DAY 79: Morning Motivation- ‘Persistent’ Practice Makes Perfect

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do; not that the nature of the thing itself is changed, but that our power to do is increased.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I was growing up playing little league baseball, I always heard the cliché “Practice makes perfect”. The basis behind this saying is that the more you practice a particular task, the better you will get at it. However, I think this saying would be more accurate if it said “Persistent practice makes perfect”.

While practice did help me to improve my baseball skills as a child, I did not develop into a complete baseball player in one practice. It was the repetition of practices every day over the summer that helped me develop my ability to play the game. Sometimes, my team would practice twice a day. With frequent practice, my teammates and I were able to adapt to the areas of the game in which we were struggling, be it fielding, hitting, baserunning, etc.

As Emerson said in the above quote, the nature of the activity never changed. It was by our persistence in practice that we were able to develop our skill to excel.

The same persistence can be applied to running. As I mentioned yesterday, each workout builds upon the previous workout, so by persistently staying on schedule, you are climbing closer and closer to achieving your full potential each day. Often I get competitive with myself and try to beat times I had previously run. Sometimes I set new personal records, and sometimes I finish a little slower than before. The most important thing is that I complete my workout because with each step I take forward, I am better preparing my body (and mind) for the endurance that will be necessary to run 26.2 miles.

As you continue to train, look back every once in a while to see how you have improved along the way. Notice that each day you are performing the same task (running), but yet you are getting better and better. Its not the task that has changed. It is you improving with each workout!

TODAY’S WORKOUT:

Bench Press- 4 sets

Curls- 3 sets

Incline Bench - 3 sets

Pullups- 3 sets

Dips- 3 sets

Abs