Johnny O’Connor: Cut out the excuses and get motivated

Johnny is sick of hearing people offer up the same excuses for not following through with their fitness goals, and says that a little bit of honesty can go a long way.

 

Everyone knows someone that’s guilty of offering up excuses for not following through with a training programme. People will say that they want to lose weight or gain muscle, or want to get stronger and faster, but whatever goal it is, it always seems to be put off.

They’ll say that they don’t have the time or whatever, but will still have three or four hours to spend in front of the TV every night. I’m not saying that everyone’s schedule isn’t hectic, but you have to make time for exercise if you want to get anything out of it. I know sayings like ‘your health is your wealth’ sound really corny, but they are the facts as well. In fact, if you’ve been in that sort of situation yourself, you probably have a list of excuses ready at the top of your head, reasons why you can’t do this and can’t do that.

Shit talk

It’s frustrating listening to some of your mates talking shit; it’s the same sort of person every year. At the end of a season, they’ll say ‘next year is going to be a big one for me’ and still go out and do the same thing they’ve been doing every year and expect to get different results. They’ll do the same things – live like shit, eat like shit and they won’t get enough sleep and I don’t know how anyone expects to achieve anything or improve your health by doing that.

If you want to live like shit, eat shit food and not get enough sleep, how do you think you’re going to look in ten years time?

You’ll often hear people telling you after a session, ‘Jeez, I worked hard today’ and expect to see instant results, but it’s not the case. People forget that it takes patience to achieve results. For instance, are you one of these people that are in and out of a gym, the type of person that will start a programme and do it for one week and then decide that you’re going to change it to suit yourself? Or are you the type of person that will set out to try and achieve a million goals all at once and then give up after a couple of weeks because you’re so wrecked and have had enough? There has to be consistency if you are going to achieve your goals and patience is vital in that regard.

A guy was asking me for a programme the other day and even though that’s not my job, it is annoying when you help a guy out knowing full well that they’re probably not going to follow it through. People are looking for the easiest option all the time and it’s so frustrating.

Disguising the problem

They’ll buy the latest pair of running shoes or start going to kettle bell classes or body pump classes and think that it’s going to solve everything. Or they’ll buy some sort of fitness device like a heart rate monitor or buy some drink or some supplement that will make them go crazy before a session and think that they have it solved. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with supplements; I wholly recommend them as part of a training programme, but if people think that supplements are going to solve all their problems on their own they’re wrong.

The complacency that affects people in terms of not sticking to programmes applies to diet as well, people only hear what they want to hear and think that they can still eat the same shit and still achieve their goals but it’s just not possible. If you want to live like shit, eat shit food and not get enough sleep, how do you think you’re going to look in ten years time? If you maintain that crappy lifestyle, you will age terribly, it’s a fact. Some people get away with it for a while when they’re younger, but it will catch up with them as soon as their metabolism slows down.

Age is only a number

Then there’s the age issue. I hear lads that are 30 saying that they can’t do it anymore and can’t keep up with the twenty-somethings. They say that they’re starting to feel their age, that their body is slowing down and that they can’t train like they used to. For me, that’s a load of rubbish. I’m 31 and if I allow people’s expectations to get to me and say that I’m too old or too slow then I’m going to have to retire in a year or two.

Alan Quinlan and David Wallace are going strong well into their thirties

Look at Dave Wallace and Alan Quinlan; they’re well into their thirties and are still going strong. I’m sure people said to Alan Quinlan at 33 that he was finished, but at 35 years of age he got picked for the Lions. OK he wasn’t able to go, but that was because of suspension and he’s still going strong nearly two years later. Ryan Giggs is another guy still going strong at 37 and there are countless other examples across all sports. Basically, if you’re basing what you can achieve on somebody else’s expectations of you then you’re an idiot.

Mobility and flexibility

The first step to getting on the right track is having a look at your flexibility and mobility, it’s probably the biggest problem with most people in sport. Obviously, some people are far more flexible than others, but a lot of people lack the ability to move and have poor flexibility and why wouldn’t that be the case when you look at people’s lifestyles? We all evolved to stand up and now we’re all crouched over a computer at a desk all day, counteracting everything that evolution achieved in the first place.

To move efficiently, you have to be flexible and if you’re sitting down at a desk all day, you’re going to have tight hamstrings, tight quads and tight hip flexors. To be able to move efficiently, these muscles have to be stretched on a regular basis but people seem to think that they’re above that.

Getting loose is going to help you more than anything else and if you have been sat at a desk for ten years, muscle tightness isn’t suddenly going to go away. It might take weeks, it might take months or even years to fix it properly but it’s certainly worth it in the long run. Once again, patience is key; there’s no easy way around it and it will take some dedication, but it will be worth it if you can run and move efficiently, especially if you play field sports.

The expert knows best

The experts in any sport, even the guys at the top, will admit that they don’t know it all, but they will know a lot more than the average punter. A lot of sports clubs around the country will hire outside help in an attempt to help their fitness or their conditioning and what often happens is that these guys are being criticised or knocked by people who don’t know what they’re talking about.

Some coaches, even though they’ve got someone from outside the club to help them, will still try and dictate sessions and although in their mind, they are trying to help their team, they are having a detrimental effect. Why bring in someone from the outside if you’re going to end up dictating the session yourself?

If you look at yourself in the mirror and think that you’re looking a bit fat or realise that you’ve been sitting on the couch for a bit too long then it’s time to do something about it.

Also, if you’re in charge of a team, you have to manage your players’ training properly. For example, if there was a GAA club player playing for his county team, you have to be careful not to over-train him. A club manager might say that he plays for the county and that he’s well able to juggle both, but treating him like that will be detrimental to his career and the manager has to take responsibility for that. In some cases, some guys will come out with some scientific jargon and try and claim that they are smarter than the experts but it’s not the case. Work hard, but make sure you allow enough time to rest as well.

It’s not just the GAA, every sport is guilty of the same thing. There are some guys that are still sticking with stuff that they learned ten or 12 years ago and over-ruling guys that they will have brought in to bring something different to the party. Bringing someone in from the outside doesn’t always work and if players start getting injured on account of what the new guy is doing, they have to be held accountable. If players start to get injured doing fitness sessions in the gym, then it’s the fault of the conditioning coach, it’s as simple as that.

The mental aspect

A lot of the reasons I’ve mentioned for pulling out of training programmes so far have been physical, but the mental aspect of it is very important as well. It all comes down to how willing you are to push through with what you are doing. Are you willing to train hard and train smart? If you want something you have to push yourself. Make yourself accountable, tell someone what you’re going to do and have them hold you to it, get in a group and get your friends to do it with you.

One of our coaches at Connacht was speaking to us lately and one of the lads piped up and said how he was feeling really tired and the coach made a really good point in response. He said ‘If you were picked for Ireland this week would you be tired?’ and the player in question said that he wouldn’t and that was the end of the matter.

Tiredness can often be just a state of mind. At times, when you’re tired in the evening, if you actually do some exercise or go for a run, it improves your energy, especially in the long run. You might think that you’ll be even more tired if you go for a run or have a game of soccer or whatever activity floats your boat, but you’ll actually feel a lot better about yourself and have more energy at work and in the evening as well.

Honesty is the best policy

At the end of the day, you have to be honest with yourself. A lot of the time when you try to give people advice and it doesn’t fit in with what they want to hear, they just don’t want to know. If you look at yourself in the mirror and think that you’re looking a bit fat or realise that you’ve been sitting on the couch for a bit too long then it’s time to do something about it. If you’re happy to be a bit fat or to die an early death because of a crap lifestyle, that’s your prerogative. If, however, you want to get in to shape, stop making excuses, stay mobile and flexible and you’ll be on to a winner.

Johnny O'Connor plays professional rugby with Connacht. He has previously played for London Wasps and has made 12 appearances for Ireland. He is also a certified strength and conditioning coach.

Johnny is a weekly contributor the Weekly Maul, JOE's Rugby Podcast. You can listen to the latest edition here.