from green to black

the performance gap

today an interesting subject in our test lab is
an unusual specimen indeed. a familiar figure in
my daily interactions, i have sought to convince
him that certain adaptations to his training
should be made. i am unsuccessful. however i
feel that it is not that my ideas arent conveyed
across but that the emphasis on which he puts
on my suggestions prevent him from putting in
better results. well, a big loss it is indeed.

you see when you have a subject who is 8/10 in
fitness, 9/10 in endurance and 9/10 in strength
he should not be pulling a 5/10 for his stroke.
because stroke-wise in his technique it is a 3/10
and flexibility-wise he is about a 2/10. which
is disturbing because increasing the performance
of your two weakest areas to a 5/10 means that
his stroke average would be a 7/10 which is very
impressive!!!

so why is it that this subject doesnt do that?
well, a possible explanation is that he feels
that strength is a worthwhile remedy for the
stroke deficiency. i feel that this reasoning
is flawed. (or if he doesnt think so, then his
actions certainly prove so) i believe that the
remedy would be an internalization of the
stroke through repetitive exercise. that means
NOT doing weights in the gym because he has the
base strength already. but does he have the
gumption to do so, outside of his leadership
duties of the group? i'm waiting for time to tell.

i guess this problem is consistent for all amateur
athletes, having witnessed another subject
usually lauded for his strong will refuse to
do exercises that target his weakness.
embarrassment he quips. the repartee would be
that it is less embarrassing to lose the cup
then. well, i'm really tired of telling these
subjects to check the mirror because the worst
part is that self check isnt a concept that they
are familiar with. to give advice when they have
a different mental concept of how it applies
also does not make my effort worthwhile. i know
i dont have the years of a senior but hell i
sure know the body better than you can even
think that you do. i've done repetitive sports
and won medals way before you young punks got
silverware for this sport. no that doesnt matter.

an interesting feature of this is in the statement
that common sense is not so common. there is logic
of the hoi polloi and there "un-logical" truths.
i say un-logical because they defy common reasoning.
for example, we place the biggest value on things
that we consider the most precious. demand and
supply interact to give a price, of course with
the concept of scarcity involved. so generally,
we have a higher valuation (pay more) for more
precious (dear) stuff.

we pay more for food than for water than for air.
pr food > pr water > pr air
(note, air is not scarce neither is it excludable)
but should all 3 items be scarce and we have but
a limited amount of money,

(lol, unlimited money makes the exercise both
pointless and more meaningful. 1) i could get
everything, because there is no opportunity cost
when i need not forgo anything. meaningless
exercise. 2) even with all the money but if
external factors such as my actions, i.e.
overconsumption, pollution mean that my money
cannot get me the quality of goods i want, then
perhaps i should change my actions rather than
live with the consequences of my actions)

then the greatest valuation would be
pr air > pr water > pr food
because air allows you to live longer then the
other two assuming we believe life is precious
(most agree, unless you have a death wish)
so we are grateful that the most essential
things are free. some would connect this to
salvation but lets not bandy another concept
around.

in the same way, while it is not the practice
to put a very high value on the air we breathe,
( for those who disagree, why not back your
words with a sum of money that you would pay
for it ;) i mean if the value you will put on
clean, quality air is so high, consider piping
gas for your own breathing consumption.
afterall placing such a high value where your
mouth is does make the hassle worthwhile right?
e.g. people are willing to endure longer and
more intrusive security checks because they
place a premium on safety.) we also do not put
a very high value on "wimpish" aspects of
training. we would rather lift weights than
get our technique and motion right. we would
rather have an extra day of training then a
good rest that our bodies may recover.

the same "uncommon" logic applies. like food
to air we consider strength-work in the gym
more essential to foundational improvement.
no wonder our improvement in the performance
curve is so gentle. what we are doing is
"uncommon-logically" senseless, pretty much
the paradox and point of this statement.

oh well, i am glad for one thing though. i got
to meet jun and navin before they leave for
the US again. sigh. why am i one of the few
stayers in singapore when i could have left
for richer pastures. the freedoms of thinking,
ever so bridled here. creativity, energy and
a sense of revolution that is constantly
stifled in this parochial hierarchy. there is
no point bringing experience when all dumb
Singaporeans look at is age, and then they
complain why younger workers are so inexperienced.
crap, cant wait to go to a more honest,
no-holds barred environment. the hypocracy
here is just so thick!

posted by green unseen @ 6:48 AM