Bret S.
Level 9 Valued Member
Hmmm.. chicken or egg?
I think possibly you're born with some natural MT, and some can be acclimated or trained for whether through life experience from specific training.
Who knows though..
Other/Mixed "Toughness" sessions
- Thread starter sizzlefuzz
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Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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I think possibly you're born with some natural MT, and some can be acclimated or trained for whether through life experience from specific training.
Who knows though..
Denny Phillips
Level 6 Valued Member
Two-hour training runs come from having the toughness to build up to two hours. There's a name for people who those who try to hack the process, hurt.
Denny Phillips
Level 6 Valued Member
Then they probably do not aspire to do those things, no problem. My family is peppered with distance runners, many of which are accomplished. Me? No desire whatsoever. Somehow I managed to run high hurdles with flat feet, so let's talk about toughness (snark).
North Coast Miller
Level 9 Valued Member
When it comes to toughness, there is a big difference between sport related toughness and mental toughness in real life due to their being no other alternative. Occasionally as in @Bret S. example the mental and physical overlap, but unless one is a professional athlete, using sport type exhaustion will do little for working determination in my opinion. You'll keep going because TINA and you are still capable of action.
Sport exhaustion can give you more confidence to persevere when other motivation is not there. Other than that, a little bit of this type of work goes a long way - it needn't be done too regularly as it confers no physical adaptation.
The toughest thing I have ever done was exist on approx 3hrs of sleep a day for months on end right after my twins were born. I used to sleep in my clothes on top of the bed as it just didn't make any sense to get under the covers.
Literally the most sleep I got in that period was when I had wrist surgery. I stopped running the radio in the car because it was too distracting. Nothing can prepare you for stuff like that.
Sport exhaustion can give you more confidence to persevere when other motivation is not there. Other than that, a little bit of this type of work goes a long way - it needn't be done too regularly as it confers no physical adaptation.
The toughest thing I have ever done was exist on approx 3hrs of sleep a day for months on end right after my twins were born. I used to sleep in my clothes on top of the bed as it just didn't make any sense to get under the covers.
Literally the most sleep I got in that period was when I had wrist surgery. I stopped running the radio in the car because it was too distracting. Nothing can prepare you for stuff like that.
WhatWouldHulkDo
Level 8 Valued Member
Any sort of competition or challenge outside of our daily regiment constitutes mental "toughness" training on some level, and I personally think those are absolutely important. Those things develop a well of confidence that we draw from later, and having a deep well is definitely part of mental resiliency. I think for most people, taking on one challenge makes it more likely that you'll be willing to take on the next. But we typically subject ourselves to those kind of things voluntarily because we enjoy them at some level. Do they really built "toughness" if we enjoy them? Maybe the question is whether we should subject ourselves to things that we do not enjoy and will not look back on with any particular sense of pride afterwards - actual hardships. Like most folks, I would be inclined to answer "hell no, life is too short for that," and I consider myself fortunate that I don't have to.
So, bottom line, I think that the occasional challenge session is a good thing, but the purpose needs to be sound. The idea should not be to build your tolerance for abuse or misery, it should be to reinforce that the work you are putting in is building toward something you want. You should still enjoy the challenge.
And I can see, for the goalless athlete, challenge sessions probably make no sense.
So, bottom line, I think that the occasional challenge session is a good thing, but the purpose needs to be sound. The idea should not be to build your tolerance for abuse or misery, it should be to reinforce that the work you are putting in is building toward something you want. You should still enjoy the challenge.
And I can see, for the goalless athlete, challenge sessions probably make no sense.
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