute pleasure to have time away from the court to rest and recover, both mentally and physically, for the next period of hard work. Unfortunately the amount of effort you have to ‘put in’ to get back to where you were is directly proportional to the time off that you take.
But, don’t panic! Every cloud has a silver lining. Rest well and you will be going back to your work ethic with a recharged battery, a refreshed mind and a bounce in your step. This is exactly what a person needs and this should be the main objective when taking a break from the game. That’s why you must try to take each day as it comes and stay in the here and now. Most definitely don’t worry about the cake while you eat it.
Tomorrow is another day and you can worry about getting fit again after you have rested—so make sure you put the effort in to rest properly!
The best example I can give is from experience. At the age of 34 I virtually gave up the pro tour to travel around the world for six months. Every dog has its day and I thought that my best were behind me. Then something extraordinary happened. On returning home after that break I felt like a new man! I had a new vigor for training and motivation for playing. I set new targets and got back on the tour. In the space of six months I had gone from outside the world top 40, playing mid-size satellite tournaments, to qualifying in and reaching the British Open final, climbing back to No. 7 in the world. As sure as God made little apples, I would not have done that without the six-month break from the game.
With a fresh mind and revitalized enthusiasm you will gain the motivation to push yourself again. Remember this: You only get out what you put in, so always try to push the boundaries of your comfort zone to bear the fruits of forward progress and improvement.
Work hard and play hard until the next time!
Chris
(inspired by and dedicated with thanks to Mark!)
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