Training Slumps...

[Airdrawndagger]

I was curious how some of you shake your training slumps so you can continue on the long arduous road of MA. Here are a few examples that I go thru on a reg basis that I think some of you experience as well. Any suggestions would be great.

Ive read that people tend to have a peak time during the day where they are more apt to read, comprehend, and work out.
My time seems to be between 11 am- 3 pm. Well this is all good and everything, but im usually at work (as most are) so when I do get home around 6 pm, the urge for training is considerably less while the urge to sit in front of the TV and eat Doritos(zesty cheese flavor preferably) is higher, not to mention the fact that my energy levels are lower.

Another example is when ive been training relatively hard and consistant for a few weeks my energy levels start to lower as well as my drive to continue, and my body will let me know that if I continue on this schedual, it will be forced to mutiny, take control, and place me (by force) in front of the TV with a bag of doritos-zesty cheese flavor.
So what to do when this happens?

Ive tried energy pills but they only work for 1-2 weeks then your body becomes ajusted to them and there effects tend to lessen. Plus, they also are filled with enough caffine to wake up Walt Disney, and constantly ingesting those high amounts of caffine cant be all that good for you.
Ive tried to wake up early in the morning but that gets old real fast and my daughters wake up early too and wont allow me to train because they want to play....

So what can be done to maintain or increase your energy levels (naturally) so you can break through these slumps?
Suggestions?????????

ADD

[Ernie]

address the problem at the source *you /your mind and body*
you should be working out [not wing Chun training] but in the gym , running , weights , bag work Etc,,, this will get you amped and kick up your endurance
on the days when you do your wing Chun training you will be charged and it will be fun .

separate *skill training* from *fitness and health * training
your body [not the Doritos =)] should come first above all else [yes all else ] if you don't feel good about yourself how great of dad / husband/friend /worker /MA can you really be ?
if your run down and your mind is cooked from work and life stress , you need to *MAKE* time for you . no pill or 20 cups of coffee [as I sit and type looking at my Americano with 4 espresso shots ha-ha ] will give you anything but false energy .

break your days up gym 3 days a week wing Chun on others .

I hit the gym after work , then either go coach 4 days a week or do my own training
another thing is I mix up my work outs , some months I'm wing Chun obsessed , others days I pick up a stick and work on my sparring , may be I'll go into a boxing phase for a while , just to ease my mind and have fun , this usually bring me back to my wing Chun training with new questions and idea's

Live life man MA is just a small part of it =)

[wei wu wei]

your body will adapt to the circumstances to which it is most exposed.

living a sedentary life, for example, is a habit. the body will accept and embrace the habit and demotivation will arise.

on adaptability, if you train your body at a certain time each day, it will, after a period, begin to recognise this and will begin to provide you with the necessary energy levels, at that particular time to sustain the training and grant you the momentum to push yourself harder.

a suggestion therefore would be to choose a time that is convenient each week to train. pick in advance what you will be doing so you are to a degree, mentally accepting beforehand the activity and then train. start this regular training, perhaps engaging in 20 mins on day 1 and increase in small increments until you are consistently working hard for say 2 hours. in short, create a good habit to which your body will become accustomed.

i hope this makes sense.

to help from a motivational point of view, consider looking/learning/googling such things as; anchoring, self-hypnosis, visualisation - all for sport based application.