Ive never really thought abiut it like that. It is an interesting view point and probably has great merit but it just seems to pessimistic for me. I prefer to believe i am capable of whatever i set my mind to. Its been proven many times the mind is stronger than the body, we all have limits but do we reach them mentally (via stagnation, doubt, knowledge, etc) or do we actually reach a physical genetic limit?
i mean that's cool and all, but you have to remember that you are really, really gifted athletically. tell my toes that my mind should be stronger than this:
Man you are really giving yourself excuses for your lack of improvement lately... Suck it up, just cause you're going in circles constantly don't tell people who are more "gifted" who actually worked hard to improve tons shit like that... You may have improved since you started but you been on a hamster wheel for a long time... No need to keep making excuses for yourself as if you have all the knowledge in the world but genetics is holding you back... If you're constantly having shitty workouts where nothing is improving, maybe you don't know what you're doing cause you're clearly not anywhere near your limit...
Like Chris said, mental limitations are real and you created a big one for yourself
fuck off. i never said chris didn't work hard. i'm not giving him or anyone with good natural leaping ability shit. and i'm not making a fucking excuse. i'm making an observation, which is that some people recover faster from workouts and injuries than others, and a speculation, which is that i am not on the "fast" end of that distribution. that's it. oh and pointing out that i've had god damn arthritis my my big toes since i was 22. it's not an "excuse" for shit, unless me pointing out that i am not 6'7", 320 pounds and nimble like a ballet dancer is an excuse for me not starting at left tackle for the ravens. if that's an excuse to you, then guilty as charged.
also, i know i don't know what i'm doing. if i could afford a coach then i would have one, but i can't. so i make it up as i go along, i get advice from here (formerly much more advice, when adarq and lance were more active), i get distracted and go off on stupid tangents, i get hurt over and over, and i keep grinding. and it's frustrating -- it's not "lately" that i've been spinning my wheels, it's "most of the time i've been going down this road" -- but i keep trying anyway.
some of the heat in this response is from my own insecurity, the niggling feeling that maybe i'm just a wuss, maybe i should have been more committed or gritted my teeth through that weird feeling in my knee for longer or chosen a career that would allow me more flexibility to train consistently and without interruption instead of one where i've had to travel every 2-3 months. but i don't believe that i'm a wuss, i really don't. my pain tolerance is normal. when my toe hurts, it's because there is not enough cartilage there anymore and my bone is shaped like a little spike. my career choice is what it is and i've dealt with it as best i could.
i have been working at this stupid goal for 5+ years without success. could i have reached it already with a coach and smarter, more consistent training? i bet so. i could also have reached it faster with better genes. but that's not the hand i was dealt. doesn't matter, no excuses, i have to reach my god damn goal anyway.
