MASTERY ABOVE ALL ELSE

Great to watch the mature athletes throwing down at the NZ Masters competition on the weekend.

Every year, there are more people getting involved, especially in the older classes, which is so good to see.

There's never any shortage of high intensity and brutal strength on display.

Typically not too much skill however.....

Now, that's often because people are relatively new to the discipline, and, even if they have come from a background of competitive sport, or at least a very active life, most of this stuff doesn't require a high level of skill.

If it does, then it's very specific to the sport/movement, and not always transferable across to others.

Meaning there's a difference between being an athlete, and being athletic/having athleticism.

“Athleticism is the use of physical skills or capabilities.”

And these skills take a long time (if not a lifetime) to acquire.

As a masters athlete, you don't have a lot of time left... (oh, did I really just go there? I'm allowed to, because I'm one too).

So you should think hard about the allocation of your training time, making sure a very high percentage is devoted to skill work, mobility and movement quality. Maintaining and stoking the competitive fire is something I consider very important too, but I talk a lot to masters athletes about looking for the next thing.

The pursuit of mastery.

In your movement, in your warm ups, in your recovery protocols, in everything.

The bonus here, is that this can only lead to a vastly increased training longevity.

Plus, if competition is NOT your thing, or if you're finding that it's becoming LESS your thing these days, then finding new ways to challenge yourself, learn and grow, is crucial if you're going to find continued fulfilment in your training practice.

You love this stuff right?

Make sure your movement and training allow you to keep doing it.

If you're a masters athlete, pursue mastery.