Without wanting to sound like a determinist, I’m a big believer in everything happening for a reason. You may not know why at the time, but, I tend to believe that in time you’ll come to see, or at least appreciate (even if you can’t fully grasp the ‘why’) how the happening of certain things or events led you to learn or develop certain understandings.

Roughly a week ago I did something to my knee. Whatever I did was painful, had me limping and getting pretty peaved that I couldn’t train like I wanted to. All too quickly I found myself thinking (1) I’m going to lose lots of strength and (2)without being able to train hard, I’m going to gain all sorts of weight – definitely NOT something I wanted (or want) to do.

Six days into my ‘no lower body training’ and guess what? I’m getting stronger, and I’ve actually lost a bit of weight(don’t worry, I’m not wasting away!!) How (you ask)? By changing my attitude and approach. Not being able to train ‘as per programming’ I’ve had to think a bit more about my training, utilising a lot more gymnastics (ie BW) and how it all ‘fits together’. I’m sure I will have lost some kilos on my lower body/explosive lifts, but I’ve definitely improved my upper body strength and gymnastics. Similarly, in terms of nutrition and diet, knowing I was unlikely to be burning as many calories as I would ordinarily, I’ve found myself thinking a lot more about how I refuel and eat – apparently there is NO recommended daily allowance for chocolate! Eat better, feel better; really rather simple (if not easy). If my knee hadn’t done what it did, I suspect I would have carried on doing what I was doing, avoiding gymnastics and eating far too many less than ideal meals.

Without a doubt, life will present all sorts of situations and circumstances that will challenge you. While you can’t control the things that ‘happen’, you can control how you respond to them. Find and employ the right attitude and approach (i.e. the ‘right stuff’) to fit your personal circumstances, you’ll survive, and quite possibly thrive. Maintain an unwavering, inflexible approach and attitude and you’re likely to struggle.