In the film “The Last Samurai” there is a scene where Tom Cruise’s character (who is actually based on an amalgamation of two French officers, Eugène Collache and Jules Brunet) wanders through the village he is being held hostage in, observing the locals pursuing their vocations.
It’s a charmingly ham-fisted way, in the manner unique to Western depictions of Japanese culture (especially anything to do with Samurai), of demonstrating the concept of “shokunin”. Which is, put simply, the idea that one ought to not only master their work, but also do it in a way that benefits the community and future generations.
Mastery, of course, requires one to specialise because you cannot ride three horses with one backside, no matter how much you would like to.
Yet riding three horses simultaneously is precisely what most people try to do when it comes to training. Specifically, the horses called, “lose fat”, “get stronger”, and “build muscle”.
A caveat before we continue:
Under certain circumstances it is possible to pursue two or even all three of those goals at the same time and get somewhere. (For example, an overweight beginner can get stronger while losing fat, and they’ll look like they’ve built muscle too even if they haven’t because leanness creates the illusion of size).
Occasionally it’s even the right course of action to take.
But long term?
Not wise, in my opinion.
Much better, I think, to practice a little shokunin by pursuing one thing with fanatical devotion, probably for a Very Long Time (we are talking six months or more) before moving onto something else.
This is why I’ve quit the gym for the foreseeable future.
Having spent the last year packing on a respectable amount of mass, Jess has decreed it is time for me to “winnow” my middle a bit. So my training now involves a lot of long (for me) runs and daily weighted vest work (twice daily when I am not due for a run).
Then when I lean out (which I inevitably will because it’s impossible not to lose fat using this approach provided you don’t eat like a degenerate), I’ll go after the next thing – whatever that may be.
Beyond the obvious advantage of making tangible forward strides versus looking and performing broadly the same (or slightly worse) year on year, chasing one thing and one thing only begets a far deeper understanding of training for whatever goal you’ve set your sights on.
An understanding you can then transmit to your nearest and dearest so they too can benefit, turning training from a selfish pursuit into a selfless one.
Anyway.
On a distantly tangential note, my Real Paper newsletter is for people who are interested in broadening and deepening their knowledge on training, to learn how to get results slowly and sustainably (i.e. results they can keep and then use as a springboard to ever greater things).
Fair warning:
A subscription is not cheap, but you do get a tonne of benefits to help you get the most out of the material (including but not limited to virtually unlimited access to me for dogmatic responses to questions I am qualified to answer).
However, please don’t subscribe if the fee will stretch your finances in any way, because this sort of pressure is not conducive to being relaxed enough to settle into a way of training that takes time to deliver.
If you are still interested, learn all about “The Phil Tyreman Letter” here:
https://philtyreman.co.uk/information/
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman