(This is a cross-post of a newsletter I sent out to my email list recently.  I got such a good reaction to it, I thought I'd post it here, as well.)

 

What have you done to make yourself better today?

 

The other weekend, the weather was pretty nice (but of course, living in North Carolina, the weather is never too out of whack the entire year). I got up early on Saturday morning to get a workout in.

 

I grabbed some dumbbells (DB), and took them outside to my back yard and got to work. The air was still cool from the night before, there were few people out and about yet, the sun wasn't even completely up and the grass was still wet with the early morning dew.

 

It was so beautiful, quiet, and serene - PERFECT for getting a kickass workout in!

 

And a kickass workout it was, too!

 

Started off with General Physical Preparedness rounds of jumping jacks, skier shuffles, and mountain climbers. Then it was onto strength work of heavy DB snatches, presses, and rows. Conditioning was done with circuits of bench jumps, burpees, swings, more burpees, and more bench jumps.

 

Halfway through my first conditioning circuit, my nine-year-old daughter stumbled her way onto the back porch. Having just woken up, she stood there quietly, rubbing her eyes, still trying to 'wake up,' watching me jump, burpee, and swing my way around our backyard.

 

After my last circuit, I stood there, bent over, hands on my knees, trying to suck as much oxygen as my lungs would take in.

 

She looked at me, and asked me a pretty simple question:

 

"Daddy, why are you up so early?"

 

I thought this would be a good time for my little girl to learn a lesson about life.

 

"Well," I said between gasps of air, "I wanna be better than everybody else. I wanna be bigger, stronger, in better shape, smarter, a better dad... you know?"

 

She nodded.

 

"That takes a lot of work, right?"

 

She nodded again.

 

"Take a look up and down the street. Do you see anybody else up and around?"

 

She shook her head.

 

"Right. While everybody else is asleep, and resting, I'm out here working. Making myself better. It's early in the morning, and I've already done more than many people will do all day long."

 

I asked her if she understood, and she said she did, but I wasn't sure. I was hoping that this would be a lesson I could reinforce over time.

 

The next morning, I arose to find my little girl had been up for quite a while already. She was dressed, bed made, room cleaned, and reading a book about animals.

 

"Why are you up so early?" I asked her, not even thinking about our exchange the day before.

 

"Because while you were in there sleeping," she said, "I was out here getting smarter," and she tapped her book.

 

That's my girl. ;-)

 

---------------------

 

As fighters, it can be tough to find the motivation to keep fighting, keep training, and keep pushing.  The pros are getting so good these days, that it might seem like you'll never get there.  Hell, even to watch something like The Ultimate Fighter on Spike can be humbling.  These are some of the best guys out there not yet fighting in the UFC, and even some of them have a long way to go before they can have real success in the UFC.  Take a look at the difference between a guy like former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin as a fighter now and how he was on the first season of TUF.

 

HUGE difference.

 

If a guy like that has progressed that much, how far do *you* have to go?

 

A long freakin' way.

 

But, you can get there from here.  You just have to put the time in.  Don't slack.  Work hard.  Be diligent.

 

When everybody else is taking time off, that's when you work.  When everybody else is drinking and partying, you keep your diet right.  When everybody else is watching fights, you're in the gym training.

 

THAT is how you get better.

 

So... with that said... what have you done to make yourself a better fighter today?

 

Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard. 

 

Matt "Wiggy" Wiggins is a strength coach and author living in Cameron, N.C. Having trained and designed Workout Plans for 16+ years, Wiggy is a strength moderator at mma.tv, columnist for MMAWeekly.com, and an avid fan of Mixed Martial Arts Training. His site, Working Class Fitness.com, is dedicated to designing low-tech, high-result Workout Programs; earning praise from the likes of UFC commentator and martial artist Joe Rogan, Ultimate Fighter alumnus Jules Bruchez, world famous strength and conditioning coach Charles Staley, UFC veteran Leigh Remedios, and others.

 

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