A day with Dan John

This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a Mental Meatheads workshop in New York City. Dan John instructed the first day of the workshop, covering topics like how to assess clients, how to cut through marketing nonsense, and how to train with long-term goals in mind. I’ll be covering all these topics as I let the flood of information marinate over these next days, weeks and months, but today I’ll focus on training for the rest of your life.

In the strength and conditioning world, Dan John is a household name. But most of you readers will have never heard of him. He’s not a celebrity trainer, he doesn’t have a flashy workout DVD series, and he hasn’t created a trademarked fitness system. But he’s an accomplished athlete, a prolific writer, and a brilliant coach. I was honored to be in a room with a small group of coaches and trainers there to learn from his decades of experience. Dan is really able to simplify things in a way that makes fitness and nutrition programming seem like a no-brainer.

As he has evolved from a young track-and-field athlete to a high school coach and beyond, Dan has begun to shift his focus from training for performance to training for functional aging. That means, figuring out what skills are most transferable to living an independent life and being able to use the strength, mobility and skills learned in the gym to functions performed outside the gym.

Boiling down several decades of coaching and learning to 7 hours of workshop material is quite difficult. There was a ton of information to absorb. But what follows are some of the basic principles that Dan John always came back to during the talk.

Establish habits

So, what really matters in life and in training? It all boils down to habits. Once you put into place a smart set of rituals that support your health and fitness, you’re set for life. The most common complaint I hear from clients regarding working out is “I don’t have time for that.” But, how well does the average person manage her time? How much time does she waste? Little bits here and there add up. If you adopt smarter habits to complete tasks in a more efficient manner, suddenly there’s enough time for it all.

“Shark habits” are tasks that can be completed in one bite. For example, if you open an email, answer it right away. Pay the bills as soon as they come in. Set up your next dentist appointment as soon as you finish one. By completing these tasks right away, you don’t have these things nagging at you for hours, days, weeks or months. Your brain is clear and ready to move on to the next task.

Your habits determine how each day passes. Establish habits and rituals that free up your mind and body do to the stuff you want to do. You’ll be surprised at how much time you actually have.

Master the fundamentals

Speaking of habits, Dan often quotes his former coach as saying “if it’s important, do it every day.” How often are you committing to purposeful movement? Once a week? Twice a week? Whenever you feel like it? This is where most people fail to make progress. A lack of consistency is the best way to plateau or lose progress. Do you jump from one program to another? Start something but don’t finish it? Get sucked into the latest fitness fads? It’s easy to get distracted from what matters, the basics. The basics aren’t sexy. They’re not making the front page of fitness magazines. But they work. And they can be fun and interesting if you approach it right.

I’ve written about the fundamentals before. Squat, hinge, push, pull, carry. Crawl, climb, walk, jump, throw, catch. People have been moving in these basic ways since the dawn of humankind. Watch kids explore a playground, you’ll see all these basic movements. So, are you doing all these things in each training week? Or do you base your workout routine on how much “cardio” you get or how many miles you run? Dan argues that if you’re training Cardio on Monday then you’d better train Lymphatic system on Tuedsay, Digestive sytem on Wednesday, etc. The body is one piece. When you train your heart, you’re training your muscles, your brain, your skeleton, all of it.

If you do all the basics then you won’t leave any gaps in your program. Most people stick to the stuff they like, and the stuff they’re good at. When was the last time you crawled? Climbed up on top of something? Sprung up from the ground? Carried something awkward and heavy? One of our challenges on day 2 of the workshop was to cartwheel across the floor. In front of everyone. I suck at cartwheels. So, I could easily see one of my training gaps.

The more you specialize in one thing, the more uni-dimensional you become. In order to have a balanced program that will keep you strong and capable for all the demands of life, you need to get really good at the fundamentals.

Build community

The hardest way to accomplish any goal is to do it by yourself. A strong, supportive community of others can help you in fitness, in work, and in life. In Dan’s experience, it was easy to stay in shape in his youth because he always participated in sports. Practice was held at the same time every day after school, and all his friends were there. After finishing competitive sports and having decades of life, injury, and work behind him, he finds it more challenging to stick to training. He doesn’t jump out of bed every single morning excited to train. And this is someone who dedicates his life to coaching fitness!

You can probably relate to that feeling. So, what’s Dan’s secret to consistency? He has a community workout in his garage every day. People start showing up at his house each morning and that’s what gets him to train even when he doesn’t feel like it. That’s why so many people find success when they join a class, or find a local gym they truly connect with. It’s easier to get the work done when you anticipate seeing your friends and people expect you to be somewhere.

“We missed you but we got it done!”

I recently moved away from where I’d been teaching for the past 4 years. The most exciting consequence of this move was when I started getting text messages from my former students. They are continuing to meet and train without me! They have formed the routine of meeting at a regular place at a regular time, and now they coach each other and inspire each other to show up and to move! This is the power of community. If you haven’t done it yet, find your tribe. There’s a group, a gym, a class, a team, or something out there for you. It might take you some trial and error, but it’s out there. Or maybe, if you know what you want and it’s not yet out there, it’s up to you to create it! The new JessBFit tribe is just beginning to gain momentum here in Bend. Come check out our events and classes if you’d like to see what we’re all about.

At the end of the day, my head was throbbing with ideas. Dan presented many ideas that will keep me thinking for a long while. The overall message was: what can you remove from your training in order to make it more efficient and more powerful? Eliminate the busy work, fill the gaps in your training, and focus on what really matters. Train with your community, and live a full life. I can buy into that.