It is common for all of us to look for the fastest way to accomplish the results we are looking for.
The problem is that there are different ways that work for different people. What works for me might not work for you.
However, there is one way that is going to lead you towards your goals fast enough and works for everybody.
This way is proper education.
Training and health education is going to help you practice what works immediately without having to go through the same mistakes other people have done before you. Obviously, this can save you a lot of time, frustration and effort.
Of course, you will still have to experiment, but what you are experimenting with has more chance of success.
There are two ways to educate yourself:
- Direct Education
- Indirect education
The direct methods are going to help you achieve your training goals faster than the indirect ones. However, both ways are important and you should combine them for the best results.
#1 – Direct Education
Find a mentor.
Direct education can be categorized based on the effect it can have on your learning.
Below are some methods listed, going from the highest to the lowest impact:
- Mentoring/ Coaching: The most direct level of education you can get is through mentors. A mentor is someone who has already achieved what you want to accomplish and (for the best results) has already helped others like you reach the same goals. A mentor can be a coach or not. A mentor can help you stay on the right path, stay injury free, avoid mistakes, assess you and give you an individual plan, etc.
- Seminars/ Live events: The next level is through live seminars and events. This is very beneficial and you should aim to participate in as much as possible, even if you have mentors/ coaches.
- Training partners: The last level of direct education is having training partners. This can help you a lot in many ways. Some of them are accountability, training ideas, spotting, etc.
#2 – Indirect Education
Sometimes getting the highest form of direct education can be out of your reach (financially, the mentor is dead, etc).
These times you have to aim for other ways of educating yourself.
Fortunately, there are other medias of communication available, allowing indirect education.
Some of the indirect methods are:
- Books and audio-books
- Interviews
- Courses
- Free online information from blogs, videos, etc
Contrary to the direct methods the indirect ones can not be categorized based on their impact upon you. Some people learn better through reading, others through audio and others by video. I recommend you to experiment with all of these methods and find what works best for you.
Common Education Mistakes to Avoid
Pixelated avoidance of training mistakes.
No matter how great education is, there are always things that can lead you to the opposite direction.
Here are some common mistakes to avoid:
- Distraction: There is just too much information available today and most of the time we get easily distracted by new ideas. Don’t fall into this trap. Most training plans require at least 12 weeks to make any change noticeable. So stick to one plan for a while and readjust later. Do not change training plan/ diets/ etc. too fast. There are many ways to stay consistent in your in your plan. You can find more in this post [How to Stay Committed To Your Diet].
- Paralysis by Analysis/ Information Overload: Falling into the trap of acquiring knowledge without acting on it. No matter how much knowledge you accumulate, if you don’t practice, you are not going to meet your training goals. Furthermore, you will not know if what you’ve read works or not.
- Crappy information: This is a big one. Especially for beginners that have no idea about what to expect. There is a ton of crappy information out there coming from marketers that want to exploit people in need or incompetent “experts” giving bad advice.
- Dogmatism: As humans, we tend to get emotionally attached to ideas and principles and create dogmas around these ideas. I used to be dogmatic about bodyweight training and calisthenics. As a result, I trained mostly with bodyweight exercises and avoided knowledge coming from other strength training disciplines. This didn’t help me at all, as I was staying ignorant of some very effective methods and principles. Fortunately, this habit didn’t last long. Don’t make the same mistake. Read from sources that come from other disciplines (even if they are contrary to your current beliefs).
What should you do for the best results?
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. ~ Benjamin Franklin [1]
As stated previously, the direct methods are more effective. So you should aim to get at least one form of direct coaching.
For start, find one or two high-level trainers that are related to what you want to accomplish (strength/ endurance/ bodybuilding/etc).
Then get yourself educated by them as much as possible. Follow their blogs, see their videos, watch their interviews, buy their courses, attend their seminars, get personal/ group coaching, etc.
After that, you have to manage your educational input. With that, I mean that you should balance information with action.
If you think that what you read is effective and beneficial, take action.
Most of the times, you can make little adjustments in your training plan and make it more effective and efficient.
Some of the people that I follow are Ido Portal, Ross Enamait and Charles Poliquin.
In the Resources section you can find out more about the resources that helped me so far with my training.
What do you think about education?
What/ Who has helped you so far to accelerate your growth?
Feel free to comment below.
~Nick
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Photos: Speed, Books, Mentor, Pitfall
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