"You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy." ~Arthur Ashe


I like this quote mainly because of the truth that it holds.  Whichever sport you are competing in or whatever physical achievement you pursue.  The true clash is the one that comes from within. The people around us are merely motivators, perhaps a standard, but in the end it is a rise to the top that motivates the elite of the elite, a rise to the top of their own limits and capabilities.

This is something that I more and more come to grips with as I continue my training endeavors. Before as I compared myself to my peers I took every stride to match theirs. And now looking back on this I can only imagine how much faster and stronger I could have been if I would have used their performances as a goal to my own Personal Records. If I only match their strides, and if I only strive to do what others can do, than that is where my limits come to a stop. I am my own athlete and as such have my own limits and capabilities.

That being said, this word that haunts athletes of all levels. The "limit." Supposedly this is the peak of your physical ability and once you reach it the battle for improvement comes to a dramatic standstill. Many coaches talk to their athletes about this. That their training is based upon a periodized regimen to help them "peak" or reach their limit by a certain point of the season, and then unexpectedly come next season they often start back 2 steps from where finished the previous year.  I would pose a question to any and all athletes. If you train to get stronger, and you progress throughout a single season, why can't you keep progressing? Does your muscle at a certain point just stop growing or repairing itself ? The answer is no. Though certain body styles to merit the ability to pack on more muscle quicker and others are born with greater ratios of fast to slow twitch fibers, the body is constantly adapting and is constantly growing and repairing itself as it is taken care of and trained.

Training by design of many coaches is set up to bring athletes quickly to a physical peak over the span of a season and often, workouts are intense and recovery is minimal. If the body is not given adequate amount of time to repair itself it will eventually run out of energy stores and break itself down to the point where it will not perform to it's highest capacity.  But that being said, how is it that certain athletes play at extremely high levels year after year (Dara Torres, Gail Devers, Brad Walker, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, Ray Lewis, Carl Lewis, Micheal Johnson)? Their training gave them proper time to recover and be in a continuous state of growth and repair. These people didn't take 2 or 3 steps back from their previous season at the start of the new one. They didn't train for peak performance, they trained for constant improvement. One thing to notice about these athletes is that they have reached the pinnacles of their respective sports, they reached their limits and many of them retired at the top of their careers probably with more left in the tank. The early years of their careers were patient, they trained smart, they got strong over time and were able to reach levels that many athletes never do because they burn out before their bodies allow them to get to that level.

Training is a personal vendetta against yourself, looking at yesterdays you and wanting to slap it in the face and leave it behind becoming something better. Train in a way that you will never be beaten by yesterdays you. Each Day.... A Little Stronger.