A technique used by endurance athletes before a race is called the taper. Like the funnel picture here, this involves reducing the volume of training in the week or two before a race. So if a triathlete is training 16 hours a week in the build up phase, during the taper she will reduce training volume to 8 or 10 hours.
While this may seem counter-intuitive, there is an important reason behind this. In short, this allows the body to repair and store up energy which increases performance in the race. A lot of athletes find this lowering of training a challenge. As competitive driven individuals who are used to pushing themselves as far as they can, to step back and train within themselves can be hard. As I am training for a race now, I have just entered my taper phase. I realized that this technique is applicable for all goal-setting.
Have you ever found yourself getting into a routine - albeit a high performance routine - and then asking yourself “Why am I doing this?” “What is this all about?” and if this is accompanied by questioning your own ability - you may need to taper.
If you have been pushing your new business development constantly all month and although you feel good progress has been made, you are not sure what comes next - take a step back. Take a day or two away from the activity of generating new business and put yourself in a different frame of mind. Call up an old and trusted client (or friend) and take them out for a coffee or lunch. Instead of trying to sell them, treat it like a fact-finding mission. Use your curiosity to learn more about their lives, ask them questions about their industry in general and perhaps even ask them to give feedback on your sales approach. This will strengthen the quality of your sales technique. Instead of hammering it to make 15 sales calls a day, take your time to make 3 quality calls. During your taper phase, see if you notice anything different or what you have learned that you can add into your toolkit.
High energy and passion are essential for success, but once a month add in a taper phase where you slow down, work within yourself and become more observant and “sponge” up new ideas. Enjoy the breakthroughs. Success in life is like an endurance race not a sprint so taper your way to higher performance!
Well it’s been about two months since I started the long road to fitness. Joining a gym really helped and I have been averaging about 15 sessions a month. The last month have been tough with many “brick” sessions of back to back cycling and running. This prepares the muscles to race tired - which is very important in triathlons.
I revived my exercise program about one month ago and I have been consistently taking small steps on my running. In this time, I have had 23 exercise slots. I started by just walking, then added in a minute or two of running, and now am moving into my run/walk program. I do a 5 minute warm-up and 5 minute warm-down and now I am doing a 4 minute run / 1 minute walk module. This means that I run for 4 minutes, then walk for 1 minute. So I am running about 50% of the total time of my work out (including the warm ups and downs).
About three years ago, a trainer friend of mine passed away from a heart attack. He was over-weight, lived off fried food and did not do any exercise. He was multi-lingual, a warm friendly funny man in his 40s. I miss his sense of humour and diverse talents. Recently another trainer friend of mine suffered from Bells Palsy which causes a partial paralysis of the facial muscles. He is in good shape, doesn’t drink or smoke and works out and plays basketball. He is also multi-lingual, a warm friendly funny man in his 30s. He has been on a punishing travel schedule traveling two or three cities a week, training up to 20 days a month. I look forward to enjoying his diverse sense of humour and talents for many years to come.
I recently was invited to speak at the 10 year celebration of Toastmasters in China. The first club to charter in China put on a wonderful show with almost 300 attending. I shared some insights into life changes and leadership through the metaphors of three heros. Today, I have enclosed a link to the first hero: The Change Catalyst.
Having just joined a gym, I am fully aware of the path most people’s gym membership takes. Intense usage for the first month, followed by sporadic visits and finally lapsing within a couple of months.
I have committed myself to increasing my health and fitness levels and one key pillar is my gym work. Although this was a
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