Prioritizing Functional Overreaching and Intentional Growth During the Mechanical Tension Life

Ahh yes. The strength, recovery, and adaptation (SRA) curve of athletic training, which describes the process by which an appropriate training stimulus influences positive growth. However, when we try to live life at full send without any preparation whatsoever then we tend to stumble. Nevertheless, an alternative approach exists when we acknowledge where we stand in life against where we'd like to head towards. So, in today's episode I talk story about how we can re-apply the SRA curve to our biggest dreams and ambitions without sacrificing reality. Remember, we move forward only when we can accept the present and by building up from the past. I hope you all enjoy this latest episode and as always, thank you all for the support!

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Transcript

Howzit everyone, my name is Mike Cabuco, and welcome back to another episode of the Love Notes for Life podcast, where we talk story about finding personal growth and purpose through the small acts of love. 

Now, I’m not going to even attempt to make any excuses. Uhm, bottom-line, #gradschool has definitely taken a hold of every minute of my life. And like, I’m not complaining because actually I’m kind of really digging it. And, for the first time in forever, yes cue little Anna, for the first time in forever in my collegiate life, I actually have a 4.0 GPA which was extremely difficult thing to do in engineering school. Now, I’m not saying that exercise science is in any way easier than engineering, but I do attribute my success to me actually enjoying the things that I’m learning. And second, I guess I have this built in mechanism in which I just can't, hmm how can I say, I just can't settle for less. You know? In other words, I'm not really comfortable with just satisfying the bare minimum requirements. And, I believe that if you’re going to do something that means something, then you might as well hit the gas pedal and go full send.

But anyways, aaaah, I just need to take a little deep breather because I’m currently on my mini school break aka one short weekend before I start up class again this upcoming week.

So, out of curiosity, and being the nerd that I am, I actually calculated how many research papers that I’ve written since starting grad school. So get this, after three and half semesters, I’ve written a whopping 112 research papers with a variety of topics covering ergogenic aids to dietary case studies among athletes and even in a practical sense, a brief review of applying the knowledge to real-world scenarios in a sort-of field application simulation. But, nevertheless, I did make a pact with myself since day one, which was:

If you’re going to do something worthwhile, then give it all you got.

Which, I know, it sounds like the heading of some motivational poster, but in all reality, jokes aside, it’s a principle that I’ve held close to my heart, a particular love note that holds so much meaning, and it’s something that I can refer back to when times get ridiculously hard.

Which was the case in my previous class where it wasn’t the coursework or the assignments or even my super-duper awesome professor’s way of teaching, which was impeccable. (chef's kiss) But, my drive to do better, well I guess it was just that strong innate desire to follow through with my crazy commitment of…

If you’re going to do something worthwhile, then give it all you got.

I know, of course, I can hear the opposition already. Well Mike, that definitely sounds all fine and dandy. But are you serious? That with all the demands and responsibilities that I have to deal with on a daily basis like trying to get ready for work, actually making it to work on time, oh yea, and then there's the after work life, like trying to cook, clean, and just have some down time, some me time to just chillax before I have to hit the reset button once again before I I hit the bed. Do you really think I still got enough energy to abide by your high achiever simulation theory?

Alright Okay, fair enough. And I definitely hear you.

But it's totally fair right? I think if you live in the United States or even if you live in a country that blesses and rewards individuals that keeps up with the pace and definitely live it up as a high achiever, then anymore request above that, above those minimum requirements, it's just way too much to ask for.

Right? I mean, is there any way around it?

And, in my opinion, the humble answer is:

it depends.

Yea, that's the best I can do for you guys. Sorry about that. But no, really. The truth is that it really does depend on a lot of things. But maybe it'll make a little bit more sense if I can paint a picture through a general training principle.

So, for the professional and the recreational athletes out, there's a particular model we follow called SRA, which stands for stimulus, recovery, and adaptation. So, as an introductory example, let's consider the role that resistance training plays in the SRA framework. Now, when you approach a certain exercise, you have a few variables to play with. For example, let's say you're doing the standard barbell back squat. Now for stimulus, you apply a certain load on the barbell and that can be a combination of increasing barbell weight, increasing reps, increasing sets, and also shortening the time for recovery between sets. Now, let's say, hypothetically, you're more than comfortable to squat the barbell bar itself and you can do about four sets alongside six to eight reps. And at that training load, you get a pretty good workout, you can feel the resistance, and you're confident that it's not going to leave you sore enough to train legs in the next few days. Now that's a pretty good representation of functional overreaching, in which acute fatigue and the temporary reduction in performance post-workout results in a net benefit of increased performance after recovery.

Alternatively, let's say one day you feel like, well MIke today, today is the day that I'm going to load up that bar and crush this workout and hey, maybe if I'm lucky I might just even hit a big PR. The sky's the limit. Full send. And ain't nobody going to stop now!

Now, if that particular overload stimulus goes way beyond functional overreaching, in which the athlete feels prolonged fatigue, a delay in recovery, and a decrease in performance metrics of strength, intensity, or duration then rather going up in the performance scale of adaptation through the SRA curve, then we inadvertently enter a phase better known as overtraining, which my friends, is definitely not where we all want to be.

And this athletic example can definitely be reapplied to the goals and intentions we have in life. When we talk about shooting for the stars or putting in the hard work or even giving it all that you've got with the best intentions, sometimes when we go too hard, we end up overtraining and rather going forward we take two steps back or even more.

And that's the thing about big goals or big dreams or even big ambitions. When something seems way beyond our scope of experience, then most likely it's definitely out of our league. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's unachievable, but it does require a lot of propulsion or energy to make that dream a reality. And that's why when we talk about big, huge, overarching goals, that it's important that we recognize that we don't start at the top, but we start at the base level, the foundation of that particular goal, and then we work our way to top. It's more efficient that way and it saves us time scratching our head, feeling all that stress, when the best answer at that time was to step back and break down that big goal into smaller manageable chunks that can help us get ready and prepare for the dream or that particular goal that you're driven to complete at all cost.

So, this week, consider this. Think about something that you've always want to do, but always felt a little bit discouraged or even a bit a little afraid to do so. Recall, what can you do to break up that big goal into smaller chunks. For example, have you ever been in a position, where you wanted to do something, but you felt like it was an impossible endeavor? For example, think back on a time when you've said to yourself, well if I only had the time. If I only had the money. If I only had his or her determination and/or skillset then maybe it would've been possible. But in all reality, that person you look up to that coincides with that particular goal that you had in mind, well it's not like they magically woke up and achieved it. I mean think about your favorite athlete and how they continue to show up on the field, ready as ever can be, and just constantly deliver time and time again. They can hit that full send button because they've earned it through years of experience combined with the right opportunities and outcomes. So I encourage you all that before we start giving ourselves these big goals, take a quick pause, acknowledge that your dreams do matter, but if you're serious in finding out if you've got what it takes, then start small, get your incremental wins in, and then when the right opportunity comes along, then by all means hit that gas pedal pretty hard, don't look back, and just send it!

And that's beauty of the SRA curve. You define the right amount of stimulus. You recover through the feedback from the experience. And then you take those lessons that you've learned and adapt, get physically stronger, and get mentally prepared for the next bout in life. 

So whatever goals that you have in mind, remember this. Start with smaller goals that add up to the big picture. It doesn't help going full send when you're already out of gas because you're definitely going be stranded, and then you have to call your insurance company, which then calls the towing company, which then has to drive to you, and you get my point.

But anyways, rest assured, it's okay to work at your own pace and when you're ready, don't forget this:

If you’re going to do something worthwhile, then give it all you got.

Thanks everyone for listening to another episode of the Love Notes for Life podcast. It was definitely a blast recording this episode on my break and I hope to catch you all, hopefully in another few months. I know, I know, I know, I wish more time, but the most important thing is that we got a chance to connect with each other. So if you're new to podcast welcome and if you enjoyed it, please consider giving it a 5 star rating on Apple or Spotify. I truly appreciate the support. And if you're curious to see what I'm up to, feel free to give me a follow @mikecabuco on Instagram.

And as always "There is beauty in knowing that there is only one of you."

Take care.